Sleepover at Michael & Susanna's

I slept in a little bit today and then headed off to Marstall to get some stuff done. I brought water, a sandwich and a few snacks with me and therefore didn’t have to worry about buying lunch or anything to drink. Heidi and Maressa have been reading these books about Vampires and Warewolves (Twilight Series) and they talk about ti all the time. Even though I haven’t read the books, I feel like I know so much about them and while I was sitting outside, I saw a guy sitting at a table a few away from mine who looked like a Vampire. I’m probably going to cave into their pressure to read these books before long. They say that they’re not stupid, but actually really good. I had to laugh as I thought there thinking this guy was a vampire! Awhile after his friend left, he came over and asked me a question in really fast/mumbled German. I asked him to repeat himself, and I still didn’t understand so I told him that my German wasn’t very good. He just wanted me to watch his stuff while he went and did something. After he asked me in English, I was able to put together what he said in German, but man! He was hard to understand! Right before he came back, I got a text from Heidi saying that she and Susanna were ready to grab coffee or lunch. So when my little vampire friend came back I packed up and went to AJY.

Awhile later, Susannah, Michael, Heidi, Brooke and I walked back down to Marstall and even got to meet some of the new summer students. They don’t have the requirement of having at least taken two levels of college German (or 222), so some have just started learning the language. They’re study center is in Neunheimer Feld and they all live with host families. Pretty cool! But it’s not nearly as language-based and they just take classes that the program offers them. After we got something to eat or drink, we were sitting at a table talking and I thought I saw someone I recognized from Elon. A few days ago when I found out that the summer kids would be coming soon, I brushed off the idea that any Elon students would be coming. But I knew that I recognized this guy so I went over and asked him if he goes to Elon…and he does! His name is Jack and he was also in ICLP. He just started learning German, but seems really excited to be here. I thought it was funny that he asked me if the Mineral water (with carbonation) ever started tasting any better and I told him that my best advice would be to mix it with apple juice or really any kind of juice like the Germans do. He said he was excited to try it! I hope we run into each other again. I can’t wait to see what he thinks of my beautiful town!!

Michael was leading the students on a tour through the old city, so Susanna, Heidi and I just stayed outside and talked for a few hours. We learned all about how Michael and Susanna met and they’re just so cute! They were penpals and then Michael came here to study and they met up and within a few weeks, they were dating! I always forget that they’re only 4 or 5 years older than us. Heidi and I went home to get our stuff since we were invited to go over to their house to cook dinner and spend the night and then we met up with Michael and took the three busses/strassenbahns that it takes for them to get home. They are vegans so they don’t eat eggs and other animal products (for the MOST part). Susanna and I made peanut butter chocolate chip vegan cookies while Heidi worked on homework and Michael napped. They actually turned out really good! Susanna is very precise and since the recipe said that it made 24 cookies, she measured the dough exactly to make sure that we made 24 even-sized cookies. Oh man. We had fun talking as we baked and I got to brag about all of the yummy things my mommy makes. We were originally going to have some kind of potatoes for dinner, but Susanna came up with an idea that we should go out to dinner for Kochkaese. Michael didn’t want to go out so he suggested we just cook it from home and then Susanna and I went to the grocery store to get a few ingredients. Michael and I ended up cooking the dinner and it was super easy. I got the recipe from them, so I’m hoping to make it again...maybe next week when Jess and Brittanie are here. The dinner was SO filling and we were just stuffed as we eat some strawberries with sugar and condensed milk. WoW.

We watched a movie with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant after dinner and I liked it a lot. I can’t remember the name though! It was one of those kinds of movies where you have to figure out who the good/bag guys are. We went to bed shortly after and Heidi and I stayed up talking for awhile. I’m so glad that we came over today and got to hang out with them. They’re so generous and caring!

American Week and Muffins!

Since Maressa left for Romania last night, it was only Heidi and I at Bible study this morning. We were both exhausted and went off on many tangents. I think Heidi had some kind of mental block and didn’t think we could do Bible study without Maressa. There’s always next week.

After getting ready for the day I went to Aldi to check out this “American Week” stuff for sale and also to buy a few things for when Brittanie and Jess come. They had some of the strangest things there! And on every package there was a little emblem that said AMERICAN. Additionally, each package was red, white and blue. They indeed had ketchup and mustard in the same tube as well as ketchup and mayonnaise. I say tube because it wasn’t a bottle, but it looked like a tube of toothpaste! We most definitely do not do that in the US! I think it was separated in the bottle, but came out at the same time in two swipes. They also had hot dogs in jars and then buns as well as popcorn shrimp and ribs. The thing that I thought was really funny was that they also had tortillas. But they called them wraps. Tortillas are definitely not American, but I bought them anyway for tacos next week.

I went to the kindergarten for about an hour at 1. The kids were pretty hyper and there were a lot of teachers there. I saw him last time, but there is this really cute guy who works there and seeing him play with those kids is just the cutest thing ever. He’s probably my age if not a year older. We read Green Eggs and Ham, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and The Night Pirates. Next time I’m going to try less popular books so that they get to listen to a new story. At then end the guy who works there had them sing and dance to this adorable Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Goodbye song. Too cute!!! The kid who is usually super shy was pretending like he was singing with a microphone.

Mom and I skyped for about an hour and then I just hung out for awhile before going to AJY to meet up with Heidi. We had planned on going to a café or something to work on homework, but it was already 5:30 so we decided against that. I had bought “American” muffins this morning at Aldi so I invited Heidi, Dan and Justine to make them and hang out at 7. Dan and I went to the Mensa for dinner and then I went home to clean up before they came over.

The muffins we made were chocolate chip and they turned out really well. Heidi and Dan went out for a drink around 8:30 and Justine and I watched Step Up. She didn’t really like it, but it’s still one of my favorites!! Heidi and Dan finally came back around 12:30 and we talked for awhile before they all left. I then spent the next hour or so writing out exactly what Brittanie needs to do when she gets here on Tuesday in EXTREME detail. I can’t believe that she and Jess will finally be here on Tuesday!!! Just four more days!

A "Holiday" Spent in Ketsch!

We had Bible study this morning and then Heidi and I surprised Maressa at work. We both had Käsespätzle and enjoyed it very slowly. There was a man singing around the corner and he had the most amazing range ever. His voice sounded like a woman’s most of the time, but it was so beautiful! He was making some serious money because just about every person who walked by dropped something in his jar. There were also some guys who put a business card in and then stood there for over an hour and would talk to him when he took breaks. Heidi was completely enthralled and we stood there for awhile before running an errand for Maressa.

