Blog 2: Figuring out what to do

Its only been a week but I've learned so much, and so much a has happened that it feels like its been a month. Arriving in FRA a day early was an interesting experience. I did have Karen, but we had no guide, no real adult, to guide us or help us through our first moments abroad. I don’t think I was ever really scared for a situation like that. I knew far in advanced we would be on our own for good portions of the trip. What happened before the start of the program was essentially what I expected, that I would obviously appear to be a foreigner, but wouldn’t let the reactions of the locals dampen my spirits. Examples of this include weird looks that we received at a local FRA restaurant or getting stopped by the police and almost ticketed for crossing the street when the pedestrian light was red, even though there were no cars in sight. Also, inevitably, this week has been filled with transportation troubles. From getting trapped on a train in FRA to missing a bus by less than 2 min on multiple occasions. Other things like getting to know the environment seemed impossible at first, but after Wednesday were a piece of cake, which surprised me.

I already am recognizing a problem with my spending. We've only been in Bonn but the way I spend on food and snacks, and going out has been way over my budget. That’s definitely something I'm going to need to work on in the upcoming weeks, otherwise I'll be hungry for something other than adventure.

Meeting and living with my host family has been a generally good experience. Both Ursula and Lynn are so kind. We're always teaching each other about our languages and home countries. in my host families home I live in the basement, which sounds kind of odd but is actually quite nice because it’s the coolest room in the house. Natural chill is a blessing in this world with out AC.

I didn’t realize we would be taking a German course, but I'm glad we are. I try my best to speak the local language as often as possible, but no previous course in the subject has made this a difficult task. Our other two courses I've found extraordinarily interesting as well. I picked my major because i found the listed course to be genuinely interesting, and i have a similar attitude for this summer as well!

- May 26