Hi, Aunt Celia! Thank you for letting yourself be known :)
So yesterday was Germany's first match in the world cup, versus Australia. There was a party at the university with an outdoor screen and bratwurst and beer. Of course I had to go, it's not like I'm gonna get this experience in the US, especially involving soccer. Not that I care about soccer but I do care about group events where other people are excited. Contact fandom, I guess.
It was fun, everyone was dressed up and decorated and excited. Luckily, German murdered Australia so I got to see a happy crowd. After each goal (four for Germany, none for Australia) an announcer would come on and announce the standings and the crowd would answer. It went like:
Announcer: Deutschland!
Crowd: Drei!
Announcer: Australien!
Crowd: Null!
Announcer: Danke!
Crowd: Bitte!
So polite at the end with the "thank you" and "you're welcome." So yeah, it was fun. Apparently they show all of the matches on screens outdoors, so I definitely see myself watching more of these matches.
Oh I went to my friends' house to watch the USA-England match on Saturday night, and on another channel there was pretty much just karaoke for inspirational World Cup songs. It was awesome. One was like "54, 74, 90, 2010" which I guess is the years that Germany won (and is going to win) the world championship and then another was an official World Cup song called "Wavin' Flag." These kind of worldwide events are my favorite.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Hello! Long time, no type, amiright?
Not too too much to report on this end. Bamberg has entered into summer with guns a-blazin'. I mean, literally, some days it feels like I am in the barrel of a gun, being fired, it is that hot. Unbelievably I was wearing a coat at the beginning of June, and now it is just sun sun sun from morning until late late evening. I look at the clothes I brought and am thinking about cutting off all my jeans into shorts and burning my sweaters, because I'm sweating just looking at them.
It's weird how people think that I am dramatic sometimes.
I went on a little day trip last Sunday to Weimar and Erfurt. It was, eh, not the best. It was pretty hot, and pretty far away, and pretty boring, and two of my favorite travel buddies were off having other adventures in Paris and in Morocco (RUDE), and I'm a little sick of little German town after little German town. But it wasn't overall a bust, we got some nice sun and hanging out time and seeing some sights. Oh and also we found this creek/river thing in the middle of town, and got to put our feet in the icy water, and I REALLY enjoyed that. We ate some gummy bears and sat with our feet in the water until they turned purple. I would have stayed there for hours. Any time getting out of Bamberg is a good day. This little town is nice, but it is definitely growing smaller every day. When I got here I was all, this town is so much bigger than I imagined! But now it's feeling über-klein. (That is my bastardized German, means something in the realm of "very small".)
Here's a picture for you though. (I have no idea who "you" is. As far as I know, only Dad, Mom, Jenny and Grandpa read this. Anyone else? I'll try and include some tidbits for you if you'll make yourself known.)
This was in Erfurt. I don't know why this picture turned out all weird and hazy, but I kind of like it. Sinisa (superman next to me) bought this 1 euro tripod and was SO excited about it. He took one picture with it (this one) and then realized later than he lost the tripod. Such a tragedy. Also I wore these weird purple shorts that really have cost me a lot of respect from people in the world (specifically, from a realtor and from a waiter, but I kind of feel like people just know that I own them and don't take me seriously even when I'm not wearing them.) I'm pretty sure it's the last time I will ever wear them. They're really weird.
I decided I like this blog a lot more with pictures. So I will try to keep putting them up.
Not too too much to report on this end. Bamberg has entered into summer with guns a-blazin'. I mean, literally, some days it feels like I am in the barrel of a gun, being fired, it is that hot. Unbelievably I was wearing a coat at the beginning of June, and now it is just sun sun sun from morning until late late evening. I look at the clothes I brought and am thinking about cutting off all my jeans into shorts and burning my sweaters, because I'm sweating just looking at them.
It's weird how people think that I am dramatic sometimes.
I went on a little day trip last Sunday to Weimar and Erfurt. It was, eh, not the best. It was pretty hot, and pretty far away, and pretty boring, and two of my favorite travel buddies were off having other adventures in Paris and in Morocco (RUDE), and I'm a little sick of little German town after little German town. But it wasn't overall a bust, we got some nice sun and hanging out time and seeing some sights. Oh and also we found this creek/river thing in the middle of town, and got to put our feet in the icy water, and I REALLY enjoyed that. We ate some gummy bears and sat with our feet in the water until they turned purple. I would have stayed there for hours. Any time getting out of Bamberg is a good day. This little town is nice, but it is definitely growing smaller every day. When I got here I was all, this town is so much bigger than I imagined! But now it's feeling über-klein. (That is my bastardized German, means something in the realm of "very small".)
Here's a picture for you though. (I have no idea who "you" is. As far as I know, only Dad, Mom, Jenny and Grandpa read this. Anyone else? I'll try and include some tidbits for you if you'll make yourself known.)
This was in Erfurt. I don't know why this picture turned out all weird and hazy, but I kind of like it. Sinisa (superman next to me) bought this 1 euro tripod and was SO excited about it. He took one picture with it (this one) and then realized later than he lost the tripod. Such a tragedy. Also I wore these weird purple shorts that really have cost me a lot of respect from people in the world (specifically, from a realtor and from a waiter, but I kind of feel like people just know that I own them and don't take me seriously even when I'm not wearing them.) I'm pretty sure it's the last time I will ever wear them. They're really weird.
I decided I like this blog a lot more with pictures. So I will try to keep putting them up.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Regensburg
So I wrote a new post about London (below this one) but I wanted to get this one down while it's still fresh.
On Saturday, we FINALLY went to Regensburg. This trip has tried to happen at least two times before but has always been thwarted for various reasons. It is a city in Bavaria about three hours away from Bamberg.
So we planned on catching the 7:30 train, which meant taking the 7:09 bus from our dorm. My friend Miguel and I get to the bus station at that time but unfortunately the bus schedule is different on the weekend, so there is no bus. We talk to our friends Sonca and Sinesa who we were supposed to meet at the train station, they had missed the bus too. Missed bus number 1. Missed train number 1. Keep count, because this number is RIDICULOUS.
Reschedule: the next bus is in one hour. No problem. We are a bit late to the bus stop and have to run after the bus, who thankfully waited for us (it's a 50/50 chance, you never know when they will stop.) We make it to the station on time, take the train to Nuremberg. Luckily our friend, Nurzhan, who had overslept the first bus, was able to make it with us on the second train. We wait in Nuremberg for about 30 minutes and take the train to Regensburg. Sinesa had promised us that there would be 8.5 hours of sun that day, but we didn't see any. However, amazingly, his sources are always correct because when we got to Regensburg, the sun was shining and it did all day.
Traveling with Sonca and Sinesa is the best because they always do research before our day trips, and we just have to follow along with them. It's quite like a family vacation, only we all like each other and don't fight (usually.) They knew about this random building that looked like the Parthenon or something on this hill. So we took a bus out to this place (maybe 20 minutes outside of Regensburg) and the bus dropped us off on this random street. We had to hike (we half-heartedly and unsuccessfully tried to hitch-hike.) The hike wasn't too long, but we were pretty wimpy. Here's the place we went to from above and below:
Random, right? And it was called Walhalla, which we all thought was hilarious because it sounds like a Hawaiian name, not German at all. A sign said it comes from Nordic mythology. Inside was so dumb, it's just lined with busts of famous Germans or something that costs 3 euros to see. We did not pay that. Once we were down below, like the second picture, we saw a bride and groom taking pictures and waved at them and they waved back and were dancing and stuff.
We got a little bit lost on our way back to the bus stop, but once we got there we had about 45 minutes to kill. Some people wanted to explore a bit, but given our luck so far with transportation, I wanted to stick close to the bus stop. A bus from the line we needed pulled around the corner after we had been waiting about 15 minutes, but it was too far away for us to catch it. Sinesa was shouting "NOOO! OH NO!!! THE BUS!!!" and afterwards we all remarked how we got really scared when he yelled that, like there was a big animal or someone was dying or something. Missed bus number 2.
Once we got back into town, we ate some delicious pizzas. We had seen the restaurant when we first got into town and noticed how big the pizzas looked. Then we all wanted pizza all day. It was delicious and quite classy for us poor Erasmus students. We went over to see a bridge and took some photos. We also saw the same bride and groom from earlier, and we all apparently forgot how to talk and just shouted "Wallhalla! Whhallalhah! Wallhahhaallu!" at them at the same time. I guess we thought they'd know what we were talking about but then just smiled quizzically at us and kept walking. Hilarious.
It was a beautiful day and we debated staying there later, but we wanted to make it back to Erlangen for a beer festival. Someone at the tourist office had told us about the best ice cream in town, so we planned on going there and then to the bus. Well the ice cream place was really busy and so we went to another place. At this point we are REALLY short on time to get the bus so mom and dad (Sonca and Sinesa) were like you have one minute to get ice cream. We all got ice cream cones (Nurzhan and Miguel got Red Bull flavored ice cream, yuck! I got peppermint and Nutella...awesome combination) and then as we're going back to the train station, we're walking really fast and Sinesa says, we have to run! So we are all running down this main street in Regensburg, alternating between laughing so hard, licking ice cream cones, and trying not to puke from all the pizza, beer and wine we had eaten. BUT WE MADE IT. And with like 3 minutes to spare. We just sat on the train and laughed for like 10 minutes straight about how ridiculous that was.
When we were nearly back in Nuremberg, Sinesa looked at the timetable and saw that we had ONE minute to make the train to Erlangen (which is halfway between Nuremberg and Bamberg.) So we were all, alright it's game time and run off the train. However, we didn't have the right platform number, so this is how we ran (in one minute): Down the steps from platform 17, up the steps to platform 13, down the steps of platform 13, up the steps to platform 4 and get there JUST as the train is pulling away. Missed train number 2. Insane.
We have about one hour to kill in Nuremberg, but by this point we are not taking any chances. We went a little bit into town but come back at least 30 minutes before our train. It's good too, because the train was really packed because of the beer festival. Everyone was wearing traditional German clothes, including actual leather lederhosen, which was really cool to see. The bierfest was cool but really crowded and we were really tired, so we only stayed about an hour or so. We got to our train about an hour early. No WAY we were missing anything again or running again. Right when we got back to the train station, it started pouring rain and everyone was coming in soaked. Luckily we missed that.
Such a long but great day. This group travels really well together, so we're planning many more trips.
Can't believe this post was so long! I think it's longer than the entire London post. (see below)
On Saturday, we FINALLY went to Regensburg. This trip has tried to happen at least two times before but has always been thwarted for various reasons. It is a city in Bavaria about three hours away from Bamberg.
So we planned on catching the 7:30 train, which meant taking the 7:09 bus from our dorm. My friend Miguel and I get to the bus station at that time but unfortunately the bus schedule is different on the weekend, so there is no bus. We talk to our friends Sonca and Sinesa who we were supposed to meet at the train station, they had missed the bus too. Missed bus number 1. Missed train number 1. Keep count, because this number is RIDICULOUS.
Reschedule: the next bus is in one hour. No problem. We are a bit late to the bus stop and have to run after the bus, who thankfully waited for us (it's a 50/50 chance, you never know when they will stop.) We make it to the station on time, take the train to Nuremberg. Luckily our friend, Nurzhan, who had overslept the first bus, was able to make it with us on the second train. We wait in Nuremberg for about 30 minutes and take the train to Regensburg. Sinesa had promised us that there would be 8.5 hours of sun that day, but we didn't see any. However, amazingly, his sources are always correct because when we got to Regensburg, the sun was shining and it did all day.
Traveling with Sonca and Sinesa is the best because they always do research before our day trips, and we just have to follow along with them. It's quite like a family vacation, only we all like each other and don't fight (usually.) They knew about this random building that looked like the Parthenon or something on this hill. So we took a bus out to this place (maybe 20 minutes outside of Regensburg) and the bus dropped us off on this random street. We had to hike (we half-heartedly and unsuccessfully tried to hitch-hike.) The hike wasn't too long, but we were pretty wimpy. Here's the place we went to from above and below:
Random, right? And it was called Walhalla, which we all thought was hilarious because it sounds like a Hawaiian name, not German at all. A sign said it comes from Nordic mythology. Inside was so dumb, it's just lined with busts of famous Germans or something that costs 3 euros to see. We did not pay that. Once we were down below, like the second picture, we saw a bride and groom taking pictures and waved at them and they waved back and were dancing and stuff.
We got a little bit lost on our way back to the bus stop, but once we got there we had about 45 minutes to kill. Some people wanted to explore a bit, but given our luck so far with transportation, I wanted to stick close to the bus stop. A bus from the line we needed pulled around the corner after we had been waiting about 15 minutes, but it was too far away for us to catch it. Sinesa was shouting "NOOO! OH NO!!! THE BUS!!!" and afterwards we all remarked how we got really scared when he yelled that, like there was a big animal or someone was dying or something. Missed bus number 2.
Once we got back into town, we ate some delicious pizzas. We had seen the restaurant when we first got into town and noticed how big the pizzas looked. Then we all wanted pizza all day. It was delicious and quite classy for us poor Erasmus students. We went over to see a bridge and took some photos. We also saw the same bride and groom from earlier, and we all apparently forgot how to talk and just shouted "Wallhalla! Whhallalhah! Wallhahhaallu!" at them at the same time. I guess we thought they'd know what we were talking about but then just smiled quizzically at us and kept walking. Hilarious.
It was a beautiful day and we debated staying there later, but we wanted to make it back to Erlangen for a beer festival. Someone at the tourist office had told us about the best ice cream in town, so we planned on going there and then to the bus. Well the ice cream place was really busy and so we went to another place. At this point we are REALLY short on time to get the bus so mom and dad (Sonca and Sinesa) were like you have one minute to get ice cream. We all got ice cream cones (Nurzhan and Miguel got Red Bull flavored ice cream, yuck! I got peppermint and Nutella...awesome combination) and then as we're going back to the train station, we're walking really fast and Sinesa says, we have to run! So we are all running down this main street in Regensburg, alternating between laughing so hard, licking ice cream cones, and trying not to puke from all the pizza, beer and wine we had eaten. BUT WE MADE IT. And with like 3 minutes to spare. We just sat on the train and laughed for like 10 minutes straight about how ridiculous that was.
When we were nearly back in Nuremberg, Sinesa looked at the timetable and saw that we had ONE minute to make the train to Erlangen (which is halfway between Nuremberg and Bamberg.) So we were all, alright it's game time and run off the train. However, we didn't have the right platform number, so this is how we ran (in one minute): Down the steps from platform 17, up the steps to platform 13, down the steps of platform 13, up the steps to platform 4 and get there JUST as the train is pulling away. Missed train number 2. Insane.
We have about one hour to kill in Nuremberg, but by this point we are not taking any chances. We went a little bit into town but come back at least 30 minutes before our train. It's good too, because the train was really packed because of the beer festival. Everyone was wearing traditional German clothes, including actual leather lederhosen, which was really cool to see. The bierfest was cool but really crowded and we were really tired, so we only stayed about an hour or so. We got to our train about an hour early. No WAY we were missing anything again or running again. Right when we got back to the train station, it started pouring rain and everyone was coming in soaked. Luckily we missed that.
Such a long but great day. This group travels really well together, so we're planning many more trips.
Can't believe this post was so long! I think it's longer than the entire London post. (see below)
London
Okay folks, here goes. I have told most people these things but for those unfortunate few who haven't heard my tales I will write them here again.
