Spring Has Sprung Springingly

Hey Everyone,

So, I realize that I probably shouldn't have said I'll post more often right before I go away for the weekend. Also not helping is the fact that I came down sick...but more on that below.

Theater Weekend Retreat
I must admit that this weekend was a lot less hard-core. I had to ride the train this time, with 10 other people, because there weren't as many drivers available. We went to the tiny town of Abtschlag - about 2 hours by train. It was slightly funny because no one noticed we had 11 people, we just assumed we had 10 until we got to the town - we'd only bought 2 Bayern tickets that were good for 10 people total! Our theater instructor Christine had a good laugh over that. The first night I went to bed around 1:30, unfortunately the walls were like paper and it was impossible to sleep for an hour. I hadn't been feeling 100%, my joints were hurting a bit and my neck was sore. The next evening my symptoms exploded - I was simultaneously feeling fevered and chills. I got mothered by Sara and whisked off to a different room that Andy (the other instructor) gave up for me. I'm pretty sure I had a fever, but it broke by the next (Sunday) morning. After 11 hours of sleep, I woke up with a killer headache and no voice. I had some tea and took an early train back with a couple of other people. I got back to Regensburg by noon, took medicine and slept for 7 more hours...However, today I am feeling much improved and will continue to get lots of sleep, water, vitamins, decongestants, allergy medicine and cough drops pumped into my system. Yay.

On a less Depressing Note
Spring has sprung in Regensburg. Yesterday and today were delightfully (and unfortunately, headache-inducing) sunny and warm. The trees have all frantically shot out their leaves and the grass and flowers are growing rampantly. The fountains have gurgled back to life, the pigeons are obnoxiously wooing outside our windows and the statues have come out of their boxes. And since it's the season for new beginnings, two more strikes are on. It is rumored that the train
strike is actually over. However, the buses and the post are on strike. This doesn't effect me really, as the only mail I normally get is from the bank and that's all they are not delivering. Apparently they just want to hurt the businesses. A German naively asked me what happens when our post goes on strike (which they're not allowed to do, under federal law) and I told them that we don't have the expression "Going Postal" for nothing and we don't like to tempt fate.

The Pant Dilemma
I have decided to try to make do with my 2 remaining pairs of pants and my two pairs of capris. I also have some springy dresses and a skirt or two, but let's not kid ourselves people. I will try to save myself the 30-60 euros for something important. Like icecream on hot days when it's too hot to breathe in my room.

Teaching English Conversation
So, I have had 2 sessions teaching my group of high-school aged kids English conversation. I had 8 the first week and it was a bit awkward at first. They hadn't gone to the last scheduled meeting, so Molly hadn't been able to tell them that she probably wouldn't be teaching them the next semester. Also, the kid (literally, about 7...) who was supposed to meet me and take me to the room apparently couldn't figure out who I was. So I had to find it myself, with a phone call from Molly. There weren't a ton of awkward pauses, I had brought along a bunch of questions (ie. if you got stuck on a dessert island, what 3 things would you bring? etc) and did a couple of other activities. We played 2 truths and a lie, which went over well and then tried to do a current event (which went horribly...lol). However, the hour passed swiftly and I felt assured that YES I COULD do this.
The second week only 3 showed up, but the others should be back next week (they/we have a holiday this Thursday). I had quizzed them about adverbs and nouns the week before as a set up to Madlibs. They loved them. I also had printed out an adverb list with such gems as lackadaisical and abhorrent (along with much easier ones), so they maybe learned some new vocab as well. We also played Never Ever Have I Ever...and that was fun as well. I had planned to do a fill-in-the-blank lyrics sheet, but we didn't have time. So that's going well!

Anyhow, I have some homework to read through for tomorrow...so until next time!
Steph
Ps. The pic is me all dolled up for Molly and Emma's B-day Extravaganza where...I think I look weird without any bangs...but I did my hair myself!

Starting a series of short posts...

Hi "all"
Anyhow, I'm not going to even get into that. I am, however, going to try to be a better blogger and try to post every other day or so. It'll help me not forget little things (that are probably funny and I forget about) and make it seem like less of an ordeal for me.

