Pictures from Marburg

I'm posting this today after having posted yesterday. If you didn't read my blog since getting the email from April 30, make sure you read the next post too; it's new as well.

I took some pictures today in Marburg. Click on the picture of the Elisabeth church to see all the pictures. When the little thumbnailed pictures come up, just click on one of them and keep clicking the pictures to move to the next picture in the album.

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!

Inter-Semester Break

So...it's been a while since I've written something for the blog - too long, really. A lot has happened in the time since my last post(s), and I'm sure - well, I'm not sure, but I assume, at any rate - that some of you might be "concerned," or at the bare minimum, somewhat curious as to what I'm up to and what's new. I'll deign to expound on that.

On Feburary 24, I took the ICE - InterCity-Express - to Berlin to visit Angie, a chat friend who has helped with my German more than words than can describe for about the past six years. She works in the Tierpark, or basically zoo, in the section of the city that is the former East Berlin. The time I spent with her was terrific. She made me feel at home while I was there. I didn't stay with her in her apartment, though. I had to stay in an apartment of my own which was in the Elefantenhaus, or elephant house.

My room in the Elefantenhaus.

While I was there, I visited - of course - several museums, but perhaps the biggest and most exciting part of my time there (as far as site-seeing was concerned) was the day that Angie and I went to Wittenberg together.

If you don't already know, Wittenberg is the city in which Martin Luther spent most of his adult life - the city where he posted the 95 Theses;

The doors of Castle Church, where Luther nailed up the 95 Theses.

the city where he burned the papal bull;

The tree that is planted on the spot where Luther burnt the papal bull.

the city where he preached, taught, and simply lived.

The church where Luther preached every Sunday.

I cannot find the words to describe the feeling I had walking down the very streets that Luther walked down or when I strolled through the monastery that he he eventually bought and made his personal home.

The monastery where Luther lived in Wittenberg and eventually bought and made his family home.

It was a fantastic experience, and now I can "check off" yet another Luther-site from my list of places to see.

On March 17, after returning from Berlin for a few days in Marburg, I flew home for the remainder of my time between the semesters. While I was home, I was so busy. In the beginning, the experience was quite surreal. It was hard to believe, after five-and-a-half months, that I was actually back home. Everyday was booked with something to do or someone to see, but in all that was probably a good thing. At least that way I didn't waste my very little time there. After having spent Christmas away from family and friends, it was nice to at least spend Easter with them.

I am back in Germany, and the new semester has started here in Marburg. This semester I'll be taking these following classes:

• Literature of the German-speaking World after 1945
• Intensive Study of Grammar, Vocabulary, and Writing and Speaking for Foreign Students
• Basic Course - Old Testament
• Basic Course - New Testament
• The Bible as Literary Inspiration
  

I think this is going to be a good semester - The German literature class and the Old Testament class are only ones with major tests at the end; the others have papers due, so I'm feeling more confident about them already - not that I couldn't do a test, but rather that I'm feeling less stressed about the passing/failing the course. I feel better about papers as opposed to tests.

I'll try this semester to do a better job keeping the blog updated. Bug me in emails so I stay on top of it!!!

Official Grades Update

I thought - because people like to know what's happening in my life! - that I'd update everyone about the official state of my grades now that I know what they are.

I passed all my classes this semester!

It is a huge burden taken from my shoulders, and I thank God for this blessing. I never before in my academic career worried so much as I did this semester about failing a class, and it was not a fun time, to say the least. A more proper, specific breakdown of my grades is as follows:

1. Academic writing for students of the German language - "very good"
2. German syntax - "satisfactory"
3. European Literature of the Renaissance, Reformation, and Humanismus - "satisfactory"
4. Latin - "satisfactory"
5. Microeconomics - "satisfactory"

All but the first course on this list were courses that are not intended necessarily for foreigners, and a sizeable portion of German students in the class did not obtain the passing grade, which is actually two steps lower than "satisfactory..." In other words, I performed as well as any average German - as a foreigner - in a class meant for German students and not for foreigners. I'm feeling quite good about that to be frank.

Easter Just Around the Corner

It's been quite a while since I've written something here, and although no one has sent me an email asking me when I'm going to post something again, I thought maybe I'd get something out here before people think that I've forgotten about home.

The past few weeks - since Christmas - have been filled with thoughts and preparations for Klausuren - final exams. I had four over the past three weeks, and I feel pretty good about them. I have know the results from two of them. I scored "average" on both, but I'm quite happy with that given the fact that the class was not meant for foreigners and that several actual German students from the class did not pass. Now the semester is over, and I can devote more time to doing nothing.

Next Wednesday, I'm headed to Berlin to visit a woman who I learned to know back when I first started learning German. She has been enormously helpful over the computer and when I came to Germany, she invited me to visit her in Berlin. While I'm there, I hope to see some of the places that I didn't get the chance to visit when I was in Berlin for those four days back before Christmas.

After Berlin, I'll be back in Marburg for two full days and then I'm headed home for Easter. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone back home and catching up on what I've missed out on while I'm here. I'm sure that people will want to hear about my experiences here. I better get started on my story now!

