MEGA Update

Okay, so it's been a while. I'll admit it. A lot has been going on and between travels and an increase in the number of class hours I've been taking over at school, I've lost track of what was once a pretty well kept-up blog.

So the first thing that I can think of which has happened is that Kate and Marker came to visit! :) It was great to see both of them - We first met up in Cologne and spent a couple of days sampling the city's well-known Koelsch beer (a meter of beer was involved at one point during the trip). After visiting Cologne and making the mandatory stop at the Frueh brewery, we went south to Koblenz where we spent a couple days exploring the region and drinking some wine. We went to Bacharach (in-CREDIBLY difficult to pronounce in German...mostly I end up hacking and spitting if I try to say it) and climbed up to a castle and had some wine before taking a boat ride back to Koblenz (during which we drank more wine). We were about fifty years below the average age of the typical Koblenz tourist, but it was still tons of fun. :)

Marker & Kate at Frueh

Kate & I - The Rhine

One Whole Meter!

On our way back down from the Schloss at Bacharach!

Marker and I - the boat ride down the Rhine!

Shortly after Kate and Marker's visit I decided to take a quick trip to Innsbruck to visit my host family from Junior year. It was wonderful to see Erich, Elisabeth, Magda and Theresa...I was absolutely spoiled rotten and must have gained ten pounds from how much food I was fed! We basically spent the weekend driving around Tirol, eating, and we also went to a concert. It was fantastic. I had forgotten how breathtakingly beautiful that place is - I didn't appreciate it nearly enough when I was there.
In Mieming...near Innsbruck

Me & my host sisters

The Inn-River at night...gorgeous.

It was also nice to get a little escape from mega host family time, since Emily went down the same weekend to visit her brother who was then studying in Innsbruck and doing the same program I did when I was at ND. We went out with the students to StadtCafe, which I still cannot believe I had never been to! Lots of drunken Austrian students (and creepy middle-aged guys) grinding up against each other to techno...heh.

Emily & I at StadtCafe!

The third exciting thing that has happened (travel-wise) is my trip to jolly-old-England! My friend Sara and I scored 6-Euro (!!!) tickets from Bremen to Liverpool, so we decided to go visit our English friend Katie. The first night was spent frolicking in Liverpool - we went to the famous Cavern Club where the Beatles always played in their earlier days. It was SUPER cool because the entire night was filled with songs that everyone knew, so literally there wasn't a bad song in the set. That, and it was a really interesting mix of people. Basically a bunch of twenty-somethings, and people in our parents' generation.
There was this guy who opened for a group called the Mersey (sp?) Beatles - a Beatles tribute band which, I have to admit, were pretty legit. Well, he was a former member of the tribute band, so he was pretty good as well. He played for about an hour and then the Mersey Beatles played from like 10:30 until somewhere around 2am. We may have had more than a few rounds, so the end of the night was a bit fuzzy. It ended with us singing with a group of drunken Australian men (who were all about 35-40 years old), taking a picture with said Australian men outside of the bar at closing time, Sara tackling me to the ground in the street, and a drunken Burger King run. All in all, a stellar night if I do say so.

Katie & I - Cavern Club

The next day was spent shopping and wandering around the city before meeting up with Katie (she had Spanish classes all day), and heading off to her neck of the woods. She lives in the Cumbria region - kinda in the North and it's mostly made of very small towns and scattered small groupings of houses. I may have seen more sheep than people. We went out to dinner with her friends but were then happy to retire to Katie's house and make it an early night.

The next day we were given a tour of the Cumbria region by Katie and her boyfriend, Tom. The Lake District was absolutely gorgeous, and scattered with lots of...you guessed it - lakes. We went swimming despite the cold water, and I even joined Tom in one of his favorite activities - jumping from "stuff" into water. We went to this cliff and jumped into the river below. SUCH a rush, but I'll probably never do anything like that again. The evening ended with fish and chips and a trip to the local pub (literally, the pub consisted of a bunch of 65 year-old men and us reading trivia books to one another. heaven!)
Tom making the jump!

Sunday was spent being lazy and staying in our pajamas all day...it was just like being at home! Sara and I helped Katie make a traditional roasted leg of lamb with all the fixings, and we basically sat around and watched movies all day other than that.

The next day was spent in Manchester, where Katie had lived for a while before she moved to Germany. Sara and I once again spent the day shopping (Manchester has one of the biggest malls I've ever seen in my life. TIRING!) We were happy when Katie was able to join us after she finished her class, and we went to some of her favorite local bars. It was the perfect end to the trip, because we all had to part ways early the next morning.
Sara, Katie and I in Manchester

***SIDENOTE: I could not understand a word that most people said to me. I felt totally inept. I mean, this is supposed to be my language, for Pete's sake! I felt like if they had been speaking German I might have understood better....

Probably the last thing to report on is World Cup Mania, and how crazy Germans get about soccer. That, and how much I hate the damn Vuvuzelas - those stupid horns that fans blow throughout the ENTIRE GAME.
Okay, so as for Germans and their soccer obsession: I've never seen so many German flags in my life. And this is something relatively new. Apparently the first time that Germans really felt comfortable showing national pride and displaying flags was in 2006, when the German team went relatively far while hosting the FIFA World Cup. Whatever the case, the flags are everywhere now, and there are public viewings of the games all over the country. For example, when I went to Bochum to watch the US match last weekend, the Germany match was directly beforehand. I was on my way to meet some friends at a bar and literally could NOT make my way through the streets because it was PACKED full of soccer fans. It's kinda hard NOT to catch some of the Football-Fever here, and I've actually kinda gotten into it - especially because OUR boys have moved on to the next round!

Emily, Sara & Amanda - USA Soccer match watch at "Three Sixty" American bar in Bochum

Oh silly Amanda...

