week 2

21/01

It feels so weird to be back in school mode! We had our first project meeting and got assigned initial teams. I’m not allowed to share much about the details due to a nondisclosure agreement, but I am already so confident that my team is going to kill it. 

Today, I also found a flight for 40 dollars roundtrip to Milan in a few weeks, and it was too good of a deal not to buy. I have never had an interest in going to Milan before, but after doing some research, I’ve finding that it is a very cool city. I have had no luck yet finding tickets to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, but I am planning on literally scouring the internet until I find one!

22/01

            Today, we visited Cologne, which is a 30 minute train ride from Bonn. We went on an hour and a half walking tour around the city, which I have to admit is my favorite thing to do in windy below 0°C weather! After lunch and cappuccinos, we headed to a museum called the EL-DE-Haus, which used to be the old Gestapo headquarters. Underground, there was an interrogation prison, but we learned that it was actually used for torturing people who opposed Hitler. It was so heartbreaking to read stories and see the original writings on the wall of the prison cells of people who had been tortured or executed. 

After the museum, we headed over to the Cologne cathedral, which was one of the most impressive cathedrals I have ever seen. I thought it was cool that it is the second tallest church in the world- its construction began in 670 and ended in the 19^thcentury and still was built according to its original design plan. We had the opportunity to go all the way up to the tall towers and were able to get an incredible view, which was SO worth almost getting hypothermia. So far, I’ve been loving everything about the cathedrals we’ve visited so far- the Gothic architecture, the rich history, the holy relics, the pure beauty of it! 

23/02-25/02

As the semester goes on, I’m sure most days will not have that much variation between them (and I won’t have as much time to write) so I figured that it would be okay if I combined a few days for these posts!

One thing I’ve been struggling with since I’ve gotten to Germany is my skin. It is so cold here that my face gets really chapped. Another struggle I’ve been having is staying focused on my schoolwork because I always get the urge to start planning a weekend trip. There are just so many cool places in and near Germany and I want to be able to do it all! I really have to remind myself of my priorities because it is STUDY abroad, after all.

Speaking of class, we did “qigong,” in my History of Medicine class, which is a bunch of different physical and breathing exercises. I’ve never done anything like it before, but I really enjoyed finding my ~chi~. 

02/26-02/27

This weekend was mainly spent getting ahead in school. I went to a coffee shop and caught up on some readings and did background research on different aspects of ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for my team’s first project meeting. Once I could no longer take it, I took an excursion to the Birkenstock outlet, which was amazing, besides the fact that I got lost on the way there and only had 15 minutes to look around before it closed. I will definitely be making my way back asap so I can stock(get it) up. 

Saturday evening, I went out on the town again to experience some more Bonn *nightlife*.  I’ve made an appearance at karaoke night at this underground bar for the past two weeks, which has been quite a blast. Germans really seem to like songs from the 2000’s about teen angst and “Country Roads” by John Denver. Speaking of bier, I have also been enjoying kolsh and different local brews. Once it warms up, I am excited to hang out in biergartens since they’re all closed right now.

Also, on a very important note, my host mom is seriously the best. She has been taking such good care of me, and especially my stomach. I feel so at home here in big part due to her! I am the first student she’s ever taken in, but she’s completely killing it. Overall, I am still so in love with being here. I feel so grateful and overwhelmed every day when I realize that this gets to be my reality.