German Capital .....BERLIN!

So this past weekend I got to take a trip with the Internation Office to Berlin. I figured why not go there I mean I would expect people to take a trip to Washington DC if they were on the East Side.

So the trip was a ton of fun. I got to meet a lot of cool people from all around the world. It is very interesting to me that "Mutual" language is English. People for Spain Russia and so on could all speak english which was cool for everyone getting to know everyone. We took the 4 hour bus ride on the Autobahn. Our top speed was 62mph......other cars...FAST. It is crazy how fast some of the cars are going on the highway.

I went all over the city and had a blast. A lot of interesting places in memory of the wall. A lot of history in that town.

While there I went to a Theater Production. It was pretty cool for me because I understood about 70% or so of the play. It was all in German which is why I only understood 70%.

Just yesterday my Sprachpartner asked me to go play some soccer with him. I had a BLAST. I mean I really enjoy playing soccer and being able to go out there and play against some Germanys was a good time. .........Yes dad I was able to keep up with them and score some goals!

Other than that today marks my 2 weeks from today until I come home. I don't know how I feel about that. I mean I am having a great time here. But I would also be nice to get the normal life back. Germany is filled with smoking so a little break from the smoke will be well welcomed.

This weekend is basically my last weekend here because next weekend I will be going to Paris to end my abroad experience.

I am sorry this is so random, but my mind isn't working very well right now. And also I am having a slight problem with my english. For example I first wrote how I wanted to make a trip to Berlin. Because in Germany you make a trip or you Make a break. Its a little rough. So please have no fear asking me some questions or emailing me....I ALWAYS have time for friends and family.

Have a great week I heard the weekend is to be nice!

Random things

So I just figured I would give a little update on what is going on since spring break.

So I would like to start off by saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Mom. Yes I did send her a postcard and I did remember.

Other than that got my grade back for my second class finished. I got a B. So far over here I have a B and a B+. Which isn't bad isn't amazing so I am happy. The other class that I wasn't doing so well at all I was able to switch it over to an Audit. Which is good because I wasn't of ability to be in the class. They only speak German in that class and I can understand about half of what was going on. And I switched it just in time because now we would be required to have a 20 min presentation only in German. That had to be based on my favorite book. Plus I had to have a 2-3 page paper to go with it. And so I wasn't so cool about that.

The weather...... as much as I like spring flowers and air, I hate the warm and then a sudden cold. I wish it would just always be 40-50 outside. Instead of going from 40 -25. It gets you all excited and then upset when you have to wear the winter coat. You know the saying in ohio if you don't like the weather wait 10 mins and it will change. (or something like that).... well that is the saying for here in german. I was really excited when I woke up this morning the sun was real bright with a blue sky. By 945 it was raining; by 10 it was snowing; by 1030 it was sunny, windy and cold.....

Rough news got me this past week finding that Boy from church, the Youth Pastor, was leaving. It was really rough because someone said something about it and I didn't know what to think and I looked into it and found out about it and was like o....ok. Finally about 5 days later he talked to me. Wasn't mad just wanted to know what was up. Found out hes is going to First Friends Canton which is totally cool have no problem with that. But now I look into what is next to come. I am all about the Youth Group. For the past months before I came to Germany I was an intern and really involved in the Middle School youth group. Now I found that by the time I get back to my church they are going to have a new Youth Pastor in there. Which has its advantages and disadvantages. They are trying to get all the applications done by the 6 and they job filled by the 26 of April. I just hope we get the right guy for the job. It seems like sometimes a Youth Pastor makes the youth group. So we will see. I hope to still help but I am not sure whats going on.

IN THE NEWS: NCAA basketball march madness......LOVE IT! Every year my dad brother and I don't bet but we have a friendly contest as to who can pick the bracket the best. I would just like everyone to know I am on top.

Other than that I will be getting home in 42 days. Excited yes. Will I miss it here, yes. But am I ready to get a job and move a lot more than I do here......OH YEA! I almost had a 6-pack before getting here. now that I am here I am not very close and not so happy with it. But atleast mama knows I am eating.

High point of this week is tonight! Juliann had a big project due today for Government and so we are going to have Hamburgers for dinner. Its the all American Grill -minus the grill Night!

Also an aside: If anyone reads Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin. Please fill me in on it. THANKS!

Everyone have a great week! I miss you all and hope your doing well!

Adam

SPRING BREAK!

Gotta love Spring Break. Its the hump of the semester. If you made it to this point hold onto your hat because the last little half goes by really fast. Which is cool, but being abroad its kinda sad because who knows when I will be over here for this long ever again.

So the plan for Spring Break 09 was Salzburg Austria and Munich. And I am/was pretty excited I mean I am Germany so why not see the culture.

Coolest part about the idea of going down there was the fact that my Professor was going to be over here and showing us around and stuff.

He got in on Sunday and so he invited the Mount students that are over here to go with him out to dinner. So his form teaching assistant and my current teacher and her husband Juliann, me and himself all went out to dinner like a "HEY DOC WELCOME TO Lüneburg." So that was pretty cool. Then Monday hung out went around town and then rolled we went over to William-Watt-Str. which is where I live. And so Juliann and I cooked dinner for Doc that way he knew we were able to survive and save him a few dollars.

Tuesday we then got on the 6 hours of train to Salzburg Austria. This is the location of focus for

'The Sound of Music'. Which is also where my Dad would love to one day visit. but I got to come here first. So we just made our way to the Hotel then got to walk around the city in the dark for a few. Wednesday we went out and started to do some touring.

Through all the week Austria wise, we toured: The Salzburg Zoo, Stiegl-Brauwelt(AKA brewery), Mozarts Birthplace and Residence, Hohensalzburg Fortress, and Museum, Hellbrunn Palace and trick fountains (which weren't on because to cold), Many Cathedrals, Catacombs, and many more.

