Christmas Day 2009

Merry Christmas to all!

Day #115: Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Everyone in the Bushmann Clan woke early this morning. Thomas took Julia, Marina, Bryan and I to the Nürnberg Christkindelsmarkt. This is a very famous Christmas Markt in Germany; every German knows it. The markt has a 200 year old carosel that is still in working condition! It was beautiful, despite the on and off rain throughout the day. It was nice to spend a day with the kids and act like one as well. I went through Nürnberg and took duplicates of all the pictures I took 2 and a half years ago from the last time I was here. What memories it brought back!
Back at the house, everyone got ready for church and we walked together down the road to the service. The church was very full and beautifully decorated. I love hearing Christmas carols sung in German. It was really nice. After the service, we all walked back to the house where Thomas and Bettina had decorated the living room and the Christmas tree. It was just beautiful, but sadly reminded me of home. Everyone opened their gifts one by one. Julia and I each got German books from the Bushmanns :). I love German books, so much learning involved.
After opening presents we had a HUGE Christmas dinner. We stuffed our faces and were so full. I love spending time with another family from whom I can learn. We played German boardgames and played cards and watched movies and just spent time enjoying each other's company.

Day 111: Saying goodbye for the season...

I met the girls for coffee today and we all spent some quality time together before everyone went their separate ways for the holidays. I'm going to miss those girls in the next 2 weeks. It's hard to believe that 4 months ago we were total strangers and now I feel like I've known them for a lifetime. I love it here.It snows almost everyday now and because the temperature is constantly below freezing the snow doesn't go anywhere and the rivers and creeks are freezing. It's beautiful.

Day 108: Birthdays and Just Plain Fun

Gianluca and Francesco both have birthdays next week so we had a big celebration for them. And also used it as an excuse to have a party before everyone leaves town for the holidays.

Day 107: It must be Christmas...

Tonight I went to my friend Özge's for a Dutch Gift Exchange game, it was really fun. Everyone brought 2 gifts; one gag gift and one real gift. You roll a die and whatever number you role determines what happens.
1. choose a gift
2. unwrap a gift
3. everyone passes a gift to the right
4. everyone passes a gift to the left
5. give one of your gifts to someone
6. take one gift from someone

It was a great time, and really really funny.
After that Christmas party, Veronika and I drove up to Fichtenweg to meet the others at a club called Kuckucks where there was a big Advents party. It was great, it's meant for students so there was no cover charge and the drinks were really cheap. It felt so good to get out of my room and cut loose a bit after finishing classes today. It's officially Christmas break!!!

Day 103: First Snow, Museums and the Krankenhaus

I woke up this morning to Tubingen's first snow fall! Now it wasn't much (didn't even cover the grass), but it was still exciting to see snow in Dezember. I met Krista, Irene, Matt and Julia at the Hbf around lunch and we took the train up to Stuttgart to see a museum exhibit of the Iceage. It was a pretty interesting exhibit even though I couldn't read any of the descriptions, but Krista, who is working on her PhD in archeology filled in the blanks for us. They even had a display of the flute that was found here in Germany by a Tubingen University student that was in the Charlotte Observer this summer.

After the museum exhibit, we all walked through the Weihnachtsmarkt and had some Glühwein and some great food. Then we realized that the next train was leaving in 3 minutes so we ran to the bahnhof, but missed the train by like 30 seconds. So we had to hang out for another hour before we could get the next one. I'm glad we missed that train because Veronika ate a potato dish with, I think, sauerkraut and she had a reaction to it. Her face got all puffy and red and she had hives all over her neck and arms and she could breath. So we had to walk up to the hospital so she could get a shot and everything. It was a bit scary, but she's fine now. We ended up taking the train 3 hours later than planned lol. But everyone got home and she's back to normal.

*It's still snowing!*

Day 99: Ritter Sport Chocolate :)

Got up really really early today and I met my friend, Natalie, for the bus at 7:50 am. We took the airport bus to Waldhorf (about 20 minutes from Tubingen) and went to the Ritter Sport Chocolate Shop. The shop is in the chocolate museum and factory. They have chocolate there for really really cheap. I bought about 4 pounds of chocolate for about $3/lb. I also got a bag made out of the chocolate wrappers and a travel mug :). We didn't go to the actual museum because it wasn't open until 11am and we were there at like 8:30.



When you get off the bus in Waldorf, the entire city smells like chocolate! It was amazing! and when you walked in the store there was sooooo much chocolate. You litteraly feel like a kid in a candy store :). Ritter Sport makes any flavor of chocolate you can imagine. They have about 50 different kinds of plain chocolate and then there's rum, peppermint, champaign, jogurt, hazelnut, karamel, cornflakes; you name it, they probably have it. It was a good day filled with lots of schokolade :).

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Wanted: Fulfillment 3.12.2009

I wasn't able to attend bible study last week due to a late class I have on Thursdays, but I emailed the coordinator and he sent me the scripture and the discussion questions. Funny thing, he sent them to me in German! So, if any of these are worded a bit strangely, it's because they were translated from German and things can get lost or moved around in translation :).

