I fail...

So, I totally fail at maintaining a blog. Really though, anyone who knows me could have predicted that. I've had lots of free time the past month to update, so it makes sense that I'm doing it now when I should be frantically studying for the 40 minute presentation I have to research and give in less than a week (auf Deutsch...)

Anyway, let's see what internet friendly experience I can share with everyone from the past month...

December found Flensburg getting even darker. It's incredibly hard to get up at 7 when it's pitch black outside and the sun still hasn't fully risen when I get out of class at 10. It's started snowing instead of raining which is infinitely better.

December 2, we had our international student Christmas party. Everyone brought food from their home country. I made deviled eggs. I was going to attempt to make a Chicago style pizza, but we don't have room in our fridge to store something that large overnight, and I had a window of about an hour to cook.

December in Germany also means Weihnachtsmarkt! The traditional German Christmas markets are super pretty. I went to Hamburg again before Christmas and it was so pretty.

Hamburg at Night

I spent Christmas with one of my friends from Knox who hails from fair Deutschland and came home for winter break. Her mom is German and her dad American so we did the traditional German Christmas on Dec 24 and then the traditional American Christmas on Dec 25. I even got to watch A Christmas Story!

I spent a quiet New Years watching fireworks from my window and talking to the parents on Skype. It got a little more exciting than I planned when people started shooting off fireworks below my window.

This week is the start of classes again. I have 5 more weeks before the end of the semester and now the workload's starting to get heavy (so maybe I'll update more in fits of procrastination)

Thanksgiving

So as you all know, this past Thursday was Thanksgiving. And, being Americans, us US exchange students weren't about to pass up an opportunity to eat enormous amounts of food. So we decided to cook our own Thanksgiving meal.

The planning of this meal had been ongoing for over a month. Things were shipped from the States to make it as authentic as possible. The final meal ended up being: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, croissants, rolls, and cupcakes for dessert. I put together a nice bruschetta appetizer for people to eat while things were cooking. We also had a representative from both Poland and Germany.

True to the Great American Thanksgiving Traditions, we had our own turkey disaster. As in, we took the turkey out and it wasn't cooked all the way through. Thankfully, the breast was cooked, so we carved that out and stuck the rest back in. As far as I've heard, no one has died (and it's been 3 days) so I count that a win. I will try to post pictures, but my computer is being stupid and giving me trouble.

Now, after our dinner, we found out that their was a Glühwein party going on at the Kindergarten behind our building. Free all you could drink Glühwein and Bier (as long as you brought your own cup). There's something to be thankful for.

I hope everybody in the States had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Bis nächstes Mal!

The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow

So it's been a while since I updated this thing. I've settled pretty well into life here, nothing overly exciting has been going on.

We had Daylights Savings a while ago (a week before y'all in the States did) and now it gets dark super early. Daylight's taking it easy, only working 9-5. And that's if there's not the obnoxious cloud cover. It also rains pretty much 5/7 days a week. I've started taking Vitamin D supplements.

Classes have been going okay. Nothing overly exciting, but I'm liking my linguistics classes a lot (surprise, surprise). My reunification class might be the death of me - I can't get through it without a headache because the professor talks sooooo fast and after about an hour my brain decides "Too.Much.German" and shuts down.

Christmas Markts are starting! I'll have to get up early next Saturday and go. I'm so excited!

Deutschland? Party-land!

What does an exchange student in Germany do when she's been here for 5 weeks with NO classes? She parties hearty, that's what!

Okay, that's not exactly true. We had an intensive German language class for 3 weeks. But it was pretty useless and therefore did not halt the party train. Classes were supposed to start this past week but then they didn't. Apparently that's normal. Okay. When in Rome and all that.

So I supposedly have my first class tomorrow: Einführung in die interkulturelle Lingustik. I'm pretty nervous since it's in German, and the only class I'm taking without at least one other international student. So of course it's first.

