Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Ein Leben ohne Ende.
Hiking on Saturday was BEAUTIFUL. My friend, Daniel, kind of went at light-speed, so I didn't have a LOT of time to admire the countryside, but now I know a path I can take this weekend if the weather is nice. I want to go take pictures, it's just so beautiful! Even though we were walking quickly, it took about 2 hours and we talked about politics and culture and other interesting things the whole time. Really great! He told me about a party that night, which I considered going to but it ended up being a pretty big dud so I skipped out. Instead, Michael and I went into town for an ice cream; we walked going into town, and then rode the tram back. Then, I got dressed up (in case I decided to go to the party) and went over to Michael's to meet his roommate and their friends. All were super awesome, I really enjoyed talking to them! Then I peered in at the party (it was in the Vaubar, right underneath Michael's apartment) and, as I said, there were about 10 people in there and I couldn't tell if I knew any, so I went home, a little disappointed not to have anything to do. Still, I was getting over my cold so I'm glad I didn't push it too much. Sunday, I really wanted to go into town for lunch, because I stupidly assumed SOMEone would want to do the same, but it was like pulling teeth trying to find someone to go with me. It ended up being Michael again, and we WALKED both ways, so tons of exercise there:-P Then, for dinner, my roommates made some wickedly-awesome lasagna (I helped a LITTLE, I guess,) and we all hung out which was wonderful. I'm always pretty quiet at these events, either because everyone speaks so fast that I can't really input anything, or else because they are talking about something (people, profs) I don't know about. Still, I got to know Corrina a little better, and she is SO cool. She's moving out today, heading to Berlin, and I'm really, really bummed we didn't have more time to hang out. This week, I have TONS of down time. Yesterday, my second class was cancelled so I only had my 2pm, and that allowed me to get to know Judith, who is a GREAT lady and is going to help me buy a local SIM card so that I can actually have a social life in Germany:-P I spent most of the rest of the day working away at the rest of my Swedish. This is going to be a super work-intensive course, but na ja. Das geht. Today, Swedish is the only course I have, so I'm meeting up with Maike (my tandem partner) at 1pm to do some tandem-ing, and then after my course this evening I'm finally meeting up with Maria again, which will be so nice because I adore her. We're grabbing ice cream, and then heading to a film club presentation. Sweet! Tomorrow, the only thing on tap is step aerobics at 5:30, so I hope to be really productive and get a big chunk of homework out of the way. Thursday, I have to get up at 7am ( :( ) so that I can go work with Aaron, but the upside is I will be receiving some payment for my toils. Hoorayyy! I'll work for three hours with him, meaning I'll be done by noon. That gives me the rest of the day to nap, perhaps go on my hiking adventure, and otherwise get more work done AND socialize. Hopefully. Thursday is a holiday here, which is why I can do all of these things. Anyway, then I have no classes Friday, giving me a real three-day weekend! I'm trying to decide if I want to attempt a mini-trip anywhere. We'll have to wait and see. Now that I am getting to know people here, I feel like I would prefer to stay and get to know them better. Anyway, I have to get moving, so that's all for now!
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Alles sehen, dass du Angst hast.
It's been a week, and there is SO much to report! I'm hoping to go hiking soon, though, so I'm not sure how much time I have. Also I'm a little tired, so I'll just give a brief overview.
The International party on Saturday was kind of a bust - I have no idea how the party actually was (although I heard it was cramped,) but the *way* in which I did the party, e.g. running into another guy heading there, because both of us were lost, and then being intercepted by one of his international buddies and wandering around the city forever until I was a million blocks away from home and walked back and it was cold, was not so fun. However, I bucked up and somehow was brave enough to go to the Vaubar party, which was a party for my neighborhood. GREAT answer:) It was so much fun, I met some amazing people, and yeah - just a really great choice! The next day I kind of bummed around the house, terrified of the imminence of school starting the next day. And it started with a cold and rainy day, which is important because of my current condition (we'll get there.) I had my first class at 2pm, a course on 19th century American short stories. The prof is a little sketchy, but it should be my one super-easy course, so I'll take it. The next course was another English seminar on American Romanticism, and was SO much better. Jon Adams is going to be a fun prof to work with, I think (hope)! The next day I spent a lot of time with three of my international buddies, walking around in the raininess and coldishness, which was a bad choice because as the day went along, I could feel myself getting sick. Oh, crap. So Tuesday was my Swedish course, which is going to be super tough but super rewarding, I think. Wednesday, I went to a "Hauptseminar," which is basically like an easy grad course, I would imagine, and even though it was super interesting, I decided to drop it because I want to spend my time in Germany exploring the countryside and meeting people, not with my nose in a book (particularly an English book!) So, my Wednesdays are now going to be free, which means I intend to work on Wednesdays and then do my step aerobics class at night. I skipped step on Wednesday, though, in an attempt to get better. So, when I woke up on Thursday, I felt a lot better. Unfortunately, I then was stuck at school for most of the day. My German poetry lecture was SO difficult to understand, but since that's what I'm looking for, I'm sticking with it. Then I had my other course with Adams, where we will be PUBLISHING A BOOK holy poop!!! I'm so excited about this course:) Then Friday is another free-day, which is totally wonderful. Unfortunately, since I was out at school all day Thursday, I felt crappy again yesterday and spent the WHOLE day in my room. Boo. Thus, since it is a BEAUTIFUL day, I want to get out and hike. I think I will go check on my hiking buddy in just a few minutes to make sure he's still interested in going. I'm sure I just left out a TON of stuff, but I'm rushed and a little tired. Basically, I need to continue to take it semi-easy this weekend so I don't get super sick again for this upcoming week...being sick is awful. I still feel a little yucky today, but SO much better than before. OK, bye for now!
The International party on Saturday was kind of a bust - I have no idea how the party actually was (although I heard it was cramped,) but the *way* in which I did the party, e.g. running into another guy heading there, because both of us were lost, and then being intercepted by one of his international buddies and wandering around the city forever until I was a million blocks away from home and walked back and it was cold, was not so fun. However, I bucked up and somehow was brave enough to go to the Vaubar party, which was a party for my neighborhood. GREAT answer:) It was so much fun, I met some amazing people, and yeah - just a really great choice! The next day I kind of bummed around the house, terrified of the imminence of school starting the next day. And it started with a cold and rainy day, which is important because of my current condition (we'll get there.) I had my first class at 2pm, a course on 19th century American short stories. The prof is a little sketchy, but it should be my one super-easy course, so I'll take it. The next course was another English seminar on American Romanticism, and was SO much better. Jon Adams is going to be a fun prof to work with, I think (hope)! The next day I spent a lot of time with three of my international buddies, walking around in the raininess and coldishness, which was a bad choice because as the day went along, I could feel myself getting sick. Oh, crap. So Tuesday was my Swedish course, which is going to be super tough but super rewarding, I think. Wednesday, I went to a "Hauptseminar," which is basically like an easy grad course, I would imagine, and even though it was super interesting, I decided to drop it because I want to spend my time in Germany exploring the countryside and meeting people, not with my nose in a book (particularly an English book!) So, my Wednesdays are now going to be free, which means I intend to work on Wednesdays and then do my step aerobics class at night. I skipped step on Wednesday, though, in an attempt to get better. So, when I woke up on Thursday, I felt a lot better. Unfortunately, I then was stuck at school for most of the day. My German poetry lecture was SO difficult to understand, but since that's what I'm looking for, I'm sticking with it. Then I had my other course with Adams, where we will be PUBLISHING A BOOK holy poop!!! I'm so excited about this course:) Then Friday is another free-day, which is totally wonderful. Unfortunately, since I was out at school all day Thursday, I felt crappy again yesterday and spent the WHOLE day in my room. Boo. Thus, since it is a BEAUTIFUL day, I want to get out and hike. I think I will go check on my hiking buddy in just a few minutes to make sure he's still interested in going. I'm sure I just left out a TON of stuff, but I'm rushed and a little tired. Basically, I need to continue to take it semi-easy this weekend so I don't get super sick again for this upcoming week...being sick is awful. I still feel a little yucky today, but SO much better than before. OK, bye for now!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
All of the while, all of the while it was you.
