Planes, Trains, and Automobiles OR No fat postmen in Germany

So this is it. My last day in Germany.

It was bound to happen but I got a little sad last night cleaning and packing up. Now it's starting to look more like the room I remember seeing when I first arrived tired, hungry, and jetlagged.

But I leave tomorrow and it's taking all of Germany's public transportation to get me there. I first catch a bus from my place to the train station. Then a train from Regensburg to Munich. Last I'll pay a ridiculous amount of money for a taxi to get me to the airport. Then the plane will fly me to Frankfurt, where I shall wait.

Also, I was under the delusion Frankfurt was my only layover. I'm not quite sure anymore. The most recent email notice says it's the only one, but my account on the site I booked with says I'll be chilling in Philly for about an hour and a half before actually getting to Nashville. I honestly don't know.But as long as I get on a plane going to the states it's all going to be okay. I'll figure it out.

Also, while purchasing my one-way ticket for Munich today I saw one of the mailmen out and about on their bike, delivering mail. And it hit me. All the postmen I've seen delivering mail here always have bikes with backpacks and baskets. No motorized mail transportation, no fat postmen. It's amazing.

I've spent the last week trying to decide what to do with this last blog about Germany and I've come up blank. I suppose it should have something like a life lesson at the end or I should talk about how I've grown... but I honestly do not have those type of writing skills. That and my laziness is a factor. It's just hard. There're so many things to talk about that it would be hard to express it in a sentence. Well, maybe not. I will once again miss bakeries. Why the town I reside in cannot have a small bakery chain is beyond me.

But I have nothing I want to say specifically. Generally, I'll admit this. I had no plans or expectations for this trip. I decided to apply for this study abroad program on a whim and within a week of hearing that they were short people, I had applied and paid all of my fees, not knowing what I would do about my responsibilities at home or what would happen to my plans for graduation or... anything. I just decided to go and I left. And for those curious, the only major source of money I had on this trip (besides small family contributions and my meager savings from over-working myself at Wal-Mart this past summer) was my financial aid. That was it. I still traveled (although not to the extent of some) and I still ate well and tried new things and did a bit of shopping and all was well.

But all good things must come to an end, as it has been said over and over. And so this is ending. I'll go visit my neighborhood bakery soon and take pictures of where I've lived but for the most part, this is done. I came here scared and unsure and more than a little confused about the two dots over some of the vowels in the words I was seeing everywhere. But now I'm here, same place but further along in time and I can successfully ask for a pretzel politely.

And so, this is it. I'm here and a better person for it. Maybe. I'm never quite sure on the quality of myself, however I'm sure lots of things have been put into perspective now. Maybe not everything but some things.

So there you have it. The end.

Until I'm return, cheers.

Oh, the places you will go... and what you might do there

So, I'm watching Harriet the Spy (old 90's movie, produced by Nickolodeon when they were hip) and relized, after taking my final this morning, I should have calculated my grade before deciding on putting no effort into my HON 252 (aka HUM 212) final. I was fairly certain I would be okay, but I wanted to check.

So, of course, I bust out my trusty TI-30X solar calc (I could marry a Texas Instruments calculator. I'm good at math, but my mental math... eh, not so hot. Well, it depends I guess on what I'm doing... I think I might still be okay at doing a derivative and FOIL and finding proportions...). Anyway, I start off with worst case scenario: 80%. Huh. 93.8% for the course.

Of course, then I wonder what the lowest I could have make to receive 90% for the course. I keep working my way down until I get to 46%. Freaking unbelievable. I could fail the final and still have an A in the class. All of a sudden, I'm glad I didn't put that much effort into the final for the class, because I busted by behind the entire semester to make the John (our program director/course instructor) feel like the class wasn't a total waste (because everyone else did).

So, looking back, I realized my late night rant to Chris (I might post it sometime when I get the chance to edit all the expletives I littered throughout the conversation. Out of respect for those of you who do read this, I realize that my language probably is a bit rougher than is necessary at times and I don't want you to think I need to sensationalize this with language. We'll talk about my opinion on expletives later.) was possibly a combination of a bad day/lack of food/irritation/in the doldrums of bottomless despair.

I'm not quiting college, albeit because I have no where else to go.

But after realizing I'm possibly receiving all A's this semester, my mood has perked up a little. But not by much mind you. Just enough to think that maybe I'll buy some ice cream for myself later.

Cheers.

... counting to 10 is more difficult than it looks...

"God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference."

... and God? Just between you and me and all the people who read this blog, I hope you're a strong advocate in the process of karma.

The idea that karma exists is the ONLY thing that is making me press onward with tomorrow. This is no joke, God. I'm serious... as serious as a human can be toward a being they believe is the cause for their very existance. I mean, this isn't a threat or anything. I'm just saying, retribution should be swift and visible tomorrow.

Feel free to bust out anything old school like flames or hail storms or locusts. Are locusts indigenous to Germany, God? I mean, if they aren't, eighty-six the insects. It's not really fair of me to ask you to actively involve yourself in old school justice and on top of that defy basic biological ecosystems. It really isn't, no sarcasm intended.

But, you know, God, today was not fair at all for me. Yes, I'm supposed to be an adult about everything and just tell myself, "Oh, well. That's life. Just do your best."

No, God. I refuse. I've done that one too many times and have not recieved any sort of encouragment.

Not fair.

Not one iota.

"Tell him to stay gold... or something..."

So, as I doubt that anyone on the program reads my blog, this isn't so much a confession as it's just a detailing of facts from the past couple of days. Explicit language might follow. Ok, I lie. It will follow. This is a rant.

I've been sick since last Tuesday. I had to go to the hospital on Saturday. I've had the flu, a stab-like pain in my side, and I thought I was having a heart attack (which apparently were heavy muscle spasms... I'm not really sure. The doctor didn't speak great English. He just said I was "tip-top.")

But that's only half the reason I've been in a foul and intolerant mood.

I'm sick and tired of giving trying more than anyone else to pretend that this is actually college related. By this, I mean the lectures that are called "classes" but are actually more like periods of time where you're welcome to learn something if you feel like it. Most people put their traveling before the classes and, you know, I could care less.

I care when my valuable time is wasted. For example, I'm pretty sure in GER 101 there are some pretty suck ass grades floating around because a couple of weeks ago, everyone was screaming for extra credit. There was the first of my annoyances. College was supposed to be a challenge to yourself, not a desperate attempt for a good GPA so you can get some crap ass job you think you might like after not being quite sure what you want to do with a degree. And I'm pretty sure I've never once been in a class where someone was brave enough to ask for extra credit.

Honestly, I'd be embarrassed if my grade was that horrible I felt the need for extra credit... especially here because the GER 101 class is easier than ENG 101. That is no joke. Well, I possibly exagerate because I never had to take ENG 101. It might have had something to do with me coming out of high school (and subsequent years of public schooling) knowing what an indefinite article is. Just a guess on my part.

So, all this week I've not given a shit about what my attitude has been toward others (more specifically, those who felt the need to screw around this entire time). I guess my breaking point came yesterday. In light of the knowledge that our the majority of our class might be a little slow at the English language (much less German) our German teacher was nice enough to give a detailed review of EVERYTHING we'd need to know for the test today.

The people who expressed extreme concern for their grade on the test today and who had screamed for extra credit, almost got an earful. From me. Instead of maybe taking the opportunity to listen for once, they fucked around taking pictures and video of this guy in our class who apparently looks like Robert Pattinson (of Twilight film fame... don't get me started). They started an album on Facebook. There is proof.

I walked out of the classroom in the middle of lecture. I couldn't take it. I walked around the building, looked at flyers, and tried to keep my cool.

And of course, the stuff with the humanities class.

I just can't find the will to go on being nice and tolerant in class. Quite honestly, it's not fair for anyone to expect me to. I participate and I study and I complete homework. I refuse to pretend like I'm ok with stupidity from this day forward.

I know that knowledge should be a reward in itself, but I'm not a great human being like that. I don't see these people suffering any immediate negative consequences so I feel indignant. Who the fuck cares if their grade suffers? What good does that do for me? They'll still graduate one day. They'll still get jobs and people will still respect them (for some reason). Even if it was just the denial of extra credit, I would have felt that my hard work was justified, you know?

Anyway, I'm not sure when I'm going to get out of this mood so I can't promise that the optimistic and happy rating for my next few blogs will shoot through the roof.

Cheers.

"So, why don't you update your pictures or videos?"

Um. Simple. One, the Picassa Web uploader Blogger uses to connect your pictures here is not reliable. I have uploaded hundreds of pictures and none of them show as updated when I want to switch slideshows.

The video is my fault. First, I should have realized I'm not too big on making videos featuring my voice and second, my computer cannot handle the massive awesomeness of a video being edited.

So, there you go. I might try to do one last upload out of desperation, but I might just have to start a flickr account and post the link so you guys can see all the thousands of useless pictures I've taken. As far as video... I'm not quite sure that's ever going to come back.

Not while using this computer anyway.

Ok. Glad we cleared that up.

Cheers.

Frustration to the infinite power

There we were, discussing Sartre's "Existentialism." I knew this was going to be heavy stuff. Most of the people in the humanities/honors course were heavily into their Christian beliefs (I say their own personal ideas, because most of them express some deviation from the literal teachings of the Bible).

