Week 6- Karneval, Karneval, Karneval...

Karneval, the fifth season, the five day weekend we had all been WAITING for. What have I ever done to you to deserve such an experience!

That is seriously how we all felt at the end of Karneval, the faces say it all! 

Nope, JUST KIDDING! Karneval was not that bad to me, don't get wrong it could've been better, but definitely worse. I can't say I regret it! Honestly, this weekend oddly made me feel more at home. For the five days of Karneval I was my own person, I felt like I was back at home in Houston staying the night at friends' houses and just going "with the wind"! It was honestly quite an experience, definitely five nights for the books! Haha I could see myself coming back for more, people party hard here, I actually felt like the underdog in it all. But so here's how it went:

Day 1: Parade by day! Partying at Carpe Noctum by night, did not make it home to see my host family
                              


Day 2: WWOOOOOHHOOOO Frat Party with a German Frat tonight! Definitely did not make it home to my host family!
Day 3: Cologne, Cologne! This was probably the most interesting night of all. If you haven't heard I don't have very much luck with the German trains. All in one night, I got lost, I fell asleep on a train, lost a taxi, and winded up in the middle of nowhere waiting for a train, and not to mention we even got passed up by a train! Oh good times man, good times! Nope not tonight either, still didn't make it home to see my host family!
Day 4: Parade by day! and nope no partying tonight, Cologne was enough!  But yep, you guessed it I finally made it home! I walked through the door, and my host mom said "Look at my little foreign partying girl, shes finally back!"
Day 5: Parade, dancing, and drinking by day! I had so much fun at the parade but my body was practically begging for sleep! Between Day 4 and 5, I had roughly 20 hours of sleep!

Haha, moral of the story kids, you have to be on the German's level to party with them for all five days of Karneval. But I survived and I am still Alaaf! 

So yea, Karneval next year anybody?

Week 5 Munich

During the weekend i visited the city of Munich in the renowned province of Bavaria. Bavaria is known to be one of the most beautiful provinces in Germany and has a stereotype of the pride in it's people. Bavarians are known to be prideful of their province compared to other provinces such as North Rhine Westphalia. Munich was a nice metropolitan city with a lot of history and culture to it. We took a train to Fussen where King Ludwig's castles were on Saturday. Fussen is essentially a Bavarian town hour away from Munich. The castle was pretty majestic and apparently was a prototype for the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty. That night we had some nice Bavarian dinner. I had a mushroom soup and fried potatoes. The bavarian potatoes tasted pretty good, the mushroom soup was alright.On Sunday I went to the notorious Allainz Arena where Bayern Munich plays. Bayern Munich is a notable football club all across the world where world class players play. Usually most of the German national team has played for Bayern Munich. The stadium was pretty big, and the tour of the stadium was pretty nice. I got to see the players locker rooms and the pressbox. We got to walk down the stairs that the players go right before they enter the pitch.I also attended the museum and that was pretty cool. After that i went to BMW Welt where there is a showcase of the different types of BMW and the newest models being released. That was something really cool, since I am a big fan of looking at cars. I wish i could tour the central city and go back one more time. I feel i didn't get a full glimpse of the city but hopefully I will be back. 

Lever kausen

After the nice week in Vienna i visited Leverkausen to watch a great bundesliga game. I've been a fan of soccer or how the Germans call it Fussball. Bundesliga is one of the most competitive soccer leagues in the world. The only league that is comparable to the Bundesliga is the English Premier league. During the weekend we saw Leverkausen play Frankfurt Eintracht. Leverkausen is actually a middle tier team in the Bundesliga while Frankfurt was third in the rankings. Coming into the game I thought Leverkausen was going to lose. Leverkausen has a notorious player named Chicarito who plays for the Mexian national team. He used to play for the notorious English Premier League team Manchester United. One of the best managers of all time named Alex Ferguson picked him up to play for Manchester United. He went to to play for Real Madrid on the bench, then he signed with Leverkausen. Chicarito did really well in the Bundesliga last year, and in the game. He scored two goals and Leverkausen won. I was surprised that Leverkausen won 3-0 and it was a great experience. It was also nice watching the Ultras. The ultras are die-hard fans who play drums and sing during the soccer game. I would always hear them when I watched soccer games, but it was surreal in real life. I hope to go to another Bundesliga game again, because that was a great experience. 

