Second day in Dortmund

Day 2 in Dortmund (Sunday, September 2nd)

My task of the day was using the bus and tram to get from my dorm to Carl’s apartment. He had explained how to read a bus schedule and which tram to get on the day before, but I was still nervous. 

When the bus finally arrived, I was shaking like a leaf. I asked uncertainly in German for a ticket to Wittenstrauße. It was my first time talking to anyone in German by myself. The bus driver was very kind and must have noticed my anxiety because he said “no problem” and “take it easy” in English. I guess he was afraid I was either going to faint or throw up on him. Neither happened, thankfully. He even alerted me when my stop came up.

Throughout my journey, two different Germans asked me questions. I had already looked up the phrase for “I don’t know.” (It’s Ich verstehen nicht, for the curious). However, I blurted out “ich nicht verkaufen” to an old lady pointing at the tram schedule. So I basically told her “I no buy.” I got my “ver” verbs mixed up. That’s probably why she looked at me like I had escaped from a mental institution. That, and the look on my face. This is the main face I make whenever someone addresses me in German:

Sometimes I wave my hands in a circular motion as well. The observant will notice a weird spot on my right hand. I fell off my skateboard a few days before I left for Germany and was subsequently left with some pretty gross looking scrapes. The first day in Germany, the one on my hand looked like I had picked up a flesh-eating virus somewhere. I had split it open again having to haul my luggage around airports. The one on my arm is even uglier:

Ok I’m done with the gross pictures…this is supposed to be a blog about Germany, not the various maladies of Joanna.

I Skyped with my parents for the first time (yay!) and told them I thought that maybe I looked German, or like I belonged since people were asking me questions. My cynical father told me they were probably trying to rob me. Thanks Dad!

I finally made it to Carl’s house with no hiccups. I was feeling pretty courageous and confident. (shoutout to the Columbia College four C’s!). However, I had to keep telling myself to not get too cocky. Which didn’t help because I ran into an issue. Not with a gun-toting grannie. Not with an errant turn. No, it was the door that let me into Carl’s house. He buzzed me up three times but I pulled on the door to no avail. Ann-Kathrin had to come let me in. Joanna Burch was defeated by a door. Apparently pushing is what you do when pulling doesn’t work. I’ve decided simple things like doors, windows, and sinks are my Achilles heel in Germany. (it’s still hard, ok?!) 

When I finally made it to Carl’s apartment, we set up my phone. As previously mentioned, I also got to Skype with my parents for the first time. It was so nice getting to see their faces and talk for an extended period instead of through text. Carl came up with the brilliant idea of yelling angrily in German off screen right before I introduced him to my parents. Ann-Kathrin told me he was basically just shouting gibberish in German, which somehow made it funnier.

After getting off Skype, we ordered some Imbiss (delicious German fast food). I had the currywurst and French fries. They were both great and Carl let me try what he got, which tasted a lot like the Gyro’s you can get back home. We watched Friends while we ate, and they switched it to the German dubbing to show me what it was like. However, they said they like the English version better since the lines and laugh track don’t always match up and it’s not as funny as the original. Go figure! We also talked some more about movies (do you see a common theme here?) and how creepy Anthony Hopkins is. I did get some practical language advice from Ann-Kathrin. She tried to teach me how to say words with umlauts in them, like this: hüpfen (to hop). It involves shaping the mouth oddly and I just couldn’t get it and ended up laughing at myself. Maybe I’ll have it down in a couple of months.

That’s the end of this entry, overall a nice and relaxing day compared to my busy first day.

Word of the day: Bart. It means beard. If Bart Simpson ever grew up, he could grow a bart.