Introduction

First matter of business: I think I should give my background, a background of the program I will be participating in, and an overview of what you, as a (hopefully) loyal reader, will find among the archives of this blog...

My background (as it pertains to this adventure): I grew up in Cortez, Colorado, USA where the population is roughly 8,500 and the population of cows is double that. I attended Colorado State University and graduated in December of 2012 with a Bachelor's in Business, concentrating in Marketing and minoring in French. I studied abroad in France during the Spring of 2012 in the small town of Vichy. (For those of you who followed my blogging during that adventure, I apologize for failing miserably and I will try not to let you down again!) While there, I lived with a spirited and fun-loving Austrian who, in a round-about way, became one of the reasons I began studying German in my last semester of college when I returned from France. Perhaps I am now already letting you down by denying you a sappy, romantic, love-story...but in fact, my desire to learn German was one part 'practicality in international business', one part 'new challenge appeal', and a large part 'my witty come-backs to Alex would be so much better in German'! My motivations for continuing with the language have certainly become less superficial but Alex always loves a mention and I aim to please my readers.

As graduation neared last fall, my thoughts mimicked those I had had when the end of my time abroad had neared only a few months prior: "I must find my way back to Europe soon!" Around October, I received an email from a friend with the link and application to an exchange program that perfectly matched my goals: 1. Gain experience in real-world business (preferably international). 2. Continue learning German. 3. Get back to Europe. I don't think I have ever put so much time and effort into applying for something as I did for this fellowship program. At a time when I was lost and stressed about my future, I felt as though this opportunity was meant to be and I had to give it my best try. In the interest of avoiding unnecessary dramatic effect, I will omit the grueling descriptions of my nail-biting wait and sum it up by saying I waited a little over a month to find out I had made it to the interview round and another month for the "Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you..." email.

Program details (taken straight from the website): "The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) is a fellowship funded by the German Bundestag and U.S. Congress, that annually provides 75 American and 75 German Young Professionals the opportunity to spend one year in each others' countries, studying, interning, and living with hosts on a cultural immersion program." The program is split up into two months in an intensive language school, four months of study in some form related to my field (marketing/business), and then a five month internship in a German work environment. I will be placed somewhere for the two months of intensive language (to be determined in June) and somewhere else for the remainder of the study and internship phases (State determined in June, exact location determined later). I will also be volunteering, getting involved as much as possible in my community, and traveling any chance I get. 

What to expect in this blog: My observations, insights, stories, recounts of my cultural blunders, my personal comparison and contrast of German, French and American cultures, as well as a plethora of pictures.  Hopefully I can provide you with a bit of education on German culture and history as well.

I am nervous, anxious, and exceedingly ecstatic to begin this leg of my journey to self-discovery, as I continue on my passionate pursuit of overwhelming wanderlust.