The street I live on as I left (I used flash)
So I got to the bus stop and waited with my friend Kelsey for the train to arrive (is it a train? it runs on railroad tracks, but it's more like a bus/subway). Luckily we didn't get lost like yesterday walking to the front of the Bonn Hauptbahnhof, though there was a lot of starting down a hall and then turning around when we realized it wasn't the right way. Once again, German was the first class of the day. I'm really liking this teacher that's helping us to learn German. She's funny, but kind. At the same time, she speaks to us in German a lot so we get used to how the words sound, and makes us respond in German as well. When class originally started, the room looked really empty because a lot of people weren't there. Turns out that THEY had gotten lost because the bus didn't stop at the correct stop and they had to find a bus going in the opposite direction.
After German was a housing meeting with the housing coordinator Hilde (Hilda) to make sure that we were all ok with the familys that had been chosen for us and to give us a basic rundown of what questions to ask, what to do if we got sick or had to stay in the house if the rest of the family left for vacation, that sort of thing.
Once that was finished, it was time for Physiology II for the BMEN majors. It was actually a great class, Dr. Wasser gave us a small overview of the class and let us know that we would have a design project similar to last years. He said that he had a great idea and that we would present the design to OttoBack, a company that makes state-of-the-art prosthetic legs. However, when he called OttoBack with this idea, they came back with a better on: because OttoBack has interns and students and stuff, they also have design problems that need solutions. Why not give us one of those problems and allow us to come up with an idea of how to improve or fix a part and then present it to OttoBack? It's just like working for them, but we wouldn't get paid, just experience. Basically, this means that my 11 classmates and I will be coming up with a design that could actually be used by a major company. How many people can say that? I think it's pretty awesome.
All the people in my program (missing some)
So after class came lunch, but before finding the cute little bagel shop we ate at, five of us went into the Haribo shop they have at Bonn, and it was so cool! There was a second floor that just had paintings with a lot of Haribo candies incorporated into them (below). Did anyone know that Haribo was actually founded in Bonn? It's true, the founder was Hans Riegel, so the name comes from HAns RIgel, BOnn...HARIBO. The main factory is just outside of Bonn and if you go there, they give you the deformed gummy beard for free.
See the candies in the pictures?
The one by the ladder is a toucan holding a raspberry gummy
Following our brief stint in the candy store, the five of us found a bagel shop near the HBF where we would meet up with the rest of our group later for a historical tour of Bonn. I almost got through ordering lunch without showing I wasn't a German speaker. Ordering was fine, but when they asked me "for here or to go?" in German, I knew I was sunk and had to reveal I had no idea what they were saying. They just laughed at me and repeated themselves in English so I could finish ordering and pay.
After lunch was our tour of Bonn with an older lady originally from England. She showed us the huge statue of Beethoven, various churches and spires, Bonn University, and the birthplace of Beethoven who was born within Bonn. Nearly everything was badly damaged ether by fire or by bombings, but the people of Bonn have stepped up throughout the centuries and put their city back together. It was a really cool experience learning that the church took so long to build that it actually incorporated two different kinds of architecture form two different time periods, and actually became the inspiration for all the other churches around Europe and the world that used the same mixed style. Or about the golden statue of Regina Pacis (the lady of peace, aka: Mary) above the entrance to Bonn University that resisted her death three separate times; once in a fire that burned everything else in the large building down, once from the French who were trying to get rid of everything even remotely religious, and once in the WWII bombings. We also learned about Beethoven's life and visited the house he was born in. Bonn is very proud that such a famous and well loved person was born in their town, and so they have tons of statues and have turned the entire block around the home he was born in into a Beethoven filled area with pictures and plaques. It was pretty cool to walk into his old house and peek though the windows into the museum that it's become (we got in for free, but only to the back courtyard.)
Munster church. See the difference on ether side of the center pillar?
The front end of the church
A church across the street
Regina Pacis
Beethoven's birth house
Sign above door stating what house this is
Picture across the street
The Beethoven house was the last part of the tour, so most of us went back to AIB to work on homework of hang out or do whatever we wanted. Some were planning on going to the Spanish bar, but since I went out the last two nights in a row, I decided to skip it. I'm glad I did because I'm actually quite tired. In fact, I fell asleep on the couch watching German TV (the more I hear, the more I pick out) after eating dinner with my host family. I think I scared them when I jerked awake because I dreamed I ran into a wall, but Marie told me that maybe it would be good if I went to bed. That was an hour ago. I'm amazed I made it this long, but I really want to try and make this blog a daily thing. Luckily I have class at 11:45 tomorrow so I can sleep in a little bit.Anyway, I'm tired so good bye, and gute nacht
Erin Z
No comments:
Post a Comment