Hallo Deutschland!
To be truthful, I had planned on going abroad since Freshman year of college but never really thought about it. Junior year roles around and suddenly I'm learning new languages, buying plane tickets, and trying to shop like a "European". Needless to say, January 2nd came around way faster than I ever thought. ACES college within U of I really pushes students to study abroad; the faculty really ask the question, "so, WHERE are you going abroad?" as opposed to, "so, ARE you going abroad?" and this is something I am thankful for. I have a vivid memory of my freshman orientation- the professors not only mentioned study abroad, but told us it is something we 'had to do'. From that point on, I knew if they mentioned study abroad 2 months after I graduated high school it must be something to take seriously.
I picked Germany because my mom wouldn't let me go to Cape Town, South Africa. In reality, I wanted to go somewhere not too tourist-y and somewhere that I would be able to learn something relevant for my career. I picked Stuttgart, Germany because it is one of the main drivers of the German economy, even though the city is one of the smallest. Most of its businesses are small to medium in size, yet it is still one of the most lucrative and well functioning cities. Germany in and of itself is the backbone for the EU's economy, so it is very impressive to have such a small city within the country be one of contributing factors to the overall success. The university in Stuttgart I am studying at, University of Hohenheim, is also a highly revered agricultural school in Germany and focuses a lot of sustainable energy and green technology. Since both of these things are exactly what I am studying at U of I, I thought that it would be perfect!
As a result, my goal is to come back to the states an international agricultural economist- we shall see.
Many programs at U of I are really developed and typically send 20 kids to one country, for example Barcelona. I thought that my program would be the same, but it turns out that I would be the only student at my university from U of I. Admittedly, this was really scary. But, the exchange program in Germany arranged for someone to come pick me up from the airport and this has truly made all of the difference and so far I am glad to be on my own.
I decided to make this blog so that I can share the things I have learned while I am abroad. I've only been here for a week and it is amazing the kind of perspective I have already gained while talking to Europeans about America; hopefully the best is yet to come!
I picked Germany because my mom wouldn't let me go to Cape Town, South Africa. In reality, I wanted to go somewhere not too tourist-y and somewhere that I would be able to learn something relevant for my career. I picked Stuttgart, Germany because it is one of the main drivers of the German economy, even though the city is one of the smallest. Most of its businesses are small to medium in size, yet it is still one of the most lucrative and well functioning cities. Germany in and of itself is the backbone for the EU's economy, so it is very impressive to have such a small city within the country be one of contributing factors to the overall success. The university in Stuttgart I am studying at, University of Hohenheim, is also a highly revered agricultural school in Germany and focuses a lot of sustainable energy and green technology. Since both of these things are exactly what I am studying at U of I, I thought that it would be perfect!
As a result, my goal is to come back to the states an international agricultural economist- we shall see.
Many programs at U of I are really developed and typically send 20 kids to one country, for example Barcelona. I thought that my program would be the same, but it turns out that I would be the only student at my university from U of I. Admittedly, this was really scary. But, the exchange program in Germany arranged for someone to come pick me up from the airport and this has truly made all of the difference and so far I am glad to be on my own.
I decided to make this blog so that I can share the things I have learned while I am abroad. I've only been here for a week and it is amazing the kind of perspective I have already gained while talking to Europeans about America; hopefully the best is yet to come!