ES KOMMT DIE ZEIT

Fatty Bread and some Dead pants.

well.. its been about a week and I think i've done pretty well.
I've been on this crazy binge of running everyday and eating right, haven't been drinking. Actually, haven't even been out lately...
Studying for finals have pretty much consumed most of my time, and I spend hours on end locked away either at home or in the Eo café or the library studying grammar and Handelsbezogene Aspekte der Rechte des Geistigen Eigentums... HELL.
I'm starting to get lonely. Its that time of year in Mannheim where as soon as I wake up I have an hour of daytime, then it becomes dark. I live in the warmest state of Germany, but its still blistering cold at times. I talk to David the white tiger when I get lonely, if im lucky I bother Gillian on Skype. I get to talk to Adam for a while everynight. its nice to see him, but I still feel lonely.
Thankfully I get to go home in a few weeks. I can't believe time is going by so quickly. When i sat down with Renatte and discussed how long I should stay over here, I thought that one semester would be enough.. she said to me, that it takes one semester to get used to it, then the 2nd semester I can relax and enjoy it. I'm sure she's right, but its such a long time..

This week was concert week. This week was the week that Gillian and I looked forward to for quite some months. Two concerts, from two of the most favorite bands in all of Germany, and we were going to be there!!!!!!!!!!!
FETTES BROT AND TOTEN HOSEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fettes Brot was on Monday, we even had döner. Whats a concert if you don't eat Döner to get strength??!
We got their relatively early and got all the way in the front :-) Thats how we roll. We moshed with the best of em, and I even had my hair in a female mohawk!!! Its was awesomley classy. They put on such an amazing concert, i sung along and felt extremely German.
For the rest of the week nothing went on... I mean NOTHING... and I studied most of the time. Its scary that all my professors say that their exams, even to those who are most prepared, are extremely difficult. It's scary to think that I could fail even if I was prepared.... I hope i do well :-(

Friday was the TOTEN HOSEN CONCERTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!! Fettes brot was just a warm up for what was about to come...
think about 20,000 people in a huge SAP Arena, with the most popular band in Germany. People of all ages came out to see the Band. If you heard the music you would understand why. A really awesome band opened for them called Arbeitslösigkeit, they were this wicked cool 80's hair band. Complete with white skinny jeans and triangle shaped guitars. The moshing was intense, and the crowd was nuts. The toten hosen concert was the livest concert I have ever been to in my life, the crowd was wild. We actually didn't get to be on the floor, we were up in the sitzplätze, but even up there the crowd was intense. Im kind of glad that I wasn't on the floor because I would have been squished... next time! And next time I will crowd surf :-)
Today I studied ALL day I learned lots, and tomorrow will be the same. I really only have 3 days to cram and study before Adam gets here for the weekend, and then I have two German exams on Monday. Grammar and allgemeine Sprachkurs. I've covered the majority of the German language, and i talk with people to reinforce it and to use what i've learned. I feel ok with it.... we'll see. I take German tests and my hands get clammy. I always walk in prepared, and tell myself to breathe, and really look at the sentences and to not freak out and take my time... but i still choke. Dan, i've tried everything!! Any sugestions, because it's really starting to get frustrating!

I hear about things that are happening at home and I worry. I feel like in a way the world is crashing down. I like to think that things get worse before they get better? I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders, and no matter where i go I can't escape. I try and try, but I still don't get the credit i deserve. People still think that i'm partying and wasting my life away, but damn you all i'm doing the best I could. Higher education is very important to me, and i'm going places. So screw you all. I mean it. Gloria. I heard you told Ms. Zern that you worry about me drinking and partying. You don't know me. youre own daughter. Don't assume. (insert acronym here).

A wise student of mine once said " Don't carry the weight of the world upon your shoulders. For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder."

means a lot doesn't it. Its really funny because we call this student TRIPS, its her last name... but its also the acronym of what I was studying when she told me this. Abkommen über handelsbezogene Aspekte der Rechte des Geistigen Eigentums.

So this week Thanksgiving dinner is at my house :-) I'm really excited because I am hosting my very first thanksgiving dinner for all of my American friends! I dubbed it: DANKE DAY!
We have turkey and stuffing, and its going to be great! Brians parents sent over some thanksgiving table clothes and Gillians mom sent Paper turkeys to decorate the table!!! It started off as an intimate 8 person sit down dinner, and quickly grew to an 18 person sit down dinner. Don't worry, we will make it work! So instead of having it in the large kitchen/living room, I got Almir to give me the keys to the party room. it has a convenient patio for the smokers, a HUGE kitchen portion with 2 stoves! A large refrigerator, couches tables and everything else we'll need to have a great meal. I felt bad not being able to invite alllll the Americans, so I decided to hostess a party afterwards! We have the party room, might as well use it. So I invited all the friends, american and non. We are going to have a great time! The best part is that Adam comes from America to spend the weekend :-) I've been looking forward to this for a long time!!!!! I can't believe its finally here!!!!!!!!
I have such a great weekend planned for us!
He comes here thursday and we get to spend the day together and then at night have thanksgiving dinner and then a party.
Friday I'm going to show him my town, which is beautiful, and he came at a great time because the Weinachtsfest is in town (winter festival) and those are great fun! Its at the wasserturm, which is the main attraction for my city. Later that night VISUM organized an ice skating trip to go ice skating infront of Schwetzingen castle!!!!!!! Then we will go to the winterfestival in that town and have some hot glühwine! Its so delicious, tastes just like warm apple cider!!! after that I'm making him Maultaschen!
He gets to have his first döner for lunch then too!!!!!
Saturday Im taking him to Heidelberg for the day :-) Heidelberg is beautiful because its where all the mountains are. Im going to take him up the mountain to the schloss, and have a picnic lunch there. Then walk down the hill to Bismarks platz, where there is ANOTHER christmas fest. Im taking him to the brewery where they make the most alcoholic beer, then to the absinthe shop, then to have some schnitzel at the schnitzel house! Schnitzel is so good!!! Then im taking him to drink beer out of horns! Gillian is going to meet up with us and its going to be awesome :-)
Sunday, is going to be spectacular. Adam has this dream of saying he went to france for lunch, and was back by 3... so thats what were going to do!!!! I plan on taking him to Wissenboug (france) for lunch, and make it back by 3. France is only an hour away, and I can get there on my semester ticket. I should go to france more often.......
Sadly, monday he leaves. and thats when my finals are. Im going to be prepared for them before he gets here, but study flashcards when i have down time. he's going to help me study.

