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!