As far as the countdown goes, it's been whittled down to 5 days! Cannot believe it's under a week...ten months has lasted forever on one hand, but it's flown by on the other! It just sucks that I'm leaving now that the weather is good and now that I have some really good friends here - we now actually go OUT in Duelmen and go to BARS and can sit OUTSIDE! Literally, if you haven't experienced January and February in northern Germany you cannot imagine the amount of depression that's associated with it. I'd tell you how many hours of sunlight we had in the whole month of February, but it's too damn depressing.
That and now I actually feel somewhat accomplished because I've been given more hours at school...I'm the first English TA they've had in like 6 years, so they really didn't know what to do with me at the beginning. We've finally got a system worked out now, so it's a bit of a shame that I'm leaving now...oh well, at least I was given top marks in my end of the year review! :)

Nadin, me & Steffi at Steffi's for the Germany game watch

Stefan, me & Kai - celebrating the Germany win!

It's starting to set in that I'm going to be a student again next year - just got an email about signing up for courses, and I now officially have a UW email address! Excited and terrified! Football games....and term papers. I wonder if I even remember how to write a term paper.

Anyway, that about does it for the epic blog entry. My next post should be back in the US! (If I decide to keep this up, that is...) Well, here's hoping! See you stateside!

"Customer Service" in Germany

So...Germans are efficient, right? MEH! Wrong. Not in every single situation. Take today's example: customer service. More specifically, internet company customer service.

Lately I've been going through exactly what I need to take care of before I move out - un-register myself at city hall, cancel my BahnCard, close my bank account...and cancel my internet service. This has turned out to be a bit of a chore.

I'm on a month-by-month contract, which is nice. No year-long commitments, flat rate. But getting service in the first place was a chore - I spent my first month in Germany without internet. It took about four weeks to get a technician to come hook it up (Totally normal, apparently. Can you imagine Comcast getting away with that in the States?), and another week for the second technician to come and fix what the FIRST technician effed up in the first place. Lovely.

Today, I spent easily an hour pouring over the company's website, trying to figure out when I needed to let them know that I want to cancel my subscription after June. Hmm...well, they used the most VAGUE wording ever...still not sure if I can cancel it UNTIL four weeks before the end of the month or FROM that time. Urgh. Fine, so the next natural step is to look for an email address that takes care of customer service, right?

WRONG.

There was no such email address. So much for customer service. Fine, then I guess I'll look up a phone number. After answering a bajillion questions about the nature of my inquiry, I was given a phone number. FINALLY. But no, it cannot be that simple. Of course in order to call the company for them to give information about the services which you are ALREADY PAYING FOR, you must pay a further 15 cents per minute to call their help-hotline. Thank goodness my wait time was low.

Get a hold of an employee and he asks for my personal information, my password, the whole bit. So surely he can just type into the computer that I want to end my contract after June, right?

WRONG.

He informs me that in order to terminate my service, I need to send a letter to the office in Hamburg. Really? Snail mail? Come on, Germans - aren't you supposed to be eco-friendly? Let's save some trees people (AND the postage which I will now have to pay in addition to calling your silly company to find out that I have to send this stupid letter in the first place. Of course you wouldn't include this simple information on your website because that would be too freaking sensible)! After a pause in the conversation I finally ask, "Um, und die Adresse waere..........?!" (Translation: Um, and the address would be....?!)

So in conclusion...note to Alice-Internet - take the five minutes to include this on your website:

"To cancel your contract, please send a letter to...."

Simple as that, people.

Abiturienten, Penguins and Half-marathons

Welp, a week has come and gone since spring break ended...actually, already into week two of post travel-mania. The time has been flying, which once again is both good and bad. Good in that I have only 70 days until I get to see friends and family again, bad in that I have only 70 days left here in Germany. It's like being on a roller coaster where the tops and bottoms are becoming increasingly further apart. "OH MY GOD I'LL BE HOME SOON!" followed by an equally explosive "OH MY GOD I MIGHT NEVER SEE MY GERMAN FRIENDS AGAIN!"

This air of feeling like the end of the school year is coming soon has been recently exaggerated by the fact that the 13th graders (Abiturienten) are taking their final tests this week (Abitur). They basically have to do well on these tests to get into college and to study the areas which they've been focusing on this year. What was surprising, however, is that the week before the Abitur the Abiturienten basically go bonkers. They had dress up days throughout the entire week, and culminated with a day of madness, squirt guns and noise makers on Friday. Picture this:

I arrive at school and hear all these whistles and horns and noise makers going off, and as I'm getting ready to enter the building I see a PARADE of Abiturienten marching right toward me armed with water pistols. My little feet haven't moved that fast in a long time. I quickly make my way to the teachers' lounge, but soon enough figured out that this wasn't safe ground either. As I'm talking with a teacher the Abiturienten march in singing some song and squirting people along the way. Kinda funny...some of the teachers were not quite as amused. Then later in one of my 8th grade classes the doors BURST open mid-class and here come the Abiturienten AGAIN, this time not being shy at all with their water pistols. The entire class was soaked and I managed to get shot smack dab in the face. One girl's notebook was so wet that it dripped when she picked it up - and since they all write in ink (not ball-point), all of their papers were destroyed. Really, Germany? Really? This madness went on all day, and when I finally thought it was over I heard the whistles and noisemakers on my walk home! I was about ready to make a mad dash into a shop when I saw the students ride by in the top of a double decker bus. Bizarre. And apparently we weren't the craziest place this year - a friend of mine said that the Abiturienten at her school actually chained the teachers into the teachers' lounge and started a party with the students in the main part of the building. They didn't let the teachers out again until the principal agreed to let the entire school out early. Question: Why did I not go to school in GERMANY?!

