Week 9 (Mar 16-20) And another exciting weekend.

Monday night was really great, because I headed back to Tübingen and met up with Babsi, Kati, Anma and Leo. Four of the girls that I met and spent a lot of time with in 2006. We met at "El Chico" for a couple of drinks and then went to a Karaoke Bar. It was really really good to get to see them again. I will probably meet up with them again soon.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day, which was actually a little sad. It turns out that America is really the only country that celebrates St. P's Day. Even Ireland doesn't really care about it. So I ended up just having a couple of beers in Bella Arti with two Brazilians and a Mexican, which really didn't help me get into the irish spirit. 

There are a lot of culture clashes here. Last weekend when we went to "El Chico" for dinner, we were a little overwhelmed, speaking German to our Asian waitress in a Mexican restaurant. It was all very confusing. But anyway I spent an Irish holiday in an Italian bar with two Brazilians and a Mexican. Huh.

This week we were losing another member of our class, as it was Luca's last week. This kid is taller than I am, has spent the past six months in Germany, and is only 15 years old. He's a really nice guy, and we'll definitely miss him. In his honor we went out to dinner on Thursday night to the very same Chinese restaurant that I celebrated Chinese New Year in. Once again, food was delicious, despite feeling strange in a German-Chinese restaurant.

School on Friday was actually really fun, because not only was it Luca's last day, but it was also Annie's golden birthday (20 on the 20th). Susan our teacher, had the idea that we could record a cassette tape for each of them, which we spent the morning doing. And then in the afternoon we just played games, to the displeasure of the class on the floor below us.

Friday after school, we tried to head to Tübingen to pay our rent and damage-deposits, but tragically no one was in the office, despite the assurance of the director that there would be. Oh well, at least we will know how to get there again.

Friday night, was one of the more fun nights that I've had in Horb. We met up at 8:30 and took a bus up to Nordstetten, which is where Kelsey, Cassie and Maya live, because in the high school auditorium, there was a concert being given, by a band called "Mystery". Which was actually just a cover band for various rock songs. It was a really great night, until we had to walk home, down a mountain. But everyone made it home safely, (some of the group made it safely to other people's homes, but safe was the important part)

Saturday we headed to Stuttgart again, because I figured I owed it to the city to see it again in the daytime. We basically did a repeat of the previous saturday, and then cut it off right where it should have been cut off. This time it was me, Kelsey, Elisabeth and Kendrick. A relaxed and fun group. A large group of the other Americans and Mexicans had decided they were going to do this big Museum party. Basically you pay a cover price and get to ride a bus around and go into all of the museums in Stuttgart. It sounded neat but I was pretty exhausted.

Kelsey, Elisabeth and I headed back to Horb, where Adam had slept all day, and Brian had spent the day with his parents and cousin(and her husband) who are currently visiting. The five of us met up at (surprise surprise) Bella Arti.

One more week in Horb. I am really thankful for the time that I've spent in Horb. It was absolutely necessary, because it gave me time to relax and really get comfortable in Germany. That being said, I'm SO EXCITED to move to Tübingen. To be in a college town again, with other people my age! Where all stores don't close at 8:00 p.m. and there are people on the streets. It has only been a short leg of my journey so far, and I'm ready for what's ahead.

Week 8 (Mar 9-13) And Stuttgart Weekend

Monday and Tuesday were days like any other, but Wednesday held something a little different for this small band of Americans in Germany. We headed to Tübingen, the town where we will be studying from April to August, in order to take care of some paperwork.

It's remarkable how inefficient and bureaucratic the school system can be some times. As foreigners, we were required to let the country know in what city we are living, and where exactly. The first day we came to Horb, the man who runs HHK, Herr Ost, told us he would come by "tomorrow" to help us fill out the essential paperwork. Now, 7 weeks later, we are actually filling it out.

We met with the woman who will be sort of responsible for us, and filled out lots of different types of forms. Forms for school, forms for international student groups, forms for housing, forms to get more forms. It was in a word, boring.

We ate lunch in one of the cafeterias, and were pleasantly surprised by both the quality and price. I also found out that there is a vegetarian cafeteria in Tübingen, which is awesome, except for the fact that I will have to take a bus to get there.

