Alltägliches Leben in Marburg

The second semester is now well underway here in Marburg, and there really isn't too much to report. As I promised though, I want to keep my blog updated at a more frequent rate.

I've had two meetings of my classes so far, and it seems like things are going to be a bit more challenging as far as work goes this semester. This is good! Last semester I had tests at the end of the semester, and otherwise there wasn't much going on in between. This time around, I've got to write a 10-page paper about the psalms that Luther reworked into hymns, a 15-minute presentation about a group in the New Testament (this hasn't been selected yet, but I'm leaning towards looking more closely at the Pharisees or Sadducees), a personal essay, and then only one test at the end of the semester. I'm pleased about that. I started working on the paper about Luther, and it's rather demanding, but I'm feeling good about it. It's nice to be busy doing paper-writing again.

My advisor from Millersville is doing a sabbatical semester in Munich this semester, and she came to visit me and the other Millersville students here this semester this week in Marburg. It was nice to see her again. We took care of course equivalents for Millersville, as well as lining up some logistics for next fall. It wasn't all business though! We went out to eat on Monday night and had ice cream last night before she and her husband left for Munich again this morning. From what she said about Munich, it would most likely be worth a visit there, but I'm not sure when I'm going to fit that into my schedule.

I booked a plane ticket for Rome last night for July 7th to the 11th. I got a great deal from Lufthansa and had to take advantage of it. Granted, Ryanair would have been a few dollars cheaper, but for the headaches that I would have had when flying with them, it was worth it to fly from Frankfurt International and directly to Leonoardo Di Vinci and spare myself all the hassle. I'm becoming - okay, no I'm not, but still - quite a frequent flyer of Frankfurt. I like to fly, and I'm looking forward to heading out again from there. Before that, though, I'll be visiting Matteo in Milano, Italy. He's a friend I made last semester who isn't in Marburg this time around. It'll be good to see him again, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with him and his family. Maybe while I'm there I can pick up a little bit of Italian!

Speaking of friends, it's become clear to me that I did after all make some friends while I'm here. God has blessed me truly - it makes me think of Psalm 46, where God tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God!" Too often I try to figure things out and plan for every possible contingency that could go wrong, but I invariably either things don't go as badly I plan for or something that I didn't plan for happens. Being in Germany has helped abate some of this need to forefend distaster, but it hasn't gotten it out my system completely. But being still and remembering that God has things in His hands has become something that I've thought about more often during my time while I'm here.

That's about it for now. Tomorrow is a holiday in Germany (Maitag >> May Day) and everything will be closed. That means grocery shopping for Sunday and Saturday today, since everything will be closed on Sunday as well. Perhaps if the weather is nice tomorrow, I'll do a little picture taking around Marburg and post the best here for you to look at!