One month down...

So much has happened in these four weeks. The time has passed so fast that it's hard to believe I left home one month ago. But in these past four weeks I have experienced so much and have memories I will take with me until the day I die. This time in my life is so special and there are no words I could ever say that would suffice for my amount of thankfulness to be doing this. I just want to cling on to every day I have here because each one is precious. 

The amazing and talented french singer and performer, ZAZ, came to Kunst!Rasen on July 3rd. I had been able to listen to her music for a few weeks before she came and I have truly become a fan! She was so fun to see in person and she puts on a good show. I appreciate musicians who stick to the art of their music and don't need all the extras.. (costumes, choreography, etc.) Her music is all that was needed. Martin's nephew and niece were here to visit and to see ZAZ as well. Katrin, the niece, is around my age and we both clicked immediately after meeting. She is such a cool person, her brother too, and we had great conversations all the days she was here. At the concert she continued to refill our glasses with "Aperol" a popular Italian drink and we danced the entire time- opening act until the last song. It was raining on and off throughout the whole concert but it didn't stop us!! A little rain never stopped a dance. 

 Katrin and I <3

 One umbrella, two umbrella, three umbrella, four...

Then on the fourth, I met with a group of friends for a festive gathering at the beer garden on campus. This is my first fourth of July out of the States since living in Germany, and that I remember, so gathering together and drinking drinks felt very appropriate. It's pretty amazing to know that the U.S.A celebrated it's 237th birthday while many of the streets I walk and buildings I go into are older than that. The word history has deep roots in Europe.

 A doner and gelato. If I haven't said it before, I am thoroughly enjoying myself here.

 

Good company, conversation, and most important--good beer! 

 So, I eat these whenever I get the chance. Because 1) where can you find fresh bread like this in the states? and 2) it's just too good.

 

 The exact reason I bought so many maxi dresses and skirts before the trip. I ate three pretzels one day...whoops! I have to try them all!

Over the weekend I made the voyage to Cologne which isn't far from Bonn. Cologne has over 1 million inhabitants and is one of the cooler cities I've ever been to. The streets are narrow and packed with shops, food, and every kind of person you could ever think up. It felt like going to a carnival city with a new street performer around each corner, and only a few stopping to notice. Besides the entertainment in the streets, I got to view and tour the Cologne Cathedral. (My camera could not capture the true immensity of size or the ornate details of every square inch of this building so I highly suggest looking up pictures online because mine do not do justice.) With that said, this was one of the most beautiful and breathtaking sights I've ever seen. I stood there, glossy eyed like a deer in the head lights, just looking straight up and trying to fathom it for was it was. I've never seen anything like it. When I came upon it, the steps and blocks surrounding it were packed with hundreds students, tour guide and groups, and people. It was hard to weave my way to the entrance. Once I stepped inside, however, I was amazed at the silence that hit me contrasting to the hustle and bustle and noise from outside. I was first greeted with rows and rows of tea light candles flickering under the rosy-golden glow of endless stain glass windows. It took me about 1 hour and maybe more to walk through the entire thing because I was amazed with every detail I saw. It is truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth. This cathedral was first documented in the 4th century, in year 313. Again, I must mention how young of a land that I come from and how cool it is to be surrounded by things that have lived on this earth longer than I could ever imagine. How many things these cathedral figurines and stain glass characters must have witnessed. For instance, in WWII, Cologne was destoyed by bombing--every building and road demolished and miraculously, the target of the bombs, the Cathedral, was the only thing left not destroyed and still standing.

 I have never felt so small that in and outside of this cathedral. I made a complete album of all the best photos on my facebook because there are too many pictures to list on here. 

As I mentioned before, Cologne is already a huge city but I happened to go there on a weekend where thousands more gathered for Christopher Street Day. This is a couple day long celebration and parade for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, etc. It was so much fun to walk into this!! I wanted to get pictures of the costumes that people wore but I didn't feel like standing out as the meek American tourist in this crowd. Everyone was fabulous though. I ended up meeting some cool people who invited me to have a beer with them. I also met a nice older woman who offered to buy me a beer. We had a bit of a language barrier and I wasn't sure of everything she was telling me. In these cases, I normally just nod my head and smile to save me the embarrassment and complication of translation. A couple words I did understand however near the end of our conversation, were "sex" and "here tomorrow, we meet at 2, ok??" Without my knowledge, I found myself a date for the next day! I felt pretty flattered to find one that quick. She was really nice when I told her I wasn't gay and walked me to the train station anyway and we hugged and departed. I hope she found someone really fun there for the next day she seemed like such a fun person.

 

 This week I have started school taking a Deutsch class in downtown Bonn. Our teacher, or Frau, is Hilda Huppers, an older woman who is so happy, spunky and cute. She is very patient with all the students and laughs at herself. It's a smaller class with only 15 students and they come from all over the globe; Spain, Tunisia, Brazil, Ghana, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Poland, Czech Republic, France, and the USA. We're all beginners so it makes for an interesting 3 hours each morning--German is NOT an easy language and the people who speak it natively will tell you so. The grammar and gender roles just make me want to puke. There is one guy from the US who is from Sacramento, California and so the first day we got together at the break and had a nice conversation, in English, and both have the West Coast as a common bond. 

 My school is tucked behind the building on the right. Out the school windows are the tops of the Bonn Cathedral's peaks and tree tops. Even school is better here.

Throwing up the "W" for the West Coast love. haha.

 Random snap shots of good times with these kiddos during the week. Never one dull moment.

And, alas! My new best friend- wheat beer. This is a daily, or couple times a day, thing and as always, I am pretty okay with it. 

Ahh, this is the good life. Love, from the top floor on Auf der Ley, Germany.