Weeks 2,3 and 4 were a whirlwind!

During weeks 2,3 and 4 I was running around like crazy! Monday through Friday of these weeks I had class from 8:30 until 1:00, everyday we had a breakfast break that always included yummy pastries, pretzels, sandwiches, juice and coffee or tea. I also had to deal with the nitty gritty of staying here, registering with the town, opening a bank account etc. And thats just the boring stuff.

Naturally (my new favorite word since in German "naturlich" is used so often i find myself using it a ton in English) I had to make friends too!
Day 7
Kate and I went to a school cafe to watch ""Das Weisse Band". It was quite the experience since I was still not used to the indoor smoking and the movie had very little action so it was a bit difficult to follow along with my limited German vocabulary.
Day 8
We went to "Stammtisch" at Brass Monkey. It was a lot of fun meeting other exchange students and chatting. Bayern Munchen FC was also playing on TV...it was fun to watch even though they lost.
Day 9
Kate and I wen to a classical concert. It was a trio with a violinist, cellist, and pianist. The music was terrific, very up beat and interesting. We were also in a gorgeous lecture hall room (exactly the opposite of what you would find at UMass).
Day 10
I went to the weekly Ladies night with Kate. They have a bouncer out front (the only bouncer I've seen in Germany) who carded us for the first time since we arrived. Being newly 21 I have taken to carrying around my license whenever I go out even if I'm not driving so that was not a problem. Kate how ever hasn't developed this habit yet being only 19. She did, however, have her UMass student ID with her (with no Birth date on it). She handed it to the bouncer after looking at it he asked her how old she was to which she naturally responded 19. This was sufficient for him so he let us in to drink champagne and watch Deutschlands next top model.
Day 11
Ewa, one of the other exchange students, hosted a "small" party for the other international students to mingle. The reason I say small in quotations is because it turned into a party of over 50 people! Fun was had by all, including stealing a corkscrew from another kitchen in the building to open several 2 euro bottles of wine. Around midnight it became quite hours but instead of ending the party and everyone going home we all piled onto a bus and went to the Cave, a dance club in the altstadt.
Day 12
On Saturday I slept in after that long night out then visited Mannheim in the evening. Its only a 15-20 min train ride away but is very different. Its a much bigger city and is much more modern. We walked around and saw their castle (much more modern than the one in Heidelberg)and went shopping!
Day 13
Here is yet another reason why Germany is awesome...school sponsored brewery tours! We went to Welde for the tour which was a bit of a hike from heidelberg but was really interesting. They have greapfurit beer which wasn't bad and fun shaped glasses and bottles! Also before you open your beer your supposed to make a wish because under the cap it says "ja" "nein" or "?"
Day 16
St. Patrick's Day! Wore green all day then went to O'Reilly's Irish pub to celebrate at night. We drank lots of Bailey's danced and wore green facepaint. So much fun :-D although I did miss having a boiled dinner.
Day 18
Yet another house party with the exchange students followed by Karoke at O'Reilly's! There was a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, of course, but I found Tommy and JD's rendition at Auntie Robin and Bob's Wedding much funnier! A ton of the exchange students sang which made for great fun. The exchange students have a tendency to take over places and bring the party where ever we go since we all tend to congregate!
Day 19
We had a Birthday Party for one of the exchange students who turned 20! Since hes Colombian we went to a latin dance club. It was a lot of fun since it was my first time trying it. I found it a bit funny how random guys would come up and ask you to dance but one of the men i danced with was super good and that made it especially fun. He told me I was a good dancer and another man told me that my German was good...I think they were both lying ha ha!
Day 21
My whole class met for dinner and every one brought a dish native to their home country. I made an American Flag cake with blue berries and Strawberries! I unfortunately couldn't find pound cake or cool whip so i used sponge cake and whipped cream and it was still delicious and got a lot of compliments! We had a very unique assortment of food but everything was so good that I'm about to start drooling thinking about it!
Day 22
SICK! I finally got sick like all of the other exchange students. Apparently its really common to get sick on your second or third week on an exchange program because of the new germs, time zone, and excitement.
Day 24
Last day of Class! We watched Lola rennt and had an AMAZING brunch! There were so many finger sandwiches including ones with shrimp, chicken, and fish. It was finished off by a delicious apple cake. I was in heaven! After brunch Kate and I went to the bank to check on where our debit cards were. Apparently the mail carriers couldn't find out mail boxes and therefore our cards were "destroyed". After this set back we met up with our fellow exchange students on the river to celebrate the last day of class with an "alkoholish picnic" because there's no open alcohol container rule in Germany. It was a great last horrah! After the picnic and Kate and I attempted to plan our trip for the following week booking hostels and figuring out where we were going when. It was a bit of a slow start, I'm sure it had nothing to do with the bottle of wine we drank at the picnic, but we finally got it done along with our laundry and I went back to my room and planned my snowboarding trip in the alps. This made for a very late night.