An attempt to describe week 2

This past week I finished up my German intensive course and spent my weekend sharing meals and travelling with German students and some of the other exchange students (American and French).

A few things from the week:

The student house where I live(similar to a co-ed co-op) is a morning-person's paradise. Every school day at 8am, the kitchen erupts with the sounds of singing and mad breakfast-making. It was a total novelty to me that so many people could wake up with such enthusiasm. Here, when I hear someone say "Guten Morgen" I feel like they are trully wishing me a good one, even if that someone is clutching a Coke to their heart and nursing a hangover. I don't have any fear of offending someone with a cheerful hello.

This weekend I drove to Heidelberg with two German students, Claudius and Philip, and two American students, Afton and Charlie. The Autobahn is amazing. 180km seems very efficient to me. And drivers know how to get out of the fast lane when someone's right behind them.
We took a detour past the Audi plant. Unfortunately on Saturdays the new car models aren't test driven so we didn't get to see much.

Heidelberg was fun because of the good company, however, it was slightly touristy. I heard a lot of languages including "American" English. It is so weird to hear American accents from people outside my exchange program. In Heidelberg it was apparent which people read Rick Steves guidebooks because they wore zip-off pants-that-turn-into-shorts with dri-fit hats and shirts that read "United States of America" with large brown military-like boots. I don't know why anyone would feel compelled to dress like that, but it's their life, so whatever.

On our drive back to Bad Mergentheim Claudius and Phillip asked, "Would you like to make a barbeque at home?" Hm, yes, I would like to make a barbeque, but no, I don't have the welding skills. . .not my exact thoughts but I did wonder how to BBQ without a grill ("Frankie's Place," as we named our old-person-sanatorium-turned-dormitory-by-Herr-Frank-Buckel, had no barbeque). At about 9pm we bought a barbeque which took an hour to assemble. At 10:00pm we started making dinner (potato salad, pasta salad, garlic bread, fruit salad, vegetable salad, chicken, steak, bratwurst, beer and wine and if I forgot something else, doesn't matter, there was plenty of food. ) We ate dinner at about 12am and I made it to bed by 2am. It was fun to deliriously cook food.

In the middle of the BBQ I told the German students that "Ich werde von jetzt bis morgen nur Deutsch sprechen" - I will only speak German from now until tomorrow morning. They held me to it and whenever I spoke English they gave a blank look. It is exhausting to figure out how to say everything but it is also hilarious and rewarding. . .I often email after spending several hours speaking and listening in German so if my verbs are placed all over the sentences, don't pay it any mind.

Love you friends!

Haben Sie ein gute Tag!