Week 3, Stuttgart and The Black Forrest

 It is weird to think that it has already been three weeks! They have flown by very fast. This week was relatively mundane in terms of school. On Monday, we had our second intercultural workshop and we went over places to go after Berlin or places to visit in Berlin. On Tuesday, we had an extended math tutorial meaning we did math for three hours and fifteen minutes. It was very exhausting. On Wednesday, we had another German class where we went over how to order. We also had our first meeting with our pilot teams for the Endmodes projects. On Thursday, on German class teacher took us to a coffee cart to order. I got some sparkling orange juice. On Friday, we had one BMEN class before we left for Stuttgart.

The train ride to Stuttgart was about 2.5 hours. I got one homework problem done but we spent most of it chatting. I went with Jarrett, Isabelle, and Nate. When we arrived, we immediately headed to the Airbnb to set out stuff down. After, we headed into town to find a palace. Upon arrival, we found that the tickets were expensive so we only walked around the free parts. Oddly enough, they did not speak English but, upon accident, we found that the front person spoke Spanish and Nate was able to communicate with them fluently. After this, we headed to a brauhaus for dinner. After dinner, we went to an art museum. The museum was nice but my stomach was feeling bad so I was not enjoying it as much as I could have. We then headed back to the Airbnb.

On Saturday, we started our day off by taking a short train ride out to be able to hike in the Black Forrest. We ended up hiking for 12 miles. It was quite tiring. I had bought oranges and apples for snacks which was quite handy. After, we found a bakery and grabbed some quick lunch before heading back to Stuttgart for the rest of the day. We then headed to the Porsche Museum. I enjoyed this museum much more than I thought I would. I got to see two vintage fire trucks and a lot of vintage Porsches. After this, we started our adventure to find dinner. We ended up going into about five different restaurants before one let us in because reservations were required due to COVID. I ate a lot of food- probably more than I should have. We had Japanese food. We then found an Italian ice shop and I had mango ice cream. After, we went to the local library. It was very pretty. We then headed home for the day. In total, our watch fitness tracked that we walked about 19 miles.

On Sunday, we took a morning train back home to Bonn and got back about lunch time. I grabbed some lunch and headed back home with the intentions of getting some work done. I got home, showered, called my parents and sister and then fell asleep. I really barely got any work done but the rest was much needed after the weekend I had been through. I am excited for this coming week to go to Berlin.

School and Sot-Weed

What a long week! Three cities, eighty thousand steps, and a single completed homework. Last weekend, I traveled with four other students to the city of Munster. I was fascinated to learn the history of the town, especially that of the church of St. Lamberti. In the 1530s, a sect of Anabaptists overthrew the city’s Bishop-Prince and established a communist government in his place. Their reign ended four years later when the leaders of the movement were tortured and martyred for their actions. But their actions were not in vain. To this day, their bravery and revolutionary ideas can be seen on full display at St. Lambert’s church, where the cages that once housed their corpses still hang.

While the death and religious persecution were great fun, we also had the time to visit the Allwetterzoo in Munster. I love animals and haven’t been to a zoo in years, so I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. My two favorite animals were the leopards and the seals. The leopards were gorgeous, and there’s something so enjoyable about watching big cats act like small ones. We were also lucky enough to watch the seals while they were being trained. It was remarkable how intelligent they were!

During the week in Bonn, most of my time was spent either working or reading. Our first assignment for Signals and Systems was due, which kept me fairly busy. Nevertheless, the week was enjoyable! I have liked settling into a routine this past week, although I know that this schedule will be thoroughly interrupted next week in Berlin. In my next post, I’ll talk about my weekend with Emily, Isabelle, and Jarrett in Stuttgart.

Aside from school and traveling, I’ve been (mostly) keeping up with my New Year’s resolution to read a book a week! I finished my fourth book of the year – The Sot-Weed Factor, by John Barth – earlier today, on the train back to Bonn from Stuttgart. I really enjoyed this novel. Historical fiction isn’t a genre that I frequent, but the novel’s complexity and John Barth’s cheerful cynicism kept me engaged for 750-odd pages. I mean, it has poetry, tobacco, pre-Victorian England, and quite a bit of sodomy – what’s there not to like?

