I finally broke down . . .

and went to McDonald's. I hate to admit it, but on my last day here in Dresden, I just had to have some American food. I am so sick of sausage. I eat it every single day. My Serbian friend and I went there, which is particularly funny because he always (jokingly) harasses me for being American and expresses distaste for all things American. I was hoping to see some sort of German flavor to the menu, but it was just as it is in the U.S. (except the Quarter Pounder really is the Royal like they say in Pulp Fiction). Although I haven't been to McDonald's in ages, except when I went to have pierogi in Poland and ended paying twice what it costs to eat at a regular ol' restaurant there. Anyway, I think I've fulfilled my Mickey D's quota for a while, and maybe I can return to eating sausages, especially since that's all I have in the fridge right now.

Tuesday we got a tour of Dresden's local brewery--Feldschloesschen ("little field castle"). It's good that I just went to a brewery in Boston in June, because I really wouldn't have known what was going on. I just saw lots and lots of beer and lots and lots of really hot vats. The best part was when we got an hour to eat and drink all we wanted. I got a non-alcoholic malt drink called "VitaMalz" or something like that, and it tasted like beer with Coke, and I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. But we did get to eat tons of sausages (big surprise) and pickles. After an hour, most of the girls left, and the boys stayed and drank to their hearts' content. Here are some photos:





Russian, German, Ukrainian, French, me enjoying the various types of beer and non-beer















Indonesian, me, Italian with the brewery sign














I have to say that our two business tours (geared towards students in my special project course and then the business German course) were quite a good introduction to two of Germany's favorite things and best exports: beer and VWs. We were fortunate to go on these behind-the-scenes tours, as they provided a little bit of a different experience than the typical tourist one.


Anyway, after the brewery tour we had a Grillabend on the Elbe, which was basically a BBQ with SAUSAGE and grilled vegetables. I had a really good time, as it was a nice chance to hang out by the fire with the friends I have made over the course of the program. Most of my pictures from that night are just of people I've become friends with, which are boring to most of you, so here are just two:










My Serbian friends and I making some sort of political symbol that I am told will make everyone love me if I do it when I visit (which I now plan to do!)













A Russian guy jumping over the fire. After a few beers many of the guys decided they could jump over it, and I'm happy to report no one was seriously injured in the process









Wednesday afternoon I participated in a phonetic workshop, during which I realized I will never ever be able to sound like a German. We tried to do a tongue twister and I am just hopeless. There are a billion variations of "ch," and while as a linguist I am trained to hear the differences, I can't make the sounds. I can also hear and make the umlauted vowels, but the distinction between long and short vowels is totally beyond me. Bahn and Bann will always sound the same, except when said one right after the other. I think the workshop frustrated me more than it helped, but at the very least I now have hope that over the next 10 months I will able to pick up a few of the sounds.


We played volleyball Wednesday evening and now I have huge bruises on my forearms. I don't know how I used to play every day as a sixth grader--that's child abuse! After volleyball I went to the Neustadt with Italian friends, and after they went home I hung out with my Serbian friend and his roommate. Like any typical German night out, it ended with a Doner. There are Doners absolutely everywhere, but I really haven't seen many Turkish people here. I don't know the statistics for Dresden, but to me it seems that there aren't many Auslaender here. I could be totally wrong, but I can only recall about three instances in which I saw a woman on the street wearing the hijab. I know my experience in Berlin will be totally different, as about 2/3 of my students are "of foreign descent," and I take that to mean they're Turkish, but I'll just have to wait and see.


Today was the last day of class, but instead of having an actual class we just went to the Stadtmuseum and learned about the history of Dresden. I enjoyed seeing all the artifacts from the first World War up until the present day. Dresden has quite the history, especially as it was bombed by British and American troops and then had to suffer through communism. But I must say that they've rebuilt it quite nicely. There is so much construction going on here--which reminds me, I find it amusing how on the main street here everyone always stops and watches the construction. I can't figure out what's so interesting about it. Have they never seen a tractor before?


Speaking of class, here's a terrible picture of everyone in my class, with half the people with closed eyes and one not even looking at the camera:








Russian, Russian, our Lehrerin, Romanian, me, Serbian, Japanese, French, Polish (in front)










I've been packing all my stuff up--somehow everything fits a lot better now than it did when I first came to Germany. It's not going to be fun lugging it all to Cologne . . . but I just found out that my roommate will be in Cologne all Saturday so at least I will have someone to spend time with! Alright, I must go now, as I have to get ready for our Abschlussparty!


