Day 103

Hello! Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time. Things around here really picked up! Jess came last weekend for my birthday and we had a really fun and relaxing time. I picked her up at the airport on Friday afternoon (she had to find me, haha). We took the train back to Heidelberg, because we didn't think it would be a good idea for her to walk around in Frankfurt with her bags. Then we went into the old city and walked around. In Spain, Christmas isn't a big deal like it is in Germany. Christmas markets (weihnachtsmarkts) are everywhere in Germany and Heidelberg has a pretty good sized one. We had dinner at the very german Pizza Hut and then went to AJY to see if anyone was around. She got to see the Heidelberg nightlife and go to Metropol and Coyote Cafe. We went back to my house pretty early, so we could get up and do the touristy things. We walked up to the castle in the morning. I had never had a tour in english, so we took an audio tour and it was pretty hilarious and I learned a lot. Then we went to the christmas market and got crepes for lunch and did a lot of christmas shopping. We went all up and down Hauptstrasse and found pretty much everything we were looking for. We had a quick coffee with Uncle Michael and then went back to my room to rest for a while before dinner. We went back to the greatest restaurant in Heidelberg again, and then went back to my room for some crazy times (watching the beginning of the 5th season of gilmore girls) before we had to go to the train station at 2:30am. Getting there was pretty easy, but waiting for the bus was a little strange, because we thought it was coming, then it wasn't it, but she got on ok and hopefully made friends with the girl that was also waiting there, haha. I got back to my room half an hour later and slept until 1pm the next day. Overall it was a great way to celebrate my birthday, and a familiar face was needed. This week I have been trying to get work done and get over a sinus infection. I have been sleeping a lot and am finally feeling better, but I have two ten page papers due on Wednesday and Thursday, and I had a 5 page one due last Thursday. It is pretty much constant work for me for the rest of my time in Heidelberg. I had a really good time while I have been here and have learned a lot, but now it is crunch time, and I have to show it.

Day 90

Oh man, this is going to be a long post. First, I FINALLY SUCCESSFULLY PLAYED PING-PONG IN GERMANY! AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! Ok, so Liv's mom is here and I will get to that later, but she decided not to go to ping-pong and I had to think for a few minutes and convince myself to go alone. But I did it. I showed up too early and walked around the block and waited to see it being set up through the window before I went in. I walked in the gym and everyone was already playing, so I watched for a bit and tried to see who looked the nicest. I settled on the only 2 girls in the gym. I inched closer and closer to them and finally got up the courage to tell them that I was from America, trying to learn German and play ping-pong to get to know people. Instead of talking to me, the one girl let me have her spot for a few minutes, until I tried to make conversation again, and she told me that the boys in the front had three people and I should go join them. I was like, great, I bet they will be even less friendly. But, I was wrong. I walked over to them and explained myself again, and they were more than willing to let me play with them and were super nice. I played with Christian at first. He spoke hardly any English so we just played for a while, but Christopher and Paul spoke a little more English and slowly warmed up to me after watching me beat Christian a few times and asking me how to say serve and slam in English and teaching me the German. We stood around for a while and talked about ping-pong in germany and the us. Then we played a ping-pong game, where we had to run around the table and that was so much fun. It was a lot of laughing and being silly. I was really proud of myself, because even though I spoke English some, I spoke mostly German and had a great time.

After ping-pong, I went out to dinner with Greg's family, which was really fun and relaxing. Especially compared to the earlier part of my day. I woke up feeling terrible, because I have a sinus infection and tried to go to the doctor, but when I got there, the doctor was leaving for the day. So, I came right back home (i spent basically an hour on the bus) and did laundry and cleaned my room.

So, class last week was as usual, but then, on Friday Liv's mom and Greg's parents came into town. Friday was when I started feeling sick as well. It came on completely suddenly. I went out to lunch with Liv and her mom at the oldest cafe in Heidelberg. It was really nice, but a little too much fancy food for me. Then, Liv's mom went to take a nap and Liv tried to take me to the emergency doctor, but we got all the way there and it was closed until 7pm. Instead, I went back to AJY and hung out until Liv, her mom, Greg, Liz, and I went to dinner at the Red Ox. It was really delicious and that's where I went with Greg's parents tonight and I got the same thing both times. We went to bed early, because on Saturday we got up at 6 am to make an 8am train to Cologne. We napped on the train and went to Starbucks as soon as we got in. Then we visited the famous Cathedral and went through the treasury. It was so cool. All the gold and gem stones were really beautiful. Then we went to an art museum for a few hours. After the art museum we went window shopping and ate an early dinner. Then we did more walking around and went into Kaufhoff and found a lot of the things we were missing for Thanksgiving dinner, like sweet potatoes, fluff, and whipped cream. Magical american things that Heidelberg is too small to have. So then we went back to the train station, but missed our train and had to find a new one, because Liv bought the tickets from the wrong station. It was a lot of stress, but everything turned out fine and we got into Heidelberg around 1 am.

Sunday, I slept in and went to AJY around noon to meet for the scrapbook club. Then I headed over to Liv's for American Thanksgiving brought to Germany. It was delicious. Liv and her mom spent all day cooking and made 4 turkey breasts, 3 pumpkin pies, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, corn, stuffing, and cookies. There was so much food and the germans loved it. I wonder how AJY's Thanksgiving on Thursday will compare. I'll let you know and update about the big 2-1 celebration. I have already gotten quite a few cards and packages. I haven't opened anything yet though, I want to do it all on my birthday, but it is all creating a pile in AJY because I don't trust myself to bring it home and not open it, haha.

Day 84

Hey Everyone! My weekend of traveling was great!

We took an IC train from Heidelberg to Hamburg and it took about 6 hours to get there. Greg, Liv, and I read and talked on the train ride and it wasn't bad at all. I even got a lesson about the architecture of north german houses versus south german houses from Greg. Very intellectually stimulating train ride. We got into the train station around 3:30 and our hostel was supposed to be a ten minute walk, but we printed directions and not a map. On top of that, it was raining and we had our luggage in addition to our backpacks. After an hour and a half of trying to find the hostel, we finally went back to the train station and started again using different directions and found the hostel within ten minutes. It was so frustrating.

After drying off for a little while, we ventured back out in search of food. We walked about half an hour into the old city and ate at an italian restaurant. The food and wine were good and Greg and I ended up having a debate over dinner that lasted for two hours and spilled into the street, so we wandered around for a while before heading back to the hostel and calling it an early night, so we could get up early the next day to sight-see.

We woke up early to get breakfast at the hostel, but then realized it wasn't included like we thought. So we walked to the train station in search of something that would be open. We got pastries and walked to the enormous art museum, but even it wasn't open yet. We were a few of the first people inside and stayed for more than 3 hours. It was an amazing museum and I felt like it was never going to end. After the art museum, we got something quick to eat and walked to three different churches to study their architecture. On the way we stopped to watch a protest against Scientology, where all the protestors were wearing Guy Faulkes masks, but they were a few days late, haha. They were interspersed throughout the city and we ended up walking a lot and getting stuck somewhere where there wasn't much to eat. We finally found a chain german restaurant and settled in for a while. The food was good and we ordered the local beer, which I liked a lot actually. We even got apple strudel. After we had sat for over two hours, we figured we were ready to do some more exploring and venture to Hamburg's famous red light district. We had already walked a lot on Saturday and it was a far walk to St. Pauli. We walked around the street for a while and just enjoyed being tourists before heading back for the night. It took us almost an hour and a half to walk back to the hostel and my feet were burning by the time we did get there. I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

On Sunday we knew much wasn't going to be open so we got up a little later and had breakfast at the hostel. We walked to the harbor after breakfast and just hung out for a while looking around. Then we walked into the city and decided to take a 2 hour boat tour. After the boat tour, it was too early for dinner, so we window shopped and sat at a cafe. Then we tried to go to a german bar for dinner, but we walked for a while in the rain and nothing was open, so we decided to just have Italian again. We stayed at dinner for over three hours, enjoying our last night in Hamburg. I actually got China spaghetti and it was really good. We walked back to the hotel pretty early and just hung out for a few hours talking and playing 20 questions. We went to bed early, because we woke up at 7 to get the train.

