Lunch with the Selbys

On Tuesday afternoon (1.19.10) I met up with friends of my parents who, as luck would have it, are living in Heidelberg too. Their names are Gary and Tammy Selby and they are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Gary is here for the school year as a professor in Pepperdine University's study abroad program and so of course his wife Tammy came along. When I met them, you'd have thought we'd seen each other all the time in the States but I've never met them before in my life as they live all the way in Malibu. Big hugs and smiles were exchanged, and "It's so good to see you!" was the greeting of the day, not "to meet you." I appreciated that they greeted me with such warmth and familiarity. My dad emailed them before I left to ask if they would mind being my "surrogate parents" while I'm so far from home and I see why he trusts them so much. Gary went to high school with my dad so they clearly have a lot of history together and I'm looking forward to hearing more stories as we all get together in the future :)

Since I'm still unfamiliar with the good restaurants around here, the Selbys suggested we meet up at the old reliable Hauptstraße and go from there. I already feel so at home in this city; it was so natural to just walk down to the tram and ride it for 3 stops until it stopped in Bismarkplatz, where the Hauptstraße starts. It's also a very pleasant walk once you get there because it's a quaint pedestrian street lined with shops and restaurants. It kinda reminds me of the Champs-Élysées only it's better because it's not so crowded and normal people can actually afford to go in most of the stores. After meeting up, we had a great lunch at a little place called Chili's and I had some of the best pizza I've ever tasted. We talked about one of my favorite topics, travel, and I got a lot of pointers about places to go and how to get there. I also found out that they have to make the tiring trip up and down the steps by the castle I mentioned in my castle post almost every day. That's rough right there. As we wrapped up our visit, they said several times that if I ever needed anything or just wanted to spend time in a home, I'm more than welcome to call or stop by. I will definitely take them up on that offer. My family is so fortunate to know so many wonderful people.

The Schiller Cast of Characters

Throughout my posts, I'll be making references to all the cool people here at Schiller, so I figured I should make a concise info list so people don't wonder who I'm talking about :)  I'll probably be adding to it as I get to know people better.

The second paragraphs under people's names are additions I've made on March 15th since I've gotten to know everyone better. There are also some new characters lol.

Kae Lani- One of first people I met at Schiller and one of the girls I went to dinner with the first night. She's from New Jersey and is also here as a study abroad student for one semester. I hang out with her and her roommate Taylor most often. She's awesome and very sweet. She also wants to travel a lot like me so now I'll always have someone to go with!

Taylor- The other girl I went to dinner with the first night. She's from Maryland (woot!) but has lived in the state of Thüringen here in Germany for the past two years. Her German is awesome and she is our translator in most situations lol. She's a great girl too and is taking most of the same classes I am. She'll be here for a while as she's just starting college.

Gregor- I met Gregor my first Friday here at O'Reilly's. He's from Puerto Rico and is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He hangs out a lot with me, Kae Lani, and Taylor. This is his second semester here so he knows a lot of stuff about the city, which is very helpful. He comes with us when we go grocery shopping for the food co-op to help carry everything, such a gentleman.

Gregor is one of my best friends. Not just here, but in my life. He is crazy, funny and always makes me laugh if I'm having a rough day. He has a mild obsession with Lady Gaga that he is proud of and it brings the rest us great amusement when he dances to one of her songs. He is one of my favorite people to hang out with and as soon as I hear his distinctive knock on my door, I know hilarity is about to ensue.

Martin- Martin is the guy who drove me and the girls to Cafe Gecko the first night. He's from Slovakia but spent nine years at an American school in Vienna so his English is great. He went to that school with the kids of many European ambassadors and has lots of stories about their antics there. He's a great guy and likes to buy rounds of drinks for whoever from Schiller is in the vicinity of the bar with him. I'm not sure how long he's been here, but he's going to school for fun because he already has a degree.

Martin is straight up crazy. But in a good way lol. He is usually the one to plan the night's events and is always up for getting drinks to pregame with at the dorms. He has many crazy opinions and is always outspoken, but I feel like a lot of it is just hot air. When I jokingly mentioned that I wanted to burn the Atlanta airport to the ground because it was there that my friend Siobhan's flight got canceled and thus she couldn't come visit me, he was all set to finance the mission. He's also obsessed with cars, and it's hilarious to hear him slam all the different brands. Most of the guys here are obsessed with cars, I don't see the fascination...

(new!)Stephanie- Steph is Martin's girlfriend and I don't know how she puts up with him. She is a very nice girl and hangs in Yvonne and Vanessa's room when she is on campus, so I only see her when we go out or if I happen to be in their room when she drops by. She went to a car show in Geneva a few weeks ago with Martin, Jascha, and Cody so I'm not sure how she still has her sanity lol.