Quote of the Week (we’ll see if I remember to do this in future posts):

“We sit here on a blind rock careening through space; we are all of us rushing headlong to the grave. Think you the worms will care, when anon they make a meal of you, whether you spent your moment sighing wigless in your chamber, or sacked the golden towns of Moctezuma?”

-John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor

School In Bonn, Week 3

This week has had the heaviest school focus since being here, and I enjoyed the familiarity of It. Managing classes, our project, traveling, and enjoying life in Bonn will be a big challenge. I’ve enjoyed the classroom dynamic and having a smaller and more focused environment. The next week will be a little distracting with traveling the whole time, but It will be a nice refresher before bunkering down with school for a few weeks. 

Our work with Enmodes has progressed a little as we’ve formed our pilot teams and began researching and learning more about the ECMO. I wasn’t particularly familiar with the device and It’s applications so It’s been interesting learning more. We’re still early on in our work and I’m looking forward to progressing and committing more time towards the project.  

School, Stuttgart, and More School

 It is so crazy to think that I have already been here for three weeks! I’ve definitely gotten more adjusted over the past two weeks. However, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to not having Tex-Mex at my disposal. This week was the first full school week that we’ve had, and I really enjoyed the consistency of It. I’m enjoying my classes and I have a good idea of how I’ll have to go about them. I’m getting more used to my surroundings and going back and forth between school and my new house. 

This weekend we traveled to Stuttgart, which is a small town right outside of the Black Forest. It’s not a common city to travel to, but me and my friends really enjoyed It! We traveled out to the Black Forest and hiked around for a bit, and that was very beautiful. Stuttgart is known for being the city where Mercedes-Benz and Porsche were started, and we got to view the Porsche museum! The museum was so interesting and very impressive, plus they had an option to rent a Porsche, so I might have to make a return trip… We also went to a modern art museum, their well-known library, and walked around the city center quite a bit. Observing these normal German towns has been very fascinating as they give a good and authentic impression of normalcy and what life is like as a German!

We’re going to Berlin this week which I’m very excited for. Up to this point I have only been in smaller German cities, so I’ll be curious to see what a city as big and prosperous as Berlin feels like. From Berlin I will most likely travel to Hamburg. I don’t have any set plans at this point, but I want to take advantage of being in Eastern Germany and travel to a city nearby. Plus apparently Hamburg is known for their seafood, and that has my name written all over It.

School In Bonn, Week 2

 Heading into this semester, I was very excited to see how the school dynamic was going to be. Back in College Station I had a very sound routine and work style that I knew worked for me. And not having any familiarities or comforts here has been very interesting, but I’ve enjoyed having to adjust. I know these classes will entail a lot of work and adding in all the traveling will make for a unique allotment of time. 

We’re starting to begin our work with Enmodes and I’m excited to see how that goes. Up to this point the specifics of the work is a little foreign to me, but I’m looking forward to learning more about what we will be doing. I think the key with the project and school work will be time management. We have a lot of trips planned and staying on top of everything will be very important in order to have a peace of mind and free time to enjoy traveling. 

Cologne, Cathedrals, and Croissants!

 My second week has been quite different, but eventful nonetheless! This week was more of a normal school week, with a little trip to Cologne sandwiched in the middle. Last week was definitely more of a honey-moon with all of the new sights and experiences I was having. And this week has been more realistic in the sense that I will be resuming school and living here for the next four months.

