December rolled around and instead of bringing gifts, it brought finals. Unfortunately, I prefer gifts, but it was now crunch time. It is true how people will tell you that studying abroad truly does fly by. Before I had time to comprehend the brevity of time left, I was forced to focus on the exams ahead. I?m not sure if I had mentioned before, but WHU only has one exam at the end of the quarter. Therefore, it is rather difficult to benchmark how you?re doing. To add to the stress, the grading is relative so after you return from traveling and see your fellow German students not having had moved in the library, you can feel a little bit of stress haha.
Fortunately, I kept diligent and was ready to get my exams over with. Finally, the day came and it was time to see where I stood. I sat down for my first final, which encompassed both of my International Capital Markets & Derivatives and my Asset Management courses. Our group was given a three-hour block and both test and told to start. A&M does their testing system a little bit differently and I would definitely say I prefer A&M?s style. After finishing the first exam and realizing I was only half way done and my brain was fried, I was forced to keep going. Thankfully, everyone else was in the same boat. Before I knew it, our time elapsed and we were forced to throw our hands up and test booklets down. The hard exams were over. Thankfully, staying diligent paid off as I now sought to finish strong and begin studying for my last final in 10 hours.
Surprisingly, my German final proved to be the hardest exam as the 10-hour block was unfortunately not enough time. Thankfully, I was able to do well on the other exams and am banking on the other grades to bolster the final. As I write, my exams are being graded and unfortunately, this will be my last post so the results will remain anonymous.
In all honestly, this month was mainly consumed by studying and preparing for coming home. Mid-way through the semester, I decided to change my flight and come home early to surprise my girlfriend. Initially, I was scheduled to come home the 21st of December. After figuring my finals schedule, I was able to move my flight to the 15th of December. Amongst studying, I was putting the pieces together for my grand surprise. Along side studying and planning, I also sought to finish and gather all the gifts I intended to bring home.
By the end of my exams, I had both in place. I had a special room set up for my girlfriend and friends in place to lure her there. Before I could indulge that moment, I packed up and took off to my last trip before my flight with my best friend there, Bas. Bas and I met up with another Aggie studying abroad to take on the Frankfurt Christmas Markets. Frankfurt, I believe, is the largest Christmas market in Germany. Therefore, we made sure to get our hot wine, sausage, and gifts.
After thoroughly enjoying the Christmas Markets, I made my final arrangements and made the trip to Frankfurt airport where I would be heading home. When I had said earlier that I was bringing home gifts, I might have down-played that. The Lord had put on my heart to try and re-create our old Christmases. Since my parents split, I knew my siblings wouldn?t say it but there was a consensual unsaid understanding that our financial situation could not support our typical Christmas charades. I was destined to take full advantage of that and shatter their expectations. Therefore, I found myself wearing 5 shirts, 3 jackets, one jacket around my waist, 4 pairs?of sweats, a pair of jeans, anda pair of shorts as I attempted to make room for my gifts.
Contrary to my attempts, I found my main bag weighing 33kg and had to pay a hefty fee to get it on the plane. Knowing what was ahead, I didn?t flinch to give up the money in order to follow through with my plans. To say I was sweaty by the time I got on the plane would be an understatement. I was gross. Lugging the excess clothes and luggage through the airport led to a tough ride home for the passengers near me.
Upon arrival, I was greeted by an emotional reunion with my family and scurried to get everything in place and drove to College Station. As planned, my girlfriend ended up where I wanted her and I was able to hold and kiss what I had missed for four months. I was home. I was happy. I will not forget Germany. I look to use the hardships to implement positive change for the future. Never forget. Never take for granted. I am home. I am happy. I am content. God bless and I hope you found my posts helpful!
Merry Christmas!!!!!
