Semester ticket you bought months ago that lets you go to Reutlingen: 35 euro.
Average skijacket price in Reutlingen: 189 euro.
Finally finding a jacket in Tübingen: 50 euro
Doing all this while snow falls over the whole city: priceless.
There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Tübingen.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
I'm Off!
to Hannover! Tomorrow I will be pretty busy getting packed and making sure I've got everything taken care of before I leave. Then on Friday it's off to Hannover to spend Christmas with Matze and his family in Neustadt. I am really excited to get back up to good ol' northern, rural Germany. I love it up there. It's so different from the south. It just feels more distinctly "German" for some reason.I'm rambling now. Anyway after that it's off to the Czech Republic for 6 days to go skiing with Matze and a bunch of people from Neustadt. Here's hoping I don't break a leg! And I mean that in all seriousness -- I could seriously break something. Those mountains are big and I've never skiied before. There will be lots of pictures, unless I break both of my hands, in which case you guys are all S.O.L.This will be the first time I've left Germany since arriving here 4 months ago. I think it's safe to say I'm just about the only one of my friends here who HASN'T left Germany since arriving. That's pretty pathetic. But I'm saving all my big trips for the semesterferien! Over and out.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
The First Shock In Years
We got our first practice essay back in class today (this is the preparation class for the Goethe Institut's "Little German Diploma"). I got a 3, which was "borderline" as the professor announced to the class when he handed it to me (he's in the habit of announcing how we did and making comments on our stuff when he hands it back to us). What I turned in would not have passed the Goethe Institut test.
I felt my face grow hot as I leafed through the paper. 16 mistakes. 16 very, very big mistakes. "Befriedigend. Du hättest das noch etwas differenzierter beantworten koennen."
What just happened?
I felt my face grow hot as I leafed through the paper. 16 mistakes. 16 very, very big mistakes. "Befriedigend. Du hättest das noch etwas differenzierter beantworten koennen."
What just happened?
Song
So today I had my iTunes on shuffle mode (which, thanks to Lori, I have been trying out lately). I'm liking the randomness of not knowing what's coming next and not having to mess with it. And this entry has a point, I swear.
So auf alle Fälle I'm listening to my music and suddenly this song comes on, "Photograph" by Nickelback. It's been on the radio a lot here in Europe and I'm sure it's all over the airwaves in the States, but man....great song. I love songs like that because they are such a paradox. They put you in a great mood and yet there is a sort of sadness behind the whole thing. The song's cheerful but also caged and not really free. It's depressing and happy at the same time, and for some reason I love songs like that, probably because life is like that, you know? It's great and it sucks at the same time.
But anyway it made me think of ASU for some reason and that made me sad. But it made me happy at the same time because it makes me think of the future and the future is exciting. I have this really dumb daydream that I wade in when I've got nothing to do in class: It's August 2006, I'm back from an absolutely amazing year in Europe and all the memories and experiences that go with that. I'm driving the used VW I just bought a week ago after coming back from Europe. The sunroof is open, the windows are down, and I've got this CD in the stereo, turned up. It's a warm, sunny day and I'm on I-10 heading east, L.A. is behind me. Nothing but gorgeous, open desert on both sides of the road and Phoenix 400 miles ahead of me. My final year at ASU awaits, as do a new job, an apartment, my major coursework, and my thesis. But for now, it's just me, my car, and my extensive CD lineup for this road trip.
That's what that song makes me think of. Quick reader survey: what's the "song of the moment" for you right now and where does it take you?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Mini-Challenge
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in a your Xanga along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.
My result:
"The treaty redefined or extended Community competence in a number of areas, notably education, training, cohesion, research and deveopment, environment, infrastructure, industry, health, culture, consumer protection, and development cooperation, although with only a limited extension of qualified majority voting."
Hooray for European Union studies!
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in a your Xanga along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the "coolest" book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.
My result:
"The treaty redefined or extended Community competence in a number of areas, notably education, training, cohesion, research and deveopment, environment, infrastructure, industry, health, culture, consumer protection, and development cooperation, although with only a limited extension of qualified majority voting."
