Christmas holidays in Bonn and the afterneath

December in Bonn started with a party and this is how it ended,now it is almost the end of January and this phenomenon hasn't changed much. Student communities seem to know how to get together and celebrate even during the most stressful of times, also known as "the two weeks before the exam period starts".On Erasmus the exam period can mean everything or nothing, depending on the conditions of your learning agreement, but you still have to study nonetheless.
Finding myself now surrounded  a pile of books reminding me that procrastination is not really a good idea, I can't help but remember how 2017 started for me.Everything was as it was supposed to be, I was wearing my fine clothes,made my New Year resolutions, although they always seem kind of pointless to me and I was surrounded by friendly faces, most of them I had just met that night.

To my pals and family's surprise, I decided to spend the festive season here in Germany rather than going back home in Greece, which was definitely something I've never done before but I thought I had to try at some point.My conclusion was that Christmas and New years have the meaning they have, because of family.This also kind of makes me sad to thing that there are people who spend that day working, although the Germans seemed to respect the right of the employees to spend this day home,thus the shops closed at noon on Christmas Eve.On the 23rd the Christmas markets also closed, which I find quite bizarre but understandable. Doesn't really matter though, I made my own Glühwein and still ate tons of lebkuchen and reibekuchen, always while watching all my favourite Christmas movies.

                                                                                         
New Years was by far more festive as I ended up looking at the fireworks by the Rhine along with my friend and her lovely friends.Before that we celebrated at my one of the girls' house, that was situated nearby.It was a really fun evening and I enjoyed their company as well as celebrating with them.I even spoke with them in German, which is really important to me.After all it is the people who make the language and the country and what better way to learn, than when in such a cheerful and friendly atmosphere. As we were heading towards the Rhine, there were many people gathered by that magnificent river. As the city lights reflecting on its dark surface I couldn't help but space out for a moment, fascinated by the colorful lights and ended up pretty much ignoring the crowd. Everyone was  impatiently waiting for the first fireworks that would signal the arrival of 2017.Truth be told everyone kind of hated 2016 to begin with.

After the official announcement of 2017 everybody,us included, hugged and wished each other Happy New year or "Frohes neues Jahr". From that moment, the whole landscape looked like it was on fire, a spectacle that I really enjoyed and was constantly trying to film.It was odd for me as I never film anything.There was even a guy playing the Scottish bagpipes in the background, that was a very surreal moment for me,he was even wearing a kilt and everything. I thought it was the effects of the wine for a moment but no, I was indeed listening to the nostalgic sound of the bagpipes, playing what I am pretty sure was the well-known tune 'flower of Scotland', loudly enough for eardrums to vibrate.that was certainly a small reminder of the beginning of my journey, which is what Scotland has always been for me. After watching the fireworks, we headed back home,where I took the opportunity to Skype my family and send my extremely enthusiastic wishes for the New year to friends, relatives, my neighbours, old classmates and colleagues and then we headed of to a pub,where I had my first Kölsch for 2017.

It was early morning when I finally headed back to Bonn, having this feeling of euphoria that I was hoping would last the rest of the year, I think this is mostly what kept me calm when that random bloke puked on my shoes while I was on the train.Not the best way to start 2017 for either of us, buut I guess I couldn't help but laugh it off.

The rest of the month passed rather quickly, soon the other Erasmus students were coming back from their home countries and we started to go out again.It was good to see some of my pals again and listen to their Christmas holiday stories. It's really quite sad that some of them will go back in a month or two. Now it's the last week of January already and the atmosphere is more tense as everyone is focused in their studies, including me of course.Still, this didn't stop me last week from taking a wonderful walk by the Rheinufer in Beuel with my Turkish friend.The landscape there is quite beautiful and when the weather allows it, a great place for a walk to clear your mind, before going back to your studies. Of course, it was rather late and a Sunday, so I decided to meet with some Italian friends afterwards for a beer in the Altstadt. I must admit that I'm very fond of the bars there, they have so much character and the music tends to be good most of the times.I literally can't stand a place where I don't like the music.

February is coming, which also happens to be the month I hate the most, rather annoying considering that it is also my birthday month.Can't say that I'm looking forward to the exams nor the goodbyes that will soon follow, but still there is always something positive to look forward to, when you are studying abroad.

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