Well, it's been a while since I've posted, and a lot has happened in the mean time.
Well, I have an airplane ticket. My advice to students considering study abroad: get a certain travel date as soon as possible. Buying airplane tickets to Germany is a strange process. I would attempt to buy a $400 ticket, then it would alert me that the airplane just changed the price to $2800. Well, I finally got a ticket for $606. The deal sends me from Boston to NYC, where I will wait 6 or 7 hours for my flight to Frankfurt. I tried to buy the same ticket just from NYC to Frankfurt, but it cost over $1000. Strange world.
Well, I got the maximum stipend from the German government. I will be getting 410 Euros per month. At the current exchange rate, that's about $500/month. Housing over there costs around 200-250 Euros per month, from what I read, so that stipend will go a long way.
Right now I have a lot of stuff to do. One important thing is I have to get money in the form of Euros. I'm going to need cash, travelers cheques, and about a dozen other forms of money. It seems like places selling Euro cash and travelers cheques charge a good deal more than the exchange rate (an extra $.07 per Euro for cash, and $.05 for travelers cheques). I have a few forms to sign (I promise not to sue!). I also have to contact my peer advisor in Germany.
Also, I have to buy clothing. Sadly Michael the Shorts Guy must die (read here: http://www.michaelnehring.com/shorts.shtml). If I came to Germany in the middle of winter with only shorts, the Germans would think "Ah, what a stupid American! He forgot to pack long pants!" As a guest in their country, it is my job to pretend to be German, until they actually talk to me, at which point my accent will be so thick that they will have no choice but to pity me. I already got some, and I'm buying more. I'll look super snappy. I think I'll change my hairstyle too. We'll see.
Anyhow, I'm off to read one of the many packets given to me by one of the many study abroad offices.
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