Getting Sick Abroad & Bonner Bierbörse

As of late, I have had the oddest mood swings; I am constantly back and forth between being sad that I'm leaving in less than two weeks, then ecstatic that in 11 days I will see my family and friends, then sad, happy, sad, happy... It's a roller coaster.

However, before I start ranting on and on about my feelings, update:
First, of course, when I say anything about how nice the weather finally is, it turns to "scheiße" (I'm still in Germany, so cussing is still part of the norm- a new habit that must be broken in two weeks.) It rained so much that our Klettergarten (the ropes course) trip, that we were supposed to do on Thursday, had to get rescheduled for next Wednesday.

On Friday, I was able to be a live participant in the Universal Health Care debate. I showed up at TK Maxx, thinking I was just going to work through a cold, but they practically shoved me out the door to go to the doctor's office. With help from my school, I made it to the doctor, eagerly awaiting what was in store... after all, this is currently a huge debate in America, so I wanted to see what the effects of Universal Health Care were in a real-life-setting. The office was nice and kept up well, there weren't patients flooding the hall ways waiting to see a doctor. However, I still had to wait for an hour and a half; there were only a few patients there.

Once I sat and talked to the doctor giving him my full list of symptoms: headache, throat ache, shivers, sweats, etc., he shined the flashlight down my throat, decided there was no bacteria, and proclaimed that I had a viral infection, maybe the flu?  No medicine, obviously, because there is nothing you can do for a viral infection. This diagnoses was preformed without any knowledge of any of my medical history (no forms, besides my name and billing address were filled out), or any of the routine tests you might do in America before you see the doctor. As I sat and listened to him tell me to eat fruits and drink lots of fluids, I couldn't help but think, "why did I have to come here?" Then, he tells me I should take it easy for the next 7 days, get plenty of rest, not walk too much.... It all makes sense now.

No wonder why making the schedule at TK Maxx is so difficult, people go to the doctor all willy nilly and get days off that they really don't need. This internship has taught me a lot about the strict labor laws in Germany, and I mean strict! Every time I help with the schedule, I am just astounded by the amount of illnesses going around, but now I get it. Why would someone work, when their work and their health insurance are required to cover the costs of a full days work anytime they are "sick," a doctor is readily available (for free .. to some extent), and getting an excuse from a doctor is so easy? I must say, on the employee end of the situation, it is very nice, very convenient.

Although, not a huge supporter for Universal Health Care, I was hoping that I would see more benefits through this live experiment and hear more applause for the health care system while in Germany. Unfortunately, from my personal experience, I have heard more discourse than not through coworkers and friends. I could go on and on about this experience, but that is enough for now.

As my father says, I "have remarkable recovery time," so by Sunday evening I was ready to go to the Bonner Bierbörse, the Bonn Beerfest. It was a great time, but it generally is when there are beer stands as far as the eye can see. (the weather wasn't very festive, but I had an umbrella)

The agenda for the rest of this trip isn't too exciting compared to the beginning. This weekend I may try to work in a last minute day-trip somewhere near by, but other than that I work all week. Next week we go to the Klettergarten, hopefully, then I am going to try to visit the Haribo factory (it is headquartered here in Bonn) before I leave next week.

Other note worthy things I have done in the last week:
- While I was sick, I watched the entire series of Game of Thrones. It was 30 hours... needless to say I could not get out of bed. (I recommend http://www.free-tv-video-online.me/internet/episodes/ to anyone studying abroad... you will miss American television.)
- Set up a LinkedIn account: www.linkedin.com/pub/isabel-rooney/71/454/908/ I am still in the process of figuring it out.. Help anyone?
- Read the Hunger Games, a little late on the bandwagon I know...

'Til next time

Tschüss!

Started my Internship!

This past week has been a busy but not as interesting week as the previous. My 21st birthday was last Friday. Unfortunately for me I had to work at my new internship Friday and Saturday 7-4. Until August 7th I will be doing an internship at TK Maxx. Yes, TK Maxx and TJ Maxx are the same thing and owned by the same company. But this TK Maxx is not your regular TJ Maxx.. it is HUGE. There are 3 floors and it is just filled with stuff. For the last couple of days I have just been putting away clothes, accessories, and lots of shoes. I am expecting to work in the office soon, although at this rate I'm not so sure that that is going to happen. But fingers crossed.

Although a day late, I was able to celebrate my birthday with some of my friends. We went to Cologne for the evening and had a great time. Ohh! But before that, on Saturday at work, I met and had a conversation with the "Chef" (head of) TK Maxx in Germany, so that was pretty nifty.

Other than that, not much interesting has happened. I'm pretty home sick; I miss my family and  Auggie the Doggie... also, I miss cheap soda. Many will be happy to hear that my soda habit is not nearly as bad as it once was, because of how expensive soda is here. However, since coffee and beer are cheaper than soda and water, they have become my substitutes.

I wish I was still able to travel as much as we were during class, but I know this internship is going to be a good experience for me! I'll write soon!

Tschüss!