...Germans who think they are memebers of Dir en Grey

For serious, Germany. Way to imitate visual kei. The best part is how much visual kei in general seems to have no problem imitates Nazi uniforms and the like, and then these bands are imitating that. Way to go.

Case in point
Cinema Bizarre
And of course, the little boy from Tokio Hotel
You are not Miyavi

...Bremen and Chicago

http://chicagoist.com/2007/09/21/whos_got_our_da.php

For serious that chicagoist post makes me miss home. Mostly because it mentions two places I've been, once of which with some frequency. While I'd much rather go to Berlin (club, not city, though I will be going to the city while in germany) or Hydrate to get my dance on than Neo, I do enjoy the gothiness of it all on occasion. And my one time at Empty Bottle was quite fun. Point is I have no one to go clubbing with in Germany. So I'm totally home on a Friday night. Something I would despise if I were in Chicago.

(that being said I wouldn't pay $15 to get into Neo...ever....ok maybe if they promised to play gothy remixes of Depeche Mode all night)

That being said, the little shopping center in Walle (the district of Bremen I live in) totally has a clothing store called Depeche Mode. I laughed my ass off. As if my American self wasn't obviously out of place to begin with.

I've also started playing rugby here. Which makes life 10x better and may mean I'll start enjoying myself more.

Also my bicycle is a piece of crap. It needs to be fixed like every 10 minutes. But fuck it, as long as it holds together another 9 months I don't care.

And I hate herring. I'm paying the extra for tuna from now on. Mercury poisoning be damned. I go back and forth about how concerned I am about mercury levels in tuna. Right now I don't care as long as I get to eat something. Today I had tuna couscous, and broccoli for dinner, turkish pizza for lunch, and cereal for breakfast. The food situation is looking better. Tomorrow may be a pasta, pesto, mushroom day. If not it'll be rice, tofu and peas. In fact I may have another bowl of cereal after I finish writing this.

I signed my contract today. Maybe I'll get paid! I'd really enjoy that. I'd like to buy a basket for my bike, and another blanket, and a pillow.

Oh yeah and I did some teaching stuff. German 6th graders are hella loud.

...I feel so European

I bought a bike for 15 Euro

....and a bike lock for 8 Euro

It totally makes sense. I swear.

...I'm living in a language wasteland

oh my god this apartment is ridiculous. I'm in the process of moving in and wow, ok so like, yeah....um. No one in this apartment is a native German speaker. So we're going through the moving in/out process in three languages. Xinlei and Wong are conversing in what I think is Mandarin, and then speaking to me is a German/English combination. It basically makes everything 10x as complicated as it would be if we all just got by in German I think. Wait until I start studying French, bitches. Shit's going down in this place.

Also the German bureaucracy is fucked the hell up. I can't get a bank account without a visa. I can't get a visa without my contract, I can't get my contract without a bank account. It's totally awesome. Oh and I can't do shit until I register where I live. Tomorrow I'm going to register my address, and try to cry my way into a bank account. Saturday I'm going to buy a bicycle. Yeah that's right bitches, I'm riding a bicycle. Then next week hopefully its visa/contract time.

And I swear eventually I will eat better than I have been.

...back in Bremen

I promise over the next few days there will be a new post with all my German adventures including my first experience in a German bar, walking absolutely everywhere, drinking with Americans, and my quest to get a residence visa (which has only just begun!) But for now enjoy some photos via my flickr account.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/13067176@N02/