Can you say NERD?

I realize that I haven't spent all that much time explaining myself or talking about who I am - why Berlin? Why not Paris? Prague? Barcelona? And even more of a question...Why GERMAN? I mean it is a well-known fact that most Germans, at least in the big cities, speak at least a passable amount of English so learning it for communication purposes isn't really a great excuse. Then of course those who know the least bit about me point out that not only is German not particularly useful but that I am Jewish and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. And when I stand there thoughtfully trying to come up with an intelligent response for a decision that I am not sure I understand fully myself, the individual asking the question almost always looks at me with a raised eyebrow, a smug look of satisfaction as though what they said hadn't occurred to me, and says"Well?" As if we have just had a life-changing conversation that will force me to reevaluate my choice to be an honors History major and German minor, and undoubtedly see that I am much more suited, as a Jew especially, to something say like, Economics or Biology.

The answer to the question has many parts - firstly, I have always been fascinated by European history and started reading Anne Frank at the age of 9. (However, knowing that she was going to die was a little too grown up for such a young girl and found it necessary to finish it at the age of 11.) I have to date studied the French Revolution of 1789 four times in school since I was in eighth grade and still find it fascinating and so becoming a history major wasn't so much of a long shot. The German is what gets the questions as I have just mentioned. As an incoming freshman at Swarthmore College in the fall of 2007, I was excited by all the possibilities and decided taking German would be fun and it sort of snowballed from there as I became more and more involved with the learning and became more in awe of the great faculty that I was surrounded with and privileged to study with. Never underestimate the power of a great professor in discovering your passions.

Wow I just realized how much I wrote and how much of a nerd I sound like. And my stomach is rumbling because it's lunchtime. (I'll use my lack of food as my excuse for any unnecessary rambling that may have occurred since lack of sleep would just be a lie as it is past noon on a Saturday morning.)

Ich liebe zu reisen!

Translation: I love to travel!

This is the first blog that I have written according to my own free will - last summer it was part of my job description as an editorial intern for Alloy.com to record my "exploits" and discuss life living in NYC. I can't say that my feelings have changed about posting my personal life on the web all that much but I do think that with my upcoming semester abroad that it would be cool to have some sort of record of the roughly 4.5 months I will be spending abroad studying in Berlin and traveling around Europe. As much as I love life at Swarthmore where I have been for the past two years, there are very few things in my 20 years of existence that I have looked forward to more than going abroad.

ich kann nicht warten! (One of my goals is to become fluent in German so that I can write beyond stilted sentences that would only appear in a text book)

It is not as though I have never been to Europe. In fact I have spent summers there traveling with family and playing cello in music festivals in the Netherlands and Bavaria, Germany. Sorry to disappoint but I actually do remember my visits to Amsterdam. Although I am sure that very few girls at the age of 16 can say that their dad took them to see their very first prostitute in the notorious red light district. He knew how much I'd been looking forward to seeing...Oh! The sacrifices a parent makes for their child's dreams!

While it would be very hard to pinpoint favorite moments during my many trips abroad, I can say that there is nothing like getting off a plane after a transatlantic flight. Sure, you're all cramped and jetlagged after spending seemingly endless hours with the kid behind you kicking your seat, the old lady next to you trying to feed you food, and the girl across the aisle throwing up and forgetting that they do provide a special bag for such occasions. But there is nothing like the feeling of endless possibilities that hit as you notice the change in language on the signage and begin the treacherous journey through customs, immigration, and baggage claim. Oh and don't forget that taxi line with all of the smokers lighting up as though they believe that the cigarette they are about to shove in their mouth holds the answer to eternal youth, or at the very least, the meaning of life. Sometimes I can't sleep at night I am so full of excitement - which really makes getting to my summer internship for 7:30 am kind of tough!

What's in a name?

Some people have this idea that all of us who grow up in New York City grow up way too quickly and as a result end up being way more mature, way more "cool", and way more jaded than our peers around the country. And while there maybe evidence to suggest that frequenting bars and clubs armored with a Platinum AmEx a la Gossip Girl is not typical teen behavior, there are a few of us out there whose bathroom use is limited to private bodily functions, make-up reapplication, and gossiping with girlfriends. Some of us actually daydream about their best guy friend all of a sudden taking notice, like in every book written for the 12-16 year old set, and turning out to be Prince Charming with only eyes for you. I hope none of my guy friends read this and get the wrong idea.

When your 12, at least when I was 12, and I had no real experience to speak of boys and romance represented this sphere of unending possibility that as I got older and gained experience seemed to feel at times more depressing than encouraging. When I was 12 I couldn't even fathom all the different ways things, relationships could go wrong. So wouldn't it be easier, rather than admitting I turn the grand old age of 21 this coming October, to remain forever 12?

Basically? What's the point in being depressed about something that hasn't gone wrong yet?