Dresden

Hi everyone! I had another lovely trip this weekend. This time I went with my host mother to Dresden! We stayed in her friend's apartment and toured around a lot. Dresden was destroyed on February 2, 1945 by American and British bombers so everything had to be completely reconstructed, but it looks absolutely amazing now. We visited the FrauenKirche, an enormous church that was completed in 2005, and we climbed to the top. The view is really incredible. You can see the Zwinger, the castles, the Rathaus, the Semperoper (which we toured) and the Grünes Gewölbe Art Museum(which we also toured). Helga and I also did a bit of hiking to see the castles on the other side of the Elbe River. From the top there was a nice view of the Blau Wunder Bridge. On the way back we toured the Buchenwald concentration camp outside the town of Weimar. It was strangly peaceful. It was on a mountain with a nice view of the landscape and it felt like the souls that suffered there were at peace. Most of the buildings were destroyed after the liberation, but there were many disturbing pictures of the camp in the museum.
Monday the other American students and I went to a WWII museum with some German students. The museum was small, but I think that the point of the excursion was to give us a chance to meet some German kids. Afterwards we had dinner with them and played ultimate frisbee and football with them. It was really fun. Tomorrow I have to give a presentation--in German! so I have to go practice a bit. Tschussi!

A Trip to Bavaria

My weekend started with my hostmother's friend's birthday party at a Spanish restaurant in downtown Bonn. She is from Equador, so I got to practice my spanish a bit with her. We had paella and olives for dinner and gelato for dessert. SO good.I also had a bit of sangria. <.< The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Argentina. There was live music playing and a lot of jolly fat men with mustaches. We made it back to our apartment around one in the morning.

Just a few hours after I went to bed I had to get up again to go to Bavaria! It was about a 5 hour drive. ( Germany is about the size of the state of Montana. Nothing is too far) We went with my hostmom's friend, Lutz, in his BMW. When we got there we had to rush to put our stuff in the inn and drive to the castle to catch our tour. The weather was a little wet, but the castle was still absolutely breath-taking. It really looks like Cinderella's castle (it was the inspiration for the Disney castle). The inside was covered in hand painted murals and all kinds of antique furniture and trinkets. On the way back to the inn we stopped at a medieval festival. It reminded me of Society for Creative Anachronism events. Almost everyone was dressed up and really into their character. Even little children. I had the most delicious waffle and watched performers and listen to medieval music. It was definitely my kind of fun.

The next day we had big breakfast then headed to the mountains for a little hiking. The Bavarian Alps are amazing--some of the mountains were so big that they had snow on the top still. We saw waterfalls, lots of cows, quiant villages, beautiful flowers and even wild strawberries. Yum! After that excursion we drove a bit to the medieval town of Rothenburg and did a bit of exploring. The best part came at dinner time--Käse Spetzel for me and Bratwurst for Lutz. I sometimes feel like I'm eating my way through Germany. It's so good! It was quite a weekend trip. I'm so lucky that the program put me with someone who likes to travel!

There is really too much to write about, but I will try to fit the important things from last week in my next entry. Bis Später!

Week Two

It has been another crazy, crazy week. I continue to have my German classes from 8:45 to 1:00 and then have afternoon activities. On Monday we visited Beethoven`s birthplace. His birth house has been turned into a museum that holds most of his original possessions. In the basement there was an amazing digital interactive Beethoven opera and outside there was a garden with statues of him sent in by artists all over the world. It was really neat.

On Tuesday we went to the Waste Management Facilities of Bonn. I found it really interesting. The Germans are so much more environmentally friendly, but I will write a blog about that later. We also toured the incineration plant. Not the most glamourous thing, but it is important.

Later that night I went to the movies to see Ice Age 3 with my host mother and her friends. It was in German, but I was surprised how much I understood.

Wednesday we watched a movie about the Remagen Bridge of the Rhine River. I tried to pay attention, but war films really are not my thing. The actor who plays Mr. Slugworth in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory made a short appearance as a general in the film, so I had to laugh when someone said,"I need you to bring me the secret formula for an Everlasting Gobstopper." It was hilarious. One of the many side-splittingly funny moments I`ve had with this group. In the evening we dressed up nicely and went to a concert performed by the Bonn University Orchestra. It was a really nice show. It makes me wish I could play an instrument.

Today we took a 20 kilometer bikeride to this Remagen Bridge that we had watched the movie about and took a tour of the museum there. We ate lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant and has gelato afterwards. Yum! Then we had to bike the 20 kilometers back, but it wasn`t that bad. The ride was right along the Rhine River and it was absolutely beautiful.

Tomorrow we actually have the afternoon off. I know what I'll be doing-sleeping! I leave early Saturday morning to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. I will write about that next week!

Another Fun Filled Weekend

I'm starting to get used to constant stimulation now. On Thursday we had class in the morning then we went to the city of Cologne in the afternoon. It was such an amazing place with lots of history dating back to the ancient Roman Times and so many things to see. As soon as we walked out of the trainstation the first thing you see is the enormous Cathedral of Cologne which is quite impressive. There were very talented street performers including one that looked exactly like a statue of a 19th century gentleman. I had to give him a euro because you couldn't even tell he was a real person unless you were less than a meter away. One of the program leaders, Hartwig, gave us a tour (one of four I'm told) of his city. He was very passionate about it and knew so many little details that normal tour guide would not know. At the end there was a bakery testing. He bought us samples of different pastries and we voted on our favorite (Apfel Strudel!).
Since we missed the fourth of July back in the U.S., the program director threw a big barbacque party for us on Friday with all the host families and staff members. There was tons of food, music, laughter and games. Afterwards a few other students and I went to play a game of ultimate frisbee on the Bonn University lawn. I had a little misshap on my train (got off on the wrong stop) but I figured it out and everything was fine.

