Dec. 9th-15th

Jack Frost Pays Us a Visit

On Monday, Chris, Mike, and I went shopping at the Christmas market. We were trying to find gifts for friends and family back home and had fun consulting with one another on what we thought everyone would like. 

Tuesday, I woke up to a winter wonderland. Overnight, it had snowed. A lot. At least, it was a lot in my mind, since I've only been around the stuff about 5 times in my life:

However, I had several close calls with ice slick walking to campus. I managed to catch myself, but am waiting for the day when my reflexes fail me. A guy riding a bike ahead of me totally ate dirt, or in this case snow, and it looked really painful. 

Wednesday, I had lunch with Krisztina and we talked about possibly going sledding. She has a legit one, with reins and room for two people! I also went shopping again. This time, it was presents for Mike, Chris, Britney and Gergei. We want to get together sometime before break and have a Christmas dinner and present exchange. I managed to find a gift for everyone and bought some stuff for myself as well. 

On Thursday, Chris and I built a snowman and had a snowball fight. I say fight, but I think I only threw maybe five of them. It was really difficult to form a ball because this snow was the powdery kind that does not pack easily. That's also why we ended up with a snowman that was really more of a snow child and maybe 2 feet tall. We also had to improvise with decorating him. We didn't have any carrots or charcoal or old silk hats lying around, so we made do with some sticks and Sweetarts. Yeah. Not the prettiest snowman ever, but it made us laugh: 

"Billy"

Friday, I had my internship as usual, but we also went out for a "Weihnachtsessen"or Christmas lunch. It was at a really nice Mediterranean restaurant. I got lamb kebabs with couscous that were both delicious. It was a big group of people who all work in the museum, and it was fun getting to know everyone better. We all compared Christmas traditions and food and ended the lunch with some delicious espresso. 

Saturday, I cooked breakfast for Damla. She had been nice enough to make me dinner last week, so I decided to return the favor. I may not be the best at cooking dinner, but I can do breakfast. I made her eggs in a basket. It's a fun dish to make. You cut a hole in the middle of a piece of bread, and then crack an egg into it. It's something that reminds me of my childhood, and I hoped that she would like them.

Deliciousness

We sat down and discussed our plans for the break. It was a nice way to start a lazy Saturday. That's it for this week, I am ready for next week to be over with so that I can start Christmas break! Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Schnee- "Snow" We can go sledding in the schnee! 

Dec. 2nd-8th

A Visit from Mom and Dad 

On Sunday, my parents came to visit me in Dortmund. They had been in Germany for a week, on a river cruise down the Danube and came up to see me before going home. They arrived later in the evening, so we took it easy the first night and checked in to the hotel.

Monday, I got to show them around the city. It was bitterly cold, so we had to bundle up. At least it wasn't snowing. I took them around the Christmas Market and showed them the giant Christmas tree. There was, of course, a trip made to TKmaxx. Daddy even documented the occasion:  

We then went to get something to eat. At the Christmas market, there is a lot of food to choose from, but we migrated toward the desserts. My friend Krisztina had told me about a "Germknödel" one day at lunch. It basically looks like a dough ball covered with some sort of sauce. It's actually a type of dumpling and is usually filled with different types of fruit and then covered in a vanilla sauce. We tried the cherry flavor and it was delicious. Here's what one usually looks like: 

Odd-looking... but delicious!

For dinner, I took them to the Indian restaurant that Uschi had showed us. I was not very adventurous, and ordered what I got before, the lamb. It was still just as good. Mom and Dad seemed to like it as well. After dinner, we had tickets for a musical quartet. It was a very tiny venue, maybe half the size of a regular high school auditorium. However, this put us closer to the performers and the acoustics were really good. The ensemble consisted of two violins, a viola, and two cellos. My favorite performer was one of the violinists. He really got into his performance (Brahms, by the way) and his facial expressions were priceless. He also had a habit of shifting his feet and bouncing around in his chair. At one point, we thought he was going to just stand up and continue playing. All of the musicians were very talented, and it was an enjoyable night out.

On Tuesday, we took a day trip to Cologne. It seems that we picked the wrong day to go, because all of the trains were delayed 30 minutes. Once we finally got to Cologne, the weather was really crappy. It was windy and rainy as well. We sought shelter in the cathedral, which mom and dad had not seen. It was very peaceful and a nice respite from the rain. Right next to the cathedral is Cologne's Christmas market, which is a little more traditional than Dortmund's. There were a lot of nutcrackers and handicrafts. Mom and I found a booth that sold Christmas pyramid's and a lot of other hand-carved wooden stuff. She even bought me one for a Christmas present. Here's a video of it in action: 

The tiny candles are real too! 

After perusing the shops, we found a place to warm up and laugh at the people outside struggling with their umbrellas. I saw at least 3 umbrellas snapped because of the wind.  We made our way home and had dinner at Carl's apartment. He and Ann-Kathrin were sweet enough to invite us over and my parents really wanted to meet them, so it was a fun night. We got donür from the Turkish restaurant down the street from Carl's apartment. It was delicious as usual.  I'm glad that everyone got to meet, and I think a good time was had by all. 

My parents left on Wednesday, it was a short but sweet visit, and I was happy to see them before Christmas. 

On Friday, I got to sit in on a meeting for the Hans Breder exhibtion in February. It was really interesting and another behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at a museum. I'm grateful to have the internship and an awesome boss that lets me in on these meetings.

Saturday,  Krisztina was nice enough to invite me to go to Münster with some of her friends. I don't think I've ever eaten so much in one day. It began with breakfast at a Currywurst stand in Bochum. According to Krisztina, this stand is the one that invented Currywurst. It was very good, but honestly, I like anything with sausage and french fries. I also got to meet Krisztina's friend Steph, who was visting from Australia. Then we met up with even more friends, Joana and Markus. We would be driving to Münster together. It was fun to finally meet another Joanna, but even though her name only had one "n," I kept responding whenever someone would say her name. Krisztina suggested they call me Jo-Jo, a nickname I haven't heard since preschool. I didn't mind, and it was a fun car-trip. I had been complaining about the lack of Christmas music.

