Germany in the News!

It’s getting cold, and I must say, this is pretty spot on.

How Long ‘Til Xmas?

I guess it is safe to say that while living in a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, you can’t chastise anyone for decorating for Christmas before “Black Friday.” That being said, I’m already enjoying the Christmas decorations and lights going up around the city, and even in the school courtyard. Since it is already getting dark at about 4:30 PM, I think that between now and the actual date, I will get plenty of good old-fashioned reminders to buy, buy, buy. As long as there is Glühwein, there will be no complaints.

6 weeks in, and school has finally started the German classes. Because I got a bit antsy before I came, and bought the German in 10 minutes a day book, it was pretty basic and perhaps a bit boring. But it is always good to have a real person teaching you, as I already realized I had been copying some verb conjugation patterns wrong in the book. The book is seriously great though. It breaks down language learning to the mentality of a small child, so I find myself filling in the blanks of some bright and colorful animated pages, with strangers snickering over my shoulder. I’ve gotten to the point though, where I can start to read the advertisements and signs around me, and pick out little, tiny bits of conversations that I recognize, like, “schlaufenkartfoffel blah blah, FRIDAY at 8 OCLOCK, schlumpeschlecken, blah blah.” Yes, that’s an exact transcript

I should be filling this out instead of blogging

Anyways, with the Financial Crisis looming over absolutely EVERYTHING, it was welcome news that I got one of the few scholarships my school offered for the new students of the program. I keep hearing stories of other students taking “sabbaticals” from their studies, or having to ditch out altogether from studying because of crazy high interest rates, and loans falling through, so this has been a bit of a relief.

I’m still navigating the super-intimidating German bureaucracy of getting permits, bank accounts, health insurance, visas, etc. I had to first go in a register my address with the local authorities (which I thought they only did in China), so that I could get the paper so that I could get a bank account (which I need to deposit scholarship money into, and get my health insurance payment drafted off of), so that I can get my residence permit, so that I can actually continue my studies. Trying to find the right form is a bit tricky, as German words tend to be a combination of several words, and range between 20-40 letters for official things. I just need two copies of the antrag auf erteilung einer aufenthaltserlaubnis? Let me get right on that. On a side note, passport pictures from the little booth in the subway station are 6 freaking! Euros. But I’m not complaining, I swear.

In other news, my class elected me “Class Speaker,” so now I should get to go to some super fun Student Council meetings and get a better insight into what German Universities are all about from a leadership perspective. I think it was fortuitous that the election was held on the 5th, as I may have benefited in a post-Barack news day cycle. Or maybe I was the only one interested in the position. It’s still unclear.

I also just got back from a nice weekend in Prague with Thomas Kirby, my friend who is living in Brussels working at a large law firm, helping large corporations take over the world. He needed a break from the real world, and I needed to take advantage of basically free RyanAir tickets where I just paid taxes and the bus fare to the super far away “Frankfurt” airport. The city is on every “must visit” list, and is subsequently mobbed with people, so staying with some experienced expats friends was a nice change of pace. It is a beautiful city, filled with charm, a giant metronome, and great streetcar lines that are navigable, even late at night when things are less clear for some reason.

Love to all, and here are a few more pictures from the trip.

PS, I hate all about me blogs too, so I’ll try and encounter some interesting stories. Germany just IS NOT China on the entertaining happenings front.

Prague

Me, Prague

BMW's in front of the Casino, just how I roll

On German Efficiency

It has officially been a month of living in Germany, so I feel like I can speak to some German stereotypes without coming off as ethno-centric, racist?, and/or a completely uniformed douchebag. Maybe in a year the smell of bratwurst permeating the street will seem oppressive and stomach-turning, but for now it’s quaint and little German eccentricities generally make me happy.

First, yes indeed, things in Germany are extremely punctual and efficient. I count time in 20 minute intervals from my apartment with the sound of the bus going by. Did I really just spend 4 bus cycles trying to download the latest episode of the Office? Damn. The real beef I have is when I come out on time, only to find that the bus is running ahead of schedule, and I’ve missed it. I can just imagine the bus driver wetting his pants in excitement over his unbridled efficiency.

Though I must say I like the system here of dirt cheap, all-inclusive rail and bus passes for students, and monthly passes for everyone else who wants them. No more walking an extra 30 minutes in the middle of the night to save the $1.35 metro fare because you’re only going one stop. Being cheap thrifty back in America takes dedication sometimes.

Also, regarding public transportation, instead of fare gates to make sure you pay the proper amount, there is nothing. At all. You just get on and go. In the last month I have been checked by the fare checker police just once. Apparently news stations have done studies where in most German cities, if you just never buy a ticket and pay the fines instead you actually come out ahead. I saw a sign on the train the other day that said fare-scofflaws cost the system 12 million Euros each year. I think you could probably outfit the entire system with fare gates for 12 million Euros, but I do indeed prefer the current system. It’s like there is a level of trust that you don’t always get back home. Like in high school when you finally don’t have to ask for the stupid hall pass just to use the bathroom during class. That kind of trust.

Better never than late.