Day 7: 1st Day of Language Courses

   It's hard to believe I've already been in Europe for a week.  Thus far, my time has been completely occupied by entirely new sights and experiences.  I'm just now getting to the point where I can attach familiarity to things, such as certain streets, my apartment, or the grocery store I'll do most of my shopping at.  

   The extended period of adjustment can be blamed entirely on my 5-day foray to Rome.  I met Emily there, and hung out with some mutual friends of ours (many thanks to Meredith and Christine for hosting us).  The city is absolutely amazing.  History is so prevalent there you have to develop a certain immunity to it to get anything done.  There are literally historical monuments, statues, and ruins on almost every block.  I had never thought about what life in a c. 2500 year-old city would be like, and now I know.  I had just enough time to pack in all the typical touristy things while still getting over my jet lag.  We saw the Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Spanish Steppes, the Jewish Ghetto, the Borghese Gardens, ate plenty of gelato and had lots of pasta.  

   On my bus back to the Ciampino Airport, I realized that I'm becoming used to the unfamiliar.  Or, said another way, I'm learning how to find familiarity in unfamiliar things.  For example, despite the fact that I couldn't speak a lick of Italian before being in Rome, I found that basic communication is still not that hard.  Once you learn how to say "hello," "please," and "thank you," it's fairly easy to make your intentions clear when you combine those words with simple gestures.  I also realized that no matter how different a language or culture might be from my own, every person on this planet still has similar desires. Everyone enjoys laughing, a good meal, the feeling of being appreciated, etc.  There are more, obviously, but I'll save the philosophical specifics for another time.  The take-home point here is that my fear of other cultures, of any culture, has been totally erased.  I feel like I could travel the world and be completely in my element.  

   It's currently 8:40, and the welcome breakfast for my program starts at 10:00.  I can't wait to learn more about the university I'm going to spend the next 5-6 months studying at.  Auf Wiedersehen!  

Day 1: Arrival

It is currently 11:10 AM German time, and I'm eager to explore.  I'll try to keep this post short.  

My flatmates are awesome!  Tobi and Julian picked me up from the airport at 8 o'clock, complete with boisterous enthusiasm and, interestingly, a splash of nervous energy.  I thought at the time the nervousness could be due to meeting their first true American flatmate, as I was feeling fairly nervous myself.  However, on the drive from the airport back to the flat, they explained to me that the bright blue-and-red sign they had written my name on was, in fact, a no-parking sign, and that they were energetic and nervous mostly because they didn't know what would happen if airport security saw them with it.  They made it clear that they were eager to get to know me, too.  Needless to say, it was an exciting welcome and a favorable first impression.  

While waiting for my flatmates, an obviously drunk young German man (yes, at 7 AM) took a seat at the same table as me and proceeded to mumble to his demons, while struggling to hold his torso upright.  I asked the man if I could help him, he apologized, and stumbled off.  A few minutes later, I realized he had left his cell phone.  I obviously wanted to return it to him, as he seemed to be in need of help, but I was wary as well.  After all, I'd only been in Germany for an hour.  I toyed with the idea that the man was setting a ruse, but decided I'd just be careful.  I knew I'd always wonder what happened to the man if I didn't try to return his phone, so try I did.  I found him just outside the gate.  He was very appreciative to have his phone back, or at least as appreciative as someone who is having trouble speaking can be.  

I also bought a coffee without speaking English!

So, in my first few hours in Germany, I contributed to the local economy, held a brief conversation in German, performed a charitable act, and witnessed the result of some mischievous vandalism.  I feel almost assimilated!  Just kidding.  But in any case, I certainly haven't had time to feel nervous, and I really like that.  Hopefully that feeling will continue.  

Preface:

I'd like to start with a few words regarding the purpose of this blog.  The first reason, of course, will be to allow family and friends who are interested in keeping up with my experiences to do so.  The second, slightly more selfish reason will be for me to keep a visual history of my time here in Darmstadt.  To accomplish this second goal, I plan to post at least one picture pertaining to the subject(s) of the entry every time I make an entry.  Hopefully this will prove to be interesting to anyone reading this, as well.