Well Day 11 has arrived but I still have other days to talk about.
Day 8 1/27/2010
Well when I woke up this morning I had a very hard time getting up. I ended up getting up really late. Way later than I should have and ultimately that meant I had to just wash my hair without a shower and then at 7:06 I had to ask my host mom if she would drop me off at the meeting place so I could catch the bus that would be leaving for the excursion. I felt really bad because I didn’t ask her till I was positive that I wouldn’t make it in time. That meant I was going to make her late. I really wish that I had asked her earlier. She dropped me off and I threw my stuff onto the bus and after one more person showed up we left on our way to Amsterdam. The drive there was fairly uneventful we sang some 80’s songs and I recorded the country side. We got there at around noon and immediately without a bathroom break had to get to an appointment that had been made by Ariane, one of our directors. It was a cruise in the canals of Amsterdam. By this time we were fascinated by the difference in the city compared to Bonn and home. We boarded the ship right after we got off the bus. The ship was a low ship with booths and tables just like a restaurant and it was covered. So, we weren’t cold while we rode. The driver played us a CD that told us different things about the city and he spoke about it as well. I don’t remember as much about this tour as I did about the tour in Bonn. We passed several tower-churches that he told us about and we passed the Anne Frank Huis or house. This is a museum for the girl, Anne Frank and her family as they were in hiding during the World War. We were to go to this museum the next day. Which reminds me of something about Bonn, Bonn was bombed during the World War as well by the Allies but there was no reason to bomb it they just did to test a new weapon and they needed a city that was mostly still standing. Anyway back the Amsterdam. We drove through most of the canals and we were intrigued by the swans that we saw. We drove through most of the canals. The biggest things that I found strange were the boat houses. There are these houses that line most of the canal edges and people pay large amounts of money to live in these houses. They are tiny, but they want to live there. They also pay city taxes on the houses. I don’t understand it but they love these homes and they love living there apparently. I found this tour to be a good introduction to the city even if it was slightly boring. We got a lot of good pictures. After the tour we walked to the meeting place for later that day and Ariane gave us free rein to do anything. Garrett and David H. and I walked around the different shops trying to find a place to eat. Eventually Garrett and I got some fries with mayonnaise. Then we walked around trying to find a place for David to eat. Eventually they found a sandwich shop and I went to look in a souvenir shop across the alley street. I bought a Stein, some wooden shoes, and a shot glass. After a while we walked around some of the streets and I found another shop where they sold dolls. David and Garrett waited for me outside. I love them... Anyway, I found myself a doll from the country and a spoon for mom. After we walked around and I bought my souvenirs we walked over to the monument that we are suppose to meet at. It is a monument to the Jews who died in WWII. We found an ATM and I was able to pull out some cash. Then we met up with the rest of the group to catch a bus over to the Van Gogh Museum.
This was one of the things I was looking forward to the most on this trip. We got off the bus and headed inside. After purchasing our tickets we headed inside to give our coats to a desk clerk for the lockers. They would hold our coats while we walked through the museum. This was an amazing museum. They had 200 of the 900 painting he ever made and 500 of the 1100 drawings he ever made. They didn't have many of the drawings on display but they did have quite a few paintings there. I loved all of them. I got the see a few that were my favorite before I even went to the museum. It was just amazing. I also saw some works that I've never seen before as well as some that I had and were more famous. This wasn't as moving as the museum we did the next day but I'll talk about that later. After the museum we checked into our hotel. The Hotel Astrix. I was a little freaked out by the place because of this weird feeling that I kept getting and I would hear really creepy stuff in the middle of the night. Well after we checked in and messed with the TV for about an hour we headed to dinner at a traditional Dutch restaurant. That was some of the best food I've ever eaten. It was boiled potatoes, sliced baked potatoes, mashed potatoes with sauerkraut and bacon, sausage, 2 different stew meats, and pears soaked in Cider, and finally red cabbage and apples. It was served family style and it was very good. I also had a dark beer that was strong but also good. I'd never had a beer that dark that I can recall. Trisha had a beer that I wish I had got and it was better. It was sweet with a little lingering. After dinner we headed back to the hotel. Some people went out to go explore some more I was so exhausted that I decided to sleep.
