Basically those three things sum up a lot of my recent activities pretty well. I'm beat from today. We took a train at about 11 this morning (me, Destiny, Vanky, and Emily) to this town called Triberg where there's Germany's highest waterfall. The train ride there was pretty normal, until you got into the black forest. Then your train was on the side of a hill overlooking a valley of forested pines and rolling green hills of farm land. That second half of the train ride was unlike anything I've done before... (I don't think I've ever been so moved by transportation! I couldn't stop taking pictures). The town of Triberg is not too large and is really situated in a valley between the hills. The center of town was rather deserted when we got there, first of all because it wasn't tourist season and second of all because it was lunch time, when every business decided to close for two hours. It was hard to find somewhere to eat lunch and we ended up just getting stuff from a bakery.
Because the town was a tourist town, there were a lot of signs in English and a few American flags flying around. To see the waterfall itself it cost 3 euro of course, but the walk up to the top of the waterfall was straight out of lord of the rings. I honestly think if I would have sat on a rock near those falls for a week or two, I could become inspired enough to churn out a great novel, they were breathtaking. The forests around the waterfall were just as cool; 200-300 year old fir trees and then giant boulders covered in moss. We hiked around the waterfall when we noticed there was a sign for a high ropes course. Curious we followed the english signs until we found, you would never guess, a really cool high ropes course. It was one of the most fun things I've done in Germany so far. We did the top two levels that were the hardest and the highest... Which looking back it might have been better to start off slow, but it was alright in the end. There were a few parts in the beginning though were I had to force myself to jump or to climb. And it was well worth it. One of the courses went high up in the trees in the hills and midway there was a clearing so you could look down the valley and over the town. It was truly awesome. Also, jumping off of a small platform a hundred feet off the ground even with a harness can make you nervous. But the exhilaration made the pain of death-gripping the wire cables totally worth it.
After our 3 hour adventure in the trees, we went down to town and ate at a local restaurant. I had a pork steak with potatoes and onions and of course a local beer and chocolate for desert. Who needs vegetables? But it was really good. We got lucky and caught the next train home which took about an hour and a half. But I love riding on that train out of the black forest. I think I may write a poem or prose about that train ride some day. Someone needs to for god sakes.
Anyway so that was today. Yesterday we went to a cool student bar in the evening after I had a productive day of setting up a bank and planning my classes.
Day before that we all went to the bars for Yana's last night in town. It was really sad to see her go. Our professor also met up with us at the bars and that was really fun. After the bars we went downtown to try to go to a club, but Yana forgot her ID sadly and they wouldn't let us in. I tried to get us into a second bar close to that one, but it was a fancy club, and my bad German didn't impress the picky bouncer, who assumed we all were drunk and not classy enough for his snobby bar. Guy didn't know what he missed out on!
Right now my computer has a virus... which sucks... I'm also trying to plan my trip to the UK now so I'll probably finish that tomorrow! I'm beat now, so I'm gonna hit the hay! Night!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Good Afternoon Friends!
I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but here its sunny, about 75 degrees, and just the perfect day to be alive! This is the second day like this we've had in a row where I've been finally able to start wearing my shorts! WooHoo!! So why am I inside blogging? Because this is about the only time I'll have free time! Tonight I'm planning on going to a work out group thing and then later we are having a good bye party for our dear Russian Friend Yana! Busy night!
This week has been very busy! Our Sprach Kurse (Language Class) is ending, meaning we are going to get our break soon! But that also means this week we have the final tests and presentations. My final test was Monday and for each section it was either hit or miss; but overall in the class I ended up doing well, despite not doing so well on the test. But to celebrate our class being over, our teacher took us on a picnic and nature walk near the small town of Ihringen today. We met at the main train station at 8:40 in the morning and took the train about 15 minutes of town. From there, we were in the beautiful little town of Ihringen and we walked to the "Kaisersstuhl" or the seat of the king; It was on the cusp of this once active volcano and also in the middle of wine country. It was truly beautiful! There on the top of a hill we had lunch (within 100 yards of a beehive too) and it was pretty cool. We then walked back to town and now I'm beat! That's two days in a row I've walked up and down hills!
Yesterday, I went on a castle tour. We took a train to Emmendingen (I like the way that sounds haha) and it took us about an hour and a half to two hours to walk to this castle from there. But once again the walk might have been hard but it was beautiful. Rolling just-green hills, fresh spring air, all set within farm country and small little villages sprouting up right at the foothills. The castle itself had many different levels, most of which obviously had much damage, but it was on top of one of the hills where you could see the three main towns in the area. It was very easy to imagine that being the seat of government and being the heart of these cities. I'm sure those surrounding areas were vinyards and cow fields 500 years ago too! The castle itself was really interesting; you could see in the different levels what period in time they were built and each level had a history; usually always something to do with the French, a war, and then a fire. The many hidden little nooks and storage rooms were great places to hide; but they would have sucked to have to live in one of those holes during a war. The main part of the castle, which looked like it was once really cool, was burned down to the ground (I think by the French? Who may have also built the main part of the castle? I'm not entirely sure his German was a little too badisch for me to understand). After this adventure and the one today, I'm a little beat!
I guess the other big event that happened recently was my trip to France! Last Saturday, a group of five of us took the train to Strasbourg, France for the day! We got off the train at Kehl and walked over the Rhein Bridge and did the whole "Half of my body is in France, the other half's in Germany thing" The bikers passing by I swear just rolled their eyes. Damn Tourists. I've been getting that a lot lately. Totally expected.
I'd like to interrupt this blog with an announcement. The 6pm bells are ringing now! They sound so beautiful!
Anyway, we walked into France which wasn't too bad of a walk and then made it into the very edge of the city, which to be honest scared us a little at first. At the very edge of the city, at the last train stop, it was only half finished construction sites everywhere, and no people. It was a little too twilight zone for comfort. When we got onto the street train station, we had to figure out what kind of ticket we needed; luckily one in our group spoke French to some degree (she said not a lot, but I'm pretty sure she knew French pretty well) and she got us 24 hour tickets. The first big difference between France and Germany, I have noted, has been the street trains. In France, they are usually all the same design, very sleek and artsy, and the inside is all color coded and some cool music plays whenever youre at a stop. In Germany, the street car trains are more designed for effectiveness; the inside is designed to hold the most people, and the only thing that plays on the speakers are the options you have when you step off at each spot. This might just be a Freiburg, Strasbourg difference though; I'll have to visit more to tell for sure. Anyway, we made it into the main part of the city (some stop called the Iron Man) and just started walking around. The German influence was obvious, but to fathom all the people here spoke French; sure some of them spoke German, but still to think that within 30 miles people couldn't communicate easily was shocking to see in reality. I think that just adds to my theory that experiencing something in real life is very different than reading it in a book. I mean yeah you can know the fact that France and Germany speak French and German, but when you're there experiencing it, seeing it and hearing it, it solidifies this fact into feeling and life. It makes that original fact hold more weight and make some kind of deeper impression on you.
What also has made an impression on my for the rest of my life is the Cathedral at Strasbourg. We were just walking around and we turned a corner when the cathedral seemingly materialized out of thin air. It took up my whole vision and blocked out the sun. All five of us just stopped and stared and couldn't do anything else. I'm pretty sure we blocked the street for a few minutes as we slowly walked toward the cathedral in a zombie like fashion, fixated on the towering spires. But nonetheless when we made it to the square we all decided to eat something on the square next to the cathedral. Our waiter was really nice. He knew we were foreigners but couldn't figure out if we wanted to talk in English or German (half of us did english, half of us did german) The poor guy who speaks French very well had to know at least two different languages just to be a waiter. I'm pretty sure if he got smart he would employ his services as a translator! I had a steak with green-garlic butter; it was delicious. And right half way through our meal, the midday bells began. It was breathtaking to just listen to them for about fifteen minutes. It wasn't like traditional bells that I'm used to hearing that have some kind of tune they play or some kind of specific harmony. But instead it was a whole spectrum of bells from different times in history playing together making all different kinds of harmonies; and then there would be the biggest bell that would seemingly shake you to your core it was so loud and deep. It was a great experience.
After that we took a Canal Tour around the city and saw many of the historic districts! From the canal we saw the gorgeous and gigantic European Parliament. We even went through two locks in the city. After the tour we walked around for a bit longer before settling down and getting something to eat midday at a chocolate cafe. It was truly some of the best hot chocolate I've ever had. AND it came in a giant bowl, not a cup. After a long day we headed back to Germany and home, where we later that night went to see "Die Tribute von Panem"; which turned out to be a good movie!
Tonight, I've skipped out on going to Sport Fitness stuff and instead will cook a nice dinner and eat it out on the porch :) later I'm excited to go out and see everyone for Yana's goodbye party!
I hope everything is going well with you wherever you are, whenever you are reading this and I'll write again soon!
I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but here its sunny, about 75 degrees, and just the perfect day to be alive! This is the second day like this we've had in a row where I've been finally able to start wearing my shorts! WooHoo!! So why am I inside blogging? Because this is about the only time I'll have free time! Tonight I'm planning on going to a work out group thing and then later we are having a good bye party for our dear Russian Friend Yana! Busy night!
This week has been very busy! Our Sprach Kurse (Language Class) is ending, meaning we are going to get our break soon! But that also means this week we have the final tests and presentations. My final test was Monday and for each section it was either hit or miss; but overall in the class I ended up doing well, despite not doing so well on the test. But to celebrate our class being over, our teacher took us on a picnic and nature walk near the small town of Ihringen today. We met at the main train station at 8:40 in the morning and took the train about 15 minutes of town. From there, we were in the beautiful little town of Ihringen and we walked to the "Kaisersstuhl" or the seat of the king; It was on the cusp of this once active volcano and also in the middle of wine country. It was truly beautiful! There on the top of a hill we had lunch (within 100 yards of a beehive too) and it was pretty cool. We then walked back to town and now I'm beat! That's two days in a row I've walked up and down hills!
Yesterday, I went on a castle tour. We took a train to Emmendingen (I like the way that sounds haha) and it took us about an hour and a half to two hours to walk to this castle from there. But once again the walk might have been hard but it was beautiful. Rolling just-green hills, fresh spring air, all set within farm country and small little villages sprouting up right at the foothills. The castle itself had many different levels, most of which obviously had much damage, but it was on top of one of the hills where you could see the three main towns in the area. It was very easy to imagine that being the seat of government and being the heart of these cities. I'm sure those surrounding areas were vinyards and cow fields 500 years ago too! The castle itself was really interesting; you could see in the different levels what period in time they were built and each level had a history; usually always something to do with the French, a war, and then a fire. The many hidden little nooks and storage rooms were great places to hide; but they would have sucked to have to live in one of those holes during a war. The main part of the castle, which looked like it was once really cool, was burned down to the ground (I think by the French? Who may have also built the main part of the castle? I'm not entirely sure his German was a little too badisch for me to understand). After this adventure and the one today, I'm a little beat!
I guess the other big event that happened recently was my trip to France! Last Saturday, a group of five of us took the train to Strasbourg, France for the day! We got off the train at Kehl and walked over the Rhein Bridge and did the whole "Half of my body is in France, the other half's in Germany thing" The bikers passing by I swear just rolled their eyes. Damn Tourists. I've been getting that a lot lately. Totally expected.
I'd like to interrupt this blog with an announcement. The 6pm bells are ringing now! They sound so beautiful!
Anyway, we walked into France which wasn't too bad of a walk and then made it into the very edge of the city, which to be honest scared us a little at first. At the very edge of the city, at the last train stop, it was only half finished construction sites everywhere, and no people. It was a little too twilight zone for comfort. When we got onto the street train station, we had to figure out what kind of ticket we needed; luckily one in our group spoke French to some degree (she said not a lot, but I'm pretty sure she knew French pretty well) and she got us 24 hour tickets. The first big difference between France and Germany, I have noted, has been the street trains. In France, they are usually all the same design, very sleek and artsy, and the inside is all color coded and some cool music plays whenever youre at a stop. In Germany, the street car trains are more designed for effectiveness; the inside is designed to hold the most people, and the only thing that plays on the speakers are the options you have when you step off at each spot. This might just be a Freiburg, Strasbourg difference though; I'll have to visit more to tell for sure. Anyway, we made it into the main part of the city (some stop called the Iron Man) and just started walking around. The German influence was obvious, but to fathom all the people here spoke French; sure some of them spoke German, but still to think that within 30 miles people couldn't communicate easily was shocking to see in reality. I think that just adds to my theory that experiencing something in real life is very different than reading it in a book. I mean yeah you can know the fact that France and Germany speak French and German, but when you're there experiencing it, seeing it and hearing it, it solidifies this fact into feeling and life. It makes that original fact hold more weight and make some kind of deeper impression on you.
What also has made an impression on my for the rest of my life is the Cathedral at Strasbourg. We were just walking around and we turned a corner when the cathedral seemingly materialized out of thin air. It took up my whole vision and blocked out the sun. All five of us just stopped and stared and couldn't do anything else. I'm pretty sure we blocked the street for a few minutes as we slowly walked toward the cathedral in a zombie like fashion, fixated on the towering spires. But nonetheless when we made it to the square we all decided to eat something on the square next to the cathedral. Our waiter was really nice. He knew we were foreigners but couldn't figure out if we wanted to talk in English or German (half of us did english, half of us did german) The poor guy who speaks French very well had to know at least two different languages just to be a waiter. I'm pretty sure if he got smart he would employ his services as a translator! I had a steak with green-garlic butter; it was delicious. And right half way through our meal, the midday bells began. It was breathtaking to just listen to them for about fifteen minutes. It wasn't like traditional bells that I'm used to hearing that have some kind of tune they play or some kind of specific harmony. But instead it was a whole spectrum of bells from different times in history playing together making all different kinds of harmonies; and then there would be the biggest bell that would seemingly shake you to your core it was so loud and deep. It was a great experience.
After that we took a Canal Tour around the city and saw many of the historic districts! From the canal we saw the gorgeous and gigantic European Parliament. We even went through two locks in the city. After the tour we walked around for a bit longer before settling down and getting something to eat midday at a chocolate cafe. It was truly some of the best hot chocolate I've ever had. AND it came in a giant bowl, not a cup. After a long day we headed back to Germany and home, where we later that night went to see "Die Tribute von Panem"; which turned out to be a good movie!
Tonight, I've skipped out on going to Sport Fitness stuff and instead will cook a nice dinner and eat it out on the porch :) later I'm excited to go out and see everyone for Yana's goodbye party!
I hope everything is going well with you wherever you are, whenever you are reading this and I'll write again soon!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The last week and then some!
Greetings from the heart of Europe!
Well its already been another week! Now that I think I've moved in and have some kind of schedule during the day, everything is moving much faster. My fluency in German has been improving. I think I've moved on from the "Stupid foreigner" level to the "Survivable" level. If the language weren't so strict on things like verbs, endings, and declaring every known object man, woman, or neutered, I'd probably be at the "Perhaps dyslexic" level, which is when you can start flirting with people without sounding too terribly dumb.
You know I guess I thought before I came on this trip that it was going to be great and exciting and also teach some valuable life lessons, but you know I really didn't know what those valuable life lessons were going to be. I still don't know the majority of them, but I think I can see them starting to form. I really have begun to realize that as I foil my Americanized, Midwestern, culture and sense of the world against this Southern German conscious that I've been doing things for a long time just for the sake of doing them. The way I dress, eat, get things done, I usually just do it because I've always done it; and sure we've all thought about the alternatives, but its not until when everyone around you does it differently do you stop for a minute and REALLY think about the WHY you do things the way you do. These little bits of truths come at me at the most random times. Its been everything from why doesn't America appreciate public spaces more? What is in American bread that keeps it so soft always? What would it be like to NEVER own a house and instead rent your home or flat for your entire life? Why wouldn't I wear that style of clothes before? Why the hell haven't I tried more chocolate before?
And this thought process permeates. I wish I could have done this on my own, thinking threw almost everything in your life just little bits at a time, but I don't think I could have without being here. It's also come through very strongly in the political discussions I've had on multiple occasions. I mean there's a whole section in the book stores usually dedicated to politics and there's a special shelf with books like "What's wrong with the Americans" and "The failures and future of American foreign policy" There's four kinds of politics that everyone knows about here; that's local, German, European, and American. It makes for interesting talk especially in the areas of foreign policy.
Well before I blather on more about these little findings, let me outline what I've done for the past week and a half!
Today: I went to a Fitness Class thing. Holy crap was that interesting. and fun. and also frightening as the lady yelled at us "schneller!" "Mit die Knien!!" and so on.
Yesterday: I had dinner on the river with a friend and walked the city for a bit before coming home and enjoying a nice bowl of Frosties! Earlier that day I also lost my keys! That was a pain.
