the week I learned. . . a lot

I walked into the bustling airport to see an assortment of heartfelt goodbyes, frantic checkins and never-ending security lines. My mom held my hand in hers as if it was going to make our lasts moments together longer. My dad spouted his last words of caution as I approached the check-in counter. Our sentimental bubble was popped by a polite but stern, "excuse me ma'am", I glanced at the scale only to see that my bag was three pounds over the limit. Frantically, I pulled out pairs of shoes and sweaters in hopes I could stuff them into my already over-stuffed carry-on. I sacrificed my favorite pair of heels and prepared myself for my most difficult goodbye. They waved at me from behind the clear glass as I went up the escalator trying to hold back the tears forming in my eyes. I felt a buzz in my back pocket to see a text from Madeline Lee, a great friend and classmate who was accompanying me on this grand adventure.

The tears were replaced with excitement as I waited in the security line. This was the day we had been dreaming about since August. In security, something in my bag alarmed the TSA. A friendly woman pulled me aside as she opened my bag. She curiously started a conversation about my travels asking about my destinations and purpose. Once I told her I was studying abroad, her face lit up, "Oh how wonderful! I always wanted to do that myself but in college I was too scared to go by myself". I had heard comments like hers about a million times after I decided to study abroad. I was shocked by the amount of people who had a desire to travel the world but let fear hold them back. I was not going to limit myself by letting anxiety rule my decisions.

After a sleepless 8 hour and 35 minute flight, Madeline and I landed in London. We were both in a state of excited-ness and delusion from lack of sleep. After a brief layover we boarded the plane and headed off to Frankfurt. Exhausted, hungry, and full of anticipation we hunted for authentic german airport food to kick off our journey and test the legal limits of drinking. In all the commotion that comes with traveling, we quickly lost track of time. Immediately after paying the tab we found ourselves sprinting through the airport trying to find the rest of the group. After asking for directions and being pointed in a million different directions we finally made it onto the bus.

The bus stopped pulled up on the side of the road to let us out. I reluctantly grabbed my stubborn and overweight luggage to begin the walk to a place called "the old AIB". I felt like a pack mule traversing Antartica. The wheels on my 60 pound suitcase kept catching on the cobblestone making it impossible to walk for more than ten meters without having re-adjust. We finally arrived to a beautiful brown building. It was constructed of mostly wood and brick and with close attention to detail. In fact, the architecture of most buildings were artfully designed according to the era of their construction.

"Are you Lauren and Madeline?" a sturdy woman with short peppery hair asked. She then brought us to her car explaining that she had to borrow her neighbors because hers would not fit Madeline, Me and all our overweight luggage. She brought us into her home where we were greeted by a spunky yet regal black standard poodle, Jamie. We had a brief tour around the house before our host mom, Astrid, showed us to our rooms. Her house consists of four floors, a basement, the first floor, the second floor, and the attic. All are connected by a steep and narrow spiral staircase that is impossible to use in the dark. The furniture is mostly made of wood, and the decorations are mostly colorful art pieces made by her four children over the years. After a final luggage haul up the stairs we took the dog for a walk so Astrid could show us the basics of public transport, a completely knew concept to two girls who drive their cars everywhere. In an effort to stay awake during the time between our walk and dinner I took a shower and FaceTimed my mom. Staying awake for 32 hours really takes a toll on you. When our first meal together was over Madeline and I were thankful to be able to finally sleep. This is when I first encountered my lovely friend, jet lag.

My room is a good size and has a bed, desk, closet, and book case. The book case is filled with an assortment of German literature and school textbooks. There is a colorful cloth rug that sits in the middle of the room on the cork floorboards. The furniture is all made of wood and fits nicely in the room. Starting from the middle of the room the ceiling slants downward at a relatively steep angle. The ceiling meets the wall on the other side of the room about three feet above the floor. The bed sits against this wall right underneath the slant. As soon as I get into bed, I fall asleep right away. Around four in the morning I awake and jolt straight up, completely forgetting that the ceiling is literally right above me. My head meets the drywall and makes a loud thud! In pain and confusion I fall back onto my pillow and go back to sleep. This is only one of many times that I have awoken during the night due to jet lag and banged my head on the ceiling.

My alarm went off at around 8:30 the next morning. I snoozed my alarm about three times before actually getting out of bed. Germans are very environmentally conscious. They take brief showers, have a recycling bin for literally everything, and they don't really use the heaters. So when my alarm went off the first two times, I was reluctant to leave my warm snuggly bed for the harsh cold outside the blankets. Realizing that choosing to lay in bed had now made me late for our first excursion. I quickly got dressed, made sure madeline was up and rushed downstairs to put on my coat and shoes. We stopped for coffee and a pastry at a cafe across from our tram stop.