One of the things I found pretty cool was the Cable car.

This is one of the sights from on top of the ALPS! It was an amazing view. And very windy. I didn't get a chance to go skiing because the weather just wasn't that great until the last day. So while I was up on top of the Alps I took a walk which at times I felt like I was skiing with hearing nothing but the wind and like higher than everything and nothing but white and hills. Gotta LOVE IT! It was like 1.2 miles high. The ski route to get down if I would have been able to was over 4.3 miles long!

Overall the Austria part was really cool really an amazing place to visit if your not into the whole beach thing because it might be a little colder but it was really relaxing and fun.

With this I must give props to Doc though because he was a personal tour guide so I gained a lot of information about the different buildings, Cathedrals, Palaces, and places to be German/ eat. Which was cool. I mean I am just lucky he puts up with me! HAHAHA

After that we made the trip to Munich. In Munich saw some cool sites. A few different churches and a lot of Lederhosen. What is that you might ask? Well its what I pictured in my mind what I thought all Germans wore. Those goofy outfits. Well I think they are sweet so that is on my Christmas list for next year. But it was funny because you got people wearing their Nikes sweats and jeans and then here is a guy looking like a German Paine Stewart with a cap and feather. ( Please note normal these guys were just standing on the side in front of a Pub drinking.) Must be the German thing to do.

O and have no fear I have a New 3 LBS of Peanut Butter thanks to Doc brought me that and I love Peanut Butter even if it did give me salmonella.

So there is a lot of little things that I didn't so much put in there not because I am lazy just because its really hard to think of all of the things. It just comes up in random thoughts and such. But I did put some pictures up on FACEBOOK and I am always open to talk about w/e and/or questions.

Have a happy st. Patty's day......

And in honor of my trip to Austria.......So long farewell Auf Wiedersehen, good night I hate to go and leave this pretty site..........

Me Juliann and Doc Himmelein

LONDON

What an amazing experience I just had getting the chance and taking it to go to London, England. A very large but beautiful city. This city didn't seem like a short New York. And you New York lovers are going to hate me for saying that but its very true. I mean I got to ride up in the London Eye and in every direction that I looked I didn't see an end to the city.

.....but first getting to London.....

So the flight leaves from a small airport at 5:05. The gates close at 4:25. So we (Juliann and I made this trip together....buddy system) knew the train we needed to take to get there took 1 hour and 10 mins and it came every 33. So why not just get on the 2:33. We were going to do that but to play it safe we took the 1:33 and good thing we did. We rode the bus to the train station and once we got there the train we needed wasn't running on thursday or friday. So now waht do we do. We don't have a car or a map. So we ask the people for help. They could tell my German wasn't very good so Juliann did all the talking. But the lady talked so fast that we had no idea what she was saying all the time. But they were trying to get us to the airport as best as they could.

Sure enough they found a way that took us to the airport with 20 mins left. So that means that we got to the airport at 4:05. We got in jumped on the plane and made our way to London for the 1hour and 35 minute flight. Now let me mind you I haven't flow that much but after making it though an airport doesn't that mean that if you have the same stuff that you got over to England with you would make it home with the same stuff NO!....thats a story for another blog....

So we finally land in London which is cool because they are an hour behind us so it ended up being a 35 min flight. This is a very cheap line so ofcourse its a 46 min ride by train to the city. So we take a train to the city and then from the city we were going to have to go all the way to Reading which is where my cool friend Michaela is living for her study abroad experience. It was cool because Michaela I met her over the summer doing the Ulster project. She was one of the host families sisters. And we were like o that would be so cool blah blah blah and sure enough it helped because I had a free place to stay. So finally at 10:30 at night we finally got to her place. Talk about a lot of traveling!.....

So now Friday finally got to London after missing our stop on the bus. We wanted to get off the subway, undergroud, or THE TUBE and go to Buckingham Palace first and then slide on down to Westminstser Abbey Big Ben and Houses of Parliament. So we were walking down the street and trying to find Buckingham Palace. Good thing I can use a Map because you can count the number of times we got lost on a boxing glove......0

So we are walking down the street and were like wow a lot of people are here. Sure enough we got there at 11:15 at 11:30 was their changing of the guards which is to be a very big thing. This only happens once every other day. So we didn't think about it until they were actually getting ready to do it. The changing of the guard was very impressive. A Buckingham Palace is huge with huge gates and such. But when they bring probably 50 people out to do the changing of the guards its impressive. They brought two groups of marchers out and then 2 bands came rolling in from a distance playing the whole time. This whole process took about 45 mins but it was worth it I feel. A lot of marching and their outfits were pretty cool to check out.

Following that walked through the one of the 1,000 parks they have in London. Toward Big Ben. Now all these pictures show Big Ben being so huge over everything. ITS NOT!.....i had no idea I was like what?!?! But have no fear it is still totally sweet. I was loving it.


Some other things I saw were Covent Garden, Westerminster Abby, Houses of Parliament, The Temple, The London Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Eye, and Chinatown.....





Alright so chinatown is pretty cool with a lot of stuff in a little area. But around it and all through it is random clusters of things. Such as Leicester Square which has a whole but of Tickets for sale. Leicester Square is to London as Broadway is to USA. But since I got off work from Abercrombie and Fitch to come to Germany the only A&F I have seen and smelt is what I own. And I don't own any Fierce so I have just been wearing the name. But while walking through Chinatown I saw a Fitch bag and got really excited at being pointed in the right direction I found myself upon a really really rich road.....you name a car that costs a lot it was on this street and why were these cars on the street? because there stores were really high end your Prada and such....and so finally I turn down the street and find it......





ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH LONDON= Amazing huge. I was in aw the entire time in there. They had so maybe people working. They had models standing at spots with a camera and people would take pictures with these guys with no shirts and such. People were just standing up there dancing. It was a zoo. But I couldn't believe it. It was everything I wanted to do while working but it actually happening. Like I model at work the boss doesn't like it....I dance at work....boss doesn't enjoy it all the time but these people do it because they are told to do it. Ok had to throw that out there........





I then went to the London Eye which is a totally cool Ferris wheel thing. It was built in 2000 and was only to be up for 5 years but because of the number of people that use it they left it up. And I could see why. Like I said before this place is not very tall. So in the London Eye you got a perfect view the entire time.

As you can tell I am higher than Big Ben himself.

Well I don't want you to spend your day reading this book so I will write THE END

But if you really have questions of want to chat it up....hit me up!

Adam

Quick update on to be travel

So I have been doing a lot of booking recently. Trying to find the best deals and then take it.

I will be going to London this weekend. If anyone has any tips for there I am open for ideas. I will be leaving here on thursday night and then going to try and find where my friend Michaela lives because she too is studying abroad. So once I get there I feel like it will be a little easier. I then plan on traveling all around friday and saturday then leaving on sunday morning.

Following that I have a weekend of class with a final on Friday then Doc H is coming to visit and then Doc, Juliann, and I will be making a trip to Salzburg. This is spring break. This is said to be a pretty cool place. If the snow is happening I would love to take one day and hit the slopes. Skiing in the Alps...COOL? I think so. Following 3-4 days there we will be going to Munich and then leave Munich on sunday at 1050 for the 6-hour train trip back to Lüneburg.

As of right now there is not plans until the 4th week of April when I go with the school to Berlin. I still have to drop them some money for that. I will be in Berlin for that weekend then get home have one week of class FINAL of all FINALS on thursday. Following that final....

I booked a trip to Paris! So far cost of travel and Hostel is less than driving to New York city. I will get home Sunday morning May 3 and then at 715am May 6 Germany will be changed forever because I Adam will no longer be making my presents known here in Germany.

Finally arriving back at the Akron Canton airport at 6:49pm.

So in other words I have 75 days left until I am home.

So I am summer job searching. I did apply for Cedar Point and I am waiting to hear something from them because I need a job. I would LOVE to work for the school admissions but they won't tell who they are going to hire until the very end of April......so with 17+ people trying to apply for the 2 or 3 jobs its tough because who is to say that I even have a chance?

......check back in a day or two because I have a short story about my backpack that I bought....

Grades and such

So here school for Track I is broken up into 4 parts. I do one part at a time and after 4 weeks I take an exam on it and that is my grade for that class. For example I just finished Elementary German I so I am now plus 4 more credits and a B+ as a grade. I wasn't to upset about the grade but I was thinking Germany was to be a GPA booster so strait A's. O well not that big of a deal. A few things that made me wonder though is I got a B+ for homework. On all the homework we don't get a 16/18 or a -2 or something like that we just get a check. So I was thinking well heck that should bump up my grade getting all these checks cause I turn everything done and complete on time. NOPE I was slightly wrong. I guess she keeps a mental note of our papers and gives us a grade. Same thing with Interviews/Dialogs. There is no paperwork for this its just a w/e she wants to write down. I wasn't totally mad just a little upset that there is no reasons for the grades. Then the one statement that if I ever become a teacher hope to never use is "Well no one is perfect so it is hard to get an A". WHAT?!?! I can't get an A for Participation? I mean I talk, don't sleep, and shockingly not day dreaming. O well B+ shouldn't be too bad. I just worry about conversation class cause I CAN NOT pass a test in there for anything. I try so hard but everyone else is a lot more advanced than myself. But I keep taking a beating everytime I go to that class because I feel that I am learning a lot in the class. It just doesn't show grade-wise.

Wednesday: I got invited by some Germans to go check out the Bremen vs. A C Malland international match. It was quite cool to watch a game with Germans. They are a lot more into the game and focused on it then people are at home. Its like us watching the BROWNS, CAVS, or INDIANS!!!!! just for soccer. Coolest part about the party was that I got to TRY and speak some German. They were very helpful correcting my phrases and such.
At this party they were like try this trick. So they handed me a bottle. This bottle had a cap attached to it. And what I was to try and do was flip the bar and swing the cap to the top of the bottle and one point for it to stay on and 2 points for it to go back in the hole like how it came. I first try....got it in the hole.
So because of my sweet talent they were like now close it up and try and slide ur finger over it and have the lid come off. The guy showed me a few times and then was like you try. After a few tries i got it. Then I was like wow this is fun so I did it one last time. And the bottle broke in half. So I don't know if it was a german trick or if I am really that strong. IDK but overall a good time.

It turns out I will not be attending the Russia trip this time around. Just wasn't going to happen. So I started to then search for tickets. Found a few flights and was like nah I will look tomorrow. Prices then went up and then I was like o man not cool. So I kept searching talked with the parents and then got myself a ticket home. The ticket is a round trip ticket for $630 thats final cost. Or i could have bought a one way ticket for over $1,200. So I felt that is was better for some reason to get the round-trip for half the cost. So I will be flying from German at 7:10 AM into paris...paris to atlanta then to CANTON. where i will touch down around 6:49pm. AKA AMERICAN DINNER may 6!

So if anyone knows of anyone that would like to fly TO Hamburg Germany for free? $10? idk w/e I have a ticket for 6/20/09

London NEXT WEEKEND!!!!

Lovin' Germany

I have just finished my 5th week in Germany. I am having a great time. I have been out a lot people to different places and I am gettin more confident with/in my German speaking ability.

