Wandersleben und Leipzig

Two weeks ago I went to a nearby village to visit a castle. We walked through the village which was beautiful and after a good hike made it to the castle. The castle was amazing and the view from the top was even better. There are two other castles in the area that I didn't make it to. I felt like I was in a place that was so much older than any other place I had ever been. To imagine how long ago that castle was built amazes me (built as far as I can tell in 704).

This past weekend I made it to Leipzig which was so much fun. For the first half of the day we just wandered around and saw the sights. After lunch we hopped on the tram and went to a memorial for German soldiers that died in the Napoleonic Wars. It was a symbol of the Weimar republic even though it was built before WWI. It was later used to support German nationalism under the Nazi regime. Hitler even held rallies there. We climbed to the very top of the monument which is 91 meters tall (the tallest monument in Europe). The view from the top was amazing.

Classes are going pretty well. Germans talk a lot in class which makes it hard to concentrate during the classes that are conducted in German. They also praise the teacher at the end of each class by knocking on the table. I have two classes in English which is nice but the rest of them are in German. I'm learning a lot but I still have trouble speaking, however understanding when people are speaking to me is much easier now that I've been here for a while. I am having so much fun in Germany. I will go to Dresden soon with my Pate (basically a host friend-I didn't get a family). And then later I will go to Buchenwald and Hamburg. I am so excited to see all the sights here.

Easter and Beyond

Easter was fun. We went to a friend's house whose name is Anne. She gave us cake and Easter eggs. We had a small "Easter egg" hunt, which was really just finding different kinds of candy in the yard. I found the biggest piece of candy so I totally won Easter.

The day after Easter we went to the zoo. It was really cool. I was able to get up close to the animals and pet them. It was not like a zoo in America. I mean I got to pet a zebra! Plus all the animals were actually out and so we could actually see everything.



That night we went to Waldhaus to eat with a different Anne. It was good Italian food and the bus ride was exciting. Now classes have started and they aren't easy. Luckily we still have the weekends to unwind.

Last weekend we went to the Dubliner and it just happened to be karaoke night. We all got up to sing Bohemian Rhapsody which was pretty epic. However KoShu was the center of attention that night, as Paul and Brett both tried to kiss him.



The next day I went to Weimar. It was cold and rainy so we didn't see much. We ended up at Burger King where I got a kids' meal which provided some great entertainment. We went to Presseklub again that night for Jazz Night. I brought the toy with me and everyone had their turn.

This week we had classes again. I enjoy them a little. Last night we had a Welcome Party where everyone made food from their country and provided entertainment. I made hamburgers and some of the Americans did the Cha-Cha Slide with me.

Today Meggie, Kevin, and I went to a castle. It was a long walk but totally worth it. Sadly I am a little sick and could not continue on to a second castle. But it was ok because Meggie also needed to go home. We barely caught the train and then just caught the tram. But then we got to Domplatz and noticed the 90 bus that takes us right to Plauener Weg (our dorm) was coming soon. We hopped off the tram and got right on the bus. We timed everything perfectly and hardly had to walk at all.

The Last Week Before Real Classes Start

So last weekend was fun. A carnival started up for spring and I went with Shane and Meggie. We went on some rides and they were crazy. They don't believe in seat belts here or something because several times I thought I was going to die on the roller coaster. Although from the Ferris Wheel you can see all of Erfurt and get a great view of the top of the Dom.

This week I didn't have class on Monday or Tuesday so I just stayed in and tried to catch up on sleep during the day. I was able to sign up for "Fremde werden Freunde" which allows students to meet people from Erfurt. It seems similar to having a host family. On Wednesday we took a test to determine our placement for German as a foreign language classes. It wasn't too hard but I made some stupid mistakes.

This week we also went to Presseklub for Jazz Night which was so much fun. We played international telephone in multiple languages. It was so hard but a good way to get to know each other. I also introduced Meggie to the trampoline's outside Dubliner's and at one point we met up with the Italians on the tram after a night of fun and Pietro did a little dance for us.



On Wednesday we went Bowling which was super fun. I really suck but since none of us were very good I didn't do too bad. The second game we played teams and it was the Americans versus the English and they won. So much for the Revolutionary War.

Yesterday Meggie and I went to a different mall that is not too far from campus. It had the weirdest ramp escalator things. You can take a cart on them! It's because they have a grocery store in the mall. I was able to find Powerade there which was good because I was thirsty!

Today I went to the city park with Meggie and it was nice and relaxing. We noticed that the children's playground areas were not as obviously childproof as in America. It was like the good old days when you could still burn yourself on the slide and get a splinter on the climbing things.

Real classes start on Tuesday. I hope that everything goes well for me then.