Now onto the penguins (and half-marathon, really). A bunch of the other English Teaching Assistants decided to run a half-marathon around the zoo in Muenster last weekend, so my friend Katie and I decided that we would be the moral support and cheer them on. The race was called the "Zoo" race, so we assumed that they'd be running through the zoo, so Katie and I spent the day looking at penguins, bears, tigers and giraffes whilst the others ended up running around the zoo. It was a perfect day - sunshine and all. We all then met up to go to a Biergarten after the race had ended. Good weekend, really!

Katie and her fave - the giraffe

Me and my friend George the parrot. Yeah, I gave him a name.

I heart penguins. For some reason I thought of the ND girls when taking this picture. Maybe it's because it would be totally easy to put word bubbles above each and make it a reenactment of a Finnie's scene at the bar. Maybe something like, "Hey, want to go in on a pitcher?" "Beer or Long Island?" "Scotty!!! Hey, Scotty!"

The girls after the race! Lynne, Sadie, Merianna, Emily, Sara and Sarah

Since I've returned from spring break I've actually received a decent amount of work to do. I think this is the part when the teachers freak because they realize I'm only here for two more months and they haven't really used me yet. Although the conversation club isn't working out (can't get the damn 12th graders motivated), I've been upping my teaching time in several of my 8th grade classes (starting to learn which teachers are prone to letting me do what I want rather than what is in the book), AND I've started tutoring a 5th grader three class hours per week. This has been great in keeping me busy - I get to put together the lessons by myself and get to teach on a consistent basis. That, and I actually feel like I'm making a difference! Yay! Today we went over the names for different food items in English and had a field trip to the grocery store to practice by having him find the items that I put on a shopping list. I'm thinking either animals or describing people as the next topic? Slash, trying to figure out how to put together a makeshift version of "Guess Who" on my own...any suggestions on how to do that?

Other than that looking forward to Kate and Marker coming to visit the first week of May!

This is Mallison, signing off.

Official Countdown: 70 days

I am too old for this/I can never live alone.

Today I was bullied by a bumble bee. In my apartment. What the hell?!?

It managed to get in through my window since, duh, Germans don't believe in screens. Major flaw on their part with the design. So yes. I was making my bed when that dreaded buzzing sound hit my ears, and if any of you know me you know what happened next: I screeched and ran into the other room.
I had on a zip-up hoodie which I proceeded to zip up and tie the hood around my head. I then stood in my kitchen for about ten minutes psyching myself up to go back and get that damn bee out of my room, since it for some reason couldn't find its way back OUT the window from whence it came!
Literally had to make myself say out loud "I am and ADULT, this is MY APARTMENT!" and practically crawled in my room to open the window further. Then I retreated back to the kitchen, only to find out that little SOB was flying around the room now! You never know where they're going! Once it psyched me out and in my adrenaline-induced fleeing (eff fighting) I SOMEHOW managed to cut my big toe on the tile flooring in my kitchen. See - bugs ARE hazardous to my well-being. After about fifteen minutes of being exiled to my kitchen the bee found its way out the window. You can guess how often I'm going to be opening my windows midday around here...

ps - I soooooooo could have been Pluto during this whole chaotic mess!

One week, three countries...

So...for the lack of having a journal in which to write the events of my Spring Break trip with Andie, Nikki and Kelsey, I've decided to write the whole kit and caboodle out here. Stick with me, and hopefully I won't bore you to death - I promise there are a couple laughs stuck in there now and again!

So...on Saturday the 3rd I flew down to Munich where I was supposed to meet the girls after their connecting flight in Madrid. As you could probably tell by the italicized "supposed," the meeting did not go as planned. The girls were stuck in Madrid due to missing their connecting flight, and rather than meeting them at noon they weren't able to get to the hostel until about 8:30pm that night. As soon as they had arrived and showered off the travel-stink, we didn't waste any time in experiencing some German culture. Of course you know what I'm talking about - we went to the Hofbraeuhaus. A round of liter-sized beers, a sausage sampler platter and some pretzels improved the night exponentially. After taking advantage of the free mini-beers at the hostel we made it an early night in preparation for the next day.

Andie and I at the Hofbraeuhaus

The next day we started off with the (three hour loooooong) free tour. Great tour, but long tour. At lunch I introduced the girls to the magnificence of the Doener Kebap - shaved meat, veggies and sauce packed into grilled flatbread. I was able to fully convert Andie, but the other two weren't completely sold - granted, not the best Doener I've ever had. I'll convert the other two yet! After hitting up the hostel for showers and nap-time we hit up Augustiner for dinner, which was definitely an experience.

Nikki, Kelsey and Andie at the Opera House in Munich

After being seated in one of the last available booths (it was Easter Sunday and the place was packed), we were served by a very frantic waiter who proceeded to clear the already set table, then re-set it again, throw down the menus on the table and frantically tell us (in an almost agitated tone) "Two minutes!" We then figured out that the area where we had been seated was supposed to have been occupied by a larger party which had canceled. This poor guy was then given about six tables which were all seated at about the same time. He gradually warmed up as
the night went on, and he quickly gave us our new catch phrase for the entire trip - "You know me!" He also had a fantastic reaction to the stereotypical annoying (and drunk) Americans at the table next to us. They were doing that game where you flip a pile of coasters in the air and try to catch them...let's just say it was getting out of hand. Coasters were flying everywhere and they had pulled the tablecloth away...our waiter dude came flying in with "What is this?!?" and quickly re-set the table. You tell them, Mr. Waiter! It really was a nicer restaurant, and not exactly the type of place for drunken frivolity. Fantastic food though, and Andie and I both found the Dunkles Bier (dark beer) to be quite tasty...

