First Days in Germany

We have been in Germany almost a week, and I already want to stay here indefinitely. The first wonderful thing we encountered after a very long plane ride was the weather, which is such a nice break from the Texas heat. I have also enjoyed the local flora. Everything seems so much greener and there are so many more beautiful plants and flowers that I could never hope to keep alive back home. The people here have been great. Even just walking around Bonn we had a nice old man explain the plaque next to the cathedral and its history to us as he was passing by.

I love my host family. They have a nice wooden house with a yard, and we eat dinner as a family most days at a table in the middle of the grass. All of the food we have had so far has been delicious and generally very healthy. The sweets also don’t seem to have as much sugar as in the U.S. I introduced my host family to Dr. Pepper yesterday and they didn’t like it-they called it marzipan soda because they thought it was too sweet. Some other observations I have made are that no shoes are worn in the house. There is a large collection of shoes that live on the back porch and by the front door. Also everything seems more efficient here, especially in regards to waste management. My host family has two cats, three mice, and a horse that I have been enjoying. It has been very nice to interact with something completely familiar and without a language barrier to consider.

I learned very quickly to ask for tap water to avoid sparkling water. For as efficient and practical as everything seems to be here I can’t quite reason through the sparkling water. On the other hand, the public transportation system is fantastic. I like riding the bus and being able to sit down and read a book on the way to and from the city. I am glad that English is largely spoken, but I can’t wait to start learning German!