Hessentag

Heute ist Hessentag! For some reason I thought we were going to school today. Not sure why. However, I woke up at five (which is 12am my time) because I couldn't figure out how to close the blinds. I also could not figure out how to turn the light on and off, so I got ready for bed in the dark. ha. Everyone must think I am "das verrukt Amerikanisher", but that is ok. Herr Dieter told me the word for closing the blinds in German, which is actually a French word- shiaso....something. This is why I didn't learn French. haha. After breakfast we went to the train station in Marburg which is very small and is being renovated. The trains were much larger and quieter than I imagined them. After an hour on the train we made it to Kassel, Germany where they held the Hessentag which is a celebration of Hessen (one of sixteen "states" in Germany). The police force was very involved in the celebrations and were the center of most activities which was very different than America. When we got there, we saw a large crane lifting a room full of people soaring over the town. Franzie, Herr Dieter, and I decided to go up and it was beautiful! The city is not as scenic as Marbug, but it was amazing to see none the less. After this we walked around and made it to a tent where they were filming a tv show that would air that night on the tv station HR (the official Hessen TV station). Throughout the year there are 4+ villages that all compete to be the ultimate winner. The showing was of the two remaining villages at their last battle. We walked through the markets and made it to the biggest outdoor beer garden. We drank wine and ate cheese and listened to the German band playing songs like Mama Mia and the Pink Panther. We ate chinese Lo Mein for lunch with vegatables and hot sauce. It was good...different...but still good. We visited the Karlsaue which is one of many summer homes for an old prince of germany. Herr Dieter described to me that the Prince was a visionary for his work in astronomy and that the house itself had no bathrooms, but that there was a separate house with bathrooms and saunas and other spa like things. Very interesting. haha. There was also an American helicopter on display from the marines, with the German military, although the German military doesn't have the Marine division. In the last beer garden we ate ice cream and watched the traditional German dancers and saw the costumes from each section of the Christian religions. For example, the Protestant dancers wore different head pieces and displayed whether they were married or not through wearing a red skirt (or something like that). We left early because Franzie has been sick and we were all tired. When we got to the train station we ate McDonalds for dinner. It costed about the same and tasted exactly the same. How can you mess up a McDonalds hamburger though, right? We were talking through dinner and Herr Dieter asked me what kind of meat I like with BBQ, because we were going to their Grandmas for dinner, however they call it steak and I didn't understand the meat options. So as flustered as can be I said "die Steak von die Oma?" Which in translation means I was asking if their grandma was the meat in the BBQ. Oops...thankfully they thought it was hilarious and I was able to play it of pretty well. Yay! We all went home and Franzie, Franzie's parents, and I all watched a crime show. I didn't understand anything that was going on. Just that a young girl died, the main cop is sassy, and the mother is kind of a whore. They asked me who I thought was the murderer at the end and I thought it was this random, not important character when in fact it was the man that tried to shoot the detective, got punched in the face, and taken to jail. Why did I not see that coming? I dont know...
I also learned how to turn on the light in my room, but could not figure out the light in the bathroom and didn't know what to do so I just went to bed. As I'm sitting here I heard Franzie go in the bathroom and say Kim? and then turn the light off. crap. I hope that wasn't super offensive. Anyways, we are for sure going to school tomorrow and I hope it all goes well and I dont make a fool of myself! But I wont see these people after this month, right?