Haven't written for a while again..wow...Well lucky for everyone, you won't have to deal with it anymore because this will be my last entry. I'm writing from the amsterdam airport since I ended up with a long lay over. Wednesday night, I couldn't believe that Spain beat Germany...I guess Germany can recoup since Spain ended up winning the World Cup, but regardless, it's ridiculous. Thursday my class presented out creative projects. One group did a student's travel guide to Berlin, one of the guys presented his top five favorite parks in the city, Kris and Nathan made a rap video in German..pahhahaa, Lauren's group made a drama called "Oh Wie Schoen ist der Doener"..ahhahahaha, and we did a sketch about our class full of our inside jokes including...Vitamin K, "In Spanien...", "Sag waaaaaaaaaas???", spaaaaaeeet, schmutzig Tafel, and many more! That evening finally visited Marienkirche and realized that I'd walked by it at least 100 times before. Also went "shopping" with Natalie and Emilia and then we ventured to Curry 36 on Merringdamm for the "best" currywurst in Berlin...my stomach didn't agree but it was the best mayo that I had in 6 weeks :).
Friday was the last day of the course with our final and then a little party. Had a huge German breakfast equipped with schrippe, cold cuts, cheese, and too many spreads and juices to count. Epic. Afterward a few of my classmates and I sat in a park area near the main campus and waited until the farewell ceremony with FUBiS. Ceremony was a little sad but had a magical buffet. Following, Emilia and I went to the Ethnology Museum. Hands down the best one that I went to on the trip. A few kids from the house had a barbeque that night to say goodbye. Lots of good food and company as always. The next morning I realized that my train had left at 3am instead of leaving at 3pm. Went to exchange my ticket and did so successfully in German :). But at my first connection had a delay, got confused and missed my connection. Ended up back in Berlin. All of that took about 6 hours and I managed to exchange my ticket again but with a few added connections...Left around 5pm and got to Koeln to my hotel about 5am on Sunday...so hot and so uncomfortable for 12 hours that I dont plan on repeating that episode ever again. Slept a bit and took a copious number of cold showers since my hotel didn't have a/c like the rest of my accomodations. Went to revisit the Koelner Dom. Very pretty of course. Went to bed afterwards and visited with family yesterday. It was a lot of fun and I think that every embarassing and/or frustrating moment that I've had while learning German was worth it just to have finally had a patchy conversation in German with my great aunt. Think she was pretty excited about it too :).
Anyway..I guess that leads to me to now...better go and double check my flight time. See everyone soon, I'm sure!! Tschuessi.

For the record, didn't have internet all weekend and its been fairly unreliable the last few days, but otherwise..my bad for not writing. Went out Friday night with a few friends to a bar and a club. Bad music, but the first place was pretty cool. Saturday was the Germany-Argentina game. Watched it at Brandenburger Tor with quite a bit of Berlin's population. AWESOME. It was outrageously hot out and I nearly threw up, but it was still worth it for the enthusiasm of the crowd...poor Argentina, though. Sunday was a little bit more chill. Saw the apartment building from Lola Rennt and went to a market. Ate a Hawaiin hot dog in celebration of the 4th lol. Some kids from my house had a party on Monday to kind of close up the program with. It was so much fun!! The next wasn't so much, though...Ended up missing school and eating some meat that had gone bad...not a winner. Todays been fairly uneventful. Had a stomach ache all day and just came home after school. Wanted to go to Schlachtensee but I can't get good directions :(. S'pose I'll just hang around the house 'til the Germany-Spain game tonight. Poor Spain...