The following morning (Monday) was very very verrrrrrry early in order to catch our flight to Stockholm. Good-old RyanAir...cheap flights, shitty times & airport locations! I think we had to leave the hostel at about 5am in order to catch the 1.5 hour train ride to the airport outside of Munich. After arriving at a similarly small airport in East Jesus Stockholm, we eventually madeit to our hostel in the Gamla-Stan (old town) area of Stockholm. The Gamla-Stan area is basically an island, and our hostel was located right on the water - great location and it was nice to have a private four person room even if it smelled like there may or may not have been something decaying under our floorboards. It was a bit dreary that afternoon (luckily the only bit of rainy-esque weather that we encountered the entire trip!), so we decided to freshen up and head straight for food. The super awesome girl who worked at the front counter suggested that we eat at Kungshalle, which was basically a self-serve place with tons of international food chains so everyone was happy.
After dinner we made it to what was probably the highlight of Stockholm - the Absolut Ice Bar! I'd be as tempted as the next person to say that it was overrated, but truly - it was not! It was absolutely fantastic...before we went in these huge poncho-esque coats were thrown over us, which served not only to keep us warm but also to keep our clothes spill-proof. Genius! When wewent in we received our complementary free drink (read: shot or two with a bit of mixers thrown in)in a glass which was made of ice at the bar which, yes, was made of ice! We only had forty-five minutes total, but our feet were cold by the end of it and we had plenty of time to down some drinks and take some great pictures. We then rounded out the evening with a few drinks afterward...you know, for good measure!

Me and Andie at the Ice Bar in Stockholm

Glasses made of ice!

Tuesday was our big day exploring Stockholm, and we sooooo lucked out with the weather! We went on a boat tour of the city which was a bit chilly, but gorgeous, and got some great burgers for lunch. In the afternoon we went to the Vasamuseet, or Vasa Museum where they have a 17th century ship on display which sank on its maiden voyage and wasn't recovered until the 60s. We then had drinks at a cafe along the water and went to have a traditional Swedish dinner at "The Pelikan" - another recommendation from the fantastic hostel girl who never led us astray! Andie and I went with the Swedish meatballs, which of course were only called "meatballs" there...fantastic. Like, mouth-watering fantastic. The other two went with salmon...didn't say it out loud then, but Andie and I totally won as far as dinner-choices went. The evening once again ended in a bar - this time a jazz bar called "Stampen" which had some very tasty pear-flavored cider and great live music...

Waterfront area in Stockholm...boat tour!

Wednesday morning, once again thanks to RyanAir's inability to have a flight leave from a location within an hour of the city where it is "located," we left very early for our flight to Paris. After the long trip and being deprived of food during said trip, we checked into our hostel which was right at the foot of Sacre Coeur, my favorite place in Paris, grabbed quite possibly the best chicken sandwiches in the world (at least they seemed like it after not having eaten anything all morning), and we ate them on the hill in front of Sacre Coeur.
That evening we decided to go to the Latin Quarter near St. Michel to grab some great French cuisine. There's this whole street just lined with restaurants, so the waiters do their best to entice prospective customers. Our garcon began wooing us the minute we walked by - we got a table right by the front of the restaurant (which was open because the weather was gorgeous), and I don't think we've all been called beautiful so many times within five minutes. Kelsey even got a kiss on the cheek from our frisky waiter! Seriously, the food did NOT disappoint - best duck I've ever had in my LIFE! It's too bad that Andie had a cold and couldn't taste anything that night...at least she got her taste back by the last day in France!
This is when the night got interesting...we were supposed to go on a pub crawl, but for some reason it never met up at the meeting place! Therefore, we decided to go out exploring the French bars on our own. Piano bar? Why not! And this decision made all the difference. At first when we went into this bar, I wasn't so sure. It seemed a little pretentious, and I felt a bit out of place with the whole piano and the singer and everything. After a couple glasses of wine we were getting into the music and really started to enjoy ourselves. Then, these two older French men in business suits, about 75 years old and clearly done with a day of work, plop down at the table next to us and one proceeds to grab Andie's wine glass and stick his nose right in it. We were totally thrown off but had to burst out laughing, and we quickly learned that these two guys couldn't speak a WORD of English, and we couldn't speak a word of French. Great situation, no? Hilariously enough, we managed to become best buds with these guys buy the end of the night (I know I know...older guys flirting with four twenty-something American women. But hey, it was harmless...and we got free wine out of it!). After having made friends with the singer and these two guys, we decided to call it quits and head home. We'd all had more than enough wine, and when the guy sitting next to Andie dropped his wine glass on the floor we figured they were about done as well. Stellar night all in all - Who said the French aren't friendly?

Despite the large quantities of wine consumed the night before, we managed to wake up early on Thursday in order to see Paris in all its glory! First thing we did was hit up the Louvre right when it opened...we lasted about 1.5 hours there, but after that we were all pretty museumed-out. After leaving the Louvre we walked down the Champs de Elysee all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. Desperately needing food we took the metro back to Montmartre (the area where we were staying at) and got some grub (ps - apparently in France when you order a hamburger you get a beef patty with a fried egg on top. Lesson learned). Then we did what I had been trying to do the last two times I was in Paris - a tour of the Montmartre area, which had previously (and still partially remains) the artist-center of Paris. Now it's a bit more expensive to live there, but for example the Place du Tetre still has painters and artists all over the place. On the tour we got to see Van Gogh's house, Picasso's house, and several places where the movie "Amelie" had been filmed.