The Twins- Nargiz and Narmin are from Azerbaijan and they are the cutest things. This is also their second semester here. They're only 17 and are so sweet to everyone. They love to cook and have shown us some great recipes. They live next to Kae Lani and Taylor and apparently giggle incessantly. I still can't tell them apart though :)

I have been able to tell the twins apart for several weeks now lol. They are still sweet as candy and often have everyone in their room for "tea parties" where we have straight black tea and a variety of delicious jams.

Jascha- Jascha (pronounced Yah-sha) is from Michigan and lives next to me in the dorm. He's also very nice and likes to out with all of us. He's a returning student too.

Jascha is a great guy and is a lot of fun to hang out with. He's pretty chivalrous and usually buys me at least one drink when we're out. I'll also correct what I said before: he is actually German and has lived all over the world. He most recently lived in Michigan and goes to school there. He is obsessed with a Turkish snack that is very popular here called döner. It's like a pita shell stuffed with meat, veggies, and some sort of sauce. He and Siggy will go get them at all hours of the night because these things are apparently open 24/7. Actually, a lot of people get them after a night of carousing ;)  Maybe that's why they think they taste so good...

Dan- Dan is Jascha's roommate. He goes to High Point University but is also from Maryland. Amazingly enough, he went to high school with a guy who goes to MDub and was in my management class last semester! The world sure is small. He's a first time student here like me.

Angela- Angela is from Switzerland and unfortunately has to go home to work every weekend so she can almost never come out with us. She's a very friendly girl who looks a lot like my sister, but with thick Dolce & Gabbana glasses. She's helped us out in the market a few times by knowing which brands are best and what all the German means.

Yvonne- I met Yvonne on the shuttle here but haven't seen too much of her since. She's come out with us a couple times though. She's also from New Jersey and is very nice and helped me out a lot when I first got here.

Yvonne is one of my favorite people here and is super nice. She and Vanessa watch a lot of movies in their room and frequently invite me to join them. She goes out with the group of us a lot and is a lot of fun.

(new!) Vanessa- Is an awesome girl and Yvonne's roommate. I don't see her much because she lives in Frankfurt from Thurs-Mon morning with her bf in their apartment. She is a lot of fun and very down to earth so I enjoy talking to her. I really want to hang out with her more before I leave.

Cody- The guy who came with me and the girls on our castle trip. This is his second semester too and he lives in an apartment building just off the Hauptstraße. Quite a convenient location for friends who don't want to have to go all the way back to Schiller after a fun filled night! Unfortunately, he is a Dallas fan so clearly he's had to overcome many obstacles in life as a result.

Jake- Jake lives off the Hauptstraße too so he's not on campus very much. He's the one who helped me carry my biggest suitcase up the stairs, God love him. I found out he's 26 and used to be in the Air Force, so I guess he's getting a late start on the college thing.

Xenab- The roommate. She's from Morocco and smokes like a chimney. She loves to party and goes out just about every night. She seems nice enough, but I'm keeping my guard up for the time being. Also, I think she broke my hairdryer.

Ok, so her name is actually spelled Zineb. All of the above info is true except for a modification: she is very nice and generous to a fault. Her mom bought her a Chanel handbag and when I was admiring it, she said I could borrow it anytime. This is a 3000 euro purse we're talking about! She's pretty crazy sometimes but she just wants to have fun. This is her first taste of independence so she's diving in head first. We don't really hang out that much in the dorm but get along really well.

Aaron- Aaron is from Miami and speaks excellent German and Spanish. I'm jealous of his language skills. He likes to use those skills to speak to the native Germans at school and to Gregor in Spanish. However, sometimes he's rude about it because once it was just me, him, and Gregor and the kitchen and he started rattling off in Spanish, which I of course don't speak. The jury's still out on him.

Aaron, or Siggy (a nickname he gave himself), is an odd bird. He still does the annoying language thing where he excludes people by speaking other languages. I confronted him about it with Kae Lani as back-up and he didn't see how it was rude. He is also obsessed with döner, which is good but not what the boys crack it up to be. He loves calling Gregor "Fez" because he thinks he looks like Fez off That 70s Show. Gregor hates it though and everyone else has laid off except Siggy. It would take up too much space to list all the things about Siggy that are off-putting so I'll leave it at that.

The Egyptians- There is a group of like 3 or 4 guys from Egypt and I only know one of them by name, Tarik. They spend all day it seems in Tarik's room because he has a huge TV, video games, and lots of weed. When Tarik is inebriated he goes around telling people he's the prince of Egypt. That story would be convincing if Egypt had a monarchy. Xenab has spent a lot time in that room so far :/

Tarek is actually a super nice guy but I never see him because he is always in his room. Also, he rarely comes out with us. The other guy is named Ahmed and I've literally spoken like 4 words to him because he is always in Tarek's room as well and never goes out with us.

(new!) Araceli- Is from Minnesota and lives with a family up near the castle so we don't see her very much. She's good friends with Gregor and since she is of Mexican heritage and speaks fluent Spanish they like to chat in Espanol. Last month I had a class with her and we went out to lunch a few times. I also went on a trip to the zoo with her, the twins, and Taylor. She seems very nice, but recently her true colors as a gossip queen are starting to come out.

(new!) Johanna- Oh boy where to begin. Johanna is another odd bird, but not in an obnoxious way like Siggy. The general consensus is that she's not exactly playing with a full deck of cards. She only eats two things ever, pasta and frozen chicken cordon bleu. When she cooks the pasta, she leaves half of it in the pot burned to the bottom and then lets it sit in the kitchen for days. She is absolutely obsessed with Gregor, much to his dismay, and is constantly asking people if they've seen him. She's from Columbia and loves to talk to him in Spanish. She never lets anyone in her room because apparently it's a disaster area. Yvonne and Gregor have caught glimpses when she leaves the room and the door is left cracked and can vouch for the messiness. She's a very nice girl but only talks to people about how their class was, what they're going to cook, and have they seen Gregor lol.

A Visit to Schloss Heidelberg

Thanks to the wonderful new system at Schiller, there are no classes on Friday! So Kae Lani, Taylor, and I decided to take a tour of Heidelberg Castle and walk around on the Hauptstraße, or Main Street, in the Altstadt (old city) part of Heidelberg. For the second day in a row there was no snow and it was pretty bright out, both of which are merciful changes from the weather we've been having. Since I've been here, it has been overcast and snowing constantly. It never seems to accumulate to more than 2 inches though, and the Germans are very efficient at clearing the roads and sidewalks by morning. Thankfully, yesterday the sun was out for a good part of the day and the city seemed happier. But I digress.

Before heading to the castle, we met up with our friend Cody and got lunch at a falafel place just off the Hauptstraße. I had always thought it was some weird veggie slop you get in New York but it's actually really good and the little restaurant was so cute. After lunch we headed up Hauptstraße to Marktplatz and had a photo op of the castle up on the hill. Then it was time to trek up the steep steps beside the castle. It was a good thing we ate beforehand because we needed all that energy to get us up the 300 steps to the castle. Once at the top, we knew it was worth the effort. Schloss Heidelberg is a beautiful old ruin with a tumultuous history and the views from it's outer grounds are fantastic. You can see the entire city of Heidelberg, all the cathedral steeples and red-roofed houses and quaint bridges over the Neckar River. It's breathtaking up there, and the Königstuhl (King's Chair) hill it sits on is very steep, so it looks like you could just drop into the city over the wall. Even with the sky being a little foggy in the distance, you could still see for miles. Heidelberg is nestled in a little valley and from the Königstuhl you can see how the mountains surround the city. We got some great pictures looking over the wall and the view will get even better once spring comes and everything is clear and green.

The castle grounds were covered in snow and that made it even more picturesque. Since we were still walking on the outer wall surrounding the central building, we could clearly see all the damage that has been done to the schloss over the years. For a little history: The earliest parts of the schloss date back to around 1214, but it was added on to for hundreds of years. Huge chunks of stone are gone from the walls and towers where cannonballs and mines had smashed into them when the French bombarded it at the end of the 17th century. The castle had been attacked before, but the French attack during the Nine Years' War caused it's greatest destruction. Leave it to the French. Although it is surprising they once managed to destroy anything seeing as how they fail at life. Anyway, it's not as if the whole thing is just a bunch of boulders lying around, the inner part is very much intact and we went inside it for a self-guided tour. There's an apothecary museum inside that was interesting to see, but the main event is Die Großen Fässer. This is German for "The Great Barrels" and kind of an understatement for what they actually are. The first barrel we saw was enormous, probably 15 ft. high and 12 ft. long, and made of solid wood with a royal crest on top. It held over 3,000 gallons of beer in it's prime. Yes my friends, this was a serious keg. I was amazed and convinced of my countryman's great love of ale. I thought it had to be the biggest keg in the world. Oohhhhhh was I wrong.

There is no word in German or English to express the size of the monster keg in the following room, so I will make one up. Ginormhumungargantuanimmense (looks German though). And even that doesn't do it justice! I thought it was a ship they had put in there when I first glanced at it. As I walked closer, I saw this was the great-great-great-great granddaddy of kegs. I couldn't believe my eyes, I thought it was some trick of light or spatial positioning. But no, there it was, the biggest keg on earth. Let me give you some numbers: built between 1750-1751, it is 30 ft. long, 21 ft. high, and capable of holding 228,000 liters (59,280 gallons). Don't EVER question the Germans commitment to beer ;)  Alas, they may have gotten a little over zealous because the great barrel was taken out of commission in only 1767 due to extensive leakage and expensive repairs. But the Elector of Heidelberg decided it should be kept as an object of interest for visitors to the castle. He was truly a visionary. After taking many pictures involving many goofy poses on top of the barrel, we decided to skip touring the rest of the castle and the grounds because it was getting dark and cold. Of course, we ended up finding the most inconvenient way to get down the hill. This time we went in front of the castle down a seemingly endless snow covered, icy hill. Thank God there was a railing on the wall, and I clung to that thing like if I let go I'd fall of a cliff. Meanwhile, Cody was having fun laughing at us girls as he slowly slid down the path, standing backwards with his hands in his pockets. It wasn't even fair how easy he made it look. That hill would make for epic sledding with the right equipment; however, that night I didn't feel like using my head as a toboggan. I wondered how the efficient German hadn't managed to clear that dangerous hill. When we reached the bottom, we found a sign saying that when the hill gets icy, they're not going to clean the snow off so use at your own risk. That we did. And so ended our great day at Schloss Heidelberg. I can't wait to go back!

The First Major Adventure

     My eventful second day started with registering for classes and general school requirements, always a fun undertaking. After a scavenger hunt around the building for signatures from people whose offices are hidden in tiny corridors, I headed back to my room to finish unpacking and chill. Around 5:30pm, I went with two of my new compadres, Taylor and Kae Lani, to a grocery store called Kaufland to buy stuff for the food co-op we've started in the dorm. Luckily, Taylor's fiancé Mario had driven down for a visit and was nice enough to drive us to the store. We putzed around for an hour or so, checking out all the different German packages and labels and trying to decipher what the non-obvious ones were. Kaufland is great, it has everything you could possibly need, which I think makes it even better than Super Wal-marts. That, and the fact it's not Wal-mart.

     After we got a mountain of food for an amazing price, we headed out to the parking garage and packed up the car. However, it was only after the very last box had been loaded in that Mario noticed we had a flat tire and a burned out headlight. Of course. Soo, we had to unload all the food and go back inside the shopping center to wait because it was cold and snowy outside. Luckily, there was an auto center right next door so Mario rolled the flat over to pump it up. However, Lady Luck was not on our side, because the air pump there was frozen. I'm still not really sure how that happens. Anyway, Mario and Taylor decided to drive with the flat on up the road a bit to another auto station we had passed. Meanwhile, I'm standing in the shopping center with an overflowing cart of food, trying not to look like a newb, while Kae Lani is buying some forgotten coffee. After about 15 minutes, they finally return with a pumped up tire and new headlight. Of course because of this fiasco, the three of us are way late for the new student orientation back at school. With the tiny European car fully laden, we set off for home. All goes well until we reach the tiny back roads of Heidelberg. The ever unfaithful GPS gets us lost and tries to tell us Bergstraße 106, the address of the school, doesn't exist. It had already gotten Mario there once, but apparently now it decided it didn't feel like cooperating. I am now convinced that technology is highly overrated, this not being my first severe mishap with the Global Perplexing System. After making u-turn after u-turn for 15 minutes, we miraculously found the school at about about 9.

     After unloading the food, Kae Lani and I went downstairs to the orientation that was supposed to end at 9 but was still in full swing until about 9:45. People were busy chatting, drinking champagne, and trying to decide where to go out to and how to get there (A student orientation with champagne, ya gotta love Europe!). After much hemming and hawing, the returning students, which was almost all of the group, decided O'Reilly's was the place to go. It's an Irish pub about a 10 minute walk from Schiller where lots of Americans and rowdy Irishmen like to hang out. Once there, the group of us sat around a covered pool table and the night began! Karaoke is the big thing at O'Reilly's and it's always fun to watch drunk people make fools of themselves. No one in our group did it that night but we weren't really there long enough for people to become intoxicated enough to sing. Every time the DJ would pose a question to the audience, the Irishmen in the back would call out hilarious smart a$$ answers to his questions. I love the Irish.

