Since I last wrote (the morning of July 30), a new month has rolled in, and locations for me have changed. But I will start with what has happened since that morning.....
After I posted my last blog, Fabian and I returned to his tennis club to play a couple sets. Tim would be working today from 10:00-17:00 at his tennis store. We played for almost two hours, completing five sets. It was ugly for me, out of those five sets, I probably only won three or four games. But being able to be out in the cool, Dutch air and play some tennis was very relaxing in and of itself. I wish I could play in weather like that everyday. The rest of Saturday was very relaxed. We didn't go anywhere, or do much. We were not only relaxing from our days travelling, but we were preparing for the night to come. We watched a soccer match on tv, and then prepared for our next activity.
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| The courts where Fabian and I played |
We went to Brother's night club, a famous club known throughout much of Holland. One of Tim's friends, Jegor, would join us for this. He is originally from Russia, but has lived in the Netherlands for quite some time. It would be the four of us, Tim, myself, Jegor, and Fabian. Together we walked the twenty or so minutes to the club, where people were already gathering. It wasn't until about midnight or one a.m. that people really started showing up. In this club, there is one main hallway. Branching from this hallway are about five or so different rooms. Each room had its own bar, DJ, and music. There was a beach themed room, a hip-hop room, and a Dutch music room. We spent most of our time in between the hip-hop and the beach themes. Nothing out of the ordinary happened here, but I was able to observe the differences between interactions of teens in clubs in the Netherlands and the US. In the US of course, people grind to hip-hop, where as in the Netherlands, its more of a relaxed, "head bobbing" scene. I actually preferred this since it was more laid back.
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| Paul, Tim, Jegor, and Fabian before leaving for the nightclub |
Around three a.m. or so we proceeded back to Tim's house. It had been a great night, but we were all tired. Jegor would part ways with us at Tim's house. He is quite a funny guy, and i'm glad he was able to enjoy the night with us. Sleep would come easily for me that night, as there was no specific time we had to be awake in the morning.
Tim would once again leave us Sunday morning for a tennis match, but I used this time just to relax. We only had one thing on our agenda today. When Tim returned, we had a light lunch, and then proceeded to the soccer fields located five minutes from Tim's house by foot. We began playing one on one on a mini field, but after that became tiring, we moved to a bigger field that had a real goal. The field was more of a clay makeup, which was unlike anything I had ever seen. We all took turns going in goal and taking shots on goal. After a while we decided to have penalty shootout competitions between each other (so three in all). How fitting it would be for me to come out on top of the two brothers on my last day. Previously I had struggled in my tennis matches, but I was finally able to succeed in something else. We departed the tennis courts and went home for an interesting dinner. We had bread and dipped into a fondue sauce of some type, along with fruit and a salad. Monday morning would be an early one, so we decided to take it easy the rest of the night. I used this time to pack up my belongings...
I woke up monday morning at six a.m. I took a shower, had a light breakfast, and set out into the cool Dutch air, headed for the train station. I was Germany bound today, something that took a while for me to grasp. Tim would ride with me to Utecht Centraal, and walked me to my train. It was a few minutes late, and Tim had a short time to make his train back to Bunnik. I was here that we departed ways once again. I will forever be thankful for his time and energy in showing me his beautiful country. They are memories that can never be taken away from me, and I was quite sad to leave the Netherlands.
When the train arrived I was on my own, two bags on my back, and two large bags next to me. Finding a seat was a complete disaster. I sat in one seat, and the woman on the other side proceeded to tell me in Dutch that I needed a reservation for that seat. This went on at least three times. You have to keep in mind that I was navigating two bigs suitcases down a very narrow aisle, and this was embarassing and frustrating at the same time. Finally I was able to find an open seat. One of my bags was able to fit in the overhead compartment, but the other one had to go to a special area for large bags. The closest one was seven cars down, I was quite nervous that something was going to be taken or that I was going to forget something. As the train started moving, I just relaxed and began listening to some music. It would be about a four and a half hour ride to Mannheim, so I tried to make myself comfortable. We moved fast, moving 130 mph at some points. I eagerly looked out my window at the sights: the meadows, cows, and fields as for as the eye could see. There was no border signaling our entrance into Germany, so all I could do was observe for myself the signs on buildings and the license plates of the cars. Gradually the sights began to change, and thus the language on the train began to transition as well. More and more people began to speak the language that I've tried for so many years to establish as my second. In the US, I would have been excited to hear it and try to communicate. But here, here was different. This was their country, their language, and it was normal to them. I looked out the window and saw for the first time the German language written in its own country, a simple "Achtung" written next to the tracks. I had finally arrived in country that I've yearned to visit for years. The idea of this, along with the scenery, was just very beautiful to me.
