Michigander in Freiburg

JET Program

2008-04-29T13:00:00.002-04:00

Not much new to report, other than I've been busy with finals and filling out forms for the JET Program. I had a physical yesterday that went well, so JET can be well-assured that they are not sending a reanimated corpse to teach English in Japan.

Hope to find out where I'll be placed soon!

2008-04-04T18:33:00.001-04:00

日本に行きます！きのう日本国大使館からメールをもらいました。今日は母と父と家族に電話をかけました。

I got my letter (or rather, e-mail) of acceptance last night for the JET Programme! I have a few more forms to fill out and such, but the deal is pretty much sealed! More later.

Another long absence!

2008-03-02T19:24:00.002-05:00

What can I say? Life is busy, but not so busy that I have no time to blog. Well, fear not, faithful readers, for soon there will be blog-worthy material. Maybe I'll post about volunteering with the DNR or the possibility of seeing the Dalai Lama in Ann Arbor in the near future. Once spring hits maybe I'll look at bike culture in East Lansing.

In other news, a bit over a month ago I found out my application was accepted by the JET Programme and I was eligible for an interview, which was two weeks ago. It seems to have gone well. I'll find out by the end of March if not the beginning of April if I've gotten the job. Here's hoping!

Rebirth? Whoops

2008-01-05T18:35:00.000-05:00

So, the blog was sacrificed to pay more attention to my actual life.

Plans to explore more of the Lansing area were smothered when my bike was stolen. I did, however, manage to bike out to Oldtown Lansing to volunteer at the Oktoberfest celebration. That was it.

The semester, 18 credit hours and a part-time job, flew by. I applied to the JET Programme and am anxiously awaiting their reply. I'm looking at a similar semester for the spring.

We'll see what I come up with to post here.

Rebirth of the Blog

2007-09-30T11:37:00.000-04:00

So I figured I should still use this blog to document my surroundings and life, but this time in the East Lansing area. After all, it's not as if I do absolutely nothing here! There are tons of sites to see and place to go to. The many gardens and several wooded lots, stores and restaurants, events, the campus itself...

Und falls jemand aus der deutschsprachigen Welt diesen Blog liest, wird es eine gute Einfuehrung an East Lansing sein. Falls Sie Interesse darauf haben. Ich bin aber der Ueberzeugung, dass niemand meinen Blog liest.

Current Music: Getaway ( February ) by Jen Trynin on pandora.com
Current Book: Zonen Kinder von Jana Hensel
Current Mood: laid back, just getting out of zombie mode.

2007-09-30T11:16:00.001-04:00

Well, it's been almost two months since my last post. I've been meaning to write since I got back and indeed, that's what I've been doing, but I dropped the ball and there's a huge entry sitting around, not having been published yet.

So, to keep it short:

-stayed in Chicago for no more than 24 hours.

-was whisked away to Mackinac Island

-then to Ludington

-worked for a week at Teacher's Discovery, which was enough to cover some of my books for first semester.

-moved back to campus. This was were I had my only instance of culture shock and it wasn't even that so much. It was odd to be back, but not be in the room I had my freshmen and sophomore years. It seemed like a weird step-back.

-luckily, I didn't and still don't have a roommate. She just never moved in. So that's been nice.

-I'm taking 18 credits and I have a part time job, which is 8 to 18 hours each week.

-This is the first semester that I absolutely love all of my classes:

+Plant Botany 218 Plants of Michigan with Lab
+Plant Botany 441 Plant Ecology
+German 455 German Cultural History
+German 491 Special Topics in German Culture
+German 492 Capstone Project
+Japanese 101 Introduction to Japanese

So, I'm in love with Michigan again, or at least the landscape. However, starting tomorrow the state will be shutting down. I'm not so in love with that. Many people seem to be making escape plans and I'm one of them. At least, for graduate school. If Michigan's not going to support me as a student, then I don't know why I should support the state with my tax dollars. Sorry Michigan, I love you baby, but I think it's time we saw other people.

Photos of the past months to come in a few weeks.

To do list

2007-07-31T06:25:00.001-04:00

Today's been ... productive to say the least. It's 12:26 and I'm already a bit worn out.

It began around 6:30AM when I woke up, moved everything of mine out of my dorm room, cleaned everything four times over ( I had already cleaned most of it once yesterday ) so that the Hausmeister ( landlord ) wouldn't have anything to complain about. I don't think I've explained it yet, but there's a BED BUG INFESTATION in my room that's been there at least two years. Because the Hausmeister can'T charge me for that, I was afraid he'd charge me for other things ( spots on window, dust on shelves ) until it added up to the exterminator bill. 8:15 he came by to check everything and surprisingly he found no Beschädigungen to charge me for!

I took some stuff over to Alex's, with whom I'll be living for the next week until I fly out. Then I headed into town to do some errands. Find a bit of info to polish off my works cited/bibliography for my term paper, copy some illustrations, go to the Studentenwerk to get my security deposit back ( €€€€ !!!! ) and then I managed to get a dentist appointment on the morning I leave Freiburg. YES!

So, in general, today's been a Very Good Day In Deed.

Which means that tomorrow can only be horrible. Oh well.

::yaaaaawn:: Okay, I'm off to do more stuff. I'll write more later.

If you're wondering...

2007-07-29T13:10:00.000-04:00

In case you were wondering why I haven't posted, it's because I'm writing papers. I have 2.5 more pages to go on this one. Then I have to start and finish one in about 10 days. We'll see how that goes.

Why don't they sell Monster energy drink in Germany? I mean, besides the fact that I though I was going to die after drinking it, it came in handy when I was writing papers.

The weather is rainy; a pigeon is taking refuge on our floor. A community dinner was sorta planned ( but poorly ), but even then the electricity in the kitchen is dead.

I'm glad I'm moving out of UZH soon. If there are any future AYFers reading this, usually UZH isn't too bad. It's nothing fancy. But then when it's bad, it's bad.

Back to term papers.

Countdown

2007-07-18T17:50:00.000-04:00

I had three exams and they're all over! I'll talk more about that later - it's sorta late.

Just two papers to write, now.

I will be flying back on the 8th of August now. I called Aer Lingus and changed my schedule a bit. That means staying a night in Chicago and leaving for Michigan via Amtrak on the 9th.

Good times.

2007-07-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

Upon a bit of reflection, I think this song, from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas really sums up my experience in Germany. For those not familiar, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, is tired of the same old same old and suffers from a lack of inspiration. It is not until he stumbles upon Christmas Town that something in him is awakened and he plans to take over Christmas, 'cause, well, gosh, it's just so great. However, Jack and the townspeople of Halloween Town don't quite replicate the original Christmas, reign a bit of terror on the world once Christmas rolls around, and Jack's sleigh is shot down by the US Army. However, the whole experience, though it didn't go smoothly, was worth it in the end - Jack returns to the Town of Halloween with some new ideas and a renewed idea of who he is.

Poor Old Jack

What have I done?
What have I done?
How could I be so blind?
All is lost, where was I?
Spoiled all, spoiled all
Everything's gone all wrong

What have I done?
What have I done?
Find a deep cave to hide in
In a million years they'll find me
Only dust and a plaque
That reads, "Here Lies Poor Old Jack"

But I never intended all this madness, never
And nobody really understood, how could they?
That all I ever wanted was to bring them something great
Why does nothing ever turn out like it should?

Well, what the heck, I went and did my best
And, by God, I really tasted something swell
And for a moment, why, I even touched the sky
And at least I left some stories they can tell, I did

And for the first time since I don't remember when
I felt just like my aold bony self again
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King
That's right, I am the Pumpkin King, ha, ha, ha

And I just can't wait until next Halloween
'Cause I've got some new ideas
that will really make them scream
And, by God I'm really going to give it all my might...

Germany has been full of a ton of embarassing moments, times where I got shot down and wanted nothing more than either to disappear or magically speak better German ( neither of which happened ). Midnight lectures about speaking schwarzwaldisch, having people talk throughout my whole presentation, almost any time I speak German, and so on and so forth.

But in the end my German's definitely gotten better all across the board, though my reading skills are better than the rest and I know that I definitely want to spend a bit more of my life living abroad, absorbing new ideas and habits, and meeting new people. If there's anything that I'll take with me from Germany to the US it'll be an intensified love of my bicycle ( Germany doesn't get all the credit, but it has helped to solidify the habit of biking everywhere ), better organisational habits ( this is not because the "efficiency" of Germans rubbed off of me, but because this year I absolutely had to be organized or surely I would perish ), and already, as I type this, I am confusing the Y and Z keys on the keyboard. Thanks Germany.

In other news, I was at the library today and heard drums outside, which turned out to be another protest against Studiengebuehren ( fees for attending university ). I saw a classmate, so I joined along in the march, which ended at the Wiwilli Bruecke. Starting this semester there have been Euro 500 fees for enrollment each semester, whereas it only used to be about Euro 100 ( or less, perhaps ) and even then you could get a BAFoeG, basically federal aid, of which only half you have to pay back, without interest. I don't know if the BAFoeg will be extended to cover the knew fees.

