"You smell like an American"

said Mary. Apparently that was a compliment…?

Ah, kites… what I wouldn’t give to be a child again…

When people here leave a waiting room or an elevator, they almost always say “bye” (in German). It doesn’t matter if not a single word has been said previously. It’s just apparently right to say “tschüss” to the random people as you leave, or “wiedersehen” if it’s a more formal area. Sometimes they also say “Guten Tag” or something along those lines when entering.

Well, today was better than yesterday, thankfully. I took care of some things this morning, met some people randomly here and there, ate a pastry (mmm), ate a Döner (it wasn’t as good as the one yesterday and she didn’t give me the right change), vented my class troubles to Professor Mittman, and drowned my sorrows in cookies (Doppel Keks). Yes, I have no classes on Tuesdays. Ryan and I played some intense FFR this evening.

My room is still one big mess of piles. I need some organizational materials, such as folders, a 2-hole punch (that’s apparently what they use here), 2-ring binders, and maybe a lighter. I think I’m going to take a picture and post it just to show you what my room is like at this moment. Here I go…

First, we have the pile in front of my shelves. This is one of the oldest floor piles in my room, dating from around the middle of September. It contains various artifacts, including computer paper (size ‘A4’, not to be confused with ‘letter’), an issue of Der Spiegel (a magazine similar to Time or Newsweek), two notebooks, a 2-ring binder from my September IH classes, a Münsterkonzert poster and program and ticket, letters from Technischer Krankenkasse (my health insurance), and many other things (including candy).

Next, we have my shelves. The shelves themselves are not a pile, but they contain many examples of piles. On the bottom shelf (which can be better seen in the previous picture), there is a collection of pop bottles, many of which are glass. To the right of the pop bottles is a pile of papers of unknown origin. Moving up to the 2nd shelf from the bottom, we have a pile of random things that have shown up in my mailbox. In the middle is another letter from my health insurance, which is on top of at least one envelope and some other unidentified papers. To the right are things which have been folded and presumably in my pocket at one time or another. The 3rd shelf from the bottom is not exactly a pile, but it’s a mess. It is the home of various good (left) and bad (right) batteries, my phone, a mostly eaten chocolate bar, a book of Sudoku, Kleenexes, and plug adaptors. Shelf #4 has a lovely pile of AYF/study abroad information on the left. On the top, there is a pile of at least 30 postcards on top of chocolate from Switzerland. Although you can’t see it, there are a ton of coins and small things scattered randomly throughout the land of the top shelf.

The desk is next on our tour. Now, don’t let the empty space deceive you. Normally my computer and my large fan would also be on the desk, but I prefer to type on my bed. The pile in front of the TV did not used to be so compact, but when the TV moved in, the natural inhabitants were forced to relocated. This pile contains lists and office supplies, and the pile has recently been migrating to the top of the TV.

Here is the pile at the end of my bed. This is the result of coming back from Italy and being too tired to unpack nicely. There are Italian bottle labels, bandaids, an Italian newspaper, bags, batteries, and souvenirs here.

And here is my bed. These are all things I have taken out of my backpack today (notice the backpack on top of the pile). Then, naturally, this pile has homework, a notebook, and cookies. Farther down the bed you will see my computer on it’s side. On the screen is actually today’s blog in it’s unfinished state. And this completes your tour of Sarah’s mess.

Anyway, I plan to watch Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy tonight in German while I do my German homework.