arielarena

Last few days filled with apartment drama. Sandra seem to always be there when I'm going through some kind of bullshit like that (see: wallet stolen, also initial apartment hunt crap) and is always fabulous and helpful. Allowing me to use her internet and phone to call home was exactly what needed to happen and her family is wonderful for letting me do so. I think I may be going there for dinner tonight and want to bring a gift.

Sandra picked me up at 12 and we drove around Hamburg, her pointing stuff out along the way. We took a boat tour around the harbor, which ended up being in German so she translated briefly. Then we headed to this pig themed restaurant (sadly I don't think I took photos but picture a TGI Fridays and instead of the random stuff they pepper on the walls, picture only pig related stuff). She showed me Reeperbahn during the day and we went back later that night. I have now seen prostitutes, for real. And not just ladies but transvestites, too. And damn do they have good legs. So not fair. Before our night excursions, we went to her friend's house and hung out for a few hours. These guys were really nice and it made me miss my guy friends. There used to be so many around and now they're busy with girlfriends or have moved to New Jersey. I miss my lady friends, obviously, too. :-)

So, back to Reeperbahn. This area is where the clubs are. Not just clubs with drinking and dancing but also sex clubs and sexy dancin' clubs. And everything was so out in the open. The sex shops had all types of toys in the windows as well as photos that I doubt Playboy would show. Families walk by this place but it's so normal to them they don't notice. After being in the Puritanical US I will completely admit surprise when walking by these places and then seeing who else was around. In the US, places like this are hidden behind euphemism and often the most racy thing in the window is lingerie. Cultural differences, eh?

Sandra showed me the main streets before we entered this Irish pub/club. I love this place. There are three floors indoors and two or three different outdoors areas. Mainfloor does live music (the woman who sang last night was quite good), the level below is more party music. The bottom level is mainstream music. We mostly hung out on the main floor at a table near the bar. Lots of singing along and drinking took place. Good times. Her friends were great and talked to me in their limited English (which sounded pretty damn good, actually) and their grasp on the language did tend to slip a bit as they continued drinking.

Today I don't know what we're doing but I hope it doesn't rain. Really should have checked the weather before packing, did not bring the right type of clothing.

Went to a club with friends on Friday night (Fallen, Nadine, Raef and Manuela, the last three all know German so at times Fallen and I had NO idea what was being talked about, it was more amusing than annoying). We arrived too early so we had a drink at one of the few cafes nearby. At the club there were A LOT of men. Some quite pretty. Some making out with each other. Turns out we arrived on gay night, for lack of a better name. Of course, realizing that we were not surrounded by the pervy Italian guys who apparently will grind with unsuspecting girls I felt much more comfortable about dancing, something I rarely do. But damn, was it fun! Lots of boy love and Britney Spears (with some Justin and Beyonce thrown in for good measure). Was thrilled when the two songs I wanted to hear were played (I blame crudelydrawn for my Lady Gaga love). Even slightly inebriated, I couldn't help but appreciate the comedic value of hundreds of gay men singing along to Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" (not to be confused with Jill Sobule's "I Kissed A Girl", a superior song in my opinion but not nearly as danceable). Fallen made a friend with one Italian dude who kept finding us to dance with our group throughout the night. We didn't put our stuff in the coat room so we settled with putting it on the floor and dancing around it, so we made more friends that way when making sure no one tripped over it. One guy pinched my cheek in that "well, aren't you JUST PRECIOUS!" sort of way.

We danced from 11:30 until the club closed at 4:30 AM. We walked to the Duomo, hoping to find some food place along the way. Alas, it was not meant to be (we found sammich trucks but they were busy and we were impatient). Raef, usually quite quiet, is LOUD when he's had a bit to drink. Also, I'm pretty sure I'm the first Jew he's ever seen/hung out with. We sat down outisde the McDonald's and discussed what we'd do since nothing was open, it was 5 AM and we were hungry. The homeless guy sleeping in the flowers across the way began yelling at us in Italian because were were being too loud. Anyway, Raef and Manuela were close to their respective homes so they walked home while Fallen, Nadine and I sat outside the McDonald's. Apparently it doesn't open until 9 AM? That's just wrong. We wanted our freakin' Egg McMuffins!

