Just school

Well I only have about a month left and have only been really busy with school. I just go to the gym, go to class, play games. Tomorrow is my last day of my Aufbaukurs (intensive speaking course) so that will help lighten the load but then next week I have THREE projects due...not sure how that happened. Oh well, at least they'll all be done then. I really need to take at least 2 more trips before I leave. I might take a trip every weekend till the end of July. I could at least explore more of southern Germany since it's pretty cheap. There is a bus that goes to München daily for cheap. I got something I can work on as far as sewing/crafting. I have been dying to work on something and Mom sent me a box with stuff to make the Hobbs plushie for my friend. This is what every box they have sent me looks like...

USPS is really mean to the boxes now. I even had an Etsy customer tell me that their order came with a huge hole in it. Thankfully nothing inside was hurt but still... Glad they didn't send me anything fragile. I also ordered a Monster High doll because I have been wanting a Ball-jointed Doll for a long time but they are VERY expensive. So this will just have to do for now. I have seen some amazing face-ups and remakes of these dolls on Deviant art so I can't wait to start on that as well.

She's so cute ^_^ My family finds it funny that I'm 24 and playing with dolls when I only ever played with dinosaurs and stuffed animal as a kid haha So yeah, I hope to have some pictures soon but I've just been hanging out with friends around town so nothing exciting. Going to lunch with my tandem partner tomorrow and then working on projects the rest of the day. I want to go to Reutlingen this weekend if it's nice again. Bis dann!

Japantag

Wow, sorry it's taking me so long to upload all these! I just get sick of doing it and then forget later haha Here are my Japantag pictures! Once again being very picky. My host was really nice and gave me a tour around the city when I got there around lunch. We just stayed in and she made me dinner and we talked and drank a couple glasses of wine. Evidently Düsseldorf has a huge Japanese population so that's why they hold this event there. I went to the event early and beat the crowd. I looked at all the vendors and a couple of the events they had going on. I took a break at lunch time and went back to my host's apartment. When I came back only about an hour later it was so packed. You couldn't view anything at the vendors because the lines and crowds were so big. I did take some more pictures and saw a few more events. It was a lot of fun but it started raining and I was so tired by Saturday after 8 days of traveling so I only lasted a till 6pm instead of staying for the fireworks and everything. On Sunday I got up very early and took a car back to Tübingen and got here at 12. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do a lot more traveling in the 2 months I have left.

 Around Düsseldorf before Japantag

 I love the flags for their city! They're happy faces :D haha

 Learn Origami

 The few things I got from the vendors as well as some presents but not posting them here ~_^

Walking around Köln

On Wednesday I left Berlin around lunch and went to Köln. I was unable to find a couchsurfer so I stayed in a Hostel. I settled in and then walked around just a bit. I got a 4 person room all to myself which was very nice but the next day I had to move to a different room because they had a lot of big groups. Thursday I walked around Köln after eating the breakfast buffet at the hostel. It is a very beautiful city and would've been a lot more fun if it hadn't felt like winter the whole time. It rained and was in the 30's and 40's all day so my pictures weren't very pretty. I got to see most of what I wanted to though and got some small souvenirs. I started out at the Kölner Dom (of course) since that was the main thing I wanted to see. It was beautiful inside and, since it was really early not many people were there. They had half of it closed off because they were either doing a private tour or there was a church related event going on. Everyone was very quiet and respectful inside and I got some cool pictures. I really wish I had bought a video camera for this entire trip. I really regret it but oh well. After that I just walked around with my free map from the hostel and saw a few of the many churches as well as the shopping area, pretty statues and cafes, and then I made my way to the Stadium. Hunter likes the Köln Fußball team so I got some pictures of the FC shop and the empty stadium. I then went back to the Dom and took some pictures of the areas that were closed that morning. By that time it was packed. I don't know why but there seem to be annoying teenage American brats at all these touristy sites (I'm guessing on their rich parents money) and most of the time they are being disrespectful and loud. There were some teenage girls swearing inside the Dom...They thought it was funny because they were in a church. Thanks for perpetuating the stereo-type that Americans are loud and stupid. I would've loved to just walk around more and maybe find a local band playing that night but I couldn't find much since it was a Thursday night other than hip-hop and pop club events even though Köln has a pretty big gothic/metal scene. Plus walking around in the cold and rain had really worn me out so by 6pm I was ready for a hot shower and bed.  I didn't sleep much that night because, guess what?! I had annoying, teenage rich American girls in my room! Yay! They got drunk and came back at 2am (since the drinking age is 18 here). The next day I packed up and walked around Köln a bit more but then took a 45 min ride to Düsseldorf for Japantag. I took a LOT more pictures than this but there is a limit on blogger to how many you can upload a month. So more pics on Facebook if you're on my friends list ^_^ Enjoy.

 Früh am Dom Brauhaus

 Back inside the Dom