Ich habe ein Handy! (I have a cell phone)

I broke down and got a pre-paid cell phone today. Mainly to keep in touch with the rest of the group, but it will work for anyone to call me as it's just below 2 euro per minute for me to call the States. Love you all, but I think the money could be better spent. However, I can receive calls for free, so if you want my number email me. I have no idea what it will cost you, but they have international calling cards that might work. If you're trying from a cell phone, you'll need to have international calling as part of your plan. Once again, check with the phone people.

Today was the first day of class, and I have a one page essay due tomorrow morning. That's on the docket for after supper, since I figured it would be easier to get the cell phone taken care of after classes today. My legs still hurt, but I'm fighting through the pain as it were. Gotta toughen up somehow. I also went shopping today, but all I got was toothpaste. I'm pretty exciting. I'll try to upload the rest of the photos I have today, they're of the castle mostly. I can't really think of anything else to write, my mind keeps wandering. Bye for now, I may write more later.

Tomorrow school starts. This should be an adventure.
From now on, every day will be in German. From 9 am to 12:30 is class, then some days more class starting at 2. Fridays I'll be done at 10:30, but I also have a test each Friday. I also have to figure out how early I should go to the trolley car (S-Bahn(street train)) since we moved across campus.

Today we climbed a mountain. It was a paved path and all, but it was steep and I'm from the prairie. I don't do uphill very well. We were also going to go to the castle, but that was 300 more steps and we were shot. It's not like it's going anywhere.

Anyway, it's almost 11 here and I need to wake up early for class. I'm on the wireless network now so I'll be able to write more. Also, the pictures should be updated on top there.

And it begins:
I've been in Germany for just over 24 hours now, and I can hardly believe it. The flights were good, early even. I used my transatlantic flight to catch up on movies; I watched Juno, National Treasure 2 and The Martian Child. I arrived at Frankfurt at 5:45 a.m. local time, that should have been the first hint it was going to be a stressful day.

The latest information I had (and I may have a packet waiting in the mailbox for me back home) was that there would be someone waiting for me and there would be a bus outside. Well apparently the updated information was to meet at certain meeting points. I waited around my gate for about an hour before I started to get worried. Luckily, the German airports are much less strict than the American ones and I was free to wander in and out of the airport. I checked at some other gates (bear in mind I had all my luggage) and eventually asked a rather stern looking lady at information if she had any idea where they were meeting. She said that the meeting places would been a good place to start(Frankfurt has areas labeled "Meeting point" by each gate). I convinced myself that slapping her would be a bad idea.

I alternated between walking around a bit more and sitting by my gate. Around 9 a.m, after (trying and failing) to call the emergency contact numbers I had, I decided to page my professor that should already be at the airport. I'm not sure the last time any of you have been to a bustling international airport on a Friday morning, but P.A. systems aren't really that good. Luckily, by some stroke of fate, Eckhard Rölz, my professor, happened to be walking down the steps located right by the information area I was waiting by. He told me where the correct meeting place was (he was also at the wrong spot).

We met up with the rest of the group. This is when I realized that my passport was missing. It was by far the scariest moment of the trip. Rölz and myself retraced my steps, since I knew I had it before I went to information. Hanne Heckmann, the program director, went to check lost and found. On the way to gate C from gate B, we stopped a security guard who told us to check information. I had been standing right in front of the information desk when they paged me about my lost passport, that's how hard it was to hear the P.A. system. We then had to go back towards gate C to the USO lounge where my passport was waiting for me. Yay G.I.s! So after that we went back to the meeting area, picked up one more, took the bus to the other terminal and picked up the rest except for 2 that met us later. We took the bus the hour or so south to the Heidelberg area, got lost in a suburb trying to deliver the students that live there and then those of us in Heidelberg were dropped off at the trainstation and delivered by taxi to our houses.

My family is very nice and (thankfully) let me speak English yesterday. Being awake 30 hours and trying to speak another language is a challenge I'm not quite ready for. Today, the little bit I've been home, has been a mixture of German and English. Monday is the start of classes and all German all the time. Nothing like immersion to make it sink in.

My mind is starting to shut down again, so I think I'll call it good for this super long post. Hopefully I'll have my computer on the family's wireless soon and I can start posting pictures.

Bis Später (Until Later)!

Less than a week to go, and things are finally falling into place. For those that don't know, I thought I would start off with a bit of background. It's been a busy few weeks for me. I found out on May 1st that I didn't get into an eight week program in Heidelberg. The next day, I was talking to Herr Rolz, one of my German professors. He just happened to be going with a group of students to Heidelberg on a four week program. It was the first year for the program and as such, they had been quite lax on the deadline dates for us. I said he would talk to the people in charge of the program to see if I could still apply.

The following Monday, May 5th, I was given the go ahead and started filling out forms. I faxed the application and related forms by noon on May 6th to Tiffin, Ohio, home of Heidelberg College and the American arm of this program. I continued to fill out forms, although they took a slight backseat to spending time with Kevin and getting ready to move. I was supposed to move May 8th before cousin Ryan (and his pickup) went home for the summer. However, Mother Nature being the cruel tease she is, it rained and rained on the 8th. The morning of the 9th, I woke up crabby and upset that I hadn't heard anything back on my application. Luckily, I checked my email when we got back from dinner and there it was! I was accepted to the Heidelberg at Heidelberg program at Universitat Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany.

The following week has been a blur of running around to meetings, physicals, and packing to move. Mom came down on Thursday to help me move. We spent the whole day, just the two of us, moving my Brookings life from one side of town to the other. I'm not sure how we managed to haul it all in only three pickup loads, but I'm mostly moved in and started unpack stuff, mainly that which I have to repack for the trip.

I have to be at Mom and Dad's by Monday at 12/1 p.m. so that I can hitch a ride to the Cities with my sister Teresa. After a whirlwind few days in the Cities, trying to visit Kevin and his family and my family, I hop on that aluminum bird Thursday morning at 11 a.m.. A mere 17 hours later, I touch down in Frankfurt where someone should be meeting me to take me to my host family (the coordinator put me with a family named Eckert and thought it was 'perfect!' :) ). I'll have school until June 20/21st, but after that, it's all up in the air. As long as I make it back to Frankfurt by July 3rd to catch my flight home, I'll be good.

Well, it's time to go find some food and then continue the unpacking adventure. I'll write more later!