Arrival and Culture Shock

Hello, everyone! I know I've now been in Germany for six days now, but due to troubles with my power converters, I haven't been able to use the Internet. (I've finally found the university's computer lab). Anyway, it took me a total of about 15 hours to travel from home to Freiburg. (Two hour flight to Washington, DC., two hour layover, seven hour flight to Frankfurt, an hour wait for a train, a two hour train ride to Freiburg, and then about half an hour of being totally lost, before I found the Foreign Student Office. At which point I was really thankful, because that meant they would give me my room key and I could sleep, sleep, sleep. Or at least that's what I thought. They told me the keys wouldn't arrive for another four hours and that I should come back then. So, I spent a long time wondering aimlessly around until I stopped at a little cafe and ordered heiß Schokolade. Then I finally got my key and directions to my dorm. Of course, I got on the tram that was going in the wrong direction, so what should have been a ten minute trip, was actually a thirty minute trip. Then, of course, with about twenty hours of zero sleep, carrying a hundred pounds of luggage, in the freezing cold downpour, I got lost again. It took me about forty minutes before I finally found the right building. And then I almost it took me another twenty before I could figure out the German key/lock mechanism. Whew!
Anyway, the next morning, I discovered I have a really cool dorm room. Its a single room complete with bathroom and kitchenette. The room has a desk with a swivel chair and desk lamp, a wardrobe with shelves and drawers, six shelves on the wall, a bed with a drawer underneath, another chair, a reading lamp, and a balcony. The kitchenette consists of a sink, two drawers, a refrigerator, and a stove top. The bathroom is really big. (We all know what's in a bathroom). In addition to all this, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, cushions, bed linens, and a portable laundry basket were included. To many, this may not sound very amazing, but those who know where I live when I'm at school in the States, can understand my enthusiasm. In fact, on my way to class this morning, two other foreign students, an Australian and a Swede, were completely astounded to learn what dorms were like back in America. Its kind of weird to hear them saying things like, ''Wow, I wonder what it would be like to share a room?'', or ''What!? Is America a Puritan society? Guys and girls live in separate buildings and have visiting hours!?''.
I've made a couple a friends so far, including an Italian named Claudie, and the cutest little Japanese girl named Maniwa, who doesn't speak English and only knows a little German. This morning, through broken German, an electronic English to Japanese translator, sign language, and drawings, she managed to communicate to me that her alarm clock was broken, and I managed to communicate back to her that I would wake her up until she could buy one.
I have discovered that the Germans are lot nicer and lot more fun than Americans have given them credit for. I can't tell you how many people stopped to help me with my luggage or offered directions when I was looking at a map. Also, they have a very sarcastic sense of humor. About three quarters of the people speak English. In many cases this is annoying, because I want to practice my German. However, as soon as I open my mouth, and reveal I'm a foreigner, they switch to English. In other cases it is extremely helpful, especially if I am really confused about something.
The second night I was here, the Foreign Student Office decided to introduce the new foreign students to the town by pub crawling. Of course I know next to zilch about alcohol, and so the Germans at the office have considered it their personal mission to introduce me to beer, the wine from around the region, beer, more beer, and also beer. The next day, after our placement tests, the office had a wine party for all the foreign students. (This is really a far cry from Baylor). One of the office workers saw me going for the orange juice and immediately dragged me over to another table and poured me a glass of wine. I'm surprised he didn't give me up for a lost cause after seeing the look on my face when I sipped it. (My friends know the look I'm talking about). I also had a coughing fit. I much prefer orange juice.
Okay, I think this was definitely a long enough post. I'll see if I can upload some pictures soon.
Tschüs!