Germany Post

This is a post that I wrote on paper when I was in Germany. I am at McDonalds now and believe me...I wish I could be somewhere else. Meg and I needed to use the internet and there is nowhere else to go a) because barely anything is open on Mondays, including the cafe we were going to go to and b) the other places,(the ones that weren't McDonalds)don't have electrical sockets. So, without further ado, this is what I wrote in Germany...about 3 weeks ago...
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I am at Starbucks right now! Holding a big large hot mug of foamy steamy Hazelnut latte, listening to my Ipod and drawing. Let me tell you, I am having a "don't know what you've got till its gone" moment. I am actually appreciating Starbucks in all of it's generic, corporate comfy(good Y Word)chair, jazz music stereotypical glory right now. Starbucks is the same, even in Germany. Even my coffee doesn't actually taste like coffee because apparently 4 pumps of syrup, 1 cup of milk and a teaspoon of coffee is the recipe for a hazelnut latte all over the world. Seriously. Goldfish piss more that the amount of coffee in this latte. What am I talking about? I still hate Starbucks. I think I was momentarily blinded by it's familiarity This is the first Starbucks I have seen in 2.5 months Oh man, I feel used. I've been had. They lured me in and I paid my 3.40 Euros and went on my way(yes I paid that much. Thats like 5 bucks and no I do not want to talk about it). Now, 10 minutes later, the caffeine goggles have worn off and I am now dealing with the ugly face of my intoxicated error. Got to hell starbucks. You and all of your incredible marketing team.

So anyway, Braden has made some really cool friends over here in Heidelberg. Of course Leighton is still here, which is great, but two new characters have been added. Giovanni Pasquali is, as you may guess, Italian and Gio's roommate Benny, is German. Together, they make a pretty funny pair. Some people luck out and get "those" roommate combinations. Not necessarily the "BFF" kind but really entertaining Duos. Kenny and Rayko come to mind from my Freshman year. Benny is studying English and something else. He wants to be an English teacher for kids with special needs. He has also got good taste in music, he's up for adventures, he's a good friend and an even better person. Giovanni, on the other hand is quite the character and I have never met anyone like him in my life. First, he speaks Italian(duh) German(duh) French, English, and a little Spanish. If Giovanni didn't know a word in German, we would ask me in French, I would tell Braden in English and Braden would tell Giovanni the word in German. That happened last night with the word "Heater". Anyway, he plays on the school's basketball team and Braden and I went to one of his games last night. Then we went to Band practice. Gio plays the drums and Braden sings. After that, we all went back to Giovanni's place and talked politics and culture for about Four and a half hours. Seriously, all of a sudden it was 2:00am. I would like to describe a small quip of the convo.

Me- "yeah i've traveled all over the US but never been to Europe.
Gio- "REALLY?! Have you ever been to Salt Lake City?!"
(Braden and I erupt in laughter)
Me- "Giovanni! Why would you ask about Salt Lake City of all places?

it turns out that it had something to do with the Utah Jazz but Braden and I proceeded to tell him that SLC is really not that great. Then Giovanni goes

Gio- "Oh. So have you been to Nebraska?"

Again, Braden and I cracked up and shocked with his knowledge of boring American places. Does he have a book or something? Anyway, for the rest of the night we explained why Health Care in the states isn't free and how most Americans are non-confrontational (not the case in Italia). Braden explained how a woman came into his work wearing designer clothes and a Louis Vuitton Bag and used food stamps. Giovanni responded:

"WHAT?! Didn't you say something to her? If a man did this in Italia, he would be afraid that someone would hit him!" Again, laughter echoed from the Americans but maybe Giovanni has a point. Maybe we should start hitting all of the people who exploit wellfare.

Like I said, the conversation continued for about 4 hours and the topics ranged from "SUV's" "Beer Goggles" and "how weird it is that Americans eat eggs for breakfast." The most memorable quote came from when Giovanni was talking about a girl who he hooked up with at this Halloween party the night before. He said, "When I saw her at the party I think she was pretty but in the morning, eh, not so nice." I choked on my food from laughing so hard. We ended the night by watching this video of Paris Hilton on YouTube. If you haven't seen it, please watch this now. I love Dave Letterman:



Anyway, Germany is pretty great and I really like it here. But enough of this. My coffee mug is no longer warm and the remnants of the "coffee" are crystallizing back into pure sugar. Braden has school all day today so I have Heidelberg to myself. I feel like a retarded cavewoman here because whenever I have to communicate with someone I just point to something while trying to cough up a mixture of German, French and English. There is a big old castle around here that I think I am going to go check out. I can't meet Braden until 7:45 and its only 3:30 so I need to find another activity that doesn't involve Starbucks.

PAIX
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WAIT A SECOND.
So that was the real end to the German post but here in McDonald's, You are not going to believe what JUST HAPPENED. JUST HAPPENED. I was ABOUT to post this blog when 4 loud guys walked in and so I looked over my shoulder to see what the noise was. They said something to me but I didn't know what it was. 10 seconds later, from the balcony above me...ONE OF THEM SPIT ON ME! ON THE BACK OF MY HEAD! AND THEN HE DID IT AGAIN AND IT GOT ON MY HAND AND MY COMPUTER!! Believe me, nothing is worse than wanting to tell someone to fuck off but not being able to do it because you cannot communicate it. Then the security guards came over and this nice guy who was like, "what happened! What happened! I think that was my friend! I'm sorry!" and I couldn't not explain myself because I don't know the word for "spit" in French. I HATE MCDONALDS AND I HATE THOSE STUPID GUYS! WHAT THE HELL! I JUST GOT SPIT ON IN MCDONALDS. I can't believe that just happened. Welcome to my life in France. This shit is daily.