Hello again! It’s been about two weeks now since my twin sister and I left Bayreuth, Germany. We made it back home to the United States safely and have been spending the past few days with our family and trying to readjust to the “American” way of life.

Last Wednesday, we drove about six hours to Cape Cod, MA and spent a fun-filled week there with our aunt, uncle, and cousins, Chris and Erica. We went to the beach three times. The weather was much more humid in Cape Cod than it was where we live in South Jersey, and much, much warmer in general than the weather was in Bayreuth, Germany. As a result, the water in Cape Cod was very pleasant, and we were actually able to take a swim.

Last Sunday, we went to the Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod, MA, where we watched our cousin, Erica, and our uncle run seven miles. This race is an annual event, but it was the first time that we had the opportunity to attend. Thousands of people from all over the country and the world ran. Some people even ran in costumes, namely Hawaiian skirts and banana suits. The runners had to travel throughout Falmouth, Massachusetts along the shoreline. Most participants finished in about an hour and a half. Fortunately, we managed to spot our cousin and uncle amongst the massive crowd before they crossed the finish line so that we could snap a picture. After being a part of the excitement, my brother, sister, and I want to run in the race next year- but it will require a bit of training on our part!

On Monday, my family took a very memorable trip to Martha’s Vineyard. It took about twenty minutes to get to the island by boat. Once we arrived, my mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, cousin, and I rented bikes. We journeyed all throughout Martha’s Vineyard along the waterline. While on our bike ride, we saw the famous gingerbread houses and took some great pictures. However, by the end of the ride, we were exhausted because we rode approximately twenty miles! We did get some good exercise, though!

In the meanwhile, I have been preparing for the upcoming 238^th annual American Chemical Society national meeting, to be held in Washington, D.C. from August 16-19. There, I will present the Environmental Geochemistry research that I did while in Germany. I am happy to say that I have finally finished my report, and I just had the 36 x 48-inch poster printed today. I am excited to share my research at the conference, for it represents my two months of work in Bayreuth. Now, it’s just a matter of packing a few things and making it to D.C. on Sunday.

As this is my last entry, I want to take this opportunity to thank a few people for the wonderful experience that I had this summer in Germany. Thanks to Dr. Christian Schaefer (Head of Section, North America), Ms. Corina Bejan, Ms. Michaela Gottschling, Ms. Maike Steuer, and Mr. Adam Camenzuli for coordinating the DAAD Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program. Many thanks to the American Chemical Society (ACS), especially Dr. Lourdes Echegoyen, Global Education and Exchanges Manager in the Office of International Activities, for coordinating the International Research Experience for Undergraduates (IREU) exchange program. Thank you to Dr. Gerard Iwantsch, Dr. Diana Bray, Dr. Donna Heald, Dr. Patrick Hornbeck, Dean Luz Lenis, Dean Robert Parmach, Mrs. Maria Noonan, and Fordham University’s Campion Institute for Prestigious Fellowships in the Bronx, NY, USA, for the endless support provided during the application process to the DAAD RISE program for research in Environmental Geochemistry. Additionally, thanks to the student service and the International Student Network (ISN) for support before and during my stay in Germany. I am deeply grateful to Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich for allowing me access to her Environmental Geochemistry laboratory and office facilities for my studies, and for financial support for sample analyses. For assistance during sample preparation, I would like to extend my gratitude to Ms. Elke Suess. Technical support and helpful discussions by the Environmental Geochemistry team at Universität Bayreuth, namely Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich, Ms. Elke Suess, Dr. Sasan Rabieh, Mr. Stefan Will, Ms. Cornelia Haertig, Mr. Ulli Seifert, and Mrs. Irmgard Lauterbach, are greatly acknowledged.

Finally, I would like to thank YOU for following my progress in Germany throughout these past two months. I have enjoyed sharing my adventures with you. I would just like to say that the DAAD RISE program is truly amazing, not only because it allowed me to do research abroad, but because it enabled me to gain countless friendships. I am so happy to now have friends in at least twelve different countries. Ultimately, there is no doubt in my mind that I have returned to the United States as a better person because of this incredible and life-changing experience.

I wish you all the best. Take care! Tschüss! -April

This weekend, we got to go home with Elke, my Ph.D. student. I first went to lab at around 8:00 am to take my samples. I then left at around 10:00 am to pack my bags. Kim and I had lunch at the mensa at around 11:00 am and were back in the Geo. III building to meet Elke by 12:00 pm. We then drove to Freiberg to pick up Laurent, Elke’s friend from France, who is doing an internship at Universität Freiberg. We then drove to Schloss Augustusburg—a beautiful castle near Elke’s hometown.

