The heat is back

We thought we were getting a break from the heat yesterday, but it is back today. :) Tyler said that people at work are apologizing to him for the heat and lack of air. I have been very unproductive today and pretty much just sat on the couch all day long! I went out walking this morning, still trying to find that dang pool and didn't have any luck. I feel like everyone is in on a secret but us. Either that or someone is playing a joke on us and there really isn't a pool!! Last night we had drinks with Christoph and his wife. Christoph is an attorney for Adidas and worked on a big case with Kilpatrick a while back and Charlie Henn at KS got Tyler in touch with him. Christoph and his wife both went to school here in Erlangen and made it their home after they graduated. She is an attorney for Siemens. He gave us a lot of insight on places to eat, where we can go to the doctor and some of the better beir gardens. He also helped us out a lot on tipping! Apparently in Germany, when you let the waiter count you back all of your change and THEN you leave a tip, it is an insult because they assume you are not going to tip. It is more common that when you are given the total, you just round up and tell them to only give you however much back in change. So, although we have been tipping and probably more than we should (Only 10% in Germany) we have insulted some folks by getting all of our change back. He also told us that the part of town we are living in is what people in Erlangen call "Brooklyn". Apparently a lot of Turkish and Russians live around us, but he said it was very safe. Tyler and I agreed that it doesn't make much difference to us if we are living next to Russians or Germans, we still can't understand them. And there is an Italian doctor that lives above us who speaks a little English. So whatever, we are just a mix of nations! Richard assured me that we stick out and there is no need to try and blend in, that I think I already knew. We sat next to a group of kids that were speaking English...I was the closest to them and every once in a while they would talk to me. They asked why I was here, I learned my lesson that from now on, I should just say that Tyler is here working for Siemens and not say as an attorney. Apparently Germans don't like lawyers, even German ones. I then let him know that I was sitting with 4 other people and I was the only one who wasn't an attorney. A bit later I heard him make a comment to his friends "Oh, look at us, we are all big shot attorney's" That made me laugh. He also let me know that all Americans think that everyone should adapt to them and speak English instead of us learning other languages. I can't say that I totally disagree with him, but he was a jerk. And he didn't encourage me to run out and learn German. I learned some interesting things from Christoph last night! One being that Germany staggers their summer holidays. Starting in the North around the first of June and ending in the South with their break starting around the end of July. He said that originally started as an effort to keep everyone from heading to Italy on holiday at the same time. Wonder if that would benefit Destin?? I also learned about the "brotherhoods" here in Erlange for the university...or their fraternities. He said there are 2 types, beating and non-beating. Basically those that haze and those that don't. And the particular one we were standing in front of, in order to get in, you have to fence with no mask and get a scar across your face...pretty hardcore! Tyler leaves on Sunday morning for Saudi Arabia and returns Wednesday morning. I am sad to see him go. Not because I am scared to be here alone, just because I think I will be lonely! We are hoping to get the American TV worked out before he leaves. I will do some serious reading. I brought so many books with me and I haven't even started reading any of them! This is long enough with no pictures. :) I will post again later (I wrote this yesterday and never got around to posting)