Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
New Job and Some Fun Facts
Yesterday I got a new "job"... although not as official and contracted like my other one, I am getting paid a lot more--$18.66 per hour -- to help someone in English. We'll be meeting about 3 times a week for the next 4 months, except when I am not here, for about two hours each time, to just talk about different topics. My job is to help build his vocabulary, straighten out his pronunciation (the best I can, it's pretty rocky), and BUILD HIS CONFIDENCE!! Most of the things that come out of his mouth are "hesitance" words, like "uh" and "um"... I hope I recognize some progress after working with him a few months.
I spent most of today sitting in front of my computer trying to finish an assignment. I needed news articles to complete it, which required some web-surfing skills... here's some of the interesting things I learned today while surfing the web, just some more nonsense to float around in my head:
1. Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister is pregnant and engaged
2. the Space Shuttle came back down last night
3. in the UK, there's a plus-size beauty queen from Surrey who is determined to beat the skinny girls in a national pageant
4. France has a new president
5. Christie's in NY will be auctioning off a nude photograh of France's new president's new wife in April.
6. It costs about 15 Euro and takes about 3.5 hours by regional train to get from Rome to Florence
7. The dollar has weakened even MORE... each one of my Euros is now worth almost $1.56
That is all........
Caitlin
I spent most of today sitting in front of my computer trying to finish an assignment. I needed news articles to complete it, which required some web-surfing skills... here's some of the interesting things I learned today while surfing the web, just some more nonsense to float around in my head:
1. Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister is pregnant and engaged
2. the Space Shuttle came back down last night
3. in the UK, there's a plus-size beauty queen from Surrey who is determined to beat the skinny girls in a national pageant
4. France has a new president
5. Christie's in NY will be auctioning off a nude photograh of France's new president's new wife in April.
6. It costs about 15 Euro and takes about 3.5 hours by regional train to get from Rome to Florence
7. The dollar has weakened even MORE... each one of my Euros is now worth almost $1.56
That is all........
Caitlin
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Ingolstadt: Only the Strong Survive
Yesterday was a fun day. First, Gaby and I went to the fitness center and I participated in a kick-butt circuit training course--today, I am sore ALL OVER. I lifted actual barbells! My butt, chest, quads, arms, abs...everything hurts! Gaby did sort of a yoga/pilates type class afterward, but I really couldn't follow well so I sort of watched most of the time.
Later that afternoon we all went for a walk. Maxi was in a bad mood. We went to a playground in the neighborhood and I slid down the slide! It was super duper cold outside, but it felt good to get out of the house. We sort of hung out for the rest of the evening.
This morning after we all finally got ready, Maria and I took the bus into the city and I bought myself a bathing suit. Down south it is kind of roomy, but I hate it when my caboose hangs out or causes me to have a muffin top... the reason I needed a bathing suit was because the one I had ordered last week has not yet arrived... well anyway the one I picked out is super cute--a bikini--and I must admit I looked pretty damn good in it. Perhaps all that sweat was worth something after all.
I also needed a bathing suit because today we went to the indoor swimming complex. I had never been to anything like that before, except Wet n' Wild, but that is all outdoors. It was really a neat place--a wave pool, some cool slides, an outdoor heated pool, a lap pool, and some areas just to lounge. I jumped into the lap pool and found myself for a brief moment partially in my birthday suit... it could have been a lot worse. We also found two bits (morsels?) of human excrement in the wave pool and promptly exited. I would have preferred to completely vacate the premises in that instance, but alas! I could not. At first, I must admit it was hard to get used to swimming with hundreds of other people. But then I just imagined all the recently shed skin cells, toe jam, and dandruff floating around in the pool right along with me, and, delighted by the fabulous company, I perked up.
Here is a pic of Gaby, Maria, and I at the swimming complex:
This morning the whole neighborhood was covered in snow! The snow was still falling and it was windy outside. How weird that it is snowing in March! Later, the wind really picked up and it really seemed like a blizzard to me! I like the word blizzard.
Tomorrow morning I am headed back to Koblenz.....just for a while though, then its back on the road for me!
Cheers,
Caitlin
Later that afternoon we all went for a walk. Maxi was in a bad mood. We went to a playground in the neighborhood and I slid down the slide! It was super duper cold outside, but it felt good to get out of the house. We sort of hung out for the rest of the evening.
This morning after we all finally got ready, Maria and I took the bus into the city and I bought myself a bathing suit. Down south it is kind of roomy, but I hate it when my caboose hangs out or causes me to have a muffin top... the reason I needed a bathing suit was because the one I had ordered last week has not yet arrived... well anyway the one I picked out is super cute--a bikini--and I must admit I looked pretty damn good in it. Perhaps all that sweat was worth something after all.
