Spreewald

Donnerstag my class made up for missing Montag by going to Spreewald for the day. We met up a little after nine on the platform and took the double-decker train out. We walked a little and then rented some bikes and started biking deeper towards the river (or more accurately: series of small canals.) My back wheel popped, so of course I ended up like luggage on the back of a Nathans bike (one of the guys in the class) and none of the lighter girls volunteered to go instead. We ended up behind and our teacher ended up falling trying to wheel back both bikes (that was poorly planned, I felt bad) but in the end we all met up and went canoeing, Li Chen and me in one canoe, Nathan (originally Kansas, now NYC, professor at a CUNY) and Edwina (Ireland, part time student) in another. I walked around barefoot all day, and realized I had missed that.
I had been expecting a turbulent river, but found civilized nature - quaint canals with an unnoticeable current, wooden houses nestled up against the water.
On the train back I talked to Christiana, the teacher. We started out in German but at some point we switched to English, discussing history and society and people. I wish we could have continued in German, but we didn't get much farther than what my parents studied and a little about my reasoning for coming here.

When I came back I met Kristan's mother, who was visiting, four of us cramped around the table, once again listening. It was thundering outside, the crack of a whip against the clouds, the chatter of the rain coming down.