If you have the opportunity to go abroad, do yourself the biggest favor and take it. Why? Because if you don’t, not only will you be missing out on an opportunity to grow more politically, socially, and self aware, but also you’ll be kicking yourself for missing out on some of the craziest, most ridiculous moments you could ever imagine. You are the author of your own life-story, so make it an exciting one. I must say my “chapter” about my trip to Oktoberfest is one for the books.
October 3rd, 2010-
“Once upon a time, in a distant land named Munchen, there was a magical festival where polka bands serenaded the masses, beer flowed like water, and hundreds of thousands of sexy European men dressed in lederhosen would flock to you and make you feel like the prettiest princess in all the kingdom. Sounds like heaven right? Well, this ‘fantasy’ is no figment of the imagination but as a matter of fact, it is most famously known as… OKTOBERFEST!
Never in my life have I experienced so many of my favorite things (free beer, hot men, and gingerbread) together, at one place, at one time, and in such massive quantities. I can honestly say that this truly was one of the best weekends of my life.
The trip started off a bit sour when we rushed from class, missed the bus to the airport and hailed a 60 euro cab, only to have our flight cancelled and rescheduled for two hours later than initially planned. Regardless, we still made it to Munich and we would soon find the trials and tribulations we endured were undoubtedly worth it.
Six of us squished into one room at a bed and breakfast a few metro stops away from the festival grounds. When we planned our Oktoberfest extravaganza, we always knew that sleep was most definitely not going to be a priority. So, we accepted that sharing a queen size bed with two pillows, one blanket, and four people was going to have to work.
Friday morning started with a somewhat familiar breakfast of champions consisting of Smirnoff shots at 10:30 a.m (mildly reminiscent of a standard picnic day or houseboats morning).
As we walked through the grounds, overflowing with gorgeous European men dressed in tight shorts and suspenders, we felt like we had literally arrived in Disneyland for hedonistic adults. Mesmerized by the bright lights and the smell of roasting bratwurst wafting through the air, we finally found the Hofbrau tent, one of the most famous tents at the festival. We entered the portal into the mystical wonderland, unsuspecting of the crazy, amazing debauchery we were about to encounter.
There must have been at least 10,000 people in the tent and all eyes were on us, cute little American girls, dressed in our version of a ‘traditional Oktoberfest outfit’ (clearly unaware that women typically sport dirndls longer than your knees) ready to get trashed at Oktoberfest. As we walked through the roaring crowds, people literally begged us to sit with them, bribing us with beers, pretzels, hats, and almost anything they could get their hands on so that we would sit or take photos with them. Finally, we decided to sit down with a group of American students, ordered our steins, and were on our way to that magical dreamland called Oktoberfest. One stein after another came our way and being the social girl I am, I decided to get up and walk through the tables, obviously accompanied by my stein, prosting (cheering) every guy along the way.
As I merrily wandered through the rows and rows of beautiful, drunken men, I noticed a particularly hot guy in a red shirt eyeing me. Drunkenly attempting to be seductive, I moseyed over to him and enthusiastically hit his glass with mine. Suddenly, beer came pouring out of a hole on the side of his mug. I realized I chipped his glass with my obviously over zealous cheers. Trying to think on my feet of a way to redeem myself, I decided the best thing to do was to channel my inner sorority girl and imagine the leaky stein was a beer bong like back in Davis. So, trying to re-establish myself as sexy rather than moronic, I got down on my knees and started chugging the beer spewing out of the hole I accidentally created in the side of the stein. Of course this draws a crowd when a blond girl, with a black bra and a white top, is on her knees chugging beer. So, as soon as I finished, I rose, sopping in beer, to a massive applause when I proceeded to take a bow then run to the bathroom to ensure that my make-up was still intact.
While standing in line at the bathrooms, I saw one of my Davis friends stumble out one of the 30 stalls across the room, with her underwear at her ankles, and security guards heading towards her. Immediately, I ran to her and pushed her into a stall, and paid the security guard to give us a few more minutes while she literally threw up her last three meals. We decided this was a sign and that it would be best to go home midday and recuperate before heading back for round two that night.
After a revitalizing shower and a hotdog or two, we suited back up in our dirndls and returned to the enchanting Oktoberfest. We headed to another tent called Hacker. After a little trouble getting in, we decided nothing was going to stop us from having an epic night. With my little mischievous friend leading the way, we decided to sneak under the rope into the beer garden and just run into the crowd on the count of three. As fast as possible, we passed the security guards and sprinted towards the sea of thousands of people when we came across a table of Spaniards that invited us to sit down and order steins with them. Again, the steins came and went (obviously a reoccurring theme) and eventually everyone started looking pretty attractive.
From this point on things get a little fuzzy but the night ended magically as I found myself (still utterly inebriated) with an Argentinean guy down on one knee proposing to me surrounded by encouraged by the applause of enthusiastic onlookers. I found my knight in shining armor! Can we say success? Mission accomplished.”
Needless to say, my experience was an exciting one. Don’t get me wrong; traveling abroad isn’t all fun and games. You’ll encounter tough situations, meet questionable characters, and suffer from hangovers weekly. But, by traveling abroad, you are your own personal Homer. Its up to you to create your odyssey, decide where you want to go, and what risks you are willing to take. As long as you maintain some sense of responsibility and surround yourself with people who you know care for you, let your guard down and don’t sweat the little things because challenging yourself leads to learning experiences that only make you stronger and more self-aware. Seems scary? It is, but stop fretting and realize there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you (an independent, self-reliant young woman) have the control to make your fantasies come true. And who knows, maybe one day you too will find some hot foreign prince proposing to you.