 In America, they blast it constantly, beginning the day after Thanksgiving. You hear it everywhere- malls, restaurants, sports events, basically anyplace with speakers. I usually get sick of it by the second week of December. But in Germany, it's the opposite. I traded too many Christmasy songs  for none at all! However, Markus and Joana had three CDs full of classic Christmas songs. I was so happy and sang under my breath to my favorites. My quota of Christmas music has now been filled. 

Once we got to Münster, we met up with a couple more friends. Münster has 5 major Christmas markets spread throughout the city. We managed to get to two of them and both were really nice. On top of the Currywurst, I crammed in Reibekuchen (basically a hashbrown that you eat with applesauce), a Krakauer (type of sausage served with mustard on a roll), and a cup of Glühwein and hot chocolate. This was all at the 2 Christmas markets. We then walked to downtown Münster, which was really pretty. There was even a live musical performance along the main road.

As I was to find out, the day was just starting! After we finished looking through the city, we drove to the nearby town of Telgte. We would be attending a Christmas market combined with a type of renaissance  fair. It's called "mittelalterlicher" which basically means medieval. Joana told me that it's a year-round thing, and it travels throughout Germany. I had never been to a renaissance fair, so I guess Germany was as good a place as any to try it out. There was so much to take in. This thing was held in the middle of some woods. No joke. There were torches everywhere lighting the path and a lot of vendors throughout the area. 

There was even a stage for bands to perform. People were also dressed up in traditional renaissance clothing. It reminded me of Game of Thrones. While there, we managed to find even more to eat. I tried a dönur type thing with bits of shredded beef and what tasted exactly like ranch dressing. I asked the Germans and they said they didn't know the name of the sauce, but I swear the lady making these things had a bottle of Hidden Valley stashed away somewhere. We toured some of the stalls, which were a lot different from the city vendors. There was a blacksmith and tanner, and a place that sold bow and arrows! We listened to some of the bands perform (a lot of bagpipes... I don't think I've ever heard bagpipes outside of a funeral, but here, they were used in rousing anthems that had a lot of shouting and foot stomping), and found a big bonfire to sit around and warm up. Then it was time for more food.  Joana recommended an almond hut, where you could get them coated in all sorts of stuff: coconut, butter toffee, and my favorite, Nutella. Then we tried a cheese pretzel. It was the freshest you could get, straight out of the oven and delicious. I stood and watched the man make them for a while as well. Really interesting!   On the way out, I saw some wooden horses that were clearly meant for children to play on. However, I got Steph to take a picture of me riding on one: 

They may take our lives, but they'll never take our FREEEEEDOM!

The cherry on top was the fire-breathing dragon head near the exit. I couldn't get a picture of it in action, but it was still cool nonetheless. It was a long but really fun day, and I was happy to meet some new friends!

Schüss!

German Word of the Week: Bauchschmerzen- "stomachache" If you want to sample all of the food at a Christmas market, you will probably have a Bauchschmerzen by the end of the day. 

Breakfast, Bond, Bombs, and Ballet

Nov. 25th-Dec. 1 

Wow! I cannot believe I've been here 3 months already. It feels like just yesterday I was packing up the car to go the airport. But! I will stop being sentimental and get to the interesting stuff.

Sunday, Gergei had us over for breakfast. He was cooking Hungarian eggs and advised us to bring our appetites. They were very good. Scrambled eggs with lots of different sausages and onions mixed in as well as fried lard. Yes, you read correctly, fried lard. I felt right at home with all the fattiness and cholesterol mixed in to the food. Afterwards, I think my stomach had expanded to twice its normal size, but now I can say I've had authentic Hungarian eggs. It was really nice of Gergei to have us over, I will have to invite him over for some equally delicious and fattening biscuits and gravy.

On Monday, Lena invited me over to her house for dinner. She lives in the city, but I was proud of myself for managing to find it on my own. Of course, I did get on a train going in the wrong direction, but that's normal, right? Lena cooked chicken pasta that was delicious. I could get used to having people cook for me every day of the week. We talked about different Christmas traditions and what we wanted for Christmas. After dinner, she took me down to the Dortmund Christmas market for a cup of Glühwein and a tour of the booths. Glühwein is kind of liked a spiced/sweet wine that is a Christmas tradition. I sipped some of Lena's, but I think I like apple cider better. There were also vendors who had chocolate covered everything: coconut, strawberries, almonds, etc. I got some pineapple that was really good:

Tuesday, I went with a few friends to see the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. We found a movie theater that was showing the film in the original English, but with German subtitles. However, this theater was also located within a train station. It was the one of the oddest movie experiences I've ever had. There was only one screen within the whole theater, but it looked pretty normal. However, every 15 minutes or so, you could hear the trains coming into the station. This was not that noticeable during the action sequences, but it got kind of annoying during quiet scenes, when, all of sudden, there would be the sound of screeching wheels and a conductor's whistle. Oh well.

On Thursday, my boss at my internship invited me to an exhibition opening. It was about gift shops in museums and the phenomenon of buying fakes and souvenirs of famous works of art. There would also be a guest speaker on the subject. It sounded really interesting, and I was looking forward to going. However, I was a little late to the opening and managed to sneak in toward the back. I had been there about 2 minutes when maybe 20 police officers came rushing in. Someone who looked to be the captain made an announcement (in German, of course) and everyone gasped and started getting their things together. I had no idea what was going on, but was a little freaked out. I found someone who spoke English and he told me that some construction workers had found a live bomb from World War II and they were having to evacuate everyone within a 5 block radius. The German word for this is "Blindgänger," which means dud. This 5 block radius included the museum, a lot of residences, and two hospitals. It was kind of chaotic going out on to the street, my new-found friend also told me that the police were going door to door telling people to evacuate. It was like a step back in time. He also told me that they may be able to continue with the speech and exhibtion if the police gave the all clear. I decided that I did not want to stick around one way or the other and made my way to the train station. It reminded me that even though the war ended over 60 years ago, the remnants still remain. It was an interesting and unique experience, one that I can't say I want to relive again. Here's a picture from where they found the bomb, you can see the museum in the background:

Here also is a link to an article about the bomb, it's in German, but you can kind of pick out the gist of what was going on: Blindgänger.

