Hanging Out in Germany

Hi everyone,

This is my second update and its from the hostel lobby in Bremen. We're waiting on a load of laundry after coming back from an awesome day in the city. Bremen is a lot easier to navigate than is Münster... give me a map and let me ask the receptionist a few questions and I am good to go! We walked the whole way, first to the fairy-tale-like area Schnoor (amazing pictures to come!) and the found the river Weser, which at the time was holding a nice little flea market. It was kind of cold there and we were worried the weather would be bad, but it cleared up and got warmer as time went on. We made it to the Fußgängerzone (no cars allowed) and walked around, ended up getting some lunch in the ENORMOUS department store. Then we went to the market square which was quite the site. Again, pictures still to come! I took lots, though. Oh yeah and last night after we finally found the hostel, which is amazing, we went to this place called Taco, which doesn’t actually have any tacos… I got baked macaroni.

Things are great here, though, I really love it. I finally can read the confusing map well enough to get around town and I feel more at home with my host mom. She really is nice, she’s kinda querky but down to earth nonetheless. The city in Münster is great though. I am moving classes next week from the middle class because it is too easy, I mean, I was learning some words that I didn’t know before but usually I knew them all. And the kids in my class took a very long time to say just a simple sentence, so it was frustrating for me. Well it’s a long story, but we all took 100 question tests and I only missed 6, and for some reason they thought the middle class would be difficult for me, but it wasn’t. Anyway….

I first thought I wouldn’t want to come back in the fall to Koblenz, but if things keep feeling this good I really think it will be just fine. Plus since I won’t need to speak English most of the time I will learn a lot more, a lot quicker. Its cool I can hang out with kids from UCF, we get along great and have fun together, but I use English a lot in the afternoons.

The hostel here is just beautiful, it opened like a month ago and it is GREAT. There are 6 beds in our room and the other girls in our little group are in the loft part of the room. It’s very clean here, too. I am glad we picked Bremen for the first backpacking trip. No one really wants to go to Cologne so I am going to call and cancel my reservation.

Well that is it for now, not much else to say… I wish you all were here! Becky called the other day too!

First 3 Days...

Finally, I know you've all been waiting to hear how everything's going... sorry no pictures yet, I'm in an internet cafe now and the keyboard is weird, the z is where the y is on ours, and the # where the ' is, all kinds of crazy stuff. Tomorrow I proooomise to get my cell phone worked out so you guys can call if you want to, there have been some complications. In a nutshell...

-very cold (only at first today, not the last 2 days)
-windy
-rainy
-was very sad on Sunday due to exhaustion, and very emotional departure from home
-there are rabbits EVERYWHERE
-food is good
-host mom is TACKY...
-making new friends, the backpacking trip has grown quite a lot, I think there's 6 of us going now
-beautiful town

I was very freaked out as was everyone else because we didn't know how to get anywhere. Now that we know which buses to take, though, it's a lot better. So I am happier and always have something to do. We got a bus ticket for the whole time we are here so you just get on the bus and show the ticket and you can ride as much as you want, its sooo cool, I love it.

Tomorrow we are going to look for a jacket, ha ha... it is just so cold and I already have on a light hoodie and a windbreaker, and jeans. I can't imagine how cold it will be in Koblenz...

I wrote in my journal last night that this, going alone w/ a HUGE and HEAVY suitcase for two hours in different trains is very very difficult. Then getting picked up at a shady-looking train station by someone you have never seen before is terrifying. Then I realized I had never really been genuinely fearful of something. It sneaks up on you, really. My entire life I have lived in comfort and have never left that comfort zone since...ever. Even last time I was in Germany, Nina met me at the baggage claim with her dad who had a car and I never went anywhere alone. It has been wonderful though, so far. Yesterday was better than today, mostly because of the weather, though.

Classes are good, very easy though... and I wish I could speak German with the people I hang out with in the afternoons, but I can't (still love you guys though!!!)

Well it is 10:40 and almost all dark now so I am going to check train times and go home... on the NachtBus!!!

Happy trails,
Caiti

Fort Myers

Hello Folks!

