Week 7- Koblenz

This week leading up to Paris has been crazy to say the least. Im still trying to recover from Rosenmontag lol. But anyways, after yet another challenging week, some friends and I decided to plan a trip for the weekend to take our mind off of things. Originally, we were going to go to Luxembourg, however due to lack of interest, the plans changed to a day trip to Koblenz! I went with Rachel and Claire and let me tell you.... I had SUCH a great time. Koblenz is a beautiful city with so much to do.

First, we walked from the hbf to Deutsche's Ecke. Deutsche's Ecke, or German Corner, is located where the Mosul River meets the Rhine. Its a beautiful area and right at the corner is a massive statue, which im ashamed to say that i dont remember who it is of. Anyways, after seeing the statue, we took the funicular up to the famous fortress there! That funicular was so cool because it went right over the rhine and they view from up there was amazing. Once we got to the top, we explored the fortress which was really spectacular.

After leaving the fortress, we decided to go to a massive playground which is in the same vicinity. Next, my favorite part of the day, was when we just plopped down on a bench outside to enjoy the nice weather. To enhance the time even more, I played country music from my phone and closed my eyes. It was almost like being in Texas again! Also, shoutout to claire for being one of like 3 people in this program who actually likes country music (:

Next we went back down the funicular and into the main city. There, we had gelato and sat out by the main fountain. It was so refreshing to not have to worry about school! Lastly, we returned to our train and got back into Bonn at a fairly decent hour because I still had to pack and get ready for PARIS next week!!! Stay tuned folks

Week 12 Berlin

How could I come to live in Germany for 4 and a half months and not visit Berlin? I couldn't. Berlin was such a great city that something to please everyone in our group of people. We saw the Berlin Wall, went to museum island, went to really cool bars and cool clubs. I realized that Germany beat America in terms of burgers. Burger Meister is a small food truck in a weird part of Berlin and has the best burger I have ever had in my life. That could be because I miss American food so much but I don't think so. This was such a great place. If anyone goes back to Berlin I highly recommend. The line was pretty long but went pretty fast. Also Maria told me that Berlin had the best curry wurst and I would probably have to agree with her, but food wise it's not very hard to please me. It was super cool to have a beer and curry wurst outside on such a beautiful day. We also walked through the tier garden which was beautiful and walked to the top of the Gross Stern. I think our last day was my favorite because we went to museum island and walked through a market. We also had lunch outside along a canal and everyone seemed so happy to be outside. I think that's what I will miss most about Germany, I love being able to go outside and sit at a park and actually being able to enjoy it. In Texas that is almost never possible. I wish I could stay in Germany forever.

Week 11

The middle of the week was awesome because I got to see surgeries. I loved being in that environment and getting a little taste of what's going to be my future. I watched a tumor being removed from the throat, a tonsillectomy, and a tumor from the right side of the face. The anesthesiologist I was paired with was very nice and made it a point that I knew everything that was going on during the surgeries. I am so blessed to have had that experience.
Sunday came and I thought it was going to be the last day on earth... I only ran/walked 6.2 miles but it felt like a lifetime. Luckily the day was very nice which made the run bearable. I also got to look at things in Bonn that I had never seen before which was cool. I definitely would have regretted not running so I am glad I did. My body definitely hated me for the next couple of days after. I hope to train for a half marathon and run that before I die so let's see if I can make that happen🙂.

Week 10 Big Event

I know big event is such a huge thing at A&M but I had never participated in it until this trip. I was very curious as to what my job was going to be when I found out I was going to a nursing home. Maggie and I, along with other girls from different programs,planted super cute flowers in pots to be placed all over this backyard type scene. It was such a cute little area and the flowers made it look even better. The stronger guys duh really deep holes and planted trees and all of us together pulled out all the weeds. Thank god it was such a great day to do all these things. I knew that the elderly people would be so happy at this new and improved area and so it felt so great to be doing all of this. It was also a lot of fun because I met LMU students that were awesome and we all talked together throughout the whole day. The people working for the nursing home also had a great BBQ for us which was really nice. I was super lucky to be placed in the group that I was and I must say my first Big Event experience was definitely a great one!

21 and struggling- Week 15

          This week started out with my 21st birthday on Monday. Although this was not the way I was expecting to spend my 21st, it was beyond incredible. I was blown away by the gifts and nice words I received from everyone throughout the day. I was so surprised that my mom managed to get me 21 roses all the way from Texas. Although it was my birthday, that did not mean school stopped. I had my third exam for physiology on Monday. After the exam we went to hofgarten where we played some volleyball and relaxed. On Tuesday, I spent the whole day studying. Wednesday we had our physiology final, which ended up going very well. On Thursday we had our lab final, which meant we were fully done with physiology. On Friday we went on an excursion to Remagen. This was such an awesome experience. I am a history nerd so I enjoyed being at the site of the Remagen bridge, which was a crucial site for world war two. We got the tour from the actual owner of the museum who use to be the major of Remagen when he was twenty-eight. On Friday night we went out to celebrate my birthday and being somewhat done with school. On Saturday I spent the day studying and then attended the LMU theater performance. This production in my opinion was incredible. All of their hard work throughout the semester definitely paid off. After the theater performance I went to AIB to study for a hour before we went to farewell party. This was a very sad party for me. I am so excited to go home, but I am sure going to miss all these incredible people and this amazing place. Sunday was the same ole story of studying, but we did have a family BBQ. This was awesome, but also sad. I am so grateful for my host family. They have truly been my family here and made me feel so welcome and comfortable in there home. Now here is to the last three days in Germany.

Struggling our way through finals

The sweet cake my host family and roommate made for me.

The sweet flowers my mom mailed me.

