Rome

I got to the airport in plenty of time, but it ended up not mattering: my flight was delayed for 2 hours! It started snowing in Germany just as I was leaving my hostel, and a thick enough coat fell that the runway had to be plowed and the plane had to be de-iced before we could take off. Finally at 12:30, 20 minutes after I should have arrived in Rome, we took off.

I was supposed to meet the group at the hotel at 4 pm that day, and I slid into the hotel lobby at 4:05. I was still able to hear the orientation lecture and everything. Our Contiki guide is a spunky Italian lady who is originally from Rome, so she has a lot of insight and a list of her top 10 things to do in every city.

The first day in Rome we went out for dinner at an all-you-can-eat pizza restaurant where the owner showed us how he made dough. There was also a pianist and a singer there. The singer was a short older man who kept coming up and singing at me, since I was seated closest to the piano. I was so very uncomfortable the entire time. People took videos and I'm sure I was beet red. But he was a very nice man, and after a while I started going along with him.

Then we went for a walking tour of the city. It would have been nice, but it was pouring rain the entire time! We did see the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain (under construction, unfortunately, so I didn't get to throw my coin in), and the cathedral of Sant'Agnese in Agone with the gorgeous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (fountain of four rivers).

The next day my boots were soaked, so I had to wear my yoga pants and gym shoes around. We started out the morning with a tour of the Colosseum and the Forum. Oh, they were unbelievably gorgeous. They're over 2000 years old, and there's just so much history there. Walking through the Forum was like a dream come true for me. The Colosseum has lived through so much, it's truly staggering when you think about it.

Then we had free time. The Pope was giving a blessing at noon, so I teamed up with some other people and hightailed it over to the Vatican. I can't believe I saw Pope Francis! Of course he was a little speck in a window, but usually I see him on TV, not in person!

Then we took a quick look around the Pantheon and grabbed some lunch from a little restaurant. Then we wandered around the city some more, eating gelato and taking in the sights. We ended up at the crypts of the Cappucini friars, which are unique because the crypts are decorated with the bones of the dead for Cappucini friars. There was an entire room where the center design on the wall was made of pelvis bones. I thought it was gruesome, and didn't much like it.

Then we met back at the Four Rivers fountain to have dinner. Tonight we made our own pasta! From making the dough to rolling it out over and over again to cutting out the ravioli, we made our own dinner. It was a very thorough lesson, and I enjoyed myself immensely. And my goodness, with a little sauce, our pasta was delicious!!

Then we grabbed a drink at the bar. The good thing about a group this size (about 40 people) is that we bring our own party wherever we go.

This morning we has breakfast and left the hotel to go visit the Vatican, with the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. Now that was one amazing experience. I don't want to go into it now, I'll add more later, as well as some pictures (I'm taking some really nice pics).

Afterwards our tour guide told us where some amazing street food pizza was. I had a slice of cheese and prosciutto, and another slice of mushroom alfredo. And she was right, it was really delicious.

Then we left for Florence.

On my way!

I write to you from the first stop on my trip to Italy. I'm in a pretty nice hostel in Cologne. Tomorrow at 10:10 I fly out of the Koln/Bonn airport to Rome Ciampino.

I got a late start this morning due to a laundry mishap. It's always when you have somewhere to be that something goes wrong! But I made it here pretty smoothly by myself, taking public transit the whole way. It kind of boosts my self confidence, being able to navigate Germany like this.

So right now I'm hanging out at the hostel. Thank God for free wifi. What would I do without it?

My roommates tonight are 3 girls from Hong Kong who study in England, so their English is perfect. They're also super nice. Also, when I'm done emailing you, I'm going to update my blog. I'm going to try to do it nightly in Italy, but no promises!

Arrividerci! Ciao! Talk to you in Italy!

Christmas markets!

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm feeling a little melancholy because I'm away from home, but I've been keeping busy preparing for my trip to Italy on Saturday!

Now that it's Christmas, the season for the Weihnachtsmarkten (Christmas markets) is almost over. Here's my collection of mugs!

From left to right: Munster, Dortmund, Soest, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Paderborn, and Bochum. Not pictured: Bonn.

