Alter Feuerwache

So i told people that i would name this blog alter feuerwache because it is our favorite stop on the tram line... even though we don't get off there... but we like the way it sounds when the mysterious "lady" says it.

Yesterday we went to the winery which was flippin beautiful. We got to try about 7 different wines which were all amazing. even the red wines, and i don't usually drink wine. I got 2 bottles of riesling... for under 5 euro... how toll is that! The grapes were amazing, and the house itself was built in 1904 and was the most typical german country house n a winding cobblestone road with ivy and flowers... it was pure amazingness (pictures soon)

So we all got drunk at the wine tasting.... then continued back to Steingarten to contine the party.


This morning I woke up late... putzed around and THEN realized that if I wanted to go on the VISUM buddy event today i would have to be at the Hauptbahnhof at 9:30... and the bus stops at my house at 9:23.. I missed the number 60 but made it to the HBF at quarter to 10. we took the train to Heidelberg (WHICH IS SO BEAUTIFUL I NEVER WANTED TO LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and we took an hour and a half boat ride past the city of Hessen to a town called Dilsberg. We then CLIMBED AND SCALED a mountain ( me and patty were the first ones up!) and walked around this city in the mountains. The view from the top was incredible and you could see for miles. We had such a great picnic lunch on top of this mountain, climbed to the top of a tower, and admired the view. Then we walked into a cavern. Vodka was included in the picnic lunch... did I mention that? Along with wine and beer. (Typical German...) Did I mention the beer started at 11 am? auch, typcisch.

After we got back to the mannheim HBF we went to the pennymarkt and all bought meat to cook at the BBQ. Did I mention that more beer, wine, and sangria in a box was purchased?!?!?!? We walked to the Rhine and all had a fantastic BBQ complete with Bocci, a tight rope (which the germans call slack rope) and sangria in a box. The chicken came out to die for and we ate spaghetti ice cream, which is flippin amazing.


Ok... so now were drunk on box sangria and walking on a tight rope... then we head over to the sand bar... with real sand! it really made me miss home. lol. Sat around on beach chairs and had some more drinks.


Thats just the short end of the story. Im a little too .... Tired :-) to tell it all now... but the pictures will most indubitably speak for themselves.


I really need to go to bed now. I will write more in the morning before we venture off to the lake for the day. We decided to bring out Riesling and our homework.
Yea. I love days at the lake!


XOXOXOXOX
Tcshu∫

Ein Schnitzel von Deutschland

Hey guys :-)


Things are going much better for me. I really don't think that my teacher likes me... Its because i'm American :-( There are several students from Egypt, Tokyo, norway, korea, Russia, and me... the american, who he thinks is not that intelligent... but we had a different teacher today, and we did wayyyy more work (Which is a plus) and she called on me alot and she chose me to read passages in the text... wtf!!

Anyway. Today was a ground breaking day for me :-) I got to matriculate yesterday (FINALLY) after they sent me across the schloss to another building to get this and that paper (WARNING: TANGENT- Ya know the germans make things very difficult and include alot of red tape... but they are very helpful in making sure you know what to do next...) anyways... So i matriculated and today I got my Official university ID card !!!!!!! I really feel like a student here! But I also feel like a freshman again... what the hell.
I even got a lenyard to feel even more special.

So class was good today, and I got alot of things done... now the last step in the process in registering with the government AND the foreign office (Which are two separate entities (which sucks) because they are two separate processes, with two separate and equally long and painful applications. I got one out of the two done, which was the anmelung... that was the government one... then you have to make an appointment with the foreign office, and I got yelled at!!!!! I spoke German to her because I believe that when in a country with a different language, you should atleast try and learn it... so anyway... she yelled at me because she was talking soo fast and i couldn't understand her all that well... she wasn't speaking Hoch Deutsch thats for sure...
But my appointment is for the 15th (Friday.. and I have to miss the second half of class) but its worth it because I get this cool sticker in my passport that says i'm a resident of Mannheim germany :-)

We went to ikea yesterday and I got the COOLEST fish shaped rug for under my sink :-) and I bought a curtain which fell down during the night because apparently you can't hang curtains with tape... who knew?
And my tapestries fell down too because apparently tape is not the best thing to use when hanging tapestries... who knew??

I made a grilled cheese today for lunch, and it was a sandwhich with a story. because in the store an angry German man was cursing at the blue haired lady that worked the register. So I threw in a "Männer sind Schweine". and that made her laugh.

Tonight we are going to the bar, (even though I have homework..) really tho.. i can still get it done because I speak better wine when I have had some wine... duh

TOMORROW WE ARE GOING TO THE WINERY!!!! I AM SOOOOO EXCITED! I imagine it will be B E A UUUUTIFUL!

then saturday VISUM rented a boat and we are going on a hike... but I think that if I don't go to that there is a festival called Speyer with a kings table (you definately need to read about this!) and then sunday we are going to the lake.. which is awesome because I love playing volleyball, and the water is beautiful.. then back to class on Monday.


Did you know that Adam is coming for thanksgiving break <3. he already got his tickets, and he is bringing stove top stuffing :-* Whats really cool about this years thanksgiving is that we invited all of our closest friends, for instance, trina is from Australia and shes always heard about american thanksgiving but has never been to one, so shes uber excited, and then we have a girl from canada, and various others. This is going to be great! We plan on playing some american football too lol.


I think thats it for now. I need to clean a little before I go out..

ya know. I really think that living on my own this past semester (SHOUT OUT TO AARON, ANTHONY, and the men in my life and on blake street!) has prepared me for this adventure.
All things add up, I believe, and each door that is gone through, then shut behind you, can only lead you to the next door... and when one door slams shut in your face...
kick the damn door down.


oh... and dan... we got tickets for riding ohne Farscheine.... :-( Schadeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First day of School- and pre-test jitters

My hands have never shaken this hard before... ever! The entire introduction to Uni Mannheim was in German and I understood it perfectly! But when she handed out the test... Jitters to high himmel. Thats all I really want to say about that. I speak German very well, its wierd, I inherited Gillians German accent, along with the accent tones of other I'm around, and German's applaud my SPEAKING ability..however, when I see it on paper.... FREAK OUT! It must be all the Umlauts. lol.

So with that said. I opened my German bank account at the Deutsche bank! I can now start hiding funds overseas ;-) haha j/k.

Then I finally bought some flip flops, I FOUND ORANGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Then I got some more bread, an umbrella and a few other odds and ends. I woke up to rain at about 6 a.m. and i think my computer got a little wet. Then it was sunny and warm the rest of the day.

After the day i hung out here and go to FINALLY talk and see Adam on skype. He is coming here over Thanksgiving break, even though we don't get a "thanksgiving." Im excited and already started making a list of Sehenswürdigkeiten that I can show him :-)

It was a nice sunset so Sydney, Rose and I decided to go to the Wasserturm and waste time. We stuck our feet in the water and took some pictures. Then we met up with David and talked about German movies, etc. David is awesome, he is one of the VISUM buddies who help show exchange students around and help them this this-and-that. But he hangs out with us for fun :-)

I had Dönner for Lunch in between errands, but it wasn't that good.

Tomorrow is also going to be a busy day, I have to get done all of the things that I didn't do today. Including registering for Uni so I can get my Ecum card, and really be a part of the Universität. Then I get to go on a tour of the palace!!

It should be a very fun-filled day. can't believe it's tuesday already. On Thursday we are going into Heidelberg!!!!

I miss GIllian and wish she were here, but its good that i can figure things out on my own, ja know? Ja voll!

Living here in Germany kinda made me think about all the "things" in Amerika that I can live without, not to be too specific, but things that aren't necessary, take up space, and are a waste of money.

I went shopping at Woolworth's today ( LOVE IT THERE!) and almost everything was a dollar, that why I love it.

And I found wine glasses for 49cents! So we can stop schlucking it out of the bottle.


