Last post of the week! I'm going to count this page as one week, even though it's been slightly more, so that I can start a new page every Monday. Ok, so this post won't have any pictures, and is mostly more of the same stuff. If you want real exciting posts, check back after maybe next weekend when I (hopefully) do some travelling. You won't hurt my feelings if you stop reading. Really.

Ok, so: today. I woke up several times, almost got up, and went back to sleep. Eventually I did get up and looked around online at travel deals and tried to read a little bit of my german book. I couldn't find a nearby church with known mass times, so I decided to put off church until next weekend when I would have a bike, and also a better sense of where everything was. The gym that I found yesterday is open 'til 4 on Sundays, so I headed over there around 2. I'm trying to get into shape! I really am! It's just that the world conspires against me! I got there only to find that this Sunday they were having an open house. So I stayed and they fed me CHOCOLATE COVERED MARSHMALLOW DESSERT. And CHERRY COBBLER. This is clearly an evil scheme to make all the people at the open house fat enough to need a gym. So I did some situps at home and then browsed around Youtube until I found a short home-workout video. That was fun. And then Devin and I talked about when we're travelling. It should be a lot of fun, I'll write when I have definite plans. I also said hi to Yi-Hsin and Mona. I just started using gmail's chat feature yesterday, and I'm already really happy with it. Then I decided to go to the train station to ask a question about fares. So I copied my google map directions down, including drawing the map (I miss having a printer!) and set out. I decided not to take my camera with, because I didn't want to look touristy. I immediately regretted it, as it was gorgeous out. I saw a flock of young children run by, then a bike leaning against some ivy and then a pretty view of the bridge I live near. And the clouds were really nice as well. When I got to the Hauptbahnhof, I finally saw this: (ok, I lied, there is one picture in this post)

I have seen this picture on Kassel's website and I didn't know where it was or if it was a permanent feature. It is! It's right in front of the Hauptbahnhof. I went in and bought some tape -- I've been looking for that! -- and asked the lady at the store where I could go for help. She referred me to the Bahnhof Wilhelmschöhe. Interestingly enough, even though "Hauptbahnhof" means "main train station," the main train station in Kassel is actually Wilhelmschöhe. She said it wasn't far, only one stop down the track. "Could I walk?" I asked. "No!" with an implied "you're crazy" attached. (I just looked at Google maps. The walk is around 4.7 kilometers, or 2.9 miles) The train cost about 3 Euros. So, after careful consideration, I decided to walk. It was a really nice walk. I live sort of between the Greek section of town and the red light district, so it's not so upscale. But I saw some nice houses. A lot of them had trellises with roses growing on them. I also found a Catholic church that's not so far away, so I think that's where I'll try next weekend. And a bicyclist smiled at me! And, I managed to ask directions and understand them all! Usually I just follow the directions as far as I understood and then ask again! And I found a really cool little brook in a small wooded area. And I went under a bridge with traffic thundering above and all sorts of graffiti around and it was kind of a neat effect. Hard to put into words.

As I was walking up the final street to the train station I saw a cat lying on the sidewalk. It was laying in a sort of natural position, but as I got closer and closer and it didn't move. And it made me sad, and I thought about Sherlock, the cat we had when I was little who was hit by a car. And then as I came up to it it moved!! It was really exciting. And it didn't run, it just looked at me apprehensively. So I held me hand out to it and made cat-inviting sounds (yeah, not sure how to describe this ... a sort of soft tongue to the top of the mouth while inhaling thing ... cats tend to like it in my experience.) Anyways, after a minute of sizing me up, the cat came up to me and was ridiculously friendly. Just shamelessly winding around my legs and begging to be petted. So I stayed there with the cat for a while. It was hard to leave it.

At the train station I got some information, but I have to go back when a different office is open (weekday hours 6:00 to 20:00, I think. Or maybe only 'til 18:00). Anyways, I went outside but it was pouring rain and windy. Out of nowhere. So I considered getting a train back. And then bought a plastic bag for my stuff and began to run back in the rain. It was lots of fun. I was soaked in about 10 seconds and there was lightning and thunder -- it was an awesome storm! Then of course 10 minutes later it cleared up and I realized that I had soaked my only pair of sneakers and could have spared them by hiding out in the train station for 10 min. But it was fun and the sneakers are already drying out nicely. Hopefully I can even wear them tomorrow.