We arrived at Elke’s house at around 6:00 pm and met her family, all of whom are such wonderful people. Her mom is so sweet. She prepared for us a delicious snack of honey cake, hard-boiled eggs, and bread slices. Elke’s niece, Jenny, is adorable. She gave us flowers with three German wooden ornaments attached. The ornaments are one of my favorite souvenirs thus far.

After eating and having a nice conversation with Elke’s family, we all went outside to tour the farm and to meet the animals: a horse named Vicky, sheep, hens, ducks, rabbits, and a cat named Yellow. Elke’s sister has a lovely vegetable garden. The atmosphere on the farm is so peaceful. Looking back upon my travels throughout Germany, I can honestly say that I am so fortunate to have gotten to experience life in Berlin—a very urbanized city—and now life in the Erzgebirge—the countryside (especially considering that I come from a suburb in the United States).

In the morning, Elke made us a tasty breakfast of fruit, sausages, cheese, bread, hard-boiled eggs, and coffee. Once we were finished with breakfast, we drove to Ehrenfriedersdorf, where we went on a mining tour. We went three hundred feet down into the ground, wearing capes and construction hats. The mine has been closed since 1990, but the machinery is still underground for demonstration purposes. It was really cool getting to see how the miners worked, but the equipment was very loud. Overall, I think that this experience was one of the most memorable that I have had in Germany. Kudos to Elke for organizing this trip! J

After walking through the mine, we toured some of the traditional German houses of the Erzgebirge. I took lots of great pictures, even though it was raining a bit. It was very interesting to see how the miners lived about two hundred years ago.

Next, we went to Seiffen, the “toy town.” We went into numerous shops that sell the famous German wooden figurines. The angel figurines are really popular in Seiffen, as are the nutcrackers, the porcelain dolls, and the windmills.

On another note, I can finally say that I have visited the Czech Republic! We crossed the border between Germany and the Czech Republic while driving along a river. We ate dinner at a Czech restaurant in a town called Kateriny. Everything was very “lecker.”

After dinner, Elke drove us to our hostel in Dresden, called Hofgarten 1824. Our room was very spacious. We had a four-person room (with four bunk beds) just for the two of us, which was quite nice. Luckily, we had wireless internet access. At night, we took a short walk down Theresienstrasse and took pictures of some of the buildings (they are well-lit).

Kim and I went to bed soon after our night walk so that we could get up for breakfast, which was served between seven and eleven o’clock. We woke up at around 8:00 am and went down to breakfast, which consisted of the typical German food (cheese, bread, hard-boiled eggs, meat), and also the best cereal we have had in Germany thus far (granola). I know that I often mention the food here, but I feel that it is an essential part of my Germany experience.

We checked out of the hostel at around 10:00 am and wandered throughout Dresden for the rest of the day, taking many pictures. Once we got back to Bayreuth, we toured the inner city. The Wagner festival is going on, so there are lots of tourists. The town is nicely decorated with paper music notes and statues of musicians. We sat by the stream for a bit and enjoyed the festival.

I do apologize for posting this blog entry later than I had anticipated. Today was the last day of my internship and I am currently in the process of moving out of my flat. Tomorrow is our last full day in Bayreuth, and we leave Germany on Saturday (early flight from Nuremberg to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt to Philadelphia). I love Bayreuth and have had an incredible time in Germany, but it will be nice to be home with my family and then to go back to school in New York City—this time with our brother, Ricky, who is entering his freshman year there. Anyway, I should finish packing. Thanks for reading and for sticking with me throughout my RISE experience in Germany. Enjoy the rest of your summer and take care! -April

At long last, Kim and I attended the much anticipated DAAD RISE meeting in Heidelberg. This was the one for which we had been waiting ever since we had received the news that we had been accepted to the RISE program. Attending this meeting and being in the presence of other students who are conducting research in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Engineering was a fantastic feeling. As I have mentioned in previous entries, I came to Germany because I wanted to study abroad and to do research in Chemistry, but also because I wanted to meet lots of great people from all over the world. At the DAAD RISE conference, I was able to do just that.

We arrived in Heidelberg on July 8th (a day earlier than everyone else). Fortunately, at the Heidelberg train station, we met two Americans, Kurt and Chris, who showed us how to get to the Jugendherberge, or the “youth hostel.” Checking in to the hostel was relatively easy, since the woman working at the front desk spoke English very well. Kim and I were surprised to find that we had a room to ourselves (usually, six people are assigned to one room), but we later found out that we only had the room for one night and had to move out the next morning. We ended up moving in to a room with two other girls, Chithra from the U.S. and Elena from Canada.