Day 9 1/28/2010
Well today was just as long as the day before. We had to get up at 6:30 in order to be down in time for breakfast. It was a typical European Breakfast. White-bread and cheese. After we got up Trisha, Catie and I went back upstairs to pack up the room because we roomed together the night before. After we gathered our stuff and put it in the storage room for the hotel we walked over to the Anne Frank Huis. This is the museum I mentioned earlier. We walked there and after being made to stand outside in the rain we were allowed to come in. We went inside to pay thing immediately went back out and over to the front of the building and had an introduction to the house. The girl told us the story of Anne Frank, why they went into hiding and when. What happened before and briefly of the place. She told us how they lost the business and why they went into hiding. After she gave the story we headed inside to go through the museum. This was so moving because it was the actual place that they stayed while in hiding they lived there. Eight people in five rooms. It moved me so much because I read her diary as a girl with being required to and I also watched all the videos about her and the family. It made me cry. I had to pull out a tissue before it was over. They also had copies of all the photos taken of Anne before she went into hiding. Her father had taken a snap shot of her every year till the year they went into hiding. So I saw a picture of her from the time she was a baby till she went into hiding. After I cried and we left, we headed back to the hotel to grab our stuff and head for Rotterdam were we would go see an artists studio. I watched the country side on the way there. I had a few exciting moments were I got to see the famous Holland windmills. We got to Rotterdam and I have to say after spending that time in Amsterdam going to Rotterdam was very disappointing. It was a nasty city and ugly to look at but I can see how it would appeal to the less nostalgic of us. Anyway when we got there we had to head straight to the warehouse district so that was no fun to look at. It was nasty and dirty but anyway I guess you have to see some bad to enjoy the good. We got to the studio and had to wait in our car for Judith and Markus because they were the ones that knew the people there. So eventually they arrived and we got out to go talk to them. One lady, I don't remember her name showed us around and talked about what they do as a studio. I didn't really like the sexual stuff but the other sculpture that they were working on was awesome. It was a stack of barrels like oil drums and there were these dripping figures just oozing off of them. That was really cool and another installation that they are doing is a skeleton of bones which will be in Indianapolis later this year. She talked about the process and past exhibits and about some of the past stories of the city which I didn't pay much attention to because it was outside and cold. I really wish she would have talked inside. Well right after that tour we got on the bus again to head to Renesse. That was another trip of me wishing I had 6000 eyes so I could look at everything at once. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of a windmill but I did get a video of one. After we arrived in Renesse we went up to our rooms and put our stuff up then headed right back down stairs to go to a meeting with two schools from Texas including A&M. We were giving our story pitch that we had come up with the last class period. We spent a while getting ready then a couple of hours pitching and talking with the other schools. After that we walked to the restaurant that we would be eating at. I don't remember the name. I ordered some fish and Hollandaise sauce and spent most of the time talking to Markus, one of the professors, about some deep stuff like God and such. After we ate everyone went back to the hotel. Catie, David H., Garrett, Jacob and I all went to the guys room. I tried some Absinthe. It was disgusting by the way, even though we did put sugar in it and watered it down. Anyway. we spent several hours in there talking about random things and specifically cars, car wrecks and ghosts. After we decided that we were done talking Catie and I went back to our room and went to bed.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Second Entry Day 8 1/27/2010
Day 7 1/26/2010
This was a rather normal day. I got up and caught the train. I cut up and peeled a pear which I took with me that morning. I walked to the AIB building from the Hauptbahnhof. I thought I was late the entire time because I remember that we were suppose to go to the Old City Hall at around 9:30 so I thought I was supposed to be at the AIB around 9. Well I didn't get there till about 9:15. Needless to day I was ok. I got there way ahead of time. After everyone gathered we walked to the City Hall and meet the female deputy mayor. I don't remember her name. She told us about the building and how it was built by Augustus... something... in 1738 … I think. They provided us with some drinks. We introduced ourselves talked for a moment. Then after we were done we walked back to the AIB building. We had our German class after waiting around for an hour. After that we had lunch at a sandwich shop. After lunch we sat in a workshop for Maya the rest of the day. I learned a little about the industry here in Germany. After that several of us walked around Bonn trying to find the meeting place for the next day and that ended up taking longer than it should. I didn’t get home till way later than I should have. My host mom ended up calling me to see if I was coming. I talked to Sean and packed for the excursion that we would be going on the next day. I went to bed later than I planned.
