Tingly

OK first, I have a sunburn that's making a tingling sensation on my legs. Hence the name of this entry. So it's kinda been a while since I wrote on here. Um, I'll start with going to the Siegessäule. I don't even remember what day we went. Cheryl has the cool picture where it's us in the foreground with the column in the back. It's pretty much awesome. I had never actually been out to it before and I still haven't climbed up it because it was closed by the time we got there.

And now for last night's dance. It was way the heck out in Spandau. When we got there I remember just being confused because there were like married adults and stuff sitting at tables having dinner. It was a YSA dance. I guess usually it's not like that. But I like expected that they would leave after a while. No. I also thought more people would show up eventually. Also didn't happen. Anyway, this first video is of Kyle and Cheryl dancing. It's awkward cause they don't really know what they're doing. Note how many people are dancing. Not that many. I've decided that unless it's a really big dance like the ones they have in Frankfurt or at a big Tagung, then dances in Germany are lame.

Today was cool. I met up with some people at Friedrichstr. and we took a train out to Brandenburg where we met up with this guy Markus who we know from institute. We went to the beach on a lake. Like a third of the people were clothed and the rest were not. But here's the thing, everyone who gets naked is always really old. And there were some large people there too. Pretty much the objective was not to look to the right because of rampant amounts of old droopy skin. We were at the beach for a very long time. First my arms got burned and started to hurt so I put my jacket on to protect my skin. Unfortunately, I couldn't so anything to cover my legs so they got really burned too. As Kyle put it so delicately, I "look like a candy cane" because I have stripes of red and white on my legs. He's always so aware of others' feelings. After being at the beach forever, the big group of us (ok like 15 people) went over to Markus' house (yes a house) for a barbecue. I missed most of it because I was on the phone with my mom for almost two hours. It was nice to finally get to talk for more than like 10 minutes and find out what's happening with all my siblings and stuff. Plus, when I got back there was already food and I didn't have to wait. But someone did ask "hey, everything alright?" as though I had been wandering the woods for two hours in some sort of anti-social episode. I was just like, "Ya, I was on the phone with my mom." It was lots of fun. The food was really good.

There are some people in our group that have absolutely no problem with drawing undue amounts of attention to themselves. I HATE that. My single objective is always to blend in as much as possible. When I'm alone it's no problem. In groups it's harder but when people insist on singing "In the Jungle" while waiting for the train, it's impossible. I thought they looked retarded, so I made a video.



Here's a picture of us waiting for the train. Note the sunburn. I don't have aloe or anything. I'm just going to put lotion of very often and hope that I don't peel. And people keep telling me that I'm burned. I'm pretty sure I can feel the heat radiating from it and see it myself. It's just kind of annoying. And I don't appreciate getting called a "candy cane" or a "Hummer" (lobster). I just have to wait a few days until it turns into a tan.

Please note Talya's hand on my knee. I can't remember if that was to keep her hand warm from my sunburn or to cool me off because of the burn. Whatever.

So it's supposed to take longer to get to church tomorrow because there's a bike race and the buses aren't coming as often. That should be interesting.

Pretzels

Ok, so this is just random and I think it's funny.

Oxident Bar

OK, es tut mir Leid, aber ich muss jeden Tag 20 Minuten auf Deutsch schreiben und ich wollte dieses Video hochladen und deshalb habe ich mich entschieden auf Deutsch zu typen. Ich fing ganz vom Anfang an. Ich bin erst heute um 5:36 aufgewacht und war überhaupt nicht müde obwohl ich nur 4 Stunden geschlafen hatte. Ich schlief wieder ein und wachte später auf wegen meines Weckers. Ich bin pünktlich beim Goethe-Institut angekommen. Der Unterricht heute war sehr gut und ich habe viel gelernt. Wir haben uns mit Präpositionen beschäftigt. Auch haben wir eine sehr lustige Übung gemacht. Unsere Lehrerin spielte Musik auf dem CD-Spieler und dann mussten wir einen kurzen Text dazu schreiben. Danach haben wir das Blatt an unseren Nachbar weitergegeben, noch ein Musikstück gehört und er musste die Geschichte weiter schreiben. Das haben wir vier Mal gemacht bis wir unsere eigene Geschichte wieder empfingen. Dann haben wir unsere Geschichten vorgelesen und eine davon ausgewählt, die für die ganze Klasse vorgelesen wurde. Natürlich gab es lustigen Geschichten.