So I met the group on Sunday, May 16 in Munich to fly to London. There were 19 students overall, (11 girls and 8 boys) and five chaperones. Two are teachers at the Montessori school (Thomas and Sabrina), one is a German student studying English in Münster (Lisa) and one was a German student living at the friary in London where we stayed (Jonathan.) If you've never traveled with a group of 19 13-15 year olds, it is quite interesting, to say the least. They are always running away! I found myself just grabbing any person nearby who appeared to be of comparable height and making them stay with the group. But we managed to make it to the friar (which, if you're familiar at all with London, is in the East End Docklands area, near Stratford) by 1 am London time (one hour behind Munich time.)
As I'm writing this, I don't really think I need to give a day-by-day recap, I don't really think anyone wants to read it and I don't particularly want to write it. Especially since my predilection to wordiness is somewhat charming whilst telling stories but a bit tedious in written discourses. Let me just go by subjects I suppose.
The kids:
They hated group photos! Every group photo they all have really grumpy expressions...haha.
They were really great! We had lessons each morning from 9:15-12:15 and the time seemed to fly by. We had a grammar book, which we taught for about one hour, and then an activities book that we did for the rest of the time. I have had absolutely no experience teaching English, but the kids were bright and we were able to muddle through, and I think they learned at least a little something.
There was a fair amount of drama, particularly involving the girls and gossip and hurt feelings, but overall it worked out much better than it sounds on paper, taking a huge group of teenagers to a foreign country. The kids spoke a mile a minute in German, so much of the time I spent just twiddling my thumbs and laughing when other people laughed. I think I probably learned more German on this trip than the whole rest of my time in Bamberg!
The sights:
View from London Eye
Night walk
Cambridge
Natural History Museum
We saw EVERYTHING in London, I'm pretty sure. We went to: Tower of London, London Bridge, Queens Walk, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Carnaby Street, London Eye, Madame Tussaud's, Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, Camden Town, East End Market, Hindu Temple, Canary Wharf, Greenwich, day trip to Cambridge...I don't even know. We went everywhere, we were always running around. It was really cool. Since the trip was paid for, I went on things that I probably wouldn't have gone on my own (London Eye, Madame Tussaud's) and that was fun. The weather was amazing! It was sunny the entire time and really warm, even hot. For a sunshine-loving, sunshine-deprived girl like myself, it was paradise. And the markets! We went to so many different markets. I loved them all! One, we went to on the last Sunday, was awesome. There was all sorts of vintage clothes, handmade clothes and gourmet foods.
Lisa:
All the chaperones, Jonathan, Sabrina, Thomas, Lisa and me
Wine Party in the garden
So the girl from Münster, Lisa, was the coolest. We got along really well and just clicked immediately. It was so wonderful having her there. The other two leaders, while we also all got along really well, were much busier than us, so Lisa and I were built-in hanging out partners. We had one free afternoon, and we had so much fun. We went shopping on Oxford Street (Top Shop, which was amazing but nearly broke my heart from the prices. Imagine you are somewhere with everything you'd ever want or dream of, but instead of being on sale it's the opposite of a sale with a 50% markup. That's what shopping in London with the pound is. Such an awesome store.) Then we had a great dinner in Soho and met the rest of the group at Tate Modern. After that we took a nighttime walk along the Thames and saw everything at night, which was beautiful! Lisa and I spent about 50% of our time anywhere we went getting coffee. I think we tried coffee everywhere in London. Nice to have a fellow obsessor around. We also hung out all day in Cambridge, which was really beautiful. I am planning on visiting her in Münster sometime before I go home.
Whew. So much happened but I can't even begin to organize the rest. Be sure to look at my picture on Facebook. It was, in short, the most perfect trip. Nice to get out of Bamberg, nice to be somewhere warm, nice to speak English, nice to have a great new friend, nice to not have to worry about money...really just perfect. I am planning on going to Munich in July for a little reunion.
So I met the group on Sunday, May 16 in Munich to fly to London. There were 19 students overall, (11 girls and 8 boys) and five chaperones. Two are teachers at the Montessori school (Thomas and Sabrina), one is a German student studying English in Münster (Lisa) and one was a German student living at the friary in London where we stayed (Jonathan.) If you've never traveled with a group of 19 13-15 year olds, it is quite interesting, to say the least. They are always running away! I found myself just grabbing any person nearby who appeared to be of comparable height and making them stay with the group. But we managed to make it to the friar (which, if you're familiar at all with London, is in the East End Docklands area, near Stratford) by 1 am London time (one hour behind Munich time.)
As I'm writing this, I don't really think I need to give a day-by-day recap, I don't really think anyone wants to read it and I don't particularly want to write it. Especially since my predilection to wordiness is somewhat charming whilst telling stories but a bit tedious in written discourses. Let me just go by subjects I suppose.
The kids:
They hated group photos! Every group photo they all have really grumpy expressions...haha.
They were really great! We had lessons each morning from 9:15-12:15 and the time seemed to fly by. We had a grammar book, which we taught for about one hour, and then an activities book that we did for the rest of the time. I have had absolutely no experience teaching English, but the kids were bright and we were able to muddle through, and I think they learned at least a little something.
There was a fair amount of drama, particularly involving the girls and gossip and hurt feelings, but overall it worked out much better than it sounds on paper, taking a huge group of teenagers to a foreign country. The kids spoke a mile a minute in German, so much of the time I spent just twiddling my thumbs and laughing when other people laughed. I think I probably learned more German on this trip than the whole rest of my time in Bamberg!
The sights:
View from London Eye
Night walk
Cambridge
Natural History Museum
We saw EVERYTHING in London, I'm pretty sure. We went to: Tower of London, London Bridge, Queens Walk, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, Carnaby Street, London Eye, Madame Tussaud's, Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, Camden Town, East End Market, Hindu Temple, Canary Wharf, Greenwich, day trip to Cambridge...I don't even know. We went everywhere, we were always running around. It was really cool. Since the trip was paid for, I went on things that I probably wouldn't have gone on my own (London Eye, Madame Tussaud's) and that was fun. The weather was amazing! It was sunny the entire time and really warm, even hot. For a sunshine-loving, sunshine-deprived girl like myself, it was paradise. And the markets! We went to so many different markets. I loved them all! One, we went to on the last Sunday, was awesome. There was all sorts of vintage clothes, handmade clothes and gourmet foods.
Lisa:
All the chaperones, Jonathan, Sabrina, Thomas, Lisa and me
Wine Party in the garden
So the girl from Münster, Lisa, was the coolest. We got along really well and just clicked immediately. It was so wonderful having her there. The other two leaders, while we also all got along really well, were much busier than us, so Lisa and I were built-in hanging out partners. We had one free afternoon, and we had so much fun. We went shopping on Oxford Street (Top Shop, which was amazing but nearly broke my heart from the prices. Imagine you are somewhere with everything you'd ever want or dream of, but instead of being on sale it's the opposite of a sale with a 50% markup. That's what shopping in London with the pound is. Such an awesome store.) Then we had a great dinner in Soho and met the rest of the group at Tate Modern. After that we took a nighttime walk along the Thames and saw everything at night, which was beautiful! Lisa and I spent about 50% of our time anywhere we went getting coffee. I think we tried coffee everywhere in London. Nice to have a fellow obsessor around. We also hung out all day in Cambridge, which was really beautiful. I am planning on visiting her in Münster sometime before I go home.
Whew. So much happened but I can't even begin to organize the rest. Be sure to look at my picture on Facebook. It was, in short, the most perfect trip. Nice to get out of Bamberg, nice to be somewhere warm, nice to speak English, nice to have a great new friend, nice to not have to worry about money...really just perfect. I am planning on going to Munich in July for a little reunion.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
London!
I promise I will be coming at you soon with a LONG post about the wonders of London. But until then here's a link to the blog that was made for the parents of the children on the trip. It even contains some preliminary photos.
http://monteathelping.blogspot.com/
http://monteathelping.blogspot.com/
Thursday, May 13, 2010
In case anyone is wondering, Project Eat My Perishables is going along swimmingly! Since I am leaving for London (for 10 days!) on Saturday, I put myself on a strict plan to finish all my perishable food items without anything going bad and without running out of food. Well I have just Friday left and exactly enough fresh food to last me. High five! Look who's a grownup now.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
So you may or may not be aware that the euro is having quite the difficulty right now (thanks, Greece.) This article in the Economist explains a bit about the dollar against other currencies, which is, in fact, not doing so bad. I took the liberty of doctoring their accompanying graphic to illustrate my own situation.
