Bonjour tout le monde!
I have been really busy recently, and it's not letting up anytime soon. I last left off on Wednesday, so here's what's been up from then on:
On Thursday we had a pretty intensive class in the morning. We had our first real graded test and we weren't sure what to expect. There were different sections- listening, reading, writing, and speaking. For the listening, we listened to a dialog and had to write down what instructions a certain character got; for reading we were given an invitation to an art gallery and and article about the same gallery, but there was conflicting information between the two, so we had to point out the 10 discrepancies; writing involved writing an invitation letter, and in the speaking we had a partner- one of us was an art gallery owner introducing a painter, and one parter was the painter introducing himself to the crowd. There were also a couple grammar and vocabulary sections, all using the words and structures we had studied that chapter, which had been about art. Overall the test went well, except for one mistake of my own. We had been given three sheets of paper face down- 2 regular sized and 1 half sheet. Foolishly, I assumed that the half sheet was the speaking portion, to be done later. With 2 minutes to go, I looked at the sheet and realized that it was another grammar page. I did what I could, but I couldn't really give it my best attention.
For Interaktive Praxis we went to the Marktplatz, an open area downtown where there is a food market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We had different activities such as finding the cheapest fruits and vegetables, finding out the names of new flowers, and discovering what all kinds of items of items are also sold. It was a fairly useful activity, although our group was already familiar with the market, even enough to have our own fruit man whom we always visit.
After that, we took part in the German custom of Kaffee and Kuchen- coffee and cake. With all of the MEMS kids, interaction leaders, and teachers, we recognized the half-way point of the program, as well as the switch-over between Dr. Hasty and Dr. Futterknecht. It was nice to have the whole group together, and we were able to get to know Dr. Futterknect a bit better, which was nice since pretty much all of the intermediate German kids will have him for Advanced German next semester. He is very nice, and very interested in his students, so I'm sure it will be a good class. After Kaffee and Kuchen we hung out a bit with Wolf and another interaction leader, and then we headed on home.
On Friday began our adventure to Paris. We had class in the morning, and then made our way over to the Hauptbahnhof for our train at around 1:30. We got into Paris at around 4:45, to the familiar Gare de l'Est. We navigated around and bought our metro passes- Cait and I still had some left over from the week before, so we just bought a 2-day unlimited pass for Saturday and Sunday (although we found out later there was a cheaper way to do it that would have cost us 9 Euros less, argh). We also bought our 30-Euro Museum Pass, good for two days from first use, which would let us into many museums and also avoid lines. Then we made our way to our hostel- it was in a cute little area. I did the administrative things since I was the only French speaker, and we went up to our room. It wasn't bad, and we had a private room with a bathroom. However, there were only 3 beds and we had booked a quadruple, so that had to be sorted out, but that was done easily enough. It was also blazing hot and there wasn't A/C, but that was to be expected. Our shower was the smallest one I've ever been in. It wasn't a tub, just a shower, but even standing fulling on one side I could not put an elbow all the way out. I also couldn't bend over to pick anything up, all of my movements had to be simply up and down. But it was fine and clean, and then we set off to explore. The first thing we did was see the Cathédrale Notre Dame. During the course of this blog entry it will get very boring reading about how beautiful everything we saw was, so I will not go into it for every place- but Notre Dame was just amazing. We were not able to go inside because it was too late (we went inside the next day, though), but it was stunning- the architecture, stained glass, and just the size.
After Notre Dame, we went for dinner at a place that Erica and her family had eaten at the week prior. It was little Italian restaurant not too far away- I had lasagne, and everyone else had some kind of pasta or pizza. It was good and refreshing, and not too expensive. From there, we walke d a little bit on our own, seeing the pyramid of the Louvre. There were tons of people hanging out and eating on one of the bridges to get there, and there were also several musicians playing. The whole city is just beautiful, and there are so many things to see. Afterwards, we did our final activity of the day- a sightseeing boat cruise on the river. We were in a little tour boat, and we went around in the twilight and saw some recognizable sights, listening to 4 different languages- French, English, Spanish, and Italian. The most magnificent thing we saw was the Eiffel Tower- at this particular time it was lit up completely in blue, with a circle of gold stars on the front, a symbol of the EU. It looked spectacular, and it was my first glimpse of the entire tower. The tour was interesting and a little informative, although it was hard to go into much detail when everything had to be repeated 3 times. We saw a lot of people hanging out by the river, dancing and eating, and there was also a little "beach" area set up. After the hour-long boat tour, we were all tired, so we went back to our hostel for some rest, since we planned to get up early the next morning.
It is getting late, so I am going to split this trip into more than one blog entry. Tomorrow I will hopefully get caught up to the present!
Bisous!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Quick Update
Just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive- I've been really busy and have not yet had the time to write a long post. I'm about to be off to Strasbourg for today, so you can expect an all-inclusive post (from Thursday through today) either tonight or tomorrow.
Aufwiederschreiben!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Another few days in Mannheim
After our wonderful but exhausting weekend trip, it was right back to work and fun in Mannheim. After class on Monday, we went to grocery shopping for Interaktive Praxis. We took a Strassenbahn out to a much larger than normal store, called the Kaufland. It was a little bit like a Superwalmart back at home. They had a wide selection of inexpensive groceries, as well as some electronics and housewares. We were divided into pairs and had to find various items throughout the store (it happened to be just the items that Frau Hamann needed!). We also had to learn some new vocabulary and describe items that we didn't know the German words for. It was a successful trip, and then we were able to do our own grocery shopping after class. Our little group has been shopping together and planning meals like pasta, wurst, or schnitzel, and that has worked out quite well. For breakfast I usually eat cereal and yogurt or a slice of bread and Nutella, and we have also been packing sandwich lunches. I have also discovered some interesting drinks here. Fanta is big here, but it's different than that found in the US. Instead of being straight bright-orange soda, it's more with real oranges, a lighter yellow-orange color, and almost like a carbonated orange juice like Orangina. There are also Schorle drinks that are really good- they're lightly carbonated juices. Apfel Schorle is the most popular, but I've also seen cherry, passionfruit, and an apple-grapefruit blend.
On Tuesday we had class as usual, and then we went to the Mannheim Planetarium for Interaktive Praxis. The program was called Der Planet der Tausend Ringe, or the Planet of a Thousand Rings, so it all had to do with Saturn. It was like other planetariums- everyone sat in circular rows and had comfortable chairs that leaned way back so you could see everything on a huge dome screen. The program was interesting, and the narration was fairly slow so it wasn't completely incomprehensible. It talked a lot about the history and mythology behind Saturn, as well as more scientific facts from today. It was an interesting experience, and I'm glad that we were able to go.
Soon after that, we were set to meet with Wolf and Nina to go to a movie. We went to movie theater and saw Charlie Bartlett, and American movie dubbed over in German. The movie has to do with a teenager, Charlie, who essentially becomes the psychologist for kids at his high school, all the while faking symptoms with numerous psychiatrists of his own to get them prescription medication. The voices were well done. It was interesting though- whenever someone in the movie had to sing, it was not dubbed at all. It was a funny movie and I could follow along easily, although of course I didn't know all the words.
Today was Wednesday and was sort of catch-up day. We had class, and for Interaktive Praxis we worked on planning a movie party for next week. There is a film about Mannheim that we're going to watch, and we're inviting the MEMS kids, the Interaction Leaders, and pretty much everyone else we know in Mannheim. We were planning the logistics, such as where we would have it, how to do the invitations (Einladungen), and what kind of food we would have. It will also involve playing Charades. It wasn't the most fun Interaktive Praxis, but we did get to use a lot of German. We also went shopping again today, and I am working on my laundry. I still have to perfect what settings to use- the last time all of my clothes shrunk a few inches (and yes it was my clothes that shrunk and not I who grew)- my jacket sleeves are a bit shorter than they used to be.
Overall, I think our actual German class is going well, with a few minor concerns. I am definitely learning a lot of vocabulary, but I have not learned any more concrete grammar. However, the grammar I do know is becoming more natural and engrained. We are guinea pigs as far as the Zertifikat Deutsch is concerned, because they have never offered our program before, but I think we are strongly moving through our textbook, which is supposedly designed around the test. I know that we will definitely be thoroughly comfortable and knowledgable with our textbook material, and I hope that that will be what we need to pass the test. It is becoming easier for me to understand Frau Hamann and the instructions she gives us, as well. In any case, the experience here has been one of a kind, and any complaints I have are minor in comparison to everything fantastic that I have experienced.
I still have some studying to do tonight for our test tomorrow, so I will sign off until my next entry. I miss everyone at home, aufwiederschreiben!
On Tuesday we had class as usual, and then we went to the Mannheim Planetarium for Interaktive Praxis. The program was called Der Planet der Tausend Ringe, or the Planet of a Thousand Rings, so it all had to do with Saturn. It was like other planetariums- everyone sat in circular rows and had comfortable chairs that leaned way back so you could see everything on a huge dome screen. The program was interesting, and the narration was fairly slow so it wasn't completely incomprehensible. It talked a lot about the history and mythology behind Saturn, as well as more scientific facts from today. It was an interesting experience, and I'm glad that we were able to go.
Soon after that, we were set to meet with Wolf and Nina to go to a movie. We went to movie theater and saw Charlie Bartlett, and American movie dubbed over in German. The movie has to do with a teenager, Charlie, who essentially becomes the psychologist for kids at his high school, all the while faking symptoms with numerous psychiatrists of his own to get them prescription medication. The voices were well done. It was interesting though- whenever someone in the movie had to sing, it was not dubbed at all. It was a funny movie and I could follow along easily, although of course I didn't know all the words.
Today was Wednesday and was sort of catch-up day. We had class, and for Interaktive Praxis we worked on planning a movie party for next week. There is a film about Mannheim that we're going to watch, and we're inviting the MEMS kids, the Interaction Leaders, and pretty much everyone else we know in Mannheim. We were planning the logistics, such as where we would have it, how to do the invitations (Einladungen), and what kind of food we would have. It will also involve playing Charades. It wasn't the most fun Interaktive Praxis, but we did get to use a lot of German. We also went shopping again today, and I am working on my laundry. I still have to perfect what settings to use- the last time all of my clothes shrunk a few inches (and yes it was my clothes that shrunk and not I who grew)- my jacket sleeves are a bit shorter than they used to be.
Overall, I think our actual German class is going well, with a few minor concerns. I am definitely learning a lot of vocabulary, but I have not learned any more concrete grammar. However, the grammar I do know is becoming more natural and engrained. We are guinea pigs as far as the Zertifikat Deutsch is concerned, because they have never offered our program before, but I think we are strongly moving through our textbook, which is supposedly designed around the test. I know that we will definitely be thoroughly comfortable and knowledgable with our textbook material, and I hope that that will be what we need to pass the test. It is becoming easier for me to understand Frau Hamann and the instructions she gives us, as well. In any case, the experience here has been one of a kind, and any complaints I have are minor in comparison to everything fantastic that I have experienced.
I still have some studying to do tonight for our test tomorrow, so I will sign off until my next entry. I miss everyone at home, aufwiederschreiben!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Beaucoup de journées
Another few days has passed, and I have so much to report. Friday was sort of a lazy day for us. We didn't have Interactive Praxis, but we did some errands such as reserving train seats at the Hauptbahnhof and picking up some cake on the way home. There are little bakeries (oder Bäckereien) everywhere here. We just sort of hung out in the afternoon, and Erica was gone since she was meeting her family in Paris for the weekend. The rest of us made Wurst and green beans for dinner, and then almost everyone from our class went out into Mannheim. We went to Murphey's Law, an Irish Pub, where interestingly they only speak English. It seemed to be a very happening place- almost everything else in Mannheim was closed, but this place was packed inside and out. All the music was American, and there was a place to request music. We think there was someone there who really likes Michael Jackson, because that's what every other song was. It was fun being with the group, and by the time we were ready to go there were very few S-Bahns still running, so we had to walk back through Jungbusch to our Studentenwohnheim.
We had to get up early on Saturday, for it was our pre-planned group trip to the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. We weren't all sure what to expect, but we had heard that we'd be exploring some of the towns in that area. We boarded our small bus at 8:30 in the morning- it was like a charter bus, but a small one with about 20 seats, like something a church or retirement community would have. We traveled for about an hour before arriving in Baden-Baden. It's a small town, but frequently visited by tourists, especially wealthy ones, for it's known for its hot springs, which have now been turned into expensive spas. Dr. Hasty told us that we could also see remains of Roman baths, so that was our mission. However, we roamed around and around, inside buildings, up and down flights of stairs, walking all around the town behind Dr. Hasty, without finding the supposed Badruinen. Finally, after about an hour without success, underneath a spa there were some ruins, behind some glass of course. All we could do was peer into the dark at some ruins a few feet away, ruins that were not really meant to be tourist attractions. But nonetheless it was interesting- we could see some ancient bricks in some kind of raised structure, although it was not complete by any means. I wish we could have gotten closer in some better light conditions. By that time, we couldn't afford any more time looking around, so we had to head back to the bus.
From there, we traveled quite a lot longer in the bus, up and up windy roads into the Black Forest. We ended up in a spot called the Mummelsee, where there's a large lake and an amazing view off a mountain. We took a picture with the Mummelsee "Monster," a very green and seaweeded man with a trident and a great beard. We also ate a lunch of bratwurst, and of course Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cake, for dessert. The cake is mainly chocolate, but with layers of cherry and whipped cream, and a fairly prominent alcohol taste. Eating this cake did satisfy one of our food goals in Europe- some of the others were crêpes in France, waffles in Belgium, and of course Bratwurst in Germany (that one has been met many times already). The cake was delicious, and after a stop in the gift shop (cuckoo clock, anyone?) we needed to head out again.
From there we went to another area called the Titisee. It was a pretty touristy area, with another body of water, and tons of souvenir shops and little food places in a long row. We were still surrounded by the trees of the forest. We were pretty much let loose to wander for about an hour, so we just explored. We went to one souvenir shop where Cait bought a cuckoo clock, and there I bought a cute little bowl. It's painted gray and pink with little elephant feet sticking out, and an elephant head peeking over the rim. It's not exactly German, but it was cute and cheap, so it became my first real souvenir of the trip. After a while, we headed back to the bus, where we hit the road once more.
Our final stop was a short one, in Freiburg. After driving around (and getting lost) for a little bit, we finally found the Münster Church, but it was worth it. It was absolutely gorgeous. There was tons of stained glass, which was mostly decorated with biblical scenes and saints, but there were also images of the different guilds. For example, there was a pretzel in one representing a baker, and scissors in another for a tailor. The church was fantastic, but we soon had to get on the bus. The ride back took a good two and a half hours, so we got back around 20:30.
We headed back to the dorms, where we ate dinner. Pretty much everyone else was free to do as they pleased, but Cait and I had other plans. Around 23:00 we headed out with our bodyguard Joey to the Hauptbahnhof, since we had a train to catch at 23:49. We arrived a few minutes early but soon boarded our train, which took us to Karlsruhe, where we arrived at 00:13. We had a brief layover there, but left at 00:54 on a sloooowww train to Paris. Normally an ICE train direct from Mannheim to Paris takes about 3 hours, but this was a CNL, City Night Line, train. I don't think the actual train speed was much slower, but we just took a very roundabout route. We were in a compartment with 4 other people, but fortunately we were against the windows so we could sleep. We pretty much slept all the way to Paris' Gare de l'Est, where we arrived around 6:45. Interestingly, we were not asked for our train ticket or passport ONCE while we were on that very long train.
In any case, we had finally arrived en France! C'était ma première fois. We knew we needed to get to another train station to catch our next train, so I bought our metro tickets (en français) and we grabbed a croissant and some hot chocolate at the train station (it was freezing!). I was a little bit anxious about my French skills, since they've been a little dormant since the end of the school year, and I've been speaking so much German. "Nein," "ja," and "Entschuldigung" have become engrained in my daily speech, so it was difficult to switch! Even when I was ordering my croissant, I was asked a question, and my answer was in fact "nein." I think of the language switch like the trains- "Thank you for traveling with the German train. Please allow the train to come to a complete stop before transfering to the French train." Anyway, I had to get into French mode before I could really be successful. But we navigated the metro easily and got to the Gare Saint-Lazare. From there we boarded a train to Vernon. It got a little hectic on the train- I heard an announcement saying that we had to validate our tickets, so we pretty much traveled the length of the entire train before finding someone in a uniform. And of course they told us that it wasn't actually necessary with our passes. Naturlich. But that was a short ride, and we got to Giverny at 8:50. From there we grabbed a shuttle bus to Giverny, which is about 5 kilometers away. Vernon and Giverny are such pretty little towns! We crossed over the Seine to get to Giverny, and we saw the cutest houses and gardens. It was exactly how you would imagine the French countryside to look. Once we arrived, we took the short walk to the main attraction- Monet's former house and still beautiful gardens, the inspiration of so many of his impressionist paintings, including the famous lily pond and bridge. We got there right around when it was opening, so it was not yet very crowded. I cannot even say how beautiful the gardens were. So many flowers and colors, so much green, beautiful water and lily pads. I have so many pictures, and it was easy to see why he painted there. His house was also interesting. They had a lot of his paintings on display, and he also seemed to be a collector of Japanese woodblock prints, for there many of those as well. I'm pretty sure also that nearly all of the furniture in the house was original. The rooms were very cheerful and colorful, and of course he had an amazing garden view. I loved our time there!
After walking down to see Monet's grave in the local Church, we decided it was time for lunch. Why not meet another one of our food goals? We had seen a sign for a crêperie, so we headed there. We both had the same crêpe- une crêpe framboisine- it had a sort of fresh raspberry fruit jam and fruit, as well as whipped cream. It was delicious, and we decided that any crêpes we ever have again will probably be a disappointment in comparison. It was a good refreshment, and we found out that the French actually drink tap water, since it was brought to our table for free (as it was again later for dinner).
That was about all we had time to do, since we had to catch our train back to Paris, so we took the shuttle bus back at 12:15, and left by train from Vernon at 12:42. We arrived back in Paris at around 1:30, and we had a few hoursl left before our final train back to Mannheim, so we had a little time to take in the city. It was actually very climactic- we decided to go to the Jardins de Tuileries, so we took the metro from the Gare Saint-Lazare. This was our first outside view of Paris, since everything else had been inside metro and train stations! It was underground, so we started going up the stairs, and all I could see was clear blue sky. Then all of a sudden we were in Paris. My first view was of enormous, beautiful old buildings, statues, and supreme fountains. I took it all in, and I immediately fell in love. We spent the next couple hours just exploring, although we did have some minor mishaps- going the wrong way down the street (but we could see all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe!), and trying to find a pay phone to call Erica, whom we were trying to meet later at the train station for our same train back. Apparently pay phones in France do not accept coins, but rather you have to buy a phone card to use them. But everything was all sorted out, and we got to see a bit of the city, which was just spectacular. We also had dinner in Paris. We checked out a nearby café that my travel book had recommended, however, even though it was in the lowest bracket price range, that range is still 30 Euros and under, which is still expensive to me. That particular restaurant was a bit on the high side, but we were able to find something moderately priced just a few cafés down. It was called la Partie de Campagne, everything had little bumblebees on it, it was just adorable. Cait had some kind of open-faced goat cheese sandwich, and I had lasagne, and everything was great. It came with some salad and bread, too. The only unforunately, but unavoidable thing about Paris is the cost- everything is expensive! Any kind of food establishment, other than street vendors, seemed to be at least 12 Euros and up, which is a big change from even Berlin. Mais, c'est la vie, and I just have to accept that que sera sera (Spanish this time) and have a good time.
By the time we had finished dinner, it was time to meet Erica at the train station/gare/bahnhof. We had all reserved seats, and had even ended up in the same car even though we booked at different times. Chancily, the people across from me ended up moving, so Erica and Cait and I were all able to sit around a table on the ICE train back to Mannheim. The fourth one at the table was a German man, but he also spoke French and English. We talked with him a bit on the way back, with him giving us advice about our next weekend's trip back to Paris. It was interesting, because his English was the worst of the three languages, so he would sometimes be able to say the word in French to me, and have me explain it in English to the others. He also peppered his speech with little German expressions, notably "genau" (exactly), saying that with the three languages it's easy to get mixed up, which I understood.
