Ten Days and Counting

My twin sister, Kim, and I leave for Bayreuth, Germany in ten days and could not be more excited. We finished our last final at Fordham nine days ago and left New York City for home (South Jersey) soon after. Though our college suitcases were still packed, we began laying out various items to take to Germany. The task was more difficult than we had anticipated. “Packing light” is easier said than done.

Skype is a great way to communicate with family and friends internationally.

Have you ever used Skype? Well if you haven’t, you will soon after reading this entry. Lately, we have been communicating with our friend, Mike, who is also participating in the DAAD RISE program. Through Skype, we have used the video call feature to talk to him while he is in Berlin taking the language course. According to Mike, “Deutschland ist sehr gut.”

We have kept in constant contact with our German PhD students via email. I will be conducting research in Environmental Geochemistry with Elke Suess on the microbially catalyzed formation of thioarsenic species during the dissociation of arsenic-sulfur minerals at the University of Bayreuth, but she will be doing research in the field of Biogeography with Daniel Thiel.

They will be examining the selective use of plant provenances as a potential tool for climate change adaptation.

Through their emails, Elke and Daniel have been very welcoming. Not only have they answered many of our questions, but they have sent us links and information regarding the University of Bayreuth, as well as our housing arrangements. We are lucky to be residing in university-owned housing that is about a ten-minute walk from the campus.

Yesterday night, Kim and I watched a DVD called “Visions: Germany,” which explored all of the different towns in Bavaria. Our parents, who lived in Germany for three years while our dad was serving in the U.S. Army, helped us make a list of some of the best places to visit. The towns look as though they come straight out of a fairytale. We can’t believe how many castles exist in Germany alone.

Tomorrow, we are going to call our bank and credit card companies to inform them about our travels. After all, we wouldn’t want them to wonder why our cards are being used several thousand miles away from New Jersey! We can’t wait to be introduced to the Euro, but for ten more days, the U.S. dollar will have to suffice.