1) Dying
2) Losing Your Wallet
There goes 100 Euros, my 36 Euro Buskarte, my Rutgers ID, my Uni Konstanz ID, my driver's license, my AAA card, my health insurance card, my debit card, and my USEF card. Not to mention a whole lot of other shite AND my Blockbuster movie rental card. Fucking Hell.
Whereas normal people go do fun things on Friday nights, mine was split between talking on the phone with Commerce trying to convince them that yes, they should send me another debit card, and no I'm not in America, and running around on my bike looking for the police station. Then I had to stand outside awkwardly, get buzzed in through the door after convincing some random Disembodied Voice that I should be let in because I'm foreign, and then talk to a giant police woman, who was quite nice but who had such a thick obnoxious Konstanz accent I had to work extra hard to understand her. As far as I can tell, I have to go to the Fundbuero on Monday to see if any good Samaritan turned in my wallet (it had a hundred Euros in it--it's not getting turned in.), then go back to the police station on Tuesday after my soul has been crushed by the lack of good Samaritans to meet with the same chick I did today to figure out what to do about the German crap that I lost. Also on Monday I have to call the US Consulate in Frankfurt to figure out what to do about the american crap I lost.
Dear God,
If you could get Comcast or whatever so you could stop fucking with my life for kicks, that would be awesome. And if you could magically provide some raspberry iced tea to make me feel better in the meantime, that would be even cooler.
Complete and Total Lack of Love,
Tina
04 April 2008
Newest Roommate--I'll come up with new names for these people soon, I promise
German boy moved in! The first time I met him, we shook hands. The second time I met him, he yelled at me for disturbing his studying. Hopefully he's just wound up and stressed because he has a big test tomorrow? Please please please. Also he stutters, and if you've never heard German being stuttered, it's kind of adorable.
Each WG is supposed to be 2 boys and 2 girls, one foreign and one German of each gender. Ours was apparently a little mixed up, seeing as both the boys were German, and both the girls were foreign. When Old Roomate That I Loved left, we got New Roommate, the German girl, but still had 2 the foreign girls (me and Newer Roommate). So basically, there's three of us, and one of him. Sorry, Newest Roommate.
What this translates to, in short order, is that to keep the balance, I should have been a man.
Each WG is supposed to be 2 boys and 2 girls, one foreign and one German of each gender. Ours was apparently a little mixed up, seeing as both the boys were German, and both the girls were foreign. When Old Roomate That I Loved left, we got New Roommate, the German girl, but still had 2 the foreign girls (me and Newer Roommate). So basically, there's three of us, and one of him. Sorry, Newest Roommate.
What this translates to, in short order, is that to keep the balance, I should have been a man.
03 April 2008
Tina Meets The Equestrian Team
Fasten your seatbelts kiddies, Tina has alot to say on this topic.
Okay! So! I found a sign in the Uni that equestrian team has Stammtisch every Tuesday night, which is kind of like a get together and chill and talk about everything sort of event. So I decided to go, because, you know, I like, like horses a little bit, or whatever. Except I got there like 10 minutes early, and discovered I was faced with the daunting task of sitting alone at a massive empty table in a crowded restauraunt waiting for a bunch of German-speaking strangers to show up. So, in classic Tina fashion, I hid in the bathroom. When I finally reemerged (can we talk about how difficult this was? I was so anxious and upset I almost left the restaurant) there were people sitting at the giant table, so I went up and asked if this was the horse back riding table, and was met with a bunch of blank stares. "Reiten?" I said, "reiten?" One of the girls turned to another and said "I totally can't understand her." I repeated it a couple more times, until one of the guys was finally like..."Oh...Reiten?" Minus the fact that that's totally what I said, "Ja." Congratulations me! I found them.
I just kind of sat in silence for awhile until a bunch more people showed up, and then I got to talk to people. Turns out the equestrian team is not a group of American-eating monsters as had previously been thought, but rather a group of really really really nice people who speak really really really fast, notice you're totally lost, and then explain things slowly. Heart. One of the guys had studied in New Jersey actually, and said "If you want, we can speak English." And I was like "Hells no," except not in English and not quite that exact expression. But you get my meaning. Turns out I'm the second foreigner they've had (and the only one now), and guess where the other foreigner was from? Portugal. Because we're awesome.
As far as I can understand, they ride once a week and horseshow against other schools in much the same fashion as we do in the IHSA, which is to say, showing up and having to ride strange horses. BUT, their horseshows are three days long, Friday=Party, Saturday=Dressage, Sunday=Show-Jumping (real! showjumping), and you have to do all three. Tina showing dressage? Oh goodness. And when I say show-jumping, I mean they do everything from baby stuff to almost-Grand-Prix, which is inTENSE yo. And terrifying. And probably the death toll for Americans is high.
