When in Bonn, do as the Bonners do

My first week in Bonn has been friggin spectacular.  From wine tasting, to hiking with my host parents, to going out with friends its been an incredible experience.  The first weekend here in Bonn my hist parents took me out on a drive to Maria Laach and Hohe Acht.  Maria Laach is a beautiful monastery on a lake and Hohe Acht is a mountain that my host parents and I somehow managed to hike up.  At first I was concerned about feeling homesick and missing the states, but any and every time I do either my friends want to go do something which takes my mind off of it, or my host parents start talking to me.  Bonn is actually starting to feel somewhat like home, even though it is very very far from my actual home.  It is amazing how welcoming everyone in the program is and how welcoming and friendly my host parents are.  This Saturday (21.1.17) I went to Koblenz and had an amazing time riding gondolas across the Rhein and walking around and eating lunch in a fortress.  However, not everything has been great! Lol I have gotten lost a few times and gotten on wrong trains and have made all of the "rookie mistakes".  However, the most valuable thing I have learned is as the title says "When in Bonn do as the Bonners do".  When getting lost the last thing you want to do is freak out, people are less likely to help you when you're loudly and quickly babbling on in a foreign language.  Another way to put this is "fake it until you make it", if you don't know what you're doing just act like you do until you do.  If you walk around the same block 5 times people won't know it if you look like you know where you're going, and eventually you will figure out where you're going, or what you need to be doing.  All in all the first week of this trip has been without a doubt 10/10!  Cant wait for more and more experiences and the memories that come with them!