Cologne was absolutely beautiful! We went Tuesday and spent the entire day there. We got to tour the city, view the old Gestapo headquarters, and tour the Cologne Cathedral. The tour of the city was very fascinating, over 90% of the city was destroyed in World War II so a majority of the infrastructure and buildings were all very new and modern. The city also sits along the Rhine, just north of Bonn! And seeing the differences in the use of the river compared to where I've been living was very cool to observe. Getting to see the old Gestapo headquarters was pretty crazy, the building served as the headquarters for Cologne and the surrounding areas from 1935-1944. The building was then turned into government offices, where a majority of the interior was changed, but the basements and interrogation rooms were still intact! Being the secret-police of Germany, the Gestapo held numerous prisoners. And the holding cells and interrogation rooms were very sobering, there were still writings and inscriptions left on the wall from when there were prisoners. But that is a big part of Germany's history, and I have enjoyed learning about it. The cathedral was probably the best part about the trip. It is the second tallest cathedral in the world and we got a very in-depth tour. I was amazed at all the art and detail inside the cathedral and the architecture is unbelievable. 

castles and no money

Word of advice. Don't try to apply for grad school while you are in Germany. You will be in for a rough time and a lot of last-minute essay editing. At least, that has been the case for me for the past 3 weeks. Here I am in Heidelberg trying to soak up the history and sights but at night I am frantically editing essays and trying to get my applications in by the due date. I don't think having this extra work has taken away from the experience of it all, but it does add more stress and less sleep. 

Enough of that complaining, today I got to see a castle that was originally built in 1213. The ruins were beautiful and it made me wish to see what it was like in all its glory with court in full force and people moving around as they would have back then. I guess I have period pieces to thank for that but I want more. Going to these places on your own allows for freedom of movement and decision making, but I find without a tour guide or someone there who knows the history, the buildings and sights don't quit hit its mark as much. 

The food is still amazing, but at this point I'm beginning to feel stressed about how much a meal costs every time I buy one. Back home I rarely ate out, and if I did it would be on a weekend and just for dinner. But when traveling you usually eat 2-3 meals which can really add up. 

Tomorrow I'm going to Cochem to see another castle. It's a fairly small town (I suspect) so hopefully I won't get any more blisters from walking or have to pay extra for transportation like I have had to do for the past few days. 

Peace out,

Avery 

Week Two!

    

    This week I almost missed touring one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen for math class. Fortunately, the professor got back to us right as the train was arriving at the station and let us know it was cool to miss class (shoutout Prof. JD Kim). The tour of the Cologne Cathedral was definitely the highlight of my week, but also one of the scariest parts of my week. I personally was not a fan of the elevator going to the top that exists in the scaffolding around the outside of the Cathedral. Something about elevators that shake and make loud noises as they bring you 60 meters in the air is truly unsettling. Nevertheless, the journey to the top of the cathedral was worth it, and the view of Cologne from the top was breathtaking. 

    Over the weekend, four of us went to Munster, and went to the Stadtmuseum Munster. It showed the history of Munster from its beginnings to the present day. The museum was amazing and there were so many beautiful paintings and items from throughout the city's history, but it's a little bit difficult  to learn everything when all the information panels are in German. We also walked through three different churches, which I've found to be my favorite part of exploring the different cities in Germany. Never in my life has my camera roll been so full of pictures of churches. On Sunday we walked to the Allwetterzoo and also to the Munster Castle. The castle was very pretty, but a large portion of the front was covered for construction. The zoo was so much fun, and we got to sit and watch the seals in training for their shows. Just before heading home from Munster, Nate realized he had purchased train tickets for 6:30 am instead of 6:30 pm, not realizing that the tickets were scheduled and sold in military time, so we had to scramble to repurchase tickets or opt to get on the next train at three in the morning. 

    I did attempt laundry for the first time this week, and I have to say I miss my dryer at home. My jeans are rigid after drying, and my tendencies to procrastinate on chores don't work very well with the long dry time required for air drying clothes. One thing I do really enjoy is how good the tap water is here. But I suppose compared to College Station tap water, anything would be much better. 

    

My First Experience in Germany!