We arrived back in Mannheim safe and sound, and Joey and Giselle were there to meet us. Of course we were all beat, so we went to bed early. Today was another day of class and Interaktive Praxis, for which we went shopping at another supermarket. It was called Kaufland, and it almost seemed like the Super Walmart of Mannheim- there was a wide selection of cheap groceries, as well as some electronics, housewares, and other non-food items. Once we were done with our class time, we did our shopping for ourselves as well, which was very convenient. Tomorrow we're going to see a movie with Wolf and Nina, as well as going to the planetarium for Interactive Praxis.
This was quite a long blog entry, but I had such a great weekend, I needed to share it! This weekend should also be eventful, and of course Paris again this weekend will be another adventure. J'espère que tout le monde s'amuse comme moi!
Aufwiedershreiben!
We had to get up early on Saturday, for it was our pre-planned group trip to the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. We weren't all sure what to expect, but we had heard that we'd be exploring some of the towns in that area. We boarded our small bus at 8:30 in the morning- it was like a charter bus, but a small one with about 20 seats, like something a church or retirement community would have. We traveled for about an hour before arriving in Baden-Baden. It's a small town, but frequently visited by tourists, especially wealthy ones, for it's known for its hot springs, which have now been turned into expensive spas. Dr. Hasty told us that we could also see remains of Roman baths, so that was our mission. However, we roamed around and around, inside buildings, up and down flights of stairs, walking all around the town behind Dr. Hasty, without finding the supposed Badruinen. Finally, after about an hour without success, underneath a spa there were some ruins, behind some glass of course. All we could do was peer into the dark at some ruins a few feet away, ruins that were not really meant to be tourist attractions. But nonetheless it was interesting- we could see some ancient bricks in some kind of raised structure, although it was not complete by any means. I wish we could have gotten closer in some better light conditions. By that time, we couldn't afford any more time looking around, so we had to head back to the bus.
From there, we traveled quite a lot longer in the bus, up and up windy roads into the Black Forest. We ended up in a spot called the Mummelsee, where there's a large lake and an amazing view off a mountain. We took a picture with the Mummelsee "Monster," a very green and seaweeded man with a trident and a great beard. We also ate a lunch of bratwurst, and of course Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cake, for dessert. The cake is mainly chocolate, but with layers of cherry and whipped cream, and a fairly prominent alcohol taste. Eating this cake did satisfy one of our food goals in Europe- some of the others were crêpes in France, waffles in Belgium, and of course Bratwurst in Germany (that one has been met many times already). The cake was delicious, and after a stop in the gift shop (cuckoo clock, anyone?) we needed to head out again.
From there we went to another area called the Titisee. It was a pretty touristy area, with another body of water, and tons of souvenir shops and little food places in a long row. We were still surrounded by the trees of the forest. We were pretty much let loose to wander for about an hour, so we just explored. We went to one souvenir shop where Cait bought a cuckoo clock, and there I bought a cute little bowl. It's painted gray and pink with little elephant feet sticking out, and an elephant head peeking over the rim. It's not exactly German, but it was cute and cheap, so it became my first real souvenir of the trip. After a while, we headed back to the bus, where we hit the road once more.
Our final stop was a short one, in Freiburg. After driving around (and getting lost) for a little bit, we finally found the Münster Church, but it was worth it. It was absolutely gorgeous. There was tons of stained glass, which was mostly decorated with biblical scenes and saints, but there were also images of the different guilds. For example, there was a pretzel in one representing a baker, and scissors in another for a tailor. The church was fantastic, but we soon had to get on the bus. The ride back took a good two and a half hours, so we got back around 20:30.
We headed back to the dorms, where we ate dinner. Pretty much everyone else was free to do as they pleased, but Cait and I had other plans. Around 23:00 we headed out with our bodyguard Joey to the Hauptbahnhof, since we had a train to catch at 23:49. We arrived a few minutes early but soon boarded our train, which took us to Karlsruhe, where we arrived at 00:13. We had a brief layover there, but left at 00:54 on a sloooowww train to Paris. Normally an ICE train direct from Mannheim to Paris takes about 3 hours, but this was a CNL, City Night Line, train. I don't think the actual train speed was much slower, but we just took a very roundabout route. We were in a compartment with 4 other people, but fortunately we were against the windows so we could sleep. We pretty much slept all the way to Paris' Gare de l'Est, where we arrived around 6:45. Interestingly, we were not asked for our train ticket or passport ONCE while we were on that very long train.
In any case, we had finally arrived en France! C'était ma première fois. We knew we needed to get to another train station to catch our next train, so I bought our metro tickets (en français) and we grabbed a croissant and some hot chocolate at the train station (it was freezing!). I was a little bit anxious about my French skills, since they've been a little dormant since the end of the school year, and I've been speaking so much German. "Nein," "ja," and "Entschuldigung" have become engrained in my daily speech, so it was difficult to switch! Even when I was ordering my croissant, I was asked a question, and my answer was in fact "nein." I think of the language switch like the trains- "Thank you for traveling with the German train. Please allow the train to come to a complete stop before transfering to the French train." Anyway, I had to get into French mode before I could really be successful. But we navigated the metro easily and got to the Gare Saint-Lazare. From there we boarded a train to Vernon. It got a little hectic on the train- I heard an announcement saying that we had to validate our tickets, so we pretty much traveled the length of the entire train before finding someone in a uniform. And of course they told us that it wasn't actually necessary with our passes. Naturlich. But that was a short ride, and we got to Giverny at 8:50. From there we grabbed a shuttle bus to Giverny, which is about 5 kilometers away. Vernon and Giverny are such pretty little towns! We crossed over the Seine to get to Giverny, and we saw the cutest houses and gardens. It was exactly how you would imagine the French countryside to look. Once we arrived, we took the short walk to the main attraction- Monet's former house and still beautiful gardens, the inspiration of so many of his impressionist paintings, including the famous lily pond and bridge. We got there right around when it was opening, so it was not yet very crowded. I cannot even say how beautiful the gardens were. So many flowers and colors, so much green, beautiful water and lily pads. I have so many pictures, and it was easy to see why he painted there. His house was also interesting. They had a lot of his paintings on display, and he also seemed to be a collector of Japanese woodblock prints, for there many of those as well. I'm pretty sure also that nearly all of the furniture in the house was original. The rooms were very cheerful and colorful, and of course he had an amazing garden view. I loved our time there!
After walking down to see Monet's grave in the local Church, we decided it was time for lunch. Why not meet another one of our food goals? We had seen a sign for a crêperie, so we headed there. We both had the same crêpe- une crêpe framboisine- it had a sort of fresh raspberry fruit jam and fruit, as well as whipped cream. It was delicious, and we decided that any crêpes we ever have again will probably be a disappointment in comparison. It was a good refreshment, and we found out that the French actually drink tap water, since it was brought to our table for free (as it was again later for dinner).
That was about all we had time to do, since we had to catch our train back to Paris, so we took the shuttle bus back at 12:15, and left by train from Vernon at 12:42. We arrived back in Paris at around 1:30, and we had a few hoursl left before our final train back to Mannheim, so we had a little time to take in the city. It was actually very climactic- we decided to go to the Jardins de Tuileries, so we took the metro from the Gare Saint-Lazare. This was our first outside view of Paris, since everything else had been inside metro and train stations! It was underground, so we started going up the stairs, and all I could see was clear blue sky. Then all of a sudden we were in Paris. My first view was of enormous, beautiful old buildings, statues, and supreme fountains. I took it all in, and I immediately fell in love. We spent the next couple hours just exploring, although we did have some minor mishaps- going the wrong way down the street (but we could see all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe!), and trying to find a pay phone to call Erica, whom we were trying to meet later at the train station for our same train back. Apparently pay phones in France do not accept coins, but rather you have to buy a phone card to use them. But everything was all sorted out, and we got to see a bit of the city, which was just spectacular. We also had dinner in Paris. We checked out a nearby café that my travel book had recommended, however, even though it was in the lowest bracket price range, that range is still 30 Euros and under, which is still expensive to me. That particular restaurant was a bit on the high side, but we were able to find something moderately priced just a few cafés down. It was called la Partie de Campagne, everything had little bumblebees on it, it was just adorable. Cait had some kind of open-faced goat cheese sandwich, and I had lasagne, and everything was great. It came with some salad and bread, too. The only unforunately, but unavoidable thing about Paris is the cost- everything is expensive! Any kind of food establishment, other than street vendors, seemed to be at least 12 Euros and up, which is a big change from even Berlin. Mais, c'est la vie, and I just have to accept that que sera sera (Spanish this time) and have a good time.
By the time we had finished dinner, it was time to meet Erica at the train station/gare/bahnhof. We had all reserved seats, and had even ended up in the same car even though we booked at different times. Chancily, the people across from me ended up moving, so Erica and Cait and I were all able to sit around a table on the ICE train back to Mannheim. The fourth one at the table was a German man, but he also spoke French and English. We talked with him a bit on the way back, with him giving us advice about our next weekend's trip back to Paris. It was interesting, because his English was the worst of the three languages, so he would sometimes be able to say the word in French to me, and have me explain it in English to the others. He also peppered his speech with little German expressions, notably "genau" (exactly), saying that with the three languages it's easy to get mixed up, which I understood.
We arrived back in Mannheim safe and sound, and Joey and Giselle were there to meet us. Of course we were all beat, so we went to bed early. Today was another day of class and Interaktive Praxis, for which we went shopping at another supermarket. It was called Kaufland, and it almost seemed like the Super Walmart of Mannheim- there was a wide selection of cheap groceries, as well as some electronics, housewares, and other non-food items. Once we were done with our class time, we did our shopping for ourselves as well, which was very convenient. Tomorrow we're going to see a movie with Wolf and Nina, as well as going to the planetarium for Interactive Praxis.
This was quite a long blog entry, but I had such a great weekend, I needed to share it! This weekend should also be eventful, and of course Paris again this weekend will be another adventure. J'espère que tout le monde s'amuse comme moi!