Wanted: Fulfillment I Samuel 1:1-20

1. We often wish for more things. What are some of your dreams and wishes in life? What do we do when these dreams and wishes are not fulfilled?
2. What is Hanna's biggest and unfulfilled wish? Why does she wish for this? Hos is she distraught? What makes it worse?
3. How does Hanna avoid her disappointment? Is her situation really "impossible?" What does she believe about God and what does she promise to God?
4. What does Eli think about Hanna's attitude toward God? How does Hanna's attitude change after her 'chat' with Eli?
5. What does it mean, that God hasn't forgotten us and you are reminded through His word? Moses 4:30,2
6. How do we react when it seems that God has not "answered our prayers?" Can God give us something better than what we have requested?

Ephesians 3:20-21; Psalm 37:4-7; Jacob 1:5-8; Philippians 4:6

Days Eighty something - I can't remember: Weihnachtsmarkt, Castles and Glühwein

Happy Thanksgiving to the USA! (If you don't know, Thanksgiving is an American and Canadian holiday so it's not celebrated here in Germany.) I didn't do anything special for the holiday, just hung out with Julia and we made some Christmas decorations with construction paper and listened to Christmas music. My friend, Veronika, from Ohmden picked me up around 10pm and we rode to her house for the weekend. Veronika lives about an hour from both Tübingen and Stuttgart. I LOVE German houses! They're so cleverly built, the house always looks small from the outside, but on the inside it seems to go on forever (I'm talking like 6 floors).

On Friday, we woke up early and took the train in to Stuttgart for the Weihnachtensmarkt. It was the coolest and most Christmas-y thing ever. The whole downtown was full of stand after stand of candles and ornaments and sweets and cooking supplies and food and anything you could imagine. Every stand was decoraded with pinetree branches and they each had a Christmas theme on the top. It was so beautiful and it smelled of Christmas. We stopped for some Glühwein (which is basically spiced, warm, red wine, it's Fabulous and the typical German Christmas drink--as opposed to apple cider in the states). I got two new mugs out of it :) After wandering the city for a few hours, we went back to Veronika's and had dinner with her family. I love German families and I love German hospitality. By the end of the weekend, I didn't want to leave. It makes me feel more at home to be with a family--and I'm learning a second language as well! I eve got to watch German TV! It's basically American TV, but dubbed in German. So I watched, Family Guy, The Simpsons, Scrubs, Spongebob Squarepants, and some other things all in German! It totally made my weekend---I was mesmorized. We also watched Bierfest...which I felt was necessary for my time here lol :).

On Saturday, we slept in and had lunch with Veronika's family. It was again Fabulous :). We drove out to two castles in the area. Neuffen is a castle of ruins (and, of course, been renovated into a resturaunt). It's so high up on the Berg that we even saw mountain goats up there--so cool!The view from the mountain was spectacular! You could see all the neighboring towns from up there. We had a good time taking pictures and climbing on the walls. After the Neuffen castle, we drove to Teck---which, I think, is the castle of Kircheim. That was quite a hike ~1 km up hill. The view was even more beautiful from there because it was so much higher. There was even a club there flying planes. It was really cool to watch. Later that night, Veronika and I met some of her friend for drinks. That was a fun time. I heard a lot of German and I learned some new German. Then we went home and calld some of our friends in the states on skype.

On Sunday, I went with the Müller family to the town church where there was a fundraiser lunch. Best schnitzel ever! Then Veronika drove me to the train station and I headed home :(. I had such a good time and enjoyed being the Müller family so much I didn't want to leave. It's officially Christmas time! and the Schokoladefest (chocolate festival) opens here in Tübingen on Tuesday! I had a Fabulous weekend. It was fantastic.

Days 80-86: [Insert Witty Title Here]

Haven't been doing much of anything these days, I spent the weekend reading/editing my roommate's thesis paper. Hong is from China and she has to write her paper in English so she asked me to read over it for her. Needless to say, I didn't understand a word of it because the subject was completely over my head, but I corrected the English as best I could. The rest of my weekend was devoted to translating my blog and studying for my grammar class.

I got up for class today, only to find when I got there that both my morning classes were cancelled. So I had the rest of the day free J. Julia, Matt and I went to our favorite coffee shop and spent the 3 hours of class we would have had drinking coffee and talking. I finally went back to the train station in attempt to get my BahnCard which has yet to arrive in the mail. I bought my BahnCard the day I arrived and was given a temporary card that was good until Oktober 31^st. Well my address changed and I went back to notify the office. It still hadn't come a month later so I went back and they said they would send another. Well it is now the end of November and I still haven't received my card and my temporary is expired. SO the nice lady printed me another temporary card and changed my address once again. Hopefully, that was the last trip I would have to make down there. Fingers crossed.

Anyway, nothing else going on really. No Thanksgiving for me this year (it's not celebrated here in Germany) and I'm spending the weekend at my friend, Veronika's, in Stuttgart. We are going to the Weihnachten Markt on the same fest grounds where the Volksfest was and on Saturday Veronika is going to show me Stuttgart. Then on the way back to Tübingen, we're meeting the rest of the group in Reutlingen for ice skating again (Super Fun!!!).