So I think thats it for now. I have alot of work to do, but alot to look forward to!


OH!!!! I was in bed last night and I heard immense screaming from the backyard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was about half the building in the backyard playing. It was so cool to see :-) It snows here in mannheim, but because its so warm it never sticks. I was pleasantly surprised to see some snow still on the ground when I woke up.
My first snowfall in Mannheim


You shall hear of more adventures soon!

<3

Team Tisch Tennis at the Tun/Turm/Turn Halle with Timmy, Hat parties and other Dings

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks!! What have I been doing that i couldn't blog!?!?!

Well.. Lets start where I left off... I think Dem Franchize Boys concert?

Ill pick up on November 4, 2008. The day that changed the course of history.
Yea Obama!
I think I speak for the majority of people in Europe when I say that Obama is the man. Europeans love him! The students here follow the election more closely than most americans... I had an opportunity to meet people at the VISUM farewell party... that were wearing Obama o8' Shirts... Kindof weird... Speaking of which, election day was on the day of the Farewell party. Thats why most Americans missed the party because they were watching the results of the election come in. I was keeping track on CNN and underground democratic (awesome site for political buffs). In any case, we went to the party to say *farewell*. This wasn't one of the larger parties, which was at Zapatto and NOT Zimmer because Zimmer sucks. We had a few drinks and actually went home rather early. (which is NOT surprising for us).
I saw the current results as soon as I walked in the door from the party and I knew right away that when I woke up the next morning Obama would be the next president of the United States.

Rosa Sat so Martin could Walk, so Obama could Run, so Children could fly.

Thats all I have to say about that.

I was looking forward to the coming week because I had 3 other parties lined up. The Ulmenweg party, the Hafenstraße party, and the Hans Sachs Ring Party. These were the last parties of the semester so of course they were going to the be loudest, the craziest (although nothing could beat the Mafia party in my building).
Ya know what?
I skipped all of them.

Well... Kindof. A friend of mine had a Hat party, where you go and wear a funny hat! Well.. I didn't want to wear a fedora and be typical.. so I made a paper hat and colored HUGE flowers and put them on my hat and made a bonnet! It was the most creative hat at the party :-)


HA.
Fooled you all into thinking that I mostly spend my time partying.
No. I was studying, doing case research, and learning Passiv tense in German.
Which I used by accident in conversation the other day without realizing it...
But don't tell Dan.




I really want to talk about the next week.
I was so stressed that I couldn't focus.. That was an issue.
My final exam in my doing business in Germany class was that week and I had been preparing it since the day he told us. It was an hour long. The catch was, it was a group project. I thought this would be easy/fun because Americans have alot of experience in doing presentations and public speaking and preparing for presentation finals. It would be easy right?
Wrong. Group project? What group... I was the only one consistently working on this hour long presentation and frankly, I was pissed. While the excuses kept ringing in about picking up Ipods in the middle of nowhere and traveling to Scotland and other random Bullshit excuses i was there. I did an amazing job. I planned who would present which part, even down to the comical commentary and funny slides. It was an A presentation. All they had to was show up and speak. The Audacity of one of the group members to question *....aaaaannnd what does this slide represent?* WELLLL If you had been in class you would know. he showed us this slide and suggested indirectly that we use it... if you had gone to class you would know.
Ouch. I patted myself on the back.
Ok. So the day of the presentation comes and I was prepared!
I was honestly surprised that the rest of the group showed up early as did I to class. We tried to set up the screen for the powerpoint but apparently the German technology doesn't like american computers. I didn't have the cord for my Mac so we couldn't use that either... So the professor had to run home (down the street a bit) and grab his computer. I was sure he hated us even more. Well we finally got set up and instead of showing the video on the projector like I had planned we split the class up, synchronized the computers and showed the video. It was a hit.
Then the powerpoint began...
Rob was first and stopped 5 times to tell the class that he had lost his place.. stumbling... it wasn't even a nervous thing... he just didn't know what he was talking about. Ok. So here I begin to get pissed off. I said to him... incase of emergency... read the slide... The professors commentary to him at the end was that he tried to deviate and freespeech most of the time... which was why he was getting lost. Caught out.
Ok then it was my turn. I rocked the house!!!!!!!!! I was clear and friendly and funny!!!
Jackie..... Oh ... my .... God.... Never looked at the class and at the end the Norwegians said to me... how could she do that during a presentation?? That was awful.... she couldn't even laugh at herself...
So I was standing against the white board trying not to sweat a storm because of nerves and overall anxiety because of how awful and NOT how I planned that I was quietly banging my head against the wall and it accidentally made a noise...
the Norwegians turned to me and gave me looks of pity. The window was nearby and I had opened it... wannted to jump out it was that awful.
So the professor looked like he wanted to gouge his eyeballs out when the two were talking and when I was up there he was smiling and interactive with the class. But alas... there is no I in Team.
So At the end when I was only 2 slides into the conclusion we had to stop because of time.. Because time was wasted in setting up the technology. I almost lost it at that point. I had only gotten to present once. So the professor was rapping things up with class and asking questions and quickly summing it up and telling us random pieces of information and my hand kept shooting up with the answers and other bits of information that I was going to say in the end (but didn't have time). So he complimented me for being so prepared.
But I was still pissed.
moral of the story: At the end of class when he was giving us commentary on how we did he told me that he had realized that I did the majority of the work and that the outline was excellent, and MY presentation was excellent and that I would receive a grade of excellent.
This goes to show you that hard work pays off, however, I hate group assignments that only one person carries the rest on their back. SUCKS. So I rewarded myself and bought myself a pair of nice warm knee socks :-)

