Coming back home to prepare for Ohio

One week ago I was still in Nebraska getting done with finals week and throwing a lot of things away while I checked out of my dorm room on campus. I am back home in Leipzig for Christmas break and happy to see all my family and friends again. The semester abroad in Nebraska helped me a lot! It was easy to speak English all the time! I actually started thinking and dreaming in English. Now that I’m back home it feels rather weird to speak German again. I think my time in Nebraska prepared me perfectly for Ohio in terms of language, campus life, and classes. I feel very confident and comfortable speaking English all the time, because there was no one else in Nebraska from Germany. And I know that if I miss speaking German I can just call my Mom. As I’m getting used to the time difference again I have to think about packing soon. That will be a lot easier for Ohio though. During my time in Nebraska I recognized what I might need and what I should not bring to Ohio. For example, I definitely don’t need three pairs of jeans or four different jackets.

Preparing the semester for Ohio was way easier because I already knew what to do and how to do it. It was basically the same paperwork for the Visa application, the Health Insurance, and the Financial Sponsor Statement. Although, I did have some trouble organizing everything from further away. The time difference of seven hours made it harder for me to communicate and organize everything. I’m relieved that I already got my passport with my Visa sent back on time. I have everything I need for immigration control and all paperwork ready to fly back.

I’m excited to go back to the United States as I will see another part of the country. The Ohio University is bigger than the University of Nebraska, but I’m wondering if the professor-student-relation is as personal as it was there. I bet that there will also be a difference when it comes to all the other students. I will probably see different students every day on campus as there are around 20,000 students enrolled, and Nebraska only had 8,000. I am also looking forward to Orientation week and the first week of school. I am really excited about the classes that I have chosen to take. They will mainly be history and politics classes, which are a main part of my interests in the American Studies program in Leipzig.