After we had unpacked, Kim, Kurt, Chris, and I went into the town of Heidelberg to explore. We got off at a stop called Universitätsplatz. It is interesting to see that the same stores, namely H&M, Woolworth, Orsay, Nordsee, Pimkie, Forever 18, and Tally Weijl, keep reappearing, regardless of which city we are visiting.

The DAAD RISE opening ceremony was very well organized. It was held in Alte Aula, a building that bears the sign: “Dem Lebendigen Geist.” I am so happy to have finally gotten to meet Dr. Christian Schäfer (Head of Section, North America), Miss Corina Bejan, Miss Michaela Gottschling, Miss Maike Steuer, and Mr. Adam Camenzuli, as well as one of the other DAAD bloggers, Fanyi. I really enjoyed listening to the DAAD scholars play their instruments, especially because I have played classical music (on the cello) for thirteen years.

The food at the courtyard buffet was delicious (or “lecker,” as the Germans would say). The mini sandwiches were a perfect snack, though I think that some of the students were hungrier than the program coordinators had anticipated. After the buffet, I attended a panel discussion on how to obtain a Master’s or a Ph.D. in Germany. After this information session, I am definitely considering coming back to Germany to study in the future, especially to work for an organization such as the German Cancer Research Center.

The next day, I had an early breakfast at the Heidelberg Youth Hostel and then joined my group for our company visit to Evonik-Degussa at 8:45 am. Evonik is an industrial corporation in Germany that was created in September 2007 and involves the areas of energy and chemicals. Degussa is an acronym of Deutsche Gold-und Silber-Scheide-Anstalt (German Gold and Silver Metals Separating Works). Evonik-Degussa is the world’s largest producer of specialty chemicals and Germany’s third largest chemistry company. At Evonik, I got to view the labs and learned how such devices as the centrifuge work. Lunch far exceeded my expectations. Evonik did a wonderful job of feeding its guests. J

At 7:00 pm, everyone in the DAAD RISE program met for a brewery banquet. Here, I got to see my advisor, Dr. Lourdes Echegoyen, Global Education and Exchange Manager of the American Chemical Society, and all of my friends who are also part of the ACS-IREU (American Chemical Society International Research Experience for Undergraduates) program.

The following day, after a debriefing at 10:00 am, all of the RISE students went on a guided tour of Heidelberg. One of my favorite sites in Heidelberg is the Neckar bridge. A tour guide told me that supposedly, the bridge has collapsed several times due to inclement weather, but is now standing strong once again. Near this bridge, there is a baboon statue. As legend has it, if you stick your head inside the baboon statue and put your hand on the item that it is holding, you will be endowed with good luck. I made sure to visit this statue several times.

I also loved seeing the Heidelberg castle. I first saw the castle from a distance, while I was standing on the bridge. At night, the castle looks so pretty because it is highlighted by blue and purple floodlights. The following day, on the guided walking tour of Heidelberg, I was lucky to see the castle from a distance of only a few feet.

After the DAAD RISE conference was over, Kim and I continued exploring Heidelberg with our friends, Mike and Nathan. We made a typical American visit to Starbucks and later saw fireworks over the river.

The next day (Sunday), Kim, Nathan, Mike, and I got up at a little after 4:00 am to check out of the hostel and make a 5:58 am train en route to Strasbourg, France. This train ride was probably the most interesting one I have ever experienced. We encountered a bachelor party in which the groom-to-be was dressed as a fireman and was selling pieces of a fire hose as a means of paying for the party. As all of the guys were still in party mode (I’m not sure how, because it was 6:15 am), we got no sleep on the ride, but we did get a lot of laughs.

Though Strasbourg is considered a “border town” (on the border of France and Germany), everyone speaks French there. It was drizzling, but a little rain did not stop us from seeing the churches, buildings, and statues for which the city is famous. Two of Mike’s friends, Chelsea and Rob, joined us in walking throughout the city. Unfortunately, most stores were closed because it was Sunday, though we did find a shop in which we bought postcards to remember our first visit to France. We were fortunate enough to get our passports stamped at the Strasbourg train station, as well. All in all, mission accomplished!

Thanks for reading. Take care! -April

My twin sister and I had an incredible weekend.  On Friday afternoon, Kim and I packed our bags and prepared to walk to the train station in Bayreuth so that we could travel to Ulm to see our friend, Mike, who is studying at Universität Ulm as a fellow DAAD RISE participant.  Luckily, we managed to find our American friends at Universität Bayreuth, who were going to Dresden for the weekend, and they convinced us to take a bus to the train station.  At the Hauptbahnhof, we took the 4:27 PM train from Bayreuth to Nuremberg.  Once we arrived in Nuremberg, we took a train to Donauwörth, and from Donauwörth, we rode to Ulm.

