Hi!!
Ok so that class I went to on Tuesday? TERRIBLE. It was taught in English and called "The Story of English" so I thought, hey, this sounds interesting... WRONG! I fought the urge to get up and leave in the middle of it several times. I seriously doubt the professor knew what he was talking about. Anyway I am not going back to that class. As much of a slacker as it may make me sound like, I'm going to stick with two classes this semester. They are the only two that will be valid at UCF anyway, and I find that simply talking to my friends and listening to them brings me a LOT more benefit than sitting in a class. So, cool.
Tuesday I went to a meeting in the Asta office, an office on campus that helps first semester students and international students in many aspects. Long story short, I signed on to be a German tutor for the Spaniards, lol. I don't know if I'm seriously going to do anything or not, I've never done anything like this before... so... we will see.
Mommy's box o' glorious items to thrill and surprise me came on Tuesday as well, I was very excited. I hung my hooks yesterday! The safety pins came in handy for my halloween costume and now, thanks to the Ziplocs, my cheese stays fresher, longer. :-) Life can't get any better when you have fresh cheese in the fridge. My favorite favorite FAVORITE thing to eat for breakfast at the moment is a slice of Bauernbrot split in half and toasted, low fat spreadable cheese goes on first, then a bit of low fat sliced cheese, then one or two slices of salami. YUM! It is sooo good. Sometimes I'll also have a slice of toast with Nutella.
Also included in the box o' glorious items to thrill and surprise me was a new workout DVD! It came with the ab belt at Walmart for über cheap and so I did that Wednesday by myself... told my friend I couldn't do a workout on Wednesday but I really just wanted to try that one out alone, lol. I felt kinda bad, but it was a good walk so I am happy I did it. After that I went shopping for a Halloween costume :-) I wanted to be a cat. My friend Rike is a crafty girl and she helped me make some cat ears out of felt and one of my stretchie black headbands. I found everything else I needed at the local Big Lots... okay so it's not a Big Lots exactly, but I got the same excited feeling as I walked through it as I do at Big Lots. I even got a set of three pretty drinking glasses for 1€! THREE! Quite exciting. Now I don't have to serve wine in plastic cups anymore. Just kidding (I don't even like wine)!
So I didn't have enough time to do all my makeup right for my costume but I had my tail attached already (which I made out of a faux fur ski headwarmer thingy that I got for 2€ at Big Lots and safety-pinned to my pants, lol) but I was able to do eye makeup and a black triangle on my nose. Later, I got whiskers. Here are pictures of the Halloween party...
We took the right bus on the way home. No, that's not it, my story wouldn't be exciting if I just said that, would it? We DID take the right bus home, but SOMEONE neglected to realize that the bus did NOT go to the school...at all. So after the bus had exited the Stadtkreis Koblenz, we decided to get off... and we are far far far away from home. I guess not that far, but I was so tired I just did not want to walk anymore. Needless to say on the holiday yesterday I did NOT work out. And Aunt Flo is going to pop in for a visit soon so... we'll see how that goes. Today I just was lazy when it came to walking and I decided to go grocery shopping and update my blog, answer email, and work on homework...for once, lol. Tomorrow I do plan on doing some kind of workout :-) Maybe the 5 Miler!
Everyone is sick. Liz and Kathrin are both sick so unfortunately the Bonn thing didn't work out this weekend. I am going to propose the trip to Köln for two weekends from now, which will be the weekend before Thanksgiving. I'm going to propose leaving on Friday evening after everyone is done w/ class, taking the train and staying overnight Friday and Saturday in a hostel, sightseeing on Saturday, returning on Sunday. I love Köln (Cologne). I am actually going there this Sunday to the Cologne Worship Night. I'm really excited about it!!!
I cannot believe I have been here almost 5 weeks. That's how long I was gone over the summer. It feels like I have been here forever, yet simultaneously for no time at all. But 1 month is over, 9 more remain. What will happen? I'm excited to find out!
