Hey friends,
PICTURE LINKS AT END OF POST!!!
So...this weekend I went on a little excursion to London! Two of my roommates are studying abroad there right now, and I had two other friends from SNC come visit too. It was a really fun time...here's what we did!
Thursday:
Left Frankfurt at around 18:05...arrived in London at 18:40 (it's not that fast...there's a time change!) Mike and Justin met me at the airport which was pretty cool, and we took the Tube (the metro) for what seemed like hours....but we finally arrived where Mike lived! I believe it's around New Cross? But anyway...it was a pretty cool area of London. We went grocery shopping (where I was fantastically amazed...because London has so many things that Germany doesn't, and it reminded me of the US again and how fat I'm going to get!) Then we watched a movie (I slept through most of it) and went to bed. Mike lives in a flat with about five (?) other British students, and it's a pretty nice place. His flatmates were pretty cool! They make fun of everything he eats though (namely pizza and doughnuts).
Friday: Woke up at like...9:30ish or 10. Chilled around the flat until around 13:30, then we headed to meet the girls (Jenn and Autumn, and a friend of theirs from DePauw) and we headed to an Indian restaurant (which was pretty expensive, but still good). I had the HOTTEST FOOD OF MY LIFE! It was a chicken dish, and it was ridiculous. It was only the medium hotness too! Water could not satisfy my ravenous thirst. The mint gum I chewed afterwards felt spicy. Normally I like spicy food (and I did like it) but like...in Germany, when they say spicy, it's not really spicy at all because Germans don't like spicy things. Well anyway...to satisfy the thirst, we went to a pub until it closed, and went to a bar afterwards (there's a difference!) I got back around 2ish to Justin's flat, and we had pizza. Justin is in a different program than Mike, and he lives in Kensington, which is the really nice part of London. He lives in a flat with 3 other guys, and kind of 4 other girls...it's separate (but equal). Went to bed a little after 3.
Saturday: Super cold day. Woke up around 10:30ish, which seemed way too early. We headed out to our destination for the day...WIMBLEDON! This was super exciting for me because...well...my job is just a little tennis related.....it took us a while to get there but we did! We didn't do the tour (which I didn't want to do because Centre Court was under construction) but we went to the museum and saw a few other things. It was so awesome because I've never even been to a pro tennis match (which I need to do badly) so yeah...
That night we went to a pub type place called Goat Tavern. I guess it's one of the oldest ones in London....so cool! I had an overpriced Shepherd's Pie and some cheese potato wedges, but the atmosphere was pretty sweet. Had a few pints...just a pretty chill night. Went to bed around midnight.
Sunday: Woke up at 6:15, got ready and headed for the Picadilly Line to the airport. Unfortunately, on Sundays the line doesn't start until 7:14 AM. This concerned me because my flight was scheduled to leave at 8:55 AM and it takes about 50 mins to get to the airport...so I had breakfast at Starbucks and got on at 7:14. Well I get checked in and by some miracle of God, I get through security in record time and to the gate listing thing at 8:15. I guess other airports might do it too (none that I have ever been to...) but at Heathrow, they don't post the gate until a few minutes beforehand. Well...it gets to being 8:50 and I'm like, where is our plane? The gate finally popped up and we headed over...they had canceled a flight to Stuttgart earlier because of SNOW! Well ours was about an hour late, but that's ok...I didn't have a certain train to make or anything... after taking another train, I was in Marburg at about 14:30, DEAD TIRED!
Some noticeably different things between London and Germany:
Grocery stores: So much more fattening food/pre-packaged food items in London. And more junk food.
Politeness: Everyone in London says "sorry" and "excuse me" all of the time...it's the same in the US, I just didn't really notice it until being here for about three months, where it's hardly said.
Car direction: Well duh. But I never got used to looking the other direction while crossing the street.
Transport: Taxis in London are cool looking, but more expensive (we didn't take one though...) The metro lines are named after places or people (Piccadilly, District, Circle, Victoria, Bakerloo, etc.) as opposed to colors or numbers here, which I admit is pretty boring...
That's kind of all...it was nice to see some familiar faces, since I haven't really at all since I've been here. I'm looking forward to have some friends coming to Germany to visit possibly within the next few weeks.
Speaking of next few weeks, it's going to be BUSY FOR ME! I have four papers due the week before the last week of class. It will be insane to write all of them by that time, but I'm going to try. If it doesn't work out, I'm going to see if I can get one of them deferred until I come back to the states...it might need to happen. I haven't been procrastinating by any means, profs just don't assign them at the beginning of the semester like they do in the states!
Also speaking of next few weeks...I only have a few weeks left! The official count is 26 days, which is craaaaazy talk. Well...I hope to bear down and work hard hard hard! When I come home, I'm only going to have about 10 days before I go back to school for J-Term. More working! UGHHH
That's all...oh yeah, the picture links I promised. Remember my spiel about being a big boy? Yeah...no comments about certain pictures, that's how people roll here!
London #1
London #2
Cheers!
-D
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Breaking the bank!
Ok so last time, I said I would keep track of my expenses for one week and would total them up for you!! So here it is...
