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Joey’s Last night and More Gamecube

February 4th, 2007

One of my friends Joey has sadly left Konstanz. He was a cool kid, an Australian kid, and it makes me think of some of the others that will be leaving when the semster comes to an end.

Coolest Austrailian I’ve ever met.

To end this blog on a good note…

Gamecube spielen!!!

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My Parents Are Going to Want to Have a Word with Me

February 1st, 2007

So I realize I haven’t blogged in a while. I really need to get on it, but the past couple of weeks have been busy time. I had to do a report in class last week and had to put together a portfolio for another this week, but now it is Thursday night which means two things; new Office tonight!!! and tomorrow morning is the Pancake Breakfast!! It is now tradition and it is oh so lovely.
As you can see above I got myself another tattoo, which I’m sure my parents will be thrilled over, but I want you guys to know that it was not a spur of the moment decision, but something that I’ve been wanting to get for about a year and a half now. I drew it myself, but it is based on my favorite drawing by my favorite artist Kurt Halsey Fredrickson. Looks nice eh? I know you can’t really see it, I’ll put a better picture up when it heals and the colors are the way they should be.
In other big news, my Nintendo Gamecube arrived on Tuesday and my friends and I are having the time of our lives, it has really brought us closer together. Pete is teaching us a bunch of good German swear words for when someone hits you with a red shell. It is fantastic.
Let us see, what else is new. Things around Konstanz have been pretty static, but I am starting to make plans for my friend Bob’s arrival. Of course I can’t give away any of the secrets, for two reasons; one, Bob reads this blog religiously (like who wouldn’t?) and two, I don’t have any surprises yet, but I will. I will also be going to Paris for 3 days to see Kristen. She leaves on Monday for France and Keith, Sarah, Jon, and I will be there to help her acclimate into the Parisian scene. It is going to be lots of fun. Till later, but not too later hopefully.

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Snowball Fight?!

January 24th, 2007

Here is a better picture of the snow and proof that despite popular belief, I do sometimes get up before the sun.

In other news, I walked into the elevator to find a sign reading

Schneeballschlacht
17:00
Germans vs. Foreigners
Girls vs. Boys
Me vs. Everyone

I know where I’ll be at 5:00.

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Snow and Gamecubes

January 23rd, 2007

So it has finally come, Konstanz’s first snow of the year. I must say, it did look pretty, but my undying hate for snow wouldn’t allow me to admire it for too long. As soon as I realized it had actually snowed, I ran too the bathroom and took a long, hot shower.

I know it is hard to see, but give me a break. It was dark out.
In other news! I bought a TV! My room is officially the coolest in Europahaus. No contest I’m afraid. It’s the bee’s knees. And it will be even better when I get my Gamecube on Saturday! Pete and I got to talking and we decided we needed to get a Gamecube. So with my skills on Ebay and his cheering me on, we were able to get a Gamecube with 3 controllers and 3 games, including mario kart, and all for a very reasonable price. Now we will have something else to distract us from our work! Absolutely wonderful.
In other other news, I’ll be playing soccer every Saturday with Pete and his friends. We rented out the sport hall at the school and a bunch of us will get together on Saturdays to play. I’m psyched about it. We played last week, which was a lot of fun, but the best part is that I’ll be surrounded by Germans for a couple of hours every Saturday. All of Pete’s friends are really nice and I find it easy to carry on conversations with them although, I must admit, I am still lost when they start speaking with each other.
Well it is starting to get late, I should be getting to bed. I have class early tomorrow morning, yuck. Oh man, there is a guy on TV right now who totally looks like Martin Luther, it’s freaking weird. Oh to bad you can’t see this, I’m getting a kick out of it. Well that was a bit random.
Oh, lastly, I had the wonderful idea last week to make myself a ‘Falling Asleep’ playlist on my iPod and every night since I’ve fallen asleep to some lovely tunes. I suggest doing this. It focuses my mind on the music and knocks me out within minutes. Total good idea on my part. Total good idea.
Oh and lastly lastly, they showed Dr. Strangelove at the university last night and afterwards held a discussion. It was fun. Ok later!

