The next two days (the 4th and 5th) passed with little to report. I mainly took care of more logistical things and slept. On Tuesday the 6th of September we were to begin our first German class. The class lists were to be posted at 8am that day. This was another point of annoyance for the international students. The class list would only be put up in the German department so we would all have to travel to the building at 8 am on Tuesday to check which class we were in, then most likely come back later to actually have the class. There were a lot of grumblings and comments that an email would have done the trick so much more neatly.

I got up at 7 on Tuesday and rode the tram with Zhao to check our course listings. I was placed in the B1 level of classes that took place in the afternoon. James was also placed in B1 and Chris in the higher B2 level. I was very surprised to learn that Martin from the Czech Republic had earned a C1 score and was two levels above us. To my knowledge his German speaking abilities weren't any greater than mine. Apparently he had been holding out on me!

After reading the list I left with a large group of international students to grab a coffee before going home. We sat and talked long past the last sip in front of the Mensa. I sat with a small group of 5 and we chatted about skiing. Apparently there were some other enthusiasts here and they all wanted to take a trip to the Swiss Alps this winter. Of course I was in! Its on my bucket list to ski in the Swiss Alps. I would be down any day!

After our chat I went home, ate lunch, then made the tram ride back to the German department for our first day of class. I sat beside a Spanish girl named Sylvia and we chatted for a time. The only people in the class that I had known previously were Tamas, Becki, and Aniko, all from Hungary. The rest of the students were from other programs. Our teacher ambled in 5 minutes before the start of class. She was an older woman, with crazy, curly gray hair and walked slightly hunched over. The class was fun but far too long. It lasted 3 and a half hours. When it finally ended I spoke briefly with the instructor about missing class for the Frankfurt Auto Show then ran home quickly, scarfed down some food, faxed a bank trasnfer statement to US Bank and ran out the door again to meet Christian Fendel (a German buddy) and a group at his place before heading to the student Irish pub Flannigan's.

When I arrived the party was in full swing. Martin, Chris, and James greeted me excitedly and I took a seat in the crowded room next to a massive German man named Dimitri. He offered me a drink (who am I to say no) and we chatted. I also met another towering German student named Thomas and a German girl named Vjo. We left Christian's apartment around 8:30 and took a tram to Huemarkt were Flannigan's was located. By the time we stopped at Huemarkt, Chris' bladder was about to burst and he leapt from the tram with a shout of "Ich muss pissen!" and disappeared into the night. The rest of the group continued walking and when we reached Flannigan's the line was out the door.

We waited for about half an hour before finally being allowed in. Chris called and for some reason had taken the tram back to Nuemarkt. We instructed him to turn around before entering the dark bar. It was absolutely packed! Only students were allowed in and they stood shoulder-to-shoulder. We elbowed our way to the bar, ordered a few drinks, then I fought my way to the large dance floor with Anna from Spain and Ozge and Pinar from Turkey. We soon joined a larger group of international students and Germans and had carved our own little niche on the dance floor. Most of the music was remixed American hits but a few German and even Spanish songs crept into the playlist. Once again, it was all about the dancing!

Crazy!

A little clearer

At around midnight I decided it was time to leave since the last tram arrived in my neighborhood around 12:53. After saying "goodbye" to everyone I walked with Marina from Russia to the tram stop. Alexia from Belgium soon caught us on her bike and we waited at the tram stop together. While we were standing on the platform a very drunk, very dirty old man approached us. He must have heard us conversing in English because he said muttered something about how poor his English was in German and proceeded to start speaking in rapid, nearly indecipherable German to Alexia. Marina gave me a worried look. I moved closer to Alexia, ready to intervene if the drunk got any ideas.

Thankfully our tram pulled up shortly afterward and we hurried onto it, leaving the old man grinning stupidly and waving from the platform. The girls soon exited the tram and I rode it all the way to the end of the line. By the time it reached my neighborhood it was just past midnight and the tram was utterly deserted. I slowly walked through the tram, out onto the street and home.

Utterly deserted. You can't buy this kind of quiet.

The next day I arose fairly early and stayed around the apartment all morning, for the most part using Facebook and checking my email. At 1:30 pm I left for the University to pick up my text book before class. I stopped in the bookshop on the corner and purchased the book for 15 euro, wishing bitterly that text books only cost this much in the US. My previous German text books had cost me $50.00 apiece and weren't even real books, but copied pages strung together.

After paying for my purchase with my credit card I walked the half a block to the German department where I met Lorraine from Brazil sitting outside the classrooms. We chatted for a while, talking about our plans for the evening. The German Buddies program had booked the Colognia Express, a private train that ran throughout the city serving beer to those on board. The concept is very similar to a party bus in the United States. We were both very excited and knew the event was going to be a popular one. The German class was once again very long. When it finally ended I met Ricardo and Lorraine (both from Brazil), Fatima (Spain), and Roberto (Mexico) and we walked to Ricardo's apartment on Aachener Str. There we deposited our bags and walked 5 minutes to the station where the Colognia Express was to meet us. 

Me and the Spanish/Mexican/Brazilian crew!