This week was also a little sad because one of the Mexicans, Karla, who was my first international friend, had gotten a really amazing prakticum in Nürnberg, and would be leaving us. Karla is pretty amazing, she speaks Spanish, English and French fluently, and her German is incredible. She is studying to be a lawyer, specifically immigration law. So Friday night we decided to have a little going-away party, that mostly just consisted of drinks at Bella Arti, which is probably what we would have done anyway :-D.

Saturday morning the HHK excursion was to Ulm, which I decided to miss, because I got to see it in 2006. Kelsey, Brian, Adam and I decided we would head to Stuttgart in the afternoon. It was really a pleasant day. We walked around, did a little window shopping. We stopped to have coffee at this cafe with a lot of outdoor seating, next to a park in the center of town. 

For dinner we decided to give German Mexican-Food one more shot, and went to a restaurant called "El Chico". It was actually very good. Brian and Adam have been complaining about the lack of Chipotle burritos here, and were pleased to discover that "El Chico" makes some pretty excellent burritos, and you can get "The Burrito Bomb" to go. It was also Happy Hour, so we had a few cocktails. It was a good thing we decided to eat there, because as it turns out, we have an El Chico in Tübingen.

After dinner, we met up with the Americans and Mexicans that had been in Ulm for the day, climbing the tallest church tower in Europe with a whopping 765 steps, and also going to the Bread Mueseum (really...?) We spent some time outdoors in the Schlossplatz, which is the big park in the middle of the city. 

We had talked about whether we wanted to try and spend the night in Stuttgart or not, and none of us really wanted to spend the money for a hostel, so some genius had the brilliant idea that we should just go to a couple of clubs, which stay open til 5:00 a.m., and just spend the night dancing. (Ok fine. It was my idea. I'm ashamed and should be punished, because it turned out to be a HORRIBLE decision) Being in a club all night, is a lot more difficult than it sounds. We ended up breaking into two groups, at two different clubs.

We finally got on the first train back to Horb at 5:18 in the morning. 

Probably not something I will ever do again.

Ever.

Slept the whole day Sunday and recovered for the week ahead.

THE ZOO

Probably the most amount of pictures I've taken in a single day, were taken at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart.

So I woke up early, took a shower, and headed to the train station. Our group was pretty small this weekend, despite the really exciting destination. We took the train, which was about 45 minutes to an hour long, into Stuttgart.

We had Juliana as a tour guide again, which made Brian happy, ( :-D ) and she lead us on a very short tour around Stuttgart itself. We mostly just saw several famous fountains. I however chose to save my camera's battery for the Zoo.

We walked over to the zoo, and paid 4,50 euros to get in. We saw basically everything that was to be offered in three hours. I think people were surprised to discover that once I enter a Zoo, I immediately revert to my 8 year old self. I was running from exhibit to exhibit, giant grin on my face. 

Here are some of my favorite exhibits at the Zoo:

(A famous 1 yr old Polar Bear)

(That's right! I finally found my Malayan Tapir!)

(Samir, the baby rhino)

(Who by the way shares a birthday not only with Kelsey, but also Tisha!! August 11th)

(Careful.. Animals Bite)

At 3:00p.m. we all met up by the sea lions, to watch them get fed. It was a pretty spectacular show. The handler knew them all by names, and they would respond by name as well. Some of them did tricks like high-fives, while others would 'sing' for their supper. It was great.

Then we headed into Stuttgart for some free time. A group of us went to an asian restaurant for dinner, and I made my first yarn purchase in Europe. I'm going to buckle down and make a pair of socks. 

The train ride home was relatively miserable. There were a LOT of people on board. It was oddly reminiscent of being on a bus at U of M, except instead of standing too close to a bunch of strangers around your age, on the train it was a lot of older people, young children, and drunk soccer fans. 

All in all, it will probably be one of my favorite day trips from HHK. 

Week 7 (Mar 2-6)

The weather on Sunday made me laugh in the face of the weather on Saturday.

It was absolutely beautiful. I spent most of the day outside exploring Horb. Kelsey joined me in the afternoon, and we decided that for as small as Horb is, it's really quite beautiful. We climbed up to the church that sits atop of Horb, and looked down on the city by the river. 

Monday was a little bit chillier, and the week continued to get colder and more winter-like. There's been a living situation change here at the Goldener-Adler Hotel. I have swapped Renato and Sebastian from Brazil and Switzerland respectively, with Paulina from mexico. I couldn't be happier. Paulina is polite, and respectful and quiet. The boys... were not. I've been helping Paulina get the hang of things here, and have been acting as a translator. She has only taken four months of German, but has pretty good German in spite of that. She has a boyfriend who is from Heilbronn, Germany, that she met while he was working at a Volkswagen plant in Mexico. 

