Back in Deutschland

Hey Everybody!

I made it to Germany safe and sound, but, of course, with some new stories to impart to y’all.

My flights were from Cincinnati to Detroit, Detroit to Paris, and Paris to Bremen. There was a bit of drama regarding my luggage. Once again, I had over packed and my suitcase was over the weight limit, so Maria (who was driving me to the airport) suggested we stop at her house and get a duffle bag or something else that I could put stuff in and then get rid of when I got to Germany. As it was, I ended up checking my suitcase and a small bag and two carry-on backpacks. A backpack on the back on and one in the front is quite the fashion statement in Paris.

To top it all off I had cheddar cheese that I was trying to get into Germany in one of the backpacks. I wasn’t quite sure if bringing cheddar cheese into Germany was legal or not, but I am inclined to believe that it’s not. The very first security checkpoint in Cincinnati I got stopped for it, but they gave me it back to me and by sheer luck I didn’t get stopped anywhere else for having cheese in my backpack. All of us here in Germany are really thrilled to have the cheddar cheese – there are big plans for it.

The long flight from Detroit to Paris was really crowded and I sat next to a 2-year-old who was pretty well behaved given that it was an 8 hour flight. The neat thing about this flight was that everyone had their own personal media screen that you could watch movies or play games on. I played mah-jong tiles for a couple of hours which was pretty cool.

I did get confused going through security in Paris. I wanted to know if I had to take my shoes off so I pointed to my shoes and asked, “Meine zapatos?” which is part German, part Spanish in a Paris where they speak French. The security lady just shook her head and I went through no problems.

I did some overpriced quiche that was absolutely delicious in the Paris airport. I was impressed.

The flight to Bremen was short and easy. Kate, Maria, and Lyazzat surprised me and helped me with my bags. Maria even had kuchen for us to eat on the train. It really made me feel great.

I wasn’t feeling too great the Sunday night I got back, but I thought it had something to do with being in planes and airports for the past 24 hours. The next morning, Monday, I woke up with one of the worst sore throats I ever had and every symptom of strep throat that I knew of. I got myself to the doctor that day who confirmed my suspicions and gave me penicillin. To be proscribed antibiotics in Germany is harder than heck and you have to be really, really sick to get them. From previous experiences with strep I knew I was going to need them to get better and was prepared to fight to get them, but this doc was really great – I didn’t even have to ask. Bless him.

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in my room feeling truly horrible. It’s been a long time since I felt so awful. Thursday I made it to class for the first time in over 2 weeks, but by the end of the day I was so tired I was back in bed.

Now it’s Friday and I’m feeling probably 85% normal. My friends and I are having our weekly cooking tonight. We’re making spaghetti so that will be good. I’m planning on a quiet weekend and hopefully will be up to speed next week.

My classes this semester are fine, especially since I haven’t hardly been there. I’m taking Contemporary European History which I enjoy, Chinese History which is challenging, and a class called Migration, Globalization, Linguistics, and Literary Taxonomies – I am pretty sure it’s a literature class. It’s the class I’ve missed the most so I don’t have an opinion on it at the moment.

I hope all is well with you.

Love,
Elizabeth









Dave, Lyazzat, Maria, and I in Hamburg








Maria's got all the pots going to Trini food night!

Yum! Lyazzat, Maria, and I enjoy Trinidadian food night!