On friday we had an 80's party with all the USAC kids. I didn't bring any 80's clothes with me so I just though really hard about how the basketball players had some really short shorts so I took my shorts and made myself look like an idiot but I had fun so its all good.

On Saturday Juliann and I made a trip to Golsar. Quite a nice little town. The downside it was

-4C and thats not very fun for walking outside and taking pics. The town how large hills all around it which built a lot of character to it. The trip by train took 3 hours. It was south so it seemed to be getting less flat. Basically like going from Alliance down to Cabela's in WV. How its not total flat like findlay but then it gets bigger. ANYWAY......

Went to a Donner shop in Golsar that was really nice with table settings and candles on the table so I guess you could say we had a candle light lunch. Yes mom I did buy Juliann(my valentine's) lunch. I wouldn't hear the end of it if I didn't.

So back on the train I saw this guy that looked like he had a Boy Scout uniform on. So I couldn't help but as him hey are you a boy scout. He said yes. And so we talked for 5 mins about differences in how things are ran differently. Then I asked for a pic:

So finally got back to my house around 7 or so. And then Juliann was making Valentine's dinner. I was pretty pumped because A I didn't have to cook and B it was probably going to taste better then anything I have made.

So we had cheese noodles and a large salad with bread. And thats where I came in saying O sorry i didn't have a desert....I then ran over to my house where I pre-made banna splits for us. So i grabbed them out of the freezer and heated up the caramel and it made for a nice dinner.

Overall I had a much better Valentine's day than last year!

Some other news that happened this week we booked tickets for London so we will be there at the end of Feb til march 1. This will be pretty cool cause my friend Michaela lives there cause she is abroad too and he hopefully will hook us up.

Other things we are looking at is booking the Paris trip and home.........

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. Have a wonderful week!

What would you do?

Alright so today. One of the classes were going to Der Spieler. It is a big name in German/ European news. It is in Hamburg so I have to take a train to get there and back. One the way there we traveled as a group and on the way back it was a free for all to get home. So Juliann and I are sitting there waiting on the train.

A black man probably 45 years old walked up. His name was Willy. He goes Hello. I was like alright english how are you? He said good. I hate to bother you but I am trying to see my two kids in Koln. And I need 6.90 euro more to get the ticket. I didn't know if you would be able to help. I had some money in my pocket but I was like i have been screwed by this before someone coming up saying I need money for gas blah blah blah.

So juliann goes I am sorry my money is at home and I was like o and my wallet is also at home. If I would have my backpack I would have had a few for ya. Sorry.....Where are you from?

He goes I am from Cleveland, OH. We were like no way I am from Alliance, Mount Union College. He goes thats cool. Is that your train? You better go. I don't want you to miss it.

And we were like thanks God bless you gave him nothing and got on the bus. And we both sat there wondering what we should have done......give the man a total of 10 euro cause thats all we had? or just drop him a prayer?

Its things like this when I don't know if it is a test.......or if it is fake...

Tell me what you think

Week 4.....over

So another week quickly in the books. My fun level is slowly getting higher.

I am getting more settled in and like this weekend for example I went out and met more people which is something I totally love doing. This past week my German buddy Jan (thats a guy) he had me come over and so like 5 of us made some dinner. The dinner was quite tasty. Only problem though is I am not really into eggs at all. And so wouldn't you know he makes this tasty meat rice and some other things plate and then puts an egg over top of it. And I was like what? seriously? But I ate it. I still don't like eggs but i would take a little egg with some meat and a drink and quickly the egg was gone.

Then friday I had a final for my Track 1 class. See how my 17 weeks here is broken down by 4 parts. And so each part is considered a class. So right now for example I just took the final exam in part one and so I will have a grade for the one course and now I start the part 2 class on monday. So hopefully I will do better and continue learning in this course.

While I am on the topic of classes I am also in a conversation course and for some reason I don't do well in it. I think it is because I am the least smart one in there. Hear me out. What I mean by that is most of these kids in this class have had 4 years of German and I am only starting my second. So these guys are pretty far ahead. And then some others are on their 6 and 7 years. So I don't feel like a complete idiot i just wish my grade would be better. I feel though overall even though I am not doing well in that class at all I don't want to get out of it because I am learning so much. I am able to actually talk to people. Now every now and again I don't know a word but most of the time people know what I am saying which is totally exciting for me. One of my bigger problems is being able to understand what they are saying. And that too is why this course is good for me because I can then listen and ya i like the class.

So friday night. Got to go out to a party that Kati (Julianns roommate) invited us to. It would be my first German People party. I didn't really know what to expect. So I just went to get my dance on. So we went to this party and the girl stopped us at the door and was like your not dressed for the party you can't come in. I was like what? i didn't know there was a theme. Shes like its summer theme. NOW THEY TELL US! I have my shorts and swim trunks and flip flops but it was like 28 so that might not have been a good idea. But then they were like nah we are just joking. So talked with that girl and moved on and people were pretty cool talked some german and some english. It was pretty.......weird there dancing wise. Like I said something about it at the international dinner. But even at this party i noticed it more. The people basically dance by themselves.

When you picture a nerd in High School dancing.....ya thats them. Even the people that you would be like they would look totally cool in America their dancing would kill you. And so I was trying to dance like them but I didn't want them to feel like I was mocking them. But i couldn't help but laugh and dance. After being at that party a guy named Rasmus was like come on lets go to another party. Ok......So we went to another party. We weren't there nearly as long it was a bigger party but i woke up at 5 am friday morning and couldn't get back to bed and it was then like 330 so i was ready for bed.

