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.
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| 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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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.