Quick recap of the past week:
Most days were filled with International Orientation stuff, which was a nice immersion in the German language. I met some neat people who I hope to run into tonight at our International Student party! I'm now pretty much all registered for courses at Freiburg, and I finally settled on my two german courses: one is meant for international students, and deals with Europe and Germany's relationship with the U.S. The other (get ready for it) is a beginner's Swedish course. I *just* discovered the course this morning, and dropped one of my english courses to take it. I'm SO excited, and nervous. It's an online course which I love, because there are 2 hours that are structured each week, and the other two hours are for self-paced learning. I did e-mail the professor to make sure that it was OK that I literally know ZERO Swedish, so we'll see what she says. Fingers crossed. I've already learned some Swedish in the language lab, though - Jag heter Caitlin, vad heter du? Sweeeet:) Anyway, one way or another, I'm learning Swedish. And then Norwegian, because the two are so closely linked. And THEN, when I get back home, French. Hellz yeah I'll be multilingual! And then probably Spanish because I need to get over this "everyone takes Spanish" snobbery and learn a very important language for my country. Anywho. The best day of this week, hands-down, was yesterday. Let us recap:
Friday, 18 April 08 -
I spent a lazy morning on the computer, and then got showered, for my lunch date with my tandem partner, Maike. We met up at the student cafeteria, the "Mensa," and spent an hour or so munching on salad and talking about life auf Deutsch. Then I told her that I wanted to go learn Swedish at the Sprachlabor, so she walked with me. When we got there, it was still closed and would be for an hour, so we went together to a big shop in town, Mueller, and bought school supplies. Then we went back to the Sprachlabor and said our goodbyes. Then I called dad, and spoke only in German. It was just coming so naturally, so I let it. Then, it was into the Sprachlabor to learn some Swedish. During my time in the lab, I got a call from a woman who I wanted to work for, but I missed it because my phone was on vibrate! This caused some panicking later, but we'll get to that. After almost 2 hours in the Sprachlabor, and a minute understanding of the Swedish language, I headed out. All of a sudden, I was totally drawn to the Bim-Bam music instrument store. I just couldn't help it, something was calling to me. I went in, and told the man (still in German!) that I wanted a guitar, and would also need a hard-case to transport it back to the U.S. He asked me my price range, and I said between 100 and 200 Euros. The first one he showed me was really nice, but I thought, there's no way this can be love at first sight, so after I strummed for a second, I put it back and looked around. There was another that was 30 Euro more, and I thought it was really nice and like the sound. But I just kept looking back at the first one, picked it up again, looked around the store, and realized this was it. It was my choice, and the guy had found my soulmate for me. Let me describe this guitar for everyone: it is a beautiful mahogony/blood-red color, with a deeper shading on the outside edges. Its surface is smooth and thick, and it's a Western-style acoustic, meaning it has a pick guard (that black squiggly-looking thing on some acoustics, for those unfamiliar with guitar terminology.) It is effing GORGEOUS and sounds so nice. I've already probably spent 2 or more hours strumming away, playing Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open The Door," Sondre Lerche's "John Let Me Go," and Teitur's "Louis Louis." SO much fun. My fingers on my left hand ache, but I know I'm just rebuilding my callouses so I'll get used to it with practice. I'm just so happy with my purchase, and the men were kind enough to lend me a soft-case until they get some hard-cases in. Now I'm supposed to come in every week until they get some cases in:) So I carefully took my guitar back to my room, and then strummed away happily. However, then I was really nervous about my missed call from my potential boss, because it was three hours later and she hadn't left a message or called again. Her number was one of those unlisted ones, so I felt totally screwed. HOWEVER, *right* as I was about to go retrieve a Capo from Maike, I got a call. I got the job!! I'll be spending 3-4 hours a week with a 5-year-old boy, Aaron, teaching him English words. 8 Euro an hour, thank you very much. AND, because it's only one day a week, I can even look for another job!! Mo' money, mo' fun. I need money, too. Life here is expensive, and I really am being SO good but it's just the darned exchange rate. So I'm hoping this job will help me go to both Great Britain AND Sweden/Norway/Scotland in August. Speaking of which, that's one thing that hasn't fallen into place: I still haven't heard back from the cousins in London, so I'm a little worried about things getting more expensive the longer I wait. I may just start looking into youth hostels in London, or maybe just stay with Jason the whole time and we can do some kind of excursion up into London. I'll talk to dad tomorrow and ask him what he would suggest. Then, after my wonderful guitar purchase, my learning of Swedish and my job-acquiring, I made myself some delicious dinner (stir fry!) and joined some friends at a bar. It was a really great day:) And today = super lazy, with two parties tonight to meet more people and practice my German, and then tomorrow I will clean my room and the kitchen, and make sure I'm all ready for my first day of school on Monday! I'm also taking a step aerobics class on Wednesday, which I'm SUPER psyched about, because I've missed working out. Today is a pretty nice day, so I'm considering going for a run. I'm just nervous I'll get lost:-P We'll see, we'll see. Anyway, that's all I feel like writing about for now, but Skype me or e-mail me if you want more details!!
Most days were filled with International Orientation stuff, which was a nice immersion in the German language. I met some neat people who I hope to run into tonight at our International Student party! I'm now pretty much all registered for courses at Freiburg, and I finally settled on my two german courses: one is meant for international students, and deals with Europe and Germany's relationship with the U.S. The other (get ready for it) is a beginner's Swedish course. I *just* discovered the course this morning, and dropped one of my english courses to take it. I'm SO excited, and nervous. It's an online course which I love, because there are 2 hours that are structured each week, and the other two hours are for self-paced learning. I did e-mail the professor to make sure that it was OK that I literally know ZERO Swedish, so we'll see what she says. Fingers crossed. I've already learned some Swedish in the language lab, though - Jag heter Caitlin, vad heter du? Sweeeet:) Anyway, one way or another, I'm learning Swedish. And then Norwegian, because the two are so closely linked. And THEN, when I get back home, French. Hellz yeah I'll be multilingual! And then probably Spanish because I need to get over this "everyone takes Spanish" snobbery and learn a very important language for my country. Anywho. The best day of this week, hands-down, was yesterday. Let us recap:
Friday, 18 April 08 -
I spent a lazy morning on the computer, and then got showered, for my lunch date with my tandem partner, Maike. We met up at the student cafeteria, the "Mensa," and spent an hour or so munching on salad and talking about life auf Deutsch. Then I told her that I wanted to go learn Swedish at the Sprachlabor, so she walked with me. When we got there, it was still closed and would be for an hour, so we went together to a big shop in town, Mueller, and bought school supplies. Then we went back to the Sprachlabor and said our goodbyes. Then I called dad, and spoke only in German. It was just coming so naturally, so I let it. Then, it was into the Sprachlabor to learn some Swedish. During my time in the lab, I got a call from a woman who I wanted to work for, but I missed it because my phone was on vibrate! This caused some panicking later, but we'll get to that. After almost 2 hours in the Sprachlabor, and a minute understanding of the Swedish language, I headed out. All of a sudden, I was totally drawn to the Bim-Bam music instrument store. I just couldn't help it, something was calling to me. I went in, and told the man (still in German!) that I wanted a guitar, and would also need a hard-case to transport it back to the U.S. He asked me my price range, and I said between 100 and 200 Euros. The first one he showed me was really nice, but I thought, there's no way this can be love at first sight, so after I strummed for a second, I put it back and looked around. There was another that was 30 Euro more, and I thought it was really nice and like the sound. But I just kept looking back at the first one, picked it up again, looked around the store, and realized this was it. It was my choice, and the guy had found my soulmate for me. Let me describe this guitar for everyone: it is a beautiful mahogony/blood-red color, with a deeper shading on the outside edges. Its surface is smooth and thick, and it's a Western-style acoustic, meaning it has a pick guard (that black squiggly-looking thing on some acoustics, for those unfamiliar with guitar terminology.) It is effing GORGEOUS and sounds so nice. I've already probably spent 2 or more hours strumming away, playing Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open The Door," Sondre Lerche's "John Let Me Go," and Teitur's "Louis Louis." SO much fun. My fingers on my left hand ache, but I know I'm just rebuilding my callouses so I'll get used to it with practice. I'm just so happy with my purchase, and the men were kind enough to lend me a soft-case until they get some hard-cases in. Now I'm supposed to come in every week until they get some cases in:) So I carefully took my guitar back to my room, and then strummed away happily. However, then I was really nervous about my missed call from my potential boss, because it was three hours later and she hadn't left a message or called again. Her number was one of those unlisted ones, so I felt totally screwed. HOWEVER, *right* as I was about to go retrieve a Capo from Maike, I got a call. I got the job!! I'll be spending 3-4 hours a week with a 5-year-old boy, Aaron, teaching him English words. 8 Euro an hour, thank you very much. AND, because it's only one day a week, I can even look for another job!! Mo' money, mo' fun. I need money, too. Life here is expensive, and I really am being SO good but it's just the darned exchange rate. So I'm hoping this job will help me go to both Great Britain AND Sweden/Norway/Scotland in August. Speaking of which, that's one thing that hasn't fallen into place: I still haven't heard back from the cousins in London, so I'm a little worried about things getting more expensive the longer I wait. I may just start looking into youth hostels in London, or maybe just stay with Jason the whole time and we can do some kind of excursion up into London. I'll talk to dad tomorrow and ask him what he would suggest. Then, after my wonderful guitar purchase, my learning of Swedish and my job-acquiring, I made myself some delicious dinner (stir fry!) and joined some friends at a bar. It was a really great day:) And today = super lazy, with two parties tonight to meet more people and practice my German, and then tomorrow I will clean my room and the kitchen, and make sure I'm all ready for my first day of school on Monday! I'm also taking a step aerobics class on Wednesday, which I'm SUPER psyched about, because I've missed working out. Today is a pretty nice day, so I'm considering going for a run. I'm just nervous I'll get lost:-P We'll see, we'll see. Anyway, that's all I feel like writing about for now, but Skype me or e-mail me if you want more details!!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Trust me, I trust you.
Koeln. Where to begin, where to begin. I suppose, at the beginning.
