First Day of Class

So today was our first day of class - five hours of class. Though it sounds like more than it is. We have class for three hours in the morning in which we have group discussions, grammar lessons, and work in our book. Then we break for lunch for an hour and a half. When we come back to class we meet somewhere to have a practical lesson for two hours. I like our teacher. She is very tall, blond and German. She introduced herself as Jessica Hamann, but we still question whether to call her Frau Haumann or Jessica. For now, if we have to, we refer to her as you or in conversation "Sie." I think that she is a first time teacher, or, as our interaction leaders hinted at, a good student who landed an internship. Frankly I don't care what she is as long as she prepares us for the test.

Our interactive practice after lunch was the most fun, and the most practical. We met at the Hauptbahnhof, or main train station, and were given an index card with instructions. We were to find out how to get from location A to location be using the trains, street cars, etc. The next activity was a scavenger hunt of sorts throughout the Bahnhof. We found where we can get train tickets printed, buy magazines, reserve seats on a train, or plan a trip. We will need to reserve our seats later this week for the train ride to Berlin. There is no way I want to stand for a five hour train ride or find out that they have booked their capacity of Eurorail travelers. When we were done with our two activities, the whole group went our for Cafe and Kuchen (coffee and cake). I ordered hot chocolate and it was AMAZING! Real whip cream and a hot chocolate mixture so thick and frothy it dripped slowly of my spoon made the best hot chocolate I have ever had.

Speaking of food. We ate in the Mensa (school cafeteria) today. It was exactly what you would expect from the school cafeteria - cheap and edible. It was not good by any stretch of the imagination, but it was not bad. The meal was cheaper than a meal at Gator Dining or B. Fine D. (Broward fine Dining, for all the non-UF readers...the fine is ironic), but they charge for a drink. From now on I will bring my own drink in, which I saw many students doing. It is nice to know that the cafeteria workers in a German university town care about the following of the rules as little as their American counterparts. I will probably eat many meals in the Mensa.

During the meal we spoke mostly in German while we were planing our trips to Berlin, Munich, and Paris. (Brussels is questionable at the moment since we found out today - thanks for not putting on the calendar so it could be taken into account during the purchase of a Eurorail pass - that our E.U. test is on the weekend we were going to Brussels). The trick to passing this test is going to be conversing so much in German that we are used to forming sentences, answering questions, and listening to German speakers at a drop of a hat. To further this aim, we have partnered with our interaction leaders.

Our interaction leaders are German students who are supposed to talk to us in German and spend time with. As Dr. Overstreet said, they are our paid friends. Chris, Erica, and I were assigned to a girl named Nina. We met Nina tonight and she seemed very nice. She asked us what we wanted her to do with us. I certainly hadn't thought about it so I replied to show us Mannheim. What is the best beer? German chocolate cake? Where are the cool places to hang out? This answer seemed to satisfy her. I have to say that I was incredibly relieved about her as my interaction leader when I saw she was wearing a really bold necklace that was the Gator blue color. I knew we were going to get along fine.

Wir grillen und essen mit unsre "Interaction Leaders." Wir essen der Bratwurst, ein Salat, die Nudeln, eine Wassermelone, und ein Kuchen. Attila macht der Bratwurst und tropft einen. Er will der zu Giselle geben. Wir grillen hinter dem Wohnheim.