So i went to get a hair cut and they asked how i wanted it. I said bring it in on the sides and even out the top. They proceeded to just buzz my head with a 4mm. 



man it's cold with barely any hair

Booked a flight January 13-16 to Stockholm, Sweden.

First day of Sprachkurs

Today we had to take a written exam and an oral proficiency test. I'm not going to lie, the written was quite hard because it was six fill in the blank paragraphs in arbitrary places. If there were 4 letters in front of the space, then there had to be at least 4 letters following.


zum Beispiel, Gesch_ would then be Geschwindigkeit


Now imagine this for any arbitrary amount of letters, half words, run on adjectives.


In any event, the speaking portion was quite easy. I only had to talk about what people normally have for breakfast in the states.


Tomorrow i'll find out which class i'll be in, but I'm hoping it will be in B1. Fluency is ranked on an A,B,C scale here. A1, A2 = beginner.... B1, B2 = intermediate, C and after are advanced/fluent.


There's a couple things planned including movies, a trip to Hamburg, Braunschweig Stadt Tour, etc etc. So hopefully i can take some more pictures.


I still need to reach out to my contact for the research project and figure out exactly how classes are run here. Apparently it's open lecture, and if you want a grade, you register to take the final a couple weeks before the end. If you pass, you get certificate. If not, well....


That's it for now. Thanks for reading

On the list of places to go in the next month:

Berlin
ripe with history, we will be going here on our study tour/intensive german course




Wolfsburg - VW tour
A tour of the Wolfsburg facility...i'm hoping i can take pictures here


Wolfsburg - Phaeno
An unbelievable hands on scientific museum. If you visit Wolfsburg, you MUST take a look at this place. Click here for more information on Phaeno!

Bremen, Deutschland

Hauptbahnhoff, Bremen

A group of us went to the Beck's factory tour where we got a rundown on the history of Beck's and how they've changed throughout the years. It was quite interesting. 9,50€ for 4 beers, a pretzel and a factory tour. Totally worth it.

The visitor center, bar

Windmill

Bremen Marktplatz

St. Petri Dom, Bremen

Bremen Rathaus

Roland

The river at night

More pictures of Braunschweig

Burgplatz bei Nacht

Burgplatz

Altstadtmarkt

Gewandhaus

Altstadtrathaus

Rathaus, Braunschweig

magnikirchstraße

as you can see, i'm really loving the polarizer lol

A week after arrival

Culture may be generally defined as a set of belief's, perceptions, traditions, and behaviors that is learned and not passed on by birth. Some might argue that language is not a part of culture (linguistic relativity) but I tend to agree that language is an inseperable part of culture. In any event, some cultural differences that I have observed:

Elevator Etiquette

In the states, it is completely normal to walk into an elevator, not talk, stare at a wall and part ways with other occupants without a second thought. Germany is very much the same with one distinct difference which never fails. You could be in an elevator with other people having conversations. But when it's time for them to exit, they will stop and say goodbye to you. Even if you weren't talking. Same goes for the silent wallflowers of the elevator. You will always be acknowledged when they leave. A simple Tschüss or Ciao is normal. 

Administration/communication

While taking care of housing forms, residency/work visa applications...the older folks are friendly and like to joke around. If you ever need help with understanding anything grab the closest German student, chances are they've studied English and can get you a hell of a lot farther than being on your own. The Hausmeister/superintendent is only available on tuesdays and thursdays from 2:30-3:30pm (14:30-15:30 Uhr). The office to get internet is only open tuesdays and thursdays from 6pm-7pm (18-19 Uhr). DSL is commonplace here because they don't want to run new (underground) lines in the city for cable/fiber. 

Crosswalk Etiquette

Everyone knows what a road looks like; Germany also has designated Fahrradweg/biking lanes located adjacent to the road. Fußweg/sidewalks are where you belong.  If a Unfall/accident were to occur, then it's your fault. You were in the wrong.

Do not J-walk unless you wanted to be spotted as an american. Just wait until the little green man lights up before you cross the road

Versischerung/Insurance
Health insurance...it costs (for a student) 60€/month. This is full coverage. It is amazing. Back home because I have Stage 3 Renal Failure (read: kidney disease) and Ventricular Septal Defect (murmer, valves don't close all the way, prone to infection) insurance from any of the big companies would cost about $450 per month, and then a co-pay. I hate american insurance.


Liability insurance, costs 6€/month...in case damages were incurred for some reason, and you were not at fault this covers it. You could have parked your bike on the sidewalk when some other asshole kicked your bike into the path of a porsche and ran away. After an investigation and you were found not to be at fault directly, this covers damages. This is an example and a bad one but you get the idea. At fault, your fucked. Not at fault, no problem, you have liability insurance. It covers you anywhere in europe.


Essen/Food
You generally buy what you need for the day or 2. People don't stockpile here by going to BJ's and getting a months worth of stuff. There are enough markets on every corner to just spontaneously buy milk on your walk back from anything. For more luxury items, meats and cheeses, be prepared to pay. Food isn't very expensive here, but you do get less than you're used to. 2€ would give me a package of 7 slices of salami, another 2€ would yield 6 slices of gouda cheese. I was pretty upset with my 7th sandwich.


As previously mentioned, the cheapest thing to eat at practically any given time is Döner. Think Gyro, and they do it up in many different ways. For 3,50€ you get:

Click this bar to view the full image.

...enough said

Some pictures in Braunschweig

my view

My bathroom

Bedroom

Bikes are quite popular

 Schloss

Alte Waage 

So... arrived in Frankfurt at 6am local time. Left at 8am to Hannover. Took a bus about an hour to Braunschweig. We dropped off our luggage in our rooms then our ´Paten´ took us out to set up bank accounts, acquire cell phones and show us where to go for supplies. Mind you at this point its about 12 local (6am EST) and we still haven´t slept a wink.

For students, the Tram and public transport is free for all Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony. But with rent, fee´s and other monthly costs i really have to watch my budget. Everything is priced pretty similarly...maybe a tad more expensive but then you take into account the non-favorable conversion rate it gets expensive fast. Keep in mind i live off financial aid/grants/student loans.

aaanyway. internet on tuesday. biometric photo for visa application monday. haven´t explored much of town because of jetlag and basically no clue. Took pictures but am only using an internet cafe so that´ll be tues.

i havent had..but McDonalds here have ginormous portions. as ni a large is an american supersize. Both McD´s and Burger King are open 24/7. But for real value Döner is king of late night take out. at 5€ for döner and drink... it´s practically 2 meals.

more later..

Auf Wiedersehen!!

Background:
I am in a 5 year degree program (International Engineering Program, IEP) earning a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a B.A. in German Language and Literature. The IEP has programs in German, Spanish, French and recently Chinese. During our 4th year, we go to the country where our chosen language is spoken, study, and have a 6 month internship. 

Now:
It's finally time for me to go to Germany. I leave tomorrow and am still desperately my Canon XTi will continue to work, it's malfunctioning. I will be studying at die Technische Universität Braunschweig, taking courses [in german] including but not limited to Fundamentals of Automotive Technology, Linear Algebra (to pick up a math minor), and a number of other engineering classes. I'll also be taking cultural classes and intensive immersion courses so we can actually communicate in the work place.

I am participating in a research project at the institute for automotive technology 



Ok bye!