On Friday, I went to see a ballet. My language teacher is also part of the Dortmund Opera House and had a small part in Der Traum der Roten Kammer or The Dream of the Red Chamber. It's based off a 17th century Chinese novel.  It was a lot of fun. I got a discount because I am a student, but this fact also put me in the balcony. I was squinting the whole time trying to pick out our teacher. It was one instance where I really wanted some of those fancy opera glasses.

Oh you fancy huh?

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the ballet. The dancing was magnificent, and I had a good view of the orchestra pit as well.

That's all for now, Schüss!

German Word of the Week: Die Ananas - "pineapple" Ananas is delicious, especially when dipped in chocolate. 

Week of Thanksgiving!

Nov. 18th-24th

On Monday, I went to Chris's house to watch a movie. He rented City of God from the library and said it was one of his favorites. It's based on a true story about kids in the slums of  Rio de Janero. It was interesting, and had a sort of happy ending as well. (As happy as you can get with these types of things). 

On Wednesday, I made cookies for the Thanksgiving Dinner. The International Office puts together a dinner every year and everyone brings a dish and a present. I spent all last week trying to get ingredients together for my chocolate chip cookies. They turned out to be chocolate chunk cookies, because I couldn't find chips anywhere. I also had to make my own brown sugar (1 cup of regular sugar + half a cup of molasses for those that are interested), since that is also a rare commodity over here. The cookies actually turned out okay. Ann-Kathrin told me they tasted like the ones you can get from Subway, and those are freaking delicious, so I took that as a huge compliment.

The dinner was a lot of fun. Instead of the typical giant 25 lb bird, we had four smaller turkeys. It was just as good as anything I've had before. There was also pumpkin soup, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. Everything was delicious and I'm grateful I had a successful Thanksgiving in Germany. After everyone was done eating, we exchanged gifts. It was like Secret Santa, where you just pick out a random present. I got a bottle of wine, which I'm always happy to get. Ann-Kathrin got a  Rubik's cube and we spent the rest of the night trying to solve it. We ended up stopping once we got one side done.

Close Enough! 

On Friday, Mike, Laura, Robin, Chris, and I went out to Sausalito's. It was a nice way to unwind at the end of the week. I spent most of the night learning how to do the last half of the Rubik's cube. I don't think I'll ever be able to string it all together. Mike had to write down the instructions on a napkin, so now I have a sort of cheat sheet. 

Saturday, I went to the K20 Museum in Düsseldorf. For my art history course, we have three museum excursions throughout the semester. We actually get to see firsthand some of the art we discuss in class, which I think is always a nice thing. I managed to find the museum by myself. I looked it up on Googlemaps the night before, but was still kind of worried. I knew to keep the Rhine on my left and managed to stumble upon the place. We focused on the American section of the museum and learned about Warhol, Pollack, and Rauschenberg.

Name that artist! 

 It was a fun way to spend a Saturday, and I'm looking forward to our other excursions. Okay, I'm done for now, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: der Würfel- "cube" The Rubix Würfel is both frustrating and fun. 

Nov. 12th-17th

Nov. 12th-17th

Well this week flew by for some reason. On Monday, Chris, Mike, and I found out that there is an English DVD library on campus. It's kind of tucked away behind some old classrooms, and I was expecting a copy or two of Grown-Ups and the complete series of Dark Shadows. In other words, my hopes were not held high. I was very wrong, as I often tend to be. This collection blew me away. They had recent movies (Hunger Games, Brave) as well as the classics (The Godfather, Gone With the Wind). You could even rent video games. You can only check out two movies or one series per week, but I will definitely be frequenting the library when I have more time to actually watch movies.

I also spent this week learning how to do a Rubik's Cube. Mike told me he brought his along and could show me, so I figured I'd give it a try. I figured out that it's not as complicated as it looks, but my brain definitely got a work out. The key is imagining what the cube will look like after you make a move. I always sucked at those spatial reasoning problems on math exams, so I think it's going to take a little longer for me to learn. 

What cube matches the flattened design? Answer: We may never know

On Wednesday, Chris and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises. We found out that there's a film club on campus and every Wednesday they show a movie. Most of the films shown are in German, so I got a chance to practice my listening skills. However, I was happy that I had seen the movie when it came out, otherwise I would've been completely lost. Even in the English version, the way that Batman growls makes it difficult to understand what he is saying. I asked Chris a few times what he just said and he said he had no idea. German + growling does not equal coherency. Other than that, it was an enjoyable midweek break from studying and reading.

On Friday, we got to have dinner with Uschi. She is the sweet lady that picked me up from the train station when I first arrived. Chris and I decided it would be nice to treat her to dinner one night. We went to an Indian restaurant that was delicious. I am getting hungry just thinking about it. I ordered a lamb and almond dish that came with a huge side of rice.

It's blurry, but trust me, it was delicious

Our conversation over dinner was interesting, it was kind of funny because Chris and Uschi kept switching to German and then reverting back to English when talking to me. After dinner, Uschi took us to preview the Christmas market. Almost every major city in Germany has one, but Dortmund's is the best, according to Uschi. They do have the tallest Christmas tree in the whole world. It's made up hundreds of smaller trees and is pretty impressive.  I will post pictures when it's lit up.

Saturday, Ann Kathrin and Carl invited me over to play Mario Kart. Chris and Mike also came along, and I had a really great time. We ordered pizza and played video games to our hearts' content. I had forgotten how much I suck at Mario Kart. Like, really bad. Carl was the winner of the night, I think he won every race he tried. I kept running off the track and taking nonexistent shortcuts. We then switched to the battle mode, where you have to burst other player's balloons. It was so funny, because when Ann Kathrin and I played, we just kind of drove around and around until we met somebody to attack. On the other hand, the boys played to win and would actually use the map to stalk out opponents. I will admit, there was a lot of swearing from everyone, but it was all in good fun. I think I ended up winning once, so I didn't bring shame to Toad's name.

That's it for this week, Schüss!!

German Word of the Day: Die Banane- "banana" When playing Mario Kart, watch out for Banane peels or you will come in last every time. 

Nov. 5th-11th

Nov. 5th-11th

This week was kind of dreary. The weather was foggy and damp most of the time. Like this:

My classes were at least interesting. We have started The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in my fantasy bestsellers class, and we have a screening planned for later in the month, when we will watch the movie that came out a few years ago.

On Monday, Mike, Chris and I went to get Dönur at a little shop on South campus. Apparently, Mike and Chris are regulars there, because the owner brought out free samples of a delicious coconut cake. Score!

On Wednesday, I had a group presentation in my American literature class, and I was a little nervous. However, everyone came well-prepared and the class was very engaged. Thursday night, we decided to make shrimp po-boys. Chris and I did most of the cooking, and it wasn't a Paula Deen recipe! Now, having never tasted an authentic po-boy, I have no way to gauge how good ours were, but  Gergei, Mike, and Britney seemed to like them. It was a fun get together, and we've got a lot of shrimp leftover, so we will have to figure out something else to cook.

Friday, I had my internship as usual and have made a lot of progress in the archive. I spent most of Saturday holed up in the library, catching up on my TV shows and doing some studying in between. The monthly internet limit is kind of annoying sometimes, so I have to use the free Wi-Fi in the library whenever I get the chance.

Sunday, Chris and I went to Cologne for Karneval. Remember how I was complaining about a lack of Halloween costumes in my last post? I found out that Germany just does Halloween a few days later! Everywhere you looked, there was someone in costume. I saw: cookie monster, Batman, Hobbes (from Calvin and Hobbes), Buzz Lightyear, and many many more. What's cool about Karneval is that everyone dresses up, not just the kids. I saw a group of elderly ladies in carrot costumes. I also saw a group of old guys in full-out Braveheart gear. I can't imagine this being the case in America, I kind of wish Halloween would extend past your 20s, like Karneval.

So a panda, solider, Scotsman, and a Native American walk into a bar....

Ghostbusters!!! Their containers were filled with beer. Welcome to Germany.

Unfortunately, I was not made aware that Karneval involves costumes, and made do with a tie-dye shirt and crazy hat. Lame, I know, but it was the best I could come up with. Chris borrowed a skeleton costume from someone and fit right in. We went to a party with one of his doubles, and it's not every day that you get to party with Red Riding Hood, two polar bears, Spiderman and the Hulk, and Alex from A Clockwork Orange. My favorite part was probably the parades. At any given time, there were at least three going on around us. There were marching bands, people on stilts, clowns handing out free pretzels (which were delicious, by the way) and all sorts of other crazy stuff. It was a long day, but I'm glad to have had the experience of Karneval, and I hope I can go again someday-with an amazing costume, of course.

That's it for now, Schüss!!


German Word of the Day: Die Brezeln- "pretzels" Be wary of free Brezeln, unless they are given by a clown.  

The Week of Halloween

Monday, Oct 29th- Nov. 4th

   I had a really nice week. Though the title of this post includes "Halloween,"  I didn't really do all that much for the night of fright. Apparently, Halloween has only recently gotten popular in Germany, and even then it's not that widespread. The kids don't get to dress up and get free candy (a travesty, in my opinion), but there are costume parties around town. However, this is only one costume shop in all of Dortmund, so they can basically charge whatever price they want. Without a costume, I decided to stay home for Halloween. I didn't want to be that one person that shows up with no costume and then awkwardly stands around for the rest of the party while everyone else secretly talks about them and their lack of creativity or Halloween spirit.

I decided to watch a scary movie and eat some candy instead. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best idea since I am a self-professed scaredy-cat. My roommate was also out of town, so I was alone to cope with my fear. I chose to watch a classic, Friday the 13th. Even though I watched it with all the lights on and the volume turned down really low, I was still scared by the end of it. I decided to just go to bed (lights still on, of course). Around 1 AM,  I heard a knock on the door. I immediately resolved to not open the door. I've seen what happens when you answer the door, alone, on Halloween night! Whoever it was must have found someone else to creep out because they went away after I didn't answer.

The day after Halloween is a holiday in Germany. I got to spend most of it with Ann-Kathrin. She brought me along to the open house of her mom's adorable boutique/florist. I even got to meet her grandpa, grandma, and aunt as well! They were all super nice and welcoming, and we had all the delicious cider and fresh waffles we could eat. I also bought a really pretty Christmas ornament and candle.

Yay for Christmas ornaments!

After the event was over, we drove home. However, Ann-Kathrin stopped at Carl's house on the way to pick up a package for him. While we were there, I got to meet his family as well. His dad recommended some of his favorite museums in the area and his mom and sister invited us to New Year's. We also discussed the different Christmas traditions in Germany and America, and I was excited to recognize we shared some of the same ones. The proper name is a "pomander" but I usually just describe it as an orange that you stick cloves in, and it smells awesome.

It usually looks like this:

It was such a fun day, and I can't wait to see both Carl and Ann-Kathrin's families again.

On Friday (Nov. 2nd), I also spent the day with Ann-Kathrin, along with her friend Laura. We went to Movie Park, a theme park that stays open later the week of Halloween, and has people dressed up as monsters to scare everyone. They even have several haunted houses set up throughout the park. The purpose of the trip (besides having fun!) was actually for a class. In my British horror class, instead of writing a standard essay, we have the option of writing an essay about a trip to this theme park. However, since all three of us are easily frightened, we decided to get to the park early so we could enjoy most of the rides in the daylight. We rode a lot of them, but my favorite by far was an old wooden roller coaster, which we rode three times.

I also had to laugh at the names of the rides. The park used to be owned by Warner Brothers, but was later sold to MGM. However, the rides are still Warner Brothers themed. For example, we rode a time travel ride thats name was "Back to the Movies." It even had the same logo as Back to the Future. For some reason, it was narrated by John Cleese (?), but it was fun nonetheless. There was a museum of movie props as well, and we got to take pictures in the boxing ring from Rocky.