Sunday
Greek Restaurant- €14
Total- €14
Monday
Copies- €1
Groceries- €12
Total- €13
Tuesday
Laundry- €2
Cafe Felix- €15
Total- €17
Wednesday
Groceries for shared dinner- €7
Total- €7
Thursday
Doctor Visit (DAK Card deductible)- €10
Käsebrötchen (breakfast)- €0,50
Prescription medication- €5
Groceries for shared dinner-€6
Döner- €3,50
Total- €25
Friday
Cafe Felix- €10
Beer- €3
Total- €13
Saturday
Cafe Felix- €10
Groceries- €6
Total- €16
Week Total: €105
Daily Average: €15
I'd say that this is a pretty typical week....mind you, I don't typically go to Cafe Felix that often, and I usually don't go to the doctor every week....but different expenses occur and you just need to go with it. I just got another doctor's bill in the mail from when I was at the hospital in September...it is about €85! Kind of upsetting because I thought I had that all taken care of already, but looks like I'm going to have to shell out a little bit more to be square with them!
Speaking of paying...I think one thing that I'm going to miss when I go back is the money. When you get here, you're like...wow this money is weird. But honestly, like switching to Greenbacks is going to be tough. First of all....comparatively, all of American paper currency looks the same. When you go through your wallet, you need to fish through your bills to figure out which is worth what. Here, not only is the money different colors to differentiate easily, but they're also different sizes! A €5 bill is much smaller than a €50, and so on. The coins, on the other hand...I think I like the American system better. There are denomination coins of €0,01, €0,02, €0,05, €0,10, €0,20, €0,50, €1, and €2. I kind of like those larger denominational coins, but those 2 centers are just ridiculous....all of the BCA group had so many left over "pennies" and "2 centers" that we played poker and betted with them.....it was pretty fun! I still have a ton left and don't really know what to do with them. Oh well.....
Ok so I officially have less than 6 weeks left in Germany. Eek! I have a lot of stuff I need to do. I'm almost done with my 550 page book for my history/literature class, and I need to do a 10 min presentation about the history of that book in two Wednesdays from now. I have a translation test this Wednesday and I have 4 large research papers that I need to write by the time I leave. I'm not going to be modest, I'm a good research paper writer...but four large papers in a short period of time is going to be hard as hell. Oh well...it's the price you pay for leaving before the semester ends here!
Also, more exciting news...I am taking a J-Term when I get back to SNC! I will probably arrive on campus Jan. 3rdish. I'm taking a special topics marketing class which should prove to be pretty interesting...I'll also be looking for jobs/internships so watch out De Pere/Green Bay, Dave is on his way!!
Best,
Me
Sunday
Greek Restaurant- €14
Total- €14
Monday
Copies- €1
Groceries- €12
Total- €13
Tuesday
Laundry- €2
Cafe Felix- €15
Total- €17
Wednesday
Groceries for shared dinner- €7
Total- €7
Thursday
Doctor Visit (DAK Card deductible)- €10
Käsebrötchen (breakfast)- €0,50
Prescription medication- €5
Groceries for shared dinner-€6
Döner- €3,50
Total- €25
Friday
Cafe Felix- €10
Beer- €3
Total- €13
Saturday
Cafe Felix- €10
Groceries- €6
Total- €16
Week Total: €105
Daily Average: €15
I'd say that this is a pretty typical week....mind you, I don't typically go to Cafe Felix that often, and I usually don't go to the doctor every week....but different expenses occur and you just need to go with it. I just got another doctor's bill in the mail from when I was at the hospital in September...it is about €85! Kind of upsetting because I thought I had that all taken care of already, but looks like I'm going to have to shell out a little bit more to be square with them!
Speaking of paying...I think one thing that I'm going to miss when I go back is the money. When you get here, you're like...wow this money is weird. But honestly, like switching to Greenbacks is going to be tough. First of all....comparatively, all of American paper currency looks the same. When you go through your wallet, you need to fish through your bills to figure out which is worth what. Here, not only is the money different colors to differentiate easily, but they're also different sizes! A €5 bill is much smaller than a €50, and so on. The coins, on the other hand...I think I like the American system better. There are denomination coins of €0,01, €0,02, €0,05, €0,10, €0,20, €0,50, €1, and €2. I kind of like those larger denominational coins, but those 2 centers are just ridiculous....all of the BCA group had so many left over "pennies" and "2 centers" that we played poker and betted with them.....it was pretty fun! I still have a ton left and don't really know what to do with them. Oh well.....
Ok so I officially have less than 6 weeks left in Germany. Eek! I have a lot of stuff I need to do. I'm almost done with my 550 page book for my history/literature class, and I need to do a 10 min presentation about the history of that book in two Wednesdays from now. I have a translation test this Wednesday and I have 4 large research papers that I need to write by the time I leave. I'm not going to be modest, I'm a good research paper writer...but four large papers in a short period of time is going to be hard as hell. Oh well...it's the price you pay for leaving before the semester ends here!
Also, more exciting news...I am taking a J-Term when I get back to SNC! I will probably arrive on campus Jan. 3rdish. I'm taking a special topics marketing class which should prove to be pretty interesting...I'll also be looking for jobs/internships so watch out De Pere/Green Bay, Dave is on his way!!
