I guess I should start off by explaining how much I love to run. I find it to be the most effective way to clear my head (or do some serious thinking when need be). But I'm not the most observant runner... paying more attention to whatever music I'm listening to, the rhythm of my stride, etc. Normally that's not a huge problem, but when I'm somewhere new I tend to get lost. The last time I was in Florida, for example, I went for a run on the beach, completely lost track of where I was in relation to our condo, and ended up running up and down the beach for a good thirty minutes or so searching for it. Knowing that about myself, I've been taking a map with me, just to be on the safe side. Getting lost on a beach in Florida is one thing, getting lost alone on another continent with my poor German is quite another...

On Thursday morning I got a little cocky. There's a tower in the center of the city that you can see from pretty much anywhere in Jena (or so I thought..), and I figured even if I did get lost, I could reorientate myself by the tower and continue on from there. So off I went, mapless, to Paradies Park. After about a half hour or so, I figured I should probably head home. I was supposed to meet with someone to get my rental agreement in a part of the city I wasn't familiar with, and her office was only opened on Thursdays from 10-12, so I sure didn't want to miss her! Instead of looping back the same way I had come, however, I found a different entrance/exit to the park. Dumb idea. I realized after about ten minutes or so that the tower was no where in sight, and I wasn't sure if I was running towards it or away from it. Apparently I had run around one of the mountains while I was in the park without realizing it... To make a long story short, my 45 minute run turned into an hour and a half (or so ;]), and I've definitely learned my lesson. Keep the tower in sight!

Despite my longer than intended run, I was able to get the rental agreement, but just barely! The apartment I'm moving into on Friday is a ways out of the city center, which is somewhat unfortunate. I guess I would equate it to the Chandler Crossings of Jena. I knew I had to take the Strassenbahn to get there, but aside from that her directions were pretty vague. She didn't give me her address, but told me something along the lines of "walk across the street, turn left when you come to a grocery store, walk a bit further and you'll see two tall pink buildings, my office is in the building on the right." I tried my best to follow the directions, but I honestly had no idea if I had found the correct grocery store to turn left at. & the "pink" buildings didn't look so pink to me, but I decided to give the one on the right a shot. Fortunately for me there was another exchange student looking for the same person, so we figured we were in the right place =] & sure enough, we were! The other exchange student was from China, and when she found out I was from the States she got really excited. Apparently her English is better than her German. I wish I could say the same about my Chinese! Anyway...now that I have my rental agreement, I can (hopefully) register with the Bürgeramt tomorrow, open a bank account, and start getting monies!

On Thursday evening I met with the rowing coach, Beate. She seriously couldn't be any nicer, and was almost as excited that I had found their club (or Verein) as I was =] My suspicipions on only being able to row in small boats was confirmed when she gave me a tour of the boathouse; the river really isn't wide enough for an 8+. But hopefully that just means I'll be better at sculling in the fall =] The rowing clubs were having a race on Saturday morning and then rowing in the late afternoon. Unfortunately I already had plans to go to Weimar with my Guest Family, but I told her I would come to the race in the morning. She told me it was a 10k, which I had never technically done before, but I figured after running to the capitol (~6miles or so), I should be able to do it without too much difficulty. HA! Boy was I in for a surprise...but more on that in a second.

After I met Beate and got a tour of the boathouse, I met up with Jennett again. It was one of her friends' birthdays so we were going to go out and celebrate a bit! Unfortunately I had to be home before midnight (boo/weird, I know) so I couldn't stay with them very long. But I did get to try my first German beer! It was pretty good =] but I have no idea what kind it was... oops! Thursday night I also learned that the Strassenbahn takes a "pause" on some routes between 11-2ish. Bigger oops.

On Friday my Guest Oma asked me what my plans were after lunch. I haven't had much of a chance to take pictures of the city yet, and told her I was planning on doing some exploring with my camera. She seemed excited by that, and asked me if I was up for "ein bisschen spazieren," which translates rougly as "a bit of a stroll." Although I kind of wanted sometime on my own, I could tell she wanted to come with... and she also told me she knew of a spot where you could take really good pictures of the city. So off we went..