I can't even remember what we were talking about. It had been pretty heated (although I didn't really pay much mind. I was working on a small art project made of page tabs in neon colors. This stuff was easy compared to classes I've had before like this). And then I heard this:

"Life is just like go to college, get a job, maybe have a family, be miserable at your job and then die or whatever... it's so cylindrical... It's depressing..."

My first incliniation was to suggest maybe it was "cyclic" instead of "cylindrical," but then the better part of me kicked in. Internally it went something like this:


"Wait. Wait. Wait.... Did she just acknowledge her life maybe had more to it and then deny it?"

I should mention that this girl also didn't like the use of the word, "purpose," in describing the point of life. She liked to believe that she was just in a "good place in life."

And I sit there. The conversation rolls on. I finally say something like it's sad that people think that way, but in reality, I knew she was talking about herself. She was sitting there, admitting to herself that her life might be a little lacking and brushed it off.

This really doesn't even touch how sad and frustrated and depressed I am over today's discussion in humanities. When I read it, I felt this catharsis because I am in the middle of experiencing despair and anguish and fornlorness over religion and my own belief systems and I was stupid in thinking others would see it to.

And now, I have to admit to myself that my fellow human beings want nothing better than the bare minimum in the way of understanding how to live, why we live, and to what purpose we keep living... a good majority anyway.

Really, my day is a smidge ruined. I had another girl tell me once I presented ideas that made her think and that I was so intelligent. Well, good heavens! Here it was, staring her in the face. Written on the paper are the words "condemned to freedom." Maybe 4 pages describing things I think about all the time. And she ignored it. Instead of thinking for themselves, I'm afraid to discover that most are happy to be an observer to thoughts.

And I am so infinitely sad. So, so very sad.

The Danglish-Spanglish One

So, I get tired of constantly rambling about being a hyper-introspective twenty-something in Europe. I do have other interests. So enter in: "The Danglish-Spanglish One."

Hopefully, this little project I'll keep up with. I've actually taken quite a liking to German and, in general, I'll be resuming my Spanish studies in the states (after a year hiatus of pretending to know something about art).

What can you expect from this blog? Lots of strange words, interesting connections, and my frustrated ramblings about the American education system.

So, maybe it'll be fun. This blog was a little late in starting, I suppose. However, I'll still be studying both Spanish and German when I return to the states so, hopefully that'll keep things interesting.

Any feedback?

Cheers.

Down to the Wire

Today, being November 8th, marks the one month countdown. Quite honestly, I can't believe it.

I never thought I would like German this much, or Germany for that matter. However, after my experience in Italy I know one thing: culture shock hits me most when I know nothing of the language. At least with German, I knew enough of it to get around in the first couple of weeks here (thanks to my German phrasebook and asking a lot of questions the first couple of days). After one day in Venice, I was ready to leave Italy. I think what made it worse was that it LOOKED like Spanish and I felt like I should know it, but, of course, it's not Spanish.

But, I've returned. I was at the hospital yesterday, but we'll talk about that later if I feel like it... honestly, I feel horrible and I've been put on bedrest.

I should be working on a paper that's due this Friday, but I haven't even touched it. These last two weeks of school will be the hardest because I'm not just finishing up the semester; I have to also worry about packing and getting home. Believe me, English everywhere will be a shock. I know I should be working on the paper. I have time... but I might just do it tomorrow.

My German 105 class has ended so that means extra time for me in the afternoons... and I get to hear less bitching from everyone. That's been the most annoying part of being on a non-language intensive program; everyone is here to be on a safer version of the "back packing through Europe" phase in their life and the parents support it because it's called "study abroad." Bunch of crap in my opinion. Europe is now a Mecca for all twenty-somethings to go on a fact-finding, soul-searching journey before the "real" adult life begins. And, thanks to the wonders of modern-day tourism, every soul-searching adult can buy a t-shirt of the brief Nirvana they've found here. And thanks to the wonders of other countries realizing it's important to learn more than just their own language, these twenty-somethings are free to use English all they like.

I'm ranting I know. It's this whole 11 day Fall Break thing. Everyone finally stopped bitching about not having enough time and they went somewhere. When they come back, they'll continue to bitch about having classes.

Ah. But I'll shut up. I have too much to rant about today. Maybe later I'll talk about it.

Cheers.

Oh the splendor of Venice... kinda

Italy seems to be the ideal of everyone's "where to go before you get busy in life." I'm at a loss why.

Upon arriving Venice via the Santa Lucia train station, I was immediately glad to be rid of the fiasco that was the sleeper car. I ended up on the top bunk of a six bed compartment that was anything but spacious. My worst fear was rolling off the bed at a sudden stop. That and the people we shared the beds with weren't my choice bedmates: the Japanese guy hardly spoke English, Italian, or German and had caused the aforementioned language complication fiasco wanting to lock his luggage to the ladder which was going to be used by a couple of people; the English guy who was nice enough. I think he was a doctor because we talked about healthcare reforms for about two hours this morning and he mentioned working for the NHS (or whatever the British healthcare system is called); and the two Italians. I'm not sure if all Italians are this strange or rude but one wanted the overhead light on the entire evening so she oculd read and, I found this out after the event, the man (who we assumed was married to the woman) tried multiple times to propostion my friend I'm traveling with, assuring her that she shouldn't be scared because it was going to be her "first time with an Italian." Upon hearing about this I laughed and then suddenly became serious saying, "You should have woken me up. I would have spat out the nastiest German I knew. Even 'Das ist die Katze.'"

So, we arrive and, our good luck, our hostel is fairly easy to find and close to the train station. The only bad part is we have to wait 3 hours to check in. So, we store our luggage at the train station and explore. We walked around and took a waterbus to the Rialto Bridge and shopped and ate in the "Heart of Venice" (at least that was what the sign said). I ate at "Pronto Pesce," some place that had been featured on a food show on the Travel Channel. Visiting the Mercato del Pesce was probably my favorite part of the day. In Regensburg, "Fischmarkt" is only a bus stop (although it used to be the fish market). Here, fish market meant just that: fresh seefood everywhere. I've seen open air markets before with cow body parts everywhere, but fish is more appealing to me.

At noon we check in and relaxed. I haven't been feeling well since yesterday and I'm a little worried to be honest. I'll have to go to the doctors when I get back to Regensburg. Either that or talk to the program director and see what he thinks.

After taking a break, we went out again and found San Marco Plaza with the bascilica and walked around. I ate gelatto and chastised myself for not bringing my camera. All the vendors had lights, so it would have made a nice picture.

Now, it's getting to be that time and soon we'll be off again. I haven't quite decided if I like Italy or not. The weather has been lousy and the place seems a bit more run down than my romantic ideals of the place would like me to believe. Actually, I have a friend who's inviting me to come along at the end of next May to Italy because his family owns a townhouse south of Venice. I haven't quite decided on what to do there. I'd like to come back when the weather is nicer and bring my nice camera and take photos because I won't have to worry about paying for the plane ticket or lodgings. We'll see what to do about that later. I'm more concerned about how my summer classes might play out.

So, that's it. My quick run through of Venice, Italy: the city on water. I can confirm it is defintiely on water.

Alright then. Cheers.

The Vienna Recap

Since I haven't blogged since first arriving to Vienna, I thought I'd give a short recap of the adventure before going onto the new topic: Venice (my current location).

After settling into our room, we made our way down to the city center and ate at some place called Shanghai Resturant and had chicken in oyster sauce and a Chinese beer. They also treated us to some gluhwein (umlaut that "u" though). It is my new favorite autumn drink; the warm wine tastes like a sweet, spicy cider. We headed back to our room and that was the end of day one.

Day two we had a couple of things on our "to see" list: the Hundertwasserhaus, the Riesenrad, and the Haus der Meeres (the aquarium). We found the Hunderwasserhaus with a little trouble but it was astonishing. We even ate in a cafe in the complex to experience the oddness of the architecture. While walking to the Riesenrad, we also found the Kunst Haus Wien (Vienna Art House) and took pictures of it (Ann Leibovitz had an exhibition there and she's not one of my favorites). About 10 minutes later we made it to the Prater Garten and found the Riesenrad (giant wheel... so obviously a farris wheel). Finally, we found our way to the Haus der Meers, an old World War II bunker with a sign on top saying, "In the dark of the night, all smashed to pieces" (or it was something like that). The aquarium was about 5 floors of not only fish, but reptiles, insects, and amphibians as well. They even had a large tank full of koi fish that you could touch. I had my hand in cold water for about ten minutes and touched a couple. After that, we did a little wandering around and some shopping (I bought a new scarf and kept drooling over a 200 Euro pair of Armani sunglasses). The end of day two.

Day three, we had to check out by ten and then we ran off to our train station to see if maybe they had lockers for our luggage so we could run around all day with nothing to worry about. Turns out our train station did not (Vienna has three train stations). So we ran to one of the larger stations and threw our luggage in there. We visited the Schloss Schonbrunn (umlaut the "o" in "schon," please) and the Tiergarten ("animal garden" = "zoo"). I love going to zoos in foreign countries because they seem more relaxed about the rules. In the Monkey House, they had a couple of small monkeys that ran around loose and you could touch them (as long as you were careful... we saw one women get bit). But the best part was the bat cave. We weren't sure if we could go in, but it was a large cave with bats flying all around you, no glass or anything. It was terrifying and at the end proclaimed that I knew why Bruce Wayne became Batman. We then decided to do one last thing and visit the Nasch Market (just a big, open-air market). I had baklava and gluhwein and all was perfect in the world.