We were then all in desperate need of a break - the others showered and napped, and I ran to the grocery store across the street to grab some wine, bread, cheese, water....I was feeling very French. We also had a terrace connected to our room with a view of the Sacre Coeur, so I played solitaire and enjoyed the view while the others napped. The evening was relatively calm as well - after visiting Place du Tetre and buying some paintings we had dinner and rounded out the night by drinking some wine in front of the Eiffel Tower, which, by the way, lights up and sparkles at night. Great way to end the night.Wine at the Eiffel Tower - Me and Kelsey

Nikki, Kelsey and I at Place du la Concorde

On our last real full day we had to scramble to fit in the other "musts" in Paris. We went back to the Eiffel Tower to take some daytime pics, went by Notre Dame, the gals did some serious souvenir shopping, and then we decided that it was only appropriate that our last real meal be a good one (unfortunately Nikki was sick for this meal, so she and Andie switched places as to who could taste it and who could not). We even decided to get some fondue in addition to our course meal. Hey, if you're going to do it then do it right! Wenn schon, denn schon.
Kelsey and I with our fondue

Andie, Nikki, Kelsey and I at the Eiffel Tower

Andie, Kelsey and Nikki at Notre Dame

As you can imagine, at this point we were all exhausted. We had just enough energy to grab some massive waters at the grocery store and get to the train which would take us back to Munich. Six hours of doing nothing but sitting was a welcome change of pace. We didn't get back to Munich until about 10pm so that left just enough time for a BK dinner, and then Andie, Kelsey and I ventured back out to find a Hofbraeuhaus mug which Andie wanted. We literally got to the Hofbraeuhaus FIVE minutes after the store had closed, so I ran across the street and finagled a couple of mugs from the rival (and locally adored) Augustinerbraeu. It's times like that when I am very happy that I'm able to speak German...

Not too much exciting from that point on - we all got about three hours of sleep total since the next morning was another early one. I went as far as the Munich airport with the girls and we said our goodbyes - it was a wonderful vacation and it was so great to see all of them and to share this experience. Now all I have to do is wait less than three months to see them again in the burg!

Random thoughts...

So...this is going to be a random mish-mash of a blog entry, so brace yourself for it now. Fair warning.

First of all, I need to get some random thoughts out of the way that occurred to me on my 20 minute walk back from the train station today.

Random thought #1: Germans are way too attached to their winter coats. Today it was literally 65 degrees outside. However, about 90% of the Germans that I saw STILL had their winter coat on, and often times a scarf as well. And they weren't sweating...how is this physically possible??? I was trudging along with my heavy bags in a hoodie and the sweat was rolling. How is a coat necessitated in weather which college students in the US would greet with shorts, t-shirts and flip flops?!?

Random thought #2: I've definitely assimilated to the culture when I've become obsessed with having "frische Luft" or fresh air in the room at all times. German homes and many buildings don't really have a ventilation system, so they simply open the windows during the day (no screens, mind you) in order to let in the fresh air and let out the humidity in the room. This happens in both warm and VERY cold weather. At my Berlin conference this weekend I found myself dying for some frische Luft many times, and I was very upset by the fact that the window in our hotel room didn't open. Well done, Germans...well done.

Random thought #3: Also when making the trek back from the train station today, I realized that I've really settled in here (of course right before I'm getting ready to leave). I had this sense of coming back home after being in Berlin for a week, and I was genuinely excited about seeing my colleagues for our weekly viewing of Germany's Next Top Model...just as kitschy in Germany as it is in the US, if not more so.

It's a bit late to start in on the travel talk right now, so for now I'll say that Hamburg and Berlin were both fantastic trips, mostly because I found them to be a completely different experience from any other trips I've had within Germany. Definitely both very unique, and not what people would expect in Germany (one being more of a port city and the other such a myriad of many different cultures). I'll post some pictures as soon as I get the time to.

Hope this blog finds you, my avid readers, well!

Alles Gute.......tschuessi! :)

Some things are just universal...

Since my arrival in Germany, I've gotten to know several of my colleagues at the school very well, and have reached a certain level of comfort with my position at the school. Through these relationships I've come to the conclusion, as cliche as it might be, that really - some things are universal.

Example #1: Next Top Model. Yes, the television show that is every woman's guilty pleasure in the United States is ALSO a guilty pleasure of women in Germany. I was recently invited to join a viewing group with some teachers that I work with - my friend Nadin came up to me and said (with a hint of embarrassment) that she and some of the other teachers made it a habit last year to get together and drink wine and bitch about how skinny all of the models are, much like she used to do with her friends when she was at the university. My instant reaction: "OH MY GOD I did the exact same thing with my friends all throughout college, I'd loooooooove to!!!!!!" She just laughed and said, "See, women all around the world really are the same." Well said, Nadin. Well said.

Example #2: Fifteen year old boys will always be the same blundering fools in every country. Well, at least they're the same in Germany as they are in the US. In one of my tenth grade classes they were doing group work today, and I was going around asking them if they had questions, asking them to read out their work. I get to the group of boys in the class - and you all know this group. Think they're too cool for school. And they laugh at EVERYTHING. Literally, everything.

Me: "So guys, let's hear your diary entry for number five."

Student A: *giggle giggle* "You should be reading YOURS!" *points to another, more laughter* "He should read it - his is very good I think"

Student B: "NEIN! will ich nicht...YOU do it!" *chuckle chuckle, shoves paper to other boy*

Student A: "But yours is SOOO good!"
Laughter explodes at this point. This goes on for another five minutes until finally, .....

Student C: "aach, du Arschloch...fine, I read it." *reads the text*

Me: "Good job, that sounded great. Seriously, was it that hard?"

Student A: "Oh, yeah, that was totally mine - I had wrote it!" *LAUGHTERRRRRRRR*

Example #3: All teachers talk about outside of school...is school. Trust me, I've grown up with two parents who are also teachers. I get to hear all about their classes, school politics, etc. I guess it's just part of unwinding at the end of the day. Then I come here, and I'm struggling to find a discussion that I can actually take part in. Thank God I've gotten to know some of the classes and a bunch of the students, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to follow a conversation in the teacher's lounge, OR in the bars when we go out! I mean, I suppose they have that all in common, but let's give it a rest, people!

I'm sure that there are more "universals" out there, but this will have to do for now. Maybe I'll keep a list and post again later.