 I am very happy and excited because this is my first-time visiting Europe, especially Germany. I remember that many people told me that German people were very cold in their way of being, and before traveling, I wondered what the relationship with my adoptive family would be like if this was true. After my first few weeks in Bonn, I can say that I have the best family. From the moment I met them they welcomed me with a lot of love and made me feel at home. My first cultural impact was being able to work with the children who live in my house. I really like to share and play with children, but I found it very difficult to do it here because the children don't speak English and I don't speak German! But the most beautiful thing about this experience with the children was that, although we could not communicate, we were able to express our love with hugs. Another big impact has been the strict COVID controls in the city, it is impressive how quickly they can change and how quickly German people adapt to them. On the other hand, there are many things about Germany that I already know I will miss when I return to the United States, and the main thing without a doubt is the quality of the water. I love being able to drink tap water and knowing that it won't do me any harm. The quality of the fruits and vegetables is wonderful, you can feel the freshness in any food you eat and it's great. Finally, my classmates have been one of the best parts of this adventure. Each one of them teaches me something different every day, we all complement each other as a group, and we know how to enjoy each experience together. This semester is going to mark our college experience in such an amazing way that we cannot imagine it!

Beginning of a Fun Semester

My first week in Germany has been life-changing and it's only been a week. I have already learned more about the culture and the way of German living by being here than I could ever get from reading a book or articles about this place. Now the first week has been a week of many many culture shocks and things to get used to. To list a few the first culture shock I inquired about and keep inquiring is the mandatory asking of my covid card and passport to prove identification everywhere I go, back home Texans would have a fit if someone asked to see their CDC card and proof of identification, I'm not saying it's not a good thing Germany requires this but it is different than what I'm used to. Another thing is how Germans or just Europeans, in general, are so eco friendly, everywhere I have gone so far has been by train or bus, there are multiple waste containers for all kinds of recycling, most people only take few minute showers, the list could go on, back in college station there isn't even a recycling plant for simple things. Another thing I found a little bit of a shock to was that there are no drive-throughs over here, or if there are I haven't seen any yet. But honestly, I think that is a great concept to not have in a country, the lack of drive thrus promotes a healthier lifestyle, if people want fast food they have to go through the inconvenience of parking, getting out of the car and going inside to order, it's not as to get unhealthy food over here, if America adopted this simple idea we could prevent so many health problems that arise from the fast-food lifestyle.

Aside from the culture shocks, the first week here was pretty great. We have gotten to see a lot of Bonn and gone on some really cool little field trips. The hike with Dr.Wasser was pretty great and seeing the cathedral at the top of the hill was really cool. All of the classmates have gotten to explore a little of the nightlife here at a few pubs and that has been fun, and the food has been amazing so far. We are going to Cologne tomorrow and I really look forward to that.

Germany Blog 1!

 This week was full of adventures. We have started our new classes, I haven't had to walk all the way home again, and we got to visit a ton of beautiful cathedrals. I've really been enjoying getting to know my host family! My host mom even took me to play volleyball with her in an indoor sand volleyball court! So far: I would say my German has not improved, and this upcoming week I'm going to try to be more intentional with it. I will try to listen harder, focus more on the German I hear around me. I'm super excited for Berlin! See yall soon.

Week two, Cologne and Munster

 It feels like forever ago looking back at Monday of this past week. On Monday, all we did was have class and it was a pretty relaxed day. On Tuesday, we took a day trip to Cologne. The way to Cologne was very stressful as three of us were very concerned that we would have to leave early to make it back for out first Math 308 class, but it worked out and we were able to contact the professor and stay. The professor actually did not contact us back to let us know we could stay until we were on the platform to head back by train and the train was pulling up so he had amazing timing. In Cologne, we did a walking tour, went to a museum in a building where the Gestapo had previously been, and then climbed the cathedral. On Wednesday, we had school and I attempted laundry for the first time. Sadly, the dryer was not open when I was doing it and I had to hang my clothes which left them slightly stiff. On Thursday, we had more class and I stayed after and did homework and did not have time to do more laundry. On Friday, I started my laundry before I left for class and then was able to dry it when I got back. This laundry was much softer than the laundry I left to hang. I also made dinner for two classmates, Isabelle and Nate.

