Back in Bonn

Personal

On Monday, we got right back into the school mindset after a long, relaxing spring break. There was a public transport strike on Tuesday which I have never encountered before, so classes were cancelled for the day. I spent the day at home, catching up on some work. The weather has been so pleasant lately which is especially nice since I got used to the nice climate over spring break. One day this week, a few of us threw a frisbee in the park and it was very refreshing.

Today was probably the best day of the week because we went on an optional four-hour hike through the "Seven Hills." It was rigorous but I really appreciated the challenge, especially with the Bonn Marathon coming up so soon. I will be running the half-marathon and I am not at all prepared for it at the moment. Toward the end of the hike, we ate at a monastery and the food was delicious and particularly satisfying because of our exhaustion. Between the lush forests and the vast landscapes, the entire hike was breathtakingly beautiful . 

Program

Our visit to Bayer on Wednesday was more fun than I expected, and I particularly liked when we did an interactive "game" with the goal of fitting a drug molecule into a protein's active site. That afternoon, we had the AIB soccer cup and although I came unprepared and ended up playing barefoot, I had a great time and our team, Krankenhaus, got third place (though not by any skill of my own). It was a great day to be outside, especially in such a nice park.

On Thursday, we continued working on the Ottobock project and while my group was a little lost on what exactly our role was, I think we've finally figured out what to do. The presentation is coming up so quickly and I can't help but feel nervous. Many of us went to a string quartet concert at Beethoven Haus on Friday evening. Though I sometimes get bored at events like that, the string quartet was very impressive and entertaining. The next day was the FC Cologne soccer game which was a great and unique experience. I really like the spirit that other countries have for soccer because I personally like it a lot more than American football. I'm really looking forward to the Berlin excursion next week, especially since Vienna exceeded my expectations.