For the weekend, I went to the lovely city of London. This was also quite an ambitious trip, as the plane departed at 8AM. I decided not to go to sleep after watching Infinity War Avengers and just stay up until it was time to go to Cologne Airport. When I got to London, the first thing we did was eat an English breakfast as one of our friends wanted the cultural experience. Later, we trekked through Hyde Park and went to the front of Buckingham Palace. The Queen was present, as the flag was lifted and displayed up in the air. Afterwards, we went to our airbnb which was out in the suburbs. We slept because we were exhausted, woke up and ate at a nearby Nando’s, stopped by a grocery store and bought cereal while the cashier wrongly thought we were going to steal things, and then slept some more. On Sunday, we went to The National Gallery and I got to revisit a lot of artwork from Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh. Afterwards, we went to Piccadilly Circus and I spent an astronomical amount on tea — I had been thinking about this tea for over a year, so I just went IN. We took a visit to the Soho area and Chinatown as well. For a late lunch, we went to a place called Chandos for fish and chips. The workers were very nice but I could tell they were overworked or super busy, as the lunch hour was ending. The vibe of the restaurant was amazing and I recommend it to anyone going to visit London. Afterwards, we took a stop at the Jubilee Market and Covent Market and walked around before taking a flight back to Germany. It was such a short trip, but I don’t regret visiting London again.
The trip back to Bad Godesberg was horrible, as our flight was delayed and the plane had missed the departure slot time so we had to wait even longer. We reached the last bus back to Bonn by literally a couple of minutes before it left, but the trams, subway, and trains in Bonn were not running in a way that didn’t force me to wait 30 minutes to an hour. I gave up and ordered a taxi, which was only 21,90 euro with 15% tip as it was raining, and I did not want to walk a mile in the rain even if I made it back to the Bad Godesberg Bahnhof.
On Monday we had our Rheincruise as well as our history of medicine final.
The cruise was relaxing and had a playground on it, which brought out everyones inner immature child in them. The history of medicine final was interactive, but I found it hard to answer questions with my seated position and slow reflexes. Additionally, I wonder how Dr. Wasser sorted us, as I was sorted into Slytherin. Pottermore has always sorted me into Ravenclaw, and other internet quizzes has as well. But then again, those online quizzes have also sorted me into Ravenclaw primary, and either Slytherin or Hufflepuff secondary. Later, we took time to buy last minute gifts in Bonn as the next day was a public holiday and everything would be closed.
On Tuesday, we went to AIB to do course evaluations but almost all of the course evaluations were not up yet. We also did a video interview for AIB/the program, and my friend and I managed to get a question answered from almost everyone for our scholarship video projects. Two people we could not get; one person did not want to do it and another simply ignored my question. Later, we went to Hofgarten as the day was nice and as a last way to hang out. When I went home, I was overwhelmed with packing as it felt like I had to pack my entire life in some luggage. I video chatted my friend to help keep me up for most of the time, and it got to the point where he started telling me bed time stories (???). I also finished watching A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I also watched it in German instead of English as an excuse to “practice German.” My taxi came right on time at 3:15AM, and since it was way early in the morning and I am definitely not a morning person, it was weird and melancholy.
It’s late right now and I’m running on basically 20 minute to one hour naps for the past couple of days (weeks?!), and I have to get up in 3 hours but here are some insights of mine from this semester abroad:
- I now trust my gut instinct better about people, places, and situations. Listen to your sixth sense.
- But also, believe in people. First impressions are bad. (But please… listen to your sixth sense.)
- Budgeting and planning is key.
- Work hard, play hard.
- Feeling at home is a state of mind.
- Comfort zones are most often expanded by discomfort.
Leaving Bonn, my host family, AIB, and my foreign home away from home is bittersweet and I will not lie — I’m anxious to go back to Texas and see my friends and family again. But would I do this all over again? Of course. ♡
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