The walk back was mostly uneventful. (I stopped running after a block or two) I sang to myself for a while, which was fun. Oh, I forgot to mention passing the Moulin Rouge club before. But I did, and I passed it again on the way back. I might go explore it some night! Closer still to my place is a seedier building, advertising beautiful women, an unspecified number of which are Californian. As I walked back there were a pair of women, one on either side of the street. As I got closer to them I realized they must both be associated with this place. They were wearing the most ridiculous 6-inch heeled shiny boots. One of them had a ... I think it was supposed to be a skirt? ... that was, well, just sort of interesting. As for the other, I'm in awe -- I have no idea what she did to create that much cleavage. Anyways, I think I did a fine job not staring rudely, despite how much they stood out, as they intended to. I even said hi to the one on my side. And then a block later I passed a woman with even her head covered in a shawl. It was a funny contrast.

Then I came home and realized I was starving. So I made a ton of spaghetti. And it was delicious, if I do say so myself. And I tried to listen to Pandora (online radio) and I told me no because I'm had a Germany IP address. But then I Cisco Secure VPN'd my way to an MIT address! And now I have have my internet radio again! But now it's late and I have to wake up early for work. So, goodnight for now. I wish you were all here! Or, you know, maybe 3-10 of you. Because all of you might not fit in my apartment so well :)

Kim

Yum. I made dinner, and I didn't die yet. Despite no one coming to my rescue as per the previous request. Aviv did contact me but without any useful knowledge of cooking, and John offered assistance, but once I had figured it out. So I did the first wing sitting on the pot on the burner and the second sitting directly on the other burner. These were for about 10 minutes. They were not so good. So I tried doing one of them for longer. Neh. Still not so good. The problem is that not all of the wing can contact the burner. Then I tried making one in the microwave. 30 seconds, flip, 30 seconds. Yuck. At this point, I realized that trying to guess my way to good chicken was not such a good idea, so I looked online. I found a site claiming that 35-45 minutes of "simmering" would cook chicken wings well. Hmm... I am not familiar with this "simmering." Ok, I had vague ideas. But my vague ideas are not to be trusted when it comes to cooking. So, after another google search, I found that "simmering" is "Cooking food in a liquid at a low enough temperature that small bubble begin to break the surface." Ok, I could do that! I got my pot out again and put in some water and heated it. I put in the remains of the not-so-well-cooked chicken and waited 35 minutes. At one point it got a bit past simmering, to boiling. But they mostly simmered for a while and they tasted so much better when they were done! Delicious. I made another one. By this point I was a pro at simmering. You should have seen the little bubbles!!

Ok, so some random bits of information: I was asked about Kassel. How silly of me not to give you basic facts. So: Kassel is a city of about 200,000 people in the center of Germany. However, it feels smaller. I grew up in a city of 50,000, and that seemed bigger. Strange. This may be because so far I have only gone places on foot. I suppose it also has to do with the customs. Stores have short hours on Saturdays and are not open on Sundays. This is supposed to be "relaxing" according to the preparation for travel MIT provided. I was lazing around my apartment at about 2:30 today when I realized that I was running low on food and the stores wouldn't be open much longer before they closed until Monday. I'm not sure what they exact times are: maybe closing at 4 or 5 pm on Saturday. But I didn't want to push my luck, so I set out shopping. I got some milk, chicken, and applesauce. Also garbage bags. Speaking of milk, the first night here when I went to the pizza place, I asked for milk and they asked if I wanted it cold or warm! Also, the milk in the stores here often sits out on shelves, rather than being refrigerated. Anyways, I went a bit out of my way to see different streets, but most of what I saw was residential. There were some young boys rollerblading and some teenagers skulking about and smoking. That was about it. When I was almost back to my place from shopping, I passed, as usual, this gated drive off to my left. From what I had seen I figured they were just a nicer set of apartments back there. But then I saw a sign for "Sportstudio Heros" which seemed to indicate a location up the drive. I decided to go investigate. After walking up the drive and around a couple of bends I found a gym! Practically adjascent to my apartment house!! This is really exciting because I'm really out of shape. So I had a tour. It seems pretty cool. How much do these things cost in the US? I don't know. But I'm strongly considering going back.