Next time I write I will probably be in Berlin! :-)

Essen und Sprechen

I think there are many, many cultural differences that I am going to have to get used to. But I haven’t yet figured out too well what the cultural differences are between Germans and Americans, because I spend all my time with people from countries all over the world, except Germany. Which brings me to two points I want to make:

1) communal meals are a lot more important here than in America

2) learning German is more difficult when you’re surrounded by people who are also learning, rather than being immersed in a native-speaker environment

About the first topic. Normally I prefer to eat dinner fast and by myself, because I have other stuff to do. I know that when we have people over, it turns into a two-hour affair. But it’s actually been something I’m starting to enjoy—every night we make something together, and then we eat it and have long conversations and try to figure out what the heck other people are trying to communicate. I’m still not used to the idea of buying food and then sharing it with everyone, I think because I am selfish and believe if I spend money on something it’s mine to use, but we have each been sharing food, so I guess it’s equal. I don’t think this has ever happened in any of my other living situations. For example, this past summer we drew an invisible line down the fridge and freezer, and we each knew what was our own food.

But we have been having trouble with my Russian roommate. I noticed that sometimes someone eats my food (this is different than when we eat together—this is someone eating my food when I’m not around). My Spanish roommate told me that our Russian roommate would eat all her food, such that she wouldn’t even get to try it. Because S left early this morning, she wanted to cook us a farewell dinner last night. She bought special food on Friday and told R not to eat it—she hated having to be so upfront, but she knew that she would eat it. R and I went to Bautzen on Saturday and when we came back R insisted that S had told her that she must eat a bag of vegetables S had bought. I knew that S did not want this to happen, and I kept insisting, but sure enough, she went ahead and prepared the vegetables and ate the whole bag. Apparently, she also ate pretty much all of her food, so when S came back from Prague, she had no food. For lunch on Sunday she had to go into the city to eat and then for our special dinner we had nothing! Fortunately the Italians came to the rescue and we had pasta. The dinner was a success, I think, and here are some pictures to lighten the mood:

The Italians cook pasta

The whole group after several self-timer attempts at taking a photo: my Turkish roommate, Italian, my Spanish roommate, Italian, my Russian roommate, me

Back to my special roommate. On Friday I bought a package of 10 chocolates, and on Friday night we ate about 4. When I came back on Saturday evening they were all gone! All of them! R had eaten them all herself that morning. I politely expressed my discontent and so she bought me a new package, but not before eating half of it. And last week she was in my Italian friend’s room and my friend asked her if she would like some Coke or juice. And she said sure, and took two brand-new bottles of Coke and juice back to her room. My friend meant would she like a bit to drink at that moment! I would have said something, but my friend is too shy and perhaps a lot nicer than I am.

Sigh, I don’t know if it’s cultural or if it’s just her or what. But it’s provided me with a bit of entertainment. I like to guess which of my food is going to go missing next. And someone is using all my soap in the shower, since there’s no way I could have gone through all that in such a little amount of time.

I know you’re probably thinking I’m extremely selfish, and it’s probably reflected in what I’ve written. But I admit, it’s not the worst thing in the world. So far, no one has stolen my computer or iPod or numerous other valuables that I couldn’t avoid bringing since I’ll be here almost 11 months—although I am quite popular since I am the only person to have a computer and Internet access. I am blessed that my roommates are good people, and I enjoy them and would like to keep in touch and perhaps visit them someday.

Oh, about the dining hall here. Every day after class we go to the Mensa for lunch. The first few days I went to this awfully-designed Mensa that had three plate options, and you didn’t really have a choice of sides. They just put everything on a plate and hand it to you. The portions are huge and the average plate has about 800 calories. I don’t know how the Germans aren’t fatter than Americans! Fortunately, the food is really cheap, because students are subsidized. I can enjoy a full meal for less than two Euros. Now we’ve found a better Mensa that is a bit more like Harvard’s dining hall, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Like ice. No ice in the drink machines! But there is sushi and pasta and soup and fish and meat and so on, and the Germans pile their plates several inches (centimeters, I guess!) high with food and then they eat every single last bit of it. Seriously, not once have I seen any German student bus a plate with food on it. I can’t figure it out. They’re all skinny. Here's a picture from the Mensa:

