As students of TU Dresden, we are allowed to take up to three of the sports classes the university offers. There's limited space available in the classes, so you have to wait for the open period and sign up for your favorite classes immediately to get a spot. The most popular classes fill up within minutes. I had planned to take Pilates and Tae Kwon Do, but didn't get spaces in either of them. Luckily, I got into Dance Fitness. I take it one afternoon a week, at a dance studio near Bahnhof Mitte, and absolutely love it.
My teacher is a young, energetic dancer who is very strong. We always start with a warm up, then go into a fitness part, then learn some choreography, and finally cool down and stretch. It's different every week. The choreography combines jazz, latin, hip-hop, and a little ballet. The fitness part is always exhausting - our teacher loves to yell at us to go faster (Schnell! Schnell!) and to move with more emphasis and power (Bam! Bam!). Sometimes when we are learning the choreography and are acting a little lazy or lackadaisical, she makes fun of us by imitating us. It always cracks me up. Overall, she is very positive and patient with us. The class is taught entirely in German, so I don't always understand what she's saying, but it's not too hard to follow along, and now at least I know the words for "left" and "right"!
There are usually about seven other students in the class with me, but the number fluctuates up and down from week to week. Some of the people there the first week didn't come back, and other people filled their places. All of the other students are young Germans, one guy and the rest girls. Everyone I've talked to has been really nice. At first I though it was strange that we all get dressed in one changing room, but I got used to it. Germans seem to be very comfortable with their bodies. I've heard stories from friends that in the saunas here women and men sit around naked together; I don't think I could do that!
Today was one of my favorite classes because I really liked the choreography. There were fewer students than usual so we all had plenty of space to move. The choreography was sweeping and set to dramatic music from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. There were two particularly tricky floor moves. If I practiced those every day I would be really strong (and probably covered with bruises)! During the cool-down I started laughing when I realized she had chosen "Feliz Navidad" for the first song. This was followed by some other Christmas tunes. At the end she wished us all a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Our next class will be in January!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Discovering Räcknitz
Just south of the community gardens, on a small hill, there's a long, narrow park called the Volkspark or People's Park. I followed a trail through the park, then continued south, entering a district of Dresden called Räcknitz. Crossing a street named Räcknitzhöhe, I came upon a large, open field where people were flying kites. In the middle of the field, there was a mound with an imposing tower on it.
On my way back, I walked through a higher level of the Volkspark. It was almost completely deserted and there were some beautiful trees. I stayed there for awhile before returning home. All in all, it was a lovely walk, filled with unexpected discoveries.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Running in Großer Garten
One of the things I really enjoy doing in Dresden is going running in the Großer Garten. This park is located just a few blocks away from my dormitory. It's about 2 sq km (500 acres) big. I like it because it has lots of trees, trails (both dirt and paved), and interesting features. The park's features include a small palace in the center of the park, at least one flower garden, a mini-railway that winds through the park, a zoo, several lakes, some streams with small bridges crossing them, some open fields and soccer pitches, and sculptures scattered throughout the park. I still haven't explored all of it. I like to run around the park without a predetermined path, going a slightly different way each time. I often see mallards and very interesting-looking Mandarin ducks near the streams and lakes. Now that it is fall the ducks are well-camouflaged. The color of the bright yellow leaves that have fallen to the ground is striking against the dark dirt paths. I occasionally see other runners in the park, but mostly I see walkers. Many of the walkers are older couples.
When I go running I don't take my camera with me, but below I've included a few photos from one time just over a month ago when I walked through the park with my classmates. Most of the photos are from around the park palace. I want to return to the park with my camera sometime to take a photo of a statue that startled me the first time I ran through the park. I believe it is of a woman with a child and a lioness with her cub that have scared each other and look absolutely horrified. I stumbled across it as it was getting dark one evening and just about jumped out of my skin.
When I go running I don't take my camera with me, but below I've included a few photos from one time just over a month ago when I walked through the park with my classmates. Most of the photos are from around the park palace. I want to return to the park with my camera sometime to take a photo of a statue that startled me the first time I ran through the park. I believe it is of a woman with a child and a lioness with her cub that have scared each other and look absolutely horrified. I stumbled across it as it was getting dark one evening and just about jumped out of my skin.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Saxon Switzerland
Yesterday I went to Saxon Switzerland with one of my classmates. We took the train to Kurort Rathen, arriving late in the morning. It was slightly foggy, but still beautiful. The weather was relatively mild and the trees were changing their colors from green to yellow and orange. We took a ferry across the Elbe River, then found a trail up and through the forest to the Bastei Bridge. Since it was a Sunday there were lots of other people out; we even crossed paths several times with three other Americans who live in my dorm. From vista points high up along the trail there were beautiful views of the river and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. We saw some people climbing as well. The bridge itself was not as large as expected, but it was surrounded by unique peaks. We lingered at the top of the trail, enjoying the views, then descended and found another trail to a small man-made lake called the Amselsee. We stopped and had some sandwiches on a bench there, watching fish swimming in the lake. Despite my classmate's protests, I insisted we continue on to Amselfall, which I hoped, based on the name, was a waterfall. We asked a family heading in the same direction about it and they confirmed that indeed it was a waterfall, but warned us it was very small! It was another nice walk, along a small creek this time, to get there. At the waterfall, there was a cafe and a small nature center that we checked out. As we returned to the river, the sun finally broke through the clouds. We took the ferry back across the river, then I had some tea while we were waiting for the train back to Dresden. We made it home by early evening. It was one of my favorite days in Germany so far. If we have another weekend with nice weather it would be a nice place to return to - there are many more areas of Saxon Switzerland to see and it's free to get there by train with our student ids.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
One Month in Dresden
I've been living in Dresden for over a month now. Time is flying. Here are a few things I've come to appreciate about living here:
- Great public transportation
- Delicious, inexpensive beer
- Many different kinds of juice & jam
- Huge variety of inexpensive dairy products
- Excellent electric hot water kettles
- Rooibos tea everywhere
- German drivers use their signals
- Vegetarian food isn't too hard to find
- Germans are pretty quiet
- Beautiful gardens and flower boxes
- Can recycle almost everything
- Bread!
- Chocolate!
