Trevor & I ventured to the Berliner Dome one day after class. I had already been there during the Long Night at the Museum a few weeks back. But this time we decided to go to the absolute top. There was a tiny staircase that lead to a balcony around the dome at the top. Whew! There were tons and tons of stairs. It was quite a workout getting to the top. It's all that darn bread :P haha!
When we finally got to the top though, it was an amazing view! And it was a rare sunny day!! The sky line extended as far as the eye could see.
The basement of the Berliner Done houses many caskets of the Hohenzollern dynasty. It actually smelled funny down there. The caskets were huge! Some of them were even babies when they died. It was very interesting to see it. It seems the basement and the balcony are forgotten places of the Berliner Dome (auf Deutsch Berliner Dom).
My host family and I went to the Hohenschönhausen, the STASI prison, one Sunday for a tour. Unfortunately the tour was in German, but they translated some of it for me. I wasn't too upset because we are going there for a school excursion sometime. In case you don't know (no worries, I didn't), the STASI prison is located in East Berlin. It was used by the Soviets for political prisoners between 1951 and 1989. It is infamous for its physical and physiological torture of its prisoners. I felt so dumb, but I had no idea before we went on the tour. There were many who died while in the prison. Prisoners varied in their crimes from trying to cross into West Berlin/West Germany, acting in unauthorized movies, political enemies, etc. Conditions were horrendous. Interrogations were quite unconventional also.
Our tour guide was a former prisoner. He was imprisoned in the camp 3 different times. He later found out his family and friends were feeding information to the Stasi. He found out that his own mother gave false information about his to the Stasi. After he left Hohenschönhausen, he had severe psychological problems. He had to go through much self rediscovery and therapy. He walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain 3 times. I believe he said it took him about a month each time. He did this to find healing within himself. I wish I could have heard more of what he was saying, but my host parents didn't have enough time to translate everything for me. I have decided to write my term paper on this topic, so I'll be able to provide more information in a month or so :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
East Side Gallery Pictures
Oops, I forgot to post the East Side Gallery pictures. I have tons of pictures from here. I'll try to be selective for your sake :)
As you can see, I failed at being selective haha. I really liked the East Side Gallery, a must see! :)
 |
| There are sections with graffiti like this one. |
 |
| HAHA, I just had to take a picture! |
 |
| Love this! |
 |
| Graffiti in a park nearby. |
 |
| Again...graffiti. Wouldn't it be nice if ours looked like this! |
Krakow Pictures
I won't be posting pictures from inside the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. I don't feel the pictures can truly capture what one experiences/sees there.
 |
| My luggage for the weekend :) |
 |
| Lisa & Anna on the train to Krakow |
 |
| Malia & I |
 |
| It was a LONG train ride! |
 |
| Krakow |
 |
| Train Station |
 |
| Even though we were lost still smiling :) |
 |
| Burrito Heaven! |
 |
| Our Hostel Room |
 |
| Train Station near Auschwitz |
 |
| On the walk to Auschwitz |
 |
| Hamburger....believe me there is meat in there although there doesn't look to be |
 |
| There were people sitting inside this statue...Malia looked in the eye socket and they scared the shit out of her! I thought it was hilarious...since it wasn't me ;) |
And Back to Berlin We Go (9.26.10)
Before getting on the train back to Krakow, Malia and I bought a good ole' fashioned cheeseburger from a little restaurant. It didn't taste exactly like ours in the US, but it was so delicious!! How I missed hamburgers! It was a little bit strange. It had some strange orangish-red sauce and vegetables on it. Like lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, etc all shaved. Overall, it tasted yummy though.
We walked around Krakow after we got back; the other part....the popular part haha. There were tons and tons of restaurants with outdoor seating and bars. It definitely was the popular part of the town. We ended up getting döner. This time I got chicken döner. It was ok, but even the regular döner wasn't as good as Berlin.
Oh and of course I had to hit up the mall while we were there. I can't pass up a new mall ;) I bought 2 shirts: one from Zara and one from H&M. All together, I left Poland with 15 Zloty left. So for the whole weekend in Krakow, I spent about $60! Pretty darn good, especially with the shopping!! That explains why there were tons and tons and tons of wedding dress shops. I guess everyone comes to Poland for cheap wedding dresses. Hmm, note for the future haha! :)
I have to say Poland looks a lot like East Berlin. At least to me, it looks very poor. Most of the buildings are very old. Looking out the window on the train ride, it was crazy to see how the houses look. I liked the feel of Poland.
The next morning we had a train super early. We left our hostel when it was still dark out. The train ride back was long again. I didn't do much except homework and sleep when I got back to Berlin. It was a nasty day, raining all day and night.
We walked around Krakow after we got back; the other part....the popular part haha. There were tons and tons of restaurants with outdoor seating and bars. It definitely was the popular part of the town. We ended up getting döner. This time I got chicken döner. It was ok, but even the regular döner wasn't as good as Berlin.
Oh and of course I had to hit up the mall while we were there. I can't pass up a new mall ;) I bought 2 shirts: one from Zara and one from H&M. All together, I left Poland with 15 Zloty left. So for the whole weekend in Krakow, I spent about $60! Pretty darn good, especially with the shopping!! That explains why there were tons and tons and tons of wedding dress shops. I guess everyone comes to Poland for cheap wedding dresses. Hmm, note for the future haha! :)
I have to say Poland looks a lot like East Berlin. At least to me, it looks very poor. Most of the buildings are very old. Looking out the window on the train ride, it was crazy to see how the houses look. I liked the feel of Poland.
The next morning we had a train super early. We left our hostel when it was still dark out. The train ride back was long again. I didn't do much except homework and sleep when I got back to Berlin. It was a nasty day, raining all day and night.
A Very Sad Day (9.25.10)
Today we woke up free of bites. Their check for bed bugs must have been successful. Honestly the idea of it made me super itchy while I was sleeping. We had our hostel breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheeses, meats, and cereal without milk. It was an ok breakfast for a hostel. Pretty much like my usual in Berlin. Our plan for the day was to take the train to see Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps.
We bought train tickets for 6 Zloty each way. You can do the math and see how cheap that is!! The train ride was 1.5 hours. The train was the oldest train I've ever seen. It didn't even have a bathroom. I would venture to guess this train was new in the 1950s. The train literally crawled there. We did pay next to nothing for it, so I understood haha. When we got there, again we had no map and no clue where to go. In our American mindset, I guess we thought we would walk off the train and there it would be. Oh how naive we are! We fortunately found a city map outside the train station. We stood there staring at it for awhile. The camps were actually quite a walk away. Two men came up to us and asked if we knew where they were. Fortunately they did, and they were so sweet as to show us! They walked us right to the gate before we parted ways.
We bought a tour for around 24 Zloty or so. It was a guided tour in English. First we would tour Auschwitz and then Birkenau. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the day and what we were about to see. But I'm quite sure that no matter how hard I tried, it wasn't going to help. The first thing we saw on our tour was the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign. Oh how wrong that sign was.
The amount of information we heard that day was astounding. The information itself was disturbing, much less the sights: pictures, stories, buildings, etc. I learned that Auschwitz was the only concentration camp to tattoo the camp numbers on their prisoners. They did this to help them identify the prisoners when they died. We saw a room that was filled with hair from the women who entered the camp. They used the hair to make rugs and other textiles. I can't even begin to explain how much hair there was. I am bad with estimating length, but I would estimate it was about a 50 X 20 foot case. I can't remember how many tons of hair they said they found when the Russian Army liberated the camp. The hair had lost its color. The smell in that room was horrifying. The next room was just as hard. We saw some of the suitcases, with their addresses and ages on them. Also in the same room was a case with all the shoes, toys, and some kid's clothes. It was hard beyond words to see all this.
We saw the execution wall and the torture cells. There was a tiny block cell where they would have 4 people stand all night. There looked to barely even be enough room for 2 people to stand. The execution wall was horrifying. They had a replica as the original one was destroyed. Many families had placed flowers and memorial items here. In one of the buildings they had a wall with pictures of the prisoners: a photo from when they came and below when they died. It was unreal to see how short of time they lived after arriving. We also went in a small gas chamber and crematorium at the Auschwitz camp. It was said that they ran a loud engine outside to cover the sound of the screams. This was one of the most disturbing sites.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, we went to Birkenau. This was where the trains arrived and the selections took place. The arrivals went down one of two paths; one to the gas chambers and one to be spared a few more days in the workcamps. I can't accurately describe how the camp looks. There are rows and rows of barracks. The bed are horrifyingly small. They were lined with straw. Our guide said the newcomers often got the bottom bunks because of people relieving themselves at night since they had so little time to use the restroom. Also, they would all have to turn in unison since they were body to body on each bunk. The "bathroom" was rows of holes over a concrete pit. Our guide said fights often broke out in there with so many people trying to use the restroom at one time. Only those to the holes first got to use the restroom.
We saw the remnants of the gas chambers. It was unbelievable to see. The Germans tried to destroy the evidence before the Red Army came. They aren't sure how many people died in Auschwitz, but estimations are well over 1 million. It was surreal to stand where so many stood wait in line for their "showers." Could you even imagine? They have a nice memorial for those who died. Rightfully so, the English translation is the farthest from the memorial since no one from the US died there.
I don't understand how anyone who has seen Auschwitz-Birkenau or any concentration camp can believe the Holocaust didn't happen. No way can you go there and not feel the pain and sorrow. It hangs in the air. That day was one of the hardest days I've experienced. Putting images to all the history and faces to the victims, hearing and seeing firsthand what their lives were like.
I feel everyone should make the journey to see Auschwitz-Birkenau. It's a very needed experience!
"The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again."
- George Santayana
We bought train tickets for 6 Zloty each way. You can do the math and see how cheap that is!! The train ride was 1.5 hours. The train was the oldest train I've ever seen. It didn't even have a bathroom. I would venture to guess this train was new in the 1950s. The train literally crawled there. We did pay next to nothing for it, so I understood haha. When we got there, again we had no map and no clue where to go. In our American mindset, I guess we thought we would walk off the train and there it would be. Oh how naive we are! We fortunately found a city map outside the train station. We stood there staring at it for awhile. The camps were actually quite a walk away. Two men came up to us and asked if we knew where they were. Fortunately they did, and they were so sweet as to show us! They walked us right to the gate before we parted ways.
We bought a tour for around 24 Zloty or so. It was a guided tour in English. First we would tour Auschwitz and then Birkenau. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the day and what we were about to see. But I'm quite sure that no matter how hard I tried, it wasn't going to help. The first thing we saw on our tour was the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign. Oh how wrong that sign was.
The amount of information we heard that day was astounding. The information itself was disturbing, much less the sights: pictures, stories, buildings, etc. I learned that Auschwitz was the only concentration camp to tattoo the camp numbers on their prisoners. They did this to help them identify the prisoners when they died. We saw a room that was filled with hair from the women who entered the camp. They used the hair to make rugs and other textiles. I can't even begin to explain how much hair there was. I am bad with estimating length, but I would estimate it was about a 50 X 20 foot case. I can't remember how many tons of hair they said they found when the Russian Army liberated the camp. The hair had lost its color. The smell in that room was horrifying. The next room was just as hard. We saw some of the suitcases, with their addresses and ages on them. Also in the same room was a case with all the shoes, toys, and some kid's clothes. It was hard beyond words to see all this.
We saw the execution wall and the torture cells. There was a tiny block cell where they would have 4 people stand all night. There looked to barely even be enough room for 2 people to stand. The execution wall was horrifying. They had a replica as the original one was destroyed. Many families had placed flowers and memorial items here. In one of the buildings they had a wall with pictures of the prisoners: a photo from when they came and below when they died. It was unreal to see how short of time they lived after arriving. We also went in a small gas chamber and crematorium at the Auschwitz camp. It was said that they ran a loud engine outside to cover the sound of the screams. This was one of the most disturbing sites.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, we went to Birkenau. This was where the trains arrived and the selections took place. The arrivals went down one of two paths; one to the gas chambers and one to be spared a few more days in the workcamps. I can't accurately describe how the camp looks. There are rows and rows of barracks. The bed are horrifyingly small. They were lined with straw. Our guide said the newcomers often got the bottom bunks because of people relieving themselves at night since they had so little time to use the restroom. Also, they would all have to turn in unison since they were body to body on each bunk. The "bathroom" was rows of holes over a concrete pit. Our guide said fights often broke out in there with so many people trying to use the restroom at one time. Only those to the holes first got to use the restroom.
We saw the remnants of the gas chambers. It was unbelievable to see. The Germans tried to destroy the evidence before the Red Army came. They aren't sure how many people died in Auschwitz, but estimations are well over 1 million. It was surreal to stand where so many stood wait in line for their "showers." Could you even imagine? They have a nice memorial for those who died. Rightfully so, the English translation is the farthest from the memorial since no one from the US died there.