Not a bad time to be American in Europe.
Not a bad time to be American in Europe.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Hi Dad. :-)
Ok, update for y'all. Ugh, I hate the word y'all. Sorry, southerners. It's just unappealing to me.
Not too much going on, just no classes ever. This week I had class two times. What? It's so weird. Next week I think I have one class, then NO CLASS because I'm going to LONDON (and getting super excited about it...especially since I have a ticket and everything now.) Today I went to a flea market. It was really cool. There was all sorts of cool antique things. I wanted to buy everything for my future home (that I plan on buying and furnishing in like, 10 years) but alas, I didn't buy anything. There were cool lamps and tapestries and tons and tons of steins. If anyone wants a stein, let me know because there is a major overload here. Actually I don't know if anyone is expecting souvenirs but I kind of hope not because I'm not really planning on buying any because 1) I hate trinkets and 2) My bag was already almost overweight on the way here so I don't really have a lot of room to lug home shotglasses and spoons and whatnot.
So tomorrow we are going to Regensburg (you can Google it if you want to know about it.) It's about 2 hours from Bamberg. It's in Bavaria so we can go with the Bavaria ticket which, by the way, is the absolute jam. 28 euros for 5 people, all day! It's awesome, we have definitely been taking advantage of it. Apparently we can also go to Salzburg with it (just over the Austrian border) so we are planning on doing that someday.
Hope this satiates your curiosity! Haha. I know that so far I haven't really had many adventures to share, but I am definitely trying to coordinate some travels in the future so I'll have much more to tell you then.
Ok, update for y'all. Ugh, I hate the word y'all. Sorry, southerners. It's just unappealing to me.
Not too much going on, just no classes ever. This week I had class two times. What? It's so weird. Next week I think I have one class, then NO CLASS because I'm going to LONDON (and getting super excited about it...especially since I have a ticket and everything now.) Today I went to a flea market. It was really cool. There was all sorts of cool antique things. I wanted to buy everything for my future home (that I plan on buying and furnishing in like, 10 years) but alas, I didn't buy anything. There were cool lamps and tapestries and tons and tons of steins. If anyone wants a stein, let me know because there is a major overload here. Actually I don't know if anyone is expecting souvenirs but I kind of hope not because I'm not really planning on buying any because 1) I hate trinkets and 2) My bag was already almost overweight on the way here so I don't really have a lot of room to lug home shotglasses and spoons and whatnot.
So tomorrow we are going to Regensburg (you can Google it if you want to know about it.) It's about 2 hours from Bamberg. It's in Bavaria so we can go with the Bavaria ticket which, by the way, is the absolute jam. 28 euros for 5 people, all day! It's awesome, we have definitely been taking advantage of it. Apparently we can also go to Salzburg with it (just over the Austrian border) so we are planning on doing that someday.
Hope this satiates your curiosity! Haha. I know that so far I haven't really had many adventures to share, but I am definitely trying to coordinate some travels in the future so I'll have much more to tell you then.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Yes, yes, I hear the crowd calling out for my brilliance. Well, good people, I'm here to appease you.
So it's been a while, I guess? I have FINALLY started classes! Hooray! Although I have probably the least amount of classes of anyone. Only four classes. But that is quite fine with me. At least two of them are master's classes too. Good thing I'm brilliant, right? Ha. I think they will be quite difficult. My schedule is:
Incentive and Behavior
Industrial Economics
Social and Economic Networks
Migration and the Labour Market.
The first three classes have the same professor. He is really nice and his English is great, so that is good. He reminds me of a younger Murry Bentley. My other professor is apparently very well-known or famous or something. I don't really know. His English is very heavily accented but I think the topic is good. The first three classes are primarily about microeconomics and game theory, which is NOT something I am particularly interested it (I am more of a macro fan) but I think it'll be okay. Pretty much I've just being doing that recently, figuring out how to do everything related to books and printing out readings and such.
I went to Munich on Friday to meet a friend of Hannah's who teaches at a Montessori school there. He is taking his class to London in May on a trip to help with their English, and I am hopefully going with them as an assistant. I will be helping teach English in the morning and then sightseeing in the afternoon and it's all paid for by the school. I say hopefully because they still have to get approval from the principal to take an extra chaperone, but it probably will be okay. I'm excited! I hadn't planned on going to England this trip, not because I don't LOVE England but I thought maybe since I've been there I wouldn't go back this time. But, for free, I think I can handle it. It's also over the Pentecost break so I'd only miss a few classes (which apparently you're allowed to miss like all of them...not that I plan to.) Hannah's friend, Thomas, is really nice and he showed me all around Munich. I came and went in one day (which is about 3 hrs each way) but it really wasn't bad at all.
My trip to Italy did get canceled thanks to that volcano. Luckily I am getting a refund for my plane ticket, so I'll have to reschedule. I don't really have any trips scheduled yet, so I need to get on that! I am planning on going to Budapest after the semester is over once my roommate and her friends are home. I'm excited about that! I am working on weekend trips to Berlin and Prague and then definitely a Scandinavia excursion as well. I have long weekends (Friday to Sunday) every week and then I have tutorials on Monday that are every other week, so I could potentially take some quite long trips. As long as my money holds out, eek!
I miss you all very much! I have pretty much settled into a routine here, which is good. I'm still looking for a job and I sent several inquiries today, but it's pretty limited considering my basically 0 German ability. Oh well. This is much more than I thought I would write, so you're welcome! :)
So it's been a while, I guess? I have FINALLY started classes! Hooray! Although I have probably the least amount of classes of anyone. Only four classes. But that is quite fine with me. At least two of them are master's classes too. Good thing I'm brilliant, right? Ha. I think they will be quite difficult. My schedule is:
Incentive and Behavior
Industrial Economics
Social and Economic Networks
Migration and the Labour Market.
The first three classes have the same professor. He is really nice and his English is great, so that is good. He reminds me of a younger Murry Bentley. My other professor is apparently very well-known or famous or something. I don't really know. His English is very heavily accented but I think the topic is good. The first three classes are primarily about microeconomics and game theory, which is NOT something I am particularly interested it (I am more of a macro fan) but I think it'll be okay. Pretty much I've just being doing that recently, figuring out how to do everything related to books and printing out readings and such.
I went to Munich on Friday to meet a friend of Hannah's who teaches at a Montessori school there. He is taking his class to London in May on a trip to help with their English, and I am hopefully going with them as an assistant. I will be helping teach English in the morning and then sightseeing in the afternoon and it's all paid for by the school. I say hopefully because they still have to get approval from the principal to take an extra chaperone, but it probably will be okay. I'm excited! I hadn't planned on going to England this trip, not because I don't LOVE England but I thought maybe since I've been there I wouldn't go back this time. But, for free, I think I can handle it. It's also over the Pentecost break so I'd only miss a few classes (which apparently you're allowed to miss like all of them...not that I plan to.) Hannah's friend, Thomas, is really nice and he showed me all around Munich. I came and went in one day (which is about 3 hrs each way) but it really wasn't bad at all.
My trip to Italy did get canceled thanks to that volcano. Luckily I am getting a refund for my plane ticket, so I'll have to reschedule. I don't really have any trips scheduled yet, so I need to get on that! I am planning on going to Budapest after the semester is over once my roommate and her friends are home. I'm excited about that! I am working on weekend trips to Berlin and Prague and then definitely a Scandinavia excursion as well. I have long weekends (Friday to Sunday) every week and then I have tutorials on Monday that are every other week, so I could potentially take some quite long trips. As long as my money holds out, eek!
