Boats, Ropes, Nazis, and Football

James here! Who were you expecting?

I spent last week doing more of my August task of completing the TESOL course, and I actually am making awesome progress. I've completed 17 / 20 of the Units and will finish this Wednesday.

This weekend was pretty crazy. On Saturday afternoon, I got a call (my cell-phone is up and running now) from Claire asking if I wanted to go on a boat ride.

Our friend Alan has a friend who owns a Stocherkahn - what? You don't know what a Stocherkahn is? They're very important here in Tübingen. A Stockerkahn is a long wooden boat, similar to a gondola, which is steered and propelled by a person standing in the back pushing the boat from the bottom of the river with a long wooden pole. These boats are the pride and joy of Tübingen, which is home to 120 of them - exactly 120, no more can be built. That's some sort of weird city rule.

Every year, Tübingen has a Stocherkahn race - in which all 120 of these boats are filled with enthusiastic team members and raced against each other in a lap around the Neckar island. I just missed the 2009 race, but maybe by 2010 I'll be on a team.

Anyway, so we filled one of these with ten people and set sail - or stick - on a three hour voyage of drinking beer and eating cake. Nobody has to do any work on a Stocherkahn except the poor soul who has to stick that thing around, so we just kind of kicked it. It was pretty great.

That night, I went with my flatmate and her friends to see Inglourious Basterds - an ironic film to watch in German. I understood most of the plot and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was actually cool to have seen the film with a lot of Germans, as the cast includes many famous German actors who are unbeknownst to Americans, as well as several Americans who were recognizable to me but not to them. It led to fun post-movie conversations. "What? You've never heard of The Office? It's like the best American TV show!"

This morning I got up bright and early and was picked up at 9:00 AM by Christian and Claire - we were bound for Schloss Lichtenstein, a nearby castle, but more imporantly, we were headed for ADVENTURE LAND!

Adventure Land is a rope climbing course built into a forest - it feature 9 levels of difficulty for all ages, and consists of climbing, swinging (where you roll on a wheeled thing across a long wire), and even some random challenges like jumping from a swinging rope into a net and grabbing hold. It was surprisingly rigorous, and at certain points I'd be walking on a thin wire forty or so

feet in the air and suddenly wasn't as confident in my abilities as I was entering.

This picture doesn't do justice to the madness that was Adventure Land - but that's the idea. Lots of rope, lots of wire, lots of people climbing. Good times.

We had lunch at a nearby noodle factory (chocolate noodles for dessert, anyone?) and then

returned home.

Promptly after returning from this voyage I was called and invited to go play some football (that's actually soccer, remember) by friends of my roommate and we played for a couple hours. Afterward, we went for a run - what the hell? Who goes for a run after playing soccer? Soccer is nothing but running already.

Actually, this run was quite nice because the path took us through a few fields of corn and farmland, which looked a lot like Kansas. "My whole state is like this," I said to my friends.

Needless to say, it was a ridiculously physically taxing day for me, but it felt nice after spending so much of my week in front of computers working on English grammar.

All this stuff may seem like trivial socializing, but it's so important for me right now - the Germans are tremendously friendly and inviting, and meeting people and making friends is one of the most crucial tasks I have at this juncture.

Oh, and here are some pictures of Schloss Lichtenstein. Castles are so picturesque.

It's midnight right now, who the hell is playing drums on the street?

Yup.

I'm not updating very frequently at the moment because there simply isn't much that's newsworthy on my end.

This week flew by...I can't believe it's the weekend again. I'm over halfway done with my course, which is nice. The fun part of the work is practicing lesson plans - it makes me excited to start teaching actual classes.

I've been having fun grocery shopping and cooking for myself - the farmer's markets are simply incredible, and they happen four times a week...I'm sure I have a picture of one somewhere....

Ah! Here we go. This is the Wednesday market:

You can't quite tell how large it is from this picture, but it spans the entire main city square of Tübingen, and is especially packed on Fridays.

Vendors sell produce, meat, eggs, bread, flowers, and randoms things like noodles at these

markets.

