Well after waking up at a crisp 5:45 this morning (I know that seems crazy but I have proof), I have gone on many adventures. My first adventure was figuring out my class and registering, etc etc. So this whole time I thought that the class started at 8:00 am, other students told me the class started at 8:00 am. So here I am at 7:45 waiting for everybody to show up. Once 8:00 hit I knew I needed to figure this out on my own, so I wandered the campus and finally found where I needed to go and promptly went to my class, which started at 9:15. I was the first one there. First, and probably last, time for everything.
I am in the introductory course and...I need it. If I start remembering and breezing through it then they will put me in a higher course. But I doubt that will happen. It's a pretty long class too, from 9:15 to 4:45 but I get an hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks. I have already met people from all over the world, and I know I am only going to meet more. That is the most exciting thing about this.
I'm just kind of floating along. I made some friends and today we got to have a tour of the Reutlingen Stadtmitte (city center) where the marketplace is, the restaurants, bars, shops, banks etc. They were having a wine festival so I tried (and did not like) some wine. And then I had some amazing pasta with mushrooms. The city center is absolutely beautiful. A mix of old and new. There is a lot of history in this area, which is something I love. I took some pictures so those will go up later....the wifi is a precious and rare thing. The whole group went to a "Mexican" restaurant. That was a big laugh. The majority of the friends we have made are from Mexico and also Spain, so we had a good laugh and found the Tapas bar instead. Hopefully I can make my way over there soon.
The friends I made from Mexico and Spain told me I needed to speak more Spanish. They told me I should only speak in Spanish some days! Re-learning two languages at once? My brain is not ready, but I was promised that I would be fluent by the end of the semester.
To be honest...I can't report on all of the...odd things that I have encountered. Just, odd for an American. It really hits you how different a world this is. Brands may cross over, movies and tv shows, stores....but its very different. It's like stepping outside and realizing you are not in Kansas anymore. I'm still figuring out this feeling. I just know that....this is currently a brand new, itchy sweater that is too expensive but you want it, you really want it. And you tell yourself that eventually you will wear this sweater all the time, and that it will eventually feel familiar and comfortable, but right now you are still weighing the option to return it.
Going from California to Marist was, yes difficult, but not like this. Aside from the mispronunciation of vowels, abundance of trees, and the fact that they are Yankees fans, New York is a familiar place. There is no language barrier (vowels), the scenery is similar (trees), and you can get along with people easily (Yankees fans......no). But this is very different....culture shock is real. I have some time to get familiar, and I know I will do well here like I always do. Just most of the time I have been here I have been wishing to see people from Marist. Casually find all my best friends lounging outside the buildings, or a former housemate making dinner in the kitchen.
I don't think I will post for a couple days. My life is relatively boring right now. But I promise I am okay. And that this is something that every student goes through abroad. And that by the end of the semester I will be wishing that I wasn't in my room tonight, and that I was actually still hanging out with all the people I have just met. But I know that I need to go to bed. My brain is still fried from the trip over here, and my body is begging me to stop walking, stop moving any type of muscle. So I decided to listen. Guten Abend und Guten Nicht (depending on which state you are in).
-Hayley Rae
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