Hooray for European Union studies!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dear Residents of Fichtenweg 21,
As someone who also owns speakers with a mini-subwoofer, I can understand your excitement. I really can.
However, I would be much obliged if you would refrain from playing your music at this particular volume at 1:45am. I know it may seem difficult to believe, but there are some of us that actually prefer to sleep when it's dark outside. As I'm sure you're all aware, our rooms are fairly soundproof. The fact that my windows are shut, you all reside in the building next door, and I can hear the music emanating from your 1st floor kitchen as clearly as if it was in the room next to me is disturbing -- not only because of the distance separating us, but more so because I can't imagine what the volume must sound like for those of you situated directly next to the speakers. However, I suppose you all must have been recently informed of the advances science has made in the area of cochlear implants and thus are not worried about any damage.
I would also like to respectfully request -- if you're going to insist on keeping half the student village up at this hour of the night -- that you do it with something tasteful. Your current selection of Prince does not fall into this particular category. I believe I speak for most of the student population of the surrounding buildings when I say that we have no intention to give Mr. Prince the "extra time" and "kisses" he is repeatedly requesting from us.
While I've got you here, I would also greatly appreciate it if you would please share with the rest of the students here what your secret is. Most of us, after a day of classes and productivity, cannot even fathom the idea of music playing that loud at 1:45am. You obviously have discovered some secret source of nocturnal energy which could be of great benefit to the rest of the population here in Waldhäuser-Ost, especially considering finals will be upon us in just under 2 months. Please do enlighten us.
Sincerely,Matthew, the American Living In Fichtenweg 19 With Infinitely Better Taste In Music And Whose Parents Actually Taught Him The Meaning Of The Word "Consideration."
However, I would be much obliged if you would refrain from playing your music at this particular volume at 1:45am. I know it may seem difficult to believe, but there are some of us that actually prefer to sleep when it's dark outside. As I'm sure you're all aware, our rooms are fairly soundproof. The fact that my windows are shut, you all reside in the building next door, and I can hear the music emanating from your 1st floor kitchen as clearly as if it was in the room next to me is disturbing -- not only because of the distance separating us, but more so because I can't imagine what the volume must sound like for those of you situated directly next to the speakers. However, I suppose you all must have been recently informed of the advances science has made in the area of cochlear implants and thus are not worried about any damage.
I would also like to respectfully request -- if you're going to insist on keeping half the student village up at this hour of the night -- that you do it with something tasteful. Your current selection of Prince does not fall into this particular category. I believe I speak for most of the student population of the surrounding buildings when I say that we have no intention to give Mr. Prince the "extra time" and "kisses" he is repeatedly requesting from us.
While I've got you here, I would also greatly appreciate it if you would please share with the rest of the students here what your secret is. Most of us, after a day of classes and productivity, cannot even fathom the idea of music playing that loud at 1:45am. You obviously have discovered some secret source of nocturnal energy which could be of great benefit to the rest of the population here in Waldhäuser-Ost, especially considering finals will be upon us in just under 2 months. Please do enlighten us.
Sincerely,Matthew, the American Living In Fichtenweg 19 With Infinitely Better Taste In Music And Whose Parents Actually Taught Him The Meaning Of The Word "Consideration."
Perhaps This Just Isn't My Forte
Recently my mom sent me a frantic email informing me that she'd gotten in touch with a high-up at a major multinational firm (referred to here as Firm X) and had a contact for me to get in touch with to set up an internship for this year in Germany. Of course I excitedly got to work on translating my resume and a cover letter into German to send to this contact. Last night I finally got all the editing done with the help of some of the Germans in my dorm, who corrected my grammar and wording. With a flourish of a click, I sent off the email and its attached documents, eager to be rid of them and to have it done. They were on their way to a VP of Firm X. I'll repeat that. He's a Vice-President.
Later, while looking over the freshly-sent documents for the 1,000th time, I realized I'd forgotten to put an umlaut over the u in "Grüssen," the closing salutation of the German cover letter. This is especially ironic considering that in the previous paragraph I had named my "excellent German langugage ability" as one of my skills. As embarassing as that was, I didn't lose any sleep over it.