We had a small snag in finding our train to Venice because it turned out our train split in Salzburg and we didn't know what that was in German, so we were a little confused. Then, there was some issue with a beds in our compartment (language issues: Japanese, English, Italian, and German all being thrown around), but all was setteld and now we're here... well, we've been here for a good bit.

Until later, cheers.

"Let's get the hell out of Munich."

The adventure begins at about 9:30 am yesterday morning (Saturday Okt. 31, Halloween):

After only sleeping for about 3 hours (I've been having trouble getting enough sleep at nights), I wake up with a tremendous headache and the faint sensation that I should feel panicked because I haven't packed for this week vacation yet. That and the feeling that some animal has used my mouth as a toilet. Nothing Crest couldn't solve.

So, I wake up and shower and start throwing every possible thing I could conceive as being needed into my small luggage case, as well as trying to remember when I ate a large meal last (because my eating habits haven't been so great either lately). I have until about 3 pm to get things settled because I wanted some time at the train station to assure that everything would be peachy keen before our 3:46 departure for Munich. So, 2:50 pm comes around and the first snafu of our trip has begun: usually the buses aren't too croweded on the weekends. Apparently, an exception is made on holidays. I had completely forgotten about Halloween. So, between the two of us (me and a friend from the program are traveling together) with 5 bags altogether, we had to squeeze onto the bus. I'm still optimistic.

Upon walking from Albertstrasse (the main bus stop) to the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station), we arrive with plenty of time to spare. We buy a Bayern ticket that assures us for the low, low price of 28 Euro, we are guaranteed safe passage on any transport vehicle in Bayern (Bavaria). I take some money out of the ATM (Automatgeld) and make the sorry mistake of buying a fish sandwich instead of my standard pretzel at the bakery. We take our luggage, get onto landing 4, and wait patiently for our train. Usually, arriving to the platform early means you'll usually find a good seat. Not the case. Halloween has every form of transportation we've planned on using packed. I spent the first hour and a half to Munich sitting in a fold-down seat in the middle of an aisle in front of the wildly popular WC (Water closet = restroom). For the last hour, we move into one of the larger hallways and end up standing. Again, in front of an equally popular WC. Scale of my optimism: 8.2 out of 10.

We hop off the train and head off to the Reisezentrum (Travel center) to obtain a Munich train schedule (in the event anything goes wrong) and to see if maybe we can find a map, because we still have a concert to get to in Munich before running off and having wild adventures in Vienna, Austria. We find a place to store our luggage and I change my shoes to a pair of heels so I'll look presentable. We had two tickets to see a performance of Handel's Wassermusick and I was pretty excited. Just a note of warning: if you ever Google "Munich Opera House schedule" and are given a schedule, make sure it's at the Munich Opera House. Both of the performances we were scheduled to see were at the Nymphenburg Palace. Optimism has decreased to about 6 out of 10.

We buy a 30 cent map and ask for directions from the tourist center. We find the tram to Schloss Nymphenburg easily enough and my optimism soars to about 8 again. I'm feeling confident even after trying to find the palace while it was dark. I'm sure it's gorgeous during the day, but during night it's a little scary. There's water everywhere and it looks like a large amount of private property. We're walking along the sidewalk next to the creek (or whatever it was) that, apparently, leads into a VERY large pond. We were walking and laughing and my friend was taking pictures... and we were about two steps away from walking into the pond. There were no railings and our sidewalk had eneded. My friend only noticed it ended because she had looked up from her camera. I had been paying little attention. Despite an almost watery plunge and a 15 minute walk to the front entrance (it's a very large palace), my optimism is at a 9. We've made it to checkpoint 1 on the leg of our week journey.

We walk in, get our tickets and I order a refreshing Apfelschorle (carbonated apple juice. Don't knock it until you've tried it). We stand around for a while, surrounded by people talking (whom I cannot understand at all, because it's all German) and they finally allow admittance into the concert. I'm excited. We walk up and I proudly present my ticket. One of the doormen looks at me with a disgusted look on his face and begins to harrass me in German (in the nicest way possible). I caught the phrase "Garderobe" and "grosse tasche." Basically, I had to check in my "large bag" into the jacket closet. This is nothing new; it's happened before. Until I had to pay 2 Euro for some woman to give me a piece of paper with a number on it and she uses a clothespin to attach a piece of paper with a corresponding number. I'm a little disgruntled so my optimism is about at 8 out of 10.

We find our seats, which are only ten feet away from the stage and I'm pretty excited, despite the lack of a program. We watch the program for an hour and, after that one hour, everyone takes a big bow and they begin walking off stage. They even take the fortepiano away (for the longest time we were stumped as to what the actual identity of the instrument was; my friend thought it was a glockenspiel, but I was certain that was more like a xylophone. A quick look at Wikipedia cleared up the confusion).

So, we think, "Not too bad." A nice concert, even if it was only an hour, but I didn't know how these things worked in Germany. I was just happy to have gone. So, we begin leaving, walking down the same path we had came down from when we realize everyone is still in the reception hall, eating snacks and whatnot. Surely, it was over. They had made it seem so final and there was no mention of an intermission. There was even a ticket option for dinner so maybe they were staying for dinner. We kept debating this amongst ourselves until we got back to the tram. We decided if the fortepiano (we were calling it the Glockenspiel, for lack of a better word) away, then it was over. We'll never know. My optimism was a steady 8.5 out of 10.

We arrive back to the Hauptbahnhof and decide we need food after a nice cultural experience. Of course, McDonald's is the obvious choice. Happily eating my Euro McChicken, an order of "grosser Pommes" (large fries), and a "kleiner schoko-shake" (small chocolate shake), I was in good spirits. I hardly eat at McDonald's in the states, but you'll be surprised at how good it tastes when it's familiar. I bought a Happy Meal in Regensburg and, after sticking my head into the box to smell the contents, proclaimed that, "It smells like America in a box." I never once ate in a McDonald's in Mexico, but I have no qualms eating it here when my alternative options more than likely included some pork based product. No, I haven't been able to eat pork. I've asked people for small bites of bratwurst and schnitzel, but all have been a little gross. I stick with the chicken/turkey alternatives. Optimism is now at about 9.

We have to stand around and wait for at least 2 hours for the train. During this time, my optimism gradually plummets to 6 out of 10. I was cold and I hadn't slept well the night before; I was ready to crash and we had regular seats on a night train (no sleeper coach). I bought a book (besides the two others I had brought along with me to read) and decided that our train was coming up, so we decided to haul our luggage out of storage. We do so and my friend goes to buy a bottle of water before the trip. I buy another bottle of Apfelschorle since the glass I'd had at the concert was pretty good.

Our train arrives and I'm a little hesitant. Here in Europe, you get to know the trains and what sets them apart country to country. The train that had pulled up was definitely not German. I was a little hesitant. I look at the destination board and see it's final destination is Budapest. Hmm. We get on the train and hope for the best. I read for the first hour and passed out until our transfer in Austria. Not the best sleep I've ever gotten but everyone was quiet. Optimism was still at a 6 at the transfer station because I was clod and tired and having to haul my luggage.

Our transfer train comes and it's empty. I silently thank God that the last hour of our journey is a little more pleasant than the first six. We ride the train all the way to the Wien Westbahnhof and, using the directions the hostel gave me, we found our way easily to our place. Excited at the prospect of sleeping in a bed, I was feeling pretty good about this trip. Until there was no one at the reception desk. Confused we go back outside and ring the bell. Inside a woman begins to yell at us in German. Apparently the reception would not open until 7:30 am. It was only 7 am, so we decided it wasn't so bad.

Then, a young man walks in and goes behind the reception desk and asks if he could help us. Well, thank heavens.

"We need to check-in," I said.
He looks at me, confused. "Check-in doesn't begin until at least 2 pm."
I look back at him as if he's just spoken Czech to me. I turn to my friend. "What did he say?"
"He said we can't check in until 2 pm."

We've just spent the last six hours in the commons louge where the only lighting is multi-colored neon lights. I kept racking my brain, knowing I had thought check-in was good for any time. Upon discovering I had WiFi acces in our room, I checked out our hostel reservation and there it was: "No curfew. 24 hour access and check in."

So despite that being the low point of our trip so far, we're here and in one piece. We're about 20-30 minutes away from the city center (via bus) but we're on top of a hill here with a great view of the city.

So, let's hope this is the worst part of the trip.

Cheers.

A Letter to Chris

[Note: This blog has expletives scattered throughout]

Dear Chris,

Today has been one of those days that, had I been God, I would have prevented everyone from existing. It was a non-stop annoyance fest and I was not in the mood to deal with childishness.

Funny how since I've been here I've actually grown. When they said you'd learn to be independent on this program they meant it. I'm surprised that I've booked trains and hostels for an 11 day trip through 2 countries and, on top of that, have been keeping up with my grades here. I've felt like I have a little more confidence in myself.

Unfortunately, I think the greatest lesson I am taking away from here is that no matter where I go, I'm still going to be me. I don't magically change with the atmosphere. Yes, I've had to curb my usual demeanor for the sake of getting along with the people on my program, but on the whole, I kind of understand what it means to be me.

It sounds cheesy but it kind of applies; have you ever read The Diary of Anne Frank? We had to when I was in 7th grade and I remember one of the last things in the book. She had written that she was only truely herself when she was alone. And for years and years I thought I understood it, but it isn't until being here that I think I finally know it.