Week 12: Berlin

This weekend we went to Berlin and it was possibly one of my favorite trips! I went with a group of people I hadn't traveled very much with the rest of the semester so it was fun to get to spend more time with them. We flew to Berlin on Friday night and went straight to our hostel. The next morning we woke up early and started to explore the city. We went to see the Brandenburg gate and the Reich-stag. We also walked through the Tiergarten and went to see the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. Berlin is famous for their curry wurst so we ate some for lunch. Afterwards we went to see check point Charlie which was honestly a bit of a let down. That night we went to a bar completely decorated with Tarantino movie decorations and then a club.

The next day we slept in and then went to see museum island. On our way we had a delicious meal at a Thai restaurant. The weather was so nice so we sat outside along the canal while we ate. Then we walked over to museum island and saw the Pergamon museum and the Egyptian museum. The museums were very nice. Afterwards we walked through a local flea market near the museums. Then we headed to go see the east side gallery wall with murals painted on it before getting on our flight back home. Overall it was a great weekend!

Week 15 -- Last Week

Do not what to say, it is already the last week in Germany. Wow!!!   

I think this week is the busiest week for everyone because it is final week. : p  Nobody is working without a laptop. Everyone focused on their books, notes, and laptops to study.

On Monday, we finished our exam and everyone looked so stress after it. We went to Hofgarten and had a wonderful relax time. We played volleyball, soccer, and football there. It was so much fun. I enjoyed the time with all my friends, professors, and AIB staff. I also enjoyed the smooth sunshine and soft wind and the environment surround us.

On Tuesday, everyone studied on finals so hard. Finally, I finished all my finals on Thursday. The last test for my undergrad. Haha  On Friday, we went to Remagen to visit the Peace Museum and saw the part of the Bridge. On Saturday, we watched show that performed by the students. The show was really interesting, and I love the songs and music for the show. Today, I went to the church meeting in Duisburg with my friends. I saw many saints that I know from previous meetings. We also enjoyed the lunch together.

The biggest thing on Saturday was the Farewell Party. Host parents and students all enjoyed the time together. What a wonderful time. Students were dancing with the music. I also saw some host parents joined them too. I do not know how to express what I feel. Wonderful semester with wonderful time and amazing group!!

Week 11: Bonn Marathon

This week we went to visit in the Uniklinik, the hospital in Bonn. We got to shadow surgeons for the day. I shadowed two different surgeons, an ENT and a orthopedic surgeon. In the ENT surgery I saw a tracheotomy, inserting a tube for breathing into a person's trachea. The next surgery was a knee replacement surgery. This was my favorite surgery I saw. I watched the doctors open up the leg, saw off parts of the bone and drill the replacement into place. It was pretty incredible.


This weekend we also took a day trip to Bruges, Belgium. We got there early in the morning and walked around the town. We got the most amazing Belgian waffles I've ever had at a restaurant called Lizzie's waffles. We had looked up the restaurant and saw that it was supposed to be the best waffle restaurant in Bruges. So we all ordered our own waffles, and then realized these waffles were about the size of a laptop. Mine came with two whole bananas to go on top. It then became a contest of who could eat the most of their waffle. Unfortunately I couldn't finish mine  but it was still the best waffle I've ever had. We also walked down the canals in the city and went to see the old windmills. Belgium is also known for their fries. They eat them with mayonnaise which is different than in the States but surprisingly good.








Later that weekend we all participated in the Bonn Marathon. I ran on a relay team in the marathon and ran 6 miles with two of my other friends. I wouldn't really consider myself a runner, so running the marathon definitely wasn't easy. We had to take several walking breaks to catch our breath. But I was super proud of us for finishing in about an hour and a half. It was a really good experience and I'm glad I did it, but I also plan on never doing it again. Afterwards I was sore for almost a whole week. When I got home that day I was tired I couldn't even make it to the shower first, I went straight to bed to take a nap.

Week 14: Enmodes!

This week was the Enmodes presentation. We spent so much time at AIB working on our presentations. It was frustrating at times especially since I had teammates not pulling their weight. We decided to change our design and had to pull the research together to show that it could work. Also Kimberly has essentially taught herself Thermodynamics at this point and is still struggling to figure out the calculations. Madeleine has also spent several hours trying help figure it all out. Kyle made some really cool animations of our design. In the end we all worked really hard and made a really nice presentation. From there we worked with Dr. Wasser and Madeleine for several hours polishing what we going to say.

There was a lot of stress and little sleep which proved dangerous. Kyle and Kendrick ended up over sleeping and missing the bus to Aachen. They had to take a train and taxi to meet us. This however meant they were going to be late. In the end Dr. Wasser and Madeleine had to stall for half an hour to give them time to get there. While we were waiting to see if Kyle and Kendrick would make it Kimberly and I started memorizing their parts just in case. Luckily, they made it and were able to present.

While I was presenting I was strangely calm and relaxed. I realized I was the only person in the room who was an expert in what I was discussing. It was such a cool feeling. Our group's design was the only one that did not receive any true questions. I later talked with one of the engineers from enmodes and said he was impressed with our design. It completely prevent the problem from occurring without adding too much bulk, or any safety issues. I was happy when it was all over though.

Week 13: Easter and Enmodes

This is the week before our enmodes presentation. We are trying to get as much work done on our project as we possibly can before Easter break and next week. The more work that is done this week the better. The engineers in my group are really struggling with the calculations. That are proving incredibly challenging, but it would be super beneficial if we had them done for our presentation. The calculations would give simulated proof that our design works. I am trying to help any way that I can, by getting the other work done. Our group dynamic is not the greatest because some people are slacking while others are trying to do too much. There is also quite a lot of miscommunication occurring. Hopefully, this all works out in the next week.

