My first week continued with settling into my apartment. Finding toiletries and groceries was an adventure; some things are recognizable in the grocery store, but I had google translate running on my phone as I tried to distinguish shampoo from conditioner from body wash. But hey, now I’ve picked up a few new words!

IES also took us on some cool excursions; we got the chance to explore Vauban, including an area of the city with houses that are entirely green; they actually produce more energy than they consume. There is a reason Freiburg is known as the Green City of Germany! We also went to Titisee, a small town in the Black Forest, about 45 minutes from Freiburg. The town itself is very cute! It has touristy attractions, but also a beautiful, typical German lake right in the middle. It reminded me of scenes from the The Sound of Music movie, all the green, and the beautiful view of the water right outside of the Von Trapp house. We also came across a second body of water, with a sign warning about beavers, how cute (pictured below). While I was very sore the day after, it was a great way to see part of the Black Forest. I’m definitely going back!

After our hike, the group went to cafes to try authentic Black Forest cake. Unfortunately, the cafe my friends and I went to ran out (the insult!) but we still got great food and coffee. Overall, a great first week!

Second week, which just ended, marked the start of the intensive phase, where we were given crash courses in German and EU politics so we could have some basis for the field trip we leave on tomorrow morning. That meant we spent around 5 hours in a classroom (usually in a row) this past week and had an exam in the politic class, but overall, I feel like I actually know what’s going on where I live now, so yay! I’m also picking up on the German, but my accent is atrocious, so I’m basically just asking people “sprechen sie Englisch”, or “do you speak English” at this point. I’ll get better!

As I mentioned earlier, I leave on the first field trip tomorrow morning. The group is going to Berlin and Prague. We’ll be exploring the European Central Bank and Parliament buildings, and meeting with journalists and political scientists to learn some more the history of the European Union, Soviet Union, and current politics. I’ll have more stories and pictures when I get back!

Beaver pond

View on the hike

Grabbing Black Forest cake and coffee after our hike

So sorry for the delay if you’ve been waiting for my first post; I haven’t had wifi since I arrived here in Freiburg, which put a damper on my writing plans! Regardless, now here I am. It’s been crazy travelling here and trying to adjust to living in a new country. The train lines in Germany around Frankfurt are under construction due to a landslide, and so getting from Frankfurt airport to Freiburg is a process. The trains were so delayed that, while I was supposed to be one of three or so who arrived at the same time, we grew into a group of around twenty or so of us. It was actually very fun; the weather was extremely hot, but I got to meet a lot of my program mates earlier than planned.

In this first week, we, the IES students, have had the chance to explore some of the city, and the areas around it. Some history I’ve learned: the city of Freiburg is almost ninehundred years old. It was nearly completed destroyed in World War Two, but has been rebuilt in the old style so the buildings look as old as it actually is. The first few days after we arrived, we got the super-speedy introduction to Germany. There’s some interesting things that are very different from the US which I didn’t expect. For one, Germans don’t smile when they make eye-contact with strangers on the street; it’s been a challenge, actually, to not smile when I make eye-contact. Also, it is considered very rude to chew in class; even gum is a no-no usually. No more eating breakfast in class for me!

I’m living in an area of the city called Vauban, which used to be a French military barrack. Over the history of the area, the town, which was at some points a military base, has changed hands back and forth between Germany and France through the various wars both countries have been involved with. Following the end of French occupation of the area in the 1950s, both the city of Freiburg, and the university bought up much of the land, and now the area is mostly housing for families and sudents. I’m living with five other people right now; three women, two of whom are German, the third, French, and two men, one Moroccan, the other Middle eastern. I don’t see much of them yet, but I’m excited to get to know them, learn about where they come from, and hopefully practice some German with them!

I’ll post soon about my first week and more of the exploration we’ve done of the program soon!

Sweaty after a long day of travel