Being alone, being one of me here, uncompromisingly Kim, I can finally stop believing what therapists and teachers and all hosts of other people try to tell me: that the way I am is a result of all the things that have happened to me and, once I deal with those things, I can finally start being myself.

Quite honestly, it's pure shit. The things that happen to you are supposed to shape you, no matter if it's good or bad. Unfortunately, our society has these silly standards in which there is this expected amount of "normalcy" and if you don't fall within an appropriate standard deviation of the "normalcy" curve, then you need to change.

And I'm sick of it. I'm tired of people telling me I'm too guarded and too serious and that I need to "loosen up." I had people tell me that here. One girl in particular actually said to me that, after a few beers, I was finally showing my "true self." Well, fuck. Who was I before? I can't keep apologizing for who I am. Yes, it's unfortunate I can't just be ignorant about things constantly. Maybe if it were possible, I wouldn't be so sad.

I think that's true. The reason why I do become sad more frequently than others is the fact I think about things a lot more often. Difficult things. Like wondering what it means to be human. Do you realize how often that crosses my mind? Too often for someone who is twenty-one years old, that's for sure.

One of those days

I have no ambition, once again, to write about anything of consequence. It's been a fun-filled day what with the soccer game in Munich, but sometimes there are moments when it takes everything in my power to deal with some of the people who are in my program.

At the end of the day, the lesson is always the same: no matter where you travel, you always take yourself along. And sometimes yourself can get ugly when people chatter like a cluckold of hens.

Cheers anyway. I promise to write a substantial blog before my Fall Break.

"Das ist nicht verhandelbar."

I'm going to be honest; I don't quite feel like filling everyone in my approxiamtely three week absence from the blog. To be perfectly frank, when I'm showing off pictures, I'll be able to recount the stories.

Part of the reason I became a little disheartened with the blog was because 1)There were people I knew back home I told mulitple times I would be in Regensburg this semester and they just now realized I was gone. And 2)Just a lack of interest except for immediate family and Chris (who skims over it most of the time).

Yes, I pessimistic at the moment. I'm a little disheartened with humanity at the moment and people on the whole. I could cry. And yet, despite the long hours I've lost sleep these past two weeks due to rampant insomnia, I will still have my German homework completed and will be one of the few people succeeding in the class. Irony at its finest.

I don't know what's going on. I could just lay down and sleep my fal break away honestly. However my plans have changed and I will, instead, be visiting Vienna (Wien) for two days, and Italy for three-ish days. Also I'll be attending to performances at the Munich Opera House. So, not exactly sleeping comfortably. I'm might buy a pillow for the train.

Anyway, just a quick note to say, "I'm alive."

Cheers.

Overdue

So, I know this is late. But since I think I remember saying something about going to Prague (or if I didn't, I am now). If I didn't flesh out the details to Berlin, I'll have to recap that later. This is because the trip to Prague, Czech Republic, was epic.

Last Thursday, I caught the 2:19 pm train leaving for Prague along with two other girls. There was no careful planning; whatever had been in my bag for Berlin I took (but exchanged the underwear and socks). And, of course, I grabbed my passport.

So, I hop on the train after a full morning of classes and a severe lack of preparation, I left for Prague. I was armed with a handy book from the Regensburg Hauptbahnhof (train station) that told us the all the times of departure and arrival from Regensburg to Prague... along with transfers.

This was the first of the misadventures; I had read the schedule incorrectly and didn't realize we had a transfer. By the time we had stopped at the station, we realized the our mistake and quickly hopped onto the train for the five hour ride to Prague. Settling in I was armed with a book, a fully charged iPod with $30 worth of new music on it and a sense of relaxation after the almost bad turn in our trip.

After about ten minutes on the train, a police officer comes by. He says something in German and the German girl in front of me pulls out her passport and I follow suit. Happy that I've passed inspection, I realize my two companions are looking at me. I say, "He's just checking passports, no big."

The other two girls stare at me and then a flurry of movement happens. Both of them are tearing through their bags and purses and I already know: they don't have their passports.

Let me put this into perspective: These two have already traveled a lot and been out of the country. They're feelings about being here are carpe diem while in Europe. They're pretty fearless to the point of inconsiderateness sometimes. However, while making their plans for the weekend, they forgot the most important item on the checklist. I, on the otherhand, have never traveled without our program and my first time really experiencing indepedent travel was in Berlin... not that far away from our trip to Prague.

So, they don't have their passports. The police officer informs them that they'll have to get off at the next stop. In the five minutes we have to formulate a plan, we decide to send me to check into the hostel because it would be silly for me to repay for another ticket to get to the transfer station again. And I'll pay for the hostel. For all of us. For the entire time we're there (this including another guy who was arriving Saturday).

We say our good-byes and I end up talking to the German girl for the duration of the trip. I'm feeling pretty confortable and confidant. Then we get into the Czech Republic. And everything's in Czech. I become a little hesitant in my abilities to work my around the language here; there's no Latin or Germanic base in it
(obviously).

We arrive at the Prague train station and I step off and armed with directions to the hostel and a couple of koruns I bought off of someone who had come back from Prague. After exchanging the rest of my euros and obtaining a map, I sat down at a cafe, determined that I could find the hostel (we had been promised that it was only a fifteen minute walk from the train station). I walk outside and it's dark. There are lots of shady people around. I walk back in the train station.

I didn't want to be a failure at checking into the hostel, but I can't figure out the map... it's all in Czech. Go figure. I'm walking around and wondering if I could ask someone for directions. I had been using German so far, because English isn't as common as German in Prague. That and I don't know Czech. Then, I see a sign. "TAXI."

I took the easy way out and paid 500 Koruns for a taxi ride. That's about 20 Euro. That was about 28 Dollars at the time I paid for it. Most expensive taxi ride of my life and it was well worth it. I ended up in on a shady street and wandering up and down, watching probable drug deals going down. I finally find the hostel behind a pile of trash cans and quickly push the button that says "hostel," buzzing the lady from upstairs. I hide myself in the room for the rest of the night.

I'll continue this Prague blog tomorrow... Prague Part II: The city tour and the return home.

The Long Awaited Update

I'm too lazy to look back and decipher when I last wrote something coherant. Ever since the trip to Nuremberg, days have blended together and they have been punctuated with the occasional test or class that I scramble to hurriedly become prepared for.




I'm not sure if I talked about Nuremburg, so if this all sounds familiar, skip down. We took a day trip into Nuremberg last Tuesday and spent most of our time touring the museum that houses most of the Nazi collection. You would think that after years and years of a fine American education (I will pause to allow that small drizzle of sarcasm settle) that we would be prepared for everything we saw there. Quite honestly, I had no idea about some of the stuff presented to us. Yes, I know about the concentration camps (the KZ) and Hitler's supposed neurosis, but I had no idea of the extent that nationalism took hold of this country after the Treaty of Versailles. I think it was the planned architecture that really surprised me. Hitler's architect, Albert Speer, was hired on as a compliment to Hitler's meglomania and his job was to build these over-the-top and massive buildings to symbolize the power of the German National Socialist Worker's Party. It was daunting to learn about the plans Hitler had; plans such as making Berlin the capital of the world. The museum itself is housed in part of the old Reich Congress, a huge uncovered dome. But then there was a fire and we had to evacuate, no joke.




We also walked around the city and found the marriage fountain. This is a gorgeous fountain dedicated to letting everyone know that marriage, for the most part, sucks big time. We also visited Albrecht Durer's house and his "wife" Agnes gave us a tour. We also visited the toy museum where a special exhibit of sci-fi toys was being displayed. Nifty, in my opinion.

Okay. Nuremberg finished. Obviously, I spent my weekend in Berlin. Not so obvious, I was deathly ill. If I did not have the H1N1 strain of the flu, I had a whole new one because it was horrible. Even now, almost a week later, I still feel pretty week and have a diminished appetite. But Berlin. Notably, Unification Day was going on this weekend and so it was a big party. Going along with that, were able to see the parts of the wall that were left standing. It was hard to imagine myself seperated from the world by a concrete wall... and well, men with guns of course. But I tried to imagine how it would be if this wasn't 2009. It was so easy for us to step back and forth through Checkpoint Charlie, but even in the 1980's the travel allowances were strict. I also visited the Bauhaus exhibit, the Museum of German History, and became an expert at subways.

I'd like to go on, but I really must study for a German test tomorrow. No one let me forget I need to write about the glass trip!

Cheers!

Entschuldigung

I've been bad about keeping up my blog. I have a good excuse because I have been extremely busy pretending to be a Bavarian pretending to be a "Northerner." That and I had a lot fall on my plate as soon as I came back. Just to be honest, I have a test on tomorrow and the day after... and then I run off to Prague. So, this won't be updated for a little bit.

Sorry. I'll work as fast as I can.

Cheers!

"Put in my mixed tape. It's the one right on the dash. It says 'chilling with my peeps and my main man the monarch'."---Number 21

I haven't blogged lately. Shame. But we've been really busy.

As I said, I went to Oktoberfest this weekend and to Nuremberg yesterday... Oh so, eventful.

We went to the Nazi Museum in Nuremberg (I don't know it's English name... it was all in German). I learned a lot more about the Nazi's and Hitler's madness than I had known about previously... but that's another topic for another day. I also went to Albrect Durer's house and had a tour guided by his "wife," Agnes. I give her points for being a passionate actress. Then we headed off to the Toy Museum. It was awesome. Toys from all over the world from all years... no pictures allowed, but you know me: I got pictures.

