august 3, 2015 - first day at goethe
This morning I ate my strawberry yogurt and the rest of my pineapple. I’m not sure if it’s the brand of yogurt that I bought, or if it’s just German yogurt in general, but it’s much more watery than yogurt I’m used to eating. It’s almost like one of those Danimals yogurt cups that you drink...
I walked to the Goethe Institute and found it within just a few minutes! It was pretty confusing as to where I should have gone first...there were multiple tables set up so I went to the first one...apparently that’s the second stop...so I went to the other table...apparently that’s the third stop...so I went to the middle table and finally found the first stop. It could have been less confusing. There were tons of people around. I checked in, took a test (multiple choice and writing), turned it in, had an interview, and then learned a little bit about the leisure program. It’s a good thing she asked if I’d already bought a ticket, because that’s when I found out that yesterday I bought the wrong ticket! I bought a month-long student ticket (74 Euro). The woman told me that I probably should go exchange it in the Alexanderplatz station because I don’t qualify as a student apparently...if I were to get caught with the ticket, I may end up having to pay a pretty hefty fine if the ticket-checker was harsh. I found my way to this station, found the right place to help me, and waited in line. The lady here acted like I was a complete moron...But that’s alright because she exchanged the ticket for me and I only had to pay what the student discount took off (5,50 Euro).
I took the subway to Rosenthaler Platz. It seems that whenever I come up from an underground station, it takes a few minutes to figure out where I am. I grabbed some Currywurst (x) and returned to the hostel to await my cab, which would then take me to my accommodation. :)
When I arrived, Schohreh gave me a tour of her apartment. It’s seriously the cutest little apartment I’ve ever seen in my life. Her decorations are so pretty and the rooms are so quaint. I wrote in my travel journal that she lives on the fourth floor, but I just realized that she actually lives on the fifth floor...Germans do their floor count differently. Schohreh gave me some Apfelschorle (earlier I mentioned this as something you could buy...you can also make it by mixing apple juice and carbonated water...however, I prefer it by the bottle because it’s more bubbly) which was made from locally-produced apple juice. We talked for a little while.
Schohreh tried to teach me how to lock the door. It’s very specific. When I’m home, I ahve to lock the door and turn it once. When I leave, I lock it twice. I really had no clue. We went for a walk around the neighborhood. She showed me the bus stop and the grocery store (Netto). She also showed me the bank. I don’t think she understood why I don’t have a bank account. I told her I would be setting one up in Freiburg, but she just gave me a blank look. While we were at Netto, I bought bananas, yogurt, and butter. I was thinking how I really need to learn how to cook some things, otherwise Schohreh is going to think I am useless...which I sort of am when it comes to anything in the kitchen.
When we returned, I unpacked all my things. (x) Schohreh left to go see her parents. During this time, I managed to do a lot... While Schohreh was gone, I went to figure out how the lock and key system worked, but ended up locking myself out for a while...it’s a good thing I didn’t have to sit out there and wait because Schohreh wouldn’t return for another two or three hours...Gabi knows exactly what I’m talking about because apparently the same thing happened to her in Spain. ;)
The last thing I did while my host was gone is walk back to Netto (it’s right around the corner and straight ahead one block) and get some more ingredients to make something for dinner. I made some rice and stir-fried some mushrooms, yellow bell peppers, and some tomatoes. It was alright. Sadly, I could not find any broccoli in the store. I’ll have to ask about that, because Gabi said she couldn’t find broccoli in Spain either. I ate my dinner on the balcony, which was nice. :) (x)
