if i am lost its only for a little while

With only two weeks of summer semester remaining, I continue to do a phenomenal job of procrastinating. Its only this afternoon, after a strange nap that makes me not want to go to Africa (not like I see the option coming up anytime soon), that I sit down and start to get some stuff done. I have a final on Tuesday morning, another final on Wednesday morning, and an oral report directly following that. For the moment I am focusing my worries on the oral report, though it is in English (for my English lit class). The topic of the report is half of what my term paper will be on, when I start writing that. I am more worried about the actual act of writing that paper [due at the end of the semester], and the oral test I have to take with my history professor [also at the end of the semester... I think]. Since I don't have a clue what is going on in that class right now I am scared, especially since its the only class from this semester that is actually going towards my major. Though apparently I'm in good company as far as the confusion due to the class's direction, since the other three Americans in that class 1. sit and read Fitzgerald in an attempt to rationalize their drinking, 2. draw intricate geometrical designs, or 3. text message their german girlfriends. Ah, school.

After the 'group photo' had been taken, I demanded a 'year kids' photo, since these are the people that have been through it all. Top row, right to left, just for kicks: Lee, Antoinette, David, Scott, Andrew, Cindy, Janelle, Kate, Karina, Jennifer, Jeremy, Andi (not actually a student, but yeah), Vivan. Bottom row: Jacky, Eileen, Me, Steven.

Since about everyone else I know is in the same boat homework-wise, there hasn't been that much going on recently. Earlier this week was our 'farewell barbeque,' where the year-kids, the new semester kids, and then a group that had arrived literally a day before convened, met the new EAP director, took our group picture and got conviently woozy due to the humidity and the free beer. Not necessarily in that order. It was one of the more surreal experiences of recent weeks to speak to the new kids and have them full of questions, what would you have done differently, what did you like the best, etc--- every question posed like my time here was already over. I still have a month left!, I wanted to shout. But it's true, its almost over. I'll save the poetry on that topic for a later entry.

My brother Steven and I at the bbq. The first picture I have of Germany, which I think Jacky took, is him and I standing with our backpacks, looking significantly younger, on the moving sidewalk in the Frankfurt airport. How time flies.

Also over is the world cup. Or at least, almost. I don't think I am going to get to watch the final game tonight, which I believe is Italy v. France, because I need to work instead. But my interest lay mainly with the german team anyway, and after I watched them beat Portugal last night to assure a third-place victory, I felt so happy watching the after-game footage. Klose, Lehmann, Podolski running around excitedly, Torsten Frings looking long-haired and a little less ready to start a fight than usual, coach Jurgen Klinsmann hugging everyone and looking genuinely pleased, all the black, red and gold in the stands of the Stuttgart stadium. It was also nice that Schweinsteiger scored (well, basically) all the three goals; I felt happy for him, since it seemed like he'd been 'off' a lot of the games. I was sitting in the living room of Henry's house, and Jacky was next to me, and I said something about feeling like I knew them all, just from watching them all play, and Jacky agreed. Spectators in the stadium were holding huge banners that read, "Ihr seid unsere Helden," you are our heros.

Watching the decisive Germany v. Italy game on Tuesday was a little more depressing, just because it dragged on forever until Italy finally scored two goals in about a minute and a half at the very very end. I was expecting mass rioting in the streets, but it actually seemed like people were still optimistic about the prospect of getting third place (which they did, last night). Last night I was sitting in a fifth-floor apartment on Arndstrasse and from his open window we could hear the cars honking below, the last german cheers of the Weltmeisterschaft.

Tim, Steven, Alex (complete with John Lennon glasses) and I at Konrad's Grillparty for the Germany-Italy game/Steven's 21st birthday.

Back to work.