Well I accomplished nothing on my previous to do list... so there's that.
Morgen visited over the weekend, and I picked her up from the Hauptbahnhof and we headed back to my Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll themed work party.
...Fast Forward to Saturday...
We woke up and went to Mamalicious, an American style breakfast place around the corner from my apartment. Mama was really nice and we went back again on Sunday. Must learn her life story.
After that we went to the HafenCity and walked around there for a little bit. The area is all new construction and will essentially be a new little city inside Hamburg. The Elbphilharmonie, Symphony Hall, is supposed to be spectacular. Here is a photo of pretty much what it looks like now, and the future building. Apparently each window is custom made and unique. ***I didn't take these, I will upload my own photos once I have home internet.
After looking at the cool new buildings and playing tour guide, we went to the Miniatur Wunderland. That place is insane. There are soooooo many tiny details built in to each location. I'll make a separate post full of the Miniatur photos, but you can check out Morgen's post if you can't wait for me to get internet. After the overwhelming experience at the Wunderland, we went back to my place to nap. Afterwards we got up, made some guacamole, and watched Harry Potter. It was glorious.
Sunday we walked around Hamburg some more, went to the Rathaus and the Alster and stumbled across a gigantic triathlon. They had a large bleacher section to watch each person run past. Morgen and I were given free noisemaker things, those are LOUD. Not a good idea to give us those on a Sunday, what with the German quiet policy for Sunday. Oh well. Sorry fancy people in Jungfernstieg.
Morgen left around 5 and I went back to my apartment and tried to clean my room. I still need a bed, roomies both sleep with their mattresses on the floor, so they don't really understand why I want a bed frame. I think the floor mattress thing is starting to hurt my neck... Nicht gut. I also need curtains, I will try to get to Ikea tomorrow, but probably won't make it. It is pretty far away, I need to work on convincing Vani to drive.
Monday night Vani and I went to a Sneak Preview showing of a movie. I thought that meant an early look at whatever film, but apparently in Germany a sneak preview is a surprise movie. It was cool, the movie theater plays Sneak Previews every Monday in English, and the tickets sell out fast. Vani's friend had extra tickets, so that's how we got to go. Everyone was hoping for Batman, but we got to see Brave! It was so great, I may have been the only person who was excited though. The place auctions off used DVDs and throws free snacks into the audience after the very long previews. I think it is sold out for this Monday, but I will try to get a ticket for the next week. I love movies!
The rest of this week has been really busy at work. I have been working on a tequila box. More details to come next week after the design is printed. I was at work until 10:30 Tuesday night so I missed my German class. I made it there last night though, so all is well. Made a pact with another person in the class to email eachother class information if we miss one.
No plans yet for this weekend, I think I will wander around and look at stuff, and try to get to Ikea.
Also last night, Bente and I were coordinating morning bathroom schedules and she was asking me when I get up to shower. I told her I usually just shower at night. She looked at me so strangely and then told her boyfriend that I shower at night, only it came out sounding more like 'She strangles puppies in her spare time.' Apparently showering at night is not common here. Neither are bed frames. Or curtains.
I just realized that I haven't had home internet or curtains for over a month now... I spend a lot of time reading books and flashing people. It must be the German way.
This week has been the first week where it actually feels like summer. The Germans are going wild, the streets are constantly full of people... It is really spectacular. We have to take advantage of the sun and warmth, I think today is the last day of it... Tragic that I spent the whole week at work.
I'm thinking of starting a few new sections here with language things and other differences:
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Language Barriers:
Bente and her BF struggle with the words for waking up in the morning.
'What time do you open tomorrow?'
'What time do you stand up in the morning?'
also it is apparently strange that I don't have a 'friend' at home. I was really confused when people first asked me if I had friends or a friend at home, I was insulted for a second, thinking they were asking if I was a sad loser freak at home, but then realized they meant more of a 'special friend'
'What, you don't have a friend? Is that normal? Do a lot of people not have a friend??' Um, yes. Single people exist. I'm fine.
My teeth are apparently blindingly white and this is noteworthy. I think they are getting not so white anymore, but I brought a few whitestrips so that should be fine. Roomies and their friends want me to have some whitestrips sent over from the US so they can have white teeth too.
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Struggles:
Toilet paper is crazy here. I can't seem to find a middle ground between terrible, cheap 1-Ply and 5-Ply super thick cardboard paper. Malia found a good 3ish-Ply a few weeks ago, but she is on vacation now so I can't ask what brand it is.
Putting your name on the mailbox is crucial here. Addresses are grouped by building and not split into Apt 1, 2, 3, 4 so the only identifier for where the mail goes once it gets to the building is your name on the mailbox. So My tax ID was going to be mailed to Malia's and I had to figure out how to break in to her apt to write my name on the mailbox so the mailman wouldn't send my envelope back to the government. I asked the lady to send it to my work address, but she was very confused about that and just kept pointing at Malia'a address... I managed to get inside her building last night. I waited around outside for someone to come or go, and then finally pressed one of the buzzer things. Got it right on the first try! Someone was expecting a guest and instead got me. Sorry sir. Things to consider for my next stakeout: pee first, bring snacks.
I need some ziplock bags. I have only been able to find the twist tie sandwich bags...
Beer is mixed with sprite and other things here. I like it. But then, I used to mix red wine with Dr. Pepper, so I'm weird.
People wait for the green man to cross the street. Even if there are no cars. It pains me.
People do not move out of your way on the sidewalk. If someone is walking towards you it is like a game of sidewalk chicken. I have started to win. Score.
All of these are true.