So this weekend we're off to Berlin for a couple of days and then I'm going to Prague next weekend.

I'll update this more thoroughly later.

Cheers!

Lazy Sunday (no copyright infringement intended)

After the refreshing 24 mile bike to and from Eichofener, Germany, yesterday I have been a useless slug for the past 36 hours. No joke. I feel like an old man trying to stand up because my knees feel like they might give. So, I've been bedridden for the most part. I did get up shower though, so no worries about bed sores; it's not that bad.

My homework ambition is about a -100.90 on the "Getting Stuff Done Scale" (or as i refer to it, the GSDS). Although the only thing I need to finish is a worksheet for German (I hope) and keep working on sketches (I don't want to talk about it). I realy need a weekend here for that sketchbook. Just do about a hundred in one sitting.... not happening.

Besides the aformentioned items, I've been thinking about next semester a lot, more along the lines of what classes to take. Right now here's the plan: RGS 200/ENG 201 (either will do), BIO 330, SPA 302, and PSY 326. That's only 12 hours. So my dilemma is this, keep it at 12 and try to work extra hours somewhere or push in another class or two to keep me busy. I can't add anymore classes required for me to graduate because I won't have enough hours to string out until Spring 2011 (I don't want to rush through and graduate Fall 2010; I really want to be able to give my thesis my all since it's being published in a nice bound book). So I'm mulling over taking GER 102 and a math course. I miss taking math courses. Although both biology and psychology require a good grasp on statistics, they aren't big on making math a large requirement. Which is a bit puzzling actually.

So, my hope is I can work out squeezing GER 102 in and maybe... just maybe, I'll venture into MAT 250 (Calculus). I remember having to work hard for my A in AP Calc in high school, so I'm a little worried. But I also remember liking it a lot more than algebra and geometry. But I haven't quite decided what to do with my time yet. It might be that I just stick with my 12 hours and work a second job somewhere. I really need to if I want to start saving for a grown-up mode of transportation instead of my scooter and my bike (although I'm perfectly happy with just both).

I know I've been lazy with this blog (especially pictures), but I have a good reason for why the pictures are so slow on getting uploaded (no excuse for the blog... I'm just doing a lot over here). Blogspot/Blogger is affliated with g-mail (Google's e-mail host) and through there you can use this program called Picassaweb. It seems nifty at first, uploading pictures into albums. But trying to get the new albums to be selected on the slideshow thingy on the left side (it says "The Dom" right now) takes a lot of work. I have to delete previous albums, upload everything again, re-send pictures... the whole process takes at least 45 minutes.

But just to satiate all those who are good in this world and have not succumbed to facebook (yes, you Grandma Jo. You are a better person than the rest of us). I'll put a picture here of me in my dirndl. Hope you enjoy this one until I can figure out Picassaweb.



Cheers!

Pain, Thy Name is "Bike"

So, my plans did get rearranged because of something that's happened here, and I'm a little sad... not because my plans were changed but because of the circumstances. I didn't go to Passau, but I can visit it later on.

However, Thursday and Friday I ran off to Munich to experience the Oktoberfest. I left each night before it got really wild and I had a lot of fun. We had a table reserved each time so there wasn't a lot of walking around needed to find one. But this thing is big. It's like the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky State Fair rolled into one and then multiplied by four. Everywhere you turned there was a person and I paid 10 Euro for a liter of really good beer. It was definitely something I enjoyed even though I hadn't planned on going to it. However, after going to the Dult here in Regensburg, I really wanted to keep going to more festivals.

I rode this rollercoaster with five loops in the orientation of the olymipic rings. Insane.

Anyway, Oktoberfest was good, lots of walking... but then I rode a bike today for 24 miles. My butt HURTS. I didn't have a heart attack or have trouble breathing and my thighs only started hurting on the last mile. But you have no idea what pain is until your butt hurts. Really. Even after getting on the bus and sitting down, it was painful. But I'm really proud of myself because, even though I went a little slower than everyone else, I feel like I'm in fairly ok shape after doing this. It's like being in the army and realizing how much you can do... without someone yelling at you, of course.

So I feel really prepared for my ride across Austria now since it's 53 miles total which means I can do half one day and half the other. The worst part is being tired. You don't eat a whole lot so your energy plummets fast without a quick calorie fix. Our program director had these little squeeze tubes filled with what tasted like cake icing.

Anyway, I've got to get to drawing.

Cheers!

Rearrangement

That last blog? (The one not hosting a video.) Postponed. It wasn't any issue with anyone going or the weather; there was a bit of misfortune for a program member and our program director, as dedicated as he is, would like to stay here for the weekend. I don't blame him at all... it really is for the best that he's pulling his support for this student.

However, Oktoberfest is still a go, dirndl and all. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures...

And I will be biking a good distance on Saturday; we've decided to do a warm-up bike ride to see how we'll feel about riding for 53 miles or so. Saturday, we're renting bikes and riding about 15 or so miles along the Danube River. I'm still very excited.

I won't lie though, this week has been extremely stressful. But I think it's on the downhill slope now. I have a headache and am probably going to pass out now.

Cheers.

Something new and interesting...

...TEDTalks. Check out this video from the latest TED Speaker. TED hosts bright ideas from insightful individuals not made popular by conventional media. Most of their speakers hit on issues that you would never think about and it's interesting to watch. TED hosts all their talks for free on their homepage and youtube. They are never more than 18 minutes long.

In case you were wondering...

... I'm hoping that all of you have come here in hopes of finding out my weekend plans (especially after the Sweden fiasco).

I'm going to lay it out for you: Thursday, I'm going to Oktoberfest and buying a dirndl. It's Munich's Dult. I know it's the tourist thing to do, but give me a break. I'm having a hardcore weekend.

Friday, I'm going to Passau, Germany, and seeing the sights; it's like Amburg, a pretty little European town. From Passau I'm taking a train to Obertraun, Austria. "What's there?" you ask. It's just a pretty little village that is popular for Austrian holidays (vacations). What am I doing there? Well... let me draw you a picture first.



In case you don't get it: from Obertraun to Salzburg is approximately 86 km. This is roughly about 53 miles.

I am biking 53 miles this weekend across one of Austria's districts. And visiting stuff along the way. And seeing Salzburg.

I might possibly die from this.

Cheers.

So Angry...

I was going to Sweden this weekend. I was going to spend three and a half days in Sweden. I had it all planned out. This has made me so angry that I want to travel back in time and do something to the inventor(s) of the internet.

I was in the midst of booking an already expensive flight ($220) on Ryanair's website. I put in all my information. I gave them my Visa card number. I pressed authorize. FOR AN HOUR. I did all of this for an hour and it kept giving me the same message: "Your payment has been declined and this transaction has been cancelled."

I WANT TO KNOW WHO THE FRICK HAS A RIGHT TO REFUSE ME HANDING OVER A RIDICULOUS SUM OF MONEY.

Please. Do tell me. Because right now, Ryanair's prices have skyrocketed and now I can't go to Sweden.

No cheers here. This officially stinks.

My stomach

Since I've gotten to Germany, I haven't been able to eat without some difficulty. I tell everyone I'm eating well and I do when I'm able to stomach food. I don't know what it is about this place, but I take two bites of something and literally end up feeling like I've eaten a five-course meal. Needless to say, I'm pretty hungry usually. However, most of my cooking specialities lie within one of these categories: Mexican, Asain, Itailian. Notice, not German. Also, my two main meats are chicken and beef, chicken 90% of the time. Here, there is very little in the wayward of chicken products (unless you count whole chickens and chicken nuggets).

I'm going insane. I love to cook and this is madness. I go to the store, dictionary in hand... none of the words on the shelf match what's in my book. I take a deep breath, fully realizing I look like an idiot already and look at the ingrediant list on the pack of the product. Desperately I try to imagine what chicken, egg, gerkin salad when taste like. I decide not good. So onto the next product... Lachs. I think, "Lachs, lachs... that kind of sounds like lox, right?" So I buy it. I get home and, sure enough it's lox. Score! And sure enough... it's in oil. No score. So I have to wash the lox off before I can even eat it.

Shopping is hard here. I can't find canned soup or milk that comes in a larger container than .5 litre. Oh, and everything chocolately treat tastes like Nutella here. I will never eat Nutella again. God knows this... that's how serious this is.

Really, my dinner tonight is chocolate milk (in a plastic container with an aluminum lid you take off... like yogurt) and a jar of mushrooms. No joke. I am in serious withdrawl of my favorite foods. I'd even eat something REALLY bad at this point... like a KFC Famous Bowl ("The 'Mashed Potato with Gravy Famous Bowl' has 690 calories (corrected: 270 of those from fat), 31 grams of fat, 55mgs of cholesterol, 26 grams of carbohydrates, and 27 grams of protein). Death in a bowl pretty much. Dessert being a fried twinkie.

Yeah. That's how bad this has gotten. I need a slice of veggie from Matt B's or a roll of sushi from Jasmine's or Shogun's (there's a sushi place here, but I'm not sure I want to try it). I can't even walk into Netto's meat section without becoming sick to my stomach because of the pork smell. This trip seals it. No pork. EVER. It is such a sickening smell that it's hard for me to buy fish. I lose my appetite.

But there's hope... my mom and Grandma Jo have sent a box filled with generous goodies, including cans of sardines in mustard suace. Heavenly. Pure bliss in a pull-tab can.

