Where have I been?

Well, I just realized that I have not posted in awhile. The beginning of classes this past week provoked many parties. These Semesteroffnungsfests keep me out into the wee hours of the morning. The Germans are not as bad as the French, Italian, or especially the Spanish...but it is the European Way to begin and end parties much later than is commonly practiced in America.

So, two nights in a row, I did not get to sleep until 5am...it's just not good for my body. Now, it is Saturday night and I want to get to bed early...but these thin walls are allowing me to hear every single word of my neighbors current argument with his friend. I cannot understand any of these words though because they are speaking French.

In Honor of Someone Birthday...

In honor of Lisa's birthday, I thought I'd post this very special picture. It is my very own bathroom. Yes, it does really resemble an airplane restroom (if airplanes were to be equipped with showers). I've never seen anything like it in an actual permanent residence before. It works...and I do prefer it to the communal nature of our restrooms freshman year in Camino Hall. I hope you find this picture to be entertaining like I do...and not disturbing.

Happy Birthday, Friend!!!

I have to give this shout out to my favorite resident of Tucson, AZ.... Happy Birthday!!! October 20th...woo woo!!!

I'm cooking a pizza right now in your honor and will definitely toast to the One and Only JJ.

Promoted or Booted?

The beginning of the semester on Monday marked my promotion to the other German Grammar class. I began in the low class, but have now been booted to the higher class.

It is definitely an honor to be promoted in such a way, however I still have some reservations. Since I have missed the the first month of this other course, I am a bit behind. But I do hope that this will lead to that humbling experience that I hoped for before. In reality, it seems like my German skills put me somewhere in the middle of the two classes. So now, instead of getting the best marks in the class (one of only two A's), I will probably get some of the lower ones.

My main reservation is that my friends are all in the other class now. It makes things a bit difficult. But, if I look at it optimistically, it gives me an opportunity to make more friends. I'm not worried...there's too much else in this world to worry about.

Suprisingly Disorganized

I have decided that I am suprisingly disorganized. I think my disorganization began as a function of my 'pack rat disorder.' Anyways, I would like offer up a positive twist on my disorganization: It allows me more suprises in life.

In my lack of organization, I end up forgetting that I own something, and end up finding it to a great suprise. I am comfortable with this. Sometimes I do get frustrated when I cannot locate something in my room - mostly because it is so small and I have so little - but I don't like to dwell on this frustration. The suprises are always much better.

I experience these suprising moments daily, but an especially funny incident occurred this weekend. I had already ridden the U-bahn and walked several blocks when I stopped to remove a pebble from my shoe. It turned out to be the missing back of my earing. How cool is that! That is definitely an extreme example...but whatever.

German Food?

After our Big Mexican Night, what would naturally follow?

Chinese food.

A bunch of JYMers (not as many as the night before) met up to go to a Chinese restaurant. The food was actually really good. The menu was humorous, in that it displayed like 4 different languages, but it appeared as if it was translated from Chinese into German into English. So the English translations were a little off.

Then we made our way to the center of town for 'Die Lange Nacht' (the long night). It is was a city wide event in which 70 museums open up their doors and everyone takes buses to each of the museums. It was jammed packed with people at some places, but it was really neat to experience. I've already done a bunch of the art museums, but Munich has so much more to offer than just that. Die Lange Nacht lasted from 7pm to 2am...and there was live music and food everywhere.

We started at the Egyptian museum, went to the Botanical Gardens, the BMW museum, and the Siemens Museum. It was a bit cold, but overall a cool cultural experience. Munich is proud of it's museums, as it should be.

Tiffany and I decided that since we were out at the museums until 1:30ish, I have already completed my required Sunday Museum Visit to keep up with my tradition. So the tradition is still going...museum every Sunday...but I might go again today to one of my favorite free museums, I'm not sure. It's tough because not much is open on Sundays around here. For this reason, Saturdays down town are beyond crowded. On Sundays, the only people down town are tourists. All the stores are closed and only the touristy restaurants are open. That's the primary reason why the museums are such a good option for Sundays.

As Sweet as It Gets

I returned from my Alps excursion and we did a bit of studying to prepare for our Final the next morning. The test wasn't that bad...I really don't mind tests. I'm actually really comfortable with test taking in general.

Anyways, right after the test, we made the trek to the best ice cream in town. I am so excited that we've already found the best ice cream shop. I was starting to get worried about the lack of ice cream in Munich for the winter. Apparently, most of the Italians (who own the ice cream shops) head south for the winter because business is too slow. This was quite a shock to my heart...but I think we have found at least two shops that are permanent installations - including the one with the very best ice cream in the city.

Then I brought my bike back to StuStadt on the U-bahn (the subway). It must have been quite a hilarious sight...it's not easy to get a bike up and down stair and esclators and into a crowded train.

On the walk home, I realized what an amazing day I was experiencing. The sun was shining (it was by no means hot, but the sun was out), I had absolutely no homework to worry about, and my grandma sent me brownies (I know! Can you believe it!?!)!!!

To top it all off, all of the JYMers met for Happy Hour at a Mexican restaurant to celebrate the completion of our Intensive Language Course. The pitchers of margaritas and sangria sure made for a fun evening. Even Herr Söder (the director of our program) stopped by for a drink. He's such a cool person!

Here's a few tidbits from Herr Söder, regarding German culture:

German children are raised to be correct. American children are
raised to be polite.

Germans don't turn on the heat full blast in the winter because a certain
level of uncomfortablitily is the just the German way.

For Germans, there is a place and time for laughter/jokes. This is
why many people think the Germans have horrible senses of humor. This is
also why all of the Germans give us weird looks when we laugh on the U-bahn or
on the sidewalk. It's a dead give away that we're Americans.

Fairytale Castle

It's really tough to get a quality picture of Neuschwanstein...which is why the gift shop sells forty different varieties for all you photographic needs. The castle itself is quite overrated. I can't really understand why Walt Disney used it to base his animation on...it's not that special. The best aspect of it is it's location in the mountains. However, pictures of that are most easily obtained from a heliocopter - I assume - so all pictures that I took were really disappointing.

Another Church

Another church. But I actually remember the name of this one: Wiese Kirche (Meadow Church ??)

Essen

We ate some really cool Bavarian food at this restaurant near the monastery. At this time, many people became aware of my desire to be a superhero in my life. I'm still not sure how they took this...but let's just say that part of my argument asserted that Jesus was the original superhero...with his 12 sidekicks...well, I hope no one is upset by that...

Cool Church

Not too far from Oberammergau, lies this monastery/baroque/rococco church. It was really beautiful and I wish I could remember the name...but that's the problem with these types of tours: too many churches. I love churches and architecture, but sometimes it gets to be a little too much.

Alp Excursion - Take 2

We got up early after our Capture the Flag endevour for an excursion into the Alps. Unlike the last one, there was no hiking involved. Our first stop was the very small town of Oberammergau. It's the sight of the famous Passion play every ten years. Since it isn't 2010 yet, the town is really calm and adorable.

Capture the What?

I just returned from a two hour game of Capture the Flag in the Englischer Garten. My favorite park was the setting for a dangerous rendevous of only the bravest JYMers (that's the term we use to describe the 35 or so of us in this study abroad program).

It was definitely less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit (about 4 Grad), foggy, dark, and absolutely impossible to see anything. In spite of all (more likely, because of all that), we sure did have fun, even though my team did not win. It was awesome to actually find out that there are some people here that are more competitive than myself (I know, that is hard to believe). We actually thought that we won 3 times before we actually lost (there was an issue with decoy flags...), so I don't feel like I really lost.

I'm covered in dirt from my pseudo-military crawl through the park and definitely hyped for our trip tomorrow to Neuschwanstein. For me, there's nothing better than sports and traveling (then there's chocolate and ice cream...)

Capture the Flag also supports my theory that regressing back to my childhood serves as the greatest stress reliever. How can you be stressed out while playing a children's game?

Speaking of Running...

I finally went for my first run in the Englischer Garten (Europe's largest city park...or something impressive like that). It was certainly a pleasant suprise to not have to run up and down hills - like one must always do in San Diego. As it turns out, I love running in this park! Some people are trying to plan a big game of Capture the Flag in the park before it gets too cold. I'm kinda excited about that, but I'm not sure if it will really happen.

(If you just checked out that link and are worried about the nude sunbathers...don't. It's too cold for them right now. But I did see a few last weekend...and I did actually hear a rumor that they play volleyball naked...)

On a completely random note, I just bought myself some thick Norwegian socks. I figure the Norwegians know how to make warm socks...we'll see...