My fingers were grateful to be holding a warm cup of coffee. As we crossed the street towards the tram, a woman glanced at me and asked "Are you okay?". Our friendly conversation took a turn when she started ranting about how the "poisonous" polizei were keeping her on leash. She spouted on about how she wasn't going to speak german for a year because the germans are "evil" and "racist". Madeline and I were thankful the tram arrival provided us an escape from her escapades.

We ran to the train station where we met up with the rest of our group. As today was our first day navigating Bonn, Madeline and I werent the only ones who showed up late (thankfully). We then took a brief bus ride to Maychoss which is famous for their wineries. Maychoss is a small town in a valley. The surrounding mountains are covered with grapevines, even in the steepest areas. A tall German man with a British accent lead us on an informative hike to the top of one of the mountains. He explained everything from how the grapes were grown to how the wine was actually produced. We tasted four different wines, starting with a white and making our way up to the reds. I was surprised to learn they made their white, rose, and red wines all with the same grape. All the wines were delicious, but the first two (white and rose) were my favorite.

After a nap on the bus ride home, Madeline, Mitchell, Corey, Emily and I were excited to spend some time in our home city for the next few months. We roamed the streets of downtown Bonn, acquainting ourselves with the historic buildings and little shops. We finally made our way to a bar called "Sessions" where one of our student workers was playing in a 50's blues band. We descended down a spiral staircase into a small but cozy bar. There were older couples in the back very talentedly dancing to the music while the younger crowd was at the front swaying along to the beat. We stayed for a few songs and a beer then made our way home. I set my alarm for the next day then crawled into bed. I received another lovely visit from my friend jet lag who kept me awake until about three in the morning.

The next day I forced myself to get out of bed after my first alarm. I got ready for the day and walked downstairs to get some fruit before heading to the Rhine. Astrid told Madeline and I the Rhine was a short walk from the house so we took our time getting ready. We bundled up in our coats, boots and scarves then headed out for the day. About halfway down the street, Madeline and I idiotically concluded that our host mom who had lived in Bonn for 28 years was wrong about directions. So, we jumped on a train and showed up an hour late only to realize that she was actually right. After standing in the freezing weather for about an hour and a half we finally began the "scavenger hunt". The only good to come out of standing in the freezing rain was we got to ~mingle~ with the other programs studying at the AIB.

The "scavenger hunt" basically consisted of us running around the Rhine answering questions. I think the main purpose was more for us to explore the area and get to know each other than to actually "scavange". At the end of the hunt, the AIB provided us with Gluhwein, which is hot red wine with spices. I was a little skeptical about trying it because the idea of hot wine doesnt sound very apetizing. But it was freezing, my hands were numb and honestly I had nothing to lose. Turns out, I really enjoy Gluhwien! It basically tastes like Christmas in a cup. We later had a little AIB dinner which they gave us potato salad and bratwurst. I was happy to find out they served vegetarian bratwurst. Finding vegetarian options was something that really worried me since the Germany stereotype is associated with lots of meat dishes. I have actually found that it is way more common to be vegetarian here than in the US. Every restaurant has at least three or four vegetarian options, and there are always vegetarian or vegan restaurants nearby.

After our dinner, Madeline and I went back home for a little nap. Saturday was also Madeline's birthday so we decided to explore Bonn's nightlife. We met up with some other students for happy hour at the "Final Bar". Once happy hour was over, we found that the drinks were actually pretty expensive so we moved on. Our next stop was "Billa-BONN". At this Australian themed bar we encountered "Bonn's Best" or otherwise known as Mexikana. Im going to skip the details of it because it is something you definitely have to try for yourself. We befriended some local guys who later showed us a nightclub, "Carpe Nochtern". Again, I am not going to go into detail because it is really something that should be experienced first-hand. Long story short, we made some new friends and Madeline had a pretty good birthday.

The next day was Sunday. This was the first day that we actually got completely to ourselves. Our host family has family breakfasts on Sunday around noon. This was really cool because we finally got to spend some time with Astrid and her two children, Nia and Leon. After breakfast, Madeline and I decided to go for a run along the Rhine. Coincidentally one of our friends from the night before also thought it was a good idea to explore the Rhine that day. After a semi-awkward conversation, we finished our run and headed home for dinner.

Monday morning we woke up and headed to the AIB for class. We spent most of the morning filling out visa paperwork then headed off for lunch. We walked around Bonn and did some shopping but the day was relatively uneventful.

Tuesday we had an excursion to Aachen. In the morning we had a meeting with a small engineerin company, Enmodes. We were given our super top secret semester project. The task seems a little intimidating but I am excited to start working on it. After we had lunch and freetime. For lunch I had the most delicious meal. Im not really sure what it was called but it was similar to ratatouille but better. During freetime we stopped in a chocolate shop that was run by a cute old round woman who spoke very little english. After many hand gestures and google translation searches we each left the store with a bag of delicious truffles. Later, we toured a beautiful cathedral that was built in the name of Charlemagne. A cheerful tour guide with brown, pixie cut, hair showed us through the church and treasury. She pointed out all the symbolism and detail behind the decor and sculpture within the church. The tiling on the ceiling of the church impressed me the most. Each tile was so small and yet the designs were extremely elaborate. The amount of work put into creating that masterpiece is astounding to think about. Madeline and I, both exhausted and in need of a good meal, headed home for dinner.