Well, Its time for bed, tomorrow I get to find out what class they put me in and is the first real day of school! We go from 9-12 everyday.

Tschu∫ Leuchen!

Our Feet are the same!

A day at the lake

This morning it rained..

But we went to the lake anyway and it proved itself to be a freakin awesome day!!!!!


The lake was fabulous and the water felt so darn good. We all jumped in and lounged on the dock and on the shore.

Then we played volleyball... so this may sound wierd ( and most of you won't believe me) But I am kind of shy...
but I didn't think twice before walking over and playing volleyball. It was awesome and they voted me Mvp for most game play :-) I dove and we almost won. but the tree got in our way.

I met some really cool people today. It's wierd because there are soo many of us, and not everyone goes to all of the activities, so when new people some we don't know who they are. But I met really cool japaneese girls and we ended up getting lost in the city together. They get so excited to hear that i spend time in Manhattan. They plan to visit the city in a year or so and want me to show them around :-)
I made friends with the guys from Denmark :-) And yes... it is not a stereotype, they really are all blond haired with blue eyes and 12 abs... wtf......

Today was lots of fun... but the sucky part was that the dönner stand at the bottom of our stairs was all out of dönner!!! thatsok... I had it last night (this morning) after the club.

I got to watch Kayak polo on the lake which is soo cool!!!!!!!!


Tomorrow I have a German placement test... It places me in a class for the summer academy. I hope I do well.


it really sucks because when i have one glass of wine I speak fluently. Last night a random German guy sat next to us and began to speak to him in perfect Hoch Deutsch.. and he says: wow, your german is excellent, one would have mistaken you for a German... not an american! (compliment in and of itself lol).
anyway. I hope I do well.

I get to open my Deutsche bank account tomorrow and get my uni mannheim Id card :-)

Things are really starting to shape up around here. School is almost in full swing and I am very excited :-)

Wish me luck.

Going to watch wedding crashers with David now. love that movie.


oh and by the way....


hi hermi :-) I looooverrrrr youuuuuuu

Am anfang...

Last night was über fabulous, and today proved itself to be quite a day.


The mysterious cheque was finally deposited into my account so I can pay rent now and live quite merrily here for the first semester. I really hope this doesn't happen again at the beginning of next semester!!!!!!!!!!

Today was sehr toll, we took a very informative tour of my school and all the places in town that are useful, can I just say that I am in LOVE with LIDA which is the supermarket here. and every Sunday there is a farmers market in the center of the markt platz, with fresh EVERYTHING, and I have never seen flowers this beautiful, and roses that have bloomed so beautifully.
So we took the tour then we wandered down to the RHINE !!!!!! the Rhine flows right behind my school!!!!!!! i can take my lunch to the rhine and read a book! I think that is amazing! So we had a picnic there for a little while, then walked around town and picked up a few things for tomorrow since all the shops, supermarkts, and basically everything is closed on sundays.
Tomorrow we get to spend the day at the lake. (not sure which lake), so we all picked up some Riesling and some awesome turkish bröt, and are going to have a picnic, provided that the weather is nice, aber es sieht wie so regnet aus...


Funny story.
I heard a knock on the door at 6:30 this morning!! and i pretended not to hear it and wanted whoever it was to go away. I thought it was someone else to whom I told that I would show her the laundry room. But it wasnt! It was just syndney who
" Thought I might like to get some breakfast and take a walk" I thought it was hilarious.


So today was good. We had fabulous ice cream and listened to pipe players and i got to see my school. It has sooo many libraries (By the way my school is a huge palace! ) and the courtyard is amazing. What they do is set up chairs and tables outside the cafe in the courtyard at school (You can buy beer at this cafe and drink before class.....) and you can read!
I am so excited to be here.


At first I didn't want to go because I love the comforts of home and its scary to move... um... to a different country which has a language in stark comparison to our own. But it was well worth all the crying and hysterics and late night phone calls home to mom, but everyone has been extremely supportive and I love them for that! Thanks to my family for all the calls and the trips to the bank and worry for, and about me. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

I called the bank and told them about my card so they won't freeze it (Yes, mom, you can stop worrying).