Week 6- The Weekend We've All Been Waiting For

Pretty much every Bonner I've encountered has talked to me about Karneval. The anticipation for the biggest party of the year was palpable all week. During lunchtime on Tuesday, Chelsea, Kadeja, Nicole, Stephenie and I went Karneval costume shopping together. It was funny to see all the different things that people might be wearing this weekend. That night, Ethan, Chelsea, and I went on an adventure to the Uniklinik to visit Alexa as she recovered from surgery. It was fun to see a new part of Bonn, and we were so glad to find Alexa in good spirits and recovering well from surgery. On Wednesday night, my host sister took me up to her room and put a pirate costume together for me. She's a professional when it comes to Karneval- she had drawers full of all sorts of clothes and accessories specifically for Karneval. The next morning, I dressed up as a pirate and headed to AIB. We ate Berliners and headed across the bridge to Beuel, where we witnessed our first parade. There was so much candy, shouting, and costumes. We had a great time with each other and the Penn State students as well. The rest of the weekend consisted of being with friends constantly, eating way too much candy, and having a really fun time in general. On Saturday, I got the authentic Karneval experience. My host brother and his girlfriend took me to Cologne for the day. We met up with their friends at Alte Markt. It was really cool to meet Germans my age, and Cologne was an absolute blast. The next morning, we got to be a part of the parade in Beuel. It was an honor to be included in this German holiday as an American student, and I really appreciated it. I spent that night having another fun evening with my friends and walking around Bonn. On Monday afternoon, we watched the parade in Bonn and caught an overwhelming amount of candy. The parade was full of exquisite costumes, marching bands, and dancers. By the end of the weekend, we were all exhausted but happy to have had such an interesting experience.

In terms of school this "week" (it was only 3 days), we stayed pretty busy working on our Enmodes project. We also received our highly anticipated physiology test grades back. The best thing that happened though, was that our pharmacology professor, Dr. Fajt, arrived from Texas A&M. It was great to meet her in person after only interacting over a webcam. She's really interesting and a lot of fun too. We're glad that she came over to our hemisphere for a little while.

Week 6: Karneval- The Fifth Season.

The easiest way to describe this week would be chaotic. Chaotic fun, chaotic wild, chaotic kindness, and just straight up chaos. The week started with merely three days of formal classes. Even those days were filled with scrambling to get last minute costumes, making plans, and practicing popular songs for Karneval. For the remainder of the week up into Monday,  all knowledge was best obtained through observation and participation.

In order to survive this extended weekend there were a few essential Kölsch Vocabulary words one must know:
Karneval:  often referred to as a the 'fifth season' along the River Rhein, in which the natives and visitors indulge in liquid libations, costumes, parades and go completely mental.
Alaaf:  An expression/exclamation often shouted to signify a enjoyment, like 'Hurray'!
Kamelle: If you should this during a parade, expect candy to be hurled at you.
Jecke: Karneval Goers, also synonymous with jokesters/clowns
Kölsch(Bier): The only language you can drink. One Kölsch Bier during Karneval is a must.

Thursday: 
On Thursday, the AIB group ate Berliners before walking to a local parade in Beuel. I, on the other hand, woke up late and panicking to find my passport that mysteriously wandered off a week prior. After scattering around half the house in a clown suit, I found it and rushed to meet up with the group at the parade. In spite of the cloudy weather, the excitement and energy was high, and the bier, costumes, and kamelle was in abundance. I'm pretty sure most of the casualties that day were due to Kamelle injuries. I also tried 'Mett' which is brötchen (bread roll), with onions and raw pork. According to Dr. Wasser it is "safe", and according to me it is delicious. After the parade we split up into groups and visited our favorite cripple, Alexa. After a few hours we ventured out into the night to eat food, and party it up with the locals. 









Friday: 
Friday went similarly to Thursday, with the exception of less parades and more Kölsch. I spent most of the morning sewing flowers onto my dress and tights to emulate some flowery Mother Nature type person? As I was walking to the bus stop, the bus decided to run a bit earlier, therefore making me run to catch it. Half my outfit ended up in the street. Luckily I missed the bus, so I could gather my flower crown and belt out of the street. Throughout the night I dropped flowers like breadcrumbs, and I cannot remember much more. What happens in Karneval, am I right guys?















