Week 6

We’re back in Freiburg now, so life is relatively calmer than the last few weeks. It was strange to be back in my apartment, making my own food and talking with my roommates again. It turns out I have a new roommate, part of an IES program through Miami of Ohio’s engineering school. I was excited to meet another American, but it’s been a week since I’ve been home and I still haven’t seen a sign of him…seems strange but I won’t worry about it. I was relieved at least to not be the new kid in my apartment and to have some time to myself to relax.

Coming back to Freiburg meant coming back to classes also, so the relaxation didn’t last too long. My teachers took this opportunity to pile on a new set of homework, which none of us were particularly pleased about.

We still made time to have fun, though. Thursday was the Fourth of July, and we went all out for our celebration. We wanted it to be as American as possible, but that proved to be more difficult than we had expected. Apparently solo cups are considered the symbol of crazy American partying, and aren’t sold in Europe. They’re considered a luxury, and entrepreneuring Americans actually bring them overseas and sell them to fascinated Europeans at high prices. We didn’t think ahead enough to import the precious cups, so we had to settle for regular plastic. We still got the American feeling though- my friend and I made cupcakes and brownies decorated like the flag, and I made a country playlist with all the necessary American hits. The holiday really brought all of the Americans together, and we met a bunch of other students living in Vaubon that we had never seen before. The Germans thought we were crazy- a lot of them  didn’t even know it was a holiday and thought we were just celebrating our country because we felt like it. We set them straight, and eventually even they came to join the festivities. IES put on a barbeque for all of us, which was a deliciously unexpected addition to the night. All of the students from the different programs came out to eat, along with all of the teachers and staff!

Saturday was Sommerfest, an outdoor party at Vaubon. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had watched stages and sound systems being set up all week. I found out promptly at 10 in the morning, when I was woken up by a rock band directly outside my window! The festivities continued all day and all night, with multiple stages with bands, food stands, waterslides, and more. My roommates told me this is the last big Vaubon party before they all have big exams, so I’m really glad I stuck around this weekend!