However, I am way excited, and somehow got coerced into going to a show (a real one, not a student one) this weekend, to help and stuff.
Now for some numbers:
Number of straight men of the equestrian team people I've met so far: 5
Number of straight men on the rutgers equestrian team: 1 (debateable)
"Are-you-Spanish?" count: now 10
Number of times I was really confused and lost: about 8 million
Number of times someone said my German was decent: 4 (Take that Psycho Bitch of a German Teacher. If I could punch you for every time I make myself understood, your face would look worse than mine when I crash-landed into a curb. In fact, you probably wouldn't have a face.)
Number of items I want to add to the list of things I would like someone to send me: 5 (Swiss Miss hot chocolate that I don't have to add sugar to, frosted flakes, aunt jemima maple syrup, soft pretzels and lemonade--thanks!)
I met up with the team again today at a bar, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that my soul has been eaten, and this is going to be pretty sweet. But I feel inifinitely better than I did a few days ago; I think my mom's right, this is about the point in time where I reach the end of my rope and go a little crazy from the distinct lack of horse-ness. But this weekend is horseshow and Monday I go to the barn! WOOT! Now if only aikido would start (JESUS CHRIST, JUST START ALREADY) and then life would finally be perfect.
In other news, Sungmi and I were shopping yesterday, wound up in a toy store, and bought kites. It was mad fun, flying kites (which in German is almost identical to the word for dragon-- which will entertain me alot when I go back tomorrow and ask for a dragon kite.)
EDIT!
So I just realized I never put up pictures of my room! Here they are:
This is my room (sorry it's messy)
This is as far as my collage has gotten in a month. By the end of this semester, the entire room should be covered.
These are the uniquitous paper cranes I hang everywhere. Unfortunately (as I realized after I'd put them all up), it's a little bit difficult for people taller than me (namely: everyone) to come into my room, as they tend to frequently take paper birds in the face.
And this is our downstairs living room/kitchen. The pantry, storage room, shower room and toilet room I didn't bother taking pictures of, but the orange door is New Roommate's, and there's another door beside it that's Newer Roommate's. Roommate We Have Yet To See Who Is Also Unfortunately The Only Boy lives next to me.
Okay, now I'm out! Adios everyone.
Okay! So! I found a sign in the Uni that equestrian team has Stammtisch every Tuesday night, which is kind of like a get together and chill and talk about everything sort of event. So I decided to go, because, you know, I like, like horses a little bit, or whatever. Except I got there like 10 minutes early, and discovered I was faced with the daunting task of sitting alone at a massive empty table in a crowded restauraunt waiting for a bunch of German-speaking strangers to show up. So, in classic Tina fashion, I hid in the bathroom. When I finally reemerged (can we talk about how difficult this was? I was so anxious and upset I almost left the restaurant) there were people sitting at the giant table, so I went up and asked if this was the horse back riding table, and was met with a bunch of blank stares. "Reiten?" I said, "reiten?" One of the girls turned to another and said "I totally can't understand her." I repeated it a couple more times, until one of the guys was finally like..."Oh...Reiten?" Minus the fact that that's totally what I said, "Ja." Congratulations me! I found them.
I just kind of sat in silence for awhile until a bunch more people showed up, and then I got to talk to people. Turns out the equestrian team is not a group of American-eating monsters as had previously been thought, but rather a group of really really really nice people who speak really really really fast, notice you're totally lost, and then explain things slowly. Heart. One of the guys had studied in New Jersey actually, and said "If you want, we can speak English." And I was like "Hells no," except not in English and not quite that exact expression. But you get my meaning. Turns out I'm the second foreigner they've had (and the only one now), and guess where the other foreigner was from? Portugal. Because we're awesome.
As far as I can understand, they ride once a week and horseshow against other schools in much the same fashion as we do in the IHSA, which is to say, showing up and having to ride strange horses. BUT, their horseshows are three days long, Friday=Party, Saturday=Dressage, Sunday=Show-Jumping (real! showjumping), and you have to do all three. Tina showing dressage? Oh goodness. And when I say show-jumping, I mean they do everything from baby stuff to almost-Grand-Prix, which is inTENSE yo. And terrifying. And probably the death toll for Americans is high.
However, I am way excited, and somehow got coerced into going to a show (a real one, not a student one) this weekend, to help and stuff.