This was a rather normal day. I got up and caught the train. I cut up and peeled a pear which I took with me that morning. I walked to the AIB building from the Hauptbahnhof. I thought I was late the entire time because I remember that we were suppose to go to the Old City Hall at around 9:30 so I thought I was supposed to be at the AIB around 9. Well I didn't get there till about 9:15. Needless to day I was ok. I got there way ahead of time. After everyone gathered we walked to the City Hall and meet the female deputy mayor. I don't remember her name. She told us about the building and how it was built by Augustus... something... in 1738 … I think. They provided us with some drinks. We introduced ourselves talked for a moment. Then after we were done we walked back to the AIB building. We had our German class after waiting around for an hour. After that we had lunch at a sandwich shop. After lunch we sat in a workshop for Maya the rest of the day. I learned a little about the industry here in Germany. After that several of us walked around Bonn trying to find the meeting place for the next day and that ended up taking longer than it should. I didn’t get home till way later than I should have. My host mom ended up calling me to see if I was coming. I talked to Sean and packed for the excursion that we would be going on the next day. I went to bed later than I planned.
Monday, January 25, 2010
First Entry Day 6 1/25/2010
I'm going to warn you before you start reading that these are long. There is little emotional issues in them and they are un-edited. I have yet to re-read them to fix ANY grammar problems. I know they're there. This is just me getting my memories written down.
-Hali @-> <3
Day 1 1/20/2010
Well this will be the start of my journal about my time here in Germany. I've been here since last Wednesday. I left from Houston on Tuesday at around 11:30 and arrived by plane in Frankfurt, Germany at 7 in the morning Wednesday morning. The plane ride was nice both times the whole group practically had an entire row to ourselves. The first flight I sat next to Trisha. We flew Air Canada. This has to be the best idea so far. The seats were comfortable and we each had our own screens to ourselves. One the first plane to Toronto I watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was cute but not the best movie I've ever seen. We arrived in Toronto and we only had time to grab some food and exchange our money then shop a little for some souvenirs. I was in the middle of paying for mine when Trisha ran up yelling that they were boarding first class. So I grabbed what I had just payed for and ran back to the gate. This next flight was even nicer than the first. I had the whole row to myself, so when I went to sleep I was able to stretch all the way out. We had a really nasty dinner that I didn't care for much and a snack on the flight. After we landed in Germany we had to wait for a few of our group to join us at the airport then we all piled onto a bus and headed for Bonn. We arrived at AIB at around 10:30 or so. We had to wait around, after grabbing some breakfast, for our host families.
I am staying with a single mom named Trudy, and her eleven year old daughter, Vanessa. I'll be sure to get some pictures later.
Anyway, Trudy picked me up at noon and we headed to her house in Bonn. Along the way she showed me how to get to the Hauptbahnhof, (Central Station) for the train that I would be riding to school and back. Then she showed me where to catch the train near her home. When we got back here she started cooking some late lunch/early dinner. She chopped up a bell pepper and mixed it with some corn for a salad. Then she cooked some chicken wings in the oven and made some potatoes and ham. That was all one meal. I had that for two days because she made so much. I spent most of that afternoon setting up my room and talking to her. I fell asleep at 7:30 that night.
Day 2 1/21/2010
I woke up at 5 in the morning today. I ended up talking to Sean most of the morning till it was time to get ready. We had to meet up with Lars and Ariane today at the hauptbahnhof in the main entrance area. I met up with Trisha and Catie that morning to go over on the train. This was my first train ride ever. It was rather exciting. Anyway we spent most of the day walking around to the AIB building then after we got there we met up with some of the student workers and they took us to different places that we might need while we are here. That wore me out. I don't usually like to walk that much. After that they took us over to the other AIB building and showed us where the other students were staying, these students are from LA. Anyway. After that we headed back the the AIB building and that was pretty much the end of our first day. I headed back to my host home and had the same dinner as the night before.