The atmosphere was upbeat and lively, even though it was so smokey you could barely see across the room. EVERYONE in Germany, heck Europe, smokes, especially the young people. They'll tell you this themselves. You start to get used to it enveloping you after a while, but every time someone lights up a new one, the strong scent gets in your throat and makes you cough. Luckily, this strengthens my resolve not to smoke, even though some of the guys are betting it will take me 1-2 months to start. I will prove them wrong! Drinking however is something I have no problem with. I'm glad to be legal at last, if only for four months before I have to wait until July when I get back. But I've traveled to so many places where 18 is the legal age it's not really a huge deal for me. Some Americans go crazy in Europe when they know it's legal. My friend Martin tells me that pretty much if you're 16 or an old looking 15 the bartenders will serve you. I've never yet been carded in a country where 18 is legal so I believe him. Actually, in Germany 16 is legal for beer but you can't drink the hard stuff or drive until you're 18. I think that's actually a pretty good system.  I only had one nice, sweet B52 that night; I'm here for four months, no need to overdue it the first night! America is so uptight about so many things that if we just sat back, took a deep breath, and looked at the example Europe sets, our kids wouldn't go so nuts and look bad when they go to other countries. Europeans know how to handle themselves; I've been here five days and I already know that. They aren't stumbling all over themselves in public or shouting and making a scene (except sometimes for the Irish lol). Anyway, enough of my philosophies for now. This is only part one of my weekend! I'll try to post my activities from Saturday soon.

First day in Deutschland!!

First off, I'd just like to say that this is my first blog so the content may be a little tedious at first, but bear with me and I hope to have a thriving little column here soon! I appreciate your feedback.

The flight here was a little ominous at first: 8 hours of being cramped with about 2 inches of leg room, the most severe turbulence I've ever endured (of course), and mediocre food and entertainment. But hey, it's United, what else would you expect? Lesson #1: Always upgrade to a seat with more leg room if given the opportunity. Turbulence doesn't usually faze me, but the hour long patch we hit was so bad, the captain made an announcement that everyone had to sit down for safety's sake. It felt like the plane was sliding over massive, uneven boulders, with the sound of rumbling constantly in the background. I even got that feeling in the pit of my stomach like when you go down a hill really fast. It was then I felt we were going to drop out of the sky.

In any case, I got to Frankfurt in one piece and wandered around the airport for a bit trying to find an ATM and wondering how in the he11 I was going to find the shuttle driver who was supposed to take me to my school. By the grace of God I found both, and using my limited German, the driver and I came to the conclusion that I was headed for the right place (amazing!). After arriving at Schiller International University, we unloaded my heavy luggage and I dragged it inside the beautiful old mansion that will be my home for the next four months! The building, grounds, and surrounding neighborhood are beautiful; the school is nestled at the bottom of a small mountain surrounded by trees and old brick walls that have surely been here for centuries. The little houses in the area are typically European, some painted bright colors, some with turrets, most with detailed wood moldings. I still haven't explored much of the school, but from what I've been in already, it's very much like a maze with many, many staircases. Speaking of staircases, it was fun lugging up two ginormous suitcases, a back pack, and a shoulder bag up about 7 flights of stairs! Luckily, one of the guys helped me with the biggest bag that would surely have put me in the hospital if I had tried to carry it myself. But now everything is unpacked and my small room is feeling cozier.

Around dinner time, I walked out into the hall and two girls at the top of the stairs looked back and asked if I wanted to go to dinner. I'd met several other Schiller students but I hadn't met them yet. I didn't know where they were going but I said sure because I figured it would be nice to see some of the town and get to know new people. On the way outside, I found out their names were Taylor and Kae Lani. The boy with them was a returning Schiller student; his name was Martin and he was dropping us off at Cafe Gecko in downtown Heidelberg. True to the European stereotype, Martin likes to drive fast for apparently no reason down the tiny roads of the city. However, he is a very good driver and knew exactly where we were going. At Cafe Gecko, where my water was more expensive than my soup, I got to know Taylor and Kae Lani; they're a lot of fun, want to travel a lot while they're here, and aren't obsessed with partying every waking hour of the day. Since we're all pretty similar I think we'll get along great. I've been here one day and already have three new friends; I'd say that's pretty good! Martin stopped in after we had been there for a while to see if we wanted to go to a club. "Nothing too crazy," he says, "just a light, laid back place." Seeing as how all of us had been awake for about 30 hours, we weren't really up for even "light" clubbing (good thing too, because we found out people who did go didn't get back until 6am). Before leaving, Martin advised us of which tram to get on to get back to Schiller. He also said don't worry about buying a ticket because they don't check at that time of night. So we rode the tram back for free and it let us off about 1 block from school. Talk about convenient! And thus, my first night ended very well, the beginning of many adventures to come.