I miss you all very much! I have pretty much settled into a routine here, which is good. I'm still looking for a job and I sent several inquiries today, but it's pretty limited considering my basically 0 German ability. Oh well. This is much more than I thought I would write, so you're welcome! :)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
THE SAGA
If anyone has been following this awful saga regarding my thyroid medicine and the package that Jenny sent on March 20 that has mysteriously disappeared. Well today I went to a doctor, taking along my dubious insurance purchased from the internet and hoping to communicate in English. WELL: SUCCESS! Got a prescription for the medicine and took it to a pharmacy. DONE AND DONE. Overall cost, which was something I had literally no idea what it would be: 4.66 euros for the doctors visit and 16 euros for three months of medicine. On my own, communicating in English.
Needless to say, I am walking on sunshine today.
Needless to say, I am walking on sunshine today.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Oh, hey Alison, where have you been? Just around, I guess. It's been a SUPER boring week. I mean, a super relaxing week. I'm feeling a little guilty about doing as close to literally nothing as possible, but then again not actually that much. I haven't really had much of a real break in a while (a week around Christmas, a weekish before I came here) so I'm not feeling too bad. I do hope that I can find some sort of a job while I'm here. I have a woman who is going to contact me this week about the tutoring jobs. Who knows? Apparently I am a workaholic. Not having a job makes me feel like a lazy, good-for-nothing slob. Although it has lent me a lot of time to clean my room and wash dishes. I have discovered the secret to keeping your dishes washed: don't own any dishes. When you have two of everything, you have to wash your dishes nearly every day or else you're using paper towels for bowls and fingers for spoons and that is really not a nice way to eat cereal.
Yesterday was the one-month mark. It's weird because on all of my previous trips, that would be the halfway point and everything else is downhill. But this time, it's just the beginning. My semester hasn't even started yet! It's very strange. I think the newness is starting to wear a bit and homesickness (or comfortsickness or familiarsickness) is beginning to set in. I am hoping once I get a routine and have something to do with my time, then it will be a lot better. I am also planning on getting a bike this week so I'm pretty excited about that. The town is really small to afford walking everywhere and has a pretty regular bus schedule, but I just think having a bike will be fun and also lend a bit of that automobile freedom that I am missing : ) Classes start on April 19, so this week is again a bit of a slow one. I was hoping to maybe go somewhere but I just can't seem to get all the logistics together.
Okay there's your weekly update. My camera is dead because my charger is in my mysterious package that refuses to arrive and consistently befuddles/infuriates me every day. Not that I have done anything super exciting to take pictures of. I just re-read what I wrote and it's a bit whiny. Sorry about that, I need to infuse my writing with better words but I think maybe I'm losing my English as well as not learning any German : )
Yesterday was the one-month mark. It's weird because on all of my previous trips, that would be the halfway point and everything else is downhill. But this time, it's just the beginning. My semester hasn't even started yet! It's very strange. I think the newness is starting to wear a bit and homesickness (or comfortsickness or familiarsickness) is beginning to set in. I am hoping once I get a routine and have something to do with my time, then it will be a lot better. I am also planning on getting a bike this week so I'm pretty excited about that. The town is really small to afford walking everywhere and has a pretty regular bus schedule, but I just think having a bike will be fun and also lend a bit of that automobile freedom that I am missing : ) Classes start on April 19, so this week is again a bit of a slow one. I was hoping to maybe go somewhere but I just can't seem to get all the logistics together.
Okay there's your weekly update. My camera is dead because my charger is in my mysterious package that refuses to arrive and consistently befuddles/infuriates me every day. Not that I have done anything super exciting to take pictures of. I just re-read what I wrote and it's a bit whiny. Sorry about that, I need to infuse my writing with better words but I think maybe I'm losing my English as well as not learning any German : )
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Fränkische Schweiz
Oh dang. What a crazy day! We went on another day trip, this time to the Franconia area in Bavaria. We went by bus (all of us a bit wary from last week's excursion...and rightly so, as you will see later) and first went to this tiny town where they have a fountain that is decorated with Easter eggs and garland. It's apparently a traditional thing in this region, but for us it was, um, not to interesting, not to mention freezing cold. Plus there was some sort of market to be open, but it wasn't open yet for the day. So it was basically fifty college students in the main square of a tiny town staring at this fountain. It was pretty funny in it's ridiculousness. Plus they were like, okay well we're going to be here for an hour. Haha! Luckily it ended up being about 30 minutes. Not too bad.
Then, we went by bus to a choice of two options, a somewhat inexplicable "bobsled without the snow" ride or a trip to a cave. CLEARLY i chose the bobsled thing, because 1) I hate caves and 2) the bobsled sounded awesome. Turns out, it totally was. It was sort of like a go-kart on a roller coaster track on the side of a Bavarian mountain. It was super fun. I was kind of freaking out of awesomeness. Then we went to this lake where some people went on paddle boats. I didn't go on the boat, although I did tell the story about Mom & Dad in the paddle boat not once but two times, it's always a crowd pleaser. I sat on the side of the lake soaking up some much-loved rays of sun. We then walked about a kilometer to the cave where the others were and took the bus to another little town.
At that town, there was a church and castle/fort thing, but we were mostly interested in lunch. In Bamberg there are TONS of take away places with sandwiches and pizza and Doner Kebabs (a delicious Turkish sandwich.....soooo good) but not in this town. We ended up eating bread and ice cream for lunch, always delicious. We were pretty tired and not really interested in seeing "the sights" but we DID stumble upon a church rummage sale! I have seriously been looking for this kind of thing since I've been here, just for some random household items that I need. I ended up buying a little red pot, a measuring cup and two scarves for 3 euros. Score!
THEN: They were all, oh hey, now to meet the bus we are going to hike for one and a half hours. We were all, WHAT?! And that we did, just took off through some neighborhoods and through some fields and through some woods. It was pretty beautiful but the weather was so weird, it would be cold and then hot and then windy, apparently "April weather" in Germany is code for extremely unpredictable. I wasn't super prepared for hiking and it was pretty tiring. But overall it was nice. Unfortunately my battery charger for my camera is in my elusive package that refuses to come, and my camera has finally died. But everyone else took tons of pictures that I'm sure will be on FB soon. I have decided not to put pictures on here because it's a hassle to resize and upload and everyone has Facebook anyways.
OK on the way back, our bus driver ran into a wall! What?! It was so weird, he was turning a corner and scraped against a concrete fence/wall. Everyone was like, NOOOOO (flashback to last week's bus drama). The driver got out and had to go knock on the door of the house and then go next door and find someone to talk to about it. So crazy. Unfortunately we had to skip the last stop of our trip (which was another Easter fountain thing....dang, they love these things) but I'm pretty sure everyone was like, SCORE because we were kind of over the fountains anyway.
SO YEAH. That's what happened. It was such a crazy day, at 3:00 we were walking through some woods, and I was amazed at how much we had already done by that time. Oh also yesterday we went to a park here in Bamberg for a picnic, it was really nice. Everyone is so eager to make plans and hang out and do anything. It's nice because if anyone suggests anything, everyone is in for it. Alright, movie night! See ya!
Then, we went by bus to a choice of two options, a somewhat inexplicable "bobsled without the snow" ride or a trip to a cave. CLEARLY i chose the bobsled thing, because 1) I hate caves and 2) the bobsled sounded awesome. Turns out, it totally was. It was sort of like a go-kart on a roller coaster track on the side of a Bavarian mountain. It was super fun. I was kind of freaking out of awesomeness. Then we went to this lake where some people went on paddle boats. I didn't go on the boat, although I did tell the story about Mom & Dad in the paddle boat not once but two times, it's always a crowd pleaser. I sat on the side of the lake soaking up some much-loved rays of sun. We then walked about a kilometer to the cave where the others were and took the bus to another little town.
