Well this past weekend was the culmination of Karneval the peak of celebrating in the Rheinland, and it was a whole lot of fun! It kicked off Thursday with Weiberfastnacht where the tradition of women storming the city hall and cutting off all the men's ties was carried out. Then there was much partying in the streets (I was home doing homework). The celebrating carried on throughout the weekend. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing people dressed up in crazy costumes running around. I sat next to a guy dressed up like a huge chicken on the bus, felt like I was commuting with Big Bird.
Then Monday, which is called Rosenmontag, was the largest parade and party of all. I travelled to Cologne with a handful of friends to go watch the parade. We had to leave hours ahead of time to get a train there and waited an hour and a half or more in our spot before the parade started, but it was all necessary in order to be standing at the front of the crowds! We were all dressed up, of course. I took an 80s theme with leggings under a miniskirt, legwarmers, and the neck cut out of a sweatshirt, then topped it all off with a side ponytail. If nothing else, I looked quite silly which was all that was required to fit in! Some other great costumes displayed by my friends were Kermit the Frog, a giant flower complete with petals that detached via Velcro and said He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not on them (adorable!), a giant broccoli (my favorite), and a pair of Bavarian twins in appropriate Dirndl attire. The funniest part was that Sophie was one of the girls wearing a Dirndl, and she is actually a German girl from Bavaria...so it was fitting.
Sadly the weekend was not a respite from homework. I am currently working on two papers, one for an online class in Literature of the South examining the role of upper-class men in Kate Chopin's The Awakening and how they are incapable of fulfilling their women. Another is for my 19th Cent. American Poets class here in Germany comparing the styles of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.
The fun part though, is that I'm going to Prague! Whoooo! I leave Sunday the 10th and return Wednesday the 13th. We found an incredible deal with Easy Jet airline and a cool looking hostel so that all travel and lodging expenses for the trip are only about 50 Euro.
Other than that, I took my first step in going home today. I had to fill out paperwork to un-register myself from the city of Bonn. (I swear unregister is a word in German, I have no clue what the English equivalent would be.) I figure I need to start packing by the end of the week since I need to have a room inspection only a day or two after I get home from Prague in order to fulfill move-out duties of my dorm. I leave on a Tuesday quite early so Monday is the last administrative day and my dorm admin don't like Mondays. Hence why I have to do the above on Thursday or Friday beforehand. I don't have to be entirely packed up, but they recommended I have all of my things off the walls and most of my things out of the desk/wardrobe. We'll see how that's going to work...
Okay much love to all! I'll be home just two weeks from today!
Check out the new picture album!
