So Thursday was stressful and creepy (see That was weird), and Friday sucked knowing I would have to work a whole day and then ride the train for 5 hours to go back and visit my family in Saarland for the long weekend.
So I'm there, at my desk (well, not my desk, but the desk I get to use while some co-worker is on an unusually long vacation...), drudging along as usual... every so often drawing some circuit element or something. Then I hear my boss. He had only been here 2 of the 9 days I had worked so far. I think he was on vacation or at a conference or some combination of those two. Then I heard someone brushing his teeth at the lab sink... due to an identical experience later in the day, I'm going to assume it was my boss brushing his teeth.
Anyways, about 20 minutes later, he goes around and invites everyone to the Bergkirchweih, with the plan to head there at 12:30pm. The Bergkirchweih is one of the biggest draws of Erlangen, it being the 3rd largest Volksfest in Germany. It started the evening before, and riding around on the buses with my luggage I got to see droves of people flocking there. All the teenagers in town seemed to be drunk, and it was great to see drunk bike riders weaving through traffic (Erlangen is a huge bike town). It looked like a whole lot of fun, and I was sad that I couldn't partake :-(.
Anywho, hearing my boss's invite totally made up for all the stress of Thursday and the not being able to attend the night before. I mean this was a chance to go to the Fest and miss work and drink while doing so! Later I even learned that my boss was buying! So we get there, and most people ordered non-alcoholic beverages or Radlers (half beer, half pop) or smaller beers, but I ordered a Maß. Most of my coworkers looked at me, but they didn't really care that much... after all, I was an American. (You'd be amazed how much you can get away with for that very reason.) I also ordered bratwurst and sauerkraut, just to totally German it up. Then of course, I got a picture with my boss, both with our beers, just to immortalize this story. (I'm obviously not posting it here though...)
I had originally intended to end the work day after the mid-day excursion, but after a liter of beer, I decided to go back to work for an hour. When I got back, I saw my boss brushing his teeth at the lab sink. About 5 seconds later I found out why. The odor of beer, sauerkraut and bratwurst was now on my breath. I went to talk to my boss to ask him about an assignment he had given me, and noticed that his breath smelled minty fresh (unlike mine). Then I went back to work, doing vector wave field calculations for an elliptical cylinder (a.k.a. God knows what) for an hour, with a reasonable buzz still on.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
That was weird
So I finally found an apartment after I had been working for 10 days...
I could have rented the apartment 10 days earlier, but it's a long story and then the super went on vacation for 8 days (back to my point about vacations here...).
Then Thursday was AMAZING in that after work I got to move my 3 suitcases across town on the bus. It took multiple trips. But so I'm in an apartment with two other guys. I met one guy when I visited the apartment 10 days earlier, and he seemed pretty cool. The other guy I have yet to meet. On Thursday the super told me that it was likely they were both already gone for the long weekend (yea, we have a long weekend here too, but it's for Pentecost, not Memorial Day).
So yea, I move my stuff in. My bedroom is unfurnished, but you know... I needed a place to live. It did come with a semi-soiled mattress and a guitar with 5 of its 6 strings. Thus, I am significantly closer to my dream of living in an opium den.
But anyways, after sitting around for 2 hours, I decided to shower (or better said, take a bath since the shower head seemed to be broken...) So I take my laptop in the bathroom, to put on some 24 while I bathe... I mean, I need something to keep me occupied... bathing simply is not engaging enough on it's own. Then after about 5 minutes, I hear someone enter the apartment. I hear him walk in the hallway, jiggle the door handle to the bathroom (luckily I locked it), and then turn the bathroom light off (the switch was on the outside). So I announce that I'm the new roommate (and get no response), get dressed (only half bathed), and go outside to try and introduce myself. I look around and see that no one is in the apartment. Both other bedroom doors are locked. I look in the keyholes of both bedrooms, and there's a light on in one of them... the bedroom of the guy I haven't met. I ask if anyone's there, but no response.
Then I finished bathing, got ready for bed, and slept... not really sure if there was another person in the apartment or not that night. What added to the "suspense" was the fact that my bedroom door didn't have a lock, but rather was a flimsy plastic folding door. But as far as I know, nothing happened to me at night.
But yea, that was weird.
I could have rented the apartment 10 days earlier, but it's a long story and then the super went on vacation for 8 days (back to my point about vacations here...).
Then Thursday was AMAZING in that after work I got to move my 3 suitcases across town on the bus. It took multiple trips. But so I'm in an apartment with two other guys. I met one guy when I visited the apartment 10 days earlier, and he seemed pretty cool. The other guy I have yet to meet. On Thursday the super told me that it was likely they were both already gone for the long weekend (yea, we have a long weekend here too, but it's for Pentecost, not Memorial Day).
So yea, I move my stuff in. My bedroom is unfurnished, but you know... I needed a place to live. It did come with a semi-soiled mattress and a guitar with 5 of its 6 strings. Thus, I am significantly closer to my dream of living in an opium den.