I also needed a bathing suit because today we went to the indoor swimming complex. I had never been to anything like that before, except Wet n' Wild, but that is all outdoors. It was really a neat place--a wave pool, some cool slides, an outdoor heated pool, a lap pool, and some areas just to lounge. I jumped into the lap pool and found myself for a brief moment partially in my birthday suit... it could have been a lot worse. We also found two bits (morsels?) of human excrement in the wave pool and promptly exited. I would have preferred to completely vacate the premises in that instance, but alas! I could not. At first, I must admit it was hard to get used to swimming with hundreds of other people. But then I just imagined all the recently shed skin cells, toe jam, and dandruff floating around in the pool right along with me, and, delighted by the fabulous company, I perked up.
Here is a pic of Gaby, Maria, and I at the swimming complex:
This morning the whole neighborhood was covered in snow! The snow was still falling and it was windy outside. How weird that it is snowing in March! Later, the wind really picked up and it really seemed like a blizzard to me! I like the word blizzard.
Tomorrow morning I am headed back to Koblenz.....just for a while though, then its back on the road for me!
Cheers,
Caitlin
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter in Ingolstadt...
Well yesterday I took the train down to good ol' Bavaria... took a while, almost 6 hours, but it went by really really fast. The others went to the catholic church, ähm...festivities, and I stayed home. They actually recommended I stay home. So I did :-)!
This morning I actually got to look for a few Easter eggs with the kids. Gaby considers me one of the kids in a way :-) I say that with utmost enthusiasm and joy. I gave most of my chocolate eggs to Max and Maria.
We went to the zoo in Munich today, that was a great zoo!! Here is a pic of me with one of the monkeys (click on the pictures to make them bigger):
It was quite ironic that I had a banana with me at the time, actually... we even considered charging 50 cents to allow people to take pictures holding my banana next to the statues.
After a while, my cousins got so sick of having me around, they decided to get rid of me as soon as they found a trash can I'd fit into.
I helped Gaby make schnitzel for dinner when we got home, and we are about to go watch King Kong in TV. It should be a genuinely exciting evening. Tomorrow, I'm going to the gym with Gaby where I will be participating in her allegedly very difficult circuit training course--I am actually looking forward to it... hopefully, it will perk me up because I am VERY tired! Today, I had too much chocolate and NO exercise... so I wonder why I'm tired!?
I have uploaded a few videos from the zoo onto Facebook--pretty funny stuff. The cousins are constantly downloading stuff which makes it unfortunately impossible, or nearly so, to upload my pictures here--I really don't know why videos work--so I will have to wait on those until next week...
To my faithful reader (or readers, if you so exist), I hope you had a pleasant Easter and remember what it is we are celebrating-- Jesus is RISEN!
Cheers,
Caitlin
This morning I actually got to look for a few Easter eggs with the kids. Gaby considers me one of the kids in a way :-) I say that with utmost enthusiasm and joy. I gave most of my chocolate eggs to Max and Maria.
We went to the zoo in Munich today, that was a great zoo!! Here is a pic of me with one of the monkeys (click on the pictures to make them bigger):
It was quite ironic that I had a banana with me at the time, actually... we even considered charging 50 cents to allow people to take pictures holding my banana next to the statues.
After a while, my cousins got so sick of having me around, they decided to get rid of me as soon as they found a trash can I'd fit into.I helped Gaby make schnitzel for dinner when we got home, and we are about to go watch King Kong in TV. It should be a genuinely exciting evening. Tomorrow, I'm going to the gym with Gaby where I will be participating in her allegedly very difficult circuit training course--I am actually looking forward to it... hopefully, it will perk me up because I am VERY tired! Today, I had too much chocolate and NO exercise... so I wonder why I'm tired!?
I have uploaded a few videos from the zoo onto Facebook--pretty funny stuff. The cousins are constantly downloading stuff which makes it unfortunately impossible, or nearly so, to upload my pictures here--I really don't know why videos work--so I will have to wait on those until next week...
To my faithful reader (or readers, if you so exist), I hope you had a pleasant Easter and remember what it is we are celebrating-- Jesus is RISEN!
Cheers,
Caitlin
Friday, March 21, 2008
...ok, let's think positive.
I don't get it!! The weather is nice again. What is UP with this place !? It seems like Florida weather. In that case, I should be feeling at home.
I forgot to mention the other day that Hannah told me that there is such thing in the USA as spreadable cheese. I have to admit, that was one thing at the top of my worry-list about coming home--I've grown quite accustomed to spreadable cheese. The thought that I might not have any when I got home really shook me up!!
Looking forward to leaving tomorrow...
Finally finished proofing that text... didn't take me that long overall, its just tedious because I have NO idea what he's trying to say sometimes, and I'm waiting for him to send me the German version so I can translate from that in an effort to figure out what in the world it all means. He said he'd send it this week, and that was last week, and this week's almost over, so he must not be in too much of a hurry to get it done...and in that case, neither am I!
Mom, I had a margarita for you last night... they messed up the order again though so I ended up with a frozen one instead of a Golden one... but it was still better than the time they messed up the order before and I ended up with a strawberry margarita... lol.
On April 1 I am going to go pick up Lea, who is from Australia, at the train station! I'm excited to meet her! She'll be here in Koblenz for the summer, as well.