School was school. Our topic right now is traveling. The different means, destinations, statistics etc. On Thursday, Joe did his referat (which is sort of like a small oral presentation over a topic of our choosing. I did mine on knitting a few weeks ago) on the guitar. He borrowed an electric guitar and played for us. He explained different techniques etc.

Basically though, we managed to convince the other classes that we really don't learn anything, we just watch movies and have live music all the time. They're jealous.

Then, during the week, I got the best news ever. Our excursion this weekend.

THE ZOO!!!!!!!!!!

Freiburg

Probably the prettiest weekend yet in Horb. I woke up Saturday morning and headed to the train station to leave for Freiburg with the other HHK students. It was the longest train ride for an excursion yet, with a whopping total of close to three hours.

Freiburg was absolutely worth it though. It is the city in Germany that receives the most sunlight year round. The weather was positively pleasant. After a short tour with our favorite guide Juliana, we sat outside drinking coffee, and walked around the small farmer's market set up around the town center. 

I decided that someday, it would be pretty wonderful to just live in the sunniest city in Germany, and bring your wares to the marketplace to sell. It seems like a really enjoyable life. Freiburg was possibly the prettiest and least eventful 'ausflug' that we've done with HHK. 

A couple of pictures:  

(Interesting vines)

(The church in the middle of town)

(It was completely surrounded with tents and the most delicious smells)

(At the train-station, a marching band playing to get soccer fans ready for a game)

Week 6 (23-27)

Tuesday was the official last night of Fasching. But understandably we were a little pooped. Our teacher even let us spend the second half of the day watching "Shrek" in German.

It didn't take us too long to recover, and on Thursday, Cassie and I headed off to Stuttgart to see a musical. I guess her host-family's bank offers little excursions once in a while. It's the kind of thing that banks in America do, but no one ever really goes... except in Germany, people actually participate. But near the beginning of the trip, Cassie had mentioned that her family had two tickets to "We Will Rock You" the musical based on the music of the rock band Queen. We decided to go, naturally.

So Thursday the 26th after school, at 5:30 we headed to the bus-station and got on a packed bus to Stuttgart. After about an hour, we arrived at the theater. Right next to the Apollo theater, is the Palladium theater which is currently home of Wicked- Die Hexen von Oz, the German translation. 

We took our seats in the gorgeous house of the Apollo theater and waited for the play to begin. For the next two hours, we were glued to our seats. It was incredible! I understood everything, except for a couple of jokes that were geared at the native Germans in the audience. The performers were really talented, because parts of the songs were in English, meaning they had to perform in two languages.

Several of the jokes were making fun of American pop culture, which Cassie and I understood better than a lot of the Germans. It was a really great show, costumes, lights, sets, actors, fantastic.

We had to catch the bus home pretty quickly, but we had time to snatch a few pics next to the poster of our favorite 

character, the Killer Queen.

The perfect week to relax after the craziness of Fasching. Then on Saturday.. Freiburg.

Fasching- CRAZY MONDAY

We knew that 'Crazy Monday' would be, well, crazy. But we weren't prepared.

We went to school, just like any other day. But on this day we basically had a half-day, because Horb was having its Fasching Parade (Umzug).

I should have seen how the rest of the day was going to go, when at 12:00 in the morning, completely sober, I tripped and fell and skinned both knees. It was terrific. Or at least, that's what all of the angsty German teenagers who saw me fall, thought.

Brian headed home during lunch to get some things he would need for the rest of the day. He of course forgot to factor in the fact that there wouldn't be a bus back in, and he had to walk back down. So I waited for him, and the two of us ended up watching the umzug in front of the Hotel.

It was pretty amazing. It wasn't as dangerous as the Rottenburg parade, but it was really cool to get to see all of the costumes from this area. These costumes are very expensive, and are passed down through families. There's usually only one or two people in a region that can make these particular costumes. 

Here are some of my favorites:

(You may be thinking, why is there a bush in the street?)

(The answer is because it's a person..)

When the parade finally ends, everyone is supposed to follow it to where the big party is going to be. This year it was at the Firehouse. Which, is probably a good plan. 

For the sake of most of the people involved in 'Crazy Monday' festivities, I am going to keep this next part brief and vague.