My grandfather has come down with Shingles. It is causing him a lot of pain and preventing him from sleeping. My mom is really worried about him. He can not leave the house because of his pain medication, and my grandmother can't leave because she can't walk. Currently, the neighbors are buying groceries for them. My mom is wanting me to go visit but not tell them in advance. That really worries me.

I went and saw my grandparents. The trains messed up again so it took me longer to get to Frankfurt. Luckily, I had decided to treat myself and bought a book. Once I got to Frankfurt it took me a while to figure out how to Hattersheim. I finally made it and my grandmother was happy to see me. We had fun chatting in my broken german. My grandfather was happy to see me but you could tell he was not up to socializing for very long. I know they were happy to have me come over for a few hours. Afterwards I went into Frankfurt to do a little shopping and see a few things. There were so many people it was a bit overwhelming. All in all it was a pretty decent day.

Week 12: Spring and School

The weather has been fairly nice and sunny lately. I have been wanting to spend all my time outside. Sadly, I also have a bunch of school work I need to do for my exams. I have been cheating a little and have been studying outside on my host families balcony. Its nice and protected from the wind but is still sunny. I was super determined to get a good grade in physiology this time. I spent a large amount of time studying really hard. I find everything we are learning actually pretty interesting.

You know spring is here because all the flowers are blooming and everything just seems so light and airy. There is this absolutely gorgeous area in Altstadt where there are cherry blossom trees lining the street and creating a beautiful, flowery archway over the road. I have honestly never seen anything like it. I have spent some time just wandering the streets taking in all the beautiful things.

We decided to have a nice little bonfire by the river just because the weather has been good. We made a really nice set up on a beach and found drift wood to burn. It was a lot of fun. There was a lot of laughing and silliness. The only problem was how cold it was. There was a pretty heavy wind as well that made everything worse. After several hours we gave up on the bonfire and went clubbing. This was also the first time the Alexa has had alcohol since she broke her foot. She was finally out of the boot and ready to have fun. We did keep her from going clubbing just so she wouldn't accidentally hurt herself.

I also went to Nüremberg with Kadeja. It was a really nice to be in Bavaria and eat bavarian food, and see the architecture. We went hiking, and cave exploring which was a lot fun. Kadeja and I made a game of making up the history of the maze just because the tour was in german. We also went and saw Courtroom 600 where the Nazi trials were held. Another cool place that we saw was the old Nazi Rally Grounds.  It was interesting to see how Hilter was trying to build his legacy but failed. We stayed in this amazing 500 year old house. I loved Nüremberg and would not mind going back some day.

Week 12 - Berlin

This weekend was the last unplanned travel weekend of the trip, so I debated for a while where I wanted to go.  We waited until the very last minute to book the trip because everything has been so busy, so going to another country was going to be super expensive.  We ended up deciding on going to Berlin.  I was really excited about this because I have been living in Germany for three months and haven't been to the capital.

So, we got in late Friday night and just hung out in the hostel.  Then, Saturday was packed full of running around Berlin seeing monuments.  Something about Berlin - it's really spread out.  So when I describe everything we did, please be impressed by how much we fit into one day.  We started at the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building.  Then we walked through the Tiergarten, the largest and oldest park in Berlin, and climbed the Victory Column to get an aerial view of Berlin.  Next, we saw the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a Holocaust memorial with 2,711 concrete columns of various depths forming a labyrinth of sorts.  Right across from this memorial, we ate a Berlin-typical food, curry wurst.  After re-energizing ourselves with curry wurst and beer, we saw Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall Memorial.  Seeing all of these monuments was really interesting and helped me better understand Germany as a country and it's divided past of East and West.  Later, we went to a Quentin Tarantino themed bar, which was really cool!  For dinner, we went to a sketchy part of Berlin to wait in a huge line for this little burger stand that supposedly has the best burgers in Germany.  Worth it.  They were so good.  To end the night, we went to Club Matrix around the corner to experience a little of the nightlife of Berlin.

Sunday morning, Sarahi and I went to Palm Sunday mass in this big, circular church.  Then we met up with everyone else for some delicious Vietnamese street food and more sightseeing.  We went to Museum Island and visited the Pergamon and Neues museums, displaying Persian and Egyptian antiquities, respectively.  Both were interesting!  Later, we went down to the East Side Gallery, a conserved, graffiti-covered portion of the Berlin wall.  The most famous part is the Socialist Fraternal Kiss, captioned "My God, help me to survive this deadly love."  Finally, we went to the airport to wait for our flight.  Overall, Berlin was a super cool city.  It has a ton of history and museums and monuments, but it's also super diverse and trendy.  It was a fun weekend!

Week 11: Human Surgery!

This week was so cool. I got to shadow an anesthesiologist for the day. It was so great! Even though the surgeries that I watched were not that interesting it was really cool to talk with the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist's name is Dr. Achilles Delis. He was super fun and had a unique approach to solving problems. He spent a good chunk of time quizzing me on drugs and physiology. When I didn't know the answer he would create a scenario to help me solve it. It was super awesome. It really showed me how truly important physiology is and how everything is connected in some form or fashion. I really appreciated him showing interest in me and my education. It's not something you see everyday. He even bought me ice cream which was super sweet of him. Dr. Delis invited me to come back and shadow him again if I would like. He told me he doesn't extend that offer to everyone and really likes my engagement with the topic. The one really cool surgery that I saw was the placement of a stent into the aortic arch. It was really neat to watch the xray imaging of the blood flowing through the aorta. It was also interesting that one of the arteries had to be rerouted before the stent could be placed.

As a group we went to the anesthesia museum. There was a really cool collection of anesthesia machines, textbooks, medications, and related devices. Its truly impressive to see how far we have come in medicine within a relatively short period of time. I also liked that our tour was given by the doctor who started the museum and even worked to develop some of the techniques we use today.