Tuesday was wonderful. Saw my first opera, Carmen, in French of course..but with Italian accents and German subtitles overhead. It was a pretty good test for my reading, though. I actually understood a lot :)...much more than beforehand, during which I was completely unaware of the subtitles...and I know no French. Imagine how that went haha. Afterward was a pretty long commute back home and test number two of German went exceedingly well also :). Ordered a train ticket to Koeln online and then Wednesday morning, booked a hotel room for a few days. The day was spent going out with my class. We went to a museum about the Stasi regime and then visited Hohenschoenhausen, which was one of their prisons in the middle of Berlin. It really shocked me that water torture surfaced at all in a place like contemporary Europe, but I guess that says a little bit about how sheltered I am. That afternoon was a little bit of shopping at Alexanderplatz and then went to Ghost Writer with Emilia at the Cinemaxx with Emilia. I didn't really like it, but be your own judge, I guess...Yesterday was a very fun class..not that everyday isn't fun anyway..but we made waffles from scratch with ice cream. The girls' team made much better waffles, of course. Yesterday night was mainly watching German soap operas and chatting with a new housemate. Her name's Katelyn and she's from New Zealand. I'm a bit sad that I won't be here longer to get to know the people that are moving in for other classes. It's getting a little bit late for me to have no Friday night plans, but I'm content watching play backs from the Brazil/Netherlands game right now. If there's an adventure later, you'll be sure to hear about it in a couple of days :)

Friday night was pretty great :). Went out with a few girls. Holly and I met up with Lolina, Liisa, and....a really awesome girl that I talk to fairly often and can't seem to remember her name right now...We went to a bar to watch the Spain game. Yay for the win!! Then we walked a bit and found a random late night imbiss in the city and once we realized that it was passed midnight we rushed to the ubahn. missed the last bus home, but got a taxi. Finished packing after getting home and got to bed about 2 to get up at 5 to catch the bus and ubahn to school for the weekend trip to Weimar. The bus ride was a much needed nap..rather uncomfortable, but it sufficed. Weimar was very much worth it. Beautiful and the weather was perfect. Lots of sun and only a little heat. We had a very cool city tour with the funniest guide. His English was probably the funniest part, but regardless of how ridiculous his jokes sounded, they were funny :). Got to see where Bach had lived for a time and a famous hotel that Hitler stayed for an extended period. The city has so much interesting history. Spent some time in a park that we'd seen on the tour afterwards and ate raspberries and laid out and chatted. Afterward was a tour of the Goethe House. One of the most beautiful homes I've seen, and probably one of my favorite sights so far. I haven't read any of his works, but I'm inspired to do so afterward. The man had wonderful taste. Stayed in a hostel and went to a bar to watch the u.s. game...lame. Not just because they lost, but they looked ridiculous...Didn't even finish watching. Went to bed early. Next morning we all got up early to ride the bus to the concentration camp Buchenwald...I suppose I must have a very active imagination, but I was nearly in tears on several occasions just thinking about what had happened there. The children's block was the hardest part to think about...The tour guide was very good regardless of his English (it was actually the same man that had given the city tour. nice to see him again lol). The bus ride home was ridiculous. Unorganized and very late. Had a last minute cram on a group referat. It crashed and burned today, but I think I learned plenty regardless.....After school was a short trip to Wittenbergplatz, grocery shopping, dinner and soap operas, and now is catching up on emails and a few workbook assignments :). Hopefully the next couple of days will be eventful enough to write about!!

So...since Monday I have....hm...Done some homework..watched a few football games...got some material for a presentation today...Really hasn't been a whole lot happening. Hung out around the house with Emila and watched some games in the house with Sergio nd Ben nd random mingling housemates that came and went. Doing homework 'til the Germany game comes on right now and taking notes over our trip to Friedrichshain. Saw a handful of things: Warschauer Strasse and whipped by the bridge and beforehand we'd (we being Dan, Kris, and I) seen Frankfurter Tor and Volkspark. The park was my favorite. Including the older woman that we interviewed for our presentation. She laughed at the questions that our teacher wrote as suggestions...ha. So ya...nothing huge happening, but living is good :). Very pleasant place to be for sure.

