I'm off! A quick nap, and then catching a taxi to the train station at 5:15 am!

Ich wunsche euch alle eine FROHLICHE WEIHNACHTEN und auch einen
GUTEN RUTSCH!
(a Merry Christmas and a good "slide" into the New Year!)

Until 2006!

I spend way too much time on this site.
Warning: do not go on this site late at night like me, and then read all of the emotional rescue stories or memorials about the dogs that have died. . .it is a bad idea! But if you want to see LOTS of cute dogs, like this one:



Then I highly recommend it!

Oh, and for cat lovers (which I am as well), there's Catster!

I just found out that the Baja classes I took over the summer two years ago doesn't count towards GE credits at Davis. WHY?!? Why don't I think of making sure of these things sooner?!?!?

So when I get back, in order to graduate, I'll have to take about three of four ling. classes, who knows how many German (hopefully not too many), one upper division lit class, and TWO science/engineering GE classes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Sucks with a capital "S". But at least I can probaby get into nutrition and health or something super-easy, since I have first pass priority registration.

PS-over Christmas break I'm reading the story of Moses, as written by Thomas Mann. Pretty interesting! Except whenever I can't quite understand what I'm reading, I keep thinking back to the plot of Prince of Egypt. So far the two stories aren't that similar.

I watched another movie tonight, since I have so much time on my hands.

LA Confidential--SO MUCH better than Ghost, lol. It's one of the few cop-shooting-gangster-bad-guys movies that I really liked. Probably because it actually had an interesting story and interesting characters along with the movie, which is pretty rare!

The only drawback--I totally didn't get the plot twists. I guess I'm just not used to movies that make you think that much, lol. So will somebody please go see it and give me a very, very detailed plot summary? I'll give you 5 bucks. . . .

Tonight I watched the movie Ghost, which I borrowed from Cindy because it's the last movie of hers that I haven't seen yet. The following rant probably may not be of much interest to you, whether you've seen the movie or not, just to warn you.

The movie Ghost is just an excellent example of the typical American movie themes, and it drives me crazy. The main character, played by Patrick Swayze (who cannot act, he should have just stuck to Dirty Dancing), gets shot by a mugger at the beginning of the film. He stays on Earth basically to save his girlfriend from getting murdered and of course at the same time get revenge (a much too common theme in these Hollywood-types of movies. Come on, who needs revenge? It's pointless). So in the process of protecting his girl, he causes the (somewhat accidental) death of both of the guys planning the murder, and they both go to hell. But once everything's taken care of, Patrick Swayze goes to Heaven. Wait, he just caused the death of two men, and he gets to go to Heaven? It just makes no sense! The only part I liked was Whoopi Goldberg, even though she played a very stereotypical role.

Sometimes I get cranky and decide to take movies very personally. This is an example of one of those times.

So I have two days to decide if I want to move to Berlin to study for my second semester, instead of staying here in Göttingen for the whole year.

Pros of moving:
Meet new people, way more stuff to do, experience of living in an enormous city (it's like NYC)

Cons of moving:
What if I don't make new friends, hard to find own living arrangement, moving all my crap, getting adjusted to whole new school and city

So it seems like there are more cons, which is why I'm kind of thinking of just letting the deadline pass by and not worrying about it...but does anyone else have a strong feeling about this? Ha ha, I'm just not sure! And I'd like to hear what people think.

PS-it's snowing outside! Like HARDCORE! It's been snowing since I woke up, and it's so exciting!!

PPS-my hair smells like cigarettes. That's the annoying thing in Germany (probably all of Europe, or maybe just everywhere other than Californa, lol), you take a shower before a party, but what's the point, because then you get back and all your clothes and your skin and your hair smell like cigarette smoke! But what can ya do.
We had a Xmas party in my dorm last night, and I ended up staying there until the party ended, at 5:30 am! I don't think I've ever done that before. But it was a good way to start the break, which will be extremely boring until I fly out to Scottland on Xmas Eve. Until then, I have a week in which EVERYONE will be gone!

Classes are done for break! Yay! But it sucks here, because the semester doesn't end until after Xmas break. So before break ends I have to (cuz I know you're all very interested in this):

1. Read a "short" story by Thomas Mann that's 69 pages
2. Read a novella, Der Sandmann, that's 77 pages
3. Write an essay on what I think "European culture" is (does such a thing even exist?)
4. Read a short essay by Freud about the meaning of dreams
5. Figure out what I'm going to say for a presentation on Karl Kraus (yeah, I don't know who he is either)

AND buy presents for my family before I leave on Xmas Eve! I guess it could be worse. But I'm gonna have to put my nose to the...mill wheel? Grind stone? Something like that, if I want to be able to relax when my fambly comes.

So this is random....
For one of my lectures this week I'm reading the original novella, Traumnovelle, that the movie Eyes Wide Shut is based on. Who knew that film was actually based on something?

Other pieces of news:
-I saw Chronicles of Narnia on Thursday--it was alright. The special effects weren't actually that good in my opinion, outside of the talking animals (but that's the only part that really matters anyway!). And YAY for ASLAN! He was definitely the coolest character, just as he should be. But talk about obvious allegories. It's interesting to think about how you read these books as a kid and have no idea what the story's referencing.

-My bike has a flat tire. Hopefully it will get repaired tomorrow by the Bike Man (aka Dietmar) tomorrow, since it sucks to walk. Everything takes about twice as long.

