For those of you who do not know my plans for the upcoming school year, I have written this sort of introduction to my plans and my contact information so my friends and family know what I am up to and that I am alive and well.
This whole traveling business actually began during Christmas of 2006. Some close family friends of our living in Germany came back to the states for the holidays to visit with friends and family. They invited me to stay with them in Germany for the following summer as a "graduation get-away." Three days after graduation I set out on a whirlwind adventure through European culture and experience. I became addicted and I never wanted to leave.
So began my freshman year of college at East Carolina University (Go Pirates!!!). I entered school as a BS Chemistry major and by spring I changed my degree to include study in a foreign language, German. By the middle of the semester I had made German my primary minor degree and was planning my semester abroad the next fall. That quickly turned to independent study of German II during the summer of 2008 and plans for a year abroad beginning fall of 2009. After passing German II by independent study, I quickly decided I wanted to major in German as well as Chemistry. So, I changed my major(s) once again to a BA in Chemistry and an BA in German.
Preparation for this opportunity began during the summer of 2008. I was required to pass German I-IV to study abroad and I was required to write a statement of purpose in both languages and fill out many applications and pass an interview with the study abroad coordinator of ECU. I was accepted by the program in late February of 2009 and received the greatly stressed over acceptance letter from the University of Tübingen in May of 2009. I attended an orientation/information day at UNCG for all study abroad students in the state of North Carolina in March of 2009.
I finished finals for the semester in early May and headed home for the summer. Since school ended for the summer I have been sending endless emails corresponding to/with the exchange student coordinator in Tübingen, filling out housing applications and obtaining all the proper paperwork. I purchased my ticket at the end of May and my departure date is August 31st. Now I am working in Rocky Mount, Virginia for a construction company (data entry position) to save for weekend traveling in Europe and slowly but surely making rounds to see my friends and family before I disappear for a whole year.
I will be enrolled in and attend classes full-time while in Germany. I plan to take advanced grammar and conversation classes and, hopefully, complete my German degree by the time I return and my Chemistry degree will be completed (I hope) during the school year after my return to the states. My predicted graduation date is May 2011. I have no idea what I want to do with my life after that so stay tuned until I figure it out.
My contact information is very simple. You can email me at KMB0130@ecu.edu. I have a Skype account and my user name is kendramaria1. If you do not know what Skype is, it is a video messaging chat program via the internet. You can download Skype at skype.com for free and create a user name and profile. For FREE you can call me via web-cam and chat with me anytime. I plan to purchase a monthly phone number through Skype and because it is an American phone number you can call me via your cell phone or land-line phone for only what your phone company charges to call American numbers! (I think it's pretty much the coolest thing ever!) And of course I will still be on facebook. I soon as I hear, I will post my snail mail address because I love to send and receiver real paper letters and postcards.
I will continue updating this blog when I can (and if I remember lol) so that you can know what I am up to. Please keep me in your prayers, so that I may stay safe in my travels and continue to rely on God for strength and determination.
Liebe,
Kendra