They also had some really cool props, like an Indiana Jones whip and a sword from Lord of the Rings. However, I was really excited to get a photo with one of the costumes from Kill Bill

At 6 pm, the park shifted into scary mode. People in costume were walking around the park, and they had fog machines set up to make it difficult to see. We probably made easy targets, since we all linked arms and flinched our way through the park. However, once you were scared by the ghost/zombie/vampire/other, you could take a picture with them! We got a group picture with Dracula and Ann Kathrin was even brave enough to take a photo with Jason.

We only went into one of the haunted houses. Most were rated 17 and up, so we decided the one with the 12 year age limit wouldn't be that bad. We were wrong. I don't know if I've ever been more scared in my life, I just held on to Ann Kathrin and Laura and rushed on through. I kept my eyes half-closed most of the time, so I didn't see much. I am sure a more experienced horror buff would have scoffed at this haunted house, but it was enough for us and we left the park as soon as we made it through. All in all, it was a great time, and I would love to go back to ride some more roller coasters.

That's it for this week, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Der Nebel- "fog" Der Nebel makes haunted houses 10 times scarier. 

First Week Back

Tues. October 23rd- Saturday October 27th

Tuesday I had my second discussion group. It was kind of like pulling teeth since no one wanted to discuss. However, after many awkward silences and a lot of  prompting, I finally got some of them to talk. I will have to work on that for next week. After this, I had my Victorian literature class. It was interesting, and I met a really nice girl named Natalie. We discussed some short stories by Oscar Wilde and signed up for presentations later in the year. 

On Wednesday I had my American lit course. We are now discussing The Jungle. It was written in 1906 by Upton Sinclair and was meant to bring about change in business and labor practices in the U.S. However, it's mostly known today for its graphic and detailed descriptions of the meat industry at the time. I don't want to give too much away, but one story is about rats and their involvement in the production of ham. Yeah. There are some parts I just have to skip/skim over.

On Thursday, Chris and I baked a cake for a Laura's birthday. It was a Paula Deen recipe (naturally) and actually turned out ok. It was an "Ooey Gooey Butter Cake" and called for a yellow box cake mix. However, we could only find chocolate, and it ended up looking like brownies instead of cake. It also had the consistency of unbaked brownies as well. Now that I describe it, it doesn't sound all that appetizing, but trust me, it was good. Especially since we added sprinkles to the top. All desserts taste better with sprinkles.

Laura's birthday was on a Friday and we started out at a Mexican restaurant.  I met even more German friends! We were also told by the waiter that we couldn't eat the cake at the table. I was baffled. Apparently if we wanted to eat dessert, it would have to come from the restaurant's kitchens. What is this, a caketatorship? A mutually exclusive culinary circle? We were kind of upset and plotted to sneak bites of it without anyone noticing. We also sang Happy Birthday in both English and German.

After this, we went dancing at a club. That was fun as well. I could tell that most of the songs had English lyrics, but I had never heard of them. They were funnily put together as well. I remember one line repeated about 50 times "Put a jacket on the toad" kept making me laugh. Or maybe that wasn't the exact lyric, but that's what I heard.

The rest of my weekend went pretty smoothly, Bilge came over to watch "The Big Lebowski" and that was a fun time. She'd never seen it before, so I had to explain some parts to her, but in the end, she said she liked it and that her favorite character was Donnie.

All in all, a nice week back, I'm happy I didn't miss too much. Schüss!!
German Word of the Day: Kegeln- "bowling" After a long day, sometimes it nice to have fun and go kegeln. 

Back Home

Saturday, Oct. 13th-Sunday, Oct. 21st

Yep. I got to go home for a whole week. The main purpose of the trip was to present at a conference, SECAC (the Southeastern College Arts Conference). Over the summer, I worked on a paper about Flannery O'Connor. She's mostly known for her short stories, but she also contributed cartoons to her high school and college newspapers. I examined the relationship between the two. I had a lot of fun researching and writing this paper and was excited to present it. However, that would happen in the middle of the week, Thursday, and I had a few days to relax at home and see some friends and family. 

My flight over was not that bad, I just remember being excited to get home. I only had one connection as well, so that made it a lot easier. After hugs from my parents, they asked if I was hungry. I had one thing in mind: Bojangles. We stopped on the way home and I was happy to be reunited with some Bo-rounds and biscuits.

In all of their glory

I mostly slept for the first day, but was pleasantly surprised by my sister, Leslie, who came to visit me. I was so happy to see her and a bunch of my other friends as well. On Wednesday, I drove to Columbia to meet up with my professor who would take us to the conference in Durham. It was nice getting to network with professors and students alike. 

Since  I won't be home for Halloween, we tried to cram in all the stuff we could. We made popcorn balls, decorated the house, and sort of carved a pumpkin. (I say sort of because we really just drew a face with a Sharpie and called it a day). It was really great to see everyone, but after a week, I was excited to get back to Dortmund.

Luckily my flight back over was the best one I've had. I flew United this time, and the plane was only about half full. I actually got to stretch out over three seats and sleep! The movie selection was pretty good as well, but I spent most of the flight sleeping and reading. What did make me laugh was the safety video they showed. I was flying into Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, so the video showed once in English and then again dubbed over in French. However, the second time it was shown, it was a lot shorter. All they covered was turning off cellphones and no smoking on the plane or in the bathroom. It made me giggle.

After I debarked, I had to navigate CDG airport. My parents had already warned me that it was a confusing airport. I think that's an understatement. I just followed the crowd to customs.  After I got through there, I had no idea where to go. There were absolutely no monitors showing what gate I needed to get to. I chose to follow the crowd once again and finally found a screen. However, everything was abbreviated (and in French of course) and I couldn't tell what column had the gate number. Was it A2? U33? Maybe the blinking 60-66. Then of course, there were buses transporting people to terminals. By this time, I was slightly panicking. What if I got on the wrong bus?

