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.