When we all were getting ready to come to Bad Mergentheim we were all assigned "German Buddies" aka a german student at our school who can help us out while we are here. Last night they put together a welcoming party at a local bar called Los Bandidos (yep we went to a mexican bar in germany, weird) for all of us and we, as the germans say it, made party. It was a lot of fun to get to know all the germans and some of the other exchange students (kids from singapore, OSU in Bend, a girl from france and one from michigan).
One thing that is really hard to get used to here is all the smoking, even in the bars. It is so hard to ignore it all when you have someone across the table blowing cigarette smoke in your face. It is everywhere! Even the teenagers are always walking around and smoking. Very strange.
Today we had an informational meeting about what we will expect when normal classes start on Monday. From people who have gone on other various exchanges through the College of Business, I have heard their classes were almost a joke. But ours actually seem difficult and very serious. The German students who come to this school are already employed by a company and they go back and forth from working a few weeks, and then going to school a few weeks, so this is like part of their job. We were strongly advised to never miss class unless it is an emergency because we will be in a course from 9-5 for about a week or so, and then have a written final exam so missing one day will hurt you. It kind sucks that things will be so serious when I feel like I'm in vacation mode, but it will be a good learning experience.
On a lighter note, a group of OSU kids and some Germans are going to Stuttgart this weekend to go explore and have some fun up there so that should be very good times. Turns out you can get group train tickets for like 6 Euros (about $8.50) for unlimited rides during the weekend. I could definitely get used to this place :).
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
28 März 2011
So far this trip has been interesting. The first night here we wandered around the town and looked for a bar or somewhere to get food, which was harder than it sounds. We found a soccer bar and once we entered, everyone inside stopped what they were doing and looked at us like we were aliens so we left haha and that pretty much happened the rest of the night. The german students here seem to be very nice to us, but people around town aren't as friendly as I would have thought. Hopefully it will get better the more German I learn. Other than that it has been a lot of fun to be here to experience new things (beer is cheaper than water :)). The supermarket is hard to get used to and will take some time. Milk is sold in a box and not refrigerated, salad dressing and soup come in packets that you have to add water to and water comes with "gas or no gas". Some of us are planning to go to go to Stuttgart this weekend which will be a lot of fun! That's it for now!
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