Because I know you are all interested, here are the other classes I'm taking:

• Die deutsche Wiederveriningung 1989/1990 (German Reunification 1989/1990)
  
• Kinder und Jugendbuchklassiker aus didaktischer Perspektive (Childern and Young Adults Literature from a Didactic Perspective)
  
• Das politische System der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (The Political System of Germany)
  
• Introduction to Lingustics (Introduction to Lingustics)
  
• Spanisch III (Spanish III)
  
• Deutsch III (German III)

Hopefully this will be enough for a semester worth of credits back at Knox.

And hopefully no one will ask me to talk tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht?

...Ich habe nach Hamburg gefahren!

Saturday was a happenin' trip to Hamburg. Hamburg's about two hours away so I got to experience the joys of the German rail system (far superior to Amtrak). It was fairly cheap. One round trip ticket costs 30 Euro, but 5 people can ride on it. For you less mathmatically inclined, that's 6 Euro a person. It was pretty rainy while we were there, but it was still a good time. And we ate at a Portuguese restaurant and I ordered a porkchop, which I had been craving for a while. And good food = happy Ariana.

For all you poor souls stuck in corners of the globe less fabulous than Germany, here are some pictures, so you can live vicariously through me. I have it on good authority now, that some members of the Bublitz clan are reading this blog, so I'll have to start taking pictures of food, since that's really the most important thing.

Oh, those crazy Germans

I had a couple run-ins with "the Germans" these past couple days. Usually, leaving my little campus bubble (which I do frequently, thank you very much) doesn't result in too much pain or suffering. But yesterday I received a notice telling me I had to go pick up my package at some place called the "Zollant". I was more concerned about getting to the Zollant than what is was, so I looked up the address on google maps, figured out which bus I needed to take, and headed out. I thought I was incredibly lucky because I wouldn't have to change buses at any point.

So I get off at my designated bus stop, Industriehafen, and proceed to look for the building. This building had to be the most nondescript public office ever. Once I figured out that it was the building I wanted I went inside handed them my package slip and thought that would be that.

And that is when I discovered what Zollant means. It's a customs office. And the customs officer proceeded to interrogate me for a good ten minutes.

Customs officer: Who's the package from?
Me: My mother
CO: Why's she sending you a package?
Me: What?
CO: Is it a gift?
Me: Sure...
CO: What's in the package?
Me: I really don't know *look down at the declaration form my mom sent* Um, some shoes...
CO: New shoes?
Me: ...my shoes.
CO: So is it a gift?
Me: Yes?
At this point he leave to go get my package, he comes back and hands me a box cutter.
CO: Is it private?
Me: What?
CO: Can you open it?
Me: Sure...(Was saying no really an option)
I open it, he looks inside for like 5 seconds and then his superior walks by
CO: It's a gift, can I let her have it?
Superior: *looks at the box, looks at me, shrugs and walks off*
CO: It's okay, you can take it.
Me: ...Thanks?

Then today, the bus driver called me out on the fact that I didn't present ID with my bus pass. It's a stupid rule, because they don't look closely enough to see the name of the bus pass or ID and most bus drivers don't care. On the way home, I decided not to push my luck and presented my driver's license with my bus pass. Good thing too, because it was the same bus driver and he recognized me. "At least you learn fast" Thanks, bus driver dude.

Anyway, classes start next week so I should get on with picking those.

Shopping and Koalas

It's been a busy week here in Deutschland. Work all day, Party all night. It's a hard life, I know.

Finally got all my visa and money stuff worked out, so I'm good to go. Still need to buy a coat, though.

I just got back from grocery shopping, which is always an experience. I actually hate shopping in foreign countries. Everything is different and half the time I just cross my fingers and pray that what I think I'm buying is what I'm actually buying. By the way it's basically impossible to find a pizza that doesn't have weird things on it.

I also haven't gotten the whole packing your groceries yourself thing down to a science yet. Everyone here is great at getting all their groceries into their cart/basket while simultaneously paying, getting their change, and hightailing it to the little side counters to pack everything up before the cashier starts scanning the next person's items. I really don't move that fast.

However there is one thing that makes up for all my difficulties...brace yourselves for extreme jealously

That's right guys...Germany has Koala Yummies. Can life get any better than this?