Week 10: Big Event

This weekend we participated in International Big Event. Big Event is a day of community service projects in College Station. Because of the many study abroad programs A&M has they have begun to organize Big Event Internationally. The Big Event in Bonn is actually the biggest one outside of Texas. We went to a retirement home and helped them in the garden. We weeded flower beds and planted new flowers. We got to work with students from other universities at the AIB. It was fun to get to know the other students because we have little interactions with them on a daily basis. After working for most of the day the staff at the retirement home made us some barbecue for lunch. We discovered that German barbecue is a little different than it is in America but it was still very good.

I also got to spend a lot of time with my host family this weekend. We played German board games and I tried a meal called raclette. Raclette is a special type of cheese that you melt on top of various toppings like bacon or onions. My older host brothers came over for dinner and I got to meet the oldest ones fiance. It was fun to get to see all of my host family together.

Week 9 Spring Break!

Although I was very sad to leave Paris, I was super excited for spring break because my best friend and her family would be spending it with me! As soon as I got back to Bonn on Friday night I had to catch an early morning train to Frankfurt Airport to meet my second family. From Frankfurt we were supposed to catch a train to Basel, Switzerland but my friend's parents didn't realize that Frankfurt hbf was different from where we were... Unfortunately we had to buy brand new tickets to Basel where we rented a car and drove to Grindelwald! Oh my gosh that was the most beautiful place I have ever seen... We had a cute little wood cabin/home that we stayed in. The mountains were amazing. That night we walked around the town and had dinner and then just went to bed. The next morning we went to the very top of First (pronounced Fearst, we got laughed at saying First🙂) Mountain by a cable car. At the very top there was what was called a sky walk where you walked along the side of a mountain and eventually led to a clear piece at the end that made you feel like you were levatating. Even though there was lots of snow it was so freaking hot at the top of the mountain it felt as if the sun was 5 feet away from me. This was probably my favorite small town of the trip. I want to go back and hopefully ski along all of those mountains.
We didn't stay in Switzerland very long, although I wish we did. That night we drove back to Basel and stayed the night there so that we could drive to Bruges early the next morning. Bruges was also a very cute town. I bought tons of chocolate, tried the best waffles and fries I've ever had, and got a tour of the city in a horse carriage. Our AirBnb was a little outside of Bruges in this perfect little farm area along a river. That first day in Bruges we didn't stay in town long because we were very tired but the AirBnb was so great we didn't mind staying in. The next morning we spent more time in Bruges and then drove to Brussels to stay another night. Early Wednesday morning just my best friend and I got a flight to Krakow, Poland. Poland was so awesome! Everything was so cheap! We stayed in the very center of town which was a great area! Polish food is super good! I would 10/10 recommend Poland for sure!
The main reason we went to Poland was to visit Auschwitz. This was one of the hardest experiences I've ever had. I have always been very interested in World War II so I felt that I should go. I never understood how bad the living conditions were until I went and saw it for myself. The beds were wooden boards that could only probably fit 4 people slept 12. They would starve people to run experiments. They had horrible pictures hanging on the walls of children that hurt me like you wouldn't believe. I learned a lot from going there which I am surprised by because I already knew a fair amount. This was a different kind of life changing experience. I'm so blessed to not have endured first hand a world of war but it also makes me think of the other countries out there that are still experiencing terror. Auschwitz was a terrible terrible place but I am so glad I went.
My spring break ended there and I came back to Bonn Saturday morning which was really nice because I had time to recover and rest. My spring break was very very great but I was very pleased when I came back to my home.

Week 9: SPRING BREAK

Spring Break was the best! My best friend from high school, Kathryn, came for the week to travel with me. She met me on Sunday afternoon, which meant I was alone in Paris on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Saturday night I went out to dinner alone, which was an interesting experience and then watched movies in my hotel room. Kathryn was supposed to land at 7 am on Sunday morning, but her plane was delayed several hours so she didn't land until 3 pm. So Saturday morning I slept in and then ventured out into the city alone. I had visited the Musse de Orsay the day before with Kanci and Claire before they left, but still wanted to see Monet's water lillies. So I went to the Musee de l'orangerie. This museum was small but the water lillies were so impressive. I sat in the room for a good 30 minutes looking at them. Afterwards I walked through the park and ate lunch outside. I also wandered back to the Louvre to see the Egyptian exhibit but got so lost inside that I never found it. Eventually I headed back to the hotel to meet Kathryn.

After she arrived we went to see Sacre Coeur. The church was beautiful and when we got in a mass service was beginning so we decided to stay for the mass. The service was in French so we didn't understand very much of it, but the music was beautiful. After mass we went to see Notre Dame and had dinner at a French restaurant. After dinner we went to the Eiffel Tower and went back up to the top. This time we went to the first level which has a see through glass floor that goes all the way around the tower. We walked the full circle around on the glass which was honestly terrifying.

The next morning we woke up and got on a train to London. The train went through the chunnel, the tunnel that goes underneath the channel, which wasn't as exciting as we thought it would be. When we got to London we went to check into our hostel and then went to see the Tower of London. It was nice that everyone spoke English so getting around was much easier. The Tower of London was one of our favorite places we went. We took a guided tour and learned about all of the famous people who were imprisoned and beheaded there including Anne Boleyn. We also saw the crown jewels which were very impressive. Afterwards we went to get dinner at a pub and both ordered fish and chips. We also went to an ice bar where the entire bar was made of ice sculptures, even the cups were made of ice.

The next day we took a train to Windsor Castle and then went to Camden Town. Windsor Castle was beautiful and it was cool to see all the rooms that are still used today. At the entrance to the castle Queen Mary's old doll house was also on display. The doll house was extremely ornate and had running water, working electricity and it's own mini crown jewels on display inside. After the tour of the Castle we headed to Camden Town, which is an artistic neighborhood in London. We tried ice cream frozen with liquid nitrogen and walked through some outdoor shopping stalls. We went out to dinner later that night at a fun Asian restaurant and explored the night life in Camden Town.


The next day we headed over to Trafalgar Square to see all of the big London tourist attractions. We saw the giant lion statues outside of the museums. We also saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and walked through the park. We went to visit Churchill's war rooms, the underground bunker used by Churchill during the war that have been turned into a museum. The museum was very impressive but after being there for about 10 minutes I realized that Kathryn had no idea who Churchill even was when she commented that "He must have been a really important guy." After educating her on some basic English history we went to see No. 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister. We also walked past Big Ben and headed to Westminster Abbey. Inside the church we saw the coronation throne.  Afterwards we walked across the bridge and went on the London Eye. We got a great view of the city and saw all of the places we had been. Afterwards we walked over to West End and ate a fantastic dinner before going to see the musical Kinky Boots.

Overall it was a great Spring Break!

Week 10: School and Big Event

  This week was more about recovering from all my traveling and studying for my Physiology Lab exam. I was really impressed how much work I was able to get down and how motivated I was. I spent a lot of time working on the lab outline, and reading the textbook. The lab exam was difficult though just because a lot of the material on there was only discussed in Herman's lab. He does a number of demonstrations that are just not allowed here at AIB. I actually did surprisingly well considering the circumstances.
  This week was also the week we started working with our larger enmodes group. I am a little worried because there are so many high strung individuals in our group with just our first meeting there was a lot of tension. I think we have a great idea but if we can't work as a team we will not be able to prove how great our idea is. In the first meeting there were already people ignoring the others or going straight to the professors to solve things instead of working it out as a group. This will prove a challenge because everyone will need to be handled a little differently. Hopefully, all goes well.
  Also this week was the Big Event. It was my first big event but it was a lot of fun. We started with a small party and yell practice at the old AIB. From there we walked to a sorting facility for clothing donations for refuges and the homeless. My group was tasked with sorting out sizes of women's tops and placing them into boxes. I did the majority of packing the boxes. I also stacked a large number of boxes. The people running this center could not keep up with how fast we were working. They have never had such a large group of people before. It was amazing to see how much we were able to accomplish and help these people out. I am glad it was my first Big Event experience.
  We also went to the Neanderthal museum which was really cool. I loved seeing the skeleton replicas and learning a little about human evolution. It was also really nice to go hike around the park. I really liked seeing the ice age era animals that had been bred or found. I thought the buffalo were super cute.

Week 15

Who even needs sleep? Not us. With tons of tests, finals, and assignments all packed into the same week it I went days without seeing my host family and almost forgot what my bed felt like. It began with a physiology test over our second unit. We spent forever studying knowing that this would be a tough one and we needed to know all of the facts. We ended up doing pretty well and then started preparing for our next exam. It was for 211 and we knew that this one would also be tough. We worked a ton of previous problems and studying super hard but to no avail. The test was so hard and some things I had no idea what to do for. Thursday was also super hard because we had our physiology final and our diffeq final. The physiology one wasn't too bad because it was mostly the same questions as our last tests but the math one was actually the hardest test I've ever taken. We will see how it turns out but we are expected like a 60 point curve.

Once finals ended everyone got very reminiscent. We have been spending a lot of time together and going out for our last nights in Bonn together. We went to the AIB farewell party which was super fun and had such good food. I'm so sad to be leaving Bonn and I wish I was staying for a little while longer. On Tuesday, we are doing the Rhine cruise and I could not be more excited. It will be all day and should be so much fun. I cannot wait.

Although I am sad to be leaving Bonn, there are things at home that I am looking forward to seeing so it shouldn't be too bad having to finally leave.

Week 14

After the best weekend I've had on this trip, I have two weeks of torture ahead of me. This week consists of finishing up projects and making presentations for enmodes. We started off by getting into Bonn from Venlo at 7 am after taking the 5 am train. I then had to rush home and grab my stuff before managing to make it back just in time for class.

We were basically forced to live at AIB all week but we were given free pizza which always makes it better. I also learned that I have a hard time with mixing up words such as electron and electrode or ionize and iodize because I was corrected on it about a million and one times. But that's okay because they wanted the presentations to be perfect and I can understand that. We practiced so much that it seemed as if anyone could do any other person's part simply because we had heard them all so much.

Towards the end of the week we finally got to go give the presentations in Aachen. They seemed really impressed with our ideasIt was a really nice trip and we got a good lunch and some free time out of it. All of our hard work finally paid off and it was time to relax for a minute before studying for finals started.

Week 13

This week was boring but ended amazingly with our trip to Amsterdam finally happening! We get there on Friday and start with an cute little canal cruise. It allowed us to see the city and check out the things we wanted to do. Afterwards we went to the cat museum which was so cool and they even had live cats in there that would let you pet them. We also went to the Body World's exhibit which was so cool and really interactive and fun. Afterwards, we found a cute little carnival and went there and rode several of the rides. It was such a great day and good start to our trip.

Saturday was flower day. We get up at the crack of dawn and start getting ready. Rachel starts blow drying her hair and I'm sure that once we leave, the three other people in our hostel will steal all of our things out of hatred. Thankfully, that doesn't happen. We go to the airport because that's where the shuttle leaves from. We also get stuck at the front of the bus standing and Maggie goes through all the scenarios of how she would die if the bus crashed. We finally get to the flower garden and it was everything I dreamed of and more. Rows of beautiful, colorful tulips and an almost overwhelming scent that comes with being around millions of flowers. We spent most of the day here and it was actually exhausting so afterwards we went back to the hostel and took naps which was great too.