Saturday slept in....til 10. Then got up and ready to go to Celle. It was a pretty crappy day. Like friday was the first time I went outside without a winter coat on since being here. The sun was up and it was warm like 35-37 out. And so i got to take my "The North Face" jacket out. I love this jacket. But I got to wear it because it was nice and slightly warm out.
But Celle on Saturday on the other hand was not warm at all. It rained the whole time. I was kinda upset about that. I don't like getting wet when I am site seeing. And then it was cold.

Celle itself was really kinda.......blah'ish? I mean it was nice to see but there wasn't much to see. And like Castle wasn't what I was thinking it was going to be. I am sure in May when everything is Green with flowers it would be cool but not when its cold with rain.

Sunday has just become the Homework day. I put all my work off til sunday because it is a pretty slow day. NOTHING is open. So can't get the shopping done. So i do picture uploading facebook stalking and homework/study and EAT.

I am also starting to understand that summer is on its way and so I am looking into jobs. Gotta make some money when I get home and with a lot of people needing them I figured I should try and start early into a seasonal job. Currently there is a piece of me that is saying 'Adam go to Cedar Point' that part of me makes me smile. But then I am not really sure when I for sure am going to get home. I could get home either May 7-12, June 1, or June 5. So we will just have to see. I would like to work admissions again at Mount but I got this odd feeling there is a lack of want for the best tour guide ever.

Alright I hope YOU had a great weekend cause I did have a great start to this week!

......Kati is having a party Monday......I will be there

Random monday

So I was just sitting in class today and was like hmmmm......this could be something worth putting in here.

See the first thought that came to my mind was this guy that was on the train on the way home from Bremen. On the way home from Bremen Juliann and I were just talking and such in English because thats our language and then this guy sitting across from us was looking at us the whole time then asked something in German. And my lack of German ability probably showed but I replied in German which I was proud of. But then he kept talking and I was like crap I have no idea what he is saying. So Juliann jumped in and helped me out. But then she went to the bathroom and this guy just kept talking to me. He tried to speak some broken english to me and I was able to catch parts. Explaining where I was from in USA and he told me about his Uncle in Texas.

The story then gets a little weird/ shady. See the guy then got out what looked to be a normal business card. Indeed it was having basic information on it as well as a picture of a horse tractor and flower. He then said "before you go back to the States come visit me here". I was like why? He then told us how he has a farm with 6 tractors a lot of land and big horses. He said it is free just come and enjoy the day on the farm. He repeated this about 10 times and then it was his stop.

We didn't really know waht to think about this but I wonder if I should call the number........

The second thing that popped into my head was about last night.

I am not a steelers fan. I AM A BROWNS FAN!!!!!! Last night I became a Cards fan for one game just cause I didn' want to see the steelers win. So one night at the Irish Pub met this guy name Kian and he was like come watch the game. Sweet sounds fun.

Go to the Pub at 11:15pm. Chill there until he closes up and then his friends get there and we roll out in a little card that was smaller than a Geo Metro with me in the backseat with Juliann Kian sitting shot gun and his friend driving. We get to the house about 12 and are getting ready for the game.

The guy at the house was pretty sweet made me......4 hamburgers with everything on them........very tasty. First hamburger since Jan 8. Got to watch the game and we pretty pumped thinking that the Card were going to win then they lost. O well

So the game ends and I don't get back to my flatt until 5:35am......I then do a few more thing and try really hard to get to bed.....then wake up at 7am for class.........no naps didn't get home from classes til 4:20.........LONG DAY

And those are the 2 thoughts on my mind for this blog.....Hope this wasn't a waste of your time!

Bremen

So yesterday (Saturday)

I went to Bremen to tour the city and tour the Beck's Factory. I got on the bus at 8am and then took a train from there. In total the trip probably took about 2.5 hours. I got to Bremen at about 1030 in the morning and my tour of the factory wasn't until 1230 so I figured I would make some stops at some sights while I waited for my tour. I was a little under the weather with a sore throat so I knew I would be coming back to Bremen again some other time to see the city.

Walked around seeing the saturday markets. These are quite impressive. It was about 20-27 degrees out and these people have their booths set up with a whole bunch of fruits meats and other things. Then near another church was all the flowers. If you were to be looking for a flower this would be the spot to go they had flowers every! And many different kinds. It seems like in Germany you can always find a place to buy flowers because everyone has them.

After walking around I then made my way to the Beck's factory. The tour was pretty cool. It gave a lot of information about the history of their beer and such then we got to tour the factory and see how the beer is made. I got to touch the Hopps and such which was kinda cool because I see it on TV but never actually got to see it. Then they showed us how everything was done in the past and how it is now done today.

Next they took us outside and showed us the different parts of the plant and what was where. I this part of the tour I got my pic with some Beck's in recycled bottles. At the end of the tour they took us back inside and allowed us to taste some Beck's and Haake-Beck's. With this they gave us a pretzel. And that was then the end of a 2.5 hour tour.

But in other news. Got a slight sore throat that I am not liking so much. But I think it might be from being out in the cold and on the Trains, buses, and in class with all these sick people. O well.


I can hear it now....this time next year.....LETS GO BROWNS LETS GO BROWNS!!!!!!

Hannover

Hannover was about a 2 hour trip. A little background info on Hannover it took a lot of bombs during WWII. So the town has really been rebuilt since then. So it is very new. Putting it side by side with a city like Hamburg wouldn't be fair. This was very fresh with a lot of shops. And street sales.

The one true picture place would have to be the Rathaus. This is basically city hall. Everything in this place was made of stone. Which made it very beautiful. It had set ups on the inside of waht it looked like before the war and after the war and during and it was quite a change.

