Here's to Week One

Learning is an essential part of life, and my oh my has this week been a learning experience. I immediately learned that I never want to travel internationally by myself. My very first flight from Oklahoma City to Chicago was delayed which set off a domino effect. My flight from Chicago to Stockholm was delayed three hours. This caused me to miss my connecting flight to Frankfurt. Talking to a Swedish airport attendant was not as hard as I had thought it would be, but I was still intimidated and may have shed a few tears. After a few hours in Stockholm's airport and a couple of train rides, I finally made it to Bonn.

My host family consists of only a women, but she is wonderful and so fun to talk and cook with. Neurophysiology of Music and History of Medicine are going to be challenging courses with a mass influx of information in such little time, but I am excited to be able to apply what I learn in hands on situations. Some highlights from this past week were visiting the Haus der Geschichte, grabbing a beer at a biergarten on the Rhine, and listening to Dr. Wasser's A Hero's Journey presentation. I struggled the first few days here. I was missing home, missing friends, missing family. His presentation reminded me why I chose to take this study abroad path and that the growth that comes along with it will be worth it in the end.

This weekend I went to Amsterdam. It is the most beautiful city, and I am already looking forward to returning. We went on a canal cruise, ate a ton of delicious stroopwafles, and toured the Van Gogh Museum, my favorite part. Fun fact! Staircases in Amsterdam are very steep and narrow, so each house has a hook on the front and are leaning slightly forward in order to get furniture into them. And to end the week, more travel troubles. Our train from Arnhem, Netherlands back to Germany got cancelled, so we were stuck at a train station unsure how we were going to make it back to Bonn.

Week 1 is over and after standing for 2 hours on a train from Arnhem to Dusseldorf, I am safely back in my bed. It has been full of ups and downs, but it is all a part of the process. My hopes are high for week 2 and to see what it may bring!