So I found someone official looking and asked. They kindly took my boarding pass and told me the right gate: 60-66. They also pointed me in the right direction. No buses, just an elevator down two floors and a lot of walking. Once there, I had to go through security. I got a proper pat-down from a French lady. I'm just going to wear a bikini next time, since I manage to get felt up every time I go to the airport. After I got through I had to find my gate. However, there was no 60-66. I took it to mean one whole number. However, I realized later it meant my gate could be the number 60 through 66. Lightbulb! That was really helpful since this terminal was spread out. I had 30 minutes to spare, so I spent it patrolling from one end to the other looking for my flight (of course all of the screens were blank). I'm sure I looked suspicious (especially since I passed Ms. Patdown several times) but I was determined to find it. After a lot of worrying, I finally found it, (62 for those that are interested). I still had 20 minutes until boarding so I decided to sit and cool my jets (j'aime puns!).

My flight to Düsseldorf was uneventful, and I was happy to find that my luggage made it as well! Then I boarded a train to Dortmund. Luckily it wasn't very crowded, so my giant suitcase didn't cause a problem. By the time I finally made it to my dorm, I was exhausted. However, I had made it back in time for two of my Monday classes. Though I would have much rather passed out on the bed, I went to my fantasy bestsellers class. I couldn't tell you what we talked about (I have an idea it was about the genre of fantasy bestsellers). I then trudged to my american art class. I was so tired by then that I couldn't remember how to spell my name on the attendance sheet. Luckily the teacher just lectured the whole time and didn't try to get any answers out of me.

At last I returned to my dorm. I managed to stay up until 9:00 pm and then slept. I was happy to have a mini-vacation home, but I'm also happy to be back. That's it for now, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Die Stiefel- "boots" Die Stiefel are great for squashing bugs.

Third and Fourth Day of Class!

Wednesday, Oct. 10th 

Today I only had one class. It was taught by Selma (my boss). In addition to taking her class on Culture and Technology, I am also taking a course with her about progress narratives in American literature. I've got even more reading to do now! Luckily, I'm familiar with most of the stuff we are will be reading. I was kind of bummed out that we are covering The Great Gatsby. I mean, it's a great book, but I had a class last semester where we  discussed it in depth. This is in addition to the two months we spent on the book in 10th grade. So yeah, by the end of this year, I will be a Gatsby expert (and will probably not want to ever hear about it for another 10 years). 

We are also looking at The Yellow Wallpaper and A Rose For Emily. Guess who had a short story class last semester that dealt with these two? If you guessed "Joanna" then you are a correct! Guess who also covered these stories their senior year of high school? If you guessed "Joanna" you are correct again! Good guessing! Oh well, I shouldn't complain, at least the stories are interesting, and I will have a lot of background knowledge/experience to bring to the discussion.

After class, I was free for the day. So, naturally, I went to the TKmaxx. I wasn't really looking for anything, I just wanted to browse some more. I was also in town collecting souvenirs to take home. I'll only be home for a week, but I am catching up with a lot of people, and I don't want to show up empty-handed. 

I also sampled some more German cuisine! Right next to the waffle stand, there is a Kamp's, which is a major bakery chain in Germany. I had passed this place many times, and it was time to try something. I spotted a a beef sausage wrapped in a cheese covered preztel. This was what I decided on, it was listed as a "Bobby," I'm not really sure who or what that is, but it was delicious nonetheless. 

That's it for today, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Der Honig- "honey" I like my tea with der Honig, but some people prefer sugar.

Thursday, Oct. 11th

Today I had my first discussion group. It was at 8:30 am, so I had to be up a little earlier that usual. My class only has 7 people in it, so it's manageable. Selma told us that the course was more popular in the Summer Semester, and we could have up to 30 people in our groups! So this is a nice preparation for that. We only had to do Icebreakers today, and I think they all enjoyed it. The point of the groups is to discuss what was taught in class that week, but the main objective is for them to practice their English.

For their icebreaker, they were supposed to interview their neighbor, and one of the questions gave them trouble. It said to describe yourself in three words. Only two of them actually came up with adjectives. The rest left it blank and told me it was "hard to limit someone's character/life in just 3 words." Wow. These are some deep thinkers here. They also didn't like the question that asked who you would choose to be if you could be anyone else in the world. I don't think a single person came up with a response. They said "Why would I want to be someone else? I am content with who I am and don't think you should spend your life wishing you were someone else." Wow again. I thought it was an innocent enough question, but apparently not. When it was my turn I told them that I'd like to be Homer from The Simpsons or maybe Indiana Jones. They laughed and I felt better about them loosening up.

We got done early (since they skipped two of the questions), but Selma told us to try and avoid letting them go super early. So I had to stall. Which, by the way, is not all that easy when no one talks back. I asked them what their preconceptions about America were and the only response I got was "spring break." I couldn't get them to tell me what their dream jobs were either. One boy did respond, but didn't know the right English word for it. He finally got fed up searching for the word and said "I want to destroy things!" It made me laugh so hard (he laughed too, so I didn't feel bad for laughing at him). I asked if he meant like a building demolition person. In the end, we figured out he is studying to be an engineer that tests the strength of materials like steel and plastics used in airplanes or other industrial objects. In order to test this strength, eventually the steel or whatever is destroyed. It sounded like a really cool job, if I had any math or science skills, that's the type of engineer I would want to be. After successfully stalling for 10 long minutes, I finally let them go. I think it was a good first session, everyone participated and seemed to get along.

After this, I had my class on British Horror. This, along with the Fantasy Bestsellers course, was the class I was most looking forward too. Ann-Kathrin is also registered for this one, so I got to sit next to her.  The teacher was really high energy and you could tell he was passionate about his subject. We will be watching a lot of horror films in this class. I don't really care for scary movies and usually only watch them in the daytime with the volume turned way down, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to be taking this class.

However, I really like horror and mystery novels, so maybe it will balance out. Ann-Kathrin isn't so big on horror movies either, so at least I will have a fellow scaredy-cat to commiserate with. There are also two 15-page essays due throughout the course. I was not so excited about this, but the teacher said one of the essays could be substituted with a field trip. The field trip would be a to an amusement park that opens at night during the month of October. It's very similar to Scarowinds back home.  I didn't know what to think. A field trip? Instead of an essay? Um, yes please! Of course, we have to write a short paper on our trip to the amusement park that relates back to what we have learned in class. Either way, I am super-excited to try this out.