            When we got to Ulm, we found Mike waiting for us at the train station.  To get to Mike’s flat, we had to walk along a main road, which enabled us to have a fantastic view of the church for which Ulm is famous.  We were exhausted from the long train ride, so we decided to watch “Pan’s Labyrinth.”  I have seen this movie before but enjoyed it nonetheless, especially because I got to practice my Spanish (the movie is in Spanish with English subtitles).

            The next morning, we somehow woke up at 4:30 AM so that we could make it to the Hauptbahnhof for a 6:00 AM train to the Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald) in Triberg.  Though the scenery was beautiful and unlike anything I had seen before, I slept for a good portion of the train ride. 

            We arrived in Triberg at around 9:30 AM.  The Black Forest is essentially famous for three things: Germany’s tallest waterfalls, cuckoo clocks, and Black Forest cake, all three of which we were fortunate enough to experience firsthand.  Since it rained for about an hour or two, we had time to browse through tourist shops and admired the very intricate German cuckoo clocks.  Once the rain cleared up, we went to the “Wasserfall,” where we saw some of Germany’s most gorgeous waterfalls. 

            Mike, Kim, and I had dinner at a traditional German hotel restaurant.  I ordered ravioli with tossed salad and German potatoes.  After finishing up our dinner, we walked over to a different place to grab some dessert.  Of course, we had to try the famous German Black Forest Cake, which is basically made up of whipped cream, cherries, and chocolate bread with an alcoholic taste.  The cake was delicious.  I highly recommend going to the Black Forest to try it.

            Once we had finished our dessert, we took a train back to Ulm and walked through the inner city.  Here, we saw clowns making balloon animals for children.  Mike had to stop at a bank, and we were very surprised to see a dog in there, waiting on the side as his master took out money.  My favorite spotting was that of the “bier bike,” a giant bar on wheels being powered by men who were pedaling while drinking their beers.  The goal is for them to lose the weight that they gain in the process of consuming alcohol.  I took a pretty funny video of this crazy vehicle.  We continued walking and came upon the site where Albert Einstein’s childhood home used to be.  Now there is a marker commemorating the spot where Eintstein’s house once stood.

            The next morning, we woke up at 6:30 AM and caught the 7:00 AM train to Stuttgart.  Upon arriving in Stuttgart, we were somewhat disappointed by the fact that all of the shops were closed because it was a Sunday.  Nonetheless, after taking a few train rides within Stuttgart, we were able to find some livelihood.  For lunch, we ate at a typical American place: Subway.  We each got the combination meal; I had the tuna sandwich, a Coke, and a chocolate chip cookie.  The lady working at Subway was very nice and very tolerant of our lack of German vocabulary (she spoke English).  After going to Subway, we walked around the main plaza for a few minutes, where we saw several fountains.  There was a marching band performing under a gazebo, which created a pleasant atmosphere. 

            At around 2:00 PM, we took a train from Stuttgart back to Ulm.  As soon as we got back to the Ulm train station, we bought McFlurries.  I don’t usually eat McDonald’s food, but several people have told me to try the German McFlurry.  I had one with toffee pieces, which convinced me that McFlurries are ten times better here in Germany than the ones in America.  On another note, all of the McDonald’s workers in Germany have to wear signature McDonald’s jeans, which have the golden arch on the back pocket!

            We said goodbye to Mike at around 4:30 PM and got onboard our train to Crailsheim.  The ride was somewhere around two hours long.  The train was comprised of only two carts and was very old (so there was no air conditioning).  There were also many little kids running up and down the aisle every few minutes, so I did not sleep at all during the train ride. 

We had three minutes to transfer to a train that would be heading to Nuremberg.  On this ride, we met a twenty-year-old German student from Nuremberg named Martin.  We had a very interesting conversation with him, though a very difficult one because he knew little English.  We asked him to tell us his opinion of America.  He told us that he hates American politics, because “America started a war and George Bush is bad.”  He was under the impression that all Americans are fat, that they eat McDonald’s several times a week, and that American girls have numerous boyfriends at the same time.  He asked about the “bums” of New York and wanted to know what we think of Europeans.  He told us that American girls are “great,” but that he wants to stay in Germany because he is very much attached to the countryside here.

Martin explained to us that all of his stereotypes about American culture were based on the few American television shows that he had seen.  He had never actually met or spoken with “real” Americans until this point.  We corrected his misconceptions and he proudly stated that he could now say that American culture is different from the way that it is represented on television.  “Germans have it all wrong when it comes to their idea of Americans,” he concluded.  He promised to tell his professor tomorrow (Monday, June 29, 2009) that he had met two nice American girls and would recount our conversation to his German friends so that he might also correct their misconceptions of the American way of life.  Happy to be one of our “first German friends,” he allowed us to take a picture of him so that we could show our family and friends back home in the States.

