I got my Ruby Slippers back

Ding-dong, the virus died, the wicked virus died!
Thank you, Jared, for sending me to windows update for the patch. I really should have thought of that on my own, but probably never would have. Live and learn, right?
That’s been the motto this week, really. With Tiff having to adjust to life without peanut butter and our classmates finding out that German beer is renowned world-wide for a reason, we’ve all accumulated our own little life lessons. Me, I’ve learned a few significant things I didn’t think I would have…

1. Iron skillets are not Teflon. Treat them with the respect they deserve, and let them get good and hot before using them.


2. When the train says it leaves at 12:45, it means it.


3. People in mobs really do get dumber, and meaner.


4. Keep a flexible schedule, you never know when you’re going to have to change it.


5. Always keep at least 5-10 Euro extra.

Yes, all those are stories from today, actually. I cooked Weissbrats (white-brats, these little hot-dog sized pork things that really are white, and are pretty bland on their own) in an iron skillet tonight and buttered up the cold skillet, rather than letting it heat first. After trying to clean that mess, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again for a while. The brats were good, though. I seasoned them with a lot of paprika and a little meat seasoning which, as best I can tell, includes more paprika, pepper, oregano, and some other stuff.
The train story is pretty self-explanatory. We went to the monastery today, and Dr. Griffin chose “volunteers” to get through each step of the way. Lisa picked out our train, Liz found the track to it, Chris Heck (I can’t just call him Chris H, since that’d be me as well, though I don’t refer to myself in the third person often) made sure it was the right train, and then we had to wait on Griffin to bring us our tickets. We got on, and it rolled off, right on time. I had visions the entire way of what would have happened if any one of us had gotten confused. Since Griffin had gone to get the tickets, we would’ve been seriously up a creek by the time he found us. Luckily, it wasn’t an issue.
The mob. We rode our train to a bus, our bus to a dock. There, at the dock, was the mob Apparently this monastery is The Place to spend the weekend. We fought through a crowd of people bigger than I’ve seen at most concerts. And they were aggressive, too! Tiff and I were holding hands and this huge woman wedged herself right between us. She continued to press me and Tiff’s arms to the point that Tiff was afraid she was going to have hers broken off. The old woman ploughed us the whole way. She was part of a senior citizens tour, and I have nothing against the aged, but this pack just happened to be mean. And the more of them that got there, the meaner the group got. I wish my German had been better, because I know we got some snide remarks. I tried to look as harmless and non-descript as possible because I wasn’t going to get into a fight with an old lady over my spot on a boat.
So half our group ended up on the first boat, the other half on the second. We managed to bend our schedule around enough to shuffle through most of the monastery. It was a good thing we only bent it a little because on the way back we had to fight an equally large, though less aggressive, mob. I was lucky they were less aggressive, because I found out halfway to the boat that I’d lost my ticket somewhere in the crowd. So I had to bum money off Tiff (I had 3 Euro left, the ticket was 3.80) to get back. She told me I could swim (it was downstream, after all), but then had pity. Yeah, that’s where lesson 5 comes in. Glad you’ve been paying attention.
So we got on the boat and got to watch the professors stand on the shoreline as we sailed off. This time they had to catch the second boat.
What can I say about the monastery? They brew the world’s oldest brew there, and have been doing it since 1050. I didn’t have any, and I didn’t notice anyone in our group with any, either. However, it is available all over town, so I imagine most of them are sampling it now. Me? I have an espresso to help me stay awake for the next hour to do German homework.
6AM’s going to get here awful early, but if I didn’t tell you all this now, I’d surely forget.
Oh, dad’s got the image server up, so I’ll get pics up soon. I just need a few free minutes.
Another of my suitemates has moved in. I think his name is Martl, but I’m not entirely sure. He’s certainly friendly, but we didn’t get to talk much. He’s a physics major, and is in for a 4-week practicum. I think he’s a master’s student, but I’m not entirely sure. Like I’ve mentioned earlier, it seems like everyone here is a few years ahead of us. Most college students start around age 16-17, and thus finish their undergrad by 20-21. Me? I’ll be 23, most likely. Hopefully it won’t take any longer than that.
Just another little difference, I guess. Another thing to learn, adapt to, and absorb.