Mach's gut,
Caiti
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
More Photographs of my Wildly Fascinating Life
Heidelberg/Bad Dürkheim
Marksburg (Braubach) Part I
Marksburg (Braubach) Part II
More Random Pics of Friends
Those with Facebook capability be aware that there are oodles of new videos to enjoy :-)
Greetings from the today-slightly-sunny Koblenz, Germany,
Caiti
Marksburg (Braubach) Part I
Marksburg (Braubach) Part II
More Random Pics of Friends
Those with Facebook capability be aware that there are oodles of new videos to enjoy :-)
Greetings from the today-slightly-sunny Koblenz, Germany,
Caiti
Long Time No Update
Well I might as well just email my mom since I don't think anyone really reads this, lol. Its nice to have a record of what I do.
Monday last week I went and got my haircut... it took forEVER and cost $85, but it is the BEST haircut ever. Last night it got rained on so this morning it doesn't look so hot, but whatev. Ha ha. So pretty much my whole day that day was taken up with that. The cafeteria food is ok, by the way. It's just dirt cheap, I can tell why everyone eats it. Tuesday I had lunch with friends again and then went to town with Niko and he got a laundry rack just like mine! He was complaining about the dryer being slow and I said 5 Euros at the Globus, getchaself one, yo! Kinda like that, at least. And he loves it. So I'm happy. He said he has told everyone he knows. If only he were spreading the Gospel...! Tuesday night I went out with Melanie and everybody to the Kneipenrally, which, put simply, is where pretty much everyone meets out in the Central part of town to go around to 4 different bars to play little games. The first game was guess the cocktail ingredients, 2nd was how many clothing tags can you collect (like shirt tags, etc.) 3rd was how many paper boats can you make, and 4th was a "clothing chain" in which I did NOT participate. You had to make a chain out of clothes and whoever had the longest chain out of all the teams won or something. Not many girls participated, but there were a bunch of guys in the group too in their skivvies in the middle of a bar. Kinda wild. I just wanted to go home! Traditionally everyone goes to this one club after the rally is over, called Dreams, but it was so crowded we just decided to go home. I kind of thought the whole event was lame. But I got to know a bunch of new people so it was cool.
Wednesday... I forgot what happened. We worked out, oh, by the way, the walk-aerobics club is coming along nicely. There are 5 members in the club and I invite everyone I can. Its hectic because everyones schedules are different. Thursday I had the translation course; its going to be a lot of work but I think if I do bad, it won't really matter since I am stuck at UCF for two more years when I get back anyway. But the course has a high passing rate, no one ever does really bad.
Friday was Heidelberg... look for photos soon! It was a crazy day, the train was late getting home leaving me stranded at the train station. I walked home, but was "rescued" by a certain Russian friend of mine. So it all worked out nicely. Definitely got my exercise on Friday with all that walking and hill/stair climbing!!
Saturday we all went to visit the Marksburg in Braubach. What a cool place. Pics on that to come as well. Did a lot of walking then, too. We took a ship back, it was really neat. The number on my ticket was "3287", my birthday! Sweet. Sunday Caro picked me up for church and it was ok. All the stores were open for 5 whole hours on Sunday, which only happens 2-3 times a year apparently, so I went. It was like everything was free or something. There were announcers inside the Woolworth on microphones talking about all the stuff on sale. It was like the Black Friday or something. I got a little door hanger thingy for a Christmas decoration and some supplies to mop the floor with, and printed some pictures. I mopped the floor on my hands and knees when I got home which only took about 10-15 minutes, then I stuck all my pics on the wall! I've started a little collage!!
Monday was a good day, too... I had the Intercultural communication class. The prof is really really cool, I think I am going to like that class. I only have to write one 10 page paper to get credit, lol. In English, too. I feel bad for those German folks. We also have to do a group presentation though; got some things in the works for that. Went grocery shopping, did aerobics with Rike for an hour, and Viktor and his friend Kito (from California) came over for dinner and we watched the Simpsons, lol... just thrilling.
Today I have a class in 10 minutes, then I'm going to upload all my pictures, eat lunch, and do aerobics with some friends at 4pm. My friend Sarah turned 20 today so I put some yellow roses and a bday card on her doormat today :-) I also made a new friend, Hanna, in the laundry room, ha ha ... she goes to a church in Trier (1.5 hours away) that has english services and sings worship songs from Hillsong among others, and invited me to go some weekend with her. I will plan to go next weekend :-) It sounds just amazing.