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Music Downloading

January 14th, 2007

Alright, if there is one thing about home that I wish I had here in Germany it would be the utter simplicity of acquiring music. In the US I was always finding new music through friends and last year, when I worked at a record shop, I was discovering new bands every week. Now that I’m here in Germany, trying to find new artists is, in itself, a strenuous task and even if I manage to find a band I like, I can’t get any of their music because my downloading capability is all but inexistent. A real pain in the tush if you ask me.
This lack of music has also spoiled my otherwise insouciant temperament. Take this conversation I had with my sister over instant messenger earlier today… Me: cori, could you download two songs and send them to me pleeeeeeeease
Cori: alright hold on
Me: how are they coming along, yo
Cori: i found them…but they are a pain to download
Me: should you fail at this modest task, which is your charge, you will be beaten unmercifully
Cori: yeah…whatev…and how does that work when you are all the way over there…yeah…now what

Toucè Cori. This still doesn’t change the fact that my musical situation needs to change or I’m going to go insane. Till later

jlk

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Everyone’s Home

January 8th, 2007

Hello everyone! Sorry about the blog hiatus, but the passed couple weeks have been completely lack luster and filled with a whole bunch of nothing. HOWEVER!!…Keith and Sarah are back and they brought with them Keith’s older brother, Desmond. Keith and Sarah had nothing to eat and since all the stores are closed on Sunday, we decided to go for dinner at the Irish Pub. The food was excellent and I actually got to watch the NFL on TV!!!! The pub was all but empty, save my friends and a couple of other folks, but I was nonetheless surprised.
Yesterday evening was also the revival of movie night, something which I am very happy to announce. We had a ton of new movies to watch and for Christmas Keith got cables to hook his computer to the TV, so we can now watch our movies in style.
Speaking of TVs, I will start my search this week for a second hand television. Should I not find a decent one by Saturday, it is off to Media Markt with me- which is dangerous because they also sell Nintendo Wii and my friends and I are doing just about everything in our might not to buy it, but should it be flaunted in front of our very noses, I don’t believe we could resist.
Well anyways that’s the big news for now. Tonight I am going to the Irish pub for Bingo! Fun for everyone! For now though, I must work on a project, yuck. Till later. jlk

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Boring Boring Boring

January 3rd, 2007

Sorry I haven’t written in a while everyone, but things are kinda boring. Everyone comes home this weekend so I hope to have some great stories to tell then. New Years was nothing special, just hung out with a few kids in Europahaus. I decided to buy a TV for myself because it really helps my German. Other than that, no new news. Till later! jlk

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Christmas Eve

December 25th, 2006

Every Christmas eve my family visits my aunt’s house for Christmas eve dinner and gift exchanging. Ever since I was a little boy we have done this and it is one of the things to which I’ve
always looked forward when Christmas neared. My aunt’s house, for this reason, has always had the smell of the holidays for me. Because of this, I decided to do a little something for myself just before I left for Germany. I brought a small piece of my mothers Tupperware to my aunt’s house to capture the holiday smell. I lifted the Tupperware top and took a big scoop out of the air and quickly closed the container. I was made fun of by my family for this, but I could take the abuse, I just hoped it would work. I took that Tupperware with me to Germany and it has been sitting on my shelf since the day I arrived. A few weeks ago, I also had my mother send me the Grinch DVD as it is a holiday favorite and something which will also always remind me of Christmas eve. Today, around midnight my time and 6 o’clock back at home, just when we would be arriving at my aunts’, I popped in the Grinch DVD and opened up the container with the hopes of breathing in that familiar holiday scent. To my utter and wonderful surprised, it worked! I was overcome with joy. I took a deep breath in, closed my eyes, and laid back. And with the sounds of the Grinch echoing throughout the room and the smell of the holidays filling my head, I was home again. Merry Christmas everyone.

