A Common Bond

I've now been in Munich for a little over a week. And what a week it has been! I've met so many new people, explored so many shops, and had quite a few cultural experiences.
The first night here, we had a tour of the place in which we live, the Studentenstadt (Student-city, Stustadt for short). We all hung out at the restaurant in the Stustadt and finally, wearily, I headed to my very tiny bed. The rooms were one of the first things that shocked me. I knew I would have a bedroom, kitchenette, and bathroom, but to see it all laid out was still unexpected. It's smaller and more cell-block-like than I anticipated. Still, it's quite comfortable, with a few personal touches. I unpacked my suitcases over the course of a few days, and the two suitcases went from feeling like I packed way too much, to feeling like I had hardly brought anything at all. On Saturday, 13 of us (out of 33 total in the Summer Semester program) ventured outside of Munich and took on IKEA. I had never been to IKEA before, and I don't know if I'll ever go back. Sure, I got some great prices on some great furnishings and necessary kitchen implements, but I don't think I'll venture through that maze again. My favorite purchases that day were a narcissus plant, and a magnolia branch wall decal. They certainly brighten up the room with color and a spring feel. Of course, the narcissus hasn't yet bloomed, but it's getting close!
I've had some great times hanging out with the other American students in my program, and of course, my host family from two years ago, the Kraters. Sunday I visited the Krater's church, and they had me over for Sunday dinner. I ended up staying at their house for far too late playing board games, and ended up sleeping over! The trains run into the early morning hours, but I didn't feel comfortable traveling alone in the dark. So, I just rose early the next morning, got on a train back to Stustadt, and showered before my first orientation activity.
Last night a whole group of us went out to a restaurant for dinner. I can't afford to do that all semester, of course, but for last night it was pretty great. I had a German specialty, Maultaschen. Apparently, it's a specialty during Lent. It's basically a very thick ravioli-type biscuit, stuffed with veggies and a little meat. I guess they only put a small amount of meat in, and pretend it's just veggies, so they could hide the fact that they were eating meat from the Clergy. Anyways, whatever the tradition is, it just tastes really good! After dinner, a few of us went across the street to looks at dirndls, the traditional Bavarian costume. Though I didn't buy one, since I didn't have enough cash, I went back today and bought one! Normally I wouldn't have, but they had a great sale, and I got a simple dirndl for a very reasonable price.
Back to last night: after we looked at dirndls, we went back to one of the girl's rooms and hung out. We had originally planned on watching a movie, but just ended up talking instead. That turned out to be way better. It can be hard to make new friendships at this age, we're all pretty solid in the relationships we already have, but we all need friendships while we're far from everything familiar. It has been hard to be away from friends and family, and these people understand that. I don't know that some of us would be friends if we met in a different context. But for now, our common need for companionship binds us together.