Ok so I am in Prague right now and it is amazing. Christmastime is magical both in Germany and Prague! Gotta love the Christmas Markets in Europe--delicious Gluehwein, Crepes, Trdlo, Langose, Bratwurst, Lebkuchen, and Kartoffelpuffer. MMMMMMM, MMM!
So the latest baking adventure was Lebkuchen (Gingerbread for Gingerbread houses--Lebkuchenhaeuschen). I made like four batches of Lebkuchen with my friend, Bob, and then a whole group of us made Gingerbread houses covered in candy. It was great. I love Christmas! And my family is coming next week, wahoo!
So my computer still isn't working, but I'll have a replacement soon. So updates in my life lately?...um I really can't think of much right now and I don't remember what I have said before. haha. Well just wanted to say that I'm in Prague and having a great time. It's fun to be able to take weekend trips to foreign countries, especially when you are staying at the best hostel in the world--free breakfast, clean room and bathroom. Definitely a good find--Arpacay Hostel, Prague.
We went to a Blacklight theater performance tonight. It was really quite interesting and apparently very popular in Prague. It sort of reminded me of the "acid trip" part of the Winnie the Pooh ride at Disneyland--lots of moving bright colors and black lights. We have also visited the Christmas market, explored the Jewish quarter and walked around the city. The view from the top of the tower of the Old City Hall was an absolute highlight. So beautiful!
Nuremberg was a lot of fun too. The Christmas market was packed and the food was tasty. A great trip, but just not enough time there. We also went to the Reichsparteitaggelaende (where the Nazi Party rallies were held), but the DocuCenter Museum is huge and takes hours--I made it through about half...haha oh well. I will just need to go back again. Ok well I think I am going to sign off now, soooooo tired, but I love you all and Prague is amazing!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Quick update
So I have to get my November update in before the month ends.
It is officially Christmas time in Göttingen. The Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt) opened today and offers a wide assortment of delicious food: Bratwurst, Döner, Cinnamon-roasted Almonds, Crepes and other delightful foods. There is also the perennial favorite: Glühwein (which I have not yet tried, but it's only a matter of time--probably no more than a few hours or days.) There are also tons of Christmas decorations, like wreaths, trees, lights and cute signs in the Innenstadt. I love how excited Germans get about the Christmas and Advent season. I even got a Göttingen Advent Calendar. (so cute!) Anyways, I am going to Nürnberg on Friday for the official opening of their Weihnachtsmarkt. Very excited about that!
In other news, my laptop is failing me and has decided it no longer wants to turn on--ever. I am now forced to use the computers on campus (which means I can do äöü really easily now, but have to worry about y and z) or borrow a friend's computer when they don't need to use it. But I will get over this, eventually.
Oh on a happy note, a group of us went and saw the new James Bond movie in English on Monday night. I really enjoyed it a lot and was very impressed with the new Bond, especially because I was a bit wary of him and his blond hair/blue eyes look, but all in all much better than I had anticipated.
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. The Study Center here held a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for us in the Mensa (haha Thanksgiving in the Cafeteria), but it was delightful with really good food, and lots of it. We had two whole turkeys left over and many many pies and cakes. So the next day we had a left over party, or what I like to call "Thanksgiving Plus".
Oh I also have a Sprachpartner now. Her name is Theresa and we are probably going to meet twice a week so that I can practice German and she can practice English. I met her last week and she is very sweet. It will be fun to have someone to regularly meet with and talk to, almost like a friend, haha. I also met a girl who wants to study in Santa Barbara next year, she has already been accepted into the exchange program, but doesn't know which campus yet. She also plays volleyball so we are going to play together.
So all in all things are going very well. Estonian is super fun and the rest of the classes aren't so bad either :-) I am so happy that it is Christmas time and can't wait until my family gets here!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and I'll try to write again soon.
It is officially Christmas time in Göttingen. The Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt) opened today and offers a wide assortment of delicious food: Bratwurst, Döner, Cinnamon-roasted Almonds, Crepes and other delightful foods. There is also the perennial favorite: Glühwein (which I have not yet tried, but it's only a matter of time--probably no more than a few hours or days.) There are also tons of Christmas decorations, like wreaths, trees, lights and cute signs in the Innenstadt. I love how excited Germans get about the Christmas and Advent season. I even got a Göttingen Advent Calendar. (so cute!) Anyways, I am going to Nürnberg on Friday for the official opening of their Weihnachtsmarkt. Very excited about that!
In other news, my laptop is failing me and has decided it no longer wants to turn on--ever. I am now forced to use the computers on campus (which means I can do äöü really easily now, but have to worry about y and z) or borrow a friend's computer when they don't need to use it. But I will get over this, eventually.
Oh on a happy note, a group of us went and saw the new James Bond movie in English on Monday night. I really enjoyed it a lot and was very impressed with the new Bond, especially because I was a bit wary of him and his blond hair/blue eyes look, but all in all much better than I had anticipated.
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. The Study Center here held a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for us in the Mensa (haha Thanksgiving in the Cafeteria), but it was delightful with really good food, and lots of it. We had two whole turkeys left over and many many pies and cakes. So the next day we had a left over party, or what I like to call "Thanksgiving Plus".
Oh I also have a Sprachpartner now. Her name is Theresa and we are probably going to meet twice a week so that I can practice German and she can practice English. I met her last week and she is very sweet. It will be fun to have someone to regularly meet with and talk to, almost like a friend, haha. I also met a girl who wants to study in Santa Barbara next year, she has already been accepted into the exchange program, but doesn't know which campus yet. She also plays volleyball so we are going to play together.