I really haven't done all that much exciting recently. I didn't even leave the house yesterday! I've been trying to reread my German book. I'm halfway through semester I now. The book has 2 semesters worth of material. I've also been spending too much time on Youtube, facebook, and the internet in general. Ah, summer: the only time you have to check your email and also the only time there isn't a ton of it. I decided to add myself to another mailing list in hopes of getting some mail. (The official Idina Menzel fan sit's mailing list!) I also decided that my bedsheet was more useful as a curtain:

One of the curtains I had was semi-transparent, and I didn't feel as though I had enough privacy. Some neighbors have a table outside with shade around it where they like to sit and talk and have beers. But it has also has a great view of my living room. I really like the way there's a series of parabolas visible in the second picture (actually, that's why I took the picture!) Oh, that reminds me: my place finally feels lived in. I cleaned it a bit and my stuff is comfortably spread out now. We had a couple of bouts of rain. The first was pretty light, but later we had a thunderstorm. And the rain looked like hail! I stuck my head out the window to feel it. And then I was responsible and closed my windows and unplugged my laptop. Below are some pictures I took from the storm. I love clouds!

And somehow I'm up 'til midnight again! I just don't understand why my body is permanently stuck at staying up late, no matter where I go. Ok, I'm going to clear off my bed and get some sleep. I miss you all lots!

Kim

Help! I want to make dinner, and I don't know how! I bought this meat from the store, but it doesn't have any sort of timing directions printed on it. Oh, also I have stovetop heater things and a microwave. No oven. My options to cook it with are the pot (which worked for scrambled eggs) and this metal plate-thing that the previous occupant of the apartment left (accidentally?) in the microwave with bits of pizza (I think) stuck to it. Here's the picture:

The package says that you can Braten, Grillen, oder Backen. The first and last both translate to "bake" according to my dictionary. Although the first has alternate meanings of roast or fry. The middle is grill. So. I intend to eat this in the next few hours. But if any of you has any more clue how to do so PLEASE email me. Right now. I'll wait maybe 2 hours to see if anyone helps me. So that's 8pm my time, which is 2pm Eastern. If not, I will probably take the different pieces and experiment with them. And die from improperly cooked meat. Right now I am kind of liking the idea of just setting one directly on the burner for a while, and flipping it over and then calling it cooked. Pleeeeaaaaasse help me?

Kim

Hi! Yesterday at work, I got to look at a railway car's engine. And it was blue!! It was sooo cool. And pretty! AND I got to take a picture! Behold:

Later I took a few pictures of the office:

There are 3 desks arranged in a clump. The one closest is mine!

The wall behind Steffen's desk. There are some drawings by his 8-year-old son as well as pictures of a train and pet guinea pigs. The drawings say things like "For my super daddy" on them in german.

Some files along the wall, and a poster on the wall with different train models.

After work I bought a 3-piece dish set. This is really exciting, because I now have a plate and a bowl!!! (and another cup as well) While I was at the store I found out that I am highly addictive:

The package says that smoking kims is very addictive.

I didn't do too much last night or this morning... mostly just sleeping off the remaining jet lag and reading my German book, trying to force grammar and vocabulary into my head. And also reading friends blogs and missing them. But, I did have some adventures. For instance: making eggs for breakfast this morning. You would think that is relatively simple. But, what if you had eggs but no frying pan? I decided to attempt to make eggs in my pot (that's a spoon handle, as I also didn't have a spatula. I used a bit of spoon, a bit of knife, and it worked):

Also, note that the burners are labelled H and V. Hot and Very hot?? Nope! V is for vor (in front) and H is for hinter (behind). Note to myself: heat level 3. (for future eggs-making) So, I ended up with an edible, even sort of good, breakfast:

