es tut mir Leid!

"es tut mir Leid" means "I'm sorry!"

I apologize for not posting in over a week!

We have been very busy! Last week we finally got cell phones, we set up a bank account and we started our apartment seach. That might not sound like a lot for one week but in our circumstances everything takes a lot longer than it would in the U.S.

Our phones are convenient within Germany but expensive to talk with people in the U.S. They will be good for Sam and I to talk (once we move to Mainz and aren't side by side every waking and sleeping moment), and for Sam to be in touch with Professors and Universities for his research.

We had to register ourselves with the city of Marburg. Everywhere in Germany you have to report your address to the local Polizei with proof of income! As far as I know, the U.S. doesn't have anything like this policy. Everytime anyone in Germany moves they have to report their new information to the city. This is normally a very easy process however our situation was different. We were able to change my last name on everything (bank cards, SS card and driver's license) but did not have time to change the passport before leaving the U.S. Of course that is the only form of ID they would take here so even though we have our marriage certificate I had to register as Jamie Gervais. Not that big of a deal but it just makes things confusing.

Once we were registered we were able to open a bank account. For students under the age of 30 bank accounts are free. Of course, Sam turns 30 in April so we decided to put the account under my name. The bank goes by the city registration so the account had to be under Jamie Gervais. We couldn't figure out why we had not got any of our bank info in the mail after everyone else had but then we realized the name on our mailbox says Sam and Jamie LACY...you are catching on to the complications I'm sure...anyways, it will all work out eventually.

On Friday we had two friends over for dinner! It was fun to host them because they live in single dorms where they have not been able to cook at all. After dinner all of the Fulbrighters watched a movie called "Good Bye Lenin". It was in German with Engligh subtitles. It was about the fall of the Berlin wall. Very interesting.

On Saturday we went to Frankfurt- the only city in Germany with a skyline! It was a very neat place. Last weekend was the Museumfest. There were 3 MILLION people in the city for the event. The population of Frankfurt is 670,000. So it was fun but also so crowded that I think it was a different experience than a typical weekend in Frankfurt.

The city was so interesting because of the combonation of very old buildings amongst very new architecture. We were able to ride to the top of a 200 meter building (2nd tallest in Deutschland) and look over the whole city. I am going to try and attach a slideshow of pictures with this blog. We'll see if I am successful.

As we were getting ready to leave Frankfurt we witnessed a flashmob!! A big group of people suddenly got together and started dancing to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Thriller". The dancers were not that good but it was interesting! Then a group of 3 Jamaican guys came out and did about a 20 minute show of crazy acrobatics. Basically a 3 man Cirque du Soleil. It was amazing. Hopefully you can see some of those pictures.

On Sunday we went to church -I understood even LESS this week : ( and then we hiked to the Kaiser Willhelm Tower again but this time with a camera so you can see some of Marburg!

Another full week of classes! I feel like we are learning a lot. This weekend is the half way point of our time in Marburg so all the Fulbrighters are going out to celebrate. Called a "Bergfest" (literally "Mountain Celebration") this a typical German custom where people make a celebration out of getting through the halfway point of something. Maybe similar to our "Hump-day" but with a lot more beer. For this we might go see the ONE English showing of the movie "Inglorious Bastards" with Brad Pitt. On Sunday we get a tour of the underground area beneath the Marburg castle! We'll let ya know how that goes.

Well, break is over, it's back to class. Hope you all are enjoying the transition from the MN Summer to Fall! I know I'll miss it. Hopefully it is just as pretty here.

Bis nachste Zeit (till next time)

Sam and Jam : )