Day 81: Party in My Kitchen

I'm studying. Preparing for Wednesday’s lab. A really tough experiment on polymer adsorption, and to top it off, the papers we have to read are in German. I have a long night ahead. Meanwhile, a party is going on in my kitchen. Anthon, one of my flatmates, is celebrating his birthday. Shouting. 300 Germans drinking beer and vodka while listening to 80s German music. The kitchen is completely packed, so I can’t even have dinner. I keep studying.

They come to get me because it's time for a toast. I head to the kitchen and grab a shot glass. They fill it with vodka. I've seen some weird shot combinations before: the classic tequila with lemon and salt, creamy liqueurs, vodka with cheese, vodka with pickles (the last two being typical in Germany and Russia, respectively). But tonight’s combo beats them all: vodka with pica-pica. Pica-pica is that fizzy candy powder you used to eat by licking a lollipop, dipping it into the powder, and licking it again. To make things even stranger, the pica-pica powder was from Fizzzoo, a brand made by Industrias Hnos. Juan López S.A., based in Badajoz, Spain. (How did it even make its way to Germany?)

Then, at midnight—when his actual birthday arrived—it was time for gifts. There were only two: the collective gift from the 300 Germans, a hookah (which, thanks to Turkish influence, is quite trendy in Germany); and my gift, Hundert Jahre Einsamkeit (One Hundred Years of Solitude) by Gabriel García Márquez. I always give books as gifts—I think they’re the best presents in the world. And now that I’m in Germany, I’m trying to introduce these guys to Hispanic culture. So far, 98% of them have flipped through the book, 70% found it interesting, and 30% have actually read a bit of it.

After the gift exchange, everyone left for Flower Power, a bar on the other side of the city. I stayed home because I have class early tomorrow. And, true to my reporter spirit, I’ve written this blog post and uploaded the photos I took to document this unforgettable night.

Next post: Day 84: Why I Don't Go to German Class

Previous post: Day 79: Lost in Dresden