Classes, Germany, Computer????

Hello Everyone!

Well as you can tell from Matt's Post yesterday, classes have started! And he is absolutely right, the experience was a humbling one, not to mention boring and frustrating. We have two teachers: Feleica Lucht (she is a german professor at Michigan State University(We love her)), and a woman who is German and comes from this area; however, she is not a teacher and therefore..... I find her classes boring. I feel that her classes really have no point. We sit and listen to German examples (speaking, talking in the Trainstation, etc) for 1.5 hours. It is so boring (I am sorry to say so, but she is not a teacher in real life for a reason). However, Frau Lucht is wonderful and I enjoy her portion of the class much more. How it works is we have classes from 9-12. German 340 (oral german 3rd year), and German 420 (Advanced German). I am in 420, Matthew is in 340. The classes are basically the same thing, except the homework is different.

So in class we are taught from 9-10:30 by one teacher, at 10:30 we have a 5 min. break, and then from 10:35-12 we are taught by the other teacher. Matt's Class is taught first by Frau Lucht and then the German woman, and mine visa versa. So Matt has a lovely first half of the class and I the second half of the class. We both enjoy Frau Lucht a lot and she is very nice and fun to have classes with because her activites are fun and exciting and we usually play a game. Today we played pictionary with the New German volcabulary.

Yesterday, we had two sets of class from 9-12 and then 1:30-? because Thursday is a holiday in Germany and therefore we will not be having classes. So our lunch break was from 12-1:30 during which emotions ran high (crying involved), but it was quickly resolved and chocolate ice cream was purchased! I think ice cream makes everything better :). There is a huge chess board in Mayen, and after buying ice cream we went to it and played chess. The 1st game was against two girls in our program, and the 2nd game which lasted for the greater part of the lunch break was played between Matt and I, which eventually turned into half of our Mayen group, those who know how to play chess, an old German man, and I against Matt and a few others.

It was the most fun game ever, we had such a great time, people watched us, and one old German man stuck around till the end. I talked with him, asking him for advice, and inturn, I think I made a pretty good ally! I did however in the end lose. But it was completely worth it because it was the most fun I think our entire group has had together thus far!

After classes we went to the grocery stores as matt said and the evening was finished out with a very, very stressful booking of hostles for 2.5 hours and then Beer in a local Kniepe, the proprietor of which, was very nice to us.

Then home to do homework and sleep.

However, Matt did not update you on our trek through the woods and our lovely tour of "Schloss Burresheim." So we started off on our trek from the altes Rathaus in der alte Stadt Mayen (from the old court house in the old inner city of Mayen). It took us quite some time to reach the forest and once there we were there forever. The hike through the forest was indeed a hike!!! But it was so beautiful. An older German man led the way through the woods to Schloss Burresheim and Matthew and I chatted with him along the way. We talked about different trees and their names in English and German, about Musik (Opera Musik, and how Matthew would one day become a big star!!! ;) also about Mayen, etc). He had a good time chatting with us and
I believe we gain at least 10 or more new words per day.

An hour and a half later we finally reached Schloss Burresheim. It is a beautiful castle and reminded me a lot of the castle "Burg Eltz." Apparently the two are sister castles so they say, and I can see the resemblance in apperance and what not.

We reached the Schloss, took pictures of the outside castle, the castle gardens, surrounding landscape, and the the horses on the Castles property (hehe). When we reached the inner part of the castle, we all sat down to rest for a moment, because it was quite a hike from the inner city to the castle. I do believe there is a faster way to get there, however, I think we took the scenic route. (Matt and I definatley feel we will lose weight here with all the walking we will be doing, yay!!!). Anyways, we went on our tour, and it was quite long I will add, I believe it took around 45 mins. In which we had to stand that whole time (most of us, meaning at least me, our feet were throbbing (me, because I just bought new tennis shoes for this trip) :( poor feet.

The tour, again, was completely in German, however, I can not be sure that I understood even most of it. Yes I got the general idea of things, but our tour guide spoke so quickly and there were si nany words that he used that neither I nor Matt knew. It was however a lovely castle and Matthew's first, so a hip hip hoorahy for Schloss Burresheim!