At that town, there was a church and castle/fort thing, but we were mostly interested in lunch. In Bamberg there are TONS of take away places with sandwiches and pizza and Doner Kebabs (a delicious Turkish sandwich.....soooo good) but not in this town. We ended up eating bread and ice cream for lunch, always delicious. We were pretty tired and not really interested in seeing "the sights" but we DID stumble upon a church rummage sale! I have seriously been looking for this kind of thing since I've been here, just for some random household items that I need. I ended up buying a little red pot, a measuring cup and two scarves for 3 euros. Score!
THEN: They were all, oh hey, now to meet the bus we are going to hike for one and a half hours. We were all, WHAT?! And that we did, just took off through some neighborhoods and through some fields and through some woods. It was pretty beautiful but the weather was so weird, it would be cold and then hot and then windy, apparently "April weather" in Germany is code for extremely unpredictable. I wasn't super prepared for hiking and it was pretty tiring. But overall it was nice. Unfortunately my battery charger for my camera is in my elusive package that refuses to come, and my camera has finally died. But everyone else took tons of pictures that I'm sure will be on FB soon. I have decided not to put pictures on here because it's a hassle to resize and upload and everyone has Facebook anyways.
OK on the way back, our bus driver ran into a wall! What?! It was so weird, he was turning a corner and scraped against a concrete fence/wall. Everyone was like, NOOOOO (flashback to last week's bus drama). The driver got out and had to go knock on the door of the house and then go next door and find someone to talk to about it. So crazy. Unfortunately we had to skip the last stop of our trip (which was another Easter fountain thing....dang, they love these things) but I'm pretty sure everyone was like, SCORE because we were kind of over the fountains anyway.
SO YEAH. That's what happened. It was such a crazy day, at 3:00 we were walking through some woods, and I was amazed at how much we had already done by that time. Oh also yesterday we went to a park here in Bamberg for a picnic, it was really nice. Everyone is so eager to make plans and hang out and do anything. It's nice because if anyone suggests anything, everyone is in for it. Alright, movie night! See ya!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Highlights of the day
We went to Munich.
On the way home, our bus breaks down on the autobahn approximately one hour outside of Munich/two hours away from Bamberg.
40 Erasmus students and one dog (?) stranded on the side of the autobahn in the rain.
Rescued by other bus, brought to German convenience store to join other 40 students from non-broken down bus.
Nearly 100 Erasmus students and leaders spend 2+ hours in convenience store.
Bus is fixed.
Return home 12:30 am (really 1:30 am due to DST change today).
3 hour return trip turns into 6 hour trip.
Now sleep.
On the way home, our bus breaks down on the autobahn approximately one hour outside of Munich/two hours away from Bamberg.
40 Erasmus students and one dog (?) stranded on the side of the autobahn in the rain.
Rescued by other bus, brought to German convenience store to join other 40 students from non-broken down bus.
Nearly 100 Erasmus students and leaders spend 2+ hours in convenience store.
Bus is fixed.
Return home 12:30 am (really 1:30 am due to DST change today).
3 hour return trip turns into 6 hour trip.
Now sleep.
Friday, March 26, 2010
A little about my roommate.
My roommate is so awesome. Her name is Szabina and she is from Budapest, Hungary. How did I always get so lucky with roommates? (Aside from one hellish tent-mate in Malawi, and for an unprecedented two weeks in a row, when everyone else switched except us.) I am so thankful for her, thankful that she speaks English, and she is so friendly and always inviting me places and just hanging out. And she has friends from Budapest who are here too who are also awesome.
We are going to Munich tomorrow for a day trip. It's gonna be really short, leave at 8 am and get back at like 7 pm (19:00 hours, in case anyone is interested in the military time they use here). But hey, it's free. And if I see something I like, it's only a Bayern Ticket away. Bavaria ticket: all day, five people, 28 euros. Awesome.
Also! We bought tickets to go to Italy today! Fly from Munich to Pisa, then Florence, then Rome. It's gonna be a whirlwind. And yes, you read we. It is going to be quite the excursion, there are so many people planning on going. I know that maybe seven people have bought tickets so far, so the plans are still being made.
We are going to Munich tomorrow for a day trip. It's gonna be really short, leave at 8 am and get back at like 7 pm (19:00 hours, in case anyone is interested in the military time they use here). But hey, it's free. And if I see something I like, it's only a Bayern Ticket away. Bavaria ticket: all day, five people, 28 euros. Awesome.
Also! We bought tickets to go to Italy today! Fly from Munich to Pisa, then Florence, then Rome. It's gonna be a whirlwind. And yes, you read we. It is going to be quite the excursion, there are so many people planning on going. I know that maybe seven people have bought tickets so far, so the plans are still being made.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
not gonna be a spelunker
We went to some horrifying catacombs yesterday! I definitely realized that I will never be a spelunker, despite how much I love that word. It wasn't too bad, apparently they used them for a variety of things below Bamberg, including hiding during WWII (I think, the guide was speaking only in German). However, that didn't stop me from being kind of freaked out. When we started going further down on many flights of slippery, muddy steps, I only slightly imagined dying below the earth in Bamberg. LUCKILY we made it. So, only good news to report. After caving on Aslan, I said never again will I go under the earth. It is not place for someone like me with claustrophobia and an overactive imagination.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Sorry dudes for the no-posting. It's been pretty much just German class, hanging out, etc. Not a whole lot of goings-on other than that.
Two things: We went to the Neue Residenz which is like a palace thing here in Bamberg. It's pretty legit, a King or whatever lived there. This is pretty much History According To Alison...I only tell you whatever I think is interesting, also it might not be true. Similar to Science with Alison but that is entirely made up. One of Napoleon's aides threw himself out of one of the windows. Interesting. It was of a similar style to Versailles, but, um, just a bit smaller.
Also, today we went to Nuremberg for a little field trip. It was fun, we used the Bayernticket which is 28 euros for up to 5 people all day in Bavaria. So it cost about 5.50 euros each for the whole trip, not too bad. We saw some castle thing and some churches, it was a pretty town. Everything in Bamberg is closed on Sunday so the tutors suggested a trip to Nuremberg. I had some McDonalds, it was pretty good. Haha.
OK I'm not feeling super inspired to write anything interesting, so I'm outta here.
Two things: We went to the Neue Residenz which is like a palace thing here in Bamberg. It's pretty legit, a King or whatever lived there. This is pretty much History According To Alison...I only tell you whatever I think is interesting, also it might not be true. Similar to Science with Alison but that is entirely made up. One of Napoleon's aides threw himself out of one of the windows. Interesting. It was of a similar style to Versailles, but, um, just a bit smaller.
Also, today we went to Nuremberg for a little field trip. It was fun, we used the Bayernticket which is 28 euros for up to 5 people all day in Bavaria. So it cost about 5.50 euros each for the whole trip, not too bad. We saw some castle thing and some churches, it was a pretty town. Everything in Bamberg is closed on Sunday so the tutors suggested a trip to Nuremberg. I had some McDonalds, it was pretty good. Haha.
OK I'm not feeling super inspired to write anything interesting, so I'm outta here.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
catching up on some old blogs that i wrote before i had internet...this is the last one. btw i just ate a very gross german sandwich. i even made it so it's not really anyone's fault but mine.
Yesterday (Saturday) we went on two tours and then to a pub crawl. Well it was more like going to one bar, the inaccurately named “Blues Bar” that played AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Coldplay. There I met some of the Americans from Colorado. It was great to get to talk to them in English. One of the guys was even on my same flight from Chicago and train from Frankfurt. I’ve become sort of the anomaly amongst everyone as the girl who speaks no German at all. Everyone keeps asking me, “Um, why did you come to Bamberg if you don’t speak German?” I usually tell them that there is nowhere that I don’t want to go, and they seem to get that.