But the best part of this trip would have to be the trip home. I have been to a total of maybe 2 or 3 Browns football games in my life. The last game I went to I got to go the Muni-lot for the pre-game fun time. Many people are in there wearing their Browns gear and drinking eating listening to music and just having a good time.
On my way back to Lüneburg(HOME) we got on the train and while standing there we heard some music. Hearing music on here is very uncommon. Most of the time it is very quiet and everyone keeps to themselves. But not for the 10 guys up in the back of the train car I was in. No they were back there jammin' out and drinking. I at first was thinking what is going on? Then I noticed that all of them guys were wearing soccer shirts that had HAMBURG on them. These guys were getting ready for a really cold soccer game in Hamburg tonight.
So basically this was like our Browns fans getting ready for the game. I thought it was quite fun to be right there around a whole bunch of guys that were getting themselves pumped up to be out in the cold to watch a soccer game.

Keeping in mind that it was a soccer game. I don't think I will ever see Americans being that into soccer. But for sure they are like that for football.

But for tomorrow (Saturday) I will be going to Bremen. In Bremen Beck's beer is made there. So I will go there and take that tour and hope to see some sites. I have a feeling though that I will have to make another trip to Bremen to see the whole city. But other than that it should be fun.

Having a great time here. Its cold but they don't have anyone snow which isn't cool. But it is my understanding from looking at weather.com that you guys are in for another ANOTHER big snow. So you guys have fun with that.


......Mary...... are you going to be selling your car?

Birthday weekend and such.....

So friday after the exam I went out to Hamburg. Yet I walked another 100 miles I had a blast. Saw so much more because this time I was able to go at my own pace and see anything I wanted to see. There was a lot of shops and such as well as a few more cool sites. Another cool thing was we got snow! It started to snow at 130 when we were getting on the train to get to Hamburg. It then just got more any more snowy from there. In all we only got about an inch but my pants were soaked enough from that. Quite fun though!

Then that night was a jammie party. It was at one of the houses a 2 min walk from my house. It started at 9 but I fell asleep at 7 and didn't wake up til 1130 but have no fear the party was still in full swing. So I went on over and they all welcomed my birthday with me. After being there I went home and went to bed because I knew I was going to Lübeck the next day.

ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! So what to do on my birthday? Go to Lübeck ofcourse. Went to Lübeck and took a tour of the city. A rather nice little down. MANY shops down all the streets which we quite nice as well as some cool sites (see facebook). It was cool on the way there I was read a book that Dr. H gave me and the guy sitting across from me on the train was like "hey do you mind if I look at that and give you some tips?" I wasn't going to tell him no it was a way to get help going around. So the guy gave some tips and then walked with us for a little bit.

Birthday dinner was a little different than home. I had a Doner. Very tasty kinda like a gyro. On the way home we stopped in Hamburg where Juliann bought me Ice Cream for my birthday at the 1euro ice cream place! I loved it I bought myself another!

This weekend looks to be Hannover!


Ich habe druchvoll

ADD ON OF WEEK 2

The question was asked any strange things that I miss....... I do miss Reese's and Puppy chow..... and for some reason I have a want for some Texas Roadhouse or Outback Steakhouse

When I go to Berlin in April I believe they have a Taco Bell so thats kinda something I am looking forward to.

Other than that not really I miss my green tank(car). And because I know my family will read this my family! HAHAHA

Also something that came into my head about the last post of week to that I didn't say. I went to church last sunday. Very interesting. It is in the huge church that is on a slight lean here in Lüneburg. I will put some more pictures up of the church. But this church was quite large and had one of the largest pipe organs i have ever seen. I was loving it. Only problem is it was all in German. But I heard the words "Wein" and "Wasser" which in english means wine and water. So my Bible knowledge tells me that he might have been talking about Jesus turning the water into wine.....but i'll never know.

Alright end update #1 of Title WEEK 2

WEEK 2

Alright so the whole plan on writing in this on Monday didn't happen. Sorry. It wasn't going to be this busy of a week then I had internet problems and such so I have been messing with that stuff all week. But the good news is that it is fix so I am good to go.

I last left off right before the international dinner and Hamburg.

So first is the International dinner. The dinner was great. I loved it. ATE A TONNNN of food, which is normal but still. The cool part was is there was a lot of students from a lot of areas that prepared food. The difference between this one and the Mount Union one is that at Mount it is all made there in their kitchen by I believe the dinning staff. The cool part about this one is that it is basically a pot-luck. Everyone brings a dish from their home country and shares it with everyone else.

If you brought a dish you got in free to this event. If you didn't you had to pay 8 Euro. Those of you that know me fairly well know that I will do a lot of things for free. And so I was thinking what in the world could I make to get in free so Juliann and I came up with the idea of Peanut Butter and Jelly. Quality choice if I do say so myself. This requires little effort and large taste. So we made 20 sandwiches (pictures on facebook) and took them to the dinner. Instead of riding the bus we decided to walk because we were worried that the bus driver would not let us on the bus. Keep in mind the temp is at this time around 32 degrees. So this uncovered bread is making its way to the university a 25-35 min walk. I don't know how many of you have had bread out in the open for fairly long periods of time but its not good for the bread. Our bread was really really hard when we got to the school. But the good news is that we got in for free.

Drinks at this were not free you had to pay 2 euro for a drink so I got myself a coke. If you brought the glass bottle back you got .50 euro back. So I was like ok that works. I finished my first Coke and then walked the glass back and got my .50euro back. Then I was like dang why don't you steal other empty bottles back and get more drinks.....and thats just what I did. I got 3 or 4 more drinks and left with an extra 6-8 dollars. Talk about a deal.