So all in all things are going very well. Estonian is super fun and the rest of the classes aren't so bad either :-) I am so happy that it is Christmas time and can't wait until my family gets here!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and I'll try to write again soon.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Making up for lost time...
Ok so it has been quite a while since I last wrote and I apologize profusely to those of you who check this every couple of days hoping for the next bit of my adventure. Anyways...
We finished our ILP language program on Thursday, Sept. 21 and then we had a 2.5 week break before we had to be back to start university. Most people went to Italy over the break and several even stopped by Oktoberfest on the way. I decided that beyond a picture of me holding an enormous beerstein, Muenchen and Oktoberfest didn't really have anything to offer me at this time of year. I decided instead to visit some friends in Great Britain.
My trip started on Saturday (the 23rd) when I got on a 4 hour train to Hamburg to visit Ingo for a few days. However, I realized halfway through the train ride that London is not in Germany and that I would in fact need my passport to board my flight to London. Rather than get a train back to Goettingen right away, I went on to Hamburg so that I wouldn't miss the show at the planetarium that evening. The planetarium was fun and the narrator of the show was Tom Hanks (or at least it would have been if it were in English...but it was the voice of German "Tom Hanks"--the person who always dubs for him--haha). Then I had to get up early Sunday morning to get a 4 hour train back to Goettingen, grab my passport and then a 2 hour train back to Hannover. All in all a fun day on the trains. Monday I went to Ingo's praktikum (internship) with him and heard all about the filing system they employ at this particular office...very intriguing. Then Ingo and I explored Hamburg and went to a "Sneak Preview" movie.
Sneak Preview is an interesting concept in Hamburg. Rather than being a movie that is about to come out, they turn it into a whole experience. First of all you don't know what movie they are going to show when you buy the tickets, then they throw bags of chips into the audience, and they have a random little auction before the movie starts. Then during the movie, which turned out to be "My Super-Ex-Girlfriend" (now I know why I didn't see it in the US, it was in English though), everyone in the audience makes lots of noise and gets really involved. It was a lot of fun and mostly students, but surprisingly not all.
Anyways then we got home around 1am, slept for 3 hours and left for the airport around 4:30 am so I could catch my early flight to London. Travel was fine and I got to London and then promptly flew to Edinburgh to meet Fiona. The security line in Gatwick was insane, it put Disneyland lines to shame. Fiona picked me up at the airport and then we drove back to St. Andrews. Scotland is extremely beautiful and St. Andrews especially. There is the North Sea and beaches and amazing stone buildings, castle and cathedral ruins, and the golf course obviously. I spent the week with Fiona and her roommate Ellie in their amazing flat. We explored St. Andrews, visited Stirling Castle (where we had the most hilarious scottish tour guide--he wasn't your typical tour guide--he had several tattoos and piercings, but he was probably in his mid-40s and he had an awesome accent and said "wee bit" so many times), and we even went up to Dunkeld, a small town on the edge of the highlands, to visit Fiona's grandfather. That was seriously such a fine time and if you want to hear more about Scotland's beautiful green hills, the delicious steak pie, or all the sheep--let me know and I can elaborate. Oh and we also went to the Union, the university bar/club (because they don't allow clubs in St. Andrews itself) on Friday night to the 'Bop' which is basically just dancing. It was great!
Then I hopped on a bus from Perth (near Dunkeld) to London. It was supposed to leave at 9:30am so we got to the bus station around 8:45 just so that we would have time and all would be ok. It turns out we went to the wrong bus station in Perth and it was good I had the time because I had to get a taxi and rush over to the other station. I arrived just in time (9:25am) to realize that my bus had been delayed in Aberdeen because someone had gotten sick. Then a bus showed up about 20 minutes later (not my bus), another came 15 mins after that (also not my bus), a third showed up 5 minutes later (still not my bus)...but none of these buses could leave because of the people on my bus who needed to transfer to the other buses. My bus eventually showed up at 10:30, everyone got on to the correct bus and we departed. I got in to the London bus station a short 10.5 hours later at 9pm. Then I was supposed to meet Chantelle's boyfriend so that he could get me to Egham (Royal Holloway University where Chantelle studies)...some communication wires got crossed and it took us 40 minutes to find each other. I ended up just standing out in an open area of the train station and then I heard someone call my name...'thank you God'...luckily I made it safely to Chantelle's and she greeted me with Jerk chicken, corn on the cob, a pita and hot tea. It turned out to be a good day after all.
I spent the week with Chantelle and we hung out, explored campus, watched movies, went to Windsor Castle, hung out in the university bars and over the weekend we went in to London and stayed with Chantelle's mum and 3-year-old brother, Tyler (he was a crack up). In London we went to Camden Town (comparable to Venice Beach) with amazing ethnic food stands and tons of stalls to buy anything and everything, then we walked around, had tea at the British Museum (quite disappointing really), walked around some more and rode the London Eye at night--absolutely amazing views! The next day we decided to redeem our English afternoon tea experience by getting tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. It was a delightful afternoon with cucumber sandwiches, scones, tea and Victoria sponge cake. I was very much impressed and would recommend it to anyone, especially as it was delicious, reasonably priced and a lovely environment. We proceeded to explore Kensington park, the Royal Albert Hall and we searched for quite a while to see the Princess Diana memorial fountain (also extremely underwhelmed by the little waterless moat that it turned out to be). We spent Monday hanging out in Egham and doing some laundry so I could return to Germany with clean clothes (novel thought).
Tuesday morning I woke up at 4 am --(this feels familiar)--to get a taxi to the next train station and then a train to the airport. During my stop over and train switch in Clapham Junction there was a blind man asking for help, but no one was stopping. He could hear people walking by so he would yell when they didn't stop. Since I was the next person he was going to come across, I decided to help him, rather than get yelled at since I had 30 minutes until my train came. I took his arm and helped him up the stairs to his platform. He told me to leave him with someone and then I could catch my train. I looked around on platform 5 and 6, where we were standing, and of course there was not a single soul to be seen. I proceed to tell him that there is no one around and that I don't know what to do, but he starts yelling at me to leave him with someone. Every time I try to counter with "but there is no one here" he yells and me and tells me to shut up. Eventually I just get so frustrated that I start to cry, he finally realizes that it is rude to yell at the person helping you and decides to comfort me and see if I am ok. Of course he is only worried that someone will hear me, but anyways he stops yelling. I regain control of myself and calmly tell him that I cannot see anyone around us. He, for some reason, doesn't believe me and insists that there are people that I can't see (ironic, huh). Then at the very moment that I just can't take it anymore, I turn around and I see a man, who must have appeared out of thin air....probably an angel. I promptly walk the blind man over to him, thank him profusely and run away to get my train.---I have resolved to never help blind people again.
The train, plane, and train back to Goettingen was smooth sailing (especially since I had my passport) and I made it back around 4:30...only 12 hours of travel from England to Germany---gotta love how close everything in Europe is. :-)
Anyways I got back to Goettingen on October 10th and the next day we had an orientation to help us understand how we function in two universities at once. The rest of the week and weekend we didn't really do much. Classes started the following Monday (the 16th), but we realized that most classes don't start until the 2nd week for whatever reason. Since we didn't really know what classes we wanted to take, or what the classes would be like, we spent the first 2 weeks 'Class Shopping'. I have decided to take Literature in the 3rd Reich, French Revolution history class, Russian Foreign Policy 1856-1917, and an Argumentation/Discussion class for foreign students. I am also taking Estonian for beginners! Yay...such fun learning a new foreign language in a foreign language. It is pretty difficult, but there are only 10 students and I think it is going to be fun. I don't have class on Fridays and I only have 1 hour of class on Thursdays. Most classes in Germany only meet once (sometimes twice) a week for 2 hours (which means 2 academic hours--so really only 1.5 hours). Lectures are pretty difficult to understand, but all in all I think I will be ok and basically other than some homework in Estonian and for my Literature tutorial (designed for UC students) I will probably just be writing 2 papers, due at the end of the semester, and taking 2 tests. Not too shabby.
Ok I will bring this to a close...this is basically up to date now, it at least brings you up to speed on my travel and academic life. Social will come in the next update, as I recount the hilarious stories from our various Halloween parties. Happy Halloween and until next time.
P.S. I have uploaded all my pictures thus far on to my computer, but because I am not quite skilled at adding them to the blog, I intend to put them on a photo website and then have a link so that you can see pictures from Germany.
We finished our ILP language program on Thursday, Sept. 21 and then we had a 2.5 week break before we had to be back to start university. Most people went to Italy over the break and several even stopped by Oktoberfest on the way. I decided that beyond a picture of me holding an enormous beerstein, Muenchen and Oktoberfest didn't really have anything to offer me at this time of year. I decided instead to visit some friends in Great Britain.
My trip started on Saturday (the 23rd) when I got on a 4 hour train to Hamburg to visit Ingo for a few days. However, I realized halfway through the train ride that London is not in Germany and that I would in fact need my passport to board my flight to London. Rather than get a train back to Goettingen right away, I went on to Hamburg so that I wouldn't miss the show at the planetarium that evening. The planetarium was fun and the narrator of the show was Tom Hanks (or at least it would have been if it were in English...but it was the voice of German "Tom Hanks"--the person who always dubs for him--haha). Then I had to get up early Sunday morning to get a 4 hour train back to Goettingen, grab my passport and then a 2 hour train back to Hannover. All in all a fun day on the trains. Monday I went to Ingo's praktikum (internship) with him and heard all about the filing system they employ at this particular office...very intriguing. Then Ingo and I explored Hamburg and went to a "Sneak Preview" movie.
Sneak Preview is an interesting concept in Hamburg. Rather than being a movie that is about to come out, they turn it into a whole experience. First of all you don't know what movie they are going to show when you buy the tickets, then they throw bags of chips into the audience, and they have a random little auction before the movie starts. Then during the movie, which turned out to be "My Super-Ex-Girlfriend" (now I know why I didn't see it in the US, it was in English though), everyone in the audience makes lots of noise and gets really involved. It was a lot of fun and mostly students, but surprisingly not all.
Anyways then we got home around 1am, slept for 3 hours and left for the airport around 4:30 am so I could catch my early flight to London. Travel was fine and I got to London and then promptly flew to Edinburgh to meet Fiona. The security line in Gatwick was insane, it put Disneyland lines to shame. Fiona picked me up at the airport and then we drove back to St. Andrews. Scotland is extremely beautiful and St. Andrews especially. There is the North Sea and beaches and amazing stone buildings, castle and cathedral ruins, and the golf course obviously. I spent the week with Fiona and her roommate Ellie in their amazing flat. We explored St. Andrews, visited Stirling Castle (where we had the most hilarious scottish tour guide--he wasn't your typical tour guide--he had several tattoos and piercings, but he was probably in his mid-40s and he had an awesome accent and said "wee bit" so many times), and we even went up to Dunkeld, a small town on the edge of the highlands, to visit Fiona's grandfather. That was seriously such a fine time and if you want to hear more about Scotland's beautiful green hills, the delicious steak pie, or all the sheep--let me know and I can elaborate. Oh and we also went to the Union, the university bar/club (because they don't allow clubs in St. Andrews itself) on Friday night to the 'Bop' which is basically just dancing. It was great!
