Until Next Time...?

And I'm back.  Since I never wrapped up the Spain trip, I figured that if I left everyone hanging back in Groningen that you'd all come after me with pitchforks.  Sorry dudes!  Short post, but at least there is in fact a post.

So, while there were some days after my trip to the Netherlands, I didn't really have the motivation to report a lot of what happened.  You know, stuff.  I went to class.  We listened to beep-boop German music in class, I got my final scores (99 total average mwahahaha), and I accidentally ordered ice coffee.  Which, in Germany, means ice cream in coffee.  Error.  Nasty, revolting error. 

Anyway, most of the week was spent preparing for the long long journey home.  Oh, and dealing with drunks because... college students have no chill.

So our final event in the school was a boot party- sorry boat.  The Netherlands warped my spelling permanently and I'm not sure I'll ever recover.  On this boot, there was a bar with unlimited free champagne.  It also had cheap drinky drinks.  This is a bad thing. 

So, to make a long story short, I was the one that had to wait until the end to escort the drunk people home because I'm not entirely sure they could get home on their own.  There was also one other dude that decided to not drink so we... watched things get stupid for four hours.  I am not a partyer.  I doubt I ever will be.

This is from the night of the lunar eclipse.  The moon is rather on the right of the airplane.  You can barely see it.

Anyway, the next day everyone was severly hungover, which also happened to be the day we all had to travel.  I pity them.  I'm sure the journey was not pleasant.

We (one other girl and me) had a choo choo train ride to Frankfurt that was supposed to be six hours, and took us down into the Rhineland area.  The route went to many stops along the way, from Münster, to Düsseldorf, to Köln, to Bonn, and then to Koblenz before landing us in Frankfurt airport.  However, there were a few unknown hiccups that left us sitting on the tracks in between stops, and ultimately we were an hour late.  Actually, 90 minutes late.

However, since I wasn't in too much of a rush (the flight was the next day) I took the time to admire the scenery of the Rhineland.  And to wave a final bye-bye to my old stomping grounds in Köln and Bonn.  Got to see the cathedral one last time.

We FINALLY ended up in Frankfurt, ate a quick bite of food, and then collapsed in the hotel, exhausted.  The next day, I woke up, and went to the airport, where I ditched my somewhat useless traveling companion.  I followed the signs to my gate, admiring the efficiency of the German airport while also being totally confused the entire time.  The staff were very friendly, making many jokes that I found funny (again, the German sense of humor is an acquired taste), and I made it on my flight smoothly.

I had a window seat!  It was a nine hour flight, I watches some movies, listened to music, enjoyed looking at tiny cities pass underneath the plane, and ate ice cream and cookies.  Because they provided me with ice cream and cookies.   And who am I to say no to snacks?  I deserved it.  These last few days were stressful.

 So, I'll take this time to wrap up my month in a few words.  My thoughts on Germany?  Excellent.  I love the country.  Bremen is not my favorite place in Germany by a long shot, and I'm a little sorry to say that.  I love the German people, they're funny and nice enough, once you get used to them.  The food is terrible if you're a fan of spices and aren't overly wed to the idea of meat for every meal, although the coffee and desserts are good.  They drink and smoke too much.  The bikers will kill you.  The cities are pretty, a nice combination of old stuff and cool modern architecture.

And the German language is a monster.  It's so frustrating.  Why does it have to be so hard, and why do I struggle so?  Maybe I didn't learn as much German here as I'd hoped, but I think I dissected the accent a little bit so at least I can distinguish words, rather than hear just an onslaught of vaguely german sounds.  I am more comfortable with practical stuff, although I still don't know how to politely ask the person next to me on a train to move so I can go to the restroom. 

Studying abroad is awesome, especially in a country that is outside the comfort zone.  It allows you to see other people's perspectives on things you take as normal, and allows you to become more comfortable in unfamiliar and difficult situations. 

You learn a lot when you travel to another country; not necessarily what you set out to learn, but you definitely learn something.  Whether that includes navigating train routes, adapting to new eating and sleeping schedules, managing new standards of etiquette, or simple things like how to use foreign toilets or showers, you learn something.  However, the best thing you can learn from going to a different country alone, is learning not to be afraid of the unknown.  It's hard to justify being afraid of things that are new and unusual when you're surrounded by it all the time, so you have to embrace being lost and confused.  And you appreciate the people that are new and confused in your country, too. 

We're in a big world, and we don't have time to be scared.  There's just too much to be amazed by to waste time hiding from things we don't understand.

Thank you for everything!