A day in the life

Semifinals, baby! Germany was victorious against Portugal! It was exciting. I watched it in our dorm "theater" on the ground floor. They had a projector and showed the game on the big screen. I was getting a sore throat from all the yelling and screaming I did during the game. Now that I've seen a good number of soccer matches, I'm beginning to understand a little of the strategy and am enjoying it more.
Afterwards, back up in my room, Chris and Lars, two guys on my floor, said they were going to the club and invited me. I went; I met a few friends of theirs and did some dancing. At around 2 AM, I was tired of being surrounded sweaty people on the crowded dance floor and was ready to leave. Chris didn't want me to walk back alone, so he left also. He was hungry, so we stopped and got some Doner kebabs first. Doner is a Turkish dish, and it has recently become a popular fast food item in Germany. It's similar to a gyro and quite tasty.
There are some underground walkways at a few main intersections in Aachen. They're good for avoiding traffic; I believe they're from when the city used to have a subway system. Chris and I walked through one on the way back. I'd never noticed before, but there's a crude carving of a figure on one of the walls. Chris told me not to look at the "vampire" when we passed. I looked anyway. Chris said he never looks at it; I guess he's a bit superstitious. That started a conversation about spirituality. He said he wishes he had faith like the Christians, since he sees what kind of peace it gives. He was raised in the church, confirmed and everything; but he says he just can't believe. If you're reading this and wouldn't mind saying a quick prayer for Chris, thank you.
The next morning, I woke up to a phone call. I must have been in a deep sleep. I heard a noise and thought it was my alarm clock; but it didn't stop when I pressed the alarm-off button. Desperate, I pressed all the buttons, but it was still ringing! Slowly, it dawned on me that it was my cell phone. I hardly receive any calls, so I don't know my ringtone that well. I drowsily answered and heard a female voice. "Must have the wrong number," I thought, since I only get calls from the MSU guys, or Mom, and it wasn't her. But then I learned it was Young Hye, a girl in my German class. I had just given her my number the day before; we were hoping to go to Paris together. There's a bus trip out there in a couple weekends from Friday to Sunday. I get Fridays off, but Young Hye is part of the UROP program and has to work Fridays. She was going to try to get that particular Friday off. She was just calling to confirm which dates the trip was and said she'd get back to me after talking to her supervisor. Later that day, she called back, and---good news! I'm leaving for Paris in two weeks! That's how long I have to learn a few essential French phrases, like, "Can you please help me?" or "Do you speak English?" I hear if you at least make an effort and show some respect for their language, people will be happy to help you. But if you begin immediately with English, many of the French will pretend they don't speak it even if they do. I'm debating pretending I'm from Canada that weekend, since there's some anti-American sentiment over there. But I'm going to be there on Independence Day, and I don't think I'll be able to hide my country pride that day. I won't cover myself with the stars and stripes or anything; but I'll definitely have the "proud to be an American" attitude.
I went back to bed after Young Hye called. Later that morning, I did one of my new favorite activities: laying out. There's a large triangular patch of grass near my dorm bordered by three roads. It's lined with trees along the side nearest my dorm and has a few other trees scattered about. It's the most private place I can find to hang out in my bathing suit. The sun felt so amazing. For lunch, I went to the Mensa. The main course in the hot line was fish--yuck. So I got a sandwich. Then I walked toward the main shopping area on a mission to buy some tweezers, since my eyebrows are like bushes. Or should I say, my eyebrow (singular) is like a bush; I basically have a unibrow now. I was wearing my new dress and felt very pretty. I wore my shoes that give me painful blisters which was kind of a dumb idea since I was walking around. But I wanted my whole outfit to be cute. Aaaah, vanity.
I saw a homeless guy sitting against a wall. I stopped and talked to him. It's good practice just to walk past and ignore them, but something I learned in Detroit this past spring break is that they deserve to be treated like people too. I shook his hand, smiled, and looked him in the eye, instead of acting like he was too filthy to touch. It was a good chance to practice my German. We were able to hold a simple conversation, and I understood over half of what he said. I wonder if I'm gaining weight; he asked me if I was pregnant! It must just be the way the dress hangs... He told me he was looking for his daughter whom he hadn't seen in 14 years. He was asking for money. I didn't give him any since I figured he'd probably go spend it on booze or drugs. But I was considering going to the nearest bakery and buying him a pastry or something. But then, as I was talking with him, the guys from MSU randomly walked past and called my name.
"What was that about?" they asked. "He's looking for his daughter," I responded. "Where? In the bottom of a beer bottle?" Homeless people do have some issues, it's true. But maybe if we show them a little kindness instead of judging and mocking, they'll learn their worth as individuals and begin to respect themselves and turn their lives around. There aren't too many homeless people here, but each time I see someone and just walk past, I'm more and more convicted. I vow that "next time" I'll stop and reach out to them, but I never do. Not until today.
Both the Ryans were, I believe, taking the train to go check out a Birkenstock outlet. Hani and Matt were staying back in Aachen and doing some shopping there. I forgot about the whole tweezers thing and joined them. I saw so much stuff I wanted; it was very hard not to buy anything. But I'm on a tight budget here. I only have like $500 left in my bank account. And I have to pay for Paris with that. Basically, I'm broke; I can't afford to buy even more clothes/shoes/make-up/etc. that I don't need. I saw lots of German soccer jerseys for sale. They look pretty sharp. I would consider getting one for my dad, but since it's soccer, maybe he wouldn't go for that. I saw a polka dot sundress. I don't know if my sister Jennifer is still into polka dots; otherwise I would have bought it for her. Somehow, I left every store without spending a cent.
I was tired from my late night and shopping, so I just did mindless stuff on my laptop all evening. Ken Jennings has a blog which I read religiously, and in it, he refered to a site called Sporcle. It has quizzes on lists of trivia, which appeals to me. I've tried a lot of those quizzes. I could name almost every MLB team; I just forgot about those darn...oh gosh...now I'm forgetting again...Oalkand A's!