I showered and took a really quick nap before hopping on a bus to Ketsch. Katharina invited me for dinner and to hang out and I was so excited, but really tired. But I was able to sleep on the bus so it was all good! She rearranged her room once again and also got a new couch. Surprisingly it was not from Ikea like every other thing she owns! For dinner we had a wonderful salad, some kind of meat that had been breaded with sesame seeds on top, white asparagus with sauce and potatoes. Then we had stracitella ice cream, strawberries and pineapple for dessert. So good and we were so full! A little while later Melanie Müller from the Mooresville exchange came over and it was great seeing her since we haven’t talked or anything since 2004. She started speaking English when she got there and then Katharina told her that today was German Day (Monday was English day!) and she asked if she should speak slowly and we told her she could just talk normal. Katharina said “she understands everything!” and that made me feel so great. Meli was so surprised that I could understand so much and that I could speak really well too. How exciting! We watched Germany’s Next Top Model and it lasted for at least two hours and probably only had about 4 or 5 commercials. That’s what I love about German TV. There aren’t commercials every 2 minutes!! We also played with the Guinea Pigs (Foxy and Tiffy) for awhile. Foxy is always so shy and hides in her little house. They’re so sweet! Katha’s mom brought us some snacks and Apfelsaftschorle and even though we weren’t hungry, we ate almost all of it! By the end of the night I was totally stuffed.

Katha and Meli drove me home around 11:30 and I was exhausted when I got home. It was so much fun just hanging out with Katharina watching TV and stuff. It kind of felt like I was staying with her all over again, except that this time I could actually understand what they were saying on TV.

Dan's Birthday Celebration

The presentation in class was pretty good today. The girls spoke very good English and were really clear in their speaking. They had way too may slides on their powerpoint, but I think that was the only negative thing! They had a hard topic (something with image and gaze), but I think they covered it well.

Simone and I were meeting for lunch at one and when I arrived she was talking to this girl named Callie who I had class with last semester and who is also in my class that was this morning. She is a nice girl, but she drives me insane!!! She just talks and talks in class, but never really has anything to say and pretty much just laughs through what she’s saying so nobody can understand her. She’s from Oregon and at first last semester I was really excited about that, but then quickly decided that I wouldn’t be hanging out with her. Simone’s friend has a class with her and she ran into Simone as she was on her way home and suggested that Callie eat lunch with us. Callie had brought her lunch so she got a table while Simone and I got our food. I hardly talked at all during lunch and as Simone and I were going for coffee later (after Callie went to class) I had to tell Simone that Callie drives me crazy. Simone felt SO bad and couldn’t believe what she had done. Really, I didn’t think it was a big deal, especially since she had no clue! But she felt so bad and ended up buying my coffee and apologized about a million times. I kind of felt bad for saying anything about it, but knew that I had to or she might start joining us regularly for lunch.

When Simone left for the train station (she was going home to Karlsruhe for the weekend like always) I went and sat with Maressa and Heidi who I had seen earlier. I went to my practicum a little while later and finished my powerpoint and helped with story time. Next week I am definitely going to ask about working in PR because I’ve finished my project and might as well ask before starting a new task. I’ll keep my fingers crossed!

I went to Bible study at Heidi’s at 6:30, which was really nice. I’m usually never able to go, but finally today I went. A girl from Maressa and Heidi’s grammar class came too and I found out that she is from Temecula, where the Jones live! I had told her that later in the summer I would be going to San Diego (after she told me she was from California) and she said that she lives about an hour away in a town called Temecula. Of course I freaked out and was really excited to hear that. How cool!

Tonight I was also able to talk to Maressa about what had bothered me last night. She said she could understand why and that I should have just told her that it bothered me...but I did tell her that. I wasn't actually mad at her, just the principle of the situation. But it's all cleared up now! No hard feelings!

Heidi, Maressa and I then headed over to Ringstrasse to celebrate Dan’s birthday. Becca and Kayla had made him a cake that was really good. They were doing peppermint patty shots so Maressa and I tried too. So good! The peppermint part tastes a little like Listerine, but apparently in the US it’s better. We hung out there for awhile as the boys exchanged youtube videos. We had wanted to go to a bar called the Brass Monkey, but it was really full since Manchester and Chelsie were playing. So some of us went to Vetters and sat outside for a beer. A lot of the bars were really full so Heidi, Peter, Jeff and I decided to take a walk along the old bridge and then sit by the water and talk for awhile. We had a lot of fun and there were more “that’s what she said” jokes than imaginable. It was weird that after we left Vetters we didn't really see Dan. He had walked Maressa home and then decided not to go out with everyone else. Understandable though since I don't think he really wanted to go out in the first place. The four of us went home around 1:15, but it was definitely a night well spent!

So Much Clearer!!

After Bible study and finishing the rest of my paper this morning, Heidi and I went to Schiller for coffee. My second time there in two days!! And this was also my third coffe beverage today!! She's been having a hard time with missing her mom lately and I hope she felt better after laying it all out there. She thinks it's crazy that after nine months she still cries about it and is still sad. I told her that in no way is it crazy and that it's completely normal and understandable that it still upsets her. She's such an amazing girl and I'm so thankful for her everyday.

I went to DAI (my internship) and worked some more on my presentation. I also got a library card so now I can check out books and movies and stuff for free! So cool! I got a few books to bring to the library on Friday and hope that the kids will like them.

Herr Doerr's class was kind of brutal tonight. He expects so much from our class since nearly all of us are full-years. He wants our papers to be more complex and says that our problems are more stylistic instead of grammatical. By the end of class we were all just completely done and didn't want to hear any more.

AJY hosted an event tonight that I had hoped would interest me a lot. A former AJY student was coming to speak about her career in broadcast while also using German. Right up my alley! AJY also bought subway for us so we ate that as we sat around and talked...in English! Insane! We were allowed to speak English in AJY! Even Dr. Tracy was speaking English. I think I've only heard him speak in English about 2 times since August. This lady was so much more helpful than I could have imagined. Even though I don't really want to pursue a career in broadcasting, she was able to offer a lot of insight into the general field of communications and her experiences living and working abroad. After the informal event ended, I asked for her card and she gave me the last one she had! We ended up talking for about a half an hour more and I learned more about her internship with Voice of America and how she was able to do it in January for winter term. She really cleared up a lot of things for me and kind of gave me some confidence and reassurance for after graduation. I had been wondering lately what kind of job I would pursue, if I would be able to use both German and my interest in communications and what kind of opportunities exist. So, so happy that I came to this event!!!

I was a little frustrated though because only 7 people showed up. 7 out of like 24. AJY bought food and everything, but still, people couldn't take one hour to just come and listen to this woman talk. But the thing that really made me angry was that after it was over, Davor, Maressa and Dan came back and hung around until Dr. Tracy left. Alexander and a few other guys were to buy some beer for them (they didn't go to the event, but instead went out for a drink...) and these three were in charge of the food. They weren't going to buy food. No. They came back to AJY specifically to take the sandwiches that had been bought FOR THE EVENT. But not a single one of them were there. I was so disappointed in them and cannot believe how disrespectful that was. And what hurts even more is that Maressa is one of my best friends. I understand it for Davor and Dan, but not her. Even if they had planned on eating them there, that would have been fine. But instead they took about 12 sandwiches and left maybe 6 at AJY. It's the whole principle of it all that really bothers me I think. Ahhh! This probably shouldn't get to me so much, but wow. It really does!