Thursday -
I wake up at 6:45, shower, and double-check my packing to make sure I have everything. I leave incredibly early, just to be extra sure that I don't miss the train/know where I'm going, and all of that jazz. I find my Gleis (track) easily and sit in the cold rainy-ness for about an hour, but it's peaceful so I don't mind too much. I also grab a Butterbretzel (buttered pretzel) and Mineralwasser for my breakfast - not as healthy as I had hoped, and way too expensive, being at the train station and all, but it worked. Finally my train comes, and because I reserved a seat in a glass cab in the train, I feel super European. Traveling in my own compartment to Koeln, all by myself! I scoot towards the window, and a man sits across from me and a young woman on my left. Then a boy about my age joins and sits next to the man. Mostly, I ignore them and stare out the window. I wrote a poem (a really, really good one, I think) and did some other writings, read "The Alchemist" (not quite finished yet, but it's brilliant,) and gazed out the window. On the third or fourth connecting stop, a heavyset woman came in with her fat, ugly dog that smelled, and I was sad to be in a separate compartment. Luckily, my connecting stop in Mannheim was close, so I wasn't stuck in there for long. The woman was also very loud and kept asking everyone questions, but I pretended to be so interested in my book that I was able to keep out of the conversation. Then I got off in Mannheim, and the Gleis for my next train was the same. I stood for only ten or so minutes, and then the train that would take me to Koeln came! This time, I didn't have a compartment, and I certainly did not care. I had two hours of travel left, and I found that the regular second-class seats were quite spacious. I had my part all to myself, and across the aisle to my left was a large window. As we took off towards my stop, we drove along the Rhine. This, I have decided, is one of my favorite places in the entire world. Little towns sitting in the valleys of giant mountains, with Rhine river hugging the outskirts - it was so cozy, I just wanted to hop out right there and live there forever. The water was so beautiful, and everything was green, and atop one of the hills, someone had spelled out in some crop or other for train passengers, "LEBE VEGAN!" which means live vegan. It was heaven. I wrote this in my journal that I had with me on the train, and I think it is appropriate to include here: "No book, no picture, no second-hand description can take the place of seeing this magical countryside." I think every single person in the whole world should travel, because these things will imprint themselves on your mind, and they will change you. When we arrived in Koeln, I was excited and nervous. I wandered out of the train station into the city, where it was a cool but sunny day. Immediately, directly to my right, stood the Dom, Koeln's breathtaking cathedral (of course I have a million pictures, which I will post later.) It seemed to reach up forever, and the architecture was so incredibly intricate - great! I went to where all of the taxis stood, and grabbed the first available one I could. He zipped (and REALLY zipped) over to my hostel, where I checked in and headed to my 8-person room. There were only two people actually in the room when I entered; Matt, the Canadian, and Thomas, the Frenchman. I chose a bed directly to the left of the door, and since they were bunked, I went for the bottom, because I always hate climbing bunk beds and feeling like I'm inconveniencing people. I stored my luggage, made sure everything was safe, talked briefly with Matt, and headed out. I decided that this first day, I didn't mind exploring on my own. I headed to one of the main streets near the hostel, and decided food was the most important thing I could take care of - it was 2pm, and I was SO hungry!! I found a nice Italian place that was pretty cheap, and went in. I seated myself, and the waitress brought me stuff. I had purchased a map of Koeln at the hostel, so since I was eating alone, I pondered that for a while. But some times, I didn't do anything; just sat, watched, and was. It was a strange, and slightly uncomfortable, experience, but it really was not that bad and the waitress was extra nice. The food was pretty good; I have had better, but I was hungry so it worked. However, about 5 or 6 bites in, I found a hair. I was grossed out, lost my appetite, and was actually pretty full before then anyway, so I decided that was enough. The waitress asked (in German) if anything had been wrong, and she was so nice and I really didn't want more food so I just said, it tasted great, I'm just really full! I paid and headed out, towards the Stadtgarten. I wanted to figure out where Peter Moren was playing on Saturday, particularly where it was situated in terms of the hostel. It was easily within walking distance, and I was pleased. I wandered around the park for a moment, and a little german boy wandered up to me (he was maybe 2) and handed me some peanut-shaped cracker. I thanked him, and he gave me another, and I thanked him again and laughed. I headed towards his mom and gave them back and said he was very, very cute. We said goodbye, and I headed on. Then I decided that it was still early, so I wandered towards the Dom. It was pretty far (I'm horrible at distance-judging, but maybe half a mile?) I enjoyed the peace, though. When I got there, I decided to inquire about an ad I saw for this goofy-looking choo choo train that went to the chocolate museum. I knew that the museum closed at 6pm, and it was only 4 so I thought I had time. I went into the tourist station, and asked, and the woman pointed out the train stop for me. I thanked her, and went and waited. As I waited, I looked up again at the Dom, because the stop was right next to it. I took some pictures, and then noticed some of those cool people-statues (where people stand in various clothings and pretend to be statues, and then move to freak people out.) It was really, really cool!! There was an Egyptian mummy one, another that actually looked like she was bronze, and two that looked like Renaissance-era people. Tres cool. Finally, at 4:45, the train showed up, and I was the ONLY person who got on. The guide still did his spiel, but it was definitely a little awkward. I kept thinking of dad, though, and how he would say, "How cool! You have it all to yourself!!" So that's how I looked at it, and it was fun. When we arrived at the museum, it was 5:02, and I thought, wonderful! An hour to explore. However. . .they stop the tours at 5. I had JUST missed the last one. Disappointed, I thought, eh, I'll come back or not, whatever. I went into the shop and bought some truffles, and then headed back out to catch the train back. At this point, I was pretty tired, so I walked the half-mile back to the main street, and then walked toward a REWE (grocery store) I had seen. I went in and bought a half-baguette, a cola and some Alpenbutter, and headed toward the hostel. I went downstairs to eat my feast, and it was quite good. Then, I went back to my room to relax and get to bed early, so I could have a full day the next day. More people were in the room, which was wonderful. Tegan, from Australia, was super nice, and we started talking with Matt and got to know each other. A blonde guy was sitting under Thomas, but I didn't catch his name at the time. There were two American guys who were studying in France, and just doing some traveling, but there weren't enough beds, so they went to the front and the hostel worker realized they had put the blonde guy in the wrong room. He left, and then the American guys left with Thomas and Rafael (another guy from France) to go out. I climbed into bed, and fell asleep.
Friday -
The next morning, I woke up when Lily (from Portugal) got up, since she was in the bunk above me. It was earlier than I had wanted to get up, but I figured it would be nice to get a shower before the rest of the people in my room were awake. I went to breakfast with her, Tegan and Matt, and it was really nice. The blonde guy from the day before came over to see if Tegan wanted to go out with him that day, and she said sure. As we were talking, I asked Tegan if she could come with me and Lily (and of course the blonde fellow was invited,) and she said sure, depending on how he felt about that. He was cool with it, and it was decided. I learned from Tegan that his name was Mitchell and that he was also from Australia, so I thought that was cool. The four of us set out to do the Dom, and we walked the half-mile there, jabbering on. Mitchell and I talked about music (hooray!) and I invited Tegan to spend some time with me in Freiburg, if she ever got the chance. When we got to the Dom, we paid for our ticket and began the IMMENSE ascension (Mitchell joked that the steps actually went to heaven.) After what seemed to be endless winding upward, we made it to the very top. It was absolutely gorgeous, and totally worth all of the work. We slowly worked our way around, taking tons of pictures of the city, the Rhine, a dead bird (I did not partake in that one) and everything else we thought was worth remembering. The architecture in Koeln is really interesting, because some of it is really classic, and a lot of it is super-modern. Then after we had rested, we headed down - it was considerably quicker. We headed next (after a quick bite to eat) to the Ludwig museum, where there was a lot of pop art being showcased. Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein, all those guys and more. We spent a LOT of time there, because that place is huge! It was really great, though, and I love pop art so for the most part, I was really entertained. I think, collectively, our favorite exhibit was a trailer for a movie with people like Courtney Love, Gerard Butler, and Forgot-her-first-name Jahovavich. "Caligula." SO tacky!! It was to be the punchline to many of our later jokes that day. Then we headed over on the boardwalk to the chocolate museum, which was OK but quite a let-down from what we had expected. We only got to taste a small square of chocolate, and one crisp-stick that was pre-dipped in the chocolate fountain. Boo. My favorite parts of the museum were the random greenhouse with cacao, coffee, pineapple and other plants and trees, and the assembly line. After this, we were all extremely tired and hungry, so we went to an Italian place and had DELICIOUS food. Afterward, on the way back to the hostel, Mitchell decided he wanted to see a movie, "Die Welle," that night, and because Uli had already recommended it to me, I though it sounded like a great idea (since, before I met people, I thought I might see a movie that night anyway.) We dropped off the others back at the hostel, and then met back up again for the movie. Mitchell is GREAT. It's not that we have everything in common (like, for instance, I do with Katherine,) and of course we aren't even from the same parts of the world, but something just clicked and I felt really close to him immediately. He's nice and funny and interesting, and those kinds of people are the best. Anyway, we saw the movie, which was brilliant and intense, and then went back to the hostel and talked politics until 3am. Awesome.