Oh, and for those of you who I haven't freaked out to yet, I got into Georgetown (unbelievably)! Although it looks like the classes and prestige might have been a bit better, I don't think it will be the best fit for me personally. UW Madison has been very generous in their offer, and I definitely feel more of a personal connection to the culture on that campus. That, and let's face it - I'm a little overdue to be closer to home for a year or two :)

As for now, just trying to be patient and wait for my lovely visitors come April! This weekend my friend Charlie arrives Thursday, and he, my friend Emily and I are heading off to Hamburg for the weekend! Will post pictures and stories when I return to quaint little Duelmen!

Tschuessi,

Mary

Prepping for the Craziness of March & April

Well, it's now less than one month until my time here starts to go be REAL fast. In fact, next weekend my friend Charlie comes to visit and we'll be making a trip to Hamburg, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful (northern) German cities. The following weekend begins the conference in Berlin for the Fulbrighters, and then directly after that, spring break will begin in all its glory!

My time has lately been spent helping my spring break possy prepare for their first trip to Europe - that means writing many lists of what they need to take care of before they leave, what they should pack, what they should plan on expecting once they get here, and of course, making a list of useful phrases in the various languages we will encounter. These will include German, Swedish and French. When looking up French phrases, this Friends episode immediately came to mind...enjoy! (P.S. - Two things: have not heard back from Georgetown yet, AND...I have been watching far too many episodes of Friends.)

Things I do waaaaaaay more in Germany than stateside:

1. Paint my nails. Wait, one's chipped? Gotta re-do them all!

2. Watching Friends....and any other television series I can get my hands on.

3. Blogging. Duh.

4. Facebooking...somehow it makes me feel more connected to what's going on at home. See, there IS a purpose for stalking!

5. Going through the Itunes store over and over again to best decide how to spend my remaining balance leftover from Christmas giftcards. Still haven't made a decision. Singin' in the Rain, or the Great Mouse Detective?!?


...the sooner I get a life, the better.

Yes, the waiting IS the hardest part...

Okay, so I don't know how much all of you are caught up on my graduate school dilemma, so let me clue you in. Basically, I put all of my eggs in two metaphorical baskets - one being the Master's program for German at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the other being the Master's in German and European Studies (MAGES) at Georgetown. Two very different programs...and therefore I'm looking a a potentially difficult decision ahead of me.

I've been accepted at UW Madison, and all I have left to hear back from them is about my financial package - basically, will I get a TA position and will I actually end up getting paid to study there. It's a two year program, and I'd probably end up focusing on German literature of the 20th century. Pros: possible kick-ass financial support; close to home; close to Chi-town & close(r) to ND (football games, DUH!). Cons: not as diverse of a program as Georgetown's

I'm still waiting to hear back from Georgetown, and should hear back mid to late March. This program includes not only German courses, but also econ and political science courses. Plus, I'd have to learn another language as well (thinking Spanish or French at this point...). It'd be really intense, but then again - it's Georgetown. However, I'm not exactly expecting the same kind of financial support (read: bribery) that Wisconsin is offering me. Pros: more options with this degree; looks kick-ass on a resume; connections; obvi moving closer to Tacey and my cousin Libby and her husband Rob. Cons: far away from home (esp. after being away this year and junior year of college - which my mom has started hinting at. Wonder if it's a coincidence that she told me I could have the minivan if I go to UW...); I'd miss the Midwest; going even further into debt...

So yeah. Everyone I've talked to about this is kinda stumped as well. Although, this may end up not being a problem at all, since I haven't even heard back from Georgetown yet. Mal sehen...

This past weekend was good, albeit exhausting. Saturday I went on a two hour hike with some of the teachers at my school. Sounds lovely, right? MEH. I dunno, something in me just doesn't fancy a two hour walk through the muck and mud (oh, and sometimes ice...almost ate shit like three times). And yes, for about a 2o minute portion there were THORN BUSHES cutting across the..."path." And it snowed. It was really nice to talk to people, but really. We could have gone walking someplace else. The most interesting thing we saw was the back of a barn and some cows. A friend of mine asked me if Americans do hikes like this, and I think my reply was something along the lines of, "Yeah, but usually only in good weather. Like, not during winter." At least there was coffee and cake at the end. Made destroying my shoes seem a little more justified...(note to self: next time when going hiking with Germans wear lumberjack boots). A colleague asked me about it today, since he kinda heard that I wasn't exactly wild about the experience. Little bugger LAUGHED! And kept laughing. You do not laugh. NO. You were not there...

I got back to my apartment about six, ran out to get groceries for dinner, and as soon as I got back I was invited to go see a movie with one of the teachers I went hiking with. She, her boyfriend, and I went to see "Up in the Air." Really, a great movie. Not the most uplifting of movies, but one of those beautifully tragic movies that you think about for days after you saw it. Oh, and the soundtrack rocked as well. My only irk was the dubbed voice for George Clooney...but what're gonna do when you live in Deutschland. We went out for drinks after the movie, and I finally got back to the apartment around midnight. Definitely collapsed that night.

This weekend planning on some slam poetry and cheap beer with good friends :) Definitely looking forward to a night in Muenster. Will keep you all updated as to my graduate school decision-making process

Karneval in Koeln & Olfen

Okay, so Karneval was everything that I expected and MORE. I have to pace myself - there's so much to say!

First of all, I went with a teacher from my school, Steffi, on Rosenmontag (this past Monday) for the parade in Cologne. She picked me up at 7.30am from my apartment (wasn't the happiest of campers at this point, but when I opened the door to greet a 30 year old woman dressed as Pippi Longstocking, my spirits improved). We drove to Recklinghausen, and then took the train from there to Cologne (about a 1.5 hour trip).

The trains on the way there were JAM PACKED, and I have to say that I felt a little under-costumed despite the neon-pink wig that Steffi gave me to wear and my face having red hearts painted all over it. There were so many people on the trains that you could barely move, and confetti was flying before we even got to the city. The conductor even came on over the loud speakers and told people to get off at the stop just outside the main station because the main train station was literally full of people. Did we get off there? Oh no, we decided to take a chance with the crowds.

