2nd Germany journal entry

I have now been in Germany for exactly 1 week. It’s been interesting so far, though I admit it is quite annoying to deal with the German bureaucracy. I guess it’s the same in most countries, though. Here, the opening hours for various offices are quite limited. At the bürgerburo, where I had to register here as a resident and get my residence permit, they are only open from 8-12 or 9-12 on most days. On Mondays, they are also open from 2-4. I went there on Monday to get my residence permit, but I was missing a document. I had to go to the university on Tuesday to get the document and since I was at the university all morning, I couldn’t go to the office. I went back there today and got my permit. It’s actually quite nice and I’m happy with the picture. Unfortunately, I don’t have the USB cable for my camera, so I can’t upload pictures yet. I have now also moved into residence. It was quite a shock moving here after living with Janina. I have a very small apartment, albeit to myself. The kitchen here is even smaller than what I saw in apartments in Tokyo. Personally, I would rather share a house and have a bigger kitchen. I should mention that I’m on the top floor of the building and I have a pretty nice view of trees, houses, and hills in the distance. I face west, so I can see the sunset. I’m going to have huge legs after climbing all those stairs! I spoke to the woman who deals with residence here and she told me that I have to give 1 months’ notice if I want to move out. I found out about a place available in June and July, which would be perfect. I hope to go and visit it this week and then give my notice here. I think it is a bit unfair for international students to have such a small apartment and no roommates, considering that we’re so far from home and want to meet people. Unfortunately for me, I handed in my residence application late, only because I was accepted to the program later than a lot of other international students. A lot of international students come here in March to do an intensive language course. This is a bit unrealistic for North American students, who have school until April or May. Maybe it’s different for European, Asian, and South American students. Anyway, after I moved into residence, I went grocery shopping. I can’t say I’m a fan of German supermarkets. When I lived in London, my boyfriend and I lived up the street from Lidl, a German supermarket. The food is fairly cheap, but the store itself is pretty ugly. The fluorescent lights are harsh and most of the food is kept in cardboard boxes. It’s like being in a warehouse. I’m planning to go the market on Saturday - I hope that’ll be nicer. I’ve also discovered some Asian shops here and one of them sold Heinz baked beans! I bought them, mainly for nostalgic reasons and also as a good source of protein. I also bought Japanese mochi (sweet rice cake mmm), tofu, canned Thai green curry, and Indian and Laksa curries.

I also bought a German cellphone yesterday. I’m still waiting for them to connect it. It’ll be nice to be able to call people here! Although, I sometimes miss the days when I didn’t have a cellphone. I really hate answering it when I’m out with a friend or in the middle of something important. Most people here do text messaging, it seems. I hope I won’t spend too much money on the phone. Yesterday, I also went to my first Irish and Scottish dance class. It was quite a lot of fun. I met a girl, Eva, who lived in Canada for a year. She was very nice. I was talking to her after the class finished and then it seemed that it was time for a second more advanced class, which includes a few people from the first class and an additional woman. I tried doing the dances, but it was quite hard. I had to leave in the middle to go to the bathroom and I heard bagpipes playing. Have I stumbled into Scotland? Strange... When the class was over, I talked to one of the teachers and he told me that there’s a Scottish country dancing ball at the end of June in Karlsruhe, which isn’t too far from here. The dances there will be quite advanced, though. I’m not sure if I could go, but I’ll give it my best shot.

I don’t have much else to report other than starting my German class and meeting my supervisor. My supervisor Wilhelm is in the psychology department and he’s doing some really interesting work on the Israeli conflict, how it’s reported in the German press, and acts of Anti-Semitism. He seems like quite a nice guy and he’s spent a lot of time in Canada. He’s hoping to go to the Prairies this summer. My German class was fun - there are people from Pakistan, France, Ireland, India, etc. My next class will be tomorrow and I have to memorize a dialogue for it. I also have to write questions to ask our teacher’s mother. I really hope my German improves over the summer.