I'm an utterly boring person...

Yep. The truth. Today I went to work, came home, skyped, did some laundry, and now I'm in bed. When did I become this old person? I might have to start taking Fridays off just so I can go out an do something. I might check out the thrift store in town. But don't worry, I wont go crazy or anything.

On the other hand, Saturday was not an old person day for me. It was the first day of Oktoberfest! I left the house at 11:30 and walked through the pouring rain to get there. I did it. It was glorious. Although I didn't go to any beer tents, I followed the parade route into the carnival area and had a few at one of the smaller vendors. It actually wasn't too expensive. I met a really cool couple from Oregon who knew a lot about the Twin Cities and Wisconsin. The husband was a big Vikings fan. They've even been to Spooner, WI which was insane to me. I have a ton of friends from that tiny town.
Consequentially, I spent most of my Sunday napping in my room. You tell yourself that you're doing a great job at pacing yourself... but you're not even close. Just stop, go home early. German beer is both delicious and deadly. But I do have to say (now that I'm feeling better) it was totally worth it. Also, the sausages at Oktoberfest are TO DIE FOR. Served on a baguette. But sauerkraut was no where to be found. I was puzzled.

Anyway, I think that's really all that's happened in the past couple of days. I can tell you that I am unbelievably excited for my friends from class to come and visit me in Munich.

How long have I been in Munich?

I honestly can't even remember anymore. Two weeks I think. I both feel like I've been here forever and feel like it is going by really fast. It's really odd.I started my job on Monday. There are parts of it I love and parts that I could do without. But that's every job. I basically go through boxes of photographs of artworks and pick out the ones taken by Franz Roh. I then plug these photos into the computer. There will soon be an online database of all of these. That's the part that isn't the greatest. But honestly, it's still better than the jobs I've had back home. At least I get my own desk where I can listen to music and look at art. haha. When I'm not doing that I'm digging through the huge library trying to find books in english about my topic for my paper. I also get to follow around Dr. Christian Fuhrmeister while he talked about recovered degenerate art. I'm pretty sure he's my favorite person in Germany. I don't think I've met anyone THAT intelligent... it's like shock and awe everyday. haha.

I also moved into my apartment las night. The move didn't go so well. When I got off the U-Bahn it started to pour... I wasn't sure where her apartment was on the street and of course, last house on the last block. Sweet. During this time, the strap on my purse broke as well. So picture me, DRENCHED, carrying my purse in my arms like a small child, a huge backpack on my back, pouting in the middle of a German suburban street. Priceless I'm sure. My roommate is so nice though. Sandra had a real cotton towel ready for my when I got the apartment. real. cotton. I've been using this strange fabric comparable to a sham-wow for the last two weeks. Real. Cotton. Towel. It's the small things.
The apartment is tiny, but literally the cutest place I've ever seen. Tonight, I actually get to go grocery shopping so I can make my own food. Best day ever. For real.

This is a shot of ONE FLOOR of the photo collection here. It's pretty intense.

Tag drei in München, Deutschland!

As I predicted, things got a lot better. Although I still miss my friends but I am no longer hating Munich. What can I say, I can be a little dramatic. That first day was quite a shock.

That night, I decided to go to the bar. What else was I going to do? After a few I got up the courage to talk to some strangers. Best decision ever. I first met a Canadian couple and I played cards with them for like 3 hours. Unfortunately they had to leave for Paris that night. I told them everything I know about where they were going and they shared some things about Germany. It was really nice to talk to someone who generally wanted to have a conversation. After that I stayed at the bar and met a couple of English kids who were on vacation. They were hilarious.

Yesterday I had my meeting with the Photothek director to talk about my internship. He was super bland and twitchy. After a while though I was getting him to laugh and I was generally excited for the project. The place is massive. The photos they have are somewhere around 800,000 and they have even more books in the library. I should have no problem finding the stuff I need for my research. Even better, the building was a former Third Reich administration building. The library... is Hitler's library kept in the same condition as it was then. I freaked out. He also showed me the collection of Third Reich photos... the only ones in EXISTENCE of Hitler and artworks sanctioned by Hitler. It's still blowing my mind. I cant wait to get started on Monday!