But anyways, after sitting around for 2 hours, I decided to shower (or better said, take a bath since the shower head seemed to be broken...) So I take my laptop in the bathroom, to put on some 24 while I bathe... I mean, I need something to keep me occupied... bathing simply is not engaging enough on it's own. Then after about 5 minutes, I hear someone enter the apartment. I hear him walk in the hallway, jiggle the door handle to the bathroom (luckily I locked it), and then turn the bathroom light off (the switch was on the outside). So I announce that I'm the new roommate (and get no response), get dressed (only half bathed), and go outside to try and introduce myself. I look around and see that no one is in the apartment. Both other bedroom doors are locked. I look in the keyholes of both bedrooms, and there's a light on in one of them... the bedroom of the guy I haven't met. I ask if anyone's there, but no response.
Then I finished bathing, got ready for bed, and slept... not really sure if there was another person in the apartment or not that night. What added to the "suspense" was the fact that my bedroom door didn't have a lock, but rather was a flimsy plastic folding door. But as far as I know, nothing happened to me at night.
But yea, that was weird.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
...all my troubles seemed so far away
Ever try moving 3 suitcases when the only transportation you have available to use is public transportation? You have to do it in phases, and store stuff in a train station locker (which are still great for trading illicit goods, imho). Then you have to not lose the key to that train station locker (just as with the illicit goods trade). That's where I messed up. But luckily here the fee for losing a key is 9 Euros as opposed to the $75 at LifeTime Fitness...
That pretty much summed up last night and today... Oh yea, and then I had to pick up my TBE vaccine from my friend's house since I don't have a refrigerator, but then I ended up standing at the wrong bus stop (which brings me to another point that I'll get at later...), so I missed the bus. I got on a different route and tried to run the half mile to the bus stop where I had to change busses... needless to say I didn't make it. So I stopped at a nearby döner stand, where I purchased a döner kebab sandwich and a beer (yes, Germany has no laws about drinking in public, but so far I've only seen myself, hobos, and shady dudes do it).
Well, then I had to keep the TBE vaccine cool so I went to buy the cheapest ice cream at the store in the train station... 0,50€ it was labeled, not to bad, until when I go up to pay, she charges me 1,-€. I try to argue, but it's futile. Apparently there's no Michigan bounty over here.
Anyways, I made it back to the B&B, alive, so I'll still label today as an overall success.
That pretty much summed up last night and today... Oh yea, and then I had to pick up my TBE vaccine from my friend's house since I don't have a refrigerator, but then I ended up standing at the wrong bus stop (which brings me to another point that I'll get at later...), so I missed the bus. I got on a different route and tried to run the half mile to the bus stop where I had to change busses... needless to say I didn't make it. So I stopped at a nearby döner stand, where I purchased a döner kebab sandwich and a beer (yes, Germany has no laws about drinking in public, but so far I've only seen myself, hobos, and shady dudes do it).
Well, then I had to keep the TBE vaccine cool so I went to buy the cheapest ice cream at the store in the train station... 0,50€ it was labeled, not to bad, until when I go up to pay, she charges me 1,-€. I try to argue, but it's futile. Apparently there's no Michigan bounty over here.
Anyways, I made it back to the B&B, alive, so I'll still label today as an overall success.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
This is costing me how much???
So today is a holiday in Germany, meaning I didn't have to go to work... whooo! But it also meant all the stores were closed.... booo. I was also only able to eat one meal today, but that's probably a good thing. Also, since the bus doesn't really come very often on holidays, I spent all of today in my room, except for the time I took my trash out and ate.
But more to the point, today I found out how much this room in the bread-and-breakfast is costing me: 48€/night! And the earliest I can get out of here is Saturday because I can't move all my luggage out of here by tomorrow morning cuz I have work, and the only place I could store it is at a friend's house who is kinda far away.
I did find a room in a WG (Wohngemeinschaft) that I liked, but it's in an apartment building and the super is on vacation for a week so I can't rent it or move in until he's back. So I'm prolly going to get a private room in someone's house (which isn't an uncommon thing over here) for 15€ a night.
On the topic vacation... everyone here seems to take a lot of it. The law sets the minimum number of vacation days as 24 days/year, but most places give you 30 -- that's 6 working weeks of paid vacation or about 11% of the working year. And that's not including all the national holidays, 9 of which fall on weekdays this year (vs. the 5 national holidays in the U.S. where you get work off). Unfortunately, as an intern, I'm not entitled to any vacation time, but on the bright side, it's a 35 hour work week here vs. the 40 hour back home.
But more to the point, today I found out how much this room in the bread-and-breakfast is costing me: 48€/night! And the earliest I can get out of here is Saturday because I can't move all my luggage out of here by tomorrow morning cuz I have work, and the only place I could store it is at a friend's house who is kinda far away.