Saturday I went to the market with my hostmother and we bought food for the weekend. The strawberries are in season now and they are amazing! I can eat a whole kilo by myself! Then we went to the Haribo Gummy Bear factory. There were so many different types of gummies! They had these huge vats filled with gummies and you could just pick what you wanted and pay by the kilo. It was awesome. That night we went to one of the other student's house for a small birthday celebration. We had some more delicious food then headed out to the club! There were about 20 of us and we totally brought the party to that club. It was really fun. Viel Spaß!

First Days of School

I am so excited to be living somewhere with a fantastic mass transportation system. I take the Übahn (the subway) to the city every weekday and walk from the station to my school. We start at 8:45 and finish at about 3 pm then we all hang out together for a couple hours then go home for dinner. The routine is very comforting.
My German continues to improve quickly. I run through vocabulary words every day onthesubway and before I go to bed. I am really anxious to learn German--it is frustrating not being able to speak or understand the language.
Today we are going to Cologne, a near by major city with our head coordinator, Hartwig. I have heard that this is a fun trip from CBYX alumna.
All the students on the program are very different, but we seem to work well together. We have a spanish looking guy from El Paso, a real valley girl from California (no joke, she is really blond and fulfills all stereotypes but it cute) an all American boy from St. Louis, a strange international high school girl from Michigan, a punk skate rocker from Oklahoma and so many other interesting characters. It is going to be a fun two months here with them.

Germany--the first few days

Ich liebe Deutschland. I love Germany. Everything is so clean and efficient. We arrived in Frankfurt at 9:00am German time and drove to the city of Bonn in bus. The other students and I met up with our host families and went home to settle in. My host mother was still on vacation for the weekend, so I went with a temporary family. That night I went to a house party with my temporary host sister, Helen, and had a great time. Everyone was very friendly and interested in me and the other exchange students. On Saturday the program coordinator here took us all on an excursion. We went to a small medieval village called Monschau and climbed a small mountain to get a good view of it. On the way up there we met a ram!! The village was so quaint and authentic--I forgot my camera that day so I will have to collect pictures of it from facebook. Next we visited an old mustard mill that is still in production. The mustard was so good and there were so many different flavors! They showed us how it worked and gave us some. After that we drove to Belgium (but only to the boarder to take a picture and then had lunch)! When we had finished we drove to a small fun park. We went bobsledding and played on the jungle gym like little kids. It was so fun. I think some of the play things in Germany would have major liability issues in the States, but that is what makes it awesome. On the way back to Bonn I really admired the landscape. It is really as breath-taking as it is seen in movies. There are beautiful rolling green hills with little purple and white flowers, wheatfields, other kinds of crops and scattered trees. We also drove through a forest that looked a setting for Lord of the Rings. I was seriously waiting to see an Elf emerge from behind a tree. I also got to know the other American exchange students. We come from all over the U.S. and we have such a range of personalities. So far everyone gets along very well. When we arrived back in Bonn, we walked around a bit and then went to Rhinekultur, a huge concert along the Rhine River. In the newspaper the next day it said over 170,000 people were there--it was huge. The music was really good and we watched some people bungee jumping from a crane. I was exhausted by the time I got home. The next day I was going to go to the Gay Pride parade in Cologne with a few others, but I was still recovering from the jetlag. I regret not sucking it up now because it seems like they had a blast. I took a drive with my temporary host mom to drop my temporary daughter off at a campsite. When we got back my more permanent host mother picked me up. She took me back to her apartment and I unpacked a bit (I have my own room!) and then we went out to eat. We went to this wonderful restaurant where we dined al fresco ( like most Europeans do) and then ate ice cream while we walked along the Rhine. My host mother speaks English, but I prefer that she speak to me in German, even if I do not understand the first time. I was actually surprised at how much I could understand. My German has improved so much even though I have only been here for 4 days. It could not have been a more relaxing first day.

Washington D.C.

I cannot believe that my dad dropped me off in Washington D.C. only a week ago. It seems like just yesterday I was boarding my flight to Frankfurt and at the same it feels like months ago. I will try to keep these blog entries short but there is too much to write. First of all, I feel extremely lucky to have found this program. Everyone is enthusiastic and very professional. I have had to pay for almost nothing. They give us pocket money to wander around the city of Bonn and take us on excursions out of town.
The drive down to D.C. was pleasant except that I left my toiletry kit in a restaurant on the way--not a show stopper though. I slept most of the way. My dad and I stayed in a military hotel in Washington and did a bit of touring on our bikes. I met the program coordinator for the U.S. (Sue Franck) and the rest of the students on the program at Georgetown University (beautiful campus and great facilities) where we stayed for two day of orientation. I had heard all of this stuff from the AFS Argentina orientation so it was nothing new for me--a bit boring but necessary for the other kids. We slept in the dorms and ate in the wonderful dining hall ( meal tickets fully paid for). We toured the German Embassy, the Department of State and the Capitol building--it is really a beautiful city with a lot of history. We boarded our seven hour flight to Frankfurt International Airport in the afternoon on July 2nd. Surprisingly it went by quickly as well.