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!

Ich bin ein Hamburger!

This weekend I was finally able to go to Hamburg! It was so beautiful. Our first place to visit was the Rathaus. It is undeniably the best looking Rathaus I have been to in Germany, and I have seen my fair share of Rathauses this summer. (For those who don't know: a "Rathaus" is where the local government meets.)

It is huge, I couldn't get it all in one picture! 

We also made it to the St. Petri:

 After a full day of touring Hamburg, we headed to the infamous Reeperbahn. Let's just say, it was very interesting. It wasn't as graphic as the redlight district in Amsterdam, but it had a very pungent smell... I couldn't stay too long, I think that might have been for the best.

Since we went to bed somewhat early on Saturday, we were able to spend almost the entire day on the harbor. It was hot, but the breeze down by the river was wonderful.

Before we left, we stopped by a little bar called "Strand Pauli," a little play on words for all you St. Pauli fans. It was cool. The theme is like a make shift beach; you can see the water, you are in the sand, there is a little bit of shade, and you can drink. I was able to get some sun in the hour I was there.

Overall, Hamburg was very pretty, and had some nice architecture. It was a pretty expensive city, even the "cheap" places to eat (that our tour guide recommended) were still 30% more expensive than an average place in Bonn. Other than that, I was very impressed with Hamburg and glad I got the opportunity to go.

The weather has been great in Germany for the last week or so. It is the longest I haven't seen rain since I have been here! The weather here amazes me; within the first couple of weeks it was in the 30s F and now its almost 85 F! Glad I packed for all seasons!

On Thursday we are headed to a ropes course in near by Brühl (where my princess castle is located). Update and pictures will be posted shortly after.
bis bald...

Tschüss!

P.S. even though I have no pictures of it, I successfully had a Hamburger in Hamburg!

25 Days Until I'm Home!!!

Really not much to report. I talked to my boss (auf Deutsche) and was able to convince him to let me spend five hours in the office doing administrative work and then the last three on the floor. Surprisingly, I actually know a lot of German. I really didn't think that I did during the class, but I really do. When customers ask me questions, three out of five times I am able to answer them, no problem. And some of those times I understand the question, but I just have no idea what the answer is and then have to ask a colleague. So, that is exciting.

Other than that it has been pretty slow here in Bonn. There was a protest on Saturday, because people want to be able to smoke in restaurants again (it was just recently outlawed.) That was interesting to see. I am still pretty homesick, but one thing that is keeping me going is that I will be home in 25 days! This weekend, I am pretty sure that I will be making a trip up to Hamburg. My goal? To have a hamburger in Hamburg. So, hopefully that comes true! Until then...

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!

3 Days in Berlin

The first night in Berlin was tons of fun. As stated earlier, we pre-celebrated my 21st birthday. The night life was tons of fun; we went to Alexanderplatz in East Berlin, it was close to where we were staying. While we were out, there were tons of Bachelor and Bachelorette parties and more tourist than Germans, but we seemed to be the only Americans.

Needless to say, the next morning on our 5 hour tour of Berlin, was a little difficult for me. But, I am so happy I went. Even though we mainly stayed on the East side of Berlin, there was still so much to see. Unfortunately I was not completely enamored by the city. It was not as beautiful as some of the other reconstructed cities. But still I feel very fortunate I got to spend 3 days in Berlin.

 

Ofcourse, right behind US line there is a McDonalds, how apropo!

The Berlin Wall! (and some people using a 5 person bicycle!)

 This used to be the Nazi headquarters, now its the treasury for Germany

 The Brandenburg Gate

 The Reichstag Building (Where Parliament meets)

  

View from the top of the Reichstag Building

 

 Currywurst started in Berlin!

 Ofcourse, I left the day Berlin Fashion Week started, what are the odds of that happening?

Overall, it was a great excursion. I learned and saw a lot. I wish there was time for a break but I start my internship at TK Maxx tomorrow. Wish me luck! 

Tschüss! 

Dresden!!!!

Dresden is definitely the most beautiful city I have been to in Germany. I absolutely love it! With all the talk I've heard of East Germany not being very pretty because of all the destruction, I expected to see nothing but crappy buildings. Boy, was I wrong! Even though there are some ugly soviet stacked housing buildings, the city has rebuilt tons of buildings that were destroyed during the war and put memorials all over the town. Everywhere you go there is something cool to see! And... there is a HUGE mall!

Today, we went on a four hour tour of Dresden. Good thing I had my Cola Light!

 Just absolutely beautiful!

 

There were statues EVERYWHERE! 

 The Elbe River

 Memorial from WWII

 How could you not love this city?

 One of the memorials from WWII

I can't reiterate enough how much I loved Dresden! I wish I had more pictures of everything, but alas, I suck at taking pictures. Maybe I will be better in Berlin? Maybe...
This was our welcoming wagon (quite literally) once we entered Berlin today. I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting next couple of days...

We just got to our hotel in Berlin, and we are going to celebrate my 21st tonight! It's a wii bit early, but who cares? Birthdays should last for a week right? Wish me luck!

Tschüss!