I got back to Eisenhüttenstadt on Saturday the 21st (the night before my 22nd birthday). Nicole and her parents set up a grill party to celebrate, and invited some friends and neighbors over for my birthday gathering. The food was awesome! Nicole’s dad Peter grilled up some marinated steak and chicken…my mouth is watering just thinking about it. After we ate, I asked the neighbor woman about their trip to Sweden, and it was like opening a can of worms…she was so excited to tell me EVERYTHING about Sweden! This information may come in handy when I visit Margie. I generally enjoy these sort of one-sided conversations at this point, where I just get to listen and say, “Ja”, “Ok”, “Super!”, or smile and nod.
Afterward, Nicole, her bf Adrian, another girl and I went to a fireworks display near the canal. It was awesome…and I especially enjoyed the part where Beethoven was playing in the background. Then we watched YouTube videos and I showed them The Onion. However, the subtleties that make The Onion awesome may have been lost in translation…
The next day, my birthday, I opened gifts before eating plum torte cake with the Edels and Adrian. We then went to a street fair and then walked around near the river before taking off to my new home in Neuenhagen. Once we got there, we drove around town a bit so I could get the sense of where the school is, where the grocery store and S-Bahn is, etc.
The house I’m staying in is totally German (no surprise there, hahaha). It’s very quaint, and my apartment is upstairs, nice and cozy. Everything has a orange theme, so it’s a little like living in the 70s. There’s a big picture of a jolly Italian man playing the violin on the wall, who smilingly reminds me to practice. I also have cable tv, a refridgerator/freezer, a toaster, my own bathroom, and all necessary furniture (including two 50s’ style twin beds that married couples used to have, like Lucy and Ricky). It’s nice to know that I have somewhere for a guest to sleep in case someone wanted to stay with me. In the meantime, my 2nd bed is going to be the couch.
One major drawback is that I have no internet here. At all. No wireless, no cable hookups, nothing. I need a prepaid/no-contract surf stick, which I discovered can only be found in Berlin.
My landlady, Frau Wassmannsdorf, is super nice. She’s probably about 75 years old, can’t speak a word of English, and lovingly checks on me like a true grandmother. She even makes my bed, does my dishes, and empties my trash every day, even though I told her that she didn’t have to. I have decided that in return, my gesture of gratitude will be giving her all of my recyclables that she can get rebates for. Yay for friendly cohabitation!
Frau W. is also letting me use her old bike that she used to ride when she was younger. It’s maroon, about 50 years old, and has a horn. Generally, I feel like a badass when I ride it (except for the times that I occasionally lose my balance). I asked her if she had a lock for it, and she said, “That thing is so old there’s no way anyone would want to steal it. Hahaha!” The next day her husband got me a lock.
After Frau W. turned the bike over to me, I decided to do a little exploring all by myself for the first time ever. I took my backpack and a book bag and rode to the grocery store (in most cases, you have to bring your own bags to the store). Grocery shopping in Germany is interesting, because 95% of the labels are unfamiliar (plus, they eat stuff like “Quark”, which is blended up cottage cheese). Also, all the drinks are separate in “drink markets”, and personal items like shampoo are generally only sold in pharmacies or specialty shops. Nothing is bought in bulk. It takes a little getting used to. I won’t lie, I miss Walmart and Costco, but I’ll live.
I could barely shove all of my groceries into my bags, but luckily I managed. The hard part was getting back on the bike with all that crap to carry. Luckily, I avoided any accidents and found my way home, safe and sound.
The next day, with a instruction from Herr W. ( Frau W.’s husband), I was able to ride my bike to the S-Bahn, get a ticket, and ride to Alexanderplatz (a major market/attraction area) in Beriln all by myself!! I went to this massive mall, found an electronics store, and asked about the surf stick. Only problem was, I didn’t have my passport for an ID, or a proof of residency. Oh well. After hanging around a bit, I successfully found my way home. Woohoo! I feel like a tiny child slowly learning how to tie my own shoelaces.