Today (Sunday) we went on some sort of sightseeing outing. No one seemed to have any idea where we were going. Apparently the German was untranslatable and even those who speak German weren’t sure what it meant. So we all met at the Menza and just started walking in a big group. And walk we did, up and up and up and up and across a field and up some steps and a steep path, through slush and mud and slippery cobblestones. It was ridiculous. But once we got to the top, there was a castle (maybe a monastary, maybe a fort, I don’t know) with a panoramic view of the city. I will put the pictures up later. It was beautiful. Once we got to the top there was a tower where we could climb 50 meters to the top. Initially I wasn’t going to (having just hiked like two miles...I have no idea how far it was, it was probably like half a mile haha) but then I was like, why not, I’m here. So I did, but it was a pretty stupid decision because at the top it was really crowded and the windows were fogged up from everyone breathing and I could barely feel my legs. Whatever. I did it.
We played the typical icebreaker game where you say your name and something that starts with the same letter as your name, and have to say everyone elses. Luckily, Alison and American start with the same letter. Score. I learned “ich bin” and “du bist” at least. There are most likely not spelled correctly. By the way, my name in German is pronounced like Alizon, so I have decided that I will spell my name Alißon so that it will be pronounced corrected. Please refer to me only as such from here on out. (On your Mac computers, which you certainly have since I strictly associate only with those who own Apple products, that is option + s.)
(Roommates, you are the exception to my Mac rule. Also, I know we are no longer roommates but I plan on calling you my roommates forever, J-BAR.)
Afterwards we went to a cafe and had really nice conversation about all sorts of things, vegetarianism in Germany (it exists!), government funding of college, high fructose corn syrup. At my table was four Americans, two Italians, one German and one Hungarian. The coversation was mostly in English with a smattering of German as well. Then a French man joined the conversation and it switched mostly to German. I was even able to follow most of the conversation, which was very encouraging. Sidenote: After the French man split from our group, someone said “How old is that guy?!” It was really funny because he was really old but he was with the university students. All of us had been thinking the same thing the whole time but couldn’t say anything. Apparently he is a Ph.D. student, but he seriously is like fifty years old.
Also, the French man ordered apple strudel. It was just like Inglourious Basterds, with the whipped cream and everything. Perfect.
I got a really weird dish, it was called Toast Express and it was like a piece of toast in a cast iron skillet with chicken, mushrooms and cheese sauce. It was not at all something I would think was German, more like one of those skillets you can order at Denny’s. It was pretty good but heavy, afterwards I thought I would fall asleep.
“I ate a porterhouse for two, I am very angry and sleepy” -Jack Donoghy
I hope you don’t think that this is too much information. (Who cares if you do? Go away!) I do keep a “personal” diary (if I was saying this instead of typing, I would say that very creepily just to be creepy for no reason, most likely with one eyebrow raised) but I don’t really record events in it, mostly just write what I’m feeling so I can process everything so this blog is more of a day-by-day recap. Or semi-day-by-day, slash whenever I want, ‘cause it’s my blog.
Now I think I’m going to watch Scrubs in English with my Hungarian friends.
Yesterday (Saturday) we went on two tours and then to a pub crawl. Well it was more like going to one bar, the inaccurately named “Blues Bar” that played AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Coldplay. There I met some of the Americans from Colorado. It was great to get to talk to them in English. One of the guys was even on my same flight from Chicago and train from Frankfurt. I’ve become sort of the anomaly amongst everyone as the girl who speaks no German at all. Everyone keeps asking me, “Um, why did you come to Bamberg if you don’t speak German?” I usually tell them that there is nowhere that I don’t want to go, and they seem to get that.
Today (Sunday) we went on some sort of sightseeing outing. No one seemed to have any idea where we were going. Apparently the German was untranslatable and even those who speak German weren’t sure what it meant. So we all met at the Menza and just started walking in a big group. And walk we did, up and up and up and up and across a field and up some steps and a steep path, through slush and mud and slippery cobblestones. It was ridiculous. But once we got to the top, there was a castle (maybe a monastary, maybe a fort, I don’t know) with a panoramic view of the city. I will put the pictures up later. It was beautiful. Once we got to the top there was a tower where we could climb 50 meters to the top. Initially I wasn’t going to (having just hiked like two miles...I have no idea how far it was, it was probably like half a mile haha) but then I was like, why not, I’m here. So I did, but it was a pretty stupid decision because at the top it was really crowded and the windows were fogged up from everyone breathing and I could barely feel my legs. Whatever. I did it.
We played the typical icebreaker game where you say your name and something that starts with the same letter as your name, and have to say everyone elses. Luckily, Alison and American start with the same letter. Score. I learned “ich bin” and “du bist” at least. There are most likely not spelled correctly. By the way, my name in German is pronounced like Alizon, so I have decided that I will spell my name Alißon so that it will be pronounced corrected. Please refer to me only as such from here on out. (On your Mac computers, which you certainly have since I strictly associate only with those who own Apple products, that is option + s.)
(Roommates, you are the exception to my Mac rule. Also, I know we are no longer roommates but I plan on calling you my roommates forever, J-BAR.)
Afterwards we went to a cafe and had really nice conversation about all sorts of things, vegetarianism in Germany (it exists!), government funding of college, high fructose corn syrup. At my table was four Americans, two Italians, one German and one Hungarian. The coversation was mostly in English with a smattering of German as well. Then a French man joined the conversation and it switched mostly to German. I was even able to follow most of the conversation, which was very encouraging. Sidenote: After the French man split from our group, someone said “How old is that guy?!” It was really funny because he was really old but he was with the university students. All of us had been thinking the same thing the whole time but couldn’t say anything. Apparently he is a Ph.D. student, but he seriously is like fifty years old.
Also, the French man ordered apple strudel. It was just like Inglourious Basterds, with the whipped cream and everything. Perfect.
I got a really weird dish, it was called Toast Express and it was like a piece of toast in a cast iron skillet with chicken, mushrooms and cheese sauce. It was not at all something I would think was German, more like one of those skillets you can order at Denny’s. It was pretty good but heavy, afterwards I thought I would fall asleep.
“I ate a porterhouse for two, I am very angry and sleepy” -Jack Donoghy
I hope you don’t think that this is too much information. (Who cares if you do? Go away!) I do keep a “personal” diary (if I was saying this instead of typing, I would say that very creepily just to be creepy for no reason, most likely with one eyebrow raised) but I don’t really record events in it, mostly just write what I’m feeling so I can process everything so this blog is more of a day-by-day recap. Or semi-day-by-day, slash whenever I want, ‘cause it’s my blog.
Now I think I’m going to watch Scrubs in English with my Hungarian friends.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
is not so bad
I wrote this yesterday (Saturday)...needed to get a lot out even before i have internet!)
Ah, blog two. I know you come here mostly for pictures, but I have always been terrible at capturing moments through photographs, although I can wax on for hours about nothing and would rather recreate scenes through words than my inept attempts at photography. Do not fret, there will be pictures. Just know that there will be a lot of words too. Maybe a ratio of about 300 words for every picture, give or take.
So this experience, so far, has been freshman year all over again. It’s like I just regressed four years. Being lost, knowing no one, figuring out all of the quirks, although then it was the quirks of an adult life, and now, once I think I’ve got most of those figured out, it’s doing it again, but in another language that I do not speak. Even the tiniest triumphs become huge accomplishments. For instance, I think about how Beth and I rode our bikes back from Target with enormous economy-sized packages of toilet paper and paper towels balanced on the handlebars. That was our magificent acheivement. Of course, at home now I would just load up my car and think nothing of it. Similarly, every tiny acheivement has become a triumph. Particularly with food. If I purchase something and it is exactly what I thought it was, that is a momentous achievement. Sometimes I very much want to succomb to comfort, and live a life where I’ve got it all figured out. Something tells me that I would be miserable. But I did love the “vacation lifestyle” that I had been leading and I hope that I will see the benefits of these difficulties.
