Fortunately for me, the answer to the bulk of my problems has come in the form of my ‘Tutor’, Mona. Honestly, if your host Uni offers you the help of a buddy or tutor, please do not just wave them off. Mona has been nothing short of an absolute angel. When I’ve been pulling my hair out, wondering where I’m going to get bedding on the first night or what will happen about my losing my Letter of Admission, she has sorted it for me, or at least pointed me in the direction of someone who can sort it. For every time she’s spoken to me and I’ve replied in a frantic, panicked manner, she’s calmed me down and we’ve talked through everything. I honestly dread to think how stressed I would’ve been without her. I’ve spoken to a lot of friends who are out there at the minute, though, and they all seem to have gotten on fine without the help of a buddy. It just means for me that I have more room for shoes and hot chocolate which can only be a good thing!

The only thing that’s slightly bothering me now is that I’m pretty much the last person from Birmingham to leave British soil and, by the sounds of things, I’ll be one of the last to arrive in Augsburg as well. Admittedly, I had no idea I could move in before the 1^st October but, as it turns out, I could have gone out at some point this week. This is possibly going to cause a problem with me opening a bank account but to be honest, I can’t really be sure until I get out there and have an explore.

 

I’m also starting to get a bit stressed about courses while I’m out there. I heard this afternoon from a friend who is already on Digicampus that a lot of the courses are already full. I’m hoping that because I’m only wanting to do a couple of German language courses (which are run specifically for Erasmus students wanting to learn German) and an intermediate level Russian language course, they won’t be full. One of my frantic e-mails was to the Russian tutor to ask to let me on their higher level course, otherwise I’ll be heading off to Moscow having not had any Russian classes for nearly a year.
Speaking of Moscow, today I got some… interesting news regarding that! Having previously thought that I’d be heading out on the 22^nd February, I found out today that my flight leaves on the morning of the 18^th. The earliest I can get back from Germany is the 12^th. That gives me a 4-5 day turnaround, depending on when I can get back. I’ll admit I’ve spent the majority of the day comfort eating and silently sobbing whilst watching The Big Bang Theory on demand and finishing off my scrapbook. I’m hoping that I’ve hit my pre-Year Abroad low now and the rest of the time can be spent making the most of the time I have left here.

 

Other than saying goodbye to people, I think I pretty much have everything I need. I have wellies, muck boots and Bearpaws (like Uggs but with a better sole) for the snow, three kinds of novelty animal hat and a gilet… I guess I have my priorities straight! I just need to find all my jumper dresses and I think I’ll be all set! Instead of taking out lots of photographs, I’ve made a scrapbook of some of my favourites and I’ve put all my DVDs into a CD case to save space and weight. I’ve even made my own travel journal out of a cheap Moleskine-esque notebook and some felt which I’m pretty pleased with! All I think I need is a new umbrella and a thick scarf – I have my eye on a nice burgundy one in New Look… I just hope this late summer has gone by the time I get there! I’m preparing for a bad winter and I want rain!

 

I guess the next time I post something will be from my apartment in Augsburg! I will see you all on the other side of the channel and good luck to anyone leaving in the next few days. I wish you all a safe journey and a good start to your Year Abroad!