System down

High ( and low ) lights of the week:

- monitor of my laptop is down, but apparently there is a spare monitor at the AYF office. I'll use that briefly to at least back some documents and photos up. And then ....? I dunno.

- never ever ever mention "Hochdeutsch" to anyone who speaks German. I made a cultural blunder and instead of saying "I'm foreign" or "German isn't my native tongue" or "could you speak more slowly?" I said "sorry, I only understand hochdeutsch" and that earned me a rant from some drunken Schwarzwalder at 10:15PM at a stop for the streetcar. It eventually became apparent to him that I wasn't/am not German and so I got a lecture about "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Why don't you speak schwarzwaldisch? Why don't you understand it?" Uhmmm because they don't teach that in schools. Sorry. Anyhow: reminder to self to be not only conscious of regional cultural politics and subscriptions, but also to consciously ACT on what I know.

+ I've been pretty productive during my week off of school. Reviewed and memorized and copied a lot of Botany, but it's still going to take a while to actually write the whole of my 3-5 page EU essay. Will try to get around to brainstorming for a History and a Botany term paper.

+ Got a responses about course equivalencies for History.

- Aer Lingus changed my itinerary and now I'll be arriving in AND departing from Dublin at exactly 11.50AM on August 7th. Geez, guys. We'll see how it turns out and if I need to spend a night in Dublin I can find a couchsurfer to help me out.

+ Last Friday I met up with Peju, a fellow couchsurfer, who is from England but is living in Germany and used to study in Freiburg. We went to a house/coop party in a nice part of town ( I got a little lost biking there ) and had a good time dancing/listening to reggae. I love meeting new people!

+ Watched some of a BBC series on Robin Hood with Mary. It's hilarious. I think Maid Marien (?) got her wardrobe from Hot Topic.

That's basically it. Feel free to e-mail me.

Pictures of campus

I don't usually do requests, unless asked to.

So, due to popular demand, here are some photos from the main campus.


This would be the UB or the Universitaets Bibliothek. It's known for its ugliness. It's basically made of popsicle sticks.


Here's the Stadttheater. Okay, it's not really campus, but it's right there.



Kollegiengebaeude (KG) I.



The courtyard between KG I, KG II, and KG III.



KG IV, the College of History building.



KG I with KG IV in the background. Taken from a bridege that goes between the UB and the rest of campus.



Taken from the same bridge.


Well, gotta be off to the library before class starts.

In which there is rain and a few good days

"Ankle Injuries" by Fujiya & Miyagi. Really neat animation with dice!

It's been raining for the past few days, which is okay. Everything smells fresh ( except for my laundry, which really needs doing ). However, I did manage to misplace my umbrella ( of course ) so venturing outside isn't always the most pleasant thing.

Monday I had a presentation and I didn't die immediately afterwards, so I consider that to be a good thing. Actually, it went pretty decently in terms of my German not abandoning ship as soon as I needed it.

Tuesday starting off with me contemplating staying in bed because I really didn't want to go to class at 8AM. But I gathered what will power there was and got myself out of bed and to class. It rained a bit, so I was a bit damp, but oh well. I went to my classes and stuff. After class there was a workshop on how to interprate maps and determine the creator's motives. It was really interesting and led by Prof. Christine Johnson, who will be having a lecture on the Martin Waldseemueller map today.

Afterwards we ( a handful of AYF students, professors, and coordinators ) headed to Omas Kueche for dinner. It was good times, good food, good company, good conversation all rolled into one.

The way back home it downpoured, of course, because at this time I didn't have my umbrella and I had to ride my bike back home. So I was pretty drenched.

I don't have class for the rest of the week due to Ascension, so I'm pretty pumped about that! I will have class all day on Saturday, though, because I'll be going to Colmar with my Art History class.

I made chocolate chip cookies. They always turn out differently from cookies I make in the States. Don't know if it's the butter or what ... ::shrugs::

Anyhow, basically, I've had some really good days! I'm really going to miss Freiburg. I can't wait to get back here.

Oh, yeah! I saw someone reading a Terry Pratchett book in KG I the other day and randomly started a conversation :D I was pretty happy with myself for doing that!

Same Old Same Old

Not much up this week. I had a referat, studied, met up with my tandem language partner, and drew a bit.



Mostly self portraits ( how vain ), but it's something for me to do between Botany notes and fretting about my History referat. Drawn with Derwent Artists coloured pencils ( thanks Aunt Katie ) that really haven't gotten much attention until this past week or so, when I managed to spit out three self portraits, all in colored pencil. Colored pencils used to make me really nervous. Coloring anything ( unless it's painting ) makes me nervous. It's always disappointing to have a nice piece of line art and then @*&# it all up with shoddy coloring and you can only blame yourself. D: So I decided to just dive in this time and come what may!



You all should also definitely check out this music video.

1. Mai

Ich bin noch ein biiiiisschen betrunken, aber auf guten Gruenden! ( Sag der Polizei nicht, dass ich troztdem mit meinem Fahrrad zu Hause gekommen bin ;) )

Heute war ( und ist noch ) der erste Mai, das heisst FEIERTAG und deshalb hatt' ich keine Lehrveranstaltung. AYF Studierende wurden eingeladet, mit der Freiburg-Madison Gesellschaft nach Kaiserstuhl fuer eine Wanderung und Weinprobe zu gehen. Fuenf von 52 sind mitgegangen und es war sehr nett eine kleine Gruppe zu haben, von Leute die normalerweise nicht zusammen sind.

Insgesamt hab' ich heute viel deutsch gesprochen, das Wetter war wunderschoen, ich hab' nette Leute kennegelernt, und guten Wein und gutes Essen getrunken/gegessen.

Die AYF Gruppe hat die F-MG Gruppe auf einem Parkplatz getroffen und danach nach Kaiserstuhl gefahren. Mary, Alexa, und ich bin mit einem netten Ehepaar dort gefahren. Danach sind wir wandern gegangen und haben viel deutsch mit anderen, aelteren Leute, die so nett und freundlich waren! Es ist kaum, dass zwei Generationen ( die keine Familiebeziehungen haben ) sich treffen.

Nach unserer Wanderung gab es eine Weinprobe beim Weingut Freiherr v. Gleichenstein. Nach ich gegessen habe, musste ich in der Sonnenlicht liegen und einfach ... da sein oder etwas. Dann war es Zeit zu gehen und ich musste meinen Wein so schnell wie moeglich trinken um nach Hause zu kehren. Ein anderes Ehepaar brachte mich zur Bahnhof, wo ich mein Fahrrad abgeholt habe. Sie wohnen nur 2 Minuten von mir und ich soll sie irgendwann besuchen. Sie waren unglaublich nett.

---

Today was great. It's the 1st of May here, that means everyone gets a day off of work ( nearly ), so AYF was invited by the Freiburg-Madison Society to go on a hike and partake in a wine-tasting luncheon. Only 5 AYFers ( besides our coordinator ) showed up, but that was nice, because it wasn't such an overwhelmingly large group. We went on a hike to Kaiserstuhl and then had the luncheon. It was really nice to hang out with the F-MS because they were of a different generation and had so much to say about the area.

Afterwards a couple from the F-MS drove me back to the trainstation so I could get my bike. Turns out they only live a street away from me, so I'll have to visit them with the other AYFers that were there.

Not sure if it's the wine, the sun, or the gooooooood food I had today, but I need a nap!