This is my first Out-of-Orlando update... we had quite the trip down here to the Fort Myers, that's for sure. It went by fast, though. Mom and I left at 12 as planned. The departure wasn't so bad, at least not as bad as I thought. Tomorrow's departure is going to be harder... We stopped once on the way to grab a snack. We checked into the hotel w/o any hitches and then headed out to the airport to check the place out. And MY, MY what a pretty airport!!! It's small and friendly, and there's no confusion on where to go. Definitely not as bustling as MCO.

Mom offered to upgrade my ticket for me to business class, but its sold out! So I'm going to check at the counter tomorrow. I'd rather not upgrade it because it'd be like $800 each way to upgrade. Sure, it'd be a lot more comfortable but the flight is only 9 hours, and I'm small enough to where it won't bother me too much. I'll just wear my sweats...love those things!! Mom said she'd get me a neck pillow... they're $13 at this one store in the airport. By the way, I'll take pictures of the airport tomorrow and post them when I can, it was just so pretty.

Then Mom and I went looking for something to eat. Jeremy and I met up this morning bright and early for pancakes and since then I hadn't eaten anything!! We ended up at Moe's. Now we're kind of chilling out in the room (which was free, I cashed in my GoldPoints from when I worked at the hotel!) and we're eating ice cream!!! My stuff's all over the place, it's crazy!

Well tomorrow is the plan to just knock around here til around noon. Have breakfast, make sure my stuff's organized... then head out to the airport again to check in. Mom and I will probably hang out in the airport for a couple hours before I go through security. Security at this airport is literally right around the corner from the check-in counters. I can't ever tell where I'm going in Orlando's airport. The smallness of it makes it seem like less of a huuuuge deal to be going overseas. More comfortable.

We're having a nice time here, I think it was worth it to come this far.


Ready to fly!,
Caitlin

BACKPACKING!!!!!

Ok so after getting some advice from trusted and experienced friends, I got to chatting with Nikki, a new friend I've met through the Münster program. We decided to book a hostel in Bremen for two nights!! We're going to be backpackers! Stuff gets crowded in the summer so we both booked in advance. I saved $2 with my ISIC card I wrote about previously (the booking fee). We'll be staying in a 6 bed mixed dorm room... how crazy is that! It is 22 Euros per night. We're leaving Münster next Friday around 3:30 or 4 and its only a bit more than one hour away. The plan is to stay the night Friday, explore the city by foot and bus all day Saturday, stay the night again and go back on the train Sunday, but we might hop off the train here and there just to explore some different cities...

I added a link to the site I used to book the hostel... and here's a floorplan!




I am so excited I just can't stand it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I FINALLY Packed my Suitcase...

Dear Friends and Family,

I am finally packed and ready to go... had a little scare this morning as we searched one of the attics for my suitcase and it wasn't there! We checked the other one, though, and we found it. I spent about and hour or two packing... I think I did a pretty good job. I'm bringing several pairs of shorts and three pairs of pants, and enough shirts to last me a bit more than a week. Those packing cubes sure are nifty... everything is so neat and tidy. Let's hope TSA doesn't decide to have a hay day in my suitcase!! I think I will have to move a couple more things out of my big bag and put it into my carry-on so it's not too heavy... I was almost done packing and it weighed 49.4 pounds... it's surely like 51 or 52 lbs now... we'll see how it goes. WAIT! I just looked on the website and it says if your stay exceeds 29 days (mine is 35) you can take 30kg (66lbs!)... So I am safe! I'll print this just in case, though!

I added a link to the right of the page (on the blog) to the Google picture application, Picasa. I think I'll post them on Facebook, too, but just in case someone's reading this w/o Facebook, they can click this link.

So I think that's it... other than the weather in Germany is gorgeous right now...in Münster, it's 71 degrees!


Love,
Caitlin

Tick, Tock....

Nope, still haven't packed yet... I REALLY need to get on that, don't I? I just hate packing... We had the going-away get together last night and it was a lot of fun! I am really going to miss you guys...

I have to say it, tomorrow it is going to feel soooo good to NOT get up at 6am and put on scrubs... I'm going to get up at like 7:30 then go to SPINNING at 9am... it should be a really difficult class, the instructor is pretty tough... I neeeeeeeeeed to work out!!

And then I will PACK... Tuesday I am having lunch with my grandma and Wednesday I am supposed to be getting a manicure with my Oma but I think that won't work... I want to get a pedicure before I leave!!

Then Thursday will be the final day of prep before leaving... Friday is it, guys, wowowowow... crazy stuff. I hope I don't forget anything.


