Fire...Freiburg...Fahrvergnügen

Oh wow! So I guess Murphy's Law is legit--all that talk about ICEs in the last post got me in trouble...on my way to Freiburg, sitting happily in my seat watching Arrested Development, the train came to a sudden halt! The passengers were not phased, but the attendants went running left and right up and down the aisles...I was the only one who was the least bit disturbed. Not sure if that is the American in me or the Scorpio in me. Anyway, it was a true test in patience and trust in the Deutsche Bahn. We ended up waiting for two hours in the train without lights (but with Becks) and eventually had to switch to a new train. The engine had caught on fire!! But leave it to the Germans to act rationally and with little emotion (compare that to my normal reaction in such situations...). We were all safe...but it would not be a lie to say that I was freaked OUT.
Anyway, I finally got there and was able to have one more fun weekend with Erica before she finished up her time in Germany. It was just great! A college city is a college city anywhere, I think. The people were young, excited, accepting, and fun-loving. The main city was pretty small, but it was packed with tons of different types of places to eat and good shops. What I truly loved about this city was its diversity...well as diverse as you get in this country. We ate at Onkel Woks, an AMAZING Chinese place. We also had crepes, Mexican, and typical German. Now don't worry, eating is not the ONLY thing I'm doing here. We went for a trying hike up the hill into the depths of the Black Forest. A beautiful view of an incredible city. Another thing that I loved about that city was the monuments they had for the Jews who had been removed from the city and eventually executed. They were small plaques on the sidewalks outside of their residences. Very plain, very factual. They need not be too fancy, because just the thought of the people who were removed from the city stirs up so many complex emotions that the simplicity of the monument is appreciated.
I also got to meet up with an old friend from high school there. A real German! He was a sight for sore eyes. Konstantin lived in Charlotte junior year, and has been floating around in my life ever since. We have both grown up a lot, and I can not be happier to know that he is close by. I feel like a true world traveler to have friends in Germany.
Other than my trip to Freiburg, I have a bunch of little travels scattered in my time here before I head home for Christmas. I am always eager to get out of Dinslaken. As you probably grasped from my previous post, I am not too keen on riding my bike through the rain, cold, and gray to get out into the world. If I am going to do that stuff, it is nice to have a more exotic destination than school or the grocery store. But my every day life is not too dull these days, either. I usually only work a few hours a day. The rest of my time is spent riding my bike (do you notice a theme here...?), working out, eating, eating chocolate (an important distinction there!) and on the internet. It gets dark around 4.30 nowadays. So once I get settled in here on my red couch, I am reluctant to move.
It is difficult to get out and see people in the afternoons, but we Fulbright girls certainly make an attempt to do it. I have friends within 30 min to 2 hours on the trains...but after getting out of work at 2 and needing to be home for school the next day, it is not always possible.
I also have plans to host a movie club for the students at the the school. I am hoping that by showing them less-known movies and discussing them afterward outside of the classroom atmosphere, we will be able to talk about real issues in the US, rather than the sometimes contrived issues that are discussed in the English classes. But, unfortunately, the time I spend with the kids there counts towards my maximum of 12 hours a week in the classroom. So I still have the plethora of free time during the week.
So daily life is pretty...ordinary. It is not very German (except for the eating chocolate part), but nor is it very American. It is very Sadieingermanymakingherway. I have just recently been able to find some sort of nook in this crazy life. I really wish I had had a better understanding and better preparation for the way things work with the school, with Fulbright, and with Germany in general. But now that I am figuring things out, I am able to appreciate things a little more. For example, I really like the bread here. And I think its really fun to return plastic bottles for refunds (America, let's do this, too!). I think appreciation of bigger things, such as the school system, will come with time.


Now some belated vocab words!
Panic: die Panik
Burning: brennend
Candy: Suessigkeit
The Pleasure of Driving: Fahrvergnuegen

PS: Fahrvergnuegen doesn't really fit in this title. But I just realized that it is, in fact, a real word! How exciting!!