Lauren in Germany!

Bye Blog!

Sadly, this blog is going to end soon. I got quite busy my last week in Germany and never got to properly sign off. I hope that everyone who was interested in my year was thoroughly entertained on this blog! Thanks for all the cards, care packages and support!

Leaving

I officially have less than a week left in Germany. I'm sad : - (

Germany vs. Sweden

Today I watched the Germany vs. Sweden game in Dortmund. We got dressed up and went to a sand bar (see pictures under World Cup) to relax on a faux beach and watch the game. After the resounding victory for Germany, all of Dortmund took to the streets for a spontaneous party. It seemed rather ungerman of everyone to be dancing in the streets and smashing beer bottles left and right but then again this is the World Cup and all orderliness has disappeared for the time being.

The Most Exciting Day Ever

A group of 12 American high schoolers are spending the week in Kirchberg as part of an exchange program. This is perhaps the most exciting thing ever as today they came to school and I was able to talk to my fellow Americans about living in a small town in Germany, differences between American and German high schools, and other such things. They soaked up my knowledge. The 12 kids are from a small town in Minnesota near the Iowa border so I am guessing that the wildness in Kirchberg is fairly similar to their lives at home. Next week I'm going on their activities with them to help translate. I look forward to both the brewery tour and the meeting with the mayor.

Ampelmann

Something you should know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelmann

Baaaaaaaah

My school has no air conditioning thus I want to open the windows on hot days like these. This is a bit of a problem as my school is next to a field of sheep. They not only smell but more annoyingly they baaah very loudly. The question of making all students swim in sweat versus having a lesson be disturbed by loudly baahing sheep plagues me daily.

And the World Cup continues...

Not really much is going on in Germany other than the entire world is here. I was in Berlin today and on the streets of Berlin an inordinate amount of international things were for sale. Want to buy kimchi on the street? How about a samosa for a euro? A panama hat? An Angolan flag? An American-style hot dog? Red and white face paint? Jollof rice from Ghana? A Pipi Longstocking wig? If yes, I suggest you get to Berlin.

PS: I added pictures of my trip to Brighton and of the World Cup shenanigans.

Yum England

My British language assistant friends have left Zwickau but lucky me I got to visit one of them this past weekend. My friend Ian lives in Brighton, England which is located in the south of England. The city has a fun pier, a nice rocky English beach and lots of fun shops and resturants. Most of my trip was focused on eating as much English food as humanly possible. In one long weekend I managed to eat/drink: Fish and chips, two full English breakfasts, shandy, chocolate Flakes, a pork pie, scones, a pasty, chicken tiki masala, tea, and a sunday roast. And in conclusion, all were delicious.

I love it

German does not have active verbs. Here you say "I wear pants" not "I am wearing pants." This is interesting as the German translation for "I am lovin' it" (of McDonalds fame) translates to "Ich liebe es" (I love it). I believe the "I'm lovin' it" is so much more than just love in a general sense in that it implies, in English with the mighty active verb, that you love it in general and you are currently loving it. After a discussion with friends we decided that the advertisers would have needed to say "Ich bin dabei es zu lieben" in order to convey "I'm lovin' it" and so clearly for the sanity of all they just reduced the jingle to "I love it."

It is hot

Today it is 90 degrees in Zwickau. That means it's time to break out your Benz convertible and put away the wurst stands....wait a minute...put away the wurst stands? Is it ever really too hot to eat wurst? Alas I went to try to buy one today and the ever reliable stand was not there. I was overcome with panic. I went into the store and they said it was simply to hot to stand outside and serve wurst. Too hot? Have these people ever lived in Washington DC? And more importantly, don't they know I want my wurst?