Fourth Day in Dortmund

Fourth Day in Dortmund (September 4th)

Phew! Another long day. I had to be at the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station) in Dortmund at 9:30. I met up with Christopher and Sarah and we rode in together and found Johanna, who works with the International Office. We would be taking pictures for our Visas today. However, the S1 is not always reliable and the train that was supposed to come in at 9:15 was 20 minutes late.

When everyone finally got together, we walked to the picture studio. It was very crowded in the little studio and I was one of the first to go. I sat and smiled, but the photographer said, “No smiling!” Apparently you are supposed to look serious in your Visa picture. Inevitably, I  looked like a crazy person. I don’t know when I’ll get my Visa, but as soon as I do, I will post it so everyone can see it in all of its glory. When he showed it to me I had to stifle my laughter because I looked so angry in it.

We got done and I waited outside with Sarah for everyone else to get done. We got to talking and she was actually born in Germany. Both of her parents are optometrists who worked for the Army. It was fun getting to know her.

Then we had 30 minutes to walk around. We went to Rossman’s (like a Walgreen’s) because I needed some more supplies, and I needed to break a €50. I, of course, apologized to the cashier for such a big bill ,with my regular, “Entshuldigung.” When we got done, Sarah told me I had been saying excuse me, which is what you use when you want to get someone’s attention, or pass them. So that was great news. Evidently, the phrase I was looking for was “Es tut mir leid” which means “I’m sorry.“ Oh well. I learned something useful today haha.

Then, we walked back to the train station to go back to Dortmund and fill out paperwork for our visas. When we got done with that, I went with another student to find the room where our German class would be held in the morning. Her name was Britney, and she was from Arkansas. It seems that a majority of the American students are from the South.

I had a quick lunch and met back at the U-bahn for a sort of scavenger hunt set up by our German tutors. Each group had to have a fluent speaker since the directions were in German, so I stuck close to Sarah and Christopher. We were joined by three others: Gerig, Uman, and Alex. They were from Hungary, Turkey, and France, respectively. We had to come up with a name for our group. I suggested United Fraturgaray (a combination of all our countries’ names). We got started and had to find various landmarks around Dortmund. One was an old church, another was a monument commemorating freedom, and yet another was a fountain of jugglers and or clowns. No one could figure out what the word was. Gerig mentioned that this was like the plot of one of the Die Hard movies. My ears perked up at the mention of movies, and we were off. We discussed all 5 Die Hard movies (apparently they filmed some of the 5^th one in Hungary!), The Expendables, Air Force One, and the A-Team.

We also talked about our different cuisines. In Hungary, goulash is like the national dish. He also described a favorite dessert, Somloi Galuska, made of raisins, chocolate, rum, and lady fingers. I was ready to trek off to Hungary for some goulash after he was done describing it. I, in turn, told him about Southern cuisine like fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. It actually made me a little homesick. That’s all the stuff that my mom and dad cooked for me my last week in the U.S. I will have to try and find some cornmeal and make my own cornbread sometime. 

When we finally figured everything out, we met up with everyone at Westfalenpark. It was a beautiful place with diverse flowers and lots of different birds. We even saw some flamingos! 

The tutors also revealed the winners of the scavenger hunt. We came in second and got gift cards to a bookstore, and some mini-gummi bears. Yay team United Fraturgaray!

We walked around for a bit and were then taken up in the TV tower. It’s a little like the space needle in Seattle… maybe not as big. 

 It offered a really nice view of the city (which was larger than I thought!) and it was nice to have a breeze after a lot of walking.

When we got done looking around, the tutors told us we were free to go. Christopher and Sarah had been talking and were both excited about going for something called Spaghetti Ice. It’s ice cream that they push out into spaghetti-like noodles and you can get different types of sauces. Sarah told me that if you got strawberry sauce, it really did look like spaghetti.

I was all for some dessert, so we set off. Unfortunately, we had no idea where to find the stuff. We passed a lot of shops and restaurants, but no ice cream. We finally gave up and went for a beer instead. We found a little bar off the beaten track and pulled up a few chairs. We talked about our cultural differences and what we were studying. I sat next to Alex and got to talk with him for a little bit. He is from a town in central France and getting his masters in Mechanical Engineering. He actually had an internship with Volvo designing trucks for them. It was really interesting to learn about the different engineering opportunities around the world. He told me robotics is a relatively new field, and what his internship in the spring would be based around.

