Who do I live with!?

So I woke up around 2 AM to people talking and I really had to go to the bathroom. I knew my roommates had just gotten back from going out and could tell that they had friends over. Since I hadn’t met them yet, I didn’t want to go out there in my pajamas and have an awkward introduction. So I decided I would wait until their friends left and they went to bed. Their friends left around 3:30 and I think they finally went to bed around 5. I can’t tell you how badly I had to go to the bathroom. After listening carefully to make sure there wasn’t anyone out in the main apartment area, I snuck out to the bathroom! I don’t know why I was so scared to meet them, but I just wasn’t ready at 5 AM! I couldn’t be too sneaky because when I went to bed I locked my door (I have to use a key to do that) and when I tried to unlock it, it wouldn’t open! I thought I might have locked myself in my room, but after a few more tries, I was able to get out. Let’s just say this wasn’t the quietest endeavor! When I got out into the hall, there wasn’t a soul around or even a noise. I’m assuming that it was my roommates that I had previously heard, but now I can’t be sure! I know someone had been there because the light was on and I had turned it off. After I got back to my room I heard people talking and walking around again. Who knows! Maybe later today I will finally get to meet them! We have to meet at 9:30 this morning and I want to get up around 7 to walk around and check emails. I’m going to try and fall back asleep and will continue this post in the morning!

(In case you’re wondering, I wrote the above around 5 AM!)

I woke up around 7 this morning so that I could shower and check emails before we had to meet at 9:30. I heard someone moving around and cleaning when I woke up and was still a bit nervous to go out to see who was out there. When I went out, I saw that the door to our apartment was open and figured that whoever was there had taken out the trash or something. So I put my stuff in the shower and decided to wait until she came back #1 so that I wasn't showering with our front door open and #2 so that it wouldn't be even more awkward when I came out of the shower. But when the person came in we both said hi and then she said something about taking our vacuum. I was kind of confused since I was really tired, but I said ok and smiled anyway. So then she left and shut the door and I took my shower. I really hope I get to meet my roommates soon because I want to know how I am supposed to do things in the apartment/what I'm allowed to use! The shower is a little strange because it is right next to the toilet but there isn't a door. There is a piece of metal that separates the floor by the toilet and then the floor in the shower so I suppose that is supposed to stop the water from going out. There is a shower curtain and I guess we're just supposed to not let any water get out when we shower. But when I tried that, it was so hard! The water hit the shower curtain and then went all over the floor. I saw a squeege-like thing but I couldn't figure out how to use it. This was such a complicated process for such an easy task! So I got ready and when I walked out of my gate Katie was just walking by. We walked to the AJY center together and were able to check our email. Orientation began at 9:30 and we learned a lot about money, safety, public transportation and rules of the AJY center. Once we enter the AJY center, English is not allowed and if we speak English and they hear it, we have to leave and cannot return for 24 hours (besides coming for class.) The only time we can speak English is when we are using Skype. They said they can't deny us a mode of keeping in touch with family and friends, especially with a means that is free. We just have to be respectful and be able to speak in German again after we are done. They told us stories of previous AJY students and some of the problems they had. Some of the stories scared me a little bit, bit at least I'm more aware of safety issues now. We had a very short lunch break so we decided to go to Subway. We tried to order in German, but the guy just spoke English to us. It was kind of frustrating because we had just decided that we wanted to try and speak German as much as possible. But Subway was really good. Everything tasted so fresh! The BEST thing about Subway was that they have my favorite ice! If you know about my favorite ice, you can just imagine how excited I was (it's the ice from Sonic.) Subway was a little expensive, but a good option because of the ice! When we got back, we had a flea market where we could buy inexpensive things that other AJY students had previously bought. Some things were free, but others were not. We had to use dollars sicne they send the money to the people in the program who were selling the items. I only spent $15 and got a straightner (free!), cell phone, two lamps, a fan, a laundry basket, some cleaning supplies, two towels, a rug, a converter, and a few other small things. It was GREAT! All I really need to get now are new light bulbs and hangers. There are 17 students and everyone got a lot of great things. I was very impressed with this little flea market!