Saturday -
The next day, I wanted to sleep in as late as possible. I made it to noon, and then leisurely got up and showered. That was also the first time I really talked to Thomas, which was nice because he is also very cool. I decided I was starving, so I went out to grab something to bring back to the hostel. I went to the same bakery I had gone to before, in the REWE store, and I was only second in line. Good, I thought. Then, two different middle-aged women cut around to the left side of me. I thought they were probably trying to cut the line, but I thought, that's OK! The helper lady saw me standing here, she'll know. Too bad I misjudged her kindness - she kind of scowled at me, and then turned the the first lady with a smile and asked her what she wanted. I was pretty upset, particularly when she saw the second lady first. But I was hungry and this was cheap, so I waited. Finally she waited on me, without a word - just looked at me. I told her what I wanted, and was as chipper as possible, and then she set the things on the counter, said "Danke schoen," and turned away. *I* unassumingly thought I would have to pay at the REWE counter again, but then as I was walking away, I heard a loud, "HALLO! HALLO!!" I turn back, and the lady is looking at me like she just saw me eat a child or something. I said (in German,) oh I'm sorry, I thought I was supposed to pay over there. She said, of course not!! I make these things, you naturally pay me, my God. I was so, so angry. But whatever, I paid her and then left. RAWR. I was frustrated at her (and the other older ladies') rudeness, but I am currently trying to convince myself that this is not a typical thing, just these women. Anyway. I went back to the hostel, ate, and then went up to my room to read and rest until it was time to meet Mitchell for dinner. (I forgot to mention, Tegan had moved out that morning with a lot of other people, so I didn't get to hang out with her that day.) I vaguely remember taking a nap, and watching a horrible german soap opera, and then it was dinner time! I met up with Mitchell and since it was still only 5, we decided to walk around for a while. We wandered toward the Stadtgarten, under a bridge, to another section of the Stadtgarten, and back around again. All of a sudden, music started playing and people with face paint, masks, and other colorful clothing starting wandering down a main Koeln street and took it over!!! They were blocking the auto traffic, because they were protesting it (one of the signs said something like, "reclaim the streets"). It was AWESOME! At first, I just stood to the side, watching (Mitchell jumped right in and wandered down the street) because I thought, what if the police arrest me and I'm sent home or something?? But then Mitchell basically said that I had to take a chance and go for it, so he pulled me out into the street and it was AWESOME. There were fire-breathers, baton twirlers, clowns on bikes, and all kinds of other crazy things. It was so nice also to see so many young people (the average age was definitely 21 or around there) standing up for something. Stupendous. Then it was getting late, so we went to another Italian place and talked a ton more about everything, really. Then it was time for me to go to my concert, so we said our goodbyes, not knowing if we'd see each other again. I headed up the street to the Stadtgarten, and when I arrived, I was the only person there yet for the concert. I was only 30 minutes before the doors, so I really didn't know what to expect. I sat by myself for those 30 minutes, waiting to get in and hear some great music. When the doors did open, I was the first inside, and only two guys followed in after me. It was nuts, and I was sad because I wanted Peter to have a big audience (and also didn't want to look creepy, standing pretty close to the stage, directly in the center.) Luckily, after an hour had passed (and we were all still waiting,) the room was a little fuller. I doubt more than 40 people ended up being there, though. Meh, nobody knows what they are missing. So at around 9:30 the opener, Tobias Froberg (also from Sweden) went on and he was adorably hilarious and extra talented. I love his voice and lyrics. A lot of his songs really hit home in different ways, and it was just great. Then, for the last two songs, Peter came out to join!! My knees got a little weak, not gonna lie. Anyway, they were just fantastic (p.s. in case I haven't mentioned before, this is Peter Moren from Peter Bjorn and John.) Then, after Tobias was done, there was only a ten-or-so minute intermission, and Peter and Tobias both came back out (Tobias was Peter's backup band.) I don't remember EVERYthing that happened during the concert, but I will jot down highlights - Peter said he studied German in school, but all he could really say was "Ich bin ein Dummkopf, und ich habe Angst, and that about sums it up!" So funny. One (out of the four or so) encores they played included Buddy Holly covers, and to introduce them, Peter said, "I don't know a lot about Texas. Even though I keep going back to South by Southwest, I just don't know anything about it, except Buddy Holly and Stevie Ray Vaughan!!" Anyway, even though I know he was just doing his spiel, in my heart it was a mini-shout-out to me. You are allowed to laugh at me for this. Also, Peter played ALL of my favorite songs. He opened with "This Is What I Came For," my absolute favorite off of the new solo album. It's six verses and just perfect. "My Match" became a new favorite because of how beautiful it sounded live. "Paris 2004" off of PBJ's latest album is always great, and then - the best thing ever - there was "Objects of My Affection." It is, without a doubt, my favorite Peter Moren-written song ever, and perhaps even my favorite song of all time. Certainly in college. Anyway, it was brilliant. And they played all kinds of stuff, like an Elvis cover, and A-Ha's "Take On Me," and just everything. It was beautiful and moving and I was so happy I went. Afterwards, I immediately rushed out to buy both Tobias' album and a hard-copy of Peter's, as well as a lyric booklet. The booklet was hand-made, with handwritten lyrics photocopied onto special pictures of Peter, and they are all signed, dated and numbered, because there are only 200. I have number 7, thank you very much. Then, as I was paying for my things, Peter and Tobias showed up!! I turned to him, and said, "Hey there!" and he said, "Hey!!" I said, "I promise I'm not just following you, I'm actually studying in Freiburg right now." He said, "Oh that's great!! Wait, where are you studying?" "Freiburg, down south." "Oh, yeah! Great!" "Your show, as always, was just brilliant, just great." "Thank you!" *interruption as I pay for my stuff* "Do you mind signing my CD for me?" "Oh, of course!" "Actually, maybe just the booklet." (I realized the CD was all wrapped up.) "Yeah, sure! Ok, now forgive me, but I forgot your name." "Oh, psh, I mean, of course, don't - yeah, no." (This was supposed to be, "Don't worry about it, I certainly don't expect you to just remember *my* name.") "It's Caitlin, C-A-I-T-L-I-N." "Alright!" "Well thank you so much, and good luck with everything!" "Yeah, thanks!" "See you around, hopefully!" "See you!" And that's how it went. For the curious, he signed my booklet, "TO CAITLIN! A PROPER FAN!" Hooray:) So yes he remembers *me* and I don't care if he forgets my name, me is enough. Anyway, it was only just before midnight, so after I bought a water and sipped on that for a while, I headed back home. When I got back, I turned on the TV for while I got ready for bed, but then all of a sudden four new people come in to the hostel. They are all girls, and all speaking English. Two of them climb into bed, and one is sobbing, and the other is trying to comfort the sobbing girl. I, mostly, am uncomfortable. I sit on my bed, just about to go in to the bathroom and get ready to sleep, but the sobbing girl goes in there. Then the girl who was trying to comfort her starts talking to me, and explains that they are all from California, they were traveling today and got wasted and the sobbing girl lost her Eurorail pass because they were all wasted. Classy, I think. But the semi-sober one seems nice enough, so whatever. My pal Thomas came in and invited me to the hostel's bar, and I thought, yeah, I'll get out of here for a minute so that when I come back, they'll all just be asleep. So I say bye to the sober girl, who says, yeah, we'll all be asleep when you get back so no worries. Good, I think. I set my PJ's on my bed, my clothes for Sunday are nicely folded on my suitcase, my valuables are locked in a locker, and the rest of my stuff is safely zipped in my suitcase. I head to the bar, and happily, Rafael, Mitchell, and a new guy are there with Thomas. We talked for two hours, and it was wonderful. The new guy's name was Matt, and he was very nice. He is originally from the U.S. but now resides in Canada. Anyway, I was given a free shot of Jagermeister in honor of Thomas' birthday, which at that point was the day before. It was pretty gross, but it was an experiment. It wasn't as strong as the sip of Hungarian stuff I had when I went to Seita's friends the week before. Anyway, they all decide they want to go clubbing, and I think ugh it's 2am! No way! But Mitchell pulls his "live a little" motto, and I decide, what the hey, I'll go and then get a few hour's sleep before I have to catch my train. We went to a place called "Subway," and it was a lot of fun. We danced like crazy and just had a blast. I left before the others, when it was 4am, because I knew I wanted to get at least a little sleep. So, I headed back and went into my room. Here begins my unbelievable tale. One of the Californians is passed out in MY bed. Oh great, I think. I try to shake her awake, but she is totally passed out and only turns over on her other side. Perfect, I think. My PJs are in the bed, and I at least need them before I leave the next morning! Whatever, I think, I'll deal with it after a little bit of sleep. I make up the upper bunk bed, because it's free, and then I start to pick my things up off of the floor (my clothes for tomorrow, specifically.) Oh. My. God. THEY ARE WET. My mind races. Please, God, let this be water or something. No. It's. Her. PISS. I was FURIOUS. This drunk Californian BITCH peed on my stuff!!!! I was so, so mad. Her friend kind of moved, and I said, "Do you know that girl?" The girl, still messed up, goes, "I dunno, I can't really see." I said, "Well, she is in MY bed, and peed on MY things!!" The girl, now more awake, says, "Oh, her name is Alison." I don't care, of course. I rush out, furious, to the main desk so I can get a hostel worker to help me. I explain what has happened, and he has this look of disbelief on his face. He says, "I'm so sorry, they were really messed up when they arrived but this is crazy." He comes into my room with me, and HE tries to wake her with no luck. At this point, the other girls wake up. The semi-sober one goes, "What's going on?" I angrily say, "Your friend is in MY bed and pissed on MY things." She goes, "Oh, shit!!" and comes over to get the girl out of the bed. My PJs, of course, are soaked. Ugh. The hostel worker says I can wash my clothes for free, and gives me some towels to wipe down my suitcase. I go put my stuff in the washing machine, and then call Scott and cry. Then I decide I want to go upstairs and wait for my friends to get back from the club. They do, and I tell them what happened, and nobody can believe it. They wait up with me for a while (Mitchell stays with me the longest, until 6am) and then we say our final goodbyes and I decide to just wait up until my train comes. It was a nightmare. But, after I got my things out of that room and checked out, I started to reflect on the whole trip and realized I still wished it could be longer, because it was SO amazing. As I walked away from my taxi, past the Dom, it began to rain a little, and I felt somehow refreshed. I mean, at least the very worst things that could possibly happen to me (a ticket and the pee-incident) have happened. I can't think of anything that could be much worse! The train home was nice, uneventful, and I managed to get two small 30-minute naps in. The countryside was still gorgeous. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been showered and awake, but it was still so beautiful. When I got home Sunday, I immediately showered and then slept for a while. Then, when I got up, I went out to dinner with my pal Seita and told her the story, and we both laughed about it. Then, before I headed home, I grabbed some Eis and listened to some street musicians play some gypsy-esque music. Perfect.
So, ultimately, my trip to Koeln was one of the best times I've ever had, and I wouldn't change a thing. I really hope I can stay in contact with my new friends. Now I'm doing Orientation week, which is so far quite boring, but hopefully I will meet even more amazing people:) I want to write more, but I have to get to REWE and get some cleaning supplies and food, and then go to Uli's for dinner! Also, bis spaeter, ciao:)
Thursday -
I wake up at 6:45, shower, and double-check my packing to make sure I have everything. I leave incredibly early, just to be extra sure that I don't miss the train/know where I'm going, and all of that jazz. I find my Gleis (track) easily and sit in the cold rainy-ness for about an hour, but it's peaceful so I don't mind too much. I also grab a Butterbretzel (buttered pretzel) and Mineralwasser for my breakfast - not as healthy as I had hoped, and way too expensive, being at the train station and all, but it worked. Finally my train comes, and because I reserved a seat in a glass cab in the train, I feel super European. Traveling in my own compartment to Koeln, all by myself! I scoot towards the window, and a man sits across from me and a young woman on my left. Then a boy about my age joins and sits next to the man. Mostly, I ignore them and stare out the window. I wrote a poem (a really, really good one, I think) and did some other writings, read "The Alchemist" (not quite finished yet, but it's brilliant,) and gazed out the window. On the third or fourth connecting stop, a heavyset woman came in with her fat, ugly dog that smelled, and I was sad to be in a separate compartment. Luckily, my connecting stop in Mannheim was close, so I wasn't stuck in there for long. The woman was also very loud and kept asking everyone questions, but I pretended to be so interested in my book that I was able to keep out of the conversation. Then I got off in Mannheim, and the Gleis for my next train was the same. I stood for only ten or so minutes, and then the train that would take me to Koeln came! This time, I didn't have a compartment, and I certainly did not care. I had two hours of travel left, and I found that the regular second-class seats were quite spacious. I had my part all to myself, and across the aisle to my left was a large window. As we took off towards my stop, we drove along the Rhine. This, I have decided, is one of my favorite places in the entire world. Little towns sitting in the valleys of giant mountains, with Rhine river hugging the outskirts - it was so cozy, I just wanted to hop out right there and live there forever. The water was so beautiful, and everything was green, and atop one of the hills, someone had spelled out in some crop or other for train passengers, "LEBE VEGAN!" which means live vegan. It was heaven. I wrote this in my journal that I had with me on the train, and I think it is appropriate to include here: "No book, no picture, no second-hand description can take the place of seeing this magical countryside." I think every single person in the whole world should travel, because these things will imprint themselves on your mind, and they will change you. When we arrived in Koeln, I was excited and nervous. I wandered out of the train station into the city, where it was a cool but sunny day. Immediately, directly to my right, stood the Dom, Koeln's breathtaking cathedral (of course I have a million pictures, which I will post later.) It seemed to reach up forever, and the architecture was so incredibly intricate - great! I went to where all of the taxis stood, and grabbed the first available one I could. He zipped (and REALLY zipped) over to my hostel, where I checked in and headed to my 8-person room. There were only two people actually in the room when I entered; Matt, the Canadian, and Thomas, the Frenchman. I chose a bed directly to the left of the door, and since they were bunked, I went for the bottom, because I always hate climbing bunk beds and feeling like I'm inconveniencing people. I stored my luggage, made sure everything was safe, talked briefly with Matt, and headed out. I decided that this first day, I didn't mind exploring on my own. I headed to one of the main streets near the hostel, and decided food was the most important thing I could take care of - it was 2pm, and I was SO hungry!! I found a nice Italian place that was pretty cheap, and went in. I seated myself, and the waitress brought me stuff. I had purchased a map of Koeln at the hostel, so since I was eating alone, I pondered that for a while. But some times, I didn't do anything; just sat, watched, and was. It was a strange, and slightly uncomfortable, experience, but it really was not that bad and the waitress was extra nice. The food was pretty good; I have had better, but I was hungry so it worked. However, about 5 or 6 bites in, I found a hair. I was grossed out, lost my appetite, and was actually pretty full before then anyway, so I decided that was enough. The waitress asked (in German) if anything had been wrong, and she was so nice and I really didn't want more food so I just said, it tasted great, I'm just really full! I paid and headed out, towards the Stadtgarten. I wanted to figure out where Peter Moren was playing on Saturday, particularly where it was situated in terms of the hostel. It was easily within walking distance, and I was pleased. I wandered around the park for a moment, and a little german boy wandered up to me (he was maybe 2) and handed me some peanut-shaped cracker. I thanked him, and he gave me another, and I thanked him again and laughed. I headed towards his mom and gave them back and said he was very, very cute. We said goodbye, and I headed on. Then I decided that it was still early, so I wandered towards the Dom. It was pretty far (I'm horrible at distance-judging, but maybe half a mile?) I enjoyed the peace, though. When I got there, I decided to inquire about an ad I saw for this goofy-looking choo choo train that went to the chocolate museum. I knew that the museum closed at 6pm, and it was only 4 so I thought I had time. I went into the tourist station, and asked, and the woman pointed out the train stop for me. I thanked her, and went and waited. As I waited, I looked up again at the Dom, because the stop was right next to it. I took some pictures, and then noticed some of those cool people-statues (where people stand in various clothings and pretend to be statues, and then move to freak people out.) It was really, really cool!! There was an Egyptian mummy one, another that actually looked like she was bronze, and two that looked like Renaissance-era people. Tres cool. Finally, at 4:45, the train showed up, and I was the ONLY person who got on. The guide still did his spiel, but it was definitely a little awkward. I kept thinking of dad, though, and how he would say, "How cool! You have it all to yourself!!" So that's how I looked at it, and it was fun. When we arrived at the museum, it was 5:02, and I thought, wonderful! An hour to explore. However. . .they stop the tours at 5. I had JUST missed the last one. Disappointed, I thought, eh, I'll come back or not, whatever. I went into the shop and bought some truffles, and then headed back out to catch the train back. At this point, I was pretty tired, so I walked the half-mile back to the main street, and then walked toward a REWE (grocery store) I had seen. I went in and bought a half-baguette, a cola and some Alpenbutter, and headed toward the hostel. I went downstairs to eat my feast, and it was quite good. Then, I went back to my room to relax and get to bed early, so I could have a full day the next day. More people were in the room, which was wonderful. Tegan, from Australia, was super nice, and we started talking with Matt and got to know each other. A blonde guy was sitting under Thomas, but I didn't catch his name at the time. There were two American guys who were studying in France, and just doing some traveling, but there weren't enough beds, so they went to the front and the hostel worker realized they had put the blonde guy in the wrong room. He left, and then the American guys left with Thomas and Rafael (another guy from France) to go out. I climbed into bed, and fell asleep.
Friday -
The next morning, I woke up when Lily (from Portugal) got up, since she was in the bunk above me. It was earlier than I had wanted to get up, but I figured it would be nice to get a shower before the rest of the people in my room were awake. I went to breakfast with her, Tegan and Matt, and it was really nice. The blonde guy from the day before came over to see if Tegan wanted to go out with him that day, and she said sure. As we were talking, I asked Tegan if she could come with me and Lily (and of course the blonde fellow was invited,) and she said sure, depending on how he felt about that. He was cool with it, and it was decided. I learned from Tegan that his name was Mitchell and that he was also from Australia, so I thought that was cool. The four of us set out to do the Dom, and we walked the half-mile there, jabbering on. Mitchell and I talked about music (hooray!) and I invited Tegan to spend some time with me in Freiburg, if she ever got the chance. When we got to the Dom, we paid for our ticket and began the IMMENSE ascension (Mitchell joked that the steps actually went to heaven.) After what seemed to be endless winding upward, we made it to the very top. It was absolutely gorgeous, and totally worth all of the work. We slowly worked our way around, taking tons of pictures of the city, the Rhine, a dead bird (I did not partake in that one) and everything else we thought was worth remembering. The architecture in Koeln is really interesting, because some of it is really classic, and a lot of it is super-modern. Then after we had rested, we headed down - it was considerably quicker. We headed next (after a quick bite to eat) to the Ludwig museum, where there was a lot of pop art being showcased. Andy Warhol, Lichtenstein, all those guys and more. We spent a LOT of time there, because that place is huge! It was really great, though, and I love pop art so for the most part, I was really entertained. I think, collectively, our favorite exhibit was a trailer for a movie with people like Courtney Love, Gerard Butler, and Forgot-her-first-name Jahovavich. "Caligula." SO tacky!! It was to be the punchline to many of our later jokes that day. Then we headed over on the boardwalk to the chocolate museum, which was OK but quite a let-down from what we had expected. We only got to taste a small square of chocolate, and one crisp-stick that was pre-dipped in the chocolate fountain. Boo. My favorite parts of the museum were the random greenhouse with cacao, coffee, pineapple and other plants and trees, and the assembly line. After this, we were all extremely tired and hungry, so we went to an Italian place and had DELICIOUS food. Afterward, on the way back to the hostel, Mitchell decided he wanted to see a movie, "Die Welle," that night, and because Uli had already recommended it to me, I though it sounded like a great idea (since, before I met people, I thought I might see a movie that night anyway.) We dropped off the others back at the hostel, and then met back up again for the movie. Mitchell is GREAT. It's not that we have everything in common (like, for instance, I do with Katherine,) and of course we aren't even from the same parts of the world, but something just clicked and I felt really close to him immediately. He's nice and funny and interesting, and those kinds of people are the best. Anyway, we saw the movie, which was brilliant and intense, and then went back to the hostel and talked politics until 3am. Awesome.
Saturday -
The next day, I wanted to sleep in as late as possible. I made it to noon, and then leisurely got up and showered. That was also the first time I really talked to Thomas, which was nice because he is also very cool. I decided I was starving, so I went out to grab something to bring back to the hostel. I went to the same bakery I had gone to before, in the REWE store, and I was only second in line. Good, I thought. Then, two different middle-aged women cut around to the left side of me. I thought they were probably trying to cut the line, but I thought, that's OK! The helper lady saw me standing here, she'll know. Too bad I misjudged her kindness - she kind of scowled at me, and then turned the the first lady with a smile and asked her what she wanted. I was pretty upset, particularly when she saw the second lady first. But I was hungry and this was cheap, so I waited. Finally she waited on me, without a word - just looked at me. I told her what I wanted, and was as chipper as possible, and then she set the things on the counter, said "Danke schoen," and turned away. *I* unassumingly thought I would have to pay at the REWE counter again, but then as I was walking away, I heard a loud, "HALLO! HALLO!!" I turn back, and the lady is looking at me like she just saw me eat a child or something. I said (in German,) oh I'm sorry, I thought I was supposed to pay over there. She said, of course not!! I make these things, you naturally pay me, my God. I was so, so angry. But whatever, I paid her and then left. RAWR. I was frustrated at her (and the other older ladies') rudeness, but I am currently trying to convince myself that this is not a typical thing, just these women. Anyway. I went back to the hostel, ate, and then went up to my room to read and rest until it was time to meet Mitchell for dinner. (I forgot to mention, Tegan had moved out that morning with a lot of other people, so I didn't get to hang out with her that day.) I vaguely remember taking a nap, and watching a horrible german soap opera, and then it was dinner time! I met up with Mitchell and since it was still only 5, we decided to walk around for a while. We wandered toward the Stadtgarten, under a bridge, to another section of the Stadtgarten, and back around again. All of a sudden, music started playing and people with face paint, masks, and other colorful clothing starting wandering down a main Koeln street and took it over!!! They were blocking the auto traffic, because they were protesting it (one of the signs said something like, "reclaim the streets"). It was AWESOME! At first, I just stood to the side, watching (Mitchell jumped right in and wandered down the street) because I thought, what if the police arrest me and I'm sent home or something?? But then Mitchell basically said that I had to take a chance and go for it, so he pulled me out into the street and it was AWESOME. There were fire-breathers, baton twirlers, clowns on bikes, and all kinds of other crazy things. It was so nice also to see so many young people (the average age was definitely 21 or around there) standing up for something. Stupendous. Then it was getting late, so we went to another Italian place and talked a ton more about everything, really. Then it was time for me to go to my concert, so we said our goodbyes, not knowing if we'd see each other again. I headed up the street to the Stadtgarten, and when I arrived, I was the only person there yet for the concert. I was only 30 minutes before the doors, so I really didn't know what to expect. I sat by myself for those 30 minutes, waiting to get in and hear some great music. When the doors did open, I was the first inside, and only two guys followed in after me. It was nuts, and I was sad because I wanted Peter to have a big audience (and also didn't want to look creepy, standing pretty close to the stage, directly in the center.) Luckily, after an hour had passed (and we were all still waiting,) the room was a little fuller. I doubt more than 40 people ended up being there, though. Meh, nobody knows what they are missing. So at around 9:30 the opener, Tobias Froberg (also from Sweden) went on and he was adorably hilarious and extra talented. I love his voice and lyrics. A lot of his songs really hit home in different ways, and it was just great. Then, for the last two songs, Peter came out to join!! My knees got a little weak, not gonna lie. Anyway, they were just fantastic (p.s. in case I haven't mentioned before, this is Peter Moren from Peter Bjorn and John.) Then, after Tobias was done, there was only a ten-or-so minute intermission, and Peter and Tobias both came back out (Tobias was Peter's backup band.) I don't remember EVERYthing that happened during the concert, but I will jot down highlights - Peter said he studied German in school, but all he could really say was "Ich bin ein Dummkopf, und ich habe Angst, and that about sums it up!" So funny. One (out of the four or so) encores they played included Buddy Holly covers, and to introduce them, Peter said, "I don't know a lot about Texas. Even though I keep going back to South by Southwest, I just don't know anything about it, except Buddy Holly and Stevie Ray Vaughan!!" Anyway, even though I know he was just doing his spiel, in my heart it was a mini-shout-out to me. You are allowed to laugh at me for this. Also, Peter played ALL of my favorite songs. He opened with "This Is What I Came For," my absolute favorite off of the new solo album. It's six verses and just perfect. "My Match" became a new favorite because of how beautiful it sounded live. "Paris 2004" off of PBJ's latest album is always great, and then - the best thing ever - there was "Objects of My Affection." It is, without a doubt, my favorite Peter Moren-written song ever, and perhaps even my favorite song of all time. Certainly in college. Anyway, it was brilliant. And they played all kinds of stuff, like an Elvis cover, and A-Ha's "Take On Me," and just everything. It was beautiful and moving and I was so happy I went. Afterwards, I immediately rushed out to buy both Tobias' album and a hard-copy of Peter's, as well as a lyric booklet. The booklet was hand-made, with handwritten lyrics photocopied onto special pictures of Peter, and they are all signed, dated and numbered, because there are only 200. I have number 7, thank you very much. Then, as I was paying for my things, Peter and Tobias showed up!! I turned to him, and said, "Hey there!" and he said, "Hey!!" I said, "I promise I'm not just following you, I'm actually studying in Freiburg right now." He said, "Oh that's great!! Wait, where are you studying?" "Freiburg, down south." "Oh, yeah! Great!" "Your show, as always, was just brilliant, just great." "Thank you!" *interruption as I pay for my stuff* "Do you mind signing my CD for me?" "Oh, of course!" "Actually, maybe just the booklet." (I realized the CD was all wrapped up.) "Yeah, sure! Ok, now forgive me, but I forgot your name." "Oh, psh, I mean, of course, don't - yeah, no." (This was supposed to be, "Don't worry about it, I certainly don't expect you to just remember *my* name.") "It's Caitlin, C-A-I-T-L-I-N." "Alright!" "Well thank you so much, and good luck with everything!" "Yeah, thanks!" "See you around, hopefully!" "See you!" And that's how it went. For the curious, he signed my booklet, "TO CAITLIN! A PROPER FAN!" Hooray:) So yes he remembers *me* and I don't care if he forgets my name, me is enough. Anyway, it was only just before midnight, so after I bought a water and sipped on that for a while, I headed back home. When I got back, I turned on the TV for while I got ready for bed, but then all of a sudden four new people come in to the hostel. They are all girls, and all speaking English. Two of them climb into bed, and one is sobbing, and the other is trying to comfort the sobbing girl. I, mostly, am uncomfortable. I sit on my bed, just about to go in to the bathroom and get ready to sleep, but the sobbing girl goes in there. Then the girl who was trying to comfort her starts talking to me, and explains that they are all from California, they were traveling today and got wasted and the sobbing girl lost her Eurorail pass because they were all wasted. Classy, I think. But the semi-sober one seems nice enough, so whatever. My pal Thomas came in and invited me to the hostel's bar, and I thought, yeah, I'll get out of here for a minute so that when I come back, they'll all just be asleep. So I say bye to the sober girl, who says, yeah, we'll all be asleep when you get back so no worries. Good, I think. I set my PJ's on my bed, my clothes for Sunday are nicely folded on my suitcase, my valuables are locked in a locker, and the rest of my stuff is safely zipped in my suitcase. I head to the bar, and happily, Rafael, Mitchell, and a new guy are there with Thomas. We talked for two hours, and it was wonderful. The new guy's name was Matt, and he was very nice. He is originally from the U.S. but now resides in Canada. Anyway, I was given a free shot of Jagermeister in honor of Thomas' birthday, which at that point was the day before. It was pretty gross, but it was an experiment. It wasn't as strong as the sip of Hungarian stuff I had when I went to Seita's friends the week before. Anyway, they all decide they want to go clubbing, and I think ugh it's 2am! No way! But Mitchell pulls his "live a little" motto, and I decide, what the hey, I'll go and then get a few hour's sleep before I have to catch my train. We went to a place called "Subway," and it was a lot of fun. We danced like crazy and just had a blast. I left before the others, when it was 4am, because I knew I wanted to get at least a little sleep. So, I headed back and went into my room. Here begins my unbelievable tale. One of the Californians is passed out in MY bed. Oh great, I think. I try to shake her awake, but she is totally passed out and only turns over on her other side. Perfect, I think. My PJs are in the bed, and I at least need them before I leave the next morning! Whatever, I think, I'll deal with it after a little bit of sleep. I make up the upper bunk bed, because it's free, and then I start to pick my things up off of the floor (my clothes for tomorrow, specifically.) Oh. My. God. THEY ARE WET. My mind races. Please, God, let this be water or something. No. It's. Her. PISS. I was FURIOUS. This drunk Californian BITCH peed on my stuff!!!! I was so, so mad. Her friend kind of moved, and I said, "Do you know that girl?" The girl, still messed up, goes, "I dunno, I can't really see." I said, "Well, she is in MY bed, and peed on MY things!!" The girl, now more awake, says, "Oh, her name is Alison." I don't care, of course. I rush out, furious, to the main desk so I can get a hostel worker to help me. I explain what has happened, and he has this look of disbelief on his face. He says, "I'm so sorry, they were really messed up when they arrived but this is crazy." He comes into my room with me, and HE tries to wake her with no luck. At this point, the other girls wake up. The semi-sober one goes, "What's going on?" I angrily say, "Your friend is in MY bed and pissed on MY things." She goes, "Oh, shit!!" and comes over to get the girl out of the bed. My PJs, of course, are soaked. Ugh. The hostel worker says I can wash my clothes for free, and gives me some towels to wipe down my suitcase. I go put my stuff in the washing machine, and then call Scott and cry. Then I decide I want to go upstairs and wait for my friends to get back from the club. They do, and I tell them what happened, and nobody can believe it. They wait up with me for a while (Mitchell stays with me the longest, until 6am) and then we say our final goodbyes and I decide to just wait up until my train comes. It was a nightmare. But, after I got my things out of that room and checked out, I started to reflect on the whole trip and realized I still wished it could be longer, because it was SO amazing. As I walked away from my taxi, past the Dom, it began to rain a little, and I felt somehow refreshed. I mean, at least the very worst things that could possibly happen to me (a ticket and the pee-incident) have happened. I can't think of anything that could be much worse! The train home was nice, uneventful, and I managed to get two small 30-minute naps in. The countryside was still gorgeous. I would have enjoyed it more if I had been showered and awake, but it was still so beautiful. When I got home Sunday, I immediately showered and then slept for a while. Then, when I got up, I went out to dinner with my pal Seita and told her the story, and we both laughed about it. Then, before I headed home, I grabbed some Eis and listened to some street musicians play some gypsy-esque music. Perfect.
So, ultimately, my trip to Koeln was one of the best times I've ever had, and I wouldn't change a thing. I really hope I can stay in contact with my new friends. Now I'm doing Orientation week, which is so far quite boring, but hopefully I will meet even more amazing people:) I want to write more, but I have to get to REWE and get some cleaning supplies and food, and then go to Uli's for dinner! Also, bis spaeter, ciao:)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Picture post!
Muenster!! So beautiful. The Virgin Mary is one of my favorite religious figures, so there are a lot of depictions of her here.
The main crucifix area behind the priest's altar.
Randomly out of order: My kitchen!!! Most of this stuff belongs to my roommates, seeing as I haven't been here that long:-P
More kitchen! So pretty:)
Back to the Muenster.
This was my favorite spot in the entire church. It's a super-intricate (which you can't tell quite as well from my flashed-picture) altar to the Virgin Mary, and I donated some money and lit one of the candles, like I said in my post. This was a really moving area for me.
One of the paintings (small) at one of the numerous confessionals. I could have taken a million pictures here, EVERYTHING was intricate.
My room!! I have drei Teppiche (three rugs) now, so it looks way more homey. Also I have my Cactii:)
Closet!
Book shelf!
Desk!!
The view out of my large window. I love how colorful my neighborhood is!!I also really love the view out of my tiny window, but the day I took pictures it was really foggy, so I will wait until it clears up and then I'll take some more. I can see the Black Forest all around, it's great:)
Doesn't care how she gets there, long as she gets somewhere she knows.
Contrary to the picture I've been painting recently, studying abroad isn't perfect. I think the past few days are good examples of what I mean by this. On Sunday, Uli and I went out for cake. It was DELICIOUS, and I was so happy to be going back to the place I went to on my second day, when I was still really, really homesick. So everything is great, there are a couple of really cute guys working and Uli and I are chatting and all is well. Then, I start talking about music. The last time I was at this place, I started talking about music and almost broke a glass; Michael caught it before it hit the ground. This time, Michael wasn't there. The glass shattered into a thousand pieces. Luckily, the workers were super friendly so I just tipped really well and all was good. That night, I hung out with one of my roommates, his girlfriend, and two of his friends. They were all SUPER nice, but I was very, very quiet because I just felt like everyone was talking very quickly so I couldn't really follow/contribute to the conversation. Still, not horrible; just a little uncomfortable. Flash forward to today. I was SUPER excited to go into town and buy Peter Moren's new album. Well, it turns out that it doesn't come out in Germany until Friday. Bummer, but I figured I'd bounce back. HA! Little did I know. Then it was off the the Muenster, where I took beautiful pictures but really, really wanted to climb the stairs up to the beautiful view of the city. Well, turns out I was too early and they weren't open. Oh, well, I thought. I at least got gorgeous pictures of the inside of the church. And I did, and I also got to donate some money and I lit a candle for all of the women in my life by the alter of the Virgin Mary. I actually became very emotional, so that was nice. It was great to just meditate for a second. Anyway, then I came back home, and although I was disappointed in not having my CDs, I was SUPER happy when I saw that my UniCard and password/other info for the University had come in the mail!!! I immediately took my large StudentBuch out of my purse and traded it for my nice little UniCard, since that is what you need to validate your SemesterTicket that lets you ride the Strassenbahn (tram) for free. This is all important for later in my story. Anyway, I started to register for classes, but LOTS of things are full/past registration deadline so I'm going to have to e-mail professors and heads of things, which is a TOTAL PAIN. Still, I've already got 4 classes so I only need 2 or 3 more. At this point I was also really tired of the "downer" people from my earlier blog; they totally have a right to be bummed, but it was just SO draining. So, I thought, OK I need a break, and I had told Michael I would show him where this cool bookstore was. So, we get on the tram, and we're zipping through everything (I helped to pay for Michael's ticket because he doesn't have his SemesterTicket yet) and I'm sitting there, and the VAG (the name of the tram operators) workers came through to do a random check of tickets. I had heard about this, and it is SUPER rare, it happens about once a year or something, but regardless I wasn't worried because I had my UniCard and my SemesterTicket. Well. The first VAG guy peeked at my stuff and moved along. The second, freaking bastard (pardon my language, it is about to get ugly) held on to it, and he was really studying it so I was starting to be concerned. He started asking me stuff in German and I said, "Entschuldigung, ich habe nicht verstehen." A woman nearby tried to help translate, but I knew something was wrong so I started to panic, and then the tears started to come. Basically, what I found out more accurately after the fact, you have to stamp your UniCard every semester to validate it for a certain period of time (they do this so you can't just ride the tram forever with a Semester Ticket, you MUST be a current student.) I had no idea, but the guy was a real fucker and WROTE ME A TICKET. He didn't make me pay, which was I guess kind of nice, but seriously he could have just TOLD me to get my UniCard stamped for next time. But no, now I have to get it stamped and then take it in to the VAG office so they will destroy the ticket. Bunch of assholes. I am still furious. But at the time, I was scared and WAY embarassed and sad and I just cried and was miserable. Also, he made Michael and me miss our stop, so I called Scott and sobbed for a bit, and then once I thought I could hang together until I got back to my room, I hopped on a tram, paid for a trip ticket (just to avoid whatever other mess could happen) and went straight back to my room, without going to the bookstore. I directed Michael there, though, so he didn't have to waste his trip. Still, that was such a bastardly thing to do. Luckily, I have amazing people in my life. Scott was totally there for me, Uli immediately offered assistance (we're meeting tomorrow to take care of everything) and Brandon made me laugh. Michael was also really understanding, since I totally ditched him to hop a tram and hide in my room. Seita was really sweet on the phone and got mad at the guy with me. And Silke, who I was going to bake with this evening, came to see me and brought me calming tea. Basically. . .my support network here is so amazing ALREADY that despite scary situations like this, I can totally make it through. But I wanted to mention all of this, so people don't expect studying abroad to be all roses and candy and wonderfulness. There are scary and rough times, too. But it's all making me stronger and making me realize how many wonderful people I have in my life. Uli and I ended up eating dinner together at her place, which was delicious, and then when I came back I got to relax a little. I tried to do my laundry, but I had forgotten that you can't do it at night. So I have to wake up early tomorrow to do it before I go into town to meet Uli, and waking up is poopy, but I'll survive. And just now I got to watch "Four Weddings and a Funeral" auf Deutsch with my roommate David, which was a lot of fun. I have lots of plans tomorrow (now also including taking care of this damned ticket bullshit, but whatevs) and then I am heading to Koeln super soon!!! I have pictures of my room and Muenster now, so I'll post those in my next post (which will be JUST a picture post.) Also, to end on a happy note - I saw snow yesterday:) It wasn't the sticking kind, except for maybe a minute while I was on the tram, but it was beautiful. I also went to IKEA and bought three SUPER cheap rugs (1 Euro 50 Cents each) and cacti, named Fernando and Karl:) Now I must get to sleep, but don't worry about me! I've survived, I've grown and I had an incredible group of people taking care of me. Until next time, ciao!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
From now to forever.
I can already tell that Peter Moren's solo album, "The Last Tycoon," is going to be my most memorable soundtrack for this trip, and it isn't even released until Tuesday!!! (I cannot WAIT.) I'm going to try to find a good music store here, hopefully something like Waterloo back home that has a lot of good indie music because I'm afraid the album won't be released in mainstream stores like Kaufhof. I'll ask Uli about it today.
Anyway, I've been up to quite a lot recently! I don't really remember what I wrote about when I last updated (and I think I might have even updated yesterday morning, I just can't remember haha!!!) The days are so full of things that I forget what day it is. So we will just recap yesterday.
I really wanted to go hiking yesterday, and the weather was quite beautiful for a while, but my friend Seita didn't want to go so I decided this was one adventure I shouldn't have alone. There is plenty of time to go hiking, so I'm not too worried. I was just hoping to see some snow!!! Oh, well. But Seita and I did go out, and I bought a real, loose-but-cute and very warm (but not TOO warm) hiking jacket. I really, really hope that it is a proper hiking jacket; I was a little torn, and I didn't want to rush the purchase, but it was on sale (40 Euro) and I figured that I could make it work. Now I will, for sure, because I am not buying ANY MORE CLOTHES if I can help it. Then Seita and I went to lunch at a nice little Italian place. It was a little more expensive than I like, and the food really wasn't SUPER (not as good as other places I've been,) so I don't think I'll go back. Then we grabbed some chocolate from this place that had a "Chocolat" poster on the wall and it reminded me a lot of the place in the movie, sooooo cool!!! The woman working there was really nice and spoke in English and German to us (Seita doesn't like speaking in German.) Then, since the chocolate was for later, we went to get some Eis (ice cream) at this great little spot south of campus. I still prefer Mona Lisa Eiscafe, but it was delicious and my tummy was happy. I do need to eat more fruits and veggies, though. Especially since my body is still adjusting to the time difference (not to mention the language difference; I have a bit of a headache today!!) Anyway, then I was thinking I might go see a movie so I could FINALLY immerse myself in the German language a little, but then I remembered there was going to be a Kneippentour for International Students (bar-hopping, basically.) I am SO glad I decided to go, because I met some really nice people and found my Tandem partner!! Her name is Maike and she is super sweet. And, she lives in Vauban! Perfect:) I am going with her and Silke to Maria's place on Tuesday to cook, and I'm very excited! Today they are also gathering, and I was going to meet up with them after I spent some time with Uli *but* my roommate and his girlfriend invited me out tonight and I want to meet more new people so I think I am going to do that instead! I'm really excited to meet new people all of the time. AND, last night (and I think probably also tonight) I have been speaking a lot more German since last night, which is great. Other than a bit of a headache, I'm so happy to be practicing. Anyway, dad is calling so I have to go!!! I'll update more later. Tschuess!