Whilst debating over what to do, two guys walked by and motioned for us to share a cab with them. I know, not the smartest idea but there were three of us, two of them and they looked harmless. And they were. But they did try to get us to go back to their apartment and "smoke a joint" and "play Guitar Hero". I admit, I really did want to play Guitar Hero but not with them and there was no way in hell we were going to their apartment. After a few more minutes of trying to convince us they gave up, the cab driver even chipped in and told them they should leave us in the taxi. He was awesome, by the way. We joked with our driver friend on the way back to Fallen's place and told him stories of our night at the club and laughed at the men we'd just dropped off. After arriving at Fallen's door, we opted to head to our apartments. Nadine didn't live too far away and could walk and the bus I needed was running at this point.

I got back to my room about 6 AM and went to bed shortly after. I ended up sleeping most of the day away. We had discussed going to another club on Sat. night but I never got a message telling me a meeting place or time so I assume either it didn't happen or it did but I didn't get the message. Oh well, I was tired and I don't mind alone time.

Today involved waking up much earlier than Saturday and heading to the shops (praying they were open, surprisingly a bunch of clothing stores were) because I'm in desperate need of new pants. Gotta love H&M. I know, I'm in Italy and should be checking out their stores for clothes but the places I looked were WAY overpriced for what I wanted. I'll save that kind of shopping for later.

So back to class Monday (which is technically now but whatevs). I'm not sure if this week is normal because there's a design fair thinger and I THINK we might not have class? I'm going to ask tomorrow (today?). I hate how uncertain I am about scheduling at this place! Which reminds me, I need to do that OIA forum post thing...but not now.

( Possible Spoilers for Silence in the Library. What am I saying? Definite spoilers for Silence in the Library )

Went to NJ to see Amanda yesterday. We went to see Miss Gay NJ 2008 and the person we were rooting for ended up winning! YAY! He totally worked the dress during the evening gown section and was the most original when it came to talents. It was a LONG show but entertaining. The theatre was gorgeous. Sadly, I don't think they had the staff who work at the theatre regularly there because whomever was on lighting really didn't understand that there's a reason there are lights pointing at the stage. When people moved towards the audience on the stage, they stepped into shadows. They really needed spotlights on and better sound equipment. Maybe next year. But those are my pet peeves after doing high school theatre.

It was very nice to hang out with Amanda. We went to a very nice Italian place for dinner before the show and then her mom's friend drove us around Asbury Park and told us about how it used to be and what significant buildings were. He also took us into a really cute town that had these beautiful Victorian houses. I really should have brought my camera along. :-( Anyway, next time you should come to me. We'll do South Street and maybe even go into Amish country?

Starting Italian tomorrow. So my schedule as of now is class from 10:40 AM to 12:15 PM at UPenn Monday through Thursday, Italian 6:00 PM to 8:15 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays and work at the cricket club Tuesdays and Thursdays and one day a weekend from about 5 PM to 9/9:30 PM. Here's hoping it isn't too much.

Yesterday, I had an adventure. I drove to Newark train station with my Mum and we took the train into Manhattan. Now, my mother and I do this quite often, but not always to such a degree. We decide what we think would be fun to do and then do it if we have the time. Yesterday was one of those days when we had the time and the desire to go for it. So we went to New York for tea.

When I told this tale to Arlo he couldn't understand why we would go so far for a simple cup of tea. But this was no ordinary tea house. This was Alice's Tea Cup, one of the coolest tea houses ever! It has an Alice in Wonderland theme and serves tiny sandwiches, scones and various cakes and cookies. And after hours of driving and only having a small breakfast, we were famished. So after meeting up with mum's friend there, we ordered the Jabberwocky (unlimited sammiches!).

I must say, I'm glad we did it. While I could have slept in a whole lot and watched movies all day this was a much more fun way to spend my time. Even though people think it's stupid to hang out with their parents I'll admit that I enjoy it sometimes. Mum and I go on fun trips. Sometimes they're planned out (like London) and sometimes they're spur of the moment. In the end all that matters is that they're fun. So yes, it was a nice vacation. Although I do think I would have enjoyed getting more sleep...eh, what can ya do?

On a separate note, I am still in need of a prom dress...and possibly a date. I think I may have a backup date now. That part can be worked out later.