Friends and Uncertainties

Well, I’m glad to tell you that I am officially back online. Thank God! It wasn’t anything terribly legalistic, the last person who had lived in my room had just forgotten to sign out. Two people can't be registered to a room, and they figure it's up to us to decide who's where. They give everyone six weeks into the next semester before the school does anything about it, and those six weeks were up.
Anyway, it’s all good now.
More pics are up. There’s going to be a flood of them over the next week, I have 400 megs worth that need to go up there. It’s everything from our fall break, and will also include our thanksgiving celebration and probably some other stuff I’ve forgotten to mention.
So, here we are.
Since last night I haven’t been able to get this thought out of my head. One of the other Americans over here was accused of being here in body, but still back in the States at heart. It’s a fairly common idea, I guess, but as we’re looking toward the end of this program, I wonder how much of this culture I’ve really allowed myself to be immersed in. Since returning from fall break I’ve withdrawn even more than usual from the loud evening conversations in the kitchen. I write it off to just “not clicking” with my flatmates’ friends, but usually I’m back here partaking in some little Americana that I brought with me (Mario, news, etc). Since my internet’s been out (6 days now), I’ve had no clue what to do in the evenings. I can’t read the news, so I go down to Tiffany’s room and talk to her flatmate, Karen. She’s great, we’ve really gotten along well these past few days, and talked more than I think I’ve talked to anyone else since arriving here. Does becoming a good friend with another American defeat the purpose of this program?
Of course not.
That’s in all the pamphlets too, after all. “And we’re all such great friends!” Of course, anyone who’s actually been on the program will tell you that’s not the way it is. Sure, you get along, but it’s only because you have to. There’s only 8 of us here! And we butted heads all through the election, and now just have a sort of quiet piece about it. I like my fellow MSU students, but I honestly don’t think we’ll see much of each other once we get back to MSU.
So no, being friends with the Americans here is definitely not a problem. But have I really made any German friends? I like my teachers and I get along with my flatmates, but no, I’m not sure any lasting friendships have been established.
So maybe I’ve let that opportunity slip by. Maybe not, there’s still a couple of weeks left for me to be in town. You never know.