Ankle, Berlin, Spring!

The past two days have been absolutely beautiful in Mainz (on Germany's standards at least). I wore only a T-shirt and jeans outside yesterday as I rode my bike around Mainz with a friend. We even stopped by the animal shelter to see if we could help out (found out we couldn't), but still got to look around at all the dogs & other animals. Made me miss Samson & Lily :(

So what have I been up to these past couple of weeks? I have had quite an eventful series of events. I'll start from the beginning!

Sprained Ankle

The weekend after buying a bike and watching the Super Bowl, I was out in downtown Mainz with some friends when I sprained my ankle. I was running to catch a bus (ended up not even being the right bus... go figure), and twisted my right ankle on the curb. I tried to "take it like a man" as my friends said, but the next morning I woke up and could barely stand up, let alone walk on it. With the help of Howard's host family (really don't know what I would have done without them), I was able to get to a hospital and get it checked out.

Howard takes pictures of everything

Side note.... the German health care system is absolutely amazing. I definitely understand now why it is one of the best, if not THE best, health care system in the world. I had to go to a specific hospital for my specific needs, but once there I had absolutely no wait, no paperwork, and was seen by a doctor right away (it was definitely a weird feeling being wheel-chaired around to different rooms in a 1940's hospital... mustard yellow and olive green everything... being the only patient... kind of felt like I was in The Shining or something). Aside from that, I found out that patients only have to pay 10 Euro every 3 months for any visit... meaning I could see as many different kind of doctors as I want in a 3 month period, and only have to pay 10 Euro one time. Also, medication is free for children and the price for medicine is based on the number of pills you need, not on the type of medicine (ex. only 5 euro for x pills, 7 euro for x, or 10 euro).... THAT cheap! (Germans... if you're reading this & I understood incorrectly, please let me know!).

After the hospital Howard's host family took me to their house where they propped my leg up on their couch, made me a home-cooked meal, cheese platter, and we watched the most popular TV show in Germany. Really don't know how to thank them for all they did.

My Week Off

Howard's host dad, Ralf, explained to me that it would be wrong to go into work after I was hurt, but I told him that I had only been working for a week and a half, and in America, not going to work would look absolutely horrible. He said it would be an insurance problem for my company if I were to get hurt worse while at work, and that I definitely needed to go to a doctor for a doctor's note, and then stay home. Well, Monday morning, I got ready for work and walked out the door, and realized how ridiculous I looked. I had two crutches and my purse & was  limping down my sidewalk. I decided I should listen to what Ralf said, and called my work and explained the situation, in which they said the same thing Ralf did. I then had to find a doctor to go to (which is another story for another day... think crippled American limping around the city streets going to multiple buildings all day long... ugh). The doctor wrapped up my ankle and "prescribed" me a week off of work. Another thing about the German health care system.... if you're hurt, sick, whatever, the doctor gives you a yellow slip of paper and tells you how long you should be out of work. Your work then is obliged to follow the doctor's orders and you STILL GET PAID. What a concept. Talking to Germans I found people had been out of work for 3 weeks, 3 months, whatever... doesn't matter. You stay home until you're better. So simple yet such a foreign concept to us Americans.

So what did I do with my week off? Absolutely nothing. I couldn't walk much, so I caught up on the 300 or so movies I brought here with me, went to the doctor's again for a check up, and attended a going away brunch for a friend (a lot of friends are leaving now that the fall semester is over). My friend Jenny brought me a warm dinner one night (so nice) and Ralf brought me baked goods and helped me with some insurance/hospital paperwork. I sometimes don't know how to act with all this kindness.... I'm really grateful.

BERLIN, PART 4

My week back to work went well. They gave me a lot of projects to do and I worked fast as usual. The majority of feedback I receive is something along the lines of "wow, you're finished already?!" I like that.

That weekend I spontaneously made a trip to Berlin to visit my CBYX friend Helen, who lives there now, and also attend a birthday party for another CBYX friend, Travis. It ended up being a mini-Bremen reunion, as two of our other close Bremen friends decided to come for the weekend as well. It ended up being a great decision.

