Bad News

So my laptop charger/power supply/something no longer works. It's apparently a problem that only Dell can fix and it may be a while until that happens (what with international shipping and all). The only good thing about the whole experience was that I got to practice lots and lots of German with the repair guys at two different repair shops here. They didn't even switch to English on me - progress!

I'm posting from the school computer right now, but I probably won't be able to post again for a bit. Sorry! Wish me luck with the computer stuff and I hope to be back soon.

Some Pictures from Friends

It's been a long week of work, but the good thing was that some of my friends put pictures online from our various trips. I don't have time for a longer post at the moment, but here are a few pictures for now. I'll try to come back and post sometime this weekend! I'll be hanging around Freiburg enjoying time with friends. We got together last night and made a delicious dinner consisting of miso soup, pizza, pasta, salad, bruschetta, Japanese pancakes, mashed potatoes, and other mismatched goodies. To top it all off, two of the girls made Black Forest cherry cake for dessert! It was delicious and a wonderful way to start the weekend off with a bang.

Before our visit to the ECJ in Luxembourg

We joke about how this is a good picture of our group, but we ended up blocking the view of the Eiffel Tower behind us...
Here we are underneath it.

Heidelberg Castle

Our group at the UN in Geneva! I'm all the way on the right.

Bis dann!

What a Good Weekend

Another perfect weekend in Germany! It was so nice to have Friday off for our first real three-day weekend. I went to Heidelberg with some friends on Friday. We got the special Baden-Württemberg ticket, which lets up to five people travel anywhere in the state for a reduced price. I paid about 6 Euros to get all the way there and back – can’t ask for better than that!

Heidelberg is a beautiful city and we were there on a gorgeous day. It was nice and warm without being too hot, which was just perfect for walking around and exploring the castle. The Heidelberg castle was built in the 13th century (the first parts of it, anyway) and most of it is still standing today. We had a good time walking around and enjoying the view of the old town below. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for this adventure.

The castle

After exploring for a bit, we stopped at an Irish pub and enjoyed a delicious lunch. There were many American items on the menu, so I had my first hamburger since coming to Germany and it was great! We sat at a table outside and people-watched while eating a leisurely meal and drinking Hefeweizen (one of the best beers in the region). The weather was so nice that we ended up getting ice cream cones as we walked back to the train station. Nearly every German we saw had one as well. The Germans are obsessed with ice cream – ever since the weather warmed up in Freiburg, I’ve been seeing people frequently the Eiscafes all over town. It’s not true spring weather yet, but anything above 50 degrees means it’s time for ice cream. That was of course fine by us!

I spent a lazy Saturday hanging around Freiburg and getting some work done before having friends over for dinner. First, we purchased some slices of Schwarzwälderkirschtorte (Black Forest cherry cake) from a local bakery. It only felt slightly shameful to order five pieces of cake – I’m sure the woman behind the counter thought they were all for me. My friends were there laughing the whole time. We made a good chicken curry for dinner and chatted with my flatmate and his visiting friend (who goes to university in Heidelberg). We enjoyed the cake afterwards, but my other flatmate said that he’s had much better before. Oh well – it was still pretty good to me.

This morning I went to the spa/hot springs with the same friends. It was really relaxing to go for a swim and enjoy the hot tub. It was a tad expensive (11 Euros), but definitely worth it. Many of us chose not to travel internationally this weekend because of the price and it was nice to splurge a little bit around here instead. It wasn’t all bad – my flatmate and I tried the new coffee place near our flat today and I got the cheapest and best cappuccino I’ve had so far in Freiburg. We sat outside and caught up with each other before coming back and making some dinner. All in all, it added up to an awesome weekend with nice weather, good food, and great friends.

I’m spending the evening watching CSPAN as the House of Representatives approaches the vote on the Senate health care bill. As a staunch supporter of health care reform, I’m hopeful and optimistic. The bill obviously isn’t perfect, but it’s an important step in the right direction. Much of the opposition seems to stem from outlandish claims or downright lies at this point, and I have yet to hear a truly sound argument from the Republicans currently making statements on CSPAN. I’ll refrain from making this blog too political, although I have had many interesting political discussions with my flatmate that I’d like to write about. Perhaps I’ll get to that sometime later this week. For now, I hope that I can stay awake long enough to watch the vote with the time difference and all.