Now for some numbers:
Number of straight men of the equestrian team people I've met so far: 5
Number of straight men on the rutgers equestrian team: 1 (debateable)
"Are-you-Spanish?" count: now 10
Number of times I was really confused and lost: about 8 million
Number of times someone said my German was decent: 4 (Take that Psycho Bitch of a German Teacher. If I could punch you for every time I make myself understood, your face would look worse than mine when I crash-landed into a curb. In fact, you probably wouldn't have a face.)
Number of items I want to add to the list of things I would like someone to send me: 5 (Swiss Miss hot chocolate that I don't have to add sugar to, frosted flakes, aunt jemima maple syrup, soft pretzels and lemonade--thanks!)
I met up with the team again today at a bar, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that my soul has been eaten, and this is going to be pretty sweet. But I feel inifinitely better than I did a few days ago; I think my mom's right, this is about the point in time where I reach the end of my rope and go a little crazy from the distinct lack of horse-ness. But this weekend is horseshow and Monday I go to the barn! WOOT! Now if only aikido would start (JESUS CHRIST, JUST START ALREADY) and then life would finally be perfect.
In other news, Sungmi and I were shopping yesterday, wound up in a toy store, and bought kites. It was mad fun, flying kites (which in German is almost identical to the word for dragon-- which will entertain me alot when I go back tomorrow and ask for a dragon kite.)
EDIT!
So I just realized I never put up pictures of my room! Here they are:
This is my room (sorry it's messy)
This is as far as my collage has gotten in a month. By the end of this semester, the entire room should be covered.
These are the uniquitous paper cranes I hang everywhere. Unfortunately (as I realized after I'd put them all up), it's a little bit difficult for people taller than me (namely: everyone) to come into my room, as they tend to frequently take paper birds in the face.
And this is our downstairs living room/kitchen. The pantry, storage room, shower room and toilet room I didn't bother taking pictures of, but the orange door is New Roommate's, and there's another door beside it that's Newer Roommate's. Roommate We Have Yet To See Who Is Also Unfortunately The Only Boy lives next to me.
Okay, now I'm out! Adios everyone.
01 April 2008
Bad Pickup Lines, Breakfast, and Newer Roommates
Sorry for the two-posts-one-day thing, but I have a story!
So this morning I got up early to go to the Uni, pick up my scholarship money, and get my Studentausweis-ID card thing. I got to the office, handed them my slip, and asked for my card, but they told me they couldn't find it. So then I got sent to this random lady in another office who asked what my last name was. I told her, she circled it on the paper, and sent me back with instructions to tell them that my last name was actually my last name. So apparently they'd been searching for my first name as my last name...because that makes all sorts of sense. Except it still wasn't coming up, and the lady said "We've been searching by birthday and we've got nothing." I pointed out that in the US 3-12-88, is March 12th, not December 3rd, and then they were able to find it. Glad I got that one all cleared up.
On the way out to the bus I stopped in the bathroom really fast, and guess what! My black eye is pretty much gone, you really can't tell. Woot! Except on the bus this random dude turned around and said (quite simply) "Do you have a black eye?" So much for that...self confidence points: -5. "Yeah," I said. "I fell off my bike." Random Dude laughed and said "Because it totally looks like someone punched you." Thanks. Then he said "How old are you?" I said 20, asked how old he was, and he responded "Oh, I'm too old for you." Newsflash Mr. Smooth Talker, your pick-up lines SUCK.
So I spent the next twenty minutes of my life debating with Mr. Smooth Talker various images of the US and the merits of Obama versus Clinton (in German), and at the end of our conversation after he was getting off the bus, he said "wow, I'm surprised, you speak good german." HAH. What now, Psycho Bitch of a German Teacher? Take THAT. Self confidence points: +9999999999.
When I got back to my WG I decided to organize a big American Breakfast Party. Me, Sungmi, Marina and New Roommate cooked up an obscene amount of pancakes, eggs and bacon (the latter of which Sungmi did entirely by herself with nothing but chopsticks, and I was duly impressed). It was a pretty sweet breakfast. Right as we were sitting down to eat, the door opened and in walked Newer Roommate who we were not expecting and who was obviously not expecting to see all of us. We all just kind of stared at each other for like a minute until Tina (in all her overarching wit and tact) picked up a frying pan and said "Umm...do you like, want breakfast?" And that's how we met Newer Roommate.
Newer Roommate is Chinese and really really chill. She and Sungmi immediately bonded over their Asian-ness, and then we all bonded over a half-hour discussion over which animals we want to sneak into our WGs. I'm all for a pony, but I think Newer Roommate is thinking more along the lines of reptiles. At any rate, it's a gorgeous day, the Uni just gave me money, and I'm gone. Until next time kiddies! Tina over and out.
p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLIN! I'm sending you a present, I just need your address!