So today, I experienced a MIRACLE. You might have heard about my escapades with bank accounts and withdrawing a limited about of money and my own stupidity thinking that when the brochure says bring “sufficient cash” that I think that means leaving my house with $8 in cash, an ATM card and credit card. Literally, I had 8 $1 bills. WHAT? Who is this retard? It’s just me. Well I needed to withdraw more money from my account but didn’t have enough to withdraw from my checking account. Oh, this is a globalized world, Alison, what about online transfers? Oh that would be great, if I had the internet. Not yet. Also, I can use the internet at the university. However, I need a 1 euro coin for the lockers at the library, which I don’t have. This is just ridiculous. I only know one girl in this building who has internet, but I don’t know where her room is. AND THEN, miraculously, she came to my door! She is friends with my roommate, and I asked her if I could use her internet for something. She was so nice and let me, and I got it all sorted out. Again, normally, no internet, not so bad, I can make do. Today: MIRACLE.
Speaking of my roommate, she is wonderful! You might know I requested a single room, but instead was put in a double. What fortuitous luck! Not only do I become a big creep after about 24 hours alone, but she has many friends here from her university in Hungary who a) speak English (!) and b) invite me to go places with them. Awesome! We went to a pub last night and they were all so nice and spoke to me in English. It was great. My roommate (her name is Sabina or Sabrina or Sabine...I am not sure how it is spelled) has a nephew who is one and a half, and so I told her all about Clark and even made her look at his picture. What a famous baby!
Alright, this is obscenely long. When I get the internet in my room I will be able to update more frequently and also with pictures and hopefully not this many words (hopefully for you, not me).
Tchuße!
Ah, blog two. I know you come here mostly for pictures, but I have always been terrible at capturing moments through photographs, although I can wax on for hours about nothing and would rather recreate scenes through words than my inept attempts at photography. Do not fret, there will be pictures. Just know that there will be a lot of words too. Maybe a ratio of about 300 words for every picture, give or take.
So this experience, so far, has been freshman year all over again. It’s like I just regressed four years. Being lost, knowing no one, figuring out all of the quirks, although then it was the quirks of an adult life, and now, once I think I’ve got most of those figured out, it’s doing it again, but in another language that I do not speak. Even the tiniest triumphs become huge accomplishments. For instance, I think about how Beth and I rode our bikes back from Target with enormous economy-sized packages of toilet paper and paper towels balanced on the handlebars. That was our magificent acheivement. Of course, at home now I would just load up my car and think nothing of it. Similarly, every tiny acheivement has become a triumph. Particularly with food. If I purchase something and it is exactly what I thought it was, that is a momentous achievement. Sometimes I very much want to succomb to comfort, and live a life where I’ve got it all figured out. Something tells me that I would be miserable. But I did love the “vacation lifestyle” that I had been leading and I hope that I will see the benefits of these difficulties.
So today, I experienced a MIRACLE. You might have heard about my escapades with bank accounts and withdrawing a limited about of money and my own stupidity thinking that when the brochure says bring “sufficient cash” that I think that means leaving my house with $8 in cash, an ATM card and credit card. Literally, I had 8 $1 bills. WHAT? Who is this retard? It’s just me. Well I needed to withdraw more money from my account but didn’t have enough to withdraw from my checking account. Oh, this is a globalized world, Alison, what about online transfers? Oh that would be great, if I had the internet. Not yet. Also, I can use the internet at the university. However, I need a 1 euro coin for the lockers at the library, which I don’t have. This is just ridiculous. I only know one girl in this building who has internet, but I don’t know where her room is. AND THEN, miraculously, she came to my door! She is friends with my roommate, and I asked her if I could use her internet for something. She was so nice and let me, and I got it all sorted out. Again, normally, no internet, not so bad, I can make do. Today: MIRACLE.
Speaking of my roommate, she is wonderful! You might know I requested a single room, but instead was put in a double. What fortuitous luck! Not only do I become a big creep after about 24 hours alone, but she has many friends here from her university in Hungary who a) speak English (!) and b) invite me to go places with them. Awesome! We went to a pub last night and they were all so nice and spoke to me in English. It was great. My roommate (her name is Sabina or Sabrina or Sabine...I am not sure how it is spelled) has a nephew who is one and a half, and so I told her all about Clark and even made her look at his picture. What a famous baby!
Alright, this is obscenely long. When I get the internet in my room I will be able to update more frequently and also with pictures and hopefully not this many words (hopefully for you, not me).
Tchuße!
Friday, March 12, 2010
ich sprechen nicht deutsche
WHAT? AM I RETARDED? NO GERMAN? NOT A WORD? I am a dumb person.
So here I am in Germany, right? Oh yeah, no one speaks English. Okay, some people do. But the vast majority, no. None. And I speak less German. I met a group of students from Colorado last night and one of them said that I "had guts" to come without knowing German. I think more like, I have no brain. Even the information for foreign students is in German. Oh boy. This is going to be interesting. I did manage to sign a contract today in German. With a little help from another boy with a little English. But mostly German. I hope it doesn't mean I'm locked up abroad. Great, I probably signed myself over to the German government. All I wanted was internet in my room.
Note:
Since I know that it is pretty much Grandpa, Mom, Dad and Jenny that read this, I suppose my dramatic and facetious tone is not really appropriate (although, since you know me, I am certain you can imagine me saying these exact words with the accompanying flourishes, including vocal inflections and hand motions), since you tend to worry much more about me that any lone internet wanderer. Of course I mean to say, I am fine, I am having momentary panic but that always subsides. The language courses start on Monday, hopefully I will be even the slightest bit competent to communicate after a week or so. My roommate just arrived, she is from Hungary and seems very nice. She even speaks some English (AMAZING!). Once I get real internet set up in my room (also Monday) then I will make this is a bit more Deutche-esque and not so French. Oh and also, it started snowing today, although I think has stopped by now. A Florida girl like me definitely got excited seeing real snowflakes on my coat. They looked just like the ones cut out of paper! : )
Enough.
So here I am in Germany, right? Oh yeah, no one speaks English. Okay, some people do. But the vast majority, no. None. And I speak less German. I met a group of students from Colorado last night and one of them said that I "had guts" to come without knowing German. I think more like, I have no brain. Even the information for foreign students is in German. Oh boy. This is going to be interesting. I did manage to sign a contract today in German. With a little help from another boy with a little English. But mostly German. I hope it doesn't mean I'm locked up abroad. Great, I probably signed myself over to the German government. All I wanted was internet in my room.
Note:
Since I know that it is pretty much Grandpa, Mom, Dad and Jenny that read this, I suppose my dramatic and facetious tone is not really appropriate (although, since you know me, I am certain you can imagine me saying these exact words with the accompanying flourishes, including vocal inflections and hand motions), since you tend to worry much more about me that any lone internet wanderer. Of course I mean to say, I am fine, I am having momentary panic but that always subsides. The language courses start on Monday, hopefully I will be even the slightest bit competent to communicate after a week or so. My roommate just arrived, she is from Hungary and seems very nice. She even speaks some English (AMAZING!). Once I get real internet set up in my room (also Monday) then I will make this is a bit more Deutche-esque and not so French. Oh and also, it started snowing today, although I think has stopped by now. A Florida girl like me definitely got excited seeing real snowflakes on my coat. They looked just like the ones cut out of paper! : )
Enough.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
did i mention?
i am home.
i found my way, toured london, grudgingly left l'abri (not without a few tears), navigated a taxi, a train, the tube, the chunnel, the metro (not without begging for spare euros to pay for my trip to the airport, which granted me five euros, an e-mail address and a moroccan boyfriend), sleeping in the paris airport and two planes (including a delay in newark that was longer than the flight itself).
currently i inhabit a lovely house on jacksonville beach with four lovely girls. who knows what adventures the future holds (cheesefest 2008)
l'abri manor house
i found my way, toured london, grudgingly left l'abri (not without a few tears), navigated a taxi, a train, the tube, the chunnel, the metro (not without begging for spare euros to pay for my trip to the airport, which granted me five euros, an e-mail address and a moroccan boyfriend), sleeping in the paris airport and two planes (including a delay in newark that was longer than the flight itself).
currently i inhabit a lovely house on jacksonville beach with four lovely girls. who knows what adventures the future holds (cheesefest 2008)
l'abri manor house
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