Katharina Comes for Coffee!

At 11 this morning, Katha came to Heidleberg and we went to Schiller for latte macchiatos. We spent a few hours just talking and I also corrected and went over some of her homework. She really is just the cutest thing ever and I’m so happy that we’ve maintained our friendship over the past 6 years. She walked me to my class at 2, which was a little frustrating today. I was having trouble with my tone and even though I knew how I should say it and was able to say it right outside of the text, when it came to reading it aloud, I just couldn’t do it! It was like as it was coming out of my mouth I couldn’t stop from saying it wrong. So weird. I did some homework for Frau Heckmann after class and then went to her class that night. It was exciting having Katha visit me for the day and I hope we get to hang out a lot more in the next few weeks because at the end of June she’s leaving for Brighton, England to study for the summer. That stinks because I really wanted to go to Paris with her. Oh well, it will help her English (even though she’s already really good at it!)

A Fun Day with Michael & Susanna

Heidi and Maressa picked me up for church this morning where we met Susanna and Michael. I had never really hung out with them at all and felt a little awkward since they had planned on going back to their house for lunch and stuff afterwards. Maressa assured me that it would be ok for me to come too, but I still felt a little out of place. The church is right by the base and has pretty much only military families as members. They speak only English and that’s why Michael and Susanna like going there because Susanna loves to speak/hear/do everything in English. It was totally traditional, which was a nice change, but I still like the more contemporary church that we’ve been going to. We all went over to their house afterward and watched Stardust while Simone cooked.

When we sat down to lunch it was really awkward because Michael told Heidi and Maressa that their feelings were a little hurt because they hadn’t been keeping in very good contact with them and how they didn’t return their calls and stuff. And I felt really uncomfortable because Susanna also brought up how they didn’t even ask if I could come over too and that then she had to go out and buy more food/change her recipe because it was different than she had planned for. They talked it through and after about 10 minutes things were fine and not so awkward. Despite this, I had a really great afternoon and am glad that I ended up going. I need to learn to not make my mind up so quickly about things all the time.

We got home around 6:30 that night and I went home to work on homework and just chill for the evening. I went to bed pretty early and it was so nice!

Movie Night with Matthias

I didn’t do a whole lot today, but that was great! I’m a little burnt out from traveling so it was really nice to just be at “home” this weekend. I finally made my calendars for June and July to hang on my wall and cleaned my room a bit. I learned that Matthias’ bike was stole yesterday, but that he walked up and down our street for awhile and eventually found it against a building on a side street. He mentioned something about us doing something about it, but that it would cost money. Whatever it is, I’m not paying, that’s for sure! I told him that the door to our building had been unlocked the past few days and he freaked out and went out and locked it. While I’m not sure if he stole it, I saw a homeless-looking man yesterday suspiciously ride off on a bike that was propped up outside my window. He walked up, took a look at it, checked in the bag on the front, looked around and then hopped on and rode off. I told Anna about that yesterday and she told Matthias, making him think that it was his bike, but it was not. I’m just glad that he found his bike because he takes a lot of pride in that thing and would be devastated without it!

After having some lunch late in the afternoon, I went over to Marstall and had a latte macchiato while writing postcards and people watching. I ended up staying there for quite awhile and took a little break to get ice cream and buy a few more cards to send. A great and relaxing afternoon!

I stopped by Heidi's afterwards to see what she was up to and we talked for awhile and then Maressa came over too. After she talked to her sister on the phone we went to my place to cook dinner and watch a movie. We decided on sloppy joes since I still had a can left from when Pearl sent it to me last semester. Perfection. Matthias LOVES talking to my friends, especially Maressa so it was kind of hard to break up the conversation so we could watch Monster in Law. When Maressa and Heidi went to my room he told me that he had bought meat for tomorrow's grill thing that our apartment building is doing. Then he wanted to know what we were doing and when I asked him what he had going on he said nothing. So I thought I should ask him if he wanted to watch with us, even though honestly, I didn't really want him to. I feel so mean saying that, but things are just really awkward with him sometimes. And when I came out of the bathroom I learned that we would instead be watching it in his room. He wanted us to all sit on chairs and watch it on his desk. No way. If that's how it was going to be, we'd watch it in my room! So we asked if we could sit on his bed since it was more comfortable and he had to get out some kind of sheet to put on top of it. I'm sorry, but his lettle mannerisms and quirks are just so weird sometimes. He couldn't get the movie to work, but then Maressa realized that he hadn't changed the system to American like we had told him. Right before the movie started he began a coversation with Maressa that i thought would never end. But luckily she pretty much just stopped talking once the movie started. Understandably he had a lot of questions, but we were able to answer them pretty quickly. He really liked the movie and I think he was happy that he was included. Maressa and Heidi liked it too...much better than when we watched a movie last time. They went home a little while after it was over and convinced me to go to a different church and hang out with Michael and Susanna in the morning. Michael studied with AJY and is now married to Susannah (German) and going to grad school in Heidelberg. Again, not something that I want to do, but it will make Maressa happy for me to go. I'm sure it will be fine, but I would just rather hang out and work on homework here. Oh well!

Maid of Honor!

After Bible study and meeting with Dr. Tracy this morning, Heidi and I went to Aldi to buy some groceries. I feel so grown up going to buy groceries! It's different than when I'm at Elon because at least there I have the option of using meal plan/meal dollars when I want to eat. But here I have to buy a variety of things to eat for an entire week. The stop for the S-Bahn is in the middle of the street so as we waited for it to come we had a little picnic! We must have looked so funny just standing there with our grocery bags and having a snack.

At 1 I went to the Kindergarten to read to the kids. I hadn't been there since December and it was sooo great to be back. Before going I thought about just telling them that I wouldn't be able to come anymore. But after I got there and received a very warm welcome from one of the girls, I decided that I really did want to keep coming back. It's only for an hour each Friday and I really enjoy reading to the kids. I brought about 6 books from the US to give them and the kids requested that I read every one of them. I only knew three of the kids who were there, but there were a lot of new really cute kids. Before I started reading the girl in charge asked the kids to clean up since I was going to read to them. This one boy, Nathan from Portland, said to this other kid, "she's a really good reader." haha How cute! So they were all really excited to see what books I brought and I read all of them, except Black Beauty because it was really long and didn't have very many pictures. Since there are a ton of new books in English at the DAI library, I'm going to check a few out each week and then bring them to the Kindergarten to read. That way they are introduced to new books and don't have to listen to the same ones over and over again.