When class was over, I had some time to kill. I decided to change sections of the language course since I only have one class on Thursday. Plus all my friends from the beginners course were in the Thursday section, and I missed all of them. It's not that I didn't learn anything in the engineering section on Tuesday, but I just felt more comfortable in this class. I showed up and was lucky enough to get an open spot.  We covered the past-perfect tense today. It was intense (another pun!), and I will definitely have to look over my notes a few times to remember everything.

It was a long day, the language class lasts until 8 at night, so I think I will wrap it up. Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Gestern- "yesterday" Gestern, all my troubles seemed so far away. 

Second Day of Class!!

Tuesday, Oct. 9th

Today I had to be up really early. I had a meeting with Professor Gruenzweig and my internship supervisor, Dr. Wettengl. I will be an intern at Dortmunder U. It used to be a brewery (the Union Brewery, that's what the big U on top is for) and it is one of the few buildings that survived World War II. Dr. Gruenzweig explained on our way there that 90% of Dortmund was razed to the ground after the war. City officials even considered moving the city to a different location, to avoid cleaning up all the rubble. However, they stayed, and have since converted this building into a center for arts and culture.

It's really impressive from both inside and out. There is a movie theater on the ground floor, several museums and exhibitions on other floors, and at the top, there is a restaurant with a really great view of the city. However, our stop was on the third floor.

We met with Dr. Wettengl and went over what my job would entail. Since I don't speak fluent German, he said at first he wasn't sure what to do with me. However, they recently acquired a big collection from the German-American artist, Hans Breder. It needs to be catalogued, and he also had a large correspondence with many people. So transcribing letters is also in my job description. This is really a great opportunity, especially for someone with limited German and art experience, so I am looking forward to learning a lot.

After our meeting, I made my way back to school. I had a few hours until my next class and spent it making a to-do list and preparing for my trip back home. Luckily Carl had a spare duffel-bag that he let me borrow, and now I can start packing!

My next class was Late Victorian Literature with Professor Laurence Kane. Carl took a Shakespeare course with him a previous semester and had already filled me in. Apparently he almost always looks disheveled and like he isn't sure where he's supposed to be. He fit the description to a T, right down to the untucked dress shirt. Carl also said that he had enjoyed all of his classes with Kane, and that he really knew a lot about his subjects. Luckily Carl was also in the Victorian lit class, so I sat next to him.

However, there were a lot of other people as well and we eventually had to move rooms since we couldn't all fit. Usually the first day is filled with organizational stuff and going over the syllabus. However, Dr. Kane wasted no time and immediately jumped into how the Victorian era came about. He also went over what books we were expected to read throughout the class. Now, I enjoy reading, maybe a little bit more than the average person, but I was kind of intimidated by his list. We are covering: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, Heart of Darkness, The Turn of the Screw, Jude the Obscure, and The Time Machine. This is in addition to at least 10 short stories. Phew! I am already behind on the first day! I've read the majority of the novels, but I would still like to refresh my memory before an in-depth discussion. I am going to have to immediately begin The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oh well. You can't really enroll in a literature course and complain about reading. I think our class size may be a little smaller next session haha. All in all, I think it will be an enjoyable class, you can tell that the professor knows his stuff, and I think I can learn a lot.

After this, I had a gap in my schedule before my language course. Carl introduced me to some of his friends and I got to know a girl named Christina. Apparently, there is a really good Indian restaurant near her and we've made plans to try and go sometime.

My language course begins at 5:45 and runs until 8. It was mostly a review of stuff I'd already learned, but the teacher was really nice and helpful. I'm kind of sad I'm not in the same section as all the other people I took the first course with. I am the only American in the class and I think I somehow placed into the Engineering section. At least 75% of the people in there are studying some sort of engineering. In any case, I sat next to a really nice Indian boy named Paukul Jain, who was studying (surprise!) Mechanical Engineering. Our teacher let us go early and I walked home. It's definitely getting colder, so I will have to remember to pack the rest of my winter clothes when I am home next week. That's it for today, it was a long one, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow (Only one class!) Schüss!

German Word of the Day: die Krankenschwester- "nurse" Die Krankenschwester brought me medicine and some water. 

First Day of Class!

Monday, Oct. 8th

Today was the official first day of the semester. My first class was the one I will be attending for my job. I am a TA for a class on culture and technology. Our class isn't too big, maybe about 50 people, and it was basically a day for introductions and course expectations. Selma had us stand up and tell who we were, and after class, the people who had signed up for our discussion groups came over to meet us. I can't recall any names right now, since I met about 20 people in a row, but I am excited to start our groups. 

After class, I had a break long enough to go home and eat some lunch. I am down to bread, meat, and cheese once again, but I don't want to go shopping since I will be leaving in less than a week. Oh well. My next class was a Fantasy Bestsellers class. We will read and discuss The Hobbit, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and His Dark Materials (the Golden Compass). I was super excited about this class and it did not disappoint. As an added bonus, Ann-Kathrin is also in the course, so we sat next to one another. She is in the process of moving to Dortmund from Iserlohn, where she lives with her grandparents. We talked about the hassles of moving and how much fun this class would be. The teacher also said that some extra knowledge about fantasy novels would be helpful. She asked who had read the Harry Potter books, and everyone but one guy raised their hand. We all laughed and mockingly gasped, and Ann-Kathrin whispered "Get Out!" under her breath. It made me laugh so hard. The fans of Harry Potter are truly devoted.

German version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Once we were done with that, Ann-Kathrin took me to the copy-shop to show me how to buy a reader. In Germany, instead of buying an anthology or several books for one class, professor's make a packet of the readings that will be required and it can be bought in the copy shop. I think it's a brilliant idea, it saves on the hassle of the bookstore, and it's a lot cheaper as well. 

After my first day, I was tired but content, and looking forward to the rest of the week. Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Das Buch- "book" Many argue that das Buch is always better than the movie. 

Thursday, Oct. 4th and Friday Oct. 5th

Oct. 4th

Today was a lazy day. We were supposed to go to an amusement park, but it rained all day.

But... I wanted to go!