Tonight we really are going to celebrate. and we have alot to celebrate and be thankful for.

Here, in germany I found MANY new friends, and people just like me who are willing to do whatever it takes to get the best education, because like me, have a passion for school and meeting new people, and heck, MANY of these people speak SOOOOO MANYYYY LANGUAGES! And its because they like talking to people just like me!
I'm going to have a great time, but its not going to be easy. Im going to get lost, just like any other freshman, and i am going to say wrong things, but its all in good fun.

Now that I am all settled in I can start having a life and enjoying the greater things in life so I can (eventually) come home, build a cute adirondack style house in the woods for daddy, buy mom a trailer for her bike, and maybe an RV so she too, can tour the country. Buy hermi all the pretty red shoes and clothes and books and send her to school in Taiwan or hessen, and buy lisa all the... um... ladybug things that she wants, and I will be a rich lawyer someday?


Jetzt es geht güt. I will worry about it one day at a time.


Tshu∫ leute!

Tapestries

even though my tapestry fell down again I can semi-stop worrying.


I LOVE GERMANY!!!!!!!!!!!!



we had our orientation this morning and I took the bus to the AAA office and got my information and met my buddddyyyy. Er hei∫t Jaoquim. then i came home and talked with Gillian on Skype for 2 hours !!! I loved seeing you Schatz!! now if only I can get my boyfriend on skype...


then we had a pub crawl!!!!!!! That was fun we went to several different bars and I spoke German the ENTIRE NIGHT!!!!! IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!!!! I really do like Germany, but I was filled with so much anxiety that I couldn't enjoy it. But I got the call from mommy today that my check came so now I can pay my rent and register for courses!


I had rhine wine today. I met so many awesome people and i am not alone anymore!!! I met girls from Russia, and men from Poland, even a guy from new york that also knows Renatte Seitz! I spoke German the entire night with a girl from UCF Florida and shes here also for a graduate program!

So I had my rhine wine at this pub called El Diablo, then we walked to the Journalist, then we walked to this club called.... ehhh... ich wei∫ es nicht.


anyway. tonight was awesome. Then Joaquim drove me home..

yes mother.. in his auto. because it was late and he didn't want me walking home at night and the busses stopped running.


Wie schön. :-)


Tomorrow we have another orientation and then we are going to the club at night.


then soon i can start classes. Am nexte woche.


I am really getting into this german thing. ( But don't tell Dan)


there are 3 levels of german that i can place into 1. 2. or 3. i will most likely get placed into intermediate, as I don't suck, but I am not fluent.

It really was a nice change to not have to speak any english all night. I learned so much about so many people, and I got to meet so many people who are all so friendly!

I love Germany!


xoxoxo


Tschu∫


ps. which is NOT what I was saying a few days ago, i understand that, but now I am not a billiger Schlumpige Schlume

Scared in a new city

Last night was a better night. My tapestry fell down again.


I am still very scared and worried. I need to pay my rent and my scholarship has not been posted to my bank account yet. I keep emailing and writing and praying but i wake up and its still not there. Patience is a virtue, but not when you have rent to pay. And it also sucks that there is such a large time difference (6 hours) because when i call or write it is a normal time here, but usually an ungodly time there.


on a lighter note, I get to to to the AAA office (akademishe Auslandsamt) (international office) they are very helpful there, and register for my summer international course. That starts on Monday with a placement test and a welcome reception. Today is move-in day so there should be many more people wandering around the building today.

Atleast I don't have to go to the smelly internet cafe and use their pc's.


I am putzing around this morning counting down the days till I can come home and see everybody and get actual hugs, instead of virtual ones. (but I love those too!)

It is Friday today and I'm going to read some german so I can do well on the placement test.


Tis all for now. Going to take a shower, put on the headphones and see what adventures lie in store for me today.

This weekend the Hugo's are going to take us around the city and do "fun things" with us. But If I keep worrying like this then i'm not going to be much fun .



Tschu∫ alle