Orientation week is coming to a close...

...and I'm actually really happy about that. I want to really get settled and start my classes. Right now it's like we're all waiting in limbo: we've all left home, and we're living on campus, but we're not quite students here yet and we haven't really started our lives here. Maybe I'm just impatient.

It's been a really long week. I haven't been sleeping so much because there have been parties almost every night. I feel like I have to go to them because I want to meet people and I don't want to be stuck at home alone, but at the same time, I'm really tired. So I'm kind of anxious for the semester to start haha. This week has also felt really long I guess because of all the orientation activities we've been doing--they've been keeping us quite busy. We had a realllyyy long, 6 hour "intercultural workshop" on Friday, most of which was useless for me because I heard it all from AFS. But it was ok because that night we got to go out in Bremen which was really fun. I went with a group of my friends to a bar, and then to a club to dance. We didn't get home until around 3, but it was worth it. It was so different from the US....no one was trying to get wasted, we were all just having a good time. I'm sure this is not the case at most of the American colleges hahah.

I've become really close friends with a few girls which is really nice. The other day we had some down time (finally) and we were all a little lonely and homesick, so we got together in one of my friend's rooms to watch a movie. It was really fun, and nice to talk with people who were feeling the same things.

I'm still trying to figure out how to switch my major. It's really become stressful for me which I'm not happy about. Hopefully I'll meet with my academic advisor tomorrow and talk to her about it. I'm hoping that since the semester hasn't even started yet, I'll be able to switch without having to go through all the bureaucratic paperwork. If not, I have to get three different signatures from people I've never even heard of lol (who is my program coordinator?for example lol). I just hope I'll be able to get it done in time to register for my classes.

Tomorrow I also have to get my German health insurance (which hopefully, *crosses fingers*, won't take too long), AND go to Bremen to open my bank account. So I'll be fairly busy haha. I also still would like to do a bit more shopping, just to make my room feel a little more like a home lol. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all done.

Yesterday was really fun. In the morning we had a scavenger hunt in Vegesack (the nearby town) which was supposed to teach us how to get around off campus. It was good because I found out where the mall is so I can go shopping. Last night was the school-wide barbecue, which was really fun. Everyone's host families came, as did mine. I showed them around my room, and the boys had fun running around the dorm haha. After that we went down to the library where the barbecue was and got food. It was much better than the food they've been serving in the colleges hahah! I really love my host family, they really treat me like family. As we were walking back to where they had parked, Mömke was counting to make sure all the kids were there, and she was like "one, two, three, four, all my kids are here!" hahahah. They are so sweet. Next weekend I'm going to go to their block party: it's like a celebration of 40 years of their street, so it should be fun.

As for today, we're supposed to go into Bremen for a tour this afternoon. I've already seen a lot of Bremen, but it should be fun, and it will be nice to get off campus all the same lol.

More updates in a few days, I'm sure!

OH! One last thing. I've finally gotten a taste for how crazy Bremen's weather really is. These past two days have been cooler (in the 50s and 60s). One minute it'll be beautiful outside: sunny, blue skies, the whole shebang. Then the wind will pick up, the clouds roll in, and it starts to pour. Twenty minutes later, we're back to sunny skies. Rinse, lather, repeat. All day. What the hell?!

First Days at Jacobs

It's been a hectic couple of days, but I'm moved in and in the process of unpacking and settling into my dorm. I'm living in the newest dorm which is pretty nice, and I really like my room. I have my own room with a armoire/closet thing, a desk, and some shelves. The nice thing is that all the furniture, including my bed, has a ton of extra space (like drawers, shelves, etc.) so I can actually fit allll my stuff in my (kind of) small room hahaha. I still have a lot of unpacking to do though, we haven't had a whole lot of free time yet.

They're keeping us pretty busy with lots of orientation activities, but it's not so bad. I've been meeting a bunch of people, and everyone seems really nice. I finally got a chance to talk to my roommate tonight (we had been missing each other a bit these past two days haha) and she's really nice, so I'm happy. I have to admit it was hard to say goodbye to Dad tonight though. I'm just the kind of person that likes routine. I don't like changes (esp. big ones like, oh I don't know, going to school in Germany lol) or surprises. But I think once I really find my friends and start classes next week, I'll get into more of a routine and it'll start feeling more like a home.

This weekend I think I'm going to try and go to Vegesack (which is close by where there's a mall and some other shops I think) to buy some school supplies and other little things I forgot. Plus I want to get more of a feel for the area around campus. It would be nice not to have to go into Bremen every time I need toothpaste or whatever hahaha.

There's a lot more that's been going on, but it's late and I didn't get much sleep last night. I'll update tomorrow maybe with more detail. But to sum up, so far things seem to be going pretty well. I'm trying to stay optimistic and I know that I'll feel better once I settle in more. :)

Great first few days!