Day 3 1/22/2010
Well today I woke up today on time but lost track of time and got ready too slowly. I ended up leaving here too late making me late for class and on top of that I forgot my camera. Well I ended up getting slightly turned around on the way to the building but ultimately I wasn't that late once I finally found my way. Cool side note is that I get to walk past a 13th century castle gate everyday, so that is really neat. Anyway, we spent the morning in our first Duetch class and that was really cool because I can actually retain this language unlike spanish. After lunch we went on a historical city tour. She told us about the cathedral that we walk past and we got to see the former palace which is now the university and the old town hall. She also told us a story/legend on the cathedral that is in the main part of town. I can't recall the two Roman soldiers names, however they were Christian and they were beheaded for their beliefs. This Cathedral was built to honor them, also they are the patron saints of Bonn. She also told us that this is third cathedral to be built on this site. and when it was built they found Roman ruins of a cemetery all around it because in a different part of Bonn the Romans had a camp. Well thats the really short jist of that story. I don't really remember most of it. She told us about the university and how that used to be the palace. and about the Maria Pacis statue that is on the building and how three times it should have been destroyed and wasn't. The first time it was suppose to melt in a fire and the second time the French tried to pull it down because the area was made secular and the third time was during WWII when the Allies basically used Bonn as practice for a new weapon. We also went on to part of the old city wall that they couldn't pull down because it was too strong. What else did we learn on that trip...??? She told us a lot but that is all that I can remember. After the historical tour we were done for the day at least with classes. We went back to the AIB building to wait for 6:30, because at that time we were going to have the welcoming party where all the students and their host families for both AIB programs. There was food and we just sat and talked to whoever. I made some friends with the students from LA and we decided to go to a bar afterward. We went to a place called Painless and just talked and had a couple of shots. After that I rode the bus back with one of the girls named Meghan and went to bed.
Day 4 1/23/2010
Today is Saturday, I went to Cologne with the group and Ariane. We were going for a couple of art installations and an interior design exhibition. This was an over all fun day with a few 'cloudy' spots during it. Well to start off it was fine we got to Cologne by train and it was great. When we got there and walked out of the train station we saw the Cathedral of Cologne..... Oh my God.... That is the largest building I have ever seen. It was magnificent. There were the buttresses and the portals and the sculptures... I can't even describe how beautiful this building was. Despite the pollution it was amazing. I wish there was a way to take a hundred pictures at once it was huge and covered in decoration there is no way you could see it all. We went inside and I took some video of it because there was no way I could see anything with my other camera. This thing was huge and I'm told it's the largest in Germany. So holy crap... I was most amazed by the Cathedral. One really exciting thing is that we get to take a roof top tour of the cathedral in February so I'm even more excited about that. So I wasn't too disappointed that we couldn't stay longer. Well after that we walked over to the first art installation. I got several pictures along the way. As soon as we walk into the building I go to pull off my glove and my camera drops off my wrist and hits the floor. It is now broken... So that was one of the bad moments of the day. I don't know how to fix it or if it even can be fixed. Well I won't be able to find out till next week because tomorrow I won't have time and the day after that we leave for Amsterdam. Anyway back to Cologne. Its was a good thing that I had my other camera otherwise I think I would have been more upset. The director of that exhibit told me a little about the church that it was placed in. Apparently the Nazi's really liked this church so it has a lot of different Nazi symbols that the people are trying to get covered up and the Governor of the city won't allow them to because it is apart of the heritage or something like that. This exhibit was a digital rotating square wall. There are thousands of different combination and it is continuously rotating. There were other exhibits. one with deep sea fish and another with large square blocks with some optical illusions on them. After that we walked over to the interior design exhibition. That was really interesting. We got to see a lot of different modern designs and I talked to one guy a little while on how they made some of the designs that he had on display. Most of the ones that I was interested in were made of glass. After we were done with that we walked over to a bar where they serve and brew the local beer called Kolsch. There are different kinds but this place served Fruh Kolsch. AIB gave us two beers a peice and we didn't have to pay for them. I talked to David Hascovec for most of the evening. Found out that his and my background are very similar with the country living and our families raising cattle.
