I just realized that my last blog post included both
Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is how I knew that it was probably time for
an update.
Quick updates from end of last post:
- I mentioned having exams in February, which for the most part went very well, but you can’t be successful in everything all of the time.
- I spent a week in ‘Munich’ with YFU!
- I interviewed for a job at UND, and didn’t get it.
- I completed a 4-week internship at a surgical station at a hospital here in Regensburg. The internship was definitely one of the major highlights of my year. Basically I spent the whole time assisting nurses with their rounds, listening to the doctors on their rounds, and I also managed to slip in observing a few surgeries. All in all, a really great time.
After my internship, I headed up to Cologne to visit the Mr.
Johannes, where we went and sat in the audience for the filming of a late night
talk show. We then headed up to good old
Ostereistedt where I spent about a week hanging out with the Meyer game. I also managed to redeem a gift certificate that
I got from Christoph and Janina, in which we went to a museum in Bremerhaven
called Klimahaus (Climate House), which takes you through a few different
climate zones on earth. It’s really cool
as the rooms are set at the temperatures and humidity’s that the countries have
too. It was, however, a super long
museum, so I was sufficiently exhausted after walking completely through.
But the week went by quickly and soon I was headed back to
Regensburg where a friend, Julian, came to visit for the weekend.
After Julian’s short visit, I took a quick
trip to my new favorite vacation place, Portugal. Yes, a friend and I took a quick five day
trip to Lisbon before the second semester started on April 8th. Lisbon
is a really pretty city with lots to see!
The best part, I think, is that it’s a lot different than the
US/Germany, but at the same time it is so similar. The weather wasn’t really the best, but there
was still some sun everyday. The
highlights of the city were probably:
Giant Jesus statue (Christus Rex), Castelo de São Jorge
(a castle above the city), and the awesome designs all over the sidewalk. And the beer of course. Anybody considering a trip to Europe should
go to Portugal first, trust me.
After a week and a half of class, it was time for Easter
Break already! But, since I live oh so
very far away from any form of Family, a friend and I decided to head to Vienna
for the weekend. It was a good
choice. Vienna is a super cool
city. It’s a lot like being in Germany,
except you aren’t. We had a good time
though, we went to a couple of cool museums, visited a castle, an “amusement park”,
and experienced a bit of the night life.
And most importantly of course, ate Wiener Schnitzel (Wiener = Viennese)
Three weeks into the new semester, and about a month after
having left Ostereistedt, Heike and Andreas came to visit me here in
Regensburg. We spent a weekend checking
out the city and drinking cappuccino, the good European life as it should
be. It was a fun weekend though, and I’m
very glad that, they were able to come and visit.
Food side note: The
Germans don’t really have Tater-Tot’s.
They have something that is kind of similar called Kroketten. They look similar, and are made of “potatoes”,
but it’s kind of like really heavily packed mashed potatoes, and breaded. Anyway, due to the lack of Tater-Tot’s I’ve
been more or less unable to cook my all-time favorite Minnesota meal: Tater-Tot
Hotdish. If you don’t know what Hotdish
is, google it. It’s similar to
casserole, but it’s more Minnesotan, and therefore much better. I decided, however, that I really need some
good home cooking, and made my Hotdish with the Kroketten. And it was a success! The Kroketten ended up being a little bit
harder, and just a little bit dryer than Tater-Tot’s would have been, but it
was awesome! This will be a meal that I
will cook again a few time before I leave here so that I can spread the
greatness that is Minnesota Cuisine here in Germany. (For some reason everybody here thinks I’m
crazy for eating ‘Red Hot Dish’ [a specialty of my father containing elbow macaroni,
tomato juice, hamburger, and more pepper than you could ever imagine] on bread,
with peanut butter. Try it!
On the 9th of May I left Regensburg for a total
of 16 days to go to the capital of Germany, Berlin, with YFU. Our first seminar was for a group of Germans
who will soon be spending a year in the United States thanks to the
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program [Parlimentarisches Patenschafts
Programm]. It was a really cool week,
with a fun group of people. We went to
the Bundestag (Capitol) a couple of times, were able to see some of the city,
and we (the team) tried to teach the kiddies a bit about the US! Contact YFU at 1-800-Teenage or yfu-usa.org
to learn more about hosting or becoming an exchange student! After the first group of students left us in
Berlin, the rest of the team left me too.
A day later the next team arrived and we prepared for our second
seminar, which was for the U.S. CBYX students who have been in Germany for the
last year. It was also an awesome
week! We were able to see a lot more of
the city with the kids and had some fun program points too! We spent one morning in the Embassy of the
United States in Berlin, where there was an acapella (?) band, and American food. Afterward, we headed over to the Reichstag
for the next part of the Program with members of the German parliament in which
the Students were able to ask questions about politics and related topics to
the members of parliament and were able to present gifts also, as a way to say
thank you. We also had some food, it was
food. The evening ended with a trip to
the top of the Reichtstag Building where we walked through the dome atop
it. The next day we went again to the
Reichstag to attend the official celebration of the 60th anniversary
of the German ‘basic law’. The best part
was that I, along with 6 students, was/were able to sit in the chamber where
the parliament debates, which nobody is allowed to do, so it was awesome. But this trip too, although somewhat longer,
came to a quick end.
After returning from Berlin there was some more time to be
had at the University, although in May/June we had a bunch of days of for miscellaneous
holidays. I was supposed to go to Paris
to visit a friend who was doing an internship there, but at the last minute I
realized, I didn’t have enough money. So
I instead went to Salzburg (Austria) for a day with Anete (Lativa) and
Wyatt. We had a good day, it was really exhausting
though, as it’s about a three hour train ride each way, but we were able to see
the main point of the city including a big rose garden, a natural science
museum, and the military hold above the city.
And we ate the cake, which is supposed to be wonderful, I wasn’t
impressed.
And finally, it was June.
As June began life got a little bit back to normal. My trips were done with and now it’s time for
preparing for the next round of exams which start here during the second week
of July. The last few weeks have really
just been going around Regensburg with friends and since the 13th,
it’s been a lot of soccer. If you’re in
the United States, and you aren’t watching the world cup, you’re missing
out!
As I post this I have exactly 30 days left here in Germany
(22 in Regensburg). 30 Days. I can’t believe it. In two weeks my parents will be here for 16
days, in which I’m hoping to show them a good time in Germany. But really it’s crazy to think that after 23 Months
in Germany (total time!), that I’ll be leaving and not returning for the foreseeable
future. 700 days, and in 30 days it’ll
be over. But it’s bitter sweet, as I am
of course very excited to return to Minnesota!
So the rest of my time here will consist of me studying for
me exams (Genetics, Organic Chemistry, and Political Extremism in the European
Union), watching soccer, taking my exams, traveling with my parents, visiting
my host family, taking another exam, Berlin, Regensburg, Bavaria, going away
party, packing, moving out, flying home!
The next 30 days are sure to be a quick, stressful, fun, and hopefully
unforgettable 30 days.
As always, thank you for reading! If you have any questions or comments, let me
know! This will probably be my last post
for a while, but hey, maybe I’ll write another one up once I get back
home.
Bis demnächst!
