Day 26: Gelato

Hallo all! Wie geht's? Today has been a really interesting day (sound familiar?). Well, classes were okay. After Goethe, we had our Union class. It was fine, we learned a bit more about our travels next week, but we still don't know who our host families are! Andrea and I worked on our video project for Union this afternoon. She had the idea to do our project on gelato/ice cream shops in the area because they're very popular. So, we took pictures of some of the different restaurants to add into our video. But when got to the shop in which we were going to do the most filming, the situation was very surprising. I talked to the owner in German and explained that we are Goethe Institut students and that we were wondering if it would be fine to do just a few minutes of filming for our project. But he would not let us do it! Thinking back on it all, it's been interesting that I wasn't more taken aback by his response. I was actually pretty apathetic to the whole thing, and therefore, didn't get upset or embarrassed. I was just proud of myself for being able to communicate effectively in another language! So, we headed to another ice cream shop and did the filming on the sly. And even if they happen to notice, the other places didn't seem to care that much. It's really been interesting to see how some Europeans do not like cameras as much as some Americans do. Well, I hate to cut this short, but I may be headed out soon. Glad to hear that everyone is in good health and doing well! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 25: "Sag was?!"

Hallo! Hope you all are well! Today was (once again, again, again...) quite a unique day. Well, the morning was the same. Classes at Goethe, as always. But something very interesting happened there, also. I came back from the lunch break a little early so I could finish my classwork and I ended up talking to the instructor for a little bit (auf Deutsch)! Last week, I had been very disappointed because she seemed to think that in my quietness I did not know very much German or that the pace of the class was too slow. But today, things have changed a bit. She now was telling me, "I'm just never quite sure sure if the class is too slow for you or what?" I was thinking, "FINALLY! She understands!" I am just glad I have proven myself a little bit more over the past week. It really has been difficult for me to overcome the first image I was given as being quite and polite (meaning that I know nothing, also, I guess). Unfortunately, now that I have made some progress, we are about to leave! It's really interesting how I finally feel adjusted to everything and how I now realize how much I am going to miss this place called Freiburg! I am glad that I now have come to terms with this whole experience and that I am able to enjoy all of the different opportunities to their fullest. It's going to be really interesting to leave all of the familiarity once again and venture to a new setting. I think that Berlin will take some getting used to, too, but at least now I know how to go about living abroad a bit better than I did four weeks ago. Wow, time flies!

So, after class, we had a little time to recoup before heading to the other side of Freiburg. We visited Professor Nelson's doctor-friend at a health/skin clinic out in the outskirts of the city. It was really nice to see a new part of Freiburg. I thought that I had seen the whole city in my travels, but I really haven't! It makes me realize how much there is still to see in less than a week!

It was a very interesting talk that Stephan gave at the clinic. He focuses on allergies (mostly skin-related), but his talk also mentioned general food and asthmatic allergies. Knowing some people close to me who suffer from such things, it was interesting to learn more about the causes. Who knows, maybe an allergy cure will one day come out of Freiburg!

After the tour and talk, some of us ventured to another the house of Professor Nelson's other friend, still father on the edge of town. It was a really neat place, unlike anything I have seen here so far. It was right on the edge of the mountains/forest and the only sound you could hear was the chirping of the birds. I actually felt very relaxed after going there. It was nice to sit down on the patio overlooking the garden and watch the clouds go by. There was also a very cute cat at the house! We sampled some German snacks and beverages and just talked a while. I really enjoyed it and think it was exactly what I needed!

I probably talked more today than I have in the past three weeks. Unfortunately, the discussions were in English, but I think that was what I needed, too. I always feel so guilty not conversing in German, but maybe I just needed a break from that for a little while. I really learned a lot about Professor Nelson and just random and different experiences and opportunities, more later to come. So, after the nice bit of relaxation, we headed back to the Gaestehaus. But on the way, we stopped at some really neat German stores. There was this cool coffee house with a mini-clothing store in it. I guess they change the inventory every week and everything is very cheap! After that, we went to Migros, which was an amazing grocery store! So much food and variety there, it was pretty crazy. They say if you can't find it at Migros, you can't find it in Freiburg! Then, we ventured to Aldi Sued (the southern German version the Aldi we have in the States). It was really neat and I ended up buying some interesting German snacks. We returned to the Gaestehaus and made some Flammkuchen with the Zivis (maybe more eating than cooking was done on our part)! And it was pretty darn good!

