An Average Blog Post at 1:00am. (Hmmm. Interesting...)

The second full day is almost fertig!  It has been a full a day indeed.  And I mean this in several ways.  One, we have successfully been informed of the program, expectations, traveling, etc. at our AIB orientation and then spent the next five hours adventuring around Bonn with an AIB student worker, who showed us important places both for the town's history/culture and to know for everyday life.  She even waited patiently while we took pictures like the excited little tourists we are.  If only we had fanny packs...  Two, so. much. good. food.  Das Essen schmekt sehr gut! (I did that without google translate!! Boom.)

After waking up and preparing for the "feels like 28 F" and raining weather, I left my place in the host family's house, which you could essentially call a loft-- large room, large bathroom, and quaint kitchen.  Just today my host mom has given me enough food to nearly fill my counter-height fridge.  I'm so thankful for and blessed by this family's hospitality.  After descending the 49 steps (they counted) from my Cinderella loft on the third floor, I found a table of breakfast options awaiting me in the kitchen, including a bread called dinkelbrot that is definitely unique and, thus, right up my alley.  With a nice walk to the train station, I found our group, went to the AIB for orientation (and great kekze--cookies), ate some delicious Döner, toured Bonn, and returned to the house.  I suppose a day attempting to speak occasionally to locals increases one's curiosity because I kept asking them "how do you say____?"  I was pleasantly surprised when they told me that, after all their acht oder neun previous study abroad students, that I was the the most interested in learning the language.  Maybe by the end of the trip I'll understand their boys?  (Imagine the way preteen and teen boys talk quickly when they are very excited about video games or sports and slur words together, and then put it in a different language.)  I would love to have a dinner all in Deutsche.  

Many memories made and many to come.  Gute Nacht!

-Lauren

... and Schnulli the cat
(I think I stole her favorite bed...guess it's a sleepover)