On one side, universities over all of Europe are introducing fees to remain competitive with American universities ( or so I've read through the New York Times ) and indeed, universities do need funds to update libraries, technologies, and whatever other supplies, as well as pay their professors and staff.

And perhaps I am ignorant, but it seems like up til now the Uni Freiburg has done pretty well without Studiengebuehren, so I wonder what, if anything, has changed to warrant the introduction of fees. And, in my view, if anything makes studying in Europe ( at least for Americans ) appealing is that there aren't high enrollment fees ( although if you go through a study aborad program you'll still be paying just as much if not more for tuition back home ).

One of the concerns addressed at the protest was transparency and "taxation without representation" - the university has created several new bureaus which these students find useless because they weren't demanded by the student body and that they have no idea exactly where their 500 Euros will be going.

You know where part of my $16,000 a year goes at MSU? Into building a new football stadium, errecting several statues ( our very own Siegesallee ), and tearing down old student apartments ( that were built on a floodplain, whoops ) to replace them with more expensive, luxurious ones. I'm sure some of it goes to my professors and university staff, as well as new materials, but I wonder just how much.

Anyhow, back to the books.

JET Programme

2007-06-26T09:28:00.000-04:00

This coming September I will be applying to the JET Programme to teach English in Japan for a year, specifically the year after I graduate from MSU. I'll need to make a check list of everything that needs doing, one of them being getting transcripts from AYF, since they'll have exact information about my courses here, as opposed to the MSU transcript, which will probably just write down my equivalencies.

I got a hair cut today and they cut my ear for free. What a deal!

I hate not having a working computer. AGH! Just imagine what's it's going to be like when/if I go to Japan. I'll have to be more prepared for that, I guess ( like, bringing a Windows XP cdrom with me next time ... ).

I spoke briefly with my Gender and Language prof yesterday and tomorrow I'll go to her office hour to speak about my term paper. I got a 3 on the German scale ( 1 is highest, 6 is lowest ), which is like a B or B- ( a 3.0 ) on the American scale. It's pretty much what I expected, since it's really hard to get a 1 even as a native German speaker and because I've never written a linguistics paper before.

Well, it'S off to the library to check out some more books. Eegads. At least they'll be in English.

Stuff

2007-06-25T04:53:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't updated with anything noteworthy lately.

This past weekend I hosted a few students that had just graduated and were making their way through Germany, Switzerland, and France. The theme of the weekend was definitely 'local food and brews', as we made a dinner with ingredients from the Markt am Münster ( market under the cathedral ) and enjoyed some Hefeweizen and organic beer ( Freiburg, you're so green ) at a Biergarten on Augustinerplatz.

Then on Saturday I had a mock EU meeting for the AYF EU course. It went by surprisingly quickly for being 6 hours long.

I can finally pick up my Hausarbeit that I turned in last semester. But I need to find a Scheinformular ( sheet to record my grade on ) so they can give me a grade. Ugh.

My friend Patrick should be stopping by either today or tomorrow, but I have a feeling it's going to be tomorrow. I hope.

Hey, I don't have to write a Hausarbeit for Botany. Just do the Klausur ( final exam ). Whooohooo. History paper is coming along and I need to talk with my Art History Prof still.

I also still need to call Aer Lingus about the flight they rescheduled and get FAFSA stuff ( whoops ) done.

I'm moving out of my dorm on the last day of July and then I'll be crashing for a week at a friend's dorm. Fun.

More pictures and stuff soon.

Busy busy

2007-06-12T13:59:00.000-04:00

It's time to start pulling books of the library shelf, because it's Hausarbeit season again! How time flies. History, Art History, and Botany!

A new tutorat for Botany started today and I participated again. Ugh. German. Sometimes it just doesn't go and sometimes I don't realize how many words I actually know, so I settle for an approximation, which doesn't fly in science.

What else? Hm. I dunno. Life goes on and my comp is still down. Bumming Internet and stuff off of friends for the time being. It's a bummer.

Bikes in Freiburg

2007-06-07T10:24:00.000-04:00

I saw a sign in the lobby of UZH the other day and thought it really embodied the relationship people have with their bikes here; they're like married couples. WARNING: very harsh language.

Hey, you fucker!

You must not be well-endowed, because you stole my tire pump to replace your self-esteem! Never in our 2 years together have my bike and I experienced such a thing. Go fuck yourself..

That's all. Computer is still down, but I backed some stuff up.

System down

2007-05-30T14:48:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-21T09:58:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-16T10:16:00.000-04:00

"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

2007-05-12T11:37:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

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!

Ich lebe noch! I'm still alive!

2007-04-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

Music: Surf Wax America by Weezer on pandora.com
Books: Dracula by Bram Stoker and Gotik by Suckale et al.
Mood: tiiiiired but accomplished!

Hey Everyone!

Believe it or not, I'm still alive! The first two weeks of the semester were of course busy as I became reacclimated to being a university student ( gasp ), which means that there was work to be done.

This semester I have three days of classes, but they're pretty full. Mondays I'll have Medieval Painting from 13.00-16.00 ( the next meeting for that class isn't for two more weeks ) and Wilhelminian Foreign Policy from 18.00-20.00.

Tuesday: Botany from 8-10 and European Union from 12-14
Wednesday: Nothing nichts zilch nada zip
Thursday: Botany from 9-10, History Tutorat 10-12 ( it begins fifteen after the hour and that's just enough time to bike from the botanical gardens to the main campus ), and European Union 14-16. My busiest day!
Friday: Nuttin'

With the exception of the first few days of classes, time has been well spent. I meet a lot with Beki to go over our Botany handout and dig around in the main library and the Biology Library for up-to-date textbooks that explain our sparse handout in detail ( whether in German or English, though the Biology Library seems to be dominated by English ). It's pretty time consuming, but productive.

I've also grown out of the awkward-foreigner-sitting-silently-in-the-corner stage. Consider that last semester I only had one "true" university course - my other courses were with other Americans from the program. This semester I have three university courses ( four if you count the History Tutorat ) and only one AYF course and therefore will be mostly immersed in the German-speaking world ( I do need to keep my head above the water to breath ). So far I've been able to actively contribute to group projects ( at least planning ). Hey, small steps.

Today I went to Basel, Switzerland, to see the Kunstmuseum or Art Museum. It was nice travelling on my own for once and besides, it was recommended that I go see collections of medieval paintings for my Art History course. Basel was a medieval art center, if that's the correct term, and thus there was a good amount of late medieval ( ! ) art. Early medieval? Zzzz. Gag me with a spoon. Late is where it's at. Whatever it is. I would have gone through a second time to make sure it was all in my head and indeed I did for some of the more prominent artists, but museums can really knock the energy out of you, no matter how interesting they are. I've been to enough museums and large cathedrals now that I can spot a small Gruenewald across two rooms in a heartbeat and I get geeked about seeing similarities between the portrayal of the Prince of the World in Strasbourg, Freiburg, and Basel.

They've also got a lot of works by Arnold Boecklin, whom I had never heard of, but whose works I really like. They've also got a lot of modern art, from sketches to completed works, from Picasso to van Gogh and Roy Lichtenstein ( I was too worn out and hungry to make it to see Lichtenstein's works ).

If you're ever in Basel, the Kunstmuseum is definitely the place to go. They're got a good amount of everything - Golden Age Dutch art, late medieval, modern, 17th-19th century sketches and pencils. Mostly paintings and other things you can hang on the wall, with a couple of sculptures to spice things up.

Low point of the day, though, was the waitress at the museum's cafe ( holy crap, 4 CHF for a cup of tea ) switching to English when I said "I'd like a coffee... er, I mean, a tea" ( in German ). Slip of the tongue! I can speak @*#*& German! It sorta put me in a bad mood. If she wants to practice her English, she can practice with the hordes of tourists who don't speak French or German. If someone begins speaking with you in German, it means they're probably confident that they can continue on in German. ::sigh:: Anyhow, so I forced myself to speak more German while I was there. I ran into two wandering apprentices near the Muenster and although I already know what they do and tradition and blah blah blah I played tourist and asked them questions for the sake of speaking.

Well, since I had arrived in Basel around 11AM and spent 2 hours at the art museum, I decided to wander around and see things I had seen last time I was in Basel. I saw the Muenster with new, enlightened eyes, the town hall, and crossed the Rhine a few times. I also wanted to go to the Culture Museum because it's free, but they were closed to prepare for a new exhibit. The Museum of Natural History also looked really neat ( I loved the one in Dublin ), but by that time I had 1CHF in my pocket and there wasn't a bank in sight to make an exchange ( yes, I realize they'll take Euros ), but I had already spent enough time indoors, spent enough money, and it was soooo lovely outside compared to the last time I was in Basel. So I walked around a bit more, then made my way back to Basel SBB trainstation and get back in Freiburg around 6PM.

One day I shall return to Basel and purchase everything at this store. Holy crap. Calligraphy heaven.

Slideshow!

2007-04-15T04:37:00.000-04:00

Here's that slideshow I made sometime around December. It's about 9 minutes long with pictures from the Black Forest around Freiburg, Heidelberg, Italy ( Florence and Assisi ), France ( Colmar ), and Switzerland ( Basel ).