Heute war auch der Tag des langen Unterrichts im Institut. Wir sind aber zu spät angekommen aber Dr. Smith war noch nicht da. Wir hatten Unterricht von 2:30 bis 5:00 und das war kürzer als es normalerweise ist. Nach dem Unterricht mit Dr. Smith gingen wir nach Zoo um essen zu holen. Ich aß thailändische Nudeln, die eigentlich gut waren. Wir haben gegessen und gingen mit dem Bus zurück zur Kirche.

Institut war gut. Aber danach ist die echte Geschichte. Eine Gruppe von uns wollte eine Kneipe finden, die "open mic night" hatte. Es hat eine Stunde gedauert dorthin zu kommen, weil unsere Gruppe so viele war und wir mussten zuerst nach Zoo. Die Kneipe war aber am Frankfurter Alle im Osten. Endlich sind wir angekommen aber nicht viel war los. Ich habe trotzdem ein kleines Video gemacht. Die Musik war gar nicht so schlecht. Ein bisschen laut aber das ist zu erwarten.


Es ist nur ganz kurz. Man sieht die Band und Tanner, Steve, Cheryl, Liz, Jon und Kyle.

Das ist schon 20 Minuten gewesen. Plus, we like weren't sure if this place was a gay bar because there seemed to be just guys in it and this one man, who we thought was a security guard was just like totally dancing around. We concluded that it wasn't a gay bar, I wouldn't have really cared if it had been, and that the guard guy was probably just drunk and wearing a "security" shirt. But my favorite person was this dazed (drunk) kind of older fat guy who was wearing face paint and even like on his neck. Yet another reason we weren't too sure about this place. I doubt you can see him in the video but I can see him in my mind. Ya, creepy.

Poland

So today was a holiday so we decided to go to Poland. We consist of me and two other personalities that come out in Germany (one East, one West). Ok, that probably wasn't even funny. Sidenote: my fingers keep getting confused because I switch back and forth between German and English keyboards so often. Anyway, Liz, Kyle, Steve, Cheryl, Neville, and I went to Stettin in Poland today. Well, that's the German name for it. I don't know the Polish one.

It was really cool even though all we really did was eat and walk around. We spent forever trying to find a restaurant but all we saw were like bars and cigarette shops where we could buy junk food. But no, we wanted something authentic. Didn't happen. We went to the mall and wandered around for a while before settling on just going to the food court. Oh, I forgot to mention that none of us speak Polish AT ALL which made everything a little difficult. And even though it was only two hours away from Berlin, not that many people spoke German.

Anyway, back to the food court. I got KFC and so did Kyle. I was too scared to even try and pronounce the other food names. Liz and Cheryl got this Chinese-esque food that was kind of bland. Neville and Steve both got somewhat Polish food but not totally since it was from a mall. After that we walked over to by the river and hung out. There were people from Coke giving out tiny cans of Coke in the park; Cola Light for the girls and Coke Zero for the guys.

Then we walked around some more and ate some stuff we thought was going to be ice cream. I thought I had ordered (and by ordered I mean pointed to a picture of) a kinda tall thing of what looked like strawberry ice cream. No, I got this short thing full of the polish equivalent of Jello. the others didn't get ice cream either, it was like mousse or something.

So then we were walking back to the train station and we see a woman lying in the street, ok the gutter, with a pool of blood around her head and three people standing by her all chill like there's nothing wrong. Well, the guys went over there and Liz, Cheryl, and I hung back for a little bit. Turns out she was drunk and had slipped and hit her head on the curb. The weirdest thing was that the people who had been standing there didn't seemed concerned or had like they had called anyone for help. But, before we left the ambulance had come and they put her on a stretcher. Exciting. And no, we didn't touch the blood. Gross.

The train ride back to Berlin was smelly and slightly warmer than comfortable.

Fellbach Hopf

OK, so this is really a continuation of what happened to me on Wednesday. Since I don't have a car I have to rely on the public transportation here in Germany. That's all and fine because it's really reliable and well planned, unlike at home. (If we had a system like they do here, I'd rarely drive) But there are two main draw backs to this whole thing. 1. It takes longer than if I were to drive. Example: from the Müllers to the insitute takes like 15 mintues when we drive. With public transportation, it takes like 30-40 minutes depending on how the connections work out. 2. If you go out too late, you could miss the last train home.