- People enjoy walking outside on the weekends
- Pretty birds and waterfowl, surprisingly tame
- Wildflowers along the road and in empty lots
- Funny kids - very cute and quite serious
- Kid-friendly environments
- Clean air & water
- Clean streets
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Military History Museum
Last Monday evening, the Erasmus Students Network in Dresden arranged an English tour of the Military History Museum in Dresden. To be honest, military history doesn't interest me much, so I wasn't planning on going. However, when I checked out the museum's website, I discovered that not only is it the largest museum in Dresden, unlike many military history museums, its goal is to explore what causes and results from war and violence. I'm glad I decided to go, because it turned out to be very interesting. Our tour guide was great as well. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died about halfway through the tour, so I don't have too many photos. I would like to return later to explore the museum further, as the entrance price is free.
The museum used to be a traditional military history museum, but was redesigned about six years ago with the help of architect Daniel Libeskind. Reconstruction was completed this year. The building is in the center of a military complex and used to be an armory. Libeskind pierced the building exterior with a sharp metal structure that points toward Dresden's city center.
As you enter the exhibits, first you go through a room with hundreds of copies of the words "love" and "hate" projected and moving over the walls. The words slowly mass into the form of a crouching soldier with a gun and break apart, again and again.
The first item we saw on display was a Pervitin pill. Pervitin is a methamphetamine that German soldiers were forced to take during World War II to keep them awake for days.
Walking down a corridor, we saw the world's oldest submarine:
Beside this was one of the first space shuttles, and next to it, the capsule in which the astronauts would fall back to earth. Because they weren't sure the capsule would land where they wanted it to, it was marked, in Russian and English: "Man in side! Help!" It made me feel very claustrophobic.
Many of these items were built by prisoners in the concentration camps. Around the corner, one of a prisoner's most precious items, a food bowl, was on display.
The caption said the aluminum food bowl was from the Mittelbau-Dora
concentration camp, Nordhausen, during the German Reich ca. 1943-1945.
Three prisoners had carved their name or number into the pot. Presumably
the pot had been taken each time after the previous owner
had died of exhaustion or had been murdered. It was very sad.
We then saw an exhibit of how armor had changed over time, as weapons had become more and more deadly. It was bizarre to see early armor next to modern armor.
I thought the Saxon breast-plate (upper-right) was rather beautiful.
Next, we entered a room devoted to nuclear weapons. There were various concrete and metal shelters on one side of the room and nuclear missiles hanging from the ceiling. Every few minutes, there would be a flash, and if you were standing close to one of the walls, your shadow would be left on the wall for several seconds. I felt uncomfortable and was glad to leave the room.
We then walked down a narrow corridor in which a transport helicopter was attached to the wall. Standing below it you could feel what it would be like to have a helicopter (in this case, a relatively small helicopter) bearing down on you. Not good!
Going upstairs, we saw a ship peeking out from around a corner, which intrigued me, but we didn't investigate it, and quickly moved on.
Our next stop dealt with the role of animals in war. We saw, in a long line, different animals that had been used for transport, as mascots, and as weapons. The craziest things on display were a small horse wearing a burlap gas mask, and a dog with a wooden stick on its back, to trigger a bomb strapped to its chest when it ran under an enemy's horse. Poor animals. At this point, my camera died.
The next area was about the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. Our tour guide told us that when Hitler became the head of Germany's military forces, every soldier swore an oath of loyalty to him. She said this made a huge difference, and is why the soldiers did not surrender until after Hitler had killed himself.
There was also a section about life in the trenches. It was awful, basically. It also smelled terrible, as we discovered when we opened a small door in the wall behind which there was a machine emitting the smell of the trenches. Human waste and dead bodies, ugh. However, as we learned on the third floor, the trenches did give rise to that fashion staple, the trench coat. Speaking of military-inspired fashion, apparently underwear has its origins in the military. Soldiers didn't start wearing it until they were ordered to do so!
On the top floor of the museum, there were stones from the streets of three different cities in three different countries that were bombed during World War II. We walked out on a platform inside the metal wedge extending from the building. Through the metal screening, we could see the lights of Dresden's city center. It was kind of beautiful but also very cold. It was meant to be a hopeful scene, as Dresden has almost finished reconstructing its landmark buildings that were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden around Valentine's Day in 1945. This is where our tour ended.
The museum used to be a traditional military history museum, but was redesigned about six years ago with the help of architect Daniel Libeskind. Reconstruction was completed this year. The building is in the center of a military complex and used to be an armory. Libeskind pierced the building exterior with a sharp metal structure that points toward Dresden's city center.
As you enter the exhibits, first you go through a room with hundreds of copies of the words "love" and "hate" projected and moving over the walls. The words slowly mass into the form of a crouching soldier with a gun and break apart, again and again.
The first item we saw on display was a Pervitin pill. Pervitin is a methamphetamine that German soldiers were forced to take during World War II to keep them awake for days.
Walking down a corridor, we saw the world's oldest submarine:
Beside this was one of the first space shuttles, and next to it, the capsule in which the astronauts would fall back to earth. Because they weren't sure the capsule would land where they wanted it to, it was marked, in Russian and English: "Man in side! Help!" It made me feel very claustrophobic.
We then saw an exhibit of how armor had changed over time, as weapons had become more and more deadly. It was bizarre to see early armor next to modern armor.
I thought the Saxon breast-plate (upper-right) was rather beautiful.
Next, we entered a room devoted to nuclear weapons. There were various concrete and metal shelters on one side of the room and nuclear missiles hanging from the ceiling. Every few minutes, there would be a flash, and if you were standing close to one of the walls, your shadow would be left on the wall for several seconds. I felt uncomfortable and was glad to leave the room. We then walked down a narrow corridor in which a transport helicopter was attached to the wall. Standing below it you could feel what it would be like to have a helicopter (in this case, a relatively small helicopter) bearing down on you. Not good!
Going upstairs, we saw a ship peeking out from around a corner, which intrigued me, but we didn't investigate it, and quickly moved on.
Our next stop dealt with the role of animals in war. We saw, in a long line, different animals that had been used for transport, as mascots, and as weapons. The craziest things on display were a small horse wearing a burlap gas mask, and a dog with a wooden stick on its back, to trigger a bomb strapped to its chest when it ran under an enemy's horse. Poor animals. At this point, my camera died.
The next area was about the rise to power of Adolf Hitler. Our tour guide told us that when Hitler became the head of Germany's military forces, every soldier swore an oath of loyalty to him. She said this made a huge difference, and is why the soldiers did not surrender until after Hitler had killed himself.
