Discotheks and American rock!

On Friday night, Christian picked me up at my dorm, and we drove to a nearby town, Krefeld, for dinner. The restaurant was called Haweco, and the menu was half English half German. The titles of the foods were in English, such as American Pita or Chicken Crispers, and then the description was in German. The restaurant was quite large, consisting of a main floor with a bar, where we sat, and then four upper levels accessible by a winding metal staircase. Going upstairs to the bathroom, I was reminded of an old firehouse, and wondered if I should look for a pole to slide down. TVs were on, small candles were lit at the center of every table, and waiters/waitresses constantly whizzed by, making drinks and delivering food. Simply because I could not resist the opportunity, I ordered Chicken Crispers with Cajun or chicken fingers with steak fries. They were delicious! Christian and I had great conversation throughout the meal, and I really enjoyed his company. He is 22 years old, lives with his parents in Straelen, and is in a sort of masters program to perfect his craft of gardening. He will finish this summer and help his parents with their business. German schools are very different than those in America. There are many options, but the people I have met have spent ten years in regular school, three years in an apprenticeship, and then one year in Meister, which literally means master as I mentioned before. So Christian is almost finished and will then enter the working world. He lived in California for six months, as posted previously, so we talked a lot about his impressions of the country and the people. Later on, we drove to a Discothek, or club, and watched people dance to American rap and hip-hop! The club was similar to those in America, complete with a bar, dim lighting, a DJ booth and dry ice effects. I met a guy from Florida who is studying film in Germany. He said he heard my accent and had to ask where I was from, but I am sure the fact that I was speaking English was a huge giveaway So I had a lot of fun, and I am so thankful that Christian is willing to show me around and take me out to have some fun! On Saturday night, Christian invited me to go to another club with him and his friends. He picked me up at 9:00pm, and we drove to Tom's house, the friend with whom Christian went to California. Once there, I met Tom, his girlfriend Laura, his sister and her boyfriend, and Andy. We hung out for a while, getting to know each other, and then we drove about 30 minutes to Duisburg to a Discothek called Pulp. Unlike the first club I visited, this club played rock music. Oddly enough, everywhere I have been thus far has played American music, right down to Sweet Home Alabama! So I had fun dancing to both German and English rock music. Christian's friends are really nice, and we laughed and danced all night...literally. We left at 5:00am! I was exhausted but so thankful for another opportunity to make friends! On Sunday, I went to a pizza parlor with Kosten and Nicholle, not sure how to spell their names yet, but they are the first two people I met in my dorm. They are the youngest too, 18 and 20, but I like them very much. I had told them that I like pepperoni and cheese pizza, and so they ordered for me. But when we got back to the dorm to eat, I was surprised when Nicholle opened a pizza and gave it to me. It was packed with the largest green hot peppers I have ever seen! Now I am not at all a fan of peppers, so I politely picked off each one. Regardless, my mouth was on fire by the time I finished eating, but it was still somehow pretty tasty. Then we watched German TV and English CNN, learning new words and attempting to translate each other's languages, since none of us is fluent in the other. Monday was boring, but I accomplished grocery shopping, which is not fun when you must do so on a bike! But I was glad to have found the discount grocery store called Aldi all by myself as well as to have shopped on my own in a foreign place. Work was fun today. I know that I have not written much about it, but this post is already long enough, so I will keep it short. Basically, I had time to spare, so I slid down the huge slide, jumped off the high dive, and sat in the jacuzzi. I also helped with the children's swim lessons again, which I love! The first class is called Kinderschwimmen, literally translated children swimming, and the kids are around 5 years old. The second class is called Kleinkinderschwimmen, literally translated, small children swimming, and the kids are 1-3 years old, and their parents swim with them. These two classes are by far my favorite activities. So that is all for now. I put minutes on my phone, but they are really expensive and short lasting, so I am exploring other options such as a calling card like we have in America. Then I look forward to hearing familiar voices and updates on your lives. I love you and miss you! MWA!