Supersize me please

I also forgot the mention that Stefan took me out for ice cream afterwards, and I got to eat this delicious masterpiece!!
And! I finally got a chance to take a picture of the classiest McDonalds you will EVER see.

It has a "McCafe." Now that's classy.

First day of school

Today was day one of visiting Stefan's Mediem Akademie, and despite the obvious differences in class room size and language, there were several aspects that I found different from VCU back home.

First off, the classroom atmosphere is far more relaxed than it is back home, which I was surprised about because everyone pictures Germans to be very disciplined. Students opened and closed windows at their own leisure and during breaks in the class they talked louder than what a teacher in the US would allow.

They also knock on their desks at the end of a lecture, as a way to "applaud" the teacher for a good class. When everyone did this at first I thought something unlucky happened and they were "knocking on wood," like what we do back home. I never thought of applauding a teacher for a good lecture and the idea is funny to me.

Although the first class I attended (Politics in Journalism) was all in German it was fun to see the differences in our government. The second class (a vocational class for journalism) was more interactive. They actually interviewed me and video taped it! Which I was really nervous about but overall everyone was very nice and easygoing. It's always so funny to hear the questions people ask. You'd be surprised how many people ask me if I watch the Simpsons haha, which is probably my favorite question.

I get to go again to BM-Mediemakademie tomorrow, to take two different course, so we'll see how that goes.

Sorry monkeys, we are the superior mammal.

I JUST EXPERIENCED THE BEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

There was laughter.

Tears.

Splendor.

Clowns.

Yes everyone, I went to the circus!

Not just any circus, Roncalli!

It's an old school circus, complete with vintage carts, costumes, and a little tent. No animals (excluding the fake hippo) in this, but that was not needed. My camera died halfway through (it was as hot as an oven for being on for so long) but I took many pictures. Here are some of my favorites...

Before it starts.

The clown getting ready.

The fake hippo.

Spinning blankets!

What??

OH MY GOSH!

A snake charmer???

WRONG! Bubble charmer. Score!

Back up dancers?

Wrong again! They do this...

As a said before, my camera's battery died so there was more. Including a sweet couple rope dance, two acrobats standing on each others heads, a woman who changed clothes in milliseconds, and a crazy ball juggling dude.

But before all this excitement, Caroline took me on a tour of Cologne where I finally met Tunnes und Schal.

BFF (for life!)

I've also made a new friend who is not made out of stone. Her name is Marleh, she is Caroline's niece. She took me shopping today and it was nice to see the swanky European clothes (that are too expensive for my budget!)

That is the end of story time today kids. Ich bin le tired! (Nothing better than German + French + sleepiness!)

To my mother:

STOP SENDING PEOPLE WE KNOW IN GERMANY NANCY THOMAS.

It's everywhere, I can't escape it.

dom.. dom dom dom... DOM!

So not much has changed at the Cologne Cathedral (who would'a thunk???). But! That was until I came across this:

Whatttt? That's not a normal stain glass window!?! Well, boys and girls, (oder, Jugen und Madchen) it's a new installment by Gerhard Richter, a modern German artist. The window that was there before was destroyed during WWII and the new window consists of 72 different colors of glass, all taken from other windows in the cathedral. Although many are against it, I think it's very beautiful and a great portrayal of how modern religion came to be. The idea of taking the same colors used in the other windows displays (at least to me) how we have adopted aspects of old religion into our lives and made it new.

Also, if you were wondering, the Archbishop of Cologne was opposed to it. But nobody asked him anyway. No, seriously, nobody asked for his opinion before they accepted it.

P-F-E-R-D

I attempted to teach Oscar today how to play the basketball game, HORSE, but I think it got a bit lost in translation and it turned into a slam dunk contest.

Caroline's Vater's birthday celebration was today. For his birthday he got a bench in the park dedicated to him, which I thought was adorable, so the party was (or course) in the park around the bench. Naturally, everyone was much older than me so I was a bit worried at first, but they were great and very nice.

I think tomorrow will be Dom Day. Awesome.

What happens in Deutschland...

Nicolina and I went to see the movie Love Vegas (aka: What Happens In Vegas, with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher). And in case you were wondering...

Ashton Kutcher is still hot... even in German.

I showed Nicolina and Oscar part of Jim Gaffigan's "Hot Pocket" comedy and now all Oscar says to me is "Hottt Pockettt!" It's so funny.

For some reason, I am craving chocolate mousse. Perhaps sometime this week I will fulfill that.

Frankfurt: Gypsies and the sweetest elevator you've ever seen.

