Not so homesick anymore!

Heyyyy, long time, no type, every one!!

Thank you for being so patient; it is like boot camp over here, the UNI-Kassel university has us up and scheduled to meet at meeting points before sunup, and we don't get back to our homes until long after sundown.

However, I LOVE IT HERE!!!!

I have come to quickly realize that I am indeed perfectly matched with this country, it is breathtaking. There are rolling hills (because of glaciers that moved through the area during the Ice Age, I've learned), green green green GREEN trees and countryside, the cutest little villages with old architecture, and VOLKSWAGENS are every where!!!! I truly do feel like I am among those where I belong!! It is the coolest!

I mean sure, I walk down the street and there are weird Germans with weird senses of fashion, speaking in a rapid-fire ugly language, but then I look at the street, and it is like each and every VW Golf, or Passat, or Jetta, or Polo, is smiling at me, greeting me on the mothership. Call me corny, but it does not matter what country or native tongue its owner is from, the Volkswagens love me. :)

Anyway, our first day of classes went pretty well. We started off taking a placement test, to see which German course we should start off in, while we're over here. It turns out that Jeni, Sara, Ryan, and I all got into the same course. Yay!!! (We're four of the five kids from UWM, we all get along famously.) We learned a few introductory phrases and words, then were released from class to have some lunch.

It was the first time since I've been here, that I had actually had an apetite to eat, since I was among friends and people speaking English. It is amazing how much of a creature comfort it is. You may think you can block out total strangers and how they speak, but when you're stuck in it up to your eyebrows, it is really scary. Anyway, I ate a pretty good German sandwich for lunch with a pretty interesting 1 liter bottle of Sprite. I'm bringing it back home with me, to show you all how Europe bottles their goods.

(Side note:: Pepsi products are non-existent over here! Coca-cola has a monopoly, it is rather mysterious. So, my fellow college students and cram-masters...think of not having ANY Mountain Dew to get you up and running for the day! For a whole month!)

Beyond that, we toured the city of Kassel after lunch, and it helped me out a lot, just to see more of where I am living for the rest of this month. I learned that the whole city got completely bombed out in October of 1943, with World War 2, because Kassel was a city with many factories that built weapons and machinery for the Nazis. Since then, it's been all built up, mostly in the 1960s, so it has some pretty interesting architecture. And lots and lots of stucco finishing.

Yesterday, we had our first full day of classes. I gotta admit, the classes were so boring, that banging your head on the table to the tune of "Old Mac Donald Had a Farm" would take the pain away from sitting through the 9-hour class.

No, seriously. 9 hours.


8 AM to noon, 1 hour for lunch, and then 1 PM to 6 PM. Eeeeack!!

After class, I had some much-needed bonding time with Jeni and Sara. We found a Subway to eat at for supper in the gorgeous "City Centre," and vented about the bizarre frustrations we've each run in to during our time here, but also the little things that we wished would carry over to the U.S.

Another side note: J-Lo music, released in the states in about 1998, was re-dubbed in a German woman's voice, playing in the background at Subway. "Jenny from the Block," "I'm Real," you name it. It was awfully funny sounding. :)



AND GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

There is not only ONE Volkswagen tour scheduled during our classes here, but TWO!! Yes, TWO!!! Professor Balmer, our chaperoning professor here from UWM, surprised us all by scheduling a tour of a separate VW plant, in a separate city, on Friday the 12th. This means we get to skip the class already scheduled (Balmer told us), AND we get to do the scheduled tour on Monday the 15th.


Yeeeeaaaaahhh!!


Hey, I gotta go out to supper with the gang. I'll type more later!