Well, I finally start classes tomorrow. I still need to see if I got into either of the History courses I requested. The first week of school you attend any classes you are interested in and if they don't suit you, then you simply stop showing up. Though they do pay a fee ( now 500 Euro, up from 100 Euro last year, but that's another subject ) they don't pay per credit hour and so there's no need to sign up through any unified system. For some classes, like History seminars, you fill out a form with a list of requested classes and then they post a ( tangible, paper )list of who got in. Some courses you need to e-mail the professor or assistant, others you simply show up for and take attendance.

I'm looking at:

Maler und Malerwerkstaetten des Mittelalters am Oberrhein ( Painting and Painting Centers of the Middle Ages along the Upper Rhine )

Exkursion im Mittelalter ( Medieval History with Fieldtrips )

Einfuehrung in die Oekologie, Morphologie, und Evolution der Pflanzen ( Introduction to Ecology, Morphology, and Evolution in Plants )

Nationalsozialistische Macht; Personen und Strukturen ( National Socialist Power; Personalities and Institutions )

Ruestung im Zeichen wilhelminische Weltpolitik ( Wilhelminian History, World Policy )

AYF Geschichte der EU ( AYF History of the EU )

In case I don't get into the Wilhelminian or National Socialist History courses I can fall back on the Medieval History course.

I also signed up for classes next year at MSU. I'll have to talk with my American prof here and see if I can get things straightened out.

On another note, here's some interesting information about biking in Freiburg, including maps and general information and statistics.

I've been biking for about a week now. It's going well. I can get to StuSie in 5 minutes, Vauban in 15, Haendel in 10, and to the University in 7 or so. The weather's been pleasant. A few days ago it was 80 degrees, but I hardly noticed, as 80 in Michigan = death due to the humidity that usually accompanies it.

Kaiserstuhl and Birds

2007-04-12T10:35:00.000-04:00

Today I stopped by a bookstore in town and picked up a 1.50 Euro guide to birds in the Kaiserstuhl region.

If we hop into our time machine, I'll take you back to last summer, where I spent my lunches either reading Rolling Stone magazines in the lunch room or eating outside and watching birds. The warehouse backed right into the woods, which meant there was always some wonderful interaction with Mother Nature somewhere, whether it was wasps building nests on the windows, snakes in the basement, or spiders in someone's cubicle. In my corner of the warehouse we had a bird that would spend the better part of its day pecking at its reflection in the mirror windows outside. So, I spent a lot of time watching birds at work, is what I'm saying.

Fast forward to today. Mary got a little net full of birdseed for me for Christmas and I plopped it out on my windowsill, since there's no place to really hang it. It sat there for several months until some little finches figured out that it was food and then devoured it in several weeks. They're yellow, blue, black, and white and in general it was driving me nuts that I could only identify the ravens, pigeons, magpies, and woodpeckers, which are all also found in the USA.

Unfortunately, wikipedia and the Internet in general were failing me, so I turned to the good old-fashioned printed stuff. They've got the English and French names listed as well.

So far I've seen:
Ringeltaube/Wood pigeon
Buntspecht/Great spotted woodpecker
Elster/Magpie
Blaumeise/Blue tit
Amsel/Blackbird
Buchfink/Chaffinch

and likely others. I still can't identify the raptors I saw at the Hochburg. Red/brown back with a white belly and a tail that's white and black stripped on the bottom. ::shrugs::

Around Town

2007-04-10T11:23:00.000-04:00

Easter was spent in Emmendingen, just a ten minute train ride out of Freiburg, with Beki and Alex. We walked to the Hochburg ruins, which took maybe 45 minutes to an hour. They were built over the course of several hundred years from the 11th to the 16th century ( I think ).

There were a couple of falcons swooping about. I'll try to find a book at the library to identify them sometime. Unfortunately I didn't get any clear pictures. Camera only zooms so much.

A few days ago I picked up my new ( used ) bike! I stopped by Die Bahn ( The German Rail ) at Cafe Velo ( a type of bike-related social center ) and saw a note posted for a bike for sale. It was quite a deal and came with working lights, a pump, and basket. I went to pick it up the next day in a little village called Kappel from a retiree who fixes up old bikes for a hobby. I've been using it to get around town into of the street car. Though I picked it up on Good Friday when public transportation didn't run as often, there was also less traffic on the roads, so it was easier to get accustomed to the signs, roads, ramps, etc. on my first day riding a bike around town.

The Wiwilli Bridge that goes into the Stuehlinger neighborhood. The Herz Jesu church to the left and Cafe Velo to the right.

Whoops

2007-04-01T13:39:00.000-04:00

Ich hab' ploetzlich bemerkt, dass ich fast keine Photos von Freiburg gepostet (?) habe! Ich meine, natuerlich habe ich Photos von Freiburg gemacht, aber ich hab' sie nur in Facebook uploadet.

Deshalb koennt ihr Photos von Freiburg in der naechsten Tagen erwarten.

---

I've suddenly realized that I haven't posted any photos of Freiburg! Well, there are some of the area, but not of downtown or the university. I'll remedy this in the next few days. I do have photos, but they're only uploaded on Facebook. I'll get them on here soon.

Good News and Gloating

2007-03-30T06:58:00.000-04:00

Guess who got a 1,3 on their History final on a scale of 1-7 (pass->fail) and a 1,0 in the class, total?

So far I've got 4.0s in my two grammar classes, my AYF courses, and now I'll just have to wait to Gender and Language.

The Internet Knows Me Best

2007-03-29T08:34:00.000-04:00

Current Music: Binario by Komeda
Current Book: The Vampire Lestat
Current Broadway Musical That Only Ran For 36 Shows: Lestat

I am a Reserved Inventor according to the Internet.

Well, I see rain in the near distance and I either just heard thunder or a recycling truck.

I'm correcting a term paper, still. The final is due on April 2nd. Once I turn it in, I'm off to Berlin and Munich. Maybe Aachen. Doesn't look like my bike trip along the Rhine will happen this time - maybe at the end of the next semester or during a break. I dunno. A long weekend.

Ireland

2007-03-23T12:24:00.000-04:00

Even if I were to type in my abbreviated notes that I wrote during the trip, it would still only fit in a nutshell the size of you ego.

Yes, yours.

Don't act like you don't know.

Anyhow. So I guess I'll give you a fleshed out version of the trip, since it'll be a long story no matter what. You should probably use the bathroom now or finish cooking that turkey before you read the entry, because this tale is so enthralling that you will not want to leave your seat.

Day 1: March 14th
We left Freiburg for the Baden-Baden/Karlsruhe Airport and arrived in Dublin, Ireland, in the early evening. We descended upon a bagel shop ( there would be much bagel-eating on this trip, as Germany ... doesn't do bagels so much ) and got our car. Sarah S. would be the driver for the trip. We spent a good time in the parking lot figuring out how to change gears ( on an automatic ) and finally got onto the road. I was the official map reader.

I think Mitch Hedberg described the following 10 minutes best when he said, "I rent a lot of cars, but I don't always know everything about them. So a lot of times, I drive for like ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn't say a lot for me, but it really doesn't say a lot for the emergency brake. It's really not an emergency brake, it's an emergency "make the car smell funny" lever." It also took us a while to get out of Dublin, figure out what the signs were saying, but finally we got out of there and to Glendalough.

Now, though Glendalough may be on a map of Ireland, I don't think it would have made it on a map of Delaware. It's in County Wicklow and is the "Garden of Ireland".

But we couldn't really tell, since it was late and the sun had set.

Day 2: March 15th

Sarah Mc., Mary, and I started the morning early. I think we were out of the hostel ( which was overrun by a group of French students, which was a common site throughout the whole of Ireland ) by 7AM and walking down the street to find a bakery or general store to buy breakfast. It was a good 30 minute walk and very scenic. Rabbits, sheep, shepherd dogs, the ruins of Trinity church, and the landscape in general was our first introduction to Ireland.

We did a bit of walking around the lakes in Glendalough and then headed out of town around noon. We got to Kilkenny shortly after stopping through another town for supplies and horse-petting, as well as more hanging-around-ruins.

After a few hours in Kilkenny we arrived in Cashel, where we stayed the night. We had dinner in town.

Day 3: March 16th

We visited Hore Abbey ( insert laughter ) before going to the Rock of Cashel. The cows surrounding the abbey sorta freaked me out.

We went to the Rock of Cashel, where St. Patrick supposedly converted a pagan king. It's a church and long guardhouse ... thing ... as well as a cemetery perched on top of a hill. There were jackdaws swooping in and out of the ruins of the church ( Ireland has a lot of ruins, if you haven't noticed by now ) and making a lot of noise.

After the Rock of Cashel we went to a small museum on the history of music in Ireland and then left for Killarney.

In Killarney ( which reminded me a lot of Houghton Lake ) we went into town for to see some traditional music performances and I am not ashamed to say that because of the Ren Fest Podcast I knew some of the songs.