Last night I met one of my new roommates who's name was Kasper... yes... like the friendly ghost. He's been traveling Europe for 7 months. Insane. Him and I went down for drinks and met up with our two other roommates. One from China and the other from Thailand. We also met a couple from Hamburg. I was so much fun. Probably too much fun. haha.

I'm just about to leave to take a free walking tour of the city. Excited. There will be pictures up as soon as I find an internet cafe that takes memory cards or when my mother mails me my USB cable. Either way it's going to be a little while. Sorry about it. Tschau!

First Day in Munich

It has not been the easiest. Last night I got in and the room was completely empty. No roommates, no one to talk to, nothing. I woke up at about 11 and 3 boys burst into the room with luggage. They are 18, on a Euro Trip, Belgian, and my new roommates. Great. Nothing is better than peeling drunk European children off the floor when I get home from my internship.

This morning I woke up early, tiptoed around the room for fear of waking up my new roomies and having an awkward conversation while they're in their tiny European undies. I walked around, looking for a place to grab breakfast. Not much luck so I resorted to McDonalds. I will say, Germany has some pretty intense coffee. So I was pretty stoked about that. I proceeded to find the museum that I will be working at. After several trips to the ticket kiosk, tourist center, and front desk of my hostel, I thought I had figured it all out. Nope. The metro is completely different from the one in Paris. I wont get into the details but it really doesn't make any sense.

Finally reaching my museum I was greeted by the man at the desk. He doesn't speak a lick of English. After awkwardly asking where I should go, if Ralf Peters is in, or if he knows anything about an internship he just replies "The exhibit is free." Thanks bro.

And so I sit here by myself, in a room covered in boys clothes.

I know it's just one day in the grand scheme of things. I also know that when I look back on this trip, I will not remember that I was lonely, missed my friends, or had an overall shitty day. It will be the highlights, which have so far been pretty damn good. The days following will be better and I'll be bummed to leave Munich.

Sorry if this post wasn't all rainbows and butterflies.

Off to Munich Tomorrow

Well, since I have some time to kill (aka I'm waiting for my laundry to dry) I thought I would update this. Tomorrow I leave my little safety net that is Paris. It was like I substituted my group for my friends back home. Now I have to leave them too. It's a weird concept. I've never been REALLY on my own before.

As you've probably seen, a couple of classmates and I went to the Louvre which was insane. It's honestly beyond words. So much awesome. Yesterday we went to Père Lachiase cemetery which is the largest in Europe. But really. Massive. We saw Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and others. It was a lot cooler than I originally thought it would be. Glad I went.

Well that's all for now. I'm exhausted. Train-bound to Munich tomorrow morning.

First Day in Europe: France

Jesus, we've finally made it. After traveling for about 15 hours we made it to our hostel in the heart of Paris. You can actually see the Eiffel Tower right from the terrace on the roof. It's crazy that it's one of the most iconic structures in the world and now it's essentially in my back yard. Our hostel is beautiful. The Luxembourg Park outside is even more gorgeous. It all seems surreal. It's like I've walked straight into the postcards I'm writing.

Yesterday (9/6) was the longest day of my life. I didn't sleep for what had to have been 36 hours. If you know anything about me you know that I do poorly on little sleep. At the end of the night, before we went to bed, Alex, Sean and I went for what was supposed to be a short walk. We ended up walking past the Louvre on the south end of the city and made the decision that we would go to the Eiffel Tower. This walk took about an hour and a half. When we tried to return we got ridiculously lost. We walked and walked and walked until I thought my legs were going to break apart beneath me. It was awful.

We've walked so much and taken SO many stairs (it's 5 flights up to my room alone). But in general, it always seems to be worth it. I get to do and see things that I never thought I would. LSo far this experience has been incredible. And I'm only finishing up my first full day in Paris. I can't wait until I get to Germany. I'll try to post again in a couple of days. Au revoir.

17 Hours?

Well I'm officially packed and ready to go. My entire life crammed into a large backpack. Tomorrow at 4 I will be on a plane to Paris. Where did my summer even go? What a blur. I feel like it was just a month ago when I asked Alex how he would feel about going to Europe for school. So weird. Right now I'm excited, nervous, and exhausted. I'm sure I'll do another update when I get there. For now, wish me luck! Also, here's a picture of Alex when him and I skype eachother. Yeah, that's a face mask... so beautiful.