{"id":2250,"date":"2025-09-24T14:40:21","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T14:40:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=2250"},"modified":"2025-09-24T14:40:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T14:40:22","slug":"kaedyn-final-blog-august-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/2025\/09\/24\/kaedyn-final-blog-august-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaedyn Final Blog August 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

This will be my final blog for this semester abroad.<\/p>\n

Words cannot express how much I have enjoyed and learned during these four months in Germany. I have gotten so accustomed to living here that it will probably be a culture shock when I move back to the U.S. There is so much opportunity to grow when you put yourself in a situation completely foreign to anything you have known.<\/p>\n

Before I talk about what I will miss in Germany and what I have missed about the U.S., I want to briefly discuss the final examination period of German education for anyone considering studying in Germany for a semester or two. Finals here are very different from what you are used to in the States. They are much more difficult, but I suppose that is the price you pay for having no homework during the school year.<\/p>\n

As for what I will miss most in Germany, I have a couple of ideas. First, I will of course miss the friends I made here. Meeting more international people in this short span of time than in my entire life was captivating, as I got to hear first-hand perspectives from countries I had only ever seen on the news. I will also miss the grocery prices. Yes, I know it sounds funny, but everything really is super cheap here compared to the United States. Going to the grocery store and spending around 30 Euros a week is just one of those perks of living in Europe. Another obvious one is the culture. Adjusting to a new culture over a long period is challenging but leaving it can be just as hard. I think I might have a difficult time re-adjusting to the American day-to-day. Lastly, and this might surprise some, is the student life. Here, there are simply more things to do than in Arkansas. I can spend a weekend in another country, visit a big city, or just enjoy one of the countless activities around here. Having all these options is something I really enjoy whenever the weekend comes around.<\/p>\n

Now for what I miss about the U.S. and cannot wait to return to. My family and friends are of course the biggest part of my life that I want to get back to. No matter where you go, you will always miss the people you have spent your life with, and that is true for me as well. A surprising thing I did not expect to miss is driving. There is just something about having complete transportation freedom. I do not miss my car insurance bill, but I do enjoy being able to go wherever and whenever I want. Public transportation here is reliable most of the time, but having a car is something I grew up with, and it is hard to replace. Another thing I miss, which might surprise some people, is the food. I miss Mexican food, greasy burgers, and Taco Bell. While I know these things are not healthy, the taste of a Taco Bell deluxe box at 2 a.m. just cannot be compared to anything else.<\/p>\n

I am flying back to the United States in two weeks, and I intend to make the most of these last days. I just returned from France and the Netherlands, which were as amazing as I had hoped. Next, I want to visit Italy before I leave. My time here in Germany has been unlike any other, and I encourage anyone who wants to challenge themselves to take that leap and explore the world.<\/p>\n

As always, Auf Wiedersehen, Adventurers.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\"\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This will be my final blog for this semester abroad. Words cannot express how much I have enjoyed and learned during these four months in Germany. I have gotten so accustomed to living here that it will probably be a culture shock when I move back to the U.S. There is so much opportunity to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,64,57,58,59,62],"tags":[16,15,47],"class_list":["post-2250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-atuglobal","category-france","category-germany","category-giessen","category-study-abroad","category-thm","tag-arkansastechuniversity","tag-atu","tag-germany","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2250"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2328,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250\/revisions\/2328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.atu.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}