Today I went to Frankfurt which was awesome! Frankfurt is like if you combined Richmond and New York and made it German, lots of skyscrapers and construction... but there are brats und schnitzels! We came upon a Flea Market and then went to the female Impressionists exhibit at the Shirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.

Then we had lunch at a beautiful hotel, but the best part was the PATERNOSTER! Here we (me, Oscar, and Nicolina) are trying it out:

GO!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Hallo Oscar!

We made it!

I don't know why we didn't keep this method... beats waiting for an elevator to arrive. And most of the elevators in Germany can only fit two or three people anyways! Far better, if you ask me.

Oh, and I saw Goethe's house.

I have some down time now, so this post will be on a topic of true art. The German rapper.

Wo bist du mein Sonnenlicht?

And my personal favorite... the most gangster of them all.

Although I have no idea what they're saying (probably something horrible) I cannot help but laugh.

Christ the King!

Today was a Catholic holiday in Cologne, I cannot remember the name but it was very neat to see. I learned two things from it: Germans love Jesus and awesome costumes. Here are some of my favorite pictures...



And my personal favorite...

COLOGNE UND JESUS: LET'S ROCK UND ROLLS!

So, for the rest of the day we went to a Landparty (aka: Home & Garden Show), which was nothing like I had ever seen before. It was at a huge manor and there were local shops set up all around. They sold food, plants, clothes, furniture, everything. I ate my first Flammkuchen and I don't think I'll ever eat a Pizza the same again. It's basically a very thin pizza but without tomato sauce and instead cheese, onions, and (my favorite) bacon. The pizza of my dreams.

We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner, and I had delicious penne pasta with cheese and spinach. It's been a good second day.

Now that everything is settled, here are some photos...

This is the view of the Cathedral from Uli's office. Sehr schon!

I guess by photos I meant only one photo... but that should do for now.

After my last post I went to the Supermarkt with Caroline, called Hit. Let me just say, I wish we had a Hit in Richmond. It's three stories and to get to each level you go up a moving ramp (similar to the ones in airports, except on an incline) WITH your cart. Amazing. I wanted to take a photo, but I'm trying best to blend in with the crowd, which I don't think is working too well.

Another German observation:

Graffiti is everywhere! There aren't as harsh law against it like in America, so it's on almost every building. I'll take some pictures of it sometime.

Arrival!

Hallo everyone!

I've been in Cologne a couple hours now. Mostly sleeping to wear off the jetlag, but Caroline took me to Uli's office to drop off my laptop so it could get hooked up. He has a beautiful view of the cathedral from his office, I'll post the pictures I took of it soon.

Some observations I've already made...

-tiny cars. Like, REALLY tiny cars. I knew they drove small cars but it's amazing how their society is built for them too. Caroline has a larger SUV Mercedes and it's very difficult for her to get around certain parts of town, because the roads are just built so small. It's very surprising.

-Caroline's fricadell's are very tasty (sorry, Dad!). Mmmm, I could eat those all day.

-how little Deutsch I know. All day today I've been asking "What am I getting myself into!?!?" But I know things will improve.

Well, I'm going to get off this. There will be more to come!

I'm lovin' it

So I didn't expect to post anything again until I left on Tuesday, but I felt like what better way to kick off my departure to Europe than a very American post. So...

I love McDonalds. Here's the story.

Jeremy and I were starving today and he reminded me that he owed me a McChicken sandwich (mmm!), so we decided to go. After ordering 3 McChicken sandwiches, a large fry, and two waters, we hear over the intercom, "Would you like our new Southern Style Chicken Sandwiches instead for free?"

"For free?!" I gasp.

"Free! F-R-E-E that spells free," repeats the McDonald's worker, to the tune of the CreditReport.com commercial jingle (Erika: you would have definitely appreciated this).

Of course, being a starving college student, I could not pass this offer up. So we got our sandwiches and while receiving the rest of our order I get a HUGE drink, which I assumed they just combined our two waters. Nope, I realize it's something else so I try to hand it back when they tell me to just take it.

Double score! Free sandwiches AND sweet tea. Jeremy and I were ecstatic.

Needless to say, I got a great treat for my last visit to fast food before my trip. So thank you, America, for the send off.

Testing... testing...

Wilkommen! I'll be departing for Cologne, Germany in exactly six days and I just started packing. After planning the trip back in January, it probably won't hit me until I'm on the plane...

So, instead of answering tons of e-mails or questions on how my trip is going, you can take it with me through my blog! I'll try and update as much as possible, I don't know how busy I'll be there since I only have a rough itinerary in my head. Hope you enjoy! Auf Wiedersehen!