This week

Yesterday in class we were given a short song in German with a blank line per stanza. We were also given little sheets of paper with the missing lines, and had to put the lines in the right places in the song. By far the creepiest song I have ever heard including "Every Breath You Take." We are trying to translate the song to figure out which line goes where and the song starts out "I think on you." Part of the translated song is as follows:

I think on you
I can not others
on every street corners I stay

I think on you
what should I do
my thoughts are only of you

I see you
in every picture...

We also went to the market place later in the day for interactive practice. On Tuesday and Thursday there is an outdoor farmers' market in the Marktplatz. It was very upsetting though because our fruit man was not there. A group of us has made friends with one fruit and vegetable stand owner. He recognizes us easily enough by the awkward, tentative German and large backpacks. We recognize him because he always gives us free food. You bought quarter-sized raspberries? A handful of cherries. Oh, you bought cherries? Here let your friends try some free cherries, and here is an extra handful for you too. He has made us loyal customers for life...or the next three weeks. Unfortunately, yesterday he was not there. We were going to do all our fruit and vegetable shopping yesterday, but could not. At least now we know that with our farmer it is Tuesday only. Interactive practice was fun. We had to find who sold the biggest carrots, cheapest apples, most expensive pears, prettiest flowers, and how many grams were in a pound. I like this kind of interactive practice more when I have to use my German to communicate with Germans and ask questions. I also completed my quest of how to buy feta cheese. One time I bought it and it was goat cheese. Yesterday I was also told that feta cheese was goat cheese or Ziegen Kaese. I finally asked my teacher, and it turns out that feta cheese is called feta cheese in Germany. It is just pronounced differently. Feta in German is Fey-ta. I am ordering some on Monday and will commence with my daily (or taeglich) black beans and feta meals.

We also had Kaffee und Kuchen yesterday. We had a cheese cake and a streusel cake. The streusel did not have any fruit. I didn't really like it. The cheese cake used ricotta instead of cream cheese so the consistency was slightly different. It was still good though. The party was to introduce us to the new MEMs instructor and our pseudo-chaperon - Dr. Futterknecht. After the party a few of us went over to introduce ourselves. I have him as a teacher all next year in Advanced German 1 and 2. He was very nice and enjoyed hearing about our experiences here in Germany. I hope that I like him as a teacher. It is always hard to tell. Even if I don't I still have another German class, Reading German Texts, with Dr. Overstreet next year. Dr. O was my teacher last year in Beginning German I and II. As one of my friends said, "We are not quite ready to cut the umbilical cord yet."

This afternoon I leave with four other students for Paris. It should be interesting. We all have very clear pictures of what we want to do, and not enough time to do it all. We are definitely going to the Louvre, the D'Orsay, river cruise down the Seine, and Versailles. I am also going to a museum on French clothing for the last three hundred years (part of the Louvre, but in a seperate building) while everyone else is in the Rodin museum. I am really excited and probably won't post again until Monday.