Up the Wizard, down the Wizard, and other stories

Well, there is a lot to post about, so I'd best jump right in.

Yesterday was Friday, and so naturally amazing. At any rate, it couldn't help be better than thursday, and this is why: On thursday, I broke the shower on my foor. Now, it's true that in keeping with the stereotype that Germans never shower, probably no one missed it. But I still felt really bad, and kind of worried, since I wasn't sure who I needed to talk to about it, or how to explain in German that the shower head just snapped off in my hand when I tried to adjust it.

So that was worrisome. Luckily, I was able to ask Mattheus, an older Gent who lives next door to me, and with whom I have a warm, kitchen aquaintence (because I always see him and talk to him in the kitchen). He told me who I needed to talk to, and as luck would have it, not only did I already know the person, but I also knew that they were nice, and not scary to talk to..

So that night, I bumped into Jan as he was carrying some empty bottles to the recycling, and explained everything as best I could. Once he understood what I was trying to say, he though it was very funny, and told me not to worry.
Germans just don't really give a fig about showering, I guess.

End of Story.

Yesterday was Friday, which meant that I didn't have to get up until I woke up, at around 9:30. I made myself a delish breakfast of scrambled eggs and Orange juice, and then read Paradise Lost for a good 2 hours or so. Come to think of it, I didn't do much of anything yesterday before 4 pm...Still, it was lovely, and Paradise lost is definitely worth reading. It's pretty incredible.

In the late afternoon, I went to mail a letter to Costa Rica, and then attempted to find Lidl, the grocery store that is right next door to the Post office. I walked all over the whole block, and finally saw it, now on the opposite side of the street, across several lanes of traffic. I went to Aldi instead.

On my way home, I ran into Johanna, Bridgett, and Gina from the BCA Group, who were showing around a friend who was visiting. I gave them a tour of the castle grounds, and then let them use the Schloß computer to figure out some travelling logistics.

Meanwhile, I made myself an incredible sandwich and ate it in the kitchen with Christien and Sarah, two of my floor-mates. This was one of the high points of the day, because not only did I add two more names to my list of those I know, but I had a very enjoyable conversation with them both, in German, and understood it all. Sarah wanted to know why an American was majoring in German, and what I intended to do with it. I tried to explain that it just interested me, and Christien seemed to understand. Sarah was still a little baffeled, but it was a great conversation, nontheless.

Then the motley crew trooped back into the kitchen, and after securing Kelsey, we all went to dinner at Paprika, a really nice pub in the Oberstadt. Since I'd already eaten dinner, I meant to just get a little something to nibble and a drink. I ordered my Ginger Ale (which randomely came with a lemon in it), and then what I thought was a small baguettish thing. It ended up being a very large baguettish thing, complete with a side salad. I was pretty full by the end. During the meal, Johanna and I talked back and forth in German about learning German, and what not. it was very enjoyable, and I even tasted an ok beer. It was actually pretty good, compared with the other beer I've tried here.

We left Paprika, and Kelsey and I went back to the Castle. We tried to find Fei, and awesome chinese student who is also studying here. We wanted to watch 'Ella enchanted' in German, but when we found Fei, he was playing a card game with Jan and another guy whose name escapes me. We sat down to watch, and they explained the rules and dealt us out. I wasn't sure exactly WHAT the rules were, until I watched one round, and realized that the game was essentially Up the River, Down the River with different cards. Since this is one of my favorite card games of all time, I was very excited. The evening past pleasently, and I even learned some new vocabulary. All in all, Friday was a good day for speaking German.

Today is Saturday, and I repeated the first couple hours of Friday. That is, I woke up, showered, ate, and read Paradise Lost. Then I proceeded to wash some of my clothes, and then do something about the mess that was my room. I belive I have stated before that German's are not clean. I would like to stress once more that the building in which I live is absolutely, appallingly filthy. I wiped down everything with bathroom cleaner, and then proceeded to try and clean the floor. Despite the highly evolved dust bunnies (seriously, if I would have left it go a week longer, those things may have grown fangs and eyeballs) I managed to sweep and vacuum the room, and then I mopped it. I think it was cleaner than it's ever been, and I only took of the first layer of grim that has been ground into the floor. I realized while mopping that what I thought was artistic texturing on the linoleum was actually just centuries of dirt, ground down in swirly patterns. The water was black when I'd finished.

So now, I'm just hanging out in my cleaner room (I hesitate to call it clean, it may never be truly so), waiting for the computer guy to come and help me hook up my laptop to the internet, so that I can blog from the warmth of my room, instead of venturing into the freezing tundra that is the community Computer room.

Bis später!