The drink is a sort of sparkling apple juice. All the drinks have bubbles in them here. Even the water is carbonated, unless you specifically request it not to be. Later in the day I wanted to cut up an apple and eat it with some peanut butter. But, I had only a pair of butter knives. But then I remembered the mini-leatherman I got from a career fair. That thing has been ridiculously handy since I got here! I didn't actually expect using it to cut up the apple to work, but it did!! Also, the creamy peanut butter here is ridiculously creamy! It was a delicious snack! At 20:00 I met Olaf (the University student I met 2 days ago) at the University Library and we went walking around Kassel. Along the way to meet him I saw:

Kids playing in a fountain :) Moving along...

and

I'm not sure how much you all have heard about the G8? It's a yearly forum that Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US attend. The EU also sends a representative, but they don't count towards the 8. Anyways, these leaders whose countries together produce 2/3 of the world economy get together for 3 days to talk about world issues. It's in Germany this year, hostel by Chancellor Angela Merkel. As seems to be usual, there's been protesting by various groups. Greenpeace protesters were actually involved in a boat chase when they tried to get into a secure area so that they could hand over a petition to the world leaders. As for the picture of the graffiti on right, I just thought it was pretty. I suppose I just like blue too much :)

And swinging the camera to the right, you see this pretty scene. The building at the end of the street is a corner café with a cluster of table outside. A bit farther down the street is a big open sports field. But, I turn at the corner, to go to the University.

Some people playing what seems to be Bocci ball on the Uni-Kassel campus.

The campus is really quite pretty with all its brick buildings, cobblestones, and large open spaces.

The view from a bench I sat on to wait for Olaf. Then we went walking in Kassel. I took lots of pictures! When I'm in a place by myself that isn't really touristy I tend to feel sort of awkward taking pictures when there are people around. That's why the pictures of the kids in the fountain, café and Bocci-ball are taken from more of a distance than I would have liked. But, when I'm with someone else it's less awkward. So, pictures of Kassel:

At the end of the street is a "Rathaus" or town-hall. I also like the lamps along the edge of the street.

And, here I am in front of a the main Rathaus. That's the other handy thing about not being along: getting to be in pictures. At about this time on the walk our conversation made me want to relate an excellent joke. Have you ever tried to tell an English joke in another language? It's tricky! But I managed it! (I was not, however, silly enough to attempt telling a joke originally in Spanish).

CineStar: the Filmpalace

The first picture here is of a museum. It has extra curvy decorations on it in preparation for the documenta. The documenta is a giant modern/contemporary art exhibition which is held in Kassel every 5 years. It's 3 months long! The 12th documenta will run from the 16th of June this summer to Sept. 23. The second picture is taken from in front of the Orangerie, looking over some of the fields where the documenta will be held. The field extends a long way, and there are already a lot of those structures up.

The Fulda river. It's the longest river in the German state of Hessen and quite pretty. Zooming in you see my favorite piece of art of the day:

I really like this giant pickaxe -- and not only because it's blue! The only point of support is the one tip on the ground and so it looks as though it should fall over. But its center of mass is apparently located above the point of contact. But that thing is huge. The little whitish thing at the base is a person.

Here's an old house. This is relatively rare to see because Kassel was bombed during World War II.

We happened upon a playground. This is the view from the swings. That thing turns out to be a trampolineish toy! One person stands on each half and you jump and bounce each other up and it's a lot of fun. I know, because we tried it!

A market hall, all covered in ivy. I think the sign said that Thursday is market day.

If you click on the picture and look at the larger version, you can see that this gravestone was made back when Kassel was still spelled Cassel! We found a small old cemetary (by Martinskirche).

After this we went to a Biergarten, which was very pretty and relaxing. It was built on the back half of a building which was half destroyed by bombing in the war (it's just "the war" here, not World War II) Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it. And then Olaf walked me back to my place (since it was around 10pm). So, it's almost 2am here now! I think I'll get some sleep after posting this. Oh! I just realized that I haven't explained why I had today off work. It's a Catholic holiday, Frohnleichnam, or Corpus Christi Day. Germany's only national holiday is German Unity Day, but the individual federal states can recognize their own. I'm in the state of Hessen, and it happens to celebrate Frohnleichnam. So, I had the day off work. I also have an optional day off tomorrow, which I intend to take! I'm not really sure what I'll do yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something! Ok, bis nachher!

