Nothing really happens here.

I still miss Germany. There's not much to do here. I read a couple books, rented some movies, went to the gas station to buy calling cards, and that pretty much covers it. Oh, I forgot. I went to the grocery store today for my mother. Woooohooooo. I need to give Lyne her book back. Right now I'm reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in German.

My movie of the evening was Cars. It started off kind of boring, but then I was smiling by the end of it. I saw Premonition and Catch and Release yesterday. Both were rather depressing. Each contained a funeral and had the significant other dead. Lovely. I also rented Hitch because I've never seen it. I'll watch that tomorrow.

The parents finally put up their authentic Black Forest cuckoo clock. It works.

I got a cell phone and had a large hassle with that. First they gave me the wrong number for my cell phone and then they told me that I either had to change the billing address or send the phone back. I probably spent about an hour on the phone with Verizon's customer service. But the phone works now. I just have to do something when I get to Ann Arbor. But it finally works.

Good night, and happy birthday, BethAnne.

Another Day

Today, the parents and I went to Ann Arbor to move some stuff into my apartment. The apartment and Jenny's and my bedroom was bigger than I remembered/expected. But the first wiff I got of the place smelled like garbage. The refrigerator was full and so were the cupboards in the kitchen. There really wasn't any room for my stuff. I hope they (or I suppose it should be 'we') assign a cupboard and fridge section to each person to use for their own things. But I'll probably end up bringing my little refrigerator from sophomore year and storing it in my closet in my bedroom (the one in the kitchen is already just so unbelievably full). And then maybe I'll put plastic drawers in my closet to accomodate for my lack of cupboard space. And something was mentioned about us maybe not having internet. Oh, we had better have internet. I will go legally insane without internet, especially since this apartment is all the way across town from the arb. I still need to sign for my parking space... I figured the office wouldn't be open on Saturday. Sigh.

I saw Ryan yesterday, and on Thursday, I went with Lyne to CMU and we saw Ross and Ben. I had my first Taco Bell there. Today I had my second Taco Bell and then some Chinese. My tastebuds remember.

My dad is outside changing the oil in my car. My mother is outside decapitating cabages. My Nidhal is in Tunisia, probably sleeping.

I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns today. It was good (and, haha, I did peak at the ending before I got there).

Monday's Story

(Yesterday was exactly 6 months between my 21 and 22 birthdays).

I woke up at 4:40am in Germany, caught the Strassenbahn at 5:19am, and got off at the train station. The Strassenbahn tracks stop on a bridge near the train station over the train tracks. So to get to the train station, you have to go down. Of course the elevator wasn't working. So I had to haul 100 pounds of suitcase and probably at least 30 pounds of excess backpack weight down about 50 steps. That was überhaupt not cool. I definitely pulled or strained something in my shoulders. My shoulders and my arms are so completely sore today. I got on the train (with some difficulty) and two hours later, I was in Frankfurt Flughafen [airport].

My arms and shoulders were in pain from the fiasco at the train station, and I had an awful time getting my luggage from the platform to Terminal 1. It was incredibly painful. I went to 1A and found Lufthansa. Unfortunately, I then saw that all flights to the US were checked in in 1B. I was not a happy camper. So I hauled my stuff to 1B and got in line. The line was not fast. They scanned all the baggage to be checked before it was even checked in. And then I was finally at the counter. I was allowed two checked bags at 23 kilos each (for a total of 46). My large bag was 28 kilos. My small bag was 17.5. Add them together and that equals 45.5 (this number was on the scale). That number is less than 46. And yet I was charged €40 for the supposed five extra kilos. I was not happy, but I was too exhausted to care too much.

So I went to find counter 137 to pay my fine. On the way, I saw Professor Mittman (the proferssor from MSU who was with us in Freiburg) with her family. Their new daughter is adorable! I then paid the stupid fee and wen through security. No, actually I got in line to go through security. The wait was forever, and then ended up checking my backpack, though I don't know why. After security, I was nervous that there wouldn't be any more payphones because I was supposed to call Nidhal when I got to the airport. Luckily, there were two payphones and I got to call him so he wouldn't worry.

I thought, however naiively, that it was now to the gate. No, no, I was wrong. A few meters later, I had to get into another line for yet another round of security. This line lasted maybe a tiny little bit less, and they checked my blue bag again. But this time they really dug in there and pulled stuff out. I pack tight, and that was not cool. Then I thought that surely I could just walk to my gate now. No, no, wrong once again. I had to get in another line. Another line. I have no idea what the purpose of this line was. No idea. The guy looked at my passport and my boarding pass and sent me through. But apparently it wasn't as straightforward for everyone. I have no idea what they were doing.

And then I was at my gate. I had to show my boarding pass again, but that is normal for Frankfurt. They check the boarding pass before they let you in the waiting area, and then they don't check it again until you get on the plane and they direct you to your seat. By the time I finally got into the waiting area, I was exhausted. And I barely made it. Usually I wait for an hour or more to board. I was in this waiting area for maybe 10 minutes at the most.