We decided to head back to campus so that we could get some sleep for class the next morning. I’m usually not big on scavenger hunts/ ice breakers, but it was nice getting to know more people and experience a different point of view. I am both excited and nervous about our first German class tomorrow, I have a feeling I am the least experienced speaker here, so we will see how it goes! Schuss!

German word of the day: Kirche- Church. The city of Dortmund contains more than one Kirche, which can make it difficult for scavenger hunts.

Third Day in Dortmund

Third Day in Dortmund (September 3rd)

Today I had a meeting with Dr. Gruenzweig, who is in charge of my studies and internship while here. He was very nice and told me more about what my internship would entail. It is at the Dortmund City Museum. They have a new installation from a German-American artist, Hans Breder that needs organizing. Here is a link to his website: http://www.hansbrederfoundation.org His stuff looks really interesting, and I’m excited to get started.

After my meeting with Dr. Gruenzweig, I had some time before my next meeting at the bank with the rest of the exchange students. I meandered around campus and made my way to the bookstore to buy some much-needed supplies. My inner-nerd was happy at the sight of new pens and index cards. I bought a Pilot pen and thought about my sisters, Leslie and Lauren, who are devotees of the brand.

I have no idea what "remove by friction" is supposed to mean, but it works swell!

I also discovered that German notebook paper has four holes instead of three, and that the packs of paper I brought from home would not work. Oh well.

I went to the bank and met some of the other exchange students. I was happy to see Christopher, Dr. Ute’s son, had made it from Frankfurt. I also talked to Sarah Bohlman, a fellow Southerner from Tennessee. We talked about the hassles of flying and she told me she had to remove some shoes as well!

 I was the first in line to make an account with Sparkasse Dortmund. The teller I met with was very concise and didn’t talk much. When he tried explaining the insurance policy to me, he said, “it’s for if you die in an accident today, we will pay this much.” I had to stop from laughing because it was so morbid, but he said it so frankly. I deposited some money and will hopefully have a good relationship with my new German bank.

I then walked back to my dorm for lunch. The walk to and from campus takes about 15 minutes. It’s along the road (where they are paving and constructing) so it’s very gravelly and loud. However, there are also fields on either side of the road and I noticed a boy walking among them. Apparently there is a path between campus and my dorm that doesn’t follow along the road. I will have to investigate further. I also thought about making a video of my walk to campus, just to show everyone what my daily routine will be like. I can’t decide, because it would probably be really boring. Just ten minutes of a shaky camera and me walking.

I got back and made lunch for the first time in my dorm. Here is what I ate:

It was delicious. Those cheeto-looking things are actually peanut flavored! (Since peanut butter isn’t an option). I spent the rest of the day relaxing, organizing my room, and practicing some German. My roommate, Damla, went home for the week, so I am all alone where no one can hear my awful pronunciation. Haha. Okay, enough for today, schuss!!

German word of the day: das Fenster- Window. Sometimes, it can be very difficult to open das Fenster.

Second day in Dortmund

Day 2 in Dortmund (Sunday, September 2nd)

My task of the day was using the bus and tram to get from my dorm to Carl’s apartment. He had explained how to read a bus schedule and which tram to get on the day before, but I was still nervous. 

When the bus finally arrived, I was shaking like a leaf. I asked uncertainly in German for a ticket to Wittenstrauße. It was my first time talking to anyone in German by myself. The bus driver was very kind and must have noticed my anxiety because he said “no problem” and “take it easy” in English. I guess he was afraid I was either going to faint or throw up on him. Neither happened, thankfully. He even alerted me when my stop came up.

Throughout my journey, two different Germans asked me questions. I had already looked up the phrase for “I don’t know.” (It’s Ich verstehen nicht, for the curious). However, I blurted out “ich nicht verkaufen” to an old lady pointing at the tram schedule. So I basically told her “I no buy.” I got my “ver” verbs mixed up. That’s probably why she looked at me like I had escaped from a mental institution. That, and the look on my face. This is the main face I make whenever someone addresses me in German:

Sometimes I wave my hands in a circular motion as well. The observant will notice a weird spot on my right hand. I fell off my skateboard a few days before I left for Germany and was subsequently left with some pretty gross looking scrapes. The first day in Germany, the one on my hand looked like I had picked up a flesh-eating virus somewhere. I had split it open again having to haul my luggage around airports. The one on my arm is even uglier:

Ok I’m done with the gross pictures…this is supposed to be a blog about Germany, not the various maladies of Joanna.

I Skyped with my parents for the first time (yay!) and told them I thought that maybe I looked German, or like I belonged since people were asking me questions. My cynical father told me they were probably trying to rob me. Thanks Dad!

