Today started out waaaayyy too early... By 7:30 I was out the door and on my way to the S42, which I ride all the way to Westkreuz. This involves sitting through about 8 stops, which lasts between 18 and 19 minutes. Yes, this is the exact time... In Germany, if a train is early it will wait until it is on time to leave. This means, that if you are smart enough, you can plan every second and avoid almost any waiting for a train/tram/bus. When I get to Westkreuz I run downstairs, where everyday I find the S7 to Potsdam Hauptbanhof. Once on it, I waited for the 2 minutes that it had left until its scheduled departure time and then headed to Potsdam. It takes 26 minutes to arrive at the main station, where the smell of fresh bread awaited me. I tried to avoid the temptation and headed to an organic bakery, where I purchased some cheesy bread deliciousness. After devouring the bread, I headed outside to get on the 605 bus, which took me to the Potsdam University campus at Neues Palais in 28 minutes. This is the shortest distance, but the bus takes the LONGEST way around the city. I quickly saw one of the Australian girls that I had met yesterday and was reassured that I did not miss that much at yesterday's dinner.
Once I made it to our meeting point, I found the American (freezing his butt off) and the director of the program waiting outside for the rest of the group. I was a prompt 20 minutes early, my usual time of arrival! There is still snow on the ground here, because it has not been above 25 degrees since it snowed... Now, we are expecting snow Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday... I don't mind it or the cold, but my feet are getting kind of tired of being wet all the time!!!
Once the rest of the group arrived at our meeting spot (late in German time), we started our tour with our guide Dorthee.... It was a tour of the Sanssouci Park that is behind the University, where Fredrick the Great's palace stands (click here for pictures and information!). The tour was great and covered the New palace, the Chinese tea house, the gardens, the church, and the Sanssouci palace. Also, the place where we will be having classes used to be the building where the staff in the palace lived.
During the walk, I was able to talk to one of the girls from Denmark. She is soooo sweet, but does not speak any German, so we had to communicate in English, which she speaks fluently. She is taking her classes here in English, but is also working on learning German. Observation/conclusion of the day: people from Denmark are BEAUTIFUL. All of the girls here from Denmark, legitimately look like they just stepped out of a magazine... It's incredible!
After the walk through the gardens, which are covered in snow but will hopefully soon be blooming and breathtaking, we walked through the city. Colby and I had done this already, but it was great to know exactly where I was the entire time! Once we reached the tram station we all headed to the main train station to head to IKEA in Berlin as a group.
The idea here is similar to the trips to Walmart that the Office of International Programs does at home for the foreign exchange students. The train ride was fun and I got to talk to a French girl, a Belgian girl, and another Australian. Thankfully, all of these conversation took place in German! We struggled, but we helped each other communicate. On our walk to IKEA (once off the train) I was relieved to hear about the Australian's experiences studying abroad last semester. Even though she only took one class and said she was barely even in Germany (she joked that she only registered for a class to be able to have a visa and travel through Europe) her German sounded great! Her grammar wasn't flawless, but she spoke with fluidity and lovely inflections! That's my goal! Once arriving at IKEA, I was quickly overwhelmed with the amount of things and the idea of carrying my purchases all the way back home... so I left! The group was just splitting up and returning whenever you wanted to... So I headed home to my apartment... But first... I made a stop.... One I shouldn't have made.....
So lets just say that I was hungry... like really hungry.... So then I saw a McDonald.... I haven't had it in a long time... and my thought was...... I like to try McDonalds in other countries... right? Or maybe I just wanted to have ice in my water for once... Either way, it was a decision I quickly regretted. After ordering a small cheeseburger and small fries, I was given 2 cheeseburger and large fries, BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAPER! Stop it Germany! Please don't turn into America!! There is no need for obesity!!! (jokes jokes!) Keep the smaller things cheaper!!!!!Well.. I clearly didn't want to waste the food, so I ate it. Ugh. To think I was a vegan for 2 months just 2 weeks ago. (Legitimately can't wait until I'm settled in Berlin and can start eating healthily again). Then... I wanted something small and sweet for dessert... Why? Because I HAD JUST EATED MCDONALDs!!! So I ate a kinder bar... The train was the longest most guilt filled train ride ever. It was also like a scene out of one of my favorite movies, "Baby Mama." As soon as I sat down, the strollers started pouring in. First came a baby (about 18 months old) who had the most serious face ever! He was making the strangest faces at this man across from me who was making goofy faces at him. The strollers kept on coming, and by the time I finally got out there were five! It was priceless. For a country that is aging at record speed, the sure are babies EVERYWHERE!!!
When I got home I was planning on laying low and doing laundry, but I had a message from Colby saying to let him know when I was back so I could join him and Martin on a walk/shopping. The sun was out today and it was truly lovely, so I was excited to get out! But first, I did some laundry! Clean clothes! I'm so excited!
After hanging up my clothes to dry in my room, I messaged Colby and Martin and met up with them at a caffee for tee and coffee. I really messed up ordering my tea, so at least I skipped drinking those liquid calories, because it was gross and fruity! After our tea, we walked a while to find these specific stores that they were looking for. Martin found a pair of shoes he wanted, and I got to look at really amazing clothes! We walked for a long time, but the night was lovely and I had eaten enough to make it worth it... Then... dinner came up... and our Italian restaurant was mentioned... and then... someone said gnocchi.... REALLY??? Why???? I couldn't resist....
The gnocchi were delicious, and since I had a pesto sauce instead of a heavy cream sauce... it's better, right? right? Oh well... After leaving the restaurant, Martin and Colby came with me to Rossman's to find a solution to my hair drama. I have to say... I don't have the best hair, but my hair is pretty nice to me in the U.S. My hair does not require much of me or gives me any trouble when I continually put it up and ignore it... Here.... It's another story. Is it crazy for me to say that I think the water here is too dry? My hair hates me!!! I have used 3 different conditioners, and it won't do anything!!! Oh well... tonight I bought some new stuff! Hopefully tomorrow I won't have a dull, dry, tangled mess on my head!
You would think that after all that I would be ready to go straight to bed, since it was 9:30, but NO! Instead, I went and bought a chocolate bar... And ate it... I had failed today, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to make it just a little bit worse! At least the chemicals in the food are not as bad here... Hahahahahhahah... who cares, it was great! and tomorrow will be better/healthier! Till then! I'm off to bed. Goodnight!
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