Best,
Me
Sunday, November 2, 2008
7 Weeks??
I just counted, and I can't believe I'll be home in 7 weeks! There is no one emotion to characterize how I feel about that...I'll definitely be happy to see people again and to resume my 'normal' education, but I think that I might face a bit of reverse culture shock...but then again, I think there will be some overcompensation of the things I miss (mainly Pop-Tarts, Wii, and short walks to class) that will allow me to easily adjust.
So.....one nice thing about class here is that I pretty much know my entire homework load for the rest of the semester...unfortunately, it's a LOT because I need to finish about 4 months of school in about 2.5 months, as the German academic year is very different compared to the US. Here's what I have so far...
Innovation Economics: 1 paper (10-12 pages), perhaps a test or two
Post-colonialism: 1 550 page book (half finished...), 1 450 page book, a ten minute presentation, and a research paper of currently unkown length
Translation: Two translations for each class, One translated article, Midterm test, Final Test, Final Project
Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict: Unknown amount of reading (at least 500 pages), 10-15 page research paper
Conflict & Conflict Resolution: 10-12 page research paper (sense a pattern?), Oral Examination
So...lot's to do to keep me busy....lots and lots to do...at least I have four day weekends where I can spend pretty much every waking moment doing homework!!!!
I bought a ticket to London recently to see two of my roommates (Mike O. and Justin K.) I'm pretty excited! I'm going Nov. 20-23rd!
I'm just going to try this out once...at the beginning of my stay here, I tried to keep track of all of my expenses....this did not work, it's simply impossible. But for one week, I'm going to try to work really hard to keep track of what I spend, and what I spend it on, just to see how it turns out!
That's all for now. Tschüss!
Dave
So.....one nice thing about class here is that I pretty much know my entire homework load for the rest of the semester...unfortunately, it's a LOT because I need to finish about 4 months of school in about 2.5 months, as the German academic year is very different compared to the US. Here's what I have so far...
Innovation Economics: 1 paper (10-12 pages), perhaps a test or two
Post-colonialism: 1 550 page book (half finished...), 1 450 page book, a ten minute presentation, and a research paper of currently unkown length
Translation: Two translations for each class, One translated article, Midterm test, Final Test, Final Project
Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict: Unknown amount of reading (at least 500 pages), 10-15 page research paper
Conflict & Conflict Resolution: 10-12 page research paper (sense a pattern?), Oral Examination
So...lot's to do to keep me busy....lots and lots to do...at least I have four day weekends where I can spend pretty much every waking moment doing homework!!!!
I bought a ticket to London recently to see two of my roommates (Mike O. and Justin K.) I'm pretty excited! I'm going Nov. 20-23rd!
I'm just going to try this out once...at the beginning of my stay here, I tried to keep track of all of my expenses....this did not work, it's simply impossible. But for one week, I'm going to try to work really hard to keep track of what I spend, and what I spend it on, just to see how it turns out!
That's all for now. Tschüss!
Dave
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Prague et. al.
It's been awhile again, but like I said, it's been pretty busy here the last few weeks!
First and foremost, I went on an excellent weekend trip to Prague! I went with my friend Zach (another BCA student) and we left on Friday morning, the 17th. We were immediately in turmoil as our first train was late. Our train from Marburg to Frankfurt left at 7:49 and was supposed to arrive at 9:07. Unfortunately, as we made a stop at Giessen (a stop along the way to Frankfurt) we were informed that we had pulled into the wrong Gleis (platform) and that another train needed to be connected. There was a 15 minute delay...normally not a problem, but our train to Dresden was to leave Frankfurt at 9:21. If you do the math...things weren't pretty. The Marburg to Frankfurt trip was not included on our ticket either because, since we are students at Philipps Universität, we get free transportation in the state of Hessen. So....if we didn't make the next train, chances were, since we were on a discounted ticket, that we wouldn't be able to reschedule. We slowly made our way to Frankfurt, and when we arrived at 9:22, we saw that our ICE, a few platforms over, was still there! We sprinted there and hopped aboard the train. Just ten seconds later, the train departed! Soooo lucky...unfortunately, our reserved seats were on the front train...so we had to stand around until the next stop, which was an hour away, but at least we made the train!! That's the end of my train stories, but out of the six trains that we took, four were delayed by more than 15 minutes, and one was delayed by 75 minutes!! European intercontinental transportation is not so impressive...
Got to Prague, met up with my sister, and went to her apartment. It was pretty nice...much better than when I visited her five years ago. We ended up going to a nice Czech pub, followed by going clubbing. I won't go into depth, but it was a fun, late night.
The next day was pretty similar......we did a lot of touring because the weather was really nice. Took some nice pictures....pictures can tell more than words, I've been there before so I don't know what else to say, take a look at the link at the bottom of the e-mail for pictures. Reminder: I'm a big boy. I'm 21, and I don't need any insight about drinking, etc. It was just drinking, I didn't get totaled, I didn't smoke anything (I've never even smoked a cigarette, sheesh...) so just take the pictures for what they're worth and enjoy!
Overall the trip was a lot of fun...once you see Prague once, you've pretty much seen it all...it was really nice to go back though. I got to see two of our foriegn exchange students (Zbynek Kralik and Hana Rohackova) which was really cool. I don't know what else to say....you can ask questions about it if you want, it was just a nice break from Germany and the EURO!
