Thursday morning

I can't decide if today's a nice day here in Aachen or not. It's warm, around 70 degrees; but the wind is blowing like crazy. I'm in a tall building, and when there is a big gust, it sounds pretty intense out there. I saw a few women walking around today who regret putting on skirts this morning, I'm willing to bet . Since the temperature was comfortable, I braved the wind and walked into town after class. I first went to the T-Mobile store to load some euros onto my phone. I'd used up all my minutes calling Dad on Father's Day. Then, since I was around the shopping area, I figured I'd look around. A lot of people had booths set up in the market place near the city center. The fresh strawberries looked delicious. The cherries reminded me of the Cherry Festival in Traverse City which I shall completely miss this year. I felt a pang of homesickness, but then I remembered that it's just a bunch of stupid stuff we're too cheap to buy.
I saw a store called Zara; it had to be a cool place since it was so close to my name. In German, you pronounce 'z' like 't-s' so it sounds pretty similar. I was just browsing, but of course, I saw a dress that I liked. I went to the fitting rooms just to try it on, see how it looked, you know. I definitely don't need anymore clothing. But for the price of 19,90 I couldn't resist. I tend to forget about the exchange rate when I'm shopping. I spent around $30 on that dress. Looking at the tag after I bought it, I discovered that I can't put it in the dryer. It seems like a lot of clothing in Europe is line-dry only. Our laundry room has clotheslines all over the place.
I totally don't want to go to the institute today. But I guess I can't complain; after that's over, it's yet another weekend! I'm really liking the three-day weekend deal that comes with this program. This is the most free time I've had in a long time.

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