Sunday morning was Easter and so we got up again and went to a cute little english mass. It was adorable and the priest gave all of the kids little easter eggs at the end. After mass, we went into town to get a pancake brunch. The restaurant had "american pancakes" on the menu and so of course I ordered them. They were amazing and made me miss home even more. Afterwards we went to the Anne Frank house which was really moving and quite interesting.

Monday was our last day and we made it museum day. We started off with the Van Gogh museum which was really cool. Afterwards we went to the avocado restaurant which was so cool and really really good. We finished the day with the Rijks museum before getting on a train back to Bonn. Train problems caused a night in Venlo, Netherlands which was unexpected and kind of terrible but we made it back so alles gute.

Week 9: My Italian Spring Break

   I spent my spring break traveling around Italy. I was traveling with Austin, Michelle, Cerci, and Chelsea. We had beautiful sunny weather the entire time which made me so happy. We began our trip in Milan. We stayed at this really cool Hostel, were we met some new people. In Milan we went to visit the Domo and going shopping because, what else are you going to do in Milan? The Domo was absolutely breath taking. We went close to dusk so the Domo was bathed in a soft glow, it was so amazing. I even went clubbing in Milan which was an interesting experience. I honestly wasn't that comfortable with it but it is one of those life experiences.
   Next we went to Venice. Venice was so stunning. It has to be one of my favorite places I have ever been to. The greatest thing to do was to get lost and see what you could find. I ended up finding some of the backgrounds for scenes from one of my favorite movies growing up as a kid. We also found this really cool Leonardo da Vinci museum. In the museum they had replicas of Leonardo's machines based off his Codices. We even got to play with the machines. We also found an art exhibit that was based off of photos the Hubble telescope took. It was really neat. Every corner you turn in Venice leads you to another beautiful place. I just couldn't get over all of it. There were also so many pretty, handmade things to buy. The trick was figuring out what was real and what a good price is. We of course took the obligatory gondola ride. It gives such a unique perspective of the city. One of the coolest things we did was sit at the top of the clocktower for almost an hour. It gave an amazing 360 view of the city. Venice is nothing like I have ever seen and probably ever see again. I loved it so much.

  The next stop was Florence, and Pisa. The leaning tower of Pisa is so unimpressive. I thought it was a lot taller than it actual is. I'm still glad I saw it, I also had a lot of fun attempting to take the cliche Pisa pictures. After all of our nonstop traveling we were getting pretty tired. We used Florence more as a place to relax. We wandered around for a little while and saw some pretty things. We ended up this really cool bridge at sunset. It gave a really nice view of the city and another even cooler looking bridge. I am a little sad that I did not explore Florence more, and go see Michelangelo's David or an of the other famous art that is in Florence. I almost bought a leather jacket while in Florence because it is the leather capital of the world. Im kinda glad I did't just because I wouldn't get a whole lot of use out of it. I am also sad that I didn't have nice wine while in Florence. I did have a truffled carbonara which was life changing. I loved it so much.

 Our last destination was Rome. Rome is such an interesting fusion of ancient structures hidden in the middle of the modern world. I absolutely loved walking around the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Palentine. It took almost 8 hours but was so worth it. These 2,000 year old structures were so impressive and made me feel so small and insignificant. I just can't believe that it was possible to create these structures. Its all sad that they will never be returned to their glory because the Church stole so much to make their structures pretty. I was upset that the group was unable to wake up in time to go visit the Vatican. That is something I would have liked to see. We participated in a pub crawl which was actually a lot of fun. We stayed at a pub for a while and got free drinks and pizza. There I met a really rich girl from Bolivia, her name was Elizabeth. She was super sweet and a lot of fun to hang out with. After we left the pub we lost Cerci and Chelsea who decided to go home. Next, Austin, Elizabeth, and I went to a really exclusive club in Rome. We were able to get into one of the VIP areas and have fun there. Elizabeth and I got separated from Austin when we went on to the dance floor. That had to be one of the most terrifying minutes of my life. I literally had to elbow a guy in the diaphragm twice to get him to let me go. Elizabeth was in a similar situation. Luckily, we were able to shove our way out of there. Despite this hiccup it was a fun night. Elizabeth took us for pizza and then to her hotel for a little while. It was crazy to see how well off she was. I had a lot of fun in Rome and really liked all it had to offer. Even though I walked so much and did a ton of stairs. The day we toured all the ruins I went up 58 flights of stairs.  I loved touring Italy but was so happy to be back in Bonn and in my bed. Its crazy to think how much like home Bonn has gotten.

Week 12

This week was a lot of fun. We started off with a day trip to Bingen and Andernach. We take a bus and arrive in Bingen. It is a beautiful little German city with beautiful river and hills. This is a history of medicine excursion and so we visit the Hildegard museum while we are there. Dr. Wasser sang for us and was actually pretty good. There was also this cute little garden and we all were tasked with finding a specific plant. Maggie and I had to a find a big bush. We then had a little bit of time and so we spent it lying in the grass and taking a pull out day picture. We walked to lunch and had basically no food with quite a bit of wine. I've never slept better than on the bus going to Andernach.

In Andernach, we went to this cute little museum run by an old man. It was in his house and had medical things stuffed in every corner. We actually had to split into two groups because we wouldn't all fit in the rooms together. One group went to the museum while the other got gelato. It made it a great day.

Also this week, we went to the arithmuem with Madeleine. We had to go to get extra credit but it was so worth it because they had so much cool stuff and all of us nerds really enjoyed it. We got to see original adding machines and how the calculator evolved from those to what it is today. It was a surprisingly cool experience and at the end Madeleine bought us gelato again which is always nice.

