Classes and Birthdays!

 Sebastian, Svenja, Michael, and me!

Whew! What a title! It just suggests an overload of the senses! But I will try my best to keep it simple, clean, and wonderful! :)

                                                                First off, my classes for this semester:
The slide in the movie theater!

I am currently taking 5 classes! YES 5!!!! All but one are in German. The first is the basic Deutschkurs 2 which is the German language course for intermediate-beginners. It is really simple and we do not actually do a lot of learning of the language. It is more of "do your homework in class while I watch you and then comment on it". It is excruciatingly repetitive and it makes it very difficult to make myself get out of bed (8am) and go to a 4 hour class.  But alas, I go to it and try to squeeze some information and learning in it.

       Another class is Wozu ein Filmkanon (Why is there a Film Canon). This class is so-so. It is also a 4 hour class but the first 2 hours are just sit and discuss the previous weeks film and go over the details as to the acting, camera angles, lighting, etc. It has been a long stretch but I am now beginning to be able to keep up with the listening of the ideas and discussions going around. The last 2 hours of the class are for watching a movie (in German of course). We're watching some pretty neat and good movies so far!


    The next class I take is Arcäologie von Weser-Ems (Archaeology of the Weser-Ems). This class is really fun for me because I love Archaeology and learning about new areas. The Weser-Ems is a geographical area near and around Oldenburg and Bremen. The class offers a lot of insight into the history of Europe in particulars to this region. In fact, just last week I was able to go to the Archaeological offices here and see some of the current artifacts that they have found!



    The 4th class is Sociolinguistics. Technically it is a Masters course so I am not taking it for any credit but only going for fun. It is the only class that I have that is being taught in English. It is a very interesting class but I will spare you the details since the name of the class covers it all! The last class is Kunst und Migration (Art and Migration) This one is pretty simple as well in that it goes over the migration patterns of Germans through works of art and vise versa. I absolutely love this class because everyone speaks slow enough so that I can understand! Soon, I will be able to participate in the conversations! Cross your fingers!

Next portion of this post: MY BIRTHDAY!

As you all know I am now 22! Woot! And I had a wonderful party to celebrate. There were about 30+ people jammed into my tiny little flat and everyone was having a blast. There was tons of music, food, and booze to go around. Ashley and Rebecca made this delicious Kaluha Cake, my buddy Svenja made this really awesome cake (I forget the name) that was chocolate with coconut creme and bananas! It was so messy and good! Finally, my flatmate Katja made a Hazelnut Cake, it was sooo good and there were even leftovers for me to eat the next morning as a "hangover breakfast" (She also made me coffee the next day). Also I received TONS of gifts (and thanks to all who gave them to me!) We partied for a few hours in my flat before the *YIKES* polizei showed up and said we were being too loud! But said as long as we kept it down then there is no problem! WHEW! Go figure it would happen on MY birthday at MY party.... But alas, I am now (and my parties) are now considered LEGENDARY! Thats right, I've made it to legendary status! From there I cleaned up the flat (and thanks to those who helped) and went out to finish partying. But, however, I fell and hit my head somewhere along the way so I eventually went home because of the headache. BOO!

All of my presents! (Almost)

So that is my summary for the past few weeks (hehe, more to come later, I PROMISE) I hope you all enjoyed it and keep in touch!

Travel Tips:

1. If it is someones birthday and you have NO idea what to get them (or where), a sentimental card and a bottle of wine always works! (I like it at least).

2. Make your favorite foods from home OFTEN. I cannot tell you how much these little "food moments" made me feel so much better knowing that I have a home to go to in case anything goes bad, or someone to talk to when I am upset.

3. When planning big trips go to the travel agencies in the city or in the train stations/airports. They are the best at getting your fare tickets, accommodations, and they usually can get it to you at a cheap price. OR you can ask the people around you for what they use to book trips (Ryanair.com, Airbnb.com, couchsurfing.com, etc)