It was a fun day, but busy as always. And I really learned a lot, too. I realized that not everything is set in stone (how cliqué!). But really, there are so many opportunities out there. And maybe I will one day find myself back here in Freiburg. It would be interesting if that did happen! I just keep learning and understanding so many different and new perspectives. And it's been interesting for me to take Goethe classes because it makes me think about how we must sound as German students to a native-German speaker. And that makes me think about how interesting it would be to teach people how to speak English. And that just opens up so many new places and experiences. I will give more detail as events unfold. But I am really just reaching another understanding of things, which is very interesting. More info at a later point...Hope all is well! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Note: "Sag was?!" = "Say what?!" (sort of...)

Day 24: Spargel!

Hallo! Wie geht's? Hope all is well! Well, today was quite an interesting day. Classes early this morning (of course), then we headed to a champagne factory/brewery. I'm not really sure what they are called! But this place was in Breisgau, which is a town we visited briefly a few weeks ago. It was definitely a different perspective this time!

It was a neat experience to see how champagne is made authentically. Actually, this stuff cannot be legally called champagne since it is not produced in the Champagne region of France! But this "sparkling wine" is supposedly just as good, if not better, than the French version. So, it was an interesting walk through modernized factory workings and the historic six hundred year old cellars!

After the champagne tour, we stopped at a "little restaurant thing" out in the country to sample a German delicacy. It's hard for me to describe exactly what this place was because we have no equivalent to it in the US. But it's a little family-run establishment that is only allowed to serve a small number of people at a time. Here, we had Spargel! Spargel is a (white) asparagus (usually served with Hollandase Sauce and potatoes) that is pretty rare, pretty expensive, and pretty tasty. We got a very good meal for a very good price!

After our quaint dinner, we traveled back through the outskirts of Freiburg to another small town in the countryside (I really should know these names...). We walked the deserted streets, saw a castle, and observed the supposed home of Goethe's "Doctor Faust." After all of that, we piled back into the bus and headed back to the Gaestehaus. What a long day! I hope that all is well with you all! It's crazy to think that I've been here already for three and a half weeks! Only six more days of classes to go! Well, I better get some sleep. 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 23: History Lecture

Hallo all! It is week 4 and I cannot believe it! So, today was another long day of Goethe classes. But it went by pretty quickly, which was nice. Only seven more day of Freiburg! After class, Andrea and I went grocery shopping, which is always fun. Then, we attended a lecture on German history (in German). It was quite interesting and I was happy with how much I understood out of all of it. I even got three pages of notes! I guess that it is good that I have taken so many classes on World War II because I was able to follow the chronology pretty well. It ended up that if all of our Union class had attended the lecture, we would have gotten a "bonus." Three out of six of us attended, but there's still a chance that our Thursday test will be take home as a result! Sweeet! So, we worked on some homework after the lecture...but we ended up getting side-tracked in an extensive conversation with Professor Nelson. Interesting stuff!

Last night, we ended up walking around Freiburg a bit. We might do the same tonight. Nothing much new to report. It's nice that we only have ten more days here and then some time for traveling. I really do like Freiburg and I know that I am going to miss it very much, but I am also looking forward to a change of scenery and it will be nice to live in such a historic city for a month (Berlin)! So, that's about it for now. After all of these life contemplations, the past few days have been pretty restful. Hope all is well! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 22: Relaxing Afternoon

Hallo everyone! Wie geht's? Hope all is well at home! Today was beautiful! After spending some of the morning on homework, I decided to take my work outdoors and enjoy the sunshine! I did the typical German thing and headed to the nearest park to lie under a tree and do some reading on Medieval German. But it was actually a very relaxing afternoon and I was nice to get out and see what the typical Freiburger does on a Sunday afternoon. There were so many people reading, playing frisbee, walking their dogs, sleeping in the sunshine! I had a really nice time doing that as well and I feel that I am ahead of the game on homework! So, it was a pretty nice day weather-wise and all of that. It makes me kind of sad to think that the only time my roommate came out of her room was to cook an early dinner. I hope that she's having a good time, but I wish for both of our sake that she would get out more often! But anyway, nothing new really to report otherwise. I'm glad to have a bit of a break from traveling even though yesterday was a lot of fun. It's early evening right now and Andrea and I might head out for a bit for a walk and some gelato. I guess we'll see what the night brings! Hope you are all well! Have a nice Sunday! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 21: Sommerrodelbahn!