Tomorrow’s shaping up to be an ordinary day. I’m going to meet my tandem partners (German students at the Uni) for sushi. Should be lots of fun! Also, we’re going to Geneva on Wednesday to visit the UN. I’ll definitely come back and post more details about that later.

I hope everyone had as nice a weekend as I did. Bis später!

Schӧnes Wochenende!

The weekend starts now! IES is giving us a much-welcomed three day weekend after lots of intense academic study. I was planning to go to Salzburg, but it turned out to be too expensive for the return train trip. New plan: day trip to Heidelberg tomorrow! It’s supposed to be one of the prettiest and most historically romantic cities in Germany. We’re getting a five-person discount train ticket and will be leaving early in the morning and coming back in the evening. I’ll take lots of pictures – can’t wait! Otherwise, some friends and I will be enjoying our lovely Freiburg and taking advantage of the beautiful weather. I believe our plans include procuring a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte for a group dinner on Saturday night. Where better to eat Black Forest cherry cake than in the Black Forest?

Schӧnes Wochenende! (Literally: Beautiful weekend. Real meaning: Have a wonderful weekend.)

Lost in Translation?

The German language is one of my absolute favorite things about Germany. It’s tough to learn, but it’s (mostly) logical and I really like the way it sounds. A lot of people say it’s too harsh, but I completely disagree. Some of the sounds are tricky, but words are relatively easy to pronounce and are written as they sound. Plus, lots of words are incredibly similar to English! I never realized how much English is related to German until I got here, but it’s so reassuring to constantly run into the words “Auto” and “Wasser” and “Haus” and know what they mean automatically. If only all my conversations consisted of English-German cognates…

It’s been great living with Germans because I learn useful phrases and idiomatic expressions much more than I would in class. Of course, they’re not always appropriate for daily use (that’s what I get living with five guys), but it’s great to see how people my age actually speak. We normally speak “Denglish” around the flat – I try to practice German a lot, but we tend to switch between the two languages while speaking. A typical conversation might go like this:

Flatmate X: Hallo! Wie geht’s? (How are you?)
Me: Hallo! Mir geht es gut, und dir? (I’m good, and you?)
Flatmate: Ugh, it’s okay. Ich habe so much f****** Arbeit. (I have so much… work.)
Me: Ja, ich auch. I can’t wait to be done. Ich bin so müde und ich will schlafen. (Me too…I’m so tired and I want to sleep.)
Flatmate: *nods*

The best conversations include mistranslations from German to English or vice-versa. In English, we say “I have to study for my test.” In German, they say “Ich muss für meine Prüfung lernen.” When Germans speak English, they ALWAYS say “I have to learn for my exam.” One of my flatmates in particular says this all the time – “I have to go learn now. I’ve been learning all day. I’m so tired of learning.” It sounds so funny to me, but it would be the same if I said “Ich muss studieren” in German. I’ve gotten so used to say “Ich muss lernen” now – I’ll probably come home bemoaning all the “learning” I have to do for the next school year.

My other favorite is the German phrase “Party machen”. It means “to party” in English, but when you translate it directly, it’s “make Party.” This means you get Germans saying things like “I’m going to make party tonight. Did you make party last night?” That one NEVER gets old…
The other interesting translation I heard yesterday was when my flatmate and I were watching some boys playing soccer out of our window. I commented, “Oh, one of them just fell! That sucks,” and my flatmate responded with “Did it hurt itself?” Of course, das Kind (the child) is neuter in German – no masculine or feminine article required. Oh, German…

That’s all for now. I have to get some work done before going to the local Irish pub for Quiz Night (“Das Quiz”). Listening to guys speaking German with Irish accents should be interesting/fantastic.

Bis später!

Deutsches Essen

It will probably come as no surprise that German food is quite different from American food. Given that it's such a big cultural part of my experience, I thought it might be interesting to review some of the typical German foods I've had since I've been here.

