One week down, many to go…

Ahhh, so I’ve officially been in Germany a week! As anticipated, it’s been a bit difficult trying to get used to living in a foreign country with the only close friends and family thousands of miles away… needless to say, I’m slightly homesick. It’s quite a weird feeling because I absolutely love it in Bonn and the little towns we have traveled to; I never thought I would be the type of person to miss home. However, I couldn’t have truly known what to expect beforehand, especially since I have never traveled without my family or friends, and definitely not for this long. I think the hardest thing to get used to is living with a host family. This past week I have been feeling slightly uncomfortable being in a family’s home I hardly know. However, my host mom, Melanie, is really nice. She has two little kids, a four and six year old, that are really cute and make it seem a little more homely. Its been hard to get to know her since we don’t talk much; partly because I have ‘self-catered homestay’ and don’t eat meals with their family, and partly because she is a busy mom.

Since arriving in Germany, we have been busy doing a lot of different and ‘touristy’ things. Friday, the day after we arrived, we took a bus to Mayschoß in the Ahr valley where we toured the vineyards and tasted a few different local wines specific to that region.  I really enjoyed learning about various ways wine is made and what a long process it is to produce the final product. The next day we met up with students outside the Biosciences program while exploring the beautiful Rheinaue Park. We walked around the park answering a few questions about the sites and familiarized ourselves with the area. Over the weekend I had a bit of time to explore the city of Bonn, but the orientation tour we were given Monday helped to reinforce the locations and my directional sense of the town. On Tuesday, we traveled to Aachen to meet with Enmodes and were introduced to the project we will be working on this semester. Afterwards, we ate lunch, walked around the town, and toured the Aachen Cathedral. Since this was my first time seeing such a beautiful cathedral, it was extremely interesting to hear the guide inform us of its historical significance. When classes began on Wednesday, the reality set in that this semester wasn’t going to be all fun excursions. I do think it will be slightly difficult getting into the routine of classes and schoolwork, but so far, I think I will enjoy my classes and figuring out how to schedule things.

Friday was our Cologne excursion. A fairly interesting tour guide led us around the city, and I learned quite a few random things about Cologne. After, we ate lunch and visited the EL-DE Haus museum. I was captivated by the different things our guide had to say about the Cologne Gestapo and their headquarters. Later that day we took a tour of the inside of the cathedral, climbed to the rooftop and witness an amazing view of the city. Four of us then departed from the group and started our Cologne weekend adventure! The next day we started our day with German pastries and coffee from a local bakery and ventured into the chocolate museum. Later that day we wondered around trying to find the best Kölsch breweries and German food.  Sunday morning we got back on the train to Bonn, and I finished off my weekend with a much-needed afternoon nap.