SHOES!

I noticed yesterday that my shoes were falling apart. So I decided that I was going to look into buying some shoes today. In the first store, Schuh Klaus, the lady commented on my sandals. Yes, yes, I do know that it's January. I ended up going to a bunch of other shoe and department stores throughout that afternoon, but I didn't see anything that I liked more than the reduced price pair at the first store. Unfortunately, the reduced price was €69,90. Yeah, I bought them anyway. Ich bin zufrieden. I love new shoes. My Europe size is 40. They actually look a little bit like bowling shoes, but I love them anyway. I'm wearing them right now. I'm addicted. I love new shoes. Here's a picture.

Good news: I got a 92% on my Referat (oral presentation). I'm excited.

Bad news: I have the worst sore throat ever. The flappy things in my mouth are red and huge and my right ear hurts. It's especially acute when I try to swallow. Doctor, or not?

Schwimmen Heute Verboten

I checked out 9 books from the library today for my Hausarbeit (final paper). I don't know how long the paper has to be, but at least it's in English.

Later today I went grocery shopping and bought about €15 worth of food. Finally I have some variety.

On Friday we went to Titisee, and I just noticed that my one shoe is falling apart because of the 'kick the iceball' game. I'm going to look at shoes tomorrow.

I should buy a knife-sharpener. My pocket knife is completely dull. Or I could go to Switzerland and buy a Swiss Army Knife. But for some reason I want kitchen utensils. It's so weird.


***Your Linguistic Profile:***

55% General American English

20% Upper Midwestern

15% Yankee

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofamericanenglishdoyouspeakquiz/

Beautiful, Beautiful Schwarzwald

I had a great time today with Beki and Alex. We went to Titisee and walked around in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). It was simply beautiful. It's what I love, just walking around and enjoying everything and exploring. There was one point in the woods where off the trail was so enticing that I couldn't help myself and I went off-trailing down the moutain. It was so fun just finding my own way through the snow and then sliding on my butt down the side towards another trail. It was so fun and so beautiful. I have a ton of pictures.

Oh yeah, I don't know if I mentioned it before, but there's a lot of snow around. There wasn't any in Mannheim yesterday, but there's a bunch around here. On Wednesday, Beki and I went up to the same place that we were on Tuesday night and I took a bunch of pictures of Freiburg from above. The snow made everything pretty and white. The snow will probably all melt soon though.

Yesterday the theater class had to go to Mannheim to see the play Emilia Galotti. The play was ok, but we had to take three different trains and it took forever. I ended up taking an ICE train (that's a faster and more expensive train) back to Frieburg.

Wednesday night I went out with some friends to Glamour and then the StuSie bar. I met a really cool Irish guy named Ciaran.

Endlich... SNOW!

I actually have some stuff to say.

1. It started snowing this evening! It's the first snowfall I've seen this winter. Beki, Alex, Joslyn, and I walked up part of one of the mountainy things and looked over Freiburg. It was really pretty. Then there was an old man walking around who made a tiny snowman and walked in zig-zags down the hill. My hair was frozen into dreads by the time I got on the Strassenbahn home... and then I melted.
2. My bathroom can become a sauna. After my snow adventure, my legs were frozen and weren't generating heat. So I turned the shower on completely hot while I brushed my teeth and washed my face, and after a couple minutes everything was all steamed up. By the time I left, it was all hot and damp.
3. I had to give an oral presentation on Monday. It was dumb and stupid. I have a little one tomorrow too.
4. This afternoon after finding out that my watch had stopped, I went looking for a new one. I walked into Kaufhof and, wad'ya know, they had a large watch sale right by the front doors. So I bought a €30 for €8, but the latch was a little loose. ...And I just had a deja vu. Fu means crazy in French.
5. I got a junk email and the name of the fake person was Shane Smith. How coincidental.

It would be nice to breathe...

