Deutschland

Ok, so today was insane......

First, I went to the airport in Reykjavik to catch my flight to Frankfurt. I met up with one of the other Americans, who had met two other Americans on her flight. We all went to a place in the airport where we bought beer that was made from glacial water in Iceland. This is the said beer.

 It was around 6:30 a.m. at this time so I am sure we got some weird looks from people wondering why we were drinking beer so early. I couldn't connect to wifi very easily at the airport, so I was not able to notify my family that I had arrived anywhere. Sorry everyone!!

When we got to Frankfurt, everything was very stressful. I found myself avoiding other people because I am so afraid to actually speak German. The only thing I said was "Entschuldigung" when I accidentally ran into people. We had to walk from our gate to the train station, where we boarded a train to Mannheim. The train was odd. Germans apparently do not like to talk to random strangers. It was very silent. When we got off the train at Mannheim we had to catch another one to go to Neckargemünd. Once we got there, our host families were there to get us. For me it was my host mom, Frauke. She is very sweet. She speaks in English with me even though I try to speak German with her! We have had several moments so far where we have no clue what the other person is talking about.

I am finally getting over my jet lag! I am excited to be finally going to sleep at a normal hour. Tomorrow I will wake up and walk to the courthouse where we will meet with the mayor. Then my host mom has invited me to come with her to a workshop for African songs. I will let you know how that goes!!!

Iceland!!

So I already talked about Iceland a lot in my previous post, but I thought I would share some photos I have taken so far.

This is my first legal beer that my friend Avery bought me. I met Avery on the bus from the airport to the hostel and I think we are companions for the day.

This is the view of the ocean from my hostel. Iceland is really beautiful.

This is the lunch menu from my hostel. This one is written in Icelandic.

Update!

After I checked in today, my friend and I went walking downtown. It was interesting because everything was in Icelandic so in order to know what kind of shop everything was, we had to look inside to see what people were doing. We went to a giant church, which apparently is the tallest building in Iceland. We went up to the very top. It was so windy. It was the strongest wind I have ever felt. After we went to the church we wandered around some more. One place we went was a whiskey bar. We also went to a grocery store. That was cool because I didn't recognize almost all of the products. Everything here is different.

This is the big church I went to today. Inside there is a giant organ and I also went to the top to look out the windows.

View from the top.

The inside of the church.

The colossal organ. This was the coolest part of the church. I wish I could tell you more about it but unfortunately I do not speak Icelandic and couldn't read all the info.

GOODBYE!!!

Guten Morgen!

So today is the big day, I am finally leaving for Europe. I will be constantly updating this post in the next couple days so you can ensure yourself that I am safe (Mom). I feel incredibly nervous and haven't slept that well in the last couple days, but hey that's what plane rides are for. Be back soon!

Update number 1

I have arrived safely in Seattle! Now I have a seven hour layover, which will be super fun. My aunt Rebecca is going to come pick me up from the airport and we are going to meet my uncle Tom for some food. My next flight, which will take seven hours, is on Icelandair going to Reykjavik, Iceland. I will be arriving there at around 10 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. I am very nervous to leave the country! More updates when I get to Iceland.

Update number 2 

I am currently in Reykjavik at my hostel! This morning was a little confusing because the airport ended up being kind of far away from my hostel. I still made it here and have also made arrangements to get back to the airport tomorrow morning. I made some friends at the hostel and we are probably going to go get a drink later, which will be fun! I am excited to finally be able to legally purchase a beer.

A really cool thing happened on te plane. I saw the Northern Lights from my window and they were amaaazzzzinggg.

Iceland is interesting, the people are very nice, the buildings are cute, and the landscape is very interesting. After being here I plan on coming back for another visit because it is just so darn cool.

I am also experiencing what jet lag feels like. I do not like it. It is 4 a.m. in Montana right now and I wish I was asleep but here in Iceland it is 11:16 and I must stay awake!!!