Back to German life...school has officially begun! In fact, the second week of class is completed. Here is my new and improved schedule, which will hopefully NOT CHANGE!
Monday: No class
Tuesday: Innovation Economics- 8:30-10:00
Wednesday: Post-Colonial Perspectives: Zadie Smith's White Teeth and On Beauty- 10:15-11:45
Uebersetzen aus dem Deutschen ins Englische I (German to English Translation I)- 2:00-3:30 (the course is taught by the BCA Director)
Thursday: Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict- 10:15-11:45
Conflict & Conflict Resolution- 4:15-5:45
Friday: No class
Ok, so to you SNC students who have class five times per week, this schedule might look like the best of all time...but here are the problems with it:
1. Mondays/Fridays off creates a lot of free time...good for traveling, bad for staying productive...
2. That 8:30 Econ is killer........not only is it pretty tough material, but it's at 8:30. Luckily I can nap afterwards!
3. Every class except for the translation is offered through the University. Because I'm leaving in December (which is pretty much halfway through the German semester) I need to write an additional Hausarbeit (paper) for each class of about 10-15 pages. So....four huge papers. I'm not excited about that. I will probably lose socialite status and be confined to my room for days/weeks.
4. The two Thursday classes are swarmed by Masters students....the content is pretty tough, especially since I'm not a Peace Studies/Psychology/Sociology major, so it will be pretty tough to do decently in the class...but as I said before, all I need is a passing grade to transfer unweighted credit. If I get credit for all of the classes, I will transfer back 19 credits and come back with more fulfilled requirements than I originally thought, so sweet!!
Next...I think I'm just going to talk about a lot of the differences between Germany and the US...some will be obvious, some not so much...I've been thinking about some of them for a while, so I will share...
1. Restaurants/Bars
Pretty big difference...there are a lot of things that they do here differently than in the US. First of all, when you sit down and take a look at the menu, it is considered rude if you do not have a drink picked out by the time the waiter/waitress comes to the table. In the US, it is perfectly acceptable to order free water. In some places here, especially nicer places, it's kind of looked down upon to order Leitungswasser ('pipe water,' or tap water). In Germany I've only seen one or two instances where the waitstaff has refused to give water. It might be worth it though, seeing as most soft drinks are close to 2 Euros, and there are no free refills. Never. It hurts my heart that I need to drink slowly, but it happens. Another thing that digs at my soul is paying for Ketchup. Even though it's usually relatively cheap (25-50 Euro cents) it's something we usually take for granted in the US. When you are finished with your meal, you place the fork and knife at the three o'clock position on your plate, and the direction of the knife can tell whether you enjoyed the meal or not. The waitstaff will usually say Hat's geschmeckt? (Did it taste good?) The waitstaff will never bring you your bill until you tell them Wir wollen bitte bezahlen (We would like to pay, please) or Können wir bitte bezahlen? (Could we pay, please?) This is the good part...in the US, tips are generally required at a rate of about 15% (at least, it's looked down upon if you don't). Tips aren't required in Germany, and they usually consist of rounding up to the nearest Euro. Not too bad...although I would pay 15% in exchange for free refills/free ketchup!!
2. Drivers
First and foremost, I went on an excellent weekend trip to Prague! I went with my friend Zach (another BCA student) and we left on Friday morning, the 17th. We were immediately in turmoil as our first train was late. Our train from Marburg to Frankfurt left at 7:49 and was supposed to arrive at 9:07. Unfortunately, as we made a stop at Giessen (a stop along the way to Frankfurt) we were informed that we had pulled into the wrong Gleis (platform) and that another train needed to be connected. There was a 15 minute delay...normally not a problem, but our train to Dresden was to leave Frankfurt at 9:21. If you do the math...things weren't pretty. The Marburg to Frankfurt trip was not included on our ticket either because, since we are students at Philipps Universität, we get free transportation in the state of Hessen. So....if we didn't make the next train, chances were, since we were on a discounted ticket, that we wouldn't be able to reschedule. We slowly made our way to Frankfurt, and when we arrived at 9:22, we saw that our ICE, a few platforms over, was still there! We sprinted there and hopped aboard the train. Just ten seconds later, the train departed! Soooo lucky...unfortunately, our reserved seats were on the front train...so we had to stand around until the next stop, which was an hour away, but at least we made the train!! That's the end of my train stories, but out of the six trains that we took, four were delayed by more than 15 minutes, and one was delayed by 75 minutes!! European intercontinental transportation is not so impressive...
Got to Prague, met up with my sister, and went to her apartment. It was pretty nice...much better than when I visited her five years ago. We ended up going to a nice Czech pub, followed by going clubbing. I won't go into depth, but it was a fun, late night.
The next day was pretty similar......we did a lot of touring because the weather was really nice. Took some nice pictures....pictures can tell more than words, I've been there before so I don't know what else to say, take a look at the link at the bottom of the e-mail for pictures. Reminder: I'm a big boy. I'm 21, and I don't need any insight about drinking, etc. It was just drinking, I didn't get totaled, I didn't smoke anything (I've never even smoked a cigarette, sheesh...) so just take the pictures for what they're worth and enjoy!
Overall the trip was a lot of fun...once you see Prague once, you've pretty much seen it all...it was really nice to go back though. I got to see two of our foriegn exchange students (Zbynek Kralik and Hana Rohackova) which was really cool. I don't know what else to say....you can ask questions about it if you want, it was just a nice break from Germany and the EURO!