AND WERE THERE CROWDS! I've never been around that many people at one point - apparently about 1.3 million people. People, literally of ALL AGES were dressed in the most outlandish costumes. Everything from middle aged men dressed in drag to vikings to witches to garden gnomes. Wigs, feather boas and oversized sunglasses were everywhere and people were blowing these cheap trumpet-like things (which I came to hate by the end of the day). It was definitely a sight to see - there were vendors selling cans of beer all along the streets on the walk to where the "Umzug" (parade) took place.

And let me tell you, I've never seen a parade quite like this. They threw TONS of candy, including whole chocolate bars (took one to the forehead - OUCH!), and the parade lasts about five hours. No joke. We were there for three hours, but seeing as we couldn't feel our feet we decided it was time to go. Finding our way back to the train station was an adventure in itself, especially considering it was on the OTHER side of the parade. About an hour later, we found the U-Bahn station where we had to go underground to get around the parade. So yeah, very very long day, but very very cool experience.

Today I went to Olfen, a smaller city outside of Duelmen, with a student teacher from my school. They were having the same kind of parade, but obviously on a smaller scale. The best part, I must say, was the company. She and I drove to Olfen right after school and met her parents and their friends, who had already set up camp on the side of the road and were waiting for the parade.

They weren't fooling around either - they had everything from a keg of Koelsch beer to one of those standing heating post things that they have at outdoor restaurants. And the costumes - fantastic. Pirates and clowns complete with face paint and everything! Her parents were hilarious, and kept insisting that I "have another beer!"..."try some of this Wurst, but you must have it with mustard!"..."do you want to do a vodka shot?!"..."you're out of beer - GET HER ANOTHER BEER!" Oy. After having had nothing to eat all day, I was in pretty good spirits by the time we left. I had also secured an invitation to her father's 60th birthday this June. Cannot WAIT!

Me and Steffi at Karneval!

One of the bands...typisch.

This is what you have to scream over and over if you're in COLOGNE for Karneval...in Duesseldorf, for example, you have to say something different.

This float was about the swine flu...thought it was pretty clever.

Steffi's wig became a bit unruly...

Poor Angela Merkel...not the most flattering depiction.

This picture was taken on the side of the parade OPPOSITE the train station. Took us a good hour to get to the other side.

Karneval

Only in Germany would I see a child dressed up like a devil running around the grocery store today. Yes, it's time for Karneval. I really didn't know much about what that entailed until recently, so here are some of the main points for those of you who aren't familiar with it...

- Karneval started on Thursday at 11:11am, at which point people paint hearts on their cheeks and spraypaint their hair wild colors. Thursday is also "Weibernacht," which translates to something like "ladies' night." The women go crazy and pretty much get wasted that night. They take over town halls, and any men caught wearing a tie on this day run the risk of having it cut off with scissors (I may or may not have seen my principal being run down by female teachers at my school. Really, people - they go crazy.)

-Karneval lasts (at least) through Monday, and pretty much every night is a big party. Cologne is Karneval-central in the Rheinland area, and people wear costumes which we would associate more with halloween.

-Apparently the biggest day is Rosenmontag, the Monday of Karneval. I have yet to experience this, but I'm told that I need at least a wig and some face paint. I'm heading to Cologne for Rosenmontag with a couple teachers from my school, Steffi and Nadin. We'll see how that goes...I'll report back.

Other than the Karneval madness that's been going on, things have been pretty good! I got to see the other TAs last weekend, which ended up being a blast. (And yes, Emily and I represented ND by dominating at beer pong) Today I gave a presentation on American Tall Tales and Legends, which went SO well! The kids broke out into laughter when I told them about Johnny Appleseed (a guy who wears a pot for a hat is apparently funnier than I thought?), and loved the Disney cartoon examples that I showed them after reading some stories. Probably my best lesson plan yet (that means I'm improving, right?!). Spent all day yesterday making up some Valentines for my two 8th grade classes and doing lesson plans, and then tonight I'm going out with some of the student teachers from my school. Yessssssss it looks like I've finally gotten a life! :)

Spring Break Bonanza Countdown: 49 days

Motivation...about damn time!

Well, those of you who talk to me on a fairly regular basis probably know that the past week or so hasn't exactly been the best week of my life. I spent the past weekend moping around my apartment and eating everything in sight, because I got the call that my parents had to put my dog down. Part of me knew it was coming, but I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of it actually having happened. This came at the same time as receiving an acceptance letter, well - email really, for the German graduate program at UW Madison. Great news, but I wasn't in the best mindset to hear it.

After a less than stellar weekend, things are starting to look up and I'm starting to remember again why I am here. The past few weeks have been fairly uneventful for me, especially because we were nearing the end of the semester at my school. That meant lots of reviewing and testing and literally no opportunities for me to really take part in the lessons. Having had enough of sitting around doing nothing, I've sat down with the head of the English department and the results are great so far.

Rather than the 12 hours per week that I had scheduled last semester (and often times it ended up being less than that), it looks like I will be able to have 18 hours this coming semester! Granted, I lose my day off, BUT I never utilized it last semester. That, and only having two class hours on Fridays makes it easy for me to request a day off in the future...especially since I haven't missed a day yet. So yeah, after I reiterated over and over again that I had waaaaaaaay too much free time, I was given more hours AAAAAAAAAND (drum role, please)

.......it looks like I'm going to have two different class hours that I'll be able to plan for and lead BY MYSELF! HA! One will be for conversation & films, the other helping students prepare for the English oral examinations (get your mind out of the gutter) they take at the end of the year. I'm SO pumped and I really think that this will give me more of a sense of "belonging" at the school. I think the English department is thrilled as well...the head of the department told me today after going over class schedules that, "Hey, if you want more work, we'll find it for you!" In celebration, I went and bought a new set of colorful pens and a pen/pencil case at the bookstore. Yay for motivation!!!

