Erin’s Journals

September 21, 2024

The Adventure of a Lifetime

Guten Tag!

I can't believe I have been in Germany for almost a month now! It feels like I have been here for so much longer. I wouldn’t change a single thing about my exchange experience, because every challenge makes everything so much more rewarding. 

My flight over to Germany went well and was thankfully a direct flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt. I will say though, there is nothing more stressful than going through customs and immigration alone. Thankfully, I made it through with no trouble. I was met at the Frankfurt Airport by my host sister and my host mom. From the Frankfurt Airport, it took us one hour to drive to Heidelberg. Once I unpacked, I had my first German breakfast including classic German foods such as Bretzel (pretzel), Quark (soft cheese spread), and Brötchen (bread rolls).

I had about a week before school started so my host family brought me to see many different parts of Heidelberg including Michaelskloster and the Altstadt. I have also tried many different types of German food since I got here including Pflamkuchen and Wienerschnitzel. My favorite food so far though, has to be Bretzeln. It is delicious on its own, but also amazing with Quark or Frischkäse mit Kräuter (fresh cheese with herbs).

Soon I am going to introduce my host family to some of my favorite foods from the US. My host sister really wants me to make an apple pie, so that will probably be the first thing I make.

I also went with my host mom and host sister to the Ludwigshafen am Rhein. It is a film festival that highlights German and European films. Many of the films are internationally recognized. It was very interesting to see a movie that was originally in English dubbed into German.

A few times a year, the city sets off fireworks on the Altebrücke (old bridge) near the castle. It is a celebration called SchlossBeleuchtung. I was lucky enough to have been in Heidelberg to see the last fireworks of the season on September 7th. It was so pretty to see the fireworks going off surrounded by the beautiful architecture of the Heidelberg Schloss and the Altstadt (Old city). I have yet to visit the famous Heidelberg Schloss (Heidelberg Castle), but hopefully I will go visit it very soon. I have of course seen it because you can see it from almost anywhere in the main part of the city or by the Neckar River, which is near my house.

Since I had a week to get to know the city, I have been able to explore some on my own. It is super easy to get anywhere here because I can either bike or take the tram to get anywhere. Some of my favorite little gems I have found include some cute cafes, and my favorite; a vintage bookshop. It is this beautiful bookshop with all vintage books. Even if I can’t really read any of them yet (they’re all in German), I still love to wander around and just enjoy the beauty of it. I have started to read the Percy Jackson series in German though which will help me learn lots of new vocabulary words and hopefully strengthen my German knowledge.

Many people here do at least one sport in their free time, so I have been looking into different sports here that I could Play. Some popular sports here include rowing, football (soccer), and volleyball. I think rowing could be really interesting and a fun sport to do this year. It would always be an amazing experience to be able to row along the Neckar river.

A week after arriving, I started school at Englisches Institut Heidelberg. I am taking many classes including Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Music (we are going to be learning the ukulele) English, German, Politics, and more. To get to school I either bike or take the tram. I have learned to never trust the Deutsche Bahn (Germany train system) though, because one of my trams got canceled on the first day of school making me late. Thankfully my teacher didn’t mind at all and understood. I now take multiple earlier trams, so I won’t be late to school again. I always get to school early when I take the tram, so I go to the local Tegut (grocery store with bakery) and sit with some of my friends, where we will sometimes get something to drink or eat. On Mondays and Tuesdays, my school lasts longer so I eat lunch from either Tegut or the school Cafeteria. The rest of the week, I end school at 1:05 pm. I start school everyday at 7:55.

It is truly a big change when you go from seeing skyscrapers everyday to seeing classic architecture in the Altstadt and a castle everyday along with going from driving everywhere to biking anywhere you need to go.

This past weekend I had inbound orientation and it was amazing! We started by introducing ourselves and it was amazing meeting everyone from so many different cultures and countries! We spent most of the time just getting to know each other including walking forty minutes to a restaurant where we enjoyed soda, had many different conversations, and some people even played some Kegeln (German bowling). It was amazing getting to know so many different people from so many different lives and sharing our stories. We also talked about the different trips we can go on this year including a Germany trip, a Ski trip (Italian Alps), and an Europe trip. The next day we went on a charter bus for a Pfalz Tour (Tour of a region in Germany that’s in our district). We visited multiple castles and learned about the history of the region.

Nothing seems real until you see your parents for the last time, until you walk through security alone, until you step onto the plane and painstakingly wait through the entire flight. Nothing seems real until you finally step off the plane into your new country, your new home, and your adventure of a lifetime.

Tschüss! Bis Später! (Bye! See you later!)