A large portion of our fellow international students were already waiting at the stop. I quickly conversed with the other Americans and then engaged Alexia from Belgium in a conversation. I liked Alexia a lot. She was extremely intelligent and spoke English to such a degree that, coupled with her accent, you would think she was from the UK. After about half an hour the Colognia Express finally pulled into the station. It was a long, dark blue tram that looked the same as any other Straßenbahn but for the words "Colognia Express" emblazoned on the front of it.

Once all 80 students had piled on, the tram was packed. I started at the back, sitting at a table with Lorraine and Fatima. Berkan (one of the German buddies) wriggled his way behind us and started filling glasses from a large keg that was perched on a counter there. Beneath the counter I could see three other kegs. Berkan worked quickly and soon everyone on the tram was clutching a beer and talking loudly above the music echoing through the enclosed space. As the train trundled through the city, I contented myself with sitting in the back and speaking to Lorraine, Fatima, and Isabel from Mexico.

Soon the tram edged its way onto the Rhein and conversation stopped as we stared through the rain-drenched windows at the powerful river and the buildings that stood sentry on its coast. I pulled my camera out of my pocket and worked it off my belt loop to take pictures through the window of the scenery. Beside me, Lorraine did the same. It was difficult to time the shots between the stop signs, tram stations, and other vehicles flashing by but the driver gave us another chance for pictures as he immediately crossed the Rhein again. I had driven across the river on my way from the airport but I hadn't stood on its banks yet. I made a mental note to do that before it got too cold.

Lorraine, Fatima, and me

Ritzy apartment buildings whose upper stories jut out over the Rhein

After that we stopped for a break at a station outside the city proper. I took this opportunity to walk up and down the train to see what my fellow passengers were doing. I wouldn't return to my seat for the rest of the night. I stopped first to visit with the large group who had come from Hungary. Berkan soon joined us and convinced us to chug a beer with him. He soon returned with four tall glasses and after handing them out threw his back. We joined him. The two Hungarian guys finished first. One of them, Zoltan, finished his beer in a single gulp and watched us patiently as we finished ours. 

After another half hour I detached myself from the Hungarians and continued wandering the train. I found a prime location beside the bathrooms on board and situated myself there. People were constantly going back and forth and I chatted with an endless stream of students. Roberto from Mexico, Maria from Spain, Damon from Singapore, Alexia from Belgium, Ze from Portugal Ting Juan from South Korea, Filip, Martin, and Alena from the Czech Republic, Ken from Japan, and Rosa and Hannah from Germany. By 9 pm you could tell that the endless supply of free beer was getting to everyone. The noise increased and the mood became more and more happy. Maria from Spain and Filip from the Czech Republic were particularly fun to talk to. Maria would run up and down the train and every time she passed me she would yell "Rafa!" (short for Raphael which I told her was my Spanish name). Filip would perform largely the same routine except he would yell "Minnesota!", which I had easily convinced him was one of the best states to visit.

All-in-all, the night was progressing pretty well.

Me and Alexia

The Americans!

Me, Martin, and Kata from Hungary

Just after 10 pm things took a slight turn. Damon from Singapore (whom I had spoken with earlier that night) had cut his hand while helping pick up a crate of empty beer glasses he had accidentally knocked over. The cut was somehow very deep and he was losing blood quickly. The tram had to be stopped on Aachener Str. and an ambulance arrived on the scene. We waited while the paramedics worked though we received no updates about our wounded comrade. Finally at around 11 pm the tram started again and then stopped a ways down the busy road. Everyone piled off at 11:30 pm and the vast majority headed for a club down Aachener Str. I decided not to join them and instead turned for home. Roberto from Mexico decided to join me. Since we had both left our belongings in Ricardo's apartment he did not have his keys and I told him my couch was free.

We caught the number 9 tram and took it to the last stop where I let us into my apartment. I gave Roberto several glasses of water and set him down on the couch in my room. He was very drunk and wasn't feeling the best. I left for a moment to fix myself some food because as usual I was starving. When I came back, Roberto was passed out with one hand hanging off the couch. I checked to see that he was still breathing and clambered into my bed. About an hour later I heard Roberto get up, slip slightly on the rug in the middle of my room, and hurry out the door. I heard him stumble in the kitchen then into the bathroom where he closed the door behind him. A few minutes later my roommate Nikos entered the living room, muttered something to himself in Greek, then returned to his room.

I decided to check on my inebriated friend. I struggled from the bed, and walked into the living room, then turned into the kitchen. Immediately a strong smell of beer hit me. I looked at the floor and there was vomit everywhere. On the floor, the dishwasher, up the counters, in the sink, and splattered on the walls. I blinked slowly, not quite believing what I was seeing. I then gritted my teeth and started to clean. Roberto soon emerged from the bathroom looking pale and unhappy. I asked if he was alright but he ignored me and surveyed the mess in the kitchen. "Did I do that?" he asked. I gave him a questioning look and said, "I'm pretty sure it was you." He hid his face in his hands and started mumbling and apology. He offered to help me clean but I forced him back to the couch then finished the job myself.

Roberto got up once more to vomit before he let me cover him with a blanket and hang his clothes up to air out. I finally crawled back into my bed at 4 am and immediately passed out.