Law class was good the next day I gave some really good answers to critical thinking case questions. And I even taught my professor a new english word.. Legitimacy. He had a funny time trying to say it. hehe.

Another good thing this week !! at the Deutsche Bank they have these machines where you can print your account summary, transfer money, deposit money, and all other banking needs. Well. i figured out how to fill out the slip all by myself and transfer money :-) and in German. It was cool!

Wednesday night was awesome! (after my presentation) because Gillian came to Mannheim and we bitched about our days, the fact that German people are extremely rude! drank wine, made maultaschen, and watched our favorite American Tv show 90210!!! Then, in a buzzed state we went and slid on the slides and did pirouettes on the table tennis tisch! It may not sound like it. But it was a very relaxing night.

The next day was Thursday.. nothing much... as usual...

Friday was an interesting day. Gillian and I decided that we needed a mini Urlaub. and wheres the best place to rest and relax? Nicks house (thats right... an actual house!) In stuttgart. We always seem to eat the best food and have the comfiest beds, and nick is always the most amusing. Well we headed to Stuttgart (took the ICE of course) and had a riot on the train. We get to stuttgart and head to the Tun halle...like so viel zu Tun? No, Kathleen, Turn... like the TuRM halle? Like Wasserturm? No, Kathleen, the TURN halle... like tournament... OHHHHHHH.
Here we watched nick play Team Tisch table tennis! It was actually really good!! They had cute little uniforms and shorts and everything!!! Everyone was staring at the only two spectators in the place... Gillian and I... and Nick. The playboy that had 2 girls come to watch him play....table tennis?! hahahaha
Then we went back to nicks house and had some wine and pregamed. Then he took us ALL over Stuttgart! There were some yuppy bars that if I were home I would have loved... but here i hated... Its weird like that..
Then we went to this "Alternative music" club... Called the Beat. It had a disco ball and looked like a bunch of ska kids moving around... but surprisingly... don't judge a book by it's cover. It was the best club!!! The music was from the 60's and I loved it. I danced like I didn't have a care in the world. Met some really awesome people.. and ya know what? No, mom. I didn't have one drink that night.
We get back to Nicks house about 5 that morning, passed out and took a really early ICE back to Mannheim.

I get back to Mannheim. Did some running (i've been running here alot lately) and then took a nap.
Later that night I felt like I needed to get out of the house so The crew came over and we played beer pong! My game was so on!!!!!!!!!! It was a good game, and I needed to relax.

This week is crunch week because Adam <3 comes to Germany on the 27th for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is at my house this year :-) I am making a turkey with Adam, and Sydney and Gillian are making a Turkey. We have 20 guests coming this year :-) This will be my first Thanksgiving where I am the hostess and i'm sure it will be amazing :-) <3 Everyone is looking forward to it and I know we will have alot of fun. People are bringing really great food and I can't wait for real American stovetop stuffing!

Today was a great day interms of studying. I was scared at first because I woke up later than expected. However, I realized that in order for me to pass my finals its not about the quantity of study time, but how efficiently I study. ( This is the economist in me talking). So I started at the beginning and worked my way through the German language. I started with Gender hints for determining word articles. Then I moved on to Adjectiv Deklinations. Which are getting so simple! But don't tell Dan...
Then I moved on to präpositions and learning which verbs have certain prepositions that come attached. Then I worked on Relativ sätze... then finally worked on Passiv.
I learned alot today, so Im going to watch a movie and review my flashcards.
I figure if I study a bit everyday then Come the day of the finals (dec 1.) The two hardest finals! I will be all set.
I was supposed to go hiking with Harold today and take a ride on the harley, but had to decline because I wanted to study.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow because its the FETTES BROT CONCERT!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHH!!!!!!! IM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!so super excited!

WEll I think thats it for now. This week is alot of studying. trying to remain calm, getting ready for Adam to come, thanksgiving, and then the TOTEN HOSEN CONCERT SUNDAY!!!!!!!

