An Average Day in My Life

When I was brainstorming this post, I won’t lie, I was trying to figure out my best days here so that I could seem super cool and fun and interesting, but the reality would probably be more helpful than the highlights. I chose to detail Wednesday, October 16th because I feel like it accurately represents my life abroad:

6:30 A.M. - WAKE UP 

I wish my body was built for sleeping in, but no matter how late I stay up the evening before, I always rise at exactly 6:29 A.M., just in time to hear my alarm go off. I typically start my mornings by making my bed and brushing my teeth before doing work for class. I know it seems crazy, but I swear my brain works the best early in the morning. Wednesday morning, I woke up and started working on some classwork that’s due a few days from now, in addition to answering emails and doing things for my home school. Then, around 8 A.M., I made breakfast! I make an omelet with peppers, onions, and spinach with a side of apple slices every morning and it’s actually so delicious. After breakfast, I typically knit or read before getting ready for the day because I enjoy having a relaxed morning. 

9:30 A.M. - Meet my friends! 

Every day before class, my friends and I meet outside of my dorm to walk to the tram stop together. Even though it’s small, I love seeing them early in the morning and catching up on what’s happened in the past 12 hours apart. We walk to Paula-Modersohn-Platz and wait for the tram, normally it takes about 4 minutes for one to arrive. Then we take the train to Holzmarkt, get off, and walk to the IES Abroad building to start our school day! 

10 A.M. - Class

This week, I started my module two course which is Sustainable Food and Agriculture and I love it so much already. On Wednesday, we had a lecture then went out to the Dreisam River and identified wild edible plants (WEPs) and discussed different uses for different plants you can find. I’ve always been interested in figuring out how to know edible plants from nonedible plants, along with the different medicinal effects, so this was an exciting class for me! 

1 P.M. - Home and Lunch! 

I went home on the tram with my friends and listened to my October playlist (Spotify: Rosalie Hinke, hmu) and then made a quick lunch so that I could do homework before my run! I had a leftover quinoa bowl I like to make (don’t worry, I will write the abroad meals post soon, I’m just still collecting recipes, I swear!!) and I also cooked potatoes! No protein because I forgot to buy salami at the store, but that’s just life sometimes. Next, I worked on my plant journal and researched the medicinal uses of yarrow: this plant seems like it could save your life. I also looked up recipes for pumpkin snickerdoodles because my friends and I had a fall-baking-extravaganza thing on Thursday night and I needed to buy ingredients. 

3 P.M. - Group run

This was probably my most favorite part of my day because a group run has been in the works for so long and it finally happened!! Henry, Ben, and I met outside of Vaubar around 3 P.M. to leave for the nearby trail in the Black Forest. It’s about a 1km walk up the side of the mountain to get to the prettiest trail you’ve ever seen. We ran four-ish miles/six km (sorry, I only use kilometers now, I’m European) and had the best time! 

4 P.M. - Shower and Work

I then went home, showered, and started working again. I then filled out my absentee ballot and goofed a little on writing my birthday (I thought it said date, ok??) so I had to reprint that. However, it was wonderful filling out a ballot and I’m anxious to see what happens this election season. I also emailed back and forth with some housing people from school, and answered emails. Even though going abroad is awesome, it’s not always super glamorous: you still have to study and answer emails unfortunately. 

6:30 P.M. - Dinner

In true form, I had even more leftovers for dinner! I’ve been making this potato, brussels sprouts, and sausage mix basically daily since I’ve been here, so I had that and, you guessed it, another quinoa bowl! They’re so delicious, I daydream about them in class. During dinner, I miss eating with other people (aka my family) so I normally watch a show to entertain myself and feel like I’m around other people (that sounds way more sad than it actually is, I promise). Plus it’s nice to have a little me time at the end of the day! 

8 P.M. - Movie night with my friends

My friends came over for a movie after dinner! We have been watching the Twilight series (please don’t judge us, it’s October) and we decided to get together to finish Twilight: New Moon. After a highly intelligent debate over this thought-provoking film and whether or not we were Team Edward or Team Jacob (Team Jacob, obviously), I said goodnight and they headed off for a night on the town. Having movie nights and other get-togethers are almost a necessity while abroad, hanging out with friends is a must. 

10 P.M. - Bedtime 

Following their departure, I got ready for bed (I did have to wait to shower because I have four other flatmates), texted a few of my home friends, and read my book. Overall, it was a great day and I’m so grateful to be studying abroad here!