Sunday, August 8, 2010

Tuebingen...continued.

On Tuesday oral and written exams were given to all of the students to gauge our levels of German. I placed very high and picked a class called "German for College Students." On Tuesday night there was a party to celebrate the beginning of the course. There I met lots of nice people, ate good German food, and drank champagne :-)

On Wednesday the first official day of class started. I made a few friends right a way. Tanja, a girl from Russia and I, have been friends since that day. In the evening I went to the international summer choir. There I met more international students that love singing, and learned lots of singing vocabulary in German. It was fun to sing again--haven't in a while! After singing I met up with Tanja and some others. From there we went to a beer garden. We ate giant soft prezels, drank beer, and enjoyed each other's company, all while enjoying the beautiful view of the Neckar river.

On Thursday I went to class, followed by a movie night in the evening. We watched a German movie that was a parody of the media, and how the heads of these television stations want us to watch crappy reality shows instead of things with substance. It really made me think. After that I met up with some others at the bar in our dorm. I drank a sex on the beach that had a ridiculous amount of alcohol, and was drunk enough to stand up and dance with Tanja. Good times.

On Friday I had class, and then went out on a small boat on the Neckar with the other students. At night we went to a cafe, but Tanja and I left early since we weren't feeling well. Yesterday Tanja and I went to the Altstadt. We ate at an Italian restaurant overlooking the Neckar. I ate carbonara-yum!!! Then we went shopping :) At night I met up with a German girl (a friend of a friend) at the movies. We saw Eclipse in German, which was weird because the actors voices are different.

Today the entire summer academy hiked to a cloister, and then had a picnic. It rained, but luckily one of the teachers loaned me her coat and an umbrella. The hike back was like 5km--I wanted to die!!! Ahh well--it means I won't feel guilty when I have a drink at the bar tonight.

Bye for now, Molly

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Welcome to Tuebingen~!

Hello All,

I have not updated in a while. Things have gotten busier. July 26-31 I enjoyed my last week in Lower Saxony with Frauke, Ralf, and the kids. That Monday was particularly exciting, as Chris and Katharina, two friends of mine, came to visit. Together we walked to Hahnenklee and then drove to Goslar. We ate kaesespaetzle, climbed a church clock tower, and walked around the city. Then we headed back to Ralf and Frauke's so that I could introduce them and so that they could meet the kids. After that it started raining, so we went to the Wassertretbecken. It's this tub outside with really cold water in it that is supposed to be good for your circulation. I went in several times and nearly died. It was so cold it hurt! That night we went out to eat at a pizzeria and then Katharina, Chris, and I said our goodbyes. Was really fun.

The next day the family was out and about. I woke up to find a purse in the kitchen with my name on it. Lea's mom had made it for me!! So sweet. She's really talented. Then Lea, the 7-year-old, came over wanting to hang out. She and I went to Hahnenklee and sat at a cafe and ate ice cream. She is adorable! Then we skyped with my mom, which was funny since my mom can only speak English and she can only speak German. But I translated, and all was right with the world.

On Wednesday I went with Ralf, Frauke, and the kids to Goslar for shopping. There I got my hair done in Germany for the first time. I was afraid of having to explain what I wanted to in German, but everything turned out fine. On Thursday Frauke and I took the kids to a Fairly Tale park, but it was expensive and it sucked. On Friday I packed, and on Saturday I said my tearful goodbyes.

On Saturday evening I arrived in Tuebingen. Angi picked me up at the bus station, and then we went back to her place. There we ate dinner with her friends, including an exchange student from Scotland. Was very fun. On Sunday I relaxed and then we all ate dinner together again, and then went out for ice cream. We ate our ice cream on a ledge overlooking the neckar river where all of the students sit. Was beautiful. On Monday Angi and I went to get info about my langauge course and then the program workers took us to my room. After that Angi and I went to Oma's, my friend's grandma who is like my grandma, where we ate cake and talked. :-) On Monday night, after watching crazy you tube videos, Angi drove me back to my place where I spent my first night in my new room.

*To be continued.*