Nika's mother is a physical therapist, though she used to be a swim teacher. Her father is currently working as a waiter in Frankfurt (a city close to Mainz).
School starts at 8:10 am and ends at 1:20 pm, but a lot of students stay longer for sports and other activities after school. Also, many of the older students (ages 15 and older) have classes that go later (sometimes until 4:00 pm). Lunch is not officially during the school day. The school cafeteria is open at 1:20 pm, when school ends, and students can either choose to eat there or eat at home.
Nika usually takes the Straßenbahn (trolley) to school, though she only travels one stop, so she can walk if she needs to. That was really important this week because the public transit workers in most cities in Germany, including Mainz, went on strike, and there were no buses or trolleys running. To get to the trolley station, Nika walks about 5-10 minutes. Fortunately, there is a station right in front of the school so it only takes 2 or 3 minutes to get from there to class.
Sometimes Nika eats lunch at school, and sometimes she eats at home. It depends on if she is staying late at school for after-school activities like sports. Nika's favorite foods are hot dogs and pasta.
