Alright, everyone, sorry I've been a crappy blogger, but I swear, I'm going to try and be back in business for real now. I know I'm going to want to look back on this at some point, and I'll be mad I didn't keep better track.
So, our new professor for this section of the history class is hilarious. I love him. His name is Tim Anderson, and he is a historical geographer. If you're like I was, and have no idea what that means, it means he looks at old landscapes and figures out what they mean for us today. Because of this, he's obsessed with a lot of things none of us really care about, like seeing old textile factories and looking at Kleingartens. I feel like some of you might care, though, so I'll try and describe the best I can. I apologize now for the lack of photographs about any of this -- I had an incident with my mother's camera in which the lens would not retract, I spent a week freaking out with her voice in my head saying "It never did this when I had it, so I don't know what YOUR problem is," (I know, you can hear her too, Dad & Aunt Laura =] ) but one day I worked up the courage and forced it to close so after 26 euro for a new battery I didn't need, the camera is actually in BETTER condition.
Last Wednesday, we went to Crimmitshau and saw a Textile Factory that was built in the mid 1800s, and was in operation until just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, due to the fact that the GDR used a lot of the heavy industry from the industrial revolution in an attempt to be self suffiicient & prove that they didn't need capitalism to be successful. Anyway, the factory was still mostly running on steam energy when it shut down in the early 90s, and now serves as a museum. It was neat, but the tour was in German with our teacher translating, and went on too long, and for me, I just cannot care about bobbins and thread for more than 15 minutes, let alone for an hour and a half. We also went to Chemniz, which was known as Karl Marx Stadt in GDR times, and where the famous Karl Marx head lives. We went to a kid's museum there, and played an old GDR form of bowling, but that's really all there is to say about that -- oh, and I had some raspberry gelato afterward. That was a long, and dull day.
Monday, so yesterday, we went to the original German Schreber Kleingarten. These were developed by a man named Dr. Schreber to improve the lives of workers in industrial settings, the original intent being fresh air and a place to roam for children. Today, these garden allotments have little houses with running water, places to sleep, and satellite tv, and many Germans have them as recreation on the weekends. I got some pictures of these, to be uploaded soon. But, again, you can only awww over cute gardens for so long, if you're me, and I reached my limit in about 30 minutes. I think I'd like to have one though -- Mom, I can see you rolling your eyes and saying how I'd never take care of it, and you're right, but if you got one, I'd totally come visit. And take care of the weeds, I guess, if the mood struck me.
Despite his boring topic tendencies, Tim is hilarious, if for no other reason than his teaching style. He is the kind of person who speaks with their ENTIRE body - no lie, he has a dance move for everything.I can't even properly qualify it in words, but I can say that it is wonderful. Tonight he gave a lecture about Pennsylvania Germans and their settlements in Central Ohio, and that was pretty interesting. He's a cool guy, and tomorrow we're going to Dresden. Don't worry - camera is already packed in the bag, so I'll have tons of neat photos from the so called "Venice of Germany."
Other than that, Germany is still pretty cool. I'm sad because Ed is having technical problems with his internet, so I cannot Skype until he gets it back, which means no phone calls for family and friends for a while. It's this thing where they misidentified streaming videos for downloads, and shut off his internet, and we're hoping they correct their mistake, but until then, we'll have to do it the old fashioned email way.
This weekend, we're going to a Leipzig soccer game - I'm excited, let me know if you want any soccer memoriabilia. I already got some special someones a soccer scarf, but I don't know if anyone over the age of 20 is interested in that, so PLEASE let me know, I'd be thrilled to get one for anyone who wants one. They are really cool, and who doesn't like scarves? They protect your neck from the cold & everything =] We're also going to this thing called Audio Invasion 2009, which is classical music and electronic beats. We have to see classical music for our viewing performances class, and she said this one counts, so I'm excited. The tickets were 12,50 Euro, which is like 20 bucks. I'm annoyed, because I don't see what I paid the program fee for, when we have to buy our MANDATORY viewing performances tickets and we have to buy our own food during our MANDATORY excursions. No big deal, unless you're me and have to spend more money to eat better food that you're not allergic to, and even sometimes you still get sick. I mean, it's not the worst thing ever, but it still pretty much sucks. I tried packing last time, and then my bag was so bulky all day and I felt like a freak.
Blah, enough of my whining - I'm in Germany, and it's still fantastic. I do miss things about home, though, and being abroad really makes me appreciate where I'm from. I miss the diversity of America - silly, but everyone here looks SO German, and it's kind of boring because I feel like I am constantly seeing the same faces. I also miss my personal space - no one in Germany has learned this concept yet. I miss my family, friends, and screens on windows. German window design is wayyy better than American, because you can open the windows at the top so when it rains, windows can be open without it raining inside. Unfortunately, no screens mean that today the second hornet I've met so far came roaring into my room, and you guys should know that I run screaming from sweat bees, so this thing scared the crap out of me. Nick & Ed had to kill it, but thank goodness for them.
I got a spring jacket! I realized I didn't actually even own one, so yesterday, Ed & I both bought coats from H & M. I got the most adorable purple jacket for about 29,90 Euro, so about 37 bucks, and this is a good deal for a coat I look so awesome in.
Alright, enough about coats and food and personal space - more updates after Dresden. Email me your desires for gifts and such - I do need to know, as I'm not a mindreader.
Loveee you!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment