Time Warp - World Cup

So, unless you've been living under a rock I'm pretty certain you all must be aware that Germany is once again the FUßBALL WELTMEISTER!

For weeks the cafés have been packed full of Trikot-wearing, flag-waving football fanatics. Fireworks accompanied every German goal, and for every win the streets were filled with sound of car horns honking away. Even those who had not intended on celebrating Germany's triumphant victory in the final ended up staying awake till the early hours because of all the commotion. Good times.

I haven't really had much to write about recently. We're nearing the end of the semester so I've got a pretty heavy workload and am pretty much going to be locked in my room for the next week preparing presentations.

On Saturday there was the annual Sommerfest here at StuSie. It was also my friend's birthday so I had a good excuse to take some time off from working. Throughout the day there were live bands, sports tournaments, face-painting, a bouncy castle, and of course a foam slide. Needless to say we spent the entire day acting like big kids.

So that's it for my quick update. Seeing as I'm coming to the end of my year here I thought it might be good to answer some questions and give some pointers to those about to head off on their Erasmus year, so if there is anything in particular you would like to know please get in touch!

how to name animals in German

For those of you who are unaware of the German obsession with pigs....

Time Machine - May

The Germans definitely have strange semester dates. The summer semester only just began about 3 weeks ago and doesn’t officially end until August 2^nd, whereas in Dundee everyone is done for the year. It’s a bit of a pain that my summer break will be so short but at the same time, the weather here is so nice that I feel like I’m still on holiday. I imagine that this might cause problems when it comes to studying. I mean, who wants to revise when they can go swimming in the lake, or bbq in the sunshine?

Picking classes this semester has been causing problems once again; not all the classes which had previously been advertised as available this semester were actually on the database when it came time to pick. As well as this, halfway through the online sign-up period they decided to make some of the classes available to international students unavailable to those doing Erasmus. I luckily signed up to one before this happened, although I appear to be the only Erasmus student who did – probably because I only actually found the class after some ingenious searching. I’m told that they can’t throw me out though as I was already accepted into the class. Somehow I’ve managed to find enough classes to get me the required points, but one of these requires me to write a 20-page essay over my summer break on a topic that’s pretty foreign to me.

There’s a pretty big workload here compared to Dundee, which would be completely fine if I’d come here in 2^nd year and only had to pass, but it’s a little more stressful doing it in 3^rd year, knowing that I need good grades in everything. Considering I need to make at least 6 presentations in the next two months it’s hard not to crack under the pressure at times. Though admittedly, that’s partly due to my bad time management. I also still need to have my new module choices approved, which is an interesting thought, as if they don’t accept them there’s nothing I can really do except repeat the year.

Ranting aside, I am actually really enjoying my classes and am finally getting a chance to study things that interest me such as renewable energy in Europe, German history, culture and society, and the functioning of the EU. I’m also feeling a lot better about studying French this semester. I’ve found a conversation class which covers relatively complex topics, whilst spending time revising very basic themes, which is something I really need, as it feels like I’ve forgotten practically everything since I left school (one of the downsides of taking two gap years I guess!).

When not gallivanting off half way around the world, I spent a lot of my semester break doing research on Freiburg during the First World War as part of an international history project, the results of which we presented in Berlin a few weeks ago at the History Campus ‘Europe 14/14’. It was actually a pretty huge event with over 400 participants from around the world. Angela Merkel was even there for the opening ceremony, and Steinmeier, the foreign minister, made an appearance later that week. It was really exciting to be a part of it all, especially as a workshop speaker, and see how the war is perceived nowadays from a multitude of different national perspectives. Here is a short video from the end of the event:

Time machine - February

So I wrote some posts a while ago and just never got round to typing them up. So....time machine! We're back in February now ;)

I’m back now from Budapest. I think I’ve found a new favourite city….time to start learning Hungarian and working out how I can wrangle another free year abroad. Just a shame the weather was a little too Irish! We managed to pack a lot into 5 days, although we barely even scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.

The alternative scene in Budapest is just amazing. I’m kind of disappointed that Freiburg doesn’t seem to have the same sort of hidden gems. I hate to admit it but my inner hipster appears to be surfacing. Not that Freiburg is in any way boring, in fact most people would appreciate the lack of gimmicks. As a city it has a natural beauty which speaks for itself, but for a place with so many students it’s definitely missing a spark of creativity. Well, to make a German comparison, it’s definitely no Berlin.

I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my trip so allow me to limit my account to the highlights:
Communist pizza

Marxim is one of Budapest’s best kept secrets. It’s a bit of a trek but definitely worth it. So good in fact that we went there twice. Hidden in a basement down a side street, it would be pretty hard to find if it weren’t for the red star outside. Inside it’s decorated with communist posters and white-washed walls lined with barbed wire. The menu boasts such options as ‘Snow White and the 7 small proletarians’, ‘Gulag pizza (Hawaii), and ‘Pussy-pussy Monica & Bill’. Another interesting feature there is that they give you a little jug of pizza sauce with your pizza. I think this is because some of the pizzas come with sour cream bases, though that’s not to stop you from pouring it all over the standard ones. In fact, I’d recommend it.  Go tomato sauce crazy! There is no such thing as too much red in a communist pizza joint!

Bora Bora tea

Another little treasure trove is a tea-café called Sirius (it also has a sister-café called Altair, which appears to offer a similar experience). The entrance to this café is incredibly easy to miss, unless you know what to look for, as it’s only marked by a small silver plaque on the wall outside. When you walk in on first look it seems just like any other café, not particularly remarkable, but walk around the back, take off your shoes, and you can climb up into one of its many hideouts. Sink into a massive cushion, choose between one of 80 flavours of tea and relax. For those curious enough they even have their own ‘Narnia’ type experience. Crawl through the wardrobe and you will not be disappointed.

                                       

Thrift shopping

And one unforgettably crazy club

part 2

Part 2 – post-exams

Today I’m back in my old stomping grounds, taking a well-earned break to chill in the sunshine and write a little. The winter semester finally ended today, after 3 weeks of assignments, revision, exams and general stress! It’s great to finally be able to unwind. I have the feeling that my exams either went extremely well or extremely badly. All the classes from the SLI (Sprachlehrinstitut) were fine, as those classes are almost entirely made up of international students, and thus set a slightly lower level. My other lectures though were a whole other kettle of fish. Absolutely horrendous. The language level was frankly beyond my ability. I probably spent most of my lectures looking in my dictionary and unable to take many notes, although I did eventually improve. My history test was a nightmare. I thought I might do well as it was multiple-choice and I had done a lot of revision, including reading a 300 page book on the subject. Unfortunately the questions were obscure and the options incredibly difficult to decipher. I think I spent the first 10 minutes on the first question alone, looking up what each word meant. What was most cruel were the questions designed to confuse the German students (so the other 98% of the class). These were usually four near-identical definitions which to me looked the same. Complete stab in the dark. I have no idea how, but I somehow managed to pass, though I’m not happy with the grade so I’m planning on taking an extra class or two next semester. At least I got straight A’s in German, which although great does not seem like much of an achievement right now considering how much difficulty I had understanding my exams. Clearly I have a much better chance of surviving if I remain a big fish in a little pond, than a small fish in an ocean of sharks.

On that note, something I’ve really noticed lately is that my spoken German has gotten much worse recently. I’m finding it much more difficult to find the right words, and I’ve pretty much lost my accent entirely. So much for being fluent by the end of the year! I guess the reason for this is that I’m still speaking English too often, rather than immersing myself completely. It’s a big problem as, although we might have every good intention of only speaking German with each other, as soon as someone is unable to express themselves clearly, they get frustrated and give up (myself included). Next semester I will endeavour to be stricter about this, as it’s a shame to waste such a good opportunity and I really do enjoy speaking German.

The semester break is looking to be a really exciting time. I’m off to Budapest on Sunday with some friends for 5 days. We did a blind-booking, so our destination was a complete surprise. I have no idea what we are actually going to do when we get there but I’m looking forward to the adventure.

I’m also going to spending some time organising a history project I’m working on with someone in Dundee about the First World War. I’m the project leader for Freiburg, so I need to organise volunteers to help with a survey, and do some research about the impacts that the war had on Freiburg. All being well, we’re going to be running a workshop in May, in Berlin, at the History Campus there, where we’ll compare and present our results. I’m really excited about it, although I’m aware I need to be a little more careful about my time management, as I’m also headed to Northern Ireland, Thailand and most likely Scotland over the break.

I think Erasmus often gets a bad reputation as just a chance for students to party abroad, and well, I guess there is a grain of truth in that, but personally I have found that it’s a lot of hard work. It’s not exactly easy to take so many classes, and in a language that you aren’t completely proficient in. Perhaps I’m also taking it more seriously as my grades here actually count towards my degree, so I want to put more effort in. If I just had to pass, it might be different. I guess it all comes down to personal preference and what you want to achieve from a year abroad. It’s good to take a moment to reflect on your goals, to find some sort of motivation to keep you focused. It’s not easy to keep pushing yourself when you have no reason to do so. I guess what I’m saying, in a rather rambling fashion, is that you should be prepared to challenge yourself.

Intro + part 1

Alright, prepare yourself, in fact, best go put the kettle on and settle into a comfy chair. I’ve been silent for far too long, so that means there’s a lot to catch up on. I’ve been gathering these posts in a notebook for quite some time, but I’ve been unable to type anything up until now. I will try and make it easier to understand by splitting it up, though that means you will have to become a lot more familiar with the index. Part 1 and 2 today. 3 and potentially 4 will be coming your way later this week.

Part 1 – return from the Christmas break

So life has been crazy since I got back as it’s the end of the semester here, meaning the workload and stress levels have doubled. It’s hard to get used to, as in Dundee it would already be the beginning of the next semester. All the hard work would have been done before Christmas and I would be enjoying the relaxed introductions to my new classes. I’ve kind of gone into shock with the amount of work I have to do while trying to revise for my upcoming exams. I’ll not get into all the details of my many assignments, but let’s just say that my teacher spontaneously deciding to give us an essay two weeks ago is a typical example of the chaos that has been unfolding.

At least I managed to find a little time to relax this week, in the form of a pyjama party with the choir. Popcorn, singstar and good company, what more could I ask for? The highlight of the evening definitely had to be taking the tram at 6am in my onesie. Comfiest night out ever!

Rob linked me this song earlier this week – the lyrics are all other song titles so even if you can’t understand the words you might be able to guess from the pictures.

Apart from that, there’s not much to say. I'm absolutely terrified of my upcoming exams and cannot wait for the semester break to start exploring again. On Wednesday I have a test in German on the European Union and I have to do a 10 minute presentation on Irish history in French. Wish me luck!

I ATEN'T DEAD

Just a quick post to let you all know that I'm still alive. I've had so much work to do since I got back from the Christmas break that I just haven't had the time to write about it. I will endeavour to do so in the near future but for now enjoy some strange German music: