Hallo From Munich

But first, a backtrack to my Newark Travails:

"There is no free wi-fi in Newark, so I can’t get on the internet. Poop. I also cannot get my phone to work. I did the code the way the paper says, but it doesn’t work still. Oh, well. So, the parentals will not be getting a call from me, and I will not be posting this online for a little bit. I can do other stuff: like type this, and transfer some more music to my mp3 player, and maybe compose a little bit, though, and transfer some pictures I’ve already taken onto here, so it’s not a complete waste.

Just a little bit of one.

The flight here was uneventful, except for one thing: they fed us! Now, granted, it was a slice of dry turkey on a roll alongside a piece of what I think was meant to be lettuce, chips, and a mini candy-bar (I had a Twix), but it was unexpected. I had orange juice to drink-- gotta try to not get sick, breathing other people’s air for eight hours. So, mom, your sandwich is still uneaten. It won’t go to waste, but I wish I’d eaten it this morning for breakfast instead of that muffin.

I had a whole row of seats to myself. Fantastic! I doubt the Munich flight will allow me that pleasure, though. And I’ll have to buy some three-dollar headphones, as the jack is the stupid two-prong thing, and I refuse to spend eight hours without something to watch, or listen to. So, first expense, headphones.

I took some pictures on the plane, which I’m sure you can see. I took pictures of something I thought was New York, but is most certainly not; and I took pictures of the New York Skyline. You can sorta see it through the clouds and gross window. I also took a little bit of a nap. I tried not to, but I was soooo sleeeeeepy. I probably slept for about twenty minutes, and man, I get what my dad says about power naps. Unfortunately, I don’t want to be energized. I want to be exhausted, so I’ll sleep on the Munich plane. I don’t think I’ll have a problem, however.



ARG. I wish I could GET ON THE INTERNET. Grrr. Then I could call my parents. But, no, they want you to pay for it. Oooh, RUN, SKINNY GIRL, RUUUUUN. I love people watching in airports. She looked like a model, and she was sprinting. Huh.

So, ta for now. I will post this when I get the chance (probably once I’m in Munich, and then I will post another thing about that flight as well. Even though I’m sure no one really cares. But I am documenting, dang it! So deal.)."

Two things: one, how do you spell 'Newark'? Newark? Or Newerk? Who cares. Secondly, I didn't have to buy headphones for the second flight.

I walked nearly all the way to my gate, skipping only one section, and I saw this awesome Zimbabwean art. (See Facebook for additional images; this wi-fi is reeeeally slow.)

Flight to Munich. Very back row of steerage. Bleh. The bathrooms weren't there, luckily. but the flight attendents yammered on and on. I watched the remake of "The Karate Kid" (verdict? fantastic!), ate their "chicken teriyaki" (I think that was chicken, but it didn't look like it), and then dozed off for at most two hours, at least an hour. Not bad.

Note to people studying abroad: read what they send you. I had recieved an info email about my arrival in Munich, but only skimmed it. I got out of the gates, expecting to see someone holding a "Salzburg College" sign. I wandered around for an hour and a half, growing more and more upset, finally culminating at calling my parents back in the states, who were wonderful and didn't mind that I'd called at three in the morning their time. In any case, I eventually read the email info, and found where I was supposed to go. I met everyone, sweaty and red-faced, and, yeah, crying a little.

We went to the Hofbrauhaus for lunch, and I had the vegetalish (sp, I know) special, which was fried swiss cheese with accompanying cranberry sauce (made with real cranberries-- mm!) and a side salad. I also had my first german beer, and I ordered one with "lemonade", which I hadn't remembered was actually a sprite-like drink; so I had beer with sprite, and it wasn't too bad. I'm glad I started with that, since I wasn't sure I'd like the straight beer. As it was, it was very filling, and I only drank about a quarter of my glass, and ate hardly any of my delicious meal-- when I travel, I can't eat that much the first few days. So, it was a good experiment, and the Hafbrauhaus was great and our waiter was fantastic too. He allowed us to practice our German on him.

After lunch, we walked back to our hostel (the "Wombat Munich"-- I kid you not!) and got into our rooms, and then at 1600 we had an orientation meeting. I'll be taking Beginning German II, which suits me fine, since I can't remember any of my German. Sorry, Dr. McFry. Being around here, though, has allowed a bit to come back, and listening to my fellow students has really helped. I'll blog about them tomorrow. (I already have homework-- ugh.)

We went off on our own to find a grocery store (to many a "I wish there was Wal-Mart"), and we finally did, and I bought a full sized shampoo and conditioner for just under 5-euro. Not bad, I think, and the shampoo smells really nice.

I'm exhausted now. I walked all over Munich Airport (and the city center), and am now crashed out on a woven chair with a large comfy pillow behind my head. The lure of sleep is almost too much for me to handle. Let me do my German homework for tonight:

Ich bin jetzt in Deutchland. Ich esse zu Mittag im Haufbrauhaus. Ich mag Kasse. Das Internet ist langsam. Ich benutze Google Translate das zu schreiben. (At least I'm honest.) I don't know what to write. Give me a few days of German, and I think it will all return to me. Hopefully.