There were so many interesting things in Schloss Burresheim. There was a bearskin rug, a painting of weaponry that looked so real, I honestly thought I could pluck it from the wall, a globe, probably the biggest I have ever seen at least as large as....probably my kitchen table back home. there was also a chapel and a room for the preist that lived there with the family. The family that once lived in Schloss Burresheim did not either want to go to town or had the time to go to town for church so they built their own chapel in their house essentially. Interesting for sure! There was also an indoor bathroom, meaning a little room attached to a reading room in which there was a sitting place with a hole cut in it that I believe just dumped bathroom waste on the outside of the castle. (messy).

There were also several kitchens, Two winter kitchens in the castle, huge, with absolutely enormous open stoves, I can't even explain what I mean here it is like the size of a walk in closet with a fire pit, and there they would cook. Insane!!! but really cool. they also had a summer kitchen outside on the inner part of the castle.

After our tour, we took a group photo in front of the Schloss with Frau Lucht's camera (I must get that picture from her) and went back on our way through the woods for another 1.5 hour hike.

I will for sure put that on this blog when I get it!

Upon arriving home, my roommates and I rushed home for dinner prepared for our host family and eaten with them. It was a lovely dinner consisting of baked chicken, noodles with a really tasty sauce that I am not familiar with and a cucumber-tomato salad! It was sooooo good! Afterwards, Tobias, who had spent the night at his girlfriends, needed a ride home. The host mom "Mariana" needed to go fetch him and invited the girls and I to tag along! We did and what a tag along was it! Mariana drives very fast and gave us a lovely view of the area. Tobi's (as we fonderly call him) girlfriend lives a small town 20 mins from Mayen, so we went to pick him up, drove around for awhile, and went home.

Tobi, immediately upon arriving home, went to eat (the whole ride he kept complaining how hungry he was, we laughed and made fun of him). Matt called and we invited him over to watch Indian Jones und der Heilige Gral (and the holy Grail). He arrived and the party began. Marianna(mother), Eckhard (father), Tobias (son), Laura, Paula, Matt, and I drank beer and wine and watched Indian Jones on T.V.

We had such a great time because Mariana kept saying how the blod nazi girl was "zu blond" (too blond) and then we also started saying it. We also called her a schlampe (not a nice word in english) and had a good time jsut listening to the film in German! By the end I feel we were all pretty relaxed and were just happy to be in eachothers company. Matt eventually went home after the film had finished and everyone was so exhausted from the days events that we all slept like rocks! It was a good time overall!

Now to Today! So far: and its now 6:31pm, we had class from 9-12. Then everyone who is going to Salzburg and Munich this weekend went to activate their Eurail passes and reserve our trainseats. After everything was completed it was time for lunch, which turned out to be Currywurst mit Brötchen! (currywurst (like a sausage type white meat) with a hard roll). It was so tasty and at the Imbiss (where on ebuys currywurst), there was a lady with her three Shih tzus. They were so cute, we (meaning Matt, then the other Matt in our group, and I) talked with her about her dogs, how sweet they were, their temperaments, how old they were, their names, how I have 2 Shih tzus, etc. She was so sweet and.... exactly like my mother, feed them basically everything from what she ate. She only fed them brötchen (because she said the wurst was so tasty and then they would always want some). However, she also said, how can I ever get fat, when I am always having to share my food with them! lol, it was fantastic and she was very sweet with us.

Matt and I then verntured into Mayen meaning all around the old city to find a PCI card for my computer because it was built before the time of ethernet chords etc. My old laptop on has space for a phone line, no ethernet chord, so I am out of luck. I cannot hook up my computer to anything and we don't need to write any papers on the computer, only by hand, so I basically brought my computer to Germany for nothing!!! Schade (sadness)

In all the places we went, no one had what we needed, so right now, I am contemplating mailing my computer home. What do you guys think? too expensive maybe?

Anyways. After that Matt and I came to my house and did homework which took quite some time and my roommates are currently cooking dinner. After which we will go back into town to a local bar and play Yuker. I think thats how its spelt, its a card game.

Well, now that I have told you all, I will resign myself to seeing how dinner is coming! I hope you are all doing well and know that we miss you.

Bis Dann!

Emily