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! :)

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