Monday: I bought out the entire Edeka store... I also did a hell of a lot of shopping and got a haircut! Funny story, the lady was talking to me in normal German (as opposed to foreign exchange student German) and so I kept missing words. Well at one point I thought she said something about Doener, a famous dish here, so continuing the conversation I asked her where the best Doener in the city was. She stopped and looked at me and said she had no idea, she hated Doener... She didn't say anything about Doener, but instead duenner, referring to my hair and how short/ thin I wanted it. It didn't help that it could have been construed as a racial comment, considering she was Turkish and the dish was Turkish... But I honestly thought she said something about Doener... But it was all alright in the end!
Sunday: I did nothing but sit on my butt, enjoy a communal dinner, and ran around the beautiful Seepark (a lake behind my dorm that's breathtaking)
Saturday: I went deep into the Black Forest! We went to an old Baroque church in the hills of the forest and then visited a famous town for CooCoo clocks!
Friday:Hung out with some friends for a while, drank some wine, and then went out!
Thursday: I went Celtic Dancing! That was soooo much fun! Drinking beer and dancing the night away!
Wednesday: Another dinner with a friend and then visited a cafe. You know its so nice to just be able to enjoy food and drink and company to the late hours in a European city. Too bad it costs a lot of money...
I've also had the 'funny' realization that this new milk that I love, stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated before opening, actually does need to be refrigerated after opening.... I previously thought you could have it open and not EVER refrigerate it. Yes. Yes. Yes. I know. I don't know why I thought that but I did and know I realize its only before opening. So I've been drinking semi-spoiled milk for a bit now; it still tasted fine.
Also this song is HUGE in Germany right now... Its everywhere on the radio and people are singing it in the streets. I have no idea what the lyrics mean... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo_Mtsnkeh0&feature=g-music&context=G29c317fYMAAAAAAAHAA
Well its already been another week! Now that I think I've moved in and have some kind of schedule during the day, everything is moving much faster. My fluency in German has been improving. I think I've moved on from the "Stupid foreigner" level to the "Survivable" level. If the language weren't so strict on things like verbs, endings, and declaring every known object man, woman, or neutered, I'd probably be at the "Perhaps dyslexic" level, which is when you can start flirting with people without sounding too terribly dumb.
You know I guess I thought before I came on this trip that it was going to be great and exciting and also teach some valuable life lessons, but you know I really didn't know what those valuable life lessons were going to be. I still don't know the majority of them, but I think I can see them starting to form. I really have begun to realize that as I foil my Americanized, Midwestern, culture and sense of the world against this Southern German conscious that I've been doing things for a long time just for the sake of doing them. The way I dress, eat, get things done, I usually just do it because I've always done it; and sure we've all thought about the alternatives, but its not until when everyone around you does it differently do you stop for a minute and REALLY think about the WHY you do things the way you do. These little bits of truths come at me at the most random times. Its been everything from why doesn't America appreciate public spaces more? What is in American bread that keeps it so soft always? What would it be like to NEVER own a house and instead rent your home or flat for your entire life? Why wouldn't I wear that style of clothes before? Why the hell haven't I tried more chocolate before?
And this thought process permeates. I wish I could have done this on my own, thinking threw almost everything in your life just little bits at a time, but I don't think I could have without being here. It's also come through very strongly in the political discussions I've had on multiple occasions. I mean there's a whole section in the book stores usually dedicated to politics and there's a special shelf with books like "What's wrong with the Americans" and "The failures and future of American foreign policy" There's four kinds of politics that everyone knows about here; that's local, German, European, and American. It makes for interesting talk especially in the areas of foreign policy.
Well before I blather on more about these little findings, let me outline what I've done for the past week and a half!
Today: I went to a Fitness Class thing. Holy crap was that interesting. and fun. and also frightening as the lady yelled at us "schneller!" "Mit die Knien!!" and so on.
Yesterday: I had dinner on the river with a friend and walked the city for a bit before coming home and enjoying a nice bowl of Frosties! Earlier that day I also lost my keys! That was a pain.
Monday: I bought out the entire Edeka store... I also did a hell of a lot of shopping and got a haircut! Funny story, the lady was talking to me in normal German (as opposed to foreign exchange student German) and so I kept missing words. Well at one point I thought she said something about Doener, a famous dish here, so continuing the conversation I asked her where the best Doener in the city was. She stopped and looked at me and said she had no idea, she hated Doener... She didn't say anything about Doener, but instead duenner, referring to my hair and how short/ thin I wanted it. It didn't help that it could have been construed as a racial comment, considering she was Turkish and the dish was Turkish... But I honestly thought she said something about Doener... But it was all alright in the end!
Sunday: I did nothing but sit on my butt, enjoy a communal dinner, and ran around the beautiful Seepark (a lake behind my dorm that's breathtaking)
Saturday: I went deep into the Black Forest! We went to an old Baroque church in the hills of the forest and then visited a famous town for CooCoo clocks!
Friday:Hung out with some friends for a while, drank some wine, and then went out!
Thursday: I went Celtic Dancing! That was soooo much fun! Drinking beer and dancing the night away!
Wednesday: Another dinner with a friend and then visited a cafe. You know its so nice to just be able to enjoy food and drink and company to the late hours in a European city. Too bad it costs a lot of money...
I've also had the 'funny' realization that this new milk that I love, stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated before opening, actually does need to be refrigerated after opening.... I previously thought you could have it open and not EVER refrigerate it. Yes. Yes. Yes. I know. I don't know why I thought that but I did and know I realize its only before opening. So I've been drinking semi-spoiled milk for a bit now; it still tasted fine.
Also this song is HUGE in Germany right now... Its everywhere on the radio and people are singing it in the streets. I have no idea what the lyrics mean... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo_Mtsnkeh0&feature=g-music&context=G29c317fYMAAAAAAAHAA
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The First Week!
Hello All! I hope you have been well back home! I've been very busy and sorry I haven't posted more about my blog. But anyway, I'll try and remember all I did this week (including all the funny adventures I've had):
For those who don't have the time to get down and read all my thoughts, I know you just want the quick and dirty... Here's your Quick and Dirty Run Down:
Sunday: Wine Tour; Card games later with wine and jazz
Saturday: Basel, Switzerland visit and then hanging out with wine drinking
Friday: Schlossberg Tour (One of the high hills around Freiburg literally meaning Castle Mountain; You can see all of the city, from the edge of the Black Forest to the edge of the Rhein Valley; On top of the mountain there's a huge tower... Its pretty sick)
Thursday: Karaoke Bar visit! (Three other international students and I sang living on a prayer by Bon Jovi...)
Wednesday: We all went out with the international students which was about half Americans, half Italians, and then some Latin Americans and one Belgian; that was pretty fun because I got to talk to most of them about politics, while drinking beer.
Tuesday: Took a tour of the city and did shopping in the city center!
From that quick and dirty run down, you can see I've been very busy. That on top of a class I'm taking all morning long and then homework, I've not had a lot of time to sleep or to blog. But it's been so much fun, and learning German has been really cool too. I learn more and more each day.
So anyway! Let me start off with today. Because I can remember that best. I woke up at 1130... to church bells, which sound a lot prettier here, and cleaned my room and normal stuff. At around 2 we left for the city center we we met our group to go out for a Wine Tour. Now you have to understand, my brain is a little fried right now from having to think, hear, and speak in two languages all the time, SO when I saw on the paper Weinführung, I thought "O! A wine tastin, or wine (wein) tour (führung). That would be cool to just be able to say, this one sunday while I was traveling in Europe, I stopped in the Rhein valley region in the south to sample some fine wines. My favorite was the dry white, especially of the 1975 year..." Anyway, so I thought it was going to be that, but no, not really. It was an actual WINE TOUR, like a tour of the vinyards or the wine fields. with the grapes. outside. no nice wine restaurant with a big roaring fire and fine food. So we walked around some vinyards for about for hours, but even though it wasn't what I expected, it was still very worth the trip. The region was gorgeous... They have terraces on the hills there that are just acres and acres of vinyards that go on from the hills of the black forest to the edge of the rhein region and then into France. The soil, weather, and everything else are perfect for wine growing (so our guide said... at least I think...). At the end of the tour, we had a bonfire with bread, wurst, and some kind of wine cider... I'm not sure what it was called, but I got seconds and thirds. Wurst, bread, and wine... and most foods I've had so far are a little bit better tasting in Germany (or that just might be the high-on-life-feeling). Overall, a great day, and we came back and played cards and drank wine. You'll notice a common theme to my nights is some form of alcohol, not a crazy amount, but just some.