After the exciting late night techno club nonsense, I did virtually nothing over the weekend. Stayed around the house mostly and watched eurovision. BUT i also cleaned my room and did homework so that's something...Today was a little different. School of course, and then a little bit of shopping. Saw a really cool band near the berliner dom today :)....And...uh....Now Sergio, Morton, Emilia, Antonella, and I are watching the Spain-Honduras game/South Park in the living room...That's pretty much it..

Hm...so what all has happened...My class went to see the East Side Gallery and some graffiti and independent artists in a REALLY sketchy neighborhood on Wednesday. It was really interesting..somewhat frightening at moments, but interesting. Watched the Spain-Switzerland game after school with Lolina (who is Spanish) and a few housemates...so painful...Next day went to a really awesome portrait museum for free due to free museum entries on Thursday nights, and did a little shopping with Emilia. Had a test on Friday. Went well, I think :). Then my class took off the afternoon to watch the Germany-Serbia together...SO painful..poor Andreas. At least he won't make fun of Lolina about Spain as much now. He knows the pain. Then chilled out at home and ended up at an Irish pub to watch the England-Algeria game. Nothing too special, but we had fun. Then we (Morton, Emilia, Gwen, Lolina, and I) went to Tressor...I can now say that I've been to a techno club. That's enough for me. Once. I did it. I live it. I was there...never again...or at least not for a while. It was kind of fun for a change of scenery, but that only lasted the first hour or so. The alcohol was outrageously expensive and the techno that they played wasn't exactly to my taste...but we did still have fun. This morning was pretty lazy. Got up to go to McDonald's for an egg mcmuffin and after walking two miles from the sign directing us to it, realized that it wasn't open for breakfast...lame. Watched German soap operas and bits of American movies with German dubs on the t.v. after Emilia and I got back from that excursion of sorts. Passed up a chance to go see the gay pride parade and go to the after party. Apparently it was disappointing so I'm not sorry about it. Saw The Prince of Persia with Emilia at the movie theatre in the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz. The option of regular popcorn or kettle corn was worth the entire experience. Movie was a little cheesy, but that's all Disney knows. Now I'm back and getting ready for bed. Probably another fairly lazy day tomorrow with more homework, though. I'll try to write more this coming week!! Auf wiedersehen.

Didn't have internet so that's why I haven't written. Didn't do much the last couple of days. Been home to get some homework done and clean my room mostly. Went grocery shopping lol. My tips scores for the world cup were doing really well!!...but I've only gotten 2 more points in the last 6 games :(. Beyond the cup there's not much happening...except a test on Friday and the referat that I finished yesterday. Didn't do so well with my adjective endings, but I think I spoke a decent amount and got the main points out at least...I gotta get to school, but tonight will be more exciting so I may write again!

The world cup started on Friday!!! That's really my big news of the moment lol. My professors gave us all sheets to guess what the scores of all the games would be and so far my guesses haven't been great, but watching the games is really fun since I have someone to cheer for all the time :). Yesterday the university planned a day trip to Dresden that I went on. It's such a beautiful city, but it kind of takes away that most of the architecture isn't the original due to WWII. Regardless, it is still very aesthetic. We went on a 2 hour walking tour through the city and afterward saw two churches and actually went to mass in the evening at one. It was interesting to attend one in German. We also toured the Semper Opera House. After the bus ride home and watching the last few minutes of the U.S./U.K. game, Emilia, Morton, and I went to a bar in Charlottenberg. It was a lot of fun, but my heads still kind of hurts lol. It was worth it just to hear the bartender tell me that my German was good lol. Since then I got locked out of the house for a few hours and then finally got in to sleep and then watched part of the algeria/slovenia game. Planning on watching the other two games and doing homework, laundry, and cleaning my room for the rest of my Sunday. Nothing too exciting, but all very necessary!

