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.