TravelBio

Before long the program was already nearing an end – it was only 4 weeks to begin with – and I was making plans for my return trip. Earlier in the summer my dad and I had planned out a trip to take together after my class was over. He was scheduled to arrive in Frankfurt where I would meet him at the airport. From there we would visit my great uncle near Aachen (actually on the Belgian side of the border), and then travel to Amsterdam, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo. After my program ended I had two days free before my dad arrived, so I stayed at a hostel in Frankfurt. The first night I went out with a group of people from the hostel to a festival along the Main River in central Frankfurt. Everything was going great; I was drinking a beer and sitting on a bank by the river, and the next thing I knew I was knocked into the water along with a girl from the hostel! I think what happened was one of the guys fell into us (either he was pushed or just was drunk)...

During my program in Bonn a friend of mine from back home came to visit. Mike, who lived with me at OSU, had decided last minute to take a trip to Europe! He first went to London to visit his Aunt and Uncle, then flew to Germany to see me, and afterward traveled to Italy with another friend from back home (who also happened to be studying in Germany). Mike (left) with me at a baseball game back in Ohio Mike stayed with me for a few days in Bonn, and we also took a weekend trip to Munich. Mike and I managed visit a few famous sights in the city…well, if you count the beer halls and bars then we saw a whole lot of Munich! I got in touch with the other side of Munich that I had missed during my trip as a kid (that sounds like a good way to put it). Out of all the watering holes definitely the most memorable was the Hofbräuhaus. Aside from the Liter mugs, the best part of the experience is sitting at the long public tables (which look like big picnic benches) and ma...

Each weekday we had class for several hours during the morning, followed by a lunch break. Meals were not included in the cost of the program, but there was a cafeteria on campus with relatively cheap food that we frequented for lunch. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we had additional classes in the afternoon. The remaining days, however, were usually free for us to do as we pleased after morning classes. We had homework most nights, but it typically wasn’t anything very time consuming. Aside from the final project I rarely spent more than an hour or two on homework a night. You may question my objectiveness, but I think it was better for us not to have tons of homework every day. The best way to learn the language is to force oneself to speak it with locals. Unfortunately I ended up speaking English with a lot of the other students, but we did have opportunities to practice German when we were out in Bonn. Me (left) and the crew I hung out with in Bonn As I mentioned p...