We rode through mountain tunnels, we topped the "dipsy-doodles" of the terrain, and we cleared narrow rail passages lined on both sides with nothing but endless views. We rode through the Rheinland, reaching speeds of almost 160 mph. Along the way I saw the sights of Cologne, a commercial center and city port on the Rhine river. I caught a glimpse of a soccer stadium in Mönchengladbach, the stadium in which the USA women defeated the French only a month earlier. I saw Frankfurt, the fifth largest city in Germany. And finally, I heard a voice in German signaling ten minutes until our arrival in Mannheim, the city in which I would be studying...
A change of thought overcame me at this moment. I had to grab my bags and then once again travel seven cars down to my other one. It was a nightmare, but I managed to get it done. At this point I met a friend, David, who was also studying in Mannheim, and slowly and slowly more students began emerging. We exited the station, and bustling city stood before us. I was now offically in Germany, I though. It was a ten minute walk to the international office, where I got some information and learned that I had a lot of tasks that needed to be done. I met several new friends in the office, and together we walked around the city to find where certain things were (places where we needed to complete requirements). I began using my German on the street, asking where things were. I was quite happy with how much I could understand and communicate.
That was all we did that afternoon. A helper (helfer, as they called themselves) drove me and my friends to where we were living. Three of us lived in the same area, which was nice. We arrived and carried my heavy bags all the way up the steps, discovering that I was in the wrong building. With sweat dripping off my face, I once again picked up my bags and descended the steps to find my building. I managed to find it, climb the steps (it took a long time) and I finally opened my flat door and then my room door. My room is quite spacious, with a bed, two dressers, and a desk. A sink rests in the corner.
I did not stay here for long, as I had to once again go into the city to do a little more exploration. The school is literally a castle, it is huge, like a giant fortress. Photos will not do justice to this, but I guess this is all I can do for now.
At four p.m., an optional tour departed. It was called a pub crawl, although we only went to two pubs. I joined my new friends, and we met new ones along the way. We all began having a lot of fun at the second bar, but of course by that time we had had enough to drink to cause this. I did not go over the top though, as well as my friends. A few of them, including our helpers, did consume a lot of alcohol, but they were still in an ok state, although it was quite funny to me and my friends. (These helpers will be with us throughout our month of the summer academy.) From our second bar we went to a club, which basically resembled a large frat party on an American campus. We all had our drinks and toasted in German, "Prost!" We toasted to our time together in this country, and that we would be happy and have much fortune while here. And then, we danced the night away. It was three a.m. when I returned to my place via taxi, but the night had been so much fun. I did not have any linens or anything, so it was quite and interesting night's sleep to say the least.
My alarm went off at eight a.m. this morning. As you might figure, I was quite upset when this happened. Because the room echoes, it made the alarm even louder. My neck was sore from sleeping in a weird angle, I was kind of cold because of having no blanket, and my skinned itched from having been on the rough surface of the couch/bed. But nevertheless I got up, took a shower, and caught the tram to school. We were to take a placement test in a building near the University. There were two different tests, an easy and a difficult. I opted for the difficult one, along with my friend next to me. When we took one look at it, we immediately asked for an easy one. It was still fairly difficult unfortunately. Afterwards, my friends and I walked to Deutsche Bank, where I was finally able to open an account. This account would be necessary for my next task, which would be to obtain my health insurance. Tomorrow I will make my first transaction into with my account. This will enable me to fully enroll in the school, obtain my student card, and then purchase my semester transit pass. This will go on my card, and I will be able to ride trams and busses without paying, finally!
As you can imagine, the time and travel has really tired me. There was another optional tour tonight, but I decided to unpack and nap instead. It took me a while to find dinner, but I was able to find a cafe next to my apartment complex. The food was fairly cheap as well, which was very nice. Now I sit here at my computerm having just skyped Katie and Johnson back in Shelby. I just pulled a compartment from underneath my bed, and there sat the linens that I could have so much used last night. A little more observation could have gone a long way. German voices yell in the streets next to my complex, along with the strengthing and fading sounds of cars as they come and go. I am looking forward to getting a good night's sleep tonight, however I will be waking up at 7:45 tomorrow to catch the tram to the university, where I will have my first class. The tough part is over, and now I can sit back and enjoy the tough, yet exciting semester that is on its way. Until next time, a good night/day, and best wishes to the USA from Germany!
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