Hallo! It is Day 21, which means we have been here for three weeks already! It's hard to believe that much time has gone by so quickly! One third down, six weeks to go...

So, today was a lot of fun! We went about 1.5 hours away to a little ski town called Todtnau, way up in the mountains. There they we rode a ski chair lift all the way up a mountain. But our way back down was quite unique. We rode little cars down this metal track! It was sort of like a roller coaster, but still a bit different. You controlled your speed and had to make sure you had enough room between you and the car in front of you. And you had to make sure to brake on the turns and finish...Your safety was really in your own hands! It really was such a fun experience, I had never done anything like that before. They called it a "Sommerrodelbahn," I believe.

After the ride down, Andrea and I walked around the town a bit. We sampled some gelato before headed back to the little restaurant outside of the ride. But there we discovered our company had changed a bit. Instead we had been joined by a group of singing Bavarian bachelor party goers! They were selling little trinkets in hopes of gaining some money for the groom-to-be! I have to admit that it was quite an interesting experience. They were good singers, surprisingly!

After that interesting encounter, we headed into the mountains for a hike. We went probably 4 kilometers up and made it to a beautiful waterfall that was more magnificent than anything I've ever seen! What was really neat about this area (other than the waterfall itself) were the scenic view benches. They were actually more like wooden beds that you could lie back on and just enjoy the falls! Very neat!! We wandered back down again and caught the bus and train back to Freiburg. Quite an interesting day, indeed! It's really great that the Goethe program here has improved and that they now offer so many trips. Next week, we are going to Mailand (Milan), Italy! I'm excited!!

I'm not sure what I'm going to be up to tonight. At this point, I think that I would like to stay in and relax a bit because it's been a long week! We only have a week and a half left here in Freiburg! I may not be interesting in pursuing the exact same experiences as everyone else in the group, I really think that I am making the most of my time here and taking advantage of a variety of opportunities! This experience has not only taught me about other people, but also a lot about myself. I really am looking forward to a change of pace. I think that Berlin will be a really interesting experience! Although I do love Freiburg and know that it will take some time to get used to new surroundings again, I am very excited for the second half of the term! It will be nice to have the opportunity to connect with a host family. But that's all somewhat hard to think about when the day was so much fun and things are going generally well here! Anyway, hope things are fine back in the States! 'Til next time...Tschuess!

Day 20: Es ist Freitag!

Hallo! Wie geht's? (How are you?). Hope all is well with you all! Today was, once again, quite an interesting day. I think that I have finally been able to relax and enjoy the whole atmosphere a bit more. This really is quite a unique and wonderful experience. Union's Germany Abroad Program allows us to experience so much that we might not have been exposed to through other programs. And I also really like the professor (and it's not just because she shares my first name!).

But anyway, we had class today and afterward Andrea and I walked around a bit. I got most of my homework done before heading with the group to the Badische Zeitung, the semi-local newspaper. It was a long tour, conducted in fast-spoken German, but it was interesting to see how different it is talking/listening to a discussion in another "eloquently-spoken" language. By the time I was able to understand one sentence, the guide was already three more ahead! And at one point the woman asked me a question--I was so intent on listening and understanding that it took me a minute to understand what she was asking. But I think I pulled it off!

It was interesting to see the behind the scenes stuff in newspaper production. And the Badische Zeitung is modern and even ahead of its time in environmental conservation! I never had seen how newspapers were printed-; the farthest I've ever seen was page layout, so that process was very interesting. The neatest thing was the souvenir they gave us at the end of the tour. It was a copy of the first paper ever printed by this newspaper company. And it came from right after the Second World War, in February of 1946! Very cool stuff! I'm looking forward to reading some of the stories and it will be a great teaching material for the future if I decide to pursue that career path!

So, I am now back at the Gaestehaus. I'm just in one of those moods that I'd like some peace and quiet, but that does not come easily around here! Anyway, it was interesting day, but I am really looking forward to some fun tomorrow! We are going to a ski resort and taking a sort of slide thing down a mountain. I'll write more about it tomorrow when I know better how to describe it. Well, have a nice evening! 'Til next time...Tschuess!