I travelled this weekend with a group of four others to Munster. On Saturday, we went in three different churches. We then went into a museum about the history of Munster. It was very cool but all in German. We then went back to our Airbnb to put our stuff down. We tried to go to a German restaurant but you had to have a reservation so we went to a Mexican food restaurant. The food was horrible and drinks over priced. We ended up going back to our Airbnb and met up with three others from our group while they waited for their train. On Sunday, we walked to the palace and garden and then to the zoo. The walk was exhausting. We stopped and ate at the zoo restaurant. We then walked around the zoo for a while before bussing back to town. We then stopped for dinner at a bowl place. At dinner, Nate realized he bought the tickets for 06:30 instead of 18:30, not realizing it was military time and we had to repurchase tickets. We then made it home and I immediately fell asleep in bed.

A big difference I noticed in Munster was how many less people spoke English than do in Bonn. It made it a little harder to order and communicate at shops and such. We powered through though. I have a new item to add to my list of things that are starting to annoy me. I used to find the emergency siren cute but it is starting to really annoy me. First off, I swear they have no correct training on usage and second, it is so repetitive that it is just getting on my nerve. Now my list has come to three. The water, the bathrooms (paying), and the sirens. I will see how that list changes week by week.

All of the Culture Shocks I Experienced Within my First Week in Bonn, Germany (1/8/22-1/15/22)

 Howdy, Y'all!

So I have been keeping an ongoing list since I arrived in Germany of all the things that I have noticed are different from how we do things in America. Some of the things I like better, but others I am still getting used to! Without further ado here is my comprehensive list:

• Butter and eggs are not refrigerated here.
• I have heard of people not refrigerating eggs before, so I was not super shocked when I saw this (and have even been practicing this storage method since I arrived here), but when I first walked through the door my host mom greeted me with different breads and butter, and I was shocked at how soft the butter was! I cleaned up after myself and asked her where should I put the butter up and to my surprise she told me to leave it on the counter! I found that very interesting and the next time I buy butter from the store I will try this method.
• American songs are not censored on the radio.
•  I have heard multiple American songs playing both on the radio and in restaurants and I still cannot get over hearing the F-bomb just playing in a public setting! I asked my host sister if German songs were censored in public settings and she said, "for the most part, yes".
• Non-carbonated water is much harder to get here, although the tap water here is EXTRAORDINARY!
•  Every time I go somewhere and I am purchasing water I have to specify that I want "still" water as this just means non-carbonated. The preference for sparkling water is not something I understand all the way yet, but maybe by the end of the trip, I will!
• Also, back home I REFUSED to drink tap water no matter how filtered it was I would always taste the difference (my friends even set up a blindfolded experiment for me once and I was able to taste the difference lol), but here the tap water tastes completely clean and fresh.
• There are no paper bills that are smaller than 5€. There are 1€ and 2€ coins but it is not paper money.
• I both like and dislike this. Unfortunately, I have been encouraged to spend more money this way because in my American way of thinking coins are always less than a dollar, so you are not actually even spending a lot of money when it is in coins, but eventually, this adds up.
• Microwaves and dryers are much less common in households.
• My host family has neither of these gadgets, I was not that phased by the absence of a microwave, but having no dryer is not a bad thing it just requires meticulous planning. I often have to remind myself I cannot just wash something the night before as it may take multiple days to fully dry.
• Some people leave food outside to keep it cold, but there are hardly any bugs here (due to the weather) so the food is not really threatened. 
• I have literally seen less than five bugs anywhere since I've been here.
• Ovens.
• The ovens here require you to choose the temperature you would like your food cooked as well as what setting you want to cook the food on. However, there are no words on the different settings just symbols and I have already burnt one pizza.
• Also, I have noticed here that a lot of German households leave their cooking pans in the oven 24/7 and when you want to cook something you just lay the paper/foil on top of the cooking pan, begin cooking, take out your food, dispose of your trash, and put the pan back in the oven. I am a BIG fan of this feature, and I think I am going to implement this into my everyday life.
• To save power escalators don't move here until you approach them, then they begin moving (motion sensing).
• The first time I saw an elevator not moving I assumed it was broken and took the stairs and as I was halfway up I noticed someone riding that same escalator and I did some deductive reasoning to figure this out lol.
• Front doors automatically lock once you close them here.
• When my host sister was showing me around for the first time, we went out the front door, and I asked if she needed to lock it and she laughed and explained it to me.
• In academic settings, Germans knock on the table instead of clapping.
• I read about this online, but I also saw it in a German movie that I was watching with my host family.
• Toilet Etiquette
• I have not used a single German bathroom that has been dirty yet and I LOVE this! Every single bathroom I have used here (public or private) has had a toilet brush scrub next to it, and I believe it is customary that if you leave a stain in the toilet you should use the brush and clean it up right then and there. I already have a brush next to my American toilet and practice this method myself, but I wish it was as culturally implemented in America as it is here because that is such a great habit to have!