I had planned on getting coffee with Heidi/working on some homework at a cafe after going to the kindergarten, but since it was sunny again and NOT rainy, I decided to sit outside instead. So after calling her and sending some emails, I went over to Marstall and worked on some stuff. I love that you can sit outside Marstall without buying anything. A few hours later Heidi came walking through and sat down with me for awhile. We talked and then finished what we were working on before going to AJY. We ran into Maressa who was energetic and cute as can be. Tonight Simone and I had planned on going to see Maid of Honor (Verliebt in die Braut) so earlier I emailed Maressa, Heidi and Justine to see if they wanted to come too. But they had already made plans to go on a hike or something with John. Too bad.

So around 7:30 Simone and I met up outside of the theater and then went to get some candy before it started. We had a lot of fun just talking and then also really enjoyed the movie. She LOVES Patrick Dempsey and Grey's Anatomy so I knew she'd be the perfect person to see this movie with. I understood so much of the movie and it was really exciting. It's cool to fully understand movies that aren't for children!

There was some big party on the street that I usually take to get home, so I had to walk a street down instead. There were these huge torch things and then really fancy looking people everywhere. I had seen them setting up for this all day and it was interesting to see how it all ended up. Earlier in the day they let people walk through to the other side of the street and without even thinking I asked the guy if it was ok for me to walk there. A few minutes later I realized that I just opened my mouth and German came out without having to even plan out what I was going to say. Such a small thing of excitement, but exciting nonetheless!

When I was talking to Matthias I told thim that we had gone to see a chick flick. He had no clue what that was so I got to explain it to him in German. Pretty cool. And now he loves that term. And I also taught Simone the phrase "few and far between" when we were talking about the lack of guys in the movie theater. She's going to try to work it into her vocabulary!

Lots of Sun Instead of Rain!

I was kind of wary about getting of this morning because I saw that it was supposed to rain today. But when I looked out my window all I saw was sun! We had a great Bible study this morning. It had been such a long time since we all sat down together. The breakfast club is back in action!

Maressa was working today at 11 so Heidi and I went to the restaurant around 11:30 for an ice coffee. We sat outside and got a nice little tan while drinking our delicious beverages served by a fantastic waitress. Maressa recently got a new money purse of her very own! She looks like such a profi! Heidi and I had a great time laughing and keeping an eye out on Maressa's customers for her. We let her know when the man was finished with his soup and felt like we should have walkie talkies or something so she could know exactly what was going on at all of her tables.

The weather was just so beautiful. I seriously can't believe how hot it is here. Good signs for the summer!!

At 1 I had to go to my practicum. I usually don't go on Thursdays, but I went today since I wasn't there on Tuesday. I worked on my powerpoint the whole time. I had some more contact with the PR department, who I should really be working with, and that was really exciting. I feel so official because they gave me the login information for the intern email so when I had a question I sent Stefan an email asking if he could come help me figure out how to wrap the text in powerpoint. I know how to do it in Word, but just couldn't figure it out...and neither could he. Guess I'll have to keep working on it next week. I'm going to talk to Mehdy then too and see if I can do some work upstairs every now and then. If he's not going to let me make my own program, I might at least be doing SOMETHING with the PR department.

After I got home around 6 I talked to Jess on Skype, had some dinner, uploaded pics on Facebook and talked to Brittanie for a few hours. She was originally going to come to Heidelberg on May 30, but decided to change her flight to the 27th since that's when Jess is coming. SO excited for two of my best friends to come visit me!!!!!! And they'll be here for a whole week! AMAZING!

Met a PR Person!!

This morning in mediaculture a Chinese student made a presentation on Photography: use and misuse. Though I commend him for actually using powerpoint instead of just standing up in front of the class and talking for 30 minutes, I felt like he hardly discussed anything. He skimmed the surface of what could have been very interesting topics. And I understand that giving a presentation in another language is definitely hard, it was very difficult to understand him most of the time. But everyone thought his presentation was just so great. They couldn't even think of anything bad to say about it. Not that I was going to say anything bad aloud (we discuss the presentation afterwards with the person in the room), but I just felt like it could have been so much better. The professor did seem like he didn't think it was as good as the class did, but we are the ones who grade the presentations. Which is a great thing since I will be giving a presentation in a few weeks. It just makes me think that the expectations and standards are just set really low for presentations, which is so different than at Elon because we are constantly doing presentations in just about every class.

A girl in my class who was friends with Keith last semester asked me to buy a pin at Hard Rock Cafe in Edinburgh for her so we went back to her apartment after class so she could give me the money. She told me that two AJY students, Davor and Anna (from Elon) are dating! Unreal! I totally called it while we were in Jena, but Eric told me that I was basically crazy for thinking that. Anyway, when Audra and I were leaving her aparment (she lives next door to Heidi), Heidi walked out of her apartment! It was so weird being there when I wasn't actually with her. I kind of felt like I was cheating on her! We only got to talk for a few minutes because I was meeting up with Simone for lunch at 1.

Simone and I were going to eat at the Mensa, but the line was ridiculously long and it was packed outside, so she suggested that we go to Subway. We sat outside and had quite the show. This woman came up to us asking if we wanted to buy this paper she was selling and then just as she left our table, a police car pulled up and busted her. They checked her ID and all kinds of stuff. Then they made her go onto this other street so that they weren't blocking the Hauptstrasse. This other woman who was with the first woman came up and they checked her information too. It was just so interesting. The first woman was older and she looked really mad while the younger girl seemed really confident and was even laughing and joking with the police. They were still talking after we finished lunch, but I don't think they actually got arrested. We got eis afterward and ate it at Marstall. My head was throbbing and I didn't feel very well, so I kind of felt like I wasn't all that fun to talk to. And since I had only spoken English all weekend my German was a little rusty. Simone said she didn't even notice, but I just felt like it was so bad! She's actually going to be in Heidelberg on Friday so hopefully we'll get to hang out!

Then around 1 I headed off to my practicum. I started working on a powerpoint presentation for the library. A few weeks ago Mehdy (director of the library) and I discussed my ideas for a new program at the library. But he hasn't mentioned anything about it since. The whole reason that I was supposed to be working with the library was so that I could create a new program for them and then do the PR work involved. I just feel like I'm doing stupid grunt work (shelving books and doing tasks that the library employees doin't have time to do) instead of actually doing anything that relates to PR. But this guy named Stefan came downstairs and introduced himself in the late afternoon. He works upstairs in the PR department and gave me some ideas for the powerpoint. He was so nice (and really cute too!) and I'm hoping to be able to go work upstairs with him sometime in the future.

