I can not wait to move to Hamburg at the end of the month. Oh, let me tell you the ways. I look forward to finally be in the same place as mein Schatz again. To actually living in an apartment with all of my belongings, instead of a small hotel room with less than half of what I own. To have a real internet connection so that I can stop rationing my internet use, and start uploading pictures and watching youtube videos any old time I please. To feel like a productive adult again, instead of like a kid in summer camp being shuttled from place to place. To establish some routines and some roots and see what real life in Germany is all about.

At the same time, I do not want to hurry up the next few weeks at all. It is not often in life that you have the opportunity to meet with mayors. Or to ask the General Consulate of the Russian Federation about whether he thinks the crisis in Georgia has affected diplomatic relations between Russia and Germany (even if his answer towed Putin’s official line and deflected any responsibility). Or to have a conversation with a colonel at the Ministry of Defense about his view of America as a superpower.

At about this time last year, I still had no idea that this is what I would be doing right now. This summer has been one gigantic opportunity to prepare for life in Germany this year, and I can not help but feel totally amazed and grateful even as I anticipate the next steps.