I don't understand how anyone who has seen Auschwitz-Birkenau or any concentration camp can believe the Holocaust didn't happen. No way can you go there and not feel the pain and sorrow. It hangs in the air. That day was one of the hardest days I've experienced. Putting images to all the history and faces to the victims, hearing and seeing firsthand what their lives were like.
I feel everyone should make the journey to see Auschwitz-Birkenau. It's a very needed experience!
"The one who does not remember history is bound to live through it again."
- George Santayana
Off to Krakow, Poland We Go (9.24.10)
On Friday morning Malia, Anna, Lisa, & I took a train from Hauptbanhhof to Krakow, Poland. Hauptbahnhof is the gigantic station in Berlin where most trains leave out of. Unfortunately we didn't take the ICE train; this is the fast train. We just took the IC train, so it took a long time to get there! I forget exactly how long it took, but I believe it was something like 11 hours or so. It reminded me of just less than a week ago being on the bus from France for that long. We made the best of it though with attempts at sleep, lots of talking, homework, reading, etc. Oh and I was so proud of myself for packing light...finally! I only had a backpack. Really, I didn't need anything more, but nonetheless it was an improvement over France. And I packed the lightest out of us all....an achievement for me haha!
Oh yes, a note about the trains in Europe. You should reserve seats if there is an option to. It's not guaranteed that you have a seat if you don't and certainly not together. We found a nice section with 4 seats facing each other with a table in between. Only to be kicked out by a Polish lady saying this is her place. Just an emphasis on spending the extra few Euros for peace of mind that your seat is truly yours. The entire trip we were nervous that with each stop someone would say we were in their seat.
When we finally got to Krakow, it was dark. I think it was somewhere around 9 or so. The first thing we did was withdraw money at the ATM. As a note, I would always recommend withdrawing money straight from the ATM instead of going to a currency exchange. You get such a better rate at the ATM. And since ATMs are so readily available (or from what I've seen), you shouldn't have a problem. The currency here was Zloty. I was surprised when I read my available balance stated in Zloty!! The exchange rate here was amazing!! I withdrew 250 Zloty, which I later realized was about $63.
We didn't have a map, but rather took a picture of a map on the wall in the train station. With only our address to our hostel and our wonderful sense of direction, we set out. If this doesn't seem like a good idea, you are absolutely correct. We walked around and around and around. Somehow the streets we were on weren't on our "photo map." We wondered around for 1.5 hours until I begged for food. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant. It smelled so good and looked amazing...and it was hot! The entire menu was in Polish. We all stared dumbfounded until the lady flipped the menu over for English. Whew much better! It wasn't actually a sit down restaurant, just a tiny restaurant where they made burritos. It truly was the most amazing Mexican food ever! I realized how much I really missed my Mexican food! It was like it was fate....they had burrito postcards with a map of the city on them! We were saved....by burrito heaven! :)
Again we set out in search of our hostel. It was rather surprising how barren it was outside. We barely passed anyone on the streets. It felt so eerie. We ended up walking all the way to the highway without realizing. Then we finally looked at the map again and realized we just walked all that time in the wrong direction. Ugh! I was rejoicing at this point that I had packed light!!
It was like magic; when we turned onto our hostel street all the people appeared. It was quite obvious this was the nightlife area. I can't even explain how strange it was...not seeing but a few lone soles in our 2 hours of walking around and then all of a sudden seeing the entire town on one street! When we finally got to the hostel, there was no one in the office. They were closed for the night. I almost threw a tantrum right there. Fortunately there was someone in the hostel who was able to get us our key.
Our room was decent. It looked nice. It was only my second hostel though. While I was standing there marveling, and really just happy to see our room and have somewhere to sleep, the other girls rush past me and in unison rip the sheets off their beds. I stood there looking dumbfounded. I had no idea what was going on. They explained that they were checking for bedbugs. I had never heard of such a thing. Apparently everyone except me always checks their beds, hostels and hotels alike, for bedbugs. I never realized this was a problem. In case you don't know, they are black bugs and apparently the place to check for them in in the cracks on the mattress and under the mattress. They bite you while you sleep, and I would assume they itch. I'm not for sure. I have been fortunate not to have experienced these before. But from what they say, they are quite common with hostels and also hotels. So be sure to always check for them now :)
It turns out our shower was clogged. The water, instead of draining, pooled at your feet. It became quite clear that you had to turn the water off every 10 seconds or so to keep the shower from overflowing and flooding the bathroom. It was quite an unsatisfying shower. It was kind of disgusting standing in all that water. Nevertheless, it was a shower. We didn't do much that night; after our long train ride and very long walk here, we were exhausted.