Today was a pretty slow day. Just went to school, went to the grocery on lunch, met Emilia after school, got lost a little, walked around a little, got locked out of the natural history museum (boo!!), and then ended up at another super awesome museum. The Pergamon. It's epic, but by the time we got there we were already tired so we just previewed the giant reconstructions and artifacts for next week since museums on museum island are free for students after 7 every Thursday!! Awesome. Now I'm very tired and my feet are crying so I'm going to let them rest, and hopefully my housemates will do the same...

It's been so long!!! Sorry! I forget what the last day that I posted was so I'll just recount the weekend and this week. Friday I had class, of course, and then Sergio and I just kind of waited around the house until everyone decided what they were doing. Was supposed to meet a few friends to go to a cocktail bar in Charlottenburg, but ended up following the wrong people to potsdamer platz. Then we tried to find a club called the Matrix, but Sergio and I were tired so went back and found out that there's no bus that goes by our house so we had to walk from the u-bahn station at 2 in the morning.
Saturday Emilia, Morton, John, and Morton's Norwegian friend, Monika ate brunch at the literature cafe which is apparently the best in Berlin according to John's Top 10 travel guide, and of course, it is the final word on the matter. Afterward we visited the tiergarten and got lost for the remainder of the day. Met another of Morton's friends, Lars (who is a native Berliner) and Lars' French girlfriend whose entirely French sounding name I never did catch. We all got lost trying to find the best sushi place in the area and then ended up at a very, VERY cheap one. The Emilia and I went home, and didn't miss the bus lol.
Sunday morning Antonella, Holly, Emilia, and I went to a giant market, and then went to the Reischtag with a school program which was fantastic. It's a very beautiful building and so is the view of the city from its roof. And also, the speaker was incredibly funny.
On Monday, Emilia and I went shopping after school and yesterday we went with Morton to a comic book store.
Today my class had a field trip to two art museums. We went to an exhibit called Olafur Eliason in the first and it was amazing. It was just a series of rooms full of strange things to look at. One was colored silhouttes of the people walking through it and one room just had a hose hanging from the ceiling and spraying but the room had a strobe light. My favorite was a room full of smoke with different colored lighting. Couldn't focus on a thing. First everythings totally blue and then it ends up being red. Made me wonder what kind of influence the creators had...
The second museum was full of classic paintings and we each had to give a short presentation on one that we enjoyed. There were so many to choose from, and my classmates picked some very beautiful ones.
Beyond that there's not much to share. Just got back to the house from our excursion today and I'm exhausted so I may nap and then finish my homework. I'm still not used to all the walking and the sandals I bought were too small so my feet are covered in blisters. Thank god Lolina traded me shoes for a bit or I may have to just cut them off when I got home...

Today has been fantastic. Classes were really fun. It's almost like we play games in Kindergarten all day, but I think I'm learning quite a bit. Yesterday we even went on a field trip...to a super market lol. we also had a boat tour on the Spree River, but it was over some speakers in German and we couldn't hear it. It was pretty nonetheless. Afterward Morton, John, Emilia, and I went to the next stop on the U-Bahn and found a bunch of stores, including a specialty absinthe store run by a french man that could barely speak either English or German (ha...so funny) and some nice clothing shops. We also found a Vietnamese restaurant which was very good and then we had dessert..twice. First Italian gelatto at a nearby stand and then at dunkin donut lol. Got to bed later than anticipated because the ride home after was about an hour long, but I've nearly given up on sleeping much on this trip. Today was class, lunch at a bakery with a few friends, class, and then Sergio, Lolina, and I and a new friend, Kathleen, went to Alexanderplatz to meet friends for a museum..got lost and never did find the group, but we met so many nice German people trying to find it. Same on the U-Bahn while doing homework. Anyone that's ever said Berliners are rude must being giving them a reason to be because I haven't met a single person that treated me badly hear or wasn't eager to help....regardless of my muddled grammar and tiny vocabulary...ANYWAY....We eventually gave up and went to a museum and a beautiful church that I can't remember the name of...not important comparatively because we saw the Berliner Dom. Most beautiful thing I've seen up to date. It was moving. Sergio, Lolina, and I are going to mass there on Sunday :)...Beyond that there's not much to say. Lots of walking and public transportation and great food. I need to sleep while I've got the chance so...Gute nacht!!