Learning to Not be Afraid of Heights

 Howdy y'all,

One major point I forgot about when traveling is that from time to time you will end up on top of a cathedral, clinging to the inside support wall overlooking the city trying not to shake the entire 800 year old structure with your wobbly legs. But alas, there I was on top of Cologne's most prized possession, The Cathedral. (Obviously its official name). This all occurred when my group took a day trip to Cologne a few days ago for A&M's official first day of classes. Cologne was beautiful and every tour guide I have had thus far on the trip has been jovial, full of humor, and a bit too straight forward on morbid details. I devour the information anyway. We visited a museum that day too which was a former Gestapo prison where they tortured and executed people that did not fit the Nazi's idea of fit citizens and people. Really light stuff for a Tuesday afternoon. It was quite informative though and from my previous travels I knew a lot more information and history than I realized. Maybe I should have been a history major :)

On another note, my German has not improved much. I know a few more words but I get so shy (crazy I know) when I get up to counters and around people. We had our first German class this week and I felt so bad for the teacher because when I had to practice my conversational German in front of everyone, all I could do was laugh the whole time out of nervousness and I sounded like an idiot. My host family said my German accent is really good though so at least I know I'm saying Danke correctly! The other day I was ordering some Döner and I chickened out so bad that the guy in front of me turned around and asked if I was an American and what I was ordering and then proceeded to order for me. At least I got a "good luck" from him and a secret extra goody from the guy behind the counter for my embarrassment. At another time I was in a bakery by myself and a German man said he could hear my accent in my voice and that he LOVED it. Quite a boost because I always imagined a Texan accent in German is a bit intense. At least thats what I heard practiced in my German class when we all sounded like Texan parodies of the language. 

    People in Germany keep asking my group why we are here, fulling turning around while crossing the street to do so, because technically it's still a pandemic and we aren't in a major city like Berlin or Munich. The other night we all met a couple of people while out and I met a nice British girl who have me her details. While I was out that night I also realized I had no game whatsoever so one of our program coordinators told us "you all shouldn't really be going and meeting too many people right now, except you Avery, you should go out to work on your game." It was a real humbling experience in front of everybody. Then again this whole experience is humbling.

-Avery Nennmann

First 24 hours thoughts

*I wrote this out in an email the day after we arrived in Germany - January 9th 2022*

I made it into Germany yesterday morning and have now spent a whole day with my host family here in Bonn! Both Bonn and they are absolutely lovely. The sights of Bonn are fairly typical with the occasional cathedral or two that seem to pop up out of nowhere! I've found that Germany is not nearly as cold as everyone hyped it up to be... but what I will say is while it is cold and I was expecting that, I was not expecting for it to be cold everywhere all the time. Partly because of culture, partly because of old housing with poor insulation and partly because of the energy crisis with the Nord 2 Stream Pipeline and Russia the buildings are just about as cold inside as it is outside! Layers have certainly come in handy!

