It's amazing to me how quickly time flies, I haven't put up an entry in over a year! I really wish I had updated my blog during my Eurotrip this past July, but I suppose hindsight is 20/20. I now have a new reason to post regularly. I will be living in Germany until June 2011. I am quite excited to update my blog, not only with daily happenings, but also with observations.
Here is my first official entry, which was actually written a few days ago. It mainly is a breakdown of all the happenings since I arrived:
Sunday I arrived in Frankfurt. I managed to lose my boarding pass for Frankfurt, but that was an easy fix. When I got to Frankfurt, I realized I booked my train to Cologne from the wrong train station, so I went to the travel center to get that fixed. After basically calling me an idiot, the representative gave me a new ticket, so I was on my way. I then attempted to find internet during my 2 hour wait. First I tried a kiosk, which was a waste of money because I wasn't able to send out a message to everyone with the two Euro I had entered into the machine. Then, I used wireless on my computer, but my battery died. I searched for a plug-in, but one couldn't be found anywhere, so I just went back to a kiosk. I was finally able to let everyone know I had made it safely to Frankfurt and then wait on my train. My train ended up being canceled, so I had to take a different train. This was actually a good thing, because the new train got in an hour earlier. When I finally made it to Cologne, things went a bit more smoothly. I was able to find my hostel and find a place to plug in my laptop. I realized I forgot my towel at home, so I had to rent one from the hostel. Other than that, I feel like I have most the things I need.
Another person in my room at the hostel was also a Fulbright ETA, so on Monday morning we went out together. We were able to get me a phone and alarm clock, and she needed to get minutes for her phone and a blow dryer. All around the city that day we were trying to guess if people were with Fulbright. We finally met for orientation at 3:30. I was surprised to see a few people I knew there. There's one other person from my school, and two people who I studied with in Graz. We all packed into four buses and made our way to Altenberg. We're staying in some dorm rooms that are attached to a cathedral. It's basically a religious retreat location.
Orientation has mostly consisted of trying to prepare us for what to expect as well as informing us of further steps. It seems like we've already been here a long time, even though it's only been two days. I'm very much looking forward to arrival in Offenburg. I'm excited to meet my mentor, students and co-workers, as well as to see where I'll be living.
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Since this was written, I have arrived in Offenburg. I will make a new post to talk about all that.
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