However, when the alarm went off this morning in the dark pre-dawn hours of the day, I slapped it off, and, realizing my grevious error only now, sat straight up in bed and gasped in horror.
The subject line.
I had forgotten to type something in the subject line. I had sent it blank.
Somewhere in an inbox doubtlessly filled with hundreds of other important emails (many far more important than mine) is an email from little old me, a college student begging for scraps of someone's time, with nothing to set it apart other than my name.
Microsoft Outlook be damned for not including a failsafe that prompts you when you try to send a blank-subject-line message, like in Thunderbird. This, Mr. Gates, is just one of many reasons why I hate your software.
Perhaps this just isn't my forte. Perhaps business just isn't for me. I sure seem to be awfully clumsy at it. However, I'm laid-back enough and have life in enough perspective to laugh about this. After all, it's just an email, he's just a man, and it's just a company. It's nothing in the big scheme of things. But at the moment there's a dark sense of my idiocy that is hanging in the back of my mind and the constant wondering whether that email is going to get read or not and, if so, whether it will bring anything about.
Later, while looking over the freshly-sent documents for the 1,000th time, I realized I'd forgotten to put an umlaut over the u in "Grüssen," the closing salutation of the German cover letter. This is especially ironic considering that in the previous paragraph I had named my "excellent German langugage ability" as one of my skills. As embarassing as that was, I didn't lose any sleep over it.
However, when the alarm went off this morning in the dark pre-dawn hours of the day, I slapped it off, and, realizing my grevious error only now, sat straight up in bed and gasped in horror.
The subject line.
I had forgotten to type something in the subject line. I had sent it blank.
Somewhere in an inbox doubtlessly filled with hundreds of other important emails (many far more important than mine) is an email from little old me, a college student begging for scraps of someone's time, with nothing to set it apart other than my name.
Microsoft Outlook be damned for not including a failsafe that prompts you when you try to send a blank-subject-line message, like in Thunderbird. This, Mr. Gates, is just one of many reasons why I hate your software.
Perhaps this just isn't my forte. Perhaps business just isn't for me. I sure seem to be awfully clumsy at it. However, I'm laid-back enough and have life in enough perspective to laugh about this. After all, it's just an email, he's just a man, and it's just a company. It's nothing in the big scheme of things. But at the moment there's a dark sense of my idiocy that is hanging in the back of my mind and the constant wondering whether that email is going to get read or not and, if so, whether it will bring anything about.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Ramblings
Got our first test back today in Medieval German. I got a 3, which is equivalent to a C in the American system. Surprisingly, I achieved that with no more than 2 hours of hitting the books right before that class period when I should have put in at least 3 times that amount of studying. I'm not really happy with the result, but at the same time I'm not upset because I know that I just have to put a little more time into studying. Plus I did better than some of the native-speaking Germans in the class. So meh. Class itself was okay. I've discovered the secret to not falling asleep is a shot of caffeine both before class and during the break so that I don't get the caffeine crash until after class is over. What would I do without coffee?
Went to Saturn after class and bought some CD-Rs so I can copy my 5 gigabytes of photos onto CDs and free up some space on my hard drive. I never thought I'd fill 40 gigabytes of space. Also need to copy my photos to my iPod for a second backup.
Walking through the Altstadt tonight on the way to Saturn was fun. Half-timbered houses drooping and lots of small alleyways to explore. I love how Tuebingen's Altstadt is constantly offering unexplored alleyways, passages, and little Gässles that I've never been down. I try to take a new route every time.I have a lot of studying and catching up to do in both Medieval German and my Political System of the EU classes, so tomorrow's afternoon hours will be dedicated mostly to that. I need to find a good cafe that I can start using for studying regularly. Somewhere quiet but not too quiet, with ample working space, cheap coffee, and good atmosphere. And a nice view would be a plus too. I know this place exists but I haven't found it yet.
I keep having dreams that I finally get the iBook and then I wake up and realize it was a dream and go "DANG IT!" More disturbing to me than the fact that they're just dreams is the fact that I am having these dreams RECURRINGLY. That's just plain sick. I mean come on. Give a brother a break here. All I'm asking is 9 more months. Just 9 more months and then you can emerge from the back burner, Mr. iBook! Just CHILL back there!I am in desperate need of an organizer to maintain my sanity.