It was my friend Eleanor's idea to do a tour of the Christmas markets in Germany, hitting about two every weekend. The Paderborn one was easy - we were wandering around there all the time. Each city has a unique mug, and I think they're super cool. Gluhwein is surprisingly good, but my favorite Weihnachtsmarkt drink is definitely Lumumba, which is hot chocolate and rum.

I don't know if I can pick a favorite market. I liked all of them, and my experience also depended on things like the weather and crowds. If it was raining or too crowded, I didn't like it. Dortmund sticks out in my mind as being really good. It had a huge Christmas tree and plenty of different stands to shop at and also, fried cheese.

Last night I went to Christmas Eve service at an evangelical church. It was very nice. I didn't understand very much of it (I was in the back and they had run out of programs, so I couldn't read the words), but it was nice to just be there. Tonight I'm going to Kate's German buddy's apartment for a traditional German Christmas dinner, so I'd better go get ready. Frohe Weihnachten!

Munich

Skipping right over Berlin then...

MUNICH!!!!!!

Eurobiz planned a weekend trip to Germany. I knew a few of the people going on the trip, kind of, but everyone at this point is kind of clique-y and keep together based on country of origin. Unfortunately, none of my close friends could make it, so I ended up going to Munich pretty much solo. I resolved to make this a fun, all-about-what-I-want-to-do trip.

The bus ride was about 7 hours long, with breaks for food and bathroom. When we arrived in Munich we went straight to the Deutsches Museum. I had as good of a time as one can have at a museum. There were a ton of exhibits, but they were all pretty... generic. Like what you'd find at any other museum. I would have preferred to go to the Bayern Museum to learn more about the region. My favorite part of the museum was probably the sundial display on the outdoor terrace. Unfortunately it was cloudy that day, but the top floor offered a great view of the city.

That night we ate at a Brauhaus. The restaurant was loud and happy and bright, the food was good, and the beer was delicious! There's something I never thought I'd say! But yes, Munich beer might be the best in the world (maybe I'll have to test this hypothesis by drinking my way through Europe?)

I'm not sure what I ended up with... but it was really delicious!

The next day we had a city tour in our bus, followed by free time. We stopped at Schloss Nymphenburg, which is this massive complex of gorgeous building. It served as the summer residence for the royals back when Bavaria had its own rulers. One of the kings built it for his wife when she finally gave him a boy baby. Are then men who would still do this? Because I could go for my own palace. To be fair, he only built the main part shown below. Over time his grandchildren and great-grandchildren built it up into the massive complex it is now.

The original part, from the front

At an angle on the side. This is only about half - the buildings also wrap around behind me

These pictures are only part of the whole. There were more buildings behind me, and that's not to mention the acres of gardens behind the main part, in both traditional and English styles.

 

We also stopped by BMW World, which is open for people to look around at the newest models of sports cars. It was fine, but underwhelming for me. I kept thinking of how much my dad would love it. As I walked around I could see him standing and regarding the cars, arms crossed, and telling me the minute differences between performance and how he personally felt about each car. I probably missed him more then than I have since coming to Germany.

This one's for you, Dad.

After the tour we had an afternoon of free time, which is a little daunting when you're by yourself. I grouped myself with an Australian named Matt and a Chinese girl named Titi. We started in Marienplatz, the center of Munich, full of bustling shops and gorgeous architecture.

The New Town Hall  at Marienplatz at dusk. During summer months the figures in the Glockenspiel (the center part) play

First we decided to get some lunch. Matt and Titi decided that they both wanted sushi, which to me is a travesty. We're in Munich, the capital of beer and brats, and you want to eat raw fish? I wanted classic Munich food, so we parted ways. I got a bratwurst in a bun and the most delicious potato salad I've ever had that I ate standing up. When I was done I headed over to the Biergarten for a Bavarian beer (the best in the world - how could I pass that up?). I didn't think I could handle a whole Maẞ (what the Bavarians call a liter of beer), so I got a half liter, which is still a pretty decent mug.

I grabbed a seat at a table and chatted with an Austrian couple in mixed Denglisch. It's true what they say about beer gardens and brauhauses in Munich - you'll become best friends with the people at your table. An illusionist came by and did some sleight-of-hand tricks for us. I really had an amazing, authentically Bavarian good time.
 Then I went shopping at the Viktuelienmarkt, which was really all sorts of food stands. I went to the honey hut for some gifts (and honey wine for myself to try), the seasonings kiosk for more gifts, the fruit stand for some dried fruit, and a gift shop for some postcards. I bought a cup of coffee and fresh-pressed juice from a stand. I wandered around a lot, and I really had a good time with myself.

Just a cool sign at the Viktuelienmarkt.

Another thing I saw? A Käsehaus. A house entirely dedicated to cheeses. Munich is truly my spirit city.

Fast-forward to the next morning: when I walked outside, the street was covered in a thick fog. I was disappointed because  I would guess that Schloss Neuschwanstein is less beautiful when you can't see it. But my sadness was short-lived: within half an hour the sun came out and burned off the fog in a matter of minutes.

We drove through some truly stunning countryside. Some people were napping, but I don't know how they could close their eyes. I could barely turn my head fast enough!

I couldn't get any good pictures because of the glare, but it was exactly as beautiful as rolling countryside and small German towns are in your mind. I can see snow on the tops of mountains in the distance. It's truly magical. The trip to Munich was worth it just for this. I'll post pictures soon, I promise! I got some really amazing ones.

The villages (Dorfs) were picturesque German cottages nestled into the rolling hills. Do you think they just get used to the breathtaking view?

 

A preface to Berlin

"I don't believe there is anything in the whole earth that you can't learn in Berlin except the German language."
-Mark Twain

Mark Twain's travel quotes describe my life.

Budgeting woes

Ugh, sorry, I'm so bad at blogging!

Welcome to week 3 of my classes! The system is definitely different than the U.S. which is definitely causing some stress... but it's midnight in Paderborn, and I'm going to make this post relatively short tonight. I could promise to update again tomorrow, but seeing as it's been almost two weeks since my last post, don't hold your breath.

I've been blowing through money a little faster than anticipated. It's hard to cut back on expenses, though, when you want to see the world. Sigh. I wish I could get paid to explore the globe. This just means take it easy on the drinks and try not to go out to eat so much. Of course, not going out is impossible - this is Germany, and trying the local cuisine and partying on weekends are a must. I'm in Europe and I'm going to take this chance to travel. I think I'm doing pretty well, I just need to stay conscious of where my money is going.

Another good reason to cut back: my waistline! Before I left the U.S. I had lost some weight, which felt amazing. I think that, with a little conscious effort, I can lose it again. I invested in a blender to make smoothies, which I love. It makes it easy to eat a serving of spinach because I stuff it in with some strawberries and bananas and I can't taste it at all. I'm looking into joining a gym, but in the meantime, I found a great road that I can run on. I walked along it yesterday just to see where it went, and the answer is, a cornfield.

It turns out that if you walk about 10 minutes from Vogeliusweg, you hit a cornfield. On one side is a golf course, and the other is just fields. When the golf course ends, there's just fields. Eventually you hit another road, and there's a sidewalk that's good for running, which is surprising because it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. There are some people who walk their dogs along it, and I ran into some Spanish girls that I knew. I never really felt alone when I was walking, but I'll be alone enough that I could run without worrying if I look stupid.

Update: I joined a gym a few days ago, and while it's a bit pricey, it's worth it to me to have the place close by to work out.

I'm also trying to make steps toward improving my German. My semester course started today, and I like my teacher (more on that in another post). I'd also like to join the Tandem program, where I get paired up with a German speaker who wants to learn English, and we have conversation hours in German and English. Tonight I went to go see a movie in German. I didn't like it and could only understand the gist of the action, but hopefully in the long run experiences like these will help me improve (or at least lessen my awful accent).

It's closing in on midnight here and I have a 7:30 a.m. class tomorrow morning. Ciao!

Whirlwind of international events

Last weekend I went to Amsterdam, which was so beautiful and amazing. I'm excited to blog all about it, but it's taking a long time to put together, so here's a post to distract you until I get that done.

Yesterday I went clothes shopping with Kate and Eleanor in Cologne. The shops there are a LOT better, and more inclined to have clothes in my size. I needed jeans and Eleanor is always down to shop. The train trip took about 2.5 hours each way and we stayed for about 6 hours total. I honestly could have shopped more, I had so much fun. We paid for the regional train ticket in our fees, so the train rides were free (kind of).