After our train arrived in Nuremberg, we took one final train home to Bayreuth.  We had a pretty quiet ride and listened to our iPods for most of the trip.  The train got to Bayreuth at around 8:30 PM.  We walked home with our suitcases through the Hofgarten and got back to our flats at about 9:00 PM.  Thereafter, we made dinner in Kim’s kitchen (rice and pineapples) and then went back to our rooms and unpacked.  All in all, we had an amazing weekend visiting Ulm, Triberg, and Stuttgart and cannot wait to do some more traveling throughout Germany in the weeks to come.  Ciao! 

On June 12, 2009, we began our three-day trip to Munich. About fifty international students from Universität Bayreuth piled onto a coach bus and arrived in Munich after a three-hour drive. We took our bags and walked throughout a plaza. We saw a lovely church with fancy stained glass windows. At this church, we watched a choir of students perform. We think that they were American because one guy was wearing a University of Alabama sweatshirt.

We saw Marienplatz, the town square with the famous “Glockenspiel,” a clock with moving figures that come out and ring bells. The architecture is absolutely beautiful. While walking around, we noticed that there are lots of tourist-type souvenir stores, most of which sell soccer items (jerseys, stickers, pins, etc.).

We also went up St. Peter’s church tower so that we could get an aerial view of Munich. In order to reach the top of the tower, we had to climb about thirteen flights of stairs. Nevertheless, once we made it to the top, the view was breathtaking. I loved seeing the red rooftops that are characteristic of houses in Munich.

Later, we went past the Hofbräuhaus, where the famous Munich beer is brewed. For dinner, we went to a biergarten, where I had bratwurst. After the biergarten, we went to the Olympiaturm, where we went in a building that looks very much like the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, USA. The elevator rose very quickly, and within about twelve seconds, we were over one hundred flights up in the air. We had a beautiful view of Munich, and I took some very funny pictures of my friends nearly falling over due to the heavy winds (the result of being so high up from the ground).

We went to a late dinner at Augustiner Bräu München. We dawdled outside the restaurant for about an hour before going to the hostel.

The next day, we went to the BMW museum. The BMW museum is essentially an exhibit of every kind of BMW car made. There are even airplanes on display because these products were once made by BMW. My favorite part of the museum visit was getting to hop onto an R 1200 R BMW motorcycle. We even saw a blue car that had been splattered with various colors of paint (we believe that this car was in a BMW commercial back home in the United States).

After the BMW museum, we got on the bus, which took us back to the main shopping area. There happened to be a festival going on around Marienplatz. We saw horse-drawn carriages and men and women dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes.

The walk back to the hostel seemed to take forever, but we got ice cream to help pass the time. “Smurf,” a blue-colored ice cream that tastes very much like bubblegum, seems to be a very popular flavor in Munich.

We went to another biergarten for dinner. Thereafter, we wanted to dance, so we went to a German club. Supposedly, there were three separate rooms, each one with a different type of music. However, we heard mostly American music mixed with the occasional German song.

The next day, we arrived at Schloss Nymphenberg around 10:00 AM. This site was essentially a place which contained old palaces that have been preserved for tourists. There were some nice gardens surrounding the palaces. We stopped to take pictures in front of the large fountain in the garden. It was a sunny day, so all of the photos look great. We stayed at Schloss Nymphenberg for about twenty minutes, just touring the outside of the palaces and admiring the landscape.

After seeing Schoss Nymphenberg, we drove to Starnberger See (English: Lake Starnberg), which is actually a mini beach, but with grass, rather than sand, preceding the water. Few people went into the water because it was so cold, though I did make it in up to my shoulders. It’s nice to be able to go to the beach, especially considering that I probably won’t make it down to the Jersey Shore at all this summer.

I would like to thank the Universität Bayreuth ISN team for organizing such a fantastic trip to Munich. My twin sister and I came from New York City only three weeks ago and can already say that we have experienced one of the best parts of Germany. Cheers to an excellent weekend. Take care. –April

Kim and I have at last made it to Bayreuth, Germany. It’s everything we could have imagined and more. Allow me to start from the beginning. On Friday afternoon, with my suitcase packed and bookbag at the ready, I made the forty-five minute drive from Cherry Hill to the Philadelphia International airport with my sister and parents. I had remembered to take many “farewell” photos, but upon check-in, I unfortunately realized that I had forgotten perhaps the single most important item any foreign student needs when traveling abroad: my passport. I had packed the passport in my purse the previous night, but had taken it out so that my dad could help me print my plane ticket for my two U.S. Airways flights. In my haste to ensure that I had not forgotten anything, ironically, I left the passport on the kitchen table. Luckily, my dad volunteered to hurry back to the house and managed to get my passport to me about forty-five minutes prior to take-off. I cannot thank him enough, because if it weren’t for him, I would not be in Germany, as I would have missed my first flight to Zurich and the subsequent flight to Nuremberg.

Anyway, with my dad’s help, I was able to check my bag rather quickly. I gave my suitcase to a representative of U.S. Airways. I was very happy to hear that it weighed in at forty-five pounds (the maximum weight limit is fifty pounds). After check-in, I went through security, which required that I put my laptop, bookbag, purse, and sneakers in separate bins. I made it through security with no problem, waved goodbye to my parents, and went to the waiting area. After only twenty minutes or so, people began to board the plane. Though we were in zone five, we boarded with the first zone of passengers (there seemed to be no real boarding order).

We sat about four rows from the back of the plane. I had the window seat and Kim had the aisle. In front of us was an extremely fidgety couple who took turns using the bathroom every half hour or so. Behind us were their teenage daughters (we were caught in the middle of their conversation). To the left of me was a window through which I saw the most beautiful sunrise. Adjacent to us on the right, there was a little girl (maybe five or so) who kept demanding her mother’s attention (her mother was seated directly in front of her, and her father was seated at her right). There was a European-looking woman to the left of the little girl who slept literally the entire seven-and-a-half-hour plane ride from Philadelphia to Zurich (take-off was at 6:15 PM EST, and we arrived in Zurich at around 8:25 AM, or 2:25 AM in “American time”).

The flight attendants were three women in their forties or fifties. I must say that the job of a flight attendant is fascinating to me. I love the idea of getting to travel and see the world for a living. Anyway, the flight attendants were all very nice and served us chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, carrot cake, and soda (airplane style, of course). We watched the movie “Bride Wars” (which stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway). I enjoyed the movie but found the cattiness between the main characters to be a bit annoying and the ending to be somewhat implausible (I will not mention any details in case you would like to see this movie). The movie played for about two hours. I spent the rest of my time listening to my iPod, taking pictures of the sky, and reading a book called Do Like the Germans Do. I love looking at the pictures I took because they serve as a timeline of the flight (sunny in Philly, nighttime over the Atlantic Ocean, sunrise in France, then a partly cloudy day in Zurich). I didn’t get much reading done because I didn’t want to turn on the light and disturb the people around me, but I did practice a few multiple choice questions on the German culture for fun.

To be honest, I did not sleep at all during the seven-and-a-half hour flight from Philly to Zurich, during the five-hour lay-over in the Zurich airport, or during the hour-long flight from Zurich to Nuremberg. I suppose that I was just too excited and wanted to “live” every moment of the trip (I also hadn’t been on a plane since I went on my senior high school trip to Disneyworld three years ago). Since I didn’t sleep, I spent the majority of my time listening to my iPod. It may sound crazy, but I got so tired of hearing the same songs on my playlist that I started listening to Christmas music. Hearing cheerful holiday songs was strangely calming and made me forget the chaotic experience of coming close to missing my flight to Zurich the night before.

We arrived in Zurich at 8:25 AM (Swiss time). We had to go through customs, but the Swiss customs officials were very easygoing, so we got through with no problem. In fact, the customs official glanced at my passport and plane ticket and didn’t even ask my purpose of travel. On another note, I am very impressed by how clean the Swiss airport looks. The bathrooms are almost immaculate. The security guards and vendors are very welcoming and constantly smiling. They tried their best to understand our English. We were hindered by the language barrier only once, when we asked for two slices of pizza at an airport restaurant and the chef did not understand the meaning of a slice and instead gave us the whole pie. Luckily, it was smaller than an American pie and therefore easier to finish. There was a separate area for payment. While we had stocked up on Euros, Switzerland uses its own form of currency (the Franc), so we were forced to rely on the American credit card (accepted in most European countries, or at least in the Zurich airport).

While eating our pizza, we were pleased to see soccer highlights on TV. Soccer has always been a big part of our lives (we have played for about thirteen years now), so it was great to finally be able to watch a sport with which we can relate (American television tends to favor football, baseball, and basketball and rarely shows soccer, except during major events such as the World Cup).

We went to the waiting room for the next flight at around forty-five minutes before take-off at 1:15 PM (Swiss time). As we took a small jet, there were very few people on board, though there was an American couple directly in front of us. We very much enjoyed the atmosphere while on board this Swiss Airlines flight. The attendants were all men, a phenomenon rarely seen on American airplanes. They were very friendly, particularly when, after speaking rapid German and receiving blank states, they quickly smiled and switched to English. We were given chocolate (a product for which Switzerland is famous) and some water (which came in a very interesting pre-sealed plastic cup). The flight lasted for only about an hour. We landed at 2:15 PM in Nuremberg.

