Day Four - First Day of Classes

Today was the first day of classes. I was a bit nervous about class because I wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out pretty well. The class was challenging, and I definitely have to work to keep up, but since I can keep up, I think it's just at the perfect level. The first professor is great, friendly, a little funny, very clear, and also very informative (as one would hope). I think I learned as much this one day in class as I might have in about a week of class at SDSU. That might be because I was in class for three hours, where at SDSU I'm in class for one hour a day, three times a week. This is indeed intensive language training.

After class, we went off to buy books and to attend a "Kultur Pur" class, or cultural sampler. This class is just for our own enjoyment and consists of going to movies, concerts, etc.There is homework, but no grade and no credit. The first event we have scheduled is a movie titled "Almanya: Wilkommen in Deutschland;" Almanya is Germany in Turkish. (I used three different words for Germany in that sentence! :P) The film is about a Turkish man who comes to work in Germany as a "Gastarbeiter" or guest worker or temporary laborer, and about how he brought his family here and then etc. There are a lot of Turkish people in Germany, and the situation is similar to Mexicans in America (but not the same). It should be an interesting film. Also, it's a comedy, and intelligent comedy. My kind of comedy.

Once we were free for the day, some of our classmates, Andrew, and I all grabbed some beers (and wine) from the Penny Markt (a store with cheap stuff) and found a spot to sit on the grass under a bridge in a park by the Neckar River. (That's a lot of prepositions...) It was nice to relax and hang out (and speak English).

A view of the park by the river.

Chillen.

Andrew and I both went home for dinner (I had a salad a bit similar to cole slaw, but with kohl rabi and apple, and also new potatoes with something inbetween cottage cheese and sour cream (it was smooth, no chunks) with chives and fresh parsley in it which was absolutely delicious with the potatoes. That might be my favorite food here so far) and then met up later to ride our bikes around Heidelberg. We rode from Burgstrasse to the Altstadt to sit by the river and do some homework. Then Andrew rode with me allllll the way back to Schriesheim. He's a wonderful boyfriend. :) He took the Strassenbahn home.

Some graffiti along the river wall spelling out Heidelberg.      

All in all, a pretty good day. I've been riding an emotional rollercoaster all day, going from sad to frustrated to happy to annoyed to I-don't-even-care-anymore. I think I just need more sleep, and maybe also more water. So, gute Nacht!