Don't laugh at me. I've been listening to an insane amount of German music lately because it helps to keep up with speeds of the German language, to learn vocabulary, and its enjoyable. Toten Hosen (dead Pants) and Fettes Brot (Rotten Bread) are very popular bands :-)

I think this is all for now. I will post some pictures


I have to tell you about the Pink picture... Thats me...
Gillian and I have Southpark characters that look like us. We made them because it represents how we feel. We are wearing a helmet because were ready to go out to the battlefield known as German civilization. We feel like we need to put on battle gear just to get ready for the day. The numchucks represent the squashing of any D that gets in our way of successes in the future. I never leave home without my IPOD. And the hawaiian shirt represents a tribute to herr Professor Dan, and Our Held Ross who says you should always wear a hawaiian shirt atleast once a week. Its like me and the red shoes... you just need to add a little character and pizzaz to the day...
<3

Frankenstein and some Gin and Juice

Halloween finally rolled around and let me tell you what I did!


We all thought it would be super cool to go to Frankensteins castle for Halloween! Apparently it's really popular because everyone in Germany decided to go. Halloween in Germany is a relatively new thing for them... but they did quite well.
Frankensteins castle is in Darmstadt. It was only about an hour away from us, and in a different state.
Brian, Sydney and I decided to go, even though others thought it was corny, they saw the pictures after and envied us!
The castle itself was kinda spooky, it even sprinkled rain a little. It set the mood for eery thats for sure.
We waited in line for a while because everyone was there. But it was worth it. There wasn't much to do, persay. We missed all the shows but we still got to walk around the castle grounds ( at 11 at night) and see all the set ups and scary people that tried to scare us. I thought it was hilarious. So... thats it.. sorry I don't have some crazy stories to tell. but really it was very cool. They even played the monster mash.

The next day VISUM had a breakfast and movie planned for 11. well... it was a long night for us. but we decided to go in our pajamas to the event. The breakfast was great, but then we realized that the movie that was *supposed* to have subtitles, didn't. and the movie.. was all in french. So instead we went home and.... slept.

Until that night... hehe the story you've all been waiting for.

DEM FRANCHIZE BOYS CONCERT!!!!!!!

This was the concert i had been waiting for since I saw it advertised on the website. It was at the Orange club, which is in Mannheim (BOONDOCKS MANNHEIM) . For those that don't know Dem Franchize Boys come from Atlanta and (lean wit it rock wit it). So we thought it would be cool to see in Germany. Before we left, sydney and I made signs...
My sign said: I'M REPPIN NYC and hers said: MIAMI U REPRESENT. We figured if they saw our American signs we would be more likely to see them.

So we get to the club rather early and got riiiight up front :-) ... (skipping an hour) Time for the concert!!! Well they started singing. and it wasn't a very large stage so we were righttttt there. I held up my signs and sure enough he read my sign... SMILED... reached out..grabbed my hand... and wouldn't let go!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 Buddie!
The rest of the concert was good... however we didn't stay that long. The guys started getting rowdy and all the girls were like... Have you ever heard ...germans....speak ghetto? I couldn't help but burst out laughing. overall the evening was quite good. They even had Gin and juice advertised.
So the trip home was eventful... Apparently there was 3 hours before the train came and we were in the middle of NOWHERE! So we decided to walk the train track to the other haltestelle because that one came earlier....well.. we walked along the train tracks in the ghetto (don't tell mama) realized that we were wrong.. and walked back. Well... at the train stop we had to sit next to bag lady. I wish I had a picture of bag lady. This lady was wearing a jacket that went whooshwhoosh when she moved. hehe and she REEKED OF ALCOHOL. She had consumed so much alcohol that I felt drunk, and I felt like I would have a hangover. She kept running out into the middle of the street to try and hitchhike. well it didn't work for her. Finally bag lady got a taxi before us! A taxi finally called us over and offered us to take us home for 6 Euro.. thats really all we had so ... we took it.
Got home. and the rest is history.

So im on this great diet and i go running everyday!!! I ran 3 miles yesterday and it felt great!!!!! Tomorrow is another running day. I alternate.

so this election eh?? STOP, BARACK, AND ROLL OUT MCCAIN! Its time for change!!!!!

Seriously.. I have nothing else really to write. I've had a hard last few days because of studying for finals and learning German, and then combining the two... but this weekend should be quite interesting :-) Enjoy the pictures !

Weil das ende in der nahe ist....

Haven't written in a while!!

Sorry :-) I know how you all love to hear my stories. Just as much as I love telling them.

We leave off on the 15. Well.. That weekend was a tad... eventful.

Every semester each student dorm and apartment building gets to throw a party. Its the largest one of the semester. Well. Steingarten (where I live)... we don't mess around :-) We threw a mafia party :-)

Jordan, Haesols boyfriend came from America to spend time with her so Hazel, Jordan, and Gillian were my guests. We dressed up Mafiosa like you wouldn't believeeeee!!!! We definately got the best respect that night.
Ok... Well... thats all for that story. HA. Lots of things happened that night including laptops being stolen from the 1st floor. (thankfully I live on the 6th) and Almir peed on my desk chair. (Long story) But overall it was fun. You will see pictures lol.

That Saturday was FANTASTIC!!!! Gillian and I and her boyfriend at the time (haha I love you Schnoox) Went to the championship Rugby game in Heidelberg. We watch Spain KILL, we watched Germany get beat in the last 1 minute to Portugal, (Who I knew would win anyway) and then we watched those penny gyps from ROMANIA KILLL KILLL KILL RUSSIAAAAAA. OMGGGG I have never seen Rugby played like that before! These guys were running around the field pulling tricks out like I have never seen before. Needless to say that Russia walked off the field with 0. and Romania took it home 36-0. What a game.

