Well the weather is finally getting a little nicer here! Hopefully I'll be able to pack away my winter jacket for good in a couple weeks. However, I haven't really been able to enjoy the nice weather, because I've been sick. My german friend, Julian, was kind enough to go to the Apotheke for me, and grab some medicine, and now I'm feeling a lot better.
Classes have been getting increasingly difficult. I find myself studying a lot more than I did the first month and a half. I just finished the second course of my four course program, and I received an A, so I'm really happy about that. If I keep it up, hopefully I can get a 4.0 for this semester. I already have a unit exam tomorrow morning, so I've been studying for that most of the afternoon.
After my exam though, I have a four day weekend. (: I'll be going to Dublin, Ireland with some friends. I'm really excited, because it's the weekend before St. Patrick's Day, and a lot of people in Ireland have Thursday-Tuesday off of work, and there are festivals everywhere. I also want to visit the Dublin Zoo, and hopefully venture outside of the city to see all the pretty scenery. I'm not totally positive about what to expect, but I think it will be a fun weekend.
It still hasn't hit me that I'm living in a foreign country. I feel completely comfortable with daily life here 98% of the time. There are things that are different from the US, but nothing I can't handle. My German is getting well enough to the point where I can hear conversations, and understand what the people are talking about. My instructor also only speaks German during class, and the first couple of weeks I had a hard time understanding what he was saying, but now I understand everything he says. My speaking is still a bit rough sometimes, but I try to speak as much as I can. It is going to be very strange going back to the US where everyone speaks English, and not hearing German anymore.
Although I am used to a lot of things about Germany, there are still some things that are taking time. I really miss the food from back home. I haven't had Mac and Cheese in months, or Taco Bell. I've eaten a lot healthier since being here, so I suppose it's a good thing, but sometimes I just crave a quesadilla. Sometimes I wonder if German people even like Mexican style food, because I have yet to find a decent Mexican restaurant that serves spicy food. I'm not giving up hope yet though, I'm sure I'll find one eventually.
Another thing I'll never get used to is the check out lines at grocery stores. It stresses me out big time. The cashiers are so quick scanning all your items, and since they don't bag the groceries for you (you have to bring your own bags) you have to do it yourself, and I never can get my groceries in my backpack fast enough. Sometimes people in line behind you look visibly irritated while they are waiting for you to put everything in your bag. It's also a bit frustrating sometimes walking into a grocery store, and not being able to understand all the labels, although when I ask workers, they are pretty helpful most of the time. These are obviously just tiny things that take time to get used to, but it's manageable.
I haven't gotten super homesick since being here either until this week. My family cat died, which I was sad about, because I've had her since I was four. However, thankfully it wasn't a family member or something. If my cat dying is the worst thing that happens while I'm away, I think I'm okay with that. I also miss my parents a lot, but I talked to them for awhile on the phone, and it was nice hearing from them. With the time difference, our schedules don't always correlate, so we mainly stick to texting through WhatsApp.
I'm still loving Germany more and more all the time, and I'm thankful that I have this opportunity. Hopefully I'll be able to come back in the near future. I'm hear until May, but I feel like time is going by so fast, and I wish it would slow down.