Anyway, I've got to get on this paper due Wednesay. I won't have time to do it tomorrow.

Cheers!

This is what purgatory feels like

These three day weekends are no good. It starts off on Friday where, invariably, sleep in (a bad start) but, I do get out and walk around exploring the area (this past Friday I walked down a little further where a secondary school is near us). Then on Saturday, I think there might have been some idea of a plan to go travel somewhere within Bavaria, but I don't think it ever came to frutation. I spent yesterday reading my assignments for humanties (I have three) and working diligently on my German homework (you'd think by now maybe we'd have some sort of international system of telling time...). Today, I have to crack down on the travel journal. I have not done a single drawing yet. Fortunately, I think I have 80 something days left here, so if I promise myself one-a-day from here on out, I could do it.

So, not much to tell. Stressed out about school. I have a paper due Wednesday that I haven't even begun to think about. Ughhhh.


Cheers.

This has NOTHING to do with Germany, Study Abroad, or My Life

But man, is it gonna be awesome!!!!

The weather today is stressful with a slight chance of pessimism

Don't get me wrong. I feel every minute here is something I try to file into my memory. I drink up every sound and am gluttonous when it comes to the smallest details here.

But I wish, so much, that El Mariachi Loco could magically be here.

I don't crave KFC or McDonald's. I don't want free refills or ice in my drink. I want good sushi and good Mexican food.

Last night we went to a place called Sausalito's and it had Mexican food that kinda held my craving back at bay, but today I feel like a crack junkie who is in their first day of rehab... not that I know what that feels like, but this is bad. It's getting to the point where I am about to make my own tortillas and make my own fajitas... albeit without Mexican crumble cheese but that is something low on my list of needs. Sour cream. Oh holy heavens. Where's the sour cream and lox in this place? I just want an order of eggs with lox and sour cream smothered on top.

But on a different note, Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tomorrow. It's the Jewish New Year basically. It actually marks the beginning of ten days of repentance... I think that's right. I know that it ends with Yom Kippur, the atonement day. What happens is this (once again, I'm a little rusty at this explanation... and I'm too lazy to look it up): During the ten days of atonement you work to repent and show God that you're trying to make amends for your bad behavior (against Him or others). And then God seals his verdict for your fate in the upcoming year on Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is like the day when final grades are posted, in my opinion. During the semester you slack off and do the bare minimum to get by and then, all of a sudden, you realize you're failing the class. You now have ten days to study your tuckus off and hopefully you've madea good enough grade on your final to pass the class, at least for that semester. God lays down how you're going to be faring in the future on Yom Kippur...

Obviously, these aren't the actual analogies that an Orthodox Jew would use. I think an Orthodox Jew might hurt me for using that comparison, it's kinda not religious. Take heart, this is just Kim's way of making it a little more colorful. No Jew tries to make up for a year's worth of transgressions by doing the Good Deed Olympics in ten days. No good Jew anyway. I don't think God is the type of being to overlook a year's worth of being a horrible person just because you've become Mother Theresa of the Jews (is this going to get me in trouble?) so you can have your name on God's good list.

Anyway, with my lack of finding God anywhere, I might travel to find a synagogue during one of these days. I've never been to temple because, well, Western Kentucky actually has a severe lack of them (imagine that). I'm bound to find one here... I hope. I really want to attend temple during one of the high holy days. Of course I don't know German, but I'll survive.

However, this travel journal/sketchbook is getting to me: the whole, I can't draw thing is an over-looming shadow. So, along with lots of reading and paper writing, I've got to worry about drawing now. And that's why I'm stressed. And a little pessmistic.

Cheers!

Unexcusably Horrible

I've realized that I don't recount my daily happenings here; I become so introspective that I don't get to tell you about all the things I DO here in Germany and in Regensburg. And I should... I'm horrible about glossing over some things around here that have been incredible that I just... I suppose I know what I've seen and experienced and, unfortunately, by the time I get to here, it's the last end of my train of thoughts. You're getting the finished product without seeing my process. Not fair.

So, the big thing I have skimmed over is how it looks when I walk around. In America, it's obvious: there's commercial areas and residental areas and streets and sidewalks... you live there, you know what I'm talking about. While there are regular concrete streets like in America and sidewalks, there are seperate bike paths inbetween the two. The majority of sidewalks are cobblestone. All of downtown is cobblestone and cars drive through with wild abandon.

The buildings here are gorgeous as well. Most have an old European charm, while others it is obvious das Bauhaus had a large hand in influencing. The older buildings are all tall and have intricate relief sculptures and are painted in a varity of colors. Inside a lot of the older buildings are the older wood work, such as stairs and support beams; the modern amenities were obviously added on later as seen as a necessity for keeping with the times. Some windows have intricate iron work covering the windowsill and flowers weave themselves among the criss-crosses of the metalwork. Lots of houses, as mentioned before, have small garden beds outside of their windows. Limestone was the building material of choice for lots of older stonework because that is what's available in this region.

Downtown you are likely to see a couple of street performers with accordians or violins or guitars. Forgetting that I try to ignore the fact I don't have money to toss at these people, it feels a little surreal walking downtown on the cobblestone with all of the older buildings and statues everywhere and then hearing an accordian or violin in the background.

Beer gardens and restaurants with outside service are popular. Beer gardens probably moreso because they are usually in an enclosed and scenic area. And by scenic, I mean extremely scenic. There are lots of flowers and plants here in various places as well as small gardening areas blocked off for public use. Not everyone has a backyard here so a plot of land can be bought in a gardening area and it's yours! You just have to share your plot with others who are right next to you. I've only seen one here and it's closer to our dormitories than it is downtown.

What else? Hmm. We did go and visit the City Hall here (it might be called Altes Rathaus). We were shown areas with original 13th century wood walls and a dancing/meeting hall from the 15th century. It had elaborate paintings and a couple of tapestries gracing the walls. We were also allowed to view the "interrogation" area (which means "torture," you know) and that was a tad bit spooky. It smelled of damp mold and the lighting was just dim enough to wonder if it was kept that way of purpose. We saw holding cells (some were just dark holes, for the most part) and the torture area, as well as some instruments used for public demonstration (such as chairs that held the offender by the neck while people would throw rotten food at them). Afterwards was a look at some of the cast iron cannons and an old market scale (HUGE).

So, I hope that has quenched your thirst for what it's like a little here. I'm terribly sorry that I haven't been very descriptive. But, in my defense, I become very over-whelmed with the amount of history just here in public view, free of charge. I remember haveing the same feeling in Mexico. In America, there isn't a whole lot of history staring you in the face. Maybe in the original thirteen colonies, but not so much. The reality of it is, America s young compared to the rest of the world. We're really in the process of trying to build a rich history and there's no telling what it might look like. Certainly, we'll never have what Europe, South America, and Asia have. The Indians who lived in North America also did not believe in defiling the land unnecessarily so that might play a part in our lack of readily available history (if that makes sense).

Anyhow, I still haven't started on my travel journal and I must. I am now doing this for a grade. Boo. What was I thinking? However, I made A's in both my GER 101 and GER 105 courses last week (excitment!). HON 252 is going swimmingly and HON 164 is just what I thought it would be (easy). So, besides ART 490, no major stressors.

Finally, I am either going to Freiburg or Prague this weekend. More on that as the situation develops.

Cheers!

The Time Traveler Discovers Air

So after a weekend of botched plans and feeling horribly ill, today has made up for all of it... including the lack of completed homework part (which I will be paying for tonight in sleep). Today a few of use went to Amburg, a sleepy little town with lots of old European beauty. It had the classic architecture with flower beds littering every windowsill and old wooden bridges and cobblestone roads (well cobblestone is everywhere here reall). Our main reason for going was to see the Paul Reubens exhibit. He's a Flemish baroque painter, but we mostly saw his lithographic prints. And we did and, had there not been other things about the day, I'd talk about that some more. There were also a pair of black long-haired cats with white stars on their necks. They looked exactly like my Sally baby. It happened that one of them acted like her too... so I got my cat fix. Nothing says true affection like a cat rubbing themselves happily against you. Obviously, I miss my little ones. I just hope when I get back the kitten (who will be all grown when I return) will still want to sleep and cuddle with me at night.

Oh, but the best part: Luftmuseum. Let's clarify: "Luft" is German for "air." Lufthansa Airways makes more sense now, right? We were curious so we asked the lady at the dest of the Amburg Staadt museum what it was about. It was so strange we had to go.

This museum is a permanant fixture in the city. If it involves air on this earth, it was in there. There were parts about aviation. There were parts about leaf blowers, fans, and vaccuums. There were buttons you could press to get an air shower and to hear air go through an organ pipe. There was a flying carpet. Practically everything. They have a room full of inflatable items with bubble wrap for curtains. There were inner tubes tied together to make some intestine-like sculpture. Another room showed how lift-chairs for disabled people work. There was a display where they had buried inflatables and then excavated them years later, leaving fossils of Mickey Mouse and inflatable dolphins and aligators. Obviously, there was an inflatable alphabet and, when I walked in, Chris's name had been spelled out.

There was also a game where you used compressed air to shoot tennis balls around. This museum was incredible. It really made my weekend that we had found it by accident. I wish I could articulate more of the story, but I really need to get cracking on homework. I had a really good day today though. But check out the museum's website:
http://www.luftmuseum.de/

Yes. In German, but pictures are a universal language... and there is a picture of the air shower. When you see it, you'll know.

Bis morgen.
Cheers!

