Maggie (Without) Borders: My Year in Germany

One of the questions I field most frequently when I tell people that I'm going abroad for a year is, "How does _________ feel about it?" More often than not, people fill in the blank with "your parents" or "your boyfriend" and I'm never really sure how to answer. I know the people around me are excited for me and will miss me, but I'm not them, I don't know exactly how they would respond to being asked directly. After inadequately trying to answer this question about a hundred times, I realized that I really do want to know what the people close to me think and that I should showcase their thoughts here. I realized, generally speaking, that the thoughts and feelings of family and friends take up significant mental space when you're trying to make big decisions, and my decision to participate in CBYX was no exception. So, in the interest of thoroughly documenting my own experience, I figured I had to start documenting thoughts of my u...

This post is really scary because it feels neither like it's been a month since my 3 month pre-departure post nor like I only have 2 months left in the States. Anyway... I've been enjoying the start of my summer. I'm unemployed for the first time since high school, so I've been able to do whatever I want (which is equal parts freeing and annoying). I've spent my time cleaning, cooking, exercising, gardening, and generally enjoying my newfound lack of obligation. I've also been avoiding thinking about CBYX, and my imminent departure. I received another pre-departure email, which means I've been checking things off of that to-do list, but other than that, I try not to dwell on the fact that I'm leaving home very, very soon. It's becoming steadily more and more real that this is really happening, and that things are going to be strikingly different than the life I've known for the past 17 years. I was speaking to my boyfriend's (wonderful)...

You don't have to tell me that my posts heretofore have been strikingly, astonishingly, remarkably, painfully, dreadfully boring. I know there are, and I'm sorry, but I have a reason, I swear! Disclaimer: this post will also be boring. When I was searching for details about CBYX and personal experiences in the program, I had a really hard time finding anything. I found a singular blog that had been abandoned for months at a time and, as a result, was largely unhelpful to me. I wanted to know what applying was like, what to expect in the interview, and how previous participants felt throughout the entire program. The CBYX staff is very good at being blunt and honest about the difficulty but also the awesomeness of the program year, but I wanted to know the personal thoughts and experiences of those who experienced it. Upon not really finding what I was looking for, I decided that, were I to be accepted to participate, I would be that resource by writing a public blog about...