Went to Saturn after class and bought some CD-Rs so I can copy my 5 gigabytes of photos onto CDs and free up some space on my hard drive. I never thought I'd fill 40 gigabytes of space. Also need to copy my photos to my iPod for a second backup.
Walking through the Altstadt tonight on the way to Saturn was fun. Half-timbered houses drooping and lots of small alleyways to explore. I love how Tuebingen's Altstadt is constantly offering unexplored alleyways, passages, and little Gässles that I've never been down. I try to take a new route every time.I have a lot of studying and catching up to do in both Medieval German and my Political System of the EU classes, so tomorrow's afternoon hours will be dedicated mostly to that. I need to find a good cafe that I can start using for studying regularly. Somewhere quiet but not too quiet, with ample working space, cheap coffee, and good atmosphere. And a nice view would be a plus too. I know this place exists but I haven't found it yet.
I keep having dreams that I finally get the iBook and then I wake up and realize it was a dream and go "DANG IT!" More disturbing to me than the fact that they're just dreams is the fact that I am having these dreams RECURRINGLY. That's just plain sick. I mean come on. Give a brother a break here. All I'm asking is 9 more months. Just 9 more months and then you can emerge from the back burner, Mr. iBook! Just CHILL back there!I am in desperate need of an organizer to maintain my sanity.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Die Feuerzangenbowle
Tonight the Weihnachtsmarkt started up in Tübingen. Addy, Almir and I headed down around 6 and started off near Nonnenhaus with a waffle hot off the griddle with powdered sugar sprinkled on it. So good, and so worth the 50 cents it cost. Incredibly cheap. I’ll be eating lots more of those!
After the lighting an old film called Die Feuerzangenbowle was shown in the Platz and everyone stayed to watch it. It’s sort of the German equivalent to It’s a Wonderful Life. Old black-and-white movie that was made before WWI. I really liked it, but the others wanted to leave before it was over so we didn’t stay and watch the whole thing.
After that we wandered into the Altstadt to find a bar to have a drink in, wound up running into a ton of other people we knew. All the bars we popped into were full so we decided to head over to Niko’s WG and just hang out there for a bit. Now I’m here and getting ready to go to bed. I need to be up early tomorrow.
Watching that movie tonight was the weirdest feeling. Just being here in the Christmas market itself was a weird feeling. I’ve realized that there is a certain amount of temporary citizenship contained in experiencing the holidays and change of the seasons that I’ve had here. I’ve watched summer fade into fall and fall begin to give way to winter. I’ve witnessed the Tag der deutschen Einheit (day of German unity), done Thanksiving, Nikolaustag, and now I’m doing Christmas. What I mean is that there is nothing that makes you feel more at home in a place than to go through all the seasons and celebrate holidays as if they are the same ones you’ve celebrated all your life.
Pics:
Here's the Feuerzangenbowle, getting ready to be lit on fire! See the stack of sugar that looks like a cone?
The screen
Addy and I
This picture frightens me. I swear we don't do that on purpose.
The movie!
The section of the market near the Stiftskirche was still up....
We ran into Annette at the market too! Her hat rocks my socks off.
Thursday, December 8, 2005
A Round of Applause
....because today is the 8th, which means I've made it another 4 straight days without updating. I think I'm beating this addiction, folks. The patch is helping. Just remember when you're ready to stop blogging: You can do it. Xangarette can help.
In other news, Christmas is almost upon us. Things on the list this weekend: our Tübingen Christmas market and some Christmas shopping for presents. Other than that, catching up on homework and cleaning up my room. It's finally sinking in that I am actually not going home for Christmas this year. I was listening to Christmas music the other day and Bing Crosby was crooning "I'll be home for Christmas" and I just thought, "Well woo-hoo for you, ya lucky bastard. Now shut up and sing White Christmas."
I shouldn't complain though, because I chose to stay here and I am excited to go up north and stay with Matze's family. Although I am still nervous about skiing in January in the Czech Republic. I can't ski, so I'm sure that myself and the others who can't ski on the trip will be providing the entertainment for those that can.