There was also a section about life in the trenches. It was awful, basically. It also smelled terrible, as we discovered when we opened a small door in the wall behind which there was a machine emitting the smell of the trenches. Human waste and dead bodies, ugh. However, as we learned on the third floor, the trenches did give rise to that fashion staple, the trench coat. Speaking of military-inspired fashion, apparently underwear has its origins in the military. Soldiers didn't start wearing it until they were ordered to do so!
On the top floor of the museum, there were stones from the streets of three different cities in three different countries that were bombed during World War II. We walked out on a platform inside the metal wedge extending from the building. Through the metal screening, we could see the lights of Dresden's city center. It was kind of beautiful but also very cold. It was meant to be a hopeful scene, as Dresden has almost finished reconstructing its landmark buildings that were destroyed during the bombing of Dresden around Valentine's Day in 1945. This is where our tour ended.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Hanging Out in Neustadt
Two of my classmates live in Neustadt, the "New City" neighborhood of Dresden. Neustadt is north of the Dresden city center, on the other side of the Elbe River. With its cobblestone streets, old building facades, graffiti, and plentiful restaurants and bars, it feels like a completely different city from Dresden. I've been there a few times at night as well as during the day and there are always lots of people on the streets.
Last night my classmates and I met our GIS teacher there, at Reise-Kneipe, the travel bar. They have a great selection of unusual drinks. Last night I had some fresh mint tea and mango juice, and last weekend I tried a bottle of Müller's Malz, a strange slightly sweet, alcohol-free, organic malt drink.
The first time I visited Neustadt my classmates took me to see a place called Kunsthof-Passage. Through a passage from one of the main streets, you enter a network of courtyards with different themes. The courtyard that attracts the most visitors is the Hof der Elemente. One wall has storm drains in the shape of trumpets that funnel water into each other. I've heard rumors that the drains make music when it rains. Facing this wall is a golden wall with curved metal ribbons.
The next courtyard over, the Hof der Tierre, has a giraffe and monkeys on the wall, as well as rattan-like balconies. The other three courtyards are the Hof des Lichts, which has cornflower blue walls and bright red window and door frames, the Hof der Fabelwesen, and the Hof der Metamorphosen. We were in a bit of a rush the day we visited; I hope to return later to explore the courtyards a little more.
Another one of the landmarks in Neustadt is Martin Luther Platz, a square that contains a tall, dark church built in the late 1800s. It's a surprisingly quiet area for being just off one of the main drags. There's a comfortable pub just around the corner from it called Bottoms Up. I discovered it with my Spanish and Italian classmates when we were tired and hungry after a long walk across town. It turned out to have great food; their vegetarian lasagna, which is made with different vegetables every day, really hits the spot.
Last night we went to Bottoms Up after leaving the travel bar. The waitress recommended for me and I tried an extremely potent (11% alcohol!) and sweet Belgian beer called Kasteel. It was served in a special glass with a small glass castle on the stem. After drinking half of it I could barely keep my eyes open and had to switch glasses with my Irish classmate, who was drinking a tall glass of Erdinger Weißbier. I slept well last night.
Martin Luther Platz is beautiful and somewhat eerie at night. Last Monday I rushed past it on my way to try out a yoga class with my Russian classmate. That class was quite an experience. The instruction was mostly in German, with a little English. This was ok for the poses, because I could try to mimic what the teacher and the other students were doing, but I missed a lot during the lengthy meditation and laying-down times. I realized my lungs are quite weak when the teacher instructed us to do rapid breathing while holding certain poses, as well as during the several times we chanted "Om..." I wanted to laugh a few times, especially near the end of the class when the teacher led us through different squatting tip toe poses. One of them was especially difficult - we had to squat on our tip toes, extend one leg straight out, and put our hands in prayer position (samatvam asana?). I struggled to maintain my concentration as people thudded to the floor all around me. I was quite relieved when the class ended! There's nothing like yoga to point out where you're weak - I was sore in unusual places like my shins and upper back for the next two days at least!
Last night my classmates and I met our GIS teacher there, at Reise-Kneipe, the travel bar. They have a great selection of unusual drinks. Last night I had some fresh mint tea and mango juice, and last weekend I tried a bottle of Müller's Malz, a strange slightly sweet, alcohol-free, organic malt drink.
The first time I visited Neustadt my classmates took me to see a place called Kunsthof-Passage. Through a passage from one of the main streets, you enter a network of courtyards with different themes. The courtyard that attracts the most visitors is the Hof der Elemente. One wall has storm drains in the shape of trumpets that funnel water into each other. I've heard rumors that the drains make music when it rains. Facing this wall is a golden wall with curved metal ribbons.
The next courtyard over, the Hof der Tierre, has a giraffe and monkeys on the wall, as well as rattan-like balconies. The other three courtyards are the Hof des Lichts, which has cornflower blue walls and bright red window and door frames, the Hof der Fabelwesen, and the Hof der Metamorphosen. We were in a bit of a rush the day we visited; I hope to return later to explore the courtyards a little more.
Another one of the landmarks in Neustadt is Martin Luther Platz, a square that contains a tall, dark church built in the late 1800s. It's a surprisingly quiet area for being just off one of the main drags. There's a comfortable pub just around the corner from it called Bottoms Up. I discovered it with my Spanish and Italian classmates when we were tired and hungry after a long walk across town. It turned out to have great food; their vegetarian lasagna, which is made with different vegetables every day, really hits the spot.
Last night we went to Bottoms Up after leaving the travel bar. The waitress recommended for me and I tried an extremely potent (11% alcohol!) and sweet Belgian beer called Kasteel. It was served in a special glass with a small glass castle on the stem. After drinking half of it I could barely keep my eyes open and had to switch glasses with my Irish classmate, who was drinking a tall glass of Erdinger Weißbier. I slept well last night.
Martin Luther Platz is beautiful and somewhat eerie at night. Last Monday I rushed past it on my way to try out a yoga class with my Russian classmate. That class was quite an experience. The instruction was mostly in German, with a little English. This was ok for the poses, because I could try to mimic what the teacher and the other students were doing, but I missed a lot during the lengthy meditation and laying-down times. I realized my lungs are quite weak when the teacher instructed us to do rapid breathing while holding certain poses, as well as during the several times we chanted "Om..." I wanted to laugh a few times, especially near the end of the class when the teacher led us through different squatting tip toe poses. One of them was especially difficult - we had to squat on our tip toes, extend one leg straight out, and put our hands in prayer position (samatvam asana?). I struggled to maintain my concentration as people thudded to the floor all around me. I was quite relieved when the class ended! There's nothing like yoga to point out where you're weak - I was sore in unusual places like my shins and upper back for the next two days at least!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Biometric Photos
A couple of weeks ago I had an appointment with the Foreign Resident's Office in Dresden, to obtain a residence permit required to stay here longer than three months. I had to bring several documents with me. The requirement that gave me the most grief was a biometric photo. I didn't bring any passport photos from the States with me, but those wouldn't have been the right size anyway. Plus our German fellow-student advisor ("tutor") told me that I wasn't allowed to smile in the photo. My face had to be "neutral." There are photo booth-type machines that take biometric photos around Dresden, but they aren't cheap - four photos cost 5 euros. I spoke to my young American suitemate about them, and he advised against using them, because not only could you not smile in the photos, you had to hold your head perfectly straight. He and his fellow students had all gone to a professional photographer, who had to retake each photo multiple times because no one held their head just right. Unfortunately, my suitemate could not remember the exact address of the studio, and his R.A. was gone on vacation. I tracked her down once she got back and got the address from her, but short on time before my appointment, I decided to try one of the machines.
I used the photo booth in the basement of Dresden's main train station. On the outside of the booth - on the outside of all the biometric photo booths - there is a photo of a beautiful woman who looks just great in her photo. I wish they had a photo of a normal person on them instead, because then you wouldn't be as disappointed with the results! I went into the booth and inserted my 5 euros. A voice came on with instructions and the screen showed samples of what your photo should not look like. It was all in German, of course. Some of my classmates were outside, trying not to make me laugh. I had to stick my head out of the curtain and shoo them away. Eventually the instructions ended and it was time to take the photo. An outline of a face and eyes appeared, with a camera showing my face. Because I am not tall I had to squat with my rear raised an inch or so above the seat to get my face in the right position. I then pressed a button, and tried not to blink or smile. I waited, and waited, my eyes straining and thighs burning. Finally a voice said something like, "Ready, set, go!" and there was a shutter closing sound. The screen went black, and some seconds later my photo was displayed.
On the screen was probably the worst photo I've ever taken. My head was most definitely not straight, and I had "goo-goo" eyes, a look my mother perfected in all the passport photos of her I've seen from when she was my age. She was scared to blink too, I think. Thank God, it turned out I could retake the photo. I retook the photo about five times before I realized I wouldn't get good results as long as I was squatting. I tried sitting on my backpack instead and that helped significantly. The final result? Not great, but acceptable. "Um, it's ok," one of my more honest classmates concluded while shrugging, after scrutinizing it for some seconds.
The man who processed my residence permit looked a little skeptical when I first handed my photo to him, but he accepted it, so apparently it was good enough!
Update: In case anyone ends up here looking for a place to take biometric photos in Dresden, there are at least two machines in Hauptbahnhof and one on the first floor of the Foreigner's Office. The machines cost 5 euros for 4 photos. If you are short and decide to use one of the machines I suggest you bring a book to sit on. There is also a photo studio in the basement of the Altmarkt-Galerie, across from Rewe, where someone will take your photo for about 12 euros. There is also a photo studio near Wasaplatz called Foto-Atelier Diebel. Good luck!
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| One of the photo booths in Dresden Hbf |
Update: In case anyone ends up here looking for a place to take biometric photos in Dresden, there are at least two machines in Hauptbahnhof and one on the first floor of the Foreigner's Office. The machines cost 5 euros for 4 photos. If you are short and decide to use one of the machines I suggest you bring a book to sit on. There is also a photo studio in the basement of the Altmarkt-Galerie, across from Rewe, where someone will take your photo for about 12 euros. There is also a photo studio near Wasaplatz called Foto-Atelier Diebel. Good luck!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Intro to German Class
Last week I had an introductory German class with my coursemates at TUDIAS, a language-learning center in Dresden. Our class went from about 9:00 am to 2:00 pm everyday. It was a pretty good class - I liked the teacher and the pace was good for absolute beginners. We used a book with an amusing story about a Ukrainian guy, Nikolai, trying to communicate with a German family who had a young daughter, Sara. She had two stuffed animals named Poppel and Schnuffi and was very concerned when Nikolai got their names wrong. He also had to evade a lady trying to promote a sports drink at a supermarket; the poor guy just wanted to buy some salt.
TUDIAS is in a beautiful building, Dresden's World Trade Center. The center has a great bakery, some other restaurants, an all-purpose store, two grocery stores, and offices all facing into a beautiful courtyard with a glass ceiling, big windows, and water features. I definitely enjoyed the breaks. On Wednesday there was a fitness fair in the courtyard. We watched four girls doing a Zumba demonstration and later, out the window of our classroom, I saw older women sitting in a circle, doing wrist exercises in time to soothing music. On Thursday, there was a farmer's market. I got a delicious grilled flatbread sandwich filled with olives, feta cheese, and peppers from one of the stands.
I wish I could say I spoke much better German now, but the reality is that it will take a lot of studying and practice to make progress. We have the option to take free German classes through the university's German Department while we're here, but I'm not sure I'll have the time to make it worthwhile. At any rate, I do understand more now, which is good. And I can say "Excuse me" and "Sorry!"
One of my classmates who has more advanced German skills than I do told me that the accent in Saxony is quite different from other parts of Germany. For instance, "ich" sounds more like "eesh" than the "Ic" in Icabod Crane here. I don't know, but the Saxon accent is definitely easier for me! I have a hard time with the guttural sounds.
On Thursday night, our teacher invited us to attend a party to celebrate the end of the summer language courses. It was held at a student club (i.e., pub) called Bärenzwinger. That club is near the river and is in the side of a hill. It has three distinct areas - first, after you pass through a large stone archway, an enclosed stone-cobbled courtyard with a skylight, then, through another stone archway, a bar, and, through a short tunnel next to the bar, a dance floor. I enjoyed some so-so snacks, conversation, and very tasty beer with my classmates. I also danced to my heart's content, though my classmates and I had some quibbles with the music - the DJ seemed to be stuck in another era. I can't believe how late I stayed up that night - or that I made it to class on time the next morning (unlike half of my classmates)!
