Class, German, Immigration, Friends, and Fabulous

I had my first class last Wednesday. It went well. I have 9 German students, 2 students from Finland, 1 student from the US, and 1 student from Peru. Two of the students attend the University of Miami. It is a nice group. Besides the standard mishaps (technology did not work so we had to move rooms and I got chalk all on my blazer) everything was pretty smooth. In addition to the class, I have been very busy meeting with professors and graduate students. Everyone is really friendly.

Cynthia and I also have a German language teacher named Teresa. We have individual sessions so hopefully we will learn the language quickly. Well, I hope to at least be able to function in the city and across Germany.

As stated in a previous blog, there are many different places we have to go to fill out paper work. I can only imagine how much we would have to do if we were applying for permanent citizenship. And I can only imagine how difficult it would be if we did not have German friends to assist us (Just a sociological thought for what Mexican and other immigrants go through in America). But I digress. So immigration is one of the last places we have to go to fill out paperwork. Upon arrival, we noticed that no one was there and there were several posters on the door.

So several government entities including the residence office, sanitation, and kindergarden, went on strike to receive an 8% raise in pay. The state is offering 5%, but these government entities still want 3% more. This did not bother us, but it really seemed to annoy our new friend Yvonne. Yvonne is a Politics major so she is very aware of the interworkings of the government in Germany. I should have took a picture of Yvonne because she was very annoyed at the protest.

I also have an international buddy named Vladamir, who is originally from Katzakstan but has been living in Germany since he was nine. We went to a restaurant with one of his other international buddies Alex, who is from Russia and has been in Germay for a year and a half. Vladamir spent a year in Philadelphia and traveled throughout the US. Alex plans to study in the US in the fall. He also plans to obtain his MBA in the US.

Cynthia and I also have a favorite beer-bananaweizer! It is great!

Now, on to the funny stuff. So getting a haircut seems to be working itself out. I am unsure what Cynthia will ever do... I do not think she is as open to I am in regards to letting someone touch her head. After my almost Color Purple incident, I may not be as open either. So I brought my clippers because I was thinking of going bald while here to save me the strain of getting of a haircut here. But as in all places, you can always find an African shop that does braids, and subsequently a bootleg barber in the back of the shop. Mannheim, Germany is no different.

As Cynthia went out into the world, she found a few hair shops that seemed promising. I knew we were at home when the barber's name was Fabulous and he does not come to work until 3pm.

So we went back to the African shop around 6pm and sure enough Fabulous was sitting on the stool watching an African gospel video. He is from the Cango and works at BSF, which is a chemical factory across the Rhein River by Mannheim. It is one of the largest industrial areas in the world. He is actually a fairly decent barber; definitely better than what I get in Bloomington...

But on to the funny part; so I wanted FABliO to shape up my facial hair. He goes to the back and comes back with one of those sharp razor knives like Celie used to shave Mister on the Color Purple. This is where I drew the line! I was not letting a man named Fabuous shave my face with that! I told him "Ich bin gut! Danke!" (I am good! Thank you!) Cynthia and I bolted up out of there. Still, I will go back to FaBliO because he only charges 8 Euros and does a decent job.

And of course while Cynthia was taking pics, she had to take a couple of herself.

Wie der suBe!Whata cutie!