About 15 minutes into our "light stroll" it dawned on me that we were actually going to climb to the top of the mountain. & man, could my Guest Oma move. Picture me, in jeans, a sweater, my cute pastel yellow jacket, and sperrys, thinking we were going to walk into town, chasing after my Guest Oma as she raced up the mountain. Needless to say, I was sweating, slightly out of breath, and had two awesome new blisters when we finally got to the top. But she was right, the view was worth it =] After we made our way back down the mountain, two other exchange students came over to my Guest Oma's house to make pizza. My Guest Oma is giving them extra help in learning German, and the four of us and one of my Guest sisters were going to bake a pizza together! Did I mention that one of the girls is from Italy? So yeah, the pizza was pretty darn good =]

It was sort of rainy and cold on Saturday, but still warmer than Michigan. Besides, I love running in the rain & I was excited for the race. That is until I heard the details of the course. I didn't catch all of the details, but it was apparent that at least part of it would involve running up one of the mountains. Another mountain, just my luck. Then again, there is an old saying in tennessee, well I know it's in texas, so it's probably in tennessee, too. But it's "fool me once, shame on you...?" well you fool me, I can't get fooled again! ;) ...Anyway I have been fooled into climbing a mountain two days in a row, but now I certainly know to ask where we're going first before I agree to a walk/run!

Dem stairs have nothing on running up a mountain. & it wasn't just running up the steep part that made in diificult. In fact, in hindsight, that was the easier, less terrifying part of the race, because once I got further up the mountain the dirt road disappeared and was replaced by a narrow path the wound all the way up to the top. & when I say narrow, I mean one person wide, no guard rails narrow. I'm sure the run was probably very scenic & offered a great view of the city, but I was too busy trying not to trip and fall off the cliff to notice! The race ended at the top of the mountain, though, and once again the view was well worth it =] I came in second place, too! Not too shabby for my first 10k ever.

Aside from my fear of heights/falling, I had a ton of fun at the race. I was able to meet a couple other people who row in Jena, and they were very friendly, nice, and incredibly patient with my poor German. They were also amazed by the fact that I was running in shorts... they seemed to think I was going to freeze to death. I explained to them that it was wayyy colder back home and I was sure I would be too hot running in pants, but they still looked at me like I was crazy =] It looks like I'll be able to get out on the water on Tuesday evening! That means I seriously need to start learning German rowing terms!

On Saturday evening my Guest parents, Solveig, and I headed off to Weimar to celebrate the Afghan New Year. Or at least, that's what they told me, but it seemed more like a meeting/presentation + dinner. The meeting was actually pretty interesting, though... they were talking about this new program where doctors in Germany can help doctors in Afghanistan with more difficult procedures via skype (I think...). & the food was amazing. As odd as it seems, it's the "most American" type meal I've had yet, which is pretty funny if you think about it! But regardless, my stomach and I were finally on good terms. They even had cooked spinach! It tasted even better than I remembered =]

Today I was finally able to meet Stefanie! She works in the International Office at the University, so I've been in touch with her via email for awhile now. Kristin and Kelsey have told me countless times how awesome and nice she is, so I was excited to get coffee with her this afternoon (especially since coffee here is AMAZING!). The weather was gorgeous again, so we were able to sit outside and then walk around the city center/park afterward. Oh! We also went to the top of the tower I mentioned earlier... man, what a view (and I didn't even need to climb a mountain!). I'll post pictures soon, I promise =]

It's a historical day for politics in Germay. If the results are confirmed, it looks like the Green Party will head a coalition with the Social Democrats in Baden-Württemberg (one of the states in Germany). My guest family and Stefanie and her friend were very excited! Stefanie's friend actually just got back from a rally/protest against nuclear energy in Berlin, and was telling us a little about it. The CDU has been in power in Baden-Württemberg since the 1950s, so this is quite the "mini revolution."

& now that I've sufficiently displayed how much of a madison nerd I am, I think it's time for bed.

guten nacht! or guten abend if you're in the states =]