Second Day of Class!!

Tuesday, Oct. 9th

Today I had to be up really early. I had a meeting with Professor Gruenzweig and my internship supervisor, Dr. Wettengl. I will be an intern at Dortmunder U. It used to be a brewery (the Union Brewery, that's what the big U on top is for) and it is one of the few buildings that survived World War II. Dr. Gruenzweig explained on our way there that 90% of Dortmund was razed to the ground after the war. City officials even considered moving the city to a different location, to avoid cleaning up all the rubble. However, they stayed, and have since converted this building into a center for arts and culture.

It's really impressive from both inside and out. There is a movie theater on the ground floor, several museums and exhibitions on other floors, and at the top, there is a restaurant with a really great view of the city. However, our stop was on the third floor.

We met with Dr. Wettengl and went over what my job would entail. Since I don't speak fluent German, he said at first he wasn't sure what to do with me. However, they recently acquired a big collection from the German-American artist, Hans Breder. It needs to be catalogued, and he also had a large correspondence with many people. So transcribing letters is also in my job description. This is really a great opportunity, especially for someone with limited German and art experience, so I am looking forward to learning a lot.

After our meeting, I made my way back to school. I had a few hours until my next class and spent it making a to-do list and preparing for my trip back home. Luckily Carl had a spare duffel-bag that he let me borrow, and now I can start packing!

My next class was Late Victorian Literature with Professor Laurence Kane. Carl took a Shakespeare course with him a previous semester and had already filled me in. Apparently he almost always looks disheveled and like he isn't sure where he's supposed to be. He fit the description to a T, right down to the untucked dress shirt. Carl also said that he had enjoyed all of his classes with Kane, and that he really knew a lot about his subjects. Luckily Carl was also in the Victorian lit class, so I sat next to him.

However, there were a lot of other people as well and we eventually had to move rooms since we couldn't all fit. Usually the first day is filled with organizational stuff and going over the syllabus. However, Dr. Kane wasted no time and immediately jumped into how the Victorian era came about. He also went over what books we were expected to read throughout the class. Now, I enjoy reading, maybe a little bit more than the average person, but I was kind of intimidated by his list. We are covering: The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest, Heart of Darkness, The Turn of the Screw, Jude the Obscure, and The Time Machine. This is in addition to at least 10 short stories. Phew! I am already behind on the first day! I've read the majority of the novels, but I would still like to refresh my memory before an in-depth discussion. I am going to have to immediately begin The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oh well. You can't really enroll in a literature course and complain about reading. I think our class size may be a little smaller next session haha. All in all, I think it will be an enjoyable class, you can tell that the professor knows his stuff, and I think I can learn a lot.

After this, I had a gap in my schedule before my language course. Carl introduced me to some of his friends and I got to know a girl named Christina. Apparently, there is a really good Indian restaurant near her and we've made plans to try and go sometime.

My language course begins at 5:45 and runs until 8. It was mostly a review of stuff I'd already learned, but the teacher was really nice and helpful. I'm kind of sad I'm not in the same section as all the other people I took the first course with. I am the only American in the class and I think I somehow placed into the Engineering section. At least 75% of the people in there are studying some sort of engineering. In any case, I sat next to a really nice Indian boy named Paukul Jain, who was studying (surprise!) Mechanical Engineering. Our teacher let us go early and I walked home. It's definitely getting colder, so I will have to remember to pack the rest of my winter clothes when I am home next week. That's it for today, it was a long one, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow (Only one class!) Schüss!

German Word of the Day: die Krankenschwester- "nurse" Die Krankenschwester brought me medicine and some water.