I woke up Wednesday morning to snow flurries landing on my window sill. I have lived in Texas for most of my life. Seeing snowfall is pretty close to witnessing a miracle for us. I couldn't help but watch out the window as the snowflake drifted toward the ground during my lectures. For lunch, I got to try this delicious potato soup. Im pretty sure it was 90% butter and 10% potato but whatever it was, it was delicious. After class, Madeline and I went home to plan our trips.

On Thursday, we only had DFQ. It was weird to only have one class in a day but it was nice to have most of the day for homework. Our class was not until late in the afternoon, so we decided to do some shopping. First we picked up some school supplies. Then we went to the Galerie where I bought some new shoes :). I have yet to wear another pair of shoes since I bought them because I just really really like them. Thursday night, we went home, ate our dinner and prepared for our first trip to cologne.

Earlier in the week we decided to stay in cologne after the Friday excursion to save money. On Friday, we toured the cathedral and a Gestapo museum. Both were very informative and interesting. The cathedral is the second largest in Europe. I struggled to fit the entire thing within my camera frame. After the first tour of the cathedral, we actually got to sit through a prayer service. This made the experience even more special. I have toured other famous churches such as the Sagrada Familia and Notre Dame, but experiencing a prayer service brings it to a new level. I feel like I appreciated it more because it didn't feel as "toursity". The Gestapo museum was also really cool. My grandma believes my family moved out of Germany because of Hitler and WWII so I have always been interested in that portion of history. Seeing the drawings and letters on the side of the cell walls really hit home for me. It made that portion of history personal. After breaking for lunch, we took another tour along the top of the cathedral. Once at the top, we actually got to witness the breathtaking sunset over cologne.

Once all the tours were over and we were free for the weekend Madeline, Emily, Katie and I headed to our airbnb. We got directions to the apartment and realized it was an hour and a half walk away. When booking, I didn't count in how far a mile or two from the center really is when you're on foot. We started our treck across the bridge to the other side of the river. By the time we finally got there, our backpacks felt like boulders and our feet felt like walking on pins. We decided to go to a local pizza restaurant for dinner than call it a night. Once we finished our meal and ordered "una botella de vino para llevar", the owner brought us a round of licorice shots. Long story short, I am not a fan of licorice. The next morning we got dressed and set our for our track back to the other side of the river where we would have brunch. After 2.4 miles of walking, we arrived at the little cafe only to find it was filled to the door with people. Impatient, hungry, and with tensions building, we headed to another cafe for some cheaper, but less aesthetically  pleasing, breakfast. At the cafe, I paired my coffee with a creme berliner. A combination I would recommend to anyone. Once we were content, we set out to tour the chocolate museum. Touring the chocolate museum gave me a whole new appreciation for engineering. The amount of intricacy and programming behind the machines just to wrap the individual chocolates is amazing. The best part however was the free samples, particularly the ones at the chocolate fountain.

In addition to chocolate, cologne is known for its Kolsch beer. Madeline, Emily, Katie and I decided to do a brewery crawl to taste all the different Kolschs cologne had to offer. After a few beers and dinner, we headed further into Cologne to experience the nightlife. Unfortunately frustrating technical difficulties kept us from entering so we all started the hike back to airbnb. Once at home we immediately fell asleep from all the walking we had done.

Today we woke up and hopped on the train to head home. There was some confusion on which train to board but after some educated guessing, we figured it out. When we got on the train, an asian woman speaking english with an american accent was yelling from one of the passenger cars. Her purse had been stolen which contained her passport, credit cards and all her cash. Without any money or identification, she entered a state of panic. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for this poor woman. Her predicament was the one thing my parents, grandparents, and instructors had warned me about. It's every traveler's biggest nightmare. Fortunately, she was able to get help from the officials and in contact with her family at home.

After arrival in Bonn, we hopped on the tram and went home. We were greeted by Astrid, Nia, Leon, and Leon's qudditich team. I have never read the Harry Potter books or seen the movies so I was a little out of my element being surrounded by the team. However they were all very friendly and eagerly invited Madeline and me to watch a practice and potentially join their game. Once they left, Madeline and I headed upstairs to do some homework and prepare for the week ahead.

My first week in Bonn has already been filled with so many adventures, challenges and surprises. I have met some amazing people that I am excited to get know better. I have had a lot of firsts from trying new foods to booking places to stay. Some of these were good, others were learning experiences. I am hoping to take the mistakes I made this week and use them to make my future experiences better. The biggest lesson Ive learned is to keep and open mind and be flexible. The world is full of diversity and the biggest mistake you can make is closing yourself off from it.

This was my first week in Bonn, and I am so happy to be here.