Week 6 - Karneval... ALAAF

So this weekend was/is Karneval weekend.  Let me tell you, these Germans know how to party.  It is 4 straight days of non-stop music, food, drinking, and parades throughout everywhere.  We had a group trip to Beuel and saw the parade there for Women's Karneval which was a lot of fun.  The only thing that could have made it better would be if we hadn't had the most challenging differential equations test that night.  But anyways week 6 itself was stressful but, the weekend made up for it.  I was also able to get my spring break planned and cannot wait to go to Spain.  This is seriously a dream come true.  Karneval was so much fun.  Monday was Rosenmontag and a group of friends and I went to Köln to see the parade there.  The parade was absolutely massive and there were so many people there throwing candy and confetti and celebrating.  There were so many floats that were absolutely massive.  There was everything from math floats, to political floats, to floats about beer to floats about washing clothes.  Unfortunately the day didn't start off as well as it ended.  We decided to get up at the butt crack of dawn and go to Köln.  It was 6 in the morning, cold, and I was hangry.  It was not a good combination, but as we got some Berliners, bacon flavored chips, and "milch" ;) the day exponentially improved.  That same weekend my host brother and sister came back from college and I got to spend some time with them.  My host sister took me out to a club and we danced the whole night.  It was nice to get to spend some time with her.  My host brother came home with his girlfriend so I didn't get to spend as much time with him.  Although he invited me to go to some European movement called "The Pulse of Europe" I think.  I wanted to go to get to know him, but I ended up sleeping through the time he was wanting to go, so I ended up not going.  All in all week 6 was most definitely a success.

WEEK 7

First of all I am trying to write this to be longer nicole
SCHOOL:
Okay so german was a bitter sweet finish. I will miss class with Hilde. even though it was extra work I enjoyed her lectures. they were fun and lively. Also I know all the german I currently know will soon be leaking out of my head very fast as I wont ever have anyone forcing me to practice it.

Dr. Wasser's history of medicine lecture was interesting this week. we took a break from renaissance time medicine and had a lecture on his hobby of the sauna. He taught us how it has therapeutic  effects. He also taught us the history behind the sauna, sauna etiquette, and sauna culture today. There was also a bunch of naked old men in the video he showed us. That was a little disturbing. nevertheless, I am interested in spending a day at the sauna that is close by. The one he talked about at the end of the lecture and said it was only like 20euro for the day.

Physiology is going alright. I did not do as well as I would hope for on the test, but i did as well as I deserved because I only really studied a few hours for the test.  Luckily, I did right on average so I am still in the running for an A in the course, I just need to beat the rest of the class in the coming tests. As for lab I could probably put some more effort in as well. I will try to study this next 2 weeks to prepare for the lab mid term.

Online classes: I have two test due this next week which kinda sucks because we will be in paris.

Personal lyfee:
uhh I need to pack tonight for the next two weeks so that is always something I leave until the very last moment. I am excited for paris. It will be fun to get out of Bonn and see paris from a medical tourist point of view. Also I am excited for the bread. I will eat baguettes and brie until i die if i could. I am also very excited to be out of my host families house for the next two weeks. I will actually have a bed to go back to that I want to sleep in for the next two weeks.

Well that is it for week 7 I hope you enjoyed it.

Week 7- The push for Paris

This week has been one of my toughest here in Germany thus far. This week was a stressful one for sure. I spent the majority of the week studying for tests and getting prepared for our first presentation for our project. On Thursday I had my German exam, which made me feel that I can successfully say that I know all the common city and food words, and simple german sentences. Also on Thursday we got to present our project idea to the class and a couple of employees from the company. This was a nerve-racking, but rewarding experience. I am so excited to continue working on this project because I feel like we are going to come up with some amazing projects and solutions. During this stressful week I found myself missing home and my family more than ever. I am beyond excited that I finally get to see my mom next week in Paris because I surely need her lately more than ever. I am also beyond excited that I found a really great church to attend on Sunday and I am looking forward to going. I am glad that this week is finally coming to a close and we get to go on our excursion to France next week and then off to spring break for a week. I am so excited for the adventures that lie ahead for me in these next couple of weeks. Stayed tuned for the adventure stories to come.