Saturday was a little bit more of an excursion. We had to be at the central train station at around 9 where we took a train from Freiburg to Basel in Switzerland. It was my second time being on a train, the first being on one for a short time in fourth grade. Everyone thought that was a little funny. The train was very nice, nicer than any kind of other public transport I've been on, and it took about an hour. In the meantime, the German countryside was very pretty to look at. The one big difference between Indiana country side and German Country side is the background; Indiana your always flat down on the ground, but in Germany you can see the surrounding hills, the snow capped Berge that come steadily down to the squarely tiled farms. Also interesting, most farm houses had solar panels. Something to be said here for solar energy and cost... Anyway, we made it to Basel in about an hour. I can't understand Swiss German, its definitely almost an entirely different language. Anyway, Basel was a nice city, and what was the most beautiful was the Rhein River that flowed through its center. From one of the bridges you can see the Basel Munster (cathedral) looking out over the river surrounded by these palaces of different eras on either side. The city itself was also very cool; and just like Freiburg had the old historic past blended with the modern present. In the center there was an open air fresh food market and then up the street was famous shopping centers. We saw the main Basel court of government, which is this red Medieval building and then had tea in a tea room across the way, where we were definitely underdressed and paid way more than the tea was actually worth, meaning it was quite an experience. The tea room had waitresses with french maid outfits and different historical tea time items all over the wall with historic maps and everything else. I'm not saying our waitress took advantage of our non-swiss German selves, but she did make off with a big ass tip... But it was great. After we went up in the top tower of the main cathedral where we could see everything in the city and the hills and Alps surrounding. Going up that tower was also a little adventure with its hidden passages and staircase that I could barely fit up. But it was beautiful. After we went back and got home at about 7 where we then proceeded to hang out and just drink more wine.
I should mention now that I've made a lot of new friends, the majority of whom are also international students. We speak together in German, because that's the way we all best understand each other, but theres a difference between our German and normal German; ours being a little bit more simple. But while we can understand what each other mean usually, Germans can't really understand us when we talk with one another. Maybe as the semester moves on they'll become closer together haha. ANYWAY, made some great friends from Russia, Latin America, Italy, and Belgium. Its been great to talk with one another about life and stuff; everyone loves the same TV shows and music, and everyone can speak some form of English haha.
Friday we went on a hike up Schlossberg, which is a famous hill in Freiburg, where before they used to have a castle outfitted with cannons that protected the city from the French and other invaders. Since then the castle is no longer there, but there is a huge modern tower on top of the hill. The foot of the hill is right in the middle of the city, the city is literally around the corner of the mountain/hill (English needs a word for something in between) So from the Altstadt or old city, you go straight up a path after walking through the Schwaben Tor or Schwaben Gate from the Middle Ages that looks like something out of Grimm's Fairytale. Then it took about 40 minutes at a 50 degree angle hike to get to the top... But once there and up the tower, it was an awesome view that I will never forget. After doing all that hiking, we all got together that night and went out to the bars. Unfortunately we went out so late that most of the bars were full, but then we found an Italian bar where the Italian owner was very happy to see all the Italian students (and us too, since we were paying too haha) and we spent the night drinking and talking about politics. I wish I could do that every night. It was so heated and so interesting. I knew what most Europeans think about Americans and most Europeans know what Americans think about Europeans but the cross examination and explanation into why those feelings exist was very cool. Also, a fellow political science student from Italy showed me how to make my own cigarette. It was a great night.
On Thursday, the big event was the Karaoke! Before that I had done some shopping in stuff (which is also really cool, because its not like just a flat square building, its usually like a rennovated Mediveal merchant house turned into a Muller shopping center. But that night, we all went out for Karaoke at the Freiburg Bar and that was a blast. Germans have a great taste in music. They love the best of American songs and then also world songs. The just know whats popular and every song was great to hear. They had a dance floor and everytime a fun dance song was on, people would come out of NOWHERE and just start dancing all together, it was awesome. I sang with three others Bon Jovi Livin' On A Prayer. It rocked to say the least. The bar was also really cool, it had upstairs a "Smoking Room" that had all leather chairs and was outfitted like an exotic Carribean terrace. Very Nice.
O god. Man its a lot to remember. There were also a lot of little trips to the Supermarkt or super markets in Germany which are more like closet size CVS.... I'm still really nervous to go up to someone and ask when I need something, so I do a lot of mulling around the store, aimlessly walking around until I find something I want and need. Once one of the workers came up to me and said "Wie .... something" which is "How... something" and I was like "Uh, sorry! Wie???" and she looked at me like she had never seen a man before in her life and then said in broken English "What do you need? How can I help you" to which I said, "OOOOOOOO HOW CAN I HELP YOU!!!" ... that damn Badisch accent...
Also in Germany, you have to recycle and sort your trash and for coke plastic bottles you can bring them back to the grocery store and put them in a machine and get money back. It's really cool. So I thought I was going to be all informed and stuff and get some money for stuff, so I brought all of the bottles I drank from and then some I found and went to the store. But when I tried putting them in the machine, it wouldn't take it. So I stood there for like 3 minutes, trying to put these bottles in, each time them of course failing. For some reason I thought it would work. But it didn't so I put my bottles back in my bag then went walking around the store some more. I guess I thought if the machine had some time to rest, it would take the bottles, so like a lab rat looking for cheese, I went back to the machine. And I tried to put my bottles in. and it rejected them. I tried again. It rejected them. FINALLY this mole looking cashier who had been watching this dumb American fail at processing these plastic bottles for 5 minutes told me that I was using the wrong machine. So I asked her what machine. And she told me the machine behind the other cash register. EUREKA! So I dashed off to the other cash registers and stopped and looked around for another machine...but... I... didn't .... see... another... machine... So I stood there not knowing what to do for about 3 minutes. Finally a lady passed me slowly (wondering if she should call the looney bin and have me hauled off to the crazy house) and I basically jumped her and asked where I put my bottles... (luckily it didn't sound dirty in German, like it does in English... at least I don't think it sounds dirty...) And she then pointed to the machine 3 feet from me. It was just a different type... SO GOD BE GOOD AND LORD HAD HIS MERCY I PROCESSED THOSE DAMNED PLASTIC BOTTLES AND GOT MY .45 CENTS WORTH OF EUROS.
O man where was I. I don't know, but let me just say, the city is so cool. Like it has a freaking street car trains that go everywhere and buses that go everywhere, a center city thats straight out of a fairy tale with the most interesting shops you'll ever see (theres a book store with books from the 1500's...) and then theres the modern buildings that are like 50 years ahead of their time. Everything is so clean, they have canals running through the streets, everything is a piece of art and there are cafes and bakeries on every corner so one can sit and just stare at the buildings...and I guess talk to your friends too, but I promise the landscape is far more interesting. Theres the centeral theater, a concert hall, and then these mini skyscrapers, and at night the top floors of the skyscrapers are night clubs, and they light up with all kinds of laser lights, its so cool just to watch them from the distance, I can't imagine what its like inside. And then there's the main train station, where you can take a train to basically anywhere in Europe... like I'm a few trains and hours away from Moscow, Athens, Rome, Madrid, London... like what?? O this house was built first in the 1400s, Eurasmus traveled here for a while, The French destroyed this building during the war and made it a temporary hospital, and now its a huge shopping center (with a cafe of course). There's usually a live band of some sort outside, singing for money, singing for fun, or singing just to sing... Latin, Typical German, or even more modern singers perform John Mayer on the theater steps. The opportunities people have in this city are immense. But I hear them complaining about Freiburg being small. And this I cannot believe.
Jeeze I've written a lot, but let me continue with what I've done. WEDNESDAY. I think we had a birthday. So far with the American international students we've celebrated 2 birthdays. 2 TWENTY FIRST birthdays, so of course we did them American style. The first one was last sunday, and thats when we went to about four or five bars and we drank a lot of really good drinks. We also went to something like Shot Bar that day, and got 2 dollar shots and we did about 5 or 6, but German shots are not like American shots. German shots are tasty and fun to do, whereas American shots, you usually need a chaser it burns so much. I think the shots we had at this bar were called the Bday shot, Bikini Bottom Shot, Spring Break Shot, and man I forget the rest... We ended the night with an Irish Car Bomb, which was actually very good in my opinion. AND IT WAS IN AN IRISH BAR. it was great. The guy serving us clearly was Irish and he started talking to us in German with a thick irish accent, but then when he found out we were just some Americans, he gave a laugh and we had a talk in English, which for us was a relief. That was the first party, the second party was a little more tame, BUT we tried Absynthe. It was actually a really cool drink to have because you have to burn sugar over your drink and mix it it (its so alcoholic it burns). It was very fantasy like, the glasses it came in, the process to properly drink it, and then the taste itself. It tasted like I would guess Green Fairy water would, and it had a slight kick of alcohol, but not as much as you would think. So that was a great first experience for me!
