Deutsches Eishockey

I know nothing about hockey. I don't think that there has ever been a time in my life where I have ever needed to know anything about the sport. I think all of my knowledge about ice hockey comes from the Disney movie "The Mighty Ducks", and as great of a movie as that was, it still did not give me a greater understanding about this frigid sport. All this being said it must be no surprise that when I was asked if I wanted to go to a hockey game this past Friday my response was "Of course, I love hockey!".
I was a little nervous prior to the game. I was afraid I would be asked something specific about the sport, something with secret hockey terminology that only the true fans would know. Lucky for me that wasn't the case.
The hockey game was actually quite alot of fun. The opening to the game was great, there were flashing lights and pictures of the team projected on the ice with loud music playing. The fans were great as well. They got really into the game. They sang songs and cheered and waved flags. It felt like being at a big sporting event back home, like a Blazer game or something. I was told that the Düsseldorfers get really into the ice hockey because it is their one big team. The soccer team isn't in a big league I guess.
The game was actually pretty easy to follow. It's just a bunch of big guys skating around trying to get the puck in the net, with of course the occasional scuffle. It was also fairly easy to follow which was nice. Sadly Düsseldorf did not win the game. They played against Hamburg and lost by one point.
Last night was fairly uneventful. Dirk and Susanne went out to a party. I was a little stressed because Cecilia was sick with a bad couch so I needed to stay awake so that I could give her cough medicine if she started couching while she was asleep. The dog was also sick, they aren't sure what is wrong with him but he has a fever and wont eat. I had to keep and eye on him too and clean up his puke if he got sick...lucky for me that didn't happen.
Today it was really hard to get out of bed. I hadn't slept very well because I had a baby monitor in my room in case Cecilia couched and the monitor beeps loudly every five minutes. I met Katie in town and we decided to go for a walk along the Rhine because the weather was so nice (actual sun). We of course participated in the quiz and our team didn't do too horribly, we got 4th place out of 13 this week. One of the questions was "What holiday is celebrated in America on February 2nd", only two teams got that correct and I can proudly say my team was one of them.
Tomorrow morning I am going to take another test to see which level language course I should be in. I took this test the seccond week I was here, but I know I will do much better because I think that my German has really improved. I have to take the test again because I have to switch school for my language course. The class I was meant to take got cancelled. I showed up for class on Wednesday and there was no class. On the list of classes for the term mine was crossed off.
I really hated my last German course. I know that sounds negative but it was honestly very difficult to go to. It was beginning German, starting from the very very beginning. Out of everyone my German was the best. At first the teacher would call on me to answer questions because she knew that I was the only one that knew the answer, but after a while she stopped calling on me period because I wasn't the one that needed to learn the stuff it was the others that needed it more than I did. I do have higher hopes for this new class however. I hope that I do well on the test. I'm not really worried because I get to have an interview after the test. I will hopefully be able to tell the interviewer that my test score may not be perfect but I am a quick learner and am living with a German family so I will pick it up quickly.
I don't really have any plans for this week. I know that things are going to go by quickly though. Tomorrow I am going to a friends house to watch some awful reality shows on MTV. Back in the states I would never watch that kind of stuff, but sometimes only watching repeating news can get old.
I am really excited for Friday because that is when my parents get here. I think this week is going to fly by. We will leave for Berlin on Sunday and then be traveling to Münich after that. I will get back the next Sunday. Then I have a week and a half until Carnival starts. Carnival is a big party in Germany, it starts on Thursday the 18th and ends on the next Monday or Tuesday. It is like Mardi Gras (without the beads thank God). People dress up in costumes and have a great time. My host family is also leaving for carnival which means I will be able to go out. Not that I wouldn't be able to go out anyway, I just don't have to work at 7 in the morning. I do really like my host family, but it has been really difficult living in someone else's house, not having a space of your own. I think the week they are gone will be nice just to relax. I will also be able to cook for myself, something I have not done since I have been here.
One last thing before I end my blog. I have been hearing rumors that people are not happy with my blog because I don't talk about the children and I don't have pictures of the children. I have two easy answers for that. In regards to the pictures, as I mentioned earlier I am having problems uploading the pictures onto my blog, I am working on making an online album so please be patient.
I also don't write much about the children because honestly I don't spend much time with them. I am writing this blog so that I can remember my time here, that is why I write about how I spend my time. I don't write about the children because not much of my time is spent with them. As I have said before my host mother does not work, I am here so that she has more time to spend with the kids. I do the dishes and help prepare lunch. I set the table and take the dog for walks. I get the evening meal ready and sometimes I help the kids get into their pajamas. Everyonce in awhile I will pick up Carlotta and a friend from school with the dog.
I do really like the kids, they are little whiney brats most of the time and they like the dog alot more then they like me, but they aren't bad. I just honestly don't get to spend much time with them. I am living with a very busy German family, the kids are either participating in a sport, practicing piano, or on a play date with a friend. I hope that this clarifies things for some people. I don't leave the kids out of my blog because I hate children or that I don't like my host family, it is because I don't really have much to say about them because not much time is spent with them.