I sat in my aisle seat, waiting to see who would be sitting next to me. The lines thinned out until no one else was boarding and the seat was still empty. I didn't want to jinx myself by being happy about it until we took off. And for good reason. The stupid stewardesses came by and asked if I was traveling with anyone, and I said 'no' of course. Then they came back with some lady and said to her, "Here is your window seat maam". I was not pleased. I don't know what was up, but she ruined my two-seat plane ride. The Lufthansa plane was not as nice as the ones I had with Northwest. There were video screens, but they were in the middle and spaced about one every ten seats. And I think there was more leg room with RyanAir. The professor and her family were a couple rows behind me.

So we took to the air, and it was a normal ride at the beginning. We flew over Amsterdam, the middle of England, Northern Ireland, and then over the North Atlantic. A couple hours into the flight, they finally put on the first in-flight movie, Shrek 3. I watched it, but somewhere in the middle, there was a bunch of turbulence. Normally, I enjoy a bit of turbulence, but this was a little extreme. Plus, I wasn't feeling overly well to begin with. So I spent part of Shrek 3 with my forehead resting on the seat in front of me. The next film was Blades of Glory, or Die Eisprinzen in German. I usually don't like such films, but I think my severe lack of sleep helped me to enjoy it. And then there were only a couple hours until we landed. I watched a little Loony Toons and played some games on my iPod.

We got to Detroit a little bit late. After we had landed and stopped moving, everyone stood up and got their stuff and started to try to get out. But no. US Customs and Immigration told everyone to sit back down. They wanted to talk to someone specific on the place. Great. Freaking great, you idiots. I just wanted out of that plane. Finally, we were allowed to get out and get in line at customs to be let into the stupid country. The stupid short lady in red directed me and some others to "go to the very end", which just happened to be the longest and slowest line in the stupid place. The professor and her family came maybe 15 minutes after I had gotten in line, got in another line, and were talking to the customs officer maybe 30 minutes before I got up there. Oh, I was wuetend [pissed off] (and it didn't help that I really, aber REALLY, had to go to the bathroom).

I finally got to talk to the guy and he asked me questions, some of them stupid. Why would he care if and when I was going back to Germany? It's Germany, not Iraq or something. I'm an American citizen and I will go from the US to Germany and back any time I want, you butt-licker. So I finally got away from that and to the luggage. I grabbed a cart, because I was not going to go through what I did in the Frankfurt airport. My luggage was already out and going around the large oval... as was everyone else's. It was so full (because they took so long getting everyone through customs) that one suitcase got caught and ripped open.

My stuff and I went and got in yet another line. Once again, I was in the slowest of the bunch. I had to explain that, no, Tunisian nut paste is not Nutella. And finally I got to leave the airport. After some searching, I located my parents in the crowd and we went towards home. I was not a very up-beat travel companion, to say the least, but I tried not to seem disappointed to be home. We met my sister, her husband, and my adorable niece in Flint and ate Mexican food (very hard to find in Germany). I ate like an American again... two huge plates of food and Coke with REFILLS! I drank all of my Coke just so I could get a free refill. Ah, USA.

And then we were home. Wonderfully redneck-hick hometown. I had to talk to the cashier in the gas station because I wanted an international phone card, and I almost screamed "take me back to Germany RIGHT THIS INSTANT".

But I'm home now, and it's ok. It's boring and I'm falling into my old habits. Everything smells the same, but everything feels really tiny. The toilets for example... it feels like I'm sitting on the floor. The sink and the shower curtain all seem miniature. But despite everything here that isn't great and everything in Germany that I'm missing, it's somehow good to be home.

Leider, leider.

It was like waking from a dream, leaving Freiburg. This year long dream was done, ending just as it had started with a warm, partly sunny summer day in a German train. I was going back to the reality of my life. But then I saw my parents and our car and my country, and it was like falling back into a dream of a long lost memory, where any minute I could wake up and be back in the reality of Freiburg. And now I just don't know what to do.

The airports were incredibly annoying and there was turbulence during Shrek 3. Perhaps I'll go into more detail later. I don't feel like being on the internet right now.

The last one in Germany.

And my computer is officially dead. It shut off last night and I haven't been able to turn it back on. That is quite the blow. I hope everything (my files and such) can be retrieved. But I guess it was better that it happened now instead of in the middle of the semester.

So now I'm in the university library using the internet. I don't think the library is open on Sundays, so this will probably be my last time using the internet until I'm back on US soil.

With the lack of internet and companionship, I've been watching a lot of CNN. There's an interesting thing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week called "God's Warriors". Wednesday is about the Jews, Thursday is about Muslims, and Friday is about Christians. I would like to watch it, but we don't have cable at home. It is advertised practically 10 times per hour. There are also snippets at cnn.com/warriors. I saw Larry King Live this morning. He was interviewing Star Jones (formerly of The View) and that was actually interesting.

Let's see... yeah, that's basically my life right now.

Until we meet again.

