The Calm
Things have been pretty slow around here lately, after a few crazy months (trip to Arizona, trip to Bodensee, Obama, new apartment, etc).
I am already craving excitement. My German class is going really well and I have learned lots, but it has all settled into a kind of monotony of thinking about cleaning, going to class, and not wanting to cook...
Luckily we have a quick trip to Prague coming up in a couple weeks with two friends from my language school. One comes from Holland and the other from Basque Country. (Don't know where Basque Country is? I didn't either. Apparently it's a region of Northern Spain and Southern France.)
We are also anxiously awaiting an answer from the German court system about our marriage. Unfortunately, we have no idea when it will be and so we can't make any plans yet.
We have been hanging out with some of my fellow students from school. There is an "American" restaurant down the street that has a few misconceptions about what America is like, but makes good burgers and has billiards. All within walking distance, so I like it. Especially now that our auto ist kaputt and my student pass for the trams is almost up.
We have also been to Neustadt a couple of times, which I hadn't done before. Neustadt is the student quarter of Dresden with a lot of bars, trendy shops, and ethnic restaurants. I have to admit that it is a strange and shocking sight for me. In Arizona the bars close at 2am and no alcohol is allowed on the streets. In Neustadt the bars are open until 5am and the streets are littered with young people drinking beer. If I had a picture in my head of what anarchy would look like, that would be it. I can understand why so many Europeans are disappointed by the nightlife in the U.S.
Neustadt really isn't my style, I guess because I'm so old and boring these days. I need to find a place where you can sit and listen to music or something. Maybe we will give it another try, because I have heard that there are some fun places in Neustadt.
I wanted to add another category to the game I created last week, "Jerk or German"
Being an Expert. Most Germans are experts on every topic. For instance, they know a lot more about my country than I do and do not mind educating me about my country's foreign policies, laws, statistics, and culture. To this I always say, "Please, tell me more about this strange place that I live in but obviously know nothing about!" (with a generous helping of sarcasm).
*Please note that observations about Germans may quite possibly apply to many other Europeans.
**Please don't read my blog and decide that you never want to come to Germany. That is not my intention! Germany is a lovely country with lovely people.