Munich Marathon

Ingrid is posing for a picture that I'm sure she never expected me to post here...hmm...sorry dude. Wandering around down at Marienplatz this morning and happened upon the Munich Marathon. There's always something going on in Munich, or so it seems. (If you're ever curious about what's going on, this Marienplatz webcam can be interesting.) The race was exciting, but I really didn't know what to yell as encouragement for the runners...Du kannst es machen! ... Schneller! ... probably not the most encouraging things to say. I'll have to ask a German.

One man on the sidelines was holding a sign that said: Er kam, er sah, er lief! (He came, he saw, he ran!) And I am proud to say that I understood (actually, I figured out part of it right now - like 10 hours after I first saw it...but hey, I still got it). But as for usual, I am much better with the comprehesion than with the actual formation of my own sentences in German. Getting better everyday...

Sunday Tradition

I've been here for a short time now, but I already have my very own tradition. On Sunday, I go to the museum. Not only do I go, but I bring with me another person from USD. First it was Emily, then Detgen, and finally Isidro. It's a pretty cool tradition, if I don't say so myself. In a short while I'll be able to give tours...maybe I can make some extra money that way? No, probably not. But I do love Munich's museums. It's a cultural and intellectual experience that city dwellers are privileged to have access to. I also went to a church service this morning. Both of these cultural experiences may not seem that significant now, but I think they are a part of a whole. The whole will hopefully be my development into a more culturally aware individual.

Spicing it Up?

I just felt the need to post a picture...I don't want the blog to get boring or anything. This is from the top of the St. Peters Kirche - 306 steps...but there's a very rewarding view. This is from the first week on our Scavenger Hunt. I hope next time, I'll have a more recent picture to post (and more interesting things to say...jeez, did I really dedicate two entire posts to laundry? That's sad).

Laundry Update

I have now survived the German Laundry Procedure twice. I have to admit, it is not as bad as I previously asserted.

There are only 3 washing machines in the entire 8 story building. Since school has not yet started, there aren't enough residents yet living here for the machines to be in high demand. The machines are in the stairwell, which is relatively close - no matter where your room is located. The machines didn't ruin my clothes and the drying process took a little more than a day. All of my clothes are now clean.

It just takes a little more patience, but I would be lying if I said I didn't need practice with my patience.

Struggling to Find My Deutsche Bekannte

German culture has a big distinction between acquaintances (Bekannte) and friends (Freunde). You have to know everything about someone and be able to talk about anything with them in order to be a 'friend.' Or if they are a friend of the family, you can classify a person as your friend. But otherwise, German people tend to have many more acquaintances.

Perhaps, in the US, we overuse the word 'friend'. It' not something that I think about often...when can I classify this person as a friend...but I have been forced to in my new cultural environment. I think in the US, we use the term 'friend' to describe both our friends and those we see as potentially becoming 'friends.' Acquaintances are people that you barely know and don't care to know that much. I'm not sure if I'm way off base with that brief analysis, but I provided it anyways.

Last night, I made 3 new Deutsche Bekannte. Three German girls took us out to their favorite club. I also learned about the different way that Europeans dance in comparison to American dancing. I really can't go into an explanation of how young Americans dance, but if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. In Europe, it is quite different. Then, they asked us to show them how Americans dance. Let's just say that we were the comic relief for all of the Germans in the vicinity.

Of all of the cultures in the world, German and American are realitively close to each other. However, the little differences are what makes life over here so interesting.

On Faith

In all of her wisdom, Detgen shared something with me this weekend that really stuck with me. We visited a large church in the center of town - St. Peters. It was actually very nice looking, not too gaudy, not too dark...just right. But as we were looking at the golden statues up on the alter, Detgen pointed something out to me:
So much of the world's money is spent on trying to create beautiful things for God. These attempts are sometimes pathetic and at other times useful for society. But when God looks down on these artworks and structures, it is most likely comparable to when a 3 year old child brings home a drawing to his parents. The child is very proud of the drawing and thinks that everyone should be jealous. In reality, the picture is just not artistically significant, but the parents love it just the same. So our grand cathedrals and other works of art dedicated to God are nothing compared to the real beauty that God knows, but he loves our attempts just the same.
I'm not sure if I articulated this well, but I really am glad that Detgen shared this thought with me. The next time that I see art dedicated to God, this thought will be on my mind. It is not a negative thought...it reminds me of both God's parental love for me and God's patience with my immaturity and monetary obsession. But when it comes down to it, I can see God's love everywhere...if I remember to look.