Week One In The Books

So last time I checked I was just finishing my terror of a packing experience and getting ready for some good sleep before jet setting my way to Germany. Well, I made it!! We spend our lovely Monday getting to Bonn from Frankfurt and boy that 2 hour bus ride was the only time I got sleep during those long 28 hours, but low key it was worth it because no more jet lag!!! I'd say I lucked out on that factor, it only took about a day or two to get adjusted which is a bonus! The rest of Monday was spent getting a mini welcome from Mats and Brian, our coordinators with AIB followed by meeting the host family I'll be staying with for the next month and a half. They are so great, there even is another girl staying here from Lafayette in Pennsylvania. She showed us the ropes when it comes to the bus and the trams and stuff like that which was very appreciated and needed considering the closest thing to public transportation I've ever used is the Aggie Spirit bus. Riding those buses and trams was an experience, I know can confidently say I have mastered public transportation... hopefully. In other news though, this family has chickens! CHICKENS! And this like amazing garden but CHICKENS! But anyway, Tuesday we just got a legit welcome speech followed by a cool orientation tour around the city of Bonn where we got introduced to a town square type deal that has so many food trucks that change on the regular! We also may or may not have witnessed a fight but who's to say. Wednesday was officially the first day of classes. We had German in the morning where I officially learned how to say hi, how are you, bye, and all the other basics we need for every day interaction which was very useful because I didn't know anything coming into this study abroad and now I feel like I can at least interact with the people slightly more than before! After our German lesson our fearless leader Dr. Wasser gave us the Hero's Journey presentation which I will say he smashed, it was very enlightening as to what we will be going through mentally, physically, and emotionally while on this journey and how it will help us for the best. After this we got to go out for lunch and a bunch of us went back to those same food trucks. My goal is to go to a different food truck every time and see how many I can knock out! After the food some of us got gelato and let me tell you, that stuff changes lives, it was amazing!

After getting to eat this amazing goodness we headed to Haus Der Geschichte (House of History) where Dr. Wasser showed us around the museum that ranged in history of the Holocaust and Splitting of Berlin to the music, cars, and outfits of the different times. This allowed us to experience most eras of Germany pretty thoroughly. After we did this we took the time to go to a beer garden right on the Rhine. There I was educated by Brian and our helper Alexa on the different beers of Germany and got to bond with some of the other students on our trip.

On Thursday, we started the day with some lectures from Prof Waltz over the neurophysiology of music. These lectures were really cool because we talked about sound waves and how the physics of it all goes into something a simple as the set up of an orchestra in a music hall. After this we broke for lunch, me and a few of the other students tried a burger place close to the school which was amazing, they sounded like weird burgers but it was one of the best I've ever had. After this we walked to one of the other students host home to grab something he forgot but we got to interact a little with his host family and it was super interesting to see how other students are living and their home environments. Later in the afternoon we had lectures for history of medicine which date back all the way to the Roman Empire era and have been slowly working our way up the timeline. 

When Friday rolled around there was a sense of more excitement in the air because we were leaving for Amsterdam that afternoon!! A group of about 10 of us all even had the same train ride over. So after our history of medicine lectures for the day we all boarded our train, some of us getting there 20 minutes early, some of us only getting to the train 2 seconds before the door shut but in the end we all made it thankfully. The train ride was about 4 hours and some minutes with 2 train changes on the way but it felt like it was only 15 minutes with how much fun we were all having with each other! We had only a little trouble with one train change but it was quickly resolved when the train people scanned our tickets. Once we got to Amsterdam everyone split off to go check in at their respective hostels and hotels but then we all met up to walk around and explore before getting some much needed food. Saturday consisted of a late breakfast at the pancake bakery where I was served the largest pancake I have ever seen while Sarah enjoy the most complex plate of eggs. 

After breakfast we met back up with the group for a canal cruise through Amsterdam, this was great especially since all of us got to sit together. We enjoyed glasses of wine, the warm sun and all the interesting knowledge our guide had for us. The weather for that day could not have been more perfect. The sun was out, all the people were cheerful, and everything just screamed summer.

After our beautiful canal cruise we had 2 hours to kill before our Heineken Experience tour! We walked through the streets of Amsterdam seeing all the beautiful buildings, amazing bridge views, and even going through a flower market that was so colorful. After this adventure time we headed to the Heineken factory where they used to brew beer and embarked on our self guided tour. We ran into a few hiccups with very loud bachelor parties being very loud and disruptive but other than that it was definitely the highlight of the trip! We were each given two beer with the tour so at the end we got to go to almost like a little club and just enjoy ourselves. After that we all went and got dinner at another burger joint that was very tasty and trendy and then hung out outside with the beautiful weather for a little longer. We all then split ways to get changed and then met back up to walk the red light district together. This was very eye opening in that it was literally, exactly what I was picturing in my head. It was a neat thing to experience all together. That was our last stop though for Amsterdam so we headed to bed and had an early morning catching our trains home! Now back in Germany, I can't wait to see what this week has in store. See you soon!!