Feeling really blessed,
Caitlin
Monday last week I went and got my haircut... it took forEVER and cost $85, but it is the BEST haircut ever. Last night it got rained on so this morning it doesn't look so hot, but whatev. Ha ha. So pretty much my whole day that day was taken up with that. The cafeteria food is ok, by the way. It's just dirt cheap, I can tell why everyone eats it. Tuesday I had lunch with friends again and then went to town with Niko and he got a laundry rack just like mine! He was complaining about the dryer being slow and I said 5 Euros at the Globus, getchaself one, yo! Kinda like that, at least. And he loves it. So I'm happy. He said he has told everyone he knows. If only he were spreading the Gospel...! Tuesday night I went out with Melanie and everybody to the Kneipenrally, which, put simply, is where pretty much everyone meets out in the Central part of town to go around to 4 different bars to play little games. The first game was guess the cocktail ingredients, 2nd was how many clothing tags can you collect (like shirt tags, etc.) 3rd was how many paper boats can you make, and 4th was a "clothing chain" in which I did NOT participate. You had to make a chain out of clothes and whoever had the longest chain out of all the teams won or something. Not many girls participated, but there were a bunch of guys in the group too in their skivvies in the middle of a bar. Kinda wild. I just wanted to go home! Traditionally everyone goes to this one club after the rally is over, called Dreams, but it was so crowded we just decided to go home. I kind of thought the whole event was lame. But I got to know a bunch of new people so it was cool.
Wednesday... I forgot what happened. We worked out, oh, by the way, the walk-aerobics club is coming along nicely. There are 5 members in the club and I invite everyone I can. Its hectic because everyones schedules are different. Thursday I had the translation course; its going to be a lot of work but I think if I do bad, it won't really matter since I am stuck at UCF for two more years when I get back anyway. But the course has a high passing rate, no one ever does really bad.
Friday was Heidelberg... look for photos soon! It was a crazy day, the train was late getting home leaving me stranded at the train station. I walked home, but was "rescued" by a certain Russian friend of mine. So it all worked out nicely. Definitely got my exercise on Friday with all that walking and hill/stair climbing!!
Saturday we all went to visit the Marksburg in Braubach. What a cool place. Pics on that to come as well. Did a lot of walking then, too. We took a ship back, it was really neat. The number on my ticket was "3287", my birthday! Sweet. Sunday Caro picked me up for church and it was ok. All the stores were open for 5 whole hours on Sunday, which only happens 2-3 times a year apparently, so I went. It was like everything was free or something. There were announcers inside the Woolworth on microphones talking about all the stuff on sale. It was like the Black Friday or something. I got a little door hanger thingy for a Christmas decoration and some supplies to mop the floor with, and printed some pictures. I mopped the floor on my hands and knees when I got home which only took about 10-15 minutes, then I stuck all my pics on the wall! I've started a little collage!!
Monday was a good day, too... I had the Intercultural communication class. The prof is really really cool, I think I am going to like that class. I only have to write one 10 page paper to get credit, lol. In English, too. I feel bad for those German folks. We also have to do a group presentation though; got some things in the works for that. Went grocery shopping, did aerobics with Rike for an hour, and Viktor and his friend Kito (from California) came over for dinner and we watched the Simpsons, lol... just thrilling.
Today I have a class in 10 minutes, then I'm going to upload all my pictures, eat lunch, and do aerobics with some friends at 4pm. My friend Sarah turned 20 today so I put some yellow roses and a bday card on her doormat today :-) I also made a new friend, Hanna, in the laundry room, ha ha ... she goes to a church in Trier (1.5 hours away) that has english services and sings worship songs from Hillsong among others, and invited me to go some weekend with her. I will plan to go next weekend :-) It sounds just amazing.
Feeling really blessed,
Caitlin
Monday, October 22, 2007
Pickchas
New pics and albums, ya'll...
Fun with New Friends
Viktor's Party Pics
Viktor's Pics of Koblenz
(Viktor is a new friend and I'm posting the pics I took so, if you wondering, now you know! )
Fun with New Friends
Viktor's Party Pics
Viktor's Pics of Koblenz
(Viktor is a new friend and I'm posting the pics I took so, if you wondering, now you know! )
Sunday, October 21, 2007
An Uncreatively Titled Update
Ok, it's Sunday and here I am. This afternoon I want to go to this coffee/cake reception thing. What will I do otherwise? Ha ha. So I have about an hour before I have to go catch the bus, so I figured I would update.
Friday we went to the party and it was a party. I think the only people who read this already know about the party, and the details included, so I won't write any more. It was cold that night, though.
Saturday I woke up pretty late, ate something, and did my bootcamp workout... most of it... then at 6 I went to the welcome event thing for the new people in the building... it was a lot of fun! I was on the blue team and we won a bottle of Sekt, which I don't like, and the girl who opened the bottle got Sekt all over my pants. So now my khaki corduroys smell a little alcoholic! I met a bunch of new people and I played Twister! Actually I don't like that game, much, lol... I took some pics which I hope to upload tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Today Niko and another new friend, Rike, came at 9am for breakfast, then Carolin picked us up at 9:30 and the four of us went to church. Its what they call a "free" church, which means basically non-denominational. It was great! The guy who preached today was from Minnesota, I spoke to him a bit after the service. Their building and set up reminded me a lot of River Run. I felt at home. They sang songs in English or songs that I know that had been translated into German. Like that song "God is great, and his grace fills the earth, fills the heavens..."...? Sang it in German! Ha ha and we sang Blessed be Your Name in English. Pretty neat. It was a marvelous experience to worship in another language and actually understand it!
So tomorrow is my first class, which is at 10 am and is called intercultural communication. It goes until 12. I think I might try out the cafeteria food.... I hear its pretty good. Then I can stay on campus and upload pics and such.
Friday I will be in Mannheim and Heidelberg, planning to do some sightseeing there :-) then on Saturday we are all going to the Marksburg on the train, then coming back on a boat! How cool is that?! So it is a traveling weekend indeed up ahead. There are some other courses starting up this week, too.
Well I think that's all for now, I'm going to eat some lunch and get ready for the coffee/cake reception.
Caitlin
Friday we went to the party and it was a party. I think the only people who read this already know about the party, and the details included, so I won't write any more. It was cold that night, though.
Saturday I woke up pretty late, ate something, and did my bootcamp workout... most of it... then at 6 I went to the welcome event thing for the new people in the building... it was a lot of fun! I was on the blue team and we won a bottle of Sekt, which I don't like, and the girl who opened the bottle got Sekt all over my pants. So now my khaki corduroys smell a little alcoholic! I met a bunch of new people and I played Twister! Actually I don't like that game, much, lol... I took some pics which I hope to upload tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Today Niko and another new friend, Rike, came at 9am for breakfast, then Carolin picked us up at 9:30 and the four of us went to church. Its what they call a "free" church, which means basically non-denominational. It was great! The guy who preached today was from Minnesota, I spoke to him a bit after the service. Their building and set up reminded me a lot of River Run. I felt at home. They sang songs in English or songs that I know that had been translated into German. Like that song "God is great, and his grace fills the earth, fills the heavens..."...? Sang it in German! Ha ha and we sang Blessed be Your Name in English. Pretty neat. It was a marvelous experience to worship in another language and actually understand it!
So tomorrow is my first class, which is at 10 am and is called intercultural communication. It goes until 12. I think I might try out the cafeteria food.... I hear its pretty good. Then I can stay on campus and upload pics and such.
Friday I will be in Mannheim and Heidelberg, planning to do some sightseeing there :-) then on Saturday we are all going to the Marksburg on the train, then coming back on a boat! How cool is that?! So it is a traveling weekend indeed up ahead. There are some other courses starting up this week, too.
Well I think that's all for now, I'm going to eat some lunch and get ready for the coffee/cake reception.
Caitlin
Friday, October 19, 2007
New Pics, Dictionaries Made of Gold, and BOOT CAMP
Hello faithful readers,
Here are the new pictures:
Discovering Koblenz by foot Part 2 (new pics @ end)
Climbing the Mountain
I went to visit Dr. Martin today to chat a bit about the translation class. I feel pretty good about the class... he recommends this gigantic dictionary from PONS that just came out this April, but its 60€... it must be gold or something, lol... well, I didn't buy that one, not just because of the price but because I honestly don't think I'll need a huge one... I got the smaller PONS specifically for college students, for 30€, which is still a nice chunk of change, but at least it won't take up as much space on the way back home next year, and its HALF the price of the huge one. Super. Still waiting on that Collocations dictionary... kind of irritating...
