Week 1

It has been 5 days since I first landed in Germany and we have already finished our first week of school, wow! On Monday, the AIB student workers picked us up from the airport, got on a bus with us from Frankfurt to Bonn, then walked us to the new AIB. There, we waited for our host families to pick us up, but my roommates and I had to take a taxi. That whole time, all I wanted was to get to my host family’s home, shower and go to bed because I was so exhausted. When we met our host family, we were greeted by Anne (mom) and Felicitas (daughter). Then we met Werner (dad) later this week. They were so sweet and welcoming that I felt very comfortable in their home. The home is 4 stories, so getting all our luggage’s up to the very top floor was a challenge. My right arm was even sore for like 2 days from pulling my luggage from the airport to my new room. Felicitas has cooked for us every day. She’s cooked: pizza turtles, chicken patties, fries, maultasche (traditional German pasta dish), and potatoes with sausage. The maultasche was my favorite food so far, since I had never tried that before. I love home cooked meals and I appreciate my host sister for taking the time to prepare our food. On our first official class day, we had German. Prior to coming on this trip, I had gone over basic German phrases but I didn’t retain much of that. During class, Mats had us repeat phrases and words a few times, which I found helpful. There are still words that are hard for me to pronounce though, like “Entschuldigung.” I still have more to learn, but now I can recognize certain words on traffic signs or food signs.

Apart from the train ride to the House of History, I have not used public transportation here in Bonn. My host home is located very close to the new AIB, and pretty much everything, that my roommates and I just walk to class everyday and it takes us like 15 minutes to get to class. I love that, but at the same time, I have no experience on riding the train. The classes we are taking are very interesting to me, but towards the middle of class I get sleepy or lose focus. That’s why I like doing tai chi during the breaks with Dr. Wasser. I feel more awake after we go outside. After class today, I went to the biergarten to try German beer for the first time. To be honest, I could not tell the difference between German and American beer. I don’t really drink beer, but I had to try it, since I’m in Germany. Although many of the people in Bonn speak English, I have encountered some that don’t. It makes me panic a little when that happens, but that’s just part of being in a new country where you don’t speak the language. I do have a translator app so that has helped me when I’m out. Well this week has definitely been a learning experience and I can’t wait to learn more next week!