Aufwiedershreiben!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
2 Tage
Another two days have gone by here in Mannheim. I can't believe our second week of classes is almost over! Yesterday after class and interaktiv praxis, we had a schnitzel party with Wolf and Nina. They brought over the food, which included Kartoffelsalat and Schnitzel (and inadvertently some cordon bleu-style schnitzel), and then we cooked it in our kitchen. If you're not quite sure what schnitzel is, it's essentially a breaded piece of meat (usually pork or veal), that is then cooked/fried until it's golden brown and slightly crispy. It is also the custom to squirt it with some lemon juice for extra flavor. The kartoffelsalat (potato salad) was also good, and different from that of the States; it was not heavily mayonnaise-based, and the flavors and spices were a little different. I found it tastier than any American potato salad I've tried. We also attempted to go into town for some Kuchen (cake) after dinner, but alas, most things were closed, as it was after 8.
Today we had our normal class in the morning, aber kein Interaktiv Praxis, as we had a surprise treat from Susanne Hill, our program's liaison in the UF International Center. She is now in Mannheim, and she planned for us a visit to Scheffel's Brauhaus (brewery) in Heidelberg. We met as a group in front of the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Ghost Church), and then walked a few minutes to the brewery, which also has a hotel and restaurant. We were greeted by a man who gave us a private tour of how the beer is made (auf Deutsch und ein bisschen Englisch), and showed us around the facilities. The beer that they make is not sold in stores, rather only in the restaurant above. I must say I learned more than I ever knew about beer, but that's not saying much. He talked quite a bit about a Reinheitsgebot, or Purity Law, that is a standard for brewery's across Germany, and has been in effect for about 500 years. It essentially states what is and is not allowed in the content of German beer- originally only water, barley, and hops. It has had to be adjusted, though, for in the original law no mention was made of yeast- microorganisms were not a big concern back in that age! In the final part of the tour we were given samples of the three main types of beer that they make. The first was the lightest in color, and was a pilsner type of beer called Kräusen. The second was darker, apparently because there is caramel retained in the grain, and so it was sweeter- that was called Weizen. The final one was amber-colored, and was supposed to "smell like a fruit and taste like a spice." I suppose it did, and it was my preferred one out of the three, but even so I could only really stand the taste for a few sips before giving up the rest of my glass to anyone who wanted it. Susanne Hill, who accompanied us on the trip, told us that that type is her favorite, and in the States it costs over 5 dollars a bottle. We were also given pretzels to eat with our beer, and that came with another explanation. The alleged "beer belly" that allegedly comes from drinking too much beer, according to our tour guide, really comes from all the food people are inclined to eat along with it. After the tour, we were escorted outside for a Deutsches, großes Essen. All courtesy of the International Center, we ate crispy suckling-pig, roast knuckle of veal, grilled breast of guinea-fowl, fried potatoes, Spätzle (a kind of egg-y noodle dish), and vegetable. Dr. Hill explained that this restaurant was one of the most expensive in Heidelberg, and that is precisely why she chose it. However, although she disagreed in the name of culture (Dr. Hill is from Mannheim and studied in Heidelberg), the International Center is not willing to purchase alcohol for students, so anyone wishing to drink it had to buy it on their own. I took the opportunity to have a kostenlos soda, since I wasn't a fan of beer anyway. Our food was delicious, and we even had placements especially printed for our party- they listed all the food and drink we had, and had "Intensive Intermediate German in Heidelberg" printed grandly across the top. All in all, it was a very nice excursion, especially because it was just an added bonus free-of-charge, out of the thoughtfulness of Susanne Hill and the International Center. It was definitely something I would not have gotten to do otherwise!
After the brewery, my friends and I walked back to Bismarkplatz, took the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof, and then took a train back to Mannheim, where we took the bus back to our dorm. Having all that public transportation is so nice! It is so convenient to go pretty much anywhere, and it is cleaner and nicer than you could ever imagine.
Tomorrow is our final day of class for the week. The class is going well. I am not yet learning much new grammar, but I am becoming more fluid in my speech, and I have been picking up a lot of new vocabulary. There's a lot to learn just by being out in the city as well, negotiating with salespeople and listening to people on the street. I find that my worst area is actually listening comprehension, and that I need to remedy. I have the CDs from our textbook that I can practice listening to, but I find that a lot of words slip past me without me recognizing them. I am in the perfect environment to improve though, so I just have to work on it.
Ich freue mich auf dieses Wochenende!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Today we had our normal class in the morning, aber kein Interaktiv Praxis, as we had a surprise treat from Susanne Hill, our program's liaison in the UF International Center. She is now in Mannheim, and she planned for us a visit to Scheffel's Brauhaus (brewery) in Heidelberg. We met as a group in front of the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Ghost Church), and then walked a few minutes to the brewery, which also has a hotel and restaurant. We were greeted by a man who gave us a private tour of how the beer is made (auf Deutsch und ein bisschen Englisch), and showed us around the facilities. The beer that they make is not sold in stores, rather only in the restaurant above. I must say I learned more than I ever knew about beer, but that's not saying much. He talked quite a bit about a Reinheitsgebot, or Purity Law, that is a standard for brewery's across Germany, and has been in effect for about 500 years. It essentially states what is and is not allowed in the content of German beer- originally only water, barley, and hops. It has had to be adjusted, though, for in the original law no mention was made of yeast- microorganisms were not a big concern back in that age! In the final part of the tour we were given samples of the three main types of beer that they make. The first was the lightest in color, and was a pilsner type of beer called Kräusen. The second was darker, apparently because there is caramel retained in the grain, and so it was sweeter- that was called Weizen. The final one was amber-colored, and was supposed to "smell like a fruit and taste like a spice." I suppose it did, and it was my preferred one out of the three, but even so I could only really stand the taste for a few sips before giving up the rest of my glass to anyone who wanted it. Susanne Hill, who accompanied us on the trip, told us that that type is her favorite, and in the States it costs over 5 dollars a bottle. We were also given pretzels to eat with our beer, and that came with another explanation. The alleged "beer belly" that allegedly comes from drinking too much beer, according to our tour guide, really comes from all the food people are inclined to eat along with it. After the tour, we were escorted outside for a Deutsches, großes Essen. All courtesy of the International Center, we ate crispy suckling-pig, roast knuckle of veal, grilled breast of guinea-fowl, fried potatoes, Spätzle (a kind of egg-y noodle dish), and vegetable. Dr. Hill explained that this restaurant was one of the most expensive in Heidelberg, and that is precisely why she chose it. However, although she disagreed in the name of culture (Dr. Hill is from Mannheim and studied in Heidelberg), the International Center is not willing to purchase alcohol for students, so anyone wishing to drink it had to buy it on their own. I took the opportunity to have a kostenlos soda, since I wasn't a fan of beer anyway. Our food was delicious, and we even had placements especially printed for our party- they listed all the food and drink we had, and had "Intensive Intermediate German in Heidelberg" printed grandly across the top. All in all, it was a very nice excursion, especially because it was just an added bonus free-of-charge, out of the thoughtfulness of Susanne Hill and the International Center. It was definitely something I would not have gotten to do otherwise!
After the brewery, my friends and I walked back to Bismarkplatz, took the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof, and then took a train back to Mannheim, where we took the bus back to our dorm. Having all that public transportation is so nice! It is so convenient to go pretty much anywhere, and it is cleaner and nicer than you could ever imagine.
Tomorrow is our final day of class for the week. The class is going well. I am not yet learning much new grammar, but I am becoming more fluid in my speech, and I have been picking up a lot of new vocabulary. There's a lot to learn just by being out in the city as well, negotiating with salespeople and listening to people on the street. I find that my worst area is actually listening comprehension, and that I need to remedy. I have the CDs from our textbook that I can practice listening to, but I find that a lot of words slip past me without me recognizing them. I am in the perfect environment to improve though, so I just have to work on it.
Ich freue mich auf dieses Wochenende!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Woche 2
This weeks marks the beginning of week 2. We have had two interesting days so far. On Monday during class, we found out that we were going to the Luisenpark, a gorgeous garden and park, for Interactiv Praxis. We were all going to meet at the Hauptbahnhof at 13:30 and then take the Strassenbahn from there. After getting out of class at 12, we headed to the EO for lunch (much tastier than the Mensa). We ate, but then Joey, Cait, and I realized that we didn't have money for the entrace to the Luisenpark, so we briskly headed back to the Studentenwohnheim. We were pressed for time, but we thought we could make it or be just slightly late. We got to our dorms at 13:09, and we saw our classmate Sam out front, waiting for the bus to the Hauptbahnhof. The bus would be there in just a minute, so we were out of luck in catching it. Joey told Sam to say that we would just meet everyone at the Luisenpark instead, since we would be late. We went inside, grabbed our money, and then headed off. The S-Bahns took a while, and we finally made it to the Luisenpark around 13:50. We figured we were only a few minutes behind of everyone else, so we headed inside. We saw no one, but we decided to walk and learn a few things, like a few flower names. Our Interactiv Praxis usually involves everyone meeting up close to the end of the time, so we headed back up to the entrance a bit before 15:00, waiting for the presumed meetup. We waited. And waited. And waited. And no one ever came. Having no idea what could have happened, we left. We finally found out that our message had not gotten through, the group had waited for us for 45 minutes at the Hauptbahnhof, and then not having enough time to have a decent trip to the gardens, had done a different activity. Le sigh. But all was ok, for we sent an email to Frau Hamann explaining the mixup, even sharing what we had learned at the Luisenpark, and she was not upset.
Today during our lunch break we went to the Marktplatz, where they have fruit and flower vendors set up every Tuesday and Thursday. Joey and I bought some delicious cherries for much cheaper than in the US. They were a nice lunch supplement, since we are starting to bring homemade sandwiches to eat instead of eating at the EO. From there we went to the Luisenpark for real this time, with the whole group for Interactiv Praxis. Even though we had to pay again, it was worth it because of how beautiful it was. They had the greenest grass you've ever seen; plenty of fountains and little streams; vibrant, colorful flowers; and some animals to see, too (even flamingos!).
We cooked some wurst for dinner, and tomorrow we're making our own Schnitzel with our interaction leaders. Saturday is the Black Forest, and then on Sunday, Cait and I are making a trip to Stuttgart.
Aufwiederschreiben!
Unser E-mail:
Frau Hamann,
Es tut uns leid, dass wir heute für Interactiv Praxis Sie verpasst haben. Wir hatten kein Geld, deswegen sind wir zum Studentenwohnheim gegangen. Dort haben wir uns Sam getroffen, weil er auf den Bus warten musste. Joey hat ihm gesagt, dass wir am Luisenpark gehen würden, weil wir wüssten, dass wir zu spät am Bahnhof werden. Danach haben wir unser Geld gefunden, aber wir waren zu spät für den Bus. Wir sind mit der S-Bahn zum Luisenpark gegangen, und wir haben niemand gesehen. Cait hat der Verkäuferin gefragt, ob sie eine Gruppe von Amerikanischen Studenten gesehen hat. Dann haben wir in Luisenpark um 13:50 eingeben, und wir haben die Gruppe gesucht. Wir haben im Park gewandert, um jemand zu finden. Wir haben die Blume, Bäume, und die Tiere besichtigt- und wir haben die Namen von viele gelernt, zum Beispiel: Studentenblume, Bergahorn Baum, Smucklilie, Peruanischer Pfefferbaum, Vanilleblume, und Tasmanischer Kerzenbusch. Danach haben wir am Ausgang auf die Gruppe um 14:45 gewartet. Wir haben für 50 Minuten gewartet, aber niemand ist gekommen.
Anshließend hat Chris uns gesagt, was Sie gemacht haben. Wir wollten Ihnen erklären, was passiert ist, und wir wollten uns Sie entshuldigen. Wir haben auch einige Fotos gemacht, und Sie können sie sehen.
Grüße,
Jenna, Joey, und Cait
Today during our lunch break we went to the Marktplatz, where they have fruit and flower vendors set up every Tuesday and Thursday. Joey and I bought some delicious cherries for much cheaper than in the US. They were a nice lunch supplement, since we are starting to bring homemade sandwiches to eat instead of eating at the EO. From there we went to the Luisenpark for real this time, with the whole group for Interactiv Praxis. Even though we had to pay again, it was worth it because of how beautiful it was. They had the greenest grass you've ever seen; plenty of fountains and little streams; vibrant, colorful flowers; and some animals to see, too (even flamingos!).
We cooked some wurst for dinner, and tomorrow we're making our own Schnitzel with our interaction leaders. Saturday is the Black Forest, and then on Sunday, Cait and I are making a trip to Stuttgart.
Aufwiederschreiben!
Unser E-mail:
Frau Hamann,
Es tut uns leid, dass wir heute für Interactiv Praxis Sie verpasst haben. Wir hatten kein Geld, deswegen sind wir zum Studentenwohnheim gegangen. Dort haben wir uns Sam getroffen, weil er auf den Bus warten musste. Joey hat ihm gesagt, dass wir am Luisenpark gehen würden, weil wir wüssten, dass wir zu spät am Bahnhof werden. Danach haben wir unser Geld gefunden, aber wir waren zu spät für den Bus. Wir sind mit der S-Bahn zum Luisenpark gegangen, und wir haben niemand gesehen. Cait hat der Verkäuferin gefragt, ob sie eine Gruppe von Amerikanischen Studenten gesehen hat. Dann haben wir in Luisenpark um 13:50 eingeben, und wir haben die Gruppe gesucht. Wir haben im Park gewandert, um jemand zu finden. Wir haben die Blume, Bäume, und die Tiere besichtigt- und wir haben die Namen von viele gelernt, zum Beispiel: Studentenblume, Bergahorn Baum, Smucklilie, Peruanischer Pfefferbaum, Vanilleblume, und Tasmanischer Kerzenbusch. Danach haben wir am Ausgang auf die Gruppe um 14:45 gewartet. Wir haben für 50 Minuten gewartet, aber niemand ist gekommen.
Anshließend hat Chris uns gesagt, was Sie gemacht haben. Wir wollten Ihnen erklären, was passiert ist, und wir wollten uns Sie entshuldigen. Wir haben auch einige Fotos gemacht, und Sie können sie sehen.
Grüße,
Jenna, Joey, und Cait
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wochendende in Berlin
I am now back from our first weekend excursion-- we went to Berlin!
On Friday we have no interactive practice, so we are done with everything in Mannheim at noon. We were able to catch the 12:03 S-Bahn from the Schloß to the Hauptbahnhof, where we grabbed a quick lunch before our train leaving at about 12:30. We had reserved seats, so the five of us were in a nice compartment for the 5-hour trip to Berlin.
We amused ourselves on the train and finally found ourselves at the Berlin Hauptbahhof, a very big place. Our first order of business was to find our way to our youth hostel, the Amadeus Hostel. We bought our city transportation tickets first- we were able to get a group pass (for up to 5 people) for about 3.90 Euros a day per person. It is a bit interesting- it's almost like an honor system, because they don't actually check tickets when you get onto an S- or U-Bahn. Apparently tickets are checked ever so often, so you never know, but neither so far in Mannheim nor in Berlin were we ever checked. In any case, we navigated our way to Voltastrasse, and our hostel was right across the street.
I had never been to a hostel before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it was a bit dungeon or Alice in Wonderland-esque. After checking in and paying for both nights, we went to the room- we had to enter a code on a door (shh, don't tell anyone, but it was 654321) and go through about 5 different interior hallways (and smells) before we found our room. Although we had thought we were in a 14-room dorm, as we had booked, there were only 6 beds, none of them taken. The beds were simple wooden plank 2x4 beds, but the bedding was very clean. We claimed our beds with a couple non-essential items like flipflops or toothpaste, and then took all of our necessities and valuables along, leaving the rest, like clothes and toiletries, behind in our backpacks under our beds (our room didn't lock).
Joey was staying in a different hostel, so we headed with up to his, in a different part of the city, but not too far away. We asked someone there for a suggestion on where to eat, for it was around dinnertime. She suggested a little Italian place a couple streets down, and we set out. I must say it was one of our best overall restaurant experiences so far in Germany, but also one of the least expensive! The menu outside listed plates of spaghetti and other dishes for about 3 Euros, so we headed in. It was not busy, and our waitress was very nice as we explained that we were students in Mannheim and learning German. We all ordered spaghetti or something similar, along with soda for the most part (one of the things I will appreciate the most when we get back). Our first surprise was kostenlos (free) bruschetta, which was delicious, and very unheard of for free. When our meals came (and they were very good also), we also got an unexpected basket of bread. Finally, when we were all done, she took a picture of us and then asked whether we would like Schnapps on the house (auf der Haus?... I don't quite remember the phrase), so we all got a tiny glass of amaretto to drink. We really appreciated how kind our waitress was to us, and it was a great first impression of Berlin.
After dinner, we went and explored the Alexanderplatz, which is just a big block in Berlin with various shops and restaurants and things to see. It was fun to go at night, and we saw the Rathaus, which is like a town hall of Berlin. At that point, it was getting late, so we went back to our hostel and Joey went to his.
We met up the next morning with a full agenda. Joey brought us pastries from a bakery by his hostel for breakfast, and then we headed to the Reichstag, the German parliament building. On the way we saw the Brandenburger Tor, a huge gate that stands nearby. There was already a line to get into the Reichstag, so we had to wait a little bit, but then we were immediately taken up. The top of the building is like a big class dome, so there were some great views. An elevator takes you to the base of the dome, but from there you can walk up a spiral ramp to the very top. You could see a lot of Berlin, and we got some great pictures.
After that, we visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal). It was a large array of stone rectangular prism slabs of varying heights. They started off small, but then they grew taller as you went further into the monument. Fortunately the paths were straight, so you couldn't get lost, but it really felt like a corn field or something similar, since you can't see above anything in the higher sections. There are over 2000 slabs, so the size is very significant.
Then we headed over to Potsdamer Platz, one of the biggest public squares in Berlin. We explored there for a while, seeing the shops, buildings, the Theater am Potsdamer Platz, the Spielbank (casino), and other little areas in the vicinity. We went into the Arkaden, which was pretty similar to a mall, and had lunch there.
It was then on to Kaiser Wilhelm's Gedächtnis Kirche. The original church was built in the late 1800's, but it was mostly destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943. What remained was turned into the memorial (and still-used church) today. It was probably my favorite site in Berlin- the building is just so visually stimulating- it stands out completely from the new architechture surrounding it, and you can just see how it looks charred and very jagged and damaged. The reconstructed inside was also very interesting and beautiful.
Our next trip was to the Berlin Wall. We didn't go to Checkpoint Charlie, but we went to a section called the East Side Gallery, where there is art painted onto the wall for a stretch of over a kilometer. It was very interesting- and it's hard to imagine that the wall was destroyed only in my lifetime.
Our final event of the day was meeting up with a Berliner friend of mine, Svenja, who was an exchange student at my high school. We met in the Alexander Platz, which is apparently an expensive area, but we were able to find reasonably-priced German-style food. She mentioned that she had recently found Mac and Cheese at a grocery store, which she had never seen before in Germany. We went to the store nearby to check it out- it was the Galeria Kaufhof, which is a very nice department store that also has a wide selection of food (waaay more than the average Germany supermarket). Interestingly, we headed over to the "Internationale Spezialitäten." Then we saw a little American flag. Oh! Our food! Let's see what we eat on a regular basis. Among the selection: 10 different kinds of barbecue sauce, Cheese "Zip" (Whiz?), Peanut Butter brand Peanut Butter, Mac n' Cheese mix, 4 kinds of Swiss Miss, Regular and Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff, Hamburger Relish (?), Poptarts (6 Euros a box!), and Crisco. USA! That was definitely the funniest thing we saw in Berlin.
Finally we headed back to the hostel. To our unfortunate surprise, our room without a key had been locked, with us on the outside. We had no idea whether there were new roomies in there for the night. We knocked and pulled and twisted to no avail. We knocked on a door nearby and fortunately some English speakers emerged (they were British), and gave us the number of the hostel to call. Even though reception was closed, fortunately there was someone down there who was able to let us in. Our stuff was still in there safe, and we also had no roomates again for the second night, so the obstacle was (fairly) easily overcome.
