Two Weeks from Twenty

At the request of my grandmother and great Aunt, I've decided to take some time out of my "busy" schedule and give everybody an update on what I've been up to in the last few weeks.  

Towards the end of October there wasn't much going on.  I'd really settled in, met a bunch of cool people, and was finally in a normal routine, which was nice.  On Halloween, my favorite holiday, I didn't manage to think of a costume, but that was okay as I went with some friends to a non-costume party, which was a really good time.  

After Halloween the days seemed to flow together filled with going to University, walking around the city, cooking with my new found friends, singing the occasional karaoke, and of course sharing one or two beers.  But really, it seems like the whole two months that I've been in Regensburg have just been a few great days being played on repeat.

On November 8th I skipped my Dutch class to go to a question and answer session with the new American to Ambassador to Germany, who was nice enough to grace our (ugly) university with his presence.  After speaking for a few minutes he turned it over to the audience for questions whose topics spanned from the NSA to Iran and even a little bit about the new US-European Trade Agreement which is in the works.  All in all it was a pretty interesting conversation.  

On November 9th I woke up at some ridiculous time of day before the sun was up (I think it's called morning) so that I could spend a few hours in a bus on my way to the super awesome and infamous Neuschwanstein castle.  Upon our arrival the weather was cold and rainy with fog hanging in the air.  Although the weather really wasn't that great, it all looked pretty cool with the mountains as a backdrop.  Our first stop was the castle Hohenschwangau.  Despite being much less known, at least to me, was really interesting to see considering that it is a lot older than Neuschwanstein, it was actually lived in, and that 99% of everything was still original.  The tour that lasted about an hour, but sadly I don't have any pictures, as photography in the castles is prohibited.  After our tour we walked through the woods back into town where we stopped to get some coffee and lunch before making the hike up to Neuschwanstein.  Now for the record, Neuschwanstein was never really something that I wanted, or rather felt the need, to see as I always considered it to be more of a touristy thing.  That being said, it's great.  I can totally understand why people flock there, it is really a super cool looking, completely original castle built by a crazy man with too much money, but it is just an awesome place to have been!  The only part about Neuschwanstein that annoyed me is that it seemed almost as though we ran through the castle.  Although the castle is quite a bit larger than Hohenschwangau, we were inside for a much shorter amount of time and had a much less personal explanation as to what exactly we were seeing.  After the tour it was a quick walk to the hill back to the bus for another multi-hour drive back to Regensburg.

Schloss Hohenschwangau

Schloss Neuschwanstein

After Neuschwanstein I spent a few weeks trying to motive myself to study and get my homework done which wasn't always possible or easy.  Often I was stopped or distracted by the impossible to pass up offers to drink a coffee or tea with somebody in the building, which always seemed to turn into a multi-hour affair.  But I still do find the time to get the things done that I need to get done.  I'm not always sure that I'm studying the right things,  and even more often I'm not really able to see what some things have to do with others, but I'm hopeful that as the semester continues to progress,  that everything will start to make more sense for me.  

On the 15th I spontaneously decided to try and find a ride to Bremen so that I could surprise my host family with a visit.  Everything ended up working out great!  After class on Friday I met with some folk who were headed to Bremen and who were nice to enough to let me tag along.  Around 10:30 p.m. I arrived at the bus stop where Markus (somebody had to know that I was coming) picked me up.  When I walked up the stairs and into the living room I was greeted with confused faces and warm hearts.  After sitting up and talking for a while we all hit the hay.  On Saturday, I hung around with Christoph and Markus for a while before making my way to a birthday party of one of my friends.  As it was a surprise visit, everybody at the party was also surprised and happy to see me, which really made for a great evening.  On Sunday we took the dog for a walk and had an awesome Lunch.  In the evening Markus and I took the dog for a walk in the now empty field, Holly (the dog) at one point came flying out of nowhere at full speed, ran into my leg, and left me laughing on the ground.  Monday morning I was back on my way to Hamburg before making my way back to Regensburg and real life.  All in all the weekend was great.  I'm glad I made the decision to make the short visit and am excited for the end of December when I will get the chance to visit again.  

Last week I tried to keep a little bit lower profile and to spend a little bit less money that I seem to have been giving out lately.  Between going to class, I also found the time to prepare and send off a few Christmas packages and also enjoy a few more beers.  On Friday evening I went back to the University as for my politics class (Foreign Policy of the US) we commemorated the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination.  The US Consulate General from Munich was supposed to come, but didn't end up arriving until the last few minutes.  It was interesting, but as I sat there I realized that I know much too little about JFK to really follow/understand a lot of what they were saying.

And already it is a new week.  On Thursday I am going to attempt to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.  For 22 people.  I'm hoping it will be good, otherwise I'll have a lot of disappointed people on my hands, but I've a lot of helpers who have a little better idea on how to cook, so I think that everything should go well.  Also on Thursday the Christmas markets in Regensburg open!  I'm excited as they've been setting them up and lining the city with lights for the last few weeks, so I can't wait to see how it will all look when it's finished and full of people.  The best part is that one of the markets is literally next to our door, and I can see it from my Window.  