Week 6- I alaaf Germany

What a crazy weekend this was. I can honestly say Karneval was one of the craziest events I have ever experienced. I am so glad I was able to be here to have the experience for sure. Thursday we started the festivities at the parade in Beuel. We attended the parade as a group which turned into a lot of fun. Not to add I am super proud of myself for trying a raw pork sandwich, which was quite delicious by the way. Here is our group photo from Thursday of course in all of our awesome costumes.

Friday was a very interesting day, there was not really any type of parades that I heard of, but we got to experience a German Fraternity party. I was shocked of how similar, but different fraternities are here and in America. On Saturday I decided to travel to Cologne to experience Karneval there. This was obviously way different then Bonn just because of the shear numbers of people. I have never been on a train or any public transportation that was so packed. I felt like I was in an aggie bus that was already at capacity and the bus driver was yelling no we can fit 75 people on here take off your bags and move back. Cologne was a ton of fun though we went there to see the ghost parade that we never truly found, but the night life was an experience in its self. On Sunday I was blessed with the opportunity to participate with AIB in a parade in Beuel. This was an experience of a lifetime. I cannot even describe the atmosphere and the shear amount of fun this parade was. Here is our group yelling " Alaaf".

Now on to Rosa Montag, this was the largest parade I have ever been to. The parade lasted for about three hours. The floats were absolutely incredible and so was the huge bag full of kamelle  (candy). Karneval was incredible and one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had.

Week 5 KARNEVAL

Karneval was definitely an experience!! Thursday was to day to kick it off!! In the morning we got to go to the parade in Beuel. Just being surrounded by everyone so happy and dancing was so satisfying. The parade was so much fun! For this parade (and all the parades) I get to stand in the front because I am so short and it’s honestly the best because I get to catch so many treats! Sadly I, as well as all of the engineers, had to end all of the fun right after the parade due to our diffy q test… We did however, have fun studying! The test did not go as well as we expected to… For that reason we felt to need to go out and get a few drinks after to take our mind off of it and get back into the Karneval mood. Friday I got to sleep in and shop with Maggie and Austin, which was very relaxing. That night we had to get a head start on studying for physiology and the death week that was to come. Saturday Maggie’s host family had a party for their neighborhood parade and she was able to invite all of our friends. It was so much fun! Her host family is so sweet and they make good potato salad!! We stayed out all day to celebrate Claire’s birthday and at night went to a ‘disko’. That was one for the books! Sunday was the parade we walked in and it was so hard to walk that long after Saturday! I was so happy to go home after and finally rest for a little. Monday we started super early and headed to Cologne for the giant parade, which was, hands down, my favorite part of Karneval! This parade was HUGE (and long)! We were all pretty cranky in the morning but our moods changed once we found a super cute park in Cologne. We acted like kids for a little while and then happily proceeded to the parade. That was a very long day but so much fun! I was sad when I got home because Karneval was pretty much over and that meant we had to go back for an incredibly hard week! So grateful I was able to get the Karneval experience though! I hope I will get to come back in the future!

Week Five- School and Sickness

This week has been relatively slow in comparison to previous weeks. I went out with Andy, one of the student workers here at AIB, and several others. We had a lot of fun hopping from one club to the next. It was really cool to see Cerci and Madeleine sing Karaoke. We went to the Leverkusen vs. Frankfurt Soccer game the next day. It was interesting to see how German Fans show their support at games. I got so cold that when I stood up at the end and tried to walk down the stairs I almost fell because my leg muscles were stiff. The girls in the program also had a Galentine's lunch and secret cupid exchange for Valentine's Day. It was really great getting to do something nice for someone else. Everyone has been taking turns getting sick. I also have been trying to study for Physiology, and work on my Enmodes project. I seem to have fallen behind in everything. I am getting frustrated with myself because my grades are not where I want them to be but I am not putting in the effort to fix that. I am getting into a viscous cycle of being anxious and stressed over something to the point where I can't function and get my work done which in turn makes the problem worse.

