My Feet Hurt

     Here I am in Bonn, Germany and even laying in bed, I can still feel my feet aching. I'm a bit ashamed at myself because we've only walked about 5 miles each day, which honestly does not seem like a lot. I hope by the end of this trip, all the walking will have toughened up my feet and maybe have lost a few pounds.
     I arrived at the Frankfort airport at 7am on Monday (the 27th) and somehow managed to find some of the other Aggies. It's a miracle they were able recognize my face, otherwise there's a good chance I would have been alone for quite some time. We then proceeded to wait in the airport until about 2pm, I was able to catch a few minutes of sleep in a small chair near the McDonalds. I stayed true to the American stereotype and my first official meal on German soil was a McDonalds' double cheeseburger with fries. It fed my poor, jet lagged soul.

     After a quick bus ride to Bonn, we hauled our suitcases to the new AIB for a short welcome meeting and then our (Emily and I's) host mom came to pick us up. Gesine greeted us with a warm hug and a bright smile. I felt immediately comfortable with her and I look forward to spending more time with her over the next 6 weeks. After only about an hour of sleep over 2 days, we ate a quick dinner of spaghetti and promptly face-planted into the mattress, for day 2 awaits.





     Day 2 greeted me with a sunrise at 5:30am, but my jet lagged brain refused to acknowledge the light in my room and let me rest until 7am. Gesine drove us to the Bonn Central Station to drop us off for the walk to school. I'm eternally grateful she didn't point us in the direction of the nearest bus and wish us good luck, like some students endured. Although, it would have been a good sink or swim moment.

     The orientation meeting at AIB extensively covered the do's and don'ts of our study abroad and briefly covered our weekly schedule. I wasn't sure how I felt about the German lessons but they are not as bad as I feared. An hour tour through nearby streets brought us lunch, in which I met some very friendly people at a Greek-German fusion food truck who gave me the tea on the other food trucks. We maybe covered a few blocks but I'm still turned around. My classmates seem to have a better handle on direction. Early evening had us exploring the streets we learned a few hours before and a square half taken up by miniature Beethoven's. I want to buy one but 200 euros can buy a lot of tacos back home. When I got home that night, I again promptly face planted into bed. 


     Day 3 starts sunny and cool, can I live here permanently or bring the weather back with me to Texas? A quick breakfast had Emily wandering the streets looking for our bus stop, I again get the painful reminder to follow my internal compass and not the one on Google maps. The bus ride was quiet but pleasant as I tried not to stare at other passengers, marveling at the solitude they seemed to enjoy. Only the steady chatter of my classmates was the source of conversation on the ride to the central city.

     Mats started our first German lesson with us playing a card game in complete silence. Divided into 4 groups, we all read through a set of instructions given to us and then started the card game. While it was hard enough to not discuss rules that we all read, it was harder when the winner of a different group rotated to ours and seemed to be playing by a different set of rules. News flash: they were. It was an exercise meant to make us feel what it's like when you go somewhere new and have to adapt to the environment. A fun game that had me banging my head on the table in confusion. The actual German lesson was basic and easy to digest. Thank You Duolingo for a small head start.

     After lunch (I went back to the Greek-German fusion truck) we took a tram? train? tram-train? to the Post WW2 history museum for a 2 hour tour. Dr. Wasser narrated into a little headpiece the whole time, how he didn't pass out from talking constantly, I have no idea. It was there I learned that Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army and was shipped over seas. Our movement through the decades was filled with the devastation of bombings that flattened most of Germany, leaving the remaining population mostly composed of women, the elderly and children in 3rd world conditions, hundreds of thousands more dying of starvation, exposure and disease. The war killed the men, the aftermath killed those who survived. Dr. Wasser talked of how he never thought he would see the day that the Berlin wall came down, and said that the ramifications of reintegrating the 2 halves can still be observed today. Even after Hitler was long dead, his consequences are still being felt. The wall caused not only a physical barrier but a psychological one where both sides were fed different propaganda and information. The West had the support of American capitalism which allowed the economy to bounce back astronomically fast. The East had the Soviet Union and their socialism, which led to mass starvation and shortages of the most basic of necessities. When the wall came down, the masses streamed into West Berlin, rejoicing over the new freedom and ability to wipes their bottoms with toilet paper.
      Brian and Alexa then led us to a beautiful beer garden that over looked the Rhine.... where I ordered a mojito. The beer you seen in the picture is a friends' that I was conveniently able to borrow and pose with. I promise I'm not as fake as I seem, I just have better taste than drinking gross carbs. Another trek through Bonn got us back to the bus station, which I would have not found myself if Ali hadn't relied on her sense of direction. Gesine made potato salad, a little taste of home, sprinkled with capers.