Farewell Frankfurt
I knew this would happen. I knew that my semester in Frankfurt would come to end. I knew I’d fall in love, and I knew that it would fly by, and yet, I still find it hard to comprehend that it’s already over. Five months, done. Wow. “All good things must come to an end”, they say, but that doesn’t make the separation any easier. I had no real expectations of Frankfurt, but whatever expectations I did have were like many beer bottles spread across the Frankfurt ground - utterly shattered.
The following represents things that make Frankfurt one of my favorite cities in galaxy! Oh, and there’s other things that…you know, I can live without.
Something that I will miss? The People! First and foremost, I’ll miss all the awesome people I’ve met in Frankfurt. Frankfurt being the financial hub of Germany and by extension the European Union, it’s not hard to imagine the vast array of cultures and ethnicities, that one would encounter on a daily basis. I was fortunate enough to have a very large and diverse Erasmus group and was able to meet great people from all around the world. I wish I was able to spend more time with certain people, but it wasn’t meant to be. Even though we all live thousands of kilometers away, I’m confident I’ll see the majority of my Erasmus group again…mainly because as my travels continue, I’ll be sure to give you guys a ring when I need a couch to surf on and I hope you will do the same when you’re in my neck of the woods concrete jungle.
Something that I won’t miss? The Conversion Rate: Even with Greece and the rest of the PIIGS countries putting the future of the Euro in jeopardy, the US Dollar to Euro conversion rate is horrendous.
Something that I will miss? The Beer: One can easily be overwelmed by walking through a beer isle in any local grocery store, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I haven’t tried a German Bier that I didn’t love. Not to mention, the beer is cheaper than water. No really. It’s cheaper than WATER. Awesome. One of the hardest adjustments awaiting for me back in Boston, will be the Light Beer. Yuck.
Oh side note: Sorry Germans, but Sam Adam’s Summer Ale is still my favorite beer.
Something that I won’t miss? Hauptbahnhof: Oh, Frankfurt. I understand every city has its “sketchy” areas, but how can you allow yours to be the central train station?! Chances are, if someone’s had a bad experience in Frankfurt, it’s probably revolved around this area. To put it in perspective: After arriving on the red eye bus trip from Amsterdam, we walked out of the station and within 5 minutes we were approached by a Heroin addict asking for drugs and/or cash. Sketchtastic.
Something that I will miss? Public Transportation: Ok, so I’m lucky enough to come from a city – Boston – that has a great public transportation system. Not many cities can claim to have one of the world’s oldest transport systems and even fewer can claim that their transport system allows them to ditch their car, but anyone who has had the privelige of being late to class, work, dates, or pretty much anything, can attest to how often the transport system fails us.
In juxtaposition, Frankfurt’s transportation system is top notch. 99% on-time status! If the transport system is later than 15 minutes, you’re entitled to a full refund. Bostonians, you heard that right, FULL-REFUND! Furthermore, it runs 24 hours a day! The Trams and Trains stop running around 1am, but there’s night buses that run every half-an-hour until 5am when everything else is running again. Success.
Something that I will miss? The Fachhochschule Frankfurt: Universities in Germany operate on a completely hands-off policy, meaning, class is completely optional. Yeah. Awesome.
Something that I won’t miss? The Fachhochschule Frankfurt: Did I mention, you don’t have to go to class? Bad idea. Remember how horrible it is to cram for about a half semester of class? Yeah, it sucked. Now imagine cramming for an entire semester in a couple of weeks: Not. Fun.
Additionally, the IT systems at FFM is broken. They have one for registering for classes and checking grades, that’s great. But when it comes to storing class data (Powerpoints, Docs, etc), can someone please tell me why there’s three separate systems?! A professor can place class related documents on the Intranet, the Moodle system, or the BSCW – which is strangely enough invite only. Good luck finding something when you’re only there for a semester.
Ich liebe dich Frankfurt aber Ich muss nach Finnland gehen.
Categorized as Reflectives