Then I hopped on a bus from Perth (near Dunkeld) to London. It was supposed to leave at 9:30am so we got to the bus station around 8:45 just so that we would have time and all would be ok. It turns out we went to the wrong bus station in Perth and it was good I had the time because I had to get a taxi and rush over to the other station. I arrived just in time (9:25am) to realize that my bus had been delayed in Aberdeen because someone had gotten sick. Then a bus showed up about 20 minutes later (not my bus), another came 15 mins after that (also not my bus), a third showed up 5 minutes later (still not my bus)...but none of these buses could leave because of the people on my bus who needed to transfer to the other buses. My bus eventually showed up at 10:30, everyone got on to the correct bus and we departed. I got in to the London bus station a short 10.5 hours later at 9pm. Then I was supposed to meet Chantelle's boyfriend so that he could get me to Egham (Royal Holloway University where Chantelle studies)...some communication wires got crossed and it took us 40 minutes to find each other. I ended up just standing out in an open area of the train station and then I heard someone call my name...'thank you God'...luckily I made it safely to Chantelle's and she greeted me with Jerk chicken, corn on the cob, a pita and hot tea. It turned out to be a good day after all.
I spent the week with Chantelle and we hung out, explored campus, watched movies, went to Windsor Castle, hung out in the university bars and over the weekend we went in to London and stayed with Chantelle's mum and 3-year-old brother, Tyler (he was a crack up). In London we went to Camden Town (comparable to Venice Beach) with amazing ethnic food stands and tons of stalls to buy anything and everything, then we walked around, had tea at the British Museum (quite disappointing really), walked around some more and rode the London Eye at night--absolutely amazing views! The next day we decided to redeem our English afternoon tea experience by getting tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace. It was a delightful afternoon with cucumber sandwiches, scones, tea and Victoria sponge cake. I was very much impressed and would recommend it to anyone, especially as it was delicious, reasonably priced and a lovely environment. We proceeded to explore Kensington park, the Royal Albert Hall and we searched for quite a while to see the Princess Diana memorial fountain (also extremely underwhelmed by the little waterless moat that it turned out to be). We spent Monday hanging out in Egham and doing some laundry so I could return to Germany with clean clothes (novel thought).
Tuesday morning I woke up at 4 am --(this feels familiar)--to get a taxi to the next train station and then a train to the airport. During my stop over and train switch in Clapham Junction there was a blind man asking for help, but no one was stopping. He could hear people walking by so he would yell when they didn't stop. Since I was the next person he was going to come across, I decided to help him, rather than get yelled at since I had 30 minutes until my train came. I took his arm and helped him up the stairs to his platform. He told me to leave him with someone and then I could catch my train. I looked around on platform 5 and 6, where we were standing, and of course there was not a single soul to be seen. I proceed to tell him that there is no one around and that I don't know what to do, but he starts yelling at me to leave him with someone. Every time I try to counter with "but there is no one here" he yells and me and tells me to shut up. Eventually I just get so frustrated that I start to cry, he finally realizes that it is rude to yell at the person helping you and decides to comfort me and see if I am ok. Of course he is only worried that someone will hear me, but anyways he stops yelling. I regain control of myself and calmly tell him that I cannot see anyone around us. He, for some reason, doesn't believe me and insists that there are people that I can't see (ironic, huh). Then at the very moment that I just can't take it anymore, I turn around and I see a man, who must have appeared out of thin air....probably an angel. I promptly walk the blind man over to him, thank him profusely and run away to get my train.---I have resolved to never help blind people again.
The train, plane, and train back to Goettingen was smooth sailing (especially since I had my passport) and I made it back around 4:30...only 12 hours of travel from England to Germany---gotta love how close everything in Europe is. :-)
Anyways I got back to Goettingen on October 10th and the next day we had an orientation to help us understand how we function in two universities at once. The rest of the week and weekend we didn't really do much. Classes started the following Monday (the 16th), but we realized that most classes don't start until the 2nd week for whatever reason. Since we didn't really know what classes we wanted to take, or what the classes would be like, we spent the first 2 weeks 'Class Shopping'. I have decided to take Literature in the 3rd Reich, French Revolution history class, Russian Foreign Policy 1856-1917, and an Argumentation/Discussion class for foreign students. I am also taking Estonian for beginners! Yay...such fun learning a new foreign language in a foreign language. It is pretty difficult, but there are only 10 students and I think it is going to be fun. I don't have class on Fridays and I only have 1 hour of class on Thursdays. Most classes in Germany only meet once (sometimes twice) a week for 2 hours (which means 2 academic hours--so really only 1.5 hours). Lectures are pretty difficult to understand, but all in all I think I will be ok and basically other than some homework in Estonian and for my Literature tutorial (designed for UC students) I will probably just be writing 2 papers, due at the end of the semester, and taking 2 tests. Not too shabby.
Ok I will bring this to a close...this is basically up to date now, it at least brings you up to speed on my travel and academic life. Social will come in the next update, as I recount the hilarious stories from our various Halloween parties. Happy Halloween and until next time.
