Alma Essen

... got a really cool ferry ride across the Rhine. After more driving through little German villages we ended up at a restaurant. Kevin, Dad and I all had Sauerbraten. They told us it was a very German meal. It was roast beef-like in sweet sauce with applesauce and potato balls. We couldn't spend much time there because we were tired and the Germany-Poland opening soccer game of EuroCup 2008 started at 8:45. We made it back for the game and ...

Belgium was a bust



Hello!

So for two weekends in a row, my plans have not worked out exactly as I had hoped. That has only made me more determined to come back again and see Europe! It is unfortunate that I won't go over the border in my 2 months here. I will only set foot in another country on my way home when I stop over in Vienna and Singapore on ...

... looking things, violin-ish sounding ones and weird keyboard/piano sounding things. And really cute little twangy guitars. The percussion section was amazing! And then there were solo artists. One solo artist brought a flute onto the stage that was probably 3 metres long. 3 people held it and played the notes with their fingers and the one guy blew into it! Incredible, low, hollow sounds! Wow!
I really loved the imagery that accompanied the music. There were always ...

... woke up I had just enought time to get ready and go to Uni. I didn't worry too much. To my surprise tt was the exact same test as the first day! Obviously they want to see if we have learnt anything or improved in any way. I think I have...? We'll see...

I'll let u know what's happening next for me:
Today is my last day in Essen for a while. I am off to Berlin tomorrow for 7 days. After that I have to make a decision about where I want to go for the weekend. Hamburg ...

... and unfortunately Cori has to leave Saturday at 3pm to get back to Munich to work that night. Also, I promised Scott that we would see Neuschwanstein together and I am really looking forward to experiencing it with him.

I have 2 free days at the end of the course in which I might be able to visit other cities or countries. I was thinking maybe Brussels or Amsterdam then, because they are so close... I also have the option of coming back to ...

... 10 to 5. After that I had some salad, read a bit of my german book, worked on Imperfect verbs and then went to bed.

When I woke up it was today. The annoying thing about today is that because of the storm Thurs, we were sent home early, which means that all of my Literature classes go for 2 hours now, instead of 1.5. And they were the most boring ones!!!

That is all that I have to say about the past and present. Now to the ...

So I believe I left u wondering what I was going to do on Saturday after my dreams of seeing a German castle had been completely blown out of the water.
The tutors decided that we would have the excursion to Düsseldorf instead, which is where I have already been twice. I wished that I had just stayed in bed I was SO tired. In the last 2 nights I had had a total of 8 hours sleep ...

... singing. I would buy a copy here if it wasn't so expensive, but I can't justify spending 30 euro $60 AUD on one DVD.

In the afternoon we met Herr Bayer, our politics and Berlin teacher and looked at some video footage from the reunification time in Berlin.

After class I went to the Hauptbahnhof for a couple of reasons, 1) that I wanted to purchase my train ticket to Fulda for the following weekend so that I can visit Cori and ...

... a Phillip Island Penguins jacket that he got 20 years ago. Funny huh?!
After that we caught the 1.55 S bahn back to Essen and the taxi from the main train station to the hotel before falling asleep at 3am.
I was surprisingly alert in class this morning, but I know that it's going to be a struggle to get through Literature this afternoon. Whenever I'm feeling a bit seedy, it always sets in around 3pm. (When I'll be in class)
Wish me luck!
Sarah

... was in English (not Arabic), the beer was very cold and they had Tequila for the half-time break. Well, we had quite a good time there, you can imagine. Loads of singing and beer drinking, just like you'd imagine Germans abroad ... After a farewell Tequila, we would leave the bar singing, jump on the back of a pickup truck (taxi) and had us driven through Dahab, waving German flags and singing. Not culturally sensitive, we admit. But the ...