[almost] all things german.

[the other two are typing this right now.]
right now, right this second, i'm super proud of myself. i'm multi-tasking like nobody's biiiidness. one hand is writing my media writing paper, while the other is writing a blog post, while the third [that i got for christmas] is uploading/editing pictures for the post, while the fourth [that i found on the street] is checking my class information online. like i said, very proud person right now. i mean, wouldn't you be if you had four arms? yeah, i'm done. school's obviously gotten to my head.

october thirtieth. 

we woke up and got ready for church. we also had to pack because we were taking a train back to munich after church and leaving the good life of our super high-tech looking house with host parents that spoiled us silly with waffles and soft towels [can you tell that my french host mom deprives me of the essentials in life?].

[whoever speaks german, please explain.]

church was....interesting. two of the three hymns were sung in german. yeah. it's kinda hard to be serious when you sound like you're chewing on taffy as you're singing. it just sounds too funny! maybe next time i'll be a grown-up.

also, i had no time to rehearse my solo before church, so i just went up and sang. hooooly crap, i don't remember the last time my legs shook so bad. i'm surprised i didn't crumble and roll off the stand. i managed just fine though, and ended up feeling really good that i did it, even though everyone probably didn't even know what i was singing besides the tune.

sacrament meeting ended and then williamson dropped us off at the train station. these random guys came up to us and asked us if we wanted to split a 5-person ticket, which would end up being cheaper for all of us, so we said yes. i know it sounds a little sketch, but it was just fine. maybe because we were armed with the finest, most delicious pastries known to man that we could've used as ransom in case they tried to attack us, but never would actually give them away because they're so dang good? probably.

[first one was a cinnamon roll with pecans on top. middle is the name of the bakery. third was my absolute favorite-an orange and cream cheese puff pastry. to. die. for.]

once we got back to munich, we dropped off a lot of our stuff at the hostel [wombats] and got back on another train to go to the dachau [pronounced da-HOW, with a throat emphasis on the "H". gotta get that  german accent down], one of the main concentration camps during the holocaust. first off, i just have to say that brynn and i had the worst luck when it came to any kind of transportation on our weekend trips. in this case, we went to a ticket machine and bought our tickets, and then thought we knew which platform to go to, but were confused because we were supposed to validate our tickets. so we ask a guy and he tells us we're supposed to validate them downstairs. and our train was leaving in like, five minutes. so we're running to validate them downstairs, run back up, find out that our platform is actually downstairs by where we validated our tickets [we're stupid], so we run all the way back down and just barely make our train/metro. it was ridiculous. anyways, then we make it to the city that the concentration camp is in, and we're supposed to catch a bus. thing is, is that it says that bus doesn't run on sundays. we have a minor freak attack [okay, i do], and then find a taxi that will take us there. brynn wanted to walk. NO. five miles? no thank you.

once we were there, things got serious. it was crazy to be there where, at one time, so many people lived and died for such a wrong cause. it was so sad to walk through and read the stories and the history of the camp, and to really visualize what had happened there. even the smell was too much, when having the ideas of people being burned or killed by the gas showers going through your mind. i'm just so amazed that a camp like that existed, and it's only one of many. i'm so grateful for the opportunity to visit the camp, to remember how blessed i am to live in a country where we can just be. we don't have to worship specific things or act certain ways [within reason], but we can be free. more and more on this study abroad, did i realize how wonderful america really is. sure, we've got our problems that we need to fix. and yes, our economy sucks right now. but to me, i think that it's important to recognize the blessing that we can walk around freely and not have soldiers coming at us, trying to throw us in jail just for what we stand for. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. it's a beautiful thing.

after we had walked through for a couple hours [and watched the documentary in german, which was obviously very hard to understand aka i no speak german], we decided to head back to munich. and what do you know, there was a bus going back to the metro station. i have no idea how these things work out like this! it's beyond my comprehension, apparently.

we get back to munich safely, and decide to grab some pizza from this nearby "joint" [always wanted to say that]. i know what you're thinking. michelle, why are you getting pizza in germany? and to that, i say "ummm, because it looked dang good in the window?" i have no factual/logical answers for you. i just wanted some dang pizza. the stomach gets what the stomach wants. or at least mine does ;] plus, just looook at this baby.

[pizza with salad and mozzerella shavings and a balsamic drizzle. oh my freaking gosh, get in my belly.]
don't you just want to gobble it all up? well, i did. so say yes so i don't feel awkward.

and now i have "god bless the usa" in my head from all that mushy america talk. perrrrfect.