I am so proud of my blogging dedication - look at me go! It is fun to reflect on all that I have already done during my few days since arriving in Germany. Today my host brother admitted to reading my blog during class :) At least I know somebody is paying attention!
This morning I went with Barbara to purchase some credit for my phone. Oh - here's what ended up happening with my phone situation (it breaks my heart a little bit): my iPhone can not and will not work here. Believe me, I've exhausted my options. It's just not possible. SO, I will wait patiently until I can join the rest of the world of smart phone users when I return to the US (if not before), and in the meantime I am using Jakob's old phone just for local calls and texts. I sure hope I make some friends here so I have somebody to give my number to ;) I will carry around my iPhone to use as a camera and for internet if I'm ever in a WiFi area. So, if you want to talk to me in live time, then Skype is your best option (christine.dornbusch) I'm always logged into Skype when I'm using my iPad at home.
Alright, then I got lost. It was good and necessary. I took Barbara's bike and a map of Panketal (the town where I live), and I went for an adventure to get a better sense of my surroundings. I re-visited both of the local train stations and the public library. I also had a döner, which is a type of famous German kebab - yum! Only problem was, I had to ask multiple people before I finally found the right place. Side note: whoever told me that everybody here speaks English was lying. I have not yet met a single person who speaks English outside my host family. It's really great practice for me!
As I was sitting outside on a bench enjoying my döner, an old man approached me. I had no idea what he said, so I told him (in German), "I'm sorry, I only understand a little German." He proceeded to talk to me, and I answered (again, in German) "I don't understand". Well, that certainly didn't stop him! He carried on, and we ended up having a conversation that included topics such as the weather in Minnesota, what I am doing in Germany, and his history of being shot at by police when he tried escaping from the East to the West during the time of the Berlin Wall (at least I think that's what he said). He was a nice guy, but it was a pretty choppy conversation given the obvious language barrier. Nevertheless, I was proud. Of both of us.
After my biking/döner/library escapade, I came home and Skyped with my Gram and gave her a tour of my home here. Then I talked for a while with Jakob about all things important: parties, drugs, and boyfriends. It turns out, I am going to a high school party on Friday night. Those 17-year-old boys have no idea what's coming. KIDDING.
Barbara made a delicious pumpkin soup for dinner (I am eating really well here), and then I biked with Jakob to his soccer practice. I watched for a while before heading back home to Barbara where I got caught up on news from back home thanks to my awesome Flipboard app on my iPad - try it out!
Alright, I think that's all for tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to class with Anne and then we are baking muffins :) Bis dann!
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