Karneval

This week was on both ends of the school-life spectrum. On one end, I had 3 tests at the beginning of the week, but as soon as that last test was over, life got a wholeeee lot more fun. The first test of the week was Differential Equations. I studied most of Sunday on that one, and most of Monday since the test was after class. I felt pretty confident rolling into that one, and pretty confident coming out since he apparently likes to reuse questions from old exams that we have access to (clutch). Second exam was the German final which I studied about 2 hours for at like midnight because I was studying for physiology all night after the math exam. I went in again pretty confident and the test was preschooler level so I came out confident again. Lastly, there was the biggest monster of them all: physiology. I basically started studying for phys on friday, and logged so many hours on it. I don't think, in my short college career, I've started studying that early for a test before, but it's probably not a bad habit to get into. Again I was able to go in confident on the material, albeit scared about how the test would be, and walk out feeling decently. The best part though was the figurative weight that floated off my shoulders after I finished, and I didn't exactly know what to do with the rest of my time after that. I hung at the AIB for a little longer until everyone else finished, and a few people were going around town, so I ended up walking with them and getting ice cream.

The next day was the Karneval parade in Buehl, and somehow we manage to get all of AIB into the parade. We got to the new AIB really early, and donned our wigs and hoodies, and made our way to the parade, where we waited for like an hour, which seemed to defeat the purpose of having to wake up so early, but there were snacks so it could have been worse. The parade itself was a blast though. It was so much fun getting to see people of all ages dress up in various costumes, and getting to hand out Kamelle to the littler kids. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I didn't do Karneval. Instead, I recovered from food poisoning in Belgium. Six of us took the weekend trip to Brussels, and we also took a nice day trip to Bruges on Saturday. Belgium was a tad rainy and cloudy all around, but the food was amazing everywhere. We made sure to hit all of the essential food groups: french fries, waffles, chocolate, and beer. It wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped since I had to use the restroom probably every half hour, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. One of, if not the coolest thing we did, was learn how to make chocolate. It took about 2 and a half hours to make, but it tastes amazing and I still remember how to do it, so I plan on recreating it when I get back to the states. On Monday, I got the chance to experience Rose Montag in Cologne. It was an incredible sight, as every single person was decked out in costume, and the streets were still packed even though the weather was miserable. My host brother let me wear his tiger onesie, so I looked the part, along with many of my other friends. We were smart enough to claim a spot on the route early enough, and we got rewarded with plenty of candy and flowers because of it. It was an amazing experience overall, and I'd love to come back and experience it again, or make it to Bonn's Rose Montag parade.