Ok, about the second topic. Learning German. I know in a previous post I said that I almost never speak English. And at the time, that was true. As time passed, I’ve begun to speak more and more English. I really don’t spend much time with any of the Americans—one doesn’t do anything with the group because of her boyfriend, one I see maybe once a week, and the one guy I talk with more—and I’m glad there are so many people from around the world. But I think a lot of us have realized that if we really want to connect, we can’t do it in German. Sure, there are the people whose German is better than their English, but there’s pretty much no one who can’t speak English. So I have very superficial conversations in German outside of class (in class we have great discussions, all in German of course) and when I want to speak to someone about something important, I speak in German. I am positive this is a terrible idea if I want to learn German, but I’m just frustrated because my vocabulary is horrendous. I really need to buckle down and start memorizing vocab words if I’m going to say anything substantive. I can have an entire conversation and be ok, but I need the extra vocabulary to give me more flexibility in expressing myself.

My German is nonetheless improving. I am certainly more comfortable with conversing, despite my speaking a bit more English now. All our tours are in German (except that one in Bautzen), and even though I say that I can’t understand a lot of them, I am amazed at how much I really can understand. I exaggerate when I say I have no clue, since I can pick up on a lot based on context. That’s been really great—having Germans on the street, in our activities, etc. speaking with me rapid-fire and me understanding what’s going on and being able to provide a response, no matter how rudimentary.

This is making me look forward to living with Germans (although they speak English) and being immersed in a German-speaking environment (outside of my classes). Learning German from other non-native speakers is a bit counter-productive!

Still, I think this program is wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone learning German. The excursion offerings are fabulous. Every day I’ve gone somewhere or participated in a workshop or attended a lecture. I don’t understand why some people don’t go on any, or even why some only go on a few. I try to do everything. I guess they have different priorities. My class has also been wonderful. The topics are fascinating, especially now that we are talking about present day (no more DDR topics!). I have really loved hearing from people who lived under socialism, as it has given me different perspectives than what I’m used to.

I also like Dresden a lot. I admit that I don’t really spend much time in the city center because there’s so much going on in our program, but it seems like the right size for me. And it’s more beautiful than I could have imagined. I actually thought that because it was East German and bombed to pieces in WWII it would be ugly, but that’s definitely not the case. Anyone who has the opportunity to visit should!

Alright, I must get ready for bed now. Gotta get my eight hours! Sometime soon I will talk about the people I have met here. I'll end with a funny picture:


Rough translation: Do you know this guy? Good, I'm looking for him! Please please contact me. This thing could really be super-love!!! Thanks!!!


Basically, it's one of those "missed connections" notices like the ones on Craigslist. Someone posted ads around Dresden because she thinks being with this guy would be super-love. Hope she finds him!

Was ist los?

What's up? Continuing the trend of poor German titles. Here's what I've been up to in the past few days:

Thursday we went to the Volkswagen Glaeserne Manufaktur here in Dresden. It’s not really a factory per se—although I couldn’t really discern from the tour what the heck it is. The website confirms that they prepare the Phaeton there, which I don't think is sold in the U.S.??? It’s quite a spiffy place, complete with this huge ball-shaped structure in which you can watch this very motivational VW promotional video. There also is a simulation—you pretend-drive a real Phaeton in virtual reality. Another American and I went together and we couldn’t figure out what was going on, so he ended up getting on this track where we went around in circles at 240 KPH for a while. I should have thought about my motion sickness before participating . . . nonetheless, it was a pretty entertaining place, although the only-in-German tour left me with a lot of unanswered questions. Here's the Phaeton and our tour guide:

This car is amazing--there are massagers in the driver's seat and the doors close automatically if you don't shut them right, which my dad really needs . . .

Friday afternoon I went to a workshop called “Alltag in der DDR”: Everyday life in the DDR. It was really interesting, and perhaps the most fascinating tidbit was that people in the DDR normally had to wait about 15 years to get a car, even the really ugly Trabant. I couldn’t believe it . . . wait, I actually can, thanks to socialism! The lecture was so good because the presenter had documented his life under socialism so well. He spent a few minutes explaining how he is an atheist but how he has total respect for everyone who believes in something. This is the same man who in his opening speech to the participants said he had just one word for Angela Merkl—“Respekt”—and who also told me how much he hated George Bush. I am increasingly amused by and appreciative of his candor, however much I disagree with him. His perspective of the DDR confirmed a lot of what I had thought the DDR was like—especially not having many “luxus” items.

Saturday the majority of the group went to Prague, but because most participants needed to get a visa to go there, they also offered an opportunity to go to Bautzen, which is close to the border with the Czech Republic. I chose to go to Bautzen because I was in Prague just about one year ago today, and we would only have a day there. Bautzen was another idyllic town, and I think the weather was just about the most gorgeous weather I have experienced in a few years. Bautzen was once occupied by the Sorbs, whose language is similar to Polish and Czech, and thus all the signs are in German and Sorbish:

They actually offered a tour in English, and I jumped at the chance to finally understand completely what was going on! Only a few of us chose to do the English tour, though, so it made for an intimate group and a great experience. The most fascinating thing in Bautzen is the church, because they couldn’t afford to have two churches, so they just split their one big church in half. Literally. One half is for the Protestants, and they have their own pews and altar, and the other half is for the Catholics. Pretty unbelievable! The tour was over two hours long and was jam-filled with information, and afterwards we climbed to the top of the tower:

My Russian roommate and me

Then we wandered around the city, eating wild apples and walking along the Spree River. It was also a nice opportunity to chat with one of the tutors, who is an active Christian and a member of the SMD (like Germany’s InterVarsity). It was refreshing, because I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about religion or faith much here, and because we’re always gone all Sunday, I haven’t been able to go to church.

Sunday we went to Mortizburg, which is the location of August der Staerke’s Schloss for his male friends. He hunted a lot there, and so there are antlers all over the palace. We didn’t have any official tour there, so we just wandered the grounds:

3 Russians, an American guy, a Polish girl, my Turkish roommate, and me behind the Schloss

We also enjoyed some sausage (big surprise!) and then headed over to a Schlosschen (little Schloss) and lighthouse (on a lake, for some odd and completely unnecessary reason):

A Syrian guy, me, and a guy from Oman at the lighthouse

I enjoyed getting to spend time with people I hadn’t gotten to know too well, and the weather was also gorgeous. We were really blessed this weekend!

Today in class we watched a movie called Kombat Sechzehn, which about a guy who joins the NPD--basically the Neo-Nazis. It was chilling. The extreme right has a real presence in Saxony, with about 10 percent of the population voting for the NPD. Mainly it's because of the high level of unemployment in the state (somewhere around 20 percent!!!). I haven't seen any hanging around here, but their presence is felt. Today there was a lecture on Rechtsextremismus in Saxony and I heard a lot about Nazi strategies, tactics, selling points, etc. This is a growing concern in Germany, and I've enjoyed getting to hear about it, because the subject is obviously sore and definitely somewhat taboo. For example, yesterday someone was taking about political signs, like the peace sign, and he used the word "Heil." Someone also had used the word "Fuehrer," and those don't really go over well here, for obvious reasons. The lecturer explained to us that it is impossible today to boast about being German since it smacks of extreme-right propaganda. The 2006 World Cup provided a welcome opportunity to wave German flags in the street that was completely disassociated from the Neo-Nazis. The reality is sad, and I hope that the Germans can create the right political, social, and economic environment to solve the Nazi problem. I of course don't know what the solution is, but many people have suggested--unsurprisingly--that the intact family is crucial for combating it. Hmm, I think that would solve a lot of the world's problems . . .

My time here is winding down. I leave for Cologne on Friday and will spend three days there and maybe in nearby cities before my orientation begins on Monday. I will be alone, which up until this point I hadn't thought much about, and now I realize how much it's going to stink to be sightseeing by myself for three days. But the excitement of going to orientation and getting the show on the road trumps having to be alone for a few days. I can't wait for this all to begin!

I'm going to take some time now to write another post more on what's being happening here outside of the activities and excursions. Bis bald!

Oops!

I clearly have no idea how to work the text around the pictures, so you will just have to bear with me. Hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Viel Spaß in Dresden!

One week later, I'm still having a blast in Dresden. The following is everything I've done in the past week (I wrote this in several pieces and am just now posting it). I'd like to write more about my experiences and thoughts and feelings, but I will have to do that later.

Wednesday was my first day of class. There are eight people in my class, two from Russia and one each from Poland, Serbia, Romania, France, and Japan. I note the countries they’re from because we’ve been talking a lot about socialism and communism and the five people from former communist countries have been sharing their experiences (along with the teacher, who’s from East Germany). Hearing about life under communism is interesting, but also incredibly depressing, and it makes me even happier to be an American.

Speaking of, I couldn’t help myself—I got engaged in a political discussion with a French girl and a Serbian guy Wednesday night at our welcome party. And I had to out myself as a conservative after the French girl said that everyone who supports the war lives in the middle of America and is uneducated. Ha! Typical brainwashing. But I’ve really enjoyed talking about politics, as I’m learning more and more about political systems here in Europe (and, again, becoming happier and happier that I’m American). I've also learned a lot about education, art, and music here, and tomorrow we're learning about youth culture. Much better than any class on grammar!

So yeah, Wednesday we went on a tour of the Gemaeldegalerie, and although I like art I was a little bored by the paintings. The tour was great, but the artwork didn’t have descriptions and so when we had free time I just left. Wednesday night was our welcome party, complete with these funky sandwiches and of course lots of beer and dancing. I enjoyed it, even when the director came over and started bashing Bush to me. I am surprised at how openly authority figures here talk about their views. But I found it somewhat refreshing, and I am increasingly amazed at how well I can communicate in German, although I have discovered that I have a very limited vocabulary.

Thursday we went on a tour of the Neustadt, after which we ended up a little beer garden/funky music club. Here are some pictures from that:

People from my class: me, French girl, Russian girl, Serbian guy

Spanish roommate, me, Italian friend

A building in Neustadt that has musical instruments on the outer walls--they make music when it rains!

Friday afternoon we went to Pillnitz, which was the summer residence of August der Staerke, who we’ve heard about time and again. It was beautiful, but it paled in comparison to all of the other Schlosses I have seen throughout Europe. Here is a picture:

One of the buildings at Pillnitz

Afterward we went to the Stadtfest, which is held one weekend every August to celebrate something to do with August der Staerke, of course. We rode the Ferris wheel (which no one seems to know the German name of) and walked around a lot, following the lead of this Russian kid who hilariously acts like our Vati (dad). Seriously, he scolded me for speaking English one time (I almost never speak English here!). We ended up at this large outdoor club place that was pretty fun, and I enjoyed getting to see how the Germans behave at carnivals (aka everyone walking around with open containers).

Saturday everyone went to Berlin and I stayed back to study for the LSAT a bit. I also did laundry, which was extremely confusing and expensive. The washing machine holds 5 kilos, which I swear is the size of my head. And it cost more than two Euros! Saturday evening I went with an Italian girl to the Stadtfest again, and this time I ate the world’s hugest sausage:

And there were fireworks and even more people. When we were going back across the bridge, we got stuck in a huge crowd of people—all trying to go in different directions. We literally could not move, and someone could have stolen all my stuff out of my bag and I wouldn’t have known it. We were so close to everyone and German people are incredibly aggressive. I don’t want any more German men’s huge bellies sticking into my back, that’s for sure.

Sunday we all went to Meissen, the cutest little German town ever! It was adorable. We went on a tour of the town and saw the Kirche and then some other building in which we had to wear these huge slippers (which we used like ice skates) to walk around. Since Meissen was apparently the birthplace of porcelain, we then went to a porcelain factory/museum and had this odd tour where we watched people make stuff like it was a zoo. The porcelain was beautiful, but it cost about 100 Euro for just a thimble. That’s about 1/7 of my monthly income, so needless to say, I did not come back with any souvenirs. Pictures:

Meissen from afar

Me with some porcelain

Monday we went to Saechsische Schweiz, which is a huge national park. We split into three groups, and I foolishly decided to do the advanced option. 8 kilometers didn’t sound bad to me, as I didn’t realize 1) I have no idea how to convert kilometers into miles and 2) almost half of that 8 kilometers is going uphill. We started out with a brutal uphill climb, and just when I thought we were at the top, we then proceeded to climb up and down these huge rocks, one after the other. So it was endless stairs (at times they weren’t even really stairs). We finally went back to the bottom on the other side of this mountain (if that is an appropriate title), and we found a quaint little town waiting for us. I assumed that we were done with our 8 kilometers, but it turns out we had to take a ferry across the Elbe and then climb continuously up this huge mountain. Endlessly uphill, it felt like. But the views at the lookouts and the top were worth it. Gorgeous:

