Awesomeness Abounds

On Sunday we had a delegation from the German Bundestag come and visit our honors college here as part of a trip to discover how the American university sytem works. Germany is currently reforming its own education system and is looking to us as a model for suggestions. This means - yes, for serious - members of the German parliament were sitting with us in the same conference room. And I got to meet them!

So how was YOUR Sunday?

Anyway, they also wanted to share with us some oportunities they have for American students to learn more about Germany. One such program is designed for post-undergrad students who have finished their Bachelor's degrees. 100 students worldwide get selected each year (on average 10 from the USA) and are flown over to Germany to work as staff for members of the German parliament. You are essentially a legislative aide for a member of the Bundestag!! You work for them for 3 months, and after that you do a semester at one of the 3 prestigious universities in Berlin. All of this is paid for by the program. ALL of it. Including your flight to/from Germany. Which means that if I apply and get accepted to this program, I could live in Berlin for FIVE MONTHS right after I graduate, work in the Bundestag, meet a whole bunch of members of parliament, and, and and and and and....AAAAAH!

Hearing about the program has definitely thrown a wrench into possible long-term plans. If I get into the program, do I decide to stay in Berlin for a while after the five months are up? Do I work in Germany for a couple years and get some experience, then go back over to the States and go for an MBA with some real-world and international expertise under my belt? Or just stay in Germany and do an MBA there? OR do I just scrap this change altogether and proceed with the plan as it stands now: stay in the States and move back to Seattle and work?

I used to have the end goal of becoming ambassador to Germany. If that's something I really want to pursue, this would be a great way to start. There are just so many options, it's hard to know what to do. There are long-term career decisions to be made here, and they have to be made soon, because the deadline for application is by the end of May.