Anyway, I've been up to quite a lot recently! I don't really remember what I wrote about when I last updated (and I think I might have even updated yesterday morning, I just can't remember haha!!!) The days are so full of things that I forget what day it is. So we will just recap yesterday.
I really wanted to go hiking yesterday, and the weather was quite beautiful for a while, but my friend Seita didn't want to go so I decided this was one adventure I shouldn't have alone. There is plenty of time to go hiking, so I'm not too worried. I was just hoping to see some snow!!! Oh, well. But Seita and I did go out, and I bought a real, loose-but-cute and very warm (but not TOO warm) hiking jacket. I really, really hope that it is a proper hiking jacket; I was a little torn, and I didn't want to rush the purchase, but it was on sale (40 Euro) and I figured that I could make it work. Now I will, for sure, because I am not buying ANY MORE CLOTHES if I can help it. Then Seita and I went to lunch at a nice little Italian place. It was a little more expensive than I like, and the food really wasn't SUPER (not as good as other places I've been,) so I don't think I'll go back. Then we grabbed some chocolate from this place that had a "Chocolat" poster on the wall and it reminded me a lot of the place in the movie, sooooo cool!!! The woman working there was really nice and spoke in English and German to us (Seita doesn't like speaking in German.) Then, since the chocolate was for later, we went to get some Eis (ice cream) at this great little spot south of campus. I still prefer Mona Lisa Eiscafe, but it was delicious and my tummy was happy. I do need to eat more fruits and veggies, though. Especially since my body is still adjusting to the time difference (not to mention the language difference; I have a bit of a headache today!!) Anyway, then I was thinking I might go see a movie so I could FINALLY immerse myself in the German language a little, but then I remembered there was going to be a Kneippentour for International Students (bar-hopping, basically.) I am SO glad I decided to go, because I met some really nice people and found my Tandem partner!! Her name is Maike and she is super sweet. And, she lives in Vauban! Perfect:) I am going with her and Silke to Maria's place on Tuesday to cook, and I'm very excited! Today they are also gathering, and I was going to meet up with them after I spent some time with Uli *but* my roommate and his girlfriend invited me out tonight and I want to meet more new people so I think I am going to do that instead! I'm really excited to meet new people all of the time. AND, last night (and I think probably also tonight) I have been speaking a lot more German since last night, which is great. Other than a bit of a headache, I'm so happy to be practicing. Anyway, dad is calling so I have to go!!! I'll update more later. Tschuess!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Surrounded by bummed out people.
It's really sad that my two American pals here, and even (to some extent) my Finnish friend, are all bummed out. It's also really difficult for me, becuase I'm having an amazing time and even when I'm tired or missing people or whatever, I still feel so blessed that I'm here! Anyway, it looks like I might be hiking in the Black Forest by myself tomorrow; either that or I'll put it off until someone will come with me. Maybe if I don't hike tomorrow, I'll go running or something. Just something active. I walk EVERYwhere, so I'm definitely getting a work out, but I want to really move my body, especially because I feel so weighed down by all of the delicious, delicious sweets:)
I have booked my hostel in Koeln, and it will be quite a bit more than I had hoped it would cost. Still, this is my first big trip and I'm excited. The only other 2 places I *must* go while I'm here are France (no city in particular, just France) and Cardiff/London. The latter places will be nice, because I have friends/relatives there who will hopefully be able to house me in exchange for my awesomeness and perhaps babysitting, respectively. I bought an AWESOME jacket today, and it wasn't *too* expensive. It's the only item of clothing I plan on buying here, and I managed to really shop around and get what I think is the best item (not the cheapest, but the perfect price for how well-made it is. Hopefully I am a good judge of quality!!) Even though it's meant for my hiking and the possible SNOW we might get here on Sunday (how happy that would make me!!) I might also wear it tonight when I go out to a party at my friend's dorm. She is also wanting to go out, but I might go home after the pre-party. We'll see. I just don't want to walk home alone. Freiburg doesn't scare me, but I also don't want to be stupid. I'm going to take as much as possible out of my purse before I leave and put it in my safe box, just in case I have to walk home by myself.
I haven't taken as many pictures as I have wanted to, because I always feel like too much of a tourist. Hopefully, though, if I end up scrapping my hiking tomorrow I can get some more pictures. I did take some of my room today, so I'll post those soon.
Final thoughts: Panic at the Disco's new album is really musically interesting, albeit lyrically pretentious (and sometimes meaningless.) I'm nonetheless addicted.
I have booked my hostel in Koeln, and it will be quite a bit more than I had hoped it would cost. Still, this is my first big trip and I'm excited. The only other 2 places I *must* go while I'm here are France (no city in particular, just France) and Cardiff/London. The latter places will be nice, because I have friends/relatives there who will hopefully be able to house me in exchange for my awesomeness and perhaps babysitting, respectively. I bought an AWESOME jacket today, and it wasn't *too* expensive. It's the only item of clothing I plan on buying here, and I managed to really shop around and get what I think is the best item (not the cheapest, but the perfect price for how well-made it is. Hopefully I am a good judge of quality!!) Even though it's meant for my hiking and the possible SNOW we might get here on Sunday (how happy that would make me!!) I might also wear it tonight when I go out to a party at my friend's dorm. She is also wanting to go out, but I might go home after the pre-party. We'll see. I just don't want to walk home alone. Freiburg doesn't scare me, but I also don't want to be stupid. I'm going to take as much as possible out of my purse before I leave and put it in my safe box, just in case I have to walk home by myself.
I haven't taken as many pictures as I have wanted to, because I always feel like too much of a tourist. Hopefully, though, if I end up scrapping my hiking tomorrow I can get some more pictures. I did take some of my room today, so I'll post those soon.
Final thoughts: Panic at the Disco's new album is really musically interesting, albeit lyrically pretentious (and sometimes meaningless.) I'm nonetheless addicted.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Excitement!
Well, I've decided I am officially visiting Koeln next week. I'll be going near the end of the week, because Peter Moren (of Peter Bjorn and John fame) is playing on Saturday, and I really want to see the show!!! But I will leave for Koeln probably on Thursday, so I can explore the city. I don't want to spend more than 100 Euro on the trip, so I'm going to start searching for cheap hostels. The concert ticket only costs 11 Euro, so I'll probably buy that soon (because if nothing else, I'll at least go up early on Saturday and spend the night.) I'm trying to convince my high school pal Brandon to join me; we'll see what he thinks! But honestly, I also wouldn't mind going alone. I'm really excited about this plan:) Especially reading Peter's post about SxSW:
"Maybe the most fun shows though we’re the totally solo ones in the afternoons at the Yard Dog and Club Deville."
I was at both, hoorah:) We're totally soulmates (in a friend-only way, I promise, Scott!!) Anyway. I have so much to update, and I want to post some pictures of my dorm room where I'm living, but that will have to wait because it is already EXTREMELY late and I need to get to bed, because I'm waking up early tomorrow for a tour of Vauban. Also, gute Nacht!
"Maybe the most fun shows though we’re the totally solo ones in the afternoons at the Yard Dog and Club Deville."
I was at both, hoorah:) We're totally soulmates (in a friend-only way, I promise, Scott!!) Anyway. I have so much to update, and I want to post some pictures of my dorm room where I'm living, but that will have to wait because it is already EXTREMELY late and I need to get to bed, because I'm waking up early tomorrow for a tour of Vauban. Also, gute Nacht!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Things I Forget To Mention In The Last Post
1. I *love* the food here. Expect me to come back 2 sizes larger and loving every extra calorie.
2. The tram system is amazing here - in fact, the whole city is so wonderfully "green." I'm bringing back as much knowledge as possible!
3. The dollar is FAILING, and I am suffering for this. Boo. Still, I honestly haven't bought anything "fun" outside of the food (see #1), so there isn't much I can do. Tomorrow, I have to put down almost 200 Euro for school stuff, and then the next day I'll pay my first rent, which is about 460 Euro the first time. Yikes. At least, after the first time, rent is only 200-something. Still. . .I want some "fun" money!!!!
4. I love all of the people I've met so far, and also really appreciated the people I already know. Friendly faces are always a good thing.
I wanted to post a lot more earlier, but I have an EARLY morning tomorrow, so I'll update a real update later. Tschuss, meine Liebe!
2. The tram system is amazing here - in fact, the whole city is so wonderfully "green." I'm bringing back as much knowledge as possible!
3. The dollar is FAILING, and I am suffering for this. Boo. Still, I honestly haven't bought anything "fun" outside of the food (see #1), so there isn't much I can do. Tomorrow, I have to put down almost 200 Euro for school stuff, and then the next day I'll pay my first rent, which is about 460 Euro the first time. Yikes. At least, after the first time, rent is only 200-something. Still. . .I want some "fun" money!!!!
4. I love all of the people I've met so far, and also really appreciated the people I already know. Friendly faces are always a good thing.
I wanted to post a lot more earlier, but I have an EARLY morning tomorrow, so I'll update a real update later. Tschuss, meine Liebe!
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