Week One Done!

What a week it has been. This week has had it's ups and downs, but it's mainly been ups! I don't think I've ever been so exhausted, but I also don't think I've ever been so excited for more. I had been warned by my friends who had done study abroad that this trip would go by so fast, but I didn't believe them until now. This week flew by!

Each day this week has been its own adventure. I've really enjoyed getting to know Bonn so far, and I'm looking forward to continue exploring! I honestly did not know what to expect from the classes, but I have loved both of them so far. I especially enjoyed the neurophysiology of music lectures, and I can already tell that I am really going to get into that class, especially on the upcoming excursions.

My host parents are wonderful. Both my roommate Kim and I can be very shy, so I was definitely nervous to make conversation with them at first. But, over the course of the week we have gotten pretty close! They have a lovely garden, which we had a nice glass of wine in while we talked. They've been so good at looking out for our every need, so I'm thankful for them and I'm excited to continue getting closer to them.

An exciting thing to write about is my first adventure outside Bonn today! Kim, Bridgette, and I went up to Drachenfels and Drachenburg Castle and Drachenburg Castle. It was a wonderful time, filled with absolutely breathtaking views, but we had some misadventures along the way. To start out, we got on the tram in the wrong direction. So, what should have been a 25 minute ride was 45 minutes long. However, we did get to the right stop in the end and made it to Drachenfels. After we were finished at the castle, although absolutely exhausted from the trek to the top of the hill and the constant heat, we wanted to go to a little island on the Rhine just further south of the castle that my host mom had told us about. She said it had a wonderful biergarten on it, and we thought we could relax and grab refreshment there. We somehow made it to the island, even though we didn't know exactly which bus stop we were supposed to get out at, and didn't even know the name of the island. We trudge our way across a bridge and onto this gorgeous little island, dying of thirst and for a place to sit. We finally come to the biergarten she spoke of, only to find it shut down. Needless to say, we were not in a good mood. But, we rallied and made our way back to Konigswinter, the town where Drachenfels is, and settled for ice cream at a little gelateria. Although it had its ups and downs, it was a great day.

The journey was fun because we were actually flying by the seat of our pants. We did not do the best job of planning every detail, so we were constantly on the lookout for signs telling us where to go, since we had no idea. But even if we took the long way around and ended up covered in sweat, we still got there! Our adventure reminded me of the Hero's Journey lecture that Dr. Wasser gave, and how a hero has to go through trials in order to get to better things. I would definitely say these misadventures were our trials! But, we did come out with more knowledge and experience, and some great stories.

Here are some pictures from our day!