In the past few years I have made many friends from all around the world, and I love it. There is nothing more fun than seeing my world expand as people from other countries and cultures teach me new things and expand my perspective. For some reason, I have made many German friends, but I have one best friend from Germany that has taught me more than anyone.

My best German friend is named Erikka and I met her in a graduate class that I was taking a few years ago. We instantly hit it off and began spending a lot of time together. We would spend hours walking, talking, drinking coffee, studying for our class and discussing bits of history together. Erikka became my favorite German friend because she was so open and honest about her childhood and about the struggles she has faced being a German in another country.

Erikka invited me to visit her home country with her last summer and I was privileged to fly with her to Germany for a month. We spent the month doing everything German she could think of. We toured so many cities and villages, we met up with many of her old German friends, and we tried all kinds of German foods and beers that I quickly learned to love. It was wonderful for me to experience the nation that shaped Erikka and to see a lot of the reasons why she is so passionate and driven even today.

I figured that since one of my best friends was now German, I should probably try to learn a little bit of her language. She agreed to give me German lessons twice each week and I have been plugging my way along for nearly two years now. I love the language. I wish it would have been an option for me in my high school or at college so I could have started learning it sooner, but it wasn't.

I love the German language so much that I am considering moving to Germany with Erikka when she returns next fall. I w would study German language and history at a local university and get a degree that would qualify me to teach about all things German back in the U.S. I am really excited about the chance to immerse myself in German culture even further and then to be a teacher for others who are as interested in the country as I am. All of this direction is in thanks to my best German friend, Erikka.