Oh yes, a note about the trains in Europe. You should reserve seats if there is an option to. It's not guaranteed that you have a seat if you don't and certainly not together. We found a nice section with 4 seats facing each other with a table in between. Only to be kicked out by a Polish lady saying this is her place. Just an emphasis on spending the extra few Euros for peace of mind that your seat is truly yours. The entire trip we were nervous that with each stop someone would say we were in their seat.
When we finally got to Krakow, it was dark. I think it was somewhere around 9 or so. The first thing we did was withdraw money at the ATM. As a note, I would always recommend withdrawing money straight from the ATM instead of going to a currency exchange. You get such a better rate at the ATM. And since ATMs are so readily available (or from what I've seen), you shouldn't have a problem. The currency here was Zloty. I was surprised when I read my available balance stated in Zloty!! The exchange rate here was amazing!! I withdrew 250 Zloty, which I later realized was about $63.
We didn't have a map, but rather took a picture of a map on the wall in the train station. With only our address to our hostel and our wonderful sense of direction, we set out. If this doesn't seem like a good idea, you are absolutely correct. We walked around and around and around. Somehow the streets we were on weren't on our "photo map." We wondered around for 1.5 hours until I begged for food. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant. It smelled so good and looked amazing...and it was hot! The entire menu was in Polish. We all stared dumbfounded until the lady flipped the menu over for English. Whew much better! It wasn't actually a sit down restaurant, just a tiny restaurant where they made burritos. It truly was the most amazing Mexican food ever! I realized how much I really missed my Mexican food! It was like it was fate....they had burrito postcards with a map of the city on them! We were saved....by burrito heaven! :)
Again we set out in search of our hostel. It was rather surprising how barren it was outside. We barely passed anyone on the streets. It felt so eerie. We ended up walking all the way to the highway without realizing. Then we finally looked at the map again and realized we just walked all that time in the wrong direction. Ugh! I was rejoicing at this point that I had packed light!!
It was like magic; when we turned onto our hostel street all the people appeared. It was quite obvious this was the nightlife area. I can't even explain how strange it was...not seeing but a few lone soles in our 2 hours of walking around and then all of a sudden seeing the entire town on one street! When we finally got to the hostel, there was no one in the office. They were closed for the night. I almost threw a tantrum right there. Fortunately there was someone in the hostel who was able to get us our key.
Our room was decent. It looked nice. It was only my second hostel though. While I was standing there marveling, and really just happy to see our room and have somewhere to sleep, the other girls rush past me and in unison rip the sheets off their beds. I stood there looking dumbfounded. I had no idea what was going on. They explained that they were checking for bedbugs. I had never heard of such a thing. Apparently everyone except me always checks their beds, hostels and hotels alike, for bedbugs. I never realized this was a problem. In case you don't know, they are black bugs and apparently the place to check for them in in the cracks on the mattress and under the mattress. They bite you while you sleep, and I would assume they itch. I'm not for sure. I have been fortunate not to have experienced these before. But from what they say, they are quite common with hostels and also hotels. So be sure to always check for them now :)
It turns out our shower was clogged. The water, instead of draining, pooled at your feet. It became quite clear that you had to turn the water off every 10 seconds or so to keep the shower from overflowing and flooding the bathroom. It was quite an unsatisfying shower. It was kind of disgusting standing in all that water. Nevertheless, it was a shower. We didn't do much that night; after our long train ride and very long walk here, we were exhausted.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Oh X Factor! (9.21.10)
For German class today, we met at a cafe in Kruezberg. We all had breakfast while waiting for the Turkish market to open. We had a worksheet to do at the Turkish market. The market was very interesting! It's much like a farmer's market and an arts and crafts show all rolled into one. You can buy fruits, vegetables, cheese, raw meat, clothes, buttons, bolts of cloth, prepared food, Turkish specialties, etc. It is quite something to see! And the prices generally cheap! It's a little hard to tell with the fruits and vegetables since they are measure in kg and g. I ended up buying a sweater for 13 euros. I could have spend all day there. There was so much to see and taste. They close down a street and set up all the vendors on the street. I swear they went on forever. The market is open every Tuesday and Friday from 11AM to 6PM. There were so many people there too! It seems a lot of people come to the market to buy their fruits and veggies. The vendors, for the most part, were very nice and friendly. I might actually go back on my own and shop there.