Day 4: March 17th: St. Patrick's Day

It was a mixed day. It started off with Sarah S. not feeling good. The two Sarahs and I went to Killaryney National Park and took a ride on a jaunty through the park to see the mansion there ( built by a Californian man who had married an Irish woman ) and the waterfall.

It was one of the most beautiful places I've been to. It was so perfect you think that each fallen, moss-covered, rotting tree must have been intentionally placed on the stones that fell out of the side of the hill, but it's just the chaos of nature, and that's the true beauty of it all.

Then we drove out to Six Mile Bride outside of Limerick and both of the Sarahs stayed at the hostel for the evening because they were ill.

Mary and I went into Limerick and found a used book store, where we talked with this guy

for quite some time ( he lost track of time and realized he should have closed the store a while ago! ) and I bought The Vampire Lestat for 4 Euro.

It rained and we couldn't get into any pubs because I was 10 days too young to enter, not that I was going to drink because I was driving, but we wanted to see some live entertainment. So we headed back to Six Mile Bridge and found a smaller, quieter pub in town and watched the Irish equivalent of American Idol.

Day 5: March 18th

We left for Galway, the Sarahs feeling much better, though I was still driving ( technically we didn't have a second driver signed up, but I don't think the car rental place would have minded given the situation. So I like to think. ). Our first stop was the Cliffs of Moher, otherwise known as the CLIFFS OF INSANITY

( Speaking of the Cliffs of Insanity, did anyone see the PotC:AWE trailer? Will seems to be going for the Dread Pirate Roberts look. )

There were insanely high winds that were seriously a bit unnerving, especially crossing the road to the tourist center, and we were being bombarded by tiny pieces of hail. But it was an amazing view once we got to the cliffs, which overlook the Atlantic Ocean. Foam gathering at the bottom of the cliffs was sent flying hundreds of feet into the air to descend upon the car park. A small waterfall never reached the ocean because of the winds. And if I may be poetic for one moment, the sea was like rolling marble with veins of limestone. Okay, I'm done.

We got to our hostel in Galway. Two of my roommates suggested that our party go to the Crane to see some jam sessions, so we did. The first act was amazing, made better by a highly intoxicated and loose-tongued audience member who kept giving her opinion on everything. We talked with an older couple who tought me how to say 7UP in Gaelic ( seachd shuas ).

Day 6: March 19th

We left Galway for Dublin, but first stopped on Connemara, a nature reserve, for a qhile. We stopped by the sea and got pelted by more hail, but had fun climbing on rocks and hanging around. We got to Dublin, checked into our hostel, and walked around the Liffey River. There was a carneval going on in the street, but we didn't partake in any activities, because it was damn expensive ( 4 Euro for a ride! ). We found the locations of museums we wanted to visit.

You see our dismay.

Day 7: March 20th

The Sarahs returned the car while Mary and I went to the Museum of Natural History, which was like a macabre zoo behind glass but delightfully "old school" and the Museum of History and Archaeology, which had three bog men on display. We stopped by another used book store where I picked up Bram Stoker's Dracula for 2.50 and sent off some postcards at the post office in the back of the store.

Then we went to a Georgian House Museum, which was a restored - you guessed it - Georgian house.

We took a few walks around parks and I took too many pictures of magpies.

Day 8: March 21st

We saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and Mary and I found out that we had been to the same presentation of a senior thesis on how to create a medieval bestiary at MSU's library.

Then we went to Kilmainham Gaol on the outskirts of Dublin and it was basically a crash course in modern Irish history, as many political prisoners had been held there, as well as a lesson in the politics and reforms surrounding the architecture and managing of a prison in the Georgian and Victorian eras.

The Sarahs departed for Belfast later that day and Mary and I went to Marsh's Library near St Patrick's Cathedral and saw an exhibition of maps of the Americas and then to a service at St Patrick's. On the way back to our hostel we stopped outside of a bookstore that had been closed for the day and had 15-20 large plastic bags of FREE BOOKS sitting in the rain, with a purple-haired Goth girl and an older man sifting through the bags. I found three that caught my attention. It was a good day!

Day 9: March 22nd

We woke up at 4AM and got on a plane to Frankfurt Hahn, which landed around 10AM I think. I was pretty tired by 9PM and slept 12 hours last night.

Away in Ireland

2007-03-14T05:01:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone.

Well, I'm heading off to Ireland in about three hours! Foot -> train -> bus -> plane -> car ! Maybe I'll use a streetcar somewhere in there.

Anyhow, I won't be back until the 22nd of March.

Later!

Yesterday

2007-03-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

We decided to escape the tyranny of our desks and laptops and take a walk up the Rosskopf. This Sunday I'll try hiking somewhere else in the region that I haven't been to yet. We did take another path up the mountain this time, though.

But first we stopped by the Muenster. Their Fastentuch is hanging up for Lent right now.

But their stained glass windows you can always view.

Our hike begins with Alex suggesting we do something besides look cool and apathetic while we judge passers-by.

It was a sunny day and pretty warm, though a bit windy once we got to the peak.

On our way back down. View of the Muenster tower.

Freiburg

2007-03-09T09:15:00.000-05:00

Dancing Through Freiburg

Hausarbeit

2007-03-06T04:29:00.000-05:00

Hausarbeit pron: [blARgh]
-noun

Relative to the leech, a type of assignment that can only be made worse if you had to write it while being chased by velociraptors.

[Origin: before 890; Modern German: Haus house, ar to be, beit to be bitten; literally to be violently assaulted by a paper of immense length while in the home]

Haarlem and Amsterdam

2007-02-24T15:24:00.001-05:00

So, I had a blast in Amsterdam and Haarlem!

Don't I look thrilled?

We stayed at The Flying Pig in downtown Amsterdam. For 16 Euro a night it was pretty good! Free breakfast, access to a kitchen, cats, a bar, good music, and a no-smoking rule for the individual rooms. I met up with Kyle, a friend from MSU who's studying in the Netherlands. We ...

- went to the Anne Frank house
- the Oude and Nieuwe Kerken ( old and new churches )
- the Rijksmuseum ( host to the Night Watch and a lot of Golden Age art )
- Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
- the Hortus Botanicus

The New Church ^

The Old Church ^

^ Hortus Botanicus

and went to a few small bars outside of the downtown area with really great staff and patrons.

We also spent a few days couchsurfing in Haarlem with a family that kindly let us stay with them as we tore up their kitchen trying to make pancakes ( we cleaned up, don't worry ). We had gone on a day-long bike ride through the area around Haarlem ( countryside, farmland, small villages, the sand dunes, and the beach ) and on our way had stopped at a windmill that was still functioning and had a shopinside. We bought some diksap ( it means "thick syrup" or juice, really. Getcher mind out of the gutter ) and flour for making pancakes. However, all of our attempts to make pancakes were for nought, so the daughter of our host, gave us a hand. Staying with a family was a great way to interact with actual Dutch people that went beyond buying postcards. Klaas, our host, shared some of his family history, told us a bit about Dutch society post WWII, and so on. He asked us about regional differences in the USA and we talked a little politics. Much better than staying in a smokey hostel.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to go into the old St Bavo's Cathedral* in Haarlem. There's a giant organ that Mozart once played. The old St Bavo's was taken over by the Protestants and the Catholics built a new Church of St Bavo in the late 1800s. We didn't visit the inside of that church either, as it was closed. The Protestants stripped the churches bare of any iconology and painted them white wherever possible, because as a plaque in the Nieuwe Kerk said, "After all, what mattered in Protestant services was the sermon" ( apparently it wasn't so in the Catholic church. Note the sarcasm in my voice ). Whereas many people are now literate, folk from the Middle Ages relied on images in stone, glass, and on canvas to learn, remind, and meditate. So to us ( and especially anyone with a Protestant upbringing ) all of these images seem totally extravagant, unnecessary, and we likely don't know any of the figures or their symbols.

Our last day in Haarlem we went ice skating, but I have no pictures of that. We got hockey style skates which likely made it easier to balance, as they're longer. We spent the first 15 minutes on the central rink getting a feeling for skating again and then spent an hour or so on the outer rink. Alex noted that the IJsbaan ( ice rink in Dutch ) was next to the Eisenbahn ( railroad in German ).

On another related note, knowing German helped us get around a bit in the Netherlands and I even managed to eek out a few sentences in ( really bad ) Dutch.

It was an all-together wonderful trip :)

^ The route we took around Haarlem, roughly.

*For clarity's sake and thanks to a commenter, it should be noted that since St. Bavo's is no longer Catholic, it is no longer a cathedral.

Strasbourg

2007-02-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

I went with my Art and Arch class to Strasbourg to see the Muenster and surrounding architecture of the city.

The Muenster from a distance

The tympanum of the main door.

Not the best picture, since I didn't get all of the tower in ( reminds me of those commercials awhile ago where a little old lady finally gets to go to Paris, has her picture taken in front of the Eiffel Tower, and you can only see the top half of her head in it ). Apparently, if you want to see a "typisch deutsch" city you need to go to neighboring Alsace. Fachwerkhaeuser abound there.

