The old Its-a-Bavarian-Tradition-to-Eat-Bread-with-a-Spoon-Trick

Today, I'm feeling a lot better about life in general. Dr. Wisely sent a semi-threatening e-mail to the lady at the International Student Office here, and the Language Course Office also called her and told her about my problem, and she promised she'd have it fixed in a few days. Yay! I still haven't made any really good friends yet, but as Katie says, I can easily find ways to entertain myself.
Anyway, Friday night I really didn't do much. I went to Starbucks again to get some ''real'' coffee. However, I have discovered that Starbucks is not a good place to practice my German. For starters, I'm never sure if I should say English words with a German accent or an American accent. Saying English words with an American accent is a dead give away that I'm American, but I think saying them with a German accent might sound stupid. This has been a real problem for me. For example, when I went to Starbucks on Friday, I told the cashier, ''Ich möchte ein White Chocolate Mocha, kurz, bitte.'' And, of course, I did not say ''Vite Schocolata Mocha''. He immediately said, ''Awww, do you speak English?'', and I replied, ''Ja'', indicating that I did not want to speak English. Then, he told me, in English, that my drink cost three euros. Then he said, ''That is drei. Drei euros.'' Now, at this point I'm thinking that this guy is really impatient, and so I stop digging around for change and hand him a five euro bill. (FYI, instead of paper money, there are coins worth one and two euros). He says, ''That is fünf. Füüüünf euros.'' Now, I'm thinking this guy is really weird. Then as he hands me my change, he says, ''This is zwei euros. Zweiiii euuuuros.'' Now, I'm really starting to wonder about this guy's sanity, and I think this was showing on my face, because his face turned red and he looked really embarrassed. As I was leaving, it finally dawned on me that he was trying to teach me the German numbers! Oops..
Anyway, I went to Heidelberg on Saturday and that was viel Spaß! I took some pictures which I will attempt to upload later, but I need to replace the batteries in my camera first. Heidelberg is so pretty, with the Alps all around it and the Neckar River running through it. We toured the Heilige Geist Kirche, the old university prison (yes, the university actually had a prison for its students), and of course the Schlossberg. I think the Schlossberg was my favorite thing. (However, climbing up a mountain to get to the castle was not fun). During our lunch break a few us, and a couple of the language school directors, ate at a Bavarian restaurant. I learned two very important things. First, duh, knödel is not ''noodle'', but ''dumpling'', and that the word ''leber'' is liver. This means that when you order Leberknödel, you get two big balls of liver. Not the most appetizing thing to eat. Second, I should always remember that Germans are very sarcastic. After we ordered, the waitress brought back a basket with three pieces of bread and a spoon in it. She said something when she left it on the table, but I didn't catch it. Then, one of the directors told me, in German, that its an old Bavarian tradition to eat bread with a spoon. I fell for it for about five seconds, at which point everyone at the table started laughing at me. The bread and the spoon were for the soup that someone had ordered. But, hey, since he said it German, I think it shouldn't be held against me. Right, guys? ::crickets chirping:: Oh, well. At least I am now wary of the tricks that the Germans like to pull on poor, unsuspecting Americans.
Sunday, I attempted to go to church, but unfortunately, I missed the service beacuse I mixed up the time it started with another church. Oh, well. I then decided to eat at a cafe, where I read some of the book that I'm reading for Dr. Wisely. Then I went to this place called Cafe Classico, and ordered Eiskaffee. I thought it would be like a frappeccino (or however you spell that), but it actually like a root beer float with plain black coffee instead of root beer. Not good. Then, I finally found the theater with films in the original language, and I went to see Mitten dem Herz (or something like that). I'm not sure what that would be called in English. In the Middle of my Heart? Oh, well. I thought about you, Katie, when I saw the poster for Schräger als Fiktion. I'm pretty sure you can guess what that translates to!
Anyway, I think that's all for now. Keep praying that my German skills will get better!
Ciao! (FYI, Germans say this all the time).