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Christmas Spirit

December 19th, 2006

Hello everyone. Well I must admit, even I am starting to get the Christmas spirit or, in German, Weihnachtstimmung (pronounced Vine-nox-shtim-ung, a little German lesson for everyone). My classes are destitute of students as most have already made their way back home. Sadly, I will not be returning home for Christmas as I believe it is important for me to spend an uninterrupted year abroad. Provisionally, I will be having Christmas day dinner with a couple of Americans who are also staying in Germany during the holidays, but I will update you all on my plans as Christmas nears closer.
Other than Christmas taking over, nothing is really new here in Konstanz. The search for native German speaking friends continues. It is decidedly more difficult to make friends with someone who speaks another language, in fact, it’s quite an arduous task, but I know it is possible.
Jon and I walked into Switzerland today to visit a Chocolate factory. We stopped at a super-market where we asked for directions and met a man who offered us a ride to the factory, as it was quite far away. Now I wouldn’t normally suggest or accept rides from complete strangers, but Jon was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, so I went along complacently. We arrived at the factory in one piece I’m happy to say. In retrospect I think it is shame that we had to question the motives of someone who was just trying to be kind. In any event, we walked into the factory, but sadly, they were not running tours at this time of year. It’s a shame too because I imagined it to be just like Willy Wonka’s Factory inside. I suppose I’ll have to wait till Spring to find out. We didn’t walk away empty handed, however. We bought some cheap chocolate and then rode the train back to Konstanz. Well that is all the news to report. I hope everyone has there Christmas shopping finished and if not, then get on it would ya! You’ve only got a week left! jlk

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Stick Through the Boring Beginning The End is Amazing

December 16th, 2006

I was very excited to be spending 4 days in Munich, as it is my favorite city in Germany and thus qualifies it as my favorite city in world. This trip had all the makings of a righteous get away; taking place in an awesome city, surrounded by my friends, and best of all, it was free. Taking into account all these aspects, I could overlook the fact I had to wake up extremely early the day of the departure. The bus ride from Konstanz to Munich took about 5 hours with a little rest stop in between, where everyone piled out of the bus, micturated , and then piled back on the bus. I tried to get some sleep on the way, but to no avail. I suppose it didn’t help that every time Gita moved her head the tray table on the back of her seat would fly down and hit me. I hadn’t brought my iPod along, figuring I’d be conversing with others most of the way and it’s overall wellbeing was guaranteed back at home. I could have branded my face with a piping hot spatula half way through the ride for not bring it.
We stopped just outside of Munich in the town of Nymphenburg to see Castle Nymphenburg also known as the Residence.� I had been there once before in the summer time, which was much better because the flowers of the garden (the best thing about the Residence in my opinion) were in full bloom. This time of year, as you can imagine, everything was dead, but that didn’t stop Keith and I from taking the best picture the world has ever seen.

Wow, what athletes!

Aww. Sarah and I.
Anyway there are plenty more jump photos where that came from, as it seemed to be the theme of our trip. After the Residence we headed into Munich. The hotel was quite awesome, I must say. I was expecting a sub-par hostel, but I was pleasantly surprise with the place. Not only was it located nicely, but it had a freaking bath tub, and a bed that was more comfortable than that which I have at home. We arrived around 4 o’clock in the afternoon and we were free to do what we liked. Keith, Sarah, Gita, Sarah-Jayne, Helen, and I hopped a bus to Marienplatz, where we checked out the Christmas Market and then ate at the Weissesbrauhaus. The Weissesbrauhaus is an authentic Bavarian restaurant- the type of place you imagine when you think of Oktoberfest. The food was excellent, but I was so hungry at the time that a stuffed animal would have been an adequate meal in my eyes. The prospect of having a bubble bath was just too much for the girls to handle, so after dinner we explored Munich in the hopes to find something with which the girls could make their bubbles. It was an early night for everyone due to the next morning’s early wake up, but that didn’t stop Keith and I from taking a couple of silly pictures.
We had fun in our room.
The next day the group took a tour of the city. It was good fun and I was able to take many nice pictures. We ate lunch at the cafeteria of the Munich Technical Institute, which was pedestrian at best, but was also free so I can’t complain. We then visited the art museum of Pinakotech der Moderne. The art was cool enough in it’s own right, I suppose, but after visiting the Pompidou Centre in Paris, it just didn’t match up. That night Keith, Sarah, Gita, Sarah-Jayne, Helen, and I dined with one of the advisors from the trip. She was a very nice older woman who told us some interesting stories of her experiences living under the Nazi government. She was only young at the time, but lived in Munich, which was the birth place and heart of the National Socialism. Thus, she had many stories to tell about the party’s early days and it’s rise to power.