This second setback was my main fear on Wednesday because I was way the heck out in Freiberg. It all worked out fine and dandy until I got to the Bahnhof in Fellbach. That is when I unknowingly got on the bus for Fellbach Hopf. It was in the place where the number 60 was supposed to be so I got on. Mistake. They made the u-turn like normal but then instead of turning right, the bus went left. I freaked. I still knew where I was and could have walked but I thought it better to stay in the bus.

I got lost after like the 5th stop so then I had to stay on the bus because then I had no clue where I was. I saw some people pull out a map (did I mentioned we were packed in like sardines?) and I saw that this bus would eventually loop around and go back to the Bahnhof. But in the mean time, I was still on an over crowded bus with a whole bunch of buzzed, if not drunk, Germans. Which actually wasn't bad. Everyone was very jovial and talkative, rare for most Germans unless they've had a little something to drink.

So basically what was going on was Hopf was a party spread throughout several bars and restaurants around Fellbach. No one had work on Thursday because it was a holiday so everyone went out and partied.

After being on the bus for who knows how long I recognized the stop as Höhenstraße because I go passed it all the time on the U1. Then I knew exactly where I was and decided to get off at the next stop. So I did. It was Bahnhofstraße right by where Esther's brotehr and sister-in-law used to live. Then I just walked "home" and was there around 1am.

Exciting, I know. I've gotten lost so many times this week. It may have something to do with the fact that I have never, nor do I presently, own or have poession of a map of Stuttgart or the surrounding areas. But whatever, I get by.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

So Esther and I were talking and she started apologizing because her mom had realized they'd already invited people over for dinner on Sunday. But by the way she said it I knew that wasn't the problem, the problem was who was coming. My first thought was "Stephan's parents" and sure enough, I was right. (PS Stephan is my ex-boyfriend) This news is what made me laugh hysterically for at least two minutes. I started out standing next to "my bed" and gradually moved closer to the floor until I was lying on my back laughing my head off. I really don't know why I find this so dang funny. I think it's probably the potential it has for awkwardness. Not only because of the whole ex situation but also because 1. Stephan's dad is kind of different (that's putting it lightly) and 2. I know he didn't like me last summer because I'm American and last time I looked at my passport, it was still issued by the United States of America. Seriously, of all the people in the stake on all the Sundays. But here's the thing, I only met them once at Samira's baptism so I don't even know If they'll recognize me since I've lost 20lbs, cut off 9 inches of my hair, and dyed it light brown. Plus, Esther said that even if they do recognize me, they won't say anything. Neither will I. I'll just be myself and give them nothing bad to say about me, which shouldn't really be a problem unless they talk about Stephan and I say something rude like "Ja, ich hab' gehört er soll richtig dick geworden." ("Ya, I heard he's supposed to have gotten really fat" which I have heard). But, the likelyhood of me doing that is like null percent. I'm making dessert too. Take that to the bank and deposit it!! I really don't know what that was for.

The First Week

OK, so I had this crack pot idea to come to Germany a whole week early to see my friends down here in Stuttgart. It's actually been really cool even though it's totally not how I'd picutred it. Here's a recap:

I got to Frankfurt on Monday a little after 3 pm. The flight was non-stop from San Francisco. Which was awesome PS cause I didn't worry about them losing my luggage (a constant fear when I have layovers) and the flight was only 10.5 hours but felt considerably longer since my stomache hurt most of the time. But whatever. I passed the time watching movies and listening to my ipod.

After landing in Frankfurt, I got my luggage and went through customs and all that then headed to the trainstation. Lo and behold, I had a text but I couldn't respond to it on my American cell phone. Thank goodness I have a German one. My friend Esther had to tutor and couldn't meet me at the train station but her parents were at the institute three bus stops away. I've been to the institute more times than I care to think about (mostly because of who I was with) so it wasn't a problem getting there. They almost didn't recognize me, we had FHE with some JAEs, and played games. It was nice.

I slept through my alarm on Tuesday and woke up at like 10 or something. I went to the Mercedes-Benz museum after getting ready and all that boring stuff. It was pretty cool. I got lost along the way, though. I looked up the address online and saw that it's on Mercedes Straße. Shoke. So then I looked up how to get to Mercedes Straße and took the U-bahn to that stop (aptly named Mercedes Straße). Unfortunately, as soon as we were leaving Bad Canstatt and I could see the museum, I knew I was heading in the wrong direction. I was going straight, the museum was way the heck to the left. So I got off the U-Bahn and went to Bad Canstatt again. After walking aroung for like 5 minutes I found the bus stop that said "Mercedes Museum" as the end station. Next bus: 20 minutes. I had just missed it. I'm good at that. So then I waited.

