Two days to go

I'm finishing up with all the little things I need to do before I leave, such as: sending those last thirty e-mails, canceling my Netflix subscription, proving to St. Louis County that I will not be available for jury duty next month, and telling my credit union I will be gone so they don't suspect that a 14-year-old in Stuttgart hacked my checking account.

I also, with the help of my mom, made a budget. This is the most detailed budget I've ever made, and frankly, I'm hoping that the Euro will take a serious dive--just for a few days--so I can exchange all my money at a better rate. The last time I went to Europe the Dollar and the Euro had about the same value. Now, the one Euro is worth about $1.48.


This is 8,50 euros, which is worth approximately one first born child.

Anyways, despite the exchange rate (and the mild flu I seem to be experiencing), I'm very excited to leave for my trip.

One week to go... ***Learn the Language Edition***

If I could pick one aspect of my German language abilities I would like to improve, besides just getting to know some of the everyday German idioms people use, it would be my command over my verbs. I really need to work on passive form; I mean, ahem, my passive sentences will need to have been changed. :) I would also just like to know more verbs and get better at conjugating the ones I use all the time. SO, I've been making flashcards from Henry Strutz's 501 German Verbs.

I actually found a mistake in one of the examples. It defines beißen as "to cut," which is close, but it means "to bite." This guy made sure 501 German verbs were properly conjugated in every possible way, so I guess I can cut him some slack.

My favorite new verb so far is "bejahen," which means "to answer to affirmative." Basically, it means "to yes" or "to be-yes" someone.

I'm also reading the first Harry Potter book in German. It's called Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen. It's at a pretty good reading level for me. I'm learning a lot of new vocabulary because I usually don't talk about wizards' cloaks, owls, spells and wands every day, and it uses some idioms I am unfamiliar with. I was actually able to buy this book at Barnes & Noble in Duluth...of all places.

One week to go... ***Packing Edition***

As you can see, Rick Steves is helping me get prepared for Germany and Austria.

"But that's the 2007 edition of Rick Steves' Germany & Austria!" you may prostest. No worries--I've unlocked the secret to time travel. I will be visiting Europe in the year 2007, which will allow me to pay 2007 rates and experience all the sights as they were before the Y2K8 bug hit.

OK, kidding over. I just don't see the point of buying the 2008 edition, which is bound to be quite similar. According to RickSteves.com, this will probably be the last year that Germany and Austria will be featured in the same book. There will also be a book focused solely on Vienna that will be published this spring, after I've already become an *expert* on Vienna.

On to packing... I am only bringing one suitcase, but I think I can manage that. Airlines usually only allow one carry-on and one checked bag into Vienna, and I do not wish to pay 50-75 euros to send another one. I'm just going to wash my clothes more often.

I have three Rick Steves brand packing cubes--very shick, as you can see. They're not completely full yet. I also have some airtight bags that promise I can bring up to three times the clothes I would have brought without them. We'll see about that.