I've been busy enjoying my time here, so it's taken me awhile to sit down and write this post. I've settled into a rhythm here, so every day isn't as new and different as they once were, which I quite like. Mainz feels like home, and I've settled into the way of life here. The thought of leaving makes me sad. I've been here for two months now, and I really can't believe it's already been that long. My time is now half over!
Late last Friday afternoon (a week ago) I met up with Simon at one of the bars on campus. We sat and talked (in German) for about an hour and a half. He's a good language partner because he speaks slowly and clearly. Some days I find it difficult to think in German, and Friday was one of them. On days like this I quickly become frustrated with myself and my abilities, which only further hinders my German. Though I was glad to be speaking German, my frustration only grew. Once we parted ways, I met up with Matt and Niall and we went to a local pub/brewery for a few hours. Saturday was incredibly boring. Half of my friends were busy this weekend with visitors, and the other half just didn't want to do anything. So I did some homework and went for a run. It was the first time I ran since I've been here, and it felt good (not so much the following two days when I was sore beyond reason). Later, I went for some ice cream and then for a walk along the river.
I spent a few hours doing homework on Sunday, and then I met up with Marcella and Niall for some ice cream. We sat on the river for awhile enjoying the sun and our ice cream. Afterwards, I sat and read by myself for awhile before heading home as the sun set. I went to class and ran some errands on Monday. Tuesday was more eventful than most Tuesdays. I met up with Marcella and Niall in the evening and we went to the Stammtisch on campus, and then to two local bars. It's nice to get away from all the other international students and enjoy the local culture. On Wednesday, I had some errands to run before my trip on Thursday. Once I had finished, I met Kalle on the river and we enjoyed the view and had a few drinks.
Since Thursday was a holiday, my trip to the Bodensee began at 9:45am. There were 35 students on the trip, mostly international students with some German students mixed in. We arrived in Konstanz around 2:30pm. Once we made it to the hostel, we separated into our rooms and had some time to relax before we went back out. I was in a room with Clare, Marcella, Judith (Germany), and Juliane (Germany). It was awesome to be in a room with two Germans, because the 5 of us spoke mostly German all weekend. I feel as if my German improved just from speaking so much German this weekend. The hostel was less than ideal. There were 40 people sharing 3 toilets and 2 showers. We ran out of toilet paper and hand towels a few times throughout the weekend. Around 5pm, we went back into town and went on a little tour of the city. Konstanz is a cute town full of history. We then separated as we pleased and went for dinner. Clare, Judith, Marcella, Daniel, Juliane and I went to an Italian restaurant. At 9pm, the whole group got together and we ended up at a cocktail bar. This bar was completely packed with only two servers working. It took 30 minutes to order, then another 30 minutes to get drinks. As we were walking out, the drinks finally arrived. The waiter was not pleased, and him and Daniel had a bit of a heated argument which resulted in us quickly leaving the restaurant without drinks and without paying.
On Friday we were up by 8am to shower and eat breakfast. The hotel in the hostel was very small, so it was better to eat earlier before the rest of the group woke up and wanted to eat. After breakfast, we went down the street to a local bike shop where we rented bikes. It took awhile to get the bikes sorted, but everyone eventually got a bike and customized it to their needs. We separated into groups based on which bike route we wanted to do. The routes varied in length, distance, and scenery. The route I went on ended up being 48,6 kilometers (30.2 miles) and it went along the Bodensee, through the woods, and into neighboring towns. I crashed my bike early on. I was messing around with my camera when my front tire hit the back tire of the person in front of me. I went down in the middle of the road with a car approaching. Luckily, my very expensive camera wasn't damaged, and I walked away with only a few scrapes and ripped clothing. I was quite embarrassed, but such is life. We stopped a few times to rest, enjoy the view, and eat. It took us about 5 hours to complete. It also was rainy and cold most of the day, but I enjoyed it.
We spent Saturday in a few places. Our first stop was Insel Mainau, an island near Konstanz. It was really beautiful. There were all types of flowers and plants everywhere, as well as cool figures made from these plants. There was a petting zoo, restaurants, a butterfly house, an old chapel, and much more. We were there for a few hours before heading to Meersburg by ferry. Meersburg is just another old, beautiful city along the water. We spent some time sitting in a cafe, walking around, and checking out the old castle there. For dinner, we all reconvened at a camping site on the water for a barbecue. I was having a really unpleasant time with my pollen allergies, so I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. Regardless, it was nice to eat dinner on the water.
We traveled into Switzerland on Sunday! We went to the Rheinfall in Neuhausen, which is the biggest waterfall in Europe, located in Neuhausen, Switzerland. In the morning we took a train from Konstanz to Neuhausen, which took about an hour. We walked the 4 kilometers from the train station to the waterfall, and then spent the next few hours hanging around there. Clare, Marcella and I took one of the small boats to the center of the waterfall where we climbed up to the top of the rock in the middle of the waterfall. It was awesome. We enjoyed the sights until it was time to head back. From Neuhausen we went back to Mainz. Our train got delayed in Singen, unfortunately. While we were waiting, an American girl asked Francesa (Italy) for help concerning the delay. Francesa pulled me over and said, "Farrah will help you, she's American." Francesa speaks English really well, so I'm not sure why she decided it was a job for me to do. Speaking of which, somehow everyone else on the trip seemed to know I was American. I had several encounters with people saying, "Oh you're the American, right?" I'm not sure if that's good or bad. We finally made it back to Mainz around 8pm, and I walked home with Michiel (Belgium), who also lives in my dorm.
Today I had to catch up on all my homework before class. This weekend I'm going to Nürnberg for "Rock im Park," a music festival. I'm going to see some big names, like Linkin Park, and hang out with my friend Marc. Marc is German, but I met him at MSU while he was living and going to school there. He's since moved back to Germany, so I'm excited to hang out with him at an awesome music festival in Germany. I'll post some pictures of my weekend later, as I took nearly 400 pictures and haven't had the chance to sort through them yet.
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