Mexicanisch Essen in den schneebedeckten Bergen

You know what's cold?
Germany.
Germany is cold.

That's the main thing I discovered about this past week. A lot of things happened, yes, but the cold weather was pretty consistent. And while I have decided that I like Germany better than Italy as a whole, I really do miss that warm weather.

But first, let's talk about America. I don't know if you guys have heard, but there's a hurricane hitting the northeast. Oh wait, of course you've heard, because it's literally all anyone from back home can talk about. It was even on the German news today. I have mixed feelings about it all. First I'm worried for everyone back home. Second I'm annoyed that so many people are making light of it, like I've seen twitter accounts dedicated to making sarcastic comments about the storm...what if it is really bad? And lastly I'm skeptical that it's going to be nearly as bad as they say. It never is, you know? Weather people really love to exaggerate, it's like their favorite part of the job. But still, I always sort of believe them. I haven't gone into panic mode because of the weather channel, but I am definitely cautious.

And then there's another thing...Stonehill has posted classes for next semester, so I spent a good amount of some of my lazy-time picking what classes I am going to sign up for. I'm not looking forward to it...yikes. But hey, let's stop thinking about that and go back to the present.

I did not have the most exciting week, honestly, which is probably why it has taken me so long to blog about it. One of the most exciting things was finally really meeting my German suitemates. I didn't want to say this before because of safety reasons, but before all of the Germans moved in here, I felt so alone that I didn't think anyone would hear me if I screamed. It's true. And now we've even got a cleaning schedule, finally! All three of them are pretty nice, but I am still shy. I've only had real conversations with one of them, Carsten, the one I mentioned before who is studying to get his master's in some kind of fancy biology. He's really cool! We talked about a bunch of things, like what science labs are like in Germany. One funny thing I must note from our conversation--he asked me what the English word for someone who is in charge of an apartment is. I told him it is "landlord" and he laughed and did not believe me, because it sounds like such a grand and powerful position. It's weird because you never really think about things like that when English is your first language but he's right! Land...lord? Really? Hmmm...

I also tried to explain the reasoning behind the drinking laws in the US and essentially I was not able to think of any good reasons why they are the way they are. He made an interesting point about open container laws (there are none here). He said that when he buys beer, people see him buying it, and bringing it home. Obviously he's going to drink it. So why can't he drink it in public? I said that it can cause a ruckus with people getting drunk on the streets. He said that they can easily get drunk at home and then go on the streets to cause a ruckus. I wasn't sure how to respond. Culture shock!

Anyway, a lot of my week was just going to class and trying to decipher my German readings for class. But there was one main event that presented the opposite of culture shock: An AJY Alumni dinner! Yes, I know, it's crazy, but AJY has been around for like 50 years. I guess all of the people there are part of the Americans at Heidelberg Alumni Association (don't quote me on the exact name) which sounds like a pretty fun thing to be a part of. Not only is membership free, but you get to relive your memories all of the time! I don't know much about Alumni Associations, but hey, I had fun at this event. Not only was there free food/beer provided for us at an authentic German restaurant, but I got to talk to some other Americans of all ages. The man I sat next to was around 60 years old and I believe he and his wife live in Germany now. I wasn't exactly clear on all of the details, I admit, because we spent most of our time talking about how much we love Germany and how much we love Heidelberg. This only solidified my dream of living here someday. It was very comforting to talk to these people, and to know that many generations have gone through similar experiences. Also the man I talked to the most told me he got married in the Heidelberg Schloss. I am still in awe of this, aka, I'm totally doing it. It's one of those ideas that you have no choice but to copy...oops!

Speaking of culture, my friends and I finally cooked together on Thursday night and made some pretty good burritos. And we even made some guacamole which wasn't half bad! You know me, all I can ever talk about is burritos, so I was happy. We put a lot of effort into that one, so on Friday we simply got frozen pizzas and watched a German movie at the AJY center. There weren't subtitles, so there was a lot I didn't understand, but I pretty much got the gist. I just missed out on some of the jokes. It was a roadtrip comedy called Friendship! and luckily the road trip was in the US, so some of it was in English. It ended up being a pretty fun lazy night, which made sense, because Saturday night was fun and, well, active. My girl friends all got together to get dolled up to go out. And for me, getting dolled up pretty much consists of wearing a skirt instead of jeans, so don't worry. Oh yes, and chocolate, we ate that as well. We went to visit the guys, but they were all pretttty far gone because of some kind of drinking challenge that they did. So we ended up going out without them to, you guessed it, a German club. I've never had a really positive experience in a club, but this time I was with people whose company I enjoy, so it wasn't actually half bad! Germans don't really dance, because they're too cool, so we didn't really have to worry about strangers trying to invade our personal space. It was pretty exhausting though, which is weird to say...but it's true! I was pretty glad to pass out in my bed...but I didn't get to right away. And thus begins my stupid story.

