BGSU and Austria

For my upcoming trip, I will be working on my Masters in German, in Salzburg, Austria.  I will also be a TA/tutor for undergrads who are are going on the trip.  This program is a partnership between BGSU and Universität Salzburg and this year the 50th anniversary.  BGSU's German M.A is only 2 years and does not require a dissertation.  While research in the Weimar Republic through the GDR period are interesting to me, it is not something I currently want to pursue.  I am doing this program to better my German speaking and see if Education is something I may want to do in the future.  I know it sounds crazy that I am doing this program without a permanent job intended at the end, but I'm not one who is set on one specific career path.  So many things excite me and make me want to learn more.  I think deep down I would like to go back into the business world and work for an international company where I can utilize my German on a daily basis, but for now I want to be in the moment and experience as much as I can before I have to make that decision.

I first learned about this program through my friend Alayna, another student I met through the Dresden Study Abroad Program.  We have become great friends over the past 3 years and when she heard about the program, she knew how perfect of a fit this would be for me.  Alayna was going to attend BGSU/Universität Salzburg with me, but was offered to be a Fulbright Scholar instead.  We will be traveling together before and during our trips and will only be a couple of hours apart.  We will be going to London-Vienna-Munich-Saalfelden together and hopefully Germany and Poland for Christmas! It's one thing to have someone I know to be close, but to have a best friend to experience everything with is beyond exciting!

Background:
When Alayna first told me about this "great program" at BG, I was pretty unamused.  Being from the area and not hearing about it made me skeptical, and so did not even thinking about Grad School.  Back in January, I went through a post graduation phase of not knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  I was also going through other personal issues, so I decided to move back home and spend a month trying to figure out what my next steps in life would be. After some hard core reflection, online job searching, and a bunch of days crying that I just graduated with two degrees and no job, I finally realized what those next steps would be.  Naturally, I decided to look into the BG program about 2 weeks before the deadline for scholarships.  I remember Dr. Guenther (one of the program directors) telling me that my tenacity was one of the reasons why I would be accepted into the program.  I was so happy to finally be moving on in life, and doing something for me without anyone or anything holding me back.  Everything happens for a reason and I don't think I could have made this decision without feeling like I had hit rock bottom.