HERE WE GO

What to expect when moving out of the country:

A growing sense of excitement and starting over and newness and adventure that makes you grin like a fool as you walk down the street.

A strong desire to buy unnecessary travel related items (like a passport cover. Seriously, what is the point of a passport cover?).

Unsolicited advice from everyone you come in contact with, all of which is well-meaning but helpful only 50% of the time (also to anyone who thinks I am going to go to Germany and end up getting married: hahahahahahaha no).

A sudden unreasonable attachment to foods that you are convinced that the new country won't have and then that will be all you crave and life will just be sad (WHAT IF GERMANS DON’T EAT HUMMUS?!).

An inability to listen to songs about traveling or home or family (I haven't even left yet and Michael Buble's "Home" already makes me choked up).

The belief that you will accidentally insult someone in German within the first hour that you get off of the plane, and that you will accidentally teach your students a whole slew of delightful English swear words and colorful phrases.

A judgmental attitude towards your own wardrobe and the clothing that you are packing (are people in Hamburg going to judge me for wearing a Beatles t-shirt?...I think yes. Is a red leather pencil skirt too much?...also yes. Am I bringing too much black clothing?..."too much black clothing" = not a thing), as well as the conviction that you look "too American" and you will be both targeted for pick pocketing and also judged for your tattoos and your nose ring and your glasses and they will think that you are some kind of suspicious hipster librarian wannabe.

Gifts of guidebooks, spare adapter plugs, dictionaries, extra euros that people had lying around, and other wonderful things.

Emotions. All of the emotions. Some good, some bad, and very little warning in between shifts of the two.

An intense conviction that either something disastrous is going to happen right before you leave and you're going to end up on crutches and life will be hell, or, because your suitcase is more or less the same size as you and is about half your body weight, you will throw out your back en route and have to be hospitalized and have a spinal tap or something.

75% of you is probably still sure that they made a mistake and didn't mean to choose you to teach and that when you land in Hamburg they're gonna be like "Just kidding, we don't actually want you, please go home and continue working retail and loathing humanity" (the other 25% of you is too excited to care whether or not they meant to choose you).

And finally, the realization that for every bittersweet “last” that you experience in your hometown (last dance class, last day at work, last time you will see this or that friend for a long time), you will experience even more exciting “firsts” in your new city.

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster these past few weeks, but I head out tonight, and I am ready to go. Thanks to all of my awesome friends/family members who have kept me sane the past few days (whether or not you realized it), and I will be back before you know it!