My host family are incredibly kind people who speak better English than me at times. I have an entire floor of their townhome practically to myself (2 bedrooms, a living room and a small kitchenette). It's Europe so it is smaller than what you would expect, but works out perfectly for me - truly it is both more space than I was anticipating and is even more space than I really need to be honest. My host Mom's youngest daughter Marie (15 years old) lives above me in a small room that is practically a renovated attic. It's a funky room with lots of nooks and crannies perfect for a 15 year old! Marie has been incredible. She is fairly shy but did take me around the city today and showed me how to work their bus system. Every once and awhile she comes down from the 'attic' just to sit and talk with me as does her Mom, Hania, who came up this morning to sit and have breakfast with me and even brought me up some dinner this evening before she left for the night. I want to know them and really get to be involved in their life but my current dilemma is figuring out what the expectation is and what boundaries are. When Hania says "come down to my floor anytime you want, you don't even have to knock"... is that really what she means.

I've surprised myself with how much German I retained from way back in high school but can proudly say that the bilingual flight attendants ONLY spoke German with me - so I guess I faked sounding like a German pretty good!

The Beginning Of an Adventure!

 01/17/2022

One week down living here in Bonn and I've been amazed at all that there has been to experience. From the drastic difference in scenery, to living in a house in which English is barely spoken, life here has been completely different in all aspects. That being said, there has not been one down moment since getting here. The first few days here were definitely exhausting, but all the new stimulation provided for more than enough energy. The food has been phenomenal, the people have been welcoming, and I've loved getting to experience this country with new friends. Getting to live with a German family has been a true joy, they have been more than welcoming and accommodating for someone coming from a completely different way of life. I have already learned so much from them about the German culture, and I have been pleasantly surprised. The interactions and conversations between the family have all been very joyful and full of humor. Bonding and getting more comfortable with the group of students has also gone very well. Everyone has contributed a unique component to the group and there is good chemistry. 

Exploring Bonn and the surrounding areas has also been very enjoyable. The Haus der Geschichte Bonn was full of interesting information, the hills in the countryside were very beautiful, and I really enjoyed getting to tour Aachen. COVID will definitely have a big impact on where we will be able to travel and the attractions we'll be able to see. But COVID also allows us to build an impression of how German people act under serious circumstances, and our time here will give us a perception to compare with in the future. I'm very excited to explore more of Germany and gain a better grasp of the country and the people that live here. I'm most looking forward to building more of a routine with school, and trying more food! I know the experiences here are never-ending, and I'm so excited for what's to come. 

First Week in Bonn

 It has already been one week here and it went by super fast. I have had a few culture shocks, the biggest to me is not having free water everywhere you go. I normally go through glasses of water with every meal and I find myself having to limit myself at restaurants. That will probably be one of the things I will be happiest to have back when I get back to the states. I am settling in well besides that. It has been fun to meet everyone on the trip as I came in knowing no one else.

This week was very fun. We started off Monday with the orientation tour. On Tuesday, we went on the House of History tour. On Wednesday, we went on the hiking trip with Lakka. On Thursday, we had our first real day of classes. On Friday, we had a day trip to Aachen to have our first meeting with Endmodes about the project. After, we ate at a cool fry place and toured a cathedral. Overall, I have been eating very good food, except when I have to try and cook for myself. I need to find time to figure out more recipes. I am very excited for the rest of my stay here!

Welcome to Bonn

After delaying my flight and quarantining for 3 days in Bonn, I was finally able to join everyone. I was nervous about missing out on the first week, but everyone has made me feel so welcomed. I have settled into my apartment with Isabelle and our German roommate, Christina. I am excited to start classes and the enmodes project, all while trying to balance studying with traveling. I am gaining more confidence in getting around the city and it is slowly starting to feel like home. The COVID restrictions are fairly strict and constantly changing, but I'm hoping they will not hold back our time abroad. I am looking forward to learning more German and really making the most of my time here.