Day 4

I want to write this while I still have the feeling. I havent done very much today, but I just had a very calm and happy feeling. My friend Margaux and I walked down the street to get ice cream at about 4:30 in the afternoon and we walked back to the AJY center eating ice cream and laughing in the sun when we ran into other AJY students and we all stood in the sun eating ice cream and watching a female saxophone group. It was one of those times that you wish you could bottle up and save for, lets say, this morning. I went to bed very late because I got internet in my room last night and I had to wake up at 7. There was a ton of traffic on our usual bus route and we were almost late for our placement test, so we didnt have time to eat breakfast. The placement test was difficult and frustrating, and immediately after we had to wait in line for 2 hours to get our german cell phones and run back to the AJY center to fill out more forms. I was exhausted, frustrated, and starving. I wish I could have had this feeling then, but instead I was called into Dr. Tracys office and he basically told me in german that we cant all have what we want and that if I am having a hard time adjusting I should have told him or Dr. Heckmann. I was very confused until he told me that my mom had called him about changing my housing. I know I wasnt lucky in the housing draw, but that is life, sometimes you are lucky and other times you arent. I want to learn to make the best of it on my own and Im sure I will, I just need a few days to adjust.

I was put into the highest group based on the placement test, but I am not sure I belong there or will stay there. The professor is very aggressive and in your face, which is not very fun or conducive to my learning capabilities. We will see how it goes. I think a few of us are going out to dinner soon, after we finish our homework!

Day 3

It feels like I have been here for an hour and weeks at the same time. Shopping went well yesterday, except for when Margaux and I got off at the wrong bus stop. We weren't far though, and we discovered a zoo very close to my apartment. I even took a picture I was so surprised, because we could see bears right from the street. A lot of us from the AJY (I don't know if I have explained this, but American Junior Year in Heidelberg) program met up and hung out in one person's apartment last night. It was a lot of fun, but I still haven't experienced the german nightlife entirely. We were on the streets and more nonsense was happening with bachelor and bachelorette parties. It seemed like they were everywhere. They were very friendly to us and we had a good time while we were wandering around waiting to find the "moonliners" or late night buses. It is hard to get used to being on a schedule and waiting for public transportation. But public transportation is the best way to get around, because it is free with our semester passes and last night it was really cold already.

Today, I woke up and went to the AJY center to meet my german language partner, Viviane for lunch. I haven't attempted the bus alone yet, so I went with Rachel, who lives in the same apartment complex as I do. When we got there, we met up with a few other people from our program and all went to lunch with Viviane. She is very nice and interested in books and is doing an internship in Munich with a publishing company, so today was her last day in Heidelberg until school starts in October. After lunch, we had more orientation at the AJY center and then toured Heidelberg castle. We all went for dinner at a nice Italian place as a "Welcome to Heidelberg" dinner from AJY. I ordered my first legal drink at a restaurant, and I got a glass of Chardonnay. We were all so exhausted from walking around all day, that after dinner most people went back to their apartments to rest and relax, because our placement test is tomorrow morning at 8am. I was happy to arrive home to a note from my suitemate, explaining that even though we still haven't met, she is looking forward to meeting me and an internet code! That is how I am able to update from my room tonight and will make keeping this updated a lot easier. Things are looking much better compared to how I was feeling last night. Hope everyone is doing well. I love you all.

First Impressions

Hey Everyone!

This first post will be short and sweet. Ive been in Germany for about a day at this point. I say "ja" a lot and we move in a group. We dont start speaking German at all times until tomorrow morning and i am awaiting that moment with fear. The plane ride was really easy and quick (only about 5 hours!) so i only read 4 books since i got to the Philly airport, haha. I got to spend the morning with Uncle Michael and Aunt Romana in Bad Schwalbach, but then i almost missed the bus to Heidelberg, because we thought it left at 10:30 not 9:30. But all is well that ends well, and i made the bus (barely) and got to Heidelberg on time. My room isnt in a great location, because it is outside of the center of the city and i have to take the train for about 20 mins. I really wish i lived in the city, but i am going to make the most of it. I havent met my roommate yet, so i still dont know many things about my apartment, like if there is internet or what we recycle (recycling is a really big deal here, most houses have 6 different trashcans for different materials). I slept for 10 hours last night and did not try to get a taste of the german nightlife, but when we were on the street walking home, we ran into a bachelorette party and learned an odd german custom. The woman who is getting married is embarrassed by her firends. They take her money and in order to win it back and have a fun night, she has to sell flowers, little bottles of alcohol, and other funny things. Today, we had orientation and took a tour around the center of the city, which just made me want to live there even more. Oh well. Now we are going out shopping, because one of the girls lost her suitcase but it should be coming soon. More interesting stories to come hopefully.