claustrophobia, hypothermia, and soft-boiled eggs

I am having a rough day.

On our way to class I tripped over something invisible and wiped out while crossing Engelbergerstrasse. I grabbed onto Julia but down I went. Timber. Totally scraped up the palm of my hands, which are important. Not to say that other parts of my body aren't important, but I use my hands a lot and now, it hurts.
I kind of sat in the middle of the street staring at my bleeding hands while Julia attempted to drag me up. Some guy appeared out of nowhere and started going on about an 'Arzt' (German for doctor) and magically whipped out antiseptic spray. This is my favorite part of the story because it is SO German. I mean, you have to think that a country has got to be doing something right if it's typical to randomly whip out some antiseptic spray. They are so sterile.
Anyway, it stung and smelled retched, so I started screaming to Julia about how he probably sprayed paint thinner on my hand or something. She told me I was talking crazy, which I definitely was. Then again, I don't especially like looking down and seeing bits of gravel stuck into my skin.
I also had to get through my first class without coffee, which I think is a form of torture in many areas of the world. Or it should be, anyway.
Afterward I rewarded myself with a Cafe Mocha at Aspekt, which is probably one of the most delicious things in the universe. I have two lists for delicious things. "Things that my father has cooked" and "Everything else". I very much miss sampling things from the former.

3 days to go, however. The worst part is going to be getting through the flights, because this time I know what I have to look forward to. Coming to Freiburg was exciting because I only had a vague idea of what I was getting myself into. And the traveling itself was an adventure. Meanwhile, going back to Michigan means knowing exactly where I'm going, what I want to do, and who I want to see. The flight itself will be exciting only because I love airports and flying, but after about 2 hours I'll be bored. After 4 my headphones will start bothering my ears. 6, I'll be claustrophibic and unable to sleep. Argh.
Well I am just a ray of sunshine today, aren't I?

Ok, Tuebingen. I will talk about happy things.
Tuebingen was absolutely adorable. It's about 100,000 people, so half the size of Freiburg. I have no idea why it's the sister city to Ann Arbor. I asked a few people but no one could give me a good answer. Oh well. If anyone's wondering, it was a great choice.
If I had gone abroad for a semester, it would've been to Tuebingen. I have a few friends coming over in January and I do indeed plan on visiting. Now, I know that I laahke eet.
After taking roughly 96 trains to get to Tuebingen, we were met at the train station by a group of elderly women who divided us up like cattle. Alex, Julia and I ended up with Carolyn Melchers who organized the whole shindig and was awesome. She grew up in Detroit, went to U of M (and did my program while she was there) and stays in Glen Arbor, MI (by Traverse City) every summer for their art festival. Her husband, who was equally awesome, is German and never stopped smiling. They invited us into their home, gave us each a bedroom, made us some tea, and then we had a long conversation about various things. We talked a lot about differences in German and American school systems, immigration, our plans after we graduate, what Ann Arbor was like in the 60's, etc. She told us that while she was doing AYF, Kennedy was shot. She came to Germany after she graduated at U of M and has been there since.
(Right about now, this story is striking fear into the hearts of my parents)
After tea time, we had dinner, which was probably the best homemade food I've eaten in Germany. Then we went into town to watch a traditional German film that was shown outdoors, called 'Feuerzangenbowle'...Don't ask me. Feuer means fire and bowle means bowl but after that I'm lost. It's a drink I guess, where you pour rum over something, light it on fire, and then catch it all in a big pot. Crazy Germans.
The film itself was pretty cute and I understood it, but I was verging on hypothermia. Julia and I cuddled up to Alex, which was nice since I am cuddle-starved these days. Tuebingen was a lot colder than Freiburg. We saw dustings of snow on the countryside when we were on the train, which was very exciting for all of us. I miss snow so much.
We drank a lot of Gluehwein and crawled into each others coats, but after the film I was ready to go fall into a bed. They took us to the DAI (aka: German-American Institute) and made us talk with Americans who had moved over here and wanted to convince us to do the same. I did my best to be polite, smile, nod, and act alive, but I was not at my best. After however many hours making small talk, Carolyn said she'd take me home. Julia and Alex were fully prepared to go hit the bars, but I was ready for some REI! I heart sleep.

The next day I woke up to Alex standing in front of me wearing nothing but bright orange boxers and a beer helmet, saying "So...uh...I can't figure out how to work the hot water?".
He found the helmet in my room somewhere. It was a weird way to wake up, obviously.
Eventually we figured out the shower and went down to have another amazing meal. I can't figure out how to crack open soft-boiled eggs for the life of me. I was making a huge mess.
After that we got driven into the city, where Carolyn said goodbye to us, after she said "You are all such great kids, I have to say!" I now want to think of her as my German grandmother, even though I very much doubt she's old enough to be. She keeps insisting that we come back to visit and I think I'll take her up on that.
For the rest of the day Julia and I wandered around the Weihnachtsmarkt, which was bigger than Freiburg but comparable. Most booths were for pottery, knitted things, traditional German food, wood toys, or candles. We were given a map to the train station so we were allowed to head back whenever we felt like it, so by 4 we were more than ready.
On one of the trains back (this time we only had to take 93) we sat next to two adorable little girls, who were about 12 or so, and were fascinated with us. I remember how I used to look up to older girls when I was that age...the funny thing is I still feel like I'm their age.

I will be 21 in exactly a month. Wow.

Ok, well, I have about a billion little things to do to prepare my vacation to the US! This trip isn't quite a vacation, but it's not like I'm staying there.
I'm sorry I didn't provide intimate details about Tuebingen but my mind's all over the place right now. I will be home soon, however. I've got my flight info, a train picked out, two suitcases to fill to the max, a burned CD of pictures to show everyone and their mom, and stories galore.
I'm also thinking of bringing home a thing of milk, just to prove to everyone in the US that what they are drinking is not milk, but is in fact white water. Mommy will you get me some cream for my coffee, bitte?

I think I may go take a short Schalfchen. That means 'little sleep'.
The paint thinner is making my hand stick to the keyboard.