Der Kölner Dom

Hello all, thanks for keeping up with my blog. There’s lots to share, mostly good news, but some not so good. First, the not so good; a participant on the program has been fighting severe homesickness since orientation and, despite our efforts to reach out and counseling from our program director, she has decided to go home. We are sad that she left, but we have to keep going and make the best of our experience.

Now for some good news; our group recently held an election for a president and a vice president to represent the group. A girl from Minnesota was elected VP and I was elected president! I'm very excited; I get to work closely with our program director and I will be representing the group with some opportunities to give speeches. I'm truly honored to represent such an awesome group.

I just received information about my long term host family...or families, as it turns out. I will be with a family who lives in a Frankfurt suburb named Nidderau from September to January and then with another family, who lives in a nearby town called Hanau, from January till June. Both families have children and appear very nice; I look forward to meeting them.

Language school continues every morning from 9-1. Last week (when it was the 40h anniversary of the first moon landing) we did a short unit about the moon. We went out in the city and asked random people if they would be interested in traveling to or living on the moon and why; it was a unique experience. Since then we’ve done a unit on immigration and we are about to begin another on German holidays. Allthewhile we continue work on grammar and pronunciation. Some days are more fun than others, but I learn a lot each and every day.

On Monday our American group joined a group of German students and we mingled, saw some World War II sites, ate dinner, and played tackle football. It was a great opportunity to share cultural ideas, discuss the struggles of learning a new language, and laugh at silly stereotypes. I even beat boxed for a German guy who could rap like it was nobody’s business—auf Deutsch, natürlich. Everyone had a lot of fun and made great friends.

Last week we took a tour of Bonn’s central fire station. After seeing its vehicles, sleeping quarters, and dispatch center, we were able to board a firetruck’s ladder and go 100 feet up for a great view.

Hartwig took us on another tour of Cologne, this time focusing on its signature landmark—the Cologne Cathedral. The two-steepled Gothic wonder stretches 515 feet high and took over 750 years to build. We braved the climb to the top of the south tower—a 509-step journey. I attended mass last Sunday and it was spectacular; I understood almost everything this time. The Cologne Cathedral is by far the most magnificent architectural construction I have ever seen.

A crucifix commissioned by Gero, Archbishop of Cologne, in 976.

The golden shrine of the Three Kings. Inside are three crowned skulls believed to be those of the Magi themselves.

We went clubbing again; this time the highlight was a mad remix of the 'Pirates' theme. Afterwards I called home for the first time and had a nice long chat with the family.

I explored the Godesburg castle again; this time with my buddy, Jake. We were able to climb up the tower for an unparalleled view of Bonn and the Siebengebirge—a collection of seven mountains along the Rhine. We had a lot of fun just snooping around and taking cool pictures.