-One aspect of German culture I will never like: Germans have NO CONCEPT WHATSOEVER of lines. As in waiting in line. They just don't do it. I was at a Christmas party last night, and I had to wait half an hour in a huge throng of people all trying to push to the front, like at a rock concert or something, just so I could get my jacket from coat-check! There was even a girl in a wheelchair next to me, politely asking if people could let her through, and everyone pretty much ignored her. It was out of control, and you really had to fight if you ever wanted to get to the front. This isn't the first time I've experienced this. What is this, people?? Isn't Germany generally considered a civilized society?? That's all about that. Cammy already had to hear this rant on the phone, haha.

And that is all that I can think of now. Except that I am SO EXCITED about CHRISTMAS! I get to see my FAMILY! CAN YOU FEEL MY EXCITEMENT?

Apparently my parents are actually sending some copies of this pic out as a Xmas card:



The painting in the background is a pretty crappy self-portrait I did of myself back in freshman year Beginning Painting. It makes me laugh though. Why do they get to do a funny card the one year that I'm gone?

Amusing experience:

Having virtually your entire German as a Foreign Language class, including the teacher, burst out laughing when they hear that the voting age in the US is 18, but the drinking age is 21.

It is pretty funny when you think about it.

I don't know if people in the US watched this show or not, but apparently there was a special comedy show on TBS about global warming, and for one of the skits, Will Ferrell reprised his famous role as W. Bush making a public service announcement.
The clip's a little long, but I guarantee it's amusing!
Ferrell as the W

I'm going to Berlin tomorrow! So excited! It's my second time, but last time was definitely the tourist experience, whereas this time, hopefully it will be a little more, uh, "underground"? I don't know the right word for that. But yeah. I'm taking a train all by myself (first time), to stay for a couple nights with my friend Tony (Banando, for those of you that know him)! That's right, another member of the Monrovia Clan that chose to flee to Germany this year!

Should be fun--i just hope I don't regret all the work I have to do when I get back! (Don't think about it...don't think about it....)

My friend Keinst introduced me to (ie showed me pictures of) possibly the hottest Japanese actor I've seen, Takeshi Kaneshiro. He was in House of Flying Daggers, and though I heard the movie wasn't that good...I'm seriously thinking about seeing it now!

Endlich! Thanksgiving photos!

The American students had a special dinner on Thursday night at the Mensa (the cafeteria here). I was a little skeptical, since I've eaten at the Mensa during the day, and the food there is definitely nothing to write home about. But they actually worked hard on this meal, I could tell! There was a first course of salad, with lots of yummy fresh vegetables, and then the second course was turkey of course, along with all vegetarian sides: corn, REAL mashed potatoes, green beans, and some squash dish which was really yummy.

And the best part of the night? It snowed that night! We were all dressed up in our dresses and suits, but it didn't matter--the Californians were too excited about the snow to care about how cold it was! The Germans were probably all watching and shaking their heads.

The group

The centerpieces that I helped design! Haha, we call it a "modern" look

Me being excited (and hyper) about Thanksgiving

Our Sears family portrait (yes, they already had a Xmas tree up in the Mensa!)

My German teacher Herr Beilein, learning to play thumbwars. If you knew him, you would understand how hilarious this was. Herr Beilein is like the most stereotypical German--he's got a really dry sense of humor, and he's very quiet and intimidating in a lot of ways. But obviously still cool enough to try thumb wars!

SNOW!!!!

View from my window the next morning.

Next up: Christmas! :)

Twenty years of spending Thanksgiving with my family, and this year I'm breaking the tradition. I miss them, but at least I'll get to see them for the "big" holiday--Christmas!

Excerpt from an email from my dad today (need I say more?):

Hi, Kate!

Are you OK?

Please say you are OK.

Pretty please!

You know we want to hear it!

To tell the truth,

Having you overseas

At the holiday

Nearly makes me

Krazy!

See? I even

Goofed up

In spelling a

Very simple word.

It's

Not a good sign.

Goodness! --

Why, I just saw that if you read the first letters of the lines above, they happen to contain a secret message just for you! Can you figure it out? I bet you can if you try! What a funny coincidence!

Whaddya wanna bet that Angelina Jolie's adopted son, Maddox, is going to grow up and write some tell-all memoirs book about how crazy she was?
Just a random thought.

Ah the joys of having two presentations over with...and Thanksgiving tomorrow! Or the closest thing to it, anyway--the cafeteria at the school is cooking dinner for us tomorrow night. It'll be interesting to see how they make a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner! Especially for the vegeterians...should be interesting, I'm trying not to be too worried about it. :)

And along with the See's chocolates, my mom sent me the CD's that I missed, since I didn't have the brilliance to copy all my CDs onto my iTunes. So now I'm listening to Big Boi and Dre Present..., which I never thought I'd miss so much! Hehe. But hey, I need variety....

And now, in honor of my free time tonight, and the fact that it is way too cold for me to go outside tonight (no bar tonight for me, thanks!), I will now do a survey.

Feel free to stop reading now. :)
I deleted all the questions I thought were lame/clichéd

---------------
1. Your name spelled backward? llirruB etaK (that was really hard to do, lol)

2. Last incoming call on your phone? Cindy

3. Who sent you the last text message in your inbox? Haha I deleted it...don't remember. Probably Cindy or
Janelle

4. What's your favorite restaurant? Well, in Germany I like the "Cuban" restaurant a lot...in the US, basically ANY good ethnic food sounds good right now--maybe the Thai restaurant on Myrtle Ave. or the Udupi Palace in Little India, or Taqueria Guadalejara in Davis...I could go on.