TUDIAS is in a beautiful building, Dresden's World Trade Center. The center has a great bakery, some other restaurants, an all-purpose store, two grocery stores, and offices all facing into a beautiful courtyard with a glass ceiling, big windows, and water features. I definitely enjoyed the breaks. On Wednesday there was a fitness fair in the courtyard. We watched four girls doing a Zumba demonstration and later, out the window of our classroom, I saw older women sitting in a circle, doing wrist exercises in time to soothing music. On Thursday, there was a farmer's market. I got a delicious grilled flatbread sandwich filled with olives, feta cheese, and peppers from one of the stands.
 |
| Inside Dresden's World Trade Center |
I wish I could say I spoke much better German now, but the reality is that it will take a lot of studying and practice to make progress. We have the option to take free German classes through the university's German Department while we're here, but I'm not sure I'll have the time to make it worthwhile. At any rate, I do understand more now, which is good. And I can say "Excuse me" and "Sorry!"
One of my classmates who has more advanced German skills than I do told me that the accent in Saxony is quite different from other parts of Germany. For instance, "ich" sounds more like "eesh" than the "Ic" in Icabod Crane here. I don't know, but the Saxon accent is definitely easier for me! I have a hard time with the guttural sounds.
On Thursday night, our teacher invited us to attend a party to celebrate the end of the summer language courses. It was held at a student club (i.e., pub) called Bärenzwinger. That club is near the river and is in the side of a hill. It has three distinct areas - first, after you pass through a large stone archway, an enclosed stone-cobbled courtyard with a skylight, then, through another stone archway, a bar, and, through a short tunnel next to the bar, a dance floor. I enjoyed some so-so snacks, conversation, and very tasty beer with my classmates. I also danced to my heart's content, though my classmates and I had some quibbles with the music - the DJ seemed to be stuck in another era. I can't believe how late I stayed up that night - or that I made it to class on time the next morning (unlike half of my classmates)!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Statistics in Tharandt
Last week our "bridging" or preparatory courses began. The first day consisted of a welcome, introductions, and introductory flood risk management lecture at the TU Dresden main campus. We spent most of the rest of the week reviewing basic statistics and learning how to use the open source statistics program R in Tharandt.
Tharandt is a short train ride away from Dresden. Since our classes began at 9 am we had to make sure we were on the right platform in the main train station (Hauptbanhof or Hbf for short) in time to catch the 8:07 am train every morning. I enjoyed the train rides with my classmates and looking out the windows at the passing scenery.
Tharandt is a picturesque town in the forest. The hall in which our statistics lessons was located had very interesting decor - dozens of antlers. We had our lessons in a computer lab outfitted with Apple computers. This is unusual for scientific work. It was a challenge getting used to using an Apple again, and even more of a challenge adapting to the Apple German keyboard. Many common keys (like brackets) had to be accessed through shortcuts, and on German keyboards the "z" and "y" are reversed.
We were happy to be done with statistics on Thursday afternoon. We will be back in Tharandt again the week after next for GIS classes.
Tharandt is a short train ride away from Dresden. Since our classes began at 9 am we had to make sure we were on the right platform in the main train station (Hauptbanhof or Hbf for short) in time to catch the 8:07 am train every morning. I enjoyed the train rides with my classmates and looking out the windows at the passing scenery.
Tharandt is a picturesque town in the forest. The hall in which our statistics lessons was located had very interesting decor - dozens of antlers. We had our lessons in a computer lab outfitted with Apple computers. This is unusual for scientific work. It was a challenge getting used to using an Apple again, and even more of a challenge adapting to the Apple German keyboard. Many common keys (like brackets) had to be accessed through shortcuts, and on German keyboards the "z" and "y" are reversed.
We were happy to be done with statistics on Thursday afternoon. We will be back in Tharandt again the week after next for GIS classes.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
A Comedy of Errors
Tonight I logged into my German bank account and discovered that a portion of my scholarship had been transferred from the course organizers in the Netherlands to me. This is excellent news, as my first few weeks in Germany have been expensive. However, I was a bit surprised at how much money had been transferred to me. It seemed like too much, too soon. Then I noticed that they had transferred two equal amounts of money to me on the same day. Looking at the memo lines, I noticed that one transaction had my last name on it, but that the other had another last name on it: my Georgian classmate's.
Just a few days ago I let my classmate borrow my laptop to send his bank account information to our organizers in the Netherlands. I teased him that he could provide my information, if he wished! Little did I know that this was exactly what he would end up doing, though by mistake.
We thought that IBAN numbers for the same bank branch were identical. Not so, it turns out (at least in our case). He provided the same IBAN number as mine, which resulted in his scholarship money being deposited directly into my bank account.
My classmate's reaction to this situation? "You are joking." No, sadly, I was not (but we did get a good laugh out of it, a little later). We determined the correct IBAN number for him and he sent it to the Netherlands. Tomorrow we'll go to the bank to transfer the extra money from my account to his.
Just a few days ago I let my classmate borrow my laptop to send his bank account information to our organizers in the Netherlands. I teased him that he could provide my information, if he wished! Little did I know that this was exactly what he would end up doing, though by mistake.
We thought that IBAN numbers for the same bank branch were identical. Not so, it turns out (at least in our case). He provided the same IBAN number as mine, which resulted in his scholarship money being deposited directly into my bank account.
My classmate's reaction to this situation? "You are joking." No, sadly, I was not (but we did get a good laugh out of it, a little later). We determined the correct IBAN number for him and he sent it to the Netherlands. Tomorrow we'll go to the bank to transfer the extra money from my account to his.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sundays are for Laundry
All my major shopping done, I decided that yesterday would be a good day to relax and get some laundry done. I carried my half-full Burpee seed/laundry bag down 6 flights of stairs to the laundry room in the basement to find that, not surprisingly, all of the washers were full, and there were bags of clothes next to them, of people waiting to do their loads next. There are countdown clocks on the washers, and three were within minutes of being done, so I decided to wait. Luckily, a German guy walked in. I asked him for help, and he graciously let me put my clothes in the first washer that was ready, even though one of the waiting bags was his. Here's what he showed me:
1. Press the unlock button.
2. Take out the done clothes and pile them on top of the washer. Stick your clothes in.
3. Choose one of the 6 or so washing programs. "A is best; I always use A," he said. A is for cotton and has three water temperatures: 40, 60, or 90 degrees. 40 degrees (over 100 deg F) seemed sufficient to me.