Another great day. First day of classes including the placement interviews for the semi-intensive and intensive German language students. I was put in the class that I anticipated, A2 as a beginner. I already think that I will enjoy the professor and I've met several of my classmates already and those that I didn't know previously seem to be just as friendly. A group of us made it to the new part of campus that our classes would be on just fine this morning and then after a tour of the whole university (which is wide spread over the city :s) I, surprisingly, managed to find my way back for the final bit of classes all by myself. After our course work one of my housemates and I rode the U bahn to Alexanderplatz and visited a mall and saw a few sites. Not a lot, but it was a start. Other than getting around the city a bit and meeting a few very polite Berliners on the street there isn't a whole lot else to tell..

ARRIVAL!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE Berlin! Had you asked me about it for the first four to five hours in the city I doubt I would've said the same thing. Flight from Chicago to Amsterdam was about seven hours. Bad in flight movie and I slept through dinner. Passable. Also, sat by two large Dutchmen...only mildly passable. Despite how large and intimidating they looked, they were very polite :). Especially the man with the butterfly tattoo. Didn't sleep well, tho, so I I haven't been able to get on a sleep schedule. Barely made my flight for Amsterdam. Five minutes to spare. Hour long flight to Berlin. Best sandwiches I've ever had. First European food. BUT my ears didn't enjoy the flight much. Five hours after arrival in Berlin...during a phone conversation...my ears finally popped. Got lost trying to get out of the airport. Finally got outside and found my bus. Met other students in the FUbis program. Followed them to their accomodations...and then realized that's not where I was supposed to go. Got a taxi to the apartments that I was meant to go to, and it turned out that the taxi driver attends the university I'm studying at. Small world, huh? He was helpful and even gave me his phone number if I needed directions on campus or anyone to tour the city with. Lovely :). After exploring a few blocks around my apartment and failed at making a phone call at a pay phone a solid ten times and left pretty discouraged with no one to talk to and nowhere to go. Back at the house, though...amazing. Met my first two housemates, Emilia and Sergio. And that was the beginning. I share the house with a little over thirty other people. Don't remember a third of their names, but I don't need to to know that they're a good time. Hung out and watched tv in the living room and then went to the market (so wonderful. I've never been so excited about a produce section or fresh breads in my life). Then several of us went to the bar in the student village and watched some strange international American Idol wannabe show and bonded over fries with mayo (when in Rome, right?). A few stragglers that couldn't sleep walked around the burbs that we're staying in and we ended up home at about 1:30. A great first day and then today was breakfast, coffee, getting caught in the rain, and then orientation with the university....so many amazing people to talk about, but I'll just wait until I have a minute to upload their photos.

Departure Day

Triple checked my list and it says I've got everything, but I'm sure I'll get to Amsterdam or maybe even all the way to Berlin and realize that I don't. Still hasn't really hit me yet that I'll be away from home this long. A couple of weeks at camp or on trips with family or church groups is the most I've done so this'll be an adventure. Going to Europe for 6 weeks by myself is a tad overwhelming, but I think I'm about ready for it, and if not...well...I'll just have to get over it! It's happening, and it's definitely for the better!!! Well I got to go if I'm gonna finish everything up!

Pre-Departure!

One day left to prepare for departure...definitely not enough time. I'll have all of the essentials. Plenty of clothes, medicine, i.d.s and passport, plane tickets..blah blah blah...BUT I've barely begun reviewing German vocabulary and I haven't finished making plans for visiting my family after the program :s. Regardless, I'm outrageously excited. Very nervous, very anxious, but definitely, also excited. I hope I can get everything together!! 'Til then!

K.K.