This past weekend I switched dorms, since my previous room was assigned through the pre-semester language program and this new one will be my permanent semester room. Unfortunately, when I moved in the internet jack was twisted the wrong way, so I was left without internet for a few days. I'm really not having much luck with this over here.
Nonetheless, the "Hausmeister" was able to fix it for me, not before telling me that my old room had not been cleaned sufficiently and I needed to go back and mop it again, otherwise I'd be charged 50 Euros. There had been black streak marks on the floor when I moved in, so hopefully that wasn't what he was referring to since that was not done by me. But, I suppose I should have mentioned it upon moving in. Still, 50 Euros is a plane ticket.
Sunday was Baden-Württemberg's election, with the outcome of SPD, a more progressive party, and Die Grüne, the mainly environmentalist party, tying. Combined, they hold a stronger standing in parliament than the CDU, Angela Merkel's more conservative party, which has held power in this state for about 50 years. It was definitely a historic event, and many believe a great deal of it was the result of Japan's nuclear crisis. Here in Germany "die Grüne" are actually a pretty big party, compared to the Green party in the U.S. As I mentioned before, since there are more than two major parties smaller ones still can have representation without causing the downfall of one major party or the other. But it's clear that environmental concerns play a large role in determining the future of the country.
While on the topic of the environment, I explored an area of Freiburg called Vaubaun on Saturday, which is supposedly one of the most eco-friendly places in the city. It was very quaint, With a boardwalk that went along and over a creek, and lots of parks and playgrounds that were built right into the landscape and trees. I don't see those being legal in the US anytime soon. There were also rolling green hills that (as cliché as it sounds) looked like something straight out of "Sound of Music." One of my friends actually started singing. It's also apparently very affordable, so it might be a potential home for me after graduation.
There are also a lot of arts and music festivals going on in Germany. Stuttgart is hosting it's yearly "International Cartoon Festival" as well as "FMX" animation festival the first week of may, unfortunately that's also the week that I start classes. I'm looking in to getting just a weekend pass perhaps - this is something I do not want to miss. There's also an animation studio called "Studio Film Bilder" in Stuttgart, which is somewhere I may want to intern/work at in the future.
http://www.filmbilder.de/en/index.html
For now I'm going to go enjoy this beautiful day by the Seepark. Till I find something else interesting to say,
auf Wiedersehen.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Montag Demonstration
So when I got out of my evening class today I was pleased to see that the tram sign said there was only one minute left until my line arrived. I stood waiting for about four minutes, with the "ankommen" signal blinking, yet saw no train. Then suddenly a tram that had just passed headed toward the city center came back our way, lights blinking, with a loudspeaker announcement saying that there was a demonstration downtown and all trams would go no farther.
Excitedly, I decided to go check it out, forgetting that my stomach had been growling all throughout class. Once I turned the corner I could hear drums beating and people chanting. Once I got closer I saw people dancing in a huge drum circle on the corner and crowds marching down the main street with flags and picket signs - many of which were from "Die Linke" or "Die Grüne," so at first I assumed it was political. Then I realized the flags read "atomic waste? Nein Danke" or pictures of nuclear tubs that read "wohin?" (where to?). So I quickly realized that this had to do with the Nuclear plant scare during Japan's earthquake last week, and Angela Merkel's plan to keep nuclear power plants in Germany 12 years later than had originally been expected. My favorite sign read "Urangela" with a 3-eyed caricature of the Chancellor. Unfortunately it was too far away to get a good photo of.
I guess the protests are even bigger up north around Stuttgart, with human chains and all. Anyhow, getting a first hand look at a German political demonstration definitely made up for arriving home an hour late. I'm going to actually make some dinner now before I pass out, though.
Emily
Excitedly, I decided to go check it out, forgetting that my stomach had been growling all throughout class. Once I turned the corner I could hear drums beating and people chanting. Once I got closer I saw people dancing in a huge drum circle on the corner and crowds marching down the main street with flags and picket signs - many of which were from "Die Linke" or "Die Grüne," so at first I assumed it was political. Then I realized the flags read "atomic waste? Nein Danke" or pictures of nuclear tubs that read "wohin?" (where to?). So I quickly realized that this had to do with the Nuclear plant scare during Japan's earthquake last week, and Angela Merkel's plan to keep nuclear power plants in Germany 12 years later than had originally been expected. My favorite sign read "Urangela" with a 3-eyed caricature of the Chancellor. Unfortunately it was too far away to get a good photo of.
