I then had my appointment at the bank. On the way there, my back tire went flat (remember a few days ago when the front tire went flat?) Luckily I was right by a bike shop and was able to drop it off and walk the rest of the way to the bank. I opened an account and took the information back to the University so they could use it to pay my stipend. Turns out I have to pay registration fees before they can register me and I have to be registered before they can pay me. So back to the bank to deposit enough money to cover the fees and transfer the fees for registration. Then back to the University with my paperwork. They are still awaiting an answer about my insurance, so there was nothing further that could be done for now.
Now that I had a bank account, I could get a phone, so I took the bus into town to do that. I don't understand why some people pay and some people just get on the bus and sit down. Technically I could have used my semester ticket, but since I didn't have it, I didn't think I could use it. Are the people that just get on without paying assumed to have some sort of card?
After collecting my bike, I headed back to the flat since I was unable to locate my advisers and still don't have a schedule or plan for my project. Then I went back out to get laundry detergent and pick up Skylar from school. As much as Skylar loves to talk, all I could get from him was that school was ok and all the kids kept gathering around him. He said he was introduced to everyone in the whole school. I tried to explain that they think it's neat to have an American at their school. His teachers said the girls just loved him and wouldn't leave him alone. She translated some things for them, but left them to figure many things out. I think he'll work hard at learning German just so he can understand what the other kids are saying. He's still not so sure about school here and wondered why he couldn't just go to work with me. I know it's hard, but I think it is such a great opportunity, I hope he starts to enjoy it.
Back at the flat, I began my laundry endeavor. Nora told me to use the water on the left and to remember to turn it on. I did that. Not only could I barely tell which was the washer and which was the dryer, the washer had about 20 different wash options. It is also incredibly tiny and fit only about 3 shirts and 3 pants... this is going to mean laundry nearly every day and I have a week to catch up on. I tried a setting called pfleifergeit or something like that and it kept starting and stopping. I left it, thinking it would continue, but when I went back down 45 minutes later it was making an awful noise and continuing to stop and start, so I went to get Nora for washing machine directions. I said it was dark clothes, so I tried to wash it in what I thought was a cold setting (kalt means cold), but she said Germans don't wash in cold because that is not really clean. She showed me the setting that she uses and also said I was supposed to plug it in the opposite side, which like the water spout was particular for our apartment. She also showed me how to use the dryer, which was broken so had a timer attached to it.
We had our first shower in the kitchen fun when I was cooking dinner and Nora's boyfriend came over after a bike ride and desperately needed a shower. I gladly paused dinner, for him to take a shower.
About an hour later I returned to the laundry room that now had water all over the floor. I had to plug the machines in across the room, so I clipped the cords to a wire so that they didn't touch the wet floor. The whole thing seems very haphazard and I hope I don't burn the place down by washing clothes. Germans don't use dryer sheets either. This laundry predicament is very distressing.
At a quarter after 9pm, it is still bright outside. As much as I love to here Skylar read to me, I have to get him to sleep for his big day 2 of school tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment