Goodbye heat!

The past few days have been amazing! Despite the horrible things I have heard about long flights over the Atlantic, my flight was not bad at all. My seat buddy happened to be this man named Robert, who was originally from Holland, but he had been working and living in the San Francisco Bay area as an electrical engineer for the past 7 years. He has had many opportunities to travel, so he was able to tell me about all the wonderful places I have never been but hope to go to someday. We ended up talking for 3 hours, and then decided we had better sleep for a few hours. Fortunately, Becca was on my flight too, so we were able to figure things out together once we arrived at the Amsterdam airport for our oh-so-lovely 4 hour layover. The airport was well... interesting. There I had my first encounter using the euro currency, saw a mural that looked like a whale in the water but really happened to be a half-naked woman swimming, and laughed with Becca each time the lady would announce the names of the people delaying the flights.

Kathy and I are living with Christa and Gerd Erps, and they are the sweetest people ever. They have welcomed us into their home with open arms, and have gone out of their way to make our stay more enjoyable. On Monday, Christa took us through the local village and pointed out all of the stores we could go to as well as showed us the beautiful cathedral in the center of Benrath. She teaches German to English speaking Japanese residents in Düsseldorf, so she is able to point out words in German and give us the English translation, so we have already learned quite a bit from her. Gerd is so kind and funny! He speaks English well, but he claims that he can only speak a little. He jokes around quite a bit which always makes for a good laugh. He and Christa are such a cute couple!

The tour on Tuesday was fun despite the Texas heat we seemed to be having. It cracked me up that after talking about how not to look like a tourist, Dr. Wasser came fully equipped with a camera, European Union flag, and a brimmed hat. I am pretty sure we blended in quite nicely that day. I had my first beer ever, an Alt beer, which tasted like pickled woodchips. I could only manage a few sips, and then I couldn't take it anymore, so I asked Kyle to take care of the rest for me. Fortunately, at Monkey Island that night, I discovered V+ Coruba, a great beer with a tequila flavoring.

Today has been eventful with the commencement of our classes and the scavenger hunt. Since the German word for scavenger is schnitzen, Christa decided it would be nice to eat at a restaurant in town where Kathy and I could get a schnitzel. See how sweet she is! We ended up eating at a brewery close to Alstadt with amazing food. I'm looking forward to our trip tomorrow, and I am looking forward to that air conditioned train ride! I am definitely missing the AC a bit, but at least it has cooled off for a time. Bis morgens und tschüss!