After the been we road the train one stop to Koln Sud which means Cologne South. We went over there for dinner. We ate at a really good Italian food place. I got a good tortellini dish. I ended up really liking it. After that Me and most of the group decided to head back to Bonn. We got on the train and rode back. They checked our tickets on the way but we were fine we had ours. After we got back, Trisha, Catie, David, Jason, and I went to catch our Underground train to get back home. Here is where the second half of the bad part of the day starts.
So we get on the train that we think is the right one it has the right number to our train line. Well, apparently it wasn't the right one and it had a problem so we got kicked off at the second stop which wasn't the stop it was suppose to be. The boys decided to follow the track. That sounded like a good idea so us girls followed. We got to the second stop, but this wasn't the stop it should have been if we were on the right train. So, Trisha and I are kinda panicking and she and I aren't really getting along. She was irritating me about her lack of enthusiasm for wanting to go places and I don't really understand that. In my opinion if your in a new place you should go out and see things, not sit at home and do nothing all day. She seems to think that the only thing you can do when you go out is party and thats it. Which is completely wrong there is a crap more things to do. I just wanted to ask her why did she come is she had no desire to do things. Anyway back to the story. So were at this stop. The boys decide to go one way over a bridge back into what seems to be the town. At this point I don't think they had any idea where they were going because they just kept walking and at split seconds they would turn or change course down some way or another. At one point we ended up walking through a VERY dark park. We girls weren't too happy about that one. Finally, we get to a bus stop, but the boys want to keep walking. Us three go "hell no, we're staying here at the bus stop." So, we let them continue while we sit there trying to figure out where we are. A German girl comes and and we try to figure out where we are and if there is a bus coming and Catie calls their host dad. He tells us to get a bus back to the station and that there is another train leaving a little later. So we wait for the bus go back to Hauptbahnhof and then catch our train to get home. I get here and get on the internet to talk to Sean and tell him about my first adventure in German with getting lost. haha.
Day 5 1/24/2010
Well this day is Sunday. I slept most of the day till about 4 in the afternoon. I was pooped from the day before. After I got up and cleaned my hair I went down stairs and met Trudy's mom and her aunt. We sat there for several hours, talked, and drank coffee and ate some pie or as trudy calls it 'cake.' I didn't do much else other than talk to Sean and my mom for several hours as well.
Day 6 1/25/2010
Well today is Monday. I didn't have to go to class till about noon so I got up late and grabbed a pear. After I got to AIB we had our German class after that we grabbed lunch then we had our first official day of studio. We spent it brain storming and coming up with a story involving toys. Our story is about a sock monkey and a wind-up clapper monkey. The clapper monkey has lost his cymbals and he asks the sock monkey for help. The sock monkey keeps giving him different things till finally he finds his cymbals and is happy. The end. haha right after that Brian and I walked back to the train station I caught my train and got back here. I ate some dinner and have been up here typing this ever since. I'm finished now. I'm going to do my small amount of homework then talk to Sean. Then go to bed.
-Hali @-> <3
Day 1 1/20/2010
Well this will be the start of my journal about my time here in Germany. I've been here since last Wednesday. I left from Houston on Tuesday at around 11:30 and arrived by plane in Frankfurt, Germany at 7 in the morning Wednesday morning. The plane ride was nice both times the whole group practically had an entire row to ourselves. The first flight I sat next to Trisha. We flew Air Canada. This has to be the best idea so far. The seats were comfortable and we each had our own screens to ourselves. One the first plane to Toronto I watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which was cute but not the best movie I've ever seen. We arrived in Toronto and we only had time to grab some food and exchange our money then shop a little for some souvenirs. I was in the middle of paying for mine when Trisha ran up yelling that they were boarding first class. So I grabbed what I had just payed for and ran back to the gate. This next flight was even nicer than the first. I had the whole row to myself, so when I went to sleep I was able to stretch all the way out. We had a really nasty dinner that I didn't care for much and a snack on the flight. After we landed in Germany we had to wait for a few of our group to join us at the airport then we all piled onto a bus and headed for Bonn. We arrived at AIB at around 10:30 or so. We had to wait around, after grabbing some breakfast, for our host families.
I am staying with a single mom named Trudy, and her eleven year old daughter, Vanessa. I'll be sure to get some pictures later.