We picked up our bags, went through customs (which turned out to be a door with no one there), and immediately saw Elke, my Ph.D. student, waiting for us. She is absolutely wonderful. She snapped a photo of us and gave us a European-style greeting (handshake and cheek kiss). Elke speaks English very well, so I generally have no trouble understanding her. She gave me an envelope containing my DAAD RISE insurance form and work permit waiver, as well as a large map of Germany. After calling my parents from a landline with our calling card to tell them that we had arrived in Germany safely, we brought our bags to Elke’s car. They fit in her trunk, though her car is small compared to some of the ones we are used to seeing in America. Perhaps one of the best experiences we have had thus far was driving on the autobahn (highway). There are speed limits, but no one seems to follow them, so cars zoom by at over one hundred miles per hour (speed here is measured in kilometers per hour, however). Driving on the autobahn was somewhat nerve-wracking but the fact that so few cars happened to be on the road made the fast-paced ride a little less scary.

Anyway, we got to Bayreuth in about forty minutes. It turns out that we live next door to a fancy swim club with four pools, water slides, diving boards of various heights, beach volleyball, and basketball. Across from our living community is a kindergarten with its own lake. Our housing is considered off campus, but we have only a few minutes’ walk to my lab in the Geochemistry department and to Kim’s biogeography experiment site in the botanical garden. Before we had the chance to unpack, we met Daniel Thiel, Kim’s Ph.D. student. Along with Elke, Daniel has made every effort to ensure that we are comfortable here in Bayreuth. For dinner, we went to a place nearby called Emil’s, where Kim and I got cheeseburgers and French fries (this particular restaurant primarily serves American food, though Elke and Daniel have promised to introduce us to Bavarian cuisine very soon). We had carbonated mineral water (very common in Germany, also called “water with gas”). Daniel had to go home but promised to give us a tour of the campus the following day at around 2:00 PM.

We then went with Elke and toured the inner city of Bayreuth. We made note of some grocery stores, churches, and other places of interest, but will definitely have to make a few trips before we learn where everything is located. Thankfully, Elke has given us a map and has arranged bikes for us, so we should have no trouble getting around Bayreuth. After about an hour of walking around Bayreuth, we returned to the University (which was essentially deserted due to the holiday, Pentecost). I know that Pentecost is recognized in the United States, but never before had I actually had off from school on this day. Religious holidays are important to the German people, and these holidays occur more often than I had imagined. The only difficult part of arriving on a holiday weekend was that all of the stores were closed (they are always closed on Sundays, but also due to Pentecost).

Elke explained that she would pick me up at around 10:30 AM on Tuesday for a meeting with the members of the Geochemistry department. I am excited to be working with Elke Suess (Ph.D. student), Prof. Dr. Britta Planer-Friedrich, Cornelia (Conny) Härtig (also a Ph.D. student), Mr. Stefan Will, Dr. Sasan Rabien, Ulli (a master student), and Mrs. Lauterbach. Elke asked me to make a PowerPoint presentation to show them as an introduction (includes pictures regarding my hobbies and etc.). I am looking forward to seeing everyone and to being introduced to the research on the “Microbially catalyzed formation of thioarsenic species during the dissolution of arsenic-sulfur minerals.”

I love my apartment. There is a large desk near a window that overlooks a pond with lily pads, which is near the entrance to the dorm building. The bathroom has a very nice sliding glass door and a huge button much like a gigantic light switch for flushing the toilet. It is like nothing I have seen before. There is a stove right next to the door on the left, as well as a refrigerator. My bed is very comfortable. All in all, Elke has been so helpful in preparing our accommodations. In my room, she has even set up a table with bread, butter, salt, meat, yogurt, milk, apple juice, orange juice, water, chocolate bonbons, KitKats, German cereal, peaches, bananas, tea mix, bowls, spoons, forks, knives, and glasses. Kim and I had cereal and fruit for breakfast and lunch and are very much enjoying the food.

I do not have Internet access yet, so I have no way of communicating with anyone outside of Germany (i.e., through Skype or by email) from my laptop until Wednesday, when Elke helps us communicate with the caretaker of the building (I wish that he spoke English, but he only knows German). I am still having difficulty opening the door to my room and even had to get my friend a floor below to unlock it for me last night. For some reason, in Germany, the key has to be held upside down from the American way and turned to the left twice to completely unlock the door, but the key also has to be pushed inward at the same time. I am also not used to the dark hallways in the building at all hours of the day. To save energy, lights only stay on in the hallways for about five minutes, which requires that one fumble in the dark (especially at night) for the switch to find the way back to one’s room. I am used to having the hallway lights on 24/7 in my dorm at Fordham University in New York City, so I am still adjusting to the German dorm life.