Well. That next week was nothing spectacular. Just alot of reading and writing, I even skipped the German night party at Zimmer. (thats a first for me).

That weekend 24-26 was the VISUM Berlin trip! I have lots to talk about!!

We left at about midnight and we took a double decker bus for our 8ish hour drive to Berlin. I was especially excited to see Berlin because of all that I already learned from Frau Dombrowskis class.
We got to Berlin at about 8 in the morning and the first thing I saw was..... DUNKIN DONUTS!!!! I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. It was awesome. They only have DD in Nordrhein Westfallen and Berlin. We got to the hostel , had some breakfast, and the first thing on our agenda was a city tour of Berlin. That was interesting because it was our first view of Berlin. The starting point was the American Embassy which was located right next to the Brandenburger Tor. I liked seeing that because It had a huge history behind it. The American Embassy was recently built and they have real exit signs.
Next to the American Embassy was the hotel where Michael Jackson hung a baby outside the window. That was an interesting part of the tour... Other things we saw were the siegesäule, (which I got to see in the movie Himmel über Berlin), the Berliner Dom, Alexander Platz, Potsdamer Platz, Reichstag, Holocaust Mahnmal, East Side Gallery, Judisches Museum, Checkpoint charlie, just to name a few, and some other really important sites.

After the tour we got to rome around for a bit. haha rome. I was just there!. I grabbed some lunch with friends and dunkin donuts of course, then we headed back to the Hostel to check in. The hostel was cool because of the way it was set up. Back in the day it was actually used as a boarding school for Jewish Girls. One of the VISUM events was going to a well known club in Berlin called the Fritz club. It was in what looked like an old factory with large rooms and bad music. (like most clubs in Germany). We didn't stay long, we went back and went to sleep. haha

The next morning we knew exactly what we wanted to see. HOHENSCHONHAUSEN!!!!!
I was excited to see this because this was an integral part of my favorite movie called Das Leben der anderen. This was an intense tour of the dark side of the former german democratic republic (ddr). Hohenschonhausen was a former remand prison of the stasi (ddr's state security). This tour was guided by former prisoners so you can tell how intense it was. We watched a movie about the history of the prison and its role in the system of political persecution in the ddr. Then we got to see the actual prison, and the submarine, which was a dark part of the prison where torture usually took place. We saw all the processes everything from internment to interrogation. This was cool because on the upper floor of the new prison, built next to the old, there were more interrogation rooms than holding cells. This was because they wanted to be efficient, we saw the room where they used to water torture people, and it was interesting because the set up of the interrogation rooms were all the same. We learned that several tape recorders were used at the same time, and the mind control techniques that the stasi used really did work. We got to see the tiger cages, which were small outdoor walking places,where prisoners were allowed to walk in circles with their hands behind their backs to get fresh air. This was because they weren't allowed to go outside, so when they did, they were only allowed to walk in a circle, with guards standing overhead.
This was an eery building. I could still smell the stench and the clammyness. I felt wierd being in this building, but it was definately worth it.

After that we went to a FABULOUS museum. We went to see an exhibit called signs of the city. This was an exhibit that tells about cities and the youths in them. Two kids made their way through their cities with digital cameras and cell phones with cameras and explored "signs" of their cities. They went through london, barcelona, berlin, and sophia (bulgaria). This was cool because you got to see each students perspective of different aspects of urban living, and the signs that we live by everyday.
This was really cool to see because you can see life through other peoples eyes, instead of your own. Quick story. I was sitting at the tram stop outside in the marktplatz and I had my earphones in. I also had a coffee in my hand. Well. An older lady was sitting next to me with a ciggarette. She then commented on how good her cigarette would taste with my coffee. She then told me to take out my earphones because she believed that students and younger people today don't open their eyes and ears to the world around them. (and all in german too! ). So I could see what she was talking about, because to the average observer these signs mean nothing, but to others they mean so much.

We hung out in Alexander platz and saw these guys on stilts... well... we couldn't resist :-) Pictures to come!
We also danced to the accordian players and pretended to be airplanes.

That night we went to the largest shopping mall in all of continental Europe called the KADeWe. It had a million floors with 500 Euro scarfs... Then of course that night Visum sponsered a party with lots of booze. I skipped out on the club that night, and didn't have much to drink. Instead I stayed up with the American guys and we went and had some Falafal at the cafe next door.

The next morning was Sunday and we go to sleep in. I woke up early and grabbed some friends and went to the East Side Gallery. That was so cool to see the actual wall and the amazing art thats... well... somewhat preserved. I can't stand how people can grafitti over other peoples grafitti! It was so upsetting to see peoples names and stupid remarks over the artists work. I got to stand on the east and the west side!

That monday was long... thats all I remember, and it was back to the daily grindstone of work and school and grammar.
I worked with Brian who helped me with Konjuctiv II vergangenheits form. I get it now.
The international dinner yesterday (Tuesday) was great because it is when everyone from all over the world prepares food and we all come together and try it. We had some great foods from Malaysia, France, Sweden, Italy, and of course America. The Americans represented and made some Jungle Juice! that was such a huge hit!!! Haesol made annies Macaroni and Cheese hahaha. Free Beer and great food. Can't get much better!

Thats pretty much it actually. I haven't been partying lately because I haven't been in the mood really. Drinking takes too much time, money and energy. Its gotten to the point in the semester where I like to read and study. That, and the weather has been constant rain!