P.S. I have uploaded all my pictures thus far on to my computer, but because I am not quite skilled at adding them to the blog, I intend to put them on a photo website and then have a link so that you can see pictures from Germany.
Monday, October 09, 2006
I'm going to stop making excuses...I'm lazy...that is all there is to say
Ok I just wanted to quickly let everyone know that I am in fact still alive. I finished my language program two weeks ago and have been on break since then. Over the break I visited my friends, Ingo and Nils, in Hamburg and then flew to Scotland to visit the always lovely and wonderful Fiona at St. Andrews for a week. I had an amazing time in Scotland (more details to come later) and then I took a really, really, really long bus ride from Perth, Scotland to London, England to visit the truly awesome Chantelle, also for a week. I am flying back to Germany tomorrow and will be back in Goettingen doing some orientation stuff and starting classes next Monday. Anyways more details about all my adventures are soon to come, but I just wanted to show you guys that I can sort of update this sometimes, occasionally. :-)
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Back By Popular Demand
Ok, I must apologize to those of you who check my blog obsessively. I didn't realize that regular blog updates were a must, but according to Hilary, it has been much to long since I last geupdated mein Blogspot.
The only reason I haven't updated recently is because I am in Germany and there are so many exciting things to do. Haha. Don't you wish you were here right now with me? I thought so.
Since my last update I have managed to do quite a bit. We are now almost 2/3 of the way done with our language program. Two more weeks left after Friday. Classes are still going well. We've had two lectures by actual professors to see what it is going to be like in October when we really start classes. The lectures were good, but I didn't understand all of it so hopefully my language skills will improve dramatically in the next few weeks. Other than practice lectures, we've also worked on some grammar, discussed Germany's political situation (Parties, Government, etc.), and gone on a few excursions.
Two weeks ago we visited Goettingen's Stadtgeschichte Museum (City history museum). It was surprisingly big considering the size of the city, but I guess having a major university helps a lot. Last week we went to Eisenach in Thueringen (the neighboring state) and visited the Wartburg, where Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Greek to German. We also spent the afternoon in the city of Eisenach (Melis, Brandon, Zane and I ate Thueringer Wurst and had Bier from the Eisenach brewery for lunch) and we visited Johann Sebastian Bach's house. It was a cool tour because the guy played some of Bach's music on the instruments in the first room. Then we got to walk around upstairs and in the garden. It was a really nice day except for the giant rainstorm that rolled through right after we bought ice cream.
Then yesterday we took a little trip to Teistungen and the Grenzlandmuseum (Border Museum) between East and West Germany. Our tour guide told us all about the border and how Germany was split up and occupied after the war and how the border patrol worked. We also got to climb up the watch tower that the Stasi (East German Secret Police) used to control the border. Then we stopped by Duderstadt to see the old Rathaus (City Hall) and the churches. Then we got some ice cream (amazing sundaes) and went back to Goettingen.
[Fun little extra: So Brandon, Zane and I went back to the Baptist Church (where we met the really nice people) two Sundays ago. One of the families we met invited us to their house in Duderstadt after church that day. We had nothing else to do and they seemed nice to we went. They made us the most delicious toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and Rote Gruetze (like vanilla pudding and berries). Then we walked around town and saw the Handwerk Festival that was going on that weekend. To top off an already wonderful day, we walked back to their house and had coffee and cake before they drove us home. They are incredibly nice and it was an amazing day.--So the point of the story is that we had already been to Duderstadt so we felt pretty special when we went back.--Haha]
Last weekend I visited Tina and her family in Braunschweig. (Tina lived with my family, as a German exchange student, for a year while I was a senior in high school.) It was really nice to see her again after 2 years. We had a great time hanging out. I met a few of her friends, we checked out the Braunschweig night life, and I went shopping. It was a fabulous weekend.
Those are the big things that have been going on. In the meantime, we Americans have been keeping up our Sunday evening potluck tradition. I have successfully made mashed potatoes, fried rice, banana bread and not so successfully made chocolate chip cookies (the different ingredients really do make a difference), but we were resourceful and heated up the cookie crumbs and put ice cream on top for our own version of a Pizookie. It was delicious and everyone loved it. We have also played some Kicker (or Foosball as it is called in America). I think with regular practice I could be a Kicker world champion. All in all things are going well and I am loving Germany!!
Oh so the weather during the World Cup was apparently really nice in Germany--warm and sunny. Then as soon as we get here in August the weather decided to get cold and rainy. It rained almost every single day. We've also had some pretty good thunderstorms which made me very happy. Then come September 1st the weather starts getting nice again. We've had some really nice days lately, sunny and mid to upper 70s. Not bad. I even wore shorts and a tank top today, but now it looks like another storm is approaching. Anyways the weather is always a surprise so that is kind of exciting. :-)
Hope all is well with you! Oh and if you feel like writing to me that would be most appreciated.
Alison Connell
Rosenbachweg 2-311
37075 Goettingen, Germany
Love and miss you all!!!
The only reason I haven't updated recently is because I am in Germany and there are so many exciting things to do. Haha. Don't you wish you were here right now with me? I thought so.
Since my last update I have managed to do quite a bit. We are now almost 2/3 of the way done with our language program. Two more weeks left after Friday. Classes are still going well. We've had two lectures by actual professors to see what it is going to be like in October when we really start classes. The lectures were good, but I didn't understand all of it so hopefully my language skills will improve dramatically in the next few weeks. Other than practice lectures, we've also worked on some grammar, discussed Germany's political situation (Parties, Government, etc.), and gone on a few excursions.
Two weeks ago we visited Goettingen's Stadtgeschichte Museum (City history museum). It was surprisingly big considering the size of the city, but I guess having a major university helps a lot. Last week we went to Eisenach in Thueringen (the neighboring state) and visited the Wartburg, where Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Greek to German. We also spent the afternoon in the city of Eisenach (Melis, Brandon, Zane and I ate Thueringer Wurst and had Bier from the Eisenach brewery for lunch) and we visited Johann Sebastian Bach's house. It was a cool tour because the guy played some of Bach's music on the instruments in the first room. Then we got to walk around upstairs and in the garden. It was a really nice day except for the giant rainstorm that rolled through right after we bought ice cream.
Then yesterday we took a little trip to Teistungen and the Grenzlandmuseum (Border Museum) between East and West Germany. Our tour guide told us all about the border and how Germany was split up and occupied after the war and how the border patrol worked. We also got to climb up the watch tower that the Stasi (East German Secret Police) used to control the border. Then we stopped by Duderstadt to see the old Rathaus (City Hall) and the churches. Then we got some ice cream (amazing sundaes) and went back to Goettingen.
[Fun little extra: So Brandon, Zane and I went back to the Baptist Church (where we met the really nice people) two Sundays ago. One of the families we met invited us to their house in Duderstadt after church that day. We had nothing else to do and they seemed nice to we went. They made us the most delicious toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and Rote Gruetze (like vanilla pudding and berries). Then we walked around town and saw the Handwerk Festival that was going on that weekend. To top off an already wonderful day, we walked back to their house and had coffee and cake before they drove us home. They are incredibly nice and it was an amazing day.--So the point of the story is that we had already been to Duderstadt so we felt pretty special when we went back.--Haha]
Last weekend I visited Tina and her family in Braunschweig. (Tina lived with my family, as a German exchange student, for a year while I was a senior in high school.) It was really nice to see her again after 2 years. We had a great time hanging out. I met a few of her friends, we checked out the Braunschweig night life, and I went shopping. It was a fabulous weekend.
Those are the big things that have been going on. In the meantime, we Americans have been keeping up our Sunday evening potluck tradition. I have successfully made mashed potatoes, fried rice, banana bread and not so successfully made chocolate chip cookies (the different ingredients really do make a difference), but we were resourceful and heated up the cookie crumbs and put ice cream on top for our own version of a Pizookie. It was delicious and everyone loved it. We have also played some Kicker (or Foosball as it is called in America). I think with regular practice I could be a Kicker world champion. All in all things are going well and I am loving Germany!!
Oh so the weather during the World Cup was apparently really nice in Germany--warm and sunny. Then as soon as we get here in August the weather decided to get cold and rainy. It rained almost every single day. We've also had some pretty good thunderstorms which made me very happy. Then come September 1st the weather starts getting nice again. We've had some really nice days lately, sunny and mid to upper 70s. Not bad. I even wore shorts and a tank top today, but now it looks like another storm is approaching. Anyways the weather is always a surprise so that is kind of exciting. :-)
Hope all is well with you! Oh and if you feel like writing to me that would be most appreciated.
Alison Connell
Rosenbachweg 2-311
37075 Goettingen, Germany
Love and miss you all!!!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Sorry to take so long...
Hello Everyone! So I have been meaning to write something for the past week, but it seems that I have been devoting large quantities of my free time to napping. However, I am full of energy right now and I decided I should update this before more people get on my case about it.
Anyways, I have been in Germany now for 2 weeks and I absolutely love it. There has been a lot to see and do which is good because it keeps me busy and then I don't have time to be homesick. Although I do miss you all terribly!
We started the ILP (intensive language program) last week. It is going very well. There are about 30 EAP students and there are 3 different classes. Apparently the class I am in is considered the Oberstufe (or the upper level class). We took a placement test the Wednesday after we arrived and they used our scores on the test and a short interview to decide who should be in what class. I'm not sure how, but I ended up doing very well on the test. I guess I really did learn all that grammar in German class and I just never realized it. :-) So our classes are from 9-12:30 with a half hour break in the middle. It doesn't seem too intense so far, except that we have two reports and a paper to do in the next 5 weeks, but other than that it is fun and it forces me to speak German which is exactly what I need.
I have met a few more Germans from my floor and the other houses in the Siedlung and they are all very nice. I have also hung out with Helene (the German girl across the hall that I met as soon as I got here). We go on walks together around the city and talk. It is a great time to hang out and get to know each other. She is super sweet and a great friend to have. I am very thankful because before I arrived in Germany I had read how it can be really hard to meet people in the dorms and make friends. So it is a real blessing to have Helene around.
Since the semester doesn't start until the middle of October a lot of the German students are at home or on vacation with a few sticking around in the dorms studying. Due to the low number of Germans to interact with the Americans have sort of been sticking together so far, but it is a good chance to get to know each other before we split off into separate classes. We have classes together in the morning and then most of us eat in the Mensa (cafeteria for lunch) then we either walk downtown, stop by the market and buy food, or head back to the dorms to eat/nap/watch TV/ or attempt to work on homework. We have also had some parties and pot lucks that have been a lot of fun. Some people went to Hamburg and Kassel over the weekend, but I stuck around in Goettingen and went to a really nice church yesterday. It was an evangelical baptist church and the people were so friendly. I went with one of the other Americans and we talked to some people afterwards and then sat down and had coffee with a few people. It was neat to meet some older Germans and families rather than just students.
