BUNDESLIGA

Kaiserslautern vs. Nuremberg

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity of going to my very first Bundesliga game. My friend, Wilhelm, is a pretty big Kaiserslautern fan, and he was able to get me and my friend Erick, super cheap tickets right in the middle of the fan section behind the goal. What ensued was a day full of chant cheering, die-hard fan spotting, and a soccer match that puts American games to shame (the FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo game I saw last summer was a joke compared to the amount of people and level of support the Europeans bring). I used to just like playing soccer, and never understood the appeal of watching such a low scoring game, but after experiencing a professional game on my own, I have definitely found a new appreciation for the game.

Hard to choose just one!

I was very selective in choosing my scarf! I really wanted one with my favorite chant (see below) printed on it, but my new German friends convinced me to get an authentic one in the fan shop. 

Video below of my favorite chant.... I have my own video, but it has too much obnoxious singing, so here is a stolen YouTube video that gives you the same idea (gets pretty good around 1:45)

Lost the game but still smilin!

World Cup statues

I kept asking where the hooligans were, as I was imagining scenes from Green Street Hooligans to be happening all around me. According to Wilhelm's friends, the craziest fans are in Frankfurt, and they had seen some pretty crazy stuff go on there. Frankfurt is coming to play Mainz at the end of the month, so they said I should just go to the train station and people watch. Sounds like another great cultural experience. ha.

To see more photos, check out my Picasa album!



Other News

Picnic on the Rhein

The weather has started to get really nice (during the day, at least) which has resulted in picnics on the river and bike riding. I had a slight problem after bringing my bike to a bike shop to get air and a new light. The owners tried to charge me much more than they originally said, and there was nothing I could do about it. They ended up taking off all the new stuff and putting on random old parts. I had Wilhelm come back to the shop with me the next day (because he is German and my bike was unable to be ridden the way they gave it back to me). He ended up just fixing the bike himself... thank goodness.

Red Cat

KUZ

I've been getting into the work routine.... staying in most weeknights so I'll have energy at work the next day, then going out with Erasmus and/or work friends during the weekend. Recently at work we had a Global Marketing/PR meeting, which included going to different presentations about how to conduct business in different cultures around the globe, all presented by SCHOTT people from that country. When I got to the US presentation, I got a little homesick when the presenter talked about US cultural differences. "Football is NOT football!" Sigh.

I have also finally been granted shopping privileges on the military base, so I made a solo trip this weekend to get some American goodness for some coworkers. I also picked up some tortilla chips (such a rare commodity here!) to share with the Bremenites next weekend. We all celebrated Thanksgiving together, and now, next weekend, we are all heading to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) to celebrate Easter. German federal holiday gives me Friday AND Monday off (woop woop!) so I'm excited for a long Bremenite weekend full of hiking and sightseeing.