Following the dinner and entertainment was a dance. I don't really dance because I don't feel like I have "flow" but I do love to Line Dance. And ofcourse the guy wouldn't have any country but whatever. I do have to say though that Americans are much better dancers than Germans. Not hating on the Germans but like if you can keep a beat like step to the left then to the right then to left your fine. And they don't seem to be able to find that beat. And it also looked like a 12 year old dancing but it made me laugh so I had fun. Then following that I took the 25-35 min walk back at 12 am.

The next morning was Hamburg. I was pretty excited to go there because it looked pretty big from the sky when flying in. And all week we have heard stuff about it. And it was pretty cool. Because I am not from around the area I found it pretty cool that we had the 2 USAC leaders taking us around. I walked probably a good part of 15 miles that day. But we got to see city hall, go to and old burnt down church go to the top of it and see basically all of Hamburg. All of the buildings were very impressive. The size with the old look is amazing. There is so much character down every street. I have more pictures of this too on facebook. Not only the buildings but we went on a Ferry ride. This was very slow but warm which was good. The cool part was seeing all of the Harbors and such. Hamburg has a lot of ports and exports a lot of things......maybe they will export a car for me?!?!

I plan on going back to Hamburg tomorrow (friday) because we missed somethings the tour basically just showed us where everything is.

St. Pauli is there. And it is quite a ......special? place...... It is where pretty much everythinig is legal. and I mean everything.

It was very eye opening. There was even one street that was kinda blocked off. You had to go around the barrier to get in. On both side of the enterance was a sign that read "Women and 18 and Younger not allowed" Why did it read that I asked. Simple women selling themselves in the windows...NASTY!.....but that is seen as a job in the German government so ok. I guess whatever makes them happy.

This week I went to my first bar in Germany for something other than to eat. A lot of the students go out almost nightly to party. And thats just not me but I had all my hw done and it was like 730 and they were like hey were going out at 830 so i was like eh it will give me something to do. So I went out to what they call Hausbar. To me it was just a chill college frat party on a week night. But it was cool just hanging out and relaxing and talking.

Then it was 1030 and they all wanted to go to the Irish Pub....which is basically like an Americanish kinda place i guess. But I was like I got to be up at 7 for class so I am going to bounce on that maybe some other night. And so I rolled out.

Other than that my German ability is slowly coming around. I can now order food because that what we have learned but my only problem is I don't know how to say "Just Looking" so I walk into these places and they keep talking and I am like i have no idea what your saying. So i just stand there and say Nein which is German for no. Normally that works.

So I have been able to skype with my family which is totally cool. Like how sweet is our tech when we can be over a 1000 miles away and still be able to talk and see each other at the same time. It is quite cool if you ask me. Only problem is family doesn't have the cam so it is a one way talk right now but that will change.....

Alright well again any questions feel free to hit me up and I will respond asap.

other than that everyone have a safe weekend.

Just one prayer request my grandmas neighbor Ida died last night and I just ask that you drop her and her family and friends in a pray tonight.

Thanks

Love and Miss you all!!!!!

Adam

Week one is in the Books

It is hard for me to believe that one week has already come and gone. My current status is (class) I am now in the Track One level which is perfect for me. I am understanding and learning at a good pace and I am being able to use what I am learning at the store. (Physically) i am feeling alright my belly seems to have an extra bit that I am not liking, but my body isn't used the the amount of bread I take in on a daily basis. Like I think I said before EVERYTHING is bread here. Which I am not going to complain I like bread and I am doing fine with the food. I have a slightly runny nose but I think it is just because of the amount I am outside in the cold. When waiting for the bus which is atleast 4 times a day I stand out in the cold and wait for it. And so I think/ hope that is all it is.

I HAVE FOUND PEANUT BUTTER!!!! That might be the news of the day. I have a soft spot in my belly for a good Peanut butter and jelly sandwich and now I can fill that spot. The downside its not Jif but thats ok because I don't notice it to much.

I am starting to get a hang of this German thing. I go to the store about once a day to pick up food and such. Not a bad way to go. It is a lot different from home though because at home you get a gallon on milk. Here we only get smaller than a quart. They do have glass Coke bottles here which is cool because back at home we don't really have those and I really like a nice cold coke. I sometimes can't remember waht I put in a past post but if I said it I am going to say it again. We have a McDonald's here and a Subway. So if I ever need a little taste of home I can def hit those up.

Tonight I have the International Dinner and tomorrow I am going to Hamburg. Both events of which I should have pics up on facebook.com soon.

mom said something about putting my address up on here? Idk why but ok.

Adam Shonk
Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
USAC Germany
Scharnhorststr. 1 8/9>
D-21335 Lüneburg
GERMANY

My appartment is

Zi 2063
William-Watt-Str. 59
21339 Lüneburg, Germany
GERMANY

Other than that email is always coold shonkam@muc.edu and on here facebook.com whatever.

Have a safe weekend

and from what I have been seeing online....ENJOY THE COLD!!!!

Classes day one

Alright so I started classes today. I went to my first class which was a Track II language course. It was very tough for me. I was so lost. I couldn't really understand what was being said. I mean I could pick out a few works but for the most part I was lost. So i feel that going back to the 1 level will be a good choice. I don't have a problem with it I am going to learn German so I might as well do it at a level I feel comfortable.

After my first class I went to the Menza. This is our dinning commons. the food.....not bad. I couldn't really tell what I was buying so I just kinda pointed. I saw something that looked like fish so I went with that because I atleast had some idea what it was. I got it and some potatos. I started eating it and then like an idiot I ate the stinkin lemon on top. Yes the lemon. (Note to anyone who might read this. NEVER NEVER eat a lemon. I felt the shell and everything in my belly for around 5 hours burning away.