Odds and Ends

Many of my Fabulous friends and family have been asking me what I would like sent to me for Christmas. I never know what to say because I seem to be asking for all the same things from different people. Sooooo I've decided to post a list of things and if you want to send me something (no pressure...really.) you are welcome to pick and choose from here.

• Maccaroni and Cheese (boxed)
• mascera (anything not waterproof)
• grape jelly
• peanut butter (jiff or skippy)
• Fluff :)
• poptarts
• bisquik
• yarn (of any size, color, shape, texture)
• my dog
• nothing that requires a microwave please because I don't have one :(
• Coffee (any kind)
• tylenol
• 3M hooks with command strips (any size)
• band-aids
• lotion (curel or johnson's)
• measuring cups/spoons
• stickers and artsy stuff to send letters and cards
• warm black socks (above the ankle)
• brownie mix :p

Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 46

Zimmer 9.2

72072 Tübingen, Germany

These are some things that I either can't get here or they are really expensive and cheaper in the states.

Thanks everyone! I miss you guys so much, especially because the holidays are approaching and Christmas music is coming on the radio.

Kendra

Day 80: Want What You Have; Not Have What You Want

I decided to be a nerd and start posting my bible study lessons every week from the Thursday night meetings. This semester we are studying a series called "Wanted." Last week the lesson was titled, "Wanted: (At/A) Home." I apologize that I do not have the question sheet nor did I write the questions for this down, but I do remember that the lesson centered on Luke 15: 11-32 and The Parable of the Lost Son.

This week: Wanted: Money Luke 12: 13-34 The Parable of the Rich Fool

1. What are our greatest everyday worries and difficulties?
   
   1. How do we tend to deal with them?
      
   2. How should we deal with them?
      
2. Why does Jesus warn against greed in this passage?
   
3. Why does the life style of the rich man in the parable displease God?
   
4. In what way does God compare his relationship to us with that toward animals and plants?
   
5. What does God demand from his disciples (and us) with regard to a more meaningful life style?
   
6. Why is it so difficult to trust that God will provide us with all that he considers important for our life?
   

After our discussion, each one of us was given 5 Euro. This is an experiment thought up by one of the study leaders. She wants us to each take 5 Euro and do something helpful for someone and report back. I'm not sure what to do with mine yet, but I'm sure the moment will present itself when right.

"The desire for more is the root of all evil."

 

Day 76: Eishalle Reutlingen

"Life is what we are live to. It is not length but breadth… Be alive to… goodness, kindness, purity, love, history, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God and eternal hope." ~Moltbie D. Babcock

Today was ice skating day with Julia, Irene, Erika, Pedro and Matt. We have a new tradition on Sundays: ice skating. It's better than sitting around doing nothing and it's great exercise. We take the train to the next town Reutlingen and walk about 15 minutes to the Eishalle (ice hall). It was super fun! I haven't had that much fun doing a winter sport in a while. It was Irene and Erika's first time ever ice skating so it was quit entertaining to watch them in action. We skated for about 2 hours and took a dinner break and then went back for 2 more hours. I hurt all over so I know it was a good work out. I did learn to skate backwards so I was excited about that. Near the end, there weren't many people at the rink so we played a game of tag and that was pretty funny to watch. That was the only time I fell actually. I was trying to 'run' away from Matt who was it and I ran smack into another girl and slid about 6 feet across the ice on my stomach. It was pretty hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing long enough to get upJ. It was an exhausting day, but a good one.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." ~II Thessalonians 2:16-17

Day 75: Birthdays, stolen road signs, beautiful stars and weddings

Crazy party at Prinz Karl tonight, just like always. It was Catalina and Virág's birthday, so naturally, we found it as a reason to party. I love being an observer at these parties because I get to stand around with a camera and watch all the intoxicated individuals make fools of themselves. When they see the pictures on Facebook the next day their reactions are always the same: "I don't remember doing that!" or "When did that happen?" It's always enjoyable. The place got so crazy at one point the guys actually began dog-piling each other in the hallway and then stealing each other shoes! After the party got moved outside on the way to a club the guys actually stole a construction barrier right off the street. Possibly one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

I went home after that to watch my oh-so-fabulous friend Jenna's senior recital on the school website. On the walk home I just happened to look up and saw the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. The sky was completely cloudless only to be replaced by millions of stars. The brightest stars I had ever seen! I've seen constellations before, but there were constellations in constellations. It was one of those moments that remind me of God's existence and how big God really is. This is what he created and it can be witnessed every second of every day. It was simply amazing. I must have stood in the street staring up at the night sky for near 5 minutes.

My plans to watch Jenna's concert were foiled when the site kept telling me 'page not found' so I guess I have to wait for the DVD L. In the few minutes following this disappointment I logged onto Facebook to find that my best friend and roommate, Laura, was engaged! At first it was another blow to the fact that I wasn't there for my friends and I felt like I was missing out on important events in their lives, but I was so incredibly happy for her! She did of course call me not even a second after I logged onto Skype and we spent about the next hour talking about the engagement and the wedding (I'm a bride's maid yay!).