Davor, from AJY, was also working today and at one point I asked him if he knew whether or not there was a water fountain in DAI. He simply told me that there was a fountain outside. But I knew that he was talking about the really big fountain across the street and not somewhere I could fill up a water bottle. He seemed confused and I told him that I was looking for one like we have at home. And he says, "Oh! I completely forgot about those things!" haha I had also forgotten that they don't have public water fountains like that in Germany (or at least they're not very popular or common). Things like this have been happening a lot lately!

I didn't feel very good when I got home and thought that maybe I was hungry so I made some toast, but didn't end up eating it. I read through some emails and had gotten one from Maressa saying that she wanted to hang out later. So I took a little nap and then woke up when she and Heidi knocked on my window later. The nap definitely helped take away my headache. We talked and looked at some pictures from my weekend in Scotland before watching Head Over Heels. They didn't like it really, but I love that movie! Heidi fell asleep after the first 30 minutes or so and when we called her out on it, she said "I'm not sleeping, my eyes just aren't seeing very much." haha!

Goodbye Scotland!

Jess and I got up at the crack of dawn this morning. We had planned on getting up at 5:45, but for some reason her alarm went off at 5:25. It was early, but all I remember is her saying that when you set the alarm you can't pick the exact time that you want it to go off. I didn't understand that then and I still don't, but I do remember having her turn on the light so that we'd be sure we didn't fall back asleep. We left her room around 6:15 and made it to the bus station a few minutes later. We said exhausted goodbyes, but weren't too sad because she's coming to Heidelberg in exactly 2 weeks! The bus ride to Edinburgh was a little more than an hour and a half and I tried to sleep, but wasn't too successful. I decided that my least favorite thing about Scotland is the busses and the fact that they're all ridiculously bumpy even when the roads are completely smooth. When I got to Edinburgh I walked down to the bridge where the airport bus was waiting. The bus was waiting for me, which was great for my tired self. This bus was just like the one I had taken at the beginning of my trip on Thursday and was really nice. I slept for the majority of the half-hour bus ride to the airport. I arrived too early to check in so I walked around for a few minutes and then got in the RyanAir line. I hardly even remember checking in, but then got some yogurt and an apple for breakfast. When I got to the gate I slept until they started boarding. Luckily I was one of the first in line (I purposely sat next to where the line starts...I know how to play this RyanAir game now!) and got a pretty good seat on the plane. Of course a very large woman sat down next to me and I felt slightly claustrophobic and warm throughout the flight, but was still able to sleep. I went through passport control and then grabbed a sandwich thinking the bus that I needed left at 2:30. But when I walked down the hill to the stop I realized that it left at 2. Five minutes late and the next bus didn't come until 4. The bad thing about that was that it didn't get to Heidelberg until 6:10 and I had class at 6. So I walked back up the hill and decided to take the bus to Frankfurt that left at 3. I had about an hour to wait so I sat on the steps and took a little nap.

The bus came right before 3 and was completely full. The last passenger to get on the bus sat with me. I was so close to having my own seat! I had kept my backpack with me so that I wouldn't have to wait for the bus driver to open the bus after we arrived, but ended up having to sit with it on my lap for the entire ride. At least I was able to sleep. The thing I didn't realize though was that the ride was just about 2 hours long. When we arrived in Frankfurt there was a car in the bus parking spot and the driver got SO mad. He didn't actually have to pull all the way forward, but he was such a jerk about it and wouldn't just let us off the bus. The guy in the car was also being really stubborn and wouldn't move. So the bus drive got out of the bus and started yelling at him. At that time I made my exit and got off and headed for the train station! Totally typical German moment. The bus got into Frankfurt later than I thought so I quickly bought a train ticket and then hopped on the train to Mannheim. It's final destination was Paris, but unfortunately I was getting off long before it arrived there. There was a train leaving for Mannheim just a few minutes after I arrived, but of course it ended up being delayed 20 minutes. Just enough time to make me late for my class. So instead of waiting I got on another train that ended up being really slow and didn't get in to Heidelberg until 6:15 or so. I had to wait about 5 minutes for a bus and then finally made it to Uniplatz around 6:35 or so. I still had to print my paper and I felt bad going to class so late. I knew the class would be getting out early so I just waited about 15 minutes and then went in and talked to Herr Doerr. I felt so bad for missing his class, especially since I had all of the intentions of making it. It didn't count against me since we're allowed 2 absences, but I still feel awful about missing classes at AJY.

Frau Heckmann had bought everyone in her class tickets to the opera for that night so I had to run home and change before 7:30. I had about 15 minutes and then ran back to the theater by my house to listen to a synopsis from the director. My head was really hurting and I was sneezing and such like crazy. I did get to sit next to Maressa so that was great. She and Heidi had gone to Bayern for the weekend and seemed to have had a great time. I can't wait until July when the three of us will go there for the Jack Johnson concert! At the intermission I told Frau Heckmann that I wasn't feeling very well. After she walked away, Maressa said that I should go home since it probably wasn't going to get over before 11 and that Frau Heckmann knew that I was sick. I felt bad leaving, but I was also so happy to finally be getting home and going to bed! I quickly made some rice and then collapsed. That was seriously the busiest/craziest day of travel in my life! And while I of course miss Jess, it was SO great to be back in my own bed and to have my own space again.

Overall, I really enjoyed Scotland. I also had great company! I really don't support their taste in cuisine (Haggis and black pudding to be exact), but it was a really beautiful country. The people weren't really all that nice, but as Jess said, we experienced quite an interesting mix of people that she had never experienced before. The whole time I was there I felt like I was at my Gram's house. It even smelled the same outside! I guess the whole beach thing was what made me feel that way, but it was such a cool/strange feeling! I'd definitely go back, but I think it'd have to be sunny!

Anstruther

Last night at dinner Jessica’s friend Chrissy told us about this café that has amazing hot chocolate for a reduced price in the morning. Of course we had to check it out! So around 8:30 we left her room and headed off to try this delicious treat. Delicious was definitely an understatement! It was called “The Button” because on top of the colorful marshmallows and whipped cream are Cadbury button chocolates. Amazing.

Jessica had class at 10 so we walked a little before and when she went to the “maths” building I went back to her room to work on my paper. She returned to her room within about 20 minutes and thought that since she couldn’t see me sitting at her desk through the window that I had instead gone back to bed. So she came up and yelled in the window “do your work!” but of course I was just sitting on her bed and writing my paper! She read for while I finished up my incredibly exciting paper on globalization and then she went upstairs for lunch. She was so great and smuggled me back a whole sandwich! I really felt like a little refugee or that I was hiding out because of all the food she had to steal and sneak downstairs for me.