*I posted pictures with the first two days, but for today there is only text. (Scroll down for pics)*

So today was pretty awesome. I didn't want to wake up in the morning and go to work. I stayed up until 11:30 last night, which feels really late to me right now. But I got up and went to work anyways. Mr. Danuschewske (Ollie) left after a couple of hours today. Which meant that Steffen and I got to do a lot of looking at the online dictionary to talk to each other. That was fun! At one point he read me a word from the dictionary which made no sense in context and at the look on my face he burst out laughing! It's funny to me that I am supposed to be on a first name basic and use the informal "you" with people in my office, since I'm new and they're older than me and I'm in Germany. Especially using "Ollie" instead of even "Oliver." I thought I would have to get used to more formality! Of course, there still is formality. We shake hands with everyone whenever we meet them for the first and sometimes last time of the day. I also drink a lot of coffee now, which is odd since I didn't while I was a sleepless MIT student. But, I keep being offered it, and I've developed a taste for it. I like milk and cream, but not sugar. This also surprised me when I realized this about myself :) The company is very nice to me; they get me coffee instead of vice versa!!

On my way home I bought some more food and random necessities. I'm sortof more self sufficient than I used to be; I have not only peanut butter and jelly, but also spaghetti! And Brötchen, and fruit, and meat, cheese, eggs, etc. Oh, and I got the most delicious bing cherries today! I like the grocery cart system here. All the carts are chained together and to release one you must insert a Euro which pushes the key out. When you return the cart the Euro is pushed back out. *shrug* I guess it's cooler if you see it. Oh, and you have to pay for bags at the store. It really encourages you to buy cloth ones and bring them back.

After dropping my purchases off, I went exploring! I saw another giant chess set, on someone's porch. I found the University and asked at the library what sort of sports/activities there were. That wasn't very useful. So after some more unsuccessful wandering, I ended up in the cafeteria. For lack of a better plan, I went and sat down by a lone student and asked if he knew where I could sign up to play intermural sports. Success! After he finished eating he took me to a computer and logged into the University system to find out about sports. The office is only open when I'm at work, so I'll have to email them. But the guy also was really friendly (Finally! Someone my own age to talk with!) and gave me his email address so that I can ask him if I have questions. On my way home I found a used CD store and bought some German music!

I had my first day of work today. My boss, Mr. Danuschewske, took me around to meet all of the other colleagues and then to see the different parts of the company. The Kassel branch of the company mostly works on the diesel (as opposed to electric) trains. Each office of the company specializes in a few of the train models. The offices usually have two or three people in them. I get my own desk! I’m in the same room as Mr. Danuschewske and his partner Steffen. My office is fairly informal for Germany; they use first names with almost everyone. The exception is Mr. Danuschewske’s (and everyone else’s) boss. He is addressed formally.

The property that the company is on is fairly large. There is a huge factory for building up engines and such and also a building for bringing trains in for repairs. The trains are lined up on either side of the building, on tracks. Then, when they want to move them to a different part of the building, a movable piece, on tracks perpendicular to the ones the trains are on, is moved in front of the train. The train drives on, and the the movable piece can be lined up with a different set of tracks before the train drives off again. In one section of the building they lift trains up on pneumatic lifts. Seeing a train two meters in the air is impressive! Outside there are various parts, axles and wheels and more trains. There is also a building for training young/new workers for the factory, a cafeteria, a round switchtable by the trainyard, a water tower, and various other buildings.

When we went touring around the factory, I had to wear a baseball cap. Well, actually it was a hard hat discreetly disguised as a baseball cap. It was pretty cool :)   The head of quality control at the factory is a woman. When we met her and Mr. Danuschewske introduced me as the “Praktikantin von Amerika”, she said “Frauen Power!” which of course means “Woman Power!” That was pretty neat. The only other female we met is the secretary in the main office.

I also did start to do some work. There’s a client who wants to change some of the seating on their train from permanent floor-mounted seats to pull-down ones off the side walls so that the space can also be used for bicycle storage. The problem is that we can’t mount the seats directly on the walls because then they would block the heat rising from the heaters which run along the walls. So I am supposed to design a way of mounting the seats a bit farther out from the walls. My next assignment after that will be to work on figuring out how to add a filtering component to a different train’s engines.