5.Last time you swam in a pool? Probably in San Clemente during the summer

6. Have you ever been in a school play? I was in the school musical! Guys and Dolls and Joseph, good times

7. How many kids do you want? An even number...probably two

8. Type of music you dislike most? Probably either gangster rap or pop country.

9. Are you registered to vote? Yesiree Bob!

10. Do you have cable? At my parent's house, but not in Germany or Davis

11. Have you ever ridden on a mo-ped? No. Is a vespa a moped? Because I want one!

12. Ever made a prank phone call? Probably in fourth or fifth grade

13. Best friends? Yes! I believe in those! :)

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? I would go sky diving, but bungee jumping looks pretty dangerous to me

15. Furthest place you ever traveled? Probably Japan or Thailand, in terms of how long the flight was

16. Do you have a garden? haha i have fake plastic grass and one real potted plant in front of my window

17. What's your favorite comic strip? I have two: Calvin and Hobbes and Mutts

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Please don't make me go through the whole song in my head! I'm pretty sure I do.

20. Best movie you've seen in the past month? In the past month? Seen some pretty crappy movies...nothing profound for sure. But Harry Potter IV was definitely good times!

21. Favorite pizza toppings? Cheese, feta, garlic, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts

22. Chips or popcorn? They're both pretty nasty--chips are better tho

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? don't really EVER wear lipstick!

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? I didn't know you could

27. Who were the last people you went out to dinner with? What qualifies as "out to dinner?" I went to McDonald's with Vivian and Janelle last Sunday to get ice cream, which was basically my dinner, haha

28. Favorite type chocolate bar? See's Chocolate! And I really like Milka chocolate bars, and Ritter Sport.

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls? 2004

31. Have you ever won a trophy? Back during my karate days! We got second place in team kata, for anyone that knows what that means! haha

32. Are you a good cook? NO, as I have discovered since moving to Germany and having to cook pretty much everything from scratch

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas? One of my many points of pride

42. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? my mom

43. Did you have a lot of hair as a young kid? Um...I think I had a normal amount, haha. I wasn't bald, at least!

44. What message is on your answering machine? A really boring one where I sound pissed off/bored because I recorded it at about 3am

45. Where would you like to go right now? Well, I don't think I'd like to go home to Monrovia, surprisingly. I guess I'd like to either go to Davis or just somewhere else in Europe, like maybe somewhere warm, like southern Italy or France!

46. What was the name of you first pet? Awww...Myra

My mom sent me a box of See's!! I asked for it for Christmas, but she sent it to me over the weekend! You have no idea how excited I was. They can say all they want about German chocolate, but nothing compares to See's. Especially shipped specially in a box all the way from the US, from your mommy! :)

Sometimes all I do on the weekends is sit in front of my computer and woooorrrrrrkkkkkk....
At least that's what it feels like.

Saw my first movie in the theater tonight: Harry Potter IV, in German!
I've never been a big fan of the movies, but I have to say, this one was really good, in terms of how well it made the book's plot work as a cohesive, involving film in its own right. I don't think I could sit through it again, because it felt REALLY long, but at the same time, I was really involved in the story.

And the special effects were amazing! The Quidditch tournament, and all of the Tri-wizard competitions, were really cool. AND I was able to follow it surprisingly well in German! Definitely glad I saw it.

[add: And Ralph Fiennes played Lord Voldemort! What?!]

We had a "Flur Essen," or floor dinner tonight with my hallmates. It was actually pretty fun. Not amazingly exciting, but considering that it was 9 of us that just happened to all live in the same hall eating pizza (that I helped make from scratch! wow!) and playing a board game together, it was pretty fun.
We played this game called "Activity" (I love the name), and it was basically like a lame version of Cranium--you have to either draw the word, act it out, or explain it verbally. I was really lucky, because both times that it was my turn, I got really easy words, so it wasn't stressful. My team still lost, but at least it wasn't because of me, haha!

And now I should got to sleep. Aargh, I'm getting (am?) sick. It's so annoying!
Oh, I have a question for anyone that knows anything about this kind of stuff (bio majors, perhaps?):
I bought these multi-vitamin pills which I later realized are meant for people over 50 years old. Should I think twice before taking these pills? Or do you think it won't make much of a difference? It seemed like it just had more of everything in it, as compared to other vitamin pills. But since I just started taking them and woke up today feeling kind of ill....

And the weather finally (kind of unfortunately) feels like winter here! They actually predicted snow for today, but sadly we didn't get that novelty, and instead got really cold rain!

I just checked the weather report: Today the high was 5 degrees Celsius (isn't that about 40 degrees F?) , and it's supposed to snow next week! How EXCITING!!

I think this is funny; according to my dictionary, the German translation of "the middle of nowhere" is "Wo sich Fuchs und Hase Gute Nacht sagen."

That literally means, "Where the fox and rabbit say goodnight." I guess it's like a place where only the wild animals live. Isn't that cool?

Two random posts/thoughts:

-Cammy's team won again! Hooray! They're one of the "Sweet 16," and moving on to the third round! Everyone cross your fingers for them this Saturday!

-My family is the best family ever! I talked with them for the first time in two weeks, and it was just so nice to hear everyone's voice. Especially my dad's, when he told me that he would send me $400 dollars for the rest of the month, even when I just asked for another $100! That's real love.
And my mom cried apparently, after I talked with her on the phone, because she missed me so much. I'm glad I wasn't there, or else I'm sure I would have started crying too. But I get to see them all at Christmas, which is just around the corner!!