I guess the protests are even bigger up north around Stuttgart, with human chains and all. Anyhow, getting a first hand look at a German political demonstration definitely made up for arriving home an hour late. I'm going to actually make some dinner now before I pass out, though.
Emily
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Internet, Politics, and Parties
Internet was not so hard to come by as I had previously been told. Since I'm staying in the same "Wohnheim" next month, I just have to go in to the office and change my building number on the contract. Yet for some reason everyone I'd asked previously made it sound impossible to get internet for this month. So, I'm finally connected to the world again. No wonder broadband being as mandatory as phone lines in the U.S. is such an issue, now that I've had first- hand experience of being alienated from the world wide web. Now I suppose I can begin my U.S. - German media comparison.
The first week here has been astounding. The first day of classes my cell phone was an hour off (yet another example of exquisite planning and communication by the school) causing me to wake up an hour early. Stupidly, I assumed that the sun probably just rises an hour later in Germany (it was 6:30 and I was jetlagged, ok?). Nonetheless I was thankful that I got up too early and not too late, what with German punctuality and all. Though I have to say it's not a bad thing - I always know exactly when the trams will arrive, and to be honest it is distracting when people stumble into class late. Anyway, I saw it as a blessing in disguise because I got to witness the most beautiful sunrise out my window.
Last weekend was a German Mardi-Gras/Halloween celebration called "Rosenmontag," the day before Fat Tuesday when you're supposed to go crazy and then repent all throughout Lent. Everyone was dressed in costumes and there was a huge parade downtown. Like New Orleans, there are no open container laws in Germany, so it was common to see people drinking beer and wine right out of the bottle on the street.
Another thing I've noticed about Germany is that they don't separate church and state, so two of the political parties here are affiliated with Christianity. However there are five major parties instead of two. Baden-Württemberg (the state that Freiburg is in) has its election on the 27th, so there are political posters all over the city, with rather intriguing vandalism on them. Supposedly if the SPD wins this state, Angela Merkel's pretty much screwed. But, for example, her party is the CDU, Christian Democratic Union, yet the governance of Germany today is far more "liberal" than that of the U.S. Just because they are openly affiliated with a religion, they don't impose every ideal of Christianity on the state. The only really big difference I see here is that religious holidays, such as "Rosenmontag" or Easter, are much bigger deals regarding business and open discussion. I'm also in southern Germany, which is known to be much more Christian-oriented than the north.
Another thing I noticed about the Rosenmontag parade was that many people were dressed as Native Americans. In the U.S., many of these costumes would come off as offensive, but there is virtually no Native American population to offend here. Nonetheless, I had the urge to politely say something, but wasn't really in the mind set to get into a sociological debate. It begs a philosophical inquiry: if you're doing something offensive, but there is noone there whom it offends, is it still wrong? My answer is yes, since it is still an act of ignorance. However in our (U.S.) movies, TV shows, etc., we are constantly making fun of catastrophic historical events that of which no one is still alive today (for example "this is SPARTA"). Therefore, since there are no people who actually can claim to be harmed by reference to them, it's OK to laugh at. Food for thought.
Nevertheless, I've had a great experience despite the lack of communication. The more acclimated I become, the happier I am.
Bis später,
Emily
The first week here has been astounding. The first day of classes my cell phone was an hour off (yet another example of exquisite planning and communication by the school) causing me to wake up an hour early. Stupidly, I assumed that the sun probably just rises an hour later in Germany (it was 6:30 and I was jetlagged, ok?). Nonetheless I was thankful that I got up too early and not too late, what with German punctuality and all. Though I have to say it's not a bad thing - I always know exactly when the trams will arrive, and to be honest it is distracting when people stumble into class late. Anyway, I saw it as a blessing in disguise because I got to witness the most beautiful sunrise out my window.
