Simple tasks become difficult in a foreign country

After returning from Amsterdam and going through a full weeks worth of clothes the task of doing laundry was inevitable. First off I don't really enjoy doing laundry back home so right off the bat I wasn't looking forward to it. Second most Europeans don't own dryers which means you have to line dry all of your clothes so the whole ordeal can take a long time. Lastly European washers have lots of different buttons which are very confusing. Luckily Joon came to the rescue and gave us a very thorough lesson on how to work the washer and no clothes were harmed in the process. Finally with fresh clean clothes, week two began. Monday was kicked off with a class excursion to the city of Koblenz. While there we went and toured the historic Theater of Koblenz where we were given a tour of the back stage and all of the different departments including hair and makeup, costumes, and set design. After we then took a lift up to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress which overlooks the city. The fort is home to a room that has perfect acoustics which relates to our class, neurophysiology of music. Unfortunately once we got to the top we were informed that the room was closed due to an upcoming event that day. No worries though we still were able to enjoy the amazing view! Since we still had a little time before we had to leave we all headed to the Deutsches Eck for some more views!

View from the top

Theater Koblenz

Deutsches Eck

Tuesday was a normal class day but included the task of going to the grocery store. For me going to the grocery store is normally very enjoyable since I love to cook, but yet again simple tasks become more difficult when in a foreign country. There are the obvious foods that you can recognize and are universal but don't expect to be able to find your favorite foods from home. Also grocery stores back home are massive compared to the ones here so your food selection is somewhat limited. Other odd things include not refrigerating eggs and milk and that you MUST bring your own bags or you will somehow have to carry all your items because there are no plastic bags in sight. Thankfully I came prepared and it wasn't as hard as I expected. The next task was actually making dinner which included roasted chicken and carrots with sautéed potatoes. The first task was figuring out the oven which included a quick google search of a temperature conversion and of what the symbols meant and which symbol to use. Next was working with what we had. The kitchen was lacking in some equipment so we had to improvise in what to use for a sheet pan and peeler. Then we hadn't really thought of how to season the food until we got home but luckily in our garden we had rosemary and thyme which works perfect and the food was great! On Wednesday we ventured to Cologne where we  ate at a local brewery and took a tour of the city. On the tour we saw the famous cathedral of Cologne and even stopped in a perfume shop to sample Cologne's finest colognes. The day was then ended with eating gelato on the Rhine. Later that night the AIB put on a barbecue for all of the programs and host families and was so fun meeting friends host families. Afterward many of us ventured over to a local bar to end the night with some German beer. Thursday and Friday ended the week with normal class days to give my aching feet a much needed break! With now the second week down Bonn just keeps getting better and better!

Cologne Cathedral