After that Trevor and I had lunch at a bakery cafe so we could sit and cram our brains with the European Legal Traditions readings. The cafe was pretty good. They have different prices depending on whether you take it to go or eat in at the cafe. For dessert I had a pig ear, or that's literally what it translates as. It's a flaky pastry, quite large actually, with icing on it. It was fairly good, but very sweet!
Legal traditions went by very slowly. Something about that class puts me to sleep all the time. Trevor nudged me and said, "Try and at least soon interested. You're depressing me." Apparently it showed on my face too. After class, the walk to the train station seemed unbearable long. I was so tired. At the station where I transfer trains, I debated staying on the train because I was too tired to get up and walk up all those stairs. My legs persevered over my mind and before I knew it I was on my next train. But then, for some reason, I spaced out the whole ride and when I realized it, I had passed my stop. I got off the train and instead of waiting for a train in the opposite direction, I started walking back. Needless to say it was a long walk! It took 25 minutes. That pretty much sums up my day.
My host mom went to a Sting concert tonight, so we were on our own for supper. We had bread, naturally, and tomato slices with a hunk of cheese on them and drenched in olive oil and soy sauce. Even though that sounds gross, it wasn't half bad. But they cucumbers my host dad made that was like that...not so good.
Malia came over for X Factor tonight. Sadly, we missed last week's episode because of France. When I was walking to the train station to pick her up, I AGAIN stepped in dog shit!!! With the exact same pair of shoes....on the exact same shoe as yesterday. I was livid!! It was dark, so there was no need to try to clean it off. I have developed a hatred for every dog I see on the sidewalk now. I want to tell them they better pick up their dog shit. After my little rant on the dark street, I pushed my anger down inside until later.
X Factor was entertaining as usual. Now it's actually narrowed down to the better people. I wouldn't say great, because some of them still aren't fantastic. There is one girl who is amazing though, Edita Abdieski. She has such a fantastic voice. We all ooo and ahh when she sings. Nothing too exciting was emitted from Thimo today. Well actually that's not true. I told him I was going to Poland this weekend to see the concentration camps, and he thought I was going to a terrorist bootcamp this weekend. Just a little bit lost in translation. After that was cleared up, he asked me if I like the Nazis.
After that Trevor and I had lunch at a bakery cafe so we could sit and cram our brains with the European Legal Traditions readings. The cafe was pretty good. They have different prices depending on whether you take it to go or eat in at the cafe. For dessert I had a pig ear, or that's literally what it translates as. It's a flaky pastry, quite large actually, with icing on it. It was fairly good, but very sweet!
Legal traditions went by very slowly. Something about that class puts me to sleep all the time. Trevor nudged me and said, "Try and at least soon interested. You're depressing me." Apparently it showed on my face too. After class, the walk to the train station seemed unbearable long. I was so tired. At the station where I transfer trains, I debated staying on the train because I was too tired to get up and walk up all those stairs. My legs persevered over my mind and before I knew it I was on my next train. But then, for some reason, I spaced out the whole ride and when I realized it, I had passed my stop. I got off the train and instead of waiting for a train in the opposite direction, I started walking back. Needless to say it was a long walk! It took 25 minutes. That pretty much sums up my day.
My host mom went to a Sting concert tonight, so we were on our own for supper. We had bread, naturally, and tomato slices with a hunk of cheese on them and drenched in olive oil and soy sauce. Even though that sounds gross, it wasn't half bad. But they cucumbers my host dad made that was like that...not so good.
Malia came over for X Factor tonight. Sadly, we missed last week's episode because of France. When I was walking to the train station to pick her up, I AGAIN stepped in dog shit!!! With the exact same pair of shoes....on the exact same shoe as yesterday. I was livid!! It was dark, so there was no need to try to clean it off. I have developed a hatred for every dog I see on the sidewalk now. I want to tell them they better pick up their dog shit. After my little rant on the dark street, I pushed my anger down inside until later.
X Factor was entertaining as usual. Now it's actually narrowed down to the better people. I wouldn't say great, because some of them still aren't fantastic. There is one girl who is amazing though, Edita Abdieski. She has such a fantastic voice. We all ooo and ahh when she sings. Nothing too exciting was emitted from Thimo today. Well actually that's not true. I told him I was going to Poland this weekend to see the concentration camps, and he thought I was going to a terrorist bootcamp this weekend. Just a little bit lost in translation. After that was cleared up, he asked me if I like the Nazis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)