No, not like the cheese

Muenster cheese is apparently an American invention guys, sorry.


Anyway I've been in Germany for like 2 weeks now (not even!) and already so much has happened to me.  I've been in at least 4 different cities, all in one state (not counting Frankfurt, but no one ever does) over a period of roughly a week and a half.  My normal schedule involves commuting between Münster, where I live, and Lüdinghausen, where I work.  I started my trip in Köln, where some guy from Senegal (by way of France) offered me his necklace in exchange for my sunglasses and now I can't find the necklace.  Fun fact, he was probably going to try and rob me but I was too smart for him.

And for those of you who think me racist, let me tell you, this guy was definitely a drug dealer who tried to offer me some of his wares for free and had already expressed a great interest in relieving me of my banjo.  I don't know what that guy was up to, but I'm sure it wasn't entirely legal. 


Anyway, Köln is a beautiful city, in parts.  Kölsch is a pretty delicious variety of beer, though it can become tiresome on the pallet.  Pilsners as always have left me wanting more, and Köstritzer remains my one and only true love. 




My room is pretty alright, it didn't really come with a kitchen per se, more of a hot plate and a sink.  But my colleagues have been downright wonderful and been so generous I now have some semblance of a working kitchen.  Seriously, I definitely got an amazing placement for a school.  I can't tell you how generous and welcoming they have been to me.  As much as these first couple weeks in Germany are going to cost me (I don't get paid till October, yikes!) I know that they would have cost so much more without the help of my school.  More on that later though, I guess I need to take care of some other things first.


First and foremost (and I'll put this up under my title as well) the opinions expressed in my blog are solely my own unless otherwise marked and do not in any way represent the opinions of Fulbright or the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst (PAD) or their affiliates.  Please do not confuse my opinions with theirs.


Second, there is a 7 hour difference (most likely, though if you're on the west coast it's more) between you and me.  My posts will probably show up as weird times to you, don't worry I am probably getting enough sleep.  I only have to work 12 hours a week so I don't think I'll be burning the midnight oil all that often.


Third, my parents and their friends (as well as maybe even some of my colleagues) will probably read this blog, so let's keep everything safe for work guys.  I know the largest burden will fall on me, but I'd rather not have to explain to my mother why my idiot friends are idiots.  Just send me an email when you want to swear up a storm at someone (seriously I love those emails). 


Anyway this has gone on long enough, I'll try and remember all the stuff that's happened to me since I got here like 2 weeks (1.5 week?) ago and post that later.

To tide you over, here is an anecdote from yesterday, my first (or second?) day of work:


So Astrid is like my head teacher I guess, and yesterday I came in to school to sit in on a class.  Before class started Astrid told me that we would be eating lunch at her house after class.  Apparently they try to do this once a week with the English assistants (of which I guess I'm the only one?) so basically I get a free meal made in a real kitchen at least once a week.  I think this is a pretty good deal. 

Anyway, lunch was nice.  I got speak German and generally be a good house guest.  After lunch Astrid and I worked out my work schedule (I have crazy irregular hours throughout the week) and afterward she prodded me to look at her son's new bass guitar.  Her son Ben just started learning and already has an Ibanez (apparently they got a good deal on it).  I spent the rest of the afternoon alternatively playing bass and teaching in German.  It was a pretty rewarding experience.  Afterward I got to ride home through cornfields.  It was soothing and wonderful in the way only cornfields can be.  It's amazing how much more urban Lüdinghausen feels than Grinnell.  It's a similarly rural community but it's a lot bigger (25,000 as opposed to 10).  It might just be the difference in population size, but I think it's more than that.  Granted I've not spent a whole lot of time in Lüdinghausen so I don't know how obsessed they are with farming, and Iowans are kind of a different species of person altogether.  We shall see I guess.


Anyway I'm off to watch Bayern v. Roma.  I hope they both lose.  Just like I hoped both Werder Bremen and Tottenham Hotspur would win.  I guess that would mean they have to tie at 0-0?



whatevs.