watch out, it's a long one!

Ok, I will be better. Over the past two weeks I have been busy, and also not busy. As a quick sum up of what I did:
Saturday Sept. 1- Slept in, then lounged around for a while, long enough so that by the time I went into the city to do a little sight seeing, everything was closed. If I thought stores closed early in Tübingen, I was wrong. It isn't terrible, but could be better. Everything closed around 4.30pm, which is nice for the store owners, but what about lazy young adults like myself?

Sunday- went to Cologne. Took a car-sharing trip there, it took longer than I had expected so I didn't get into the hostel until around 10.30, but since I had a cell phone, and I had been corresponding with another Fulbrighter, we were all right. I met up with her and three other people she had met, it was lovely walking around the city at night. We went to a karaoke bar, but by the time I submitted my song (You Drive me Crazy by Brittney Spears), they were all booked up. Of course they didn't tell us this and we just sat and watched drunk Germans make fools out of themselves.

Monday- Zoo! We went to the zoo, and it was fun, until I got really sad realizing how sad it was for the animals that were in the cages. Yeah, I know that is where they keep them, but it still sucks for them. Later in the day all the Fulbrighters came together and we headed off for the conference. I met up with Katy, which was wonderful, and met her fellow WashU alum is also here this year, and two other Tübingeners, and ran into even more while we were there. I met a lot of people, it became really tiring to sit down and ask the same questions over and over again. Most people gave up after day one. The conference lasted until Thursday. Wednesday night, two other Tübingeners were part of the talent show. We did a little bit of improv, and it was great! Everyone said so, we had a great crowd, which makes a huge difference. It was fun because we had never worked together before and I didn't have to lead the scenes. I kinda felt like a celebrity afterwards. Then we all left for our own cities, except I head down to Tübingen!

Thursday- I stayed with Kelly and Daniel, and we chatted about different things, mostly German, that aggravated us, and laughed a lot together. They seem to be doing really great, which, of course, I am happy about. She is always a great hostess. If I come to visit after October, they will even have an extra room. That night I met up with the new Valpo kids in town. That was really fun, until a German guy came up to us and decided to tell us how felt out American politics. It was not exactly the nicest way to put things, and eventually I said we were already late for an appointment. I took them to a great pub where we sat and drank our beers, Jen her Kiba, and talked and laughed some more. They all say they want to come visit, but it is far for them.

Friday- breakfast/lunch with Kelly, lots of talking with Kelly, then catching the train to Reutlingen, where I met up with Andrea! Hooray! It was great, great to see her and Dan, and also great to have something other than the wedding to talk about. We seem to get into step with each other faster and faster, maybe it is the seeing each other only a few weeks apart, I have really been appreciating that. We went on a shoe hunt, and both got a pair of new shoes. Hers were a little cheaper than mine.

Saturday/Sunday- tournament in Stuttgart. I played with Frankfurt, they aren't the best team, but they have fun. It was frustrating for me, but April continued to explain to me that they just started training with a real coach, and working towards something. We took 19th place, hey, not so bad for nationals, right? Well, there were 21 teams in total. The party was a bit lame, felt a lot like high school, or I guess now I can compare it to fraternity parties. It is weird feeling older than I am because most Germans are students until they are about 25, but right now I am not a student, nor am I working towards my career goal (which I am still seeking).

Sunday night- back to Reutlingen! I don't think the excitement about seeing Andrea and Dan will wear off this year. Monday morning I took the train all the way back to Greifswald. It was a long ride, but a good, relaxing one. It was the first time I really enjoyed being on the train. Of course my muscles were really sore by that time, and my feet hurt, so sitting was wonderful. I just listened to my iPod (yay, God!), and the time went by.

Tuesday- I was supposed to start at school, but my teacher had a lesson she was filling in for, and it all kinda got muddeled up. She then said it would be best for me to register with the city and start the Visa process. This took far longer than I had expected. In Tübingen, it took all of 30 minutes, but here there was a big line, and registering and getting a Visa were two different things. And I am not even done, because they have to check with Tübingen to make sure of whatever.

Today- Actually started school! But I just sat in the back and listened to the lesson, quite boring, not what I was expecting. Maybe it is too much to ask for, to be the main attraction, at least for one day. But this is what other assistants said happened to them, they were asked many questions. I think tomorrow will be better, I am with my mentor teacher, and I explained that I wanted to be more interactive. Then after some sitting around in my room watching Scrubs, I rode into town again. Bought Harry Potter in German, a cook book, and a TV guide and then went to the Catholic student center, where on Wednesday nights they get together and hang out. I was really nervous when I got there, but the students made me feel really comfortable. They made Käse Spätzle, which I am always in the mood for, and just talked and laughed together. It was nice, being with about six other people, all who will just speak German with you. Maybe it was the being around that much German, but I got really tired, and was the first to leave. But they are all on break right now, and I have work tomorrow. Speaking of, it is pretty late.

I promise more of a daily/social commentary. I always think of good things to blog about, but then I never do, so it becomes boring such as this entry. Next time, it will be shorter and cleverer.