Let Me Count the Ways...

So Friday we set off for class, and had to write an essay in the second part of our lecture. The essay wasn't too difficult as it was about what we would do if we only had twenty-four hours to live, which we told using Konjunktiv II.

An example of the Konjunktiv II:

Wenn ich mehr Geld haette, wuerde ich ein neues Auto kaufen!

After the essay, which went pretty well (hopefully), I went outside to wait for Rachel and Hannah. As I was waiting, however, I got a call from an unknown number. I answered it, and it was the computer guy! He told me that I could go and pick up my computer! So I rushed to the University's ZDV, where the Genius Bar is, and picked up my computer. The guy said that the virus was gone, so the only thing left to do was to check and see for myself. The only problem was, we were going to have an "active" Tutorium, which meant walking about thirty minutes to "grill" food for a few hours. I decided not to go (which was probably a good thing, because "grill" meant roasting wurst on dried up twigs over a fire with only wood and no charcoal, and "active" must have surely referred to the fact that it took them well over a half an hour to walk to the location of the picnic), and went to pick up some groceries before heading back to my room for a little bit. My computer worked just fine, but it took me a while to figure out how to get Firefox to let me on the internet. Thank you Genius Bar! 

After a while of sweet glorious internet, I headed out to H&M, because one of the girls in my building and in my course told me that there was a really good sale! When I got to H&M, after getting Hannah, Rachel, and Helina over to H&M, and after about three hours of shopping at some really good sales, we headed back to Froschgasse for food. The Belgians from our class and Olav came over later on, and we spent the night in before heading to DeJaVu. But we didn't stay long, as we sort of lost our luster for an exciting night, and all split up. I then read a while before going to sleep.

I woke up this morning and we had to meet to catch a train to Stuttgart. We were going to Stuttgart to go shopping and because there is currently a Beer Festival going on. 

Jake was being a creeper. I love this picture!

Hannah was getting back for that picture.

Helina with her coffee.

Getting off the train in Stuttgart and walking into the city, one would have thought that it was typical for Germans to wear Dirndls and Lederhosen, because I have never seen so many in my life! They were everywhere. It was like walking into an American city, and having a stereotype confirmed by seeing all the Americans dressed in cowboy hats and boots with plaid shirts on.

Here are some typical Lederhosen and Dirndls.

After we got into the city, which was super crowded, we waited while one of us ran in to get a map from the information center. We then decided to walk a while. 

So let me count the ways in which Emily was annoyed today...

1.Walking in the streets was really difficult, and included a lot of weaving and a lot of "Entschuldigungs".

2. So many people were smoking! Even in Tuebingen it wasn't as bad as here, and everyone kept blowing it right in my face or lighting up right in front of me while I was walking, so that I would just get gusts of wind into my face and my asthma-y lungs. 

3. We then did not go shopping, but walked all around the city looking for a cafe. And even after we found a decently priced one, kept walking, because we needed a cafe in the sun. I had a problem with this, because, as those of you who know me know, that the sun often likes to burn the flesh off my bones. The sun and Emily do not get along.

4. When we finally found a cafe that was in the sun, it turned out that everything was super expensive, but we sat down anyway. So I just did not eat anything.

5. When asked by Jake if he could get "Leitungswasser", or tap water, the waiter replied that he could not. So no water for Emily, as the only other water was Stilles Wasser, and it was 2 Euro for a small bottle.

6. When paying the bill with our waiter, Rachel tried to pay with smaller change, which he took in his hand, looked at, lowered his head, and said that he COULD not take.

7. While shopping in all of the stores, we found that it was impossible to actually look around in some of them because of the obscene amounts of people. It was so busy, that I felt like I could not really look at anything, because there was constantly someone behind me trying to get through, and I did not want to be that person who is in the way because they don't know how to walk.

8. On the topic of don't know how to walk... There was a woman who was walking really slow right in front of me, that I couldn't get around. She was walking slow because she felt the need to smoke her cigarette while talking on the phone, all while walking with her child (who she was smoking next to, which really bothers me, I'm sorry to anyone who smokes, it's just not what I was brought up to do). She was also dressed very inappropriately, which probably made it harder for her to walk.

And finally,

9. After we finally got done at Stuttgart for the day, we had to get on the train back to Tuebingen. When we got on, there was some problem, and it did not leave on time. I needed to buy groceries for tomorrow and Monday, as all the stores are closed on Sundays and Monday is the Day of German Unity (sort of like our Independence Day). I did not think I was going to make it back in time to shop. But more of that later.

So... where was I...

After lunch, we split up into two groups. I went with Rachel, Helina, and Hannah, while Jake went with the Belgians and Olav to the festival. While they were at the festival, we just walked around and shopped. 

This guy was pretty amazing.

He made some serious progress throughout the day.

Hannah got some posters for her room, a purse, and some movies. Rachel got a dress. Helina bought some clothes. And I got a nice fleece sweatshirt for 6 Euro! Go sales!

We headed back to the train station, met up with the other Americans, and boarded our train. It took a long time for the train to actually leave the station, but we left by 6:52 and were back by 7:25. After we got back, we got on a bus to go to Kaufland, as I had no food in my room for the next two days. I bought myself some peas, noodles, deli meat, bread, cereal, and a blanket for my bed! We then waited a while for the bus outside, and then made our way back to Froschgasse once again to eat dinner. Rachel used my computer to Skype, while I fell asleep on my bed for a while. I woke up after about an hour, hopped in the shower, and am now blogging on my newly restored computer. Everyone else left for the night, and I may be meeting Rachel for breakfast in the morning, but I am not so sure. For now, I would like to say sorry for ranting to all of you, but it just feels good to get it out. I hope you've enjoyed my rantings, and now I will say Goodnight!