Anfang der Pfingsten Ferien!

so, the Sommersemester began, i loved my classes (omg i'm already done with them! wow, i'm behind with the blog) and gobbled them up with so much excitement that i didn't do anything but study until the Pfingsten (Pentecost) holiday! i know, a bit unbelievable, but it's true. after being the States for a month and away from German, my understanding skyrocketed. Elisée said the same, which was refreshing to hear that someone had a similar experience. whoo hoo!

i budgeted the second half of my year abroad and decided that i would squeeze in one more grandiose run, keep it inside Deutschland, and save my free time (and money) at the end of the semester to fully enjoy my last weeks around home in Tübingen. now that i have fast forwarded two months and the semester is actually over, i can say that i made a good choice. ;)

[Im Moore 31]

it was nothing but CouchSurfing and Bahncard50, Baby! first stop: Hannover. and... the CS host fell through. no worries. luck have it, a photo journalism student (who wasn't actually there) had a flat full of AWESOME roommates that housed me last minute. remember what i said about my German skills? yeah, so i didn't realize until two weeks into this trip that i hadn't spoken a PEEP of English. yes, that is no more that maybe three WORDS per person that i just didn't know the German equivalent. i am quite proud, thank you.

[der Herrenhäuser Garten]

super-duper thanks to Lucille for leading me around, kind of. she still had to work, so i just planned my schedule around hers and we mainly just spent evenings together. i found my way to the botanical gardens, walked around to the Marktplatz, a few churchs and a super cool new-musik artwork? in town, then to the Rathaus, where i rode a nifty little elevator to the top and looked onward to the Norden, ie: the next destination of Fehmarn!

[Aussicht der Kuppel via toller Aufzug]

i tried doing a slightly impromptu meeting for coffee with another CSer, but it was a bit too spontaneous. oh well, Lucille got me a student price ticket to the opera house to see the German version of Fiddler on the Roof. the next night we watched an intense mini-series on German history, complete with discussion afterwards. three hours is a bit much, but when managing two separate minds of understanding actual dialog-spoken and the-plot-as-a-whole exhausts me, i can still retain enough bits and pieces to blurb out about two cents worth in a discussion. well, maybe it was only a pence or so. =P

again, thanks to Lucille and pity that i never saw Jo in person or got up with Moritz when i was in Hamburg. i always have hope for a second chance. hoffentlich bis nächstes Mal!