It's still Monday?

Because my flight was delayed, I didn't get into Mannheim until about 1:45pm. However by 4:30, we got a lot accomplished. First off, I am so grateful I had someone to meet me at the train station and take me every where--nothing is very clearly marked unless you know what you are looking for, and instant German translation comes in handy!

So by 4:30 we had

• gone to the international center where I signed the rental contract
• purchased a month train pass until the "Semester Ticket" kicks in
• went to Deutsche Bank and set up an account, because they needed bank account info to complete the rental agreements
• went back to the international center to show my proof of insurance and complete enrollment
• got to Ulmenweg right in time so I could get my room (and right in the nick of time! apparently they don't do move-ins later than that, or they charge you)

Then at Ulmenweg they couldn't find the keys so that took a while...but I have keys, so everything is good. Going through the checklist was pretty hilarious, although it made it really seem like a cell...it included items like "a window," "a door," and "a door frame." I still don't know what the bed wedge was supposed to be because it wasn't in my room! But I will find some things to put on the wall soon, just to brighten it up a little!

After that I met up with a bunch of international students to go on a pub crawl (and I met the ones from UF, are you happy mom? :p )We went to three different places, and although I still don't like beer (only one for me! i'm hoping I grow to like it...it really is cheaper than the water...2-3 euros, compared to 3 euros for a larger bottle of "still water.") But the coolest thing is that most beers are served in their own special glasses: each different kind of beer has a glass with it's name on it, and the size, and all are shaped differently. Some are the traditional beer mugs, others are beer mugs that are taller and thinner with the handles that are higher up. There were even some that were tall and were wavy! Quite cool.