Sprechen Sie Englisch?

Getting settled in has been fairly easy, compared to all that it took to arrive. I've made friends, unpacked, and bought the essentials. Getting around in English is rather awkward, though. I feel like a child who needs something but cannot communicate. I got trapped inside an electronics store--which may sound silly but is actually very harrowing. Luckily I discovered an exit after desperately circling for about fifteen minutes. Those who know me will be laughing at this point, but I refuse to be embarrassed. There are some of us who are born with an internal compass, and those who are not. I am one of the latter. Elevators that only went up and push doors with the word "alarm" among other German warnings on them were everywhere I looked, however. I am grateful to not be that one stupid American who sets off an alarm and puts the store in lock down.

In other news, I have developed a cold. Someone from my floor said it is Germany's way of saying welcome. Really, this is quite unnecessary. Because of this I skipped out on the city tour walk planned for the students today, in exchange for some much needed rest. From what I hear I missed the possibility of frostbite and not much else, thankfully.

Orientation classes start tomorrow, as well as the crash course in German! I am very excited. I have no doubt I will make an A on the Einstufungstest (language placement test). That may or may not stand for A1, the very lowest beginner level of German, but I am happy nonetheless. For the person with the least amount of German lessons here, I think I will be eligible for the title of "Most Improved" considering there is nowhere to go but up. Lucky for me, that placement test only counts for the orientation classes--there will be another placement test in a couple weeks which will place me in the classes for Uni. I hope to test up a level, which means lots and lots of studying! I regret not paying more attention in my German class at ETSU, but I am so much more motivated to learn here as I am surrounded by the language. There is a certain level of courage one has to have in order to speak a foreign language. My accent, pronunciation, and grammar all make me self-conscious, but almost everyone I've met has been very kind.

Except for cafeteria ladies. They are an exception. In her defense, the German language can easily sound angry, but her skunk-inspired hairstyle was very intimidating and did not help the situation. The worst is when you are checking out at the grocery and the cashier starts yelling at you in German and looks at you expectantly. I have so much encouragement to learn the language everywhere I go. On the upside, living here has been the best change to my diet. Being on a budget has cut out almost all junk food and desserts. I buy only the essentials: bread, veggies, fruit, milk, and the occasional chocolate, which one cannot live without, really. For breakfast I eat Muesli, a granola cereal with oats, nuts, and dried fruits. Honestly, after the muffin debacle I am just grateful for every piece of food I eat.

Cheers to not having to worry about starvation! :)