So it's Saturday night and I'm home at like 2:30. I have to be down in the Altstadt by 8am to catch the bus to the Black Forest/Freiburg excursion. So, I definitely should go to bed, right? Yes. But instead, I did my laundry. I know this sounds crazy, but I really needed to do my laundry and it's extremely hard to find free washers. It was either do it then or wait until Monday afternoon, and I needed a clean pair of jeans. Yes, it's my fault for procrastinating it, but that's really here nor there. So I sort of took a 40 minute nap on the crappy couch in the laundry room until the wash cycle was done, threw it in the dryer, and collapsed in bed for real for a fantastic 3-4 hours of sleep. Then I woke up at 7-ish, took the Strassenbahn to the location, and stood around. There was no one there. No bus. No people waiting. Finally at 8:15 I gave up and went home, teary-eyed, not sure what had happened. Was the trip canceled? Was I somehow waiting in the wrong place? Did I miss it? I was royally upset by the time I got back home, and Googled everything I could think of to find out if it was canceled. Came up with nothing. That's when I looked at my computer clock and it said the time was 7:40am. "Wait," I thought, "IS TODAY DAYLIGHT SAVING'S TIME?"

For some reason, I thought the US had DST first, and then Europe started a week later. Nope, it was the other way around. I felt like a huge idiot, but I was not about to miss this trip because of my mixup. I pretty much ran down the street to catch a taxi. I hate having to take taxis, but I didn't really have a choice. Talking with the driver was kind of fun, too. He knew I was American (perhaps by the way I hailed the cab?) and somehow during the five minute drive we had a whole discussion about it. Of course, he tried to speak to me in English ("What country are you from?" "Umm, the USA..." "No, I know, I mean what COUNTRY? Florida, Virginia?") but that was half the fun. I told him I think Germany is cooler than the USA, and he totally disagreed. So while the taxi was a pain, I did catch the bus and make a random friend in the process.

And then, the excursion happened. These excursions are planned exclusively for foreign students, and every few weeks you can go to a different place in Germany on a day trip. I thought that going to the Black Forest/Freiburg was a good one, because otherwise I would miss it, seeing as the open air museums close during the winter. Plus, AJY gave us coupons so we can get our money back, meaning the ticket is essentially free! It's a win/win, right? The only problem is that my friends waited too late to sign up, meaning I had to go on another trip alone...but, oh well! The trip basically had two parts, if you couldn't tell: the first was a guided tour through the Black Forest (Schwarzwald, in German), but it wasn't really IN the Black Forest. It was actually at Gutach, an open-air museum (think colonial Williamsburg or Sturbridge Village). Except, it was so cold out, that there were not many people there at all. The leader of the excursion gave us a tour in German, and I understood a good amount of it, but I was too busy shivering to listen too closely. We were outside for the majority of the time. It was the same situation in Freiburg: standing outside while listening to history. So while the views were beautiful and I got to go to a pretty cool looking town, I wish it wasn't SO COLD. I mean, it was high 20s/low 30s. Flurries, etc. I would've had more fun if it was sunny and 50, but hey, now I'm tough.

Also, this is random, but I got Mexican food in Freiburg and it was AMAZING. Way better than that weird burrito with mushrooms and cucumbers I got at the "Mexican" restaurant in Heidelberg. As soon as I saw Bohnen Puree on the menu I knew I had to go there. Refried beans are an extreme rarity in these parts. I got nachos with tons of melted cheddar, beans, pico de gallo!, guacamole, and sour cream. It was so beautiful. I should be set for...well, another couple of days, at least.

Anyway, I'm not the biggest fan of this cold weather, even though the frost looks pretty. I just hope I won't freeze to death on Halloween! Meanwhile, my friend and I are planning a trip because we have a four day weekend coming up. We're hoping to go to Brussels, followed by Paris. Unfortunately, we have to buy the bus tickets in person since the website wasn't working. Hopefully it is all figured out soon, because then I'll have even more beautiful pictures. Check my Shutterfly in "More AJY Excursions" to see the pictures from this weekend. For now, it's kind of late despite the surprise DST, and I need sleep! I hope to write again soon if more interesting things happen, but for now, I wish you all eine Gute Nacht! And, be safe!

this isn't relevant, just awesome.