brown paper packages tied up with strings...

These are a few of my favorite things!!!  (thus far) 
Hello people.  As of tomorrow I will have been here for 2 weeks.  These are some of my favorite things (hope everyone picked up on the Sound of Music reference):


1.  döner kebab: The most fabulously constructed Turkish sandwich you could ever ask for.  There are a couple places around Freiburg that sell them.  Its kind of like a gyro with vertically roasted lamb or chicken, spicy red onions, tomatoes and tzatziki and hot sauce and other delicious things.  I'm a döner-digger. 
2.  the tram system:  I love riding the trams into the city and to the little towns around Freiburg.   It's super fun and efficient.  Also, good for people watching.  
3.  the people in my language class/the people I have met through the language institute:  I have never met so many people from so many different places in my life.  It's crazy! Tomorrow, two japanese girls, and italian girl, and my friend Katie from IU are going to make real Italian pizza in my freshly cleaned kitchen.  I don't know if I am more excited that I don't have to worry about contracting a disease from my kitchen, or for the generations-passed down recipe we will be using...  
4.  my roller-blades:  A couple nights ago, two flat mates and I decided we wanted to make dinner.  So we ventured off to the Aldi, just a few blocks away.  We were walking around the store, looking for inspiration, when I saw them.  In-line skates.  Kid sized.  19 Euros.  I was so excited that I could fit my foot (comfortably) in.  So I impulsively bought them.  We decided to make Spätzle, a very traditional German meal.  It's kind of like German macaroni and cheese I guess...but way better.  You make the noodles out of eggs (a lot of them), flour, and water...and a noodle press.  I am sure thats not the word for it, but whatever.  Then, you combine them with sauteed onions, butter, and cheese, and let it brown in the pan. Yum. The meal turned out grand...the roller blades on the other hand...haha.  I took them out for a spin with Friedeman (same flat mate that hooked us up with the Spätzle) and probably looked goofier than the goofiest European I've seen thus far.  I'm actually somewhat surprised the wheels didn't fall off or something.  Ha! Oh well...
5.  Beer. 
6.  the metric system
7.  not!!! 
8.  bakeries, gelato, and other tasty treats.  Ok, so this makes 5 out of 8 things on this list about food...hmm...good thing the next one's about...
9.  the lake in my back yard!  Its so nice!  I have been jogging around it and the park behind it, and getting so excited for warm weather!  eek!  Its also great because there are so many families always chillin and playing with their kids :)  Also, yesterday I saw a guy walking his ferret on a leash.  It was a squirmy little thing.  


That's about it for now! Tomorrow I have to give a presentation in my German class on a person from Germany.  I chose Dietrich Bonhoeffer...hopefully I won't dishonor him in my ramblings... I am also trying to figure out where I am going to go during April, since we have a break. Thus far, in the running are, Prague, Berlin, Paris, Rome/Florence/Venice, Barcelona, and Krakow. Ahh!!!