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I had a great night's sleep. :)
My roommate left around 8am, and shortly after, I got up and went to breakfast downstairs, where there were a lot of people. I got my food (bread, salami, Swiss cheese, cereal + oats/chocolate + milk, hibiscus tea, fruit cocktail). I found an open seat next to some Germans (I think). I sat and ate...and observed. I felt like the awkward American. Maybe it was because I was still waking up, or because I didn't want to interrupt their conversations, but I didn't say anything to them. Part of me wishes I said something, but part of me is okay with keeping to myself. I do get shy sometimes--okay, maybe most times--around big groups of people & I tend to just observe. After one of the groups left, 3 French-speaking girls came to the table, which then furthered my thought of "I feel old." :P Aside from who I assume are teachers or parents, I didn't really notice any college students--they seemed like highschoolers...again, I could totally be wrong—After all, people guess my age incorrectly all the time!
After breakfast, I bought a day of internet. I finally got online & checked Facebook/email. I was happy to see notifications from my family & friends. :P I mean, it is honestly kind of lonely over here right now. Hopefully, it'll be alright when I go out later. I realized that today is Thursday, meaning its choir rehearsal...goodness, I miss them, too! Alright, going to get ready & hopefully distract myself from homesickness. (Also, I got my class schedule…and it is pretty much awesome!)
Well, so much for getting ready. :P I ended up taking a ~1 hour 40 minute nap haha & woke up at 12pm. (I actually woke up before that when the cleaning lady opened the door. Uhm, yea, definitely was not expecting that lol, but she was considerate and left.) I went online again and was able to Facebook chat with some family & friends. Then I got ready and left a little before 1:30pm. As I was getting ready, the cleaning lady came back again to empty the garbage can. I attempted to look up Youtube videos to learn how to tie a scarf in a “European” way...I settled with the usual way I wear a scarf lol.
I made my way to the old part of Frankfurt in search of decently priced food, more specifically, a bratwurst. I kept walking and ended up where the Fruhling fur Frankfurt 2012 was taking place. I found a bratwurst—something familiar, but something definitely German!
After eating, I went inside St. Catherine's Lutheran Church. Then I continued my journey back to the hostel. Along the way, I bought kettle corn and then stopped at a card store. I was then in the old part of town, and I went to a couple souvenir shops to scope out prices. While I was in those shops, it made me realize that I'm really not in the USA/MI anymore; it also made me feel like a tourist lol.
I took the other bridge back across the river, and I'm glad I did. I saw all the padlocks that are there. It kind of makes me want to leave mine there when I leave Germany/Frankfurt in July! [**A couple days later, I found out the meaning of the locks…they’re called love padlocks, and married couples put them on bridges to symbolize their unending love for each other…upon finding this out, I retract my previous statement about my lock!!**]
I still find it interesting how they listen to American music over here. When I was having lunch, I heard "Jenny from the Block"! Old school!!! I also heard "Womanizer" & "1-2-3".
I'm back at the hostel (currently almost 4 pm) and am chatting with a friend on Facebook. He kind of helped me figure out how to put Google back into English lol. I'm eating my kettle corn, too...which is more like lite caramel corn or glazed corn...in any case, it's good. :) I saw that they had elephant ears at the festival, too. I might go back later to find something for dinner.
Random observation from last night: they have a lot of hookah (shisah) bars here. People also tend to smoke a lot more here than they do in the States. I've heard it's more of an accepted part of their culture, but I’m definitely not a fan of it.
I'm not really in the mood for a museum & I'm not too sure what I should do...I'm contemplating another nap.
I ended up typing up blog posts. My roommate came back for a little bit, but had to go out again for a lecture. A little while after, I decided to go out & find some dinner. After walking a little & checking (or trying to check) out different places' menus, I chose a little shop near the old part of town. I got some sort of chicken sandwich. He miscounted my change, so I went back to get my money back. (I'm glad he spoke English...) I saw a group of people doing Tai Chi in the plaza area. I walked back, but decided to stop and eat some of my sandwich on a bench in the main circle area of the town. I ate while looking at the Romer building (City Hall). It was getting chilly and was going to be dark soon, so I headed back to the hostel and took the bridge with the locks again.
I made it back at around 7:45pm. I've been finishing my sandwich, Facebook chatting with my brother :) and 2 friends.
Random factoids/question:
1) Hulu doesn't let me watch shows since I'm not in the US, so I have resorted to watching “Friends” clips on Youtube.
2) I’ve heard quite a bit of English (British & American) today—which is actually comforting.
3) I started to make plans to meet up with another friend who is studying in Europe!
4) It is sometimes (a.k.a. most times) difficult to decide what food to order when you don’t know what the menu says.
5) I feel like euro are so easy to spend—it seems like Monopoly money…perhaps they're easy to spend since 1 & 2 euro are in coin form...
6) Do all European ambulances/fire trucks sound the same?
It is now almost 9:30pm, and I am on Facebook & Youtube, checking emails, working on my blog, going through pictures, and eating kettle corn…nothing too thrilling, but definitely relaxing so I’m okay with that.
I was waiting in the lobby for a phone call, and I saw the guy from Cologne (my roommate’s friend’s roommate). After I got the call I was waiting for, he and I hung out in the district and talked about the US, Germany, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. We got back to the hostel and planned to meet in the lobby for breakfast and then go to the festival tonorrow.
My roommate and I are now Facebook friends. :) She’s waking up at 6:30am, so I’m going to try to get up that early, too…We’ll see how that goes…
I’m Facebook chatting with friends now for a little bit before bed. Anyway, checking out in the morning & I will try to make the 16:50 train to Marburg tomorrow! G’nite!
Peace. Love. Happiness.
--TR
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