I did find a room in a WG (Wohngemeinschaft) that I liked, but it's in an apartment building and the super is on vacation for a week so I can't rent it or move in until he's back. So I'm prolly going to get a private room in someone's house (which isn't an uncommon thing over here) for 15€ a night.
On the topic vacation... everyone here seems to take a lot of it. The law sets the minimum number of vacation days as 24 days/year, but most places give you 30 -- that's 6 working weeks of paid vacation or about 11% of the working year. And that's not including all the national holidays, 9 of which fall on weekdays this year (vs. the 5 national holidays in the U.S. where you get work off). Unfortunately, as an intern, I'm not entitled to any vacation time, but on the bright side, it's a 35 hour work week here vs. the 40 hour back home.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The bike fell apart
So Matthias is my aunt's neighbor's son from back in Saarland, and he's living in Erlangen right now too. Tonight he invited me to come into town and hang out. Unfortunately, the next bus wasn't coming by until 10:30pm, so I decided to try and bike it. I brought my cousin's bike up to Erlangen with me, but I was only able to ride about 100 ft before the dérailleur (gear-shifting mechanism near the chain) just completely fell off, along with the chain. So I had to carry my bike back to the bed-and-breakfast where I'm staying, and I pretty much looked like a terrible bike thief.
So this is my blog
So that last post did nothing but explain the name of the blog... it contributed, like all blogs, no useful information to the Internet, but rather impeded, and will continue to impede, mankind's pursuit of knowledge, peace and happiness.
So this is where I explain the rationale behind my blog:
I'm in Germany. I'm doing an internship. This is like a journal -- but everyone can read it and comment on it -- like all blogs, meaning it's just about as lame as every blog out there, but enough deprecation of the medium.
The next few posts will be in rapid succession because they're things I've meant to write about over the last few days, but until now didn't have the wherewithal to do so.
And alas this post is rather useless, as well.
So this is where I explain the rationale behind my blog:
I'm in Germany. I'm doing an internship. This is like a journal -- but everyone can read it and comment on it -- like all blogs, meaning it's just about as lame as every blog out there, but enough deprecation of the medium.
The next few posts will be in rapid succession because they're things I've meant to write about over the last few days, but until now didn't have the wherewithal to do so.
And alas this post is rather useless, as well.
All the names were taken
You have no idea how hard it is to start a blog...
For days I had been planning to do this, and I had my title all picked out, -- "Socks and Sandals," a little esoteric, but I liked it -- but as luck would have it, the name was already taken. So I go with backup choices: "I Hate Blogs," "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" -- get it?, "I Hate Pants," etc. All taken. Then, like all people looking for an original idea, I chose to draw from personal experience...
So today after work, I got on the bus, and an elderly man got on after me. He seemed like the average, nice old German gentleman, but then he sat in the seat next where I was standing. That's when I noticed his smell. I mean, I'm pretty much O.K. with most body odor (although the more time I spend in the U.S., the more sensitive I become to it when I return to Germany), but this was no ordinary body odor. It smelled like this man hadn't showered in a month, hadn't changed his clothes in a month, and whenever he took of his clothes, he must have left them in a warm, dark, damp place.
You know there's regular BO, and then there's that kind that just makes you gag? Like not even a stronger version of BO type 1, but just entirely different. Like when you leave your clothes in the washing machine too long and they start to smell, but 100x worse?
I would've gotten off the bus earlier, but I was too lazy to walk 7 blocks to where I had to go, so I just stood there. I though about breathing through my mouth, but I mean, those smelly particles he was eminating, even at N ppm, would still have entered my body. Gross.
For days I had been planning to do this, and I had my title all picked out, -- "Socks and Sandals," a little esoteric, but I liked it -- but as luck would have it, the name was already taken. So I go with backup choices: "I Hate Blogs," "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" -- get it?, "I Hate Pants," etc. All taken. Then, like all people looking for an original idea, I chose to draw from personal experience...
So today after work, I got on the bus, and an elderly man got on after me. He seemed like the average, nice old German gentleman, but then he sat in the seat next where I was standing. That's when I noticed his smell. I mean, I'm pretty much O.K. with most body odor (although the more time I spend in the U.S., the more sensitive I become to it when I return to Germany), but this was no ordinary body odor. It smelled like this man hadn't showered in a month, hadn't changed his clothes in a month, and whenever he took of his clothes, he must have left them in a warm, dark, damp place.
You know there's regular BO, and then there's that kind that just makes you gag? Like not even a stronger version of BO type 1, but just entirely different. Like when you leave your clothes in the washing machine too long and they start to smell, but 100x worse?
I would've gotten off the bus earlier, but I was too lazy to walk 7 blocks to where I had to go, so I just stood there. I though about breathing through my mouth, but I mean, those smelly particles he was eminating, even at N ppm, would still have entered my body. Gross.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
