Well, hey there. Sorry about another monthlong hiatus... I promise I have a good reason this time! I can now say I've experienced the health care system in Germany pretty thoroughly - I had mono this month, so I was pretty out of commission for the past 3 weeks. But they know me real well at the doctor's office and the local apothekes now. I would also like to say that German health care is awesome. Back when my doctor thought I had strep and prescribed me antibiotics, they only cost 5 euros. And although I went to this doctor like 6 times in the span of 2 weeks and had blood tests done twice, and ended up at the ER one Sunday night when everything else was closed, I never paid for any of it. Wooo socialized medicine! When it got bad enough that I couldn't make food for myself or even really get out of bed, my dad came over and took care of me (he just left 2 days ago), so that was AWESOME and helped a lot. Thanks daddy! :)

So, as far as things I've been doing this month, there haven't been tooo many... before my dad left I was feeling good enough to get out of my room for a while, so we took a day trip to Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bayern, and that was really fun and super cute. Rothenburg is very, very medievally German, and also quite touristy. It's not high season yet, though, so we didn't have to deal with the 'hordes' of tourists that Rick Steves warned us about. Apparently they have both a traditional Christmas market during both Christmastime and in July, for those who can't handle rural Germany in the winter. I'm sure it must be a mess. But anyway, what we saw was pretty cool. The entirety of the old part of the city is surrounded by a wall, and they let you walk on top of parts of it, which gives a great view of some of the houses and old buildings. All the houses are SO cute and SO German - half-timbered, pastel colored, flowerboxes in every window, ivy creeping along the corners and also through some now structurally unsound walls. It was great.

You don't get more cute and German than this.

We had dinner in a restaurant directly off of the Marktplatz, a tourist-oriented place specializing in Fränkisch and Bavarian food. It was tasty - I had a deliciously manly meal of fried potatoes and a pork steak in bacon-onion-beer sauce. But please, please, don't ever be like the people who were sitting at the table next to us. Topics of their very overhearable conversation ranged from overpopulation of deer, to bringing their dogs with them on their next vacation, to whether they were in Bayern (yes), whether the Schwäbisch region is a state (no), and whether Baden-Württemberg is a state or a cultural region (the former). I also learned from them that Bayern is the German equivalent of Texas. I think what bothered me most is that the 'leader' of this small group did speak some German and was talking about the country as if he was an expert on it, yet didn't really seem to know anything. So I guess they could have been way worse... I just don't like people who are simultaneously arrogant and ignorant.

Other than that day trip, I've pretty much spent the past week eating ice cream, sitting outside in various cafes, and procrastinating on doing anything remotely productive for school. There were no classes this week because of Pentecost - guess a lack of separation of church and state isn't ALWAYS bad. It's interesting that there are so many national religious holidays here (we got a day off in May for Ascension, and classes are canceled again next Thursday for Corpus Christi), because everyone here is wayyy less religious than at home. Baden-Württemberg is even supposed to be the most religious region of Germany, but it's really not that visible.

As long as I'm talking about differences between Germany and home, here's another big one I've noticed in the time I've been over here: personal responsibility. Here, you and only you determine how your life goes. It ranges from little things, like the lack of screens on windows that fully open, to preparing yourself for university exams. You're stupid enough to lean over too far out that open window? That's your problem, buddy. You fail a final? You haven't learned enough yet, so you'll move on when you personally are ready, and retake the class. I'm not 100% informed on how the legal system works here, but I get the feeling that lawsuits must be much less common here, because there are no warning labels on the coffee cups that the beverage you are about to enjoy may be extremely hot. I like it, because it makes me feel like the Powers That Be don't assume that everyone in the country is stupid and lawsuit-ready. That's why there's no speed limit on the Autobahn - you drive as fast as you can handle, and don't be stupid about it. Within my dorm, it's the same thing - the kitchen is shared between 14 people, so everyone's expected to do their dishes right away and clean up the stove after cooking. There are rules like that for probably every shared kitchen everywhere, but here, it actually works.

Speaking of being responsible for yourself, I'm hungry, which means I gotta go make some dinner!

Go 'Cats,
Christina