Britt Jordan, NU in Berlin, Summer 2014
My name is Britt Jordan and I have been afforded the incredible opportunity not only to study abroad in Berlin through the IPD office, but also to record my experience in gripping, glamorous blog-style glory. Before I get into the good stuff, you should know just a little bit about me. I’m a rising Weinberg sophomore planning to study German and Legal Studies. Hailing from the great state of Ohio, I enjoy such activities as writing and playing tennis.[1] I have a deceptively stupid dog and an old Toyota Camry back home, both of which I will miss greatly. If you have any more personal questions about your devilishly handsome blogger, keep them civil.
I began speaking German about nine months ago under the expert tutelage of Northwestern’s very own Herr Ryder and Herr Trivers. I took German 101-3 on a whim, but I’ve enjoyed it more than I ever could’ve imagined.[2] Although asking my classmates about the weather in horribly stilted Deutsch was gratifying to a point, I figured that studying in Germany, especially Berlin, would give me the much needed field experience to take my language skills to the next level.
So here I am now, sitting in the L10 gate of Terminal 3 at O’Hare. I’m ridiculously early in a very unnecessary way; my flight boards at 3:00 pm and I got through the TSA’s Kabuki theater at 11:50 am. The Air Berlin gate is relatively empty at this point, aside from a few elderly folks who probably got her a few minutes after their 6:00 am Raisin Bran. The flight is around nine hours long, which seems appropriate.[3] I made sure that I would have a good number of movies to watch on the plane and I brought several cashews to appease my impending hunger.
I definitely think I’m ready for the plane ride, but we’ll see how well I fare in Germany. I just sort of threw a bunch of things in my suitcase in the hopes that I would make a really expressive piece of modern art.[4] I now know that there was a recommended packing list that never graced my eyes, so I am probably woefully unprepared in a way that will make for comical blogging material. In that sense, it was all planned for your personal enjoyment.
Before I take up any more of your time with this initial post, I want to say thank you for sharing this experience with me. I am truly so excited to tell you about all the people I encounter, all the places I go, all the horrible/wonderful things that happen to me. I know this post was a little dry (I wasn’t working with a breaking news story), but I can promise you that exciting things are to come over the next nine weeks for all of us.
[1] This footnote has been created for the express purpose of informing you that I use them somewhat frequently because I think they’re fun.
[2] My only previous language experience was four years of parochial school Latin, which was really something.
[3] I’ve been told that Germany is in Europe, so the flight time seems fair, but I’m always a little wary of Wikipedia; it’s a healthy skepticism.
[4] I don’t think I did, but you never really know with contemporary sculpture.