Speaking of first experiences, ya'll would be proud of me. I've been trying so many new foods and drinks and I haven't had ANY McDonalds or Burgerking even though they are right there in the middle of the city. I've been trying so many new bread, coffee, and other dishes that I haven't had time for fast food!! Its been very liberating, because I'm starting to feel more adventurous with my foods now that I know I can eat these new things without worrying too much about eggs (everyone is really good here about knowing what has eggs and what doesn't, because most of it is homemade)
O man. Got distracted again. Sorry. I also like the pillows here. Just so you know. They are a lot bigger and not rectangular, but just giant squares. America needs these. If you vote me as President, I'll bring us more German Chocolate and also bigger pillows. People will be so happy with pillows and chocolate, they won't have to worry about crime... and bad stuff. And German chocolate cures all cancer and makes you skinny; therefore we should all eat it all the time. I will start tomorrow. Actually I've already started. 2 days ago. I bought 2 things of chocolate and they are both gone and now I have none :( I never thought not having chocolate would make me sad...
So yes, we did birthdays at the beginning of the week and also did a lot of touring in the city, which was wonderful to see where everything was. O wait listen. I'm a simple midwestern boy. I'm used to straight roads and flat ground. And I like to think I have a pretty good sense of direction (Just don't ask my mom about our trip to meet cousin Emma at the Hosptial...) Anyway, German streets, as beautiful as they are, I haven't got the hang of yet, especially in the old city. Nothing is really 90 degrees there and honestly I'm pretty sure they work like Harry Potter stairs. They kind just switch around when they want, and they all look the same. They curve all around and sometimes you end up where you want and sometimes you end up in front of an 18th century clock tower and garden. So I mean its not terrible, but when you have class its a little frustrating. But then again, you end up usually in some kind of park or garden near a cafe, so its all good in the end. If you get lost at home, you usually wind up at a corn field.... and I promise a city park and cafe are much better than corn field...
One more final random point. Everyone here is dressed up and made up so well. Everyone does their hair (I think men might even wear makeup) and their clothes are like top of the line, even on kids. There was a 10 year old on the train the other day that was better dressed than I've been in weeks and he was just going to school. What the hell? I need to learn how to shop like a German.
Alright besides all of the distractions, that's the majority of what I've done this week. I'm loving everything so far, and its weird because a part of me thought this may be hard at first you know, getting used to stuff. Kind of like it was rough going to college. But honestly I think because I've changed a lot since then (more adventurous, independent now) and because I'm basically on the trip of my life, I haven't had any of those feelings. Everyday honestly feels like a vacation, and class is always fun and not a chore; the train isn't a pain, but exciting. All in all, I'm really glad I'm here.
I'm sorry this blog was so long, and I really don't want to spell and grammar check. I hope Germany continues to go this well! I can't wait for what adventures await me next week!
For those who don't have the time to get down and read all my thoughts, I know you just want the quick and dirty... Here's your Quick and Dirty Run Down:
Sunday: Wine Tour; Card games later with wine and jazz
Saturday: Basel, Switzerland visit and then hanging out with wine drinking
Friday: Schlossberg Tour (One of the high hills around Freiburg literally meaning Castle Mountain; You can see all of the city, from the edge of the Black Forest to the edge of the Rhein Valley; On top of the mountain there's a huge tower... Its pretty sick)
Thursday: Karaoke Bar visit! (Three other international students and I sang living on a prayer by Bon Jovi...)
Wednesday: We all went out with the international students which was about half Americans, half Italians, and then some Latin Americans and one Belgian; that was pretty fun because I got to talk to most of them about politics, while drinking beer.
Tuesday: Took a tour of the city and did shopping in the city center!
From that quick and dirty run down, you can see I've been very busy. That on top of a class I'm taking all morning long and then homework, I've not had a lot of time to sleep or to blog. But it's been so much fun, and learning German has been really cool too. I learn more and more each day.
So anyway! Let me start off with today. Because I can remember that best. I woke up at 1130... to church bells, which sound a lot prettier here, and cleaned my room and normal stuff. At around 2 we left for the city center we we met our group to go out for a Wine Tour. Now you have to understand, my brain is a little fried right now from having to think, hear, and speak in two languages all the time, SO when I saw on the paper Weinführung, I thought "O! A wine tastin, or wine (wein) tour (führung). That would be cool to just be able to say, this one sunday while I was traveling in Europe, I stopped in the Rhein valley region in the south to sample some fine wines. My favorite was the dry white, especially of the 1975 year..." Anyway, so I thought it was going to be that, but no, not really. It was an actual WINE TOUR, like a tour of the vinyards or the wine fields. with the grapes. outside. no nice wine restaurant with a big roaring fire and fine food. So we walked around some vinyards for about for hours, but even though it wasn't what I expected, it was still very worth the trip. The region was gorgeous... They have terraces on the hills there that are just acres and acres of vinyards that go on from the hills of the black forest to the edge of the rhein region and then into France. The soil, weather, and everything else are perfect for wine growing (so our guide said... at least I think...). At the end of the tour, we had a bonfire with bread, wurst, and some kind of wine cider... I'm not sure what it was called, but I got seconds and thirds. Wurst, bread, and wine... and most foods I've had so far are a little bit better tasting in Germany (or that just might be the high-on-life-feeling). Overall, a great day, and we came back and played cards and drank wine. You'll notice a common theme to my nights is some form of alcohol, not a crazy amount, but just some.
Saturday was a little bit more of an excursion. We had to be at the central train station at around 9 where we took a train from Freiburg to Basel in Switzerland. It was my second time being on a train, the first being on one for a short time in fourth grade. Everyone thought that was a little funny. The train was very nice, nicer than any kind of other public transport I've been on, and it took about an hour. In the meantime, the German countryside was very pretty to look at. The one big difference between Indiana country side and German Country side is the background; Indiana your always flat down on the ground, but in Germany you can see the surrounding hills, the snow capped Berge that come steadily down to the squarely tiled farms. Also interesting, most farm houses had solar panels. Something to be said here for solar energy and cost... Anyway, we made it to Basel in about an hour. I can't understand Swiss German, its definitely almost an entirely different language. Anyway, Basel was a nice city, and what was the most beautiful was the Rhein River that flowed through its center. From one of the bridges you can see the Basel Munster (cathedral) looking out over the river surrounded by these palaces of different eras on either side. The city itself was also very cool; and just like Freiburg had the old historic past blended with the modern present. In the center there was an open air fresh food market and then up the street was famous shopping centers. We saw the main Basel court of government, which is this red Medieval building and then had tea in a tea room across the way, where we were definitely underdressed and paid way more than the tea was actually worth, meaning it was quite an experience. The tea room had waitresses with french maid outfits and different historical tea time items all over the wall with historic maps and everything else. I'm not saying our waitress took advantage of our non-swiss German selves, but she did make off with a big ass tip... But it was great. After we went up in the top tower of the main cathedral where we could see everything in the city and the hills and Alps surrounding. Going up that tower was also a little adventure with its hidden passages and staircase that I could barely fit up. But it was beautiful. After we went back and got home at about 7 where we then proceeded to hang out and just drink more wine.
I should mention now that I've made a lot of new friends, the majority of whom are also international students. We speak together in German, because that's the way we all best understand each other, but theres a difference between our German and normal German; ours being a little bit more simple. But while we can understand what each other mean usually, Germans can't really understand us when we talk with one another. Maybe as the semester moves on they'll become closer together haha. ANYWAY, made some great friends from Russia, Latin America, Italy, and Belgium. Its been great to talk with one another about life and stuff; everyone loves the same TV shows and music, and everyone can speak some form of English haha.