Saturday I needed a break from the madness and I stayed inside the entire day. I'm pretty sure my host mom was trying to coax me out. Introverts beware, this weekend is not for the feeble minded or faint of heart.


Sunday:
 By far the most rewarding day so far. We were able to participate in the LïKüRa Parade along side members of Therapiezentrum in Bonn.Throughout the parade we took turns assisting people with varying disabilities, handing out flyers, and throwing Kamelle to the pedestrians. Interacting with them was incredible, and although my German is limited, the people had an enormous amount of energy and a positive attitude even when we ran out of candy. I had the pleasure of walking with a woman named Sonja, who knew every song played word for word. She loved dancing and handing out candy and toy cars to the smaller children. Her energy was contagious and I'm glad I was awarded this opportunity. Unfortunately, walking 3K very slowly and forcing a smile is more exhausting that I thought. After the parade I went home and went to sleep. 





On Monday,  I was very much mentally done with Karneval. I tried to hide in my room all day, but my Host mom found me and kicked me out to go watch the biggest parade of all. Honestly, I don't know how anybody, let alone 60,000 people, made it to this parade because I was kaputt. I refused to collect candy, but that didn't stop me from getting pelted with it. I also refused to drink, but it didn't stop me from shouting ALAAF!
Great week. Would reccomend. I'd do it again in 5 years.

Week 6

This week is Karneval week in Germany. It was new to me. On Thursday, we had a Karneval march in Bonn. It was really fun. New experiences for catching the candy and presents. I experienced the way that how German celebrate Karneval.

I also met a new friend, he is the student who assigned to my host family last summer. He is going to Harvard University and he is studying environmental sciences. We had a good time with our host family.

I feel so excited about next week, our Paris Excursion. Paris is one of my favorite traveling place. 

Kamelle, Kostumes, Karneval, Alaaf!!! - Week 6

Bonn, Germany

February 20th - 27th

Karnvel is here! Alaaf!!!

This week was chalk full of fun! I have officially learned what it means to balance work with play. I had my first differential equations test on Thursday, which happened to be the first day of Karnvel and we had no scheduled classes that day but my professor at A&M didn't know that. In turn, this required me to study for hours for an exam I took at 7:45 in the evening instead of enjoying the Karneval festivities that began at 10:45 that morning. I'm pretty sure all of the hard work paid off though, and that's all I could ask for.

Traditional Karnvel guard outfits

So what is Karneval you ask? I like to think of it as Halloween on steroids. Everyone dresses up in costume, young and old people alike, and we go watch parades that travel all throughout the city, screaming Kamelle so that the people in the parade will throw candy and other goodies at us. One could compare this event to mardi grais, but I would have to say it's better. This is a very biased opinion though since I've never actually participated in mardi gras. I've only heard the stories. Anyway, the whole city on Bonn completely transformed into a party town for five days. Thursday was the official start to the holiday weekend, in the sense of the parades began this day, and there was an introductory parade in Beuel. Thursday was also considered women's Karnvel, a day specifically for the women. Men would wear ties so that women could cut them and the women could kiss anyone they thought was cute. Everyone got really rowdy but it was all good fun! The test that evening wasn't all that great, but grades come first in this situation.

All weekend there were parades and everyone was dressed in costume. Five whole days of costumes and going out and having a great time. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday there were more parades around Bonn and Koln and Sunday was the day I got to participate in a parade. AiB was asked if some students wanted to help a group of disabled individuals in a parade. Our theme was people of the world/Pippie Longstocking. Everyone was dressed as a cultural person or Pippie herself. I decided to be Pippie which I regretfully don't have a picture of. The parade was an experience I won't forget. We paraded through the streets throwing candy at all of the spectators who were lined up for kilometers. Karneval music was blaring from the van that was in front us. I've had these songs stuck in my head for the last three days now.

Candy hall from the parade.

The Karneval season ended with Rosenmontag or the closing parade that went through all of the major streets of Bonn. I literally stood in a crowd of people for three hours catching candy that was being thrown at me from above, below, and to the sides. It was incredible and I now have a whole bag full of goodies that I will get to snack on whenever I wish. Giant tractors had to maneuver floats through tiny streets that carried people and loads of goodies. Many of the parade participants were dressed in a traditional guard outfit while others were dressed to represent an organization they were apart of. There were all a lot of horse drawn wagons as well. All in all, this was an experience I will never forget and definitely want to participate in again.