Things that happened:

-Dancing on a foggy-stage

-Pole Dancing on a platform

-Finding a rubber snake in my pocket..

Things that almost happened:

- A particular person almost getting arrested... twice...

-A different person almost getting in a fight

Fortunately, everything worked out for the best. At least until bed-time.

I had already told Brian and Kelsey that they could sleep in my room, so they didn't have to find a way home. But then Joe realized that if he were to go home, it would have to be at 7:00p.m. So I told him he could stay too.

Then I get a call from Karla, saying that the night-taxi hadn't come and they'd been waiting for an hour, and could she sleep in my room tonight.

And Adam makes 6.

In my room I have a total of two blankets, a sleeping bag, and two pillows.

It was oddly similar to the logic-puzzle where you have a fox, a goat, and a head of lettuce, and you're trying to get all three across a river, but you can only take one at a time. 

-If you leave the goat with the fox, it will get eaten...

-If you leave the lettuce with the goat, it will get eaten...

-If Karla has a pillow, than she can't have a blanket,

-If Brian has a sleeping-bag he can't have a pillow...

Finally it was all sorted out. The next morning I woke up at 7:30 and just looked around my room. I felt like I was smuggling illegal aliens. The entire floor was covered with boys, the bed was being shared by the two girls. I was partially in costume still and just looked down to see my legs covered in dirt, glitter and a little bit of blood from my skinned knees. 

I woke everyone up, and helped them along their way, mentioning that never again could five other people sleep here at the same time. 

In the end I feel I did the right thing, because otherwise these kids might not have made it home okay. Plus, we all survived Crazy Monday, which is a major perk.

For us at least, Fasching was over. A feeling that was decidedly bittersweet.

Fasching- Parade in Rottenburg on Sunday

On Friday, our teacher Susan had recommended that we check out the Fasching parade in Rottenburg on Sunday. Joe, Adam, Kelsey, Cassie and I decided to do just that. We took a short train-ride to Rottenburg which is a pretty cute little town. 

This parade was a little more dangerous than cute little Nordstetten's. It turns out, for this brief period, anything goes. I mean anything. A parade like this in America would be shut down before they turned the first street corner. People in elaborate and horrifying costumes are allowed to harass the innocent bystanders.

Witches grabbed people, mainly girls with horrible blonde-dye-jobs, and threw them in wagons of hay that spin really really fast. Others would take a tube of black paint (or tar, or something) and just smear it on peoples faces. People watching got hay shoved in their faces, their hair messed up, and my personal favorite, confetti rubbed everywhere.

I made a pretty large mistake during the parade. I saw a witch with both hands filled with the most massive amount of confetti he/she could possibly carry. So I pointed at Cassie, hoping he would rub it in her hair.

Nope.

(I got it instead..)

(And then I got a finger up my nose, and then into my ear)

(I am still finding confetti on my body)

The parade lasted for almost two hours. We got some sweet Crépes afterwards, and headed back to Horb. Naïvely, we thought that this trend would continue, that Fasching would wind down until Wednesday.

We were wrong...

Fasching- a Peaceful Saturday

Friday I came home and napped the rest of the day after school. We were all pretty beat, and decided to call it an easy night. Then Cassie told me that her host-parents were skiing til Tuesday, and had left her the house to herself. 

Which can only mean one thing to a group of foreign students...

COOKING PARTY!!!!

Let me make this clear. German food is delicious. I would eat like this at home if I could, but 6 weeks of basically just carbs was getting us all a little crazy. So Cassie and I met up on Saturday morning and bought a ton of veggies to make a stir-fry. We looked everywhere in Horb for some Tofu to add, but tragically we couldn't find any.

We rode the bus up to Nordstetten, the small town next to Horb where Cassie, Maya and Kelsey live. The original plan had been for Maya, Kelsey, Kimmy and Karla (from Mexico) to join us for lunch, so Cassie and I were prepared to cook a lunch for 6. Which slowly turned into a lunch for two. Kelsey and Maya decided to eat with their families, and Kimmy and Karla who live in a town further away called Ahldorf, couldn't get a bus in.

So Cassie and I had a delicious lunch of stir-fried veggies, all to ourselves.