Friday we went on a hike up Schlossberg, which is a famous hill in Freiburg, where before they used to have a castle outfitted with cannons that protected the city from the French and other invaders. Since then the castle is no longer there, but there is a huge modern tower on top of the hill. The foot of the hill is right in the middle of the city, the city is literally around the corner of the mountain/hill (English needs a word for something in between) So from the Altstadt or old city, you go straight up a path after walking through the Schwaben Tor or Schwaben Gate from the Middle Ages that looks like something out of Grimm's Fairytale. Then it took about 40 minutes at a 50 degree angle hike to get to the top... But once there and up the tower, it was an awesome view that I will never forget. After doing all that hiking, we all got together that night and went out to the bars. Unfortunately we went out so late that most of the bars were full, but then we found an Italian bar where the Italian owner was very happy to see all the Italian students (and us too, since we were paying too haha) and we spent the night drinking and talking about politics. I wish I could do that every night. It was so heated and so interesting. I knew what most Europeans think about Americans and most Europeans know what Americans think about Europeans but the cross examination and explanation into why those feelings exist was very cool. Also, a fellow political science student from Italy showed me how to make my own cigarette. It was a great night.
On Thursday, the big event was the Karaoke! Before that I had done some shopping in stuff (which is also really cool, because its not like just a flat square building, its usually like a rennovated Mediveal merchant house turned into a Muller shopping center. But that night, we all went out for Karaoke at the Freiburg Bar and that was a blast. Germans have a great taste in music. They love the best of American songs and then also world songs. The just know whats popular and every song was great to hear. They had a dance floor and everytime a fun dance song was on, people would come out of NOWHERE and just start dancing all together, it was awesome. I sang with three others Bon Jovi Livin' On A Prayer. It rocked to say the least. The bar was also really cool, it had upstairs a "Smoking Room" that had all leather chairs and was outfitted like an exotic Carribean terrace. Very Nice.
O god. Man its a lot to remember. There were also a lot of little trips to the Supermarkt or super markets in Germany which are more like closet size CVS.... I'm still really nervous to go up to someone and ask when I need something, so I do a lot of mulling around the store, aimlessly walking around until I find something I want and need. Once one of the workers came up to me and said "Wie .... something" which is "How... something" and I was like "Uh, sorry! Wie???" and she looked at me like she had never seen a man before in her life and then said in broken English "What do you need? How can I help you" to which I said, "OOOOOOOO HOW CAN I HELP YOU!!!" ... that damn Badisch accent...
Also in Germany, you have to recycle and sort your trash and for coke plastic bottles you can bring them back to the grocery store and put them in a machine and get money back. It's really cool. So I thought I was going to be all informed and stuff and get some money for stuff, so I brought all of the bottles I drank from and then some I found and went to the store. But when I tried putting them in the machine, it wouldn't take it. So I stood there for like 3 minutes, trying to put these bottles in, each time them of course failing. For some reason I thought it would work. But it didn't so I put my bottles back in my bag then went walking around the store some more. I guess I thought if the machine had some time to rest, it would take the bottles, so like a lab rat looking for cheese, I went back to the machine. And I tried to put my bottles in. and it rejected them. I tried again. It rejected them. FINALLY this mole looking cashier who had been watching this dumb American fail at processing these plastic bottles for 5 minutes told me that I was using the wrong machine. So I asked her what machine. And she told me the machine behind the other cash register. EUREKA! So I dashed off to the other cash registers and stopped and looked around for another machine...but... I... didn't .... see... another... machine... So I stood there not knowing what to do for about 3 minutes. Finally a lady passed me slowly (wondering if she should call the looney bin and have me hauled off to the crazy house) and I basically jumped her and asked where I put my bottles... (luckily it didn't sound dirty in German, like it does in English... at least I don't think it sounds dirty...) And she then pointed to the machine 3 feet from me. It was just a different type... SO GOD BE GOOD AND LORD HAD HIS MERCY I PROCESSED THOSE DAMNED PLASTIC BOTTLES AND GOT MY .45 CENTS WORTH OF EUROS.
O man where was I. I don't know, but let me just say, the city is so cool. Like it has a freaking street car trains that go everywhere and buses that go everywhere, a center city thats straight out of a fairy tale with the most interesting shops you'll ever see (theres a book store with books from the 1500's...) and then theres the modern buildings that are like 50 years ahead of their time. Everything is so clean, they have canals running through the streets, everything is a piece of art and there are cafes and bakeries on every corner so one can sit and just stare at the buildings...and I guess talk to your friends too, but I promise the landscape is far more interesting. Theres the centeral theater, a concert hall, and then these mini skyscrapers, and at night the top floors of the skyscrapers are night clubs, and they light up with all kinds of laser lights, its so cool just to watch them from the distance, I can't imagine what its like inside. And then there's the main train station, where you can take a train to basically anywhere in Europe... like I'm a few trains and hours away from Moscow, Athens, Rome, Madrid, London... like what?? O this house was built first in the 1400s, Eurasmus traveled here for a while, The French destroyed this building during the war and made it a temporary hospital, and now its a huge shopping center (with a cafe of course). There's usually a live band of some sort outside, singing for money, singing for fun, or singing just to sing... Latin, Typical German, or even more modern singers perform John Mayer on the theater steps. The opportunities people have in this city are immense. But I hear them complaining about Freiburg being small. And this I cannot believe.
Jeeze I've written a lot, but let me continue with what I've done. WEDNESDAY. I think we had a birthday. So far with the American international students we've celebrated 2 birthdays. 2 TWENTY FIRST birthdays, so of course we did them American style. The first one was last sunday, and thats when we went to about four or five bars and we drank a lot of really good drinks. We also went to something like Shot Bar that day, and got 2 dollar shots and we did about 5 or 6, but German shots are not like American shots. German shots are tasty and fun to do, whereas American shots, you usually need a chaser it burns so much. I think the shots we had at this bar were called the Bday shot, Bikini Bottom Shot, Spring Break Shot, and man I forget the rest... We ended the night with an Irish Car Bomb, which was actually very good in my opinion. AND IT WAS IN AN IRISH BAR. it was great. The guy serving us clearly was Irish and he started talking to us in German with a thick irish accent, but then when he found out we were just some Americans, he gave a laugh and we had a talk in English, which for us was a relief. That was the first party, the second party was a little more tame, BUT we tried Absynthe. It was actually a really cool drink to have because you have to burn sugar over your drink and mix it it (its so alcoholic it burns). It was very fantasy like, the glasses it came in, the process to properly drink it, and then the taste itself. It tasted like I would guess Green Fairy water would, and it had a slight kick of alcohol, but not as much as you would think. So that was a great first experience for me!
Speaking of first experiences, ya'll would be proud of me. I've been trying so many new foods and drinks and I haven't had ANY McDonalds or Burgerking even though they are right there in the middle of the city. I've been trying so many new bread, coffee, and other dishes that I haven't had time for fast food!! Its been very liberating, because I'm starting to feel more adventurous with my foods now that I know I can eat these new things without worrying too much about eggs (everyone is really good here about knowing what has eggs and what doesn't, because most of it is homemade)
O man. Got distracted again. Sorry. I also like the pillows here. Just so you know. They are a lot bigger and not rectangular, but just giant squares. America needs these. If you vote me as President, I'll bring us more German Chocolate and also bigger pillows. People will be so happy with pillows and chocolate, they won't have to worry about crime... and bad stuff. And German chocolate cures all cancer and makes you skinny; therefore we should all eat it all the time. I will start tomorrow. Actually I've already started. 2 days ago. I bought 2 things of chocolate and they are both gone and now I have none :( I never thought not having chocolate would make me sad...
So yes, we did birthdays at the beginning of the week and also did a lot of touring in the city, which was wonderful to see where everything was. O wait listen. I'm a simple midwestern boy. I'm used to straight roads and flat ground. And I like to think I have a pretty good sense of direction (Just don't ask my mom about our trip to meet cousin Emma at the Hosptial...) Anyway, German streets, as beautiful as they are, I haven't got the hang of yet, especially in the old city. Nothing is really 90 degrees there and honestly I'm pretty sure they work like Harry Potter stairs. They kind just switch around when they want, and they all look the same. They curve all around and sometimes you end up where you want and sometimes you end up in front of an 18th century clock tower and garden. So I mean its not terrible, but when you have class its a little frustrating. But then again, you end up usually in some kind of park or garden near a cafe, so its all good in the end. If you get lost at home, you usually wind up at a corn field.... and I promise a city park and cafe are much better than corn field...
One more final random point. Everyone here is dressed up and made up so well. Everyone does their hair (I think men might even wear makeup) and their clothes are like top of the line, even on kids. There was a 10 year old on the train the other day that was better dressed than I've been in weeks and he was just going to school. What the hell? I need to learn how to shop like a German.