On Saturday or Sunday we're planning on going to Munich to the Tollwut Festival.  Sunday is already December.  Crazy.  The weekend after that we're planning on going to the Christmas Market in Nürnberg, then it's my birthday already.  Another week of University and then it's back to good 'ol Norddeutschland for Christmas the New Years.  The time files.  

Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy reading this.  Questions and comments are always welcome.

Bis demnächst,

- Der James

Hallo Du!

Soo,

After celebrating Heike and Andreas' Anniversary for a few days with different friends and neighbors, they (we) celebrated the Saturday afterward with the family.  All in all it was a good week (but somehow whenever something needed to be done Markus and Johannes seem to have disappeared, leaving James to take care of things :D) and the celebration on Saturday was a great way to end it.   

On October 1st, after about four weeks, I left the comfort of my second home and made my way back to Regensburg.  In Regensburg I quickly met a few people who have been nice enough to show me around and introduce me to a few folk.  I've also been around the city a bit and have been able to see a lot of the cool sights in the city.  

After a few days in Regensburg I left again, this time to Göttingen, a city in northern Germany near Hannover, with YFU.  There I was a "Teamer" at an orientation for German students who just came back from the US.  The weekend was really a lot of fun (and for the most part without incident), it was great to hear the stories of all of the students and to see and hear what they want to do in the future, and how their time abroad changed their views of some things.  The rest of team was also really cool, I'm glad that I was able to meet some experienced people, and hope that I might get the chance to "work" with some of them again in the future. 

After I came back, I had one more day off before the semester started (On Oct. 15th).  And the semester started.  While I wasn't able to take all of the classes that I wanted to this semester, I'm taking some classes that will hopefully help me to be able to take more chemistry classes next semester, but I will definitely still be able to continue on pace at UND (the last few semesters might just be a little more hectic).  So, the courses that I am taking this semester are (Translated) German for Scientists, Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry Lab, Foreign Policy of the United States, German Film, Dutch (for beginners), and Swedish (for beginners) (which comes out to be a total of 14 credits).   My schedule is also pretty nice I have class: Tuesdays from 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (08.30-20.00), Wednesdays from 8:00 a.m. - 3/4:00 p.m.(08.00-15-16.00), and Friday from 8:45 am - 12:00 p.m. (noon).  So life is pretty good.  The first couple days of class were a little stressful, but now everything is great.  Today, for example was a lot less stressful and (actually) a lot of fun, so I'm excited to see how the rest of the semester will be.  I am especially excited for Dutch and Swedish, as they seem cool.  

And yeah, life is good.  A few of us have started a weekly cooking group, which is always a lot of fun.  Tomorrow the University is having a "Bavarian Welcome" dinner for all of the exchange students, which should be fun, and in the next few weeks (Nov. 9th) we're going to the Neuschwanstein (think Disney) Castle which should be fun.  

Last week I booked my flight home for July 28th, which is a day after my parents leave for home, which means, yes, my parents are coming!  Flights are booked and I'm (as are they) pumped!  I also booked my train ticket from Regensburg to Bremen for Christmas and yeah, everything is going well.  

On Sunday I also skyped with my parents, grandma, the Z, my brother, my nephew, and my sister-in-law, which was great, it feel like it's been forever since I've talked to all of them. 

So that's my life at the moment.  Now I'm headed back to the university for my last two classes of the day. 

Ankunft

Hello!

So, I've been in Germany for about 15 days now and have nothing better to do, so I thought I would write a short blog post and update everybody on my current status. 

After arriving in Munich, I finally made my way to Regensburg where, after putting my bags in a storage locker, I eventually made it to the University.  I was happy to see a familiar face upon arriving and after a few minutes I had my keys and new address and was on my way to what would be my new home. 

My "shared apartment" (DEU: Wohngemeinschaft) is on the top (US: 5th, DE:4th) floor of a building that was originally built during the first half of the 13th century (before 1250), which means that the building is over 760 years old! Cool stuff!  It has, of course, been remolded and updated a few times since then but we/I am pretty sure that the wood that is exposed in my room is still original.  My room is good sized and has features such as a bed, a desk, some windows, and a few shelves.  The rest of the apartment consists of a few bathrooms, 5 other bedrooms, and a shared kitchen.  It seems like a pretty cool place, but I was only there for two nights before I made my way back to northern Germany.

 During my 46 hours in Regensburg I was able to accomplish quite a bit!  I officially enrolled/matriculated at the University, got my health insurance, signed my lease, opened a bank account, registered with the city, applied for my residence permit and still somehow found the time to do a little bit of relaxing, check out some of the city and, of course, drink a few beers.

Originally I had planed on leaving on Friday the 6th to go and visit my host family,  but after I finished everything that I needed to get done on Thursday I decided I might as well hop on a train.  I was supposed to arrive in Bremen at 20:48, but due to delays and my boarding the wrong train it was closer to 23.15 before I arrived.  Exhausted, I was picked up from the train station by my all to nice of Host brother who had school the next day.  

Since being back in the all to beautiful Ostereis-Paradise  I've been lucky enough to see a number of friends whom I haven't seen in at least a year if not two.  Last week I went and visited Christoph in Oldenburg for a few minutes before we made our way to Heike's mothers house for the night.  I also spent last Friday with Johannes in Köln, or rather in the car driving to and from Köln where we was looking at an apartment. We did, however, still get a chance to check out the Kölner Dom and to drink a few Kölsch. 

Ostereis-Paradise

I, along with Heike, will be "repping" (Area Representative)  a student from the US who I happen to know from my time in Chicago, which should be pretty fun.  I'm glad that I'm able to do a little bit here with YFU.  I have also been invited to work an orientation in Göttingen for a few days in October and am hoping to be able to work a few more throughout the year. 

So, Heike and Andreas have their Silver Anniversary on Monday, and on the 1st I'll be on my way back to Regensburg for a few days before heading to Göttingen and then back to Regensburg just in time for the semester to begin. 

Life is hectic, but exactly that is what keeps in interesting.


Bis demnächst! 

188

So slowly buy surely we are coming down to the last few days before I head off to Germany and the beautiful city of Regensburg.

I'd like to start off by letting you know that to the right of this post there are links to some awesome blogs of other people currently living abroad.  Check them out!

I feel like going abroad for this second time is a lot more work and a lot more having to worry on my part than it was the first time.  Before I didn't have to worry about things like: Where am I going? How am I getting there? How will I pay for things?  These are just a few of the things that I seem to having going through my mind all day everyday, but for now my two main concerns are making sure that my suitcase can handle all of my junk while still somehow remaining under 50 pounds, and having to run through the airport in Reykjavik so that I don't miss my flight to Germany.  But I'm hoping and thinking that everything will end up working out just fine.

In the last few weeks I've been finishing up everything else that needed finishing, I bought some new plug converters as mine have somehow gone missing, I got some Euros so that I can at least get to Regensburg, bought a new cell phone since mine has taken a turn for the worst, finally got all of my financial aid stuff figured out, and went and got some new clothes. 

Today I filled my full sized suitcase, which means the rest of my belongings will have to somehow fit into my carry-on bag.  Luckily I still have a week to make some final decisions as to what needs to be brought with, what can be bought in Germany, and what things I might just have to live without for a while.  The one thing that did make it into my bag was my Fighting Sioux hat, as I couldn't go a year without repping my beloved University of North Dakota.

Next post will come once I'm in Germany, but it'll probably won't be until after I've been there for a few weeks.

It's crazy to think that in just 188 short hours, I'll by on a plane and gone again.

Neuanfang - New Beginnings

It's been almost two years since I've posted anything on this blog, but I've decided that it's time that I get back into the swing of it.

A quick update for everybody:
My name is James, I'm 19, and come from a small city outside of Minneapolis (go Minnesota!).  I spent the 2010-2011 academic year, my junior year, living abroad in Germany as a part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program (CBYX) through Youth For Understanding USA (YFU USA).

I am currently double majoring in Chemistry (emphasis Biochem) and German at the University of North Dakota.  I am lucky enough to say that I will be leaving in September for yet another year abroad in Germany, this time at the Universität Regensburg.  I plan on using this blog as a way to keep friends and family up to date with what I am doing, as well as a way for me to record some my memories. 

I have been volunteering with YFU in Minnesota for the last two years on a kind of "as needed" basis, but was lucky enough to spend a few days last week (July 11-14) in 'Chicago' with YFU volunteering at an orientation for all American students spending at least a semester abroad.  I had a great time working with my group (Shout out to the green group) of 11 kids who are all leaving for Germany at the beginning of August here.  If you guys (or anybody else going abroad) read this, I wish you all the best of luck!

So as I said I leave for Munich on September 2nd.   I'm super excited to leave and get there, but at the same time a little apprehensive as I'll be living 'alone' in a new city, not really knowing anybody (shout out to Wyatt, Edith, and Marlene).  But overall I'm really excited.

I've got pretty much all of my ducks in a row now, I'm just finishing up the last few details with my money and whatnot, but otherwise I've got green lights all around.  Once I get to Regensburg I'll be moving in to my 'apartment' and will spend the first few days in Regensburg getting stuff like bank accounts set up before leaving to visit my host family in Niedersachsen for a few weeks.

I hope that everybody appreciates this update post.  If you have any questions please feel free to let me know.  I hope to write here every 4-6 weeks while I'm abroad so make sure to check back regularly!

Until next time,
 - Der James