Einkaufen

Today I went shopping. I have been holding off doing this because I wanted to make sure I had enough money but I figured I'm going to have to buy this stuff sooner or later so it might as well be sooner. I needed a warmer hat and wanted something that was cute also so I went back to a store I had looked in earlier in the week. It is kind of a new agey type store with long skirt and other things I love. So I got this hat there and it is super warm and adorable ^_^

I also needed a coffee mug not only for my coffee but for my collection. I was going to get a German coffee mug (and will later) but I saw this one and couldn't resist. Once again, way too much cat stuff in my room. >.<

 Adorable Simon's new kitten cup :3

I was told by a former ECU and Tübingen student of a place here like Walmart called Kaufland. So I found the bus that went there and went shopping. I have been using a tupperware bowl to eat all of my food out of so I kind of needed some dishes. So now I finally have a plate, a bowl, sharp knife, wooden spoon, tinfoil, a (15€!!) coffee maker, coffee, filters, laundry soap, 2 shopping bags, produce, chicken, sandwich stuff, cookies, spices, and soup for around 50€. So I spent a little more today than makes me feel comfortable but the dishes and coffee machine are a one time buy and the laundry soap is good for at least 16 loads so I will not have to spend that much on a regular basis. I'm sure my bill at Walmart would've been about the same if not higher so I feel I got pretty good deals since everything I bought was on sale. It was not fun taking all that stuff home though. I had to ride two different buses to get home and then walk up a bunch of steps with my arms full so I got a work out today.

 

 I just made myself some delicious lunch. I have never liked many raw veggies but I actually don't mind them that much on my sandwiches anymore. This one has turkey, cheese, tomato, cucumber and pepper on it with 2 orange chocolate cookies and 2 butter chocolate cookies and the first cup of coffee from me new machine :)

I have been trying to try new things every time I go to the store. I do like having a little something sweet with either dinner or lunch and they have a ton of German candies, chocolates and cookies to choose from everywhere you go. I have tried this stuff so far and it has all been really good. The rum chocolate wasn't great because it had raisins in it but otherwise it tasted good. They have 0.49€ energy drinks here so I thought I would try one. It pretty much tasted like a Red Bull. So not terrible but I miss my monsters :( They only have a couple flavors of it here because it's new and none of them are flavors I drink.

Tonight is the final night of orientation and it is a party for all of the students and helpers. We get free food and 2 free drinks which is always good when you're a broke college student. That starts at 19:30 but I think I will go earlier because it's near the castle here in Tübingen and I haven't seen it yet so I want to check it out before it gets dark. I will be taking my camera so hopefully I will get a few pictures but we will see. I will be sure to post about it tomorrow :)

Orientierung und Bier

Yesterday was the first real day of orientation. We all met in a building on campus for Kaffee und Kuchen and met other international students as well as the leaders of the international program. I am learning to like black coffee since no one ever has anything to put in the coffee except for milk which I do not want. I met a few people. Everyone spoke English so even though I was a bit nervous to go up to anyone due to my lack of German, everyone was friendly and there were a lot of students who didn't even know German. So that made it easier. We listened to the welcome speech by the head of the school and then we split into groups. I got to meet a lot of nice people and our 2 group leaders were very nice and entertaining as well. They just told us about what we were going to need this week and what we will be doing. We also have a Abendprogramm each evening after the orientation and last night was bar hopping night! So at 8:30 we all met in front of the Deutsch Bank and then got into groups again and went to 2 different bars. Sadly I do not remember the names of either (probably should go look again) but they were both very nice. The first was like a regular bar with music playing and lots of people. We found a big table and we were all able to talk and have a drink. I asked the bartender for something local (not beer, yuck) and I also do not know the name of my drink because it got so loud in there I couldn't hear people unless they were right next to me. I just know it is made from a flower but they weren't sure of the English name of it but it was good. It kind of tasted like sweet carbonated wine but it was clear. After talking and hanging out there for an hour and a half we went to a traditional German bar. It was not crowded and there were a lot of older people there. We couldn't stay long because the bus stopped running at 12 so our one group leader Nadja ordered everyone a German pear liquor shot. I was scared to drink it because a) I don't like shots and b) it smelled like whiskey which I hate but it was also clear. One of the guys in my group was also scared to drink it so we did the shot together on the count of 3. It wasn't as bad as I thought and I said so out loud but he was making all sorts of terrible faces so that amused the 2 German men next to us. After that a girl from our group that I had gotten to know and I went to the bus stop. I don't mind it at night there. I feel very safe. I still would not want to walk alone but I don't feel worried someone will bother me. Plus even when my friend got off the bus and I had a couple more stops to go, I was never alone because there were so many students I recognized from my living area still on the bus. So I ended up going to bed at 12 which is a lot earlier than I have been due to the loud people around me but it was pretty quiet last night. Maybe people are finally starting to settle down around here *knock on wood*. Sadly I did not get any pictures last night. I didn't know what all we were doing and I didn't want anything to happen to my camera. I will try to take more pictures soon. All this lack of sleep and walking is catching up with me though. After getting up and leaving at 8am to finish my Matriculation and other errands I am wiped out. I had to sign up for an appointment to sign up for classes which took forever. 5 of us sat outside the door waiting for an hour and then it was time for their lunch break so they were like Too bad! come back at 2. So I got lunch and walked around for a couple hours. I came back at 1:45 and there was already a big line. Then it took another hour before I could get in and when I did all they did was give me a piece of paper with a time on it to come back. I'm not sure why this couldn't have been done through email or some other system. It is 2012...we don't have these things called computers. Not sure why they made us sit in a hall for over 2 hours for that. Oh well it's done now. All I have left school wise is to pay my tuition (€64), sign up and pay for classes (€15 a class and that pays for your books, how amazing is that!), and finish orientation. I found out classes start the 22nd and not this Monday so that gives me more time. I might have said that before but people kept telling me different things so I wasn't for sure what day. There is supposed to be another Abendprogramm tonight but I missed all of orientation today because of that stupid sign up thing so I have no idea where it is or what it is. I would like to go just because I enjoy meeting people and getting to know the town more, but I don't think I can take another late night. I am too tired for that again. I might just play online with friends and then go to be early. I still don't feel great so that might be the best plan. Thank you to all my family and friends for your support and for keeping up with my blog :) It means a lot to me. Ciao!