A little after lunch we met up with Marian and Katie for our trip to Anstruther. We took a really bumpy bus that made me feel sick to a town called Crail. We took about a two-hour walk along the coastal path and saw all kinds of “wildlife” on the way. There were little (and really big) pigs, sheep and cows to keep us entertained. We even came across a really cool cave that is clearly used for bonfires and parties. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed our leisurely (pronounced lesurly in Scotland) walk to the town with the “best fish and chips.” We were all pretty tired and hungry once we got there and it was so nice to finally sit down. The fish and chips were ok, but nothing compared to Aunt Linda and Uncle Ron’s Bowpicker specialty! We had ice cream afterwards and then waited for the bus to take us back to St. Andrews. Such a great afternoon!

Jess’ friends and I get along really well, especially Katie and I. We had a lot of fun talking and I think we’d definitely be friends back at home. Too bad she lives in New York!

We spent the rest of the evening talking to Caitlyn on Skype, watching a movie, napping and just hanging out. I can’t believe that my stay in Scotland is already over. I feel like I just got here!

Church and Rain in St. Andrews

Jessica smuggled some more butter and marmalade for me this morning from the dining hall. I had bought a roll the other day at the grocery store and was able to eat that for breakfast. She also got me a banana! What a great friend...saying that she HATES bananas would be an understatement. We got ready for church and then met up with her friends Grace, Sarah and Katie. The service was very formal and we did a LOT of standing up and sitting down. The layout of the church was very interesting because the pews faced each other. That made it a little awkward because if you were just staring forward it seemed as if you were looking at the people sitting across from you. The music at the end of the service was very strange and sounded slightly cryptic. I felt like a vampire was going to come up and suck my blood or something. Definitely gave us something to laugh about!

Katie, Jess and I walked down to the pier after church and it was really windy. The beauty of everything made up for the wind and the cold though. We had to walk on a relatively small concrete pier. I was so afraid that I was going to lose my balance and fall to my fate on the rocks. But no worries. That didn't happen! We ran into a guy who was wearing his St. Andrews robe and asked if we'd take his picture. Jess wanted a picture like that too so we borrowed his robe and had a little photo shoot. Her mother will be very happy!

When we got I ate the quiche that I bought at the store and Jess ate the leftovers from dinner the other night. I had never had quiche before, but it was really good. We were going to watch a movie, but Jess was exhausted and took a nap while I worked on my paper on whether globalization is a curse or blessing. I think I wrote about 6 sentences before passing out on her desk. My arms hurt after awhile so I grabbed my shirt to use as a pillow and then had the brilliant idea of actually grabbing a real pillow! I probably slept there for at least a half an hour and then finished my nap on the bed. It was kind of nice to just relax and be bums for the afternoon. We hung out and talked for awhile and then headed out for dinner.

We met up with Katie and her friend Chrissy and went to a place called The Rule for dinner. Jess and I split nachoes and then a spcicy chicken panini...delicious! They also had hot drinks for 99p and I was so excited to see that they had macchiato! Katie and Chrissy ordered hot chocolate while Jess got a mocha. She felt so grown up! All of their cups were SO big and then they brought mine out in a teeny tiny espresso cup! I had ordered macchiato instead of a latte macchiato! BIG mistake and WAY too strong for me. So Jess went and got me a mocha and all was good in the world.

When we came home we talked to Brittanie on Skype for awhile. It felt like it had been forever since we had talked so it was really great to see/talk to her again. Then I called my mom and wished her a happy mother's day and got to talk to dad and Derek as well. I tried to call my grandmas, but neither of them answered their phones. Jess and I watched Center Stage a little while later and thought it was quite 90's-ish. Good times nonetheless.

A Picnic in the Park!

St. Andrews

Off to Scotland! - Day in Edinburgh

I left my apartment around 4:45 this morning so that I could catch the S-bahn that left from Bismarckplatz a little after 5. It was kind of cool to be on the first train of the day. But I will not be making a regular habit out of it! I got to the train station with plenty of time to spare and waited for my bus to arrive. There were quite a few people going to the airport so I wasn’t standing outside alone. I even recognized a girl from my class that I was skipping. I found out later that she was also going to Scotland. I slept almost the whole way to the airport and then again while I was waiting to board. I think I’d rather fly here early in the morning rather than later at night because then at least you know that it will still be daytime when you land. I also slept on the flight and woke up in time to watch us flying over the English Channel and into England and later Scotland. SO pretty! But I was surprised in Scotland because it wasn’t as green as I thought it would be. A lot of yellow and brown fields. Still pretty nonetheless. Jess gave me great instructions and I got on a bus that would take me right into the city center. It was only 5 pounds for a roundtrip and I could use it on whatever day I wanted. Perfect.

The bus was double-decker so I sat on the top. It was so nice. The seats were leather and super comfortable. I sat at a seat that also had a table and two seats on the other side. A really nice Scottish girl (with red hair of course!) sat down across from me. She was “phoning” some friends and I loved listening to her leaving messages for them. “Hi Maggie, it’s Sammi. I’m in Edinburgh today if you’d fancy we could catch up and get together for a drink later tonight. I’m just going to do a bit of shopping on Prices Street this afternoon. Cheers!” Too cute. After she made about three phone calls she told me “that was the last of that, don’t worry.” I told her that I didn’t mind and loved listening to her accent. I told her that I was going to visit a friend studying in St. Andrew’s for a few days. She said that St. Andrew’s is absolutely beautiful, but there is really nothing to do there. Before she got off the bus she said, “I hope you have a lovely weekend with your friend.” What a nice little welcome to Scotland!

My flight got in a little early so Jess wasn’t there when I arrived. She had sent me pictures of where to meet her and also mentioned that there was an H&M across the street. There was a purse that I wanted from there that was sold out in Heidelberg, so I thought I’d take a look. Of course they had it in every color except brown…the one I wanted. As I was walking around afterwards I saw a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes. Totally for the tourists, but still very cool. As I was walking around I heard Jess yell my name and it was so exciting to see her. She had gotten a packed lunch and we split it while sitting on a grassy hill. There were tons of people outside and I was really surprised that the weather was so nice. She also brought me a pack of Nice cookies (Caitlyn’s favorite) and I brought her some peeps. I was going to send them to her in a package while I was still in the US, but figured I could just bring them with me. After our little picnic we went to the FREE National Gallery of Scotland. Nothing too spectacular, but it was still cool to see.