There are a bunch of little things that I keep noticing about Germany. They're not particularly exciting, but to an American, they're really surprising. For example, there are Subways in Germany, and they sell 15 cm sandwiches, not 6 inch! Of course, this should have been obvious because everywhere except the U.S. is on the metric system. There was also a Dunkin Donuts in the Cologne train station, but it was just awful. I was so disappointed. But I expected too much for the Dunkin Donuts to be the same, and in the future it's probably better to try something new, rather than try to recreate the American experience.

What else am I doing? Well, my weekends are often booked now, thanks to the Eurobiz club. They plan activities for the international students like weekend trips and socials. I really hope that my home university has a club like this, because it's a really great program. On Saturday I'm going to the town of Wewelsburg . It's my German Buddy's home village, and location of a three-sided "castle" (I've learned that the German word for castle, Schloss, also refers to buildings that are more like mansions). The next weekend is Dusseldorf@night. Everyone who wants to come can take the train down for an evening tour followed by dinner at 8:30 and going to a bar. The last train leaves at 10:30, so most people are going to opt to stay all night and take the first train back Sunday morning. I'm not sure if I can make it all the way through to Sunday morning, but staying out all night with my friends sounds amazing.

Two weeks after that I'm spending a weekend in Eurobiz in Berlin! I'm super excited for this, because you can't just go to Germany and not go to Berlin. The trip includes two nights, a city tour, a Schloss tour, a visit to the Brandenburg Gate, and a bunch of other fun stuff, all for 75 euros! I'm really super excited about this trip.

And, finally, a happy 21st birthday to the best roommate in the world!!! I miss her a lot, and I hope she has a great birthday.

What I did today

Most of my days are pretty routine by now. I get up, go to class, and come back. Usually I meet up with friends some time in the afternoon, and usually I go shopping for something or another, or else go for a walk just to get out of my apartment. I come back, chill at my apartment, do a little homework, and go to bed.

Today was more of the same,. Got up, got ready, went to my German course, the same things I do every day. It feels very natural now.

Took the bus to the city center and wandered around until we found a salon. I made an appointment for my Australian friend Eleanor, who doesn't speak any German but needed her eyebrows done. Honestly, it was kind of nice to flex my German muscles with the shop girl, who spoke no English. It means that I can get by on my own in German!

Walked to the bus stop and noticed another salon that looked cheaper, so we went there and decided she could just get her eyebrows done immediately instead of having to come back. I successfully translated what Eleanor wanted done at the salon, and I can now say eyelashes, eyebrows, and color (like, coloring your hair), all things I didn't know I needed to say. That's why I love studying abroad - you learn so much besides what the textbook deems important.

Broke a 50 Euro bill at KFC (Eleanor craves all sorts of fast food. I'd rather eat German food personally, but I couldn't say no to fried chicken).

Cancelled the appointment at the other salon over the phone. I had to leave a message, and I'm sure it was horribly garbled, but I still conducted business on the phone!

Saw the final score for the Bears vs. Green Bay yesterday, cried.

Saw the Blackhawks score vs. the Oilers on Saturday, which cheered me up enough to stop crying.

Now I'm studying for my final German test. I'm not too worried because we took a "midterm" and I got the highest grade in the class :) But my vocabulary isn't what it should be, so I'm studying up on my verbs.

Ugh, I'm tired. I'm going to Amsterdam this weekend, so when I get back I'll have something more exciting to write about!

Ferienkurs

Being in Germany has made me realize that my German is really good. It has also made me realize that my German is terrible.

I can definitely communicate in German when I have to, which is awesome! But as I increasingly speak to people my age, I need to express more complex ideas, and I have neither the vocabulary nor the grammar skills for that right now. It can be frustrating, but I'm lucky I came with intermediate skills. In a country that speaks the language is the best place to refine and polish a language. Fluency in 10 months. That is my goal.

I'm taking a Ferienkurs (vacation course), a 4-week intensive German course. It's surprisingly exhausting. When I listen to someone speaking English, it's easy to take it all in passively. In German, I need to be actively focusing on what the teacher is saying and matching the German words to the meaning for 3 hours and 45 minutes a day. It's really tiring. I feel bad for the others in the class, because they need to use English as well as German to communicate, even thought it's not their native language.

