Oh the places you'll go..

I have now completed my first week here! Well, a week and a day to be exact. All is good, all is beautiful. The week was pretty easy, I just did a bit more exploring/long walks and spent more time with the kids, mostly Lotte. She is a funny and special girl. So two days ago Bonn was hit with a huge storm. I had the day off so I was able to sit on their back terrace and watch. (Video will follow.) Since I am from Oregon and I don't pay a second thought to big rain, I was so surprised to find out the the storm had severely flooded areas in Bonn- Bad Godesburg included! Carmen went to pick the kids up from kindergarten and came back in a frenzy telling me that the streets and homes were flooded, the sewer gates were off and the water was flowing out like a fountain, and the water was up to her window at one point in the drive! She said the city has never seen this and it has been quite the catastrophe. We are very lucky to live up high on a hill, so we were not affected but many people were. There was to be a concert that night but of course it had to be cancelled. I was so disappointed because I was really looking forward to listening to music in their Hofgarten. But there will be many more concerts to come.

The kids and I played in the garten the next day, eating "Jungenberre"or Jungenberries and wrestling around. We also found a snail which had eyes and a nice shell home. I don't remember if I've ever seen any like that at home...if anything all I ever come across are slugs. So I liked this lil guy.

Checking each other out!

In a nutshell..haha. Side note: Lotte is ALWAYS naked. Always. (Or every chance she gets.) The day I got here the neighbor called about a naked tot running down the street wearing only a pair of boots and a hat. Haha, she is a free baby!

Lotte and her face games. You can't help but love this girl.

Last night I went to a BBQ at one of the friends flat that I met on campus in Bonn. We sat on her balcony with the sunset behind us and many candles lit. Pretty soon after we sat to eat, it started to rain. We tried to brave it by holding umbrellas over the food but we were defeated and moved inside. Even so, it was such a great time. The group consists of 6 long term good friends who all go to the University together and all major in English. This is a bonus because they can speak English so well. I really appreciate them a lot. Each person is so very different from the other and weird in their own ways but there's no judgements and they laugh and get along like brothers and sisters. I loved it! They were so warm and welcoming and I felt really comfortable being with them. We told stories and talked for hours over drinks, and as always, I about fell asleep in my chair. Since it was after midnight me and a few others caught a night bus to the Main station- where I did fall asleep :p I had to take a fast train to Bad Godesberg and had no idea what train to take and when it would come. They were so nice and got me my ticket and waited with me at the station until the correct train came and they sent me off! There are only three stops on this train--all in Bonn. Caro (one of the girls) specifically told me not to get off in Mehlem. She said "Mehlem is not the place you want to be." With that said, I missed my stop and got off in Mehlem. Luckily Carmen is so kind and insisted that I not walk home at night alone. She was already in her car waiting for me at the other stop, only 5 minutes away by car. So she zipped over, picked me up, and I was home safe! I am so thankful to be surrounded by such friendly and helpful people..it is truly what makes this time in my life so special. My new friends are going out on the town next Friday and told me to join. So far I've only experienced the beauty in the day life, but I am excited to see the night life in Bonn as well!

So that brings us to today. I slept in as it was a late night and had a lazy morning. Carmen told me about this Park that is connected to a forest trail about a ten minute walk from the house. It takes about 1 hour to walk to the Park but it is oh so worth it! (Not to mention the walk is gorgeous.) There, they have many live deer and pigs you can feed and get really close to. Deer are such beautiful animals and I fell in love with this particular baby. I fed them the pear I packed for myself because it was the only way to get them to come close enough! I spent about an hour there. The deer all huddled together in the middle of a field and napped so I got to read a couple chapters in my book. Now I am home, enjoying my Mittagessen and debating taking a nap myself. Or I may try to look up information to go to a new destination one of these upcoming weekends. Either way I can't go wrong:)

I am suddenly aware that my American is showing..