CONGRATULATIONS to my best friend Cammy, whose soccer team at Dickinson made it to NCAA level (national level), which is awesome in itself--but not only that, they also won their first game today, making their team the first team EVER in Dickinson history to make it past the first round in the NCAA's! So they're pretty freakin' GOOD!

Good luck in the next game, Cammy, and remember: you're always a winner in my heart! :)

“When I was 7 or 8 I went canoeing with my folks and I hung a plastic dinosaur over the lip of the canoe so that it could swim in the river, as miniature plastic dinosaurs are wont to do, naturally. Anyway, soon the current became too much for my weak grip to handle and the dinosaur flew from my fingers to a watery grave. This was far too much drama for my poor mind to comprehend and the incident ruined the rest of my day. No amount of "We can get you a new one" would ameliorate my bewildered and heartbroken soul.
After all, I had a strong emotional attachment to that dinosaur of uncertain lineage—indeed it wasn't even a proper Triceratops or Stegasaurus, instead it was some hybrid of the two that I don't think ever existed. Nevertheless, that toy was mine and we had taken baths together!
He came from China, or at least that's where he was born, and I don't care how many million brothers and sisters he had, THAT one was the one I wanted. I almost wondered why my Dad hadn't jumped in the river to rescue him. In fact I nearly considered asking him to do so, pronto.”

A deeply-moving anecdote Dylan sent to me in an email recently—I hope everyone else finds it as entertaining as I did!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Life as I know it is rapidly collapsing around me. What's going on? Where have all the morals gone? Has true poetry ceased to exist? Can you handle my infinite nature?

Ok, I stole that last line from a movie. But seriously, a crisis has occurred. My all-time favorite band, The White Stripes, has signed on to do a commercial for COCA COLA.

Says Jack White: "I've been offered the opportunity to write a song in a way which interests me as a songwriter."

WHATEVER, Jack. There are no excuses for your behavior. I always thought you were cool because you were AGAINST hawking lame commerical products just to get some cash. . . what happened?

I will NEVER get over this. *

*Well, maybe I will. Give me a week or two.

We had an American breakfast today for the first time in over three months! Michele, Vivian, and Cindy cooked fried eggs, fried tomatos, pancakes, French toast, bacon (ew), and hash browns for all of us! I have to say, even though I think German breakfasts are awesome, this was definitely a delicious change!

And so begins the procrastination....
Halloween photos (a little late, ich weiss)!


Me and Meredith as fellow hippies


Me and Will, who was basically dressed as white trash.


Cindy was a dominatrix, whip and all--our personas for the night kind of clashed


No recollection of what we're laughing about here (I wasn't drunk), but maybe it's at Stephen's costume--he was a self-proclaimed "gay FBI agent from the 50's."

Yes, I'm in all the pictures. What can I say? I'm my biggest fan. But it was a good Halloween weekend--I dressed up as a hippy, and I got a cute dress out of the deal, and I even got candy on Halloween day, thanks to Michele, who bought candy and brought it to everyone's room in a kind of reverse trick-or-treating fashion.

And today, to top off an exciting week, I had to clean the communal showers! Haha, I even volunteered to do it (stupid!). Actually it wasn't that bad at all, it just took over two hours, since it was only me and this girl Helene, who luckily is really nice and tolerant of my broken German, so we bonded over our favorite music and movies. Even though we don't really like the same movies and music at all, lol. Her favorite group is A-Ha! and one of her favorite movies is Top Gun...but it's alright, we can still be friends.

Ok, it's time for me to do some last-minute reading before a weekend full of READING! That's right, I have 4-day weekends now! Woo-hoo! Too bad I have enough reading to fill up every day for the rest of this semester....

Gute Nacht!

One more thing: Dylan was a banana for Halloween! So funny! I wish I could say I'm posting this pic to embarrass him, but I don't think Dylan gets embarrassed that easily!

Ouch! Jack White is sixth on a list of the top ten most egotistical celebrities, according to Teen People. He's not egotistical...he's just misunderstood!

I went to the NPD (Neo-Nazi) demonstration on Saturday (click on the pic to make it bigger), and while I didn't see any real crazy stuff going on per se, it was still a really strange feeling to actually be witnessing and in a way participating in something like that. I mean, I've always rolled my eyes when people tell me that Germany is where the Nazis live...but as I learned that Saturday, there definitely are still Nazis here, and not just five or six of them!

At the demonstration, there were probably no more than 50 or 60 NPD members, but as you can see in the picture, there were CRAZY amounts of police--I heard there were 4,000 there, which I'm pretty sure is an exaggeration, but there were definitely policemen dispersed all throughout the city. The police were also (understandibly) hyper-sensitive, so that if any protestors did something like throw a bottle at the demonstration, a group of the police would break off and chase that person down, tackling him and arresting him--I saw that happen several times, which was pretty unsettling. I also heard on the news that protestors set cars and dumpsters on fire, and there were also a few big fights--luckily I missed all of that!

Anyway, that is my summary of what the demonstration was like. I'm glad I went, despite the warning from my advisor--when else will I get the experience to see something like that? Hopefully not any time soon....

An email from my advisor I got today:

Dear Students,

Just read in the paper that this Saturday, Oct. 29 from 12.00 noon to 7:00
p.m the Neonazis(NPD) got permission from the court in Lueneburg to
demonstrate in Goettingen. This unfortunate decision is a high potential
for violence because the alternative left will have a counter
demonstration.

I strongly recommend not to go downtown during the demonstration period,
otherwise the risk of getting hurt is too high. Please consult EAP's
safety notes in our orientation handbook (p. 27) and EAP general health
and safety information under eap.ucop.edu. EAP does not want UC
students getting involved in demonstrations in the host country. Even if
you are curious and just want to watch the demonstration, I urge you to
stay away. For your own sake please take this warning serious.

Have a nice weekend and take a hike through the beautiful woods. The
weather might change soon and the foliage will be gone fast.

Elke

This email is an example of what separates the experience in Germany from studying abroad in any other country. Pretty crazy, huh?

Ok, I'm a wuss (sp?) and dropped the class where I'm the only American. I should have read all your encouraging support earlier in the week, it might have convinced me to stay, haha! But I was really busy this week, and didn't check my blog until today, when it's too late. But oh well. I figure I will be braver next semester.

BUT right now I'm signed up for six classes--30 units!! The minimum is 18, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop one class, just because it's going to kill me. My assignment this weekend: read for classes like crazy, and figure out which class to drop (perhaps the one with the most reading?)!

This is so cool! Rome is the place to be if you're an animal lover!

I'd say the only minor problem is, as the article states, "It is not yet clear how the rules will be enforced, as pets will remain unaware of their newly-acquired rights."

The stress begins...NOW!
So, second week of classes, and so much to decide! Do I want to stay in this class, because it will probably count for my major? Or should I give in to my shy tendencies, and drop it because I'm the only American in the class?
Should I do the oral presentation with other German students, or should I once again give in, and just turn in a written essay?
So far, my classes have been interesting, but very intimidating! I've heard it gets better, though, in terms of understanding what's going on, and I've also heard that the teachers are more lenient towards exchange students. I just have to remember to keep doing my yoga breathing!

I had a lot of fun tonight--I felt left out at first, because it looked like a lot of people on my floor were eating dinner together, and no one had told me about it. But when I walked by their table to go to my room, one of the people I'd already met, a guy from Spain named Manu, invited me to sit down and join them.

It turned out that the French exchange students who recently moved in were making delicious crepes for everyone, so I got to meet one of the girls from France, and then we ended up passing around a teddy bear that Manu had brought with him (not sure why), and everyone had to sing a children's song from their country and make the teddy bear dance to it! It was so random, but it was really fun too, because there were people at the table from Germany, Spain, America, Japan, France, and Poland!

Definitely a nice ending to the weekend.

Haha--so maybe I should learn not to take everything my teachers say literally. Apparently the story I have to read is only 36 pages--he was just trying to scare us by saying it was 70 pages! Oh, the bizarre German sense of humor....

I'm taking a class on Thomas Mann, and for our first homework assignment (due in a week), we have to read "Der kleine Herr Friedemann," a "short" story by Mann--it's actually 73 pages! And we are going to be assigned at least one short story a week!!
I guess it's starting to hit home that classes have started...and that they assign a freakin' huge amount of reading for lit classes!

I should totally be sleeping right now, but I just wanted to post this relatively funny thing I did.

You type in "[your name] needs" on google and see the top five results that come up:

1.Kate needs better keyboard usability (boring)
2.Kate needs to trust Angel (courtesy of Buffy)
3.Kate needs knits! And beads and stamps and....[trails off] (can't say that I do)
4.Kate needs a shave (very true)
5.Kate needs a priest (don't know about that one)

So...yet another fun and exciting activity if you have too much free time! :)

I've already complained to Dylan about this too much, but I'm gonna say it again: Mosquito bites SUCK! Especially when you have six on your face, like me. Of course this happens just in time for the first week of classes, when I need to make a good first impression. And I have three bites on my left hand and three on my right.

That's what you get when you leave the window open a crack because you think it's too cold outside for bugs, and then they come get you in your sleep!

COLLEEN (sorry, big name mistake--they both start with C's, ok?) might go to ITALY! At the same time that I'm in Europe!! How cool is that?! I hope everything works out, Colleen, and I'll keep my fingers crossed!

In other news, a lost Beethoven manuscript has just been found, and it just seems weird to me to read an article about something so monumental, and then read in the article that, "[The manuscript] is expected to fetch up to £1.5m when it goes on sale at Sotheby's auction house in London on 1 December." Shouldn't something like that be, like, priceless?

In yet other news, my boyfriend has unbelievably good taste in men, as he proved with the postcard he sent me from North Carolina. Talk about ON FIRE (Those curls! That thong!):


The picture is now proudly displayed on my wall.

STUPID, stupid homesickness. Why can't it just leave me alone and go pick on someone else?
Hopefully once classes start all will be better.

These candies are really good.

A family friend bought them for me in Munich, and now there are only three left. I wish I had more, so that I could eat the last three right away, but I don't know where to find more, so I have to savor them.

The above section is probably be a great metaphor for something...but what?

The trip was really good! We were gone for over two weeks, but it felt really short, and that's a good thing: I felt like we were always doing something, or travelling somewhere, or eating GOOD food! Ah, the joy of spending all your saved-up money.
I definitely spent about 1/3 of my savings on that trip, but it was worth it.




