So viele Freizeit!

Also. Heute sind die drei Stunden, die ich normalerweise habe, ausgefallen. d.h., dass ich nichts zu tun hatte, und bin nochmal nach Hause gefahren.
Morgen ist diese Abi Ball, aber ich weiss nicht genau, wo das ist. Und es ist spaet. Hm. Werden sehen.
Samstag machen wir bei Chuck einen Abendessen, aber leider kann der Jan nicht kommen. Schade.
Ausserdem, regnet es gerade. Rita und ich moechten nach Ashley, und es ist ungefaehr 30 Minuten zu Fuss, und das wollten wir machen.
Nur eine Woche, dann kommt die Ferien! Zwei Wochen.
Heute ist es schon vier Monate fuer Chuck und mich. Wir haben es aber ausgemacht, dass wir naechste Woche feiern.
Ich glaub, ich muss jetzt los. Bis spaeter, Alle, und mach's gut!

Kuesschen : )

Abi Streik

So today was the Abi Streik, where the 13th graders do something crazy during school hours to celebrate being done with tests and school. So after the fourth hour they made a lot of noise and called everyone to the Schulhof (courtyard) and had a stage set up. They had "kidnapped" Herr Dohna, our principal, and taped him to a toilet. Then they had a mock beauty contest, mocking the tv show "Germany searches for the top model" and they also had teachers and students dance around and played games. At the end they played a sort of Who wants to be a millionare game with the principal with 10 questions about the teachers, and if he lost they all got to go home, and if he won then classes continued. He lost. Game over. I went home.

It was fun and interesting, but I didn't think the drinking and smoking in front of the younger kids was a good idea. I was a bit disappointed. Chuck said they had Abi Streik today as well, but it was really bad b/c the kids were drunk and everyone just left. Yikes. The Abi Ball, sort of like our Prom, is on Friday and I plan to go for a short while. I don't really have anything prom-like to wear, but oh well.

It got unseasonably warm here today, in the 60s. But it's rainy, too. And yesterday Daylight Savings started so I'm quite content.

Sadly, due to all the excitment, I didn't get to give two of my lessons. Oh well, there's always next week!

: )

. . .

And another thing, how totally cool is this putting pics on the blog thing? I'm very excited about it, it makes it so much easier to share what's going on here! Ok, I just needed to say that.

: )

Karlsruhe

Today Chuck and I met his friends Eva and Alex in Karlsruhe, a city described by The Lonely Planet as not having much really worth seeing. The castle (palace) was bombed in the war and rebuilt and turned into a museum and that's about all there is to see. So we saw that and then went for some delicious food, then coffee, and talked and walked around. There was rain and a bit of sun, but it was definitely not freezing! Yay! And tomorrow the day will be later. I like it when we set the clocks forward.


The pics: We got to try on hats in the museum, and there was a mini train you could sit in. Of course we are also standing in front of the rebuilt castle/palace.

Tight Budget

Ok, so I just checked my account and I have 8 Euros. lol. I get paid on the last day of the month and realized I am almost out of food. Kinda funny, really. Sadly it means taking money from my home account which is mostly funded from student loans. Chuck is done to 9 Euro, I think. We both just suddenly hit broke gleichseitig and are having a competition next week to see who can live the cheapest. See? Silver lining!

It was not freezing today, but cloudy and rainy. I have to run, Chuck and I are making some dinner at his place.

Hope everyone is having a great almost last week of March!

: )

Cafe Moments in the Almost Warmth

Where did my spring go?

Ok, so it's cloudy again. It's supposed to be cloudy, rainy and cold for at least the next week. Oh, sad days.

I had my first private French lesson last night. It went well. I found the right bus and took it two villages north of town and after a brief wrong turn found the right street. The lady is French and has two children, but her husband looked after them during the lesson. I think it will work out well.

Not much new here, I'm just trying to get my lessons planned and studying done. Chuck and I are cooking Mexican for our teachers on Sunday. That ought to be fun.

Is anyone still reading this blog?

Spring! Yippee!