Anyway, Trudy picked me up at noon and we headed to her house in Bonn. Along the way she showed me how to get to the Hauptbahnhof, (Central Station) for the train that I would be riding to school and back. Then she showed me where to catch the train near her home. When we got back here she started cooking some late lunch/early dinner. She chopped up a bell pepper and mixed it with some corn for a salad. Then she cooked some chicken wings in the oven and made some potatoes and ham. That was all one meal. I had that for two days because she made so much. I spent most of that afternoon setting up my room and talking to her. I fell asleep at 7:30 that night.
Day 2 1/21/2010
I woke up at 5 in the morning today. I ended up talking to Sean most of the morning till it was time to get ready. We had to meet up with Lars and Ariane today at the hauptbahnhof in the main entrance area. I met up with Trisha and Catie that morning to go over on the train. This was my first train ride ever. It was rather exciting. Anyway we spent most of the day walking around to the AIB building then after we got there we met up with some of the student workers and they took us to different places that we might need while we are here. That wore me out. I don't usually like to walk that much. After that they took us over to the other AIB building and showed us where the other students were staying, these students are from LA. Anyway. After that we headed back the the AIB building and that was pretty much the end of our first day. I headed back to my host home and had the same dinner as the night before.
Day 3 1/22/2010
Well today I woke up today on time but lost track of time and got ready too slowly. I ended up leaving here too late making me late for class and on top of that I forgot my camera. Well I ended up getting slightly turned around on the way to the building but ultimately I wasn't that late once I finally found my way. Cool side note is that I get to walk past a 13th century castle gate everyday, so that is really neat. Anyway, we spent the morning in our first Duetch class and that was really cool because I can actually retain this language unlike spanish. After lunch we went on a historical city tour. She told us about the cathedral that we walk past and we got to see the former palace which is now the university and the old town hall. She also told us a story/legend on the cathedral that is in the main part of town. I can't recall the two Roman soldiers names, however they were Christian and they were beheaded for their beliefs. This Cathedral was built to honor them, also they are the patron saints of Bonn. She also told us that this is third cathedral to be built on this site. and when it was built they found Roman ruins of a cemetery all around it because in a different part of Bonn the Romans had a camp. Well thats the really short jist of that story. I don't really remember most of it. She told us about the university and how that used to be the palace. and about the Maria Pacis statue that is on the building and how three times it should have been destroyed and wasn't. The first time it was suppose to melt in a fire and the second time the French tried to pull it down because the area was made secular and the third time was during WWII when the Allies basically used Bonn as practice for a new weapon. We also went on to part of the old city wall that they couldn't pull down because it was too strong. What else did we learn on that trip...??? She told us a lot but that is all that I can remember. After the historical tour we were done for the day at least with classes. We went back to the AIB building to wait for 6:30, because at that time we were going to have the welcoming party where all the students and their host families for both AIB programs. There was food and we just sat and talked to whoever. I made some friends with the students from LA and we decided to go to a bar afterward. We went to a place called Painless and just talked and had a couple of shots. After that I rode the bus back with one of the girls named Meghan and went to bed.
