Das Leben in Kiel

This morning, I felt sorry for myself because it was a Saturday morning and I had no friends and nothing to do. So, I forced myself to go outside for a while. I intended to go to the grocery store to buy some honey to go with my tea, but instead I got lost. And found a giant farmers market! At this farmer's market, I found apples and kiwis and coffee and bratwurst and honey and a Berliner. It cheered me up remarkably.

I moved into my new apartment on Wednesday. It's not so much an apartment as a room in a dorm, but I like it so far. I've met a couple people so far and they seem nice, but I need to work harder at actually meeting and hanging out with people. Luckily, the kitchen is a community kitchen, so I have to run into people every now and then. I decorated part of my room by putting up a whole bunch of pictures and postcards (hint: I would love more), but I still have a whole wall with almost nothing on it. My room basically has two walls. One "wall" has just the door and is covered by the wardrobe, the other "wall" is the window. So there are only two walls to decorate. I'm also thinking I'll have to buy a big comfy pillow (the one that came with the room is just not doing it) and a lamp of some sort. Maybe I'll try to find Ikea this week.

I discovered an small little Asian food store in my neighborhood, complete with bao and, inexplicably, Ginger Beer. So that was pretty exciting.

A couple friends and I have made plans for our upcoming Fall Break. First, a few days in Hamburg, both for fun and to celebrate the Grinnell-only holiday 10/10. Then, to Berlin! I am very excited to head back to Berlin. Sure, I haven't actually gotten paid yet, but it's Berlin! And Deutsche Bahn is selling 20 Euro tickets to anywhere in Germany this weekend, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of German unification.

In teaching news, I made up a Jeopardy game for my fifth graders just before class that they loved. It was great fun. And I helped my eighth graders with projects on tourist destinations in New York City. This Friday, the school is having a Lauftag. Basically, a running day. There's a big track near the school and all the kids run. They all have to run for at least half an hour and can run for up to an hour and a half. Why this happens, I have yet to figure out.

Oh yes! I am also slowly but surely conquering German bureaucracy! I am an official student at Kiel University, a fun process that involved going to at least three different offices, filling out two forms about my academic history, paying 103 Euro, relinquishing my right to University health insurance and explaining, in German, that yes, I did already fill that out. But now I have a bus pass! Which was the real idea. I am also an official resident of Kiel, which entailed sitting at the Einwohnermeldeamt for at least 45 minutes before I got called into the office, remembering my address in Berlin and trying to figure out the zip code there. Oh, and I got lost in the town hall and found these crazy elevators that were literally continually in motion closets that you stepped onto or off of at the correct floor. Made me a little nervous. But now I live here for real. And I have an appointment to get my Visa. In November. Someday, I'll be an official German resident.