After a restful night, we spent our final morning in the Pergamonmuseum. Although I'm not a huge museum person, the exhibits were interesting. Some of the notable ones: the huge Pergamon altar, the Ishtar Gate, and an extensive exhibit on Babylon, the myth and the truth. Most of the pieces were reconstructions, such a statue of Athena, but they were still very fascinating to see. We spent several hours at the museum and then headed to the Hauptbahnhof, where we ate lunch before our train.
We got back to Mannheim at around 7:30 pm. We definitely had a successful trip to Berlin, although there are still many things I wished I could have seen. Next time!
On Friday we have no interactive practice, so we are done with everything in Mannheim at noon. We were able to catch the 12:03 S-Bahn from the Schloß to the Hauptbahnhof, where we grabbed a quick lunch before our train leaving at about 12:30. We had reserved seats, so the five of us were in a nice compartment for the 5-hour trip to Berlin.
We amused ourselves on the train and finally found ourselves at the Berlin Hauptbahhof, a very big place. Our first order of business was to find our way to our youth hostel, the Amadeus Hostel. We bought our city transportation tickets first- we were able to get a group pass (for up to 5 people) for about 3.90 Euros a day per person. It is a bit interesting- it's almost like an honor system, because they don't actually check tickets when you get onto an S- or U-Bahn. Apparently tickets are checked ever so often, so you never know, but neither so far in Mannheim nor in Berlin were we ever checked. In any case, we navigated our way to Voltastrasse, and our hostel was right across the street.
I had never been to a hostel before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it was a bit dungeon or Alice in Wonderland-esque. After checking in and paying for both nights, we went to the room- we had to enter a code on a door (shh, don't tell anyone, but it was 654321) and go through about 5 different interior hallways (and smells) before we found our room. Although we had thought we were in a 14-room dorm, as we had booked, there were only 6 beds, none of them taken. The beds were simple wooden plank 2x4 beds, but the bedding was very clean. We claimed our beds with a couple non-essential items like flipflops or toothpaste, and then took all of our necessities and valuables along, leaving the rest, like clothes and toiletries, behind in our backpacks under our beds (our room didn't lock).
Joey was staying in a different hostel, so we headed with up to his, in a different part of the city, but not too far away. We asked someone there for a suggestion on where to eat, for it was around dinnertime. She suggested a little Italian place a couple streets down, and we set out. I must say it was one of our best overall restaurant experiences so far in Germany, but also one of the least expensive! The menu outside listed plates of spaghetti and other dishes for about 3 Euros, so we headed in. It was not busy, and our waitress was very nice as we explained that we were students in Mannheim and learning German. We all ordered spaghetti or something similar, along with soda for the most part (one of the things I will appreciate the most when we get back). Our first surprise was kostenlos (free) bruschetta, which was delicious, and very unheard of for free. When our meals came (and they were very good also), we also got an unexpected basket of bread. Finally, when we were all done, she took a picture of us and then asked whether we would like Schnapps on the house (auf der Haus?... I don't quite remember the phrase), so we all got a tiny glass of amaretto to drink. We really appreciated how kind our waitress was to us, and it was a great first impression of Berlin.
After dinner, we went and explored the Alexanderplatz, which is just a big block in Berlin with various shops and restaurants and things to see. It was fun to go at night, and we saw the Rathaus, which is like a town hall of Berlin. At that point, it was getting late, so we went back to our hostel and Joey went to his.
We met up the next morning with a full agenda. Joey brought us pastries from a bakery by his hostel for breakfast, and then we headed to the Reichstag, the German parliament building. On the way we saw the Brandenburger Tor, a huge gate that stands nearby. There was already a line to get into the Reichstag, so we had to wait a little bit, but then we were immediately taken up. The top of the building is like a big class dome, so there were some great views. An elevator takes you to the base of the dome, but from there you can walk up a spiral ramp to the very top. You could see a lot of Berlin, and we got some great pictures.
After that, we visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal). It was a large array of stone rectangular prism slabs of varying heights. They started off small, but then they grew taller as you went further into the monument. Fortunately the paths were straight, so you couldn't get lost, but it really felt like a corn field or something similar, since you can't see above anything in the higher sections. There are over 2000 slabs, so the size is very significant.
Then we headed over to Potsdamer Platz, one of the biggest public squares in Berlin. We explored there for a while, seeing the shops, buildings, the Theater am Potsdamer Platz, the Spielbank (casino), and other little areas in the vicinity. We went into the Arkaden, which was pretty similar to a mall, and had lunch there.
It was then on to Kaiser Wilhelm's Gedächtnis Kirche. The original church was built in the late 1800's, but it was mostly destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943. What remained was turned into the memorial (and still-used church) today. It was probably my favorite site in Berlin- the building is just so visually stimulating- it stands out completely from the new architechture surrounding it, and you can just see how it looks charred and very jagged and damaged. The reconstructed inside was also very interesting and beautiful.
Our next trip was to the Berlin Wall. We didn't go to Checkpoint Charlie, but we went to a section called the East Side Gallery, where there is art painted onto the wall for a stretch of over a kilometer. It was very interesting- and it's hard to imagine that the wall was destroyed only in my lifetime.
Our final event of the day was meeting up with a Berliner friend of mine, Svenja, who was an exchange student at my high school. We met in the Alexander Platz, which is apparently an expensive area, but we were able to find reasonably-priced German-style food. She mentioned that she had recently found Mac and Cheese at a grocery store, which she had never seen before in Germany. We went to the store nearby to check it out- it was the Galeria Kaufhof, which is a very nice department store that also has a wide selection of food (waaay more than the average Germany supermarket). Interestingly, we headed over to the "Internationale Spezialitäten." Then we saw a little American flag. Oh! Our food! Let's see what we eat on a regular basis. Among the selection: 10 different kinds of barbecue sauce, Cheese "Zip" (Whiz?), Peanut Butter brand Peanut Butter, Mac n' Cheese mix, 4 kinds of Swiss Miss, Regular and Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff, Hamburger Relish (?), Poptarts (6 Euros a box!), and Crisco. USA! That was definitely the funniest thing we saw in Berlin.
Finally we headed back to the hostel. To our unfortunate surprise, our room without a key had been locked, with us on the outside. We had no idea whether there were new roomies in there for the night. We knocked and pulled and twisted to no avail. We knocked on a door nearby and fortunately some English speakers emerged (they were British), and gave us the number of the hostel to call. Even though reception was closed, fortunately there was someone down there who was able to let us in. Our stuff was still in there safe, and we also had no roomates again for the second night, so the obstacle was (fairly) easily overcome.
After a restful night, we spent our final morning in the Pergamonmuseum. Although I'm not a huge museum person, the exhibits were interesting. Some of the notable ones: the huge Pergamon altar, the Ishtar Gate, and an extensive exhibit on Babylon, the myth and the truth. Most of the pieces were reconstructions, such a statue of Athena, but they were still very fascinating to see. We spent several hours at the museum and then headed to the Hauptbahnhof, where we ate lunch before our train.
We got back to Mannheim at around 7:30 pm. We definitely had a successful trip to Berlin, although there are still many things I wished I could have seen. Next time!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
End of Woche 1
Sorry I haven't blogged for a couple days, I've just been very busy!
I feel that our class time has gotten better every day. It seems like our teacher is more comfortable with us, and we have more interesting and engaging things to do and talk about in class. It is still a long class session, at 3 hours, but it is certainly manageable.
Tuesday for interactive practice it was raining, so we met at the Schloß (castle) in Mannheim, and we went around. It's actually part of the university, so there are several libraries there, and many many many rooms. It is quite easy to get lost inside it! We also saw the attached Kirche (church) and the Antikensaal-Galerie, which houses 20 (more on how I know the exact number later) copies of famous statues.
The more fun part of Tuesday was playing Monopoly with Wolf and Nina, our interaction leaders. The game was in Deutsch Marks, so it was a bit hard to gauge how much everything was actually worth- you got 4000 Marks just for passing "Los"! We were able to practice our German, and our interaction leaders are really cool.
On Wednesday after class, we had a scavenger hunt for interactive practice. We had to go all around the city finding answers to various questions, like what the Mensa was serving that day, how many fountains there are in the Paradeplatz, or how many statues there are in the Antikensaal-Galerie (20!). A few of the questions required talking to random people around Mannheim, so those were the most challenging. Did you know that Mannheim has an Eishockey team called the Mannheimer Adler?
Today our interactive practice involved going to stores in Mannheim on certain missions. We had to hijack an employee and ask things like whether the clothes came in another color, size, etc, whether we could try them on, and whether the color looked good on us! Fortunately we were able to find someone around our age to whom we explained our project, and she very nicely helped us. For the next part we had to go to a different store and ask a Verkäuferin (sales woman) what the words auf Deutsch were for items we didn't know the name of. We found some women's capris (Kurze Hose), boxer shorts (Ünterhosen), and suspenders (Hosenträger).
I find that talking to people in shops and other places has become easier, and we have also become more polite. Our new go-to phrase is now "Können Sie mir bitte sagen..." which means, "Could you please tell me..." It comes in handy for asking for directions, especially. We have also started eating lunch in the EO, which is a student café in the Schloß. You actually pay by the weight of the food, so you really only take what you know you'll eat. I still have to get used to paying for ketchup, though. The food there is really good, and it changes daily. I have been bringing my own water bottle to save money on drinks, for as in the words of another student, soda is like "black gold" here.
It feels like I have been here already for quite a while, and now we can get around the city easily by walking and taking buses and S-Bahns. I have done more walking here than I have ever before, and it's nice that everything is so accessible. Our Studentenwohnheim is in a little bit sketchy part of town, though, so we're sure to travel in groups wherever we go. Our dorm has been good overall, although there is a slew of minor things we've laughed about. We actually wrote out a list of our so-called "grievances," which are actually quite amusing, in a pretend letter to our "Lieber Hausmeister." I believe we came to 33 in all, and perhaps I will post it. But not to worry, everyone at home, because we're all safe and doing fine.
Tomorrow is our first weekend trip, and we're headed straight from school to Berlin! We have 5 people in all- the four girls plus Joey, who is part of our group. I won't have my computer then, but I'll let you know how it goes!
Tschüss!
I feel that our class time has gotten better every day. It seems like our teacher is more comfortable with us, and we have more interesting and engaging things to do and talk about in class. It is still a long class session, at 3 hours, but it is certainly manageable.
Tuesday for interactive practice it was raining, so we met at the Schloß (castle) in Mannheim, and we went around. It's actually part of the university, so there are several libraries there, and many many many rooms. It is quite easy to get lost inside it! We also saw the attached Kirche (church) and the Antikensaal-Galerie, which houses 20 (more on how I know the exact number later) copies of famous statues.
The more fun part of Tuesday was playing Monopoly with Wolf and Nina, our interaction leaders. The game was in Deutsch Marks, so it was a bit hard to gauge how much everything was actually worth- you got 4000 Marks just for passing "Los"! We were able to practice our German, and our interaction leaders are really cool.
On Wednesday after class, we had a scavenger hunt for interactive practice. We had to go all around the city finding answers to various questions, like what the Mensa was serving that day, how many fountains there are in the Paradeplatz, or how many statues there are in the Antikensaal-Galerie (20!). A few of the questions required talking to random people around Mannheim, so those were the most challenging. Did you know that Mannheim has an Eishockey team called the Mannheimer Adler?
Today our interactive practice involved going to stores in Mannheim on certain missions. We had to hijack an employee and ask things like whether the clothes came in another color, size, etc, whether we could try them on, and whether the color looked good on us! Fortunately we were able to find someone around our age to whom we explained our project, and she very nicely helped us. For the next part we had to go to a different store and ask a Verkäuferin (sales woman) what the words auf Deutsch were for items we didn't know the name of. We found some women's capris (Kurze Hose), boxer shorts (Ünterhosen), and suspenders (Hosenträger).
I find that talking to people in shops and other places has become easier, and we have also become more polite. Our new go-to phrase is now "Können Sie mir bitte sagen..." which means, "Could you please tell me..." It comes in handy for asking for directions, especially. We have also started eating lunch in the EO, which is a student café in the Schloß. You actually pay by the weight of the food, so you really only take what you know you'll eat. I still have to get used to paying for ketchup, though. The food there is really good, and it changes daily. I have been bringing my own water bottle to save money on drinks, for as in the words of another student, soda is like "black gold" here.
It feels like I have been here already for quite a while, and now we can get around the city easily by walking and taking buses and S-Bahns. I have done more walking here than I have ever before, and it's nice that everything is so accessible. Our Studentenwohnheim is in a little bit sketchy part of town, though, so we're sure to travel in groups wherever we go. Our dorm has been good overall, although there is a slew of minor things we've laughed about. We actually wrote out a list of our so-called "grievances," which are actually quite amusing, in a pretend letter to our "Lieber Hausmeister." I believe we came to 33 in all, and perhaps I will post it. But not to worry, everyone at home, because we're all safe and doing fine.
Tomorrow is our first weekend trip, and we're headed straight from school to Berlin! We have 5 people in all- the four girls plus Joey, who is part of our group. I won't have my computer then, but I'll let you know how it goes!
Tschüss!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Tag Vier
Today was our first day of class, and I would say that it went pretty well. Our teacher's name is Jessica Hamann, and we have not yet figured out whether to call her Jessica or Frau Hamann. She is pretty young, and seemingly a new teacher, although it is too soon to say for certain what our class will be like. We did various oral exercises in groups, as well as some work from our textbook. I imagine she was feeling out our skill levels and proficiency, and we'll soon dive in to our new curriculum. She did speak at a more normal speed, so occasionally I didn't quite understand what was going on, or some particular words she was using, but mostly I could hold my own and figure out what we were talking about. The class lasted from 9 to 12, and then we had a 1,5 hour break for lunch. We tried out the Mensa for the first time, using our student cards that we were given at orientation. We were able to purchase a standard meal for 2.30 Euros, plus an extra Euro for a drink. It wasn't too bad, but I think tomorrow we are investigating other options. After lunch we all met at the Hauptbahnhof for Interactive Practice, also led by Frau Hamann. She led us around explaining different things, and then we split into groups for mini assignments, like finding how to get from certain places to others. It was almost like a little scavenger hunt, and it was fun. After that, we all sat in a café and had drinks. I had hot chocolate, which was delicious, and we spoke more German.
After stopping at the grocery store, we went back to the dorms and did our homework, and then headed outside for the grillout being put on by the Interaction Leaders. They had some salad, cake, and bratwurst, and although it was a couple hours before we actually ate, everything was good. Later we all hung out in the dorms with Wolf and Nina, two of the Interaction Leaders, and we had fun getting to know them.
Wir sind zu Fuß zum Kurs gegangen. Ich habe Frau Hamman kennengelernt, und wir haben vielen Deutsch gesprochen. Danach sind wir zur Mensa gegangen. Wir haben nicht wie Anna vor der Mensa gesessen, und Ulrike hat uns nicht gewunken. :( Dann sind wir zum Hauptbahnhof gegangen. Wir haben uns mit Jessica getroffen. Wir haben die Linienpläne studiert. Man hat 6 Möglichkeiten um vom Hauptbahnhof bis zum Paradeplatz zu gehen. Morgen spielen wir Monopoly mit den Interaction Leaders. Ich freue mich darauf. Ich glaube, dass ich die beste Gruppe habe.
Bis später!
After stopping at the grocery store, we went back to the dorms and did our homework, and then headed outside for the grillout being put on by the Interaction Leaders. They had some salad, cake, and bratwurst, and although it was a couple hours before we actually ate, everything was good. Later we all hung out in the dorms with Wolf and Nina, two of the Interaction Leaders, and we had fun getting to know them.
Wir sind zu Fuß zum Kurs gegangen. Ich habe Frau Hamman kennengelernt, und wir haben vielen Deutsch gesprochen. Danach sind wir zur Mensa gegangen. Wir haben nicht wie Anna vor der Mensa gesessen, und Ulrike hat uns nicht gewunken. :( Dann sind wir zum Hauptbahnhof gegangen. Wir haben uns mit Jessica getroffen. Wir haben die Linienpläne studiert. Man hat 6 Möglichkeiten um vom Hauptbahnhof bis zum Paradeplatz zu gehen. Morgen spielen wir Monopoly mit den Interaction Leaders. Ich freue mich darauf. Ich glaube, dass ich die beste Gruppe habe.
Bis später!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Tag Drei
Today was a tour of the beautiful town of Heidelberg. We took a 15-minute train to Heidelberg, and it is an absolutely gorgeous place! We walked along the cobblestone streets up to the Heidelberg Schloß, a huge castle at the top of a hill. The ramp to get up was very steep, but we finally made it and had a great view of the land. Our little group paid a little extra to go even farther up in the castle, and it was definitely worth it to see some exhibits and some special views. After the trek, we were hungry so we stopped in a little restaurant for some bratwurst und pommes. Since it was Sunday, most of the regular shops were closed. It was also raining, but we had nowhere to be, so we took the streetcar back to Mannheim. It was about a 40-minute trip, but we were able to see some scenery and the area where we will be living! We didn't do too much else during the day, since we were all tired from the long weekend. Tomorrow we begin class and speaking German all the time, so it will definitely be becoming more intense. So far, I've been having a great time with my classmates and some new friends, and taking lots of pictures! I have also found out my interaction group- I will be with Giselle and one of my new friends Joey, in a group with our leader Wolf. I've met Wolf at our first dinner, and I'm know that we're going to have a great group, so I'm really excited. I'll keep you updated!
Morgen abends haben wir ein "Grillout" mit den Interaction Leaders. Wir müssen nur die Getränke bringen. Ich freue mich darauf! Unser Unterricht beginnt um 9 Uhr. Ich hoffe, dass ich mich meinen Deutsch erinnern.
Morgen abends haben wir ein "Grillout" mit den Interaction Leaders. Wir müssen nur die Getränke bringen. Ich freue mich darauf! Unser Unterricht beginnt um 9 Uhr. Ich hoffe, dass ich mich meinen Deutsch erinnern.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Zweiter Tag
Heute war unser zweiter Tag in Mannheim.
Today we woke up in the morning to go to our city of Mannheim tour, led by one of our faculty advisors, Dr. Hasty. We met in front of the most recognizable landmarks of the city, the Mannheim Palace, or Mannheimer Schloss. If you can imagine a palace several times larger than the entire Swamp, then you might get an idea about the size. With, in Dr. Hasty's words a "summary" of the history of the palace, we began our tour. We went around to hopefully soon-to-be familiar locales, such as the Mensa (cafeteria), our classrooms, and several places to shop, including the open market near the Paradeplatz. After the tour, we were eager for nourishment. We wanted to try Turkish döner, so we stopped in at a quick place called the Kebap House. Döner is a Turkish item- imagine a huge cylinder of meat (in this case, lamb or turkey) hanging from the ceiling. They shave away pieces of the meat and put it into pita-type bread, along with veggies, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. It was delicious and also not expensive! After that refreshment, we visited a grocery store for some essentials. While not nearly as expansive as an American grocery store, we were able to find what we needed. Paying was a little tricky- there are no baggers, so you are quickly forced to gather up your purchases and head to a counter to bag them yourself, using either newly purchased bags or ones brought from home. I'm sure the process will become much easier and swifter and time goes on, but today, what with figuring out the correct change and trying to handle everything, it was a little difficult.
We dropped off our purchases at the dorms, and then headed out for the most complex trip of the day- a trip to IKEA! We took one bus out from the dorm, transfered onto a streetcar, and then transfered again onto a different bus. This was not without some help of a couple locals, whom we asked for help and directions. But we finally made it, and I was surprised- IKEA was huge! Roughly the size of 3 Sam's Clubs put together, there were numerous levels, tons of furniture and rooms, and 2 restaurants. We had some fun looking around at all of the options. We took the same buses and streetcar back to the dorms, where we had some much needed rest before heading out for dinner. This time we went to the Paradeplatz and found an interesting pizza stand. It wasn't quite traditional pizza, but "Butterfly Pizza" on an oval-dough and put into a paper packet. It was also inexpensive and good, and the owner even split an entire individual pizza for us all to try for free. On the way home, we bought a loaf of bread to have for tomorrow, since nearly everything will be closed, which is one of the notes on food that I have made thusfar. In addition I have noticed:
1. Stilles Wasser gefällt mir lieber als Mineralwasser. I like still water more than carbonated water.
2. Alkoholfreie Getränke sind teuer. Soft drinks (like soda) are expensive!
3. Wasser ist nicht kostenfrei. Water is not free.
4. Man kann Plastikflaschen ans Geshäft zurückkehren. You can return plastic bottles to the store (for a 25 cent refund!)
