Die Erste Nacht

We all got here normally as you would expect. Only one person had one bag lost and it wasn't Jake or me. We spent what felt like forever in airports and airplanes. The flights weren't so bad except for the ascents and descents when I had massive ear problems. Other than that they seemed easier, faster, and more comfortable than I expected. It did help that I got an aisle seat for all three plane rides.

I had an interesting conversation with a German high school girl who was returning from a semester abroad in Virginia. She had a lot of very interesting things to say about the US. A lot of it was about how ignorant the people she got to know were about the world. But what was more interesting is that when I mentioned the "Here are some stupid Americans" youtube videos that seem to be all over-you know, the ones were they ask people very simple questions and they can't answer-she said that there are similar videos with Germans as the subjects. So maybe every culture has stupid people, we only notice it in our own.

Finally getting to Germany was fairly uneventful. The flight into Münster was pretty normal for a thirty minute plane ride. Although, because it's Lufthansa, they still figured they have to give us something to eat and drink. What we got was water and this little banana bar called "Corny."

When we got to the city, though, we dumped our luggage at the building that we will be having classes in and Herr Steding gave us a very small tour of the inner city. From the looks and comments of other people it seems they still won't be able to get around on their own, but at least they know about some things that are there. Everyone was very tired and for some it was a struggle staying awake. We went back to the building that had our luggage and awaited the arrival of the families. They all seemed to end up coming at the same time, which meant it was kind of chaotic. But as far as I know everything worked out smoothly.

At first, being with my host family was very overwhelming. I was picked up with Kim since the two families are neighbors. The two mothers and their two daughters talked very quickly the entire way back. Kim at least made some attempt at understanding what they were talking about, a venture which seemed to be for the most part successful. I was just very spacy the entire ride.

Once we were dropped off, however, the talking became a little less rapid. I was able to make sense of far more than I expected, and I was actually able to carry on a somewhat decent conversation for a short period of time.

We ate some waffles and then Frau Schulte insisted on taking me in the van to see where Jake and Kim were staying, along with some bus stops and many other things in Münster. It was interesting, but I have no idea how much I will remember even tomorrow. Well it looks like that is all for now. Things have started very well, and I'm sure they will keep going that way.

Tschüss,
Marcus