After all of that excitement wrapped up, we split up into two groups and went on a little tour of Heidelberg. Michael, a previous AJY student who is now working on his Master's at Heidelberg, gave the tour for my group. This tour was not for historical sights or anything like that, but it was to show us the best places to shop and most importantly, where we could find groceries and other essentials for pretty cheap. If you shop on the Hauptstrasse (the main street), things are MUCH more expensive than if you shop on a street that has fewer tourists and less traffic. We saw some of these places when we went out for our little adventure last night, but it was still really interesting because we went to a few other places. We saw three people who were posing as statues in the street. I saw one of the guys last time I was here! He was dressed in a medieval outfit and had a rose that he was holding. There was also a woman who had painted herself gold and another man who was all silver. I had seen these things before when I was in Germany the last two times. The silver guy was really good and if you didn't know what you were looking at, you might think he was a real statue. We found H&M on our walk and also a few other nice stores. AJY warns about H&M and they say that it is dangerous (because everything is so cheap, people buy a lot/spend a lot!) H&M is Katharia's favorite store and we went there many times when I was here a few years ago. Another thing we had to do while we were out on our tour was get new photos made for our bus passes and other identification. I sent about 6 photos that I had taken at Walgreens to AJY earlier this year, but apparently they were not up to German regulations. The pictures we had to have taken needed our ears to show, we couldn't smile, and a few other little picky things. Since we had already paid for the other photos, AJY paid for these. I thought that was really nice. It was taking a really long time to take the pictures and when we got there, the first group was still trying to do it, so we decided we'd come back later. We walked to the end of the Hauptstrasse and then it started to rain. Luckily I brought my umbrella! Heidi didn't have her umbrella, so we shared until the rain stopped. After we looked at one of the main bus stations, Heidi, Katie Wachter, and I walked back to get our pictures taken since the rest of the group was going to Pennymarkt and we had already been there. I smiled a tiny bit (without my teeth)in my picture because I didn't want it to look as bad as my driver's license where I couldn't smile! Katie also needed some toiletries and a converter so we went to a few stores and found the things she needed. We actually found a converter that was identical to mine for really cheap. It is a different brand, but looks exactly the same. Heidi got her umbrella (Regenschirm) and then we went back to the AJY center to check emails and such. I have been messaging a bit with Katharina and we wanted to meet up on Saturday, but it didn't work out. We are both busy Sunday so I guess we'll have to wait until next week. What a bummer! I want to see her soo badly! She doesn't go to Heidelberg University anymore, but instead Mannheim University. Mannheim is really close to Heidelberg so I will still get to see her often!

Before going to dinner, Katie, Heidi and I took our flea market purchases back to our apartments. We had SO much stuff! I was hoping my roommates would be there, but that was not the case. We walked around for a long time before we decided to get dinner. We finally found a nice quiet restaurant down by the river and ate there. It was so beautiful! There were little white lights in the trees and it was just so nice for our first official dinner at a real restaurant! We ordered in German and we were able to understand the waiter very easily. Heidi got a beer and Katie some wine. I stuck with water, but forgot to order Stilleswasser (without carbonation!) It came with a lemon, though so it tasted pretty good! I will have to remember that water also costs money and to order it without the carbonation! They rarely drink with ice, so that is another thing I need to keep in mind!





After dinner we went to Heidi's place to pick up a blanket for the fireworks. At 9 a lot of the students were meeting at AJY and would walk to a good place across the river to watch the castle illumination and fireworks. The illumination is supposed to be reminscent of the castle burning a few hundred years ago after the French set it aflame. This event only happens three times a year and we are so lucky to see it! One of the students, Eric has a PERFECT view of the castle from his house and he invited us all to watch from outside. We thought it started at 10, but it actually started at 10:30. I cannot explain how beautiful this was! It was very difficult to take pictures since it was so dark, but it was really awesome. The firework show was the best I have ever seen and they were SO close. They shot the fireworks off from the bridge and it was spectacular! I have some video of it and will share it here. After the fireworks I was pretty tired so some of us decided to go home and call it a night. Katie came back to my place with me to see if my roommates were there, but to no avail. I think I went to bed around midnight. Everything was much quiter. I tried to read a magazine but fell asleep after the first page!