This is the hardest part about being so far from my friends and family. Life goes on and while I'm living my life halfway around the world, they are living theirs. I feel horrible about missing so many things in their lives. This school year I'm missing 3 weddings, Jenna's senior recital, college graduations, my brother's 16^th birthday, Christmas with my family and I'm sure there are some other things I have left out. I know that this is a decision it took me 1 year and 4 months to get to and it's something that I have to come to terms with on my own. I do know that I am incredible lucky and blessing to live in the 21^st century with all this technology like Skype and Facebook to keep me in touch with everyone. Heck, I even listen to my usual radio stations from home through iTunes. All in all, I'm doing well here and I'm really enjoying myself. There are lots of festivals coming up for the Christmas season and I can't wait for the snow to fall J.

Day 74: 'Oh yes it's ladies night!...'

'Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.' ~Ephesians 4:3 Tonight was our second monthly girls night! There were 13 of us on Friday the 13th...just thought I should throw that out there.
'Though I have seen the oceans and mountains, though I have read great books and seen great works of art,...there is nothing greater or more beautiful than those people I love.' ~Christopher de Vinch

Day 73: A Newly Found Bible Study

'My child, don't lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace.' ~Proberbs 3:21-22

My grammar class was, again, extremely tedious (I crochet during class...how bad is that?!?!), but we got out early and I got to go home before getting back on the bus to go up to Fichtenweg to try out a bible study that I saw advertised in the international building. I hate walking into a new place/meeting by myself when I don't know anyone. It's so scary, but after I sat down and the meeting continued I wasn't so horrified. We sang from an international phrase book in English, German, Chinese and Korean...it was interesting and I enjoyed it. Then we all split into 2 groups; english and german and read a passage from Luke and discussed it. I so loved being in a bible study again and I think I may make this one a habit, but there are a few more I would like to investigate. I met some new people outside of Start Kurs, which was really encouraging because I feel that I really need to meet other students outside this little circle the international students have formed from the early days of the Start Kurs.

I've been looking for a bible in German...they are really expensive, but I feel that it will help me with learning the language when I float betweent the english and german study groups.

'Our road will be smooth and untroubled no matter what care life may send; if we travel the pathway together, and walk side by side with a friend.' ~Henry Van Dyke

Day 72: Class and Naps

Went to class this morning/afternoon and then headed home for a much needed nap. Then I did some studying and some homework and catching up on my blogs and such. Keep in touch everyone!

Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 46
Zimmer 9.2
72072 Tübingen, GERMANY

:) :) :) :) :) <3! <3! <3! <3! <3!

Day 71: The Day the Wall Came Down

Today was the 20 year aniversary of the Berlin wall being torn down and there was big fest in the altstadt. There were tents selling anything and everything you can imagine. I found some cross earings for 5 Euro and a black belt (finally!) for 3 Euro. I was a happy camper and that was probably my biggest accomplishment of the day lol.

In my grammar class, we received back our first test and I got a 1! (The Germany system is numerical: 1 being the best and 6 being a failing grade.) It was exciting and I hope I can do it again on Monday for the big grammar test.

Day 70: The [Lack of] Snow Day

I woke up this morning to about a dozen statuses on Facebook saying it was snowing in Tübingen! I jumped up and rushing to the window to finnnndddddd....NOTHING! Apparently, it snowed very early this morning for about an hour and nothing stuck. Maybe we'll get lucky next time.

I am officially going to visit the Bushmanns for Christmas in Bavaria! Yay! And they suggested I bring a friend so I won't be alone on the train for 4 hours. I'm bringing Julia because her family's plans for visiting her for Christmas fell through, so she and I will be traveling together.

This weekend is Girls' Night once again!

The weekend of the 26th I'm going to visit Veronika in Stuttgart and we're going to the Weihnachtenfest! (Christmas festival!) I can't wait! and she's going to show me around Stuttgart, which will be really awesome because all I've seen of Stuttgart so far was the Volksfest in Oktober.

Classes are going just splendidly. I LOVE love LOVE my creative writing class. It's definately my favorite and all we do is write papers and corrected papers over and over again. Simple, but I love it. My conversation course is a bit tricky, but I'm warming up to it. We are basically learning 'spoken' German as opposed to 'written' German and believe me speaking and writing are two totally different concepts and sometimes I feel like I'm undoing everything I have learned in the past two years. We were just assigned a group project and my group is researching and presenting the different dialects in Germany! I'm really looking foward to it.

Otherwise, things are pretty slow going here. The temperature as fallen to about 3°C as a rough daily average so we're almost at freezing!

Day 69: A Studious Sunday

Today was Sunday and it was, of course, a blah day because nothing is open. So I took advantage of it and got a lot of work done. I finished all my homework and wrote some papers for creative writing. The weather has been cold, rainy and gray lately so I barely left my room all day. It was a normal Sunday.

Day 68: Crowded Buses

I wrote two papers today and Julia came down to get the rest of her stuff. She and I went up to Fichtenweg to hang out the group at Kuckucks (which turned out to be the absolute WORST club I have ever seen). I spent about 20 minutes up there and then headed straight for the bus stop to go home. I met up with Matt at the bus stop and on the way down the hill, at the last stop, about 100 people got on the bus. This is not an exageration. I had never seen anything like it before. People were sitting on each other, standing on the back of seats and in the isle like sardines. I could believe it! As the bus tried to move, you could here it hitting the road because of the weight of all the people. I'm surprised we made it to the hbf without any tires blowing. So because of this believe-it-or-not moment, the bus was about 10 minutes late getting to the bus station so I missed the next bus home and another wasn't coming for aobut an hour so I had to call a taxi and spend an extra 7 euros to get home. LAME!