Today I am going to attempt seven "miles" of exercise, as I am participating in Boot Camp with the Walk Club... so, ahead of me today is 7 miles of walking, 10 pushups, 50 crunches, 64 oz of water or more, and 5 servings of fruit/veggies. Can I do it? YES I CAN!! Tomorrow is more boot camp.
Tonight is the party for us exchange students, we're gonna take the bus cuz its too danged cold to walk, lol. Perhaps later this afternoon I'll go to the store to find a little something to bring to the party... or just walk to the little store down the road, I don't feel like taking the time to ride the bus into town since I have a mega workout ahead of me... then again I need some more fruit and veggies for tomorrow's bootcamp. We'll see!
Have a blessed day,
Caitlin
Here are the new pictures:
Discovering Koblenz by foot Part 2 (new pics @ end)
Climbing the Mountain
I went to visit Dr. Martin today to chat a bit about the translation class. I feel pretty good about the class... he recommends this gigantic dictionary from PONS that just came out this April, but its 60€... it must be gold or something, lol... well, I didn't buy that one, not just because of the price but because I honestly don't think I'll need a huge one... I got the smaller PONS specifically for college students, for 30€, which is still a nice chunk of change, but at least it won't take up as much space on the way back home next year, and its HALF the price of the huge one. Super. Still waiting on that Collocations dictionary... kind of irritating...
Today I am going to attempt seven "miles" of exercise, as I am participating in Boot Camp with the Walk Club... so, ahead of me today is 7 miles of walking, 10 pushups, 50 crunches, 64 oz of water or more, and 5 servings of fruit/veggies. Can I do it? YES I CAN!! Tomorrow is more boot camp.
Tonight is the party for us exchange students, we're gonna take the bus cuz its too danged cold to walk, lol. Perhaps later this afternoon I'll go to the store to find a little something to bring to the party... or just walk to the little store down the road, I don't feel like taking the time to ride the bus into town since I have a mega workout ahead of me... then again I need some more fruit and veggies for tomorrow's bootcamp. We'll see!
Have a blessed day,
Caitlin
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Cardboard Bath Towels, Mountains to Climb, and New Friends to Climb it with!
Hello all!
I realize it has been *GASP* two days since I last posted an entry. Some of you may be getting a little nervous, and thus, taking that to heart, here I am to calm your anxiety.
I have to remember where I left off... ah yes, it was Sunday night last I really posted. Yes... ok so, I think I went grocery shopping on the bike... it was really cold! First I went to Aldi to get some trash bags and some juice... beforehand I had just been taking the entire little trashcan out to dump it... but Aldi has 40 little trash bags with handles on them for ,65. So I got some of those. I went to Rewe to get some EVOO but, alas, it was way to expensive for my likings and since I was only going to cook w/ it, I went back to Aldi and got the regular stuff. I did get some brown rice and sweet/sour sauce at Rewe (which was DELICIOUS by the way).
The rest of the afternoon I didn't do a whole lot, I worked out and got ready for the get-together for the new people at 6pm... so I got all ready and went to the lounge to see that only 5 people were gathered at the door. Little did we know we would eventually all become friends! Actually it's a little too soon to say that, but I wanted to make it dramatic. Just a bit. We sat and talked for a while then decided to go our separate ways, then meet back at 8:30 to play cards. So I went back and made dinner and came back. I learned how to play Phase 10! In German! I think it's an excellent way to learn new vocab! We played for two hours till the game was over and I got second place (never got to phase 10, but I got to phase 9!)... we took a short break and 2 of our group of 6 didn't come back... so it was four girls hanging out and we just chatted about all sorts of things. To make a long story short I ended up talking about my workout DVDs and I am excited to report that we are going to start a fitness club for our building! We'll be meeting 3x a week for anywhere between 45 and 90 minutes of exercise. Winter is coming soon and gyms are expensive and require motivation, I think if we offer this we can really serve the others in the building that want to get in/stay in shape over the winter.
So... Tuesday I slept in, I think, then went to meet 3 of my 4 FSAs to go meet Bettina Holstein-Alter in the Auslandsamt on Campus. We waited 5x as long as we were actually in there. I just introduced myself and that was it, lol... anyway so then I went and got a cafeteria card, although I've yet to put money on it because I prefer to eat at home. But you can eat really really cheap in our cafeteria... you get soup, a main dish + 1 side + a dessert or fruit for 1,70 ($2.41)... so it's cheap, but at Aldi I can get a loaf of bread, mustard, and some ham for that much that'll last me more than a week. So I still would rather bring my own lunch or go home and eat. I mean, I live right across the street!
