Ready...Set...

Getting Ready:
Anticipation is quickly building.
I'm now a week away from January 11th and my departure to Germany.
As preparation continues for this trip I can't help but get more & more excited. There are so many things to do and seemingly so little time to do them. I've gone back and fourth on what to bring, how to pack, and what I want to do when I get there.
My most interesting adventure so far has been shopping and deciding what to pack. Since I'll be away from home for 6 months, but only able to take a few suitcases, I've had to determine what I really need. And once I've figured that out I have to figure out how to pack all of it.
I've got 2 brand new suits to take with me, and several people have asked why I need them - so: I need the suits because part of the European Union programs includes field-study trips where I will be meeting, and visiting EU Government locations and meeting with dignitaries from different countries, so I have to look real sharp.


A little more about the program:
The program starts on January 13th, in Freiburg, Germany, which is in the South-West corner of the country, near the Black Forest, France, and Switzerland (map). After the start of the program, there is a 10 day intensive orientation and German language course, followed by a number of field study trips. These include destinations such as: Berlin; Prague; European Parliment in Strasburg, France; Tallinn, Estonia; Stockholm, Sweeden; London, England; Barcelona and Madrid, Spain; Rome; Bucharest, Romania; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Athens, Greece.
At this time I'm not 100% sure on what courses I will be taking, but I'm probably going to be taking several History classes, Political Science, and lots of German Language (in case you don't know, I speak almost no German)
There are 58 students in the program, most of them from the United States. I will be living in dorms, with other students from the program and from the local university in Freiburg, and traveling to the IES Abroad Center for classes.
If you'd like more information about the IES program, please visit IESabroad.org


Contact and Travel:
Though I'll be arriving on January 12th the IES Program doesn't offically start until the 13th. So once I arrive in Frankfurt, around 11:30 AM I'll probably check into a hostel, or if I've located a couch to surf, drop off some of my stuff, and hit the town to try and see some of the sights as well as reset my body clock for the 8 hour difference.
A simple translation: If it is 12 noon in Denver CO, USA - It is 8:00 PM in Freiburg, Germany. So don't call me at 8 PM, as it will be 4 AM in Germany :)
Once in Germany some of my normal communication methods will be unavailable to me. So if you desire to contact me there are serveral preferable ways to do so.
You can easily Facebook me (facebook.com/ekaverman), E-Mail me (ekaverman@gmail.com), AIM me (kvemn), or Skype me (ekaverman).
I would love to hear from all my friends and family throughout my trip, as I will probably get homesick.
I will try and make regular posts with relevant info about what I've been doing, how things are progressing, insights and experiences I'm having, all while trying not to ramble. I'll post some pictures and so fourth here and you can view all the photos I've taken on Picasa.
Thank you to all of those who came to my going away party in Fort Collins last week, it was great to see all of you and I hope to see you all again once I come back from Germany.
If you'd still like to see me some time before I leave I will be around until the 11th, so let's have coffee, lunch, or something.


Well that is all I have for now, my next post will probably be from Germany!