July 7

This morning I started the base reaction that Barbara has run, then later I will change things up a bit in different ways, to see if we can't tease a few more percentage points into the Ausbeute (yield).  It went well I think, but of course I will have to wait until tomorrow, or maybe later, to see what the yield was.  The reaction took most of the day, and then we had a meeting (which I chose to go to) with the Analytic department.  It was supposed to go from 3-5, but ended up taking only a bit more than an hour.  I understood more this time, than last time, but still not too much.  The problem is that they are speaking technical German, and quickly.  Yeah, a bad combination for me; but really good because it all helps me learn.  After work today I had a bit of food, then went to get my RailPass activated at the station.  It is now good until September 7, and we will start using it this weekend!  After that was taken care of, I waited for a bit before taking a train to Mainz, then walking to meet Dirk there.  I actually came across Nadine first, and we waited shortly, until Dirk and his posse arrived.  Dirk and his friends are always a joy to hang out with.  This was my second public viewing in Germany, and the better one by far.  It was in the open, with a massive screen and tons of people standing around and cheering really loud.  Periodically there would be chants and always people just yelling nonsense (to me at least).  Vuvuzelas were not allowed, and you were not allowed to bring your own alcohol inside.  They even felt us up before we entered, I think for alcohol containers only.  They probably would have let me bring a knife, as long as it didn't contain alcohol.  Once again, I didn't have to by any beer there, because it just got bought for me.  I only had two though; everything in moderation!  It was a lot of fun, except that Germany lost.  The game was great though, and the atmosphere better.  I got to talk with Dirk's friend Kai for a while there.  I used German pretty much entirely; I liked him because even though he could speak good English, he spoke German with me, and did it in a way that I could understand.  Maybe it is because he comes from Hannover.  They are supposed to have the least accent there I guess.  He is a social worker with children and youth, for the government (kind of like a Social Services in the States).  Nadine drove there, so I was able to ride with her back, instead of taking the train, which was nice.  We talked on the way back about interests and such, and family; she wanted to know what I liked best about Germany.  I said the people, because they can be very friendly and not very friendly, and it is fun to get to know them, especially the people in my lab, and Dirk's friends.  Now that I think about it though, it is almost kind of a copout, because I thought that about China as well.  I might have to find something more specific.  That shouldn't be hard, since there is little here that I don't like.  Anyway, Nadine is really cool, and I am glad that I've been able to hang out with her.  Things are not so loud at all here in Germany now for an obvious reason.  It is unfortunate to be certain; at least I still have the Netherlands to look forward to.