Down for the count

I have no idea what is going on with me. Even if I get 7 hours of sleep, I'm still so exhausted it takes all of my energy just to brush my teeth. I'm almost a little relieved I couldn't afford to go anywhere this weekend because I wouldn't have enjoyed myself at all. I would have spent most of the time trying to convince myself I felt well enough to venture out. I know yesterday just getting onto the bus and taking a 15 minute ride downtown wore me out so much I was nauseated for the rest of my day looking about. That and the headaches. I've had a headache for over two days now and it only gets a little better if I take a few strong painkillers. (i.e Exederin Ultra Strength). It almost feels like the flu but then it almost doesn't.

However, I am doing my best to leave my room. Today I plan to go out and do my first drawings today for ART 490. That and I really want to buy a plant for my room. It'll give me some responsibility... keeping this place clean isn't too hard. Thankfully, Martin and I are both neat freaks. Which reminds me... the rubbish bins have been found! Actually, I had to break down and finally ask Martin (one of my flatmates) where they were because no amount of looking had helped. Apparently, the recyclable bins were right under my nose, but the regular trash... hidden behind a steel door underneath our complex and it can only be opened with a room key.

No joke, my room key opens EVERYTHING. I have to use it to get into my building, my floor, and my room. THEN, I have to use to get into the laundry room AND the trash cans. My university should really adopt this policy. You're getting what you pay for with your tuition and no free-loaders... although tuition here is LOTS cheaper AND the government pays for it after you finish a year of community service. Basically, when you get into a univeristy here it means that all of you had to do the same amount of work to attend. None of this making sure we allow affirmative action dicate who is allowed into the university or wanting to raise enrollment rate so standards are lowered. ... and maybe I'll get into trouble for saying that.

Anyhow, trash cans were found. Life makes sense again.

But on a sidenote, I found a mineral and fossil shop! It's not "out of the way." It's just where no one goes. The rocks and minerals are so-so, mostly for jewelry and showing off. But the fossils were amazing. They had a trilobite fossil for sale that was bigger than my head and several sharks' teeth that were larger than my hand. They also have a few bug specimens preserved in resin which are interesting. I bought one like from Mexico and I loved it... might do the same here. They have one beetle preserved as a paperweight; it looks promising. I also found an antique shop that opens back up on the 15th; I think it might have been closed for the summer (I think that's what the sign said). That looks like it deserves a look as well.

So, not much going on. I'll probably be going to Amburg tomorrow and see a Ruebens exhibit. Exciting.

Until then, cheers!

Disheartening

So, it looks like after all my planning, I won't be going anywhere this weekend. The bank has pulled a fast one on me.

I usually receive a check at the end of the month for being enrolled at a univeristy (don't ask how I have it, I just do) and, you guessed it, as soon as I leave it does not come like clockwork. Unfortunately, the bank just sent me an email stating, "check posted." I became extremely excited because I thought Chris had gotten my check in the mail and went to deposit it today. No such luck. I have even LESS than I thought. In my excitement, I didn't realize that this posting was for debit, not credit. It was the check for the rent I am paying while abroad. So, no going anywhere this weekend.

I think there might be a day trip with the few that are staying here, so I will tag along there if I can.

However, I don't know what I will do about next weekend. It's not as if I don't have money enough to travel, it's just that in case something goes wrong with that check, I need to have money to pay rent... I had been planning on using the monthly check to pay monthly rent owed. So, now I don't know what I'm going to do...

There's a good chance I'll just bust out my video camera tomorrow and walk around.

Believe me, I am more than a little sad.

Cheers.

Digame el verdad.

"Tell me the truth," is what that says. It has no special meaning, I just can't find a catchier title, and what's more appealing than the word "truth" and someone admitting it?

Today is the first Thursday of many; here, it is the last day of class for the week. It is set up like this not because the German education system is (to the best of my knowledge it is not) but because the program gives time for traveling while we're here. As I have mentioned before I think Nuremburg and Passau are on my list to visit... but I may just visit Passau this weekend because we have a group trip to Nuremburg.

However, a lot of people went to Salzburg this weekend... Iwould say about 80% of the group actually. I suppose I could have taken some initiative and ask to tag along, but I learned an importat lesson while in Mexico: you aren't going to enjoy yourself, if you don't like the people you're with. At least, that's my opinion. Take it as you will. I'm happier going by myself to Passau (a small town near Regensburg in Bavaria) than in a large tourist group in Salzburg... I don't know. I just don't like being a tourist.

This is probably a reason for my discomfort here because almost everyone came for the express reason of wanting to study abroad in Europe to get travel in (once in a lifetime thing, you understand). So, I become confused when I actually HAD a purpose for studying abroad again (albiet I wanted to go back to Morelia, but glad I didn't because of the fiasco with KIIS and my university) and am told I need to travel a LOT. Well, there are two problems with this. One, lack of money. I'd like to see some of the people here budget $3000 for four months... while in Europe. See my point? It wouldn't happen. A couple of girls were saying how they'd gone through a $1000 in one week. I do a little better than $3000, but not much and it's very variable when extra money might just happen to show up. Two, I am taking 15 hours abroad. This is above recommended... and it doesn't help that I care about my grades still. Finally, I planned on working on the groundwork for my thesis... and some other research projects, but that's neither here nor there.

So, I become conflicted when trying to decide what to do here. On one hand, I understand that this is Europe and I need to overdose on it. However, I have my ways and one of them is not to be overly tourist-y. I do plan on going to Salzburg and visiting the salt mine and going to Vienna and maybe seeing something about Freud there... but all in due time. I like to be very well-informed and last minute deals don't settle well with me. I do have a list of things I'd like to do such as: visit Prague, explore more of Munich, visit Salzburg, visit Vienna (Wien auf Deutsch), Berlin, Dusseldorf (coal mines there), and other places around Germany. I'd like to make it to Switzerland too... but that's about it. Big plans in my opinion.

However, to be honest, after class ended before noon I have been lazy and have stayed cooped up in my room. I have good reason: a toothache. For most people, that would not have detered them. Unfortunately, I have this severely irrational fear of losing my teeth (it's almost equal to amputation). The particular tooth in question is actually of great worry to me because of this:

A few years back, during a check-up my then-dentist noticed I still had two baby teeth. Apparently, I never had replacements. These teeth are originals from childhood. Antiques if you will. I ask him if it's going to be okay. He then chuckles and says, "Well, most times people can live 'til they're about fifty and keep old teeth. That won't happen with you." He basically put me on this countdown for losing teeth fairly soon in my adult life. However, I had already been anxious about the idea of losing teeth... so this made it into a full blown phobia.

Fun fact: I don't eat raw apples because of it.

I tried eating earlier today, but it was just a tomato and mozzarella cheese sandwich. Nothing fancy. However, I have taken it easy because I'm deathly afraid that this toothache could signify the beginning of the end for the tooth.

On a lighter note, we were able to visit the city hall yesterday that had parts dating back to the 13th century. There was a pleasant visit to the 16th century torture chamber as well. More on that another time.

Cheers!

There is no greater good than sardines...

A brief conversation with my mother about the situation:

*the conversation begins with something she asked me on facebook... of course. When isn't it facebook?*

2:03pm Kim says: What did you comment? I can't see it

2:03pm Pam says: I put your name on the check.. yes?

2:03pm Kim says: Yes

2:03pm Pam says: I'll send it out to chris when I send out your box Sat... box complete with sardines swimming in mustard

2:04pm Kim says: So what's all in it?

2:04pm Pam says: lotion, sardines, all the other stuff you asked for and lots of snacks

2:05pm Kim says: So... Not to concern you but a concerned professor alerted the study abroad office to my blog because well.. you know it sounded suicidal

2:08pm Pam says: veggie chips, apple chips, yogart covered rasins
of course, already mentioned the sardines... getting four of those suckers

2:12pm Kim says: are you getting my msg lol?

Oh, well.

... writing that last blog late at night probably wasn't the best of ideas. I'm not too concerned about it. It's good that sometimes others see that everything in your life isn't going peachy-keen. And sometimes it's for the best.

And looking back at it at 8 pm this evening, it sounds bad. Even to me. Sorry for any undue duress I might have caused anyone and I appreciate those of you who have expressed concerns (there were a lot of you). It's something that I am forced to see that I can not just brush under the rug anymore; eventually, it will build up and there's no hiding it.

So, oh well. It happens. I hate to admit that I make mistakes, but I do. And I hate to admit that no matter where in the world I might go and no matter what languages I might try to learn, I will still be me. So knowing those things, I have to admit that, after this past year, I should not have tried to study abroad this semester. I really should not have, knowing myself.

But, fear not, (and watch here, if you're sensitive, I will use the "s" word here. Scary, I know) I am too much of a wuss to commit suicide. I know it's a relief to everyone. Quite honestly, I still believe there is a God and, although I might not agree with the terms in which He thought I should be here, I still have a good fear of what might happen if I decided to take my fate into my own hands. Oh, that and the whole dying thing. So, take heart, Kim is too much of a coward to face the unknown. Thank God.

So, even though this blog is being closely monitered now (it's that whole, "suicide" thing again), I won't take my last blog down. You know. I'm 21. I don't fit in here with the others on the program. So, obviously I should feel that I need to "off" myself... while abroad for some reason. However, I refuse to believe that being different should be cause for me to feel badly about myself. And if I write something a little disturbing, it is probably me in the throws of an existential crisis. No, the average young adult probably doesn't wonder if they will find enlightenment. Most are worried about if they will be able to find a job after graduation.