Wordless Wednesday

Rainy Day

I wasn't going to post anything today since I did nothing but I guess I will anyway. I'm still having trouble sleeping. Went to bed at a decent time because I'm trying to get used to the time changed but I woke up at 2:30 and couldn't go back to sleep. So I got online till 5am and then went back to sleep. I also feel like I'm coming down with a cold...I really hope not. The last thing I need is to get sick the first week I'm here when I need to be getting everything done. I took some echinacea and that seemed to help a bit. That stuff is magic I swear so I'll just keep taking that this week and it should keep that cold at bay. Lack of sleep is not helping that's for sure. So I didn't get my paper work turned in today. It was pouring and I would've had to walk to 4 different places around town. So I guess I'll go with the group tomorrow to turn everything in. I'm having to dish out more money. €50 for tuition and then I have to pay a monthly fee of around €70 for health insurance if they don't accept my American one (which I have a feeling they will not). So tired of having to spend money. I know after this first month it will even out but after paying for a plane ticket, luggage, rent, security deposit, ECU tuition, and supplies I feel very broke. I am trying to keep my groceries down to €20 a week and that's working so far but I feel like I'm eating too many carbs. I saw a produce market in town yesterday so I might check that out next time I need groceries since it might be a little cheaper. I really need a crock pot. I keep finding all these easy inexpensive recipes but I don't have the money to go out and buy one. A hair dryer and coffee maker are higher on my list. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow but I have to get stuff done so I can't stay inside and sleep again. I'm really bummed that I'm going to miss Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, South Park and all my other shows but by the time I get back they should be on Netflix or DVD so I won't have to deal with commercials. Only thing I've achieved over here so far is beating Borderlands 2 haha. Hopefully I will have a more exciting post soon. I will try to keep the boring posts to a minimum.

Getting Started

It was so cold this morning. I liked it but it was unexpected. It was in the 70s yesterday so when I checked the weather and it said 30F I was a bit surprised. So my trip to the bank was a very brisk one. I was able to get a Kaffee and a Gebäck from the Bäkerei across from my apartment. It was very very good. I was disappointed in the amount of coffee you get for your money. That is a Große Taße Kaffee (large) before I had even taken a sip. That's not even a small in America but it was a lot better than Starbucks haha.

 

 Frühstück

Today was the first day of new student orientation. After a very frustrating hour of trying to find where I was supposed to go (no one at the Uni even knew there was an orientation OR an international house...) I finally was able to get help and my paper work done. The girl who helped me was great and gave me a map of the Uni and told me the addresses and locations of where I needed to go as well as signed me up for the mentoring program. That was a much needed break from the usual lack of help I have been receiving thus far. I met a lot of very nice students while on my search so that was encouraging. I was going to get all my paperwork turned in today (living permit, health insurance, etc.) but right when the girl was done helping me it was 12 and everyone goes on lunch break around here for 2 hours. So I decided to just wander around for a while since I had brought my camera. I just wandered up and down streets (Tübingen is not as big as I initially thought) and tried to find places I had not seen yet. The area where I am living is not very pretty but I was able to find a lot of old buildings. Sadly a lot of them were under maintenance but what you can see is still very beautiful. By 1:30 I was starting to shake because of lack of food and water so I got a sandwich and bottled water and decided to head back home. I took the bus a little ways but then decided to walk so I could look at the area on the way to my apartment. On the way I met some kitties (of course :3) and they were all very friendly. People seem to just let their animals wander around here. I saw several cats in the neighborhood down from my place. I stopped to pet one and it came right up too me and was loving the attention. An adorable little girl got a huge smile on her face and came over too and asked me what my cat's name was (in German of course) I told her I didn't know because she wasn't mine. So I can converse in German with children, woo! Guess that's a start. People also walk their dogs a lot off leash and the dogs just stay right there next to them. Such a difference from in the US. Most dogs are not that well behaved. There's not as much traffic here either though. There's a lot of walking and biking so it is safer for cats and dogs to walk around.Well I was only going to put my pictures on here but I had way too many today so I posted more of them on my facebook so go look there for more. Tomorrow I will be turning in that paper work and maybe walking around a little bit more (although I walked from 9am till 3pm today so I might be too tired). I was able to find some interesting shops on my walk today as well as a cheaper grocery store so I might check those out. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy the pictures! I really need someone to take one of me. I just don't trust anyone with my camera haha.

 Around the Uni

 Around town

 I love the plants and flowers planted everywhere!

One of the kitties I met

Around the apartment

Here are some pictures around my apartment. There is a really nice little walking path with benches along the way. I didn't go too far because it was cold and for some reason my card isn't holding more than 14 pictures...No idea what that's about since it used to have 500 on it. Hope it didn't get messed up.

 My building

 Views from my window

 Pictures on my walk

Ich bin hier

Well after a very long and delayed flight to JFK in New York and then to Frankfurt I am finally here. The flight wasn't terrible on the way to Frankfurt. At least they fed us and there were a lot of free movies to choose from. I was able to watch the Chernobyl Diaries (it was ok) and Rock of Ages (very good) plus listen to the radio. The food sucked of course but it was better than nothing. After I finally got there it was a 3 hour drive to Tübingen so I am very thankful that I had someone to pick me up and drive me there. There was a lot of running around and trying to get me set up for my stay. My German is a lot worse that I thought. I'm used to my teachers speaking at a slower pace since we are learning. The people with me spoke German so that helped a lot as well. I was only able to get my "apartment room" (it's a dorm pretty much) and an appointment with the bank to set up an account. Since I had been up for 48 hours at that point I just unpacked and went to sleep at 8pm. My sleep was interrupted several times by loud people. Who runs up and down the hall and slams doors at midnight?! Germans evidently. Plus there were a lot of very loud (probably drunk) people outside and since there is no air conditioning my window was open. I slept till 2pm though and still felt tired. It took me 3 hours to get into town, buy a few groceries (couldn't find anything I needed), get a SIM card for my phone and then take the bus back to my apartment. The bus system is what caused it to take so long. I had to take 4 different buses to get there and back. I'm going to attempt to go to Aldi tomorrow (if I can find the bus that goes there...). They should have more groceries for cheaper than what I paid. I was so hungry by the time I got back. All I had consumed that day was a cup of coffee at a local Kafe. I bought an open faced sandwich with tomatoes, herbs and mozzarella cheese and finally ate it at 7pm. So I will definitely lose weight at this rate. I feel a little better now that I have a phone. I felt so lost without any kind of communication in case of an emergency. I am very sorry for the lack of pictures! It took so long in town that it was dark by the time I got back. I have taken some pictures of my room although they suck because of lack of outside light. I only have to go to the store tomorrow and the bank if they are open so I will walk around and take some pictures and look like more of a tourist than I already do haha. At least everyone I talked to was really nice. No one got mad at me for not being able to speak German very well. At least I tried but if they offered to speak English I was very much relieved. The weather has been pretty nice so far. It stormed when I was here yesterday but today was nice and in the 70's. Tübingen is very pretty but there is a lot of graffiti everywhere which sucks. So more pictures tomorrow! Tschüs!

 My first and only meal

 I have 3 cat things on my bed...think I might have a problem lol

I brought an adorable Neko to take pictures with :3