March Into the Sea (Week 1)

As the first full week of the program, this was my chance to really get myself in the swing of things. There were many firsts of the program for me this week: first class, first excursion, first time in a hostel. Amazingly, I think all of the firsts I had were good experiences. While some of the others in the program could also include “first time getting on the wrong bahn and getting lost” or “first time having money problems”, I seemed to be basically immune to these problems…at least for the time being. Actually, I did have one large problem: by the end of this week, I was just about as tired as I had ever been in my life. Since this was due to the huge amount of activities we had done rather than my usual “didn’t get any sleep because I was watching House for seven hours straight” excuse, it was a problem I was happy to have. Among the most exciting things we did this week were our outings including the axolotl research lab, the wattwunderung, and the walloseum.

Though much more would come in the next few days, the axolotl research lab was probably the coolest thing I’d seen in Germany up to that point. I had read about axolotls in a book for my Literature class in high school, and they had actually been a little bit of a running joke among my friends for a while. I never really expected to have any real experience with them. When we saw them in their tanks, they just looked a little bit…off. I instantly remembered why they had been almost legendarily ridiculous to me and my friends. Their regenerative abilities also set them apart from most other animals. As I learned more about this aspect of the creatures, I started to shift my focus away from their looks and into this more biologically and medically interesting topic. Maybe that shift is a sign of maturity on my part. At least the fact that this type of thing is so interesting to me is a good affirmation of my choice of majors. When the group was finished with the axolotls I thought we were done, but the spiders stole the show. The axolotl lab was also researching spider silk, and researchers were harvesting it by literally pulling it out from the live spiders. To see it done was one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever witnessed. The fact that the lady pulling the silk was comfortable letting the spiders crawl all over her was definitely a bit creepy. The fact that Dr. Wasser conquered his fear and let one crawl on him was for the highlight of the experience though.

The axolotls were pretty crazy, but they were nothing compared to the wattwunderung. We were literally walking THROUGH the North Sea…or at least where the sea had been earlier that day. Of all the things we do in the entire program, I feel like this one will make the best story. Where else can you pick oysters off the ground and eat them raw? That part of the outing definitely gave me a Survivor moment. I like to be outdoors a lot while I’m home and love hikes, so the distance wasn’t especially hard for me. I actually really enjoyed getting the walk. For me, the fact that I was walking through six inch deep mud also made it more fun. I might have thought differently if my ankles had been badly cut like Heather’s or Drew’s (who looked like their feet had been wrapped with piano wire), but I turned out to be completely fine. This was certainly a new experience for me and a very special one. Most Americans will probably find it hard to believe that I walked across the North Sea…and that’s just how I like it.

Continuing our busy week, we also saw the walloseum. It housed a ton of seals, and I’m not gonna lie…They were pretty cute. There were lots and lots in there, and I got to see them much closer than I ever could have at Sea World or any American places I’d been. The girls were a little bit obsessed, which was understandable. We got to see them feeding which was very neat, and we actually learned a lot about seals…which is also good. Heather even bought herself a souvenir for herself, a stuffed seal, and I’m pretty sure it’s quickly becoming the mascot of the trip. So all in all, this was a great week. I was a bit disappointed that I had to leave my host family so soon after meeting them, but our outings were definitely worth it. By this time I was completely (well…mostly) confident with getting around everywhere in Bonn, so the time I spent in Bonn was definitely improved over last week. My host mom also continues to outdo herself with meals…which I completely support. I certainly can’t complain. As far as I’m concerned, all is well in Deutschland.