Study Abroad in Germany Day 1

On Saturday May 19, my flight left from Atlanta to Frankfurt, Germany. The flight was full and the one bonus was there was free movies/tv/games/music for entertainment while we were stuck in the plane for about 10 hours. I was able to watch some of my favorite comedies for a couple hours than try to sleep while listening to some music. I really appreciated the earphones that Natalie bought me a couple weeks ago. I could barely hear the typical crying baby and engine roars while keeping the volume down. Also, I was served dinner and breakfast which were not as bad as I thought they would be.

Once I got to Frankfurt Airport, I was surprised to see many similar things to what I saw in America. There are the typical food joints and a variety of shopping and the currency exchange trying to gouge those in need to exchanging currency. I got lost trying to find the meeting point for those flying in to the airport. But luckily for me, I had 2 1/2 hours to kill before the pickup time. I intended to use this time to grab a bite to eat but because of the food given to me on the plane all I really wanted was a drink. I found the place to wait, sat down and began to read some of the readings for the week. I was so tired that I don't think I recollect much of what I read. however the subject is not new to me. The pros and cons of free trade zones like the EU and NAFTA. 

Once Wiebke, the program manager, found us all and led us to the bus, I got on and sat in between all of the Aussies. This led to many others thinking that we were chumming it up in the back of the bus. However, they all went to the same University in Perth Australia.

Once everybody was loaded, we headed to Vallendar, just under 2 hour drive. Here it is my first experience on the autobahn and surprise construction and rain. there were some cars definitely driving faster than the bus but come on its a bus. I did notice as we were driving that there are many similar cars. But Germany has a plethora of compact and subcompact vehicles.

We got into Vallendar and the streets are narrow. This bus driver had to weave through parked cars to get to GH (Guest House) Schumann. I grabbed what I thought was all of my stuff and went to my room. Little did I know that I forgot my computer bag on the bus. I quickly got in touch with the person who checked me in and she made sure that my bag was safe and they held it til our next meeting on the campus. 

At first sight the apartment is quaint and it looked as if they shorted me on a full length blanket. I was wrong it was folded. After unpacking I said I was going to sit down and rest then take a shower. Well sitting down led to a 2 hour nap and me almost missing my next meeting.

The meeting was the typical overview of the course and then getting to know our group members games. Our team lost the game but had fun doing it. We then went on a tour of key spots in Vallendar and the campus. 

After that we took a picture and went to get some food in the vaulted room. It reminded me of an old cellar. Once we finished the festivities, everyone went back to their places.  I skyped with Natalie and did some homework and research.

So far everything is going quite well. Lets see what tomorrow brings us as we travel to Vallendar.