4. Pull out the little drawer in the machine and add detergent. Optionally, add softener. I had heard that German water was extra-hard, and that if you don't use softener you'll end up with stiff clothes. So when he offered to let me use his softener, I let him pour in tons. Bad idea, it later turned out, as I am sensitive to fragrance and that softener guaranteed my room will have a strong smell for days.
5. Go over to the pay machine, select your machine number, and pay 2.10 euro. That's right,
about $2.75 for a load about 50-75% the size of an American load. I asked the guy, "Really?" "Really," he assured me.
6. Press the green button to start the wash cycle.
The countdown timer showed 23 minutes. "Ok, so about half an hour?" I asked the guy. "No, no, an hour and 30 minutes! Maybe an hour and 20 minutes," he said. Oh man, and I had wanted to go down to the river. Oh well, what can you do?
I came down just over an hour later, to help one of my classmates with his first load of laundry. Someone had taken out my clothes and piled them on top of the washer, so I guess they were done. I went through the steps with my classmate, but when he showed me his detergent, I was skeptical. It had a picture of a washer and clothes on it, but it was called something like Anti-Calc Pulver. I turned the box over, which showed a clean metal coil and a metal coil covered with calcium deposits, and I told him that I didn't think it was detergent, but powder for removing hard water deposits from the washer. We really need our German class! I grabbed my clothes and went back up 6 flights of stairs to get my detergent for him to use.
Right after he started his washing program, the machine showed 20-some minutes, but a few minutes later it showed over 40 minutes. Another German guy came in and I asked him if the machines really take an hour and a half per laod. He said it's more like 50 minutes. We also showed him the anti-calc pulver but he wasn't sure what it was. "Sorry!" he said.
Back upstairs, I grabbed a drying rack from the bathroom, opened my window wide, and hung my clothes. The drying rack was more than large enough for all the clothes I had washed. Nice! This morning, after dreaming about reading an article about washing laundry in Germany, which said that the kind of laundry detergent I'd bought was "not recommended for beginners," I found that all my clothes were dry. Very fragrant, but dry. I am satisfied. I just have to buy some of my own laundry softener, as my classmate, who used my detergent without any softener, said his clothes ended up a bit hard.
I'm grateful that I actually did make it out of the dorms and down to the Elbe river yesterday. My classmate and I caught the tram there. We walked around a bit and crossed the river to go into the Neustadt district. There was a nice pedestrian corridor there. Lots of people were out, enjoying the good weather and eating ice cream. We got some frozen yogurt that was delicious, even though it was the "rotten fruit" flavor. No, not really, "roten" means red here.
The old buildings in Dresden are impressive. I need to buy a guide book and start reading up on them and the city's history. The Elbe is a nice river as well, though I have to admit I like natural or at least more natural rivers better than rivers with a lot of development built up next to them. The Mississippi has spoiled me for life!
1. Press the unlock button.
2. Take out the done clothes and pile them on top of the washer. Stick your clothes in.
3. Choose one of the 6 or so washing programs. "A is best; I always use A," he said. A is for cotton and has three water temperatures: 40, 60, or 90 degrees. 40 degrees (over 100 deg F) seemed sufficient to me.
4. Pull out the little drawer in the machine and add detergent. Optionally, add softener. I had heard that German water was extra-hard, and that if you don't use softener you'll end up with stiff clothes. So when he offered to let me use his softener, I let him pour in tons. Bad idea, it later turned out, as I am sensitive to fragrance and that softener guaranteed my room will have a strong smell for days.
5. Go over to the pay machine, select your machine number, and pay 2.10 euro. That's right,
about $2.75 for a load about 50-75% the size of an American load. I asked the guy, "Really?" "Really," he assured me.
6. Press the green button to start the wash cycle.
The countdown timer showed 23 minutes. "Ok, so about half an hour?" I asked the guy. "No, no, an hour and 30 minutes! Maybe an hour and 20 minutes," he said. Oh man, and I had wanted to go down to the river. Oh well, what can you do?
I came down just over an hour later, to help one of my classmates with his first load of laundry. Someone had taken out my clothes and piled them on top of the washer, so I guess they were done. I went through the steps with my classmate, but when he showed me his detergent, I was skeptical. It had a picture of a washer and clothes on it, but it was called something like Anti-Calc Pulver. I turned the box over, which showed a clean metal coil and a metal coil covered with calcium deposits, and I told him that I didn't think it was detergent, but powder for removing hard water deposits from the washer. We really need our German class! I grabbed my clothes and went back up 6 flights of stairs to get my detergent for him to use.
Right after he started his washing program, the machine showed 20-some minutes, but a few minutes later it showed over 40 minutes. Another German guy came in and I asked him if the machines really take an hour and a half per laod. He said it's more like 50 minutes. We also showed him the anti-calc pulver but he wasn't sure what it was. "Sorry!" he said.
Back upstairs, I grabbed a drying rack from the bathroom, opened my window wide, and hung my clothes. The drying rack was more than large enough for all the clothes I had washed. Nice! This morning, after dreaming about reading an article about washing laundry in Germany, which said that the kind of laundry detergent I'd bought was "not recommended for beginners," I found that all my clothes were dry. Very fragrant, but dry. I am satisfied. I just have to buy some of my own laundry softener, as my classmate, who used my detergent without any softener, said his clothes ended up a bit hard.
I'm grateful that I actually did make it out of the dorms and down to the Elbe river yesterday. My classmate and I caught the tram there. We walked around a bit and crossed the river to go into the Neustadt district. There was a nice pedestrian corridor there. Lots of people were out, enjoying the good weather and eating ice cream. We got some frozen yogurt that was delicious, even though it was the "rotten fruit" flavor. No, not really, "roten" means red here.
The old buildings in Dresden are impressive. I need to buy a guide book and start reading up on them and the city's history. The Elbe is a nice river as well, though I have to admit I like natural or at least more natural rivers better than rivers with a lot of development built up next to them. The Mississippi has spoiled me for life!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Bier, Beer, and more Bier
I can tell that this is going to be another recurring theme during my time in Dresden. Yesterday I met three of my classmates, from Canada, Colombia, and Albania. Today I met two more, from China and Georgia (the country, not the state), who live in my dorm. We went shopping together, then came back, cooked dinner, and drank beer. My Chinese classmate, who's not a fan of beer, had some white wine instead - his first time trying anything other than Chinese or Korean wine.