I finally made it to Carl’s house with no hiccups. I was feeling pretty courageous and confident. (shoutout to the Columbia College four C’s!). However, I had to keep telling myself to not get too cocky. Which didn’t help because I ran into an issue. Not with a gun-toting grannie. Not with an errant turn. No, it was the door that let me into Carl’s house. He buzzed me up three times but I pulled on the door to no avail. Ann-Kathrin had to come let me in. Joanna Burch was defeated by a door. Apparently pushing is what you do when pulling doesn’t work. I’ve decided simple things like doors, windows, and sinks are my Achilles heel in Germany. (it’s still hard, ok?!) 

When I finally made it to Carl’s apartment, we set up my phone. As previously mentioned, I also got to Skype with my parents for the first time. It was so nice getting to see their faces and talk for an extended period instead of through text. Carl came up with the brilliant idea of yelling angrily in German off screen right before I introduced him to my parents. Ann-Kathrin told me he was basically just shouting gibberish in German, which somehow made it funnier.

After getting off Skype, we ordered some Imbiss (delicious German fast food). I had the currywurst and French fries. They were both great and Carl let me try what he got, which tasted a lot like the Gyro’s you can get back home. We watched Friends while we ate, and they switched it to the German dubbing to show me what it was like. However, they said they like the English version better since the lines and laugh track don’t always match up and it’s not as funny as the original. Go figure! We also talked some more about movies (do you see a common theme here?) and how creepy Anthony Hopkins is. I did get some practical language advice from Ann-Kathrin. She tried to teach me how to say words with umlauts in them, like this: hüpfen (to hop). It involves shaping the mouth oddly and I just couldn’t get it and ended up laughing at myself. Maybe I’ll have it down in a couple of months.

That’s the end of this entry, overall a nice and relaxing day compared to my busy first day.

Word of the day: Bart. It means beard. If Bart Simpson ever grew up, he could grow a bart.

First Day In Dortmund

Day One- 1st September 2012

(this is obviously posted after day one because of the internet problems. I will eventually catch up... i hope) 

I made it! After leaving my parents clutching my shoes, I embarked on this new adventure (after being patted down by security first, of course). I packed one too many pair of shoes and had to take some out to lighten my checked bag. On my first flight, Myrtle Beach to Atlanta, I met a really nice guy, Isaac. He had just graduated from CCU and was offered a job as a scout there. He was from Florida and had a parent involved with education like me, so we chatted about that for a while. He was going to a concert in Philly featuring Jay Z and Kanye, so I was a little jealous.

After a brisk walk to my gate, I made it on the plane to Amsterdam. I was sandwiched between a nice man from somewhere in Africa and a German girl. I think I said 3 words to each of them on the 8-hour flight. I was all about the movies. I learned from our class trip to Berlin in May that there were free and current movies to watch on the flight. So I crammed in all I could. I watched Snow White and the Huntsman (ehh), Hugo (yeah!), Sherlock Holmes 2 ( I love RDJ), and half of The French Connection (car chases!). I made it to Amsterdam and had to go through customs. I was worried about making my connection to Dusseldorf on time, because when we went through in May, it was very crowded and we had to run to catch our flight.

Story time!- I also harbored a fear of customs because of a harrowing childhood experience. Okay, maybe harrowing isn’t the right word, but it stuck in my brain. I remember being 8 or 9 and we were going through customs in France. For some reason, I went to the counter by myself (I could barely see over) and was questioned by a very intimidating man with a graying mustache. He asked “business or pleasure” and I had no idea what that meant. He should have inferred that I was a child and not there to visit my winery and check up on my French stock holdings. In any case, I just turned to find my Dad and he came over to negotiate with Mr. Mustache.

 

I got through this time without any problems or long waits and made it on my final plane. However, the pilot said we would be 30 minutes late departing. That would leave me 30 minutes to find the baggage claim AND the correct train. However, the “Delicious Treats” that the stewardess was passing out were some consolation. It is KLM’s snack brand and I had a sugarcoated waffle that tasted a lot like the Donut Sticks you can get stateside.