Of course, one of the hardest things to do was understand. Most of the people at the office come from East Germany. Since Germany used to be divided, people from Eastern Germany are more likely to know Russian and Polish as second languages, and people from Western Germany are more likely to know English. So, the more quickly I pick up German, the better! Mr. Danuschewske told several people that I will speak perfect German by the end of the summer! We’ll see...

And finally, I’m really excited because I have food!!! Mr. Danuschewske’s boss took me to the grocery store after work and I bought lots of delicious food! Oh, I guess I should mention that last night I found a Pizzeria to eat at. I only had to ask directions twice! But being able to eat breakfast and lunch here if I want to will be good. I also bought a pack of bandaids at the supermarket, which was good because I’ve torn my toenail in a funny way and had been making do with a piece of a receipt held onto my toe with a bandaid. Not good! And I also got a new toothbrush, since somehow mine did not make it to Germany with me.

So I’m doing pretty well now. I got home and put my groceries away and wrote this. I also re-modified the plug of my computer. It looks sketchier now, but it’s more stable, I swear! And tonight when Frau Kallischko comes by for the rent, she might bring me pots and pans! I hope you appreciate your pots and pans...  :)

My bed (before I added my sheets, blanket and pillow to it). You don't get to see a picture of it now because it's already a mess! I should have taken a picture right after I made the bed.

I really like this patch on the bed for some reason.

Almost all of my stuff fits in this piece of shelving!

Unfortunately I can't take any pictures of Deutsche Bahn, by company policy. So moving on...

The view from my window. The flash reflecting off the window seems as though it could be the sun. But I took this picture in the evening.

My fridge has food in it! Excellent!

I'm finally in Kassel! Friday morning and afternoon were a rush of last-minute buying and packing. I might not have finished without significant help from Josh and Amber -- thanks guys!! Then I got to the airport, used my wonderful cell phone for the last time in 3 months, and got on the plane. Is it just me, or are international airlines about a million times better than American ones?? The plane was amazingly comfortable and huge and the extra-courteous attendants gave us two meals plus snacks in only 6 hours! I think we flew on an A-330, but Carolyn might correct me. By luck I was in the same row as Carolyn O'Brian. We did our final presentation for Chinese II together. She also happens to be an Aero-Astro major, which is why she might correct me about what type of plane we were on. We had a good time talking on the plane. There were also lots of music choices. I particularly enjoyed the "Popular Arabic" station! Then we watched a movie, I don't recall the name. Around the end of the movie I finally actually understood that I was going to be in Germany for 3 months. Up until then I had been so wrapped up in the logistics of it all that I forgot how exciting it would be :) Then I had a glass of wine and got a couple hours of sleep.

We got into Frankfurt at about 11pm EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) which is 5am CEST (Central European Summer Time). I got really lost in Frankfurt trying to find the Jugendherberge (Youth Hostel). As soon as I found the Main, which flows through the city, I was fine. But I'm sure that the few people on the streets at that time we pretty amused by the girl with LOTS of polka-dotted baggage wandering around asking for the river in shaky German. I finally found the hostel, which had a giant (~ .5 to 1 meter tall) chess set outside. I left my things in the baggage rooms since I couldn't check in until 1pm. Then I went to this giant flea market along the river that I had passed before. It was huge, apparently they have them every Saturday. I think one guy referred to it as the Flussmarkt. Then I walked around the city for a while. Unfortunately I lost 6 hours on the flight over and so I kept having these very tempting and very stupid urges to fall asleep on benches, in parks, etc. So I tried to keep moving. I eventually bought a yummy bread-cheese thing from a street vendor (if Preeya or David read this, it was like those things we got that night in Ljubljana) and later a sandwich from another place. I stopped into a couple of cell phone stores when they opened. After talking to the T-Mobile person about what I needed in a phone I went and bought a used one from the flea market. I saved 10 Euros and got a pretty blue phone instead of the boring one I would have gotten from T-Mobile! I also talked the guy at the flea market down by 20 Euros. That was fun. Then I got lost again, and along the way saw a farmer's market, someone playing and accordian, a residential area, and LOTS of people. The cobblestone streets went from being empty to being completely packed with people. I spent longer this time being lost. It turns out that I'm fairly comfortable speaking German one-on-one with strangers, but having lots of them around makes me timid about it. Strange. Eventually I asked directions from a bicycle taxi (they had lots of them, they're so neat! These people in uniforms ride around with bikes towing these covered Rickshaw-ish things behind them). Then it was late enough that I could go check in at the hostel, so I did. I was in a room with 8 beds, all bunked. One of the other people was particularly talkative. She was a lady, maybe in her 30s, originally from Korea. She's been unemployed for a couple of years, so she stayed at the hostel to save money. She finds almost everything to be really amusing! I napped a lot in the afternoon, woke up and talked to people, showered and brushed my teeth, then went to sleep again. Somewhere along the way I seem to have lost my toothpaste, but another girl was nice enough to let me have some.