I got in pretty late Friday night (there have been strikes lately that have caused a lot of trains to be really late or just all together canceled... mine was unfortunately canceled just as I was standing on the platform waiting for it to arrive... woo!). I went to Helen's apartment where a couple of the CBYXers living in Berlin greeted me. We all then went to an apartment party, where I met some pretty cool people, but also was reminded of how much Germans really love to smoke, even indoors. Meh. We stayed pretty late and then made our way to a late night chicken shack (if you didn't already know, my favorite food in the world is chicken so Helen made sure to find where the best chicken in the city was... thanks friend!)... but unfortunately, it wasn't as "late-night" as we thought it was, and we let them know we were pretty upset at their closing.

Saturday we spent the morning going to costume shops looking for some cheap gear for the upcoming Fastnacht in Mainz (more about that in another post). We ended up going back to the same costume shop we went to for New Year's Eve, which had a line out the door waiting to get in! Yes, it is that awesome. I ended up just picking up some masks and then we headed to a place that made the whole trip to Berlin worthwhile...... MARIA BONITA.

The rumor from Americans I meet in Europe is that you can't find authentic Mexican food in ALL of Europe.... you just can't. It never tastes the same, not as spicy, not the same ingredients, etc. Well, being from Texas, I've been craving my TexMex for quite awhile, and Maria Bonita definitely delivered... ten-fold. We went into the tiny shop, and started talking with the owner, who is from El Paso, Texas! Heck. Yes. He ended up giving us a free refill on chips (REAL TORTILLA CHIPS!) with habenero salsa and even some free Corona. We drank the best margarita I've ever had (probably because it's been so long since I've had my favorite mixed drink) and each ordered our own mexican favorites... tacos, burrito, and for me, chicken enchiladas with freshly made green sauce. For people back in America, I don't think you realize how happy this made all of us. It tasted just like home, and we stayed there for a long time just savoring every bite. While eating, more Americans came in (even a guy from Austin, TX) and I began to realize that we all loved this for the same reason... because something so small, something so insignificant like mexican food, can really comfort somebody when they're far from home. I'm beginning to find comfort in the weirdest things lately.

Pickle shots? No thanksss

Saturday night we went over to Travis' for his birthday party, where we brought ingredients to make homemade burgers for everyone and enjoyed some wine and good conversation :) .... my friend Brent also thought it would be a good idea to have everyone do "pickle vodka shots" as his Russian friends had taught him. I made sure those things stayed far away from me. I really do have some kind of illogical fear of pickles.
So weird, I know!

Sunday, as if Maria Bonita wasn't enough, Helen found a place called the New Orleans Haus, which had, you guessed it, authentic food from New Orleans. Texas girl got her Mexican food, now Helen, Louisiana girl, got her Cajun food. The owner was also American and came from Louisiana, and once again, the food was absolutely DELICIOUS. Crawfish etoufee... gumbo... jambalaya... and macaroni bake! nom nom nom. The place even looked like somewhere straight of New Orleans... complete with wooden tabletops and ceiling fans (rare in Europe).

After lunch, the others had to catch their trains, while I decided to take a Mitfahrgelegenheit (explained in previous post... you can carpool with people all over Europe for significantly less than taking a train.. .and yes, it's safe) back to Mainz. I was in a very small car jam-packed with all Germans. They were all really cool, and explained to me some traditions for the upcoming Fastnacht in Mainz, as well as played old school Weezer for a lot of the ride, which made me happy.

Internship


My next week at work involved a ton of individual meetings with all different people working at SCHOTT Solar, where I got to learn about different aspects of the company. A new marketing intern joined our team as well, who is German and very nice (and also encourages me to speak more German, which is good). I'm beginning to realize I can understand a lot more German, but I still have trouble free speaking, so I tend to answer back in English. So bad, I know. I wonder if I'll ever get over this hurdle.

Then Fastnacht came.... which deserves its own post. Biggest celebration of the year!

Nowadays

This past week/weekend I spent mostly relaxing, since Fastnacht lasted an entire 6 days and wore me out. There was a 2 day European Sales/Marketing seminar at work, where I got to meet a lot of the main Marketing Directors from all over Europe, and also the lady from the US office. I attended an intern dinner Thursday night, and when the weekend came I was absolutely exhausted. I mostly watched episodes of the TV show Dexter (I'm absolutely obsessed now) and rode my bike (as previously stated). I also met with my tutor, Khoa, and Howard, where we got some ice cream and walked around the city. The cafes are starting to put their tables and chairs outside, which is always a good sign that spring is near. I can't wait.... I need some sun in my life. Coats and scarves were never my thing.