New year, new post, same old same old

Well, it's been a while since I last wrote, so maybe it's time for a quick little update. Weather continues to be cold and dreary. We've finally gotten some snow, which is nice. Fun fact: when I first got back to NC for the holidays, I couldn't open my eyes entirely while outside. It was either because I was sick or because my eyes were too well adjusted to 100% cloud cover. I tend to believe the latter, but that's just because it's the more dramatic option.

The master's program is still going. Exams are coming up. German universities have made exam time one sick joke. They claim that you get a "break" but then cram all your exams in during said break. Which is nice, I guess, if you need time to study, but it is absolutely awful if you plan on doing some serious travelling. Needless to say, my travel will be short and not serious. Sometimes I need to remember that I am not actually on a study abroad program, but that I am here and need to get a real degree at the end of 2 years.

Also, fun fact, my English is now horrible. Horrible and slow. My turns of phrase have become foreign. I completely blame all the people I've met here for getting me to say "we were four" when I mean to say "there were four of us" and, the bane of my existence, "that is how it looks like." UGH. I wish I could say that my English is getting worse so that my German can improve, but I really don't think it has. I don't know if it's just because I have to use it a lot more often, so learning little phrases doesn't seem as big of a step as it did in Texas, or if I've actually stagnated in the language. Luckily, though, at the end of next month I'll be moving to a new apartment where the lingua franca will be German. Not easy, but hopefully helpful. And then there'll be that whole boat trip with like a bazillion other researchers, all German. They'll all be fluent in English, but if there ends up not being a lot to do on the ship, who knows? Maybe learning the language could kill time.

But I'm getting ahead of myself! First I need to pass these classes and quit procrastinating on reading this barrier layer paper. Tschüsssssssssss


But, before I go, my culture shock, part 4:

1. Germans would rather wait for you to notice their presence and act accordingly than say "Entschuldigung"/"Darf ich bitte mal durch" to let you know that you are in the way. They seriously do nothing- no coughs, no friendly shoulder taps, no tapping of their feet- if anything, they just judge you for not realizing that they need to get through (and I'm so sure they do this). The only explanation I have is that Germans can secretly read each other's minds and they just have no idea about how to interact mit Ausländern. 
2. ^^^But seriously guys, this happens every friggen day. Getting on the bus. Getting off the bus. Picking out bread at the grocery store. Looking at books at uni. I know your mothers taught you not to talk to strangers, but this is a bit ridiculous.
3. ^^^But if you're not going to change, at least don't whoosh by the person and sigh like they've caused you this huge inconvenience. No. You've done this to yourself. 
4. I cannot and will never be able to pronounce the ch sound this language has. Please stop trying to make me say "tschechische Streichholzschächtelchen," kthx.