QWERTZ

It was another low-key weekend here in HH. It was insanely windy and rained quite a bit. On Friday, I went to another E-tisch event at the same wine bar. I enjoyed some lovely conversation with Heiko and Kai about their adventures in East Germany. It's so interesting to hear about stories first hand versus reading about them in books.

Later, I met up with my German after his work Christmas party - which are much more intimate and fun than in America...apparently. We went to Club du Nord for dancing and even ran into a guy we met at another club a couple of weeks ago. Small world. I think I'm adjusting to the party life here as I stayed out much later than I ever would at home. It probably helped that I took a nap before I went out. At least I put in another solid night of speaking German.

On Saturday, I received one of the strangest compliments. A man on the Ubahn, who appeared to have been sleeping yet kept looking over at me, says in English, "You have very nice nails." Thank you? Awkward smile. I looked at my German, who goes, "Good job picking the color." And then the man goes, "Yes, my girlfriend has the same color."

Once we got off the train, I said, "That was strange," to which he replies, "Yeah, and I doubt that guy has a girlfriend." Lesson: no more speaking English on the Ubahn.

On Sunday, I perused the Christmas markets in a light mist. I just love looking at everything. I decided to have cinnamon and sugar crepe. I ususally just go for Nutella, but I figured I should try other flavors as well. I know Zimt u. Zucker is a popular one. Do other people eat cinnamon and sugar? I put it on my French toast at home but am not sure if this is normal or not.

Not long after my treat, I definitely got caught in the rain. The paper bag I was carrying literally disintegrated and thankfully I noticed before my purchase had fallen to the ground. Such yucky weather.

Since I've been typing to many Z's today...did you know that the Y and Z are switched on the keyboards over here? It's only confusing because I switch back and forth between the American and German keyboard. Oddly enough, I seem to make mistakes on both computers. It's kind of like my German vs English - instead of being great at one, I stuggle with both. The most other noteworthy change is that of the Ä instead of the ". And possibly the @ which involves the use of an extra key.

I'm sure this Monday will be interesting at work as we'll only have 3 of 9 of us in the office today!