Week 3

Hello,

This week we took a trip to Koln as a group. We took a nice tour around town, our guide was very knowledgeable of the city's history. The people of Koln seem to have quite a unique sense of humor. The city borders stretch over both sides of the River Reine, but the east and west sides have a friendly rivalry with each other. The clock on city hall on the West end of the Reine even has a face that sticks its tounge out to the east at every hour. The Koln cathedral was amazing. I still can't believe it took over 600 years to complete! Although, construction was idle for 300 years. The attention to detail was unlike anything I've ever seen before. Examining the structures, statues, and intricacies of the cathedral was a humbling experience; a truly magnificent building. It makes me wonder why our nation hasn't built any large monuments lately. When will we build the next Mount Rushmore? When will we spend a good deal of money constructing a collosal structure merely for asthetic appeal (which could possibly attract tourists)? It's probably not too important in the eyes of the political leaders, but it would create jobs. We'd be spending money domestically instead of increasing our debt to China. But I'll stop talking about politics now; I had quite the experience with some locals the other day.

My roommate and I were coming home on Wednesday night and needed to catch a night bus. We made it to the stop on time, but it was the wrong stop. We watched the bus drive right passed us and continue on its route. We knew the bus route made a loop and would stop once more in the neighborhood before crossing the Reine, so we took off running to try and catch it. Pretty soon, we were lost. I'm thankful to be in Germany, because although we were lost on a Wednesday in a random neighborhood we've never been to, we found a pub. At this moment, the only thing I wanted, other than a ride home, was a warm house and a beer. We go into the pub and ask "sprechan sie Englisch?" Everyone in the bar replies, "neine, sprechan sie Duetsch?" My response, "ein bier bitte." Their faces lit up! They were elated that we even knew a little german. If I have any advice for someone who is planning to go to Germany, learn this phrase: "Eins Bier bitte." It saved our night. We sat in the bar for about an hour speaking in broken German and English with the few locals that were there. They were very friendly, and I believe some of them might actually be Greek. They understood our situation; I told them where we needed to go and asked how long it would take to walk. The bartender, Chris, told us it would take about an hour and a half. So he called up a friend of his, a taxi driver, and he gave us a ride to our street free of charge! I'm still appalled that actually happened. In our time of need, these strangers reached out, made us feel welcome, and made sure we got home safely. Although, if we didn't speak any German, we might have been walking in the cold that night.

My advice: LEARN GERMAN! No matter how little you know, something will come in handy one day. Out of all the excursions we've taken so far, this was one of the most cultural for me; interacting with local folk in their home language.

The days seem to be going by faster now. I really need to step up my study and exercise habits. Returning to a normal sleep schedule might help me out as well. Last week, it felt like we've been here for months! That may be because I still really miss some people back home. But I'm coming to terms with it. The fact that we will be here for four months is really starting to sink in.

Until next time...