Emma being a dumb American

Here's a post that doesn't need pictures. That's what I'm waiting on to write a post, and might be waiting for another day or so.

My first night in Vogeliusweg (my student apartment), I thought I was locked out because I didn't know that "drucken" means "push," and not pull. In my defense, the doors are backwards here - they open towards the inside of the building, while that's against the fire code in America, they have to push to go outside.

There's one washer and one dryer for my entire building (about 120 people, I'd estimate), which will be a bigger pain once all the students move in. I'm hopeless when it comes to laundry. The machine instructions and detergent instructions are all in German, so I had to go get my phone and use some precious data to figure out the washer settings. Then I had to Google where the detergent goes in a German washing machine, because I can't even do laundry in English!

Guess who's in Germany!

So much has happened in the last few days that I barely know where to start. This post is gonna be a doozy! I'm probably rambling, so I'll come back and fix it in a few days.

I'm spending 11 months in Paderborn, Germany. I don't know how good of a picture this is, but the red arrow is where I am. If I stay for a full school year and take required courses here and at ISU, at the end of my 4 (or 5) years of college I can get a "transfer degree." From what I understand, I'll have a Bachelor's degree from both ISU and Universitat Paderborn. How amazing would that be?

I finally have Internet access. There's no wifi so I can't use my phone, but I'm grateful for cable access on my laptop! There is a 10-foot radius of space in the mall that has truly free wifi (most you need to register for), so I was checking in that way for a while.

So where do I start? I've been in Germany for about 48 hours now, but I feel like I've lived here a month. There's a lot to do before school starts: bank account, residence visa, student ID, registration. It's more than the average student who goes abroad has to do, because a) I'm staying 2 semesters instead of one, and staying more than 9 months has different requirements, and b) because I'm seeking a degree from here. 

How am I doing? Everyone already knows that I was super nervous about leaving home. Actually, I'm doing extremely well, and trust me, no one is more surprised than I am. I expected to be a mess when I got here, but I'm doing very well. I'm sure the adrenaline will wear off eventually, but for the time being I'm happy and excited for the future. 

The reason I'm doing to well is mostly thanks to my German buddy. Her name is Jessi and she is amazing. She made me feel so much better about coming and she's really taking good care of me. She bought me this welcome present full of everything a girl needs in a foreign land.

 

It's a mug that says "The prettiest women come from Paderborn" (in German), along with some Kinder chocolate and a postcard with a sweet message on it. She's actually the most welcoming person ever. Last year she studied in Sweden and got no help of any kind, and she says she wants to do a better job of making me feel welcome than Sweden did.

So where am I living? I have an university-owned apartment in a complex called Vogeliusweg. There's two floors with a shared kitchen and bath for four of us. It's set up like this: When you walk in the front door, on the right is the full bathroom and a "guest bathroom" (just a toilet). Directly in front of you is my bedroom and Chrissi's. On the left is stairs that lead up to the kitchen, a little living area, and Lisa's and Nora's bedrooms.

This is what my room looks like:

 

It's really spacious! I'm a little uncomfortable living on the first floor, especially since the curtain that's supposed to cover the window is broken, but I'm sure I'll adjust.

I'm living with three German girls, which is totally unexpected. I assumed I'd be with other foreign exchange students. One of the guys who did this program last year said his roommates were all Indian exchange students. One of the students from ISU also has 2 Indian roommates, so maybe a lot of Indian men come to Germany? Anyway, I love it so far. Lisa and Nora are fluent in English and are eager to practice their English with me, while Chrissi is not. The first thing she said to me was that she doesn't speak English (she said it in German, obviously). So I'm practicing my German language skills right now, which is exactly what I wanted. I'm hoping to make the switch to all of us speaking only German by the time school starts in a month. Fluency by the time I leave is my goal.

So I couldn't really keep this post brief, but thanks for hanging in there if you read it all! More next time!

First post!

As I prepare to leave my home for 11 months, I try to keep this quote in mind:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." – Mark Twain

Mark Twain has a lot of great travel quotes, and I especially love this one. He makes me want to go out and explore the world, and I need some positive reinforcement right about now!