VIVA COLONIA!!!!

Monday

Flight back from Budapest 

This week started off pretty rough. It was more expensive to travel back to Bonn from Budapest on Sunday, so we decided to head back Monday morning and save 30 euros. I woke up to my alarm at 04:00, quickly got ready, finished my last-minute packing, and left the Airbnb by 04:15. Katie, Corey, Mitchell, Lauren, Madeline, and I sprint walked for 10 minutes to a square where a bus to the airport would pick up. However, it was difficult to tell where the bus would stop exactly. A few minutes passed and there was still no sign of our bus. I was beginning to worry that we would miss our flight, as we didn’t leave much time for travelling mishaps. Finally, our bus appeared at the opposite end of the square. But it didn’t slow to a stop. Instead it turned left and disappeared down a nearby street.  All of us were exhausted and not in the best mood, but we were determined to make our plane. Within a split second, everyone was in a dead ass sprint, luggage and suitcases flying. Entertained pedestrians laughed and shouted at us “RUN!!.” When we reached the bus, we were told our tickets wouldn’t work on this bus. Thankfully, Lauren had some Hungarian Forint left over and was able to pay for the tickets (I still have to pay her back!). Everything went smoothly at the airport. We landed in Dortmund at 08:30. We had another tight connection to our 09:15 bus back to Bonn. We quickly found a taxi and made it to the Dortmund Central Station by 09:05. It was difficult to tell where our bus was located, so we had to wait in the line to ask the information desk. By 09:10, we found out that our bus was leaving from the back entrance of the Station. Once again, we were running to catch the bus, battling our way through the crowds of morning commuters. This was the third time I’ve sprinted to catch a bus in less than a week. I think I have come to associate busses with running now. We made the bus, and arrived safely back to Bonn. We took a tram to the Hauptbahnhof and walked to the AIB in time for our class at 12:30. I was in school till late evening on Monday. I love travelling, but it was so nice to be back. Bonn almost feels like home now.

Snow in Poppelsdorf on Tuesday February 6th

Tuesday

I spent my Tuesday finishing up 211 homework and preparing for our 211 exam the next day. My classes did not finish until later that day. I don’t like late classes, as I have a hard time focusing in the evening.

Wednesday

The 211 test was Wednesday. Let’s just not talk about that... Madeline, Corey, and I went to REWE to buy chocolate after the test. Milka chocolate is really good with Leibniz crackers. In German class, Hilde spoke to us about Karneval, and taught the chorus of a well-known Karneval song “Viva Colonia.” Katie and I went costume shopping after school. We bought cheap matching red overalls and an orange sweater. To spiff up our costumes, we sewed sequins and bows onto the overalls and wore funky glasses and a purple boa. My host sister said our outfits were a “color bomb” which sounds like what Katie and I were going for.

Thursday

The Karneval celebration began on Thursday. I fell asleep sewing sequins to my overalls Wednesday night, so I had to quickly finish decorating my costume that morning. Our program went to a parade in Beuel. Lots of candy was thrown into the crowds. When the parade was over, a group of us went to a square where there was live music and people were dancing to Karneval songs. We were having a great time, and it was fun to be able to sing along to “Viva Colonia.” I ran into my host sister in the square, it was funny to see her, as we had been joking about the odds of running into each other the day before. I bought a bratwurst and met up with the rest of the group at a burger place in Beuel. Afterwards, Madeline, Lauren, Katie, and I walked back over the bridge to Altstadt Bonn. Later that day, a group of us went out to a bar playing Karneval music and catchy German songs. We danced for a bit, and called it a night a little early as a lot of the places were closing around midnight. Overall, I enjoyed my first day of Karneval. It was very fun to see how enthusiastic people are about the celebration.

Karneval!

Friday

I took it easy on Friday. I caught up on homework, sleep, my blog, and spent some time chatting with my host family about their Karneval celebrations.