Oktoberfest: The most expensive part of the trip, b/c the hostels were in high demand, so they could charge more, and the food was like fair food--a stein of beer cost about 8 or 9 dollars! But definitely a LOT of fun, lots of crazy people, lots of standing on tables singing "ein Prosit! ein Prosit!" with strangers standing next to us. Pretty much only ate huge, delicious, pretzels, or Brezen, as they call them in the south of Germany. Since everything else was meat, of course. Met fun guys from Ireland, one of which had Colin Farrell eyebrows. Too bad I don't think Colin Farrell's attractive. :)


Salzburg: Didn't know much about this city until we got there. We only stayed one night, but the town was prettier and more charming than I expected; very scenic and cute, old buildings, Mozart's birthplace, location where they filmed Sound of Music (they showed it every night at our hostel!), and location of the largest castle in Europe, I think. The castle was really cool--we hiked up to the top of the mountain in the mist and fog, and it was all very cool. Good pizza.


Vienna: This city was nice, and gorgeous, but not as nice and gorgeous as I expected it to be. Basically a typical big city, from what I saw of it, with just more pretty buildings than you would usually find. There was an endless amount of museums, however, which is always cool--we went museum-hopping for three days in row, and saw a lot of Austria's famous painters, such as Klimt, Eger-Linz, and Schiele. Klimt's probably the most famous, he did that gold painting, "The Kiss," if anyone knows what I'm talking about.
Also saw an awesome exhibit on Ancient Egyptian and Roman relics. Could have spent a whole day there!
Oh, and of course, Vienna is famous for the little delicate cake and coffee shops. Had that several times, and I have to say, they really need to pick up on that idea in the states!


Prague: Last stop on the trip, and definitely lived up to my expectations of gorgeous-ness, and they were pretty high to begin with! Spent basically all four days in the central downtown, near the Charles Bridge, but mostly relaxed and took photos of the gorgeous scenery. The service in the Czech Republik is horrible, but that was about the only drawback of the area. Food was delicious (we all treated ourselves to a nice dinner right along the river), and the history was really interesting too. Kafka was also from Prague, so I went to a museum about him. I'd love to go back.

So that's a basic summary of the trip; 7-hour train trip yesterday to get to Goettingen from Prague, switching trains twice. Then we came back and Janelle made delicious brownies for us. Perfect ending.

Now, I believe school starts this week! Scary, but exciting!

Aaaand I'm back.
And exhausted after an awesome vacation. I promise I'll post some kind of summary of the trip ASAP. Since I know you're all sitting on the edges of your seats. :)

I'm in PRAGUE!!!!!!!
And it's GORGEOUS!!!!
I'm coming back the day after tomorrow, but I think this city is one of the prettiest I've ever been to.

That is all--I will post in more detail when I get back!

Tomorrow I begin the first step towards discovering Europe!

We're leaving at 7am to catch a train down to München, where we're going to stay for three nights, since it's Oktoberfest, and as American tourists we're practically required to visit the area! (I heard there's good shopping too...that's why I'm going.) After München, we're going to spend a couple nights in Salzburg, which is just over the border in Austria. Then we're going down to Vienna for three or four nights and then after that to Prague (which I'm probably the most excited about), and then back to good ol' Göttingen, just in time for our mandatory advising sessions to pick classes for first semester.

It's so weird that I've been here for over a month, and school hasn't even started yet! Hopefully once all of the Germans come back for school, it will be even easier to make friends!

So I'm going to be gone for at least a week, probably more like two. Hopefully everything will go as planned! Wish us luck!

On the set of My Doorbell. Siiigh. I love them.

According to this article from BBC, there are certain names that children have where teachers can already tell by the kid's name if he'll be a problem child or not.

"According to the website, names which get a negative response from teacher include those with hyphens, like Bobbi-Jo, ordinary names with unusual spellings such as Kloe or K'tee, Kristopher, Jayne, Gyaike and Chevaughn, plus the various spellings of Jordon.

Names which teachers associate with delightful children include Kate, Gregory, Sean, Charlotte, Jamie, Daniel, Lucy, Isobel, Ben, Sam, Harpreet, Imran, Asam, Alice and Joseph."

I guess it was in the cards for me. :)

I was called Satan's mistress yesterday. I have to say, that was a new one.

A very Happy Birthday to Cammy on her 21st!

I just downloaded "Danger! High Voltage" by Electric Six featuring Jack White, thanks to Hannah's heads-up. I love it! It's hilarious to picture Jack White recording this song--it seems so random for him, like he's kind of trying to be something he's not, but at the same time, it works really well. I am very entertained.

Pictures from the barbecue we had at my friend Mary's house last night (Friday). It was really fun, because they had only officially invited about six or seven people, and it ended up that literally EVERYONE in all the German classes we're taking came! Needless to say, the alcohol and food was gone in a matter of minutes (it seemed like)! But it was definitely nice to chill with people outside of class.


Sean "Jack Daniels" manning the grill (or dancing with it?)


Me and Meredith (who has GREAT taste in music, btw), enjoying kebabs


Me and Janelle


Definition of a party

So...why is John Mayer starting to look like Jack White? And now apparently with the new "John Mayer Trio," he's playing blues-rock music? Has someone finally realized that Jack White is the only musician right now worth emulating? Ok, maybe not the only musician, but still.


Maybe he'll change his name to Jack Mayer.