So this morning I got up early to go to the Uni, pick up my scholarship money, and get my Studentausweis-ID card thing. I got to the office, handed them my slip, and asked for my card, but they told me they couldn't find it. So then I got sent to this random lady in another office who asked what my last name was. I told her, she circled it on the paper, and sent me back with instructions to tell them that my last name was actually my last name. So apparently they'd been searching for my first name as my last name...because that makes all sorts of sense. Except it still wasn't coming up, and the lady said "We've been searching by birthday and we've got nothing." I pointed out that in the US 3-12-88, is March 12th, not December 3rd, and then they were able to find it. Glad I got that one all cleared up.
On the way out to the bus I stopped in the bathroom really fast, and guess what! My black eye is pretty much gone, you really can't tell. Woot! Except on the bus this random dude turned around and said (quite simply) "Do you have a black eye?" So much for that...self confidence points: -5. "Yeah," I said. "I fell off my bike." Random Dude laughed and said "Because it totally looks like someone punched you." Thanks. Then he said "How old are you?" I said 20, asked how old he was, and he responded "Oh, I'm too old for you." Newsflash Mr. Smooth Talker, your pick-up lines SUCK.
So I spent the next twenty minutes of my life debating with Mr. Smooth Talker various images of the US and the merits of Obama versus Clinton (in German), and at the end of our conversation after he was getting off the bus, he said "wow, I'm surprised, you speak good german." HAH. What now, Psycho Bitch of a German Teacher? Take THAT. Self confidence points: +9999999999.
When I got back to my WG I decided to organize a big American Breakfast Party. Me, Sungmi, Marina and New Roommate cooked up an obscene amount of pancakes, eggs and bacon (the latter of which Sungmi did entirely by herself with nothing but chopsticks, and I was duly impressed). It was a pretty sweet breakfast. Right as we were sitting down to eat, the door opened and in walked Newer Roommate who we were not expecting and who was obviously not expecting to see all of us. We all just kind of stared at each other for like a minute until Tina (in all her overarching wit and tact) picked up a frying pan and said "Umm...do you like, want breakfast?" And that's how we met Newer Roommate.
Newer Roommate is Chinese and really really chill. She and Sungmi immediately bonded over their Asian-ness, and then we all bonded over a half-hour discussion over which animals we want to sneak into our WGs. I'm all for a pony, but I think Newer Roommate is thinking more along the lines of reptiles. At any rate, it's a gorgeous day, the Uni just gave me money, and I'm gone. Until next time kiddies! Tina over and out.
p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLIN! I'm sending you a present, I just need your address!
chocolate chips.
ovaltine.
real peanut butter.
my straightening iron.
garnier fructus shampoo and conditioner for curly hair.
raspberry iced tea.
bottled still water.
my soft bristled hair brush
snapple.
thick rice cakes.
wheat thins.
goldfish crackers.
real belgian waffles.
stores that stay open past 4.
departments that have the same opening hours every day.
a really really thick blanket.
fluffy bath towels.
cheetos and/or fritos.
crest pro-health toothpaste.
sliced turkey.
american cheese.
wonderbread.
milk in a container big enough to last me more than 3 days.
wawa.
gatorade.
a packet of mechanical pencils.
degree ultra clear.
pre-mixed salad.
italian or bleu cheese dressing already made in a bottle.
DC++.
my car.
campbell's soup.
turkey bacon.
chocolate chip cookies.
clearasil ultra.
a rutgers hoodie.
country music.
my horse.
If somebody who loves me could put these in a box and ship them to me, I would be your best friend forever!
later:
boredom results in terrible things. spare me your sarcasm:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2vi15it&s=3
real peanut butter.
my straightening iron.
garnier fructus shampoo and conditioner for curly hair.
raspberry iced tea.
bottled still water.
my soft bristled hair brush
snapple.
thick rice cakes.
wheat thins.
goldfish crackers.
real belgian waffles.
stores that stay open past 4.
departments that have the same opening hours every day.
a really really thick blanket.
fluffy bath towels.
cheetos and/or fritos.
crest pro-health toothpaste.
sliced turkey.
american cheese.
wonderbread.
milk in a container big enough to last me more than 3 days.
wawa.
gatorade.
a packet of mechanical pencils.
degree ultra clear.
pre-mixed salad.
italian or bleu cheese dressing already made in a bottle.
DC++.
my car.
campbell's soup.
turkey bacon.
chocolate chip cookies.
clearasil ultra.
a rutgers hoodie.
country music.
my horse.
If somebody who loves me could put these in a box and ship them to me, I would be your best friend forever!
later:
boredom results in terrible things. spare me your sarcasm:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2vi15it&s=3
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