Grill-out at the university--Friday, May 12

Other international students and Germans all met at a dorm on campus for a grill-out. They are really popular here...everybody brings their own meat (veggie kebaps for me) and then we all share bread, salads, etc. Lots of fun and even more food.

For me, it was most interesting visiting with people that I otherwise would have never known or been able to communicate with if I had not studied German. I met people from Iran, Japan, Italy, and out of all places...Kansas City! Most of the conversations were enjoyable, but I did have one culturally bad experience:

One man from Uzbekistan (who had been nice to me beforehand because we play soccer on Sundays together with others) in a sense, cornered me and decided to explain all the reasons why he doesn't care for the way Americans act. He kept saying that he didn't blame me for the way I am because that was just the way I was raised...he said such things like, "you laugh and it makes you sound stupid, just like all Americans" and he made fun of the way I crossed my arms, the way I stood, just about everything. I tried to walk away, but he would just follow me. I got so upset, I actually got a bit teary-eyed (okay...so, I am a bit sensitive). He told me start being honest with myself, and so on. Finally, my friend from Minnesota came and relieved me. We left soon after.

I guess you could say that was a bit of a culture shock and I learned that there is really nothing you can say in a situation like this. In fact, I tried and he wouldn't let me talk...

Besides that, I actually did have a nice time!

Some highlights:

-listening to a man, Tony, from Finland teach other Americans how to sing "The itsy bitsy spider" in Finnish
-Laughing with my friend from Latvia...her name is Renate and she is really good friend. It is so crazy to think that without both of us knowing German, we would not be friends.
-Eating a bite of fish my norwegian friends grilled to their amusement (Way too 'fishy' of a taste for me and my face expressed that!)

All in all, it was a good time and my veggie kebaps were a hit!



A typical German grill...full of bratwurst and other meat! (My kebaps are on the smaller grill to the left)





This is my good friend, Renate, and me. She is from Latvia and we are in the same classes...she is honest, sincere, and great for a laugh!





This is another friend and I...she is from Japan and also in some of my classes.