I never thought that I would say this, but since I have been living in Bayreuth, I have primarily spoken Spanish. I am very fortunate to have studied Spanish for seven years and am glad that I was at one point in high school close to fluent, or at least able to pass the Advanced Placement exam, because the closest friends that I have made here thus far are from Madrid, Spain. Their names are Ernesto and Paloma, and they are studying world languages (i.e., German), but they know little English. Kim and I cannot speak German, so this is the first time that we have ever really been forced to use our Spanish just to be understood. Because we have not taken a Spanish class in three years, we have forgotten certain words, but gestures have also helped us to get by. Today, Ernesto gave us a tour of the building in Spanish. He showed us where we can do laundry and watch TV, and we eventually understood everything that he said.

Last night, we talked with Ernesto and Paloma in Ernesto’s room. There, we met three girls from Italy: Valentina, Katia, and Antonelia. We watched Ernesto make a very elaborate salad and gazpacho (a drink that tastes like a blended-up salad) and listened to music. It’s funny to see that the European students here listen to what we consider to be “American” music. “Apologize” by One Republic and Shaggy’s songs seemed to be particular favorites. At around 12:30 AM, jetlagged and tired, Kim and I decided to go to sleep. It was now early Monday, and I had not actually gone to bed since Saturday at 1:00 AM, U.S. time, due to traveling.

My digital watch alarm woke me up at 7:00 AM, but I actually got up around 11:00 AM. Kim and I met Daniel outside the apartment. He gave us a tour of the science buildings and showed us Kim’s experiment site (in the botanical garden), where there are several tents with potted plants underneath them that are being exposed to different conditions. Our friends from Spain, Ernesto and Paloma, joined us for the tour. Kim and I spent close to two hours watering all of the plants with small plastic cups that had been made from soda bottles, a task that was more tedious than it sounds. These plants get watered every Monday and Thursday. It was great being outside in the sun and getting some fresh air. We asked Daniel a lot of questions about Germany, such as: “What are the different types of German cars? What does BMW really stand for? Who is the chancellor of Germany? What do Germans really think of Americans?” After watering the plants, Daniel walked back with us to our rooms and answered some of our questions (“Where is the temperature control? What does this switch do? What does this sign say?”). It’s nice to be able to count on someone who actually speaks the German language.

Kim, Paloma, Ernesto, and I then went to the Kruezsteinbad, the German swim club. It costs only 1,30 Euros to enter at night. The water was too cold for my liking, so we played beach volleyball and sat out in the sun. The Kruezsteinbad closes at 8:00 PM (we were only able to stay for about an hour), but we would like to go back there soon. Ernesto left his t-shirt outside on a clothes line to dry and came back later for it. Kim and I noticed that the Germans and Spaniards here are very trusting, or at least more so than Americans.

About an hour later, we cooked dinner with Ernesto and Paloma in the kitchen on Kim’s floor. We made pasta, vegetable salad, and gazpacho, and had peaches, bananas, apple juice, KitKats, and chocolate bonbons. I think that this was the first time Kim and I ever cooked dinner away from home (at Fordham University, we have a meal plan which enables us to eat at the cafeteria). It was certainly the first time that we made dinner with friends.  It was a very memorable experience and a particularly rewarding one.

We then went to a twenty-first birthday party for Tim, who is from England. There, we also met three girls from England. (Finally, some other native English speakers!) There are apparently four other Americans here, but from Utah, which is no where near where we are from on the northeast coast. Apparently it is a tradition here that if one goes to a party, one must bring something to drink (according to Ernesto), so we brought a bottle of orange juice (all that we had, since all of the stores were closed and we could not go grocery shopping). We had a fun time talking with other international students and hope to meet many more. Most have been here since October 2008 and will leave in August 2009 (we leave in August, as well). All of the European international students here are part of a program called “Erasmus.” They have invited us to their meetings, including an African dinner this Wednesday night.

The birthday celebration continued late into the night, but Kim and I were still tired from our trip and had to be up by 8:00 AM the following morning, so we called it a night at around 11:30 PM. I have been writing this entry ever since (sorry for the rather lengthy post, but I have so much that I would like to share with you). It is now almost 2:30 AM (8:30 PM in the U.S.). I am still trying to adapt to the six-hour difference, but I think it is time that I get some sleep. I will tell you about my experience in the Geochemistry lab next time (my internship starts this week). ¡Buenas noches! Auf wiedersehen! Ciao. –April

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.