Day 1: The Departure

Ok, this is my first time doing a blog so it feels weird just saying my mind on here, but there is plenty to talk about! The day we left was a mixed bag of emotions, lots of highs and lows throughout, starting with the Detroit airport. My bags weighed in at 47 and 49 pounds, so I think that pictures and postcards are going to be some of the only souvenirs I bring back with me! Mo's bags were a little less, but nobody would tell us if she could bring her guitar along as a carry-on item. We passed through security and arrived at our gate, at which point Mo recognized an employee at the gate. Apparently it was her cousin's best friend (she has about 40 of them so it didn't mean much to me), so she went over to the counter and was assured that she could bring her guitar along. A few minutes later, we heard our names called over the intercom. When we walked back up there, a lady took our boarding passes, told us that we had been upgraded, and handed us new ones. Seat 1G for me and 1C for her. At that point all hell broke loose for us, we were so shocked that we had to call our parents to make sure that we really got upgraded to first class for an international flight. When we walked into the plane, we realized that 1G and 1C are actually the lone two middle seats in the front row, the best seats on the plane. What ensued seemed like a scene from a Disney movie or Meet the Parents. Five course meal, reclining bed-seats, the works. We were the youngest people in first class by about 20 years, even the flight attendants thought we were with Delta or had some powerful connections. As soon as we sat down, we were immediately offered our choice of champagne, wine, or beer, to which I responded without thinking that I wasn't 21 yet. Stupid stupid stupid. The next time around, I asked a different flight attendant for a Heineken and proceeded to kill a six pack on the flight over. Watched a few movies, enjoyed the massage chair, couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off the trip. Almost didn't make the transfer in Amsterdam because they were overbooked and couldn't get a ticket for Maureen, but I threw a fit at the counter, they moved some seats around and got us both tickets. They even upgraded me to first class again for the hour flight, so first class all the way :) Once we arrived at the Cologne airport, things got progressively more difficult. Customs was a breeze, and we wheeled our luggage in the direction of the train station. We had to ask a worker how to get to Bonn, otherwise I doubt we would have made it there alive. I had my first awkward German moment when some random old German started talking to me for about 10 seconds straight then started laughing for no reason at all. Since I had no clue what he said, I just took it as an invitation to laugh with him, and Mo and our friend Corinne from K College took it to laugh at me behind his back. We finally made it to Bonn and had some taxi drivers help us hail down a taxi-minivan, which took us over to the school for like 5 euros. The driver started yelling at me when I rested my door against a guardrail, being that he was parked so close to it. I just tipped him a couple euros and he resumed his politeness after. We lugged our suitcases, which weighed about 100 pounds or so for each of us, up a flight of stairs to the wrong international office. The other one was conveniently located about a quarter mile across the lawn, at which we arrived heaving and out of breath. We filled out our paperwork and received our 280 euro food stipend for the month. We were told by the student workers that we had to wait for the next bus for our dorms, which apparently shouldn't take that long. We ended up waiting 2 hours while they ate pizza and made conversation amongst themselves: ridiculously frustrating when you haven't slept for over 24 hours. After I threw my second fit of the trip there, they finally arranged a bus for us. Maureen was dropped off first and seemed to be living a long ways away once I arrived at my dorm twenty minutes later. The room was pretty small and had an uninviting feel to it when I first walked in. A hard wood table and dresser, chair, bed, sink and closet. I unpacked everything immediately to make it feel more like home and to avoid living out of a suitcase for the next week or so. My tutor, aka the German version of the US Residence Assistants, walked in and introduced himself. His name was Lasse, and he showed me around the building and got me a pillow, sheets, and comforter for the room. Following that I proceeded to pass out at about 7 pm and slept for a good 7 hour nap. The first day had proven itself to be exhausting and confusing, and finishing it by passing out in my bed was a feeling of huge relief. -Andy