It's also finally sinking in that life at ASU is going to be much, much different when I go back. I think the best years of college just might be over, and for that matter, college ITSELF is almost over. What the heck is up with that? I'm not ready to graduate! What happened? Where did the time go? At this rate, I'll wake up tomorrow and be married with children and a mortgage.
Okay, on that thought, I think I need a drink.
In other news, Christmas is almost upon us. Things on the list this weekend: our Tübingen Christmas market and some Christmas shopping for presents. Other than that, catching up on homework and cleaning up my room. It's finally sinking in that I am actually not going home for Christmas this year. I was listening to Christmas music the other day and Bing Crosby was crooning "I'll be home for Christmas" and I just thought, "Well woo-hoo for you, ya lucky bastard. Now shut up and sing White Christmas."
I shouldn't complain though, because I chose to stay here and I am excited to go up north and stay with Matze's family. Although I am still nervous about skiing in January in the Czech Republic. I can't ski, so I'm sure that myself and the others who can't ski on the trip will be providing the entertainment for those that can.
It's also finally sinking in that life at ASU is going to be much, much different when I go back. I think the best years of college just might be over, and for that matter, college ITSELF is almost over. What the heck is up with that? I'm not ready to graduate! What happened? Where did the time go? At this rate, I'll wake up tomorrow and be married with children and a mortgage.
Okay, on that thought, I think I need a drink.
Sunday, December 4, 2005
The Christmas Season Begins
Tübingen is beginning to transform into a holiday paradise the further into December that we get. Recently Almir and I went on a spaziergang around the city to see how it was shaping up. Our Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) is just around the corner next weekend, but the whole city is already decked out. All we're missing is snow.
The Neckargasse, with the Stiftskirche at the top....this street leads into our Altstadt.
The Stiftskirche in all its Gothic glory, with the market Christmas tree aglow.
This is the Hozlmarkt, which is at the foot of the Stiftskirche. It's a mini-marketplace. The picture didn't come out too well but you get the idea of just how beautiful it is.
One of Tübingen's many narrow medieval streets, alight with bright bulbs and wreaths. This is my favorite street in the whole city.
Funny story behind these two shots. This is our Hauptmarkt, the main marketplace, and when Almir and I got here he asked if we could get into the Rathaus (city hall) that stands over the market. That gave me an idea -- let's get in there and see if we can get a view over the market! So, with Almir protesting the entire time ("Matt, we shouldn't be in here, we're gonna get caught!.............Where are you going??? You can't go up there! Get back here!") we snuck in, up the stairs, and found a small darkened conference room that overlooked the market. The result were these cool (but blurry) photos. Just imagine what this will look like when our Weihnachtsmarkt is up and running next weekend!
That's not the only thing that's happened recently. Yesterday we all took the train to Nürnberg to visit their famous Weihnachtsmarkt! It's the most famous one in Germany and it's gorgeous! I was really excited to get to visit Nürnberg again (I even got to meet up with my host family from 3 years ago and had coffee with them), and it was even cooler to see the market decked out. The pics:
The fortress of Nürnberg algow as twilight fades to night.
The fortress again.
The Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) lit up with lights and Christmas trees and a live orchestra, right on the marketplace.
The whole group (except Addy, she's taking the picture) at the market. From left, Niko, Almir, yours truly, and Peter. We're bundled up against the cold but strangely as the night when on it got warmer and warmer. Weird.
The Schoenen Brünnen (beautiful fountain) on the market. It definitely deserves its name. There is a ring in the gate surrounding it that turns within its setting, and there's a local legend that if you turn the ring and make a wish it will come true. When I was in Nürnberg in 2002 as a high school exchange student I turned it and wished to come back to Nürnberg someday. Looks like it works!
Me enjoying Glühwein and the famous Nürnberg gingerbread (Lebkuchen). I'm just a little excited.
View over the whole market.
Vendors and all their beautiful wares abound...this was one of many, many ornament booths. The handcraftsmanship is amazing (and expensive).
Addy at one of the ornament booths displaying one of her many hats.
Liebfrauenkirche again.
