Visit Europe this Summer with Euralistic.

My breaking point was when my friend came to visit me. I told her two weeks in advance, "Naima, I can't wait, a good friend of mine is coming to visit me. He's studying abroad in Lancaster, England and is going to travel out this way to go to the Oktoberfest." She seemed excited for me.

Then, on the day that he was supposed to arrive, she said to me, "I don't know what you were planning, but your friend can't stay in the flat." I was living in a flat in the basement of her house. She said, "You know, it's for safety reasons. After all, we have the kids upstairs and all."

I was so shocked; I didn't know what to say. I was 22 years old and she was telling me who was allowed to stay in my apartment? I was also furious because my friend was in transit as we spoke. There was no way for me to tell him not to bother coming to see me.

Finally, that evening, I mentioned to my boss (for the 20th time) that I was concerned about my visa. I had done some research and found out that it would take a few months to get a work visa. "I've already been working here for a month illegally. I'm getting a little nervous about getting deported," I said. She took that as me quitting and asked how long I wanted to stay. I was caught off guard but then told her that I would stay and help for another week.

My friend Jeremy arrived late at night and we stayed at a Guesthouse just up the street from my apartment. He asked me, "So, how's the job going?" I laughed and said, "Job? What job?"

I decided that it already felt like I was being pushed out of the school. My boss didn't like me there. So, I made a decision. I asked her if I could go to the Oktoberfest and then help out when I came back. She pretty much told me to just go ahead and leave. So, that is just what I did.

Jeremy and I took the train to Munich that very morning. We had absolutely nowhere to stay or anything. But that didn't worry us. Jeremy had met a rather obnoxious guy on the train (on his way to meet me) who was also going to the Oktoberfest. So, this guy got there first and got us beds in a hostel outside of town.

Unfortunately, it also meant that we had to hang out with this guy. He had one of the worst personalities I had ever found. He was about 40 years old and was dying to hang out us for some reason. I'm pretty sure he had a crush on my friend Jeremy. He also had a bad habit of always thinking he was right and complaining about everything. So, I made sure that he knew that I didn't really like him too much. I didn't say anything, but I was hoping that my super cold shoulder would give him the hint.

It was pouring rain that night. The obnoxious guy wanted to take the subway to the festival. I thought it was silly. It was only a couple blocks. Beside, we'd be walking in the rain once we got there anyway. So, we walked. We were dripping wet and dragging through the puddles.

Unfortunately, the obnoxious guy was starting to infect my friend's attitude too. So, I got us some beers and it all worked out. Soon enough, we were standing on the tables like everyone else. We yelled at the top of our lungs at what seemed to be the song of the Oktoberfest, "Heeeeeeeeyyyy HEEEEeey BAYby! Oo! AH! I wanna KnooOOooOOoooOw if you'll be my girl! Eins, zwei, drei, vier, funff, sechs, sieben, acht..." I also taught Jeremy to say, "Ich liebe bier!!!(I love beer)" It made him a lot friends.

Finally, I looked at my watch and realized that it was already 11:15pm. Our hostel closed its doors at midnight. It was a good 30 minutes on the train and then another 15-20 minute walk. We might make it if we left right then. So, Jeremy and I went dancing out of the building with our arms around each other's shoulders. We jumped in the puddles and got the crowds to sing with us, "Hey Hey baby!"

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