Sunday, May 31, 2009
Das Wohlleben
I've been in Würzburg for a little over a week now. It's a small city located in northern Bavaria, Germany. (Though we're in the Bundesland of Bavaria, most locals consider themselves Franconians.) I've been having a wonderful time so far. The weather is mostly sunny and mild (though we had a cold spell), the lanscapes are so eye-pleasing (attractive flora everywhere - such a change from West Campus!), the people are beautiful and mostly friendly, the food is fresh and cheap, and the beer and wine flow like tapwater.
I arrived at Frankfurt-am-Main Flughafen early in the morning on May 22, and had to find my way through that maze of an airport all the way to the prearranged meeting spot. Good thing my flight arrived some three hours before we had to meet, because it took me the better part of an hour to get there. At the airport, I started getting disappointed because the Germans who helped me spoke such good English, I wondered, what's the point of studying a language in its original country, if no one will speak to you in that language?
Luckily, Würzburg is rather small, and though I rarely encounter Germans who speak no English (it's part of the mandatory curriculum in school, from fifth grade on, and I've heard that English may soon be mandatory for students as early as first grade), I often encounter Germans who are out of practice with their English, or assume I speak German. Which means I get to practice!
Dr. R, our program coordinator, met us (the American exchange students, hailing from UT and SUNY) at the airport on Friday morning, along with his dozen or so tutors, students at Uni Würzburg who, as part of the work-study program, have assisted us in our transition to German student life. They act as part-mentors, part-RAs, part-default-friends, and part-lifesavers. They are all so warm toward us; many of them have come here to study from places like Romania, Russia, and Peru, so I think the memory of what it's like to be new in town is fresh for them too.
We had a welcome dinner at a prominent restaurant in downtown Würzburg called Bürgerspital, and I had baked sole with salad, and some of the Frankenwein. Our tourguide two days later told us that Göthe loved the region's wine so much that he ordered it by the barrel. Vineyards are visible everywhere! I explored a bit of the neighborhood around my dormitory (Leo-Weismantel), and saw that some residents even have miniature vineyards in their gardens.
More later!
I arrived at Frankfurt-am-Main Flughafen early in the morning on May 22, and had to find my way through that maze of an airport all the way to the prearranged meeting spot. Good thing my flight arrived some three hours before we had to meet, because it took me the better part of an hour to get there. At the airport, I started getting disappointed because the Germans who helped me spoke such good English, I wondered, what's the point of studying a language in its original country, if no one will speak to you in that language?
Luckily, Würzburg is rather small, and though I rarely encounter Germans who speak no English (it's part of the mandatory curriculum in school, from fifth grade on, and I've heard that English may soon be mandatory for students as early as first grade), I often encounter Germans who are out of practice with their English, or assume I speak German. Which means I get to practice!
Dr. R, our program coordinator, met us (the American exchange students, hailing from UT and SUNY) at the airport on Friday morning, along with his dozen or so tutors, students at Uni Würzburg who, as part of the work-study program, have assisted us in our transition to German student life. They act as part-mentors, part-RAs, part-default-friends, and part-lifesavers. They are all so warm toward us; many of them have come here to study from places like Romania, Russia, and Peru, so I think the memory of what it's like to be new in town is fresh for them too.
We had a welcome dinner at a prominent restaurant in downtown Würzburg called Bürgerspital, and I had baked sole with salad, and some of the Frankenwein. Our tourguide two days later told us that Göthe loved the region's wine so much that he ordered it by the barrel. Vineyards are visible everywhere! I explored a bit of the neighborhood around my dormitory (Leo-Weismantel), and saw that some residents even have miniature vineyards in their gardens.
More later!
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