Spring came Sunday (and sadly left yesterday) but it was so beautiful! Above freezing. Ahhhh. Chuck and I took a long walk in the woods, then headed back to town to get an ice cream. The line was long, as many people were enjoying their first cold treat of the year. Cafes had also put their outdoor tables back out. Yay! Ah sun, how I've missed you!!!

Yesterday (and today) they are having the final oral exams for the 13th graders at my school so I am off. So yesterday I went with Chuck to his school to see how it was there. Interesting. And today I'm studying and running errands. Very nice.

Strikes. I'm getting a bit fed up. I think two groups are striking in Germany right now, the civil people still (garbage, day-care, etc.) and doctors are now striking, demanding a pay raise. And however annoying/bad that may sound, thank goodness gracious I'm not in France! They have been striking at Universities for so long that my friend Ren (who was also a TA here but went to France this semester to study) has barely been to any classes all semester and they are thinking of simply closing the Unis for the semester and many Brits have already headed home. Or so I hear. The French are enough to drive one mad! I'd best not elaborate, it may get a bit heated. But honestly people!

Chuck and I are going to Karlsruhe this Saturday to meet up with some of his friends. I've never been there and it's not far from here, and there should at least be a nice church to see! Actually, I think it will be cool to see another German city.

That's about it from the K-Town front. Hope you all are well.

: )

Last night was another wonderful Stammtisch. Thomas seemed like he needed some cheering up so I hugged him and tried to pick his nose. Fun stuff. The other pic is from the other week at a yummy restaurant.

Strikes and Shoplifting

What is it with Europe and strikes? French students have been striking because the government is trying to reduce their horrific unemployment, and the Germans were striking due to a 1.5 hour work week increase for certain people like trash collectors. And tomorrow the doctors in Germany are supposed to strike. They want a 30% pay increase. Dear goodness.

So Chuck's sis has been here this week, and yesterday I took her shopping. Last of all we stopped by the grocery store b/c I needed food. She picked up a bottle of alcohol to take to a friend at home, then at the register changed her mind and set it down. As we tried to leave, a man stopped us and started talking to us, and I assumed he was the regular German-crazy, b/c they are just everywhere. So I grabbed Becky and tried to steer her away but then he got angry and stepped in front of us and wouldn't let us pass and I figured it was time to listen to what he was saying. Then he said something about us having a bottle of alcohol and not paying for it. I said we didn't buy it b/c she didn't want it, and then he got angry again and said we had to go to the office right now! I was starting to freak a bit and was way mad b/c I'd never do such a thing. I got a bit haughty and said no, we didn't take it and if he would come with me I could show him exactly where it was. I just took off and went back and picked it up and handed it to him. Then he apologized and wished us a good night. Jerk. I mean, I shop there at least once a week and I've never taken anything before. He didn't even have any official store whatnot on, so how was I supposed to know he worked there? I was not happy. But all was ok in the end. Sheesh.

Speyer

We (me, Chuck and Beckelia, his sister) went to Speyer today. It's about an hour away. It is sooooo beautiful! There is still one of the old towers to get into the old city (Altstadt) and the Altstadt is still all cobblestoney and the buildings are so beautiful. The old cathedral is Romanesque and huge! I will put some pics up soon, but right now the site isn't letting me. It was really breath-taking.

Hope all is well!

Kate : *)

These are some pics from Berlin. The first is the view from my hotel room. Then me with Marx and Engel. The third one is a nut shop in Kreuzberg, a Turkish neighborhood. Then the Ampelman (traffic light man) in front of the Brandenberger Tor. Lastly is the statue of Marx and Engel in front of the old Commie headquarters, with the Dom to the right.

I'll put the pics on my online album soon!

It's cold out today but the sun is there. It never stays, but it is always good to see. I miss it so much!!!!!

Berlin

Berlin was amazing! They put us up in a 4-star hotel that was way nicer than my apartment. lol. The snow followed us there, making it quite cold. However there were lots of Fulbrighters there, and not just fellow TAs, but people doing projects and exchange teachers and whatnots. Very cool.

