My last week in Karlsruhe...

I can’t believe our last week is here. It seems like we just got to Karlsruhe!

On Monday, our train didn’t get into Karlsruhe until 5:30am! I had to be in class at 8:30am. Needless to say, I was very tired! After our usual classes, I went took a much needed nap! That night I went to the computer lab until it closed to work on my international marketing paper. I was determined to finish that paper because I didn’t want to have to worry about it anymore this trip.

After classes on Tuesday, Lauren and I decided to take a trip to a nearby city called Baden-Baden. It is known for its luxurious spas. People all over the world come to Baden-Baden to enjoy a day at the spa. We went to a spa called Caracalla. It had three huge pools with jets, fountains and massaging showers, two saunas with aromatherapy jets, tanning beds, drying lamps, and a massage area. We took full advantage of everything they had to offer! I also had a 30-minute back massage — it felt amazing! Afterward, we went to a local restaurant and had dinner.

We took a field trip to Strasburg, France on Wednesday to tour the European Parliament. It was a very beautiful city. The European Parliament was a very interesting place. When we first arrived, we were given a presentation about the European Parliament, through which we learned about the history of the parliament, the member countries, representation in the parliament, and some of the rules and regulations regarding the parliament. We were able to sit in on a session, but had to use earphones to hear the debates in English. The earphones had over twenty different languages playing. We could also see the interpreter box from where we were sitting. While we were listening, they were discussing their relationship with China.

Thursday was packing day! I didn’t realize how much stuff I had acquired over the past three and a half weeks. We had our last classes that morning, and then Sarah, Dr. Droms and I decided to do some last minute souvenir shopping in Karlsruhe. I found a cute little cuckoo clock magnet for my refrigerator back home. I wanted a real cuckoo clock, but they were so expensive! My mom was born in Frankfurt; she still has the cuckoo clock my grandmother gave her from Germany. For dinner, we had our last Doner Kabab sandwich. We basically lived off those sandwiches while we were there.

That night I packed and packed and packed! It took me almost two hours to pack all of my stuff back up! It was a very strategic process! We were lucky enough to have the faculty at the university take the luggage that we didn’t need in Paris to Frankfurt on Wednesday morning before our flight back to America. It was really nice not to have to worry about carrying all of our luggage around Paris!

* Mallory is participating in a study abroad program in Karlsruhe,Germany, organized by Valdosta State University's Langdale College of Business Administration and International Programs.