Well, it has been a long week. It appears as though Sunday is my “posting day,” simply because Sunday is the only day that my day is not completely filled with stuff to do. Here was my week:
Monday: Monday afternoon we had a “Doubles Meeting” where we met everyone’s doubles, played some games, and started to plan some future activities. I’m really excited because we are apparently going to have a Fourth of July party this summer complete with grilling, beer, and fireworks. I love the Fourth of July, and I don’t have to miss it this year :-) We are also planning a trip to München (Munich) which is really cool because many people consider München to be the second capitol of Germany, and there are a lot of neat thing to do there. After the meeting Carina and I went to Anna’s house and watched Momma Mia with a few other girls. I’ve never seen Momma Mia, and it was interesting because we actually watched the “sing-a-long” version—oh girl parties :-)
Tuesday: On Tuesday, we went on a trip with our orientation group (all of the international students plus three German students who are showing us cool stuff in the area—about 40 or so people) to the Bergbau museum in Bochum, a town near Dortmund, which was a museum about the history of coal mining in the area where I am living. It was really very interesting—basement was a reconstruction of a coal mine, and I learned quite a bit. Our tour guide was extremely funny, but he was also very difficult to understand because he had a very loud, booming voice and an interesting dialect (the entire tour was in German). Half the time, I couldn’t understand him, and the other half of the time, I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not (which he usually was). That evening Steven came to my room and asked if I wanted to check out the Kneipe in our dorm. It was nice—quiet and not nearly as crowded as the others, plus they apparently have a special every week, and this week it was €2 strawberry daiquiris. Next week is cocktail night, and I’m not sure what that entails, but I shall be there :-) While we were at the Kneipe, I drank a pint of a beer that I have discovered here. That’s right, I actually found a beer that I like, and it is called Franciskaner Weiβ—a wheat beer. So for all of you that insisted that I will find a beer that is delicious in Germany: You win.
With our funny tour guide at the Bergbau Museum
Cool art at the museum
Wednesday: On Wednesday, I went grocery shopping at the LIDL by my home. It’s about a 15 minute walk, and I took my backpack to put most of the food in (you have to pay for your grocery bags here, so most people bring their own, which I think is a great idea). I was very pleased to learn that food in Germany is apparently quite cheap—I got A LOT of food for only €23. It probably would have been $50 or more in America, so I was pretty excited. One of the things I bought was my first jar of Nutella, and I am now wondering how I lived this long without it :-) That evening, Stephen cooked dinner for the both of us. We have both missed eating vegetables because it appears as though the stereotype that the only vegetables that Germans eat are potatoes are cabbage hold some truth, so we ate pasta with eggplant. It was delicious, and it is just nice to eat dinner with someone else. We usually eat together at least once or twice a week, and I’m really glad that I have a “dinner buddy.”
Thursday: Thursday was another orientation day. We went to a place called Steinwache, which is a former Nazi prison that has been converted into a museum, and it is located right outside of the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). The whole place was incredibly interesting, but our tour guide spoke VERY quickly and slurred his words together (in German, of course), so I actually learned very little. Fortunately, Anika (one of the German students that are leading these trips) translated a little for us and is going to go back with a few of us, so we can learn more. One very interesting story that I did learn is about a journalist who was arrested by the Nazis because he was a social democrat and kept in the prison for awhile before he was sent to a concentration camp (they actually have the page from the registration book with his name on it framed). He spent 8 years in the concentration camp, and survived it, and afterwards, he began the mayor of the town that I live in. I wish I could remember his name…I will ask Anika and post it later. After our tour, Stephen and another American, Diana from South Carolina, came to my apartment, and we all ate dinner together. It was really wonderful, and I’m glad that some of the friends that I am making live remotely close to me so I will be able to see them when I come back.
Friday: Friday was an interesting day in class. Everyone was supposed to bring something that is typical for a German breakfast, and we all ate a potluck breakfast together. While we were eating, each country did a sort presentation about where they live. Some of them were really funny, and some were quite interesting. I already had a list of places that I wanted to go, but now that list is even longer :-) I didn’t really do anything Friday night. There was a huge party, but I didn’t go because I wanted to be awake for Saturday…
Saturday: We went to Köln (Cologne)! It was really cool, but it didn’t start out so well. We were meeting at the Hauptbahnhof at 10:00, and the S-Bahn left the University at 9:49, but I missed it. It was like a scene out of a movie: I went running down the stairs and banged on the door of the train as it pulled away. Sad Face. Unfortunately, trains don’t run as often on the weekends so I had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Fortunately, they weren’t actually planning on leaving the Hauptbahnhof until 10:49, so I still made it before our train to Köln. First, we went to the Dom, which is a huge gothic cathedral that is very well known. It was bigger and more intricate than anything that I had ever seen—every time you would turn around, you would see something else, and there were countless cool things inside. I wish I knew more about Catholicism, so I would have understood more It apparently took hundreds of years to build, which does not surprise me at all because the detail was unbelievable. I have such a hard time imagining how mankind built something like this—especially without the technology that we have now, and I am so jealous because we really don’t have anything in America like the cathedrals and castles in Europe. After looking at the outside and the inside of the Dom, we actually walked to the top of the tower and looked around. The view was fantastic, but the walk was exhausting—509 stairs. After the Dom, we went to the Lindt Chocolate Museum which was also very interesting. There were displays about the history of the cocoa trade, what chocolate does to different parts of your body, what the ingredients are used for different types of chocolate, etc. One room, which was really cool, was basically a chocolate factory. We could watch every step of the process—starting with the cocoa bean and ending with a chocolate fountain :-) Delicious. After the museum, we were free to go home or do whatever we wanted in Köln. Stephen and I stayed with two other Americans (Tori and Wendy—both from Iowa), because we all wanted to try Kölsch. Kölsch is the traditional beer of Köln, and I believe that Köln is the only place that brews it. Most of you will not be surprised to hear that I didn’t like it, but I did drink a little glass because I was in Köln and it is basically required. Afterward, we met up with two Irish students who had stayed behind to watch a really important rugby match in an Irish pub. That was very entertaining. Overall, a really good day—filled with the old, the new, good friends, and lots and lots of sunshine! :-)
The exterior of the Dom
The interior—I just thought this was pretty with the colored light from the window…
The view from the tower
Next to the chocolate fountain in the chocolate museum
Tori and I with our Kölsch
Today: Today was Carina’s sister’s birthday and I was invited to her party. It was really nice, Carmen’s (her sister) home was filled with family and friends and lots of food. I got to work on my German a little because many people didn’t speak much English, which is always nice. I really do love Carina’s family. They just kind of took me in, and they are all so friendly and loving :-)
As you can see, they keep us very busy here. Unfortunately, I think that I am getting sick. I actually missed class on Thursday because of it. My throat has slowly been getting more and more sore until today, when it stopped being sore and was replaced with a stuffy nose, complete with drainage, clogged ears, and icky coughing. Super. Tomorrow I’m going to try and go see a doctor. I mean, I pay €65 a month for German health insurance, so I might as well get my money’s worth out of it. I really don’t want to miss anything because of it, so I’m trying to take care of it early. I’m just worried because I don’t really know how the healthcare system works here. I’m not sure how to find a doctor (or more specifically, a doctor that speaks English), and I don’t know if they work with appointments or walk-ins, etc. I guess I’ll learn tomorrow. Another bummer: I still don’t have internet in my room. This is apparently a common problem with quite a few of the American students. We faxed our forms well over a week ago, and the international office has been working for days to try and fix it. I guess it’s not the worse thing that could happen, but it’s the little things like having to walking 15 minutes for internet that wear you down when you leave home.
As I’m finishing up, I thought I might make a list for you of the things that I miss and don’t miss about the U.S.:
I don’t miss…
*Paying for gas
*Hersheys—the chocolate here is so much better
*WalMart—the LIDL where I shop is maybe the size of a CVS
*Fast food—I cook every night
*How spread out everything is—there is a grocery store, a bakery, three good bars, etc. all within walking distance of my home here
I miss…
*Free water—beer is actually cheaper than water here
*The accessibility of being able to drive—I’m still trying to understand public transportation
*Peanut butter, Poptarts, and Sonic peach tea
*Jack FM—as soon as I get internet, I’m going to stream it in my room
*Being able to understand everyone
****Update: I went to the doctor today (Monday). I have a sinus infection, and the doctor gave me antibiotics and decongestants.
Link to my Facebook album for more photos
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