I think I went to the grocery store again on Tuesday, and I was there for a long time, lol. Basically I'm just comparing prices and stuff. Anyway I had a pretty bad headache all day Tuesday that is, until I decided to work out in spite of it, and wouldn't you know that my headache was gone during my workout! No pain killer works like good ol' exercise. I washed my jeans and some towels yesterday... today they were dry already but stiff and dry as cardboard... I now understand why Gaby's towels are like they are... man. How unsoft. I think it might even hurt my skin a little when I dry. I'm just a wimp, lol.
Ok I should say the names of the people I met on Monday night... Laura (ain't seen nor heard from her since the card game, she's pretty quiet...added me on StudiVZ though), Niko (guy), Sarah, Carolin, and Christine. Christine and Carolin have known each other a long time and are gone for the weekend. I've gotten to know Sarah the most so far. Last night we watched A Knight's Tale in English. It was fun.
I invited Sarah and Niko to lunch at my "pad" today; we had sandwiches and ice cream, lol... since I only have one chair, we sat on my furniture. It worked perfectly! It was such a nice lunch. Niko washed my dishes for me, and Sarah dried them. Then we went walking. We found a drugstore right close to where we live (super duper, and no hills to climb on a bike), a cafe, a pizza place, and a place to buy drinks...here they have beverage stores where you can buy just things to drink. Anywhere from liquor, soda, water, tea, juice you name it, they have it. So that was neat. The only thing I wish there was was a grocery store closer!! I mean it takes like less than 10 minutes to go to Aldi on my bike, and 7 minutes to the city center on the bus, but then I end up waiting for the bus for a while next to an old lady that either smells of B.O. or is puffing away right into my face. Ugh.
Well I'm not sure if any of you remember the pics of the view from my window where I zoom in on a tower thingy up on the mountain... well, we climbed the mountain today to see it! Up on the mountain you can see everything! It is amazing. We can see both rivers, the fortress, our building, the university, everything! There's a little old-school playground, benches, and some bonfire spots along the way. We discussed getting together a picnic or some things to cook over a fire sometime. I think that'd be fun! I took some pics that I'll post tomorrow.
So far I really like this city. I LOVED climbing today (don't worry it was a paved trail!) And we weren't going to get lost, either, there were signs to the thinger anyway. The thinger was, by the way, actually not a tower. It was a tall memorial made from stone, commemorating fallen and survived heroes from the four wars that had occurred in Germany thus far (lol). I only wish we'd have gone up the mountain yesterday or the day before, as today was so cloudy and even rained for the first time since I've been here :-(. It was also rather cold. I did work up a bit of a sweat on the way up though, causing me to remove my jacket!
Tomorrow I'm going to participate in a tour of the city! I guess I already did that, but hey, I don't have anything else to do. Plus the guy giving the tour is kinda cute ;-)
Well I guess that is about it for now, this took me forever to post because it took me forever to remember two days ago!! That's why I post daily, people, DAILY!
Caitlin
I realize it has been *GASP* two days since I last posted an entry. Some of you may be getting a little nervous, and thus, taking that to heart, here I am to calm your anxiety.
I have to remember where I left off... ah yes, it was Sunday night last I really posted. Yes... ok so, I think I went grocery shopping on the bike... it was really cold! First I went to Aldi to get some trash bags and some juice... beforehand I had just been taking the entire little trashcan out to dump it... but Aldi has 40 little trash bags with handles on them for ,65. So I got some of those. I went to Rewe to get some EVOO but, alas, it was way to expensive for my likings and since I was only going to cook w/ it, I went back to Aldi and got the regular stuff. I did get some brown rice and sweet/sour sauce at Rewe (which was DELICIOUS by the way).