The train was an ICE, so it was even faster than the one going to Hamburg. We got to Heidelberg by 2 and Liv and I went to the study center. We hung out for a little while, and then got an early dinner before ping-pong, but alas third time was not the charm. Again, we couldn't find it, but this time we were determined. We finally found the reason, we had been showing up two hours late. It started at 4, not 6. Next week we will finally taste victory!

Day 78

Happy Birthday Mom and Evan!

I am sitting here eating a Milka bar and have come to the realization that I will need a dentist appointment when I go home, because a piece of one of my teeth fell out and now I am experiencing pain after I bite down on something sweet, and the pain is lingering. I'm pretty sure that is a very typical sign of a cavity, and I really shouldn't be surprised considering the amount of chocolate I eat. I should have given myself type 2 diabetes by now. Anyway, back to my original post. I really don't update this enough. Last night was really fun. I threw a birthday party for one of the guys in the program, John. We went out for a quick dinner, then went to a bar to hang out for a while. We just sat, talked, and had a few beers and it was a lot of fun. I think we have to do that more often while we are in Germany and have easy access to good beer. I slept over at Liv's because the buses don't run later on weeknights. Then, I went to class right from Liv's this morning. It was so weird not having to wake up super early and have to take the bus in the morning. My culture class was not as hard to understand as usual today, so I wasn't as frustrated. Then, I went home and did laundry and then went back to the study center for dinner. Meghan and I went to the Hard Rock Cafe and then Liv and I watched a tv show together at the center. After that I came home and was able to skype for a while. Now I have to work on a little bit of homework for tomorrow and think about packing for our trip this weekend.

Day 75

Happy Birthday Allison!

My experience in Germany is already 2/3 of the way done and it really feels like it. Yesterday I had a fun day, even though the weather was terrible. We used our semester train tickets and went to the city of Worms. It was fun to just walk around and take pictures. But halfway through our exploration, we sat down in a beautiful church and as we were talking, realized the rest of our weekends in November are planned and we only have 2 weekends in December, and all of our work for the entire semester is due in December, so felt like we were out of time. It was a weird feeling considering we are all looking forward to going home, but we don't hate it here and wish we could go home immediately like some people in our program. The weeks go by so quickly, because I only have one class Tuesdays and Wednesdays, then 3 classes on Thursday. So I have a four day weekend that flies by and this build-up until Thursdays, which are terrible. Today, I have goals of cleaning my room, picking a paper topic, updating my blog (haha), uploading pictures, and going to the Heidelberg film festival. Let's see which of those actually get done considering I didn't wake up until noon.

Day 70

Wow, I can't believe it is already November! This weekend was Halloween and we had a lot of fun just going out and hanging out with each other, even though it was so different than it would have been at home.

Funny story: Liv and I tried to play ping-pong last night, but failed. We went to the gym at 6, but as we approached, we realized it was in the main gym and we were walking there in jeans and boots. We immediately started freaking out and wanted to turn around we were so embarrassed, but we didn't. We crept along the trees and watched from a window, and it turns out that we were right. Everyone there was in full athletic gear! We turned around and went back to AJY. We felt so ridiculous, we didn't even consider that we would have to wear special clothes. Hopefully next week we will actually succeed in playing a game.

I read an entire play in german over the past two days and it has made my head spin. I'm feeling very frustrated and overwhelmed today. I do work, but it just seems like more and more keeps piling on. I feel frustrated right now, but that isn't my main feeling. I know it will pass. Like when we have dinner tonight, everything will be okay. Like last night, when Greg and I walked home from the study center for 45 mins and just talked, the majority of the time here I do things I enjoy, so I need to just stuck it up and realize that work in inevitable again, it's just that we've had a long break since the steady work of the grammar class and it's hard to get back into the groove.

Day 66

Quick post before I am off to bed. Uncle Michael called and said his meeting was cancelled, so we aren't going to Italy in a few hours. Maybe we will go next weekend though. Hopefully I will finally be able to get a good nights sleep.

Day 62

Today was so fun!

Uncle Michael picked Liv and I up at Bismarck Square at 11am and we drove to Bad Schwalbach for lunch with Aunt Romana and Andy. Aunt Romana made a delicious meal. We had spagetti with a cheese sauce, chicken, and vegetables. And it was followed by the best dessert ever. Her milchkaffee is my favorite and we had tons of little pieces of cake. We were so stuffed afterwards.

Then, we went with Uncle Michael to a meeting at a monastery nearby. He does concerts there and he said the meeting would be really short, but it ended up being two hours. Liv and I didn't mind though, we entertained ourselves the whole time by walking around the grounds and visiting the museum. The museum was huge and had so much to look at so we didn't even realize that much time had passed until I realized I hardly had any cell phone reception and Uncle Michael had tried to call me. Everything worked out and we ended up intercepting him at the car.

On the way home, Uncle Michael told us that he is driving to Italy on Friday and invited us to come, I'm not sure if he thought we would at the time, but we decided that it was an opportunity that we can't pass up, so Uncle Michael, Liv, Greg, and I are leaving Thursday night/Friday morning at 4am and driving to Italy. We are seeing some sights and then Uncle Michael is meeting with a Count, then we are driving back to Heidelberg and plan to get in around 1am Friday night/Saturday morning. It will be the most exciting and longest Michael Vaccaro Blitz Tour I have ever taken. I am looking forward to it.

Day 60

Dear German Population in My Apartment Complex,

Please stop blasting "Sweet Home Alabama"!

Love,

Tired Alysse Who Just Wanted To Go To Sleep Early (4 hours ago)

Ok, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It's a Friday night at 2:30am, so I really can't claim class or anything tomorrow, but I really just wanted to catch up on sleep. I know how lame that sounds, so this is probably the only place I am going to complain. Thank god I finally got internet in my room tonight, or else this would be torture. I mean, it's still a form of torture right now, but at least I can blog about it and talk to people online.

I didn't have class today and my friends and I decided to go to the american army base. Jenny's dad is retired, so she is allowed to go there and she can have up to four guests. Last time she was there, she saw a Taco Bell, and then she made the mistake of telling us about it. We insisted she take us to Taco Bell today. It was quite the adventure and we had a lot of fun. Then, we hung out and finalized our schedules with Dr. Tracy. After that, I brought Liv, Liz, and Margaux back to Neuenheimer Feld to my apartment complex where something was supposed to start at 5pm. There was no one there when we got there, so we waited until 6:30 when a few people showed up and got a piece of cake and cup of gluhwein and headed back to the altstadt. We cooked grilled cheese at Livs and just hung out for a while, but then Meghan and I were tired so we went back home really early. I did not know that while we were gone, the party directly outside of my building got huge. There are over a 100 people there and I don't know if they will ever stop. It will be 4am soon and they are yelling the words to whatever song is playing right now.

Day 56

Oh man, I haven't updated in a whole week. It has been a very busy week too. It's gonna be a long one. On Wednesday last week, I tried out two more classes a cultural studies class and a media class. Both were pretty hard to understand, because the professors talked really fast and the material was very dense. After the particularly frustrating media history class, we were told that we weren't allowed to take the class, so it felt like a complete waste of two hours.

Thursday is my busiest day in the week. I have class from 11am to 8pm with a few short breaks. Thankfully one of my classes, Deustch in Filmen, didn't start on Thursday, so my day was easier than it will be. In the morning, Liz and I met up to walk to our Lit class together. The class was too full and the professor kept trying to get people to leave, but he seemed nice and funny, so no one wanted to. We sit in a U-shape and a lot of class will be discussion, so that will be good for getting better at speaking german. We all had to introduce ourselves and say why we wanted to study literature. I even raised my hand and spoke about the text we were discussing, even though I knew my german wasn't perfect. Then, we all hung out during the day until Frau Heckmann's class at night. That class is nice because it is all AJY kids, so we are all already comfortable with each other, but it will also be harder, because she expects more of us and will know when we are doing the homework for her class or not. Almost everyone in the program is trying to take her class, so she is trying to get people to drop it as well. We have 4 homework assignments and a mini presentation on how we used the library this week for the second class. Hopefully there won't be this much homework the entire semester. After class, we had a meeting/party with our language partners. Viviane and I had a good conversation, and then she took Liv and I to this bar where they give free champagne to girls. It was way too crowded and way too loud, so Viviane went home and Liv and I went to another quieter cafe to get a drink. We sat there and talked for an hour or so, then we met up with a few friends and went bar hopping for a while. Liz, Liv and I had a sleepover.

Friday morning, Liv and I realized we didn't have our gender film class, when the professor sent Liv an email and addressed her as Octavia. It was hilarious. So I went home and talked to my suitemate for a while then went to the train station to meet Justin and his uncle in Frankfurt for the day. The weather was terrible (so cold and rainy) and my train was delayed so I didn't get there until close to 4. Thankfully, the weather was much better in Frankfurt, so Justin and I walked around for a few hours while his uncle had meetings. I bought a really pretty colorful scarf for only 3 euro, I was so excited. Scarfs are my new obsession, considering it has been so cold that I don't take my jacket off, scarfs are my only accessory. We met Justin's Uncle Brandon at 7 for dinner. He took us to this really nice Italian restaurant, where I had the specialty, which was venison with a berry sauce. It was delicious. Dinner was really nice and we had a good time. Then, I went back to Heidelberg for the night.

On Saturday, they got into Heidelberg around noon. The weather wasn't great in Heidelberg, still kind of rainy and cold, but we made the best of it. We had a pretty typical german meal at Perkeo, a restaurant with some local folklore. Then, when we thought it had finally stopped raining, we walked up to the castle and toured there for a while. Justin and I hung out in the center for a while his uncle did a little work, then we all went out to dinner together at their hotel. Again, dinner was really good and we had more typical german food. After dinner, Justin and I wanted to hang out with my friends for a little while, but Liv was really feeling sick and my other friends were far away, so we decided to bring Liv my computer so she could watch tv in bed, because Liv doesn't have internet at home either. We ended up staying for a while and just hanging out and talking with Liv, until we decided to call it a night, because we had to get up really early the next day.

On Sunday I had to be up and on the bus before 8am. It reminded me of when I used to have that grammar class everyday and had to wake up early and I didn't like it. It was weird to see Heidelberg and Hauptstrasse so deserted, because there are normally so many tourists or just people. We drove about 2 hours to go to Rothenburg. It was a really cool little city that was really old and was completely surrounded by a defensive wall, that was rebuilt after WWII. It was not as shopping touristy as Heidelberg, but a large tourist spot for many germans as well, so it was a really nice place to get to see. We walked all along the wall and went inside a church/museum. Then, we split up for a few hours. Justin and I had lunch and went to the Justice museum, which was really a torture museum. It was really cool and we spent over an hour in there. Then, we walked around taking pictures and going in the touristy shops. We got back to Heidelberg in time for dinner with my friends. Greg, Liv, Justin, and I went to a hostel for dinner, because it is really reasonably priced and I loved what I had there last time I went when Drew stayed there. It was a chicken dish with a sweet and sour chili sauce. Everyone else had schnitzel, haha. Then the four of us hung out for a while and tried to get crepes, but the place was closed. Sunday nights are not the best nights to just be walking around in Heidelberg, because not much is open, so we all went home.

Yesterday was more of a day to relax and just hang out and the weather actually cooperated! Justin and I met up for lunch at the mensa with Liv and Liz, so he got to experience where I actually eat most of the time, haha. Then, I had to get some groceries and little things for class, like I needed a little mirror for my intonation class. We hadn't seen Uncle Brandon in a while, so we decided to meet up with him around 2:30 to do some souvenir shopping. We found things for Justin's mom and grandmom and I even got some special german dessert gummi bears for Justin to take back to Professor Deslippe who I worked with this summer. Then, we got the crepes that we had wanted, and walked down to the bridge. It was so beautiful by the bridge. It had been so rainy and cold, that the sun made it feel ten degrees warmer. We got some nice pictures and talked for a while. While we were shopping, I saw something that Justin's uncle had eyed, but said he didn't have enough room in his suitcase for, so once we spilt up, Justin and I went back to the book store to get the calendar for him and I will ship it to them as a thank you, because he took me to dinner two of the nights. Then I had to write a little paragraph for my online class, so Justin and I went back to the center for a while. We had dinner at an Italian place, then met up with Liv and Liz at Liv's where they had been baking cookies. They didn't use measuring cups and had been trying to make chocolate chip cookies, but they actually ended up tasting exactly like snickerdoodles with a few chocolate chips in them. They were really good. It was getting late and Justin had to be up really early for a full day of traveling today and I wanted to do a little homework, so we called it a night.

Today, I had my second Intonation and Phonetics class. I really like the professor, she seems so nice, but she gets frustrated with us, because it is mostly AJY kids and we just can't seem to make the sounds she wants us to. I think we sound a lot better after today, but I really wish the class were more than once a week, because it will be hard to retain and practice on our own. After class on Tuesdays, we have a meeting with everyone in AJY at the study center, so we can't get lunch right away. The meetings are very informative, but also kind of scare us because it is stressful to think about credit transfer and if we don't do well in these classes. At least that's what this one was about. Since then, I went to lunch in the mensa and have been reading some things for my online class and playing on the internet. Most people are in this theater class right now, and after that is over I think some of us are going to Margaux's for mac and cheese for dinner. I wish I had internet at home, so I could go right home after that and finish up things for my online class, but I still don't have internet in my room. I also haven't seen my suitemate since Friday and I feel really bad, because she is new and doesn't have many friends. But we are just on a totally different schedule, she goes to bed around 10:30 and I don't get back from the center until then at the earliest and she gets up around 8 and i don't get up until after she leaves most days. Oh well, I will probably see her tonight.

Day 49 (continued)

I would also like everyone to know that it is HAILING IN HEIDELBERG RIGHT NOW.

It transitioned from fall to winter. Hail means winter.

I think this means I might need to buy warmer clothes, because it is hailing in the beginning of october.

Also, Liv and I just ate all the orange and red skittles from the bag. Greg is going to flip out tomorrow, ahahha.

Day 49

I had my first real class today! And it went surprisingly well. I woke up and had a bowl of healthy and delicious Kellogg's Chocos, which are just bigger chocolate rice krispies. Then I went to the study center to meet Greg and Margaux so we could walk to class together. In Germany, there is a weird rule about the starting time of classes. If the class starts on the hour, it actually starts fifteen minutes later, but if it starts any other time, it starts on time. When they first told us, we thought that every class started fifteen minutes later than the time it says on the paper. So we planned to leave at 11 for a class we thought started at 11:30, but at 11:05 when a friend came back and told us about the second half of the rule, we freaked out! We rushed to get to the building and then when we got to the room, with only 2 minutes to spare, we realized no one was there. We had to deductively reason and try to figure out where the class was, but ended up wandering around and checking tons of rooms. It seemed like forever but it only took us 7 minutes to spot other AJY kids in a room and figure that is where we should be and the teacher followed us into the room, so we got very lucky!

From there, class went very smoothly. It was a phonetics and intonations class and we had to interview a partner and talk about them in front of the class and she corrects your mistakes. One girl in the class cried and that was terrible, but the professor is a very nice woman and the class seemed like it would be difficult but very helpful for actually learning the language and eventually sounding like a german. And class was even better, because I was one of only three people that didn't get to read in front of the class this week, but has to go next week, haha.

