1. Beginning: Discovery and Decision

I applied to the RISE (Research Internships in Science and Engineering) program from the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst—German academic exchange service) partly because I thought I should have an internship this year, but in the beginning I was almost certain that I wouldn't go. I had other opportunities that weren't so far from home, and I was not at all certain that I would receive a scholarship.

I found the RISE program as I was searching the Internet for internships for students of organic chemistry. Normally, one has such an internship between the junior and senior years as an undergraduate student. I knew that if I ever wanted to have such an internship, it should be this summer. For this reason, I decided to apply to five different programs, in New York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Germany. The RISE program was especially interesting, because I had two majors—German and Chemistry. It couldn't be better.

I first received an offer from the University of Milwaukee, but after a few days I decided that this position was not right for me. I would stay in Morris the whole summer, and I looked forward to that. But the next morning I received an e-mail from the DAAD with "CONGRATULATIONS" in the heading. I did not know what I should do; should I stay in Morris, where my beautiful apartment and my fiancé were, or should I take myself out of my comfort zone and see what would come of it? My friends thought I was crazy when I didn't say "Yes, please!" immediately. But for me, the decision was not at all so easy. I thought about it a lot, and spoke with my family, and in the end I knew that I should go. Although I was not sure, it would never be easier to go than now. I would get enough money from the DAAD (615 Euros per month) to pay for almost everything one needs (at least, apartment and food). The experience in the lab would be very helpful for my profession, or for further studies. I was 21 years old—I had never studied in another country, though I hoped that Alex and I would perhaps spend one or two years living in Germany; I had few responsibilities at this point; and I wanted to speak the German language as fluently as possible. After seven years of studying German, I knew that I had to go to Germany if I ever wanted to speak the language better. Shawn (the mother of my boyfriend, Alex) had said it best: this trip was a free language course. Alex also thought that I should go... I would never get such a good chance again, and the experience would be good for me. Thus, with some trepidation, I made my decision: I would spend seven weeks in Germany, with Anja Rieche, a graduate student at the University of Düsseldorf in the Research Center of Jülich. I knew that the first two weeks would be hard, but seven weeks was a short time—I could survive alone for that long.

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