Between Christmas and New Year's:
Many of you who are reading this are already aware that, this coming semester, I will be studying abroad at Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany. Many of you also know that all of my classes and most of my on campus experiences will be, naturally, auf Deutsch. What less of you probably know is that my semester begins much later than others' Spring semester. I'll be leaving the U.S. at the end of February, and staying until the end of July. I hope to use this blog to communicate my stories and memories to those interested in my life, those interested in traveling to Europe, and those interested particularly in travel throughout and life in Germany.
I've heard from people that writing a blog when you're abroad is cliché and tacky. I want to argue the opposite. I've read few blogs in my life, and even fewer travel blogs, but I've only noticed one big problem among those that have issues: clarity. Sometimes the wording is unclear, sometimes the audience, and sometimes the story--the very reason people write the blog--is unclear. I want to be the first to clarify what my blog will be: a travel blog that not only holds my memories and stories, but embraces and shares them.
My blog won't hit every point of my experience in Heidelberg. It won't even touch on most of those points. It will share a story though, and I will try my absolute hardest to ensure it is clear.
If you're looking for a world-traveler, financially and physiologically, that just isn't me. I'm not wired that way. I'm not in the market or mindset to see several places and leave shortly thereafter. It will happen occasionally, but what I'm mostly interested in is understanding a culture. Broadening relationships. Finding hole-in-the-wall bars, spending several evenings there, and developing both the relationships and understanding I just mentioned.
I can't promise my blog is going to be great. I can't even promise it will be good. But at least it's going to be there. I'll do my best to update it 4 or more times a month. I don't want my blog to become my experience; I want it showcase them. I've heard of people so worried about writing something interesting in their blogs that they forget to enjoy life as it happens to them. That will not happen to me.
It will be a while before I post again. My girlfriend, Emily Heavner, leaves for Galway, Ireland in exactly a week. I don't leave for two months, but the stories will come. My guess is that I'll post one more when I'm about to leave, or in a terminal, or immediately after I arrive. Until then, I have but one request for those who choose to read. Hear this phrase, and let it mean something to you in all that you are today, and all that you aspire to be in the future:
Stay clear, Friend.