We hiked up to the castle after that and thankfully Jess’ friend Grace lent me her Historic Scottish Pass that allowed me to get in for free. I have seen so many castles in Europe, but none that housed the crown jewels! There was a beautiful view from the castle and we had a good time just wandering around. When we were getting ready to enter the castle, a man who works there pulled us aside and asked where we were from and then if we wanted to hear a story. We said yes and he stepped back behind the door and told us this really strange story about how his grandson landed a plane without an engine or wheels. He prefaced this story by saying that we always read about 19, 20, 21 year-olds who are getting in trouble, but you rarely read about young people who are actually doing good things. We were both kind of confused as to why he told us this, but then he asked if we had time for another story. When we said yes, he grabbed Jess’ hand and waved it up and down saying that Scotland was famous for Haggis, shortbread, whiskey, kilts…and then asked if she was proud of that. She said no because of the Haggis so he did it again. And then he proceeded to tell us why Scotland was so great and that they established pretty much every navy in the world. And then he continued to tell us about how great Scotland is in the medical field and how there are Scottish doctors who are developing a pill that will cure cancer by 2012. At one point he even grabbed Jess’ face and put his hands over her ears. So strange. We continued to check out the castle after he finished his stories and left shortly afterward.

J.K. Rowling started writing Harry Potter at a café in Edinburgh called The Elephant Café so we had to go there! We both got delicious smoothies while imagining what excellent works the other people in the café were working on. We also read the many articles about J.K. Rowling that were posted on the walls and took some pictures. We had stumbled on a cute little shop on our way to the café and decided to go back after our smoothies and make a purchase. They had all kinds of adorable plaid things that matched in four different colors. Jess bought a short pleated green plain skirt with a matching headband and wallet. I only got a little flower keychain with a button that said Scotland on it, but that was good enough. We went to Hard Rock afterwards to buy a pin for a friend of mine in Heidelberg and then walked around a bit trying to find our bus. Thankfully we had time to get some water before the ride because we were on that bus for a really long time. The bus driver missed her exit and we had to take the scenic route. She freaked out when that happened and I thought we had run out of gas or something.

My butt hurt so bad from sitting in the bumpy bus for so long and I was really happy when we made it to St. Andrews. Our first stop was Tesco to buy a few groceries for dinner. We made Spaghetti, caesar salad and garlic bread and it was really great. It was also around 9:30 at this point and we were so hungry! We talked for a little while after dinner and then I was out. So exhausted, but also really happy to be with Jess in Scotland!

Dinner with the Girls!

Eisenach and Home!

Dresden - One of My Favorite Places in Germany

Buchenwald & Erfurt

Trip to the East - Weimar & Jena

71 Degrees in Heidelberg!

I woke up this morning to what sounded like yelling. I was so confused about who was making so much noise on a Sunday. I got ready for church in about 10 minutes and when I headed to the bus stop around the corner where I was meeting Heidi, I realized that the half marathon was today. So there was no way that the buses would be coming through there. And off I went down to Bismarckplatz. I just missed the S-bahn so I walked over to where the buses are and checked out when they'd be coming next. It was at least a half an hour! But then I was just standing there and someone was waving at me. It was Heidi! Since it was going to be awhile before the buses came, we decided to walk to church. Amazing decision! It was already 17 Degrees Celsius at 10 AM! That's around 62 degrees Fahrenheit!

Church was good and Charis brought Dan and his friend John. We didn't stay for lunch, but instead went home to work on homework, etc. I made some rice for lunch and then went to Heidi's so we could do our homework. Maressa was there too and they had already gotten started. I wanted to sit outside so I did that, but it made me sooo tired! I read for awhile (probably 2 hours or so) and then went back to my apartment and took a nap that ended up lasting about 3 hours! Whoa! I called mom and we got to talk for awhile. Her internet wasn't working so I just called her cell phone. I love it that Skype also lets you call land lines for really cheap. I had dinner and awhile later and then went over to Heidi's at 9 to take a walk. Justine was there too so she came with us! I got some ice cream for the walk (they had already had some earlier in the day) and we just kind of strolled along through town. When I got home I called dad and we talked for awhile too. Sucks that I have to call my parents at separate times, but hopefully that'll change soon!

Like the title says, it reached 71 degrees today!!! That is just amazing. Unfortunately the predictions for the week look rainy. Hopefully the weather will get nicer for our trip to Northwestern Germany that starts on Thursday morning.

Amazing Weather!!

This morning I did not want to get up for breakfast and Bible study at all. But I made it to AJY and met with Heidi and Maressa. I absolutely love those two and spending time with them. If they weren’t also staying for 2nd semester I probably wouldn’t have returned for second semester. It’s nice to make new friends and stuff, but knowing that I already have great friends here makes life just that much sweeter. I sent a mass email and then went to the post office to send a postcard to my little Parker (Jones). I also bought some more wash coins so I could do my laundry later. When I got home the washer was free so I quickly jumped on that. I was exhausted so I took a little nap and then got up around 12:30 to put my laundry in the dryer and then to meet with Simone for lunch at 1.

She had a friend with her who was pretty easy to talk to. We walked down to the Marstall Mensa, but the line was really long so we headed back up to the other Mensa by Uniplatz. I had never eaten there before and it was actually really good. They have three lines you can go through (but you have to go up the stairs to get to them) and a little TV screen that tells what each line has. One of the lines has a complete meal that you can buy, the other has another type of special and then the third is a buffet. We were starving and decided the buffet would be the best option. The food was really good and we had fun talking for awhile. Her friend speaks English really well because her boyfriend is an American. They met when she was studying in Texas for a year. She did kind of bother me by asking why I am studying in Heidelberg. It bothered me because she said it in a “this place stinks” kind of tone. I told her that I love it here and she was surprised. So I asked her why she studies here and she said “because I’m not rich and I can’t study wherever I want.” So that was kind of an uncomfortable moment. I ran home after we put our plates up and got my laundry out of the dryer and then met Simone back at the Mensa. We then went to Marstall for coffee. Simone said she had a milkshake from there a few days before and that it was really good. I was excited because I thought that maybe Germany had actually learned how to make a milkshake. When my family came in 2000, Derek ordered milkshakes everywhere we went and it became a joke to see how they would actually turn out. Every single time it was literally milk that had been shaken. So I ordered a raspberry milkshake and as soon as I saw it, I knew that it was indeed not a milkshake. It tasted like there was some sour-ish vanilla yogurt in it. I will not be ordering one of those again!! And it was kind of expensive, but we did get a Euro refund for it when we turned our glass in. It was an absolutely beautiful day and Simone’s friend Julia (who I met last semester) met up with us. I decided that I want to learn 5-10 new German verbs each week and Simone and Julia helped me think of them. Simone would ask me a verb and I knew most of the ones she said. She told Julia “she just knows too much German!” I quickly told her that I have never had the problem of knowing too much German. So we whipped out a magazine and found some random verbs that I should learn.

When I first met with Simone she said that I was a typical American because I was wearing flip flops. But the weather was so nice that I couldn’t NOT wear flip flops! I told her and her friend that I probably had more than 20 pairs at home and they said that they have three and thought that was a lot! Then when we met up with Julia, Simone told her to look under the table at my feet. And after she did she said “Typical American.” Haha That’s right.