Shopping for food is a multi-step process here. You buy non-perishables from a grocery store, you buy produce from the Farmer's Market, you buy bread from bakeries, and meat from butchers. Everything is quite cheap compared to the US - especially produce, meat, and beer.

It's so loud here! During the day, the streets are crowded, and during the night it never really quiets down - there's always activity on the streets. It makes it kind of hard to sleep, but I'm

getting used to it. It's going to be way worse when the semester starts - the Germans are still on their vacation.

So...my month of limbo is drawing to a close... I'll be done with my course in less than two weeks, be going to London in three weeks, start language classes in four weeks, and start working around that time as well.

Random thoughts of the moment

So I've been in Tübingen well over a week now and every day I'm getting more used to it. I talked to everybody in the family yesterday, which was great. I video-chatted with Selena long enough to see my little nephew Txanton, who is three weeks old now and seems happy, if happy can be indicated by lying on a pillow contently and smiling.

Skype is the coolest thing ever - I can call any landline or mobile phone in the United States from my computer for the steep price of two bucks a month.

I'm still going strong on my TESOL course, knocking out a unit a day. At this pace I'll be done by August 31st.

I confirmed my 'Blind Booking' flight - out of eleven possible cities, they chose London for me to visit. So I'm going to London on September 7th! I'm going to try to see some serious theater during my four day trip. It's the first of hopefully many European trips I take during my time in Germany.

I've been socializing a little bit - Claire took me to a housewarming party that one of her friends was hosting. I met a lot of cool people, drank a lot of beer, and woke up with a wicked hangover the next morning - apparently I'm not used to the potency of German beer.

My roommate Anne has been including me in random things she does with her friends - we had cake and coffee yesterday (that's a very German thing to do on a Sunday, they tell me) and today she invited me to come down to the University and have lunch with her friends in the cafeteria, which was very fun.

After lunch today I went and visited the Brechtbau, which is the second-language learning building on campus - they're also home to the Provisional Players, who are an English speaking theatre troupe who produce one or two plays a semester. I emailed them as soon as I got home and asked how I can be involved. A little theatre would make me so happy right now!

Here is a picture of the Brechtbau. It doesn't look like much. The next picture is the law building. It was my first time walking around campus, which is very pretty. Everything in this town is so beautiful.

When I meet Germans, they always ask me "Why Tübingen? It must be so small compared to Kansas City." It's a weird stereotype that living in bigger cities is always better than smaller ones. Nobody can understand why somebody would come to Tübingen, which makes no sense to me as this town is one of the prettiest and coolest places that I've ever been.

Here are pictures of the town hall and a nearby fountain:

Moved In

So I'm all moved in to my new flat. Like I said before, it's pretty awesome.

Here's my room:

I'm sitting at that desk right now.

It was SO much easier getting my things out of Claire's than it was getting them in - probably since I had the help of Claire and her boyfriend Christian. They drove me to my place and helped me bring up the suitcases.

It was hard trying to sync up with the roommates and get the key and all that (nobody answers their phone here, so I was waiting outside for 40 minutes yesterday waiting for somebody to let me in). Anyway, I'm glad to be settled in and finally have the chance to unpack. This weekend Claire and Christian are going to IKEA, so I'll tag along and maybe pick up some random furniture or household things.

My TEFL / TESOL course is pretty maneagable. I'm just doing one unit a day which takes about four hours and is a little tedious but not very difficult yet. The course alternates between grammar and teaching methods. When I finish the course in early September I can start looking for work.

I have to open a German bank account tomorrow - it's pretty hard to do anything without one. I'll get slammed with that pesky exchange rate, but so it goes. That way I can pay my rent and utilities online, set up my cell phone, etc. It's good I'm planning on working before too long because there's a lot of expenses here, and I do hate spending a lot of money if I'm not making any.

So I'm thinking about taking a vacation before I start my language classes - German Wings has this thing called "Blind Booking" which is pretty cool - basically, you pay about €40 for a round trip plane ticket from Stuttgart (which is a short train from Tübingen) to a mystery city. There are about a dozen potential cities you might be visiting, all quality places (Athens, Barcelona, Istanbul, Reykjavik, etc.) and when you recieved your email confirmation, you find out which one you're flying to. I'd probably take about a four day trip, stay in a hostel or couchsurf or something. What do you think?

