It's a Game of Give and Take

Song of the day for yesterday was "Love Don't Come Easy" or "You Can't Hurry Love," depending on who's singing it. Thanks to flipping through multiple radio stations yesterday, I think I heard three different versions.

So I bummed around the house and made it through 3 chapters of Dorian Gray in German, which, considering that I'd only read 3 chapters total since I bought the book, must mean my German is getting better. I still feel like I'm looking up too many words, but at least now I can read more than two or three pages at a sitting. And I found a really awesome radio station, after the flipping that led to hearing a few songs more than once, which is always funny.
And at 7 we all got on our bikes and rode to Niederkassel to somebody's house for homemade pizza (Germans find it totally normal to make their own pizza, on which they put strange but delicious things, and they eat it with a fork and a knife, which is difficult) and playing the longest game of Phase 10 EVER. Of course we had to play until it was over, which took until 11:30 (and I lost miserably) and then we had to wait until midnight because it would be Anna's birthday and we could sing to her. (What? All of sudden the Germans feel the need to sing the birthday song? Where did this come from?) So we did, and then I got on my bike (whose headlight doesn't work) and rode home very, very carefully in the dark dark dark through the farm fields. And went to bed.
Oh! I completely forgot to tell you about the other adventure in Köln late at night: Subway. After closing down one bar, as we were looking for another, we passed a Subway and the Germans decided they were hungry and wanted to check it out. None of them had ever been in a Subway before, so I had to explain the whole process to them, and it was very very funny. And, last night, as Elke was relating the Subway story to the other family, I found out that she was apparently surprised at the way the Subway employees construct the sandwiches so quickly "without love." I giggled and tried to explain that it is just a sandwich, and most people don't care if the meat is lovingly placed on the sandwich or not. Oh, these Germans.
And this morning I've got the house to myself because the Germans went to Phantasia Land, which is basically Kings Dominion, and, since I don't do roller coasters, I have no interest in being there so I stayed home. I am probably going to take my little self off to Köln to finally finish buying my birthday presents (yes, Dad, I will spend money) and go to the post office because I have postcards that I need to send that I wrote while in Italy.
But first I need a shower.

And the that-evening update:
I got myself very successfully to Köln (via Troisdorf, which is sort of like going through Dinwiddie to get to Richmond from Chesterfield) and indulged in Columbus Day shopping extravaganzas, which means that I got myself a t-shirt from H&M (it is very pretty) and the iPod shuffle that I have been coveting pretty much forever. I am already in love with it, and I will be sitting here for hours loading music now. But no more dragging the giant CD player on the bus! Yaaay! I did think about those German mp3 players, I swear, but they weren't any cheaper and they don't have iTunes or Apple stickers or anything. So I have a cute little white stick for my music now, and I am very pleased.
I also enjoyed some ice cream and a lot of walking around in the shadow of my beloved Dom, which is the most beautiful building I've ever seen- I really wanted to just lay out in the sunshine beside the Dom and sleep for a while. I didn't, though. Getting home worked out nicely- got on a train at 5 and was home within half an hour. When the train-bus connections work, that's faster than with a car. At those times, I like public transportation a whole lot.

I'll like it more with my new soundtrack.

And happy Columbus Day, by the way! (Also Thanksgiving to any Canadian readers I may have)

Life (the game) is pretty cool in German, and I've discovered that I nearly have that board memorized, which is sad.