I have also seen a few movies dubbed into German and have been quite impressed with the amount of dialogue I understand. I watched Chocolat with one of our German orientators and some other Germans and Americans, Volver (a spanish comedy--which wasn't that funny) with a few Germans from my floor, and then Superman Returns with Melis (EAP student) and two Germans from her floor. We've also gone out to a few bars and clubs to check out the nightlife in Goettingen. So all in all I am having an amazing time so far and I absolutely love it here. Some things are a little different and sometimes more complicated, but that makes it new and exciting.
Oh I have also managed to set up the internet in my room, get my bank account started, get a Handy (cell phone) and buy some German shoes. So I'd say I have been pretty productive so far. Ooooh and Saturday night there was an amazing thunderstorm which made me very excited. The weather has been a little weird, mostly cloudy and cool with some rain or sprinkles almost everyday. There have been a few warm, sunny days but not very many. It doesn't quite feel like summer, but oh well, nice break after the heatwave.
I promise I will put up pictures soon, but after typing this essay I don't feel like it. I hope everyone is doing well and if you have any questions or want to know more about anything just send me an e-mail at aconnell@umail.ucsb.edu or my Goettingen address at a.connell@stud.uni-goettingen.de. Oh I also have an address here in case you feel like mailing me a letter!! but since I don't want to just put it up on the internet for anyone to see, just send me an e-mail and I can give you my address here.
(P.S. Leave me comments or send me and e-mail and let me know how you are doing...I love hearing from you guys and I miss you all!)
Anyways, I have been in Germany now for 2 weeks and I absolutely love it. There has been a lot to see and do which is good because it keeps me busy and then I don't have time to be homesick. Although I do miss you all terribly!
We started the ILP (intensive language program) last week. It is going very well. There are about 30 EAP students and there are 3 different classes. Apparently the class I am in is considered the Oberstufe (or the upper level class). We took a placement test the Wednesday after we arrived and they used our scores on the test and a short interview to decide who should be in what class. I'm not sure how, but I ended up doing very well on the test. I guess I really did learn all that grammar in German class and I just never realized it. :-) So our classes are from 9-12:30 with a half hour break in the middle. It doesn't seem too intense so far, except that we have two reports and a paper to do in the next 5 weeks, but other than that it is fun and it forces me to speak German which is exactly what I need.
I have met a few more Germans from my floor and the other houses in the Siedlung and they are all very nice. I have also hung out with Helene (the German girl across the hall that I met as soon as I got here). We go on walks together around the city and talk. It is a great time to hang out and get to know each other. She is super sweet and a great friend to have. I am very thankful because before I arrived in Germany I had read how it can be really hard to meet people in the dorms and make friends. So it is a real blessing to have Helene around.
Since the semester doesn't start until the middle of October a lot of the German students are at home or on vacation with a few sticking around in the dorms studying. Due to the low number of Germans to interact with the Americans have sort of been sticking together so far, but it is a good chance to get to know each other before we split off into separate classes. We have classes together in the morning and then most of us eat in the Mensa (cafeteria for lunch) then we either walk downtown, stop by the market and buy food, or head back to the dorms to eat/nap/watch TV/ or attempt to work on homework. We have also had some parties and pot lucks that have been a lot of fun. Some people went to Hamburg and Kassel over the weekend, but I stuck around in Goettingen and went to a really nice church yesterday. It was an evangelical baptist church and the people were so friendly. I went with one of the other Americans and we talked to some people afterwards and then sat down and had coffee with a few people. It was neat to meet some older Germans and families rather than just students.
I have also seen a few movies dubbed into German and have been quite impressed with the amount of dialogue I understand. I watched Chocolat with one of our German orientators and some other Germans and Americans, Volver (a spanish comedy--which wasn't that funny) with a few Germans from my floor, and then Superman Returns with Melis (EAP student) and two Germans from her floor. We've also gone out to a few bars and clubs to check out the nightlife in Goettingen. So all in all I am having an amazing time so far and I absolutely love it here. Some things are a little different and sometimes more complicated, but that makes it new and exciting.
Oh I have also managed to set up the internet in my room, get my bank account started, get a Handy (cell phone) and buy some German shoes. So I'd say I have been pretty productive so far. Ooooh and Saturday night there was an amazing thunderstorm which made me very excited. The weather has been a little weird, mostly cloudy and cool with some rain or sprinkles almost everyday. There have been a few warm, sunny days but not very many. It doesn't quite feel like summer, but oh well, nice break after the heatwave.
I promise I will put up pictures soon, but after typing this essay I don't feel like it. I hope everyone is doing well and if you have any questions or want to know more about anything just send me an e-mail at aconnell@umail.ucsb.edu or my Goettingen address at a.connell@stud.uni-goettingen.de. Oh I also have an address here in case you feel like mailing me a letter!! but since I don't want to just put it up on the internet for anyone to see, just send me an e-mail and I can give you my address here.
(P.S. Leave me comments or send me and e-mail and let me know how you are doing...I love hearing from you guys and I miss you all!)
