another sunday.

Monday through Thursday were stockpiled with work. Three papers and a presentation for Thursday. I enjoy binges of intensity. They make you feel like you’re doing something, if you’re engaged. They also justify a lazy and fruitless weekend to follow, which is fabulous. You earn the right to do nothing for a while.
I thought about this chain of merit during the week and remembered several instances from childhood, in which I earned something. I have a vivid recollection of one instant in particular. I don’t know what I did, something in elementary school: received a good grade, finished a project, who knows. What I remember is mom taking me to a computer store afterwards to buy a game, because she felt I earned something. It was a genuinely happy feeling. I think I bought mathblasters2, terrific game. Can not tell you how fun it is to defend the galaxy with missiles fueled by mutiples.
Thursday after my presentation on Rilke I went to Müller, which is the Super-Super-Target of Germany. I thought I’d buy myself a computer game. I bought two. One is called “Felix: Eine wundersame Reise durch die Zeit,” Felix: a wondrous journey through Time. It’s about a teddy bear who, while his ten year old caretaker sleeps, jumps into a fantastical history book and travels through time interacting with all the ancient civilizations. So far I’ve discovered that-- Actually I haven’t discovered much yet. But it’s really fun to watch the teddy bear jump around and talk German. I bought Civilization as well, and I plan on conquering the world Tuesday night. After I’ve had supper and brushed my teeth.
I also bought Wall-e and Findet Nemo. Sometimes I have this really bad habit at stores, in which I can’t decide what I want to buy, I spend two, three, four hours just standing in the isle staring at all my options, and then I buy everything. I’m very curious to see how the German Disney pronounces Wall-e. Wall-e? Vall-e? Vall-a? The suspense builds with every glance thrown at the Trash Compacter desperately waiting to come to life.
Friday was an adventure. I’m part of a program here called “Rent-an-American.” It allows German high schools to invite an American to an English class. Friday I was hired by a school in Villingen, which is on the opposite bank of the Black Forest. This was my first real journey through the Schwarzwald and it was unreal. My train left at 6:40 and arrived in Villingen, which is a mere 38 miles from Freiburg, at 9:02. Traveling through the Schwarzwald with a train is a winding, indirect trip that is entirely removed from this world.
The visit was a blast. I was supposed to visit one class, I ended up visiting three. The English teacher who I made the appointment with brought me into the faculty lounge and everyone huddled around me to ask for a visit. I felt like a ring at an engagement party. The visits were great.
I was frequently asked if it’s true that everyone in America owns a gun.
I got home at eight, immediately passed out, and slept for 14 hours. When I woke up I realized I had left my backpack, with all my books, Ipod, and my thought vault on my bike rack the night before. It was still there just as I had left it, thought with a faint coating of due. I haven’t been so deliriously tired in quite some time.
Here is my week in pictures.Preperations for Weihnachtsmarkt are underway at the Rathaus. Non-stop Party till Christmas. Germany.

This is the school I visited in Villingen. It's gateway has BLS' beat. Barely. Villingen.

Boston! Ohp. nope. not quite. A reminder nonetheless.Villingen.

Bunny one. Bunny two.

Children's territory. Unknown Village in the Schwarzwald, taken on Train from Villingen to Offenburg.

Same train, village #2.

#3.
4.

4. signs of life. signs of progressive transportation.

There was a large, large demonstration all week long: students against tuition/tuition increases. They had a rally on Tuesday and many students took part in a week-long 24 hour a day sit-in/sleep-in in the University.

Went on a hike Saturday. This is one of several wine vineyards that are no more than a ten minute walk from my apartment.

This is a picture from atop the wine vinyard. That's where I live. Pick one of those houses to the far left and it could very well be mine.
You can play that game here too!

And here.

A friend enjoys the company of a comfortably aged tree atop the vinyard.

These kids are about to floor it. You can't hear it here, but they are screaming intimidation at each other. I must say, I really enjoy listening to small children speak German. Their German is leagues and leagues better than mine. It makes me happy to think how smart kids are. Language can be taken for granted. I've studied the language now for a little over four years, and my percentile of correctly placed prepositions hovers steadily around 17%. Not so low for these delinquents. Kids are smart.

Yes, that is a small, small child guiding a pony through the residential walkways in Vauban. This picture was taken from my bedroom. Just another morning.

There was no talk of Trick-or-Treat, there is no talk of Turkey. It seems I'll have to wait till sleighs to glimpse our homegrown Holidays.