 

 

I made it to Baggage Claim and found my way to the train. Of course, it wasn’t that simple. To get to the actual train station, you have to take a Sky Train, or monorail. You also have to buy a ticket for this thing from a kiosk with no English. There was a line forming behind me, so I pressed some buttons, and when I couldn’t find the 2 Euro to pay, I just fed the machine the first bill I could find. Which was a 20. That’s like paying for a pack of gum with a $20 bill in the U.S. So I now had a handful of change and my ticket. Whatever. I knew I would be leaving from platform 1, and I finally got there. The problem was that there was no sign indicating what train would leave the platform. Luckily I ran into an English-speaking couple that assured me this was the right train. Unluckily, I had no idea there were assigned seats on the train. I just assumed it was like a subway. So I moved seats twice, since I inferred that all the pointing and talking being directed at me had something to do with the seat I was in. Thankfully, a girl took pity on me and explained in broken English that there were assigned seats, that I was in hers, mine was number 25, and I should move. I finally left the crazy train and met up with Dr. Ute’s (my professor from Columbia College) friend Uschi. She helped me haul my luggage to her car and told me about her horse Dodi and the town of Dortmund. She reminded me a lot of Dr. Ute and informed me they had met as students at the University of Bonn. I was so grateful to her for picking me up, and I was really happy to meet and get to know her as well.

Of course they are paving the road where my dorm is located. I felt right at home since my first two years at CC were spent listening to jackhammers and backhoes in the early hours of the morning. I then met up with Ann-Kathrin and her boyfriend Carl, who are my Dortmund Doubles (Students assigned to foreign-exchange people to help them get used to Germany). We lugged everything up the stairs and investigated my dorm. I bombarded them with questions ranging from how to open the windows (it’s was hard, ok?) to how to unlock doors (it’s also hard, ok?). They graciously answered every one and then took me to tour the campus.

They showed me where most of my classes would be and explained the complicated numbering system of room numbers. In Germany, the 1^st floor is not the ground floor; it is the first floor up. So I guess the ground floor is regarded as 0. Thanks to Ann Kathrin and Carl, I won’t be running around on the wrong floor trying to find my class.

Then we went shopping. We went to an Aldi’s! I felt right at home. They even had some Trader Joe’s stuff. I was sad to find out that peanut butter was a specialty in Germany. So my PB&J’s were reduced to just J’s. We went back to Carl’s apartment where we ate and got to know one another. Carl used to work in a video shop and has a collection of over 600 movies. He also has posters and memorabilia everywhere, which was seriously impressive for a movie nerd like me. He even had a real-live katana! He let me hold it too! I asked if it was a Hattori Hanzo sword and he just laughed (Kill Bill reference). His collection also included loads of old guns from WWI and earlier, an old ammunition box, a tomahawk, and a huge bowie knife. He let me hold and try out all this stuff (the guns didn’t fire anymore, don’t worry).

After this, Ann-Kathrin and I went shopping for a phone. She showed me how to use the U-bahn (subway), and we went to Germany’s version of Best Buy, Saturn, and found a little 15.99€ Samsung, circa 2005. Now I can call/text German numbers without running up a huge bill. 

Don’t be too jealous.

Then we went to a store in the mall, which Carl described as Germany’s version of J.C. Penney. We were looking for one thing: a bigger wallet (to keep all my change from breaking 20’s left and right).

When we got back to Carl’s to set up the phone, Carl said my Southern accent was noticeable when I said certain words. (I think it was all the y’alls that gave me away) I was thankful it wasn’t too noticeable. But, to entertain them, I laid it on thick and they kept coming up with requests for me to say. A lot of them were lines by Joy from My Name is Earl, but I didn’t mind. Then, Ann-Kathrin tried talking in a Southern accent, which was hilarious as well.

We drove back to my dorm and Ann-Kathrin helped me haul all my groceries upstairs. My roommate, Dalma, who had not been there when we initially arrived, was home. She was not expecting us, and I’m sure we scared her. At least, I would’ve been scared at 11:00 at night and I hear two people in my apartment. Ann-Kathrin explained in German who I was, and Dalma was very gracious. She’s from Duisberg, a town 30 minutes from here, and made me feel welcome.

At the end of the day, I was very tired, but very happy to have made it safely with no major problems. 

I think this qualifies as an adequate post for my first day, sorry if you got bored, I will try and leave out some stuff in the next one! Schüss! (Goodbye)

P.s. According to Carl and Ann-Kathrin, no one says Auf Weidershen in Germany anymore. It’s usually Schüss. It would be like Americans saying “Farewell” instead of “Goodbye”

• Word of the day: Seiben und Dreizig or Thirty-seven, which is my dorm number.

Full Address-

• Joanna Burch

Emil-Figge-Strausse 37

Zi (short for “Zimmer” which means “room”) 141

Dortmund, Germany 44227

If you want to write me, I think postage is like 97 cents, so I think two regular stamps and maybe a 10-cent stamp would do.