Caitlin

Anxiety

To my wonderful friends,

It's going to be really hard to leave, I think. I still feel like my trip is months away, because I'm so used to it actually being so far away. I can hardly believe that this time next Saturday I will be on an airplane bound for Germany. I have been having some downright great times with several of my friends lately, and I'm continuing in the next week to make more plans. Doing so, I fear, will make it all the more difficult to leave.

I must say, however, I can't be more excited. I also can't imagine myself traveling around Germany, either... that will be wild and crazy, I'm sure.

There are only a few things left I need to do...

1. get a plug adapter
2. clean my room
3. find a few little gifts for my host family
4. PACK

I hate getting up the nerve and will to pack a bag for a long trip, I REALLY, REALLY hate it. Once I get into it, though, it becomes kind of a fun thing for me. Hopefully this time it will unravel as such. The challenge will be to pack as light as possible with the most versatility... I'm going to drive to my dog's vet to weigh my bag on the scale before I go, ha ha... juuust to make sure it doesn't weigh too much. I think it can only weigh 50lbs... yikes. I decided only to bring travel bottles of shampoo and stuff because it weighs less. And I will be wearing my heaviest pair of shoes. We'll see how it goes. Come to think of it, I don't even know where my suitcase is. Hmm... I should get on that.

Almost gone,
Caitlin

I'm Getting GUTSY...

So I thought I'd never do it, and I finally did. I called my guest family. As much as I didn't want to, as much as I kicked and screamed... I called them. It was 9pm over there when I called today around 3pm, and my host mum was at home. It was such a great conversation! Sixteen full minutes of German! Apparently, she doesn't check her email very often at all, and her daughter is away on some island (?) and may not have access to an internet cafe.

What a relief to have finally made contact. She (Heike, pronounced Hi-kuh) will pick me up from the Bahnhof when I arrive in Münster 2 weeks from Sunday (their time). I am currently working out using my calling card. Looks like it will cost about 51 cents per minute to call home, and 58 cents per minute to call the family from a payphone... I realize this makes little sense.

I'm just trying to work out all these kinks so I can have a smooth trip! I made a travel calendar so I can plan out when I will use my rail pass and when not.

Well that's it for now... until next time, folks!!

Liebe Grüße,
Caiti

17 More Days to Go...

My faithful readers, it's time for an update!

Firstly, the clock is ticking! There are only 17 more days until my first trip. I can't believe next week I'll be saying to myself "I'm leaving for Germany NEXT WEEK." WOW that will sound WILD and at the same time send me into this crazy panic that I haven't packed yet...

Preparations abound. A lot of stuff has happened. I finally got my stupid SIM card but they sent me the wrong one and Mom spent $42 to send to back overnight, when the whole thing cost $50. I mean it's not my money but I still hate for her to have spent it... it wasn't even my fault they sent me the wrong one... anyway so I decided not to get a card here beforehand after all. I'll wait 'til I get there and I'll get the Aldi-Talk one from the Aldi supermarket, for 20 Euros. I can call locally with that for 14cents/min and to other Aldi-talk customers for .04cents/min. Kerstin will have Aldi-Talk too so I can call her! Yay!

I signed up for Skype over the weekend, Mom and I ordered webcams and headsets, ha ha... we each got one so I can take one along with me. At least then it won't be as bad... I know it'll make me want to hug her more, though. It's gonna be tough being away...

OH YEAH, made a semi-large purchase today... I got a German RailPass. It's good for unlimited travel on any train in Germany for 10 days within a single month. It cost $286 including shipping of the pass. I decided I was going to take the train to Munich, and I checked the price and one single trip there and back costs the same as the 10 day RailPass... so I decided to buy it since I'm already planning a trip at least to Koblenz to meet Kerstin and her family there. As we say in Germany, "Es lohnt sich!" or "It's worth it!"

I used my new curling iron over the weekend, it worked great, except the cord is über short... oh well, it'll have to do. I sold my non-dual-voltage Salon hairdryer for $30 through FaceBook and I am SOOOO close to selling my laptop it's not even funny... it's up for sale for $400 and I've had two serious inquiries today alone! I really hope to sell it before I go away!

Well I think that's it for now. I'll try not to let so much time pass by before I post again.

Love and Schokolade,
Caiti