The Bane of My Life...
I have decided that I can blame society (and thank Global Warming) for supporting one of the most difficult areas of my life - clothing. If public nudity was allowed (along with encouraged by a semi-tropical climate) I'd be a much happier person.
I'll be the first to admit I'm picky about clothing, but my body shape doesn't help me out any either. The most traumatic shopping experiences of my life were probably prom dresses...which is why the instant I found my last prom dress (about 7 months before prom) I bought that sucker. However, a close second to those ordeals is always jean shopping. I HATE buying new jeans. I have hips and I'm tall and the very thought of non-bootcut jeans my make my ankles want to crawl up and seek refuge in my stomach. I refuse to let them, as it would be hard to keep my balance without my ankles.
At any rate, due to the harsh washing conditions in Germany and to the trip with my rents, I have walked through one pair of jeans in the last month, and another pair (making them my 2 favorite pairs, of course) is tentatively hanging on by it's last threads. (Yes, a pun...groaning yet?). So I thought to myself - "Something should be done!". Luckily, Sara's dad and partner are coming in May, and Sara said that Kris would very likely (and very graciously) be willing to bring a pair of jeans from the US if I ordered online and shipped to her house. So far, super...right? Ok. Let's start listing the problems....but first - the reasons why I'm not buying jeans here...

1. Remember that ankle/tight jeans phobia? Skinny jeans are THE JEANS here....ahhhhhh
2. Clothing is very expensive...even at H &M where they use child labor (which Eric argues prevents child prostitution...it is a founded belief...)
3. I know what I like.

So here are the problems...
1. I have searched the entire web and both styles of jeans (one Mossimo and one Levi's) have been discontinued. In fact, they don't even have the same label for Mossimo anymore.
2. I don't know my size for sure in any other model = even the 2 pairs are different sizes!

I wish I had a happy ending...but I don't. Or a twin that could try on jeans in the US for me. And all I really want is Levi Signature stretch lowrise bootcut jeans size misses 8 long Dusty Road-colored. Is that too much to ask for?
Any suggestions?
Ha.
Steph

Random Topics of Interest = Steph De-stressing!

Hi all!
So, I don't have anything terribly exciting to talk about, although I'm sure you weren't expecting a blog entry so soon! Anyhow, here's a few little quips about life with me...

3 Meals a Day?!?!
Ok, so, I might have been a little lazy for the past few months (although also thrifty...) and I was basically only eating two meals a day (one around 1 pm and the other around 8 pm) as I was practically nocturnal. However, I set up a bit of a challenge and now not only am I striving to take a vitamin daily and ingest three meals, I'm also trying to eat red meat twice a week. I've become a sort of involuntary vegetarian, as meat has to be purchased with a plan. Most of my meals come from items I've learned to stock and are semi-quick. However, sometime in December/January I started to notice that my stomach was NOT happy whenever I ate red meat, ranging from slightly queasy to You Probably Don't Want to Know. During the month of March with Chris and my parents around I actually ate some more red meat and so that seems to be going ok now - I had spaghetti with meat sauce with Dinkel pasta. Dinkel has the pleasant connotation of being whole-grain, but somehow seems tastier under this title, and I honestly loved it a lot. Anyhow, I really wouldn't have a problem cutting red meat out of my diet, but I really think I've been lacking in iron (and other sources such as spinach and beans are harder to use in my diet and more expensive/time consuming). I'm trying to self-motivate myself into actual exercise, but I might settle for 1-2 bike rides a week and walking from campus to town a few times a week once the weather evens out. We'll see...

In Which Steph Inherits a Job...sorta.
So, I had been trying (literally for months, exhaustively through e-mails) to get a job involving English conversation. As soon as I abandoned designs on ever achieving a job, one lands in my lap. Since the Colorado kids actually have an adviser on campus, he steers them into jobs. Luckily for me (and Eric), most of them have vastly different schedules this semester and won't be able to continue their English Conversation Course at a local high school. The job is incredibly easy (or hard...) - all I have to do is get 14-16 year old boys and girls to talk in English. Although my group apparently has 2 very radical teenage boys and so the students are not allowed (under any circumstances, says Molly - the girl who's day I got teaching) to pick their own topics. So, my first day is tomorrow, and it's only for an hour. I figure we'd do the "Get to know you" day, and try an ice-breaker or two. Honestly, after Upward Bound I think I can handle just about anything. As long as they don't ask me to sing.