When I got home, I did get to skype with many of my friends from home. My mom had a dinner party and a bunch of my family friends were there. It was really nice to see them and I was happy to talk with them :). Although sometimes I do feel like I'm missing out on the lives of my friends and family while I'm here.

Day 67: V for Vendetta

Julia came over to do laundry today and she brought all of her craft stuff :). After we started a load, we went into the altstadt to get some stuff for dinner and went to Mueller to get soap and some random things.

When we got back I dyed my hair...again. Now I'm officially a brunette (cafe latte to be exact lol) and I love it, it's so fun to be able to just change your hair color on a whim for 4,25 Euro. We did some crafts and watched V for Vendetta. I thought it was a really good movie, but it constantly reminded me of '1984' and I kept forgetting what I was watching.

I got to talk to Laura (my roommie back at ECU) today, which always brightens my day and makes everything Fabulous. Love you Laura!!! <3!

Day 66: Housewarmings and Birthdays

My box from my mommy finally came today!!! I was so excited to finally get this box that has been sitting in customs for more than a week. In this Fabulous package were my going-out jeans, my crochet hooks, grape jelly, oreos, candy corn, 3 scarves, 4 pairs of gloves, 4 pairs of leggings, 2 pairs of earmuffs, a hat, lotion, my new bank card and several others things I have forgotten, but still greatly appreciate :). My room is definately starting to look more like a home.

After I finally dragged myself out of bed, I went into town a little bit before my class to run some errands and I ran into some of the guys out wandering. We all went to grab some coffee and then I headed to my 3 hour grammar class.

After my class I went up to Catherine's new place where we were throwing a housewarming/birthday party for her and Edu. We all had a great time sitting around drinking Sangria and playing 'never have I ever...' which, by the way, is quite a dangerous game lol. Then we all went down the hill to the Clubhouse, which is a club above the university's cafeteria (which is how college drinking and partying should be; controlled not restricted--just sayin'). I liked this place because it was free entry, but the music really sucked. It wasn't even German music, all the other internationals kept asking the Americans about the music, but none of us had ever heard it before.

Kendra

Day 61: Happy Halloween: International Students Style

My friend Nicki, who's been studying in Heidelberg this year, came in today to visit Tuebingen and go to the Halloween Party the international students threw. Julia and I met Nicki at the Hbf and went back to my place to make dinner. We made our own little concoction of lasagna, which actually turned out quite good, and socialized with my roommates. My friend, Veronika, from Stuttgart also came into town for the party. Veronika is a German student who studied abroad at ECU last school year. The four of us got ready for Halloween at my place and went up to Fichtenweg for the party. I have never seen so many interesting costumes in my life! A group of the guys even went as the Smurfs. I wore a Dirndel and went as a German, Veronika was a Pirate, Julia was a Cool Cat and Nicki was a Power Puff Girl. It was a pretty awesome night, even if I did have to babysit Julia for about 2 hours and put her to bed lol :).

Day 62

Took it easy today after last nights shinanigans. Julia and I went went to our favorite cafe (after seeing Nicki off at the Hbf) and went for a walk down the Neckar River. I took lots of pictures of the beauty that is Tuebingen in Fall. It is absolutely beautiful with all the Fall colors and the leaves on the ground. The weather is also getting chilly (I love it!) and I really hope it snows soon. My roommate told me that every year there it a Chocolate Market for a whole week here in Tubingen in November! I can't wait! and the Weihnachtenfest (Christmas Fest) in Stuttgart begins November 25th! What an exciting month ahead!

Day 63
Had the first meeting of my Aufbaukurs class today. This is the grammar class I'm taking that is 3 hours a day and 3 days a week. It was very long and extremely boring, especially because it is the same exact material that was covered in the Start Kurs I took in September. So, I asked my teacher if I could be placed in a higher and more challenging class. I will find out tomorrow or Wednesday. I really hope I can change because I'm not being challenged at all and I've already been through the book and it is virtually all the same subjects as the Start Kurs so I won't learn anything if I stay in this class. Anyhow, enjoy this pictures of this beautiful city :).

Day 59 of 330: More Placement Tests

I went up to Wilhelmstaße 9 today to take the speaking portion of the Aufbaukurs placement test. It wasn't bad, just a short little interview about how long I have been studying German and how long I was going to stay here and how my other classes was I taking. After that, I had to walk to the next street over for the written exam, which, of course took entirely too long. I hate taking these tests so much, I always feel like they ask the same questions repeatedly and there's no real way to study for these test, plus I get bored really fast. I tested into the A2/B1 class yet again (sometimes I feel like I will never improve).

I met some of the others in Fichtenweg for drinks and drinking games (I just had OJ) and then we all went down to the Clubhouse at the University campus. I ended up just talking outside with some friends and went home early.