Following eating I then had a conversation class which i feel is something i really need because I just want to be able to talk in the language for in I ever have to. This class I liked the most. We have a cool prof called Michaela which worked as a TA for Dr. Himmelein at Mt. Union in 99-00. So she is cool. This class I got to pick up on things and will learn how to talk which is sweet!

I then went back home where yes i did do my hw until I noticed the internet guy was home. So i ran over to his place and used my lack of german ability and his none english speaking self to get me the internet. which is the best news of the day because now i have my computer, skype, facebook, and mail at my fingertips.

One of the Germans in the building took me to the supermarket to show me a closer one within walking distance. Deals again were quite nice. PIZZA! 1.99 the size is like 10''. But lets be real a 2 euro meal for a poor single guy like myself is a good deal. So I might have to go there sometime and buy one or maybe two. But no more because the fridge is really small. I think my one at school was bigger.

So because I now have my internet I did get onto facebook and load some pics....nothing to cool just where I am living and a few flight photos. I will be taking nicer pics of the city because it is quite nice but the problem is I have been pretty busy and still touring it to much to worrk about pics. But have no fear you will have more soon. like i said they are on facebook

Other than that tomorrow I start my track one class at 9am which means that I have to get on a bus at 8am and connect it at the center of town at 8:32. That will be the only downside about this early class is having to be up really early. But I came here to learn.

On this weekends plans I will be making a trip to hamburg which should be quite nice.

it is now 9 here and in a few hours I will be going to bed.

Have a great rest of your night

germany

sorry for the lack of posts for the past few days. i currently do not have the internet. so right now i am using a germans computer. the problem with the computer that i m using though is the the keyboard is funky. where i would have the y it is where the z is and i cant have the shift button. so please give it time til i can get my computer.

the flight from pitt to washington: not bad for my first flight. it was quite interesting. got to dc and was chillin somewhat hungry and so i ate some subway. then got on the united plane to the brussles airport. long flight but it was cool because they brought me something to drink 4 or 5 times and then brought me a snack, dinner, and breakfast. upon arrival there we then went to hamburg. on that flight they fed me again a ham sandwich.

getting off the plane we waited a little bit for mike and bethany to get there then we rode a bus to the hamburg train station. once getting to the train station jan[my german buddy] met us and took us to the train in which we had to run to because of the train was getting ready to leave.

going back to the last plane ride in brusles. i was flagged and searched. there the guy touched me all over and had me unbutton my pants i guess thats how they say welcome to europe?

ok so we now get to lüneburg where i ride the bus to my new flatt for 4 months. not a bad place pics will come.


we then went back into the city because we needed to get some food. so because they have aldi i was able to eat! it was a pretty good deal with a loaf of bread onlz .49€ and 1.5l bottle of water .19€. building wise very old buildings with a lot of character. i really like the buildings quite nice.

i have found that almost everyone has a bike walks or rides the bus. only some people have cars and they drive the cars crazier than in new york city. their cars are basically square little boxes. which is a golfkart basically.

a few times i have been on the bus and i must have a sign on me that says hey please look at me and talk to me [in german]. so juliann has been close by because currently we have a lot of group events and she has been like an intermediary explaining to me what the person said and then telling me what to say. it works quite well because this way i learn how to say what i am saying then get a reply and learn how to hear the reply. so the bus is quite cool. small talk is fun.

we got to meet the leaders of our USAC organization. they seem alright. we have had two days of information sessions. they are telling us the basics about whats going on at the university and such. they have been giving us cookies and i am taking advantage of those and eating a lot. which might not be good for my belly but they taste good.

at the uni itself almost all of the buildings are about the same. they all are brick builds about three levels. not bad.

classes start monday somewhat excited. i am liking being in a different environmnet trying to understand the language. its somewhat hard but i think it will be good for me.

more will be to come and questions about what i have done or would like to see in here hit me up

have a great start of the week!

Less than 24 hours!?!?!

Alright so the final day before being at the airport. I did a lot of last minute things. After finding out that i didn't buy shampoo I bought conditioner I had to go shopping and pick up another $.79 bottle.

The bags are packed and hoping everything is in it. The little bag weighs 40 Lbs and the big one weighs 35 Lbs. I figure whatever I forgot I can get it over in Germany. I have my underwear and thats really all I need.

The mood right now for me is pumped. I am for sure ready to go and see this place. Family (parents) a very worried and nervous side. Which is interesting.....do they not trust me? Nah thats not it I am a great kid.

The worst part about all this though is the snow. See I have a love for snow and sled riding and with the lack of amount of snow we have had I have not been able to do so. But not that I am leaving we have quite a bit. But thats alright Germany looks to have some snow as well.

Time to get some rest now big day. First flight out of Pitt is at 2 something. Then to Washington, D.C.

Pre-Travel (T-Minus less than 48 hours)

This is my first of hopefully many posts. I am not very good at these things but I will try and keep it updated so that my loved ones at home and friends will have somewhat of an idea what in the world I am doing, while on the other side of the world.

Right now I am just getting last minute things done such as exchanging some dollars to EURO( which is rough). I have about 80% of my things packed right now. Going for 5 months is a fairly long time. So knowing what to pack in a culture I have never been with is somewhat tough. I have extra room but I don't want to fill it and have no room for other things.

My feelings right now is a whole bunch of different emotions. I have the nervous, excited, and anxious feelings going on. Its crazy that I am not going to be able to make the 10minute drive because I forgot my __________ at home.

I don't really know all the things this thing can do so if you have questions or what mean to explain something or just wondering whats going on feel free to hit me up on facebook or email me at shonkam@muc.edu and finally SKYPE will be a cool way to see my face while gone. I am hoping to put pics on facebook unless someone knows a better stop for pics.

Well its time for another 5% of packing

Enjoy the rest of your week!