  I was really excited to see my grandparents this weekend. I really wanted to show them all the pictures I have already taken. It was going to be difficult to try and explain everything I have done since the last time I saw them, since my german isn't very good and they don't speak english. However, I caught the cold that was going around AIB forcing me to spend my weekend at home. My grandfather is 93 and in poor health while my grandmother is 90. Visiting them while sick could be potentially very dangerous for them so I stayed home. My host mom and dad have super nice and accommodating towards me. I really appreciate them and their support.

Week Four: Mountains are Hard but People are Nice

    After the excursion to Vienna Madeleine, Nicole and I went to Innsbruck. The train ride to Innsbruck was relatively painless. However, trying to find our AirBnB upon our arrival was a bit more challenging. Thanks to the help of a bouncer from one of the local strip clubs we found where we were staying for the night. Our hosts for the night were some college students from the local university. They were really nice and even invited us to a party at the downstairs neighbor's place. The next morning we went to ski rental place before going to our resort. The people at the rental place were so unbelievably nice. They gave us advice on where to ski, how to get around town and what equipment to use. When we said that we were going to carry all our luggage and ski equipment by bus and then up the mountain one of the employees actually offered to drive us. He gave a small tour and history lesson of the town while driving us to our hotel. When we arrived he greeted the hotel owner by name and introduced us to her. Later on when we got lost or we were ordering food people tried there best to help us even if they couldn't speak english. I was a surprised to meet so many nice people in a tourist town. I was half expecting everyone to be somewhat cold towards us.

   It took a little while but we finally made it up the mountain and were ready to ski. Nicole and Madeleine tried to give me a quick crash course in the basics of skiing. Nothing could have prepared me for how challenging and terrifying a beginner slope in the Alps is. Nicole and Madeleine felt terrible because they did not realize how challenging the slopes in Austria are. All the little kids were zooming by me as I strategically fell and scooted down the mountain. What should also be mentioned is that I am terrified of heights, falling, and am not athletic. I had fallen pretty badly while ice skating the few days before and bruised my tailbone deeply. So every time I fell it was incredibly painful. It was also tiring to try and stand back up. At the bottom of the slope we found the little bunny slope for children to learn on. I went up the human conveyor belt and fell back down the slope.  By the time I got to the end of the slope my nerves were shot and I was overwhelmed by the whole situation. So I went inside and sat for awhile drinking a cappuccino. A number of people were kind enough to ask if I was ok and if they could help me. While I was relaxing Madeleine and Nicole went to try a slightly more advanced path. When they came back they were giggling because Madeleine had rolled down the mountain for a little while. For the last hour on the mountain I continued practicing going down the bunny hill. I was actually getting pretty good there at the end.
     I had some of the best food of my life there in Innsbruck be it on the mountain or in town. My favorite has to be all the different dumplings. The last day in Innsbruck we got lost while carrying all our ski equipment and luggage. We walked around for two hours while carrying everything. I had a lot of reservations about going to Innsbruck and skiing, because of all my insecurities and inexperience. Even though there were a few rough spots I generally had a good time and loved being in the Alps. What made it so good for me was the people I was with. If I had been with anyone else I probably would have been miserable. I'm glad I went and saw the gorgeous mountains.

 

   It was difficult to get back into studying and school once we got back from traveling. I put off biochemistry until the last possible second. I felt terrible because I was unprepared for Gerhild's tutorial session which I believe is rude. It's going to be difficult to balance travelling, school, and a social life while maintaining energy and motivation.