I played in my first soccer game on Sunday. I hadn't been to the past few games, largely because I'm not really officially a part of the team, and I don't want to just show up and act like I belong there or have some sense of entitlement when I really don't. But last week the trainer sent me an email asking if I would be able to make it to the game on Sunday, which of course I was excited about. I asked him if I should show up ready to play (again, just to be sure I don't look like an ass with a sense of entitlement when he really just wanted me to come ans support the team). He told me to be sure I had all of my stuff with me and, although I didn't think I would end up getting to actually play in the game, it made me really excited and I felt like I was really a part of the team. Anyway, I didn't start, of course. I was in charge of keeping the jackets warm and dry, since it was raining. But I actually got to play for about the last half hour of the second half. I did pretty ok, too, I think. This was the first game I've played in about 8 years, and I can't even describe how good it felt. Of course, I already managed to injure my knee, but I had a great time doing it. My knee isn't that badly hurt, either. My right foot had been firmly planted with all my weight on it while we were running, and right at the moment the girl I was protecting the ball from came in from the right and nailed me on the outside of the knee with her knee. So it completely tweaked my leg in all sorts of wrong ways. I still managed to keep her from getting the ball, though, until it went out of bounds, we got the goal kick, and I collapsed off the field. The girls told me after the game (which ended about 1 minute after the incident) that they thought I was just sitting on the ground laughing. Well, I was laughing, but only because I was in so much pain that I couldn't really do anything else. Like I said, though, it's not too bad. I didn't practice last night to give my knee the rest and let it heal, and I'm still limping a little bit, but I will see how it goes tomorrow at practice. Hopefully I will be able to at least jog a little bit.

Yesterday was also Elif's first birthday. Esther had a seminar yesterday, and Olaf had to take Gustav to swimming lessons in Hürth, but Pauline and I went over to say hi to Güner and Zeynep and to wish Elif a happy birthday. She looked so freaking adorable!! She was wearing this little pink dress with a a pink headband and a bow in her hair, and her little curls were sticking out everywhere. Cute. When I came in the door Elif came "running" over to me with her arms out and a big smile on her face, wanting me to pick her up. She always gets happy when she sees me, and I love to see her smile at me. She's trying to talk more and more, too. Güner said that she can say her own name now, and she also says "Tschüss" and waves goodbye. I wish I had taken my camera with me so that I could have taken a picture of her.

Oh! My university application is finally complete! The transcripts came by courier Thursday evening, and I took them along with my TestDaF results to get notarized first thing on Friday. First I went to the Kreissparkasse here in Königsdorf, where I have my bank account, because the university said that such institutions often possess an official seal and can notarize these documents. Well, they don't, and they can't, at least not at this Sparkasse. So then I waited 40 minutes for a bus to take me to Frechen so I could go to the city hall and get them notarized. Once that was done, I went straight to the post office and put everything in the mail, headed for Berlin. Now we play the waiting game, again, until I hear back from the university. Keep your fingers crossed for me.