It is so interesting to talk to my classmates, and to learn about countries I'm not that familiar with. Georgia sounds beautiful - mountains within an hour from the sea. Tonight we tried the local Dresden beer, Dresdner Felsenkeller, which one of us had heard was so-so. We tried the Pilsner and the Urhell varieties. The Urhell tasted great to me, and a large bottle cost less than 1 euro. I even preferred it to our third bottle of beer, the Czech Pilsner Urquell. We tried another beer, but it was not memorable. I think the name was something like Vorhang, but that's not right, because Vorhang means curtain... I have curtains on the brain because I bought and had my neighbor hang one for me yesterday, hallelujah, and showed my classmates where to buy some today. We have very big windows and curtains are essential for privacy and blocking the outside light at night. Don't even get me started on the very specific type of curtain hooks we had to find before we could buy curtains, or how much they cost. How much everything for our rooms cost, in fact - I'd rather forget that.
I will meet most of the rest of my classmates on Monday morning at our course welcome. A few won't make it to Dresden until later due to visa delays, etc. My Chinese classmate said that he had to pass an oral hydraulics and hydrology examination at the German embassy before they'd give him a study visa! I'm sure glad I didn't have to fly down to the German consulate in Houston for something like that.
One of the topics that got us laughing the hardest tonight was the deposits we had to wire transfer to the dormitory contractor's bank account. Our room contracts started on the 1st of September but since we didn't arrive until the second week, they asked us to send them a 70 euro deposit in advance. My local bank hadn't done an international wire transfer in two years, so it was a little touch-and-go. I looked up how many dollars there were in 70 euros, and figured I'd be safe if I wired $100. My bank charges a flat $40 fee for international wire transfers, but they cannot guarantee that the money will make it its intended destination. Anyway, a few days later, I heard back from my contact at the dormitory office that they had only received 61.52 euro. I freaked out that I would have to pay another $40 to wire 9 more euro to Germany, but luckily after I wrote and explained the situation, my contact wrote back that my room was reserved. My Georgian classmate, hilariously, also wired the office what he believed was over 70 euro, then heard back they had only received 62 euro. Unlike me, though, his strategy was to write back that he would wire them the remaining 8 euro as soon as possible. To pay his deposit, my Chinese classmate took advantage of the worldwide Chinese network and, using the Internet, paid a Chinese guy living in Germany to deposit the money for him!
The weirdest thing about tonight was that the kitchen we were cooking in had a photo of a half-naked lady taped to the cupboard just above the kitchen sink. I guess washing dishes can get kind of boring. I also found it bizarre that that kitchen had almost exactly the same collection of empty bottles of alcohol placed on top of the cupboard as there are in my kitchen. My suite mates and I are just waiting until the official beginning of the semester to see if any students from last year come back before we throw all that kind of stuff out and redo the kitchen to our liking.
It is so interesting to talk to my classmates, and to learn about countries I'm not that familiar with. Georgia sounds beautiful - mountains within an hour from the sea. Tonight we tried the local Dresden beer, Dresdner Felsenkeller, which one of us had heard was so-so. We tried the Pilsner and the Urhell varieties. The Urhell tasted great to me, and a large bottle cost less than 1 euro. I even preferred it to our third bottle of beer, the Czech Pilsner Urquell. We tried another beer, but it was not memorable. I think the name was something like Vorhang, but that's not right, because Vorhang means curtain... I have curtains on the brain because I bought and had my neighbor hang one for me yesterday, hallelujah, and showed my classmates where to buy some today. We have very big windows and curtains are essential for privacy and blocking the outside light at night. Don't even get me started on the very specific type of curtain hooks we had to find before we could buy curtains, or how much they cost. How much everything for our rooms cost, in fact - I'd rather forget that.
I will meet most of the rest of my classmates on Monday morning at our course welcome. A few won't make it to Dresden until later due to visa delays, etc. My Chinese classmate said that he had to pass an oral hydraulics and hydrology examination at the German embassy before they'd give him a study visa! I'm sure glad I didn't have to fly down to the German consulate in Houston for something like that.
One of the topics that got us laughing the hardest tonight was the deposits we had to wire transfer to the dormitory contractor's bank account. Our room contracts started on the 1st of September but since we didn't arrive until the second week, they asked us to send them a 70 euro deposit in advance. My local bank hadn't done an international wire transfer in two years, so it was a little touch-and-go. I looked up how many dollars there were in 70 euros, and figured I'd be safe if I wired $100. My bank charges a flat $40 fee for international wire transfers, but they cannot guarantee that the money will make it its intended destination. Anyway, a few days later, I heard back from my contact at the dormitory office that they had only received 61.52 euro. I freaked out that I would have to pay another $40 to wire 9 more euro to Germany, but luckily after I wrote and explained the situation, my contact wrote back that my room was reserved. My Georgian classmate, hilariously, also wired the office what he believed was over 70 euro, then heard back they had only received 62 euro. Unlike me, though, his strategy was to write back that he would wire them the remaining 8 euro as soon as possible. To pay his deposit, my Chinese classmate took advantage of the worldwide Chinese network and, using the Internet, paid a Chinese guy living in Germany to deposit the money for him!
The weirdest thing about tonight was that the kitchen we were cooking in had a photo of a half-naked lady taped to the cupboard just above the kitchen sink. I guess washing dishes can get kind of boring. I also found it bizarre that that kitchen had almost exactly the same collection of empty bottles of alcohol placed on top of the cupboard as there are in my kitchen. My suite mates and I are just waiting until the official beginning of the semester to see if any students from last year come back before we throw all that kind of stuff out and redo the kitchen to our liking.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Walk 'Til You Drop
The week is almost over and it feels like I have spent most of my time in Germany walking and shopping. I have no car here, so I cannot drive to stores and load up. I need to buy a little every day. Today I met up with some classmates and we went shopping for some household necessities together. I ended up spending several hours walking around carrying hangers, a broom, a yoga mat, a pan cover, curtain hooks, and other random stuff. All this walking is exhausting, especially since I haven't been getting enough sleep at night, drinking enough water, or eating as often or as healthily as I normally do. My feet, legs, and back ache.
