Day 3 - First day of classes

So today I had my first day of classes at the AIB building. We had classes in the middle of the day, but the commute is about 45 minutes, so I had to be at the tram station at around 9:30.  Yesterday I found out one of my friends who's also on this trip lives close by the station and we decided to meet up so we knew where we were going. I left the house in a warm jacket (remember that thought from yesterday? Yeah, I was cold the entire day) and met up with my friend Kelsey to get to school. And that's where the problem started.

Due to all the students being in Germany for more than 90 days, we need to get visas to be legal and so our professor had asked us to bring our passports that day. Kelsey forgot hers and had to run back to her house to get it, but luckily made it back in time before the next tram left. Anyway, we made it to Bonn Hauptbahnhof alright, but we took the wrong turn getting out of the station and instead of exiting out the front, we made it out a side entrance. We thought we could still make it to class on time, as we had 30 minutes to get to our school and it's about a 10 minute walk, but we soon discovered that what we thought was the right direction was completely off.

We walked for a while, saw a graveyard we'd never seen before, walked down some quaint streets, and headed towards a spire that we thought we had recognized. Unfortunately, we got completely and totally lost! Luckily we had gotten an emergency card with numbers we could call if we needed help, so we called the AIB front desk to ask for directions. Turns out we were going the wrong way. She was kind enough to lead us to the AIB, but I still have no idea how we ended up so far out. Really, we came in towards AIB the total opposite way we should have...I don't even know what happened. 

Anyway, we both came in about 15 minutes late to our first class: German. Has anyone walked in late to their first day of a foreign language class? It's scary! The teacher talked to us in German and we had to struggle to try and catch up on what we had missed. Even though we were completely freaked out because of being lost and not understanding what was happening, the teacher was really good and taught us a lot of the basics like "Hallo, mein Name ist Erin" (Hello, my name is Erin), "Enschuldigung" (excuse me) and the all important "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" (do you speak English?). 

After that class, we had another class about the FDA and what businesses have to do to get a new product out on the market. Then came lunch and the visa meeting where we would fill out a bunch of forms to apply for a visa. Basically, it turned into a bunch of American students desperately trying to keep up with our program coordinator as she translated everything and tried to make sure that we didn't fall behind, especially when we got to the 3rd and 4th documents. 

Once class was over, a bunch of us decided to find a place for school supplies (who knew we would need paper?) and split up into two groups, one to the gym to see if it was worth the 19 euro monthly payments, and the other went back to AIB to work on the German homework that's due tomorrow. When the homework was done and the group was back together, we decided to go out for a beer at the Irish pub that's down the street. I'm starting to see a trend in how my nights are going to go, and think I should find a way to work off all the beer and bread I've been eating and drinking besides walking everywhere I go. 

Anyway, we went to the pub, and what do you know, it looked like the pubs that they had back in Ireland, though a little bit quieter than they were. Then again, that could have been because it was 5:30 when we went (it felt like 7 or 8 because the sun was down). We ordered our beers and talked to our waiter who seemed a little grumpy that we weren't immediately ready to order our drinks...again, I'm seeing a pattern here. After talking amongst our group and trying to work out the places in Europe we want to go and see (Paris, Italy, Poland, just to name a few), we asked for the bill and prepared to leave. While we were paying for our drinks, we found out the waiter was going to the United States later this year, and when we jokingly asked if he would like a dollar as part of his tip, he became so excited and said yes, then gave us a high five as thanks for the dollar.

It seems like I already have such great stories about bars and pubs, first getting scolded and taunted by a German lady while she got us our drinks, then this guy who was so happy for a US dollar. I'm really excited at what other stories I pick up while I'm over here!

After the pub, we all went home to our families where Marie asked me to play the Just Dance game with her on their Wii after dinner. Of course I said yes and we spent the next hour dancing along to the music while Sophie watched as she wasn't feeling well today. When Annette came home, she decided to join in and we danced to YMCA. It was so much fun!

Soon it was time for bed and Marie came up to me and said good night...in German of course. I said I'd be back down to brush my teeth, but gute nacht. When I said that, everyone in the room stopped and stared at me with smiles and Annette shouted "Sie spreche Deutsch!!" I called back not yet, but I'm learning. Hopefully my class tomorrow will teach me more German words so I can speak with others here without feeling like an awkward tourist. Tomorrow I have class early, but I'm counting down the days until Friday, when we are scheduled to go on a tour of a vineyard up here and take part in a wine tasting. 

Until next time, Tschuss! (bye)
Erin Z