Scouts, Rapunzel, and some other happenings this week

Monday night was my first night going to help out with the scouts, which is basically like boy and girl scouts in the U.S., only together. It was certainly interesting to say the least. The kids were absolutely nuts! They kept jumping all over me and Emily, and then they wouldn't let go, just kept hanging on us. All they did was color for the first half hour, and then we played a few games. One was "Chaos" which is where someone starts out as "it," and then once they tag someone that person becomes "it" also until everyone around them is "it" and it really does turn into chaos. (Sorry no pictures. I forgot my camera, so I will have to bring it with me next time.)

Tuesday Emily and I went to see Rapunzel (Tangled), and it was almost as cute in German as it was in English. I was hoping that maybe they wouldn't be able to translate the songs to German because that's not very easy, but they were able to, and it was still very very entertaining. I just love Eugene :)

This week we also watched Valentinstag (Valentine's Day). It was good, and luckily I've seen it before, so I was able to understand almost all of it. None of us have any movies, so we were able to get this one from one of the German students living in our dorm, but of course it was in German.

I've also taken up playing cards at night during the week with some of the other American students. I've learned how to play quite a few new games, including Euchre, which is surprisingly really fun. I thought it was going to be super boring; the name threw me off.

Saturday we went to Gießen, which is about a twenty minute train ride from Marburg. There's not a whole lot to see there, but that was ok, because we mostly just wanted to shop. I've bought myself one thing since I'v been here (a jacket), so I was excited to shop yesterday. I got a new shirt and a pair of boots. The boots were only 18 Euros, so I could not pass that up!

Then that night we went out to Südhaus again for dinner. It was the first time I've eaten Schnitzel since I've been here, and it was delicious!

Hunter, Julie, Stephanie, Kirsten, Margaret, Kelsey

Sunflower Lampshade (I thought it was pretty cute)

My plate before...

My plate after

I was soooo full though that some of the others helped me basically clean my plate. I also had some delicius Apfelwein mit Cola (apple wine with coke).

After that I went with some of the others to hang out with an American student that has been living here since September, but lives in the same dorm as us. He's from Pennsylvania, and when we met up with him at his friend's house we met his two other friends, one from Germany and the other from Ukraine. It was interesting to watch them converse in Denglish, the term they call German mixed with English.

Bis nächste Zeit!

Taco Tuesday, Munchkin Thursday, Wiesbaden Saturday

I had a very good week, starting with Taco Tuesday. Yum! I didn't think I would get to eat tacos while I was here, so that was definitely a nice surprise. The whole American group got together for this night, and the boys even made the food.

Thursday was also pretty interesting. During class, we somehow got on the topic of drugs. There's a saying in Germany, "Am Morgen 'nen Joint und der Tag ist dein Freund," which translates to, "if you smoke a joint in the morning, the day is your friend." Bahaha, I do not think I will try this German experience.

That night also turned out to be interesting. I decided to help out with one of the Scouts groups here as my club, and that night there was a get together with all of the leaders just to play games and eat snacks. We ended up playing Munchkin Kung Fu, and luckily for me I already knew how to play Munchkin in English, so it wasn't hard for me; but, I've never seen the other Americans so confused! It's a hard game to learn in English, so I can't even imagine having to learn in German! I got a 'Betrunken' card though, which means Drunk in English. Silly Germans :)

Also this week, we discovered that there is a yogurt thief amongst us! Monday, my yogurt was stolen, Tuesday Noelle's yogurt was gone, and then Thursday Emily's was gone! Blöde Diebe!

This week we also booked our tickets to Athens, Greece! This is where I have been wanting to go the most out of anywhere in Europe, so I cannot even express my excitement. That will most certainly be a long blog when I return.

Yesterday turned into an interesting day as well. Emily, Mike, Lori, and I took the train to Wiebaden for the day, which is about two hours away. We mostly wanted to go for the hot springs thermal bath, which is basically many hot tubs naturally heated by the springs that run through the city. Clothing was optional however, so of course us Americans were the ONLY ones in swimsuits. I've never seen so many naked people in my life, and that's saying something because I am a CNA. Mostly a lot of old, old men! Bah! Quite an experience to say the least.

The rest of Wiesbaden was not as interesting, but it was still a very pretty city. It was too cold to really appreciate it, but what we did see we liked very much.