After class, Liv, Liz, Margaux and I went to the mensa with everyone, but it was so crowded and we decided we wanted crepes instead. Then, Liz and I registered for our campus cards and then went to search and find the rooms for our classes for the rest of the week. We have four classes together. Then we sat and had a really nice milchkaffee date and talked for a few hours. I'm excited that Liz and I are getting a lot closer and have so many classes together, because she is so nice and goes to Gettysburg, so we can visit each other when we get back from Germany too. Overall it was a good first day of classes and I hope tomorrow goes as well.

Day 48

Okay, everyone knows I went to Paris this weekend, so this is going to be a long update. I had a great time.

I left Thursday at noon, and took a train to Paris. It is the fastest train in the world, and so it only took me 3ish hours to get there. Minnie and I had planned to meet at the train station at 5:30, even though I got in a little before 5, because she had class. I gave her my phone number, but I forgot to get hers. At 5:30, when I hadn't heard from her, I started to get worried. I decided that the best plan would be to hope that Phil was online and would check his facebook. Thankfully, at the same time, Minnie had the same thought and we were both getting into contact with Phil, who is in Italy. Apparently the number I gave Minnie didn't work, she had gotten out of class early and had gone to a different train station and was looking for me there. Thank god for my blackberry once again. We finally met up once Phil emailed me Minnie's number and I talked to Minnie. It was resolved within half an hour, and I didn't even know I was lost for the first half hour, because Minnie had gotten out of class early and had been trying to find me for a while, haha.

We took the metro back to Minnie's aunt and uncle's apartment. Their apartment is so beautiful. Everywhere in Paris looks like palace's, because the doors are enormous. We hung out with her aunt, who is awesome, for a little while and had dinner with the family. She has two cousins who are 9 and 11. After dinner, we went to meet her friend Shane at a cafe. We ordered dessert and wine and just hung out for a while. Hanging out at cafes is the french thing to do, so we didn't do a lot of that, but I had to experience it. I hadn't had chocolate mousse yet, so I had to order that. It was soo good. Then, we met some of her other friends a few streets over at themed bar. The bar was called Footsie, and was themed after the British stock exchange, so the prices of drinks was based on how popular the drink was and how many people were ordering it. The prices of drinks changed every 3 minutes. It was a really cool idea, and a lot of fun, even though we were the youngest people there by like 5-10 years, haha. We ordered the cheapest beer, but couldn't drink more than two of those, and the metro closes around 1:30, so we went home and went to bed.

Friday we woke up and Minnie's uncle had gotten us croissants for breakfast. That was so nice. We sat and ate breakfast at home, while trying to decide what to do. I knew I really wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, I mean, you can see it from Minnie's house, but I wanted to see it up close. First, though, Minnie had to register for classes, so we went to her university. She showed me where she hangs out and that there are tons of American programs all centered in the same area. It was really neat, and there is a really cheap coffee machine that I got a hot chocolate at. We sat in the courtyard and drank our beverages. The courtyard was really pretty and it is a really cool place to hang out, except probably not when it gets colder. Then, we walked through this really pretty park and sat down for a while.

After that we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were so long to take the elevator and it was ten euro more, so we decided to walk up more than 600 stairs to get to the second floor, where taking the elevator is a lot less expensive. Man, I learned why! It was pretty exhausting, but I felt a lot more accomplished and truly like I had experienced the Eiffel Tower. Minnie and I took a ton of pictures of the view and ourselves climbing the stairs, which was a lot of fun. Then Minnie and I went on a boat tour of the Seine River, which runs through Paris. It was an hour long, and I got to see soo much of the city and hear about it's history. Again, I took tons of pictures, that I can show everyone and explain more. It started to get cold and dark during the boat tour, and we didn't want to get rained on, so we went downstairs on the way back because we had already seen everything on the way there. Minnie and I were on our own for dinner that night, so we went out to a nice Italian restaurant. Then, instead of having dessert at the restaurant, we went to a grocery store and bought wine and pastries and went to eat them by the Seine.

We sat by the Seine, had dessert, and people watched. It was really interesting, because we could see the Eiffel Tower directly from where we were, so the view was beautiful, but the Eiffel Tower looked very different from how it usually does according to Minnie. The top of the Eiffel Tower was white and the bottom was red, when normally the whole thing is illuminated yellow. We googled it on my blackberry, and found out that France was celebrating Turkey and having a week-long friendship and cultural celebration of Turkey and the Turkish President was visiting France. We thought this was really cool considering our love of Turkey and especially Cem. People took pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower with the Turkish flag and we watched and there were people getting off of the boats from the fancy dinner tours and we watched them as well. They were funny, because there was a huge puddle and some people stepped in it and made funny faces.

Saturday we got up early and did more sightseeing. We wandered around an area for a little while looking for the area with tons of falalfel, but it was Saturday and they are run by Israelis, so only one store was open. We waited in line for a long time and then walked around eating our falalfel. Later, we went to Notre Dame and the Louvre. We didn't go inside either one, but we went and looked at the structures and took pictures, haha. Then we got crepes, which were delicious. I got an egg and ham crepe and a nutella crepe. Then we went to see the Arch de Triumph and window shop at Champs Elysees. To finish off our day of posh Paris shopping and sight seeing, we went to the flagship Haagen Dazs shop for early dinner. We got amazing sundaes and sat and watched all the tourists around the area.

That night, we went skyped with friends from F&M for a while like Bonnie, Cem, and Catherine. Then, we went to party with Minnie's aunt and uncle for a few friends that were moving to Argentina. It was really nice, because Minnie and I just got to hang out for a while and talk, and we decided that either for new years or when we go back to F&M, we want to throw a party exactly like that. Sunday morning we woke up early and did a little more sight seeing and tried to shop, but nothing was open, because it was Sunday and France has very serious labor laws against working, haha. Then, we went to sit outside the art museum that is very modern, but it was too expensive, so we went to the train station and sat at a cafe for an hour and talked, a very french thing to do.

I got home Sunday around 5 and went to dinner at Liv's with Liv and Greg. Liv made grilled cheese and gnocchi. It was delicious and it felt great to be back in Heidelberg. Then, I went home and met my new suitemate. Her name is Avila and she is a freshman, so she doesn't know anyone. Her parents had been there this weekend and went to Ikea, so the apartment was cleaner and looked like someone actually lives there. But I went back to sleep and Livs and catch-up since we hadn't seen each other in such a long time. Today, we have been hanging out at the study center getting ready for classes to start tomorrow.

Day 42

I was productive today!

I woke up late, but I did all my laundry and mopped the apartment! I also used an entire container of clorox wipes between the kitchen and the bathroom. I unpacked the toaster and plates and silverware. Oh that reminds me, I even went grocery shopping yesterday and need to bring my milk home so I can eat in my apartment for the first time. I know it may seem a little late, but I had a hard time getting comfortable in someone else's space. I took out a huge amount of trash that Linda had left behind and the apartment feels a little more like I belong there. I think I will even take pictures once I finish buying the necessary items.

I started reading the Jody Picoult book, 19 Minutes. It is so good. She is such an amazing author. I read it on the bus on the way to the center today and I was completely absorbed. Her books are really interesting because of the moral conflicts and the intense character portrayals.

I went to dinner/lunch with Charlie once I got to the center at 5. We had mensa, which was delicious as usual. I don't know why I like the dining hall here so much better than I do at F&M. I guess because it is a completely different kind of food.

Now I just have spent the last few hours answering emails and using the internet before I have to go home in half an hour.

Day 40

It is officially fall. It was freezing when I stepped out of my apartment this morning and waited for the bus. Suddenly there were tons of leaves on the ground, it's weird how it seems to have happened overnight.

