Let it be known: I nine spreckinzie die Germanese. That being said, my wonderful adventures in Hamburg, Germany weren't ruined due to my lack of their language because EVERYONE THERE SPEAKS ENGLISH! In fact, I'd be willing to bet that they speak gooder English than I. These photos are where I spent 70% of my time while I was in Hamburg.

Finding out about my internship to Germany 2 weeks before my first day was definitely stressful, but at least the school provided me and my team partner, Lissy, with a flat (which means we didn't have to find one on our own! WOOT!). But the things that were stressful was getting the plane ticket, flying alone (first for me), flying to Europe (first for me) to a country that doesn't speak English. These didn't discourage me because I was just too excited to see the world. And this particular worldy travel taught me many lessons in life, travel, and culture.

This quote has continually taunted me since it came out of my mouth. After landing in Germany, I needed to swing by the school to pick up a key before going to the flat I was staying at. This meant I was fortunate enough to have ALL my stuff: a large suitcase, a smaller (but still large) suitcase, my carryon bag which contained my laptop, and I was sporting jeans and a jacket all while it was a balmy 96 degrees. My taxi driver (my first impression of a German person) couldn't figure out were the school was at. Euros, one being equal to two dollars at the time, was just something I didn't have, and I didn't want to pay for him to be continually circling the same block, so I asked him to let me out with all my stuff. Twenty minutes later, I found the school and NO ONE WAS THERE. I thought I was going to have to spend my first night on the streets of Hamburg.

All of the sudden, a blonde girl rode up to the school on a bike. As she approached me, she said something in German (I don't know what). I simply didn't know how to respond, so this is what came out of my mouth: "Uh, hi. I'm Dave Schafer...from America." I still don't think the "...from America" line was necessary, due mainly to the fact I 1) speak English; 2) it's quite the AMERICAN accent; 3) I have multiple suitcases; and 4) American flag bandana. Fortunately, she was the person I needed to meet, and the reason she was going to the school at that time was to check her email to see when we were coming. Many of my friends call me "Dumb-Luck Dave."