Today the weather here in Bonn is a little crusty. It's much colder than it's been, and the dampness creeps through the layers of clothing I've wearing to give me quite the chill. I'm still working on net getting sick...I cringe every time someone coughs or sneezes by me.
In other news, I found these granola bars that have honey, chocolate, and banana flavoring, and I'm in love with them. They're so good.... also, as far as food goes, I finally purchased a pot, so I will be able to cook spaghetti, which I have been pining for since I got here. Tonight I will cook with a couple of my friends. It's good to have people to eat with! I've been eating a lot for lunch at the commons (Mensa) so that I don't have to eat as much elsewhere. It's not like the commons I'm used to back in America, where you pay a flat rate for what's an essentially an all you can eat buffet. Here you get a main entree and then a certain number of sides depending on where you eat. At the Mensa where I usually eat, there are three floors each with a unique offering. Floor one is vegetarian, two is just general, and three is Asian. I usually go with number two because you get a main dish and three sides. Today there was chicken cordon bleu, which was actually very good. Mmm, food. I'm getting hungry again.
Yesterday I went to a Beethoven concert performed at the Beethoven Halle down the street from my student residence. The orchestra was really good, and what was a really enjoyable morning. Watch the performance reminded me of my friend Tai Yi, who masterfully plays the violin and was concert master for our own orchestra at Ripon. He's studying off campus in Washington DC this semester, and is graduating while I'm still in Germany.
The rest of the afternoon was soaked in rain....we were supposed to do a walking tour of the city, but we ended up getting washed out and returned to the International Klub to enjoy some coffee and fine German bakery. I must say it was quite fantastic! I lost the evening in endeavors of communicating with my family and Rachel, and retired to bed after having spent a considerable amount of time in front of my computer.
Today, so far, has not proven to have been worth waking up to, and I find myself not homesick so much as just out of place here. It all goes back to my favorite morning intensive language course which I enjoy so much (sarcasm?). We did a speaking exercise today, just a simple deal about describing what we had done in past days, but what's new is that she had the class listen to what were saying, then have them tell each of us the errors we were making, after which she dissected that which we had said. I was, uh, fortunate enough to go first, and was promptly served my confidence back to me on a platter. It's not so much that I mind being corrected --how else would I learn?-- but it's the way she does it in a condescending manner, as if I should have known. She treats us like we're kids, damn-it. Maybe it's an American thing to feel the need to be respected by your professors, or maybe it's me. One way or another, she made me pretty upset, and I've been less confident speaking because of it, which kind of set a cloud over the rest of the day. I have since taken a nap and feel a little restored, but I'm not looking forward to going back to class. Sweet.
All right, I just wanted to vent that out there...I think i'm going to go make spaghetti and get on with my life! It is, after all, St. Patricks Day.
Peace!
1 comment:
Don't worry too much about getting sick...every day I ride public transportation someone sneezes or coughs on me and I've been fine so far. :) I'm so glad you're enjoying your time in Germany! Take care!
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