Alright besides all of the distractions, that's the majority of what I've done this week. I'm loving everything so far, and its weird because a part of me thought this may be hard at first you know, getting used to stuff. Kind of like it was rough going to college. But honestly I think because I've changed a lot since then (more adventurous, independent now) and because I'm basically on the trip of my life, I haven't had any of those feelings. Everyday honestly feels like a vacation, and class is always fun and not a chore; the train isn't a pain, but exciting. All in all, I'm really glad I'm here.
I'm sorry this blog was so long, and I really don't want to spell and grammar check. I hope Germany continues to go this well! I can't wait for what adventures await me next week!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Everything up until the first day of class
Well hello there strangers!
I'm alive! and well! This blog is a little later than anticipated partly because I've been so captivated by the city of Freiburg and party because I dumped a whole bottle of water on top of my laptop's keyboard. I'm not saying I have a weak consitution, but when the only device that connects you to the outside world and has thousands of your documents, photos, and memories starts to die before your very eyes, you get shaken a little. The whole being tired and out of it from speaking only German all day didn't help things either. But it's alright. I had my freakout moment and then you know the next day it started working again. Gott sei dank.
Anyway! So ya! I've been in Freiburg for 5 days now! It actually seems like a lot longer than that. Just the quick and dirty run down (I know what some of you really want) in the past few days I've done a bunch of walking around the old city, the new parts of the city, registering for things, speaking in German, failing at speaking in German, speaking in Denglish (deutsch und englsich), getting accustomed to a few German cultural things (There is nothing open 24 hours), meeting new people, and just kinda living life (what I do best).
Let me think back... my first day in Freiburg, I remember I woke up and I had one of those moments where I had no idea where I was. Traveling for around 20 hours through 4 airports with 3 planes, 3 buses, in 3 different language areas is a little draining. Nonetheless, it was just really a great feeling waking up and realizing, holy mother of the baby j, I'm in Europe. The first day, I dressed, ate at the free breakfast, and ORDERED FOOD IN GERMAN, and then with my camera in hand just started walking around. The area I was was more residential and the houses there were goregeous; well more like housing units (gewohnheim gebaude auf deutsch). And they are just like those buildings out of the 1800s in paris with their French styled fancy architechture; 4 to 5 stories tall with huge windows. There's also just like little parks and coffee shops and book shops here and there. Where in the United States people just build out or in new places when they want to build something new, it seems like in Europe they try and concentrate on what they have and work with that rather than just expanding onward and outward. There was a graveyard that had a roof built over it and then on the roof had a kids play ground. It was very cool.
There's also the river in the city; Dreimal, I think its called. It's gorgeous. But anyway, my first day I did a lot of the neighborhood then went to the University and got registered and stuff. When they registered me, it was all in German, and while I can usually understand it pretty well, I have a hard time speaking back or at least saying what I'm thinking. Normally I think in English, but I find this causes issues.... I'll be talking and just switch to English and then not only am I confused, but then I look like I escaped from the 'looney bin' as my mother and grandmother would say. For example, during the registration, I kept nodding my head along and then she asked me what classes I needed to take and I told her "Weiss ich nicht welche Kurse brauche ich, aber vielleicht am Morgen soll ich den Direktor fragen...und ..... figure.... out... what kind of classes I need for.... die.... Deutsche.... credits..." And when it happens its usually like a train wreck because I'll be plodding along then just have a brain malfunction and ya, normally Germans will help you if you totally break down, but when you switch back and forth, they have no idea how to help you, except offer you advice on where to find a good therapist.
When I met some of my flat mates, I was tired and you know a little nervous, so when I was introducing myself I did my introduction and they just kinda stared at me because I was switching back and forth and back again... and then they would ask me something in complete normal German and I would panic try to figure out what they said, figure out what I wanted to say IN ENGLISH, and then slowly translate it out in German. An interesting process to say the least, so I hope they are fond of me....
O! So let me tell you about a few interesting things die Deutschen do aber Wir Amerikaner don't do :) There's no plastic bags; you bring your own; that was great to learn my first night when I bought like chips, coke, bananas, bread, milk, and other celebration-I-lived-during-my-transport food; I had to schlep that stuff all by myself.... But ya, so bring your own Tutte. The germans also sort all their trash; Bio-trash like biodegradable, plastik, paper, glass, and Restmull or just the rest. I still kinda feel like a three year old sorting shapes when I'm throwing something away here... ALSO if you find a bottle KEEP IT, those things are worth 25 euros which is like 33 cents which is like half way to a polar pop at circle K. You take them to any grocery store and BAM they give you the money toward your next purchase. It's pretty sick and very clean and very environmentally friendly.
German toilets are cool. and different.
Dr. Pepper here is bad.
ALSO ya'll be proud of me. They have BurgerKing and McDonalds here and I haven't had any of them yet! It's actually hilarious because the main McDonalds here is located inside the famous Middle Ages Gateway to the city. So here you have this gate that's out of a fairy tale and then you know a sign for big macs.
There is no store for everything. Shopping is a hunt. A city wide hunt.
Super markets here are not very big, but there are a lot of them. Its like a bunch of different smaller Aldis everywhere.
Tax is included in all prices, which is sweet.
Tipping, you don't leave it on the table, you tell them how much you wanna give them. And its really funny because most waiters or waitresses have a huge purse thing with them, so you just pay them at your table right there.
They eat a lot of Pretzels here. And they are good.
Everyone dresses like a model here. From hair to clothes to shoes. And that stuff is also freaking expensive.
Where in America we have a lot of fast food, "buy all in one place" stores like wal mart, Germany has a bunch of bakeries everywhere, a bunch of travel agencies, a lot of clothing stores, cafes, and then a lot of hairdressers. Perhaps one could argue a manifestation of culture.
Finally, there are many churches. But not like in the US, churches, I'm talking like Cathedrals. Like there's at least 4 I know cathedral looking "kirche" in Freiburg, but they are works of art. And they sound so beautiful when they ring, all in harmonies together. It's just so pleasant.
ANYWAY, I guess I was telling you what I was doing so far. Well most of it was just walking around and you can see through my pics on facebook where I was. The old city, on one of the nearby hills, through the shopping area, the university, the theater which has in bright letters "THE ART OF THE CITY" in english. Its just so cool.
Finally, we celebrated a 21st birthday last night for one of the other international students and that was a lot of fun. I've met a lot of cool people from all over so far, and I can't wait to meet more!
Anyway, I've got to head to bed for class tomorrow; I'm sorry I didn't proofread any of this stuff, so if it doesn't make sense... well... I'm sorry. But another update will come soon and it will have better detail! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Those are the few of the things that I've noticed so far.
I'm alive! and well! This blog is a little later than anticipated partly because I've been so captivated by the city of Freiburg and party because I dumped a whole bottle of water on top of my laptop's keyboard. I'm not saying I have a weak consitution, but when the only device that connects you to the outside world and has thousands of your documents, photos, and memories starts to die before your very eyes, you get shaken a little. The whole being tired and out of it from speaking only German all day didn't help things either. But it's alright. I had my freakout moment and then you know the next day it started working again. Gott sei dank.
Anyway! So ya! I've been in Freiburg for 5 days now! It actually seems like a lot longer than that. Just the quick and dirty run down (I know what some of you really want) in the past few days I've done a bunch of walking around the old city, the new parts of the city, registering for things, speaking in German, failing at speaking in German, speaking in Denglish (deutsch und englsich), getting accustomed to a few German cultural things (There is nothing open 24 hours), meeting new people, and just kinda living life (what I do best).
Let me think back... my first day in Freiburg, I remember I woke up and I had one of those moments where I had no idea where I was. Traveling for around 20 hours through 4 airports with 3 planes, 3 buses, in 3 different language areas is a little draining. Nonetheless, it was just really a great feeling waking up and realizing, holy mother of the baby j, I'm in Europe. The first day, I dressed, ate at the free breakfast, and ORDERED FOOD IN GERMAN, and then with my camera in hand just started walking around. The area I was was more residential and the houses there were goregeous; well more like housing units (gewohnheim gebaude auf deutsch). And they are just like those buildings out of the 1800s in paris with their French styled fancy architechture; 4 to 5 stories tall with huge windows. There's also just like little parks and coffee shops and book shops here and there. Where in the United States people just build out or in new places when they want to build something new, it seems like in Europe they try and concentrate on what they have and work with that rather than just expanding onward and outward. There was a graveyard that had a roof built over it and then on the roof had a kids play ground. It was very cool.
There's also the river in the city; Dreimal, I think its called. It's gorgeous. But anyway, my first day I did a lot of the neighborhood then went to the University and got registered and stuff. When they registered me, it was all in German, and while I can usually understand it pretty well, I have a hard time speaking back or at least saying what I'm thinking. Normally I think in English, but I find this causes issues.... I'll be talking and just switch to English and then not only am I confused, but then I look like I escaped from the 'looney bin' as my mother and grandmother would say. For example, during the registration, I kept nodding my head along and then she asked me what classes I needed to take and I told her "Weiss ich nicht welche Kurse brauche ich, aber vielleicht am Morgen soll ich den Direktor fragen...und ..... figure.... out... what kind of classes I need for.... die.... Deutsche.... credits..." And when it happens its usually like a train wreck because I'll be plodding along then just have a brain malfunction and ya, normally Germans will help you if you totally break down, but when you switch back and forth, they have no idea how to help you, except offer you advice on where to find a good therapist.
When I met some of my flat mates, I was tired and you know a little nervous, so when I was introducing myself I did my introduction and they just kinda stared at me because I was switching back and forth and back again... and then they would ask me something in complete normal German and I would panic try to figure out what they said, figure out what I wanted to say IN ENGLISH, and then slowly translate it out in German. An interesting process to say the least, so I hope they are fond of me....
O! So let me tell you about a few interesting things die Deutschen do aber Wir Amerikaner don't do :) There's no plastic bags; you bring your own; that was great to learn my first night when I bought like chips, coke, bananas, bread, milk, and other celebration-I-lived-during-my-transport food; I had to schlep that stuff all by myself.... But ya, so bring your own Tutte. The germans also sort all their trash; Bio-trash like biodegradable, plastik, paper, glass, and Restmull or just the rest. I still kinda feel like a three year old sorting shapes when I'm throwing something away here... ALSO if you find a bottle KEEP IT, those things are worth 25 euros which is like 33 cents which is like half way to a polar pop at circle K. You take them to any grocery store and BAM they give you the money toward your next purchase. It's pretty sick and very clean and very environmentally friendly.
German toilets are cool. and different.
Dr. Pepper here is bad.
ALSO ya'll be proud of me. They have BurgerKing and McDonalds here and I haven't had any of them yet! It's actually hilarious because the main McDonalds here is located inside the famous Middle Ages Gateway to the city. So here you have this gate that's out of a fairy tale and then you know a sign for big macs.
There is no store for everything. Shopping is a hunt. A city wide hunt.
Super markets here are not very big, but there are a lot of them. Its like a bunch of different smaller Aldis everywhere.
Tax is included in all prices, which is sweet.
Tipping, you don't leave it on the table, you tell them how much you wanna give them. And its really funny because most waiters or waitresses have a huge purse thing with them, so you just pay them at your table right there.
They eat a lot of Pretzels here. And they are good.
Everyone dresses like a model here. From hair to clothes to shoes. And that stuff is also freaking expensive.
Where in America we have a lot of fast food, "buy all in one place" stores like wal mart, Germany has a bunch of bakeries everywhere, a bunch of travel agencies, a lot of clothing stores, cafes, and then a lot of hairdressers. Perhaps one could argue a manifestation of culture.
Finally, there are many churches. But not like in the US, churches, I'm talking like Cathedrals. Like there's at least 4 I know cathedral looking "kirche" in Freiburg, but they are works of art. And they sound so beautiful when they ring, all in harmonies together. It's just so pleasant.
ANYWAY, I guess I was telling you what I was doing so far. Well most of it was just walking around and you can see through my pics on facebook where I was. The old city, on one of the nearby hills, through the shopping area, the university, the theater which has in bright letters "THE ART OF THE CITY" in english. Its just so cool.
Finally, we celebrated a 21st birthday last night for one of the other international students and that was a lot of fun. I've met a lot of cool people from all over so far, and I can't wait to meet more!
Anyway, I've got to head to bed for class tomorrow; I'm sorry I didn't proofread any of this stuff, so if it doesn't make sense... well... I'm sorry. But another update will come soon and it will have better detail! Can't wait to see what happens next!
Those are the few of the things that I've noticed so far.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
March 1st There. Across the Pond. Eine lange Reise.
So it begins!
Today… err… well for the past few days I’ve been travelling to finally get to Freiburg, Germany. It started out the few days after my going away party when I began to frantically pack anything and everything I could possibly need in a foreign country, which ended up being 2 luggage things full. I left from Indy, but because mom took me to the airport, she wanted to leave extra early just to be safe. So I got to the airport at about 5 even though my flight wasn’t until 9pm. My mom, naturally, was a little emotional seeing her son off to a foreign country for months. She was more nervous than I was! But I didn’t see her cry when I left her, and I know that took some work.
Anyway, my first problems of the journey began at check-in when the agent was determined I needed a visa to fly out. He said if I didn’t have a visa I was going to have to go home. Now, I had learned from the program that I didn’t need a visa and I told him I was going on a study program and that I didn’t need one. I don’t know if he thought I was lying, but he told me he couldn’t let me go. But then another attendant came over and showed him something on the computer and he finally realized I WAS studying for a semester abroad and didn’t need a visa, and I wasn’t even going to Switzerland. Well I made it out of there and then had to wait 2 hours for my flight. So I’ll just map the trip out for you:
· 5PM Arrive at Airport
· WAIT WAIT WAIT: The airport was almost empty at this point, which was a little eerie to see this huge airport with no one in it.
· 9PM Flight to Chicago
· 37 min. Flight. Read one chapter lol; it was so cool when I flew over Chicago, the lights from the city clearly laid out how square the city blocks were. Also the plane was about the size of a pencil. I had to bend over walking to my seat. After the pilot wound up the rubber band, we took off.
· International Flight. After landing I got off my plane and looked for the connection flight sign, which conveniently wasn’t working. So I asked someone at a desk who had no idea. When I finally found out that I had to be at gate K15, I realized it had been boarding for 10 minutes. (Aunt Kandy was right… not enough time to connect to my other flight!) So there I was running like a fool through Ohaare yelling out “WHICH WAY TO K15??!!” Luckily I wasn’t the only bimbo late for a flight, running around like a chicken without a head. This lady started to run beside me and said, as if the world was ending “Are you going to St. Paul??? HOLD THAT PLANE FOR ME” I told her that I was actually going to London, and she became more panicked. But someone must have sacrificed three rabbits to the airplane gods that day in my honor, because when I made it, I was just in the nick of time… ANYWAY! It was close but the plane that I flew over the pond on was HUGE. Compared to the smallest one I’ve ever been on in Chicago. I got 3 seats to myself in the back, which was like a half mile back down the runway…
· On the overnight flight I slept a little, read a little and got a free dinner and breakfast! The hostesses were really nice and we talked a lot. The dinner was beef and rice and green beans… it was actually really good. They also gave out free wine on the plane… I took two. After my two mini-glasses of wine, I slept on and off for about 4 hours.
· When we arrived at Heathrow, there was a dense fog warning, so we couldn’t land. We had to fly over London in circles several times before they would let us land, which I wasn’t too upset about, I got to fly over the center of London and saw the eye, parliament, and big ben!
· Heathrow is about the size of Columbus, Indiana. There was a whole shopping district it seemed too. Also it was great to hear the fancy British accent everywhere. I giggled a little when the little old lady asked me for my “Teeket” and then directed me to a “lift”.
· From London, I flew to Basel (Bale if you’re French) which is about an hour away from Freiburg. When I landed there, I had to go through customs, which the officer’s supposed English, was only a little bit better than my German. When I finally figured out which bus I needed to take, I had an hour to kill so I chilled an hour trying to pick up what people were saying.
· The busride took about an hour and then I was in the center of Freiburg. Now, I hadn’t made a reservation for a hotel, because the people I had tried to contact online hadn’t answered before I left the states…. So I was kind of on my own. I just went to the one hotel I knew was for sure open. It was a bit expensive, but so worth it after my hours of travelling. The front desk guy, I started to speak German to, but it was so butchered because I was so tired, he ended up just speaking English to me. That night I showered, took a little walk around the city, and then went to bed.
That really sums up my adventures TO Freiburg. And after seeing the city just a little at night, I’m so excited to see what I’m going to do in the coming days! Also if you were wondering, everyone speaks German in Germany; Frau did NOT make up the language just to torture us in high school. Anyway! Bis Gleich!
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