With four days left in the intensive language course, it was time to start planning out what I was going to do with the nice 15 day break before the semester started. I had a few options: 1) Visit Max Loos in Tunisia. 2) Visit Paul and Mandie Wilburn in Rome (since they wouldn't visit me in Germany). 3) Go to Egypt, where a friend of mine (Guthrie) is actually studying. My friend, Paul, and I had discussed earlier the possibility of going to Egypt, and having looked at prices/tickets, we figured going to Egypt would never again be as inexpensive as it was. Tunisia was too expensive, and I am planning on going to Rome for Easter. So we made up our minds, talked to another AYFer, Rob, and bought our tickets on Monday.
I felt like I was getting sick on Monday, and sure enough, I woke up Tuesday feeling like garbage. I was either too warm or too cold. During class, I had a hard time concentrating and wanted nothing more than to go to bed. It was at this point that I began to worry something terrible. With the H1N1 virus going around, and with my flu-like symptoms, I was a bit worried my trip to Egypt wouldn't happen. Because of the outbreak, the U.S. State Department warned all travelers going to Egypt that if they were detected (via a biothermal radar) as being sick, they would be quarantined in an Egyptian hospital for 48 hours, and released if they were not deemed a threat to the public. :-D Wouldn't that be a great welcome! Fortunately that night, my friends Ambika and Paul came over and made me dinner, and Eva and Kirsten pampered me in all sorts of ways. They made me tea, brought me a large blanket with a tiger on it, gave me heat packs, and plenty of facial tissues (Kleenex). My 11 hours of sleep coupled with missing my last actual day of class did me well. I was on the road to recovery. Eva made me some great soup for lunch and things seemed to be going well...until I realized how much I needed to study for our finals. But, everything went well. I made it through both exams, went home, ate, and went to bed.
The next day, Paul and I met my roommates for lunch at an Italian restaurant. Apparently "Margherita Pizza" here, simply means cheese pizza. Paul got some Spaghetti made with vodka. It was actually pretty good. After lunch, we (now including Rob) met with our advisor in Freiburg to go over tentative class schedules. The sign up process in Germany is light-years behind that in the U.S. Depending on the department, one has to 1) Sign up online 2) Email the teacher and request a spot 3) Fill out a form within the department as to which classes you would like to take, after which, lists will be posted as to whether you got into the desired class(es) or 4) Just show up. These are the only methods I had to deal with, but I expect there to be more. I thought Germans were supposed to be über-efficient.
After our meetings, the three of us went to this "US Store" where they sell old military uniforms and gear. There are hats from the Franco-Prussian War, helmets from both world wars, and some really spectacular military uniforms in good condition. Rob was looking for a backpack for Egypt, but the ones there were either too big/expensive or too small. So he just bought one at a backpacking store.
Eva, my roommate who studies law, knowing how dearly I miss Mexican food, invited me out that Friday. She and her fellow law students were to have a get together with either a judge or district attorney. They sit around a table, drinking different types of alcohol, seeing the different ways they affect the body. So, suffice it to say, when I finally met up with them around 9, some of them were three sheets in the wind. I did meet a guy whose Mother is from Barcelona and whose father is from Germany. So I had a really cool trilingual conversation with him. The Mexican food was pricey and not as good as that in the States, but really hit the spot. On the whole, Mexican food utilizes so many more flavors. ¡Te extraño, comida mexícana!
The next day: Anna's birthday/German national holiday (Day of German Unity) commemorating the reunification of Germany. Oh, and I was no longer sick. Thanks sleep/roommates!
Two days later (Monday, October 5) Paul, Rob, and I made our way to the train station. I spent the train ride looking through the German guide book for Egypt that we purchased. At least we would have something with which we could practice out German. Our flight was from Frankfurt, leaving around 10:30. Next stop: Cairo!
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