I woke up at around 9:30 am to the window opening. It made a loud sound, and it was clearly automatic. When I checked the time, I was shocked. I hadn’t realized that I had slept for so long! I was late for breakfast, which is at 9am. Normally in the States, that wouldn’t matter, but in Germany, mealtimes are incredibly important. Grab-and-go breakfasts simply don’t exist. Mealtimes are a time for slow conversation and spending time with others. I have been used to eating quickly, so I definitely need to train myself to slow down.

I quickly went downstairs to have breakfast with Regina and Udo, and they greeted me warmly with a table full of Brötchen (bread), Toast Brot (toasted bread), Schnitzel (cold cuts), Käser (cheese), Marmelade mit rot Johannesbeeren und Coco (Jam with red currents and coconut flakes), and tea. I made my own tea and mixed it with milk and sugar. It was fantastic; I don’t remember tea being that good in the States, and I didn’t even put that much Zucker!

The Marmelade was very good. I need to get a recipe from Regina! From there, we talked about how I would take the bus to school in German. It was tiring to keep up, and I expect that it will continue to be tiring. From there, I accompanied Regina by car to go to a woman’s house for Food sharing. What I know about it is what I guessed from Regina’s rapid German. It seems that Regina pays this lady some amount per month to set aside fresh groceries. From there, each week, Regina picks up some groceries for food. I also learned a lot about Regina. Her chirpy demeanor isn’t just reserved for welcoming me into the home—she is genuinely incredibly extroverted.

During the bike ride to Bonn we embarked on next, we stopped several times for her to have conversations with friends she knew. I exclaimed in German that she has a lot of friends. She laughed and told me that she doesn’t really have that many friends. We biked six miles to get groceries from Lidl, the only open grocery store that day. Since it was Sunday, practically all other stores are closed, except for the 7/24 Spätkauf (which only stores food that is good for parties) and various stores deemed essential, including Lidl.

I asked Regina many questions about the meanings of things and learned many random words for fruits! Himbeeren is raspberries. Johannisbeeren is red currents. Schwarzen Johannisbeeren is black currents. Trauben is grapes. Many little things! From there, we walked around Bonn so Regina and Udo could show me where we would be meeting on Monday. We weren’t meeting at the school; we were meeting at a Five Guys in Bonn very near the school. The Five Guys was in front of a large train station that many people use to go on sight-seeing tours.

We biked home with our groceries, but with a different path. Before this day, I had never heard of a ferry (more specifically, the Rheinefähre—the ferry on the Rhine River) for bikes or cars. But today was a special day—one that happens once per year—that the ferry was free for bikes. We stopped in front of the water and waited for the ferry to reach the shore. About 50 feet before the ferry made it to the shore, the announcer said something in rapid German and the bikers began ringing their bells. It was a small tradition that Regina, Udo and I were able to partake in when we went aboard the ferry and reached the shore on the other side. From there, we pushed our bikes onto the road and began biking home. Our trip was cut nearly in half! It was reduced from six miles to 3.75 miles.

I was very tired and sat down in the kitchen for a bit before helping Regina and Udo pick apples for a cake. Regina and I made a Apfel-Marzipan Kuchen, and I learned so many small baking words! Backpulver is baking soda. Springform is a mold/baking tray. Bakepapier is parchment paper.

Meanwhile, Udo worked on baking his bread—Sauerteigbrot (sourdough bread). He put it in the oven and the smell wafted throughout the kitchen. It was warm outside, and the bread baking made the kitchen warmer, but it was very welcomed. With Kekse (crackers/cookies), Regina made the topping (Belag) for the cake while Udo made noodles. I asked repeatedly, “kann ich helfen?” but they told me repeatedly to sit down and that they didn’t need any help just yet. When the noodles were done, I brought them outside. We take most of our meals outside because the weather is very nice. Whenever I comment on the warmth of the sun, Regina always wryly mentions that it won’t be very warm for long. She doesn’t like the cold at all.

When we were done eating, the cake had cooled properly, and we brought it outside. It was absolutely delicious. After I finished one slice, Regina told me to take another, so I gladly did. I was initially worried that I would be hungry in Germany because of the common idea that Germans eat sparingly, but that hasn’t actually been a problem so far!

Then, we went on a bus ride again to go back to our meeting point for Montag, just to make sure I understood it. I managed to take us there without Regina and Udo helping me, and I was able to bring us back. It was a useful exercise! I appreciate Regina and Udo putting so much effort for me to feel kein Angst about riding the train.

Last modified on 2024-08-05