Day 4 1/23/2010
Today is Saturday, I went to Cologne with the group and Ariane. We were going for a couple of art installations and an interior design exhibition. This was an over all fun day with a few 'cloudy' spots during it. Well to start off it was fine we got to Cologne by train and it was great. When we got there and walked out of the train station we saw the Cathedral of Cologne..... Oh my God.... That is the largest building I have ever seen. It was magnificent. There were the buttresses and the portals and the sculptures... I can't even describe how beautiful this building was. Despite the pollution it was amazing. I wish there was a way to take a hundred pictures at once it was huge and covered in decoration there is no way you could see it all. We went inside and I took some video of it because there was no way I could see anything with my other camera. This thing was huge and I'm told it's the largest in Germany. So holy crap... I was most amazed by the Cathedral. One really exciting thing is that we get to take a roof top tour of the cathedral in February so I'm even more excited about that. So I wasn't too disappointed that we couldn't stay longer. Well after that we walked over to the first art installation. I got several pictures along the way. As soon as we walk into the building I go to pull off my glove and my camera drops off my wrist and hits the floor. It is now broken... So that was one of the bad moments of the day. I don't know how to fix it or if it even can be fixed. Well I won't be able to find out till next week because tomorrow I won't have time and the day after that we leave for Amsterdam. Anyway back to Cologne. Its was a good thing that I had my other camera otherwise I think I would have been more upset. The director of that exhibit told me a little about the church that it was placed in. Apparently the Nazi's really liked this church so it has a lot of different Nazi symbols that the people are trying to get covered up and the Governor of the city won't allow them to because it is apart of the heritage or something like that. This exhibit was a digital rotating square wall. There are thousands of different combination and it is continuously rotating. There were other exhibits. one with deep sea fish and another with large square blocks with some optical illusions on them. After that we walked over to the interior design exhibition. That was really interesting. We got to see a lot of different modern designs and I talked to one guy a little while on how they made some of the designs that he had on display. Most of the ones that I was interested in were made of glass. After we were done with that we walked over to a bar where they serve and brew the local beer called Kolsch. There are different kinds but this place served Fruh Kolsch. AIB gave us two beers a peice and we didn't have to pay for them. I talked to David Hascovec for most of the evening. Found out that his and my background are very similar with the country living and our families raising cattle.
After the been we road the train one stop to Koln Sud which means Cologne South. We went over there for dinner. We ate at a really good Italian food place. I got a good tortellini dish. I ended up really liking it. After that Me and most of the group decided to head back to Bonn. We got on the train and rode back. They checked our tickets on the way but we were fine we had ours. After we got back, Trisha, Catie, David, Jason, and I went to catch our Underground train to get back home. Here is where the second half of the bad part of the day starts.
So we get on the train that we think is the right one it has the right number to our train line. Well, apparently it wasn't the right one and it had a problem so we got kicked off at the second stop which wasn't the stop it was suppose to be. The boys decided to follow the track. That sounded like a good idea so us girls followed. We got to the second stop, but this wasn't the stop it should have been if we were on the right train. So, Trisha and I are kinda panicking and she and I aren't really getting along. She was irritating me about her lack of enthusiasm for wanting to go places and I don't really understand that. In my opinion if your in a new place you should go out and see things, not sit at home and do nothing all day. She seems to think that the only thing you can do when you go out is party and thats it. Which is completely wrong there is a crap more things to do. I just wanted to ask her why did she come is she had no desire to do things. Anyway back to the story. So were at this stop. The boys decide to go one way over a bridge back into what seems to be the town. At this point I don't think they had any idea where they were going because they just kept walking and at split seconds they would turn or change course down some way or another. At one point we ended up walking through a VERY dark park. We girls weren't too happy about that one. Finally, we get to a bus stop, but the boys want to keep walking. Us three go "hell no, we're staying here at the bus stop." So, we let them continue while we sit there trying to figure out where we are. A German girl comes and and we try to figure out where we are and if there is a bus coming and Catie calls their host dad. He tells us to get a bus back to the station and that there is another train leaving a little later. So we wait for the bus go back to Hauptbahnhof and then catch our train to get home. I get here and get on the internet to talk to Sean and tell him about my first adventure in German with getting lost. haha.
Day 5 1/24/2010
Well this day is Sunday. I slept most of the day till about 4 in the afternoon. I was pooped from the day before. After I got up and cleaned my hair I went down stairs and met Trudy's mom and her aunt. We sat there for several hours, talked, and drank coffee and ate some pie or as trudy calls it 'cake.' I didn't do much else other than talk to Sean and my mom for several hours as well.
Day 6 1/25/2010
Well today is Monday. I didn't have to go to class till about noon so I got up late and grabbed a pear. After I got to AIB we had our German class after that we grabbed lunch then we had our first official day of studio. We spent it brain storming and coming up with a story involving toys. Our story is about a sock monkey and a wind-up clapper monkey. The clapper monkey has lost his cymbals and he asks the sock monkey for help. The sock monkey keeps giving him different things till finally he finds his cymbals and is happy. The end. haha right after that Brian and I walked back to the train station I caught my train and got back here. I ate some dinner and have been up here typing this ever since. I'm finished now. I'm going to do my small amount of homework then talk to Sean. Then go to bed.
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