Today and Yesterday

Yesterday was the Bierboerse. I thought that the group of us were going to meet at 5, but encountering a few delays, i got to the meeting place at about quarter after five. Therefore, i decided to head there by myself and meet up with them. I got there, but after about an hour of walking around, decided to call our courageous group leader. It sounded on the phone as if he were in a very quiet room. Guess what? he was. the meeting time was actually 7pm not five. it was no problem though. i walked around and had a few beers (from my backpack, because i'm on a budget). Once they arrived, we walked around a little, and then went to this stand/wagon which sold 131 types of beer from around the world. I suggested the Guinness Foreign Extra to those whom had never tried it, and i believe that they rather liked it. I had some beer from either Bayern or Austria and one from Egypt. The Egyptian beer was really unique, and i found it extremely flavorful. It said that it had figs in it; i would most closely classify it with a Weissbier, albeit a little bit fruiter. After we had finished there, four of us went out for another beer before calling it a night. Today (Sunday), i and two others went to this art museum. It was a really cool exhibit, including many works from Kandinsky. The exhibit began with realists and progressed into the abstract and just plain weird modern stuff. The landscaped in oil on canvas by the realists had to be my absolute favorites! Up close, the brush strokes were clearly distinct and created a patchy picture. However, once one moved a little bit further out, the brush stroked blended together and created a magnificent picture. Tonight, i have been invited to the birthday party of a fellow CBYX participant, so i am actually leaving right now.

Friday...

school was good, but as it was a friday, we were going to do more than go home and sleep. Of course, the best option came up and we agreed that was what we were going to do. What was that, you ask? Grilling some meat! There is a shelter in a park in Tannenbusch (the ghetto of Bonn) that has one covered grilling area and lots of seating. However, after purchasing a grocery cart full of food and then wheeling it ,8K to the grilling spot, we found out that the people that had stayed there to reserve the spot had been kicked out by a couple of rather strong/large Germans of Russian descent. So, as we didn't really want to fight the two Russians plus the 13 other people they said were coming, we took our shopping cart through some grass and gravel to another grilling site. I was rather angry when i began to rain, because we had been reserving the covered grilling area for a good hour or so, but the weather cleared up (mostly, until later). Long story short, good friends and good food can make any situation fun. Now, i'm back at my house and hopefully i'll go to bed soon.

Koeln Tour II

This past few days in class our unit (we zoom through units) has been Multikulti. We have talked about immigration here in Germany and back at home, as well as the emotions and problems that come along with entering a new culture. It is actually relevant, since we too are strangers (auslaende) and are experiencing some of the same things. Germany, like the US, has an immigration test which non-citizens (even if you're born in Germany, you're not necessarily a citizen) must pass in order to become citizens. I passed the miniature version of the test, so i suppose that i would do alright on the real thing if i were to take it (albeit i'd probably study more). Our teacher said that many Germans can not pass the test. Then,after school, we took the train up to Cologne, where the world's best tour guide gave us a tour of the Koelner Dom. To say the least, this was a remarkable tour. The size and grandeur of the edification is jaw-dropping. The gothic architecture is truly stunning, always drawing the eye to the heavens above. Inside, the building is no less impressive (except for the table "altar" in the middle). Although the eye is drawn up, it is incredible to see the intricate mosaics covering the floor. The side altars are also very beautiful, not to mention the stained glass windows lining the walls of the cathedral. We were also able to climb the south tower, giving us a breathtaking view of Koeln. I really can't say what part of the church was my favorite (you could probably guess my least favorite...), but i overall enjoyed the tour immensely. I hope to take a train up to Koeln on a Sunday and catch a mass there, although i could probably find one on a Saturday night or weekday too. Our tour ended with probably one of the best parts of culture; the food. Hartwig has connections, and through one of them at a bakery, got us some baked goods to sample. These baked goodies are really too good to describe, and this time they included a pizza flavored bread stick with bacon and cheese, a plum cake, a plum dumpling (plums baked inside a sweet dough with a bottom layer of some sort of crystalized sugar), lemon cake, something similar to an elephant ear only with raisons and less cinnamon, a regular strudel cake, an apfel strudel cake, almond covered nougat pretzel with chocolate, and i have a feeling that i'm forgetting one or two more. I headed home right after the tour and ate, watched the news (auf Deutsch of course!), cleaned up, and went upstairs to do my homework before i go to bed. I'm not sure what i'm doing this weekend, although the beer fair (with 1000 varieties of beer may be on the agenda, it might not be though, it's probably expensive).

