Remagen - Turning Life As I Knew It Upside Down

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness” – Charles Dickens says it best, an exchange semester abroad is experiencing everything at once. 

People say that your 20s are for experiences, mistakes, growing, learning, gaining, losing, etc. but what I didn’t expect was to go through all of those things and emotions in just 5 months. 
There are many experiences I will remember and cherish all of my life, but there are some that stand out. 

The night when I officially felt like I was in Germany was in Karlsruhe, city which we didn’t know existed but because of the famous delays of German trains and my friends mistake of leaving his phone at a train station, I had to stay overnight in a city I didn’t know, with people I barely knew at the time. We had to roam around the city, with dead batteries on our phones, and nothing but time to share our experiences with each other. After that night forth we knew that everything we did had to be legendary because we had found something not many people do, we found our perfect group, constructed of people who we wouldn’t have if we hadn’t come here at this exact time. 

Another thing that stands out the most is that I had the opportunity to also experience the wins of my country, this was the first time that Georgia was ever qualified for the Euro and watching those games in the country where it was happening and with our friends? Now that is something people dream of. 

I can tell the stories of fighting with random guys on the train, or accidently going to different cities, or exploring an old factory where we defeated fears of height, or eating the best food in our lives, or creepiest mannequins I’ve ever seen, or the coldest I’ve ever been in my entire life, but I think it’s better if everyone goes through this experience themselves, not expecting something specific.

When I came here I didn’t know that in the future, the word Albania would bring tears to my eyes and pride in my soul, or that when I saw Turkey the only thing I remembered wouldn’t be the centuries of torment they put us through but the amazing, phenomenal people they fill the world with, or that Portugal wouldn’t just be the place of some very famous football players but a place that has the warmest and most loyal people, or that I would meet people from my own country that are going to be in my life forever, but now, I know.

If there is one thing you take away from this, let it be the fact that wherever you go (and you should definitely go anywhere you can and take every opportunity that is given to you, specifically if it’s here in Rheinahrcampus) always be proud of your culture and always represent where you came from no matter what!