Semesterferien

Almost a month has passed since I last wrote... and that wasn't even a real "update-y" type of post :P

These last 2 months I have been feeling more reflective about the daily going's-on around here, just trying to come up with a good life balance that makes me feel a) that I'm getting a good lot of diss and study work done b) that I'm continuing to maintain good friendships with the fun people I hang out with here and c) that I know when to stop doing things that ultimately bring me down. A healthy re-evaluation of your self is always a good idea, no?

February has seemed to be a quick month, full of Uni exams (of which I had none, though everyone else did), finishing up my English teaching for this semester, working on my proposal and conference paper stuff as well as cementing travel plans for the coming break. Also, the highlights - my birthday, and my stepbrother Cameron's visit!

My birthday night was epic to say the least, and I sure went down in a blaze of glory...no lie. Minor head injury aside, we all survived a crazy night at Hinkelstein and unix, after far too much to drink on a typical Marburg late night (early morning?) weekend outing. Recovery the next day was tough - not only because of the hangover. My head complained all day by reminding me that I'd smashed it on cobblestones only 12 hours before, throbbing with (local) pain. As luck would have it, 2 days later I got a cold! Awesome! My body essentially gave up and I stayed in for about 3 days, recovering...Cameron was to be arriving Friday, and the last thing I needed was that.

By the time he arrived Friday at the (ass) crack of dawn, I was mostly over the cold. I picked him up at 7 am from Frankfurt airport, and we made our way back to Marburg...warm Ditsch Brezel in hand, of course! That day we walked around Marburg a bit and went out  for dinner later at Sudhaus plus drinks at Barfuss. We crashed, but were up at a decent hour the next day to go to Heidelberg. We also went to Mannheim for about an hour so he could see where I studied in 2005. Cameron loved the Heidelberg castle, just as I expected, and was impressed by the church, the old bridge, and of course the general Altstadt. As it got colder we stepped into a cafe and he ordered an Apfelstrudel and a Heiße Schokolade...Germanizing himself with every step. That night, we stayed in as the Olympics were well underway - wewere pretty much glued to the TV every night.

Sunday was a recovery/check out Marburg day. First, a Bereket Döner with Ryan was in order. Then, a tour of the castle, and a walk around town. We grabbed a coffee in the Oberstadt - he really loved the Marburg old town and castle...especially the history of the castle...I'll never know how he manages to retain all that information! Again, things remained fairly low key that night as Cameron got over the jetlag so I cooked dinner for Kayla, Cameron and I...and we watched more Olympics :D Thank god for my TV!

Monday was a big day. Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) - aka - huge parades and parties in Germany for KARNEVAL! We'd planned in advance - Cameron was a musketeer, complete with hat & feather, and moustache of course. I was a devil, with ears, pitch fork and red/black makeup. Kayla wore...a feathery butterfly mask, haha. Magda was a "German". We took the train at like 10 am, drinking Schnaps and screwdrivers on the way. Only in Europe. By the time we got to Mainz, it was insane, we were feeling good, and the parade had begun. We trekked across town to meet up with Simon, Konrad and their friends....Simon the mexican and Konrad the criminal that is. Haha. Everyone in town was dressed up somehow, it was fantastic. The parade lasted many many hours, candy being thrown from each float. Kids ran up and down the streets trying to get as much stash as possible. Everyone else kept warm by drinking more shots of Schnaps :) Once the parade was over, we made our way to a club. Needless to say it was packed, sweaty and gross, but we danced for another 4 hours! Finally got back to Marburg around 12:30 am, and we CRASHED. But what an experience that was!!

Tuesday = recovery in a major way. At night, we went out for Auflauf, a cheap Marburg student treat, haha. Cameron loved it (and the beer), but we also had an early night that night as we continued to recover more from Monday. We were also prepping for Belgium! There was some concern as to whether our train would be going to Brussels, as it was 2 days after the horrible train crash there. The train (Thalys) was cancelled Monday and Tuesday, but it was our luck that they reopened the line on Wednesday just in time for our trip. On Wednesday, we stopped in Aachen, Germany for the day...a fantastic city, with Charlemagne's actual remains, quite a historic place! Our train to Brussels left around 8 pm, and we headed off to French and Dutch land :) We spent the next 3 days touring Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges (our fave!) Plus, eating what we called "Mediterranean Sandwich"...a place that sold giant baguette sandwiches and a side of fries for only 3.80. Oh yeah. Highlights included a brewery tour, the Bruges Belfort tower, and...well Bruges in general :D Also, eating a typical Belgian meal in Brussels the first night...plus Belgian beer of course.

We got back Sunday night, and spent the last 2 days in Marburg, again, recovering and watching Olympics! Cameron bought a few souvenirs of course and we went out for one final Auflauf on Monday night before he left.

Now I'm here, and it's time to finish my conference paper for the AAAL conference in 9 days. Crap! I should probably not be writing this entry...but there you have it.

Tschüß!