The Freiburg Muenster is heavily influenced by the Strasbourg Muenster. One day I'll go back and take some more photos and do a little comparison. Both have a Romanesque Querhaus or transept whereas the rest is Gothic and are a Church of Our Lady/Unserer Lieben Frau /Notre Dame.

One of these days I'll put on my fanny pack, sunglasses, baseball cap, and ill-fitting shorts and take my camera with me to the Freiburger Muenster. Until then, tschuess. I'm hard at work on my Art and Arch Hausarbeiten.

The Wonders of the Internets!

2007-02-07T15:33:00.000-05:00

I found my old host sister from three years ago. My first trip to Germany was in the summer of 2003. I spent two weeks in southern Germany, mostly Bavaria, which is the Texas of Germany*. The first week we spent travelling to different cities and towns, including Oberammergau, Munich, and Salzburg ( in Austria ). The second week I spent with a host family outside of Ulm in a town called Illertissen. I had five host siblings, most of which were involved in music somehow. I spent a week with them and while that wasn't enough to improve my spoken German, it was enough to improve my listening skills. It was a great experience.

Well, thanks to the wonders of the German version of facebook.com I found my oldest former host sister. She's studying Music in Munich and invited me to spend a few days there. I'm pretty begeistert!

I also booked some bunks at The Flying Pig in Amsterdam at their beach hostel. While it's not exactly beach weather, it'll still be fun, and they've got a shuttle into the city for our convenience. While booking the bunks I got to thinking about what it would be like to surf in Germany/Europe and found a bit of information. I've seen river surfing in Munich before, but wasn't certain about surfing in the north. According to a few surfing sites, the coast is a bit muddy and it's best to go surfing off of islands, but the ferries can be expensive. Never mind the fact that I have neither a board nor a wetsuit. Still, it would be pretty fun.

* They have a funny accent, it's what everyone thinks of when they think of Germany/the USA, they're both a big state in the south, and proudly declare that they are a Freistatt, which, while having a more political meaning than "Lonestar" still conveys a feeling of independence.

Dublin

2007-02-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

I'm officially going to Dublin, Ireland, for the week of St. Patrick's Day! We booked our tickets with Ryan Air. We're flying out on March 14th. :) It only cost around 25 Euro! Woo hoo. I'll see if maybe I can hang out with some people from couchsurfing.com during the day for a little meet-up or something.

And maybe I can have a proper St. Patty's dinner instead of horrible, horrible, cafeteria food. Blech!

Factoid of the day : I was due to be born on March 17th, but was late. I guess it's good I didn't turn out to be the type to be a participant of the Alcoholic Year in Freiburg, because that would mean spending my 21st birthday in Ireland on St. Patrick's Day. What a disaster that would be!

Speaking of disasters, a part of me laughs and a part of me cries about what happened in Boston ( I'm refering to the Mooninite Invasion ... ignore that it's FOX News ).

Hopefully ATHF The Movie will hit Germany, but I don't even know if the TV show airs here. I'll have to wait and see. The mayor of Boston is actually calling for a BOYCOTT of the movie. Like that's going to solve anything? Shifting the blame, much?

On a lighter note, the LED light technique sorta reminds me of Space Invaders, especially when you take into account that they're 8-bit figures *and* from outerspace. When I was in California we used to pass a Space Invader that was placed on a highway overpass.

So if anyone wants to get me the ATHF is the bomb t-shirt, you are free to do so ~_^

A Nation Remembers

2007-02-03T09:02:00.001-05:00

Oh, and Happy Belated Groundhog's Day.

Konstanz und der Bodensee

2007-01-31T08:02:00.000-05:00

Current Music: Stuck Together by Blood and Whiskey

Sunday I went with my History class to Konstanz for a tour of the city and to the Zeppelin Museum. It was a great outing and we had a ridiculous amount of fun on the train ride back playing cards and telling jokes.

Well, only about two more weeks of class left. I've got two Klausur ( Final Exams ) and two Hausarbeit ( Term Papers ). I've got an outline for my Language and Gender Hausarbeit and am currently writing the actual paper. I've got the whole day off, so I should be able to get at least 3 if not 4 pages done. There's really no excuse to not get that much done today.

Yesterday Beki, Alex, and I bought our tickets to Amsterdam. We'll be going by bus since we were too late to get tickets for the train. We still haven't pinned down a place to stay, though.

Feb 10th I'll be in Strassburg to see the Muenster and museum.

Letzten Sonntag bin ich nach Konstanz mit meinem Geschichte Seminar gegangen. Wir hatten eine Stadtleitung und einen Besuch des Zeppelin Museums. Es war eine shoene Reise, besonders im Zug, in dem wir Karten gespielt haben und Witzen gemacht haben.

Naja, nur zwei Wochen bis Ende des Semesters. Ich habe zwei Klausuren und zwei Hausarbeiten. Hoffentlich kann ich heute 3 oder 4 Seiten fuer meine Sprache und Geschlecht Hausarbeit schreiben.

Gestern hat Beki, Alex, und ich unsere Buskarten nach Amsterdam gekauft. Wir haben noch keine Jugendherberge gebucht. 9_9

10. Februar gehe ich nach Strassbourg um den Muenster und das Museum zu sehen.

Imperia. If you're wondering why she's wearing such a low-cut, revealing dress, it's because she was a prostitute and in her hand she holds the pope (Martin V ?) and the King.

A street with little flags. In preparation for Karneval?

Frederick Barbarossa and the Peace Treaty with ... Lombardy

Mary, Beki, and Beth on the ferry on the Bodensee.

Referat

2007-01-24T10:40:00.000-05:00

Let's (not) talk about my Referat yesterday. I didn't crash and burn, but I didn't soar high and mighty like an eagle or anything. I did the best I could without reading straight off of a piece of paper. Still ... there were quite a few awkward pauses and I had to explain some of the words I had used. There were parts where I felt I should have slowed down a bit and parts where I could have been more to the point. I think I'm still at the point where I need two or three vague sentences to describe a point, but they never quite add up to what I want.

Which is why my Hausarbeit has to be 100%. There's no excuse for screwing up a written assignment when I have everything laid out before me to constantly reference.

Ugh, anyhow, I'm sure the whole Referat experience will haunt me for a few days until I snap out of it and focus on things like

1) My Hausarbeit for Sprache und Geschlecht
2) My Hausarbeit ( or two shorter papers ) for Art and Architecture of the Upper Rhine Region ( something that I'm doing to get credit in an IAH course )
3) Studying/reviewing for my Klausur in History
4) Reviewing for my Klausur in Art and Architecture ( this will definitely be the easiest of my final assignments )

So, I knew I had a knack for drawing and art, but I guess my whole brain's pretty visually focused, which is the great thing about being in Europe and taking an architecture course - you actually get to see the buildings and sculptures you're learning about and it's easier to remember. ( ~_^ "Mass", if you will )

Hm. Well, anyhow. Back to the grind.

PS: It finally snowed here. We've got 2-3 inches, it looks like.

Blah

2007-01-14T15:16:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing that truly rocks about the University of Freiburg's website, it is that my Dozentin has her office hours and e-mail posted there.

In other, more boring news, I'm waiting for MSU's History Dept to get back to me about course equivalencies for a course I've really already taken at MSU. 9__9;

Sometime this week I'll see about buying a ticket to Amsterdam, which will probably be my first stop during the semester break.

Things I'd like to do/Places I'd like to go
Bike ride along the Rhine for several days and stay in hostels
Go to Amsterdam
Go to Berlin
Visit my old host family? ( must send them a letter, first! )
Visit the German students from Itzehoe we hosted this summer
Maybe go to Denmark?

Oh, and then write a 12 page paper which I should start writing after I finish with this Referat!

Wenn die Website der Universitaet Freiburg wirklich der Hammer ist, ist es wegen des Vorhandensein Informationen, die mir sehr wichtig sind.

Die Kurznachtrichtung: ich erwarte ein E-mail von MSU, das von Credit handelt und der Gleichwertigkeit fuer mein Deutsches Seminar Pro-Seminar. Aaargh.

Irgendwann diese Woche ueberlege ich, ob ich eine Fahrkarte nach Amsterdam kaufen will.

Faulenzen!

2007-01-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

Not too productive of a weekend. I feel like I've read this article a million times and it feels like I don't know 100% how I want to reorganize and present the information, but I'm chugging ahead anyhow and it's working out.

Next semester I'm planning on buying a bike instead of buying a Semester Ticket. Although the Semester Ticket can get me onto regional trains, I don't use them that often and I have a Bahn 50 card anyway. And while streetcars stop running around 12:30AM, bikes are there when you need them. Strassenbahns were a great experience and they're wonderful, but learning to ride a bike in a small city setting will also be a worthwhile experience. And I need the exercise.

Speaking of biking, check out The World Carfree Network for information on transportation via bikes and what you can do to make bicycling and walking safer in your community.