The Slow Death of my Computer

Yes, my computer is dying, and has been this entire year. I'll be taking donations for a new one when I get back home. ;) It no longer is able to connect to wireless networks, and it overheats like no other. I have to have a fan on it at all times (I don't now though because the lack of wireless ability has forced me into Nidhal's kitchen).

I moved out of my room tonight. The Hausmeister comes tomorrow at noon to check it. My TV and my camera were the last things I carried away. Alas...

So that is all. This could possibly be my last post from Germany. So sad, so sad.

Nichts bleibt, wie es war.

Sometimes songs grow on you. And sometimes you hear a song and it becomes an instant favorite or earworm, as the Germans would say. This, as you can probably guess, has happened recently to me, and the song is "Bed of Lies" by Matchbox 20. It's just kind of beautiful. Ear-catching. Slow and melodic. I think I'm going to listen to it again right now. I just with that the lyrics were a little different. Maybe I'll change them.

So it's hot. I was in town doing a bunch of necessary crap before I leave, and it was sweaty hot. And there were disgusting, smelly middle-aged men. Gross. So far in the past few days, I've sent another box, closed my phone account, closed my bank account, done a lot of packing, turned in a paper, turned in some forms to AYF, picked up a Schein (proof that I took and passed a class), and other stuff. It's been busy lately.

"And there'll be no rest for these tired eyes."

It took me three hours to get to sleep last night. And then I only got about five hours of sleep. Grrr. I think there's a little stress in my life right now. Bah. Moving to a different country can't be that difficult. After all, I have done it once already.

I want to go watch the Simposon's Movie today. I hope I make it... and I plan to watch it in English. The Simpson's is not something overly enjoyable in German, although Lisa'a voice it pretty good.

Even though I really do want to see my friends and family aback at home, I really wish I could stay here. It's so depressing having to leave.

I still haven't deicided whether to book a hotel in Frankfurt for Sunday night or to go with the 5:52am train from Freiburg. I'd get to the airport around 8am (if all goes smoothly) and my flight is sometime around 10am. The Strassenbahn runs from my stop as early as 5:20am and takes about 5-10 minutes to get to the trainstation. I'd be saving 60 Euroes. What do you think I should do?

The first in a long time.

So I'm posting two days in a row. I've been really slacking... as though anyone reads it anyway. I really wish people would write more. Yes, it's not the 'fad' it once was, but it's useful to keep up with people. I feel so disconnected from everyone back home. I wonder what it will be like when I get back.

My year in Freiburg developed quickly into something absolutely wonderful and then ended about as quickly. Almost everyone is gone, including Nidhal. And that was really a big blow, because we had been spending hours together everyday and then suddenly at 9:57am on Tuesday he was gone. The time in Freiburg that I so fondly remember is gone. All that is left is the empty shell of the city. The filling, what made the experience so sweet, were the people, the friends. And now they are gone.

I have about 10 days left in Germany and I don't know what will be waiting for me when I get back. My friends will already be back on their respective college campuses. My parents will be there and my cats and my old bed and my comfortable chair in front of the TV. It will be summer and the smell of freshly mowed lawns will be in the air. Will I make it to the beach? Alone? What will my college campus be like, feel like after a year away? What friendships will remain there?

It's kind of like the feeling after graduating from high school. Except different. I can't go back to this year in Freiburg. And if I could stay in Freiburg, it would still be totally different because the familiar people are gone like my class was gone after high school. But after high school, there was only the unknown ahead. A bit frightening, but also exciting. This time it's different. I'm going back, back further than my year in Freiburg. I'm going back to my university and it seems like it will be as foreign as if I were now going back to high school. I'm going back to something familiar and I'm afraid that I won't recognize it.

It will be nice to see my family, but I know already that the ever-present stress-factor will be there, namely money and finances. One absolutely wonderful thing about my year in Freiburg was that I did not have to worry about money. I could travel to Egypt and pay for Nidhal's ticket too and it was completely ok. But as the year is winding down, I'm beginning to feel it again. My mother emailed me and mentioned that she hoped that I had money leftover. Well, I don't, or at least not a lot. All I ever hear from my parents is either about money or sickness. "The health insurance went up again. The car insurance is due this month and we don't know if we have the money. Soandso has the flu/a broken arm/cancer/died." I've been worring about my parents' finances my whole life. Seriously. One time in elementary school (I was fairly young), I wanted to get my parents food for Christmas so they wouldn't have to worry about that expense for a while. My sister vetoed the idea though.

It's been over seven months since I've been home. Sigh.

My Nidhal lies over the ocean...

...My Nidhal lies over the sea. My Nidhal lies over the ocean. Please bring back my Nidhal to me. ...Alas, Nidhal is in Tunisia and I'm in Freiburg. I miss him.

We were in Bayern (Bavaria) and Austria last week. We went to Munich, castle Neuschwanstein, and Austria. Instead of going to Salzburg, Austria, we went to Innsbruck, which is a sister-city of Freiburg. It's right smack-dab in the Alps, but we only caught glimpses of them here and there because it was so misty. It was trotzdem beautiful. (I can't remember the English word for 'trotzdem'). The city was really nice too. And the castle was also cool. Pictures below.