"Denn die Gier wird euch verderben"

     I must look like I know everything. I was stopped and asked for directions three times in 24 hours. The first time, I was on campus walking to class. A girl stopped me and asked where a building was. The second time, I was folding my laundry in the laundry room. A girl came in and asked if I knew where to go for the Internet. Lastly, an older man stopped me as I was walking to the grocery store and asked if I knew where the cathedral was. I was able to answer the second two with some kind of coherency. 

     After three hours, I finally got internet on Wednesday night. I went down to the basement with all of my data backed up on a hard drive. He told me to come back in an hour since my computer would take awhile. I went down exactly an hour later, and he began. He first did some kind of reinstall of my computer. He went back to the last time that my computer properly operated the security system so he would be able to alter it. Two hours later and after a lot of computer technical stuff that I didn't understand, I had internet. He instructed me to do some stuff to my computer, like constantly check for software updates and get an anti-virus program. I'm so glad that I finally can access internet in my room. Now I don't have to go to campus every time I want internet! The wifi that I use for my phone is pretty spotty in this building. I don't think they have routers on each floor, and since I'm on the top floor, I can only pick up the signal sometimes and it drops a lot, so I'm even more excited to have internet access on my computer!

    On Thursday, I finally went and got some desperately needed groceries. I got bread, bananas, chocolate, pasta, cookies, salami, cheese, butter, and pudding for only 12 euros! In the afternoon I headed to campus. There is a class that I will be taking that is only offered to exchange students. For some reason, I had to actually go and meet the professor to sign up for the class. He asked us which German books/authors we had already read. I suppose this was to gauge how well prepared we are for the class. He offered two classes, one about Friedrich Schiller and one about Friedrich Dürrenmatt. I'm taking the class on Dürrenmatt and his comedy, "Die Physiker." Afterwards, I headed into town. There was some shopping I wanted to do. I went to H&M and also the Kaufhaus, which is a department store. Since I had mostly walked everywhere, I was exhausted and beginning to get some blisters, so I opted for the bus home.

     Yesterday was fantastic. I went on a walk along the Rhine in the afternoon. It was nice to get out of my room and enjoy nature. In the late afternoon I met up with Kalle. We sat on the river and chatted for awhile. We eventually parted ways, and I went home. I quickly ate and then headed back out to meet up with Matt. Our friends from the Mix Tour in Bad Kreuznach, Christian and Jan, were throwing a party and Matt and I wanted to go. Upon arrival, Jan asked us if we wanted to speak German or English. We said German. I then continued to speak German for most of the night, with a little English here and there when I didn't know how to say something in German or couldn't understand something. (Side note: It's not easy trying to figure out how to tell someone that your dad is a rocket scientist in German). About 15 people ended up showing up. It was myself, Matt, a few girls from Spain, and then the rest were German. All the Germans were very nice and patient with me. Sometimes they even corrected my grammar! I was also told that my German is quite good, but I'm not sure I believe that yet.  We left the party around 3am and I walked home along the Rhine.

Here's a picture from my walk along the Rhine. 

    Today has already been fantastically eventful. At 11, I met up with Clare. We also met up with some of her friends from England, Northern Ireland, and Finland. They have big outdoor markets here from time to time. I'm not sure how often they happen but I think it's fairly regularly this time of year. It's essentially what we would consider a farmers market. There are a lot of tents, each selling meats, cheeses, flowers, produce, etc. We walked through these markets and then down to the Rhine, where there was more of a rummage sale type of market. The walk way along the river was lined with tables of things like childrens toys, books, household items like lamps, clothing, etc. I ended up buying two books, one about dinosaurs and one of fairy tales. After the markets, we walked on to the theater. My friend, Kalle, works in the theater and told me about a play that is currently taking place. It's a play about the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. The theater here is also free for students, so Clare and I decided to go. Kalle warned us that it may be a bit difficult for us to understand, but it's free and about fairy tales, so I figure that it's perfect. Clare and I got our tickets with just our student cards and a picture ID. We then continued to a Dönner shop and got lunch. I had my first Dönner Kebap! After some grocery shopping, I headed home. I'm going to take a quick nap before I head out to the theater tonight. Hopefully this play will be fantastic!

They're making a beach along the Rhine. They essentially just spread sand over a parking lot.

Not a great picture, but this is the market place.

This is the fountain in Schillerplatz. I just think it's really neat and intricate. They also light it up in different colors at night.

Clare and I wanted to take a selfie with our theater tickets. Excited is an understatement!