Week 8: France and its Star Paris

   A good chunk of the first two days of our excursion was spent on a bus. It was really cool to see the country side for once. In Colmar we say the Insheim Altar which was very beautiful. It was neat to see so much imagery and symbolism hidden into every inch of the altar. The town was very beautiful as well. It was a cool fusion of German and French architecture. It made me feel like I was in a fairy tale. Next we went to Beaune. We had a very delicious meal at this quaint restaurant. I loved all the food and wine that was served. I was sad to see that my table mates did not like vegetables, wine, or almost anything else that was served. Here we are eating excellent cuisine you can't find anywhere else in the world and your disgust with vegetables takes that experience away from you. I also had way too much wine because no one else my table was drinking any. I did manage to pass the bottle off to another table. The next morning we saw the beautiful Hotel Dieu, The oldest running hospital in Europe. It was this absolutely stunning place. Words can't describe how cool this place was. The tour guide was amazing at telling the history and stories of this place. I found it very enchanting.
  We finally got to Paris. I was so absolutely excited to be there. We met Julian who was to be our tour guide for the week. We went to this really great Crepe Restaurant. I found my new favorite combo, lemon and sugar.  The next day we had a lot of fun riding bikes around the city. It was such a neat way to see some of the sites. There were a lot of people crashing their bikes but luckily no one was seriously hurt. We went to Notre Dam which was magnificent. After that we went to the Surgery Museum, which, has some really cool instruments. When we were finished with the tour we had time to go wander the city. I was super excited to go try following the walking path of things to do that Carleton had made me. Sadly a number of the things that were on the map were closed. Kyle, Amran, Clare, and I did find this absolutely incredible place to go eat Macrons. We also found the Jardin Luxembourg. It was very nice even in the drizzle.

   I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone and making memories. There are so many gems in Paris to see, there was no way to see all of it. Julian took us to go see Monmart which is the artist district of Paris. It was really pretty and held a lot of memories and inspiration for famous artists. It also gave some great views of Paris. Another cool way to get good views of Paris is from the top of the Eiffel tower. I was really impressed with myself because I made it to the top, and didn't have a complete mental breakdown. I am sad that I did not spend more time exploring the local atmosphere and eat and drink like a local. I feel like that would have really added to my experience. I absolutely loved the picnic we had on the last day. There was so much good cheese, bread, and ham. I adored the truffled brie. I still think about now. Paris has so much beauty and history its almost surreal that it is a real place that I could visit.

Week 8 PARISSSSS

So I don't even know where to begin... I suppose Colmar... I know Colmar was in France but to me it looked very German (or how I used to think German architecture looked). It was super cute but it felt like a ghost town. I thought it was so odd that it was a weekday in the afternoon and the town was practically empty! It was nice to have a break from the bus ride. I'm glad we stopped there. We ended up staying in Beaune in a super nice hotel that I loved! Dinner was also a different experience trying food I never would have thought, like cold meat with green in it🙂 but it was good! Going out in Beaune was also fun but hard to do at first because everything was closed! What is up with these French towns? I also LOVED the museum there. The lady that gave us the tour was absolutely adorable and super funny!
Paris, however, was all that I thought is was going to be and more! Dinner the first night was interesting to say the least... BUT the bike tour the next day was by far my favorite thing of this whole study abroad trip. There's just something about riding a bike by the Eiffel Tower that really gets to me... I wish I could do it for every day of my life. I was never tired because I was so overwhelming happy and it was the greatest feeling ever. After the bike tour I got to go La Duree to get a box of some of the best macaroons in the world (thanks Dr. Wasser for introducing me to them now I'm addicted...). That night at the top of the Eiffel Tower was also a life changing experience. It may have been foggy and cold but I was on top of the freaking Eiffel Tower. How much more great could life get?
The next morning I really contemplated going on that walking tour because let's all face it I love my sleep more than anything, but I am really really glad I did. The church and the view were breathtaking! The markets and artist stands were so cute! We got to stop and have a great lunch outside at a small cafe. I loved it all. The Louvre after was also amazing, I just wish we had more time to go through more. I have to go back and just go to the museum everyday because there is so much to see in there. I'll have to say though, what is the big whoop about the Mona Lisa? I found it more interesting that so many people were going crazy over this small painting... After the museum Rachel showed me to Shakespeare and Company which was a super cute bookstore that I could have spent hours in but I knew my friends would hate me if I did so I cut it a little short... Also had to only let myself buy two books which was extremely hard for me to do! That day, along with all the days spent in Paris, was super long so after I went back to the hotel and immediately went to sleep. Versailles was so beautiful and insane at the same time. It was so crazy to be in such a huge place where people actually lived! I just could never imagine! The picnic set up for us was very nice. It was awesome that Julian got us many different French foods to try.
Overall, the Paris experience was a once in a lifetime thing. I would love to go back but even if I did it would never be the same as it was that week. I will forever be grateful for that amazing trip.

Week 7 (I know I'm behind......)

This week was pretty terrible... We had a physiology test, a ton of math assignments and a signals assignment. Math is so time consuming and what was even more time consuming was reading what felt like half the physiology text book🙃 (I hope y'all can see emojis on this) So as you can see it was a pretty stressful week. Let me tell you, those 59 euro cent coffees sure do come in handy... The only good thing that happened what that ED SHEERANS NEW CD CAME OUT! I learned all the songs in like two days. Literally. So thanks to coffee, Ed Sheeran, and looking forward to Paris I made it out alive. (PS my fellow engineers also made this hell week tolerable❤)

Week 9: A break in the middle of spring.

SPRINNNGGGG BREEAAAKKKKKK

Welcome to the Claire's Blog, Party Edition.  Well, if party means twelve cones of gelato in six days that is (RIP Austin).