We sat outside the entire time and left a little before 4. I had class at 4:15 so when they went shopping, I went home and then on to class. This was the first day that the professor’s computer connected with the projector so we got to watch a few clips and listen to some songs. I think this class is going to be really cool. But there are so many Americans in there…and a few of them have awful accents. I’m not at all saying that my accent is perfect, it’s almost hard to listen to them or even understand what they’re saying at times.

After class I came home and made a salad for dinner. There was a covered bowl sitting on the counter so I peeked inside. It was raw fish. Gross. Julia ALWAYS leaves stuff sitting out like that. The night before there was a pot of potatoes just sitting on the stove. I think she cooks things and then does something else and forgets that she was cooking. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case because she’s incredibly scatter-brained. I knew she’d be coming back to cook her fish soon so I tried to make my salad as fast as possible. But as I was cutting up my avocado, she walked in and started to cook. She asked if I had any flour and I told her that I did and that I’d get it for her after I finished cutting the tomato. She told me to take my time. But then a few minutes later she comes over and whispers “weizen Mehl (flour)” in my ear. I told her that she had said that I could take my time and she was like “I know, but I neeeeeeed it!” Ahhh. That girl. When I finished my salad I started working on my paper for Herr Dörr. We had to write about something funny or interesting that’s happened to us since we’ve been in Germany. I chose to write about living on my street and how it’s always so busy. I wrote that I have had many near-death experiences and about when Caitlyn and I saw someone get hit by a car. Heidi called just as I was getting started and wanted to know if I wanted to go out with her, Maressa and Charis that night. Of course! I’m always up for a girls night and cocktails! I wrote a little bit more of my paper and then went to Heidi’s. She had on a little makeup and looked so pretty! We met up with the other two and then went to Grey Stones where they had a special on cocktails. After we had been there for awhile, these two guys came in and sat down next to us. They asked us to watch their coats a few times while they went outside to smoke. Eventually they got up the nerve to talk to us and we found out that they were German soldiers just visiting for the evening. I couldn’t really hear them and they were talking fast, so I didn’t want to say much in case I misheard them. But then Maressa and Charis started talking and then Heidi joined their conversation so I was stuck talking to them by myself. They asked me if people drink a lot of hard liquor in the US. It kind of came out of nowhere so I wasn’t sure if that’s what they were really asking. I told them that at the University people drink a lot and they probably drink more beer than anything. They proceeded to tell me that Germany is known for its beer and that there’s a thing called Oktoberfest. Oh really? I think they could tell that I was uncomfortable talking to them myself. But that happens every time we go to that place! Last time these two American guys came up and started talking to us. We were getting ready to leave anyway, so Maressa and her friend walked outside. And then Heidi walked out when she was able to. So there I was. Stuck talking to these two guys. Blah!

After we paid we went for a walk along the river and then walked Charis home. Days like today are exactly what Heidielberg is supposed to be like: sunny and warm!

Running Around and Leaving for LONDON!

This morning I wrote my first paper for Herr Dörr. We had to write a newspaper article with suggestions for students studying in Germany for the first time. One of my suggestions was that you should be careful when you eat at the Mensa because they weigh the food you get. Therefore, you shouldn't get too much scnitzel or potatoes! Another was that it would be really helpful to find a German friend who you can meet weekly with for coffee and cake. Coffee and cake or Kaffee und Kuchen is such a German thing and they love going to cafes. I support that!

After I got all packed up I quickly made some lunch and then headed off to my 4 o'clock class. His computer didn't connect again today so it wasn't all that exciting. We heard a presentation about an Austrian singer named Christina Stürmer and also about Xavier Naidoo who is from Mannheim. We even got to listen to a few songs from each of them. After class I went home, got my backpack and then went to AJY to print out my paper and boarding passes. I wish that I could check in online, but since i don't have a European issued ID, I'm not allowed to do so. I hopped on the bus at Uniplatz and when I got to Bismarckplatz I quckly ran over to where the busses for the airport are. They had changed the schedule since last semester and it said that the last bus left at 5:20. No way! There are flights that fly out way later than that! I was so confused. So I went inside and asked the information desk if there were any trains going to Karlsruhe. I made a huge mistake and asked her in English and she was incredibly rude and unhelpful. I could have done it in German, but I was just in such a frenzy I freaked out a little bit. So I knew what I had to do. I sucked it up and got a taxi. Luckily the man was very willing to drive there (I think it's about an hour and a half away). Mom and Dad, when you read this don't freak out! It's what I had to do!!! But then man and I spoke German the whole time and he was very friendly. Before I even got in his taxi I told him that I needed to get some money out of an ATM. He said I could just do that at the airport when we arrived. I was about 10 Euros short of what I owed him and said that I could just give him what I had and that I didn't need to worry about the rest. How nice!!! It actually wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought it was going to be. But I learned a lesson. Check and then double check the signs to make sure you know exactly when the bus leaves!

I started the book P.S. I Love You while I was at the airport and then read it on the plane as well. The trip was super short and I was on the bus at Stansted before I knew it. For some reason in London you have to give them all of this information about what you're doing there and how long you're staying as you go through passport controll. I love having an American passport because I don't have to wait in the super long European passports line. Instead I have to go to "other" passports. Works for me because that line is usually really short!!! I grabbed a mozarella and avocado sandwich before getting on the bus and it was pretty good. Really reminded me of how much I love avocados!

The worst culture shock I've ever had always happens in London. I just can't get over the fact that they drive on the other side of the street. I sat there on the bus and just cringed every time we made a turn. I could've sworn that we were going to hit a light pole or a person or SOMETHING! It's just so FOREIGN to me and I'm definitely not a fan.

I got off the bus at Victoria station where Laura and Jess said they'd meet me. Last time I came, Caitlyn was sitting there reading a book and waiting for me. But Jess and Laura were nowhere to be found. And honestly, I was really scared. It was about 11:30 and there weren't too many people around. So I stood at the top of the stairs and walked up and down for awhile. I walked to the other side of the station to see if they were over there, but it was even more deserted so I came back to where I thought we were meeting. I thought I saw them a few different times, but it of course wasn't them. A little after 12 I look down the sidewalk and hear them saying "Is that Alison??" It was them! I was so relieved! I ran over and hugged them and then we headed off to find a bus to take us to Laura's flat. We got a little lost (Laura had only been to Victoria station once and it was really late so she didn't exactly know where to go). But we eventually found the bus we needed and a little while later made it to her flat. Hers was totally different than Caitlyn's...especially since she only had 3 other roommates. They had a little upstairs area where their kitchen and living room was. Really cute! I had some bread with peanut butter and we talked for awhile. We stayed up pretty late and finally crashed around 2 or so.

Meeting up with friends in foreign countries is one of my favorite things! Especially when they live there! It's so cool to see where they live and what they do. It's also great to see friends that I usually see everyday, but haven't seen in a long time. LOVE IT!