For the rest of the week I plan on working on some presentations that are due... some case studies, and of course, some Grammer. (working on passive now and Konjuctiv I). So I can use all the study time I can get. Friday is Halloween and we plan on going to Frankensteins Castle in Darmstadt. This is cool for us because Frankensteins castle is cool! and it would be so awesome to go there on Halloween! But most people think we are corny :-) But we don't mind.


Enjoy the pictures!

Another Kugel of Gelato and a Panini please

Am letztes mal wir haben über Oktoberfest gesprochen... Dieses mal wir werden über ROMA sprechen! Roma war sehr schon und wir haben zo viel getan! Gibts' viele Sehenwirdigkeiten zum Beispiel die Arena, Trevi Wasserspiel etc. Wir haben alle schon gesehen und nur in 3 Tage!


The beginning of the week was alright. Don't remember much because time is going by really fast here.

I left for Rome on Thursday night and we took a bus to Frankfurt Hahn airport- flew to Chimpano Rome and then we went to our hostel. our hostel was called M&J hostel and was the best one i've stayed in yet! The staff was awesome, one of them was even from New York. The thing I love about hostels is that you meet so many travelers, and people from all over. For instance, we met Tom, who was freaking awesome, and the girl from Norway that Ashley is going go visit before December. We managed to see alot and in only 3 days. We first started by taking one of those stupid touristy bus things that everyone tells you not to go on... but we did anyway. It was a nice double decker. Of course we sat on the top. We did this because Rome is so large, we took the entire tour once without getting off (its was a hop on hop off) and we did this to see locations of everything.then to make a priority list of things we wanted to see first). Ok... so the second time around we started seeing the things on our list. We ended up seeing everything in the first 2 days. We also studied for a bit each day, and we chose places we wanted to go sit and read. The last day was the best because we went to the spanish steps and sat there and read... well... I started too but then fell asleep in the sun on the steps infront of the trevi fountain.

We ate Gelato... alot.. I think we both ended up eating 8 or 9 Kugeln of Gelato in 3 days. The pizza in Rome is also good. and the Paninis are to die for!.

Let me tell you about the last day we spent in Rome..

The first day we went to the Vatican City they wouldnt let us in because Ashley was wearing shorts (Strict dress code in the Vatican). So we went back on a Sunday. Just joking around we said that it would be soo cool to see the Pope at the Vatican on our first time in Rome on a Sunday... Sure enough. As soon as we get to the Vatican the music starts and the procession begins... Little did we Know the Pope was giving a mass! That was the coolest thing ever to see the Pope giving a mass and all the people from all over the world that were there! It was soo cool!

Well. The scenery was breathtaking. The Colleseum (Romans call it arena) was magical at night. I think instead of talking about it im just going to put up pictures. They speak a thousand words... down to the last Kugeln of Gelato we ate to Fabio, our Arena tour guide.

Enjoy the pictures.

Now then.. the week after Rome just seemed to fly by!!!!!

I write today, which is Monday, one week since I´ve been back and not too much has happened.

Classes have been good. Getting ready to write some Final exams. I think i am really enjoying these law classes because Its a way for me to see the German words (as long as they are) and to see proper grammer and to actually hear and see what its upoosed to look and hear like. I can almost understand word for word some of the laws in the Bügerliches Gesetzbuch! Which is the law students bible here.
German grammar class is going.... indifferent about how its going. I just keep up. learning my Konjuctiv II and my adjecktiv deklinations. We will see on my final exam. I am also working with some American friends on a presentation about the Health care system in Germany for our German business class.

I really think that the classes not dedicated to teaching me about the German language are helping me really learn it... If that makes any sense.

Ok now the fun stuff you REALLY want to hear about.

The mafia party.

Every semester each Studentenwohnheim gets a chance to throw a huge party for all the students in school. hehe.
It was our turn.
To date, it was the best party of the year!
The theme this year was a mafia party. EVERYBODY came with guns and suspenders and hats and glasses, and black clothing... we looked... so darn good.
From what I remember the music was good...
From what I remember the drinks were good...
Thats all I can really remember...

Oh I forgot to mention that I got my hair cut... short.. in Rome. It looks good.

Anyway. I have been studying alot lately so I decided to take aload off and party a little. I mean.. I lived where the party was so there was no reason not to take advantage of that... hehe.

I know these are some pretty scattered stories, next week will be better.

This week is all dedicated to reading and writing and getting ready for finals, and presentations and such because the next month will be a tad hectic.

Adam comes next month. WOOOOOO! Even though we broke up...
I´m not going to blast our business on the internet... however I AM taking a poll...
Who here actually listens to bad advice that friends give? I didn´t think so...
If your friends told you to eat a handfull of nails would you ? ( The jumping off a bridge cliche was getting old...)

I shall post some more pictures when I get home. For now... Tschüß

Leben: Es macht eine erweiterung notwendig. Ich geht, und der Rest von uns wartet hier...

Looking at my calendar.. the last time we spoke I went to the Mannheimer Volksfest, which was awesome...

Moving on... Every weekend Visum has theme parties, so that each group from certain geographic locations around the world get to celebrate... This week was Caribbean night. I had fun. haha. It was also Pub quiz night at Murpheys law! Our team always does the best, and we have loads of fun! We did really well in the categories of religion and classical music (surprising eh??!) Its really a good brain tester.

This past week was really filled with adventures.

On Thursday I have my favorite class: International Economic Law. In this class we talk alot about the WTO and laws and regulations. The professor always has me read the legal texts because I can understand them the best :-) that, and he says my English and legal pronunciations are superior (I should hope so... it IS my native tounge...) anyway. We split into 2 groups (there is only 8 of us...) and we had a debate about pro child labor and human rights advocation. I was on the money hungry capitalist side... I did well there. The group chose me as the leader because when we were discussing I was using big words and putting it into perspective like no ones business (holla!) however, I don't like speaking infront of classes (why im always whispering out answers) haha. Regardless my team clearly won that debate (even though we were essentially advocating the use of child labor... we worded it very nicely) haha. After class we had what the professor calls a "drink tank." Do you know what a think tank is? Its when a group gets together and talks... Well we had it at this fun little bar/restaurant called Tomate which is around the corner from school. We sat for about an hour and a half and had neuewine, which is wine of the season, and it tastes like apple cider, it was delicious! and he ordered us all Zweibeln pie... its like Quiche... but better! This was an awesome drink tank because we were talking about what kind of law we really wanted to get into, and what we would change about the way the NTO and WTO are run... it was interesting. But im a nerd like that. I was the only American... the rest of the class comes from France... Boo.

So after the Drink tank I raced home to a kitchen full of friends waiting my gallant arrival! They had Annies Mac and cheese ready for Dinner! That was a special night because at 4 a.m. that morning we would depart for our most adventurous weekend yet... OKTOBERFEST!!!!!!

We got to the train station at the right time... however the annoying voice overhead kept announcing 180 minuten spät... every ten minutes!!! so it kept pushing the time of arrival 180 minutes later! this concerned us because if you aren't at the beer tent before it opens there is no chance in hell you're getting into the tent... it is the goal of oktoberfest to get into the best tent.
So we finally got on the train and i secured a comfortable spot on the floor. This was a severely packed train because everyone was going to Münich for Oktoberfest... and everyone was wearing Drndls and Lederhosen!!!! I met an awesome kid from Texas who was studying in the Netherlands, and who had been on the train for 9 hours already just for the event... crazy kid.
We had fun for 6 hours. I didn't sleep much because the guy in the booth kept snorning. Gillian didn't sleep either because she kept getting kicked by the snoring man... and Sydney and Hazel got some sleep, but they were also in the car with the snorning man...

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE SINGING AND DANCING AND DRINKING WEARING TRADITIONAL CLOTHING!! it was really something you would have had to be there to get it. It was soo cool. It felt a little touristy... but whatever. Its all in good fun.
So we walked down the street from the Haputbahnhof to the festival. I relate this Oktoberfest to the Germans version of St. Pattys day... where everyone is drunk wearing wierd clothing... and an overall excuse to be belligerent. I already saw some kid throwing up...and it wasn't even 9....

So we decided to go to the Himmel über Bayern tent...it looked good. We waited for about an hour before they even opened the door to the public... well... we pushed and shoved to the front of the fence thing and as soon as they took down the barriers it was like mass chaos... who the hell let the dogs out... it was cool though because we all ran like bats out of hell to get to the real entrances of the tent... well... we waited yet another hour to try and be let into the tent.... (if you don't have reservations its a grace of God to be let in.) well.. we wanted to take that chance.. realize we would never get it... decided to sit outside at one of the biergarten tables and we had our Oktoberfest beer! It was pretty ok. It was raining horribly, but we stuck it out like troopers. I even had my big Bavarian pretzel! People kept taking pictures of us because we were really sitting out there with our umbrellas getting soaked drinking beer out of our humongous Krügs.

Ok... so after we finished one Krüg we walked to another table and met some really awesome German people who were hiding under a huge plastic tarp... so they invited us "in" and we sung songs with them and made new friends! I guess it turned out alright. I realized you don't need to be inside the tent to have a good time :-) We made the best of it.

So, soaked as we were we got our huge cookies (pictures to follow) and we decided to leave Oktoberfest. We had had our fun.
After we left the festival Gillian had a tour of Münich planned out for us :-) Thank you fearless Reiseführer! She showed us the Gardens, where Hitler was arrested, the Lucky lions, and the clock tower, which at 5 oclock has a show! This tower was amazing because it had all the Glockenspiel men that came out and danced at 5!!! Before the show we went to the Paulaner Haus to have dinner. Paulaner is also a famous brew house.

We took the train to Stuttgart where we would meet a friend, Nick. Nick lives in Stuttgart and graciously let us stay there for 2 nights while we went to the Stuttgart festival. The festival in Stuttgart is the second largest and most popular beer festival, next to oktoberfest.
So Nick met us at the Hauptbahnhof where he gave us the keys to his house.... (he was going to a party which we were definately not up for...)
We went to his house, walked into the warmmmm living room, where he had left food for us and made us really comfortable beds!!!!!

That morning we had a great breakfast (did I mention we woke up at around 1??! ) I love Nutella! and we filled our stomachs... this was because we were going to have an awesome day drinking beer. haha
We got to the festival and thought we were going to have to wait in line for hours again! but apparently nick knew the guy at the tent door so he let us right in!!! IT WAS SOO COOL!!!

so we got into the most popular tent at the entire festival, the Hofbräu haus!. We danced on tables like the Germans, and sung songs like the Germans, met amazing people!!!! had such an amazing time... it's times like this that I'll remember for the rest of my life!!!!! The pictures I post will explain a lot, but it was really a magical time.
Nick made us go to the bar after that... but the girls and I werent feeling it so we went home and left nick there... who then stumbled in at 7 am!! so at 7 am we laughed hysterically as this 7 foot tall man was being put to bed, while singing along to the Marvin Gaye who he was blasting from his room... it was hysterical.

