Week Two

Academics:
Academically, week two started with full force. After having only one actual class during the first week, I completely forgot what it felt like to have back to back classes and lectures. But this week still did not feel like normal classes would feel on campus at A&M. I think the biggest difference that I felt, was that at A&M I would have one or two classes a day and they would be spread out. Here, we have four classes a day with an hour break in between, and we usually get done around 5pm.
The other difference is that in my classes at A&M I usually did not talk to anyone in my class (mostly cause I had no initiative to), but here, everyone is friends with everyone and we are all able to get along pretty well, which makes the classes actually a lot more fun and more comfortable to be in.
The lectures themselves I feel like are also way more relaxed and I don't feel like I am in a classroom, but more like I am just wanting to learn it.
What I am the most nervous/excited about is the enmodes project. I am nervous that I won't be able to live up to the expectations for the project, but I am very excited to have to opportunity to apply what I am learning in class and my independent research, to something that will actually help someone live a better life.

The other academics part I want to talk about is the trip to Cologne. As soon as we stepped off the train, I was immediately amazed by the size and beauty of the cathedral. The town of cologne reminded me a lot of how Bonn looks like, so all the initial shocks had already passed, but the cathedral was unlike anything I had ever seen; and the history behind it was even more spectacular.


Personal:
From week one to week two, I did not notice many big differences in my experience. I began feeling a lot more comfortable walking by myself around town. The language barrier still gives me a lot of anxiety, but I am able to communicate without actually speaking.
I had been taking the bus from my house to town every time, but I was finally able to figure out how to get to the tram (which is way faster), and I feel more comfortable with understanding how the public transportation works.
I realized I had been spending way too much money on food, especially when we go out to lunch during school days, and that money is money that could be going towards affording more trips to other countries, so I was able to find a grocery store and I will start to pack lunches every day.
Having free time here is very different from having free time at A&M. Back in school, whenever I did not have homework or I had nothing to do during the weekends, I would either go to a friends house or I would stay home and watch Netflix. Here, I have not found myself with much free time to spare. After classes, I usually stay in the library doing homework until around 7pm, then I go home, have dinner, do more homework and instead of watching Netflix, I find myself looking at flights all over Europe, even though I might have no intention of going anywhere. I am usually exhausted and go to sleep at around 10 or 11 which I only wished to have done at A&M. During the weekend, I have spent the majority of time at AIB doing homework or working on the enmodes project.
I am still trying to find my place with the other students in the program and in Germany, but I know that with time, everything will feel normal.