Days 57 and 58: Klasse Beginnen :)

I'm so happy that I finally started class today! It feels so good to be back in school again...I haven't been in classe since May and the lack of learning was diminishing the capacity of my brain. Today I had the Quasselkurs, which is like and advanced grammar and conversation course. We learned A LOT of slang German which is soooo very practical here because, as non-native speakers, we speak very rigidly and we sound like robots and there is a lot of slang German in Harry Potter...you know, when Hagrid has dialog lol...so it became very useful the second I walked out of class. After that, I had Spiegelschrift, which is a creative writing class and we already have 2 essays due for next week and, like a nerd, I have already written them. I love school! The only downside to these classes is that I'm in the same classroom, with the same professor, and with nearly the same people for 3 hours straight. Which really isn't so bad because I only have it once a week. The German system is really different, classes are nearly always once a week for 2 hours, there are no electives; students only take classes for there course of study (which is why I have no room to take random classes that I don't absolutely know will count at ECU; which sucks because I would LOVE to take just any classes I want) and there is no homework.

I know my blogs are getting a little boring, but there's not a whole lot going on right now. They shall get more interesting soon because Christimas is coming and all the Weihnachten fests will be in full swing!

Days 52-56: The Days of Nothing

I've been enjoying some relaxation time and staying in almost every night for the past week. My back feels sooo much better and it's nearly back to normal (no pun intended) although I am enjoying using it as an excuse to stay at home every night. I've doing a whole lot of arts and crafts and my room is beginning to look more and more like home. I've colored a lot of my favorite quotes and Bible verses and hung them on the wall and I've made my name in really big letters and put it up. I have also been folding paper cranes and hearts and hanging them from the ceiling. My room definately has more color now and doesn't look so much like a prison. Winter is on its way so I guess I'll have to make some paper snowflakes soon and put them on the window :). I found a store where I can print my digital pictures for 7 cents each, so I'm pretty excited about that and I've been putting up some pictures of all my new friends and myself.

On Saturday, Julia and I met my friend, Veronika, on the train on the way to Stuttgart. Veronika was a German exchange student at East Carolina last school year and now she is back in Germany at her university in Stuttgart. Veronika, Julia, and I had a nice relaxing day at Das Leuze. We just relaxed in the hot tubs and the warm pools and chatted about school. It was really nice to do something different for once.

Nothing is open on Sundays, so I did absolutely nothing on Sunday and it was Fabulous.

Today was an ordinary day. I went to the grocery store and I'm staying again because I think Tangente has gotten a little too crowed for Kareoke because now that classes have started all the other students are back in town. I start class on Wednesday and I'm so excited for it because I'm getting really bored and finances only allow me to travel so much and so far. I think the next trip I'll be taking will be in December when I visit the Bushmanns for Christmas :).

Wish me luck on the placement tests this week for my classes! I love you all I miss you so much! Remember, I love to get mail, so if you send me a letter I will write back. <3!

Day 51: YAY! I'm Myself Again!...well, almost

Slept until nearly 2pm today...not good, I know, but I have no schedule because I have no class, so the sleeping in late stays in place for now.

For about 2 weeks I've been having this muscle pain in my lower back. It's the same pain I had this summer when I was going to the chiropractor regularly and it hasn't bothered me since about June. Well, the pain came back and I waited about 2 weeks for it to clear up and it has not. So I finally broke down and went to find a chiropractor. I was lucky he was willing to see me, but I have not yet decided if I was lucky he treated me. He adjusted my back and what not just like my chiropractor in the states did, however, he was very forceful about it which I think may have made it worse. He also gave me an injection. He said it was a muscle relaxant, but I called my chiropractor in the states and he had never heard of anyone even being allowed to do that-at least in the USA-so I'm not sure if going was a good idea. I have yet to see any improvement, in fact, I think it may be worse. I'm going to wait it out a few days and see if anything changes. Then I'm going to get a massage.

I also finally gave up on this 'no arts and crafts' kick I've been on. I traded in the club for some construction paper and colored pencils. And I love that my walls now have some artwork and my room doesn't look so much like a prison. :) <3!

Kendra

Day 50 of 330: The 'what I thought was the 6 week mark, but is in fact the 7 week mark' day

Day 49
I got up early today and went to register for classes. First I met Catherine and Julia in the altstadt to eat breakfast at our favorite bakery, Das Kaffeehaus. This place is awesome, all the accents are yellow and inside the places to sit range from cusions on the floor to couple tables with plugs for laptops to a lounge with a TV to regular tables for groups. I think it might be my study place once classes get underway. I love their pastry selection and, of course, my life's addiction: coffee, that comes in giant mugs; which just makes me plain happy :). Then Julia and I went to the Burgeramt to re-register with the city and get our resident permits.

I am now an official legal student resident of Germany. My life is so cool. I can't help opening my passport and just looking at it. The picture sucks, but it's still a cool thing. It's really exciting for me to see all the stamps my passport is accumulating over time. What an experience, although, even after getting my permit/visa, I still can't get it through my head that I actually live here. "True story." ~Jenna Sapp.

After registering, we went to the office for international students and registered for classes. I am taking 4 classes this semester, all for my German major. I'm taking Spiegelschrift, which is a creative writing class, Aufbaukurs, which is intensive grammar, Quasselkurs, which is intense conversation, and Kinder- und Jungenbücher, which I think is a childrens literature class for foreign students.