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Deutschland
I have arrived. I was a little nervous at the airport as the plane was boarding because they still hadn't given me my boarding pass with seat assignment, but it turned out fine and I even got to sit in the exit row which gave me lots of leg room and a less claustrophobic feeling. The flight was uneventful (which is a plus) and I arrived in Frankfurt, got my bags, met up with the group and then we got on the bus for a 2.5-3 hour ride to Göttingen. Then we stopped at the dorms and got a welcome packet and the keys to our rooms. The room is pretty nice...it has a sink, desk, bed and large window and quite a bit of closet space. It is not very big, but it is enough room for one. I will try and put on some pictures of it soon. The girl who lived there last year was an exchange student from Davis and she left a few things in the room (she probably moved out only a week or so ago.) So I now have a German hair dryer, two rugs, a small bottle of nail polish and nail polish remover and a few other random shower items. The rugs and the hair dryer were nice to have.
I am currently sitting in the library and having a horrible time typing because I keep hitting z when I really want y. I should be able to set up the internet in my room either tonight or tomorrow so that will be nice. Everyone from EAP is nice and we have two very friendly German girls helping with our orientation, Cathy and Carola. Yesterday when I was moving my stuff into my room, I met the girl who lives across the hall, Helene, and she gave me a tour of the dorm and we had tea and pizza together. Then a few of her friends showed up so I met them too. I realized how slowly my brain processes information after extended travel. I was pretty tired and my German was pretty pathetic. Later Cathy took most of the students living in the Siedlung downtown and to the supermarket.
Today we had a welcome breakfast and filled out paperwork. Later we are going to the bank to set up our accounts and then we have a dinner tonight at the Kartoffelhaus (Potato house.) Well I suppose that is the update for now. I plan to put up some pictures soon when I get the chance, just wanted to reassure everyone that I am still alive.
I am currently sitting in the library and having a horrible time typing because I keep hitting z when I really want y. I should be able to set up the internet in my room either tonight or tomorrow so that will be nice. Everyone from EAP is nice and we have two very friendly German girls helping with our orientation, Cathy and Carola. Yesterday when I was moving my stuff into my room, I met the girl who lives across the hall, Helene, and she gave me a tour of the dorm and we had tea and pizza together. Then a few of her friends showed up so I met them too. I realized how slowly my brain processes information after extended travel. I was pretty tired and my German was pretty pathetic. Later Cathy took most of the students living in the Siedlung downtown and to the supermarket.
Today we had a welcome breakfast and filled out paperwork. Later we are going to the bank to set up our accounts and then we have a dinner tonight at the Kartoffelhaus (Potato house.) Well I suppose that is the update for now. I plan to put up some pictures soon when I get the chance, just wanted to reassure everyone that I am still alive.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
I'm leaving for Germany today!!
In less than 10 hours I will be sitting on a United flight bound for Germany. I can't believe that the year for study abroad has finally arrived. I have been counting on and planning for this trip since I started taking German in 8th grade. That moment is now and I am so excited. It is going to be like starting college all over again. I am going to a new city by myself and I am going to be meeting so many new people, except this time I have to do it all in a foreign language. Wow, this is it. I will be outside of the United States and not speaking English for a year. All I have to say is Germany here I come!
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Finally have a home!
2 weeks from tomorrow I will be in the international terminal of San Francisco Airport waiting to depart for Germany. So soon! Thankfully I got an e-mail two days ago that finally told me that I do in fact have a place to live next year. I will be living in the Studentensiedlung on Rosenbachweg. I am very excited to be leaving so soon, but I really need to start packing one of these days. 
(This is my home!)
(This is my home!)
Saturday, June 24, 2006
42 Days and Counting...
I will be in Germany in 42 days. 42 days? So close and yet so far. In 42 days I am going to be in Germany and going to be speaking German for a year.
42 days seems shorter when I think of packing. How do you pack for a year? My dream is to take one suitcase and then just buy stuff over there. We'll see if that really works. :-)
So not much to say in the way of details about my trip--they still haven't told me where I will be living (I'm hoping to find out soon...but I have been saying that for weeks). Anyways, here is a rough outline of my year:
Aug 7--Arrive in Germany
Aug 8-11--Orientation (Placement test on the 9th...eeek)
Aug 14-Sept 22--Intensive Language Program
Sept 23-Oct 10--Break
Oct 11-13--Academic Advising
Oct 16-Feb 3/9--Semester I (Christmas break: Dec 23-Jan 3)
Sometime in Feb/Mar/Apr--Winter break (6 weeks off, yay!)
Apr-mid/late July--Semester II
Late July--come home
This is about all the information I know about my trip. Hopefully more to come. Auf wiedersehen and have a pleasant day!
42 days seems shorter when I think of packing. How do you pack for a year? My dream is to take one suitcase and then just buy stuff over there. We'll see if that really works. :-)
So not much to say in the way of details about my trip--they still haven't told me where I will be living (I'm hoping to find out soon...but I have been saying that for weeks). Anyways, here is a rough outline of my year:
Aug 7--Arrive in Germany
Aug 8-11--Orientation (Placement test on the 9th...eeek)
Aug 14-Sept 22--Intensive Language Program
Sept 23-Oct 10--Break
Oct 11-13--Academic Advising
Oct 16-Feb 3/9--Semester I (Christmas break: Dec 23-Jan 3)
Sometime in Feb/Mar/Apr--Winter break (6 weeks off, yay!)
Apr-mid/late July--Semester II
Late July--come home
This is about all the information I know about my trip. Hopefully more to come. Auf wiedersehen and have a pleasant day!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Day 1--Creating the Blog
Ok, so I have discovered that the cool new thing in travel is the blog. This is a necessity because naturally everyone will want to know exactly what I am doing, at all times, while I am in Germany. Anyways, this is it. The adventure begins in 53 days. Wow, everything is happening so fast. Let the German Adventures begin! (Deutsche Abenteuer)
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