Day 47 - Women's Karneval Day

Alaaf!! Wow, a lot was done today. It all started even before I got to AIB to meet with everyone before the parade, when I brought my boots to Kelsey so she could finish up her outfit. There was a miscommunication and we thought that we were meeting in two different places, but thankfully it was easily rectified and now my cowboy boots are the finishing touch for her sheriff's costume. We made our way to AIB to receive the valentines day cards that two of our classmates have been working on for a long time, but it turns out that they didn't arrive until about a half hour after they said they would be at the meeting spot. On the train and all the way to our "school," it was interesting to see all the different costumes everyone had on and pretty cool that no one even looked twice at the full-body tiger costume I was sporting. We spent most of the next hour or so socializing, taking a TON of pictures, and chowing down on the Berliners that were available as snacks for us. Just before we left, we all gathered outside for a huge group picture in the shared courtyard.

 Captain Wasser and Egyptian Kristin, our professor and program coordinator.

 Just hanging out with Coach Ritter in our marvelous costumes

 All the girls (and David) swooning over the gnome "guy"

 Border control photo! Do you see it?

 The other group picture (not my program)

One of the coolest costumes I've seen so far

After the group picture, we made our way across the Rhein to where the parade was going to be held. Once we reached the parade area, it was a huge compilation of costumes and decorations along both sides of the street from one end to the other. When the parade started, the air was filled with cries of "alaaf!" (A greeting) and "karmella!" (Give me candy!) and we were rewarded for our enthusiasm with all sorts of candies. There were quite a few bands that made their way down the street, and every time they came down we started dancing to the music, just happy to have this experience. This was really a once in a lifetime opportunity that could only happen in Bonn. Before we left AIB, our professor bought all the guys ties and all the girls scissors so we could take part in all the traditions of women's karneval day. The parade was a ton of fun and after it was done, we made our way back to AIB to eat candy and regroup before going out again.

 Poor guy, his tie was cut

 At the Parade

 There were acrobatics

 I took this shot at the exact moment he turned. Pretty cool

 Look at all the little soldiers! So cute!

 Just guys and gals with their ties and costumes

I got this cute cookie that says "Mausi" (little mouse) I think it's irony at it's finest

The next place we went to was the döner place for some lunch before heading back to AIB, stopping at a kiosk for some drinks on the way of course as it was Karneval. Then we mostly relaxed for a while before heading back out onto the streets to celebrate some more. I get to meet one of the host brothers of my classmate's who decided to hang out with us, and was able to hang out with one of the student workers while she showed us all the cool places to dance and celebrate.

 Our classroom was decorated for Karneval

 Some friends we met up with after the parade

You can't see it, but the bakery was open. 

Didn't stop the workers from dressing up like a baker and a clown though :)

The group I hung out with

The bar we ended up dancing in. It was so crowded, you couldn't even get to the bar!

Unfortunately, I am an introvert at heart (though there are people who would disagree with me on this trip) and so by the time 6 came around, I was more than ready to leave for home. To be fair, that means I had spent about 9 hours straight with a LOT of people pressing in on me from all sides in various stages of intoxication, and my friend (also introverted) ditched the group a few hours before. I made my way home and drank some water before heading up to my room to rest for a bit. My host family was still out celebrating, so I had a quiet night to myself. I don't know how the rest of the weekend is going to go, but if it's anything like today (and I know Monday in Köln will be worse,) I don't know how I'll have the strength to get through the weekend. At least class on Tuesday was cancelled, so I can have a day to recover.

Hopefully more tomorrow!
Erin Z.


Edit: Oh no!! I accidentally deleted 15 pictures or so when trying to rotate them! Now I don't have the sea creature's with Captain Wasser or a bunch of other people's costumes!!