this time.

This time, it's going to happen. Starting now. The blog, the caterpillar-butterfly thing but college student to decent young adult, the job search. Let's do it.

There's so much going on right now that it's like there's a real and a fake and I don't know what's what.

I'm learning Dutch online- and really, do check out Livemocha! It's a wonderful, FREE resource and it basically works by sharing. If you could combine Facebook and Rosetta Stone, that would be this service. That's real. That's progress. I finished Dutch 101 last week. But it's online, I have nobody to speak it with, and to be honest, I can't stand doing these "chats" with members that you're supposed to do. Am I learning or memorizing? I guess we'll find out the next time I'm in Flanders or the Netherlands. Or Aruba.

Visited Davidson over the weekend. Way too much. I had a superb time. Friday I planned to go to work on job applications, visit Career Services, and get my alumni library card. Instead, I ran into people, chatted, spent a little time in Career Services, ran into a friend working in the union, found an anthro professor to talk grad school with, got my library card, found a couple anthro professors, talked more seriously about grad school, talked with them and their current students (one of whom I'm friends with), went with friend to her dorm, hung out with her and her roommate for an hour or more, finally decided to leave, but ran into a Phi member on the way out, shot the breeze with her for at least 30 minutes, then really decided to leave. My car was on Concord Road, and when I finally got there, two friends driving by rolled down their window to invite me to a party. Oh, this was ALL just on Friday.

The whirlwind was insane. There's no way it's real. And graduate school? And talking seriously about it with profs? That is too, too weird. Saturday I went to Chapel Hill but I was able to attend the aforementioned party-- at which I saw about a dozen of my classmates. Again, totally surreal.

But somehow, dinner with Claire was 100% reality. Maybe because it was productive. Maybe because we're kind of in the same situation. Or maybe because my connection with her is different, and it goes beyond meeting in Davidson, squealing when I realize she's there, and swearing we'll do lunch someday. Those connections are great and cherished, too, but they're just not the same. Maybe our bond is that we talked so loftily about our dreams at least three years ago, and there we were last night, revisiting that ohyesofcourse10yearsfromnow and making it more like a plan slowly coming together. Of course, it didn't hurt that we were eating amazing food as we mulled it over.

I have my stuff now!  I begin school tomorrow.

Take that, Europeans.  I AM using the word "school" for post-secondary education.

This is our kitchen window.

I did a terrible job with this last semester. I plan on doing a lot better this time.

I'm back in Berlin. Without luggage.

The plane ride was uneventful. I'd never used the bus system alone and had never gone anywhere near our apartment on a bus, so I didn't realize that what I thought would be the closest/most logical route was 1.5km/0.9 miles by foot. Whoops. But it wasn't so bad since I was luggageless.

more when something actually happens.

This is a big ass artichoke. With a guy's hand, not mine, for comparison.

The food here is great. 2 of the girls in my host family are vegetarians.

Well folks, tomorrow is a big day.

aight y'all

One week. I'm so ready, and at the same time, so not.

questions, borrowed.

This is totally stolen from Caroline

Q: Alright, you'll be abroad. Where?
A: Germany. Berlin. I'll have lots of weekend excursions; Brussels/NATO headquarters, Weimar, Erfurt, Buchenwald, Dresden, and Prague are on the itinerary, and there will surely be additional outings.

Q: How will you keep folks updated?
A: This is it! There's also FaceBook.

this one I had to leave as it was because the wording was so fantastic:
Q: What if I can't be bothered to type in a URL to follow what's happening?
A: Fortunately, there are several options. You can follow the RSS feed in your preferred reader (I strongly recommend Google Reader) which is the way I like to keep up with blogs. The easiest and most painless option for most people is to subscribe via email, which you can do in the sidebar. You will have to click through the confimration email, so be sure to keep an eye out for that in your spam folder.

Q: How else will you keep in touch?
A: E-mail! I also have Skype and AIM on my laptop.

Q: What are you studying?
A: German language, literature, and linguistics, ideally. Realistically, history, literature, and social life. Once I know my classes for sure, I'll keep y'all posted.
Fall: POLSCI 100A: Environmental Policy in Europe; ARTHIST 190: Berlin: Architecture, Art, and the City 1871 to the Present; (hopefully I'll place into) GERMAN 119S: Advanced German Language and Culture.

Q: Mmmmm... sausageland! Will you still be a vegetarian while abroad?
A: That I don't know yet. I was preparing myself to eat fish and chicken, but now it seems completely unnecessary. Two members of my host family are vegetarians, so it should be easier than I was planning. Most of my meals will be meatless, but who knows what will happen.