Class...or Not...
I realize I am using an absurd amount of ellipses, but really, with the way my English is going down the tubes, it's not only a reflection on my state of mind, but is also indicative of the chaos that I call my life in the first week of classes. Or non-classes, as it happened for the SECOND time this week. However, at least the secretary came and told us that our professor was "sick" - although a lot of professors seem to be "sick" conveniently and the beginning and end of the semester. So, once again I had gotten up at a completely unreasonable hour, to find out my 8:30 class was canceled. So Eric and I coerced Kim (Korea) into going to breakfast - does a sandwich count as breakfast? We always speak English with Kim, which is actually probably far more valuable to him than German will be. I pestered him with questions (not that I've ever done that to anyone before, right mom?? : p) about topics from school to Korean funeral traditions. I now am a repository of funeral etiquette (ie, from bowing to a picture frame of the deceased twice - the only time you bow twice in Korea- to the fact that superstition is rampant and many people have dreams of the deceased coming back and telling them to move their graves from water, which they do by dowsing...). So, I actually did some learning at 9 in the morning.

Britain's Got Talent 2008 Episode 1
Ok, so I kinda got sucked into youtube...so I'm going to post a few videos from the 2 most amazing acts I saw... they should be on the bottom. The kid's voice is so amazing it gave me goosebumps, and the dog trainer probably has no human friends or a life...but WOW. Enjoy!

In Which Steph Begins a New Obsession
I was reading an article I found through www.fark.com (great for boredom and random dinner conversation = perfect for Steph) and I found an article on African Pygmy Hedgehogs being the new rage in England. What are they, exactly? They're little balls of pure-magicness and I thoroughly succumbed to being enamored with them this afternoon. As I type, the cost of 190.00 is slowly shocking me less and less. They're just so darn Cute. (As you can see above...awwww). And yes, Mom, it is a rodent...and it's nocturnal....and expensive....sigh. Want Want Want Want Want....and it's much more realistic than the chickens I wanted to hatch a few years ago. I guess I'll have to wait until I'm back in the US and see how much time (and money...) I have to commit. Although they are pretty ideal for apts and college students, as they wake up in the evening and only need a little room to romp in. Guess I'll just have to see...

Steph Finally Passes Muster
I finally had something to call home about yesterday (although I refrained, since last time I called my mom with news she freaked out in a minor way, automatically suspecting something terrible...obviously I've been calling home a whole lot...lol). I went to retrieve my English paper -finally- from my English lecturer. I was a little apprehensive because I wasn't sure what kind of possibly-impossible grading scale I might be facing as I was American and I supposedly know English. However, I was shocked to discover my grade... a 1,0! (A+). The best part was the fact that I got to choose a topic completely not covered in the course - Heinlein's Science Fiction and his Female characters not fitting classic literary archetypes (dork...dork...dork...) Damn, I just set off the "Dork Alarm" on my blog. I bet you didn't even know they had one....

Ok guys, I'm sure that was disjointed and about as random as I could get. But, um, one last request. I always say hello to everyone and refer to my readers in the plural (which, considering I know my Mom, Dad and Grandma read this, is probably technically correct), but it makes me wonder...is anyone ELSE out there? You could leave a comment with a "Hi" or something...it'd pretty much make my day...
Take Care,
Steph

The Last Leg...

Hello Everyone,
I'm going to insert the last bit of the trip now -from Innsbruck to Regensburg - and then add a few miscellaneous tidbits at the end. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 26^th

We woke up after sleeping in a bit and headed down to a sumptuous breakfast. After filling up, we set out to explore Innsbruck. After rambling around the downtown touristy area, we had visited the Swarovski outlet (very pretty…and expensive), a very interesting rock shop, seen the Goldens Dachl (Golden Roof) and set out for a little hike across the bridge – hoping to find lunch. As we climbed and climbed the steep streets, we found ourselves passing by churches and schools. Pausing to take a break, Steph launched an impromptu snowball fight with Dave. We ended up trekking back down to the tourist area to have lunch, enjoying wiener schnitzel with potato salad and apple strudel for dessert at the Elferhaus Restaurant. Afterwards we searched out the Triumphpforte (triumphal gate) and the Dom zu St. Jakob (which is, oddly enough, the church of St. James in English). After a quick poke into the local market, we took up our bags and proceeded back to the train station. After a cold wait (after picking up some provisions) while flipping through Sandy’s pictures and seeing the Oriental Express train make a stop, we were on our way to Munich and Regensburg. It was a bit after 10 pm when we arrived in Regensburg and Steph led the march to her apartment. After the 3 flights of stairs and setting up in her tiny room, we were all ready to head to bed.

18,702 steps (6.19 miles)

Thursday, March 27^th

After a night’s sleep on the airbed, a request for breakfast was made. As Steph had no food in the kitchen, she ran to the nearest grocery store and even brought back coffee for Dave. After a filling Bavarian breakfast of bread, cheese and yogurt with muesli, a load of laundry was done and we set out to explore. As Steph led us throughout the city, we got to see a great many churches. The first one Steph led us to was the Cathedral, which is a copy of Köln’s. The Cathedral was in Gothic style – a first for our trip. It’s rumored that the Pope wants to be (or that Regensburg wants him to be) buried there when he dies. Those Germans, always planning ahead… After a rather roundabout trip, Steph got us to the Roman arch that has been carefully preserved. Next we saw the giant fresco of David and Goliath – a status symbol painted on the largest building in the city at the time. Next we went on the stone bridge, which gave us a good view of the town and river. Our next destination was the Thurn and Taxis palace/brewery for a palace tour. Steph got a little lost trying to find the entrance (as she’d only been to the church there before) but we made it with 5 minutes to spare before the 2 o’clock tour. Unfortunately, the tour was completely sold out. So we went to Ganesha – an Indian restaurant with a lunch special that Steph loves. We had tandoori oven bread and Steph and Dave had the lamb in almond curry sauce and Sandy a chicken dish with grilled vegetables and the same sauce. Afterwards, we caught the bus back and walked to the palace. We couldn’t take any pictures, but the tour group was very small – just 6 people including the guide and us! Since it isn’t peak tourist season, the tour was only given in German and we were given the audio headsets. Steph tried to switch back and forth initially, but as the tape players had no fast forward she soon found herself committed to the German guide. She surprisingly did very well – catching up to 70 percent total, she thinks. The audio tours were ok, but the guide seemed much more animated and in depth. The Thurn and Taxis family was quite the group we discovered, thick with independent women (two sisters swapped who they were suppose to marry!) and interesting stories of heirs marrying the gardener’s daughter, for example. Afterwards, we spent some time packing up the extra suitcase and resting our feet. (Steph is trying to make her trip back home a bit less bulky!) We played some cards and after a traditional Bavarian dinner (weisswurst, pretzels, sauerkraut, potato salad and bier) we got to meet some of Steph’s friends, including Eric. We ended up going to Steph’s favorite pub, Murphy’s Law, where Dave tried Strongbow. However, it wasn’t too late a night and we were all tired after another long day.

14,986 steps (4.96 miles)

Friday, March 28^th

We slept in a little but got moving in time to make a trip to Steph’s University. It was pretty much as she said it was – gray and utilitarian. Apparently Regensburg University has the distinction of being named the ugliest university campus in Germany! We got to meet her leaders from her intensive language class group and enjoyed the spring weather and sunshine. We then had Döner (this is a Turkish sandwich of pork or mutton with veggies and a yogurt sauce in a pita-type bread) for lunch at Lara’s – the neighborhood place that’s widely acknowledged (at least by students) to be the best place for Döner in the altstadt city center. Afterwards Steph treated us to ice cream at her favorite gelato place. We had a few hours to burn before we took our train back, so after we were all packed we played a few rounds of cribbage. (Sandy didn’t win, as usual!) We got to the train station plenty early and talked until we boarded the train. It was tough to say goodbye to Steph but good to know that 4 months isn’t that far away. The trip to Frankfurt was uneventful, though Dave and Sandy did miss their translator Steph. They managed to get off at the right train station and navigated to the ground transportation to catch the shuttle to the Intercity Airport Hotel.

8583 steps (2.84 miles)

Saturday, March 29^th

Dave and Sandy were up early enough to have a nice breakfast at the hotel and then catch the 7:45 shuttle to the airport – plenty of time!! Wrong! The lines and several checkpoints along the way caused them to arrive at their gate area only about 15 minutes before the plane started boarding for the 10:20am flight. The flight to Detroit was again smooth with no napping. Upon arrival in Detroit, it was off to US Customs. Dave realized that his passport was not with him and that he’d probably left it somewhere on the plane. A NWA person went back to the plane and retrieved the passport from the overhead bin and we were in a slow-moving line once again. Next stop was to collect the checked luggage and bring it over to be rechecked. Just one final checkpoint! This was when Sandy realized that she had in her carryon bag a 200 ml bottle of Grappa which she had neglected to inform anyone of all day long. It apparently was no problem here either because we were soon through that checkpoint and ready to move to our gate for the final leg of the trip from Detroit to MSP. The aromas coming from a Jose Cuervo restaurant enticed them in for beer and nachos before the flight. The arrival in MSP was without incident and they caught the shuttle to the Ramada Mall of America Hotel which is conveniently located a short walk away from IKEA. The NCAA basketball tournaments were on TV and they lasted less than 30 minutes before falling asleep, only to awaken bright-eyed at 4:30am. They had breakfast at the hotel as soon as the restaurant opened at 7am and, in Steph’s honor, Dave and Sandy walked to IKEA and browsed the whole store. Then they hung out and waited for Jamie and Jennie to arrive around noon. After a quick drop-off at Carleton and lunch at Sweet Lou’s Waffle Bar, Sandy and Dave concluded the European journey with the drive back to Walker.

5787 steps (1.92 miles)

The Weather

So, as the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, so too is the weather always nicer on the other side of the globe. I'm pretty sure it hit in the 70's here today and yesterday - with plenty of sunshine. This is a rather sharp contrast to the 30 inches of snow or so that recently hit Walker, so I thought I'd gloat a little.

First Day of Classes

Well, today was in fact my first day of class for my Summer Semester. I managed to drag myself out of bed (with the "help" of two alarms) at the lovely hour of 6:45AM...a time not known to me for at least...4 months? A LONG TIME, at any rate. I even showered. I met the other 3 girls in my German Culture class after 1945 and we found the first lecture hall without many problems. Unfortunately, it took Eric 45 minutes to find the room - sauntering in at 8:30, for the 8 o'clock class. As he came in he mouthed that I'm dead to him, but I gave him a chunk of banana bread, so I think all was forgiven. Class wasn't all that exciting really, as the teacher never showed up. Well, if he/she showed up, it was after the 50 minutes of waiting we did. We thought perhaps we'd mis-read the schedule and that class started next week, although the internet confirmed that we were correct. So that was a great start of the day.

I came back to my apt and napped for a few hours and was back on campus shortly before two. I had a grammatic class...and that was a little bit rough. Komparativ...almost impossible for me to say, and it kept popping up whenever he asked me to read. The teacher's very engaging, but I'm not sure if I can keep up with the class - and since I have to drop one or two (I'm drastically over-committed and I'm in 8 classes..) that may be a candidate. The next class followed immediately and that was my translation English/German class. That also seems to be potentially challenging, but I may stick it out. We'll see, I guess.

Anyhow, I'm exhausted and have to be up at that same ungodly hour tomorrow...I know, you're all laughing at me...

Steph

PS...will load pictures sometime tomorrow for the last leg...