Monday was, again, class until one, and after lunch we learned how to select classes for the semester. Actual class selection is next Tuesday, and I'm really excited about it!! I've got about 11 classes that I'm taking --don't freak out! In Germany you go to as many classes as you possibly can the first two weeks, listen to the class expectations, and then adjust your schedule accordingly. I'm so doing this when I get back to the states- it's a really great idea. The other reason not to freak out is that 3 of those classes is a 3-day German grammar class to help me continue to figure out this language. German classes work like this: each class meets one day a week for 2 hours, which really means an hour and a half because each class is c.t. -cum tempore- which is Latin for "with time", which means the class begins 15 minutes after the written time and ends 15 minutes earlier. I also have absolutely no classes on Friday, which is amazing!! The goal by the end of the two weeks is to have about 7 classes (including the 3 German ones), which is a 14 hour class load.
Anyway, my evenings this week were what was both interesting and busy. Monday night was the monthly "Stammtisch", which means something like "Table of Voices". Basically, it's people that speak or want to speak multiple languages all meeting together in a huge student bar/hang out area for a cultural exchange. It was really fun, and some girls from Greece taught me how to dance --I think it was salsa --which was really entertaining. There's also a foosball table for those who are so inclined. Needless to say, it was pretty noisy and very interesting. Tuesday evening my "Group"/class and the class above us went out to eat on the University's tab. I had the most delicious steak and potato salad. Really, German hot potato salad is the best potato salad I've ever tasted and I am bound, set, and determined to find a recipe or, better yet, find someone to teach me. Wednesday night was another Film Night, and we watched Solino. This was my second time watching the movie, and I hated it less than the first time. The plot revolves around this family who moves from Italy to Germany to have a better life. They open up a little Italian pizzeria that quickly becomes very popular. It's also a coming of age story for the two boys in the family. One of the boys is absolutely positively the worst person I've seen in a movie that could actually be a real person. He spends the entire movie stealing things from everyone, especially his little brother, and ditching said brother in horrible situations. The younger brother struggles between his dedication to his brother and actually being a decent person. Beyond that, there are a bunch of scenes with people in their underwear for no reason that I can see. That being said, a lot of people I talked to afterwards really enjoyed the movie, so maybe it's just me.
Thursday night was supposed to be a dancing night, but I accidentally fell asleep at 9 pm and didn't wake up until 6 the next morning. While it was probably the best thing, I am a little upset that I missed the dancing.
Friday morning I gave a presentation about Ole Miss for my class. It was really fun and interesting trying to explain both the Greek system and the Grove, two things that don't really exist in a lot of Europe. Or, especially in the case of the Grove, anywhere else in the US. It was incredibly terrifying, but good for me to get up in front of a group and present something in German. That evening some friends and I went out for some hot chocolate and to take a zillion pictures like a bunch of tourists.
The freshmen have been arriving this week, and I met two of them last night. One guy was from Köln and was incredibly annoying and self-involved. The other was from a little city close to Hamburg, and might have been an interesting individual if he weren't so drunk. Needless to say, I won't be hanging out with them again. I was, however, glad of the chance to get to hear some real college-age Germans speak and to try to practice my German on them (when I managed to get a word in edgewise), and I am excited to meet some German students and attempt to lose my English accent.
Today Mom, Alydia, and I set out early to do some shopping before the shops closed. Everything here is closed by 2pm on Saturday at the absolute latest. Then restaurants and bars re-open around 7. So we were at the grocery store by about 9:30 to do our shopping for the next couple days. My kitchen is so small that I can only buy food for three days at the most. We went downtown afterwards and found a wall clock and a full length mirror- I'm so glad I'll be able to see if what I'm wearing really looks alright. I've been asking my mom for the past two weeks, but she's leaving soon, so I need a mirror!!
I also got a bag. Everyone here has huge bags, and I've felt so out of place with my tiny American bag that only holds my wallet, keys, and camera.
We also tried out a new grocery store (we forgot milk this morning) that's down the street from me and open a little later. We walked inside, and everything was in cyrillic!! Now I'll be able to practice my Russian... It was a little intimidating, but we got milk, and I think we got tea and some blini with apricot sauce. My mom also managed to find what are basically frozen cheesecake bars -in Russian, in Germany. Way to go mom!
Tomorrow should be a lazy day. I plan on studying German; my 'final' is Thursday. And I plan on decorating my walls with German rules written on big colorful poster boards I picked up today.
Well, that's it for now. Hopefully once things slow down I'll have more insightful posts about fashion, food, and culture. There's an international cooking night next Thursday, so watch out for that!!
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