I had a really awful day yesterday, complete with me not talking to anyone all day, losing a glove on the bus, finding out that I have to COMPOSE something along with my music class, a panic attack, and crying in my room for three hours.

Luckily today was way better. School was fine -- the first class of the day was German, and a aweet, gluten-intolerant girl named Cordula gave a presentation about Bertolt Brecht. I shall pause for a moment and explain that everyone in the class has to so a presentation, called a GFS, once a year for a grade, then several smaller presentations called "Referats" as well. It can be in any subject, but I believe that it must be realted to what we're studying in that class. For example, we just read Mutter Courage und Ihre Kinder, so Bertolt Brecht makes sense. It's like a lecture, 30 minutes long or less. It took me over a month to figure out why every so often somebody from the class would get up to speak about something, and we'd all listen and take notes, but now I think it looks like tons of fun and I can't wait to do one. I have lists of things in my head... outsider art, Simone de Beauvoir, etc. I think what I will actually end up doing is a GFS about the American political system, in January, for my English class.

In her GFS, Cordula mentioned that Bertolt Brecht met Hegel at some point... I'm not sure exactly since I understood little in this presentation. Afterwards, the German teacher asked, "Who knows who Hegel is?" I was dozing off (as usual, I'm sorry to say), but everyone was looking clueless so I raised my hand. "Hegel," I said. "He's a guy. Of philsophy. He was a philospher, actually, from Stuttgart." The class errupted into applause at my pathetic explanation. I felt really good about myself, then awful because I know so much more about Hegel than that, and had I had time to prepare I could've given such an impressive explanation! But then I went back to feeling good.

In French, my teacher Frau Egge (who is a TERRIFYING PERSON) decided to ask me why I am in Germany and be all nice to me suddenly. Unfortunately she asked me in French, and my French has become unbelievably awful. I throw in some German roughly every two words! My fear of Frau Egge lives on.

In the lunch break, I decided I wanted to buy a crepe from the Christmas market. So I walked outside, where I ran into Aline, who was waiting for her boyfriend Theo and wanted me to wait with her. We waited for a while, but he didn't show up, so she came along to the Weihnachtsmarkt too. I attempted to start several conversations, but failed miserably. Let's just say I am still completely unable to explain the (simple) plot of "Garden State" in German. At the market, we ran into Lukas and Lukas -- Lukas Leonhard was stessed about what to get Roya for Christmas. (We all have to buy something for someone in our class, whose name we drew from a hat.) Aline suggested some jewelry, but Lukas insisted, "I have no idea what to get for jewelry!" so we all went into the Schössle-Gallerie and tried on sunglasses. Then I accidentally pushed Lukas Leonhard into the sharp corner of a banister and was promptly hi-fived by Aline and the other Lukas, which made me feel really happy and German. We were so, so late to our history class, so we took a route through Theodor Heuss Gymnasium and ran up four flights of stairs! It was so fun.

Then I had my Deutschkurs, which is so pathetic it crosses the line and becomes hilarious. I laugh through every class -- the others must think I am insane.

Now I'm back to feeling exhausted. Unfortunately I have a few gifts to wrap before tomorrow... but fortunately, it's almost Christmas break! I'm so ready to have a nice break from school now.