Closing Time: You Don't have to go Home but You Can't Stay Here

This blog is the last blog that I will write regarding something pertaining to our official trip. It is very bittersweet looking back at how far we have come and realizing that our great adventure is coming to an end. I am happy though knowing that as one door closes and one part of your life ends, there will always be another door opening and another beginning. Every new beginning comes at some other beginning's end. I can't wait to go home and see my family and friends, especially my brothers. I also am very interested to see how much I have changed based on their reactions to me upon coming home and deciding for myself how different I have become. I am excited to return home and go back to a normal rhythm, but a part of me will always long to be in Bonn with my host family and friends.

Last Monday, we were taken on a Rhine cruise as one final hurrah in Bonn. The trip was very relaxing and amazing, and I really enjoyed sitting on the upper deck taking in the sun and getting to talk with all of my friends one last time before everyone left to go home. I wish that the cruise would have lasted forever, but I am thankful for the time that we did have. Upon leaving the Rhine cruise, we were treated to one last group lunch of schnitzel and fries from a very sassy waiter. The food was really good, and I always appreciate a free meal, so I wasn't going to complain. We then took a tour of the Marksburg Castle and were introduced to the long line of owners that the castle had. It was crazy to see a castle that wasn't restored or changed significantly since its original construction, and I was pleased to see everything from the garden and kitchens to the torture chambers and knight's hall. Every room had its own piece of history and its own technological advancement of the day that made it very unique and a very unforgettable experience. After the tour was over, it was time to say goodbye to some of our friends who were leaving and to wrap up our trip with surveys and a final talk. We all got to give Dr Wasser one last group hug and express our gratitude to the wonderful people who made this trip possible. It was an amazing experience, and every single person made the experience all the better (Kristin, Tete, and Dr Wasser were especially amazing).

When our final group meeting was over, we all hurried to get a quick dinner and quickly got on a train to head to Cologne, where we went and saw the Lumineers live in concert. The journey to the concert was especially fun, complete with missing our first train and having to get a new one among other things. Cologne was in for quite the sight whenever we got off the train, for about 20 of us got off and took off in a dead sprint to make a bus to get to the concert venue. We arrived at the venue just in time to see the Lumineers playing their first song. The venue was pretty packed, although it was not as large as a crowd as I had anticipated. We pushed through the crowd to the center in order to get a better view, and it was really cool. The concert was one of the best live performances that I have ever witnessed, and although I hadn’t really listened to the Lumineers before the concert, I really enjoyed it and am planning on listening to a lot more of the music in the future. Unfortunately, it was also one of the quickest concerts that I had ever been to, and I found that the concert ended rather abruptly, only for the Lumineers to come back out for an encore.

Finally, when the Lumineers decided to officially stop playing, several of us went and bought t-shirts, myself included. The t-shirt was more to remind me of the awesome times that I had in Bonn and Cologne and will serve as a reminder of all the awesome friends that I made on this trip. After the concert, a group of us went back to Bonn and went to have some last drinks as a group at the Quiet Man. It was a great time, and we stayed until last call just telling stories and reminiscing on all of the good times that we had and discussing what we would all do as soon as we got back home. The night ended with a lot of excitement, for a magician came up to us and entertained us with some of the best magic tricks that I have ever seen. I had never seen any of the tricks that he showed us, and our whole group was going absolutely crazy watching him, getting so rowdy that we were actually scolded for being a disturbance. It was a great last night with the group (although we actually had one more night the following night at Billabonn, which was a great place to end since that was the first bar that we went to as a group).

Overall, our last group excursion and night was the ultimate way to wrap up the trip. I am very sad to see that our semester has gone by so fast, but I am thankful for all of the amazing friends that I got to share it with and for all of the wonderful places that we got to see along the way. I know that I will never be the same from this trip, but I recognize that it has definitely changed me for the better. I am no longer anxious when traveling to an unfamiliar place, even when I don’t know how I am getting from one place to another or where I am staying. I am more open to trying new things and branching out to do things out of my comfort zone, and I am willing to talk and make friends with anyone and everybody. I have loved this trip, and I cannot wait to share my experiences with my friends back at home.