Here are some more funny (or at least different) things about life in Germany:
Here are some more funny (or at least different) things about life in Germany:
- Trash needs to be sorted into several different categories here. As I understand it so far, you have your organic waste or compost; your glass (brown, clear, and green separated); your paper, which includes cardboard; your newspaper; plastic and foil; and everything else. Maybe by the time I leave I'll have it all figured out.
- Doors open in instead of out. In the U.S. you have fire codes that require doors to open out. Not so here. I tried to go into a copy shop two days ago and thought they closed early because the door would not open for me. Then I realized I hadn't tried pushing it in. D'oh!
- The light rail or tram doors do not slide open unless you push a button on one of the doors. I was very confused one night when I ran to a newly arrived tram, waited for the doors to open, and waited, and waited, and then the tram left. The next time I watched other people waiting and saw them press a button on the doors. At first I thought this was annoying, but then I realized it's probably a good idea not to open the doors unnecessarily when it's cold outside. As a side note, German trains are very punctual.
- Grocery stores and many other stores do not accept credit cards for payment - you must use a German MasterCard debit card or cash. As one clerk sternly told me when I handed her my credit card, "Visa nein!"
- Most grocery stores and many other stores do not give you bags. You need to bring your own bag(s) or pay to buy one from them (if they're even available). I paid 10 cents (euro) for a small bag at a household goods store today.
- Also, you must bag all your own purchases, including groceries. They do not stop the next person in line for you. A lot of the stores have bagging areas that people can move over to to finish the job.
- At the Autumn Fair, you can buy beer in a glass, but you have to pay a 2 euro deposit for the glass. You get it back when you give them the glass back. I had some excellent seasonal fermented alcohol called Federweisser at the fair today, by the way. It reminded me a bit of Kombucha. Probably because I was eating mushrooms at the time - a whole bowl full of mushrooms. I probably won't be able to eat any more mushrooms for a month.
- You can take some plastic bottles back to grocery stores for a refund (called pfand). There are no refunds for glass, though. According to one of my classmates who has lived in Germany before, this system was implemented to combat littering.
- The washing machines here are tiny (about the size of two 1-gal buckets), and the dryers don't work. No seriously, from what I've heard, Germans do not use dryers. In my dorm there are two dryers in the basement, but my neighbor warned me not to try to use them because they are expensive and work less than half the time. Everyone just uses drying racks or indoor clothes lines instead. Jeans can take several days to dry when the weather's damp, my classmate said. My mom suggested I handwash all my clothes, but without the spin cycle I think my clothes would really take a long time to dry. Plus, I'm lazy. We'll see.
- Free public restrooms are hard to come by. At the main train station in Dresden, you have to pay 70 euro cents and go through a turnstile to use the restrooms. Not all restaurants have restrooms. In many shopping malls, there are restroom attendants who you are expected to tip when you are done.
- Free water is also hard to come by (I guess this helps reduce restroom use). At a restaurant the other day my jaw nearly dropped when I asked for some water and was charged 1.40 euro. At least it was carbonated (mit gas). A glass of beer would've only cost me 20 more cents. I have a water bottle I carry around with me, but haven't seen drinking fountains I could fill up at when I'm out and about.
- You're supposed to tip the restroom attendant, but aren't expected to tip taxi drivers or restaurant servers/cashiers!
Don't Forget Your Hausschuhe
So, I have a pair of old suede Birkenstock clogs that I decided to bring with me because hey, they're comfortable and they're German. I wore them out walking around the other day, which turned out to be a bad idea because it rained and my feet got wet. Last night I was chatting with some of the older American students from BU in my dorm. One of the RAs was wearing clogs similar to mine except they're half smooth leather and half felt. She called them her Hausschuhe, or house shoes. The other girls were saying they see Hausschuhe for sale everywhere, even the grocery store Aldi. They told me that though Birkenstock clogs are acceptable outside wear in the States, if you wear them out here you will get some weird looks from Germans. It's pretty much the equivalent of wearing slippers to go shopping in the U.S. Oh well, I guess I shouldn't wear my clogs outside but at least I have a nice pair of Hausschuhe!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Arrival in Dresden
I arrived in Dresden, Germany two days ago. My first days have definitely been overwhelming. I have been trying to get all my ducks in a row before my course begins next week. What I've accomplished so far: signed my dorm room contract; moved into my dorm room and unpacked; registered with the local authorities; opened a German bank account; got Internet set up in my room; bought some groceries; and started buying some necessities for my room (trash can, towels). What I have left to do: convert my entry permit to a student visa; get a mobile phone; start cooking lunch and dinner for myself; and buy some more necessities for my room (rug, desk lamp, curtains?). I also must LEARN GERMAN, asap. I have lived in other countries before so I don't know why I'm having such a hard time dealing with the lack of English here, especially since most younger Germans in Dresden do speak pretty decent English. I think it is because I am on my own, and it is quite isolating when you can't communicate very well with anyone. I am very much looking forward to the arrival of my classmates!
Funny things so far:
Funny things so far:
- At the registration office I had to tell them my religion. They are only interested in if you are Catholic or Evangelical, though. Buddhist = no religion.
- At the registration office I asked if Germans also have to register when they move to a new city. "Of course!" the guy replied.
- I have to pay a monthly fee for my bank account because even though I am a student, I am over 30. I cracked up the guy helping me open my account when I said it was an "old age fee."
- I already posted this on FB, but on my first evening, seriously exhausted after my flights, I went out looking for food. There was a fair going on in one of the town squares. I tried to decipher the German names of food and found Nudeln mit Tomaten und Käse, or noodles with tomatoes and cheese. I ordered some. The lady handed it to me and I looked around for a fork. I couldn't see any. Finally I asked her. She pointed to my hand, which was holding a fork, and said, "That's awesome!" Geez...
- There is a 8GB per week per room limit on Internet use in my dorm, supposedly to restrict Internet use to academic purposes. My American suite mate (dorm rooms in my building are divided into suites, or groups of six rooms that share a kitchen and bathroom) warned me not to try to illegally upload or download anything, "It's a small country; they track you." Apparently the police came after another American student for illegally downloading three songs - they wanted 1000s of Euros but he got a lawyer and only had to pay a few hundred.
- In my dorm (all German dorms?), the students have to clean their own rooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. Wish me luck!
- Everyone, and I mean everyone, I've interacted with has tried to speak to me in German first. Reactions to me explaining that sorry, I don't speak German, have ranged from amused to exasperated. Today in a department store one lady just sighed and walked away!
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