Not only am I able to look forward to a larger role at the school, but I also have a wonderful weekend to look forward to! Friday night I head off to Muenster (the university city about 20 minutes away) to see "Romeo and Juliet" with some friends. I'll spend the night at a friend's there, and then we'll both go to the "American Party" held by a good friend of mine in Warendorf. All the English TAs in our group (and one Brit) are going to get together to kick some German butt at the best drinking games America has to offer - beer pong, flip cup, kings, and the like.

ANOTHER great thought I've been dwelling on today - it's T-minus two months until Andie, Nikki and Kelsey arrive for Spring Break in Munich, Paris and Stockholm. So. Pumped.

So yeah - things are looking up. Maybe it's just January that's the month for depression....? Let's hope February will be significantly better :)

Tschuessi!

Doldrums

Well, it is official - I've hit the doldrums, and it looks like I'll be there until mid March, when the Berlin conference takes place. It also doesn't help that the end of the month has its challenges...specifically that I have to wait until the last day of the month to get paid for the upcoming month.

Tomorrow marks the end of a four-day weekend...one which I wasn't expecting to be quite honest. Last week I was informed that this Tuesday would be a conference day for the teachers, and that I'd have the day off. Since I already don't go in on Mondays, that means a four day weekend. Which, since I hadn't been given earlier notice about my time off, would be spent sitting in my apartment doing two things - 1. Starting, and nearly finishing, the TV series "How I Met your Mother", and 2. Watching all four of the movies in the X-men series. Never in my life have I cursed a four day weekend, but when you're already struggling to keep yourself busy in the first palce, having extra time off isn't exactly a blessing.

Luckily I have a couple things to look forward to in the near future. Next weekend should be spent with a friend of mine who is a student teacher, because she's finished an important step in her student teaching work (Unterrichtsbesuch, or U.B.). She's requested to have a night out on the town, in Duelmen...hah, and I was definitely excited about the chance to do anything social in my town. Then the weekend after that, the American TAs are getting together to have an "American party," complete with beer pong, flip cup, and various card games. The superbowl is the following day, so we're working on how to watch that as well.

Step by step I'm getting closer - 5 months to go! (To be quite honest though, I'm starting to realize that I'll end up missing stuff when I leave here as well - specifically people I've met) Hoping that I'll hear something back from Georgetown or Madison soon regarding graduate study, and will keep you updated on that. Hope you are all surviving January and the post-holidays slow-down. Wishing you the best and missing you all!

Back in the swing of things

Well, about a week after I had arrived back in Germany, I finally got over my initial intense period of homesickness and jet-lag (complete with waking up at 3.30 in the morning and not being able to go to sleep until I was actually supposed to wake up). Needless to say, a big relief to be rid of both of them. The first weekend I was back, I actually got off of my butt and went to visit a friend of mine in nearby Muenster, which was a great distraction. Definitely was in better shape after a weekend out of the apartment and some company.

Another distraction which has been keeping me busy back at the apartment, has been planning for the up and coming Spring Break 2010 bonanza! As you might know, my cousin Andie and two of my best friends from high school, Nikki and Kelsey, are coming to Europe during the second week of my spring break - ie the first week of April. We'll be visiting Munich, Stockholm, and Paris together in that order. They don't have any experience with dealing with trains, hostels, budget airlines, etc, so that responsibility has fallen upon me. Luckily, I suffer from a lack of things to do. Needless to say, I've created a spreadsheet and as of today have finished all necessary travel and accommodation reservations (Including a hostel in Paris that overlooks Sacre Coeur...).

I only have one class hour on Thursdays, so today was the perfect day to get all of that organizing done. Now I've moved on to looking up entrance fees to different attractions, tour times, etc. We only get about 1.5 days in each city (because of travel time), so I want to make sure we get to see what we want to see. After class the day quickly became a "me day," which I must admit was pretty good for my mental health as well. I went walking around the city center because I had decided to allow myself to buy a new pair of shoes (comfy shoes for spring break, of course) because there would most likely be sales...and I was right. Sales EVERYWHERE! It took a lot of self-control not to spend some serious money, but I did treat myself to a "Nussecke" from the bakery on the way back to my apartment since I had saved 30% on my new sporty Esprit kicks (And no, Esprit didn't die at the end of the 80s in Europe like it did in the US...it's still thriving and popular). Fresh air, new shoes and a treat - YAY!

6 months to go...

Well, after a hellish few days (yes, days) of traveling in order to get back to my apartment in Deutschland, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. No more big-time traveling to deal with...at least for another six months.

At first this seemed like a pretty daunting amount of time to be spent here...and a large amount of that time being spent alone in my apartment, catching up with American TV series. I've been here four months so far, but for some reason "six months" seems like such a longer amount of time...

However, after sitting down to think about it, the time should pass pretty quickly. I have not only ONE group of buds coming to visit in April for a week (Kelsey, Nikki and Andie), but also I have Kate and Durst who are planning to come sometime in May. So that leaves January, February and March as the doldrums which I need to get through. The cold, dark months during which seemingly nothing is supposed to be happening.

I know some of you want to remind me that yes, I do have friends, so this shouldn't be too bad. This is true, but my budget can only afford a certain amount of visits to Muenster and other cities, so these will have to be planned wisely to make the time fly by.

Anyway, enough of my debbie-downer talk. I've decided that this is merely a negative side-effect of having been home for two weeks and constantly being surrounded by people and always having something to do. If I had actually stayed home, this would have inevitably happened in good ole Galesburg as well!

Will do my best to be better about blogging during this second half of my time in Germany. I'll be taking any suggestions for topics, because I seem to have trouble coming up with ideas...

Liebe Gruesse,
Mary