My schedule is as follows:
Beginning Oktober 28th: Wednesdays: 10:15-11:45 Quasselkurs and 12:15-13:35 Spielgelschrift
Beginning Nov.2nd Ending Dez. 15th: Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays: Aufbaukurs

After registering for classes I went to the hair salon and FINALLY got my hair cut. Nothing too drastic, just a trim and a style slightly more 'European.' After that I went to Müller, bought hair dye, and dyed my hair brown. It's too expensive for me too keep up the blonde highlights here, so I decided to go all one color. It's not too brown, more of a dark ash blonde. But it's definately a change. I needed something dramatic that I could control. I think I might go darker in a few weeks. ;)

Went to kareoke as usual, it gets more and more crowded every week. I might quit going, you can't even move in there after 9:30.

Day 50
I woke up this morning thinking that I've been here 6 weeks today. But, alas, I have investigated my calender and I have, in fact, been here 7 weeks. Where in the heck did that other week go??? I must have been waiting for a bus.

The girls and I met at the Bahnhof and took the train to Metzingen to shop at the outlet mall. Julia missed the train! So we had to wait for her at the Metzingen bahnhof, but of course we had fun acting like fools. Metzingen is a neat little town, but the mall was full of designer stores and it was a little too expensive for me.

The weather is Fabulous here! The temperature in the past week has been in the teens, but it was kinda warm today...mid 30s. It usually snows here the first week of November (so I've heard) and I can't wait. I'm so excited to have a REAL winter for the first time!

Kendra

Days 40 - 47: It's a Small World

I so sorry it has been over a week since I last posted! I can tell it's been too long when people start asking me on facebook when the next post will be. I'll try to keep it at a 2-3 day minimum from now on.
Let me just begin by saying, "it feels like a never ending cycle of it's a small world." I have been here almost 6 weeks and I feel the world closing in. I spend everyday doing nearly the same thing with the same people. I stay out way too late and don't go to bed until the wee small hours of the morning and then sleep until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Needless to say, I am bored and ready for classes to start. My summer began the first week of May; it is now the third week of Oktober and I'm still on 'summer vacation.' I'm ready for a change.

Allow me to explain "It's a Small World." I'm sure you have all been to Disney World at some point in your lifetime and even if you haven't you know about the "It's a small world" ride. Well you get in this boat all excited for an adventure. The boat begins to move along the water way slowly around the bend to the tunnel that transports you into an international world of singing robotic children. At first you think to yourself, "this is so exciting! How neat! I'm in Disney World! Woo Hoo!" Then you start to hear the song. "It's a world of laughter, a world of cheer. It's a land of hope..." etc. You think it's cute until about the twelth language and then you just want to jump head first into the foot high fake river just to end the monotony. Now I would go as far as jumping head first into the river of a make believe boat ride, but you get the idea that whenever I meet the international students I see the Italians all standing around speaking Italian, the Turks speaking Turkish, the Americans debating about politics...AGAIN!...the Spainish taking far too long to walk ten feet, etc. I have just realized that I do not know any Germans here in Tübingen. None. Nada. Zip. Now I realize that I have not started classes yet and I really haven't had any opportunities to meet any Germans, but enough is enough. Every Monday: Kareoke; Wednesday: Top 10; Friday: Girls' Nights; Saturday: Party at Prince Karlz. I'm so sick of going out and I miss being content to just sit in my room on a Friday night and watch TV or read a book. Only 10 more days until class begins!

Please don't read into this that I am unhappy. I am very happy here. I have simply gotten to the point where the initial culture shock has worn off and I don't feel all "WOOOOO! HOOOOOO! I'm in Germany!!!" anymore. I am attempting to get involved here. I have some great friends with whom I love spending time and I have recently started attending St. Michael's Catholic church on a regular basis. I go to Saturday mass each week and I am looking into some groups to join.

This week was pretty much the same as any other since I've been here. On Monday I went to Kareoke and was happily reunited with my good friend Julia, who had been in Köln for about 5 days. On Tuesday, Julia and I were happily reunited with Catherine who had been in Munich for about a week visiting relatives. The three of us went grocery shopping (I feel that this may be a daily requirement in this country) and cooked a great meal of Taco Soup and watched movies and talked about our adventures while we were apart. Catherine will be staying with me until the end of the month because she has moved out of here old residence and they mistakenly reserved here new room for November instead of Oktober. So she's homeless until then lol. But she's in good hands and always has a place to sleep and plug in her hot rollers at my place. Wednesday was a big night for us and we all went to Top 10 and had a great night dancing our pants off. On Thursday there was a big welcome party at one of the clubs for the international students. I had a good time there meeting some other students. (One good thing about going out is that I'm loosing weight from all the dancing and walking.) Friday was Julia's 20th birthday and all the girls meet in the altstadt and we went to dinner and then met the rest of the group back at my place for drinks. Today I just cleaned and did some laundry and Catherine and I went to church. Now I'm just spending some time catching up on the blog and the journal.

I'm beginning to realize how much I miss my campus crusade family and my close network of christian friends back in the states. Please pray that I find that close network here in Germany and that I keep Christ the focus of everything I do here. I miss you all and love you all so much!

Kendra

P.S. The weather is wonderful here. I'm actually going to see what a real winter is like lol. It's only Oktober and the high is in the single digits nearly everyday. The leaves have all changed color and are falling off the trees and the colors are just beautiful. The landscape is so incredibly picturesque. I love it. It actually hailed ice the size of large marbles today, it was crazy. But I love getting all bundled up in my pea coat, scarf, gloves, and hat and going outside. Everyone looks so cute with their red cheeks and noses from the cold and all cozy in their winter wear :).

Day 39: The oh so Infamous Girls' Night

So tonight the girls and I organized the 1st monthly girls' night of our study abroad year. It was way fun. We met up at the XXL Cafe near the Hbf at 6pm and headed to Rewe Supermarkt and bought lots of goodies for Sangria and snackage. Then we grabbed the bus to my place--the chips didn't even make it home. At my place we began by making the Sangria and I must that we are Sangria-makin' beasts because we made it perfect on the first try. We made a toast to the all the single ladies and got started with our night of funness.

Days 35, 36 and 37: Kareoke Nights, Parties and Bierfests

Day 35: On Mondays we have a custom; Kareoke

Kareoke Night has become a bit more than a tradition here in Tübingen among the international students. It has become custom for all the students in this fall's international program to assemble at the Kareoke Bar, have a few drinks together and make fools of oursleves. We have a great time picking songs for each other and singing in languages that are not our own...the Macarena is very difficult to sing when you don't know any Spanish. It has also become tradition that all the women of Start Kurs I (this was my orientation class at the start of September) to sing 'Wannabe' by the Spice Girls and for all the guys of Start Kurs I to sing 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua. We have a good time, it's been a great way for all of us to see and socialize and catch up regularly because we no longer see each other every day.

Day 36: Another one of Tulio's Parties
This morning at approx. 10am I was woken by the Hausmeister and a handyman come to fix the heater in my room. I opened the door and thought to myself, "my heat's not broken, but knock your socks off." And then my roommates and I had to spend the morning cleaning the oven...keep in mind that Germans don't have self-cleaning ovens so it took about 2 and a half hours of scrubbing with just dish soap and sponges to get this thing clean. I am glad the handyman fixed the door though, because we've been cooking food in an oven with a door that doesn't close completely. Later that day I went to buy my semester bus ticket and hung out with a couple friends I found in the Altstadt. Then we all headed for Tulio's place for another international student 'get together'. It was a fun night and it was great to see every together in a place that wasn't a bar so we could actually hear what each other speak. Frances-Kate and I headed back to my place and turned in early inpreparation for the Oktoberfest in Stuttgart the next day!
Day 37: Stuttgart's Oktoberfest 'Volksfest' (people's fest in English)
So a group of us met this afternoon at the Hbf and took the train up to Stuttgart for the Volksfest. This place was amazing! It may have been bigger than Oktoberfest in Munich, but less well known. There were rides and food stands and candy stands and games and bier tents like you wouldn't believe! FK and I headed to the fest on our own and waded through the sea of people. We wandered for a good hour just taking in the sites and checking out the shopping stands. Later we found a good-looking biertent and stopped for a drink. the Fürstenberg Zelt had the coolest entertainment. There was a live, nearly traditional, band of old men in Lederhosen and many different hats. We sat next to an older German couple and practiced our German with them a bit. The band entertained the crowd with crazy cigarette tricks and German folksongs. At one point, the accordian player did a trick were he smoked the cigarette with no hands, practically swallowed the whole lit cigarette and smoked it again-to music. My reaction must have been really big because he pointed at me in the crowd, yelled 'blondie!' and everyone was laughing at me. It was one of the funniest things of the trip. After finishing our drinks, FK and I bought our steins and headed out to see more of the fest. We played games, ate a bratwurst, ate ice cream, ate cotton candy, ate...well, you get the idea.
After a few more hours of wandering we met up with the rest of the group at the Swabenbräu Zelt and took up a whole table of just our group. Let me just say that there was quite a party going on in this Biertent. The band was AMAZING!!! By half an hour in our whole group was dancing on the table with our beers in hand shouting German folksongs and dancing to 'SHOUT!' and 'YMCA'. The best way to learn traditional German drinking songs is to go to a fest and stay in one tent for aobut 3 hours; repetition is the best way to learn. I'm amazed that we didn't break the benches; you should see the pile of broken biergarten benches behind the tents, it's quite funny. We were literally hanging from the rafters of the tent (yes these tents are actually more like permenant buildings than tents). After several hours in the Swabenbräu Zelt, we headed out and took one more turn on the log ride and headed home.
On the train on the way home, we ran into several Germans who were quite drunk. And there's nothing funnier than a drunk German after Oktoberfest. They ended up following us for almost the whole way back (luckily they got off the train about 3 stops before us) it was kinda funny afterwards, the way they were picking fights over what kind of bier is better, naturally the answer is ALWAYS German bier. I strolled into my room around midnight and crashed. Yesterday was exhausing, but totally worth it!

Kendra