Mr. Proper

We’re just now slowing down for the day. Well, we had a small break after lunch, but mostly it’s just been crazy. German went a little better, we actually managed to catch most of the conversation. I also eavesdropped on our teacher’s conversation with Dr. Griffin. He was talking about the changes to the library. It sounds like the interior’s been improved but, of course, the book selection is still lacking. That’s going to take time to fix, and resources, neither of which solve the problem now. But maybe we can get started in the right direction.
Bah, I’m in Regensburg worrying about problems halfway across the globe. Murray can take care of itself for a semester.
This afternoon we had to sift through the pile of paperwork granting us official entry into the country. 3 forms, two 2 page long ones and one 4 page one walked us through our arrival and departure from Germany. We had to give addresses, information, etc. I also have to go get more passport photos taken. I have a sheet full at home, but didn’t think to bring them.
We also went through the first part of registering for German medical insurance, but most of us opted out after we heard the price. 55 Euro a month for a plan that has variable co-pay. The alternative isn’t much better, since most American insurance companies require you to pay up front then seek refunds through receipts, but at least it might be cheaper. And most of us have credit cards, so we’ll just bury ourselves in debt to keep from having to be buried in Germany.
I cooked dinner tonight! I was proud. Tiff had trouble not helping, but I assigned her to the noodles and kept her busy without being in the way. It was bratwurst (they had another name, but basically it was just a somewhat spicy brat) with oregano and a little extra seasoning (onion, pepper, paprika, more oregano, etc. in a mix) in brown butter noodles. It tasted great! I’m going to try out a different seasoning and different brat’s next time, though.
I’m really enjoying having a kitchen.
After dinner we went to our student table thing. Basically, we got together at a beer garden and ate, drank, and talked about the day. Surprisingly few people actually ate or drank though. I think everyone’s starting to get a little money conscious, except the professors. Their cash flow is naturally a little larger than ours, plus a couple of them are more experienced at budgeting it. Julia, her boyfriend, and Gesi joined us for the evening. We talked about life in America versus life in Germany, especially high school and college. There are some great stories between us, but Kristen has the best. She’s already told everyone about how she went to cleaning when she first moved into her flat here and flushed Mr. Clean (Mr. Proper over here, pronounced "Meister Proper") down the toilet, only to have it run out of the shower. She hadn’t told us about her various exploits in high school. Apparently she was often banned from the Chemistry lab for the various things that went wrong whenever she was in there. Sometimes they were her fault, other times they weren’t. I think the Germans were a little baffled by all the school stuff, but they seemed to be keeping up pretty well. I floated back and forth between the two tables most of the evening, sipping my really, really strong apfelsaft (apple juice).
The German homework tonight was hard, but doable. Tiff got stressed over it and the insurance thing, but has thankfully wound down now. I guess this is my winding down, if I ever get worked up enough to need it.
Anyway, I have to sleep now. My 7 hour mark passed by 20 minutes ago, and tomorrow 105 starts.