Translation: Here's to the weekend.
I'll drink to that! And trust me when I tell you that in Munich they most definitely do.
I've made it through my first real weekend in Germany! (Last Saturday my plane didn't get in until late afternoon and my jet lag assured that I was about as alert as a hibernating bear, so I don't think it counts.) And what a weekend it was.
Friday night I sat up with my host parents to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremony in London, which I must say was not nearly impressive as the one in Beijing. I almost made it through the entire program, forcing myself to stay awake through the ridiculously boring presentation of all the countries, but I eventually passed out during one of the speeches at the end. It was pretty interesting watching the ceremony from the German's perspective. I couldn't understand most of what the presenters were talking about, but I picked up pieces here and there. That's pretty much the story of my life right now: I hear all of this noise going on around me, and I'm able to recognize the words being said, but I can't process them fast enough to really understand what is being talked about. Pretty frustrating, but I can already say that my German has improved just by being here one week. I'm a chicken when it comes to speaking the language myself, but my comprehension gets better and better every day.
P.S. While I'm here in Germany I'm rooting for Deutschland and for the United States of America, which is what the Olympics are all about :).
P.P.S. Ryan Lochte: I don't mind you replacing Michael Phelps as this years swimming sensation one bit.
I thought that, because I was up so late on Friday night, I would be pretty tired Saturday morning, but more then anything I was just excited for the day to begin. I got up fairly early but didn't actually leave the house until eleven or so. I'm pretty comfortable with the neighborhood I live in, which is really pretty and very picturesque (pictures soon I promise), so I didn't have any trouble walking to the bus stop and catching the right bus to the U-Bahn station. The only problem was that, once you're on the bus, you have to know the stop you want to get off on, because the buses in Germany only stop if you've pressed a button letting the driver know you want to get off at the next station. Sounds pretty simple, but for some reason they weren't announcing the impending stops, nor were they showing them on the screens up above the seats, so I was anxiously sitting there, hoping that I wasn't going to be stuck riding the bus around Munich all day long. Luckily the bus was pretty full, and somebody took care of pressing the stop button for me.
And while we're on the topic of buses, I have to tell you that the transportation system here is about million times better then any I've seen in America. The buses are clean and don't smell AT ALL. The same goes for the trains and the train stations. The taxis are not rusty old cars, they're Mercedes, and they look like this:
(This is the sort of taxi you never want to throw up in.)
I'd of course heard that Germans take their cars very seriously, but it still surprises me how nice and well-maintained all of the vehicles are here in Munich. The vast majority of them look very expensive, and none of them look beat up, or like they've somehow survived ramming into a Tonka Truck. You're technically not even allowed to drive your car if there's any sort of exterior damage, and every car has to be inspected once every two years to make sure it's in good condition.
But enough about the cars. The important thing here is that I managed to find the Marienplatz (home to the famous Glockenspiel) all by myself. As far as navigating the U-Bahn goes it was a pretty simple trip, but I gave myself a little mental pat on the back nonetheless. I'm sure that at least once I will end up somewhere miles away from my intended destination, but it didn't happen Saturday, so I'll drink to that as well.
I was meeting Lydia, my host family's current Au Pair, and one of her friends in front of the Rathous-Glockenspiel. I was there at noon so I was able to see the puppets dance high up on the tower, which I have to say was not nearly as exciting as I thought it would be, but was interesting nonetheless. I really want to go back on a day where there aren't as many tourists, so that I can get a better view of the puppets themselves. From the Marienplatz we walked through different parts of the city; I rubbed a few (supposedly) lucky lion's noses and went inside the Frauenkirche cathedral, one of the symbols of Bavaria and the highest building in Munich. Just inside the entrance of the cathedral is a single footprint claimed to have been made by the devil after he realized he couldn't go into the church because of the stained glass windows. In a fit of rage he stamped his footprint into the stone for all eternity. It looks like this:
Naturally I stepped onto it, which probably canceled out all the good luck I accrued from rubbing the lion's noses, but it was a chance I was willing to take.
You're supposed to rub the lion's noses every time you walk by them anyway, so I'm sure I'll have lots more opportunities to even the scales. The tradition itself is pretty significant, dating back to the Nazi regime. People would rub them as a sign of resistance after being forced to salute Hitler while walking through the square in front of Feldherrnhalle.
After stopping for lunch we went to a massive store filled with Dirndls, the traditional Bavarian dress, and I can't tell you how excited I am to pick one up for Oktoberfest. The only problem will be choosing one, because there are so many different colors and styles, but trying half of them on is going to be part of the fun!
Probably the most important thing that happened on Saturday was the Au Pair picnic in one of the biggest beer gardens in Munich: Hirschgarten. It was incredible for a handful of reasons: the weather was gorgeous (once the rain finally stopped), the beer garden was a lot of fun, and I got to meet several other Au Pairs in Munich who will be there almost the entire year of my stay. They were all really nice and a lot of fun. After we left the Hirschgarten we went to a music venue, and then we walked around the city for awhile. We eventually ended up at a McDonald's down in the U-Bahn station, and then as we were walking to catch our trains we ran into this, which if you've made it thus far is your reward for reading this incredibly long post. It's a video of my favorite part of the night, and one of the many reasons I already love Germany.
Roughly twenty guys were all dressed up in traditional costumes with their instruments in tow, playing rowdy drinking songs in the middle of the U-Bahn station around one o'clock in the morning, and trust me when I tell you that this video doesn't do it justice. Groups of Germans were singing along to all of the songs and dancing all throughout the crowd. Several times a Conga line was started, which I of course participated in, and people were holding their massive beer mugs up in the air and making toasts. It was awesome.
Sunday my host family threw a really nice going away barbecue for Lydia. I was fortunate enough to meet more of her friends and spent the day visiting with them. Wednesday we're all going to an Irish pub to sing karaoke, and if you know me at all you know how much I love karaoke :)
Every day that's gone by has been easier then the one before it, and I'm starting to feel more and more comfortable with my host family, who've been incredibly helpful and kind. And to finish everything off, this time next week I will be in IRELAND with my best friend, who is flying out there for a family reunion. My host family will be on vacation at the exact same time and told me that I was free to go with them, or take some time to see different parts of Europe on my own. The timing worked out perfectly for us, so starting Saturday I will be all set to conquer Ireland AND Amsterdam with my partner in crime: the Wonder Twins are back in action in Europe. So incredibly excited. Three countries in only two weeks; not bad I'd like to think. I promise to be much better about pictures in the future. I've been slacking lately, mostly getting used to my new surroundings, but they're on their way.
XO
Sarah (The American Au Pair in Germany)