Back to German life...school has officially begun! In fact, the second week of class is completed. Here is my new and improved schedule, which will hopefully NOT CHANGE!
Monday: No class
Tuesday: Innovation Economics- 8:30-10:00
Wednesday: Post-Colonial Perspectives: Zadie Smith's White Teeth and On Beauty- 10:15-11:45
Uebersetzen aus dem Deutschen ins Englische I (German to English Translation I)- 2:00-3:30 (the course is taught by the BCA Director)
Thursday: Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict- 10:15-11:45
Conflict & Conflict Resolution- 4:15-5:45
Friday: No class
Ok, so to you SNC students who have class five times per week, this schedule might look like the best of all time...but here are the problems with it:
1. Mondays/Fridays off creates a lot of free time...good for traveling, bad for staying productive...
2. That 8:30 Econ is killer........not only is it pretty tough material, but it's at 8:30. Luckily I can nap afterwards!
3. Every class except for the translation is offered through the University. Because I'm leaving in December (which is pretty much halfway through the German semester) I need to write an additional Hausarbeit (paper) for each class of about 10-15 pages. So....four huge papers. I'm not excited about that. I will probably lose socialite status and be confined to my room for days/weeks.
4. The two Thursday classes are swarmed by Masters students....the content is pretty tough, especially since I'm not a Peace Studies/Psychology/Sociology major, so it will be pretty tough to do decently in the class...but as I said before, all I need is a passing grade to transfer unweighted credit. If I get credit for all of the classes, I will transfer back 19 credits and come back with more fulfilled requirements than I originally thought, so sweet!!
Next...I think I'm just going to talk about a lot of the differences between Germany and the US...some will be obvious, some not so much...I've been thinking about some of them for a while, so I will share...
1. Restaurants/Bars
Pretty big difference...there are a lot of things that they do here differently than in the US. First of all, when you sit down and take a look at the menu, it is considered rude if you do not have a drink picked out by the time the waiter/waitress comes to the table. In the US, it is perfectly acceptable to order free water. In some places here, especially nicer places, it's kind of looked down upon to order Leitungswasser ('pipe water,' or tap water). In Germany I've only seen one or two instances where the waitstaff has refused to give water. It might be worth it though, seeing as most soft drinks are close to 2 Euros, and there are no free refills. Never. It hurts my heart that I need to drink slowly, but it happens. Another thing that digs at my soul is paying for Ketchup. Even though it's usually relatively cheap (25-50 Euro cents) it's something we usually take for granted in the US. When you are finished with your meal, you place the fork and knife at the three o'clock position on your plate, and the direction of the knife can tell whether you enjoyed the meal or not. The waitstaff will usually say Hat's geschmeckt? (Did it taste good?) The waitstaff will never bring you your bill until you tell them Wir wollen bitte bezahlen (We would like to pay, please) or Können wir bitte bezahlen? (Could we pay, please?) This is the good part...in the US, tips are generally required at a rate of about 15% (at least, it's looked down upon if you don't). Tips aren't required in Germany, and they usually consist of rounding up to the nearest Euro. Not too bad...although I would pay 15% in exchange for free refills/free ketchup!!
2. Drivers
Oh German drivers... it seems that traffic cops do not exist in the city. Cars, especially taxis, will go at great speeds that must be higher than the 'speed limit' (only a guideline)...at least speeds that would definitely be cited in the US. However, I think cars are a lot more conscientious...maybe not beeping-wise, but they are very pedestrian-friendly. About 95% of the time that a car is coming when I want to cross the street, the very first car will stop. In the US, I usually have to wait a few minutes until all of the cars are gone.
3. Students
The students here...hmm... they seem pretty friendly. During class, there is very little notetaking compared to the US. I probably take the most notes out of anyone in any of my classes, and my classes are pretty large. People are more interested in listening to the lectures rather than writing stuff down...don't you people need to study, or do you have minds like steel traps? In general, people try to dress to look older, which isn't always the case as in the US. I'm probably the youngest one living in my dorm, and I definitely look like it. The people in my dorm seem kind of clicquey, but the same is probably the same for foreign students in the US...empathy!!
4. Fast food
This category is separate from restaurants for a reason...in the US, the main fast food is the hamburger. In Germany, it is the Döner Kebap. What is a döner you ask? It is a piece of flatbread rolled up with various vegetables, lamb meat, and a garlic or yogurt sauce. It's fantastic. What is popular within the BCA group is the Döner Box, which is a takeout box filled with fries, lamb meat, and sauce. Delicious.
5. Tax
Mehrwehrsteuer (MWST, or sales tax) is included with every price. It's kind of nice that you know what you're paying before you bring it up to the register. Although it is 19%, it doesn't really seem that bad just because you know you're not paying any extra. I have not been to any store or restaurant that adds additional tax.
I guess that's all I have for now...if I think of more, I'll put them in additional posts.
I got a haircut too. It was about 12,50 Euros, not too bad... my first one ever that the world's best cosmetologist (my mom) has not done! It was kind of weird that my hairdresser did not speak any English, but oh well...I talked her through it and it looks good!
