Getting pumped

So now that I know that I'm going to Germany I just can't stop thinking about going to Germany! Everything just reminds me of Germany, for example, tonight we had strudel after dinner and that made think of the delicious strudel I'll get to try in Germany! I still have bouts of bouts of euphoria about it. I can't wait to get there. I've been counting the days till summer and trying to learn more German. I'm trying to learn about 500 new words over the summer. I've been watching German tv (ZDF) and watching some German movies and I write down the words I don't know. It's annoying that even after 10 years of German and 3 or so years of intense study I can still always find words I don't know when I watch a movie or read a book. I really want to be fluent and I'm working hard for it. Over the last month or so I've met so many new people via facebook thru this scholarship program. I have made new friends from all over the world. It's really awesome, people from Mexico, Columbia, Brazil, Bolivia, Portugal, Denmark, Indonesia, Italy etc. It's really exciting that I'll get to know people from all over the world. Bis spaeter!

I GOT IT!!!!!

I got it! I got it! I got it! I got the scholarship! I'm going to Germany next year on a full ride scholarship! I won a nationally competitive prestigious scholarship! This is amazing! It's almost unreal. I am going to Germany-on a full ride scholarship! I received a scholarship worth over $12,000! I got a full scholarship to Germany! I am in a state of euphoria! I can call myself a Congress Bundestag scholar! This is unreal!

Why Germany?

Why Germany? Some people have asked me the question "why Germany?" I have a lot of reasons for choosing Germany. Germany is a thriving, developed modern country, an important ally to the US and a pillar in the world economy. Germany is a more off the beaten track for tourists compared to say Italy or France but is brimming with just as much culture and history. I have had German since 1st grade and I am fairly fluent in it. I wish to become compltetely fluent in it and be able to speak like a native. The only countries where German is the main language are Germany, Austria, Switzerland Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. The last two arent an option so I had to choose between Deutschland Austria and Switzerland. The last of those two speak German in dialect (moreso than in Germany) so the best place to learn standard German is obviously Germany. My school officials also felt that to go on exchange, I would have to go to German speaking country since I could handle the school work much better. I want to become 100% fluent in Germany. I already speak it very proficiently and have a wide vocabulary. However, I sometimes can't understand radio and TV broadcasts, (they speak so quickly.) I want to learn to understand everything and be able to talk effortlessly about any topic. I have heard of exchange students going to places like Hungary and Vietnam with no prior language knowledge and leaving proficient. If they can do that, I can learn fluent German in a year!