Trains and Cobblestone Streets!

We had a very nice weekend in Heidelberg. Nick and I did some exploring of the Heidelberg Castle on Saturday (which I had already been to but 6 years ago!) and then we met with with some people from Albion who are doing the program in Heidelberg. Th funniest part is that they had little to no time to explore the town (as opposed to me and Nick- all we did was walk around the hauptstrasse looking for things to do) so they often times ended up asking us where things were! But we had fun with them and met some of their American friends so that was fun- our room dymanics in the hostel the second night was way different and everyone was from random places- Finland, Argentina, Hong Kong, Turkey, etc. So we decided to hang out with Abby and Jon (our friends from Albion). On Sunday we decided to explore other parts of Heidelberg and that was interesting and a new girl from California came to our hostel after almost everyone else left and she was nice company. But we are happy to be in a different place now.

Today (Monday) we had to leave the hostel at 11am and we took the bus to the train station where we waited for 2 hours (we didn't realize that the wait was going to be so long) but we managed to find everything alright and we made it onto all of our trains again, even though the cobblestones broke one of the wheels on one of my bags. But it's still usable.

The hostel in Freiburg is way different and much nicer than the one in Heidelberg. It's a little further away from the downtown but it's not so bad- we have a room with a sink and small table to ourselves and the downstairs has tables and a tv area and a bar. However, we do not have free wireless internet in our room so we have to use a common computer at the entrance. Not awful, but the keyboard is weird to get used to and it's annoying not being able to use my computer or skype.

Freiburg is a lot bigger and 'younger' than Heidelberg, definately way less if a tourist attraction which is nice- our other hostel was directly outside of a tourist center and the first stop was directly outside of our window, which had to stay open all the time. Needless to say we are glad to be away from there! There is lots of shopping and things to do in Freiburg so we are excited to be here. Tomorrow we are hoping to go explore the town and find where we are going to live and such.

Overall we're having a good time (but tired!) and hope to be able to visit other countries and cities once we get settled into our program which starts on Wednesday and Thursday.

Wilkommen!

We made it! The travel arrangements went so smoothly it was hard to believe! Baggage check and security at DTW was quick and pretty painless and our gate was right up front, so we passed the time by having a nice dinner at Max and Ermas, which was nicely located directly next to our gate. With perfect timing, we finished dinner just in time to board our plane, which was about a half hour late due to connecting passengers and last minute bags. However, all things considered, the plane ride wasn't too terrible. I sat next to Nick and we fell asleep after about 2 hours (due to some extra help from a little Benadryl) but I woke up after only an hour and a half or so, to remember that I was in the smallest airplane known to man and about one square foot of area to myself. My back, hips, and knees were quick to let me know that the 8 hours in a confined space was a little too long (and so did the screaming baby in front of us- not bad, he only cried a few times). Once we landed at 10am in Germany (4am in Michigan) exiting the plane, customs, and baggage claim were quick and easy. Nick and I found our way to the shuttle that took us to the airport train station, where we figured out (in german!) how to print our tickets and find our platform. We got on our train and made it to our connection and made it to Heidelberg around 1pm, where we found a taxi who took us to our hostel. We were two hours early to the hostel so we went and walked around the main street and found a cell phone store where we bought cheap phones and some minutes just so that we weren't quite as helpless. After lunch, our room that we share with 5 other people was ready so we went in and took a 2.5 hr nap (we were exhausted after all our traveling and not so much sleeping). The other people in our room seem nice- 3 guys about our age from California and 2 girls from Germany visiting the University. Now we are at a coffee shop with free wireless internet- this place might be our new favorite spot in town!

I've been trying to speak German to people but it's hard, everyone talks so fast and they don't enunciate (my mom would call this Karma) but so far we're managing. Nick and I are making a pretty good team!

So far all is well (besides the humidity which isn't agreeing with my hair) and we are enjoying ourselves! Hopefully we can contact the other students from Albion in Heidelberg. As for tomorrow- sightseeing! Gotta be the American tourists while we can!

Stay Tuned!

Only 3 days left in the grand ole USA and I cannot believe how quickly the last few days have gone bye! Visiting Albion for the first weekend back at school was quite unusual... it felt natural to be at school with my friends, but homeless was definitely a first! Leaving is so bittersweet for me...

As for things here at home, packing has been pretty much at a standstill since I first brought the suitcases upstairs and with 3 days to go I decided that should probably start as a priority. 4 months in one suitcase (since the other is housing winter coats and boots and such) is definitely a daunting task... but not putting any clothes in that suitcase is also not helpful (as you can probably imagine). So after a goodbye dinner with my Dad tomorrow night that will most likely be the chore at hand. Good thing I already made a list!

After dreaming of studying abroad my whole life and all the paperwork, emails, scholarships, and WAITING, it's insane to think that this is the week that I'm leaving! "See you at Christmas!" is the strangest thing I have ever said to family and friends in AUGUST. So weird.

Stay tuned for more updates later on this week- Thursday is the big day!

Welcome!

Welcome to my very own blog page!! In 10 days (!!!) I'm off to study abroad in Freiburg, Germany for four months through IES Abroad and I wanted to be able to keep everyone updated on all of my adventures! Although I didn't want to keep everyone updated through a blog, I caved... I promised myself that after years of a terrible track record of diaries and journals I wouldn't make a one. But, here we are! So here's the deal: mirroring the idea of a friend, if everyone posts comments, asks questions, etc etc I will promise to be as good as I can about staying up to date on this website! So as long as you keep reading, I will keep posting. Sound good?

Here are some of the details about Freiburg:
-Sunniest city in Germany (not saying much but that's a bonus!)
-considered the most green/eco-friendly city in Germany
-in the south-west portion and in the Black Forest near the borders of France (25 km) and Switzerland (60km), which makes it the perfect location for traveling!

Why I picked Freiburg:
-like I said: TRAVELING!!!
-did not seem as touristy or American as some of the other cities and programs offered in Germany
-IES Abroad Freiburg offered the most communications classes in the Fall semester (and those are hard to come by- Germany is very math/science/engineer focused)

My Timeline:
-August 26th: Departure
-August 27th, 9:30am: Arrival in Frankfurt
-September 1st: Orientation at IES Abroad in Freiburg
-December 17th: Final Day in Freiburg- off to Duesseldorf to see the Reinecke's!
-December 21st: Return trip to Michigan!

=117 Days. 4 Months. 1 Semester.

Thank you-- keep reading!!