There were wonderful workshops and panal debates, where I learned about Muslims in Germany, the making of elite Unis in Germany, life after Fulbright and staying in Germany/Europe, and I learned about other peoples' Fulbright experiences. I also took a tour of Medieval Spandau, and Chuck and I made it briefly to Kreuzberg, the so-called "Turkish ghetto" which is not really a ghetto by U.S. standards. We found a cool nut shop there, and also a shop purely full of baklava. The green ones were a bit funky tasting. We also spent time with his amazing friend Kelly, who is currently interning at a think tank there. I was impressed.

I also got to see a bit of the city, though I mostly spent time in workshops or hanging out with Saran and Hillary. But they put us up right on Alexanderplatz, next to the Fernsehturm (T.V. tower). Sadly there was lots of construction. But it was a quick walk to the Rathaus, the statue of Marx and Engel, the old Commie gov't bldg, the Dom, Museum Island, and Unter den Linden and the Brandenburger Tor. All very cool and East Berliny. On the last day Chuck and I checked out the Gedaechtniskirche again. So pretty. And also very sad to see what the city looked like after the war and how it was all destroyed and the church is a good reminder of the tragedy of war.

So basically it was an amazing trip. We got back last Thursday and I spent yesterday and today trying to catch up on things. I still have a good deal to do, but tonight a bunch of us are going to see Brokeback Mountain. Not sure if it will be in German or English.

It's also cold here. At least it's not cold enough to snow, but we're supposed to get "unseasonably cold weather" rather soon. As in not reaching freezing. Oh joy. Can't you feel the excitement? lol. I am sooooooo ready for warmth!!!!! Ahhhhh!

The pics of Berlin will be up online in a day or so. I took tons and need to sort through them, surprise surprise!

Chuck's sis comes tomorrow and I'm looking forward to meeting her.

I think the lady cut off more than 2 inches of hair. I look bald.

Schnueffle Schnueffle

I'm so sad! I went to get my hair trimmed b/c it was getting a bit crazy, but was FINALLY getting to be a length I was happy with, and I told the lady, just the ends. She said ok, just the ends. I think she cut off at least two inches. My hair is all gone! I'm a bit horrified, sad, and very pissed off. Perhaps I will wear my hair up in a ponytail for the next 6 months until it grows out again. : (

I will write about Berlin soon and put pics up online. It was great!

They're saying it's the biggest snowfall in this area in 15 years! Rita and I went for a walk and played in the snow. It was great! The roads are completely covered and where the sidewalks aren't cleared, it feels like you really are wading through snow. You can't tell in these pics, but on the side streets it's crazy!!!!! However, the snow has finally stopped.

Earlier this year, parts of Bavaria had more snow than I had seen in my life, it was incredible to see on the tv. People had to shovel it off their roofs so they wouldn't cave in. It's definitely not that bad here. I like it here, though, very pretty!

Winter Wonderland

It's been snowing for days! Oddly it doesn't alway stick, or else we would be wading everywhere! However, it IS getting very slick and right now there's a few inches on the ground. It started snowing Wednesday evening and has been snowing ever since. Crazy.

Wednesday evening Chuck and I went with Thomas and friends to the soccer match between the U.S. and Poland. It was pretty cool, though I'm not the biggest soccer fan. We won! 1:0. It was freezing, but the tons of snow was pretty. I had layer upon layer upon layer on, and then a wool blanket over that. But it was another cultural experience. You can't live in a big soccer town like this and not go to one single game. Sadly, I haven't visited an FCK (Fussball Club Kaiserslautern) game, but that's ok. When it's full the stadium hold about 45,000 people, but only 13,000 came to our Ami game. It will be really crazy here when the WM (World Championship) starts in June. Yikes!

I'm almost all ready for Berlin. Next week should be really cool. I'm so looking forward to the workshops and tours. And of course more site seeing!

I hope the snow keeps coming, the world looks beautiful. After that I'm going to hope like mad for Spring!