The rest of the afternoon I didn't do a whole lot, I worked out and got ready for the get-together for the new people at 6pm... so I got all ready and went to the lounge to see that only 5 people were gathered at the door. Little did we know we would eventually all become friends! Actually it's a little too soon to say that, but I wanted to make it dramatic. Just a bit. We sat and talked for a while then decided to go our separate ways, then meet back at 8:30 to play cards. So I went back and made dinner and came back. I learned how to play Phase 10! In German! I think it's an excellent way to learn new vocab! We played for two hours till the game was over and I got second place (never got to phase 10, but I got to phase 9!)... we took a short break and 2 of our group of 6 didn't come back... so it was four girls hanging out and we just chatted about all sorts of things. To make a long story short I ended up talking about my workout DVDs and I am excited to report that we are going to start a fitness club for our building! We'll be meeting 3x a week for anywhere between 45 and 90 minutes of exercise. Winter is coming soon and gyms are expensive and require motivation, I think if we offer this we can really serve the others in the building that want to get in/stay in shape over the winter.
So... Tuesday I slept in, I think, then went to meet 3 of my 4 FSAs to go meet Bettina Holstein-Alter in the Auslandsamt on Campus. We waited 5x as long as we were actually in there. I just introduced myself and that was it, lol... anyway so then I went and got a cafeteria card, although I've yet to put money on it because I prefer to eat at home. But you can eat really really cheap in our cafeteria... you get soup, a main dish + 1 side + a dessert or fruit for 1,70 ($2.41)... so it's cheap, but at Aldi I can get a loaf of bread, mustard, and some ham for that much that'll last me more than a week. So I still would rather bring my own lunch or go home and eat. I mean, I live right across the street!
I think I went to the grocery store again on Tuesday, and I was there for a long time, lol. Basically I'm just comparing prices and stuff. Anyway I had a pretty bad headache all day Tuesday that is, until I decided to work out in spite of it, and wouldn't you know that my headache was gone during my workout! No pain killer works like good ol' exercise. I washed my jeans and some towels yesterday... today they were dry already but stiff and dry as cardboard... I now understand why Gaby's towels are like they are... man. How unsoft. I think it might even hurt my skin a little when I dry. I'm just a wimp, lol.
Ok I should say the names of the people I met on Monday night... Laura (ain't seen nor heard from her since the card game, she's pretty quiet...added me on StudiVZ though), Niko (guy), Sarah, Carolin, and Christine. Christine and Carolin have known each other a long time and are gone for the weekend. I've gotten to know Sarah the most so far. Last night we watched A Knight's Tale in English. It was fun.
I invited Sarah and Niko to lunch at my "pad" today; we had sandwiches and ice cream, lol... since I only have one chair, we sat on my furniture. It worked perfectly! It was such a nice lunch. Niko washed my dishes for me, and Sarah dried them. Then we went walking. We found a drugstore right close to where we live (super duper, and no hills to climb on a bike), a cafe, a pizza place, and a place to buy drinks...here they have beverage stores where you can buy just things to drink. Anywhere from liquor, soda, water, tea, juice you name it, they have it. So that was neat. The only thing I wish there was was a grocery store closer!! I mean it takes like less than 10 minutes to go to Aldi on my bike, and 7 minutes to the city center on the bus, but then I end up waiting for the bus for a while next to an old lady that either smells of B.O. or is puffing away right into my face. Ugh.
Well I'm not sure if any of you remember the pics of the view from my window where I zoom in on a tower thingy up on the mountain... well, we climbed the mountain today to see it! Up on the mountain you can see everything! It is amazing. We can see both rivers, the fortress, our building, the university, everything! There's a little old-school playground, benches, and some bonfire spots along the way. We discussed getting together a picnic or some things to cook over a fire sometime. I think that'd be fun! I took some pics that I'll post tomorrow.
So far I really like this city. I LOVED climbing today (don't worry it was a paved trail!) And we weren't going to get lost, either, there were signs to the thinger anyway. The thinger was, by the way, actually not a tower. It was a tall memorial made from stone, commemorating fallen and survived heroes from the four wars that had occurred in Germany thus far (lol). I only wish we'd have gone up the mountain yesterday or the day before, as today was so cloudy and even rained for the first time since I've been here :-(. It was also rather cold. I did work up a bit of a sweat on the way up though, causing me to remove my jacket!
Tomorrow I'm going to participate in a tour of the city! I guess I already did that, but hey, I don't have anything else to do. Plus the guy giving the tour is kinda cute ;-)
Well I guess that is about it for now, this took me forever to post because it took me forever to remember two days ago!! That's why I post daily, people, DAILY!
Caitlin
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