Instead, I spent the day in my pajamas reading books for the upcoming semester. I’m taking a course on British Horror, so I have to have Dracula read by next week. It’s been pretty interesting so far. I’ve never read an epistolary novel, and while sometimes it is confusing, I think it’s a novel idea (another pun! Teehee). Around 7, Chris, Laura, Gergei, and Britney came over to hang out. We played a few card games and had a really fun time. That’s all I’ve got, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Regnen- "rain." Sometimes, regnen can get in the way of even the best made plans.

Friday October 5^th

Today, Chris came over to watch The Big Lebowski. That was basically my day. So, in the interest of everyone’s sanity, I will no longer be doing daily updates.  Especially since school is starting soon, I don’t want every entry to be as follows: Today I went to class. I learned a, b, c, d. Then I went home and did homework and cooked dinner. The end. I promise to keep everyone updated frequently, just not as frequently, if that makes any sense. Thanks for following me this far, I hope it’s been somewhat entertaining! Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Das Murmeltier- “Marmot” Das Murmeltier is a small rodent that can become angry if thrown in water. 

Wednesday, October 3rd

Oct. 3rd

Today, Laura, Mike, Chris, and I went to a castle. Germany continues to amaze me.  You can travel from a huge city to a medieval castle in one hour. The old and new meld seamlessly here, it really is incredible. I’ve been to Warwick castle in England and while this one was not as big, it was still just as impressive. It’s called Burg Altena and has been around since the 12^th century. 

The exhibits were really interesting and varied. It was even a youth hostel during the 1920s! I can’t imagine actually spending the night in a castle, but I bet it would be fun. We went all over, from the highest turret, to the dungeon torture chamber (creepy!). 

They even had what we termed “a pit of death” where they would just throw people into this gaping hole to die.

Don't fall in!

 We also got to try on armor and helmets! It was a lot of fun.

Knights of Nerdom

After this, we got back on the train and Laura took us to a nearby cave. (See what I mean about diversity!?)  It’s called the Dechen Cave (you should check out that link, the website gives you a panoramic view of most of the cave). It was discovered in 1868 and is thousands of years old. The tour guide told us that it takes 100 years for a stalagmite/stalagtite to grow one centimer. There were some in there that were at least 7 feet tall! My favorite part of the cave was the organ grotto. The stalactite formation there looks like a church organ. 

After we finished the cave tour, we headed home. Laura brought the German Yahtzee game I’d played before, so we played a few rounds of that. No 400 point score this time, but it was fun nonetheless. That’s all for now Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Die Fledermaus- “bat (the animal)” Upon entering a cave, don’t be alarmed by die Fledermaus hanging from the ceiling. 

Tuesday, October 2nd

October 2

Today i went shopping with Bilge and her roommate Sandra. I discovered that they actually have a TJmaxx, one of my favorite American stores. However, it is TKmaxx over here. Apparently the J is too odd of  a letter for Germans, so they just changed it to a K. It was like being back home, except this was the biggest TJ(K)maxx I’ve ever been in. They had four floors! I had to restrain myself from buying everything I saw. I ended up with some new jeans and a duffel bag. Not too shabby. 

In all of its glory.

We then stopped at a dönur place for lunch. It was delicious as usual and really cheap as well. When I got back to campus I Skyped with my professor at Columbia College. They were having an information session on study abroad and she wanted me to explain it first hand. There seemed to be quite a few people there, but we couldn’t really tell because the connection was so bad. That’s Columbia College Wi-Fi for you. I had also invited my doubles over to answer any questions that the students had. I was so grateful that they could do it, and I think it gave the session a lot more German authenticity. After this, Ann Kathrin and Carl invited me over for some pizza. The pizza in Germany is somewhat different. Basically they put anything on top. Carl’s favorite is spaghetti pizza. It’s exactly as billed, with noodles and Bolognese sauce on top of a pizza. I ordered the spinach and fried egg pizza. This was also exactly as billed, with  three fried eggs on top of the pizza. It was different.. not something I’d get again, but I was glad I tried it. After this, we watched a movie and I went home. Done for today, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Die Champignons- “mushrooms” Die Champignons do not belong on a pizza or anywhere else. 

Thirtieth and Thirty-First Day in Dortmund

Sept. 30, 2012 and Oct. 1, 2012

Today I attempted to use up all my internet. There is a 10 GB limit per month (I have no idea how much a gigabyte is, but that’s the limit), and I still had 2 GB’s left. Unfortunately, the stuff you don’t use does not roll over into the next month, so it’s kind of pointless to leave anything left over. I watched a lot of Youtube videos, Skyped with several people, and downloaded some music. However, I still had some left over. Oh well.

At 6, we met Mike’s double, Laura in town. We went to a Mexican restaurant, Sausolito’s and I had one of the best burritos I’ve ever tasted. Germany is full of surprises. We sat for a while and talked about American TV series that we watched. I asked her if there were any German ones she liked. She named one that sounded a little like CSI, where each episode the detectives have to figure out a murder. If I had a TV, I would definitely try that one out. After Sausolito’s, we went to another restaurant, Alex. It reminded me of Panera. It’s a chain restaurant in Germany, and they have really good tea, so we sat down for a drink. It was a nice night, and now I have two new restaurants to frequent. That’s it for now, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Speichern- "to save (a file)" Be sure to speichern often, or you may lose an important paper or blog post. 

Oct. 1, 2012

Today we had a meeting with Selma. She successfully passed her PhD defense back in the U.S. and had just gotten back. We divided up the discussion groups for the upcoming semester.

Then Mike, Laura, Chris, and I went into town to go shopping. Laura and Mike were looking for swim suits to go hot-tubbing. According to Laura, Germans love water and there are many indoor pools and hot-tubs in Dortmund. It sounds like something fun to do, especially in the colder months. 

When we got back, I worked on a paper for a conference in a few weeks. I’m coming back to the states, October 13-20^th, to present at SECAC (The South-Eastern College Arts Conference). My paper is about Flannery O’Connor and the cartoons she drew while at Georgia State College. I’m looking forward to presenting, but even more excited about getting to see my friends and family after such a short time away. Back to work, Schüss!

German Word of the Day: Der Stift- “pen.” When writing down phone numbers, der Stift never seems to be around.