We've Survived One Week.

So, we've managed to get through the first week of this adventure. There were some difficulties, a lot of confusion, and even more great times and laughs. It turns out I remember more German than I thought I did which has helped quite a bit, although as soon as someone tries to start a conversation things start to go downhill real quick. To open my first day, I got to ride on the back of my host mom's bike because we were going to be late for my first tram ride. On top of being fairly awkward, I also missed the entire trip so I had no idea how to walk the streets, which certainly came into play again later as I tried to make my way home. Google maps has become my best friend when I'm lost, but I can say that I have now mastered the journey back and forth between my host home and AIB. That being said, I can also say that I've become more confident in just hopping on a train and hoping for the best until I know that I'm going the right way. On a side note, everything is pretty expensive and I'm quickly running out of Euros since nobody here wants to take a credit card in this strange non-American place. But the food is also delicious so I guess it's worth it. On the host family: Aenne is incredibly nice, and she loves to talk every morning over breakfast. She doesn't like for me to help with the dishes which is really hard to do since I think my mom would kill me if she knew I wasn't helping clean up everything. Andreas is quiet, but is also a nice man. He seems to be busy with work most of the time, leaving earlier than me usually and getting home somewhat late each night. I also now have another student, Dan from Texas (specifically A&M actually) who is living with us now. It's been nice to have somebody else to talk to in english when we're at the house, even though we don't overlap too much. So far class has been mostly introduction and background so I feel like it hasn't gotten to the difficult parts just yet. I'm sure next week it'll ramp up and I'll wish that I was back to this week and nice introductions.

As you might expect, everything is beautiful here. the grass is green, the trees are lush, the buildings all seem more historical than anything America has to offer, and I feel like there is some visual overload and I'm sure I'm missing parts of it. You sit at sidewalk cafes and look up at buildings that must be hundreds of years old with histories as vibrant as the town itself. I'm glad we'll be here for a while, because I don't know that there will be enough time to see everything in Bonn alone no matter how long I was here. I especially love the University and the garden that is in front of it, a massive open expanse of grass that is full of people and games and laughter. Pretty much everything you hope for in a great park, so I expect to spend a great deal of time there. Not to mention the University itself is beautiful considering it's an old palace (because that's what you make universities out of in Germany), so I'm a little spoiled with the riches of this town. The first weekend has been a fun one, but that's a whole other post with plenty of laughs, so more to come later today probably. There's still so much to explore, and it feels like there will never be enough time! Until next time.

-Gabe