Above left is the dorm I lived at while in Bonn in 1991-92. The dorms in Europe are different. Each student has his or her own room, with a sink, bed, closet and desk -- a very nice set up. There is a shower and toilet that is shared by six to ten students on a floor, and they also share a common kitchen with a refrigerator, stove, sink, table, chairs and cupboards. The university is free for students admitted (no tuition, very different than in the US!), but students pay to live in the dorms, though less than $100 a month. They can also eat very cheaply in the Mensa next door (about $1.50 a meal), though the food isn't as good as at UMF. I was on a "guest floor" which included mostly Germans doing interships or research in Bonn for two months or less. Since people were in for a short period of time they usually stayed in their room and didn't socialize at first. I decided that I needed to speak German more and get to know people, so I threw a pizza party for the floor, making home made pizza, buying a case of beer, and inviting all to come. They did, and soon we had a real sense of community. Whenever someone moved out we had a party for him or her (all floors are co-ed), and when someone moved in, the same. Every evening some of us would sit in the kitchen and talk, often to the wee hours of the morning about life, politics, society, sports, romance, beer, cars, whatever. For me it was great, not only did a make a lot of friends I've kept until this day, but also I had a chance to intensively practice and learn the language. I know some Americans that just hung around Americans there, but I avoided them, I needed to learn German! The photo on the right is near the dorm and shows another part of German city life -- bike paths. You can go by bike almost anywhere, and bikes are everywhere.