They multiply like bunnies

Yeah, the crusties. Like bunnies. Multiply. But not through the same process. Ew.

Last night, four of them crashed on my floor. FOUR! It was a regular cuddle party. I, meanwhile, was snug and comfy in my bed... all by myself! Baha. Only one stayed in the other Amanda's room. Either this means that she has less room than me (true)... she has a bare floor versus the foam mattresses we found in the large items garbage and dragged up to my room (also true)... or she just plain reeks (I believe this is true, too).

Yesterday was a rather good day spent registering for orientation, showing the crusties a little around the city, going to a fabulously fun wine tasting as part of orientation, where I drank much wine, ate some gross ham, and met a butt-ton of other Americans from various states, three Brits, and a bunch of other people. We then brought the Virginian and the Coloradoan back to Amanda's room to meet the crusties, where we feasted on delicious burritos made by the fabulous Jake, who spent a year in culinary school, played dice, and had a few beers.

When it came time for the Virginian (Ann-Marie) and the Coloradoan (Matt) to head back into the city to go home, I walked them to the bus stop, only to talk with a bus driver who claimed that it was somehow a holiday and no more buses were running other than this last one... that was going the wrong direction. Awesome. What the hell holiday is on September 25/26? Srsly?! After a walk back to Amanda's room, I procured a taxi and had it pick them up at the bus stop.

Thus, all was well.

Just took my Einstufungsprüfung (placement test) for this orientation time, and it was surprisingly easy and tied right in to what I learned in the IFK. (I must remember to send my teacher a thank you note again... I really do feel I learned a ton!) Having other students show up here is so strange, but it really makes it sink in just how much German I've learned so far! Now, I'm keeping up with students who have studied German for seven years and speak almost fluently, but I also am glad I can relate to those who are coming here a little lost and uncertain. It really feels good to give back to them and help them along in these first days.

Hope all is well on the homefront and wherever you are! Until next Schreibung,

Amanda

The Crusties have come

Sorry I've been absent from writing lately. The past week has been a complete blur... in a wonderful way.

This weekend went fast, with two nights of clubbing, one in a brand new club in Trier. This thing, called Musikpark A1, is NUTS. It's huge! Amanda and I went there last Saturday night to meet up with our friend Yu, from Japan, and a group from Mexico City who are studying at the Fachhochschule (business school) here in Trier. When we got there, it was complete wonderful chaos (sort of). A giant building, called the Edeka Center, that reminds me of the Target Center. A line of 500 or so people... ALL NIGHT LONG. Amanda and I stood in line with Yu and got through it fairly fast, but there was a slight mishap on Amanda's part, and she ended up not getting in. See her blog for the funny version of her part of the story.

Anyway, Yu and I got in and were immediately confronted by a huge room with a bar, all decorated in gothic style, with gargoyles and columns and Catholic icons and crazy stuff. The club then gave three separate dance floors: one decorated like a saloon that played older but fun music; one like a strip club, that played newer hits, complete with pole dancers; and a smoker lounge/bar/dance floor that played electronica and industrial. The night was long and fun, the Mexicans met us, and I then accompanied them to their place around 5 am for the "after party"... from which I left and got back home at around 1 pm on Sunday to find Amanda alive and well.

On Monday, I received a call from Forehead, a friend of mine from the Twin Cities, who had mentioned to me earlier this summer that he'd be in Europe. I'd told him to contact me when he's here if he needed/wanted a place to stay. Well, according to him, he was here in Germany, hitching down to Trier at the moment from a town only a few hours away! I awoke Amanda and we did a flash cleaning of our rooms, as Forehead was traveling in a group of 5, all friends and friends of friends from the Twin Cities. The next morning, 11 am, I got another call, and Forehead and Brittany were sitting on my university! Yesterday, the other three arrived in two groups, and Amanda and I guided them to the university and picked one up at the train station, and short summary of the story: we are now hosting 5 crust punks between our 2 rooms for an indeterminate amount of time. They are thinking they'll stay at least through my birthday next week, which would be awesome... how cool to celebrate my 21st in Germany with Americans! So far, it's been great having them (other than the unwashed smell), being able to speak and act American, show people around my temporary home, and just have fun with a bunch of people I know and am getting to know better!

Today, I registered for orientation, and tonight is the official opening/wine tasting (yep, another one). Tomorrow, I take my first German language placement test and then have a few activities through the morning/early afternoon. In the evening, there is an international student party, I've heard, and who knows what's in store for the weekend! Perhaps a day of playing tourist, showing the crusties around Trier.

Thus, alles gut, ich bin sicher und froh, and ich werde versuchen, mehr bald zu schreiben! (All is well, I'm safe and happy, and I will try to write more soon!)

Viele Grüße an ihr alle!

Amanda

Reminders that we're here

At least a few days a week, I see (and hear, oh goodness, do I hear) military jets flying overhead as I sit outside on campus, attempting to soak in some Vitamin D. It makes me wonder... are they American military aircraft? It seems likely. The other night, while talking with a friend at the Mexico party, he told me that there is a small town near Trier with a many Americans from a nearby base.

I have to wonder... what are the aircraft doing up there? What is their purpose? Are they going somewhere, returning from a foreign land? Are they merely patrolling or practicing?

Whatever their purpose or reason, they always serve as a reminder that we Americans are everywhere, sticking our fingers in everything. It remains to be decided whether this is good or bad... or in which cases, how I feel about it.

VIVA MEXICO!

Last night, I was getting a little restless, and, as it was a Saturday night, I wanted to go out, preferably dancing. It had rained all day, Amanda and I made a million pierogi, and I was ready to go work off some excess energy. Thus, I called my friend Yu to see if she was interested, but I got no response. I then SMS'd Florian to see what he was up to. He was game for heading into the city, and we were about to take off when I got a call from my friend Miguel inviting us to a Mexican party celebrating the Mexican Independence Day, which is this week.

Holy goodness, is there ever a thriving, vibrant, open, friendly, and welcoming Latino community in Trier! I met around 20 Latinos, many from Mexico City, a few from Spain, and one particularly good-looking one from Venezuela, who has lived and worked in Trier for the past four years. Everyone was super welcoming to the two lost little Americans and their gangly German friend.

The party was a blast, held in the common area of a Studentenwohnheim for the Catholic college in the city. Delicious, flavorful, REAL Mexican food was devoured, including rice, mole, chili con carne, and some delicious taquito-type food. YUM. How thankful I am for the Latino community here! They were also very giving with their tequila, many various bottles and sliced limes lying around, everyone always asking if we had a drink.

After eating, it was around midnight, and one of the Mexican men got on the table and explained in Spanish and Deutsch the reason for our gathering, and we all yelled "VIVA MEXICO!" many times, celebrating Mexico's independence.

Then, oh then... came the dancing.

At this point, people were starting to loosen up a little, and the natural friendliness that is so often found in Latinos really geared up. I found myself talking for hours with four guys in particular, trading topics like one of their recent trips to Paris, one's home in Venezuela, jobs, school, and everything.

Over our conversations was the thump of beautiful bass, the glorious sounds of reggaeton, salsa, and other traditional and new Latin and Mexican music. A few people started dancing, and soon Amanda and I were being pestered to dance, also. I was interested, but I also was enjoying the conversations a lot, particularly with the Venezuelan, Eric. He asked if I knew how to salsa, and when I replied no, he said that when the next salsa song came on, he would teach me how.

And, oh, how he did! Eric is an incredible dancer! Wow! He can break dance, moonwalk, pop it with the best of them... and he taught me the basics of salsa, a little samba, and merengue!! It was SO much fun! I found myself whirling around the room for the next five hours, being grabbed by a different boy for every dance, and even when Amanda and Florian were practically walking out the door at 5 am, I was hardly ready to leave!

But, leave we did, walking outside, Eric accompanying us, and attempting to call a taxi. As the clubs were all emptying out at the time, we got no answer from two different taxi services, so Eric walked with us to the Porta Nigra, where there is perpetually a taxi or four waiting.

Thus, we arrived home, exhausted and excited... but with still enough energy to eat some of our millions of homemade pierogi.

Things are really looking up, guys! I'm excited to hear from my new friends (can I say that already) whom I met last night, and orientation starts next week!! Wow. Even though the weather is, as Amanda so aptly described, like a beautiful November day, the sun is shining, I've eaten REAL food again and danced my heart out (at least until tonight), met some great people who are here for the year (or longer!), and life is just plain awesome. :)

You're not gonna like this one, Mom...

So, Wednesday night, Amanda and I hopped a train at 5:50 pm to Luxembourg city with the express intent of seeing one of our favorite bands, The Faint, perform. We arrived in the city around 6:45 with an hour and room to spare to find the venue (which was supposedly a mere 200 meters from the train station) and also find something for Amanda to eat.

As we had been informed, the venue, den Atelier, was only a ten minute walk from the train station, which meant that we would, as expected, probably have to leave the concert with a half hour remaining in order to catch the last train from Luxembourg back to Trier for the night. We wandered around, found a delicious hamburger, and made it back to den Atelier, an old auto warehouse that had been converted into a venue in 1995 and has since hosted some huge name bands, including the Smashing Pumpkins (twice), with time to spare.

My goodness, was it good to see hipsters again, to see those music snobs who really DO exist everywhere! Luxembourg is actually a pretty cool city... I like that it's bigger than Trier and seems to have multiple genres of people, unlike the fairly static groups one sees in Trier. On the way to the venue, I got sparkled at, and Amanda and I were oohlala'd from a car. (Yeah, maybe a little creepy, but more hilarious and awesome that we were oohlala'd in a French-speaking country!) To pass the time before the opening band, we played Hipster Bingo, picking out such trademark hipster features from among the audience, such as trucker hat, 4 foot girl, Asian hipster, boy wearing girl jeans, and ironic mustache.

The warm-up act was talented, but laughable, mixing a bass, guitar, keytar, and drum machine well, but in a boring manner, and pairing it with lyrics straight out of an 8th grade poetry class. (Who whispers "my father's eyes" eight times during a bridge? Ugh.) But, they were amusing enough... and then The Faint came on.

Holy goodness, was I blown away! I had been expecting a great show, having heard the huge synth noises emanating from the venue during the sound check, but WOW. They are even better live than recorded, and their sound guy is incredible! (His name is Dutch... really, it is!... which apparently goes over quite well in Holland: "Hi, I'm Dutch." "Really. You don't sound Dutch.") They played almost all of their songs that I was hoping to hear including some good stuff off of their newest release, and also had a great show visually. The lead dude, Todd, wore a lab coat and goggles and ran around being awesome.

During the show, we met a chick who sort of "owns" her own media company. Basically, this means she runs around following bands throughout their tours, being a good girl groupie, and trying to get interviews with them. She does things like follow MCR their entire tour (not fucking sure why) and trying to get an interview but getting rejected by their media people, then holding up a poster at their last show and having Gerard grant her an interview.

Aaaanyway... yeah, her first words to me, after "Where are you from?" were, "Are you following The Faint?" Well, no... we're not exactly fangirls. But, I did start a conversation with her, and, after hearing we were from America, offered to see after the show if the dudes in The Faint would want to talk with us a little. This worked out well for us, as Amanda and I had already pretty much decided to say screw the train and stay for the entire show, which meant we'd get the privilege (?) of hanging around Luxembourg until 5:17 the next morning.

Thus, after hanging around the venue for a while after the show, I popped my head in the tour bus door asking if Brigitte was inside. Magically, a bunch of people started coming out of the bus, and Amanda and I ended up spending about four hours on the streets of Luxembourg, standing outside the tour bus, talking with various members of The Faint entourage. They were very nice, particularly the keyboardist, Jacob; the sound dude, Dutch; and the guitarist, Dapose. Their merch girl/tour manager/whoever exactly she is was also super... when she found out we didn't actually live in Lux, but had to wait around, these were her words: "Oh, you don't live here? You want some booze or something?" Ha.

And that is how Amanda and I ended up with a traveler of lime vodka and a huge bottle of Jim Beam, gifts from The Faint. (No, Mom, we did not drink it all. Enough to keep us warm... but we still have half the bottle of whiskey left over, and Jacob was the one who drank most of the other half!)

A good evening was had by all. We caught another train at 5:17 am, made it back into freezing cold Trier at 6:07, bussed back to the Uni, ate tortellini, and slept. We saw a great show, got oohlala'd and sparkled at, and hung out and talked about America and Europe with some great guys from Omaha, Nebraska.


Note to those in the Cities: The Faint are playing at First Ave in November. I highly recommend going... it's a great show!


NOTE: Thanks to Brigitte of TasteItTV for the great photos! Left is lead singer, Todd, right is Jacob, keyboardist.

Further news on the PDA Phenomenon

It's not so much that PDA irritates me or disgusts me, it's that Germans seem to take it just a little farther than Americans do. They really are a more liberal country.

For example, the other day, Amanda and I were sitting outside on a bench by the lake, just surfing the Internet and enjoying the day. A couple were also out enjoying the day... in fact, it is my belief that they enjoyed it quite heartily. They were lying on the ground together in the sun, in the middle of a green space next to a walkway, happily making out and fondling... for about 3.5 hours. They were still there when I finally left.

Another example: many German couples (granted, I see mainly university-age couples), instead of just giving each other a peck or holding hands will happily and completely obliviously grab, fondle, and make out with each other in very public places, such as directly in front of me in a café on the Uni which also currently contains 18 other people.

Do not like. Do not understand.

Is it just the hidden-until-now conservative American side of me? Am I wrong to be a little uncomfortable or offended by this? Is it only because I grew up in small-town Minnesota?


For those of you who are thinking, wow, this girl just has way too much time on her hands to be blogging about this... yes, you are right. Currently taking book recommendations for a massive Amazon order. Have recently been very into memoirs and autobiographies... anything that'll make me think.

Please respond.

An observation.

I'm a little surprised at (and a little tired of) the number of skinny little pale white girls sporting really bad white girl dreadlocks in Germany. What prompts this phenomenon? Is it the manifestation of marijuana and Rastafari culture through self-expression in a country that has relatively few black people to make white girls feel like dumbasses for having dreads?

Whatever the reason, dear white girls, you're not black. While I am all for self-expression and freedom of opinion... my opinion (and advice) is: Your hair does not dread well. Just give it up.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

Things are finally starting to gear back up here in Trier. Every day, I notice more students and become more familiar with faces I see around. Mao is coming back to Trier today to pick up her suitcase, which she left in my room as she travels the country, and I hope to spend some time with her before she has to pick up and leave again for her final destinations in Germany before heading back to Japan. Then, this evening, Amanda and I hop a train to Luxembourg City, where we will see The Faint in concert at an old auto warehouse that is apparently only about 200 meters from the main train station. With any luck, they will time everything just for us, so that we can see the whole show and still catch our last train back to Trier for the night. ;)

Miguel, a friend of mine from Mexico who is studying at another school in Trier for at least the next semester, informed me a few days ago that a whole gob of Mexicans is coming very shortly to Trier to study (25 or so!). He just introduced me to the first to arrive, Daniel, and it looks like my level of activity may very quickly rise... which will greatly benefit my sanity. Tomorrow, we are heading to a club in Trier, Forum, which is a pretty typical hip-hop type club. Friday, we have no plans, but I'm certain something will pop up. Saturday, we may make a day trip to Köln or Bonn and afterward hit up the club Produktion in Trier with Yu and Florian. Then, Monday is a Spanish national celebration, so the Mexicans are throwing a bash... with real, delicious Mexican food!! :D

Things are definitely looking up, my friends. Here starts the insane whirl of activity that will be my next year in Trier, I fear.

(How do you like that rhyming? Pretty snazzy, eh?)

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Today, instead of getting a mere 62 cents Euro for every U.S. dollar, I receive 70 cents on the dollar.

Pretty sweet, considering I waited until today to pay a deposit on my apartment. Rock on.

-----

Dear economy,

Please continue to stabilize. It really helps me.

Thanks. I really appreciate it.

Love, Amanda

WELCOME TO MY LIFE.

Oh, fickle weather...

Well, it's official. The weather is part of what has me so irritated and stir-crazy here in the land of Bier and Bretzeln. This morning, the weather was actually warm enough to sit outside on my laptop and take care of my daily project crap, and I actually felt content while doing it, without much of an urge to run into town, or into another town, or into another country.

Thus, dear Germany, please continue having nicer days, or at least days with discernible sun. My sanity will thank you.

I am going to a The Faint concert on Wednesday night in Luxembourg City with Amanda, which I am super stoked about. The venue is apparently only about 200 meters from the main train station, and is located in an old auto warehouse.

I also have an invitation from my friend Lea to stay at her apartment in Munich (with her parents, also!) the first weekend of Oktoberfest, September 19-21. I hope to be able to make that work out... not only will it be wonderful to see Lea, I'll be able to say I attended the REAL Oktoberfest! (Though I've been told I should probably really save my money for this... it's an expensive touristy thing... but, it's THE Oktoberfest!)

Oh, how nice it is to FINALLY be able to sit outside again, listening to music, working on German, and having a beautiful view of a lake, baby ducks, a sunny meadow... and a rather pretty emo boy sitting on a bench, writing. ;)

Auf wiederschreiben!

THE FAINT

For those of you who know and care...

I will be seeing The Faint on Wednesday night in Luxembourg city.

Yes, that's right. Be jealous. :D

I pass!

This morning, I was approached by two youngish, perhaps 12- year-old boys on bicycles as I wandered about the University Forum, looking for a place out of the rain in which I could do some Interneting. (Do recall, NOTHING is open on Sundays, but I can still access the Uni WiFi.)

One asked me, so very politely, "Haben Sie sich verlaufen?" (Translation: "Are you lost?")

I replied, a bit astoundedly, "Nee, bin nur wandern." ("No, I'm just wandering.")

The incredulity, however, stems from the fact that this boy used the POLITE tense with me! Instead of the informal "Hast du dich...", he said "Haben Sie sich..."!!!!

I understand and know that it is polite and correct to use the "Sie"-form with your elders, unless told to use the "du"-form by them, and I am obviously older than these boys... but...

I passed! I am not immediately tagged as a foreigner! He expected me to know German!

(Yeah, he thought I was lost, but that is no matter...)

HAPPY.

Jillions of photos.

My third week in Germany through the last week of the IFK are now up.

View HERE!

Who's got a one-pot wonder?

So. Summer is over. The long socks that make my calves itch are back out, and the beautiful European fall scarves and keffiyehs are more helpful than their thin material implies. (I swear I am going to come home with one in every color... I already have four!)

Not that I really had much of a summer here in Deutschland. Everyone agrees that this summer has been crap.

After being out of the IFK for 16 days now and back in Trier after Düsseldorf for almost a week, I'm finding myself falling into a routine. This routine, I find, is both good and bad; some days I am pleased and content, and other days the routine causes extreme irritation and antsiness. I know very few people in Trier, now that all of the international students with whom I took the summer course have returned home. I have a close-ish circle of 3, whom I see relatively frequently: Amanda, who came with me from Hamline; Miguel, a wonderful boy from the vicinity of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Florian, a student here in Trier, who was an IFK tutor. There are two others whom I see slightly less frequently: Yu, from Japan, who will be staying the year in Trier, also; and Susana, also from Mexico, but whom is headed home this weekend. Other than that, I have only minor acquaintances whom I have met once or only a few times.

The language barrier I feel and the lack of appropriate contexts in which I could even attempt to introduce myself or approach somebody with the intent of getting to know them constantly nudges me in the back, reminding me that I currently have limited options here in Trier. While there are breaks in my usual routine - the incredible burritos Miguel showed us how to make last night, followed by an incredible dessert, of which I have already forgotten the name, consisting of fried tortillas covered in honey, jam, and sugar - seeing Batman for the second time in German and the fourth time overall with Flo and Amanda - or being lucky enough to be able to reach Yu, who also wants to go to the club tonight - I am starting to go a little stir crazy.

My routine involves, in large part, discovering new grocery stores (oh man, I found the greatest one ever last night!! All sorts of international foods, including spices from Mexico and Asia! Woo! REAL flavor!!), cooking delicious meals, accomplishing things on the Internet, cooking more, eating more, reading, talking and walking with Amanda, and making meals with Amanda. Ha. While I greatly enjoy food and I really am accomplishing things online, such as the beginning of my potential Fulbright proposal and learning about German cities and using my language skills, there is only so much a person can take! I'm actually beginning to feel tired of the simple process of eating, no matter how delicious the food is. Thus, I'm excited for the beginning of orientation, and the arrival of excited and ambitious internationals and students prepared for the new year.

A side note on dancing: I've never considered myself a club girl, but I've discovered dancing to be an amazing release of tensions and a true international language - anyone can dance! Plus, I'm considered a pretty good dancer here, I've come to find. I, personally, find that laughable, but apparently Germans REALLY can't dance. (Please, dear friends in Germany, take no offense to that... it's just what I've been told.)

Anyway, I'm aware I must cherish the vacation I have left, as I will soon have little time for anything relaxing or such personal endeavors as intensive language learning (I am SUCH a dork... I have a HUGE longing to suck up as much of the German language as I can as quickly as I can!). School and change and a flurry of activity will come fast, I will spend time sightseeing and socializing and whirling in circles, and then my year will be over, and I will be back at home.


However, for the sake of my sanity for the next two weeks, I must still send out this plea: those of you who have wonderful one-pot type recipes, that I can make on two electric burners, PLEASE share them! ;)

The RNC...

Being a world away from the Twin Cities right now is relaxing... and weird. I keep reading about all the protests at the RNC, the craziness that is St. Paul right now... and part of me wants to be there, experiencing it, seeing it up close, or at least watching the news on it in the same town.

PLEASE: Give me your perspectives on the RNC, the protests, observations of the state of the Cities, what people are saying! I'm trying to keep up, but media is never as good as what normal people see and think!

Let me know what's going on!

PHOTOS OMGLOLBBQ!!

Here are photos from my second week in Trier, during the IFK and our excursion to Saarbrücken, Germany and Metz, France. Yes, they're a little late, but I'm working on it!

Soon to come: the last week of my course plus excursions to Schengen; Arlon, Belgium; Luxemburg City; and Düsseldorf.

Meine Zweite Woche in Trier!