Moving and getting settled in- First Week

So after I found my way out of the Frankfurt airport, I knew it was going to be a long stressful day having to struggle with the tons of luggage I brought with me. Luckily I came here knowing enough German to help me get by, and trust me it helps to know the spoken language of where you are heading to! Before I arrived VISUM, a student organization at the uni, set me up with a German student to help me out as a buddy. And my exchange buddy wanted me to call him before I arrived so he could help out, but for some reason the other exchange students and I didn't know how to use the pay phones so I didn't reach him. I felt a little uneasy about this because I had to find my way alone from the Hauptbahnhof to the international office with all of my luggage. I knew it was close by from the map but I took a taxi just to be safe.

**Just as a side note** My roommates are both very interesting and intelligent people but were told by their universities that they wouldn't need to know any German to come here. They struggled and soon found out that most people in Mannheim don't speak English. So it may benefit you in many ways to take a few German courses before coming here. I'm sure the students at Mannheim speak English but we are here earlier so that we can take Winter Akademie ( a language immersion course).

Once there, I was greeted warmly by the international office and they helped me with everything! They showed me how the buses worked, where to eat, where to go grocery shopping, the campus plan, what had to be done and information about my new apartment. Without their advice I would have been lost in this city. I'm really grateful for how great the international office is to us exchange students. Mannheim might not be the prettiest German city, but so far the pros outweigh the cons of studying in Mannheim because this international office has taken so much stress off of our shoulders.

After all, I'm glad to bring all that luggage. Just like the weather man predicted it snowed for four days straight with cold winds constantly blowing. SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW SNOW The international office had a To-Do list for all of us to complete so I thought I'd share that with y'all.

1.) Inventory List of your apartment- pretty self-explanatory but you need to call the landlord to exchange keys

2.) Set up a German bank account- they'll need your passport to create a new one and the university takes the rent out of this account

3.) Sign up at the Citizens Office to let them know that you are in Germany :)- again you'll need to bring your passport and Anmeldung paper which the international office helped us fill in :)

4.) Get a Bus Ticket- if studying in Mannheim, the international office sells Entdeckungsticket for 49 Euro. It covers all of Mannheim and Heidelberg for explorers! Note** if caught riding without a ticket they'll fine you about 60 Euros >.<

and us girls had our own To-Do List:

1.) Grocery shopping- which seems cheaper than in the states. woot woot. Another side note-yay to hormone free milk and meats!

2.) Get a prepaid phone- bring an I.D or your passport to buy one, look around for deals because mines cost only 7 Euros whereas the same phone cost my roommate at a different store 15 Euros..

3.) Partake in VISUM's activities! They have set up bar-hopping, ice skating, city tours, Heidelberg dinner and much more for us.

I'll be back on later to write more about my experiences. Until then :) Bis Gleich <3