Roller Coaster

Hey Gang,

This is my second post. I want to primarily focus on mental preparation/first couple of days abroad. I just left this stage and think I have some good ideas to what may be helpful. I can hopefully share some stories and shed some light on how things will be for someone taking the leap of studying abroad.


The Days Leading Up to Departure

Months before my flight to Germany, I was rather uneasy about coming. I was unsure whether I really wanted to go. I didn't have any idea of what Germany was like, and I did not want to leave my current routine at UMass Amherst, which I was comfortable and happy with. Quite frankly, my mindset of going abroad was "WHY?!?!" and not "Helllzzzz yeaaa." People told me it was the best decision they had ever made, yet I continued to feel uneasy. BUT, the closer the time came toward leaving, the better I felt. This is mainly because I started talking to others who were currently in my "shoes" and not those who had been in them. Friends from school started to tell me "ahhh I don't want to leave so soon" and "I JUST WANT CHRISTMAS AT HOME!" (Thank you Sienna). These remarks that came from close friends of mine were beyond comforting. I was able to see that it really wasn't uncommon to feel nervous... I mean you ARE going away for five months, who wouldn't feel this way? From that point on I was able to enjoy my last couple weeks at home for the holidays and not worry so much about my departure.


Murphy's Law

 Had I known the chaos that would ensue upon stepping into Logan Airport, I probably would of bolted for the "EXIT" sign. I would of tossed some redheaded dude my passport and plan ticket, and said, "GUTEN TAG BRAHHHH!!!" ("Good Day Bro", in layman's terms).

First, I wasted upwards of fifteen minutes trying to 'check-in' for my flight at some robot-frustration machine. My sister and I tried figuring it out for some solid time and I eventually called it quits when it offered me a dish of holographic meatloaf.

From there, I waited in line for the homosapien check-in and this took about twenty minutes. When it was finally my turn to greet the JetBlue employee, I smiled and put my 60 pound suitcase on the scale. She smiled back and said, "Lose ten pounds."  I'm thinking, "dayummm I thought I looked good," and then realized my bag was 10 lbs over the limit. So, I stepped out of the line, consolidated my suitcases, and was able to send my two bags of luggage onto the conveyor belt where I would next see them in Germany.

I then said goodbye to my parents, sister, and girlfriend, and headed for my flight...


Which was delayed an hour.


Roughly nine hours later,  I landed at the Frankfurt Airport. I still remember how bizarre it felt looking out of the plane window and thinking, "This is really happening... Wow." I made it through the terminal, past Customs, and to the luggage claim where I waited.

Five minutes went by.
Ten minutes went by.
Twenty minutes went by.
Thirty-five minutes went by.

Finally, a man named Phillip informed me my luggage got lost in the mix and I had to go to a service desk to file for a Baggage Claim.

So now I am in Germany with only my backpack and headed for a train in a city I had never been to. Did I mention I don't speak German?

When I finally made it to Mannheim, I somehow found my housing unit and emptied my things. My "things" being three books, a pack of gum, Airborne, and a T-shirt.

I then found a group of internationals and tagged along with them into the city to go to the University. We missed the only day for enrollment by a matter of ten minutes. The lady behind the desk at the International Office told me there would be an hour the following day where I could enroll. So I set an alarm, went home, and went to bed.

This wasn't a normal slumber... it was borderline hibernation. I had went to bed at 10:17 pm (don't ask me how I remember), and woke up the following day at 6 pm. I slept nearly twenty hours, I kid you not. Waking up the next day and seeing darkness/streetlights, was the most puzzling three minutes of my life. I was shocked.

Moments after waking up I met my Finnish flatmate, Kari, and he informed me about a Pub Crawl. We took the bus into the city and met up with a large group of students in the program. Everyone was excited to meet one another and have some fun in this foreign place. We frolicked around the city to multiple different bars and pubs. It wasn't until we entered a pub called "Murphy's Law," did I realize how horribly wrong everything had went.

Murphy's Law is a theory that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. There is no better term to better encapsulate the first 48 hours of my voyage in Germany, yet, I have viewed this entire trip as a blast so far.

At the end of the day, I am still in a foreign country seeing and experiencing things I will never encounter again, so every single little thing that goes wrong seems miniscule. I know there will be times where I want to go home and return to my daily routines across the Pond (Atlantic Ocean), but that time hasn't come yet. So for now, I will continue to enjoy this beautiful city known as Mannheim.



P.S... I still don't have my luggage (1/16/2015)

Willkommen (Welcome)

Hello All,

Welcome to my blog. My name is Dan McMahon and I am the ginger being referred to in the URL above. This blog is about my experience in my semester abroad where I will study in the lovely city of Mannheim. I will be posting fairly regularly so feel free to stop by and creep/read/stalk/maybe laugh. No farting though. But for real, I think the blog should be rather interesting and hopefully helpful to those who are planning a trip to Europe (specifically to Germany). The blog will contain stories, comparisons, guides, and grammatical errors. I will write with honesty and truly intend writing meaningful, yet entertaining posts. But for now, this is all I got. Gute Nacht!

 -Twee

Here is a photo of the University of Mannheim. Pretty cool place to study if you ask me.