And excerpt and idea from the site:

Create your own traffic calming. Change the entrance of a street from one which is very wide to one which is narrow with sharp corners which will force cars to slow when turning. Add your own speed bumps, or a garden plot with brick walled edges on alternating sides of the road which cars must drive slowly past. They could be planted with fruits and vegetables for the local community to eat freely. I've seen this done on Emil-Goett Strasse. There are "Children At Play" signs at both entrances of the street and if that isn't enough to make people slow down, then the alternating "street gardens" will.

Check out their links page for much more info: More Info!

Erwartungen

2007-01-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

There's a lot that I expected from Germany and Germans and a lot that I was told. Some of it's partially true, most of it isn't.

I was expecting German professors to be a lot worse than they are. I had this image of an 80 year old man with a bent back, coke-bottle glasses ( or preferably, a monocle ), an ear trumpet, an incomprehensible dialect, and a dislike for students. He would likely also have a cane for whacking students who asked any questions with. While that image is a product of my own skewed, ageist imagination, it was backed up by American profs telling me that German professors are less accessible than American professors and probably also seeing The Blue Angel ( I jest ). Granted, two of my professors were hired by the AYF program and knew they'd be dealing with Americans. They're both well under 80 years old and very exciting about their respective subjects and willing to help students. My only "true" class at the University of Freiburg this semester is taught by a Dozentin ( like a teacher's assistant ), to whom I can talk shortly after class and is patient with my horrible German ( though I think I've got a strategy going with this - speak enough in that class so that when I present my Referat, none of the students will dare ask me a question for fear that they will need to listen to my answer ).

Not to mention the people at the library are extremely helpful! Talk about service. There isn't any handy map that I've found that tells me where all the sections are ( although there are a few signs here and there ). The Info Desk has answered a bunch of my questions, helped me fill out a form for permission to borrow books, and helped me find out where articles in journals are ( and I had to state several times that I simply didn't know any useful information, except the title and author, which left the woman at the desk to do all the work for me ).

The topic of libraries bring me to the next myth; Germans are very organized. Maybe individuals are, but let's talk about the cataloging system in the library. Forget Dewey Decimal! Here, it's all the rage to organize books by the year they were bought. Which makes expanding the library easier, but makes browsing impossible. You are totally reliant on their electronic catalog to find books. You can not simply look to the right and the left of a book and find other books with similar themes or topics. If you do, it's probably a mistake.

Also, street names. One street to me is four streets to Germany. So while there may be more street names than I find necessary, I guess it's better than the American system, where a street may have many names, but they're not all official, i.e. not on any street sign you'll ever see. 13 to 16 Mile Streets? I'm still not sure which is which if you call it by another name.

And I've run into no American-haters, though a Canadian floormate of mine ran into a guy at a bar who asked him if he was American and then began to rant. Another floormate of mine was happy to practice her English with me during Christmas break because she has some distant relatives who are from the US.

Sometimes it's funny the reactions you get when people know you speak English or you're from the States. A couple asked me for directions into town via Strassenbahn once and the man interrupted me midsentence and asked "What language do you speak? English or French?" I speak English. But please, I am trying to help you by giving you directions so you can get to the Weihnachtsmarkt and you want to interrupt me? Wait a few seconds while I try to organize words into a comprehensible sentence. I know, it takes a while, but please be patient and hold all questions until the end of the tour. Someone else asked me directions while I was in town and I pulled out a little map and pointed to the street ( right around the corner! ). She asked me where I was from and then told me I had a wonderful accent, which I sorta have to laugh about. Accents in the US can make people swoon, but I have no idea what my accent sounds like to German ears. A few friends of mine where at a Russian goods store and were told that apparently the "th" sound is sexy. What? I guess English speakers and Barcelonians got it going on, then.

Anyhow... that's all my thoughts for the moment.

Christmas

2006-12-27T12:27:00.000-05:00

A street corner in Freiburg with a decorated tree.

Besides just being a picture of very cute and fluffy sheep, this photo is proof of a phenomenon that has buried its roots into every part of German society; yes, even the farm animals. It is known among Americans as the "German Stare". You may find yourself sitting on the Strassenbahn ( streetcar ) or at a cafe or walking down the street when you realize that someone is watching you intently. You find the offending gaze and try to stare back for long enough that they avert their eyes. But it's no use. Nothing can top The German Stare. You must continue your life as that of an insect, squirming under the gaze of a giant eye behind a magnifying glass.

I went hiking with some friends /on Christmas day /on Christmas day / we went hiking to the Rosskopf Berg / On Christmas day in the morning. It was extremely foggy and as we approached the peak the trees were covered in hoarfrost. It was like walking through Lothlorien.

Speaking of Lothlorien, we ran into someone walking down the mountain. This man was either

1) Tom Bombadil
2) The Mountain King
3) A very fat elf ( Santa?)

We had stopped to admire a tree when he called out, "Well, keep moving!" At first I thought it might be a Scottish accent, but I wasn't sure. Eventually we all met up and started talking about the fog and hiking on Christmas day. No one could pinpoint his accent. He also had a Nordic walking stick and a sprig of holly. He told us we were loud Americans. But we're really only loud to scare away the wild boars. It was probably just that he's an elf and therefore very sensitive to sound. Anyhow, we wished him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, he did the same, and we continued hiking. Coming back down the mountain we found the holly bush that he must have taken a berry-laden sprig from.

It was a pretty wonderful hike! I walked for about 5 hours straight that day, so I was pretty hungry for a big Christmas dinner, which we had later that evening.

The End :)

Back

2006-12-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone. I'm sorta back. I had major technical difficulties, what with my computer exploding, waiting for a new one, and then not having my Internet connection work!

Anyhow, a lot has happened since my last post, I'm sure. I'm half way, if not more, through my first semester at the University of Freiburg. I'm actually only taking one "true" university course - the others are a grammar course ( Which ended this week ) and two AYF courses ( Art and Arch and History ). IT's been going pretty well. At first the University course was pretty daunting and I thought about dropping it, but my listening skills greatly improved and a few weeks ago I actually spoke ( ! ) in class. During Christmas break I'll be preparing for a Referat in that class.

My Art and Arch class is pretty amazing. I can't just look at churches anymore.

History is my chance to make smart ass comments.

Professor : Wer war Spartacus? ( Who was Spartacus?)

If you can comment with what my answer was ( in English or German ) you get 10 points in my book.

Well, when I have more time I'll try to give you a coherent update. For now, enjoy these pictures.

Halloween. It's a corn dough monster with tomato eyes, lettuce hair, and onion teeth.

Hiking in the Hoellental

Heidelberg Castle

Altogether too much birdwatching

Swedes dancing round the Christmas tree at the IH XMas Fest

And more birdwatching

The Awful German Language

2006-10-29T15:17:00.000-05:00

"Also!" If I had not shown that the German is a difficult language, I have at least intended to do so. I have heard of an American student who was asked how he was getting along with his German, and who answered promptly: "I am not getting along at all. I have worked at it hard for three level months, and all I have got to show for it is one solitary German phrase -- `Zwei Glas'" (two glasses of beer). He paused for a moment, reflectively; then added with feeling: "But I've got that solid!"

And if I have not also shown that German is a harassing and infuriating study, my execution has been at fault, and not my intent. I heard lately of a worn and sorely tried American student who used to fly to a certain German word for relief when he could bear up under his aggravations no longer -- the only word whose sound was sweet and precious to his ear and healing to his lacerated spirit. This was the word Damit. It was only the sound that helped him, not the meaning; and so, at last, when he learned that the emphasis was not on the first syllable, his only stay and support was gone, and he faded away and died.

3. It merely means, in its general sense, "herewith."

- From Mark Twain's The Awful German Language
The Awful German Language

The Germans are entirely aware of this fine piece of writing by Twain and I've seen quotes of his used in advertising here. Over dinner last night, a friend and I bemoaned our poor German skills, despite having spent 1/3 of our young lives trying to learn it. There are dogs here that understand more German than I do. The Germans don't mess around with their dogs - those are some well-trained animals! In fact, at the restaurant we were at, there was one sitting at the dinner table in its own chair. I'm sure it probably has better table manners than I do, too.

Schwarzwald

2006-10-28T16:14:00.000-04:00

Freiburg is surrounded by the Schwarzwald. Today Beki, Alex, and I decided to go for a hike up to some of the wind turbines in the Schwarzwald hills/mountains. We left a student dorm area around 3:00PM and were hiking by about 3:30PM.

The hike was punctuated by an unknown wild animal that ran across the path, which only I saw. It was medium sized and though we realized we had scared it away, it had also scared us. We continued up the path anyhow. After about an hour and a half or so we reached the top of the Rosskopf and climbed up the Friedrichsturm ( Friedrich's Tower ). Probably not more than 200ft away were several wind turbines. We stood right underneath them. Quite humbling.

We soon turned around, as the sun was quickly setting. They call it The Black Forest for a reason. Not long after sun set it was getting hard to see the signs and our map, but our fear of wild boars propelled us quickly through the woods and caused us to sing "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" very loudly in hope of scaring any wildlife away.

Our first sign of civilization was a hotel. We hiked back into town, took the Strassenbahn into the Altstadt ( Old City ) and had dinner.