You can eat a variety of things here at the market, including gingerbread, really big hot dogs, Zwa im Weckla (two sausages in a roll, a Nürnberg specialty), Glühwein (hot red wine with orange juice and spices), and WAFFLES!!
Another pic of the Liebfrauenkirche. Pics don't do it justice. It was beautiful!
So that's it for now. I can't wait to go back to Nürnberg. My host family invited me to come and stay with them over a weekend in the spring when the chaos of the Christmas season is over. Maybe I'll make it out there during my semester break. That would be nice, as I'm sure Nürnberg is gorgeous in the spring. It was weird to see it in the bare season of winter when the last time I was there, it was warm, humid summer. But still cool!
Life in Germany is going well. We're less than 20 days away from Christmas break here, and at that point I'll be going up north to Matze's. I'm really excited, but I still need to find presents for them all! Aaahhh!
The Neckargasse, with the Stiftskirche at the top....this street leads into our Altstadt.
The Stiftskirche in all its Gothic glory, with the market Christmas tree aglow.
This is the Hozlmarkt, which is at the foot of the Stiftskirche. It's a mini-marketplace. The picture didn't come out too well but you get the idea of just how beautiful it is.
One of Tübingen's many narrow medieval streets, alight with bright bulbs and wreaths. This is my favorite street in the whole city.
Funny story behind these two shots. This is our Hauptmarkt, the main marketplace, and when Almir and I got here he asked if we could get into the Rathaus (city hall) that stands over the market. That gave me an idea -- let's get in there and see if we can get a view over the market! So, with Almir protesting the entire time ("Matt, we shouldn't be in here, we're gonna get caught!.............Where are you going??? You can't go up there! Get back here!") we snuck in, up the stairs, and found a small darkened conference room that overlooked the market. The result were these cool (but blurry) photos. Just imagine what this will look like when our Weihnachtsmarkt is up and running next weekend!
That's not the only thing that's happened recently. Yesterday we all took the train to Nürnberg to visit their famous Weihnachtsmarkt! It's the most famous one in Germany and it's gorgeous! I was really excited to get to visit Nürnberg again (I even got to meet up with my host family from 3 years ago and had coffee with them), and it was even cooler to see the market decked out. The pics:
The fortress of Nürnberg algow as twilight fades to night.
The fortress again.
The Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) lit up with lights and Christmas trees and a live orchestra, right on the marketplace.
The whole group (except Addy, she's taking the picture) at the market. From left, Niko, Almir, yours truly, and Peter. We're bundled up against the cold but strangely as the night when on it got warmer and warmer. Weird.
The Schoenen Brünnen (beautiful fountain) on the market. It definitely deserves its name. There is a ring in the gate surrounding it that turns within its setting, and there's a local legend that if you turn the ring and make a wish it will come true. When I was in Nürnberg in 2002 as a high school exchange student I turned it and wished to come back to Nürnberg someday. Looks like it works!
Me enjoying Glühwein and the famous Nürnberg gingerbread (Lebkuchen). I'm just a little excited.
View over the whole market.
Vendors and all their beautiful wares abound...this was one of many, many ornament booths. The handcraftsmanship is amazing (and expensive).
Addy at one of the ornament booths displaying one of her many hats.
Liebfrauenkirche again.
You can eat a variety of things here at the market, including gingerbread, really big hot dogs, Zwa im Weckla (two sausages in a roll, a Nürnberg specialty), Glühwein (hot red wine with orange juice and spices), and WAFFLES!!
Another pic of the Liebfrauenkirche. Pics don't do it justice. It was beautiful!
So that's it for now. I can't wait to go back to Nürnberg. My host family invited me to come and stay with them over a weekend in the spring when the chaos of the Christmas season is over. Maybe I'll make it out there during my semester break. That would be nice, as I'm sure Nürnberg is gorgeous in the spring. It was weird to see it in the bare season of winter when the last time I was there, it was warm, humid summer. But still cool!
Life in Germany is going well. We're less than 20 days away from Christmas break here, and at that point I'll be going up north to Matze's. I'm really excited, but I still need to find presents for them all! Aaahhh!
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