I found a German in HEB

Beethoven in the street art collection in Bonn

Here's something hilarious. My very first class on the very first day of school was Philharmonic Orchestra rehearsal. I was ecstatic to finally be back playing after experiencing the String Quartet concert in Vienna and visiting Beethoven's childhood home in Bonn- both of which were deep experiences for me. One of the most beautiful pieces we are playing is a Schubert piece, he was of course German. It made me so happy to see the subtitles and tempo markings in German, but the best of all was how we were being conducted. Our conductor shared some context for the piece, lifted the baton, we got ready to play, and then he goes, in a VERY sassy American accent "eins zwei drei" and I just about lost it. We were only sight-reading quarter notes, but because I couldn't stop laughing I butchered the first five measures. Henning would have probably peed himself, and I could see Hilde shaking her head while simultaneously ordering "eins bier bite." It was awesome. The Germans had the best music back then, and still do...especially those drummers I guess.

Die Beethoven haus

My very last memory in Bonn was when I spent the afternoon walking around the market and streets reminiscing, getting that last Karottenbrot und milchkaffe from the bakery, and walking along the Rhein. Smelling the flowers and watching the street performers enjoy making their music. It was a very relaxing day. It was also a seriously beautiful day. Not 110 degrees outside either. Deniz and I would always laugh at our host mom for strange biological thermostat- with her daily "It's just sooo warm, and I'm just soo tired" after a day of scorching 75 degree weather. Man was my body not acclimated when I got home, especially walking from main campus to my lab in Reynolds. 

Kirsch Eis und the Old City Hall

The most German things I have done since being home were taking the Aggie Spirit with my roommate to class, spending at least 2-3 hours when eating with friends, and surprisingly ordering mineral water at Taco Cabana. I miss the mornings Deniz and I got to wait for the bus in the cool air in our quaint neighborhood. But its nice that these buses do have AC. 

My non-Aggie Spirit Bus stop aka  meine Haltestelle

I miss Norderney. I miss the bikes. I miss the morning thalasso and beach workout. I miss the layed back European meals and lifestyle. I miss AIB and our classroom with windows, fresh air, and fresh coffee. I miss the Wasser lectures, and I wish some of my professors could take notes from him on how to lecture with humor. 

Field alongside my running route in my neighborhood in Bonn.

It has been incredible to be back home though. I missed my family and St. Mary's so so much while I was gone and it wasn't easy for me. The hardest part being that I wished my family could experience everything with me- the food, the people, and the places. But, coming back I am exponentially more independent. I am more confident in making plans and going places spontaneously. For example, the night I moved in during Howdy week I decided to go to Galveston with friends the next day- enjoying soccer and salsa dancing on the beach. Germans have shown me to invest in those around me and to take pleasure in the gifts these people are in my life. I have also been going out with friends more often or having them over to cook meals like we did in Europe and celebrating life because life is meant to be alive amidst our draining hard work. 

My breakfast spot in our host family home. 

When I did go back home I spent the majority of my time volunteering at the Children's Hospital  and working at Camp Kesem- spending lots of time with kids. Being thrown into this familiar atmosphere after a summer away from children has reassured me that my passion and future career is in pediatrics. Whether its Pediatric Emergency medicine, clinic, or surgery (thanks to our trip to the ORs) I don't see (and haven't seen) my self being happier then when I am working with this group of honest and uniquely profound group of humans.

A casual stroll through the neighborhoods in Bonn

Coming back home and being bombarded with questions about my trip was difficult because I hadn't processed it yet and didn't know what to say. I wasn't even sure how to describe it to my family, which week, which country, which food, which misadventure would I share? Too many. What about the fact that not every day was magical? How would I convey the simplicity of living in a country where it was the normal and the home of a group of people without losing the simple magic of it or do it justice? It was just their daily life. It wasn't really until talking with a fellow Camp Kesem counselor my last week of summer that it clicked. He had spent his summer helping struggling  companies in South Africa and traveled all over Europe for several weeks. He understood and we shared our stories. 

Beautiful walls alongside the Rheine

This world is actually very incredibly small. We are all humans, struggling with the same basic things, but interpreting and approaching these struggles differently. But in some cases we all react in the same ways. Being a Catholic abroad was maybe the most profound experience of my life. I could literally walk down any street and find a church every 5-10 minutes of walking. No matter the country, no matter the city. It was what helped me survive and thrive on my personal "hero's journey". An absolute beautiful day of mine was walking into St. Remigius in Bonn and going into a pew to pray and talk to Jesus about the million of things going on in my head. A little while later a lady with a name tag on approached me and started speaking German to me and motioning as if I was supposed too leave or move or who even knows... "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" "nein" "okay" "*more German*" "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" "nein *more German words*" but eventually I got that she wanted me to join some people at the front of the church for a group prayer that was very similar in structure to liturgy of the hours. (background- I have a special place in my heart for Liturgy of the Hours since I was a sophomore in high school and my wonderful grandfather bought me the book for it). So she gave me the prayer pamphlet, in German, and I got to pray it with them. It was a moving and uniquely "home-like" experience to have halfway across the world.

Munich, after a beautiful surprise of walking into daily mass

The world is one home. Having mass in a strange sounding dialect but with half of it in Latin was the sweetest reward because I could actually participate in the mass verbally. The Agnus Dei got me every time, my absolute favorite part of the mass, and then getting to sing it alongside these Germans in a language we shared. 

One of the coolest parts of our program is that even though we all have to leave, we all show back up at the same place here in Aggieland to continue to share in personal growth, friendships, and in life. We may not be in Germany any more, but Germany is in us and we are together. I love it. I ran into Deniz at HEB the week before classes started and I freaked out "who is this German girl?!" and I ran into Carol after orchestra rehearsal in the Adams building "You're in AMERICA?!". I can't wait to see in what ways these amazing German-rooted friendships will blossom this entire year and in my lifetime. How cool is that?

I would go back in a heartbeat, and I would live there if I had the chance, but I think I may need to uproot some Americans and bring them there with me.

Der Rheine

Thank you to the world. Tschüss!