That's all I got.

Here's the view out the window of my apartment:

Day 4

It's Montag, as we say in these parts. Well, they say it. I don't say much of anything because my pronunciation of their Mutter tongue is pretty bad at this point, although today my minor achievements were asking for a European charger for my Nintendo DS from a video game store, and ordering two Schnitzelbrotchen's at a bakery, both transactions in German. I've realized it's much better to be loud and clear and wrong then to be correct but mumble.

Anyway, Claire and Christian, my only two friends in this city, arrived home yesterday and it's been really nice to have their help getting started. I went and saw Claire's workplace today - an English teaching center - because it's a possible place for me to work after I finish this certification course.

My foot is healing up nicely - I can walk my normal speed again. Yesterday I ventured into the old city to see my apartment. The location is pretty spectacular - I'm right in the middle of the coolest part of my favorite European city.

Want to see my neighborhood?













































That last picture is my apartment. I live above a toy shop.

Everywhere in the town that I'll need to go to is, at the most, a twenty minute walk away.

The flatmates seem pretty cool, but being roommates in Germany isn't the same type of relationship as you have in the states - your room is kind of your apartment, because there isn't any shared space except the kitchen and bathroom. You don't really see much of the others. Sophie, the girl who I'm taking the place of, doesn't even know the last name of one of the girls who lives in the apartment. "I don't really know her very well," she says.

I kind of benefitted from this, because it's not a big deal for these guys to let a stranger from the US move in - if they don't like me, they don't have to hang out.

The room itself is massive! 22 square metres goes a long way for a bedroom. I have enough room to set up a bed, desk, dresser, couch, bookshelves, and pretty much anything else I want. The kitchen is also quite big, which means I can cook comfortably. German refridgerators are smaller than US mini-fridges, so there isn't that much cold storage, but tons of dry storage and counter space.

Damn - no tumble dryers here. I've never air-dryed in my life. Guess it's time to start.

Things I'm working on:

- cell phone: Claire has an American friend who is heading back to the States tomorrow. We were hanging out with him and looking at mobile phones online at the same time. "You need a phone?" Sam asks, pulling out his. "Here you go. It's no good to me in the States." I'll have to pay about 8 euros for a SIM card and then I'm set. Score.

- TESOL course: Signed up, paid up, starting my lessons tomorrow.

- Apartment: Paid the deposit, and I move in Wednesday of this week.

- Health insurance: I'm going to sign up for the same thing Claire's got. It's not that cheap, but you legally must have health insurance in Germany.

- Watership Down by Richard Adams: Anybody read this? It's one of my brother's favorites, and I'm just now reading it. It's pretty great.

- tutoring opportunities: I'm going to post advertisements in the student areas at the University for private tutoring. This is actually more lucrative than going through a professional center.

-bicycle: There are a few different ways to get a bike (and you need one) in this town: you can either buy a new one, look for ads for used ones, or "pull one out of a river". Apparently they get stolen quite a bit and then tossed in rivers. Don't know how I feel about that.

I'm still on a weird sleeping schedule from the time change. I went to bed at 11 last night only to promptly wake up, ready for action, at...4 am? Eck. I couldn't fall back asleep until 6, and then didn't wake up again until 1o.

I'm pretty content here, and as I learn more German and meet more people I'll only get happier. The weather is incredible - cool summer days, and lots of rain. Right now being here feels like vacation, and I'll bet that even when I'm working and studying that this is going to be a very relaxing chapter in my life.

I'll leave you with a couple pictures of the Neckar river that runs through the town. This is right around the corner from me:

A Much Easier Day

It was amazing to sleep laying down last night, and I slept relatively normal hours despite the 7 hour time change. I woke up this morning and helped Claire's roommate move out of the apartment, which was easy for my foot to handle compared to what it had to do yesterday. Unfortunately, I still can't walk quite well enough to go down to the old city, but I am exploring around this neighborhood.