In the morning I woke up and had breakfast (including Brötchen, which we all had so much trouble pronouncing in German I!) Then I walked a LONG way to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and took a train to Treysa and then one from Treysa to Kassel. On the first train ride I talked with a guy, Ahmed, from Pakistan who's studying in Treysa. He told me that German girls generally wear their hair loose or in one ponytail. So I changed my hair from two braids to one :) Then Mr. Danuschewske met me at the train station in Kassel and showed me where I will work and then took me to my apartment. It's pretty basic, but it's all my own! I'm going to have to go shopping soon and buy necessary things such as a trash can and dished and maybe some food. I haven't eaten since breakfast -- well, ok, a lady gave me a small piece of gum on the train. But that doesn't count as eating. And one key difference between Germany and US is that everything closes on Sunday. So I'm not sure that going out to look for food will do that much good. Mr. Danuschewske told me that if I couldn't find anything to eat I could call him, but I don't know if I want to impose on him like that. And I've got a little bit more unpacking to do. Hmm... having hangers would be really nice too :) I've actually already made a list a page long of things I need to buy and/or figure out.

Sometimes computers are way too smart for their own good. For instance, Firefox realized that I was in Germany, so it changed all its text to German. Even my own computer is uncomprehensible now! (Oh yeah, try getting used to a new phone with all its menu abbreviations in a foreign language, as well!) I have the internet now though! Which is sort of an interesting story... I turned my computer on a little bit ago and checked for wireless, and I did find some. Then I realized that my computer was really low on battery. So I opened up my brand new voltage converter and tried to plug it in. But it turns out that my computer's plug is the sort with the third ground plug and the converter takes the two-pronged plugs. So I had to just send out a quick message to let a few people know I was alive and then turn the computer off. It was really sad, because I was looking forward to hearing my music now. I tried a lot of things. **Warning. Stop reading if sketchy electrical modifications (like Preeya and my room lights) bother you** Finally I found a pair of keys that go to a lock I bought at the flea market yesterday (for use on hostel lockers) Then with a little duct-tape magic I was able to connect my power cord to the electricity! And so, I can type this now! Here are some pictures of my room http://www.wg-gesucht.de/1-zimmer-wohnungen-in-Kassel-Mitte.658988.html It's a little less spacious and a lot less furnished than it looks in the pictures, but it's pretty nice. I even have a little kitchenette! Anyways, I'm about out of interesting things to say for now. Bis nachher!

Some pictures from Frankfurt:

I stopped in this picturesque square in Frankfurt while lost and carrying lots of luggage around. Later in the day it looked just like this, except that it was completely jammed with people and a band that set up there and a juggler and groups of tourists.

The Main. The city is Frankfurt am Main, as distinct from Frankfurt an der Oder. The river's beautiful.

The writing one this bridge appears to be Greek. Neat!

The city of Frankfurt as seen from the bridge. After this I found the Hostel before going exploring.

I thnk this is probably a bank...

A hotel with a really cool courtyard. I stopped to rest -- but not fall asleep! -- Saturday morning.

The FlussMarkt in Frankfurt. There were bicycles all over the place in Frankfurt. You can see some bicycle tubes being sold on the curb. There were also bicycles, clothing, random electrical plugs, food, music, movies, jewelry, paintings (I saw the Mona Lisa!), children's toys, lots of shoes, and a million other things!