Almost everyone has left for vacation, and I was one of two or three people today in the study center. It's weird to be here alone, but also kind of nice. I skyped with so many people today, it was great. It's so important for me to catch up with all my friends while I'm abroad, and I love hearing what everyone is doing, even if it seems boring to them. Speaking of F&M, Drew came to visit this weekend.

He, Emily, and Lindsay, two girls from his Freiborg program, came to Heidelberg on Friday at 1. I met them at the train station and from there I took them to see the study center and use the bathroom and then to their hostel, which was right on Hauptstrasse, the center of the Old City. When we got to the hostel, they weren't ready for us, so they gave us free beer and we sat at a table and talked. After they checked in and put their stuff down, we decided to walk towards the castle and see if we could find a playground that some friends showed me a few days earlier. We did find it and played on it a little, because the slide is built into the side of the mountain and has a really nice view of the city. We eventually found the castle by just continuing to walk up the mountain and look for signs. We walked around the outside of the castle and took pictures with the city of Heidelberg as the background, some of which came out really good. We even went into the castle to see the giant keg.

After walking back down the mountain, we decided to be more touristy and visit all the little vendors by the church, oh which we went in before we climbed to the castle. I hadn't looked at most of the touristy stuff yet, so that was kind of cool and I tried to get ideas. Then we went to a gummi bear shop, and the woman was really nice and let us try the beer flavored gummi bear, which were surprisingly really good and interesting. Then we walked down to the Old Bridge and took pictures along the Neckar with Heidelberg in the background. At that point it was chilly and time to eat dinner, so we went back to the hostel to get good and cheap german food. I ended up not actually getting german food, and having chicken with a really good sweet and sour sauce. I loved it.

We didn't know what to do at night, so we ended up just hanging out with a few kids in my program in their apartment. It was only for a little while, because we wanted to get up early to get to Stuttgart. What we forgot, was that Saturday was a holiday in Germany, Reunification Day. That means that the trains ran less frequently and we had a little bit of trouble getting to the Hauptbahn Hof, but we all made it and we all got to sit together on the train. There was a bachelor party already drinking on the train and singing drinking songs.

Once we got to Stuttgart, the train station was packed. Because it was Reunification Day, tons of people thought it was a great day to go to the Volksfest. It was hard to even move. There were tons of rides and food stands. We tried to wait in line to get into a tent, so we could sit down and dance, but after almost 2 hours of waiting we gave up. We decided to just walk around and order beers. It was a lot harder to find beer at this festival than we expected. Don't worry, we eventually found beer, bratwursts, and crepes. We walked around and enjoyed the people watching and beer. I wish I hadn't left my camera in my jacket locked in a locker at the train station. I was worried to bring it somewhere with so many people and tourists. We had a good time, and then we got back on the train to go to Heidelberg. It was so good to see Drew and be able to talk about F&M and our friends. I can't wait to visit Minnie in a few days!

Day 36

Liv just informed me that we have less than 100 days left in Germany! That seems so crazy. It has not felt like a month, and it feels like the rest of the time will go by quickly considering we have a break for the next week and Liv, Greg, and I are planning trips on the weekends.

I haven't updated since the parents left and it has been a few days. On Monday I took the DSH. It is an exam and placement test in order to take classes at Heidelberg University. We have been preparing for it in our grammar class. But anyway, I had to wake up at 6 and the test started at 8 and went until one in the afternoon. It was longer and more stressful than the SAT. I certainly wasn't as well prepared for it. But, I passed. I didn't want to pass and didn't think I would pass, but I did. Now I have to take the oral part of the exam in a few hours.

On the day after the test, we all as a large group went on an excursion to Schwetzigen. It was really beautiful, because it was a huge palace with different types of gardens. We spent the morning there and had a picnic and walked around.

My parents bought me an air mattress while they were here and I have been sleeping at Liv's while my roommate moved out this week. I couldn't even walk in the door of my apartment, because of how many boxes were in the way. She finally finished yesterday and the apartment smells better, but I need to thoroughly clean it tomorrow morning.

This isn't a very good update, but I don't have internet in my apartment for the next two weeks, so I'm sure the updates will get better and I will do exciting things over break.

Day 31

Oh man, it has already been a month. The last few days have flown by. My parents got here on Wednesday afternoon and after finally finding them everything went smoothly.

I am currently sitting in their hotel room, stuffed from having lunch at Uncle Michael and Aunt Romana's earlier. Aunt Romana is such a great cook! And she knows how I like to eat, with equal amounts of "real" food and dessert!

Let's see what has been going on... Mom and Dad are staying at the Heidelberg Suites, which is a really nice hotel just on the other side of the river from the study center, so I have been sleeping on their couch and giving my smelly and dirty apartment a break. Mom and Dad couldn't believe how dirty my roommate is. They were astonished and when I had class and a placement test on Thursday went shopping to buy cleaning supplies and things I will need once my roommate moves out next week (so basically everything). I have not used the kitchen yet, but perhaps that will be my next challenge, now that I am a laundry master. In addition to buying supplies, Mom and Dad did a quick "let's try to make this apartment more livable and smell better" clean yesterday night.

Oops, they are back. We are going to Heidelberger Herbst now, which is a huge festival in the city.

Day 27

I wrote blog entries while I was on the bus this weekend, so it might be confusing, but they will be more accurate. Here it goes:

I am writing this on the bus to somewhere (either Austria or Switzerland) to hike up a mountain. I just realized that I might have just lost the family credit card and I am not happy about it. **Side note: I did not, it was back in my room in Heidelberg.** Anyway, the weekdays here are usually boring and filled with grammar, so it was nice to look forward to an excursion on Thursday night and seeing Uncle Michael. My friend, Liv, told me earlier in the day that she hadn't had hot water all week, so I invited her to use my shower and get ready in my apartment. We also had to pack for our weekend trip the next day, so it was stressful. Then Liv, Greg, and I got pizza and headed to the train station. We were early as usual and had to wait for everyone else to show up. The boys look so grown-up when they are dressed-up. It is so funny. The girls look pretty much the same though. Ludwigshafen, where the concert was held, was only 25 minutes on the train from Heidelberg. It took like an hour total though, and it is so weird having to rely on public transportation to go places and not being able to leave exactly when you want to. So unamerican. We got there and Uncle Michael found us and talked to us for a little while. It was funny, because he was kind of hugged/had a hand on my head the entire time he was talking to us. We had really good seat, some of us even got to sit in the front row. The concert was really good and a lot of fun. Everyone enjoyed themselves. I loved watching Aunt Romana and Uncle Michael on stage, it is so interesting to see them perform. After the show was over, we literally ran to the train station, but missed the train by one minute! It was frustrating because we all had to get up at 6 the next morning, but it was also funny, and we were all laughing from running to the station and still missing it. We all walked around and waited about an hour for the next train, it's weird I am getting used to waiting and being more patient. I think it's a part of being in Europe and experiencing the atmosphere. We finally got back to Heidelberg a little after midnight, but other than the lack of sleep, it was a really fun day and we all want to try to see another opera or concert this semester.

