“We’re a third of the way through the semester now,” one of my professors announced at the start of class this week. This week also marked another sort of milestone: two months ago, I arrived at the airport in Munich with a long list of things to do and places to see, and with the surety that I would have time to do it all before August.
Since then, I have knocked quite a bit off the list, including trying Rauchbier and attending a 1. FC Nürnberg soccer match. Still, there are some cities yet to be visited, from Prague to Copenhagen, Denmark. Logistics for a trip to see the Dolomites in northeastern Italy have proven to be difficult to solidify, but there is still hope to see the mountain range this semester.
Of course, there have been bumps along the way. I was late to an appointment or two, ignored some emails that needed proper attention and didn’t sign up for the Rundfunkbeitrag, a fee levied against all German households to fund public broadcasting and radio, until absolutely necessary. Missteps, all of them, but each has provided an opportunity, one way or another, to gain a better understanding of the world that I plunked myself into eight weeks ago.
Importantly, that list of things to do and places to see has been revised many, many times since I landed in Germany because of other opportunities that have presented themselves to me. There was an impromptu visit to pick up a friend’s parent at the Nürnberg airport, a bike ride to a castle that, from its perch 10 miles from Bamberg, overlooks the medieval city and a picnic with two dozen international students to celebrate May Day.
By far the best part of the trip, though, has been the people I have met. While I knew I would meet new friends and interact with folks my age who come from different backgrounds, I have constantly been reminded just how valuable it is to engage with different cultures. What was at first a group of bleary-eyed students unable to recall the dozens of new names and faces around them has since turned into a close-knit community that travels and attends class together.
Now, as I see a flood of posts from friends back home who are graduating this week, it is hard to not become melancholic over the changes that are happening 5,000 miles away. There are countless memories with the seniors flying the coop this week, from the resident assistants whom I worked alongside for two years to friends I made at intramural sports games and in class.
Now that the tassels are turned, orange “Mercer Alumni” license plate frames are ordered off of Amazon and an onslaught of “Please consider donating to your alma mater” emails have been received and ignored, Mercer’s class of 2025 can move into their next phase of life. It is truly bittersweet, but as with all good things, this time must come to an end. In ten weeks, the same will be said of my time abroad, a fact that I cannot yet accept.
As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun. And what fun it has been.
Gabriel Kopp '26 is double majoring in Journalism and Law and Public Policy at Mercer University. He has written for The Cluster since he started at Mercer, and currently works as Editor-in-Chief. When he isn't working on a Washington Post crossword, he enjoys going for runs around Macon and reading The New York Times or the AJC while sipping coffee.
