Diepholz Grossmarkt made up the main activity of my weekend this week...I decided that whilst there was something actually going on in Diepholz, I'd refrain from going anywhere. I plan to go to Bremerhaven or Oldenberg on Saturday...getting in all that free local travelling whilst I can with my under 21 railcard!
My weekend so far has been quite eventful, as days in Diepholz go! I went to Bremen on Friday, with the two other nearby language assistants Matthew and Nathan. It was so lovely to not have to speak German...which sounds awful. But sometimes a constant awareness that your grammar/word order isn't perfect, or knowing you won't always be understood, is so tiring! We had a drink in a Biergarten on the Rhine, and wandered round a pretty Church or two. A very peaceful day.
The Grossmarkt has taken up every night of my weekend thus far. Friday night was the big one. We had a "Grillabend"....i.e. a bit of a barbecue, at Annika's house, along with some "vortrinken". That being the word for predrinking...I cannot describe the pure joy I felt on finding out that Germans also have a word for pre-lash. Love it.
What I didn't particularly love (or at least not the next day), was the German drinking games.... I tell you what, that was an education. I learnt all sorts of new drinking/card game related vocabulary, and a very impossible game, that seemed to involve attempting to lie. If your lie gets busted, you have to drink. A no brainer really. Needless to say, I was much happier once the game was over, and I could relax and just chat with some really nice, new people.
Diepholz Grossmarkt was super cool. There was a carousel that was like a bar, but it spun round...this was enough to keep me entertained for a while. Booze orientated carousels aside, we drank beer and chilled and danced in one of the tents until the wee small hours of the morning. My first German nightlife experience, and I am presuming it will be one of few! However, not the last time I hear this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLWP84ktoN4
However it was great fun, and I'm really happy that I've met some pals here, who seem genuinely interested in me, and don't mind being friends with the one whose German is a bit hit and miss.
Speaking of the German language, I really really hope that I slide into mastering mode soon. It is driving me insane! After Friday, where I'd spent all night speaking German, from about 8-3 consistently, I woke up on Saturday feeling so much more confident with it. But it really does just take one day to slip out of it, because now I feel I couldn't string a sentence together. I'm trying to get a bit more going on in my life, i.e. taking a few courses at the university in Bremen, and volunteering in a youth centre...fingers crossed for improved speaking! I'm going to the cinema with my German pals tonight, I'm taking this year abroad thing one day at a time....
I've been here three weeks today! Which is crazy. But exciting. That means nearly a month. Nearly a whole month living very independently...i.e. alone...but I'm really proud of myself. And I have a lot more work to do, but I feel like I'm turning myself around a bit, and having so much more confidence in myself. And making myself do things I wouldn't normally do. If I hadn't impulsively chatted to strangers, I wouldn't have the friends I do today here in Diepholz...speaking of making friends, it truly is so hard. Think Freshers Week, without the pre-prepared social events to make you meet people, and without you all speaking the same language..so essentially, not Freshers Week at all. But definitely that feeling of awkwardness, as you try muddle through the small talk conversations and find common areas of chat...I am getting there.
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