Most of Friday we spent traveling. I slept a good portion of the 5 hour bus ride to Neuschwanstein, which was nice, because I didn't get to sleep much the night before and I usually can't nap during the day. We hiked up to two castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. I liked Hohenschwangau better than Neuschwanstein, even though it is less famous and a lot smaller. We got to see every room and the murals were beautiful. The hike was also a lot less intense. Hiking to Neuschwanstein took over 2 hours. My legs were so sore and our tour guide in the castle spoke so fast and i was too tired to pay close enough attention to understand. It was so much more ornate, but not as homey. Liv, Greg, and I always talk about buying the places we visit in german as a joke, because it is speaking in german, which we have to do in front of our professors and because it is funny, and I was the only one who wanted to buy Hohenschwangau over Neuschwanstein. Then, we hiked back down, which was considerably less difficult, and drove another 2 hours to the hostel we stayed at for the weekend. Liv, Meghan, Margaux and I shared a room. We were so tired from the day and so hungry, because it was already 8pm and we hadn't eaten since noon, that we were not happy tourists. Instead of letting us eat right away or rest, they led us into town and proceeded to show us around. No one cared at all, and the tour ended when the professors realized they lost half of the group to the surrounding bars and restaurants. We marched away in search of food as well. We got very excited when we saw a Mexican restaurant, because that is the one type of food that it is difficult to get in Heidelberg and we had been talking about how much we wanted it recently (especially Taco Bell). We were a group of 9, so we had to wait for them to bring an extra table, but instead, they brought us to the secluded second floor of the restaurant and it was like we were having our own private party. Greg and I immediately saw ribs on the menu and even though they were expensive, we both ordered a full rack. That was the most delicious and most expensive dinner we have had in germany, but it all worked out okay, because we were finally happy and full. It was worth it. We were all so exhausted that we went back to the hostel and fell asleep before midnight.

Saturday we went hiking in the Austrian alps. We didn't see any castles, we just hiked around a huge lake for 4 hours. It was really pretty, but a lot of the time I couldn't take in the scenery, because I had to pay so much attention to my feet and not slipping and falling off a cliff. We picnicked outside half way through our hike. After the hike, we drove back to the hostel and had free time for the rest of the day. That was exciting and necessary, because we had just been hiking for 4 hours and usually we don't get a lot of free time. We hung out and rested in our rooms for a while, before walking into the city for dinner. We had Italian and it was good, but it started to rain. We walked around the city a little bit more and met up with our whole AJY program, but by that time Liv, Meg, and I were tired, wanted to shower, and go to bed, so we left.

Sunday morning we woke up at 7am again, for like the 7th day in a row. I really wish we could have some time to sleep in on this trip. We had free breakfast at the hostel, which is actually really good (corn flakes and a nutella roll). Then, we drove 3 hours to Lucerne, Switzerland. We were given 3 hours of free time and only 10 dollars worth of franks. We quickly found out that we did not have enough franks to eat anywhere (everything was double the amount of money we had). We were starving and finally, being Americans, we found the one place we knew that we would have enough money to eat at...McDonald's! I had some amazing chicken nuggets and I don't regret it. Then, we went to find some free entertainment and ended up hanging out on the bridge and watching swans and taking pictures for over an hour. We met up at an art museum with the whole group, but the museum was dedicated to Picasso, which is not my favorite. Liv and I went through it pretty quickly and tried to find somewhere to spend our last few franks. We ended up combining them and bought a chocolate cat, haha. Then, we drove to Liechtenstein on a Sunday night, just to be able to say that we saw it. It was very anti-climatic. Nothing was open, so we just walked around, talked, and took pictures for half an hour. That was how a good portion of the trip was spent, utilizing Germany's borders and traveling between the countries in order to see the slight differences. Monday was similar, we went to Meersburg to see the oldest inhabited castle in Germany. We did a tour and had time for a beer before we got back on the bus for 4 hours to go back to Heidelberg. It was exhausting yet fun.

Today has been like most other weekdays. We had class this morning. And now I am tackling my homework, and my favorite thing: laundry.

Day 20

Today is the first day we are getting kicked out of the study center 5 hours early for not speaking only in German. It is a pretty big deal for a lot of people who don't have internet in their rooms, because then they really can't talk to anyone from home, because it will only be 11am at 5pm here. Thankfully, I have internet in my room. We finished our homework really early today and now we are trying to figure out something to do. Maybe we can go to a movie. That would be fun. I still want to see Inglorious Bastards in german.

Let's see, I really haven't done anything exciting the last few days. I recovered from the weekend on Sunday and did homework for the entire day. Yesterday, I had a terrible day in class, because I completely forgot what we were working on before the weekend and Herr Doerr knew that and made me do an entire exercise out loud in front of the entire class. It was not fun, but he really wants us to learn, and his method is humiliation.

The last few days have also been a reality check. I am not going to pass the entrance exam and I don't think I care. I can still take classes in german and will learn a lot and they will count toward my minor, so I don't understand why I should put myself through a much harder course for no reason. But this preparation class is extremely difficult, because we are learning the language laws that you don't have to know in order to speak the language, and we are learning how to read highly theoretical and scholarly material and to write that way as well. But I realized that for me it is more important to be able to communicate, so I want to take classes that test my speaking ability.

It's hard to be here right now, because a lot of people are really upset the study center is closing, so no one is speaking in english or in german. It's really weird. Usually people are really happy and there is a lot of chatter, both english and german, but right now it is silent. I am waiting for Liv to finish her homework so we can leave.

Day 17

Yesterday was a lot of fun. We were all tired but got up to go to Bad Durkheim for the largest wine and sausage festival in the world. It took us almost two hours, but we slept awkwardly on the trains. When we got there it looked like a huge carnival, with rides and super loud music. We wandered around for a little while and got snacks. We should have taken pictures, but we were all too lazy. Finally, Greg, Liv, and I decided it was too hot and we wanted to sit down, so we went into the largest white tent in the center. We sat down and ordered wine. Magically, a live band started playing. They played a combination of popular english songs, german drinking songs, and dancing music. Meghan, Ruedi, Liz, Leah, and Max showed up and after they had a meal, we all decided to dance. It was hilarious. These two guys in lederhosen were dancing around us and one gave Liz a flower, which meant he wanted to dance alone with her. She didn't know that and tried to move away, and Everett came to help out. It was so funny. We stayed there for a while, walked around the carnival part again, got dinner, then decided to head back to Heidelberg. We got back to Heidelberg and I think some people went out, but I went directly to sleep. I slept for 11 hours, and now I am getting ready to go to the study center and spend the entire day working on homework.

Day 15

It does not feel like two weeks has past!

Let's see, wednesday was pretty boring, just the usual grammar lessons and homework.

Yesterday, though, we did something completely different. We went to the concentration camp, Struthof right on the border of Germany, in France. It was very emotional and moving to walk around the concentration camp and read about the horrors that occurred right where we were standing. They have very graphic pictures and descriptions. The museums were very descriptive and informative, probably one of my favorite things we have done so far, because of the significance to Germany, and that you really can't get the exact same feeling anywhere else in the world. After Struthof, we went to Strasbourg, France, where my friend Margaux will be studying next semester. We only had two hours in the city, but we were still able to climb ten floors of a spiral staircase to get to the top of a church and look at the whole city and surrounding area. Strasbourg was a lot like Heidelberg. I was exhausted after the 12 hour trip, but we still had homework to finish. I finally got home around 10 pm and slept very well.

That is until I had to get up again today at 7:15. I really don't like 8:30 class, when we get to pick our classes at the university, I am not picking anything before 10am. Today was pretty tame as well. I had class this morning then did a group project. Then I FINALLY did my laundry with my friend Rachael! Yay, I will have tons of clean clothes again! Haha, I just got out of the shower and am waiting for my friends Liv and Greg to get here so we can go to Everett's apartment for a potluck.

This is a very short update even though I felt like I have done a lot in the last few days. Oh well, I figure you guys need a break from my usually long-winded updates.

Day 12

Wow, today seems like such a failure at this point. Most of the things I have tried to do today haven't went as planned, such as I had this entire post written and ready to send, but then wanted to add this sentence and 3/4 of it got deleted. Oh well. Here it goes again. I had class today from 8:30 to 3:30 (with an hour lunch break) and then went on a short shopping trip to buy pencils and clear my head. Had I known that mechanical pencils were more rare than precious stones in germany, I would have brought a box with me. I ended up buying a regular pencil, because I had to get back to the study center to start my massive amount of homework. I did homework for 2 hours, before stopping for a dinner break then went back at it and finally finished around 8:30. The homework is frustrating and we were snapping at each other by the end. I wanted to be productive after that and my friend Greg wanted to do laundry but not alone, and I haven't bought detergent yet, so I thought it would be a win-win to do it together at his apartment. We took the bus back to my apartment, awkwardly ran into my suitemate, and decided to walk back to his apartment, which should have only taken 15 minutes, but took us 45 (a minor detour that I like to call getting lost, but Greg would call getting his bearings). Once we finally got to Greg's and down the the laundry and get our clothes in the washers, we see this sign that says the dryers can't be used after 10 pm. It is 9:30. We pack all our stuff back in our bags and realize we wasted about 2 hours. I just laughed it off (took the bus back home) and showered. Now I am just going to sleep and starting the exact same day all over again, hopefully I will successfully complete my laundry tomorrow. Hopefully.

Day 11

Dear Blog Readers,

I'm afraid today's entry will be boring, but I think I should write one anyway. Additionally, this is a procrastination method, because I have homework I should be doing.

Today was a really relaxing day. I got to wake up late, because my professor cancelled class. I got some turkish food for lunch and then listened to a presentation about culture shock. It was pretty boring and actually uninformative. I think it's less culture shock that we are experiencing right now and more of just home sickness and wanting things to be easy and not having to try so hard to just order lunch. After the presentation, we met in groups and realized we had to do a group presentation about one of the museums we went to last week. None of us were happy about it, because we hardly understood anything the man, who was leading our tour, said. I bought more minutes for my cell phone and went grocery shopping, which was productive. Then we went to dinner in the dining hall and had a really fun and relaxing time. We attempted to do homework after dinner, but that was 5 hours ago and I am still not done. Not good. I should really start trying to do that again, but I am afraid that my professor is just going to shoot me down no matter what, so it is kind of demoralizing. I know he doesn't mean most of his criticism, but it is still hard to hear, and it just doesn't motivate me. It's funny, I want to be motivated, but I'm not. I feel like it shouldn't be this hard to motivate yourself. I guess it is just pushing farther outside my comfort zone and I'm not ready to do that yet. Hopefully, I will be ready soon. Next on my list of things to tackle, is doing my laundry, which badly needs to be done. And figuring out what made the kitchen smell so disgusting and trying to fix that. I also need to make my room look less like a prison, there is nothing on the walls and our bed stuff is white, so it kind of looks like a mental institution or something. Anyway, I should actually do my homework now. Hope everyone is doing well!

Day 10

This is going to be a long one, be prepared.

I have just woken up, and I hear my suitmate and possibly another person in the apartment. I have been here for 10 days and I still have not met her. Her name is Linda and she has left me very nice notes in english, so I want to meet her. I'm afraid, and I'm not really sure why, but I just propped my door open, so when she or whoever comes out of the bathroom, they will be staring directly at me and my purple pajamas. Oops, scared the crap out of her and she was in a towel.

I just talked to her for a few minutes in german. I wish it had been in english, but I really have to start getting used to and speaking more german. She is very nice and so is her boyfriend, but they are older and have jobs and established things they do, so I don't think we will be hanging out any time soon. Oh well, I'm glad I finally met her.

Ok, my last post was Thursday, before we left for the study trip. We had to get up earlier than we normally do on Friday morning and take 4 different trains in order to get to Bronnbach to check into the hotel and visit the cloister. We took a tour of the cloister. It is the only thing around for miles, only 7 people live in that "town" and needless to say, my blackberry did not get reception, so I was without internet for the first time since being here. I really wish I could find the schedule, because then I would be able to write this more accurately, but I actually don't remember much other than a lot of museum tours and walking. And it rained the whole weekend. So I remember being wet, cold, and tired. Not to say that I didn't enjoy myself, we saw some very pretty things and interesting things. Like after the cloister, we took another train to Wertheim, a larger town nearby. While we were there we got to see a live glass blowing and went to a glass museum that had a please touch part upstairs, which was really fun after a lot of standing around and trying to listen in german to explanations about architecture, that we only can grasp 30% of. Then we decided to walk up a mountain to see Burg Wertheim. It was pretty exhausting and when we finally got to the top, Liv, Greg, and I wanted to get higher and actually get on top of the remaining parts of the castle. But instead we just ending up walking in a circle around the entire castle through the woods in the pouring rain.

We got back on the train and went back to the cloister to have a nice dinner all together and sleep. Margaux, Meghan and I shared a room and it was better than the singles we have here in Heidelberg. The bathrooms were as big as our rooms here and the showers were ten times the size of our showers here. We all slept really well, but had to wake up at 7 am to have breakfast and be on the road for more sightseeing.

Würtzburg was really cool. The first thing we did was take a huge group tour of the large castle. It was restored and had tons and tons of gold covered rooms. It would have been better if the tour was at least an hour shorter or I understood what the woman was explaining about all of the rooms. Also, we couldn't take pictures so there was nothing to distract yourself with. Then, we were let loose on the city of Würtzburg. We just started walking at first in search of some cheap food. We walked the opposite direction of the tourist areas and found a small cafe. We sat and ate for a long time and just hung out and it was a good decision, because we got to see a rally! We noticed more and more police coming into the area and we were confused, and shortly we heard chanting and marching. A large group of people marched by us and gave us literature afterwards. They were an Anti-fascism group, and their slogan was, "No person is illegal, say no to a closed off Europe!" That was really cool, because we felt like we were seeing and being a part of real german culture. We decided that we want to learn more about german politics, because elections are coming up and we want to understand all the advertisements and propaganda that fills the streets.

We walked around the city a little more and saw the castle from afar, but then it started to rain pretty hard so we went back to the train station and back to Heidelberg. In Heidelberg we all went back to our rooms to put our stuff away and meet in a few hours for dinner and going out. Well, I went back to my room fine, but on the way back to the other side of the city I got lost. I was on the bus and I wasn't paying attention, because it always takes the same twenty-five minute route, but after ten I looked up because the bus turned off and I was inside the bus station, where the busses go after they are done for the tonight. I panicked, stood up, and the bus driver saw me. He was shocked, and was like, what are you doing here? I kept saying sorry and I have to get to Univeristy Square. He helped me get out of the building then left me there. I freaked out and tried to use my german cell phone, but realized I was out of minutes. Then I really started to panic, but thought harder, got out my map and finally found another bus station that took me to Bismarck and then I walked down Hauptstrasse to meet everyone. It all turned out ok, but was very scary and convinced me that I really do need to focus on learning german more to live here.

Last night was fun and we got back really late, so today I have just been hanging out in my room, writing this, talking to friends on facebook, and putting up pictures.

Day 7

It doesnt feel like I have been gone for an entire week! But I have done a lot of things! Yesterday was not very exciting. We had class in the morning for 4 hours, then we ate at the dining hall, then we went to a history museum with our professor, Herr Duerr. After the museum we were all very tired, but we had to do our homework and then we went out for dinner. I went to bed before midnight.

Today has been a little more exciting. We had class in the morning, but then we went by ourselves to a packaging museum. The man who owns the museum was very nice and funny, but we could hardly understand any of what he said because he spoke way too fast. I want to go back to the museum before I leave and see if I can understand more of what he said. The things in the museum were really interesting to me, because it showed a lot of german culture and advertising over time. I took a few pictures of the things I liked the most or found the most interesting.

After the museum we had lunch in a different dining hall and it was not as good as the one we usually go to. It didnt have as much self service, but they gave us a beer to try for free, because it is a new type. Something with cactus, I thought it tasted really good, but most people didnt like it because it was sweet.

The last person in the program came today. Her name is Meghan and she was planning orientation, so she had to stay in the states longer. She lives near me, so I took her to our apartment complex on the bus and then came back to meet Margaux so we can go shopping for our field trip this weekend. It was the first time I used the bus by myself. It was pretty easy, and I am finally getting comfortable here. We have to buy snacks for the train and a lunch. I also want to buy an umbrella and a tote bag. Im not sure I will be able to fit everything in my backpack, uh oh. I will let you know. We are leaving very early tomorrow morning, 7:30, so we dont have class but we still have to be awake and get to the train station. We are coming back late Saturday night.

