This is my third day in Mannheim and so far it has been an absolute disaster. I was hoping for so much more before I arrived and it was my biggest fears come to life. My "buddy" that they had set up for me is not even in the country and could not meet me at the train station like he was supposed to. I took a train from Frankfurt to Mannheim and then I took a taxi to Carl-Zuckmayer-Strasse, my dorm.

I got to my dorm and waited for about an hour for someone to help me get into my dorm. I was mildly disturbed when walking through the building- there were disassembled cabinets lining the walls, with plaster dust covering everything. When I reached my room and opened the door, I was greeted by a dirty mop and disgusting bathroom floor. I went to use the bathroom and of course the toilet does not flush whatsoever. I went to take a shower and there was no hot water, of course. Later that evening I wanted to read a book- out of luck again, since the only light in the room was broken as well.

I decided that I wasn't going to stay cooped up in my room crying all day, so I went for a walk to find some food. I didn't know how to get into the city just yet and I was starving, so I walked around looking for some food. The best I could find was a small convenience store where I could only buy a drink. I decided I was exhausted from crying all day and wanted to take a nap. I headed back to my dorm and of course my dorm room door would not open. I tried everything- twisting the key every way, pushing the door, pulling the door, kicking the door...nothing worked. I sat down in the hallway and cried from frustration and jet lag once again. I then wandered around the building, looking for someone to help me, as the maintenance men had all gone home (three hours early, of course).

I ran into a girl about my age, asked her if she spoke English and I was pleasantly surprised and relieved when she answered with a Scottish accent. She too had puffy red eyes and I could tell she'd been crying. She tried to help me with my door as well, to no avail. We went downstairs to try and get someone else to help me, and ran into to boys. She asked if they spoke English and they did, but were German and from a local university. One called the emergency maintenance number and we talked and waited until the maintenance man showed up. He arrived and spoke in rapid-fire dialect-ridden German, and somehow I understood what he was saying. We went up to my room and he opened the door with his master key, saying there was absolutely nothing wrong, I just didn't push the key hard enough. Luckily I didn't have to pay the €77 fee for the emergency (there's a fee for EVERYTHING here), probably because he felt bad for me.

So far, the only things that had gone right that day were meeting Mags, Jeffrey and Lars. They really saved the day for me and have been helping me out ever since. The nice thing is that I know the hardest part will be over soon- I know that the jetlag and the stress of moving to another country is making this harder than it really is.