The view from the top of one of the "mountains"

An idyllic German town in Saechsische Schweiz

I’d say about eight of the 18 or so people in my group were Russian. There are Russians everywhere. And they take smoke breaks while hiking. And the European idea of appropriate hiking apparel is hilarious. Tight jeans and halter tops. The funniest thing to me was that during breaks the guys would drink beer. I really don’t understand how that can be good for you . . .

Tuesday we went to a Weinberg—a winery! It was also extremely adorable. We had a wine tasting (3 glasses, and unfortunately I don’t like or drink wine), and the vineyard owner tried to teach us all about the three different types of wine and the wine-making process usw., but I don’t think anyone understand him since he was using jargon that none of us really even knows in our respective mother tongues. After the wine-tasting we went wandering through the vineyards (again, a massive amount of walking uphill, but the views were also worth it). Whoever thought it was a good idea to let people consume a lot of alcohol and then go climbing through vineyards has another think coming. There were a few tipsy people in the group. But the experience was wunderbar, and I enjoyed yet another one of the activities they arranged for us! Pictures:

An Italian, me, and one of the other three Americans

The vineyards and town below

Wednesday we went to the Gruene Gewolbe, which is a Schatzkammer (“treasure chamber”; all the beautiful and expensive objects from the monarchy). Everything was gorgeous, but I had such a hard time hearing the tour guide and I couldn’t really understand the part I could hear anyway. So I just spent the whole time looking at pretty objects and wondering what they were. There was a 41-karat green diamond that I would kill for!

This afternoon my class is going to a Volkswagen factory, which I hear is going to involve riding simulations! Should be lots of fun. Will report back later!

Feel free to leave comments when you want--it lets me know that at least someone is reading this!

Fotos! (nicht so gut gemacht)

buildings in the city (names of which I have forgotten already)












A gate with a view of the Elbe River and the Altstadt

















communist building





the Frauenkirche

Fotos

Oh, when I figure out how to upload photos to my computer (which may be never), and also when I figure out how to post photos on here (which also may be never), I will show you what Dresden looks like from my handy new camera.

I am loving it here still (only a few hours later)--just had a great night with Polish, Russian, and Turkish people!

Jetzt bin ich in Dresden!

Gruesse aus Deutschland! I am now in Dresden, eine sehr schoene Stadt. I arrived in Berlin on Friday morning and then came to Dresden on Sunday, and I will be here for a little less than three weeks.

My mother was with me in Berlin on Friday and we took care of some logistical stuff like getting a Handy (cell phone) and a bank account (which turned out to be an entirely fruitless pursuit--I now have a non-functioning account since I don't have an address or a student card yet). I also looked at an apartment in Prenzlauer Berg, which is a really lovely area of Berlin that I'd love to live in. On Saturday my mom went back to the U.S. (and was back in Frankfurt the next day--such is the life of a flight attendant) and I trekked all over the city. I first went from my hotel in Potsdamer Platz to Hackescher Markt to meet two girls who I am going to live with (we don't know where yet though). They were very nice and we had a nice chat. The best part is that they are active Christians (which is how we crossed paths). After I went to Reinickendorf in the northern part of Berlin to look at another apartment in an evangelische Gemeinde (Christian church that has some WGs upstairs). I think I will live there only for September since they have nice, fully furnished guest rooms. It is close to where I will be working, but a little less fun and even a bit more geared towards families (evidence: the Costco-like Kaufland next to my apartment).

After apartment-searching and a trip to the train station to buy tickets I went back to my hotel and moved my bags (I packed for 11 months, so I had to lug a lot!) to a hostel in Friedrichshain, which is apparently the center of anarchist activism (read: lots of black-wearing youth bums hanging out on the street). I didn't spend much time at all in my hostel because I had to go to Friedrichstrasse (despite the similar name, an entirely different part of the city) to meet Matt from my German classes at Harvard for dinner. We had a great conversation, a lot about politics as usual, and then hung out at some posh bar before I headed back. At that point I was exhausted because of jet lag, but I was surprised to find everyone in my hostel room (5 other girls I never said one word to) asleep when I got back at midnight. I thought I was the most boring person ever?