On Thursday, a friend and I made our way to a bar that apparently was an old morgue, though, despite the painted bare feet and toe tags upon the entrance way, I’m not fully convinced. The night was good. Nevertheless I have nothing more to say; the morgue possibility was all worthy of mention.
Saturday I went into town with plans to meet a class group. I was quickly wrapped up in a mass of people gathered for some all important but still unknown reason. Then I was enwrapped in their procession, then at their assembly, all done with a whistle in hand and buttons/pins that were given out with never ending urgency. I could have constructed myself a shield and built a shelter for a tiny child. As well as whistles and ammo to fight their foe, they also handed out ear plugs to protect all participants from the booming ruckus. I can only hope their prepare-for-repercussions attitude is no foreshadowing of their probable loss in this battle.
They were demonstrating against, as far as I can tell with my wanting understanding of their language, the proposal of a new freight train line that would run above ground through a residential area in Freiburg. It was an impressive protest; even mayors from several locations in the area came and spoke adamantly against the proposal.
Once I had heard enough of this whistle-blowing ceremony I went to a reading, as I had initially planned. This weekend in Freiburg several contemporary writers came and read. I went to see Lutz Seiler, who writes among this century's most prominent in Germany. He read the beginning of a story for about 45 minutes, and everyone smiled the whole time (everyone being a real number somewhere between 250-400 people, the preciseness of which I leave to your imagination, do have yourself a ball); there was always something to laugh about. This story really gets interesting…here.
After the reading, the professor of my contemporary poetry course, myself, one other student from the class (who is a man well into his eighties who knows an incredible amount about history and literature and life), and the aforementioned Lutz Seiler went out to dinner together. Lutz and I talked about his time in New England among other things (very indirect and weak family shout out, he thinks New Hampshire and Maine are beautiful) and much about translation. He was happy to talk with me. We exchanged email addresses and post addresses and he is sending me his works and the various attempts that have been made for English translations. I eagerly await them.
Otherwise this weekend contained much writing and research, though I found all of interesting. I wrote a paper about the “can we teach intelligent design in schools” controversy in the U.S.

It feels like spring here. I don’t really like it. The weather doesn’t match the order of things in the least! It’s just confusing.

Until next time!

Hello! Hi.
A good week here in Freiburg! I finally have some sense of consistency, so it seems. I actually did some things this week outside of a book! I have to jump to thursday for anything exciting. Monday through wednesday were just classes, including one in which we read Hegel in German and it could not have been more round about and verbose.
Thursday morning was my Novelle (short story) class. Only on this morning did I realize I am the only male among 13 females, including the professor. Why so noticable now? This week we read a short story about love, what else. Thirty minutes into our discussion, the class realized that I, the one male, was the one supporting the female's case in this Love gone horribly wrong. Almost all the girls backed the guy. I wish I had more to say about that, but I don't. It was a comical topic in class I swear.
I'm finally starting to find really nice cafe spots here. It's taken a while. The cafes are simply different. In madison I'm used to a cafe that is set up for a student to sit, get a coffee, and do work. It's a cozy student do work drink a coffee atmosphere. Here that is simply not the case, but I'm discovering a few exceptions. I'm excited about that.
It's beginning to become less and less a part of my identity that I'm not German. I mean to say that for a while, it was as though I was a visiter here. Who wants to make connections with a visiter? It's fruitless, the relationship is to inevitably be broken when the vacation's up. But now I'm less and less a visitor and much more a resident. Things are speeding up to normality. To some sort of normality, a different one than I'm used to. Same template, different people, different night life, different words. Different cafes.
Thursday night I went to a TandemPartner Party, meant to connect native speakers with non-native speakers who are interested in speaking different languages. I met someone from Serbia early in the evening and we talked the entire time. We were the last two people there; they would have had to kick us out if we hadn't left on account of the awkwardness instilled when there are more bartenders and DJ's present at a party then there are sheep.
Friday night I discovered the simpsons in German online. I had planned on going out. First it was 11pm. then midnight. By 3am I decided to stay home and keep watching the Simpsons. And that is what I did.
Last night I went out with a few guys from one of my poetry classes. Several of them study English. We spoke German the whole night, except for the brief excerpt in which they felt compelled to switch to English in order to tell me how marvelous they think the word "awesome" is. They really like that word. When this pair started recounting how mythical the word is, everyone else broke out into astounding cheers of agreement. (I have indeed often felt a little empty when i want to express that something is "awesome" in German. I just can't quite do it. It's like a little bit of my feeling is left behind and dies when I want to say something is awesome.)
Today I have an essay to write, some reading to do, but nothing too stressful. I'm writing an essay about the JFK assassination. I feel the need to mention that Jacqueline Kennedy led one of the most tragic lives I've ever heard of.
Ok ok. Schönen Abend noch.
Bis dann.
ciao ciao.