Gonna get laundry done and clean this place up a bit so I have a nice home when I get back next week...
Feeling a bit more cheerful,
Caitlin
I forgot to mention the other day that Hannah told me that there is such thing in the USA as spreadable cheese. I have to admit, that was one thing at the top of my worry-list about coming home--I've grown quite accustomed to spreadable cheese. The thought that I might not have any when I got home really shook me up!!
Looking forward to leaving tomorrow...
Finally finished proofing that text... didn't take me that long overall, its just tedious because I have NO idea what he's trying to say sometimes, and I'm waiting for him to send me the German version so I can translate from that in an effort to figure out what in the world it all means. He said he'd send it this week, and that was last week, and this week's almost over, so he must not be in too much of a hurry to get it done...and in that case, neither am I!
Mom, I had a margarita for you last night... they messed up the order again though so I ended up with a frozen one instead of a Golden one... but it was still better than the time they messed up the order before and I ended up with a strawberry margarita... lol.
On April 1 I am going to go pick up Lea, who is from Australia, at the train station! I'm excited to meet her! She'll be here in Koblenz for the summer, as well.
Gonna get laundry done and clean this place up a bit so I have a nice home when I get back next week...
Feeling a bit more cheerful,
Caitlin
Sometimes, Holidays SUCK
Holidays suck when you are alone, for one. Holidays suck when EVERYTHING IS CLOSED, and you couldn't leave if you wanted to--the buses aren't running barely at all, all the stores are closed...holidays also suck when its gray, raining, and FREEZING outside. This morning was so perfect, barely a cloud in the sky... and an hour later, my hopes for a nice day (for a change!) were shattered...
So here I sit, alone until tomorrow night at 8pm, with literally nothing to do except the things I have to do... wash laundry, pack, finish proofing this paper...all the while clinging desperately to my sanity...
I should write novels.
So here I sit, alone until tomorrow night at 8pm, with literally nothing to do except the things I have to do... wash laundry, pack, finish proofing this paper...all the while clinging desperately to my sanity...
I should write novels.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Back to the Norm
Got back from Paris on Tuesday night. Lucked out and an earlier train had a delay so we got back to Koblenz a bit earlier than sonst and I made the bus. My computer didn't work when I got back, same problem as last time... Wednesday a friend of mine, David, who fixed it last time, came over and it took him 15 seconds to fix the daggam thing. 15 seconds!! He popped out the battery, dusted it off a bit, snapped it back in, and it worked again! Ridiculous!!
Yesterday I was able to check the following important things off of my to-do list:
My new residence permit pic is so ugly, ha ha... yesterday I wanted to be there at 8am and so I rushed to get ready but did NOT put on any makeup at all. Was first in the office and was told I needed a new picture, UGH. If I had received the right letter from the coordinator in the first place, I would've had my residence permit for two semesters instead of one and I would have saved myself 35 Euros, or over $50!! But, such is life, and I certainly didn't know ahead of time that an extension was going to cost another 30 Euros... so I can't really be too upset.
Last night I had a great looong conversation with Hannah which definitely reminded me why we are friends. We hadn't talked in mooooonths and I think when people don't talk for that long and don't see each other (aside from Facebook!), memories start to fade slightly and you literally forget
Today I am meeting Jenny at 5pm for drinks at happy hour :-) She is a really nice person!! I'm leaving for Ingolstadt on Saturday around 1pm, and I'll be there til Wednesday morning. Then I'm back here till Tuesday, April 1, when I leave for Rome!!!
The time here is going by like flashes of lightning! A speeding bullet! I leave on July 23. Then there are three short weeks before school starts and then...well, school starts! CRAP! Honestly though I am looking forward to getting back into a normal routine in my "regular life".
Caitlin
Yesterday I was able to check the following important things off of my to-do list:
- extend my residence permit
- got my student ID (AND got it laminated!)
- got a new ISIC card
My new residence permit pic is so ugly, ha ha... yesterday I wanted to be there at 8am and so I rushed to get ready but did NOT put on any makeup at all. Was first in the office and was told I needed a new picture, UGH. If I had received the right letter from the coordinator in the first place, I would've had my residence permit for two semesters instead of one and I would have saved myself 35 Euros, or over $50!! But, such is life, and I certainly didn't know ahead of time that an extension was going to cost another 30 Euros... so I can't really be too upset.
Last night I had a great looong conversation with Hannah which definitely reminded me why we are friends. We hadn't talked in mooooonths and I think when people don't talk for that long and don't see each other (aside from Facebook!), memories start to fade slightly and you literally forget
Today I am meeting Jenny at 5pm for drinks at happy hour :-) She is a really nice person!! I'm leaving for Ingolstadt on Saturday around 1pm, and I'll be there til Wednesday morning. Then I'm back here till Tuesday, April 1, when I leave for Rome!!!
The time here is going by like flashes of lightning! A speeding bullet! I leave on July 23. Then there are three short weeks before school starts and then...well, school starts! CRAP! Honestly though I am looking forward to getting back into a normal routine in my "regular life".
Caitlin
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