I Köln Party And So Köln You!

Last night was the GIVE "Mega Party" in Köln. Out of the over one hundred teenagers there, I'd say 97% were Germans who had gone on exchanges to either the US, Australia, or New Zealand within the past two years. It was awesome.

Chilling with my good buddies Lena and Anne-Marie!

Last night I met so many people. I'd say exchange students are typically pretty friendly and outgoing. Well, add in the fact I was one of the token Americans and everyone wanted to reminisce about their times in South Carolina or Saint Paul or wherever, and I felt like some sort of special exhibit everyone was super keen on visiting. 

Rocking the USA apparel.

Hearing all of the American exchange stories was interesting. Some of them were just so stereotypically 'Merica. This one girl who looked exactly like Amanda Seyfried told me about staying in a small town in Texas where she was responsible for raising a pig throughout the year and then showing it at the county fair. I also met a number of people with class rings.

Nolan in the middle was also in the Aachen language camp/support group.

Since it was a homecoming party of sorts, they had a Homecoming Queen and King. It felt kind of funny going to "Homecoming" in Germany. It was actually a lot like South's Homecoming in that they played the same Top 40 playlist, people were casually dressed up, and the dance floor was an inferno. There was just a lot more interacting in German.

The party was at a youth hostel, so I spent the night there. Today, a few new buddies and I rode the U-Bahn together further into the city. We saw the famous Kölner Dom which is conveniently located right next to the train station. The cathedral is massive. I don't know how they built structures like that so long ago. Fun fact: the Kölner Dom is Germany's most visited landmark. 

There was a Spartan dude guarding the Dom this morning.

In the train station I saw my first McClean of the trip. It's pretty much the Taj Majal of bathrooms. You have to pay 50 cents or a Euro or something, but it was spotless. So far, Germany gets an A for their bathrooms. It would be an A+, but unfortunately the water closet on the train was nicely decorated with someone's dinner from last night. 

How can you not love good ol' Mickey C's?