 Built sometime between 364 and 373

Someone put a googlie eye on the statue, which of course isn't nice, but it's a little funny.

You can also drink the hot springs water, but they say if you can drink more than a handful, you deserve a beer. It tasted like salty well water, so we'll just say I did not deserve a beer.

This is actually all mineral build up on the fountain from the springs. You can kind of see where it starts near the top.

After the long day in Wiesbaden we came back and later that night went to Mike's birthday party. He rented the Kneipe (bar) downstairs for 15 euros. It was a good party, good music, and good cake. 

Kelsey, me, and Julie

Bis bald!

Birthday Weekend

I've never stayed out so late in my life, especially two nights in a row. It was the most fun I've had in a long time though. After class on Friday, I took the train down to see Aline, my host partner from high school, her family, and friends. That night we just talked and caught up, and later around 10:00 we went out to KUZ, a disko (or club) in Mainz. It was so cool because they mostly played older music; of course, a lot of it was old German music, but it was still a lot of fun. We stayed until it closed at 4:00 AM, and by the time we got home and in bed, it was already 5:30!

Anna, Laura, Aline, Me

The next day was Aline's birthday, 20 years old! During the day, some of Aline's extended family came over to wish her a happy birthday, and it was so cool for me to see all of them again. I love having a family here in Germany! That night we also went to see some of the local dance groups perform in a show, which included Marleen and Dunja, some of Aline's family. So many people here are part of some dance group including Aline. Every year around this time Germany has one of its biggest festivals, Carneval. And all of these dance groups perform routines at the different events during Carneval. The dance groups range in ages from 3 and up.

 

Little Vikings              

 

Pocahontas

 

      Spanish Girls (Marleen's group)

I couldn't stay for Dunja's dance though because I had to get back to Aline's and get ready for her "Bad Taste" Party, where everyone comes in clothes that nobody would actually wear in real life. All of the outfits were so hideous, including mine.(Luckily Aline had bought me something ahead of time.)  



Me, Natalie, Umi, Leah, Laura

Aline

The night was so fun. They had so much to eat and drink, and there was music playing the whole time. It was definitely one of the best birthday parties I've ever been to. It was so fun I stayed up until about 5:30 again. Much too late, but totally worth it :)

The First Ten Days

This first week has definitely been a transition. The time, the school, the dorms, the food, the people...but, I've loved almost every minute of it. I only had one moment of doubt, the first time I walked in my dorm and saw how bare and white it was. I just thought to myself, what am I doing here?! But, after a few minutes I was able to calm down, and now I'm so excited to be here.

My Classroom

We started class the day after we got here. It's Monday-Friday, 9:00-12:50, for six weeks. There are six levels, and I tested into level 2, so after these six weeks, I will take a test, and if I pass it, then I will move up to the next level for the next six weeks. If I don't then I will just stay in the same one. I'm pretty sure I'll pass though, it's been pretty easy so far :)


Since being here, I've mostly just gone to school every day, eaten lunch with friends, explored the city, I've gone to a couple Kneipes, and I've probably been to the grocery store about five times. I want to cook for myself while I'm here, but I think most of you know, I'm not the best cook. So if you've got any advice or easy recipes, let me know! I can get pretty much all of the same food here as in the U.S. (hopefully). So far I've made myself scrambled eggs, many many pb&j's, and I have some stuff for pasta.

Two nights ago, we tried finding SchwarzWeiss, which is a club/bar in one of the other dorm buildings; but, we were too early, and instead we went back into the city and went to this little bar called Südhaus. It was such an old building, and it was so cute, just tucked in the side of the hill between a couple other stores. I ordered Glühwein, which is hot wine with some spices I think. It was delicious and perfect for the cold weather.

Me, Emily, Margaret, and Kirsten

Last night we also tried out the Kneipe in our dorm. It was very small, and my friend Noelle said it reminded her of the prom from Napolean Dynamite. We spoke with some of the German students that live here though, so that was definitely the best part of the night.

And tonight, I'm going with Emily and her cousin Kelsey to find out about a leadership position with the boy/girl scouts here. I don't know much more than that, so hopefully the meeting tonight will explain everything else. While we're here, we have to join some organization or other. I was originally intending to volunteer at a hospital, so I would like to still do that if it's possible. But this program also sounds like it could be interesting and fun.

Well, I think this is more than enough for now...Bis spaeter!