We drafted some more kids for the cause.

Check out the German lady to the right, she is amazed by the vertical bounds we break.
The next morning the group visited Dachau Concentration Camp, which sits a couple of kilometers outside of Munich. The camp was converted from an abandoned gunpowder plant into a prisoner camp in March of 1933. Dachau wasn’t the first prison camp built by the Nazis, but it was the first concentration camp and was the model for all concentration and death camps which followed. The camp’s primary use was for the incarceration of political prisoners. From 1933 to 1945 over 200,000 prisoners from 30 different countries were housed behind the walls of Dachau.

It was a very cold Saturday with a rain/snow mix falling from the sky most of the day. After the visit to Dachau we were free to do what we wished. I went on my own to visit the Christmas Markets in the city. Along the way I stopped at a music store, where I played on a drum set for the first time in 4 months. It was bliss. I could have stayed there the entire afternoon, but I thought I’d better get some shopping done. The weather, as I mentioned, was horrible. It wasn’t bad enough to be freezing outside, but the cold rain completely soaked my hair as well. I finished my shopping and then returned to the hotel and had myself a hot shower, it was lovely.

Keith, Sarah, and I met up with Gita, Sarah-Jayne, and Helen for dinner later that evening. The restaurant, which was Helen had spotted earlier that day, was a nice Tahitian joint and with a very interesting decor, if I may say so. However, to say the service was abysmal would have been a compliment. We waited 15 minutes until the waitress acknowledged our exisitance, but being as we weren‘t in a rush to eat, we managed to overlook it. After ordering our drinks we waited another 15 minutes before they were brought to us and started to become a bit flustered. We ordered dinner nonetheless, but as we were ordering we were told that all the vegetables had run out. This should have been when we left, but it was mighty cold outside and we all had our hearts set on Tahitian cuisine, so we stayed. Helen and Sarah-Jayne ordered an appetizer and were pleasantly surprise to find when they bit into it that it was still frozen. At this point we were ready to leave. We beckoned the waitress to tell her about the frozen hors d’oeuvre and to tell her that we would be leaving due to the frozen food and god-awful service. We were then told by the waitress, quite condescendingly, that we could leave, but that we would be paying for the food which we ordered. The waitress took the appetizer back to the kitchen to reheat it as we pondered what to do. Gita, Keith, Sarah, and I had made up our minds; we would run from this terrible restaurant and never look back. Helen and Sarah-Jayne on the other hand needed some convincing which came in the form of their second frozen appetizer. The time to act was upon us, we needed to make a move before the main course was brought to us. We began to clad ourselves with our jackets and scarves in preparation for the dash to freedom. On three we jumped from our seats and sprang towards the door, but there was one problem. The automatic door to exit the restaurant was moving slowly, too slowly! Were our plans to be foiled by a mechanical mishap? No, we couldn’t go out like that. Keith, wedging his hands in between the doors, facilitated their open and we all sprinted out of the restaurant and down the street, not stopping till the waitress and our would-be Tahitian treats. Such vindication works up an appetite so we headed to Pizza Hut for some good ole’ American slice. Pizza Hut never tasted so good and the service was fit for a king.

The next morning we left to check out the Deutsches Museum, which was cool in it’s own right, but wasn’t really my cup of tea, to be fair. I spent most of the time gabbing in the cafe. I did, however, check out the planetarium, but it’s tranquility made sleeping to suitable of an option. We had a group dinner that afternoon at another Bavarian-esque restaurant and then made our way home.

All in all, I give the trip two thumbs way up. A lovely time had by all and I finally lived out my dream of running from a dinning establishment without paying. Amazing.

A few favorite pictures from the trip:

Coming to a town near you.

Grr?

Merry Chritmas!…?

jlk

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Stick Through the Boring Beginning The End is Amazing

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