Germans + Swimming ≠ Ordentlich

Oh those silly Germans.

I went to swim laps at one of the nice indoor pools here in Hannover but it was incredibly chaotic. There were no lane lines but rather a large space for all swimmers, no matter your ability, and absolutely no order...a complete free for all! I was laughing so hard. At one point I was practically holding hands with another swimmer, more times than I can count on one hand I had to stop because I was behind slower swimmers or because I almost got run over by people swimming backwards. Oh my....I can't wait to go back, I love swimming!

My Newest Life Story

Ok, so I often, more often than a normal person, get life stories from strangers..here is the latest:

I had just gotten out of class and tried to run to catch the bus so I wouldn't have to wait 10 minutes for the next bus in the rain/sleet/snowy weather. I was not the only one either. There was a woman who was carrying a tiny, sick-looking dog who had on two jackets in one are and a huge, oversized bag over her other shoulder. Well, neither of us made it and we kind of looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.

Now, let me take a short break to tell you, this is basically the extent of German communication with strangers. The rule states "if you do not know a person, you unpolitely stare at them, uncomfortably make eye contact, then look away without so much as a smile or a hi, let alone a story...."

Well this German woman had obviously not read the rule book. She told me this long story about how she was in a similiar situation trying to get on the bus with her arms completely full, but instead of going to the front narrow door, she tried to go to the second, wider door. She knocked on the window when the driver wouldn't open the door and when that didn't work she went to the front to get on the bus. Anyway, it turned into this big drama with the bus driver telling her to get off his bus and then she wrote several letters to the bus company who didn't want to hear her side of the story, etc. etc.

Needless to say, I had to keep myself from laughing, I mean at one point she told me the police got involved...hahaha So after ten minutes of her story telling, the next bus came, hey, at least I was distracted while waiting in the cold, miserable weather!

German (as in the language)

So last week I began my new class. There were a few quams because the school I went to last semester didn't offer a course at the level I needed in the morning. But I guess it was a blessing in disguise because I just love my new school. I am working hard and the teacher makes the course challenging for all of us. I have also met a really nice girl from Poland, Karolina, (see previous post for photo). We get along and seemed to understand each other right away.

Then yesterday I began meeting up with two of Petra's students, as a conversation partnership-thing, Sinja and Maria. We are working on our German/English. It was funny because we just switched back and forth so effortlessly, ok, so maybe not effortlessly, but so naturally. When asked the question and she resonded it was in English and then for me, German. I am certainly looking forward to meeting up with them while I am here.

In other exciting, and might I add dorky news, I got a new book that I just love. It is a little pocket size German grammer book series. I have the prepositions one. It is full of different excercises just to practice using prepostitions (probably one of the most challenging things in a foreign language). Anyway, I have fallen in love with it and take it everywhere I go...haha

Pictures from the Birthday...

Anna (from Russia), myself, and Karolina (from Poland)

Elinor (from Sweden) and I

Elinor and Jenna (Canada) with very cool cocktails.

Elinor baked me a delicious cake.

23

23 sounds a bit old...this is how I measure:

When we were little we often imagined while we were playing that we were older (of course we did, who didn't!?!) anyway, we never imagined we were 23! That was just too old. We were always 18, 19 or 20 and very seldom were we even 21. Oh man.

Well old or not, I enjoyed my birthday. I had a nice lunch with my family and then headed out with some au pairs to a really cool cocktail bar. Then met up with some guys we know at a Dublin Inn in the city.

Pictures to come!

New Things for a New Year

Today was an awesome day.

I had my first German class for my new course. (I had to switch schools because of the time the class was offered). I think I am going to like my teacher, which is good, sometimes in Second Language Courses there are teachers who are not very good. Also, this class is filled with young people! I have already exchanged numbers with one girl, who I clicked with almost immediately.

Then this evening I played in my first handball game! Ok, so it was a team vs. friend's of the team, but it was not an easy game. The friends are also in good shape and not bad handball players! I didn't score any goals, but felt like I passed (relatively) well. It looks as though my first official game will be Jan. 28th (but I am not sure if I will actually play in it...we will see...).

Ice Skating

It has been so cold here recently and everything has frozen over. Including all the lakes around Hannover. So today we got out all the ice skates from the attic and headed to a nearby lake (it is actually an old moat around a castle that has since been destroyed). We had a wonderful time!

Back to Normal Life

After an amazing trip to Norway, normal life has begun again. Everyone started school again on January 7th (except me...I start on the 12th - Monday) We are enjoying the very cold weather. the Lake in the middle of the city has frozen over for the first time in a couple years. Starting yesterday people were allowed to ice skate on it!! We may go tomorrow. But today the kids and I stayed around Velber (our new little Stadtteil) and explored our new neighborhood.

Most Southern Tip of Norway

On my last day in Norway, Saturday, Jan 3rd, we took a road trip along Norway's southern coast. We stopped at two lighthouse, an American store, Trunken, 3,000 year old rock drawings, and a beach. The drive was also amazing and really showed some of the beauty of Norway. Here are some pics:

On the left is the old lighthouse and on the right is the new one, built in 1915.


Here I am with Anna Maria, Monica and Mattias on one of the rare sandy beaches in Southern Norway.


Here I am painting the rock carvings 3,000 years ago. Yes, there were cameras to capture the important moments.

Monica obviously found the quicker way to the top of the boulder.

Here Anna Maria and I are on the look out for unexplored land.

Ending 2008 with a Splash and a Bang

I was still in Norway for New Year's Eve. And it was a day to remember!

First my crazy cousins decided to go swimming in 0°C weather.
Then I joined the Ricke clan shooting fireworks, lighting sparklers and watching the beautiful firework displays all over the city.
The family lives on top of a hill. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. There were fireworks everywhere!