(The Set Up)

(The Peppers, there was also zucchini, onion, garlic, snow peas, and rice)

(Enjoying the smell of food that is neither bread nor potato)

(The Final Product, if this doesn't belong on the cover of a magazine, I don't know what does)

After lunch, we met up with Maya and Kelsey, because Nordstetten was having a small parade for Fasching. I'm not sure if 'small' is a good enough description. It was teeny. The number of people in the Parade could have very easily been double the number of people watching. It was still really cool though. Sadly I didn't bring my camera with me, because it is a battery-eater.

After the Parade, we all headed back to Cassie's abandoned house, to watch a movie, and make some Gnocchi for dinner. As usual, the night ended in a little bar called Bella Arti, which is right down the street from my hotel.

An excellent day to get us ready for the craziness that would be coming our way in the next few days.

Fasching - Dirty Thursday

One of the reasons that this post is two weeks late, is that I have been struggling to put together the words to describe the events of Faschings-weekend...

I will do my best.

So Thursday, (originally 'Schmaltziger Donnerstag' meaning 'Greasy Thursday', today it is known simply as 'Schmotziger Donnerstag' or... 'Dirrty Thursday') we went to our normal day of school. Dirty Thursday is a favorite for school kids, because it is the day when people dressed up in Witch costumes come into the school, to announce that the children are free and don't have to finish school for the day. The kids, who came to school dressed in costume, get to make a small parade around the town. They also have a week long break for Fasching.

So school ended, and our group of HHK students got ready for the night, which we were told is just a giant, town-wide party. We had a pair of cats, a bunny, some American indians. Basically an assortment of some of the strangest looking costumes we could put together for as little money as possible. And of course, as a costume design student, I was not to be outdone.. so I went as...

(Bacchus the God of Wine)

(Maya as a witch, Cassie as a cat in a coat, and me)

The festivities started near the Rathaus, where the Bürgermeister (which means 'Mayor' and not 'boogey-man' as one of the girls present thought) told a lengthy story in a thick Swabisch accent. Finally, the witches of the town took over and did a little mini-ballet celebrating the fact they had stolen the city and wouldn't be returning it until Ash-Wednesday.

After this little ceremony, we headed to one of the many outdoor parties spread through-out town. I made the mistake of standing too near a metal post, where a group of middle-aged women dressed as Indianer, were waiting to tie me up.

Yup. I got tied to a pole...

(Tied to a pole..)

They tied me up, made some spectacularly politically-incorrect noises and told me I would have to pay ten euros to be set free. I explained that I didn't bring any money, which was a lie, but I certainly wasn't going to pay them. Of course they didn't believe me.

Thankfully, Cassie was there to rescue me..

(Tied to Cassie...)

Realizing their efforts were futile, our captors finally let us go.

We spent the rest of the night, going from tent-party to tent-party, and into a couple of bars. We met some really cool people, and some slightly less cool people. The latter group including a boy with thick black eye-liner dressed as a pirate. He was feeling very in to the idea of speaking in english.

Pirate (in English): I had got the highest grade in English at school, you should speak English to me.

Me (in German): But I'm here to improve my German

Pirate (in really excited English): See!! I understand you much better when you speak in English!

Me (in German): But... I... haven't said anything in English..

Pirate (finally in German): Wait really?

He then proceeded to introduce me to a group of his friends, speaking veeerrryyy slllooowwwwllly. I finally just leaned forward towards his friends and said in German, "I don't really understand why he's talking so slowly.. I actually speak German pretty well,"

His friends all agreed, and then proceeded to make fun of him.

So a pretty wild night. The worst part of which was that we had to wake up and go to school the next day. Fortunately our teacher was really nice to us, and decided to teach us alcohol vocabulary. 

Fasching however, was far from over...

Week 5 (Feb 16-20th)

I know, I know, I haven't written in a while. For as small as Horb am Neckar is, it certainly offers plenty to do, for me at least.

But anyhow.

Recovery from Triburg was a slow and steady process. Apparently, going from sweating profusely to having icicles form in your hair, isn't the best way to stay healthy. In addition to my horribly aching feet, (which by the way didn't compare to Kelsey's feet, which had been marinating in her wet Ugg boots all day) I also developed a little head-cold. Not to worry, the hearty diet of Southwestern Germany got me back to healthy pretty quickly.

The school week was positively normal, with one small exception. We were preparing for the weekend ahead, which in retrospect, how could we have prepared? 

My next post, will most certainly be longer, as I detail for you, dear readers, the wonders and the horrors of German Fasching.