My week: 21 February ed.

This week flew by. (Gee, is that a theme here or what?)

-I met with my tandem partner and also met two new tandem partners. Yes, I'm "cheating" on my original tandem partner. I really want to step up my German learning so I'm hoping to meet with each person at least once a week. In addition to one lesson a week, that's four days of practicing German plus some homework on the other days. Phew! I also attended a language meeting, which was enjoyable, as always.

My new German class started this week and it's C1. I had hoped for the other part of B2 but it wasn't available and I didn't want to repeat the first part so I went with C1. I worried that it was going to be above my head but after attending the first class, I feel fine because I'm probably in at least the top half of the class as far as understanding and speaking. My new tandem partner confirmed that I speak clearly and am understandable (if not always correct - he didn't say that though ;) so I think I'll be fine. I also like the new teacher's teaching style and feel that we'll learn quickly with him.

-A group of us went out to a local restaurant for dinner and karaoke. It was both a major disaster and a hilarious save. When we got there, the restaurant was very cold because the heat had been out for several days. There was no real waiter, just the friend of the owner, who had absolutely no idea what he was doing. Seriously! He didn't know what black tea was or if that was the kind of tea on the menu. He took about 10 minutes to take our order and got it wrong. The owner returned and re-took our order but messed it up too. My friends ended up dancing to salsa because it was so cold and they needed to stay warm. When we wanted to sing karaoke, the owner didn't know how to use the equipment. Despite all the failures, we had fun. Some of the ladies danced with the owner and his friend; we made up songs and screeched into the microphone. We were the only guests except for a random elderly German gentleman who stopped in for a beer. He looked both bemused and confused by everything. When I returned home, my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. It was an incredibly absurd evening.

-Our social group had a lunch and games day. The Americans engaged in a heated discussion about whether carbonated beverages are called pop or soda. Of course pop is the correct answer. Those who weren't from the US were caught in the debate's crossfire and looked like deer in the headlights, which was a bit hilarious. It's a hot topic, I tell you.

-Oh, man. I found this video. I can't tell if my life has been enhanced or ruined by this.