Well, Europe really took a beating last night. There was a huge storm with hurricane-force winds. At least seven died in Germany and, according to msnbc.com, around 25 overall. "The storms were among the fiercest to batter Northern Europe in years, ripping off part of the roof at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, toppling a crane in the Netherlands and upending trucks on Europe’s busiest highway. ... German meteorologists recorded gusts up to 118 mph, forcing dozens of flight cancellations, shutting schools and prompting the national railroad to suspend services across a swath of the country" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16687660/). It was really windy the whole day in Freiburg. There were warnings to stay inside to keep from being injured or killed by falling trees. I, of course, ended up going out more than usual. There were a few times when the wind almost knocked me over and/or kept me from walking forward. Part of the outer structure of the train station in Berline was ripped off by the wind.

Yesterday morning I went to the doctor because it was difficult to breathe. When I asked him if he spoke English, he laughed and said that he did. And then he gave me children's asthma medicine. He was really friendly and nice.

My Language & Gender class was fun yesterday because the group I was in was just entertaining. Caroline and I were asked what program we were with, and I said AYF which is from four universities in the US and that they 'just ship us kids over here'. The one German appreciated that sentence and she also appreciated my use of 'Warmduscher', which is one translationg of 'wimp'.

I'm a bit behind on my crap. I have two presentations and a project before Wednesday, and I haven't even started on the project.

The University of Michigan is pretty much awesome. Here's a link to the results of recent research from UM: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16695236/..

Yep, there you have it.

Well, today was spent running around feverishly like the metaphorical newly-beheaded chicken. I had to force myself out of bed at 9 a.m. to meet Alex so we could work on researching for our Referat... way too early to get up but way to late to begin researching considering that the Referat was supposed to be Wednesday. After a couple hours of reading, I went to the AYF office to pick up the two videos I ordered: Feuerzangenbowle and Animatrix. ...And then I went back and read some more. After some random guy joined us at our table, we left and I went to buy a season of Friends for my Language & Gender class. Kaufhof didn't have it and it took my forever to find it in Karstadt. Because of this, I was almost late for my class, during which I passed the time by drawing a tree. Afterwards I had to go to the professor's office hours, and I'm positive that I thoroughly annoyed her... but she annoyed me first, so now it's evenYep, there you have it.. My rushing around concluded after I ran to catch the Strassenbahn and just barely made it.

The weekend contained a library and a lot of movies. On Saturday I watched continuous ER and on Sunday I watched continuous Stargate. I didn't think I'd get into this new season of Stargate as much as I have, and ER always sucks me in.

So I'm completely annoyed with my Mitbewohnerin because she threw away my mushrooms. They were still edible and in my part of the fridge and yet she threw them away. I was not pleased. So now I'm avoiding her because I don't want to have to talk to her.

It's seriously not April?

It's really gusty and windy tonight. I love it. I love wind when it's not rainy. Rain and wind is awful.

I was too lazy this morning to get up and go to the AYF office before it closed to get my package. So I guess I'll do that Monday. The package contains two DVDs from amazon.de. This afternoon I went to the bar to download the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy. Maybe I'll check that out tomorrow or Sunday. Then I went to Beki's at Vauban for lasagna after walking to Aldi (a grocery store) to buy some mushrooms for said lasagna. Conversations with those people are always so random and interesting.

Yesterday I had my langauge and gender class. ...And it was the usual. Nothing especially spectacular. Tomorrow I get to meet Alex at the library so we can work on our Referat (oral presentation). I have two Referats on Wednesday. Icky.

And then I ******* stabbed him.

For the Love of Thin Mints

It feels like April. Yesterday the high was 58 and today it's around there again. The air smells like spring. I walked home from class this afternoon. It took me an hour, but that was including a stop at the bank, a stop at a book store, a stop at an electronics store, and a small detour to the AYF office. It made me realize again why I like the city of Freiburg better than the city of Ann Arbor. I love the openness and the walker-friendliness (not friendly walkers, but friendly to walkers). I like how it's not so narrow and congested and how there's so many nice and unique parts to explore (as opposed to so few in Ann Arbor).

I couldn't sleep Monday night... probably because of my excessive sleeping the night before. I ended up reading some of Sense & Sensibility and then I watched some episodes of Garfield & Friends.

Yesterday I had no classes, so I did some homework (yes, it's actually true!), watched some TV, and walked through town a little. I bought the first four Harry Potters for only €25.

So, yeah... another eventful day.

Back in DEUTSCHLAND.

I slept for about 15 hours last night. It was nice, but then I was late for my class this afternoon.

After finding the right terminal, I checked in for my flight and went through the security. They searched through my carry-on because of the candles that I had in there. Then I walked down to my gate. They have moving walkways and when you walk on them, it’s like you’re running. I like it. I waited at my gate for a while and saw Mike from AYF there. We were in almost the same row but on opposite sides of the plane.

The flight was fine, but it was crappier than Northwest. Instead of going 2 seats, 4 seats, 2 seats, it went 3-4-3. There were no video screens on the seat backs. The service wasn’t great. The one flight attendant was rude… not to me but to someone behind me. I was tired, but it was hard to sleep. If it weren’t for the turbulence, I don’t think I would’ve been able to sleep. At one point, I saw Jordon from AYF come through the curtain looking for a bathroom. The flight had taken off an hour late but we got to Frankfurt on time. We came into Terminal 1 instead of Terminal 2 this time. It made things a little easier.

By the time we got there, I was so sick of waiting... wait forever to board, wait an hour to take-off, wait to land, wait to get off, wait in line, wait for the train... ugh. I had to take a train from the airport to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, where I bought a coke and a water because I was quite thirsty. Then the train ride from Frankfurt to Freiburg was ok except that I had to stand up. After hauling my suitcase up a ton of stairs and riding the Strassenbahn, I was home. It’s nice and right now I'm watching Sister Act in German.

Tired, Dirty, Smelly, Grumpy, Annoyed, Dehydrated, and Cold

...And I'm back. A lot happened and I want to tell it all, but I'm still tired. I slept for about 4 hours when I got back to my room. It was niiiiiiiiice. And actually my alarm in my suitcase woke me up. It must've gotten switched on somehow. I had slept for a couple hours on the plane, but it wasn't quality sleep. The turbulence put me to sleep.

Lufthansa is nothing compared to Northwest. It was so much more cramped and crowded. Plus, they didn't have the personal entertainment stuff. They showed two movies (Scoop and Step Up) but only after a few hours of pointless crap, and then the last movie didn't get to finish. I slept through Scoop, and Step Up was nothing new or special. It seemed like a mix of 8 Mile and Save The Last Dance.

Then I stood up on the train back to Freiburg because I didn't feel like searching for a seat. And that was after I had to take a train from the airport to the Hauptbahnhof in Frankfort. I don't know what was up with the trains. There didn't seem to be any ICE trains going from the airport to Freiburg. But I didn't have to pay any more.

Now that I'm back, I need to start my homework and begin transferring all my new music to my computer. So I'm going to start that now. I'll have more details later.

Getting Ready

Today is my last day in Au Gres until August. Yesterday I went with BethAnne, Hannah, and Ross to Saginaw. It was almost like old times. Of course, BethAnne spent about an hour in Vanity. Vanessa met us there. In the evening, we watched Pursuit of Happiness.

This afternoon I will be in Ann Arbor. I had a dream about it two nights ago, and last night I dreamed about the public transportation in Freiburg again. I always seem to dream about that.

There's always too much to do when I come home. But I like it.

Well then... I should go find a sweatshirt and finish preparing. Next contact: approximately 48 hours.

All's well that ends...

Yeah, I'm still here. New year's eve was fun. Ross, Ryan, Ben, Isaiah, Chad, and Angie all showed up throughout the evening. There are definitely a couple interesting pictures documenting the liquid intake.

Other than that, not much has been happening. I plan to be in Ann Arbor on Friday for at least part of the day. Hopefully I'll get to see Anna (my niece) at least one more time before I go.

I've discovered that I can play multiplayer 'Medal of Honor: Rising Sun' by myself. I enjoy that. It's too bad that my TV in Germany doesn't have the things needed to hook it up there.

Last night I went bowling with Vanessa and DJ. I don't remember my scores... they weren't good.