So I recently fell in love with this "band" but it's more like one guy apparently, called The Mountain Goats. Anyone heard of 'em? I guess they're from Portland, and very indie, because I can't find any of their CDs over here!! I could buy it on iTunes, but I just really like having the CD itself, ya know? Ok, just wanted to vent. And make it known, that if some kind soul wants to buy and ship it over here...I might just pay you back....
--------
Oh yeah, and today we read this really funny (yet slightly disturbing) article for my German class in Der Spiegel, which is the most respected magazine in Germany, and probably a lot of Europe too. The article was printed right after "Arnie" got elected governor, and it was basically saying that his election was proof that California was going downhill. There was literally nothing good said about our state! The article started out with this long analogy of the Golden Gate Bridge, and how it used to represent so much and be so admired, but how today the paint is cracking off, and people are committing suicide by jumping off it, and people are forced to ask tourists for money to support its upkeep....

Then they had these pictures of a collapsed freeway in Oakland right after the earthquake in '89, as if that's the way all of our freeways look now! They also had a picture of a "latino gang" drinking beer out of a truck and looking really dangerous, saying that most of the immigrants today in California are illegal. And that part might be true, but still!

It was all pretty amusing, because the article just made it look like everyone should be getting out of California as fast as their legs can carry them!

I got this from Cammy. The dangers of bread can never be overly stressed. Inform Yourself Now!

Today I bought running shoes for €110! Whoa...still recovering.
[ps- That's like, $136.59. Just thought you should know.]

Me and funny Sean from Berkeley at our "Fiesta" we threw on Friday. I actually wasn't drunk at all, despite what the picture may lead you to believe.

Can I just post something? The trend of taking pictures of yourself with a digital camera in the mirror has to stop. I mean, at least don't make it obvious that you took the picture yourself, with the camera reflected in the picture!! It's so freakin' lame!
Ok, that is all.

Pictures!


Vivian and Janelle made Cindy a beer bong for her 21st birthday on Friday


Vivian took a "hit" (is that what you call it?)--no one was sure if she was gonna make it, as you can see in this pic, lol


Me and Cindy at a bar later that night


Saturday night--bar hopping! I got a chocolate shake and Janelle got a strawberry pina colada at this place. Yummy!


Random pic from Weimar--I just felt the need to pose in front of the Bratwurst stand. GO VEGETARIANS!

Ok, I'm done posting for a while, hopefully. Now I have to work on my oral presentation for tomorrow. Yikes!

Oh my gosh! So I was biking back from ice cream this evening, and this little creature comes running across my path--it was a hedgehog!! So cute! I got off my bike and followed it to the bush as it tried to run away from me as fast as it could--my first experience with the "wild animals" of Germany!

Ps-I wish we had Labor Day here.

It's so annoying, because I bought this cute notebook a couple of weeks ago, with the intention of keeping a journal of my trip to Germany. But I'm so used to typing everything, and especially with this blog for over two years, I feel like I'd rather just put it online. But what if my blog "crashes," or something like that--I know I probably won't be able to read my blog in something like 20 years, right? And of course there are personal things that I want to write, and I can't put those in a blog.

Aargh! I wish I had more motivation to put things down in writing!

So I finally watched the White Stripes video, My Doorbell. So cool! Did you know it was filmed at the Magic Castle? And that I've BEEN there, even though you have to be a magician to get in, or have an invitation? That's right, I had an invitation. My grandma won it at an auction, I think. Good times.
Anyway, back to the video--it's funny, because basically the whole video is Jack and Meg doing a show for a bunch of little kids, and everyone's dressed like it's the 20's or 30's. And I have to admit, the juxtaposition of adorable little children next to the creepy (yet totally awesome!!) Jack White is a little weird.
But I still like it a lot. And that is the end of my commentary for now.

This is basically all of the girls I hang out with on a regular basis, throwin' up gang signs and about to party pre-Black Music Night. Good times!

I'm taking the ILP language class for 8 units! Wow. That seems like a lot of units, but at the same time, I'm glad that I'll be getting credits for two classes-worth during these five weeks of work. Now I just need to actually participate in class discussions so that I get a good grade!

I had no internet for THREE FULL DAYS. That doesn't sound so bad, but for some reason, I was really feelin' the pain, I guess because I need to do a crapload (pardon my French) of online research for class this week, and because of my need to check everyone's blogs religiously.

AAH! The mood swings I have in Germany cannot be healthy.

A word of advice to any fellow travelers to Germany:
Don't visit a former concentration camp when you're going on only 3 hours of sleep. I mean, the place is already emotional enough with a good night's sleep. I learned this the hard way.

Today, we went on a field trip to Weimar (home of the former Weimar Republic), which is a really gorgeous, although almost too pristine and gorgeous, and then we visited the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Because of Black Music Night at the Club, I ended up going to bed at 4am and then waking up at 7pm. Good times, except that I couldn't really handle the concentration camp.
Needless to say, I'm going to sleep now! Mucho Hausaufgaben dieses Wochenende!

I find this idea a little weird. But interesting.

ps-Going to Black Music Night at the Savoy Club tonight! We all love the name, so now we have to find out what it's actually like.

Un-chronological, random pics from Berlin:

First pic-the Brandenburger Tor, first stop on our tour. You can see our SUPER enthusiastic tour guide, Chris, in the red shirt.

Second pic-riding in the train to Berlin! We were so excited, even though we thought we had to cram into a space on the floor between cars for two hours--turns out we were allowed to sit in the "reserved seats," but we didn't find that out until the trip back!

Third pic-eating a donut that cost--I'll never get over this--1 Euro and 10 cents. That's like, $1.25 or something like that. I got it at freaking Dunkin' Donuts. But it was pretty good.