Last weekend was a German Mardi-Gras/Halloween celebration called "Rosenmontag," the day before Fat Tuesday when you're supposed to go crazy and then repent all throughout Lent. Everyone was dressed in costumes and there was a huge parade downtown. Like New Orleans, there are no open container laws in Germany, so it was common to see people drinking beer and wine right out of the bottle on the street.
Another thing I've noticed about Germany is that they don't separate church and state, so two of the political parties here are affiliated with Christianity. However there are five major parties instead of two. Baden-Württemberg (the state that Freiburg is in) has its election on the 27th, so there are political posters all over the city, with rather intriguing vandalism on them. Supposedly if the SPD wins this state, Angela Merkel's pretty much screwed. But, for example, her party is the CDU, Christian Democratic Union, yet the governance of Germany today is far more "liberal" than that of the U.S. Just because they are openly affiliated with a religion, they don't impose every ideal of Christianity on the state. The only really big difference I see here is that religious holidays, such as "Rosenmontag" or Easter, are much bigger deals regarding business and open discussion. I'm also in southern Germany, which is known to be much more Christian-oriented than the north.
Another thing I noticed about the Rosenmontag parade was that many people were dressed as Native Americans. In the U.S., many of these costumes would come off as offensive, but there is virtually no Native American population to offend here. Nonetheless, I had the urge to politely say something, but wasn't really in the mind set to get into a sociological debate. It begs a philosophical inquiry: if you're doing something offensive, but there is noone there whom it offends, is it still wrong? My answer is yes, since it is still an act of ignorance. However in our (U.S.) movies, TV shows, etc., we are constantly making fun of catastrophic historical events that of which no one is still alive today (for example "this is SPARTA"). Therefore, since there are no people who actually can claim to be harmed by reference to them, it's OK to laugh at. Food for thought.
Nevertheless, I've had a great experience despite the lack of communication. The more acclimated I become, the happier I am.
Bis später,
Emily
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Culture Shock. Literally.
Electricity in Europe is very different. This is a well known fact amongst most people, however to the extent of which my electronics are functional did come as a surprise. My first night in Freiburg I had the ingenious idea to plug my U.S. power strip into an adapter, therefore only needing to use one. However the moment I did this the fuse in my room blew. So, my first night abroad I had no power at all.
Secondly, do not attempt to bring a hair dryer from the U.S. to Europe. Though nothing blew out or up this time, the European voltage made my hairdryer go into turbojet mode. Luckily I turned it off before it could "take off." So, I'm going to be spending a bit more on necessities than I had originally planned.
As stated earlier, the intent of this blog is to analyze the difference in media and culture in Germany and the U.S. However this is the first time I've had access to the internet since my arrival in Freiburg. Unfortunately, you have to get the internet installed in your dorm yourself, and I'm going to be moving to a different room once I start my actual University courses next month. So, for March I'll only be able to access the web from school or the bar across the street, making my media analysis a bit more difficult. There are, of course, print media I can read, but in terms of accessing U.S. media in comparison I am rendered informationless.
I'm writing from school, on a Saturday, in order to fill you all in. Tomorrow I think I'll go to the bar across the street and write more, but for now I'm off to get some lunch! Bis bald.
Secondly, do not attempt to bring a hair dryer from the U.S. to Europe. Though nothing blew out or up this time, the European voltage made my hairdryer go into turbojet mode. Luckily I turned it off before it could "take off." So, I'm going to be spending a bit more on necessities than I had originally planned.
As stated earlier, the intent of this blog is to analyze the difference in media and culture in Germany and the U.S. However this is the first time I've had access to the internet since my arrival in Freiburg. Unfortunately, you have to get the internet installed in your dorm yourself, and I'm going to be moving to a different room once I start my actual University courses next month. So, for March I'll only be able to access the web from school or the bar across the street, making my media analysis a bit more difficult. There are, of course, print media I can read, but in terms of accessing U.S. media in comparison I am rendered informationless.
I'm writing from school, on a Saturday, in order to fill you all in. Tomorrow I think I'll go to the bar across the street and write more, but for now I'm off to get some lunch! Bis bald.
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