Karneval and more

Hallo! Good news: I survived the first day of Karneval.  Bad news: There are still three more days to go.  Okay that’s being a little overdramatic, but seriously, I don’t know how they do it. The Germans (especially the Cologners) have got this whole thing down! 

Whether you enjoy partying or not, whether you like candy or not, or whether you prefer Köln or Dusseldorf, I think all would agree that Karneval is a sight to see.  Everyone wanders the streets in costume, yes even the adults, and you literally look out of place if you aren’t in costume.  For auslanders like us, it was a strange sensation to be boarding the bus and wandering around in silly hats and full-length skirts but to still be considered part of the “normal” crowd. 

I was so excited for Karneval to start.  I had bought my costume back in Köln on sale (a mediaeval peasant according to the tag, but most people thought of puritan when they saw the hat) and it had been hanging in the corner taunting me for weeks! Finally it was wieberfastnacht and I got myself dressed to meet everyone at AIB in the morning.  The AIB staff had outdone themselves.  Streamers were everywhere, complete with champagne glasses of orange juice and Berliners.  All four AIB groups were together and it was crazy seeing everyone, including the professors, in costume.  After much joy and picture-taking, we all set off across the bridge for the Beuel parade.  The parade wasn’t super big but we collectively managed to gather a gigantic bag of candy.  You would hear shouts of Alaaf, or Viva Colonia everywhere.  Even the policemen seemed to be enjoying themselves.  It was somewhere in here that the tie cutting began. Tradition goes that any man wearing a tie on Wieberfastnacht has to get it cut off by a woman and is then given a kiss on the cheek.  The girls in our group made quick work of the guys’s ties.  It was a grand ol’ time for all, and the guys didn’t seem to mind the extra attention.

After the parade had ended, we set out for the train station.  Apparently Köln is THE place to be during Karneval so we set out to see what the hype was about.  We were told to go to Köln south and then follow the crowd so that is what we did.  After squishing onto the tram with other costumed people we managed to find our way into town.  People ruled the city.  The streets were packed with people, and the cars were almost nonexistent.  Everyone was in costume and with the large crowd it was hard to keep our group together.  Everything was packed! Even now I am still humming Viva Colonia and joining in on the chorus whenever I hear it. The whole affair was definitely a ton of fun, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

In other news, the marathon training continues! Austin, Johanna, and I ran along both sides of the Rhine today for about 50 minutes.  We did a 10k distance which is a bit more than 6 miles.  I have never run such a far distance before! It is exciting to think I will be running twice that distance later this semester, but I also cannot imagine how tired my legs will be after that. 

Also my German has improved a lot.  I am able to order things with minimal pointing now, and I can even ask a few questions and say some things to my host family in German!  Now if I could quit mixing up Spanish and German I would be good.

As always the adventures continue and as the brief respite from excursion comes to an end, I am sure there will be much more besides studying to fill ya’ll in on soon.

Tschüß for now!
M