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