Kanci and I stuck it out in Paris (I know, we must've been troopers to stay there of all places) an extra day before jetting off to Florence.  We spent a few days in Florence, charming all the street vendors (not really) and trying nearly every gelato shop (really) that we could before we left.  I had the experience of a lifetime when we went to a gelato shop right by our Air B'nB and I tried the mint gelato. Let me tell you, folks, this was the best mint anything I've ever had in my life. It tasted unbelievably fresh, like they had extracted the flavor from a mint leaf and stuck it right in the gelato. I liked it so much, in fact, that I made Kanci go back the next day, 40 minutes after we got gelato at another place, and got three scoops of just the mint flavor. In my defense, it was our last day in Florence, so it was then or never.

Our next stop was Rome, which was an incredible city and undoubtedly one of my favorites of the trip. History permeates every aspect of the city and the culture is something else.  We met up and stayed with one of my friends, Emily, who studies in Rome.  She gave us the local tour, which included a brief orientation with where all the sites were and also where the cat sanctuary was.  Kanci, of course, was riveted by the cat sanctuary, not because it was directly adjacent to the site where historians believe Julius Caesar died, but, well, because of the cats!  I myself am a dog person, but I have to say some of those cats were pretty darn cute! Anyways, we spent quite a bit of time there, but also managed to squeeze in the Colosseum, the Roman Forum (a favorite of mine!), the Vatican (another favorite, especially the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museum), the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and I could go on and on!!  We saw the sunset in Rome from the top of what the locals call "The Cake Topper", which is an enormous building in the center of Rome and actually named the Altare della Patria. It's a bit like our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but the Italians don't like it because it was built by Mussolini, it's a bit over the top in their opinion, and they didn't really have the money to build it at the time.  All the same, it offered some incredible views of Rome!

Our last weekend of spring break was spent in Berlin where we met up with my brother, who had come to visit. The weather was unfortunately quite dreary; very cold, windy, and rainy.  So we went around to all the sites, but spent as much time indoors as we could.  All in all, though, an incredible week!

Week gr8: Meeting the French

We got to France after a 6 hour bus ride. We made two brief stops in Beaune and Colmar, both mediocre when compared to the Pièce De Résistance - Paris.

Paris was so much fun.  We were originally worried about the weather, but it ended up only kind of raining on one day (and it didn't even really).  We had a tour guide named Julien who stayed with us all week, showing us around Paris and giving us advice on what to see during our free time, how to get places, where to eat (and where not to eat), and so much more.  One of the best parts of our trip was a city bike tour we took - it went around to many of Paris's famous monuments and was just so much fun (although we did have a couple wipe-outs, including Madeleine running into a car).  The first time we saw the Eiffel Tower at night, all of us fell in love with it - especially because every hour, on the hour, its lights would twinkle magically.  We actually went back to the tower every night except for one night, just to see it.  Ed Sheeran's new album had just come out, and on our last night Kanci and Maggie and I went back one last time to see the Paris's prize and listen to the album - another one of my favorite memories of the week.  The top of the tower was super neat - we went all the way to the top, and that night it was quite windy, so you'd turn a corner on the top of the tower and have to lean forward to combat the wind that else would push you back.  The Lourve was another highlight; we all finally got to see the Mona Lisa - it's funny how so many people travel so far to see this painting only to take a picture of it instead of really standing and appreciating it.  After taking our own pictures (we fell into this trap, too), James and I realized this and went back to just look at the painting and absorb this priceless piece of art.

When you hear about French wines and cheeses, you hear about them for a reason.  Our tour guide Julian, a Parisian, got us some of the best wines, cheeses, and cold cuts for a picnic after visiting the Palace at Versailles (which for the record I really did not like, because I thought it was extremely over the top).  These were absolutely delicious, especially the brie with truffle, the butter, and a goat cheese in the shape of a pyramid.  It was an absolutely scrumptious way to end our time in Paris (although technically Maggie, Kanci and I still had an extra day). Speaking of that extra day, I'd highly recommend visiting St. Chapelle in Paris if you're in the mood for amazing stained glass windows, and the Musée d'Orsay for some picturesque art. Also, the d'Orsay is in an old train station, so that's pretty neat!

If you're looking for the bottom line, it's this: Yes, people got it right when they told you to visit Paris.  It's a must-see place and honestly a pretty spectacular and historical city.  And, yes, the food isn't bad either.

Week 15 - The Last One

So this is my last blog post and it is dedicated to venting about how absolute $hit the week was.  I slept for maybe 4 hours every night because of all the studying the consumed the engineers lives.  But it's over now and I can enjoy my last few days in Bonn, relaxing and packing to go home.  In a previous blog I talked about my mixed feelings I had about the semester ending and it almost being time to go home.  I'm sad to be going home, because Bonn started to feel like home and everything that I was doing everyday felt like home and felt comfortable and I enjoyed it all.  From riding the train everyday to class to going to REWE for lunch.  It became a part of my routine, and all of the things that were uncomfortable at first became normal and just became a part of life.  I finally realized how much I'm going to miss Bonn and how despite not being a ridiculously amazing part of Europe it will always be one of my favorites because I didn't just visit here, I lived here for 4 months.  I am excited to be going home though because I can drive again, I can eat Mexican food, I can eat Whataburger, and I never thought I'd say it, but I miss College Station.  It will also be nice to be able to talk to people instead of being silent everywhere because I don't speak the language.  I have about 4 days left in Germany and I can say this has been quite an amazing experience, and even though a lot of it sucked (A LOT) I wouldn't trade this semester for anything in the world.  But this is it my friends, the final blog post.  It's been real.  Tschüss.