Arriving in Frankfurt this past Thursday was a little exciting but overwhelming. I was nervous to meet my host family for the first time and for getting all settled in. However, I had nothing to be worried about because my host family is amazing! They all welcomed me with open arms and were very patient with me as I settled in the next few days. My host mom is also an amazing cook. Some quirky things that are normal here but quirky in the states is that you basically have to open the windows when you take a shower because there is no other way for the humidity to escape. There are also individual heaters in every room, and light switches are square shaped and quite big! Also, garbage is BIG deal here, as there are basically 3 different trash bins: one for plastic, paper, and residuals.
Learning to navigate around the Bonn-Bad Godesberg area has been truly a struggle. When every announcement is in German, and so many different trains going in different directions, it can be a nightmare trying to get around. Thankfully, my friend Whitney lives very close to me and together we have been able to learn how to get to Bonn and back without my trouble. However, sometimes we get up too early and have to run to the train so we aren't late to meet up with the group. Thankfully, where I live I have two options to get to Bonn Hauptbahnhof, the subway and train. I feel bad for the people who can only use the bus to get to school because those are very unpredictable.
It's only been one week, but I know that when I leave in May I will not want to leave behind the plethora of bakeries that are on every street corner in Bonn. There is just nothing more delightful than escaping the cold, damp subway station and emerging to the smells of freshly baked bread. I also got the opportunity to taste the infamous 'currywurst' at one of the food trucks in one of Bonn's squares. Shockingly, I quite enjoyed it even though I'm known to dislike almost every sauce known to man.
Last Thursday (our first full day here), we got to visit the vineyard Winzergenossenschaft in the town of Mayschoss. It was stunningly beautiful with all of the terraces with the grapevines lined up. We got to climb to the top of the nearby mountain and taste the first of four wines we were given that night. The white wine was my favorite, but the final sweet red wine put up a fight for my favorite of the night. We also got to tour the wine cellars and it was crazy how big some of the barrels were. They truly have the art of making wine down to science.
This past Tuesday we all had the pleasure of visiting the city of Aachen, Germany. We got to visit with the Enmodes people who we will be working with on our project. We have to come up with various ways to basically aid failing lungs in redirecting oxygenated blood from the right atrium of the heart to the left atrium. We also had wienershnitzel for lunch at a local restaurant before touring the Aachen cathedral which was magnificent. My favorite fact to learn was that King Charlamagne's body was split in half when he died and half of his bones are kept in his shrine at the church. Four of the bones were on display with some artifacts in the treasury next-door which was very interesting to see.
Today was the first day of class for my History of Medicine and Pharmacology classes. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed about all of the assignments are coming up, but I know that if I get a head start, I will be just fine. Tomorrow is the first day of Physiology and German, and I can't wait to start actually learning some German vocab besides the basics.
This upcoming weekend, I will be traveling to Brussels, Belgium, with a few others from the group. This will all be our first time going on our to another country for a weekend trip, so I think we are all a little nervous about transportation and staying in a hostel but I know that once we get there we will be fine. I am most excited for the food, such as their chocolate, waffles, and french fries. I want to visit the Atomium while we are there, this immense structure that looks like a bunch of atoms put together (hence the name).
It's crazy that it's already been a week. It's been flying by even though I've tried to slow down and take it all in. I am excited for all the upcoming adventures and challenges I'll get to experience these next few weeks!
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