It’s hard to believe that Joe is getting ready for the first day of his last semester at UniFreiburg. My regular readers may have the perception that the last 2.75 years has been nothing but adventure and enjoyment, travel and discovery. They have been all those things, for sure. However, what I don’t document are the hours that Joe spends at his “desk” (we don’t eat at the dining room table anymore), the nights at the library that slowly turn to morning, or the insanity that comes from deciphering/creating German words that are longer than an entire English sentence.

Equal Opportunity Commissioner

As a nod to his accomplishments, I’ve logged the following:

– 12 Language classes
– 12 University classes
– 11 written exams
– 10 oral exams
– 11 Power Point presentations
– 8 ten page essays
– 6 twenty-five page “Hausarbeit” research reports

However, this is not the end. It is only the beginning of the end. There is still much to do:

– 5 University classes
– 1 “Masterarbeit”, officially titled: Justifying International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) involvement in Afghanistan: a comparative analysis of the strategic cultures of Germany and the United States
– 1 Mündliche Prüfung (oral exam) encompassing everything since the beginning of his studies.

It is really unbelievable to reflect on what Joe has accomplished in a language that he didn’t know a single word of three years ago.  There has been stress and sacrifices, but we wouldn’t trade any of it. Our ability to speak German is the tangible and audible evidence of what has been learned, but it is dwarfed in comparison to what we have learned as citizens of this planet, as Americans, and as a married couple.

Ich erhebe mein Glas auf dich, Schatz und ich bin unglaublich stolz auf dich. Du hast schon so viel geschafft und ich weiß, dass du deine Ziele noch erreichen wirst. Ich habe jeden Tag mit dir genossen und du hast mein Leben verändert…nochmals. Ich liebe dich…at least we know how to say that!