Busy day

This morning we visited the Bonn fire station. We got an excellent tour and even had the opportunity to go up on the ladder of one of the fire trucks (it went up over 22m). Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to slide down the poll in the fire station, since somebody had broken his or her leg while on a tour and the insurance has banned any other tours from doing likewise. After that, we had a lunch break followed afterwords by class. Today we started the multikulti unit, so we talked about citizenship and immigration (all in German, of course). Once that had finished, i walked back to the house, ate, changed, and then walked to the Hoffgarten. It is there that a group of people regularly play (tuesday and sunday) ultimate frisbee. Another CBYXer and I played with five other people (three Germans and two Americans) for about two hours. When we had finished, i returned home, and now i am ready to crash for the night. 

Saturday in the park...

The third saturday of each month there is a flea market in Bonn. Thus, the plan for the day was to attend said flea market. A group of us went there and then further divided. There were tons of venders selling everything from books to dental tools to furniture. Overall, it was a pretty good time, although i did not buy anything. Following that, i bought supper from the Istanbul Grill. I had a glorious doener and a frueh, which i consumed on a park bench in the Hofgarten. I met up with the group to go see the new Harry Potter movie. It was very enjoyable, and i highly recommend it. Overall, a good day and i will get to bed at a decent time tonight.

Last few days

Well, i can't say enough about yesterday. We started fairly early on a bike tour to Remagen. Remagen is a town, which during WWII had a bridge which we took, and allowed us to cross the Rhein River over a bridge, months before we could have otherwise taken. the military history was cool as well as the "peace museum" there. The former mayor of Remagen bought the bridge and then turned it into a peace museum. He, having worked as a 15yo for the Nazis building defenses for 14 hours a day with almost no food, gave him a unique, anti-war perspective. Indeed, he thought that WWII would be the last of all wars, however, there have been hundreds of wars since (a disproportionately high amount of them related to Muslims against whomever) He pointed out that the number of peace museums compared to history/war museums is tiny. Really though, this man honestly gave off the most genuine "war is bad" vibes i have ever felt. I think it is more important then ever to let/allow/give the middle-east the democracy that all humans strive for. Nobody want war, except for fanatics and lunatics.

Today, Friday, i had school and then went to the Haribo gummi baer outlet store, followed by a bbq at a friend's house. Overall, an excellent school week, and i'm looking forward to the flea market in the morning.

Concert

Tonight, i went to a classical music concert, that of the Orchestra of the University of Bonn. The show consisted of a bassoon suite and the Planets. The first part, the bassoon suite (by the way, bassoon auf Deutsch is das Fagott) was not completely engaging. However, the Planets (by Gustav Holst) was very good, in fact, i would say absolutely amazing. After that, of course, we had a few beers, and now i'm at home and i am going to go to bed. 

Beethoven House

Today after school we went to see the birth-house of Ludwig van Beethoven. It was sort of neat to see where he grew up, as well as his first instruments and some of the famous art of him. After that, to the park with friends and then home. Now i'm going to hit the hay. 

Joe vs. various appliances

Joe 1: Microwave 0

Joe 1: TV 0

Joe 1: Stove 0

Joe 1: Washing-machine 0

Joe 0: Oven 1

Wednesday: First Day of School

All is well in Germany today. The first day of school went well. In the morning, i usually wake around seven-thirty, eat breakfast, sometimes shower (it's not normal to shower everyday here), and walk to school. I have a train/bus pass that was provided for us, but how many times am i going to be able to walk across the Rhein River on the way to school. I get to school a little bit early and then hang out for a while with the others. I'm in the most advanced of three classes along with about seven others. Class begins at nine and consists of three seventy-five minute blocks with small breaks in between them. After class today, four of us went to the University Bonn cafeteria and had their food. It was a really good meal and only two euros. We had a historical tour of Bonn at quarter after two, so we did that. Once finished, we were free to go, so T-Mac (from Oklahoma) and i grabbed a few beers and went to the grassy area outside the university. I included a photo from the area where we were. After an hour and a half, we split because it was starting to rain. The weather has been on and off raining for the past few days and it's about 63-70 degrees. I walked home, ate supper, and now i'll probably do a little bit of studying before going to bed (last night was a late night so i am rather tired).