These past few days have been so great! Saturday afternoon Dad and I went to my host family's house. We sat outside in their backyard and had a chocolate cake with cherries (which my host mom Mömke made!) and berry tarts. We chatted and got to know each other better. Then my host dad Claas took Dad and I to the Jacobs campus for a short tour. It was very quiet there, but it was exciting to finally see it in person. We went back to their house for a barbecue dinner. It was delicious! Their kids are so cute! Their names are Jann Okke (who is 7), Enno (who is 4), and Rea (a baby girl of about 10 months!). The boys were going on and on in German to Dad and I, explaining about how the dinosaurs died and showing us their drawings. We just nodded and smiled and waiting for one of their parents to translate hahahaha. It was a lot of fun though.

Yesterday we met with my family here in Bremen. They showed us around a bit--took us to the Marktplatz to see the Rathaus (town hall), parliament building, the cathedral, and a lot of other beautiful old buildings. We also went to Beck's in Schnoor for lunch which was really fun. Dad and I played Kniffel (the equivalent of Yatzee) with Jann Okke--who is extremely interested in numbers and really good at math--over lunch. It was fun to try and play with him in German haha!

After lunch we went to a few of the really nice parks in Bremen, including Bürgerpark (which is the biggest). Bürgerpark is a huuuugee park with lots of ponds and open fields and playgrounds (kind of like Central Park). You can rent a rowboat and go rowing on one of the ponds! There is also a cafe there where we stopped to rest and have ice cream. It was a really fun day.

Today Dad and I were on our own again. We decided to stop into a bank to see about opening an account, and we made me an appointment for next Monday (hopefully orientation won't interfere). It seems like getting a cell phone is going to be a much bigger deal than I thought it would be, but my host family is going to help me so it should be fine.

We also stopped in a Macy-like department store and were able to get me some sheets, etc. for my dorm, and even a French press coffee pot--yay!! :) We walked around down by the river in the section called Schlachte where there are a lot of restaurants and shops. We went back to the Marktplatz and had lunch and coffee.

Now we're back at the hotel taking a rest from so much walking---we Americans are lazy and prefer to drive everywhere :P hahaha.

Tomorrow I'll move in to my dorm at Jacobs!! I think we're going to drop my stuff in the morning so we can have most of the day to do something else before orientation really gets started and Dad has to leave. We're also supposed to meet up with my family again. I'm not sure what we're going to do, but I'm sure it'll be fun! :)

WE MADE IT!

Today we arrived in Bremen around noon after a very long trip. The flights weren't too bad, but neither Dad nor I slept much. Once we got to Bremen my host parents picked us up and brought us to our hotel. They are so sweet and nice and helpful--they brought me some maps of Bremen, a book about Bremen with lots of nice pictures, and were just very warm and welcoming in general. We didn't spend too much time with them, mostly because we were exhausted and gross from the travel, so we said goodbye and came back to our room to pass out for a couple hours lol!

When we woke up we decided to head downtown to check out a cute, historic section called the Schnoor. There are all these cute old buildings and tiny cobble-stoned streets with all sorts of shops and bars and restaurants--very cool. After walking around for a bit we decided to get some dinner at this little Italian restaurant, and it was very good. After dinner we came back to the area around our hotel and took a little side trip to the Hauptbahnhof (train station) which is basically a smaller, cooler Grand Central haha. It was actually fun to see all the different kinds of shops (bakeries, coffee shops, bratwurst stands, and numerous stores selling all sorts of Werder Bremen gear!).

Tomorrow we are going to head back downtown to do a little bit of shopping for stuff I'll need for school. We're also going to try and get me a cell phone. Then tomorrow afternoon we're going to take the train to go to my host family's house for lunch which should be really fun!

Overall it's been a good first day/introduction to Bremen, and the more I walk around, the more anxious I become to settle in, learn my way around, and start learning German haha! I think I'm going to have a really good time here. :)

I guess we'll just have to adjust...

As my departure gets closer and closer and as I say goodbye to each of my friends as they leave for school, I can't help imagining what my college experience is going to be like and how different it is going to be from that of my friends. I just feel so different about college than all of my other friends. They're busy worrying about getting weird/bad roommates, about frat parties and Greek life, about deciding on majors, and I don't have to worry about any of that. I've already decided on my major (social sciences), the drinking age is 16 in Germany (plus there's no Greek life at Jacobs...), and I'm going to have my own separate bedroom. I'm more worried about bigger issues, like how I'm going to get my money there, about having the right documents to get a residence permit and German health insurance, about the language barrier that will exist off campus. It really is almost a completely different world--I really am on "the other side" of things.

At times I wonder if I'm going to be missing anything or if I'll ever wish I had gone to a US school. But then I also balance that with all the amazing opportunities I'll have instead (travel, mostly) and I feel a lot better about my decision. I just hope everything works out and that I like it.