Lent has started, and it's hard to imagine that Easter is less than six weeks away now. It seems like just last week we were looking forward to Christmas! Sometimes it seems like the time really flies by while I'm here, but at others it seems like I've been here forever. It's been roughly five months now, which isn't a huge amount of time, but it's noteworthy. I'm thankful that I've been blessed with this opportunity to come to Germany and also with the strength to get through it. This has - and hopefully will continue to be - an amazing growing experience for me.

Post-New Year's Update

Christmas has come and past, as has the new year. There is much to report since that time, and of course you all want to see some pictures.

I spent Christmas with a family in Kassel - it was an enjoyable experience, but nothing like being "home for Christmas." It did allow me to think about the "reason for the season" as it were, and I got a somewhat new perspective on the holiday. For that, I am thankful. I am also thankful that I had the opportunity to spend Christmas with a caring family who made me feel welcome. I don't know how I would have reacted to be alone at Christmas. That's something that I don't want to ever have to look forward to.

Something to report about Christmas with the German family - we used real candles on the Christmas tree, and we didn't set up the tree until Christmas Eve. That might not be a deviation from the American norm - i.e. setting up the tree on Christmas Eve - but it was for me. At my house we normally set up the tree at the beginning of Advent and have it up until Epiphany. Instead of having a tree set up during Advent, the German family that I stayed with had an Advent wreath. It was interesting for me to see people who I don't necessarily consider über-"religious" observing the tradition of Advent. I've always identified that more with Church than with personal, family observance.

After Christmas comes New Years, of course, and for that I met Katie Hetrick in London. It was a terrific celebration, something that I'll be able to tell people about for the rest of my life, and it's also a really fantastic thing that the year is a nice, round figure - 2010. It's nice that such an event in my life has a nice number like that. After the celebration, we headed to Salisbury to see Stonehenge, and then the following day to Scotland. Scotland was experiencing the second worst winter in its history since it started to record weather related information, so of course our trip on Loch Ness was canceled. That would be my luck...Then it was to Edinburgh, where we at in the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the first couple books in the Harry Potter series (We sat right beside the table that sat at the last time she was there!). And then we took a train back to London where I spent the day seeing Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. That might not seem like a lot do in one day, but it turned out to be enough to keep me busy all day. The next day we returned to Germany. It felt good to be back in Germany. Katie and I spent a few days in Marburg before she headed off to Paris to catch her flight home. Now the semester has started again, and we - the students - are preparing for final exams in about three to four weeks (It depends on the class.).


Me at Stonehenge - amazing sight


Westminster Abbey


Buckingham Palace

It's hard for me to believe that I've been here 100 days now. In some ways the time seems like it's been dragging on, but in others, it seems like it's whizzed by. In a few weeks, I'll be home for Easter and then it's back to Germany to finish up the year. When I put it into perspective like that, it seems like this time is really flying by. There are a lot of things that I want to do yet, and the time to do them just keeps on ticking away.

If you want to see more pictures, click this link.

Christmas by Me!!

It's hard to believe that Christmas is almost here! A week from tomorrow. I find myself thinking about what I'd be doing if I were at home right now, and sometimes that makes me feel bad. The solution: think about something else. It's really hard to do that though when everyone else is talking about going home for the holidays. For every ten foreign students I talk to, nine of them are going home for Christmas. It feels really odd to know that the traditions at home go on without me and that I'm not going to be part of that this year. It gives me a strange feeling, a feeling as if I'm out of the loop, so to say. I don't fit into the swing of things here at Christmas and I'm definitely not fitting in at home all the way over here.

Yesterday I had a surprise in my mailbox - there was an orange slip there, which serves to tell me that I got a package at the post office. I've gotten these before, so I wasn't unfamiliar with what I supposed to do. The deal was that I wasn't expecting anything. Before, I always was expecting the packages, but this time it came and I didn't know what it was. When I got the package at the post office today, I was really excited to see that Grandma Teresa and Pappy Lee sent it to me. "And what was in it?" you ask. A Christmas tree! I couldn't wait to get home and put it up. My room seems a little homier now.


Today I've been in Germany 73 days. It's the longest that I've ever been away from home at one stretch. When I look at it that way, I'm proud of myself. I'm really becoming independent and able to take care of myself. It's a real learning experience. After Christmas, on December 26, I'm over halfway to coming home. From that point onward, it's "downhill," so to say, until I'll be home at Easter. Today also marks 90 days until I'll be home - exactly three months: rest of December, January, February, and some of March. I'm looking forward to that time, but I don't want to give the impression that I'm not enjoying my time here. Things are going pretty well now that I have somewhat of a routine developed and a few friends. Some days seem really long while others fly by. I suppose that's how life is as well. Last weekend I was in Berlin (I'll blog about that later when I have more time.) and the weekend before that I went to Heidelberg for a day trip. I'll be spending Christmas with a German family in Kassel (about two hours north of here with the train), and for New Years I'm meeting Katie Hetrick in London and we're going to travel around the UK. My time "between the years" will be busy then, and I'm looking forward to it very much. It'll be especially nice to spend it with a friend from home - one who understands you and doesn't need long, drawn-out explanations about personal history, preferences, and so on. I'm really looking forward to it.