However, I will be more considerate next time to my readers. I do agree, upon reading that now, that my being melodramatic could be misinterpreted and it's my fault entirely.

But, going past all this depressing garbage, I think I might be traveling to Nuremberg and Paasau for day trips this weekend. Not sure how I will fare on my own, but if anything, they're close to Regensburg. That and I went to Dult Monday (it's a summer festival here... it's like the county fair, except two weeks long instead of a weekend. Imagine that. A festival that's actually a festicval). It was amazing, but more on that later. I have to finish some German homework.

I feel like I should be put into a corner like a small child after my little fiasco yesterday to be honest. But, I'll live.

Cheers.

The End.

No more blogs.

I'm not doing this anymore because tonight was horrible.

Mostly everyone ignores me here. If I'm not being ignored I say something stupid.

And one of my reasons for being here has been taken away from me.

So, don't expect anything else.

I'm finished with this.

At the Movies

As much as I love to watch movies, the gap between what comes out in the U.S. and when it comes out here in Germany has definitely put a damper on my trip... however this also means if there was a movie I missed seeing in theaters before I left, more than likely it will be here in English in a month or so. But, there will be some movies that I will have to miss going to a theater to see because I will be returning home in December.

So, we're going to take a quick break from being pensive in Europe and present, "Kim's Guide to the Movies She's Going to Miss (and ones she's glad she's not in the states for)." It's a catchy title.

1. Well. Number 1 on my list is 9. Obviously, the movie poster can be see directly to the left of this. It is based off a very clever short film (which after some clever hunting, you can find on the internet... what can't you find on the internet?). I will be interested in seeing the reviews on this one. I loved the short.

2. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: I never read the children's book. Chris, however, had some vivd flashback after seeing the trailer to this movie and swore to me it was a book he had read as a kid. Me, believing I read all of the important books a kid needs as a child myself, did not believe him. Wikipedia proved him the victor and now I want to see this movie. I am not above watching a children's movie in theaters... believe me; I watched Over the Hedge 3 times. I paid all 3 times. I bought popcorn and a cherry slushie ALL 3 times.

3. Zombieland: I just discovered this on IMDB.com. I have no idea what it's about. I like watching zombie movies for comic effect (note: you should all see Tokyo Zombie and Fido. Both are great zombie comedies).

4. The Invention of Lying: The guy from Ghost Town is in an alternate world where no one lies. He alone figures out how to lie. Check out the trailer. It looks promising.

5. The Road: Remember No Country for Old Men? Critics loved it. Most normal people were asking themselves, "Did I just watch something? What was that?" Well, the guy who wrote that book wrote The Road... not the screenplay. These were actual novels before Hollywood got a hold of them. It took me watching NCfOM 2 or 3 times and an Honors Film Series to appreciate the movie. Chris has read The Road (Thank you, Paperbackswap.com for helping me procure it) and says it's really good. He doesn't have high hopes for the movie. I want to see it because I am excited that I finally understand NCfOM.

6. Where the Wild Things Are: This was a kid's book. If you didn't read it as a kid, you were given a deprived life by your parents who obviously did not care about you. Call them up. Cry, scream, and demand retribution. If need be, hire a lawyer and sue. Obviously, a very near and dear book to my Kid Kim heart.

7. Saw 6: What can I say that will make me sound intelligent for wanting to watch this movie? I got into the Saw series right before the 3rd movie came out. I watched the 1st and 2nd ones on dvd and then I had to see the third one in theaters. Somehow, I got sucked into paying seeing the 4th and 5th ones as well. If you know what I'm talking about, I should have just stopped at the first 2 (to save myself some diginity, I only own the first one... the ONLY good one). So, why have I gone all this way? Why have I watched chessy gore and bad plot developments all these years? Why have I contributed to Tobin Bell's pay check? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO DR. GORDON FROM THE FIRST MOVIE! Seriously. All this time, that was it. And you know what I come to find out? It's not going to be answered in a movie... no. It will be answered in a video game that I refuse to pay $60 to buy. I guess I still want to see the 6th though... even though I found out they were making a 7th.... I'm a loser.

8. Fantastic Mr. Fox: Another kid's bok by Roald Dahl. The guy who wrote James and the Giant Peach and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

And here's everything I am glad I will miss:

1. AstroBoy: No. No. No.

2.Capitalism: A Love Story... does Michael Moore have a real life? This is his... I don't know. Maybe fifth or sixth documentary after the success of Bowling for Columbine? I can't keep count. Point is, he sensationalizes a current problem and then everyone gets into a tizzy. I'm not saying what he focuses on aren't "real problems," but maybe he could, I don't know, find some real interests not related to current political issues. It also confuses me how anyone listens to someone who probably eats KFC everyday. Really. I can't care whether socialized healthcare would be good in the U.S. or not when all I can do is wonder, "How did he get out of his mom's basement?" Look at him. If you were on the street and this guy was telling you things that he mentions in his documentaries, wouldn't you be half-tempted to tell him to run along and play with his other Magic: The Gathering friends? Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You do. Anyway, I don't want to hear about our evil corporate ways from someone who is going to be reaping some big time money from royalties from this movie (coughhypocrisycough).

3. Whip It: There's only so many times I can watch Ellen Page go from nobody to somebody in a movie. Go and find Hard Candy. That will show you she's capable of doing decent movies.

4. New Moon: Do I even have to tell you why this is on the "no list?" Mom's are using this book series to teach their daughters about sex. A book series about vampires. Mom's are using vampires (which don't exist) to teach their daughters about dating and love. I'd like to see the therapy bill for the poor guy after the daughter tries to bite his neck... and then go for the jugular.

5. A Christmas Carol: Jim Carrey needs to gracefully fall back into the crowd and realize that, maybe, his time is done. Maybe it isn't for all I know but doing ANOTHER "A Christmas Carol" remake does not help his case. The Muppets did this movie for heavens sake. No joke, I saw the movie poster and thought to myself, "Isn't this an old movie poster from "A Christmas Caorl?" Indeed it was... but for a NEW "A Christmas Carol."

6. The Box: This is an extended version of "Button, Button," an episode of The Twilight Zone. Incidentally, The Twilight Zone based it off of a short story from the guy who wrote "What Dreams May Come" and "I Am Legend." This movie looks bad. Oh, and it has Cameron Diaz in it. No thanks.

Thankfully, when I come back, there is at least one movie I'm dying to see:

The Lovely Bones. It is a book by Alice Sebold and now it's getting a film adaptation. From the trailers it looks like it's holding true to the story. This is exciting to see.

Anyway, that's about all I have. I will be sure to update everyone if I catch movies here. I've been wanting to rent movies from a place down the street from where I live... we'll see how that goes.

Cheers!

A Relaxing Day for the Time Traveler

I've realized how horrible I've been not to include any of my candid shots that aren't from a tour or a program outing. I took this one yesterday while it was taking a break from raining. It was a little chilly outside so I didn't feel like venturing out too much. But I did get a number of wonderful pictures outside my apartment window. Obviously. But when has there NOT been a great picture of the sky or a skyline? It pretty much
screams, "Take me! Shoot me!"

But what have I been up to today? Answer: abosultely nothing. From 9 until 11 I was in my room being lazy. I took a shower and continued to be lazy for another hour when it suddenly occured to me I was hungry. So, I popped into Netto (a convienence store about a minute walk away from where I live) and grabbed some cereal and milk. Returned and commenced being lazy. At about 2:30, 3 o'clock, I said, "Enough." I put on my shoes and went out to explore my side of town. Let's just say my side of town is interesting. Not a bad interesting though, heavens no. It really is interesting.

About a ten minute walk there is a video rental place (where I went Thursday to check out) and another two minutes after that there's a mall... with a HUGE "Toys 'R' Us" store. If I ever feel the need to be overly American while Im here, I'll do it there. Right beside that there is a mall. A mall! It is absolutely fabulous. There's a supermarket called "Edeka" there and they had so much... even lemon pepper! I found where I'm going to shop if I need to cook a large meal. That was just the first floor though (along with a couple of different shops I popped into for a quick look). I wandered around for a little while longer until it was just highways leading to Munich and Passau.

However, I came back home with my spoils from Edeka: a small bag of tortilla chips, a glass jar of guacamole, and a Kinder Surprise Egg (my thoughts on the Kinder/Ferrero brand another time). I've started a small collection of Kinder toys to say the least. However, just as you would expect crappy bratwurst in Mexico, the guacamole here is... well, let's just say I took a big gamble and suffered for it. It's not a bad dip; it's bad guacamole. It tastes more like a salsa verde really. I wonder if putting "avocado sauce" on the label is false advertising. But I had been craving guacamole to the point I was looking at the avocados... and none of them were ripe enough to use in the next couple of days.

I had also been craving sardines in mustard sauce. I do, indeed, know the German word for mustard (der senf) and did, indeed, find it on a can of fish: Herring. It was canned Herring filets in a dill mustard sauce. I did not want Herring, I did not want dill mustard. Pretty much the only winners of my choice were the tortilla chips (really, now. How could you get those wrong?) and a Kinder Surprise Egg (it was a hollow chocolate egg with white chocolate covering the inside and a toy inside a yellow capsule).

Anyway, hopefully I'm going to listen to some live music tonight. I don't plan on staying too terribly late so I might blog again. Who knows? I've got to study German anyway.

Cheers!