Fourth pic-Going clubbing! Or so we thought. Cindy, Vivian, me, Erika, and Mariana, a Brazilian girl who roomed with us in the hostel and joined us in the search for a club. We ended up getting too lost and tired to find anywhere, and just went to a bar instead. Good times.

*WARNING: Complaining Ahead*
Scheisse!
Yes, I've taken up German swearing again. I think I have a good reason to--I have a test on German politics the day after tomorrow...met with another girl in my class today to figure out the basic governmental system...and didn't understand it at all. I mean, I think is politics is (are?) interesting, but I don't need to know the MINUTE details! We can only hope to find someone else in the class who gets it better, and then of course explain it all to us!

I will leave you with this image for today, to ponder its meaning.*

*And no, the pic's not from Berlin--it's from some weird little mini-Germany near Goettingen. Some Berlin pics to come! It was a great trip! I just think this pic is the most fun right now.

I have so much work to get done for these language classes...two big presentations and a big paper within about four weeks...nevertheless, we're going to BERLIN for the weekend! Woo hoo! Leaving in an hour for the train! Me and four other girls are staying in a youth hostel that happens to be just 15 minutes from the Berlin Zoo, and I am very excited about that. Unfortunately, it looks like the people I'm going with don't have too much of an interest in going there. I'm gonna try and convince them...and if it doesn't work, there's always next time!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Ok, I have internet from my dorm now, yay! Today, I have been in Germany for a week--and things have been going pretty well. I think the only part of my trip that isn't going quite as I'd like is that I haven't really met any Germans. Oh, those Germans--always so open and friendly. Not. Actually, there are only about two or three people moved into my hall now, since school doesn't start until October. But I always say "hi" in the hall...no major conversation yet, not even a "So, are you American?" Ah well, I'm sure something will happen eventually.

Also, we had two German "orientators" for the first week to show us around and stuff, two girls named Catharina and Judith, who were basically grad students at Goettingen, and they were both really cool. Catharina is very sarcastic and funny, and Judith is just really sweet and helpful--when you try to be sarcastic with her, she just doesn't pick up on it.

The only other minor thing I have to complain about is: it is August here (as I assume it is in the States as well), and yet it is raining practically every day. I thought it just rained every day in the fall and winter, but apparently the wet months have started earlier this year! I definitely didn't bring enough warm clothing, but I guess that's what shopping is for! And the sun came out today. For like, half an hour. Good times.

Well, I'm going to a potluck-thingy with the other UC kids in fifteen minutes...better go. Wish me luck with those Germans! (And the freakin' German language.)

I am in Germany! I have been here five days, and I still don't have internet! And this keyboard is very confusing, because the y's and the z's are mixed up! So when I tzpe it looks like this. But ah well. Everzthing is going prettz well. . .mz group walks EVERZWHERE, until we can manage to get ahold of a bike (zeah, Göttingen is a bike town, just like Davis--woo hoo!). I've met a good amount of cool people from other UC schools, and the food hasn't been that bad--there actuallz ARE vegetarian options! :)
I will post more when I get internet at mz dorm, and the kezboard is easier to work!

But mz address is, if anzone wants to write me (wink wink):

Rosenbachweg 2-311
37075 Göttingen

Tschuß!

AAUGH! My sister has suddenly become obssessed with the band Queen. And therefore she must play their songs at relatively loud volumes throughout the house. No one is safe. WHY?

I just had to post that to vent my anger, since my parents don't seem to commiserate at all.

Ok. . .I'd like to say goodbye to all of my friends before I leave to Germany, but there's just no way to organize it all this fast. So, if you want to see me before I go:
Meet at Starbucks in the Pavilions parking lot this Friday at...let's say 6pm? I'll be there, sitting by myself, hoping to see people. How's that sound?

Corie, you better be there! :) And if you can't be there, then we should get together before then, okeeey?

Five more days...haven't started packing yet...but the most important thing I have to accomplish before I leave is...finishing HARRY POTTER! Woo hoo! Priorities, man.

ps-I like how the latest Harry Potter cover matches my blog color scheme. Spendiferous!

I finished The Secret Life of Bees, and to answer Kaylan's question, I Loved it! It's definitely been a while since I read a book that I enjoyed that much, even though Memoirs of a Geisha was pretty good too.
Although the Bees book is described as the ideal book for "that special bond between mothers and their daughters" or something like that, I swear it's not that cheesy, and it could also be just as appealing to boys, in my opinion.
I recommend it!

In response to Corie's comment, and to give everyone time to prepare for the great emptiness that will fill their existance once I'm gone: I leave to Germany August 7th. So I have one more week of work next week, and then a week off, and then I LEAVE! But not for forever, thankfully.

In other news, my sister gets back from Costa Rica tomorrow! I'm spending so much time at LAX this summer--dropping off Leah, meeting Cammy, picking up Leah, leaving myself!

PS-More bombings in London suck. A lot. That's all I can really say about that.

Hooray for the beach! Summer is truly here, no matter how fleeting!

I've been meaning to post about this for a few days....
Kaylan went to D.C. and sent me the coolest souvenir ever!



It's a "Smush Bush" toy!!!



I have big plans for this little guy...he's definitely accompanying me to Germany, and being displayed prominently in my room, to make sure that all the Germans know that I am not one of the Americans who voted for him!

Thanks, Kaylan! You're awesome! :)