Studying abroad (emphasis on study)

Week 5 of our trip was a lot of class. Like a lot. After our break in Vienna we had to make up classes as well as getting in classes before Dr. Fajt left. We had pharm Monday through Thursday, sometimes twice a day, but it was great. The class structure makes it enjoyable to have pharm. Our enmodes is also coming along, with help from Dr. Wasser and Reagan. We present our problems next week to enmodes which is nerve wracking but I think it’ll be a good experience. I’ve had a lot of practice with public speaking from being an officer for my service dog organization, but even after three years my heart still pounds. As for German, I felt behind after missing two lectures last week but the professor was nice about it. The vocab is ok but I still need work with dative/accusative/nominative and genders but practice makes the master. History of medicine was as entertaining as always! Our intercultural workshop made me do some soul searching and was quiet eye opening and I’ve thought about it since. I think the workshop is up there as my favorite alongside history of medicine. Outside of class I had a lot of fun watching a soccer game with friends and hiking in the forest behind my house with my host mom.

This weekend was the first time since we got here that I got to relax. No trips was a bummer but I took a much needed rest and caught up on some work. Plus the weather was amazing so everyone in Bonn was capitalizing on it. We got to sunbathe in Hofgarten and on Saturday we got gelato (Rome spoiled us). We played with the new volleyball too it was so fun. On Sunday my host mom and I hiked Drachenfals since it was still gorgeous out. I may be getting in shape with all the walking but my joints have not caught up so walking down was rough. I’d like to go back and walk the forest paths to other mountains. Next week weather is supposed to be nice too but we have been warned it will get cold again...It might be good though because the weather makes me a bit homesick I think. Since I was already vulnerable today I got homesick over the weirdest thing, a picture of a gas pump. (Right?) When I saw it it reminded me of filling my truck and being able to drive places, taking long drives listening to my favorite music and being the only one on the road for miles. I missed Texas today. But I love Germany. I’ll make the best of my time here because neither I nor this time in my life will ever be the same. Even if I come back to Germany, which I’d love to do and stay here for a while, this time is unique and the people are too! I love everyone on this trip and I’m so grateful to have meet such amazing people, I hope we keep in touch. So today I missed Texas but once I’m home, I’ll miss Germany forever. While on the ferry crossing the river to hike the mountain, the man taking payments told us not every place is somewhere you’d like to take a trip, but it’s the company you keep that makes it worthy. Bonn wasn’t a place I even knew before coming here but since being here I’ve fallen in love with the city, and the people make it all the more worthwhile.

Emotionally signing off, this peach.