OK, so it's been a long time since I last updated this thing. Why, you ask? The short answer is that I've been really, really busy. I was in Cologne for a week with no email access, then when I got back I had a lot of stuff to organize, a fact that hasn't changed all that much, but it's a little less now, which is good. So, what's happened that's worth mentioning here:
Well, the day I arrived back here in Burg (Monday) there was no cab at the train station first of all. OK, that's not entirely true, there was one, there just wasn't any room in it. So I took the bus. It was a nice bus, I liked it. Anyway, when it made its stop to drop me off, I realized I had no idea where I was in town, which was an awesome feeling after nine hours on trains, some of which looked like what I imagine the interior of a really big 1973 EL Camino would look like. Apparently, the color of spoiled orange juice is a big one on regional trains. Anyway, I got off the bus and walked around in circles for about 30 minutes until I figured out where I was. In all, I made it back to my apartment in one hour, which after considering that I had to discover where I was before I could go anywhere isn't half bad. I'm still proud of that.
On my way back to the apartment, a kid on the soccer field up the street called me an "Ausländer," which was nice of him. I don't know what tipped him off, but I assume it was my elegantly bulging backpack and labtop case. Anyway, that was arrival day.
The next couple of days were spent buying groceries and cleaning the room up, not much special there. That was Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, I went to school.
OK, before I go on, let me clear some things up; no, I do not personally know 50 Cent or Eminem. All Americans know them evidentally, so I must be in the minority there. And for those of you who don't know who 50 Cent or Eminem are, don't worry about it, they suck.
The first grade I sat in on was grade 8, which makes them about 12-13 years old. I'm still not used to being the exotic one, so the gasps and looks of suprise when they found out I was American are still odd. Anyway, I sat in the back of the room while Andreas was working with the VCR, at which point all the girls in the class started giggling. There was one guy, Jan, I introduced myself to: I'm Herr Winter (pronouced Herr Vinter) in school, but I saw nothing wrong with using my first name. Anyway, I introduced myself as Brandon, he said he was Jan. Nice guy. The girls in class must have been looking for just such an opening, because they mobbed the desk and all wanted to say hi and introduce themselves. I should say now that I was really suprised by this response. I don't know why, they are 12, and the 500,000 ccs of estrogen coursing through their veins at any given moment make them do strange things, it's just that the senerio had never occoured to me. Yet another example of how clueless I can be. Anyway, they all turned out to be really cool and easy to talk to. Their english is frightenly good.
The next grade was grade 5, the beginning english students. It was there that I was asked if I know 50 Cent or Eminem. There was a question and answer period, which was fun. Again, their english is better than my german. OH, and Andreas told them I speak no german, which will be a hard lie to keep up all year, but I'll give it my best shot. But everyone who knows me knows I'm a terrible liar. Next grade was grade 11.
The class was centered on the differences between the Democratic and Republican parties. Have I mentioned how hard it was to stay impartial? No? Well it was, real damn hard, but I'm proud to say that the words "Bush is an idiot" did not come out of my mouth once. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. Apart from that, there is just one thing I can say about that class: they think they are cool as shit. It was somewhat sad to see. OK, so that was school.
Well, the day I arrived back here in Burg (Monday) there was no cab at the train station first of all. OK, that's not entirely true, there was one, there just wasn't any room in it. So I took the bus. It was a nice bus, I liked it. Anyway, when it made its stop to drop me off, I realized I had no idea where I was in town, which was an awesome feeling after nine hours on trains, some of which looked like what I imagine the interior of a really big 1973 EL Camino would look like. Apparently, the color of spoiled orange juice is a big one on regional trains. Anyway, I got off the bus and walked around in circles for about 30 minutes until I figured out where I was. In all, I made it back to my apartment in one hour, which after considering that I had to discover where I was before I could go anywhere isn't half bad. I'm still proud of that.
On my way back to the apartment, a kid on the soccer field up the street called me an "Ausländer," which was nice of him. I don't know what tipped him off, but I assume it was my elegantly bulging backpack and labtop case. Anyway, that was arrival day.
The next couple of days were spent buying groceries and cleaning the room up, not much special there. That was Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, I went to school.
OK, before I go on, let me clear some things up; no, I do not personally know 50 Cent or Eminem. All Americans know them evidentally, so I must be in the minority there. And for those of you who don't know who 50 Cent or Eminem are, don't worry about it, they suck.
The first grade I sat in on was grade 8, which makes them about 12-13 years old. I'm still not used to being the exotic one, so the gasps and looks of suprise when they found out I was American are still odd. Anyway, I sat in the back of the room while Andreas was working with the VCR, at which point all the girls in the class started giggling. There was one guy, Jan, I introduced myself to: I'm Herr Winter (pronouced Herr Vinter) in school, but I saw nothing wrong with using my first name. Anyway, I introduced myself as Brandon, he said he was Jan. Nice guy. The girls in class must have been looking for just such an opening, because they mobbed the desk and all wanted to say hi and introduce themselves. I should say now that I was really suprised by this response. I don't know why, they are 12, and the 500,000 ccs of estrogen coursing through their veins at any given moment make them do strange things, it's just that the senerio had never occoured to me. Yet another example of how clueless I can be. Anyway, they all turned out to be really cool and easy to talk to. Their english is frightenly good.
The next grade was grade 5, the beginning english students. It was there that I was asked if I know 50 Cent or Eminem. There was a question and answer period, which was fun. Again, their english is better than my german. OH, and Andreas told them I speak no german, which will be a hard lie to keep up all year, but I'll give it my best shot. But everyone who knows me knows I'm a terrible liar. Next grade was grade 11.
The class was centered on the differences between the Democratic and Republican parties. Have I mentioned how hard it was to stay impartial? No? Well it was, real damn hard, but I'm proud to say that the words "Bush is an idiot" did not come out of my mouth once. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. Apart from that, there is just one thing I can say about that class: they think they are cool as shit. It was somewhat sad to see. OK, so that was school.
posted by Der verwirrte Ausländer at 5:07 PM
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