I'm pretty much positive that I rode schwarz to the museum. This is bad, but I always take comfort in the knowledge that I can act like a stupid American tourist, especially when doing touristy things like going to a museum. Thankfully, I haven't had to see if that works. I'm guessing it won't go over too well. Anyway, I got to the museum and they had all these old cars and history and I got a really bad headache half-way through that I had the rest of the night. From one of the rooms I could see them testing cars out on their test track. A Benz vs. a Smart car. Just guess who was winning. I'd forgotten my camera though so I didn't take any pictures. Lame, I know.

I then made my way over to institute. I walked to the S-bahn station that I knew was there from going through it in December. Since I'd never really used it before it took a while for me to find, but I did it. I got to institute like 15 minutes before it started. Samira was there. I didn't expect that. She was supposed to be on vacation. There was a forum instead of regular classes. I would have preferred the classes. The speaker was this Swiss guy named Francois and he pretty much gave us a presentation about his book Babylon am Abgrund: Der vorgezeichnete Untergang der westlichen Kultur (I can't translate very well but here you go Babylon on the Edge: the Chronicled Destruction of Western Culture). It was less than interesting. And he bad mouthed my country. I don't like that very much.

Wednesday's highlight was the Staatsgalerie. They had a cool Pop Art exhibit that I only had to pay 2€ for because I'm not over 20. HAHA! Then I guess every Wednesday is free admition into the collection. Not bad. You know what I really like though? Jugendstil. They didn't have any. I need Vienna for that. Although there was some Casper David Friedrich, Monet, and Paul Klee that I really liked.

After that I went "home" (aka Esther's) for like 20 minutes before I had to leave for a birthday party. This girl Geli turned 19. It took me an hour to get there. And I didn't even get lost. It's just that far from Fellbach to Freiberg am Neckar. The party was cool. There were like 10 of us there. We hung out, played games. I had to leave early to catch the last S-Bahn at 23:30. What happened next, well look in "Fellbach Hopf" and you'll see.

Thursday was a holiday and therefore very chill. Esther didn't have school, her dad didn't have work so we all got to have lunch together before her parents left for Frankfurt to visit her brother and his family. Esther, Silke, and I went to the gym. YEAH FITNESS!! That'll probably be the last time I go to a real gym for like 4 months. Then we went to dinner at this Restaurant called Woody's. It's like German-American fusion cooking and also German versions of American food that don't quite work. After that we went to the movies and saw 21. Now, I know what some of you are thing "but that's rated R!" Well, maybe in America it is but here you can see it from 12 on up. And I'm not in America anymore. I'm in Germany. So when in Rome, you know? I liked the movie. I don't know that I'd pay 6€ (student price, I love it) to see it again but it was still good. I'm happy to report that I did not get lost on Thursday.

Nor did I get lost today. I did, however, sleep until noon. The Rollladen were all the way down so it was still totally dark in "my room" so I had absolutely no concept of time and just fell back asleep whenever I woke up. I was also home alone so there wasn't noise in the apartment to wake me up. (Esther was at work) So I took my jolly sweet time getting ready and went to the Army Post. I walked from the Bahnhof to the Post. I'd done it once before with Esther last summer so I knew the way. It took like 45 minutes. (I had to get a new ID and I'm no longer registered there so next time I want to bring guests, I have to register first to be in the computer database. They get confused because I don't actually live there.) I made sure while I was walking there to pay attention to the busses so I would know which one to take back and where the closest stop is to the Post. (number 84, incase you're dying to know, which I know you are).

I bought stuff at the commissary, packed it in my Timbuk2 bag (Thank you Tisha, I LOVE IT) and walked to the bus stop. That took a good 20 minutes. I then headed back to the institute for waffel night. No joke. The waffels here are different. They're made with dough rather than with batter. It melts when it hits the waffel iron and then spreds out. And they have tons of sugar in them. I ate like 3 which is why I made sure to walk to Hauptbahnhof. Then I got to walk from Fellbach Lutherkirche to the Müller's apartment, or else I would have never gotten back.

Esther wasn't home when I got back but when she did she told me something that made me laugh for a good two minutes straight.

It's only the beginning

Hey everyone, it's Hillary. So, I've decided to start a blog to let you all in on the various things that happen to me as I wander throughout Europe this summer. Plus I was jealous of Kristin's crazy cool blog. Mine won't be as cool because I'm new to this whole thing but whatever. I hope you enjoy and that it's not too boring.