Sunday, July 5th

On Sunday, a group of us decided to go to Cologne (for those who thought Cologne was a French name, close. It actually comes from the Romans) for the Christopher-Street-Day (CSD). It was definitely interesting, very interesting indeed. We took about a thirty minute train ride and then walked through the very... diverse crowd to the parade route. If the pictures haven't already tipped you off, CSD is a gay pride parade. It was a good time.... one could even say a gay old time (yes, i laughed at my own joke). There was quite an open display of bondage, which i thought was somewhat odd. After the parade, we walked around, i took off, and later caught a train back to Bonn (with only a small detour). I got home fairly late, but the day was a blast.

Saturday: Day 5

Today we went to Monschau. The weather was beautiful. We walked around the town and saw a mustard mill. The mustard was very, very good. We visited the Belgium border and then ate lunch.  After that, we went to some sort of sledding hill (like bobsledding) and we went sledding.  We returned to Bonn and I walked all the way back to my house. This evening was a concert called the Rheincultur. So, I walked to the street-train station, got on the train, and then made some friends. We spent quite a bit of time together, however, we got separated, and while in the line for something. I met some other friends. At twelve, when the music stopped, I walked home. I live on the Rhein River and It is very beautiful. However, it is very late, so I suppose I should get some sleep.

 

Friday: Day 4

I got off the plane and took a bus to my host family. They are very good. I especially like them because they don’t speak so much English. 

Thursday: Day 3

This morning was basically the same as yesterday, except that I packed my bags and loaded them onto the bus after eating. We then toured around Washington D.C.—the backside of the Whitehouse, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the FDR Memorial, and the Marine Corp/Iwo Jima Memorial. I have seen all of these before, so it wasn’t really anything special. I still think that they are very powerful sites, but the third time in four years is too much for me. After those, we grabbed a bite to eat in the Pentagon Mall and then headed to the German Embassy.  There was AC and comfortable chairs in the embassy, so the presentation was quite bearable.  Next, we took the bus to the airport. After checking in, going through security, and taking the shuttle to the gate, I wait to board and truly embark on the trip of a lifetime. 

Wednesday: Day 2

Day two began with little commotion. I showered, ate, listened to some more information session, ate, went to the Capital, more information, ate, and then some more information sessions before finally going to bed. Overall, the day was rather dull, but the information will probably be useful later in the trip.  I am excited to get going.

Tuesday: Day 1

On the plane, i managed to catch an hour or so of much needed sleep. We had a smooth landing and after waiting for the f

ront of the plane to get off, I went to the baggage claim. Here, I met the first of many people i had previously only known of from short emails and facebook. I got my bags and the small group of us got on a shuttle to another terminal. Here, we joined up with more CBYXers, and we all got on a van to go to Georgetown University. At Georgetown, we put all of our baggage

 into a room and waited in the lounge. Apparently, our rooms hadn't been made up yet so we couldn't check in. We did an interview with the German head of the program. After that we grabbed a bite to eat and went to the first of many information sessions. I was exhausted, as were most people, so eating supper and then checking into our rooms were both nice. After some more information sessions (such as "'Rules & Regulations? What Rules & Regulations!' Student mini-dramas") and a walk around outside, I hit the hay. The schedule we had been given gave a glimpse of the n

ext two days, and it looked like we wouldn't be getting too much of a break.

Monroe to Washington DC

Well, it has all begun. It feels like I have not stopped doing anything from the moment I woke up on Monday. I started packing my bags, ate lunch with my parents, Cammi, and Cory, finished packing my bags, started and finished my pre-departure project, and early Tuesday morning got in the car with my folks to go to Milwaukee. Once there, we ate some breakfast and said our farewells.  Next, I had to go through security. I nervously set down my carryon, emptied my pockets and threw off my coat, and took out my laptop from its bag. I crossed and watched the look of confusion on the security woman’s face as my belongings went through. I admit, I was somewhat nervous of what might happen, so I said to the lady, “I bet it’s not everyday that you see bagpipes coming through.” She laughed and replied, “So that’s what those are.” I unceremoniously boarded my flight and flew to Washington D.C.