Sunday was great--after moving my luggage to the train station, I met up with the two girls from the day before and went to church with them. They had met each other at a Hillsong church in London and now they are starting one in Berlin. It is extremely small--there were only about 15 of us, if that--and they just listen to a recording of last week's message at Hillsong London. I had never heard of Hillsong but apparently it is huge in Sydney. It seemed exactly like something I would like. I am not used to house churches, but they hope for it to grow a lot. And it's all in English. A big plus, since I am not ready to worship auf Deutsch! Then the two girls took me to the train station and helped me with my bags. They are clearly very kind and so I am looking forward to living with them! Such a relief. Although we don't have an apartment yet, which is not a relief at all . . .

Although I got to Dresden on Sunday I still haven't had any classes. Yesterday we just got information and then today we had a placement test and then we got a tour of the Altstadt. Dresden is really pretty and the weather was great today! The tour was nice--it was especially good to talk to other participants. I am very surprised about how international the program really is. There are only four students out of 114 from the U.S., and I think one from the UK and one from Canada. My three flatmates are from Barcelona, Moscow, and Ankara, respectively. There are over 30 countries represented, Russia (17) and Italy (14) having the most. This means that there are several people who do not speak English as a native language, which I thought would be a good thing since we'd have to speak German all the time. For example, my Spanish roommate doesn't speak English and does not want to speak Spanish, so we only talk in German. But the problem is that there are some people who love to speak in really broken English instead of really, really broken German. I often can't understand them too well. I am also becoming increasingly frustrated with my (in)ability to express myself in German. There are so many things I want to say and talk about but I cannot. And even if I could, many of the students here are beginners or intermediate and thus they wouldn't be able to understand anyway!

Tomorrow classes begin. I will be doing a class called "Kultur, Gesellschaft und Sprache in Deutschland" (Culture, Society, and Language in Germany). We'll see how it is, but I just couldn't bear to do another grammar course. This one focuses on conversation and oral skills, which is what I need. There are also excursions and activities every day. Tomorrow I am going on a tour of the Gemaeldegalerie and then we have a party at the club on campus. Thursday evening we are going on a tour of the Neustadt (which sounds like it's going to turn into a pub crawl). Friday we are going to Schloss and Park Pillnitz and then Sunday I am going to Meissen, a nearby city that is famous for porcelain (I think). Saturday is a trip to Berlin but I am going to try to go to Leipzig. There are also language workshops everyday, such as Phonetik and Freies Sprechen, and I'll try to do those too.

Clearly I'm having a wonderful time with all this to do. And I found the time to write a perhaps too descriptive post. I probably won't be able to write as much in the future, so I might as well overdo it now.

Alright, I am going back into the city for dinner. Oh, will talk about die Mensa (dining hall) later!

Tschuess!

Willkommen bei meinem Blog!

Welcome to my blog! This is a feeble attempt to keep a record of my time in Germany this next year. About the title and web address--it's no longer politically correct to use the term Fraeulein (for reasons I am not aware of), but I don't want to consider myself a Frau just yet. And German prepositions are notoriously difficult, so I don't even know if I am using the right one (in Berlin? bei Berlin?).

Enough about that. I leave for Germany on Thursday (and for NY on Wednesday), which means I have just about one day left before I leave for 11 months. I don't think I'm quite ready to go. First, I just got home from DC on Saturday, and I came home to 5 unpacked boxes from college. I could use a few more days to relax after spending 8 weeks in DC. I have a ton to do and just tomorrow to do it. And I still have no apartment in Berlin. But psychologically I am tired of waiting and just want to get to Germany already, especially since I've been getting mail from Fulbright and exchanging emails with potential roommates and my school mentor all summer. I am fortunate that I am doing a language program first, rather than just showing up to teach English, as it'll be a good introduction to living in Germany.

I start my German course in Dresden on Monday and I am really looking forward to it. The program looks awesome, as does my housing and the cheap dining halls. I'll keep you all updated on what I'm up to during my three weeks in Dresden.

Alright, I need to get to unpacking/packing. Next time I write I will probably be in Dresden!

Bis bald!