Today is the 26th of October (Daylight Savings time here!). I have been in Marburg for 56 days and I have about 54 days remaining. It's so weird to be past the halfway point, and I'm sure the rest of the time will fly by. One of my plans on the horizon is to visit my roomies in London so...I'm sure you will hear more about that soon!
All of the best,
Dave
PS The Prague picture links...are as follows:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
3. Students
The students here...hmm... they seem pretty friendly. During class, there is very little notetaking compared to the US. I probably take the most notes out of anyone in any of my classes, and my classes are pretty large. People are more interested in listening to the lectures rather than writing stuff down...don't you people need to study, or do you have minds like steel traps? In general, people try to dress to look older, which isn't always the case as in the US. I'm probably the youngest one living in my dorm, and I definitely look like it. The people in my dorm seem kind of clicquey, but the same is probably the same for foreign students in the US...empathy!!
4. Fast food
This category is separate from restaurants for a reason...in the US, the main fast food is the hamburger. In Germany, it is the Döner Kebap. What is a döner you ask? It is a piece of flatbread rolled up with various vegetables, lamb meat, and a garlic or yogurt sauce. It's fantastic. What is popular within the BCA group is the Döner Box, which is a takeout box filled with fries, lamb meat, and sauce. Delicious.
5. Tax
Mehrwehrsteuer (MWST, or sales tax) is included with every price. It's kind of nice that you know what you're paying before you bring it up to the register. Although it is 19%, it doesn't really seem that bad just because you know you're not paying any extra. I have not been to any store or restaurant that adds additional tax.
I guess that's all I have for now...if I think of more, I'll put them in additional posts.
I got a haircut too. It was about 12,50 Euros, not too bad... my first one ever that the world's best cosmetologist (my mom) has not done! It was kind of weird that my hairdresser did not speak any English, but oh well...I talked her through it and it looks good!
Today is the 26th of October (Daylight Savings time here!). I have been in Marburg for 56 days and I have about 54 days remaining. It's so weird to be past the halfway point, and I'm sure the rest of the time will fly by. One of my plans on the horizon is to visit my roomies in London so...I'm sure you will hear more about that soon!
All of the best,
Dave
PS The Prague picture links...are as follows:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Sunday, October 12, 2008
No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth...
!!!PICTURE LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!!!
Hello folks,
Sorry for the delay...things have been quite busy in my life as of lately! I'll try to play a little bit of catch up...
The beginning of October called for the end of my Sprachkurs...thank goodness. I did quite a bit better on the final compared to the 'midterm' test (which I badly failed). I ended up getting a 2,3 in the class (which is comparable to an American good pass....a high B). The grade doesn't matter though, as long as I get a decent pass (anything above a 4) I will get credits transfer, and the grades won't affect my GPA.
We went on our week trip to Berlin last week! It was awesome! We stayed at a pretty sweet hotel near the center of East Berlin. There were so many cool things to see, I can't even start to name them all! I took lots of pictures, and I'll include links at the end of this post... Some of the main things we did included touring museums (including Checkpoint Charlie and the Pergamon), visiting the Brandenburger Tor (one of the many places we were approached by Romanian beggars... "Speak English??"), Berliner Dom, and we ate at several fantastic restaurants. We saw a theater production which was a pretty cool variety show. I went to a goth type bar/club which was really interesting...I was actually sick most of the week (what, me sick? no...) which was kind of a bummer, but I still managed to have a good time!
So what have I been doing with my life? Well...I've been getting ready for classes (which start for me on Tuesday!) and just trying to organize my life here. Here's what my schedule looks like...
Monday: No class
Tuesday: Innovation Economics (8-10)
Wednesday: Foreign Bodies in Modern England (10-12), German to English Translation I (1:15-2:45)
Thursday: Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict (10-12)
Friday: No class
Yes, that means 4 day weekend every weekend! Hopefully I'll get to do a lot of traveling around Germany, even if it means by myself... please send travel monies my way!! :)
Speaking of travel, one of my friends here and I purchased train tickets to see my sister in Prague this Friday! Only 60 Euros by train with the Europa special...not bad at all!! Hopefully she will have some fun things planned for us... hint hint!
I don't really have much else to say... sometimes pictures say more than words, so here are the links that you've been waiting for!!
-Dave
Just click 'em :)
Marburg Randoms
Mainz
Wiesbaden
Kassel
Berlin 1
Berlin 2
Hello folks,
Sorry for the delay...things have been quite busy in my life as of lately! I'll try to play a little bit of catch up...
The beginning of October called for the end of my Sprachkurs...thank goodness. I did quite a bit better on the final compared to the 'midterm' test (which I badly failed). I ended up getting a 2,3 in the class (which is comparable to an American good pass....a high B). The grade doesn't matter though, as long as I get a decent pass (anything above a 4) I will get credits transfer, and the grades won't affect my GPA.
We went on our week trip to Berlin last week! It was awesome! We stayed at a pretty sweet hotel near the center of East Berlin. There were so many cool things to see, I can't even start to name them all! I took lots of pictures, and I'll include links at the end of this post... Some of the main things we did included touring museums (including Checkpoint Charlie and the Pergamon), visiting the Brandenburger Tor (one of the many places we were approached by Romanian beggars... "Speak English??"), Berliner Dom, and we ate at several fantastic restaurants. We saw a theater production which was a pretty cool variety show. I went to a goth type bar/club which was really interesting...I was actually sick most of the week (what, me sick? no...) which was kind of a bummer, but I still managed to have a good time!
So what have I been doing with my life? Well...I've been getting ready for classes (which start for me on Tuesday!) and just trying to organize my life here. Here's what my schedule looks like...
Monday: No class
Tuesday: Innovation Economics (8-10)
Wednesday: Foreign Bodies in Modern England (10-12), German to English Translation I (1:15-2:45)
Thursday: Nationalism & Ethnic Conflict (10-12)
Friday: No class
Yes, that means 4 day weekend every weekend! Hopefully I'll get to do a lot of traveling around Germany, even if it means by myself... please send travel monies my way!! :)
Speaking of travel, one of my friends here and I purchased train tickets to see my sister in Prague this Friday! Only 60 Euros by train with the Europa special...not bad at all!! Hopefully she will have some fun things planned for us... hint hint!
I don't really have much else to say... sometimes pictures say more than words, so here are the links that you've been waiting for!!
-Dave
Just click 'em :)
Marburg Randoms
Mainz
Wiesbaden
Kassel
Berlin 1
Berlin 2
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
One Month! - A Blog Post Long Overdue
Hello everyone,
I apologize for not updating my blog in ten days....it has been difficult to stay updated with no internet...but as of yesterday, I have it in my dorm!! It's pretty sweet...we have a bandwidth allowance of 8 GB per month (hint hint SNC if you want fast internet.....) so I'm trying to accomplish as much as I can today because my allowance will be reset tomorrow.
So...what's been going on? I got sick again....that figures though; once the weather gets cold, I'm sick. It happens...I don't have the stomach/intestinal sickness that I had before, which is pretty good....but man, when I get sick here, weird stuff happens! Like all day yesterday, I kind of felt like I was going to pass out...just really dizzy and stuff. Then like last night right before I went to bed, I started to get really cold....so I put on a sweatshirt, pulled the blanket over my head, and went to bed. Then...I knew I wasn't sleeping, but I started hallucinating. No, I don't do drugs....I think maybe my body was going into shock or something from being so cold or feverish or something...I saw some people from back home and I was talking to them! I knew I wasn't dreaming too! When I snapped out of it, I was just shaking from being so cold. I put some more clothes on, took some ibuprofen (which probably helped a lot) and went to sleep. This morning I felt pretty good, but still kind of dizzy during the day...hopefully I'm reaching the end of it. I'm sure I will be, because my German insurance activates tomorrow! I went to the bank today to pay my hospital bills....they totaled about 256 Euros (about $361) which I guess isn't that bad, but it came out of my food allowance because I had to pay it through the bank, so....yeah. I'll get the money back, but I have to send my receipts and stuff home. Sweet....
What also activates tomorrow is my Studienausweis! It allows for free travel on public transportation in the state of Hessen. So....I can ride the buses for free (finally) and take trains wherever I want in Hessen (Frankfurt, etc.) Sweet!
I guess I should go through a typical day in the life of me...
8:10- Wake up, shower, eat a cereal bar/drink some tea, music, get stuff ready for class
8:55- Leave for my Sprachkurs (which ends this Thursday)
9:10- Arrive at the Sprachenzentrum....it's actually a decent walk, but I've learned how to book it!
9:15- Class starts....It is, well...I guess I am indifferent.
10:45- Pause. It's a nice half hour break we get during class. Usually go to the bakery and grab breakfast #2: a Käsebrötchen!
11:15- Class again...
12:45- Class is over! I would say about half of the time I go out for lunch....there are places nearby if I want to get Pizza, Döner, or whatever....there is also a really nice Asian cuisine place inside the Lahn Center which I often frequent.
Rest of the day....my days are often quite random. I like to hang out with the other BCA students a lot....they are all really awesome! I spend a lot of time at the castle because well...cool people live there! Maybe do some homework in there....go shopping for food, or just do random stuff around the city.
Night: The best time! I like to stop somewhere for dinner, or have my friends cook for me and chip in, but stopping somewhere for cocktails or a Hefeweizen is my fav.
There it is. My real classes will start in approximately two weeks, and I probably should get a little more ready for signing up, but I pretty much have what I'm going to take ready... it looks like I will probably have a 3 day school week with 4-two hour classes. Grand!
I've been getting a lot of questions about my travel plans. I will for sure be going to Berlin from October 6th through the 10th. I need to make some plans to visit my sister in Prague for a weekend coming up soon...I will also be making a trip to France sometime in December with the BCA'ers. That is all that is certain....I want to make a trip to Madrid to visit some of the SNC peeps, as well as possibly Italy and London but....we'll see how far my bank account gets me!
Pictures....well, I'll see if I can post some pictures that I took on different excursions on here, but I can't guarantee anything...if I can't, I will post a link soon!
Gotta go, I hope all is well with everyone!!
Dave
I apologize for not updating my blog in ten days....it has been difficult to stay updated with no internet...but as of yesterday, I have it in my dorm!! It's pretty sweet...we have a bandwidth allowance of 8 GB per month (hint hint SNC if you want fast internet.....) so I'm trying to accomplish as much as I can today because my allowance will be reset tomorrow.
So...what's been going on? I got sick again....that figures though; once the weather gets cold, I'm sick. It happens...I don't have the stomach/intestinal sickness that I had before, which is pretty good....but man, when I get sick here, weird stuff happens! Like all day yesterday, I kind of felt like I was going to pass out...just really dizzy and stuff. Then like last night right before I went to bed, I started to get really cold....so I put on a sweatshirt, pulled the blanket over my head, and went to bed. Then...I knew I wasn't sleeping, but I started hallucinating. No, I don't do drugs....I think maybe my body was going into shock or something from being so cold or feverish or something...I saw some people from back home and I was talking to them! I knew I wasn't dreaming too! When I snapped out of it, I was just shaking from being so cold. I put some more clothes on, took some ibuprofen (which probably helped a lot) and went to sleep. This morning I felt pretty good, but still kind of dizzy during the day...hopefully I'm reaching the end of it. I'm sure I will be, because my German insurance activates tomorrow! I went to the bank today to pay my hospital bills....they totaled about 256 Euros (about $361) which I guess isn't that bad, but it came out of my food allowance because I had to pay it through the bank, so....yeah. I'll get the money back, but I have to send my receipts and stuff home. Sweet....
What also activates tomorrow is my Studienausweis! It allows for free travel on public transportation in the state of Hessen. So....I can ride the buses for free (finally) and take trains wherever I want in Hessen (Frankfurt, etc.) Sweet!
I guess I should go through a typical day in the life of me...
8:10- Wake up, shower, eat a cereal bar/drink some tea, music, get stuff ready for class
8:55- Leave for my Sprachkurs (which ends this Thursday)
9:10- Arrive at the Sprachenzentrum....it's actually a decent walk, but I've learned how to book it!
9:15- Class starts....It is, well...I guess I am indifferent.
10:45- Pause. It's a nice half hour break we get during class. Usually go to the bakery and grab breakfast #2: a Käsebrötchen!
11:15- Class again...
12:45- Class is over! I would say about half of the time I go out for lunch....there are places nearby if I want to get Pizza, Döner, or whatever....there is also a really nice Asian cuisine place inside the Lahn Center which I often frequent.
Rest of the day....my days are often quite random. I like to hang out with the other BCA students a lot....they are all really awesome! I spend a lot of time at the castle because well...cool people live there! Maybe do some homework in there....go shopping for food, or just do random stuff around the city.
Night: The best time! I like to stop somewhere for dinner, or have my friends cook for me and chip in, but stopping somewhere for cocktails or a Hefeweizen is my fav.
There it is. My real classes will start in approximately two weeks, and I probably should get a little more ready for signing up, but I pretty much have what I'm going to take ready... it looks like I will probably have a 3 day school week with 4-two hour classes. Grand!
I've been getting a lot of questions about my travel plans. I will for sure be going to Berlin from October 6th through the 10th. I need to make some plans to visit my sister in Prague for a weekend coming up soon...I will also be making a trip to France sometime in December with the BCA'ers. That is all that is certain....I want to make a trip to Madrid to visit some of the SNC peeps, as well as possibly Italy and London but....we'll see how far my bank account gets me!
Pictures....well, I'll see if I can post some pictures that I took on different excursions on here, but I can't guarantee anything...if I can't, I will post a link soon!
Gotta go, I hope all is well with everyone!!
Dave
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Dog days of summer...
So...this last week (of summer) has been pretty tough. For those of you who hadn't heard, I ended up spending much of Monday in the hospital. I think I ate something that either I was allergic to, or just didn't cooperate with me, and it caused the worst pains I have ever felt. I don't think it is oncurring...I have felt fine for the rest of the week and haven't taken any drugs. Pretty good...
On Wednesday we went to Wiesbaden with our Sprachkurs groups. It was ok...we toured one of the main government buildings and went around the city for a bit...we didn't really have a lot of time to do what we wanted, but we might go back sometime. I have pictures, but I don't have internet yet in my room so...they will have to wait.
Yesterday we went to Kassel, a very pretty town that has a lot of history. We did some touring but similarly to Wiesbaden, we didn't really have time to do what we wanted...I kind of like just spur of the moment trips where you find out what you are going to do along the way. Pictures also to come...
I don't have anything else to say right now...I'm trying to plan a trip to Prague, but I really want to find a cheap ticket and it's impossible... Yes, I know there's RyanAir, but all of the flights from Frankfurt are booked up for the next two months. I will continue to dig...
Until next time,
Dave
On Wednesday we went to Wiesbaden with our Sprachkurs groups. It was ok...we toured one of the main government buildings and went around the city for a bit...we didn't really have a lot of time to do what we wanted, but we might go back sometime. I have pictures, but I don't have internet yet in my room so...they will have to wait.
Yesterday we went to Kassel, a very pretty town that has a lot of history. We did some touring but similarly to Wiesbaden, we didn't really have time to do what we wanted...I kind of like just spur of the moment trips where you find out what you are going to do along the way. Pictures also to come...
I don't have anything else to say right now...I'm trying to plan a trip to Prague, but I really want to find a cheap ticket and it's impossible... Yes, I know there's RyanAir, but all of the flights from Frankfurt are booked up for the next two months. I will continue to dig...
Until next time,
Dave
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