Dӧner Kebab: I posted a picture of my first Dӧners on here back in January. For those of you who missed that post, a Dӧner is a Turkish specialty that consists of lamb, veggies, and yogurt sauce in a pita. It is BY FAR the most popular fast food in Germany (which is why it makes the list of German food). It's not uncommon to hear "Yeah, I've already three Dӧners this week, but I could go for another." I haven't had quite that many, but they're delicious regardless.

Wurst: There is no way to make it through life in Germany without eating Wurst. It comes in hundreds of varieties and is available EVERYWHERE. Unlike in the U.S., the sausages here don't have a reputation for being sketchy. You can see Germans of all stripes eating Wurst on any day of the week, usually on a bun with the sausage sticking out a few inches on either end. I've tried several different types, including Bockwurst, Bratwurst, Wurst mit Kräuter, and others. I have not been disappointed once.

Currywurst mit Pommes: Currywurst is obviously another type of Wurst, but it's special and deserves its own category. Currywurst is basically sausage that is cut into little pieces, doused in ketchup, and dusted with curry powder. It's usually served with french fries (Pommes). It's something of a national phenomenon in Germany - there's even a Currywurst museum in Berlin. We can get it at the Döner shop near my flat and it's always delicious. The best I've had so far was in Berlin during our first field trip. We ate at a little shop right near the Holocaust Memorial and spent a good portion of the meal raving about the Currywurst. I highly recommend it.

Quark: Quark is a dairy product that is officially classified as cheese, but looks and tastes a bit more like yogurt. One of my German flatmates gave me a slice of fresh bread topped with butter, honey, and Quark yesterday and it was SO GOOD. It's something I've never seen before in the U.S., but it's incredibly common here. I'm looking forward to eating more.

Brot: Germans are famous for their bread and rightly so. There are thousands of bakeries all over the country and even more types of bread. The typical loaf is dense, baked fresh, and often covered in some kind of seed. You'd be hard-pressed to find Wonder bread here, and it'd be sacrilegious to even ask for it. Most Germans go to the bakery several times a week (and often every day) to get the best quality, and a lot of them call bread the most important part of their diet. If we had such good bread in the U.S., I'd probably do the same.

Berliner: Berliners probably peaked out in popularity after JFK's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. A Berliner is a jelly doughnut, and even though I don't really like doughnuts that much, I have to say they're delicious. You can buy them fresh at any bakery - you'd never buy them en masse in a sealed package like you would back home.

Brezeln: I've never been a fan of hard pretzels, but the soft ones are another story. I loved them in the U.S. and they're a hundred times better here. While I can usually only find them at certain stores or at amusement parks back home, you can get them fresh-baked anywhere here. It's common to buy Butterbrezeln, which are soft pretzels sliced in half and spread with butter. Healthy, no. Delicious, absolutely. My flatmate says that best pretzels come from Mainz and I would seriously considering making a special trip there just to eat one. They're really that good.

Bier: I'm sure I don't even need to extol the virtues of German beer here. It's world-famous for its quality and for all the different varieties. There are 1,300 breweries in Germany (second only to the U.S.) and so many delicious types of beer. Germans adhere to the Reinheitsgebot, which is the German beer purity law dating back to the 1500s. It says that beer can only contain water, hops, and barley. The obsessiveness about beer quality is definitely a good thing - I've never tasted better beer anywhere else! Bäden-Wurttemberg has quite a few excellent local varieties as well. One of my favorite things to do here is hang out in the kitchen with my flatmates and drink a good local beer. Once the weather gets nice, I think a Biergarten will be an even better location.

Feldsalat: For some reason, Germany has many more varieties of lettuce than you can find in the States. I love Feldsalat in particular - it's this type of lettuce that looks like clovers. My friends and I always make a salad with it for our Friday night dinners. Considering that much of my diet here consists of carbs, it's great to be able to find some delicious and original produce.

Spätzle: Germans love pasta as much as anyone else, but they go a step further with yummy egg noodles known as Spätzle. They result in what is possibly the easiest, fastest, and tastiest meal for college students on a budget. It's really common in restaurants as a side dish, although they tend to put much more effort into it than I do when I'm just cooking for myself. Regardless, they're a new staple. We always have tons in our fridge.

Mensa food: The Mensa is the student cafeteria in Freiburg. We eat lunch there quite often and while it's better than American cafeteria food, it's not the highest quality in the world. Germans are much more liberal with salt, butter, and sauce, which becomes all too evident in mass cafeteria production. Even still, we always have a good time there. Even when the food sucks, the Mensa has better soda than anywhere else.

Leberkäse: Alright - I saved the worst for last. Leberkäse literally means "liver cheese". It's similar to pâté, but it's made with pork instead of goose liver. Germans LOVE the stuff, but I was forced to try it yesterday and didn't think it was that good. I just have issues with meat that can be spread with a knife. It wasn't horrendous, but I would never purchase it myself. I suspect it's an acquired taste, but I don't think there's enough time in the world for me to come to like it.

That's it for the first installment. I've tried some other German foods back home, but I only want to post what I've tasted in Germany. I'll be back in a few weeks with another food update.

It's finally Friday and I'm done with class for the week. I have no set plans for the weekend yet, but that's fine with me given my cold and everything. It's great to be back in Freiburg and I'm sure I'll have a good time no matter what.

Bis dann!

Trip Recap

Now that I finally have a few minutes, I'll write about last week's trip. It was seriously so much fun. On our first field trip to Berlin and Prague, we were all still getting to know each other. While I had a fantastic time there as well, it was even better this time around because we could all relax, joke around, and be silly with each other. It's great to be in a program with people who are all interested in politics and international relations - we can share our serious academic interests during the field trips, but also have a great time in the time off. That's exactly what this field trip was about.

The trip started with our 7 am bus ride to Luxembourg. We were going there to visit the European Court of Justice, which is one of the oldest and most respected EU institutions. The bus ride through Germany and France was relatively uneventful, and we got there with plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the city. Luxembourg is really small and we easily walked around the whole area in under an hour. There were lots of winding European-style streets and shops as usual, but Luxembourg seemed generally nicer than some of the other places we've visited. I guess that's what you get in a country with the highest income per capita in the world (nearly $100,000). You also find really expensive food...ugh. Even still, we enjoyed a nice lunch before leaving for the ECJ. The process of ordering food was interesting. Our waiter knew a little English, some people in our group knew some French, and some of us know some German. We definitely heard all three languages! Ordering tended to go something like this: "Um...le croque madam? Danke - I mean merci!" I definitely lapsed into German a few times, even later on in France! I think I recognized that I shouldn't use English, but I obviously know no French...

Downtown Luxembourg

All dressed up at the ECJ

After lunch, we headed over the ECJ. Our visit honestly wasn't that interesting. We watched a boring informational video and then asked questions. I asked a semi-interesting question about the legal status of GM food on the European market, but legalese is only fun for so long. Even still, we enjoyed walking around the ultra-modern building and taking pictures. There are more pictures in my photo albums (I'll post the links further down). After our visit, we got back on the bus and headed to Brussels. All in all, we visited four countries in one day! No big deal, right?

When we first drove in, I was really impressed with the EU buildings we passed. Brussels is essentially the capital of the EU, and the presence of so many important institutions has really revived the now-international city. There was construction literally everywhere and the whole area seemed to have a high-energy vibe. We visited the Council, the Commission, the Permanent Turkish Representation to the EU, the Representative of the Flemish Government to the EU, and NATO from Tuesday to Thursday.

My favorite meeting was at the Permanent Turkish Representation to the EU. We basically got to sit around a table and ask a high-ranking spokesperson questions about potential Turkish accession to the EU. Many people in my program were/are on the fence about the issue, but a lot of us felt much more convinced that Turkey should eventually join the EU after this meeting. We knew we were dealing with a smooth-talking politician, but we were all very impressed regardless. I might be blacklisted from visiting Turkey for asking about Cyprus, though. The spokesperson had said that Turkey is prepared to go along with the rules of the game, so I said, "You said that Turkey is fully prepared to play by the rules and fulfill the acquis communitaire, but the rules of the game require EU Member States to recognize all other Member States. Will Turkey accept the existence of the Republic of Cyprus, and if not, how will it ever join the EU?" This is definitely one of the most contentious issues for Turkey and the EU, a fact which became all too clear when the room fell silent and then people began giggling nervously. I got a pretty decent answer, though. The spokesperson said that the EU made a mistake in admitting Cyprus to the EU in 2004 before the UN/Turkey/Cyprus had resolved the territorial issues. By doing so, the EU inherently took a side in the conflict. Our speaker did not say that Turkey will recognize Cyprus, but he said that it is committed to working with the UN to establish an appropriate solution. I appreciated the straight talk, and I'm sure the rest of the group did too because everyone was really engaged and asking great questions. It was definitely my favorite meeting, although I really enjoyed going to the Commission and to NATO as well. I won't bore you with details, but it was really interesting to hear about issues such as EU enlargement, energy security, NATO policy in Afghanistan, etc. IES does a great job of finding intelligent and high-ranking officials for us to meet with. I know the entire program really appreciates it.

This is a Belgian waffle with ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. Dad, I suggest you look away immediately.

After Brussels, we headed over to Paris. We were all super excited for Paris, and even though I had been there once before, I was really looking forward to seeing some new sights with my friends. We stayed in two hotels near Sacre Coeur, and as soon as we got there, we headed out to dinner and then to the Eiffel Tower. It was just as beautiful as it was four years ago. We stayed to see the light show before heading back for an early night. Unfortunately, I started feeling sick on our last day in Brussels/first night in Paris. I still had a great time, but I tried to get as much sleep as possible to get over the sore throat. I have a full-blown cold now, but since it's the first time I've been sick this since last year, I'll deal with it.

We had enough free time in Paris to really explore the city, but not really enough to commit to the museums. Some people went to the Louvre, but most didn't (neither did I). I preferred to walk around, especially since the weather was nice! I visited many of the same sites I had seen before, such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the outside of the Louvre, but I also went down in the Catacombs and to Sacre Coeur this time. I really enjoyed both - the Catacombs were creepy, but really impressive! It's hard to believe there are six million skeletons under the city. Sacre Coeur is also my new favorite French church. I thought the basilica was absolutely gorgeous, and even though there were tons of tourists, it seemed underrated compared to the famous Notre Dame. Some of the other highlights included meeting my friend/roommate from home. She's studying abroad in France and came to Paris for the weekend with one of her friends who just so happens to be friends with a pal of mine in my study abroad program. Then, we called another friend from Brandeis who is studying abroad in Paris. It was great to see those girls and go out to dinner in the Latin Quarter with them. The final highlight was the trip to Versailles on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful palace, so make sure to check out the link to my France photo album!

Outside the Louvre

On Sunday, we headed back to Freiburg. On the way, we stopped at Saint-Avold, which is the largest American military cemetery in Europe. It was really moving to see all of the graves extending in diagonal rows, especially since it was one of those cold and quiet days. I think everyone was very aware of the fact that Americans were in Europe for a completely different reason 70 years ago, but it was good for us to get that sense of perspective. I got a few good pictures at sunset before my camera died. It felt like a good way to wrap up a very fun and successful trip.

Even though I had a great time, I was super excited to come back to Freiburg. I'm surprised at how much I missed it! It was great to walk in the door of my flat, chat to my flatmates for a couple of hours, and just relax. I really lucked out with this whole experience. I love Germany, Freiburg, my program, my friends, my flatmates, the food, the language, and everything else. I'm already dreading the end of the program because I am truly having the time of my life here.

Here are links to two albums:

Luxembourg/Brussels: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160829&id=599810215&l=b05782f11b

Paris: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160835&id=599810215&l=4cbd9391e2

All for now - I'll post a new update whenever I come up with anything interesting! It's going to be a normal week around here. Can't wait.

Bis spaeter!

Back Home!

I'm officially back in Freiburg after a long day of travel from Paris. The trip was absolutely amazing. I had so much fun in each of the different places we went, and I have lots of good pictures to post as soon as I get a chance! I'll post the detailed update tomorrow when I get back from class and after I sort through the photos.

Bis dann!