5. Alles, dass ich gegessen habe, war gut. Everything that I've eaten was good!
That is all for now- I look forward to day three, which includes a tour of Heidelberg, a nearby town. Guten Nacht!
Today we woke up in the morning to go to our city of Mannheim tour, led by one of our faculty advisors, Dr. Hasty. We met in front of the most recognizable landmarks of the city, the Mannheim Palace, or Mannheimer Schloss. If you can imagine a palace several times larger than the entire Swamp, then you might get an idea about the size. With, in Dr. Hasty's words a "summary" of the history of the palace, we began our tour. We went around to hopefully soon-to-be familiar locales, such as the Mensa (cafeteria), our classrooms, and several places to shop, including the open market near the Paradeplatz. After the tour, we were eager for nourishment. We wanted to try Turkish döner, so we stopped in at a quick place called the Kebap House. Döner is a Turkish item- imagine a huge cylinder of meat (in this case, lamb or turkey) hanging from the ceiling. They shave away pieces of the meat and put it into pita-type bread, along with veggies, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. It was delicious and also not expensive! After that refreshment, we visited a grocery store for some essentials. While not nearly as expansive as an American grocery store, we were able to find what we needed. Paying was a little tricky- there are no baggers, so you are quickly forced to gather up your purchases and head to a counter to bag them yourself, using either newly purchased bags or ones brought from home. I'm sure the process will become much easier and swifter and time goes on, but today, what with figuring out the correct change and trying to handle everything, it was a little difficult.
We dropped off our purchases at the dorms, and then headed out for the most complex trip of the day- a trip to IKEA! We took one bus out from the dorm, transfered onto a streetcar, and then transfered again onto a different bus. This was not without some help of a couple locals, whom we asked for help and directions. But we finally made it, and I was surprised- IKEA was huge! Roughly the size of 3 Sam's Clubs put together, there were numerous levels, tons of furniture and rooms, and 2 restaurants. We had some fun looking around at all of the options. We took the same buses and streetcar back to the dorms, where we had some much needed rest before heading out for dinner. This time we went to the Paradeplatz and found an interesting pizza stand. It wasn't quite traditional pizza, but "Butterfly Pizza" on an oval-dough and put into a paper packet. It was also inexpensive and good, and the owner even split an entire individual pizza for us all to try for free. On the way home, we bought a loaf of bread to have for tomorrow, since nearly everything will be closed, which is one of the notes on food that I have made thusfar. In addition I have noticed:
1. Stilles Wasser gefällt mir lieber als Mineralwasser. I like still water more than carbonated water.
2. Alkoholfreie Getränke sind teuer. Soft drinks (like soda) are expensive!
3. Wasser ist nicht kostenfrei. Water is not free.
4. Man kann Plastikflaschen ans Geshäft zurückkehren. You can return plastic bottles to the store (for a 25 cent refund!)
5. Alles, dass ich gegessen habe, war gut. Everything that I've eaten was good!
That is all for now- I look forward to day three, which includes a tour of Heidelberg, a nearby town. Guten Nacht!
Willkommen in Mannheim
Hallo! I have been in Mannheim for two days now, and I have much to report, although I will split each day into separate entries.
After meeting Erica and Giselle, two of my classmates and friends from German class, in Orlando for our flight together, we headed off to the airport. We had fairly uneventful flights, but had a near scare in the baggage claim in Frankfurt. After 5 of our 6 bags made it out, we were the last ones standing and waiting for my giant red bag of all my clothes. A very official airport guy came up, asking (in English) if we were still waiting for something, for according to him, everything from our flight had made it. After a quick phone call with my bag number, he told us to just wait a few minutes and it would likely turn up. Sure enough, a few minutes later it came out on a different belt, and we went merrily along.
The next step was taking the train from Frankfurt to Mannheim- a 30 minute ride. We bought our tickets from a machine and set out to the platform to wait. Whoever said the German trains run on time was incorrect that day, for our train was announced to be 25 minutes late. After that delay, we were finally on the train. With all of our bags. Which probably weighed more than we. We clambered into a second-class car and began to look for seats. Although our car was probably three-quarters full at best, the remaining quarter was already taken by other passengers' bags and laptops. No one volunteered to move their stuff, so we awkwardly traveled the length of the car and managed to squeeze into the tight quarters in between our car and the next car, which happened to be first-class. So, we stood and rode the short ride to Mannheim without seats, as we imagined how the German passengers were laughing at our strife. Otherwise, the trip was fine, and we finally unloaded in Mannheim, only to drag, lug, and continually adjust (Erica!) our bags the mile or so to the International Center, where we had our orientation.
Orientation consisted of meeting our interaction leaders and teachers, some refreshing food and drink (including the only diet cola I have seen so far in Germany), and a general handing out of information regarding the dorms and other issues for our stay. Everyone was itching to get out to the dorms to refresh, so we gathered all our belongings and went out to the bus stop. About 24 of us and about 50 bags managed to squeeze onto the next bus, and we rode safely to our dorms.
Brief description: Several 6-story buildings side by side. From the outside, they look nice enough, except for a large amount of unbagged trash on our front stoop. We are on the sixth floor, which has two 3-room suites on each side, which each have a room with a toilet and sink, and another with a shower. The two suites are connected by a common kitchen. The rooms are pretty nondescript, although they do have a ton of storage space, which is a definite plus. I am rooming with Cait, another of my former classmates, and by a stroke of luck Erica and Giselle are in our suite. The other half holds four of the boys from our program.
After getting settled in, we met up with our interaction leaders at the Paradeplatz, a large public square surrounded by tons of shops and restaurants. Around 20 of us ate with them at a restaurant (I don't know the name!), still speaking English and getting to know each other. I had the "Schnitzel Wiener Arts," which consisted of wiener schnitzel, along with a potato dish and salad. It was quite delicious, although I was not able to finish it all. I was able to get by with my German as far as ordering was concerned, and it was great to be with the group. After dinner, we all went off in separate directions. Giselle, Erica, Cait, a boy, and I set off to find a grocery store that might still be open (at 9 o'clock). While it was never found, we did find a lot of interesting places in Mannheim. After a while, we went back to the Studentenwohnheim, and eventually went to bed. My initial impressions are that I'm going to have a great time in Mannheim, and I really look forward to getting better with my German.
Für Dr. O!
Wir sind mit unseren "Interaction Leaders" zum Restaurant gegangen. Ich habe Wiener Schnitzel gegessen, und ich habe viele Leute kennengelernt. Ich freue mich auf den Kurz!
After meeting Erica and Giselle, two of my classmates and friends from German class, in Orlando for our flight together, we headed off to the airport. We had fairly uneventful flights, but had a near scare in the baggage claim in Frankfurt. After 5 of our 6 bags made it out, we were the last ones standing and waiting for my giant red bag of all my clothes. A very official airport guy came up, asking (in English) if we were still waiting for something, for according to him, everything from our flight had made it. After a quick phone call with my bag number, he told us to just wait a few minutes and it would likely turn up. Sure enough, a few minutes later it came out on a different belt, and we went merrily along.
The next step was taking the train from Frankfurt to Mannheim- a 30 minute ride. We bought our tickets from a machine and set out to the platform to wait. Whoever said the German trains run on time was incorrect that day, for our train was announced to be 25 minutes late. After that delay, we were finally on the train. With all of our bags. Which probably weighed more than we. We clambered into a second-class car and began to look for seats. Although our car was probably three-quarters full at best, the remaining quarter was already taken by other passengers' bags and laptops. No one volunteered to move their stuff, so we awkwardly traveled the length of the car and managed to squeeze into the tight quarters in between our car and the next car, which happened to be first-class. So, we stood and rode the short ride to Mannheim without seats, as we imagined how the German passengers were laughing at our strife. Otherwise, the trip was fine, and we finally unloaded in Mannheim, only to drag, lug, and continually adjust (Erica!) our bags the mile or so to the International Center, where we had our orientation.
Orientation consisted of meeting our interaction leaders and teachers, some refreshing food and drink (including the only diet cola I have seen so far in Germany), and a general handing out of information regarding the dorms and other issues for our stay. Everyone was itching to get out to the dorms to refresh, so we gathered all our belongings and went out to the bus stop. About 24 of us and about 50 bags managed to squeeze onto the next bus, and we rode safely to our dorms.
Brief description: Several 6-story buildings side by side. From the outside, they look nice enough, except for a large amount of unbagged trash on our front stoop. We are on the sixth floor, which has two 3-room suites on each side, which each have a room with a toilet and sink, and another with a shower. The two suites are connected by a common kitchen. The rooms are pretty nondescript, although they do have a ton of storage space, which is a definite plus. I am rooming with Cait, another of my former classmates, and by a stroke of luck Erica and Giselle are in our suite. The other half holds four of the boys from our program.
After getting settled in, we met up with our interaction leaders at the Paradeplatz, a large public square surrounded by tons of shops and restaurants. Around 20 of us ate with them at a restaurant (I don't know the name!), still speaking English and getting to know each other. I had the "Schnitzel Wiener Arts," which consisted of wiener schnitzel, along with a potato dish and salad. It was quite delicious, although I was not able to finish it all. I was able to get by with my German as far as ordering was concerned, and it was great to be with the group. After dinner, we all went off in separate directions. Giselle, Erica, Cait, a boy, and I set off to find a grocery store that might still be open (at 9 o'clock). While it was never found, we did find a lot of interesting places in Mannheim. After a while, we went back to the Studentenwohnheim, and eventually went to bed. My initial impressions are that I'm going to have a great time in Mannheim, and I really look forward to getting better with my German.
Für Dr. O!
Wir sind mit unseren "Interaction Leaders" zum Restaurant gegangen. Ich habe Wiener Schnitzel gegessen, und ich habe viele Leute kennengelernt. Ich freue mich auf den Kurz!
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