Ended up sleeping till 2 that next afternoon... got on our ICE train. and headed back to Mannheim.

What an amazing weekend.

Now... we get back to Mannheim and the train stops at Paradeplatz... there was a commotion... but I was so tired to get off and see what it was... but Sydney was immensely curious and made me get off.. I'm glad she did! there was a tightroper!!! and a guy that was driving a bicycle on a tightrope the entire way across the courtyard!!!!!! It was soo cool! Apparently Mannheim had a small Herbst fest that day. We walked around to some of the tents they had. It was nice!!!

Let me tell you about my Doing Business in Germany class. There is 3 Americans in the class, the most of them are from Norway... and theres 2 Russian girls, 1 Korean kid, and 1 from Taiwan, who the teacher keeps telling him he is from China...
WELL!!! This teacher hates our guts!!!!! The way he spoke, he personally blamed us 3 Americans for the collapse of the economy and the bankruptcy of an entire country (Iceland). hahahahahaha. We find this funny. So now my friends joke that I better get back to America and fix it! HAHAHAHAHA. We were talking in class about the economy and i really find it interesting how each country is dependent to the other country. Yet I must admit that America started the domino effect with our housing crunch and poor credit. It really is an interesting class. My group and I are now doing a presentation on the health care system in Germany, which I learned alot about already from doing my independent study this past semester. We are going to do the best presentation, then the professor can't say shit to us.

I love all my classes. I really do. I'm doing well in the German classes, however the grammar class is kind of hard. Its not hard material.. its just how fast she speaks.. I'm not really that used to being taught German.. in the German language...
I experienced a little of that in the summer academy but it wasn't that fast... and his accent wasn't crazy like Natalie's is... (my professor). Shes really cool. I stayed after with her for a little while and we went over Konjuktiv II. (which I despise.... )

The communication class is ok.. I like that one the least because she gives us assignments and we spend too much time preparing our answers... which in turn only end up being less than 1 minute... more time should be spent on just....speaking..
We had a debate in that class too about the use of cell phone... I was on the con side... I rocked house... I'm used to debates in german class. In Frau Dombrowski's class we had them all the time... She rocked as a teacher!

Last night was also a VISUM international party, it was French night... the party was big but it wasn't that great... maybe because people don't like the french?? haha

Today was a good day because Roses' boyfriend Will flew in from North Carolina!!!!!!!!! He is here for a week. He's such an awesome guy! Rose organized a dinner so all of us can meet him. We went to this restaurant called the Spaghetti Opera, which was reccomended to Rose by a German she randomly met on the Straßenbahn... What a great place it turned out to be! Homemade pasta and really fresh ingredients!.

So to go off on another tangent. Rose, trina and Ena went to Vienna this past weekend and had an amazing time! I made a list of all the places they HAD to see when they got there including Jugendstil aka Art Noveau (i really like it but don't tell Dan). and the Hundertwasser haus.... and of course the Hofborg... Everytime I hear someone mention Vienna my face lights up because it is most definately one of my favorite places in the world :-) . Sydney just left (literally) for her trip to Vienna and I gave her an extremely detailed list of places to go.. things to eat... and clubs to go to :-) hey... girls gotta have fun right?!

My trip this weekend is to ROMEEE!!!!!! I am very excited to see the Parthenon and the Spanish steps! I am going with an awesome girl Ashley who also comes from America. We're gona have a blast! I even made a list of all the Italian phrases I need to know, places we have to see, and i even drew a small map... (loooserrrr)


Ok so heres the thing. I really don't want to say this again. YES I AM STUDYING, YES I AM LEARNING GERMAN! However. there is one thing everyone needs to understand. I am not who they think I am... I am not who the wan't me to be... and I will not change.
I have a good head on my shoulders... I get my shit done, and I do it well... those of you that are concerned with my drinking, or the fact that i'm quote on quote traveling too much???!?!?!?! how can you travel too much!!! Listen... I am in Germany and it costs less than 30 U.S dollars to fly round trip to Italy... ireland...etc... why the hell would I not travel to these places?? I am here to learn about Europe... its called Globalization kids. and the most I know about the world, they way the world works, the way the people are and their culture... the better off I will be in life... I'm sorry that I can't bring you with me.. i'm sorry that all you can do is sit there and hear stories and look at pictures... would you prefer it if I didn't tell stories? show you pictures?
I wan't to share with you my elation and how much I enjoy seeing the world and everything in it. You wonder... where the hell did she come from? She doesn't want the American dream? Does she not want to graduate college, find her a money bag husband and have a cute little house and a picket fence with 2 kids a dog and a nanny?!?!?! nah...
I want a studio apartment somewhere coastal.. A hybrid car... I want to build my parents an adirondack house in the woods of NY. and I want to live happily ever after traveling and speaking my languages. I love learning, I really do... so, why would I want to waste this opportunity and mess up with school??? Now, if you feel the need to tell me again and again that I need to study more...then you really don't know me at all.

It is now 3:25 in the morning.. and I need some sleep. I finished all my work and even got to read some more of my Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch and some GATT articles. I wrote my own version of Rotkäppchen, and studied some Konjuktiv II. I am all ready to enjoy the weekend.


Thank you for tuning in.