I am already kind of homesick, especially since both my parents were super emotional when I left. I miss everyone so much already!

Week 2 Trip Schedule: BERLIN!!!!

So I gave you guys the details about week one in Neckargemünd. Now it is time for a week two breakdown, which I am totally stoked about, because we are going to the coolest city ever, Berlin!!!

So many things are going on during this week my head may explode, once again, I apologize if I miss anything on the schedule, since I am reading off of a schedule that is written in German.

We left off on Friday the 28th, where we were tearfully saying goodbye to our host families to get on the train to Berlin. Once we get to Berlin, we are checking into our hostel, which is called the Happy Go Lucky Hotel. From what I hear, it is a half a block away from the biggest mall in Berlin, which might be bad because I am a slight shopaholic.

On Saturday the 1st of March, we are going to eat breakfast at the hostel and then we are taking a train to the zoo and then to Brandenburger Tor, which is the original gate to the Berlin Wall. We are visiting various places this day, but Brandenburger Tor is probably the coolest and most important of those things.

Sunday the 2nd we get free! I will probably need it.

Monday the 3rd we eat breakfast, and according to the schedule we are going to historic museums. I think it says we are going to a Jewish museum and also to a new synagogue. The Jewish community in Berlin is very interesting, and I will probably comment more on this later in the blog. After the museums, we are visiting the Bundestags, which is pretty much the capitol building of Germany (SO COOL).

Tuesday the 4th, of course we are eating breakfast, we are visiting Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, and many other places. I will go into detail once this day actually happens in real life.

Wednesday the 5th, we are going to the Jewish Museums (again? I am not sure)

This is all the info I have so far on Berlin! Thanks for reading.

Things are starting to happen! (click on links for exciting photos)

Ok people. It is happening. The semester has started and I am gearing up to go to Europe. I have a lot of exciting information to tell you!

So far, I can tell you my schedule for the two first weeks of the trip. Let's get started with the first week!

So on February 18, I am flying out of Missoula at 7:40 ish a.m. I go to Seattle, where I have a layover until 3. Then I get on a plane to Reykjavik, Iceland. When I get there, it will somehow magically be 6:45 a.m. I am assuming this is where I will have jet lag feelings and also look like this. Once I get to Iceland, I will be going to KEX Hostel to check in there. I made the mistake of accidentally scheduling my flights to have a 24 hour layover in Iceland. Oops. So I will go there and probably explore Reykjavik, maybe I will purchase a hair dryer because my American one won't work in Europe. The next morning I will wake up, if I sleep that is, and get to the airport to catch my flight to Frankfurt (Germany finally!).

This is when many more exciting things will start to happen.

Our group is all meeting at the Frankfurt Airport. At this point I will probably buy a prepaid phone so I can talk to my new cool German friends and/or Americans who are also on the trip. Then we are all going to catch a train to Neckargemünd, which is Missoula's German sister city. In this city we will be staying with host families for a week. These families will pick us up at the train station.

I messaged my host family and told them a little bit about myself and about how nervous I was. They wrote me back! Here is a translated version of what they said:

Dear Shannon,

We are also excited for you to arrive. We are a family with two kids (Son: 16 years old, Daughter is almost 14 years old). Both learn English in school and would like to practice- I think and I hope. My husband works in Heidelberg, in an institute and I am at home and in Geopark Odenwald as a geographer. We do not have animals, but we live directly next to a forest...
Our house is in Neckargemünd, a small city of 13,000 residents. In 15 minutes you can take the bus into Heidelberg.
In 2007 we visited the Western Americas, we liked it very much!
Great, that you laugh a lot, that we also like to do! Max listens to music and Hanna does all day. Hanna goes to the high school in Neckargemünd, which you visit on 2/26/14.
By the way, Alexandra, Emily, and Tylyn live here, in Germany, only 5-10 minutes from us! (She is referring to other Americans on the trip.)

See you soon, I will come to the train station and get you.

Frauke

I was so happy that she responded, and that I could also translate her letter (I was slightly surprised how much I knew.)

