Wow, I can’t believe I haven’t blogged in 2 weeks! The program is over halfway over. Time is flying! I guess that’s how the saying goes – time flies when you’re having fun. And we ARE having fun! Our days over here are jam-packed with activities, and I can’t wait to personally tell everyone stories once I’m back home. I’ll try not to make this too long, but with all the great things we’ve done it might be a bit difficult… here’s a [hopefully] short recap of the past 2 weeks:
The day after my last blog, we arrived in Bonn and met our host families!! Karissa and I have been truly blessed with the family we were placed with, they are some of the sweetest and most hospitable people I’ve ever met. We’re with the Colditz family. Mario (dad), Christina (mom), Nijels (brother, 21; pronounced ‘neals’), and Yolanda (sister, 13). Mario works at Deutsche Bank and is currently doing some work for them on an army base, so he is only home on weekends, but when he’s home he’s a very fun person to be around! The rest of his family calls him crazy, and he’s definitely hilarious. Christina is super sweet – She packs us sandwiches and fruit in the morning so we will have snacks during the day, and as soon as we get home she asks us how our day was and if we are hungry. Oh, and she helps us with our laundry! Which I’m very thankful for since everything is in german on the washing machine. Nijels doesn’t live at home anymore, he lives in the city (we are on the outside of Bonn, in a little area called Bornheim). But he and Yolanda picked us up our first day, so we got to meet him right away and he’s hung out with us a few times since then. And Yolanda.. she is just the most precious thing. I love having a host sister!! She is really excited to finally have girls in the house, because they’ve always hosted boys since she was 6. And she’s SO talented. She’s an aspiring musician and actress. Last week Karissa and I got to see her in a play!
In an attempt to spare you of too many boring details, here’s a quick list of some of my favorite things we’ve done so far”
1. Rooftop tour of the Cologne Cathedral. Architecturally and artistically beautiful! Wow – it was breathtaking
2. Being led through a course blindfolded at a center for psychomotorics
3. Women’s World Cup semifinals game. We got to see the USA win! (however, their loss in the finals was very unfortunate)
4. Wine-tasting, which was preceded by a long hike through the Eifel (aka, area with mountains) and ended at the vineyard of the winery where we tasted
5. Berlin!!!
Our teacher believes in learning through experience, so we don’t have a ton of “class.” We do however have some class. We are all paired up, and each pair has to give 2 presentations throughout the trip. The presentations constitute our class time, along with german lessons and lectures at many of the places we visit.
It’s been great to meet new people on our excursions, and to also get to know the student workers at the AIB. I’ve gotten to have some really good conversations, too! When people ask me what I want to do after I graduate and I tell then Christian Missions, it’s been really great to get to talk about it with the people I’m getting to know. I’m continuing to look for open doors and opportunities!
I’m having a blast, but I do miss home. I miss my family and my friends, however I’m very thankful for technology and the ability to keep in touch that way. And I miss being familiar with my surroundings and mexican food and bbq. haha. BUT I still have some very exciting things coming up! Tomorrow, we visit a sports university and a chocolate museum. Then thursday the Haribo gummy bear factory (I will go to TOWN in there. Don’t judge me if everyone receives gummy bears as a souvenir when I return). And then Friday thru monday is ROMA!! I cannot even begin to describe my excitement for Rome, so I’m not even going to try. But I’m ecstatic!!
I’ll leave you with that for today. I hope you have been able to enjoy my pictures on facebook! Now Karissa and I are going to get some gelato 
-kb
