Hello from Deggendorf

I'm writing some of this in retrospect because I failed to create a blog spot when I first got here. I apologize to those who have been on the edge of their seats every morning when they turn on their computer to see if I have written anything ;)

Getting off that plane in Munich was a bit of a culture shock. I must say, it is a little weird to be somewhere where people sort of look like you, but are all speaking a different language. I felt so American in my sweats and hooded sweatshirt amidst the designer clothing. Seems like people really dress up to go to the airport. All around me on cell phones and amongst one another I was hearing this foreign dialect. Even though I've had some exposure to the German language, it sounded as though people were speaking in tongues. Many people do speak English in Germany, but that thought was far from my mind at this point and didn't really feel like giving German a crack just yet. Customs seemed to be pretty much nonexistent. I could have sworn that someone would be quick to check my bags for any contraband, however, this was not the case. A woman briefly checked my passport, smiled, and sent me on my way. This would be the first of many cultural/national/whatever differences that I would encounter.
After waiting at the baggage claim for about 10 minutes, I saw coming towards me a huge, white guy with a fanny pack on. He was also wearing a Plattling BlackHawks shirt. This had to be my ride I thought to myself (I'm such a good detective). He introduced himself as "Danielle" and I tried to hold back a smirk. I later realized this was just the German way of saying Daniel! As we walked outside to the car, I looked around and saw that almost every car was either a BMW or Audi. I thought "wow, maybe I'll get some sort of BMW M series as my car to drive out here!" I was wrong however as Daniel and I hopped into the two door FORD which was also to be my car out here.....and we were off to Deggendorf! (Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to even have a car out here).
The ride to Deggendorf from the Munich airport was about 50 minutes. Daniel was one of those guys you could easily like. He was very outgoing and reminded me of one of my former teammates at Syracuse who came to us from Quebec. From the looks of him, I could tell he played offensive or defensive line and was most likely about 23 years old. When I asked him however, it turned out that he was 31. Wow.. It does seem that people look a little younger than they really are in Germany. However, I was right about the fact that he was one of my teammates.
Daniel was pretty impressed that I had learned some German. He said he had only met one other American import who knew any German. That other import had also gone to Harvard ;) I always knew those Ivy League admissions jerks didn't know what they were missing out on!!
As we went on driving, I noticed how fast he was going I was not used to this obviously and started to become a little nervous. This was my first taste of the infamous, crazed European driving...I hope nobody takes offense to that...but it really is... He seemed to appreciate American culture as he shoved a huge wad of Skoal under his bottom lip. "This shit is like Gold here man!" he said. Apparently you can't buy dip in Germany. Daniel told me that he pays triple the price for it to be shipped out to him in Bavaria. On a side note, his father was also a Dentist lol.
As we arrived in Deggendorf, my first impression was "I am definitely in Europe". The streets were cobble stoned and had a unique beauty to it just like you see in the post cards. There were fountains and every other shop was a cafe or restaurant. We then met up with another one of my teammates, Borro. He was of Polish descent but was born and raised in Germany. Great guy. The son of a cardiologist, he was 32 years old and still playing in the GFL (German Football League). He also works for the soft ware company that sponsors our team. He told me that he was considered the black sheep of his family seeing that mostly everyone in his family was a doctor but he had a great European career. He warned me of how addicting it is playing over here. Not only did he play in the GFL, but he was also a member of the German national team at one point. Among the Germans, this is considered a huge honor. The two took me to an old style tavern where I had my first Weisbeer and it was very good! Both Borro and Daniel warned me that I should be careful about how much of this I consume. For lunch, I ordered my first Wienerschnitzel and it was AWESOME. All it really is is fried pork. I ate it with french fries and it was then that it dawned on me that I was going to become fat out here....