Personal Hygiene

Is a phrase that probably has no German translation, as it is a concept that too many Germans have failed to grasp. I honestly can't tell you how much I look forward to going home, and being surrounded by good smelling people again.

The end.

The Good, the Bad, and the Almost Ugly

The Good:

Last Thursday, Casey and I rented a couple of bikes, and made our way to the Roman ruins. The majority of German bikes are different from those in America – less like a mountain bike, and more old fashioned style. They were a little hard to get used to at first. And since we had to go through the city first to get to the path to take us to the Roman ruins, I'm pretty sure that everyone who saw us along the way were laughing at us, knowing that we weren't Germans. We probably looked pretty funny. But the bike ride was really nice. The path, for the most part, followed the river, and it was a nice peaceful seven kilometer bike ride. It was also good to travel somewhere by something other than our own feet. So we get to the Roman ruins, only to first have to climb up another huge hill (they seem to be the bane of my existence here) with our bikes. To put it simply: the ruins were not that spectacular. The most interesting part of the “ruins” were actually reconstructed replications of what the buildings/fort would have looked like. We didn't spend very long at the ruins before heading back down the hill. And that was an experience, indeed! A lot like going down on a roller coaster... and for those that know me, know that I don't like roller coasters. But I made it down safely. And that was actually a lot of fun. So even though the ruins were kind of anti-climatic, the bike ride there was well worth the trip.

Friday Casey and I went to Ingolstadt to visit our professor, and the other St. Cloud State students. By the time we left for the train station, it was thundering, so we started off our adventure by running down the mountain to try and avoid the rain. As we would later find out, rain is pretty much unavoidable. Made it to the train station no problem, get on the train, go to Ingolstadt. Our professor and a couple students meet us there. It's raining pretty hard by then, so we take the bus to the Villa (the same place that I stayed for the first two days that I was in Germany), drop off our stuff (we were staying the night), and start heading off to meet the other students. By this time, it was dark, rainy and windy. After meeting up with the other girls, we pretty much found the closest restaurant, and ate there. It was good catching up with the girls that I haven't seen for a while. Made plans for traveling to Prague. And also for a trip back to Ingolstadt to visit everyone one last time before they leave at the end of this month. Saturday Casey, our professor Isolde, and I were all invited to one of the student's host family's house for breakfast. And so there I got to experience a real white sausage breakfast. It was really neat to experience some real German culture, because it's something that I miss by living on my own in an apartment.

Sunday there was a flea market here, so a group of us went. That was really cool. I found (and bought) some old German money, including a few coins from the World War 2 period, which even have the Nazi symbol on them, and everything. After the flea market, we grabbed something to eat, and then headed over to the other market that was going on. It was some kind of pottery/hand work market. I bought some earrings. There was lots of other really neat things there, and I was kind of disappointed that I couldn't buy anything, because of the difficultly of transporting it back home. But for a Sunday, which are usually extremely boring, it was a good day.

The Bad:

Did some of the math with my credits on Saturday, and realized that I'm one class short for my German major. This means that instead of having to pay for two classes on my own, I'll now have to pay for three. And I also have other money issues to worry about, such as buying a car, wondering about the security of my job back home, and having to find a real job once I graduate. I'm going to talk to my professor the next time I see her, to discuss what I can do about this, but it's still not something I want to deal with right now, or so close to graduation. And I wanted to use all that extra money to buy books in German so I could try and stay fluent/get better! =(

I bought a lot of chocolate (which I have been doing a good job of cutting down on recently!) due to the Almost Ugly.

The Almost Ugly:

Went online this morning, to find that my credit line was about $150 less than what I expected it to be. Since I've been the victim of fraud before, and my mother just had some issues with her credit card right after she came back from Germany, I was worried that someone was making unauthorized purchases on my account, so I bought an extra phone card, in case I would have to be stuck on hold all day, dug up the international number, and called Wells Fargo. Luckily, as it turns out, the $150 was only my parking permit for next semester that was charged to my account, and nothing more. I had sent off my parking permit application last week Monday, and with all the other activity going on last week, I had forgotten all about it. But now I know. And am extremely relieved.

39 Tage Noch

39 More Days


I know that technically I shouldn't be counting down the days, because this makes everything seem to go slower, but I honestly can't help it. I'm getting so close to going home, and I just can't wait to be home again!

And even though I know that it seems like I'm not enjoying myself here at all, that is certainly not the case. It's just that when I'm online, I tend to talk about the disappointing things. Because, like it or not, the disappointing things about this trip outweigh the enjoyable things. Even if I did not have homesickness at all, I would still be disappointed. The point of me coming here to Germany was to learn, and to experience the culture. Because of where I live (both the town, and the location of my apartment), and the way the school is set up, I feel that this point is now moot. I'm here to learn, yet I've learned extremely little. Yes, I've learned a lot about myself, and I'm glad that I came, but by the same token, this trip could have been better, and there's a part of me that feels I've missed out on a true study abroad experience.

With that being said, here are a couple things that I would like to be do before I leave: biking to the Roman Ruins near Eichstätt. Go to Ingolstadt to have a "Girl's Night Out" with the other students from St. Cloud, who are here for the month of June. Travel to Prague. Hike back up to the castle here in Eichstätt. Survive my finals (they're only a month away).

Things that I've done or enjoy about being here (and will probably miss when I'm gone): going to the Freibad, spending a lot of money mailing people letters and post cards, not having to pay shipping and handling on things I buy from amazon.de, watching Berlin Berlin with Kelton (I finally gave in and spent 60 Euro buying the third and fourth seasons), baking cookies, reading books auf Deutsch, going grocery shopping (minus the climb back up the mountain), cheap liquor, Kleiner Feiglings, CHOCOLATE, most German food in general, Apfelschorle.

And because I can't resist making one more list: things I'll enjoy about being back home: Kyle, my family, Curly, Amanda, Neilly, everyone else I haven't mentioned, since that would take too long, being able to sleep in my water bed again, not having to climb a mountain, having a car to get around, being able to take care of important things in my life, like graduation preparations, looking for a "real" job, and finding a new car to buy, being surrounded by English speakers again, being able to go shopping on a Sunday, not having to watch dubbed movies/TV shows, feeling like I have control over my life again, and that I'm not just sitting around on my butt, waiting for my life to resume... and more.

That's all for now,
Amanda

Ich will nach Hause gehen

I want to go home.

This seems to be the theme of my life lately. I'm unhappy with school, bored because I don't have anything to do in Eichstätt, and traveling not only completely wipes me out, but it also makes me more homesick than before. At this point, I'm not sure what to do. I'm at a virtual stand still. I thought this second half would be easier, but instead it's turning out to be as hard as the first, just in different ways.

And I'm ready to be home again.