May 21, 2012
Siegen, Germany
Once again, here I find myself in the enchanting land of
Europe. I believe that some people would term this repetition as addiction, but
I prefer to call it passion. Just over one month ago, I received a final word from
the international office in Berlin that I had not made the final cut for the
DAAD Study and Internship Program; I was devastated. My world whirled for only
a few minutes as I struggled to find my list of plans B through E; I had prepared
for this moment just in case but the rejection hit me hard nonetheless. Within
an hour, I had filled out an application to Sejong University in Jochiwon,
South Korea, created a list of programming ideas to keep me excited for being a
Resident Assistant at my own University in case I needed to stay, filled out a
budget for a French school in case I could gain acceptance for the fall and had
called my mother. I marched into the Center for International Exchange at my
home university the very next morning and presented my circumstances to the
coordinator. She looked at me confusedly and inquired, “I thought you wanted to
go to Germany?”
Well, that IS what I thought. I wanted to go to Germany because
of so many reasons really: I wanted to expand my language repertoire, I wanted
to study at one of their top international business schools, I wanted to be
back in Europe and I wanted to be near my boyfriend, Björn. We had decided in February
of 2012 when he came to sweep me back off my feet that we couldn’t possibly
continue living without the other in our lives. Strangely, I had applied to the
SIP in Germany before he even came back because I was so taken with the idea of
this competitive program and prestigious university in Cologne. Now, here I sat
in the international office with love back in my life but no ticket to Germany.
My coordinator pondered for several very long minutes between my anxious eyes
and my application and then quickly turned to her computer, murmuring something
under her breath. Typing quickly and dragging a file with my name into the
attachment box of an email, she smiled, “What if we sent you to Cologne anyway?”
Here’s the part where my heart stopped. No, there were no romantic
beat-skippings taking place; my heart just took a brief vacation from pumping my
blood in order to wander around the room for a minute. “Seriously? Was that
ever an option? It’s not on any of the catalogues or website and I talked to
everyone in the office and…” She stopped me short. “I know, Bethany. Let’s make
an exception.”
I walked out of the study abroad office that day with all of
my other applications and plan Bs still in my hand and a soaring heart (it had
graciously decided to return to my chest). The University of Northern Colorado
had decided to send me to my university of choice as an ambassador and hoped to
create a solid exchange program with them following the success of my exchange.
There was the possibility of scholarships, I had already filled out my course
lists and glanced over living accommodations and area transportation because I
had applied to their school through the SIP earlier that month. It was all in
place. My family was a bit shocked that everything was happening so quickly
and, admittedly, so was I. Björn’s jaw dropped when I told him the
news that I would be living in Germany, at a school only 90 minutes from him,
for 15 months. We planned to start our time together in June and I would stay
with him and his hilarious roommate, Miki, over the summer.
On the 14th of May, 2012, less than a month
later, I was on a morning plane to Deutschland to surprise my adoring boyfriend
for his 23rd birthday. I had coordinated with several of his friends
and the surprise went down with few hitches; he was shocked for several hours,
kept kissing me and wouldn’t dare let me go. That night, he whispered to me
while his arms were lovingly wrapped around me, “Baby, I can’t believe you’re
here. Please still be here when I wake up.”
Now the 21st of May, I’m still here, completely
relaxed, absolutely blessed by the Lord, totally in love and I couldn’t be
happier with the way life has changed. I have an extensive list of wonderful
things, ancient places and lovely people to visit this summer. Björn
will finish his semester in July and then we’ll take a vacation to someplace
exotic, romantic and new (maybe Croatia) with my best friend Gena, her Czech
boyfriend David and perhaps Miki and his girlfriend as well. I will move to
Cologne in August or September and then begin my studies until the end of July
2013.
This is me. This is my life: always on an
adventure.
Björn took me wandering around the city center to buy a scarf and then led me to H&M to pick
out some summer clothes for both of us. Following, he took
me out for delicious, home-made ice cream, famous at a cafe on the main square, then dinner on the
plaza (noodles and chicken) to people-watch and converse. Then we walked some more; I thought we were going home because we had taken the bus toward his apartment. I
kept trying to head in the direction of home, showing that I had learned my way
around, but Björn kept stopping me; at one point, he took my hand and said,
"Bethany, just trust me. Let go. I'm going to show you something and it
involves you not being in control. Let go and enjoy, okay?" 
