Germany is once again, one of the most comfortable places I can visit. Yesterday the rain finally stopped! I met up with Anne Dusemund, an old friend from ILA, last night. What started as a tad awkward ended up being a fabulous night. Had a little stop at her house, which is so gorgeous in this small town of Rachtig--which they continually keep trying to get me to pronounce correctly... Raccchhhhtig. As always, I felt bad for not being able to communicate fully, but we all made do- lots of jesturing haha. Soon after we arrived, we all walked over to the post-government-wedding party (there is to be another with all the glamor of a church wedding) of her cousin. In the German tradition, we met all the "youth" of Rachtig fully armed with horns, bells, air guns, and an engine (each with his own earplugs or ready set of fingers) to create as much noise and raise enough hell as possible. A lot of the parents smashed plates, pots, cups, anything in front of the couple. Was such a riot! The festivities included a ton of food and a ton of beer until all hours of the morning. Go Rachtig!

Today Anne and I woke up early to sightsee. We drove all around, stopping at gorgeous overlooks of the Mosel, Rachitg, Ürzig, and Berncastle. Had a coke at an old castle/overlook and ate lunch in Berncastle before boarding the boat to Rachtig. Chilly ride, but had great sights and a fun course. Anne and her mom showed me a DVD of the Carnival festivities in Rachtig... really cool dancing! And enjoyed the sun and her mom's garden for about an hour before heading back to Trier. Was such a short time, but such a fun one! Im falling in love with these small German towns... the pictures explain all its beauty and the friendships represent all its fabulousness.

A Rainy Day in Trier

Arrived in Trier at 4:30pm on Tuesday. Melina and her mom Claudia gave me a cute little bear with the German soccer team jearsey on it and a US flag. cute! We then had a 2-2.5 hour drive back to Trier, which was full of stories and lots of rain. My first meal in Germany was at a Chinese restaurant. Haha, but a yummy Chinese restaurant! Then Claudia took us to the grocery store to stock up Melina´s kictchen. We really almost had to tie her down to not buy everything, haha, shes a hoot. Finally got to see Melina´s flat, which is adorable I might say, and day one ended pretty early for all of us.

Yesterday I met up with Raphael and Andy, old friends from Sister Cities. Andy was only around for a bit, since he had to get ready to leave for FW (and there is a train workers strike, so he had to get another train). But our day was pretty full! Raphael took me to a cafe, the Roman baths, and then we met Andy at the ampitheater. Rained the whole time we walked around, but we dodged the heavy spells. The guys were set on trying to find a hot dog for me to have for the 4th of July... but the scarcity soon changed their minds, and we had pizza. We stayed there for quite a while, slow European service haha! Afterwards we walked around Trier a bit, looking at shops... I bought an English version of a German book called The Swarm for my long stay at the airport on the way back. Andy left to go get his bags and get ready... so Raphael and I went to the Porta Nigra and then had some yummy German ice cream in a shop just next to it. When the rain picked up soon after, we took refuge in watching Die Hard (and I saw it in German, too!), which I have to admit, wasnt too bad! We soon saw Andy off at the train station, and we ended our day in a local bar to have a beer. I cannot believe we did so much in one day, but everything in Trier is so close, its easy! The reality of its smallness was so clear, that the guys ran into 2 new ILA participants, and I ran into an SU student-- granted I did know he was there, but I didnt expect to see him! All in all, despite the rain and 50 degree weather, the day was a fabulous one!

How does one explain this?

I seriously cannot begin to describe how much fun I've had these past few days. Thursday night, we all went to a hiphop club called Sweet, which was a TON of fun (below is Erika and me before we went out). Met and talked to many people in the streets and a few people who work at the local bars. I cannot believe it has been only 5 days because I am learning so much every day-- especially from random encounters. Life here is so different, but it is very relaxed. And alive. People are out and about late at night, having dinner or eating in a chocolateria at 11:30pm. Despite the constant rain and cool temps---

Yesterday was our excursion to Toledo, which was fabulous--though very rainy and cold still. And lots of walking on cobblestone, ouch! But visiting the various churches and monasteries was well worth it, particularly the Cathedral. It was so ornate and unbelievable huge. 'The gals' (Erika, Kas, and I) spent the late afternoon in La Plaza de Zocodover, eating Paella (below is Kas and I with our meal) and having tinto de verano-- mostly so we could stay dry and warm haha.
And finally, last night we went to the ever-so-posh Joy Madrid, a club very near our flat. (Score: got free entrance!!) The disco was what one would call a stereotypical European club-- loud disco music, trippy lights, and an occaisional mullet. The highlight of the night was meeting the soccer team from Switzerland, whom we hung out with for awhile. Pretty darn crazy soccer players, I'd say!

Wine Day

Wine day was a fabulous day. We stopped in a cafe/bar near the Puerta del Sol to work on our homework. Had some local (and apparently famous) Tio Pepe, which was... errr not so good. But we talked to our waiter about our classes and he even helped us with a few. My bags thankfully arrived to the ISA office, and now I have clothes! We bought some wine to have with our dinner as well and then hung out with our señora. Which, p.s. she is amazing. Lots of jokes and learning new words... which, sorry Fernando, I will not write on here hahaha. The day was really laidback and fabulous all around. Still raining (got soaked on many occaisions)-- all yesterday and again today.

Tomorrow we are going to Toledo early in the morning, so I´ll get to tell you about that soon!

Jetlag free?

The third day in Spain has begun! Started the day handwashing some of my clothes so I have things to wear while I wait for my bags. Apparently, they came to the flat yesterday morning, but as we were gone, they could not leave the bags. But I asked the ISA office to redirect them to their building, but I have to wait until tomorrow or Friday. :( Anoche, it rained a LOT (and some hail-- so strange for this time of year!) Still pretty wet today as well. However, last night we had a totally amazing Madrid experience. Just below our flat is an amazing chocolateria, so Erika, Kas, and I went to work on our homework and have some churros con chocolate... yum! We´ve decided that we need to make it and the cafe next to it "our places." We are beginning to feel comfortable here, knowing our way around the streets of our neighborhood. But we have yet to explore the other areas of the city! Today, I have more class and hopefully more touring on our own... but its so hard to keep dry and walk the streets of the city at the same time!

Ciao