Day 5 (continued)

Again, I want to write about this while I still feel strongly about it. I ordered my first drink out at a restaurant! We had a pitcher of beer between the four of us and it was a very nice feeling. Don't worry, Margaux and I took a few pictures despite the groans from Greg and Brian :)

Tonight was the best night so far, which I think means it will only get better from here. One of the good things about tonight was that we didn't have homework to worry about! When we went to the bar, The Brass Monkey, we spoke a combination of german and english, but it was a tourist spot so they spoke english with a british accent. We liked the music a lot, but next time we go out we went to go to a german place so we force ourselves to use the language better.

We wanted to go to an AJY beer pong event after the bar, but we decided it was too late, because we would have had to take two busses to get there and two busses to get home and it was already almost ten o'clock and the busses don't run after 11:30. So, Margaux, Greg, Rachael and I rode our bus home and it was a really good time. I have tourrettes now, because on the bus we speak in deutlish and we forget words frequently and multiple times I yelled ridiculous things like, "ESSAY" in german and the people on the bus stared at me. It was hilarious. Things are improving, I am learning, alles ist gut.

Day 5

If anyone wants to comment on my blog or ask me any questions, I check my email really frequently and actually have a lot of time to use the internet everyday, so you can just email me at avaccaro@fandm.edu and i will write you back as soon as possible.

I am kind of bored right now, so I am updating my blog. I had class at 8:30 this morning as I will every weekday for the next month. I really don't like getting up that early, I have to get up at 7:30 and be on the bus by 7:52 or else I won't make it on time. Class was better toady than it was yesterday and after class we had a break instead of more class, we had a walking tour by our professor of more of Heidelberg. It was more of a history lesson than the other tours we have taken. We went to the house where Friedrich Ebert grew up. He was the first president of the Weimar Republic and we also visited the large Protestant and Catholic churches in the area. Unfortunately I left my camera in my bag, so there will be no pictures. It wasn't that exciting anyway.

Then, we went to the Mensa or cafeteria for lunch. I really like the Mensa, it makes me feel like I am truly a student. The food is very german and it is not great, but it is the best priced. Also, the price is based on the weight of the things that you buy, so if you aren't as hungry, your meal is less expensive, but you can have whatever is on the buffet tables. Like my lunch today was only 1,40 Euro. That is extremely cheap. Food here is very expensive and there are a lot of tourist traps.

For the preliminary course we are all currently taking, we must complete 10 weeks of a community activity. I had my meeting today to figure out what my community activity will be. I want to try to do something with women's studies or helping women. I really wanted to take a self-defense class but we couldn't find any that fit the requirements, but I might do that in addition to the activity that I choose. I have to call and email the people that run the organizations to see if I can volunteer. The options I am trying are a women's shelter, the international women's center, and a religious group that visits the women's prison. I hope I get to join the group that visits the women's prison. I would really like to learn about the prison system and law system in germany. I should send her an email right now. Bis spaeter. (Until later).

Day 4

I want to write this while I still have the feeling. I havent done very much today, but I just had a very calm and happy feeling. My friend Margaux and I walked down the street to get ice cream at about 4:30 in the afternoon and we walked back to the AJY center eating ice cream and laughing in the sun when we ran into other AJY students and we all stood in the sun eating ice cream and watching a female saxophone group. It was one of those times that you wish you could bottle up and save for, lets say, this morning. I went to bed very late because I got internet in my room last night and I had to wake up at 7. There was a ton of traffic on our usual bus route and we were almost late for our placement test, so we didnt have time to eat breakfast. The placement test was difficult and frustrating, and immediately after we had to wait in line for 2 hours to get our german cell phones and run back to the AJY center to fill out more forms. I was exhausted, frustrated, and starving. I wish I could have had this feeling then, but instead I was called into Dr. Tracys office and he basically told me in german that we cant all have what we want and that if I am having a hard time adjusting I should have told him or Dr. Heckmann. I was very confused until he told me that my mom had called him about changing my housing. I know I wasnt lucky in the housing draw, but that is life, sometimes you are lucky and other times you arent. I want to learn to make the best of it on my own and Im sure I will, I just need a few days to adjust.

I was put into the highest group based on the placement test, but I am not sure I belong there or will stay there. The professor is very aggressive and in your face, which is not very fun or conducive to my learning capabilities. We will see how it goes. I think a few of us are going out to dinner soon, after we finish our homework!

Day 3

It feels like I have been here for an hour and weeks at the same time. Shopping went well yesterday, except for when Margaux and I got off at the wrong bus stop. We weren't far though, and we discovered a zoo very close to my apartment. I even took a picture I was so surprised, because we could see bears right from the street. A lot of us from the AJY (I don't know if I have explained this, but American Junior Year in Heidelberg) program met up and hung out in one person's apartment last night. It was a lot of fun, but I still haven't experienced the german nightlife entirely. We were on the streets and more nonsense was happening with bachelor and bachelorette parties. It seemed like they were everywhere. They were very friendly to us and we had a good time while we were wandering around waiting to find the "moonliners" or late night buses. It is hard to get used to being on a schedule and waiting for public transportation. But public transportation is the best way to get around, because it is free with our semester passes and last night it was really cold already.

Today, I woke up and went to the AJY center to meet my german language partner, Viviane for lunch. I haven't attempted the bus alone yet, so I went with Rachel, who lives in the same apartment complex as I do. When we got there, we met up with a few other people from our program and all went to lunch with Viviane. She is very nice and interested in books and is doing an internship in Munich with a publishing company, so today was her last day in Heidelberg until school starts in October. After lunch, we had more orientation at the AJY center and then toured Heidelberg castle. We all went for dinner at a nice Italian place as a "Welcome to Heidelberg" dinner from AJY. I ordered my first legal drink at a restaurant, and I got a glass of Chardonnay. We were all so exhausted from walking around all day, that after dinner most people went back to their apartments to rest and relax, because our placement test is tomorrow morning at 8am. I was happy to arrive home to a note from my suitemate, explaining that even though we still haven't met, she is looking forward to meeting me and an internet code! That is how I am able to update from my room tonight and will make keeping this updated a lot easier. Things are looking much better compared to how I was feeling last night. Hope everyone is doing well. I love you all.

First Impressions

Hey Everyone!

This first post will be short and sweet. Ive been in Germany for about a day at this point. I say "ja" a lot and we move in a group. We dont start speaking German at all times until tomorrow morning and i am awaiting that moment with fear. The plane ride was really easy and quick (only about 5 hours!) so i only read 4 books since i got to the Philly airport, haha. I got to spend the morning with Uncle Michael and Aunt Romana in Bad Schwalbach, but then i almost missed the bus to Heidelberg, because we thought it left at 10:30 not 9:30. But all is well that ends well, and i made the bus (barely) and got to Heidelberg on time. My room isnt in a great location, because it is outside of the center of the city and i have to take the train for about 20 mins. I really wish i lived in the city, but i am going to make the most of it. I havent met my roommate yet, so i still dont know many things about my apartment, like if there is internet or what we recycle (recycling is a really big deal here, most houses have 6 different trashcans for different materials). I slept for 10 hours last night and did not try to get a taste of the german nightlife, but when we were on the street walking home, we ran into a bachelorette party and learned an odd german custom. The woman who is getting married is embarrassed by her firends. They take her money and in order to win it back and have a fun night, she has to sell flowers, little bottles of alcohol, and other funny things. Today, we had orientation and took a tour around the center of the city, which just made me want to live there even more. Oh well. Now we are going out shopping, because one of the girls lost her suitcase but it should be coming soon. More interesting stories to come hopefully.