Ok back to the schedule, so I go home with Frauke to meet her family. The next morning is Friday the 21st. On this day, we go to the courthouse to meet the mayor and to have a reception welcoming us to town. Then we get a tour of the town!

Next day, Saturday the 22nd, and Sunday the 23rd, we are free to hang out with our new families. I am hoping to God I don't do anything to offend them. Also I hope I can speak with them.

Monday, the 24th, we are going to the University of Heidelberg, which is the oldest university in Germany (It was build in the 1380's, I think). We are getting a tour of campus (which of course is awesome because I am a tour guide at UM!) and watching a film about the city.

(Side note, I am writing this schedule off of the German one that Professor Arens gave us, so I am sorry if I mess something up or can't tell you what I am doing because I have no idea what the schedule says.)

Tuesday, the 25th, we go on a city tour of Heidelberg.

Wednesday, the 26th, we visit the high school in Neckargemünd. Apparently we are visiting the English classes so finally I will be able to understand what the heck is going on. After this we have been invited to Kaffee und Kuchen, which translates to coffee and cake, by the Pohl Family which is one of the host families. YAY!

Thursday, the 26th, we meet at the train station and tearfully say goodbye to our host families to head off on our next adventure.

From looking at the schedule, I can already tell I am going to be exhausted, culture shocked, jet lagged, and everything in between. But it is gonna be totally AWESOME and I cannot wait.

How I found the cheapest flights possible, and how you can too!

Sorry for the terrible video and audio quality. I am going to try to make them better, I promise!!

Thanks for watching!

Who am I? Why should you be interested in this blog? How did I get into the study abroad program?

Ok. So you are probably wondering why you should even be interested in this blog, unless you are my mom who I know will probably read everything I write in here! Down below is a picture of me.

Well to start, my name is Shannon Sullivan. I am a student at the University of Montana studying International Business and Accounting while also minoring in German. Next semester, I will be taking off for Austria and Germany for a semester abroad.

I started learning German my junior year of high school. I had an awesome teacher named Wendy Schoonen. We always called her "Frau". She made learning the language easy and I instantly loved it. When I got to college, I tried to take French, and immediately decided that it was not for me. I switched back to German, and declared a minor in it. I am now in love with the culture of Germany and also the language.

So how did I end up becoming part of an awesome exchange program? It all started by going to an awesome university that promotes study abroad opportunities. Below is a picture of the coolest university ever (in my opinion) the University of Montana.

 I never thought I would study abroad. I always thought I would never have the opportunity to do something so awesome. A year ago, I was sitting in my Elementary German II class when a woman came in to our class to talk to us about the exchange. Immediately I decided that I would make it my goal to go. It has been a dream of mine for a long time to go to Europe.

This year, I had this woman as my professor for Intermediate German I. Her name is Professor Hiltrud Arens. She is originally from Germany (I think) so that makes her like 10 times cooler. She is the head of the study abroad program. I am excited to get to know her more throughout the upcoming semester.

When I applied for the study abroad, I was incredibly nervous. I kept thinking to myself where I was going to get all of the money to be able to go. I got accepted into the program and immediately panicked. I didn't think I was going to have the money to go. I called my parents and told them that I wasn't going anymore.

In the next few days, I realized that if I didn't go I would regret it for the rest of my life. In college, it is the perfect opportunity to go see the world. I didn't want to suddenly be caught up later on in life with a career, a husband, kids, whatever else might happen, and not be able to fulfill my dream!

I finally have all of the expenses taken care of. Thank goodness for my parents, John and Karen Sullivan. They are very supportive and I am so lucky to have them behind me every step of the way. My parents agreed that for my Christmas present, they will pay my rent while I am gone (THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM AND DAD). If they hadn't offered to do that I probably wouldn't be going to Europe!!

So that is my story up until this point. Hopefully whoever is reading this will enjoy coming here in the future and seeing what I am up to over in Germany and Austria!