I went to a grocery store for a few things, which was overwhelming. So many choices, none of which make much sense to me yet. When I checked out and paid, my items sat on the counter and the cashier went on to the next person. I looked around for boxes or bags before attempting "Haben Sie ein...uh, ein -"

"Bag?"

"Yes. Bag. Tasche." I was going to get there. She sold me a bag, but from now on I'll remember to bring my own. We're so spoiled in America.

I made myself lunch and ate in the garden while I worked on a script that needed some attention. I need to be writing every day, and that will probably be much more manageable here than in the States, as I am far less busy. For now.

In the afternoon a thunderstorm started which is still going strong. I finally got through to Sophie, who I'm subleasing an apartment from. I'm meeting her and the roommates tomorrow afternoon.

I enrolled in my TESOL certification course today as well. It's online, and I can start as early as tomorrow. It's a 100-hour course, which I should be able to knock out in the remainder of August. I should be able to start working as soon as I finish.

Here's a view from the back window:















As soon as I'm living in the altstadt I'll post pictures from that. It's gorgeous here.

Arriving in Tübingen

I'm sitting in my friend Claire's apartment in Tübingen, Germany after traveling for almost 24 hours straight.

I packed heavy - I'm planning to be over here at least a year, after all, so I felt like I should take a lot of stuff. This was Problem 1. Also, I sprained my foot playing basketball with the family a few days ago and can't walk very well. This was Problem 2.


The airport was no problem - I had a nice two-hour flight to Washington D.C. and after a four hour layover another eight hours to Frankfurt. My carry-on luggage was excessively heavy, but I managed to get around the airport. It was when I picked up my checked luggage that the problems began - I was hobbling around on a hurt foot with a 30 pound carry-on, 10 pound laptop case, and two 40+ pound suitcases.

I got out of the airport okay - customs involved a quick stamp and head nod and nothing else - and the train station was in the airport. I made it to my train to Stuttgart - one of these high speed ICE trains, and I managed to get in at the complete opposite side. So I was hobbling the whole distance of the train while it was moving and I was carrying 120 lbs of shit and I was being stared at by judgmental Germans and the staff was absolutely unhelpful. I finally gave up and sat down on my luggage at the end of a car. My foot was throbbing something fierce at this point, and I was unreasonably frustrated and dripping in sweat.

When the train reached Stuttgart, I got out with all my bags and went quickly to my gate to get on the train to Tübingen. Then I realized that I left my ticket on the ICE train. I looked up, looked at all my bags, looked and my foot, and sighed. It might be okay - sometimes they don't check for tickets, and maybe if I tell them very nicely what happened they'll let me get on the train anyway. Speaking of this train to Tübingen, where is this thing? I'm at the gate and nobody's here, and it's supposed to leave in two minutes... I look at the sign and saw a message in German that appeared to be telling me the gate had changed. Sure enough, I look over to Gate 2 where they're boarding my train to Tübingen. I run - as fast as I can with all my luggage, which isn't so much a run as an awkward frenzied hobble. Just as I reach Gate 2, my train pulls away without me.


My luggage falls down, which looked like a sign of frustration but actually my arms had just given out. I can't find any DB employees around, so I go to the closest ticket machine and buy another ticket to Tübingen. At this point, I just want to be home and resting.

This train ride is slightly more successful, and I arrive in my new town, which would have been a triumphant moment if I felt less like death. After hauling everything I'm carrying up three flights of stairs, I manage to get a taxi. The driver speaks no English but tells me in German that my address would be closer for a taxi on the other side of the train station. Yeah, that's not happening. I pretend not to understand, so he gives me a ride (which was like two minutes, so give me a break, dude).

I use my friend Claire's key to unlock the door to her place, unbandage my poor foot, and collapse on the couch. Here's what the poor guy underneath my brace and layers of medical tape:





















After waking up from a nap to the sound of children laughing and church bells with the window to my room blowing in a gentle breeze, it seems as though the day of travel was a bad dream.

There's so much I want to do, but I have to rest now. I'll meet my roommates tomorrow, and Claire will get back on Sunday night.

And thus begins the adventure.