I walked the rest of the way back home. Several miles of uphill, downhill, and city walking. I'm tired. No pictures at the moment. I still haven't told you about Italy, Pisa, and Assisi, have I? Or my classes and sport club. I'm a bit behind, but it's been a few busy weeks. Til later.

Italy

2006-10-23T05:33:00.000-04:00

The city of Florence

Standing on the steps of the Palazzo Vecchio, which hosted the Medici family

Bascilica of St. Francis of Assisi

View of mountain where the bascilica and castle ruins are

More wordy things to come later.

Requiem

2006-10-14T16:27:00.000-04:00

Mary, Sarah S., Beki, and I went to the Muenster this evening to attend the performance of Mozart's Reqiuem by the Freiburger Domsingknabe ( boys' choir ), Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Freiburg ( Philharmonic Orchestra of the City of Freiburg ), led by Domkapellmeister Boris Boehmann.

We bought our student-discount tickets, wandered about a bit, and then went to find our seats. Sarah and I ended up standing because there simply wasn't enough room in the pews. And even though I remembered to take off my hat while entering the Muenster, I absent-mindedly put it back on, which got me a "Muetze ab!" or "Take your cap off!" from an older man.

The concert started and within 30 seconds I was covered in goosebumps. I spent a few minutes earlier this weekend thinking about music, in general. Most people would say that the type of music they listen to is all about expressing themselves. For me, it's more about the impression that music makes on me. Listening to music can be a passive or active experience and since I quit Music Theory in 2003, it's since then been mostly a passive experience, though occasionally it comes back to haunt me.

Anyhow, it was just stunning. The performance was a bit short of an hour, but I wish it could have lasted longer. It was all a mix of the tremendous age of the Muenster, the ability of the choirs, the acoustics, and the weight of the text.

The money from the concert goes toward renovating the Muenster tower. Check out www.wir-bauen-mit.de ( We're building together! ) for more about it.

And if you've never heard Mozart's Requiem, then please do a search for it at archive.org . You can't listen to the whole thing, but it's enough.

Victory

2006-10-09T17:38:00.000-04:00

I have won the Battle.

I can now rest in the Great Hall of Fallen Warriors.

I have at long last obtained laundry coins.

Ferien

2006-10-08T08:13:00.000-04:00

My classes at the International House are over. I had my final exams on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday there was a meeting with the AYF co-ordinators about signing up for classes.

Whereas in the USA, there are:

Lectures ( where students are expected to ask questions, but not discuss the topic thoroughly )
Recitations ( where students discuss topics from the lecture with an assistant teacher )
Labs ( practice of theories/methods for science courses )

for undergraduates, there are:

Vorlesung ( large lecture with "distinguished senior professors" who read from an essay or book. Open to the public. Students must make arrangements to receive a grade from the professor, usually earned by writing a paper )

Einfuehrung or Grundkurs ( intro course in which a department acquaints students with the methods, topics, and history of its discipline )

Uebung ( sometimes offered alongside a Vorlesung, focuses on the formal aspects of studying a field )

Proseminar ( comparable to an advanced undergraduate course in the US )

to chose from. Most of the classes I'm looking at are Proseminare. I have a schedule written out with first-choices, but still need to come up with Plan Bs and Plane Cs.

This Week's Clash of the Cultures

Americans are loud, obnoxious, and unruly. So the stereotype goes. I always thought of myself as being on the quieter side of things. I might wear tennis shoes everyday and eat a large dinner, but at least I was quiet.

Well, I thought wrong!

When I go to the library to study in the US, usually with friends, we always try to find a group-study room, so we don't have to deal with cell phones ringing, noisy fans walking through on game days, people talking. The library is a quiet place, but it's not a graveyard.

Well, on a tour through the University of Freiburg's library with our professor, we were kindly asked by a woman at the front desk to leave the floor we were on. Apparently, 12 people walking through the library is way too loud. We all sorta laughed it off. Einerseits, it's nice to know that the library is a place for studying and the sanctity of its silence is not to be compromised. Andererseits ... 12 pairs of feet walking through the library is nothing that can really be helped.

In a week I leave for Florence, Italy, and then I'm off to Paris, France.

Welcome to Germany

2006-10-02T13:24:00.000-04:00

...where you can't do your laundry, because there aren't enough Waschmarken ( coins used to operate the washing machines ). Such is the situation in UZH today. I have a feeling someone's stockpiled them, but I have no proof. My Plan B for acquiring Waschmarken has failed. Laundry will have to wait until Thursday.

Well, I realize it's been well over a week since I've last updated. Let me give you the run down of things :

- September the 23rd I went with several friends to Colmar, France. Historical significance? Birthplace of the sculptor who created the Statue of Liberty and home to the Gruenewald Altar. We spent a good portion of the day at the Musee d'Unterlinden to see the Gruenewald Altar. I didn't realize the scale of it until we saw it. It's an absolutely amazing work of art, not only in its scale, but it's quality. We also went to the, for lack of a French equivalent, Muenster in Colmar. Lovely. Whereas the Muenster in Freiburg is made of red/pink stone, the one in Colmar is made of yellow stone.

-September the 24th we went with most of the AYFers to Basel, Switzerland. Close enough to the border that the Swiss accent was only a bit sing-songy. It was a Sunday, so all but the museums and restaurants were closed. Some of us went to the Historical Museum of Basel and poked around there for several hours. My favorite part about the museums in Europe? You're free to take your camera in, as long as you don't use the flash. Granted, it's been a while since I've been in an American museum with a camera, but anyhow.

Other than those two trips, I've been hanging around Freiburg. This week is my last week of classes at the International House ~~of Pancakes~~. I've got two cummulative tests; one on Wednesday and the other on Thursday. Sure, it's only three weeks of material, but these are classes I have everyday ( as opposed to once or twice a week ), so there is a bit of material. A theme for everyday. Hundreds of vocab words and structures. It's all very nitty-gritty stuff that will make my German flow more easily.

It's really come in handy. I visited the Jos Fritz Cafe a few days ago, picked up a few newspapers, and every article I read had a word that I knew thanks to the International House. Things are a lot easier to retain when you find that you actually need to know them!

In the coming weeks I'll be off to Florence, Italy, and then to Paris, France. I've also got to sign up for classes, sign up for sports ( aikido ), and find some time to breathe.

Tomorrow is Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or the Day of German Unity, which means that everything will be closed and I won't have classes.

Thursday I'll be celebrating the end of classes by going to the Isle of Innisfree, a nifty Irish bar in town, and partaking in some Scottish dancing!

Rain and Net Neutrality

2006-09-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it rained for a good bit of the day, so I cancelled my plans to hang out at Schlossberg. Oh well.

Hey, since you're all obviously using the Internet to read this blog right at this very moment, you're hopefully aware of the threat to Net Neutrality - that is, your ability to control what you see on the Internet and at what speed without interference from communication companies like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon.

Click on the image below to visit www.savetheinternet.com and see where ( or if ) your Congress Person stands on Net Neutrality.

Or, if that's all too complicated, watch "Ask a Ninja: Special Delivery 4: Net Neutrality"

Week 2

2006-09-16T08:42:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Well, it's been nearly two weeks since I landed in Germany. Nothing disastrous has happened so far. Which is good. Of course.

Monday, the 11th, I started an intensive language course at the International House in Freiburg. I've got a grammar and a conversation class. Much like President Bush's stages of grief over 9/11 ( Denial - Anger- Anger - Anger - Hannukah - Denial ) I went through several stages of denial that summer is over.

First day is always exciting. Something new! Something to do other than sit in front of my laptop in the evenings! New faces, new challenges! Better German skillz!

The second day I found myself frustrated. Who the f*ck labels verbs as accusative and dative? I struggled against this ~~socially constructed binary~~ system. But that didn't really help me get anywhere on my homework. Not only that, but sometimes it was hard to tell what we had been instructed to do in class. These were actual Germans speaking actual German to us! I sorta wanted them to cut me a bit of slack and speak more slowly. I mean, have mercy!

The third day I came to accept it all. Hey, it actually does sorta make sense to organize verbs in this manner! Now I can actually remember what pronoun to us in certain contexts! And hey, it's cool that our instructors don't baby us with dumbed-down German. I mean, it's an intensive course that I'm paying a lot for, right? Exactly.

The fourth day was panic. So many verbs and words and only a few more weeks to remember it all and then use it in my daily life! Not to mention I had a Referat the next day that still hadn't been fleshed out ...

The fifth day was half panic, half resigning myself to fate. Referat was written, but the class didn't really know/couldn't remember how we had to present it. In pairs or split up? A bit of panic, some last minute preparation. They cut us some slack and let us choose how we wanted to present. ("Zusammen!"). Hey, it was Friday! Everything went well.

Friday night there was a party for a guy down the hall from me and the whole floor was invited. Chatted with the Amis and spent the rest of the evening telling my life story to some of my Mitbewohnerinnen ( floormates ) in German. Okay, my German still needs some work, but at least I can carry a conversation for an hour or more.

A few things about Freiburg:
Very few advertisements shouting in your face. Mostly just the S-Bahns covered in a skin of advertisements and a few posters about safe-sex and upcoming concerts or parties.

Everyone has a plant. Or more. And sometimes even more. A tons of green roofs that I can see from UZH.

It's very hard to find celery at the open market. I don't think anyone sells it. Which I find very odd. But oh well!

I know I'm home everytime I step into the elevator.

Market at the Muenster. A few entries below there's another picture of a few stalls in front of the church. That picture faces the one I've posted just above.

Markt am Muenster

2006-09-09T13:21:00.000-04:00

People watching : the national German sport

Deutsch - warum nicht?

2006-09-09T11:30:00.000-04:00

http://www.podcastingnews.com/forum/links.php?id=110&start=25&sid=491b275e71180ec6b024b1fdd158dc88

A podcast for anyone wanting to brush up on or learn some German. Great for learning to listen. Explained and narrated in English.

Videos

2006-09-08T15:10:00.000-04:00

My very messy room.

A pigeon visits. For some reason this has 38 views. Crazy people.

Shauinsland

2006-09-08T13:46:00.000-04:00

Today we took a local train and a bus up into the Schauinsland, a part of the Black Forest outside of Freiburg. Most of the AYFers showed up and the families of our program co-ordinators as well.

Heute haben wir beim Zug nach das Schauinsland gefahren. Die Meistenheit der AYFeren haben teilgenommen ( und die Familien unseren Programme-Koordinatoren auch ).

My lunch. At least, part of it. Wurst on a piece of bread. Mmm.

Mein Mittagessen. Wurst mit Brot. Lecker.

We took a tour of a house in the Schauinsland. It's over 400 years old and was inhabitted and functioned as a farm until the 1960s. I think the only thing that's new is the roof, which I think they said had been ruined by hail and needed replacing. As someone pointed out, this house is older than the USA. Our tourguide gave us a history of the house and how its architecture differed from others. Everything was under one roof - the animal stalls, the kitchen, the garage ( for lack of a better word ), the workshop, and the bedroom. Smoke was circulated throughout the house not only to warm it, but also to smoke meat and treat the wood with which the house was made.

When the ox, which they had used to haul lumber and do other tasks, died they would eat its meat and then hang its skull in the attic. There it would look over the welfare of the house and the family within. The house, in its 400+ years of existance, has never burned down.

The actual hike was wonderful. I was a bit winded after we reached the top, but in good shape. Lots of lovely trees and rocks that look like they could come alive and then speak very slowly to you.

Der Spaziergang war wunderbar. Danach war ich ein bisschen muede, aber hatte ich eine gut gelaunt. Es gab viele schoene Baeume und Steine, die vielleicht mit Leuten sprechen koennten ~_^

Luckily, the weather was wonderful for us. Only a few clouds in the sky and in the distance. At first it was a bit cool, but once you started walking you hardly noticed.

Gluecklich, das Wetter war schoen. Es gab nur wenige Wolken im Himmel. Anfangs war es ein bisschen kuhl, aber es wurde waermer wenn man den Spaziergang angefangen hatte.

Michael Dietrich

2006-09-06T02:36:00.000-04:00

The historical tour really wasn't as cheesy as I thought it would be. It was actually very entertaining. Our tour guide, Michael "Neunfingerle" Dietrich, was quite the character and storyteller. It's an hour and a half long tour through the middle of the city, but with frequent stops at the Muenster, the Rathaus, and old University buildings. It started at 8PM when most of the crowds are gone and the moon is out, thus the tour is guided by lantern.

Most of the tour was in German, though his English is pretty good.

2006-09-05T11:55:00.000-04:00

Well, I’m finally in Freiburg. I can’t tell you how long it took me to get here. Wait, yes I can and yes I will. It took me too long. My flight from Chicago to Dublin was cancelled and I had to wait another 24 hours for the next flight to take off. By the time I landed in Dublin I was exhausted from lugging my luggage around and took a nap while I waited to check in. Finally got on a plane to Frankfurt and landed around 7 o’clock. Got a Bahn 50 card at the Hauptbahnhof there, which gives me a 50% discount on all ticket purchases. 103 Euro, but worth it.

Train pulled into Freiburg at 11 o’clock. Picked up by one of the program co-ordinators and taken to my dorm. It doesn’t compare to the “Brodjects” at MSU, to say the least, but it’s pretty neat and really not that bad when it comes down to it. There’s lots of renovations going on, so it’s a bit dusty and noisy. I’ve met a few people on the floor, but I’ve been so busy getting tours of the city, creating a bank account, and all that good stuff that I haven’t had much time to really talk to anyone.

I have Internet access thanks to a couple of guys that live upstairs. A few of us chipped in to pay for a private Internet provider, rather than relying on the University’s apparently unreliable service. Internet access isn’t at all what it’s like at MSU. At MSU you’ve got a computer lab in every dorm complex without restrictions on surfing, wireless in the library and the Union, and more labs in Wells Hall, the Union, library, and various other locations. It’s very easy to get online. At the library here there’s about eight computers with which you are allowed to check only your mail – as long as it’s on a list they provide. So it was impossible to check my MSU mail. The only other computers there with Internet access were only for research and also did not allow me to check my MSU mail. So I was Internet-less for several days and I didn’t know if I would ever have it.

We went to IKEA yesterday and I got a neat area rug, a pillow, a lavender plant, a shopping bag, some dishes, and some plastic storage bowls.

I still really need to do my shopping for the week and hopefully I’ll have enough time between signing papers and signing more papers.
----

It's evening now and I'm leaving for a cheesy historical tour of Freiburg. Bis spaeter!

Das Wetter

2006-08-30T09:27:00.000-04:00

Hopefully I'll miss all the rain in Germany and it won't be a drag hauling all of my luggage place to place.

In other news, my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson gave me some great advice on staying in youth hostels. It did come a little late in the game, so I don't have a membership card, but that doesn't entirely prevent me from staying at youth hostels - I just need to pay a little more, which will go towards paying for a membership over time. Anyhow, the one hostel I know of in Frankfurt ( where I'll land at 19:00 and be tired as hell ) is full for the one night I need it. Of course, it has vacancies the nights before and after. Oh well. C'est la vie.

I just hopped over to frankfurt.de and booked a hotel. I love the Internet.

Too scatter-brained to translate this entry for now.

I made a nifty draw-string bag for my new digital camera. It's pirate themed, but I can't find any black thread to make a Jolly Roger. All we have is purple and the other pirates will laugh at me if I have a purple Jolly Roger D:

Later.

2006-08-28T17:41:00.000-04:00

I still cannot believe that I'll be in Germany by the end of the week.

Ich kann davon nicht glauben, dass ich bei Freitag in Deutschland sein werden.

Deutsch üben

2006-08-18T14:42:00.000-04:00

Ah, I keep forgetting to mention about how this blog will work. I tend to skip from subject to subject depending on what suddenly pops into my mind. I'll try to work on organization so you can follow my whacked-out thinking process.

This blog will be in English and German, because I really need to brush up on my written and spoken German. I can listen easily, but responding to what I hear is more difficult. So each entry will be translated. And hey, maybe some German will be interested in what I have to say ::shrugs::

Wenn ich einen Fehler machen, zögert sich nicht eine Korrektur zu empfehlen.

Ich habe darauf vergessen, wie dieses Blog organiziert wird zu erwähnen. Oft springe ich von Thema zu Thema und ich habe nicht alles ganz erklärt.

Dieses Blog wird auf Englisch und Deutsch beschreibt, denn ich muss mein Deutsch verbessern. Ich kann leicht hoeren, aber sprechen und schreiben ist mir schwer. Jeder Eintrag wird übergesetzt. Und vielleicht ein Deutscher/eine Deutsche hat Interesse an mein Erlebnis in Freiburg.

2006-08-14T17:47:00.000-04:00

I've been planning this trip for several months now.

I'm a student at Michigan State University, now entering my junior year. Entering MSU as a German major, I knew that I wanted to study abroad in Germany. Which study abroad program I would chose, I didn't yet know. But I knew I would go in my junior year. Surely that would give me enough time to plan and all that jazz, right?

Ha.

It's about two weeks before I leave for Germany. August 31st looms in the near distance. Que dramatic music.

I've got a lot of fears and expectations. My German has slipped over the past year and just looking at a grammar book sends chills down my back. I'm sure it'll all come back once I start using it, but right now I'm stumbling a bit.

My two biggest fears about Germany are neo Nazis and wild boars. However, considering that Michigan is chuck full of crazy white power groups, I don't think I need to worry too much. But those wild boars ... they've got crazy-ass tusks and will run you down and gut you. Beware.

Besides setting things up in Germany ( which MSU has done, mostly ) I also have things to wrap up here. I have to register to vote in my home town and then get an absentee ballot. I have to pack up all of my things, because with two chicks now flown out of the nest, my parents want a smaller home that's easier to maintain.

Small details are coming together. I try to imagine in my mind how things will go. Will I get lost at a train station? Will I be able to juggle all my luggage? Stupid details like that. My first time truly on my own.

We'll see how it goes.

Stay tuned.