January 7th and 8th
Hello everyone, sorry for the delayed post, not much happened on the 7th, then way to much happened today, so I am excited to talk about it. We woke up on the 7th and my sister drove me from Erlangen to Mannheim, which was about 2 1/2 hour drive.
Tip *** A lot of the student housing does not have a front desk or a reception, at least in my area. So, you are pretty much on your own when it comes to finding your keys and the amenities. My key was not even in the same area as my apartment complex. I had to drive to another location to receive it. Once I got my key, I was able to settle in just fine.
After I was all settled in, I decided to go out and see where my school was, look at where I would be studying, and just get a layout of where I would be living for awhile, pictured below is where I will be studying.
On the 7th, I walked for about 2-3 miles and just got to look around. I got some nice calls from closest friends from home, and that was really nice. I made my shopping list for the next day and went to bed, I had a welcome orientation in the morning.
The morning of the 8th, I had to walk to orientation and sign-in, and then we could go back to whatever we were doing, because the big presentation is not until tomorrow. I first stopped at Urban Verde Brunch Bar and got a fruit bowl before.
I ordered this bowl by saying, “Kann ich bitte ein Verde Bowl haben ?” and this is what I got, it was amazing.
After sign-up I continued on with my day by cruising the shopping streets of Mannheim, I bought a new coat and scarf, because it was nearly 22 degrees Fahrenheit. I shopped at Zara; they had some great deals. After that I walked home and dropped that off. I honestly had a great time in the stores, because I did use a good bit of German, asking where I could find certain items, asking the workers what their favorite stores were around here. One thing I noticed, and I do not think it is a pattern, the bigger department stores I went into to, nobody spoke English. But then I went into a couple smaller stores, one person did speak English when I needed help with a 1/2 size, and to my knowledge they did not do half-sizes.
I had made a similar grocery list to home, so I could compare the cost from home to Mannheim. I decided to go to Aldi Süd.
At college, I split groceries so in America, this would cost around $80-$100 a piece. Here is the list of things that I got (keep in mind it was all in German, so it took me a little longer and I had to ask in German alot) :
Steak
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Yogurt
Oats
2 lbs. of Steak
Lentils
Buffalo dip
Lentil-based chips
Cottage cheese
Hummus
Yogurt
Rice
Apples
Sauerkraut
Peanut butter
Olives
Assorted Olives
Rice Cakes
All together this was around 42 Euros, which was a lot cheaper than home. There was more stuff, I just cannot remember everything. This was a big learning experience for me, I did have to use a good bit of German in here to ask where things were, and it worked.
I then went to IKEA to get some towels and kitchenware; this was a fun one to navigate. I definitely had to pay attention to their directions. For example, when I asked, “Wo kann ich die Handtücher finden?”, “Where can I find the towels?”
Well, I was on the opposite side of the store, and she gave me all the directions, and I had to ask for them twice. I eventually found them, but that was a testament for sure. I then took a bus, to a train, and then walked the rest of the way home.
Seconds before I got home and took the fattest nap.
