If I Could Frame My Mind, Where Would It Hang?

Karneval is probably the strangest thing whereon I have ever heard. It starts November 11th at 11:11 am and goes until the beginning of Lent, but it isn’t officially celebrated except by the hardcores until this weekend.

School got out around 11 on Thursday, but school was kind of a waste since most of the kids were – well, wasted. Or pretty close, anyway. A lot of them were wearing costumes too. I kept almost digging my camera out and then losing the courage. Thursday was Weiberfestnacht, or the Woman Celebration Night. They run crazy through the streets and cut off men’s ties. And then, they are totally in their rights to kiss said man. The Missionaries were VERY careful that day, but Elder Hopkins almost got kissed… I hear it was a close one. I personally went straight home after school, but later I went into the city to meet with Anya and Andelyn (Allegra Bel is in Italy with her hostfamily) and we ate Vietnamese food. Drunken people kept getting lost on their way to the bathroom. Afterward we went to their house and watched a few episodes of The Office… and my train didn’t come. Twice. So I missed the last two buses of the night… meaning that I had to overnight at Anya’s. Which I personally love to do, except it doesn’t really please her family for some reason that we do not understand.

The next morning, Friday, I caught the early train from Anya’s to Bad Honnef to eat breakfast with Thuy Tien and her family. Her dad is Italian and his two brothers were there too: their accents were amazingly cool! Her mom is … Vietnamese. I think. Anyway, of course the food was really good and the coffee was from Brazil, but I just drank hot chocolate with the Kinder. We watched Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (in German) and it was just as funny. I pretty much understood the whole thing, which is becoming more common these days. At 6 I drove, uh, took the train to Bonn Beuel (déjà vu!) and then walked to Konrad Adenauer Platz to pick up Andelyn. I walked by the missionaries on the way there but they were contacting to I just smiled and kept walking, and then we caught ‘em on the way back. The 4 of us went to visit a Russian investigator who is a single mom and I didn’t say much – Elder Eaton had the German Speaking covered – except to explain about myself and to bear a short testimony. She was very nice and had some good questions – I hope to go back with the new elders (that area is getting whitewashed Wednesday). We met an American in the Siegburg train station who was just out finding random people to hang out with for Karneval. Poor guy. And there were little alcohol flasks everywhere.
Finally I went home and changed out of the clothes I had been wearing for 2 days straight… stupid Karneval making train drivers decide to just not show up. Not that it isn’t socially acceptable to wear clothing two days in a row in Germany.

Saturday I stayed home and kept waiting to help with the Cleaning that I had been informed would occur… it never did. I was bemused but I did get a spot of Seminary done which was all spiritual and whatnot. I attempted to take the 4:25 bus to Duisdorf to go to an appointment with Anya and the Bonn-Mittel elders, and the bus did NOT come. So I had to ask Ingo to give me a ride, and I was very very unhappy. The appointment was with a less-active sister who is from Ecuador and her investigator friend, so although the conversational language was in German, the lesson was taught by Anya in Spanish. I (amazingly) got pretty much what she was saying, but the elders were lost. And then the Sister asked Elder Weng (a real German!) to read aloud in Spanish and it was hilarious.

We had a baptism on Sunday, of an investigator. He has been coming to church for a while and is so nice and really is the coolest. I am so excited to have him in our ward and for him to become a member of the Church. I opted to stay for the cake and conversation afterward, so Ingo just said I could take the bus which I actually do quite a bit. So I took the train to the Hauptbahnhof with everyone and then we all shook hands at the metro station. Anya’s hostfamily is acting weird around me these days (they used to get annoyed when I didn’t come over enough. Pick one.) so we went on a walk along the Rhein and in Bonn while waiting for my bus instead of just hanging out at her place like usual.

And we got stalked.

Yup, Anya noticed some guy following us in the bus bahnhof so we swerved around a bit and he was still there and we ignored him and kept walking and it got to the point where he was right behind us.
Meg: “I am confronting him in 2 minutes.”
*30 seconds later*
Meg: „Kann ich Ihnen irgendwie helfen, oder was?”

I will let Anya tell the story after this point:

... and he said, “i want to talk to her. Let me talk to her. I want to talk to you (me).”
I(Anya) said, “about?"
he didn't understand me, said some german gibberish which could have been some kind of chant gone wrong to make us fall in love with him... since he said it 3 times.
in between we asked each other, "what?"
he said, "what's your name?"
I said, "kate."
you said, "lauren." (very original might I add)
he said, "Where are you from?"
me: America
him: What?
me: AMERICA
him: And you? (to you)
and you said.... (and I remember this distinctively because it made me laugh) “I also.”
him: You are here studying?
both: yes
then he looked at me creepily-longingishly and said, "you are a very cute girl"
me: thanks (meg's one step compliment accepting program ;)), but we have to go. we have a bus to catch—come.
*we exit*
somewhere in there he mentioned his name, but I forgot it before it left his lips.
me, a few meters later: “Hm, Elder Hopkins has been talking about how I need to get a boyfriend.” *turn around*
you: NO!