Autumn Falls

Much has happened both since I last wrote in my blog even prior to that. Instead of just filling in on my details I decided to make a small tip sheet of what I feel is very important here.

Not in any particular order

So every apartment/household in Germany has to pay this Rundfunkbeitrag, which is essentially a monthly tax that is charged for Deutsche Radio, TV, and News. It is rather frustrating as the cost is 17,98 Euro/month. What I did was send a letter stating why I thought  I should not be responsible for paying this fee: I am a student, no real income, on scholarship, don't use a TV or Radio or German News.

So for any student that is living in the Studentenwohnheim: After the initial meeting with the Studentenwerk, which is in charge of the service, you receive your keys. Each apartment is slightly different but for the most part it was a bed, table, and some chairs and storage space. Nothing special. You can receive your keys after you move into your apartment but you still need to register with the Hausmeister (which is basically the Landlord/Maintenance man of the buildings). They will give you a sheet where you can write down anything that is wrong with the apartment so as you will not be responsible for it later. In every apartment building there is a type of RA or student ambassador and one for international students. I found mine via a bulletin board at the entrance to the building. Trash is separated into plastics, biodegradable and un-recyclable materials, paper. The mattresses here are semi-comfortable. After being babied in my Queen size pillow top, the hard foam mattress took some time getting used to. I definitely would recommend a mattress top to help ease those joints. For those who live in apartments, you probably will need to buy utensils and the like. One of the easiest ways is via Ikea about a 1 hr away via train. They also have a TKMaxx (TJMaxx) here. Both are decent places where one can buy what you need for cheap. You can also look at the student Facebook groups which often have students selling their own things.

Stores: There are a few choices in Heidelberg and fortunately they are not too far apart from each other. The high end supermarkets are Kaufland, Rewe, Bio-markt (organic store). They are the largest and offer the most in terms of choices. The biggest Rewe is in Handschusheim, while Kaufland is near the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof. Bio-markt is also in the same plaza as Rewe in Handschusheim. The discount stores are Aldi, Lidl, Pennymarkt, and Nahkauf. These also have reasonable prices, though Aldi and Lidl carry their own brands of foods not found in other stores. Personally we shop at Penny and Lidl the most, with supplemental shopping at Rewe and Aldi as needed. Whats interesting is that sometimes Aldi and Lidl have things for home, however they are only available for a limited time and tend to be of cheaper quality. But for living abroad for only one year it most likely will last. Each has their advantages and disadvantages, but the best bet will be to shop at whichever is closest.

Get a bike! Heidelberg is a bike city. Make no doubt about it, you will wish to have one. Taking the bus is easy enough, but they don't always run and don't run when you might need them to. Also it helps to transport groceries. I bought my used bike at Ruprecht Rides. They have a good variety and stock some every week. They are also the cheapest bike seller around. Its a trek to get there but usually worth the trip. And they do speak English!

Uni and Our Trips

So its been a while since I have written in my blog. Too long for that and so much has happened that it would be hard to even put down all the details. To summarize, since my last post, I have finished my month-long intensive language course, traveled to London, Hiked up Mt. Pilatus in Lucern, Switzerland, explored the Schwarzwald, and visited old friends in Pirmasens, and new friends in Bruchmuehlbach-Miseau, on top of living and exploring Heidelberg.
  About a month ago I started my new German class ~20 academic hours. However 1 academic hour equals 45min of real time. So though it seems like I have 4 hours of class a day, in reality it only translates to 3hrs 15min. Just one of the small things that German Universities like to complicated. Sometimes its amusing while other times frustrating with the entire system. For example things are not as easily coordinated as we would like in the USA. But I believe that most of this is due to the small administrative staff that is kept. This way it allows the Uni to keep costs low for local citizens and international students. It reminds me of an article I  read recently that talks about the reasons why American Universities and Colleges keep raising tuition every year faster than the rate of inflation. Admin costs take precendence over academic endeavors in the US. Although I believe that this can be a good thing, overbloated admin budgets are rife with waste and fraud. Unfortunately the goverment keeps adding subsidies to students and the colleges respond in kind. Ie. if the cost of attendance is $20k/year and the student gets $14k in financial aid then the following year since the government will increase financial aid to $16k/year the school responds in kind and raises tuition to $22k/year making up for their lost profit from direct student contribution. However in reality the school has just made an extra $2k. Though the student appears not to have paid anything more (and this is their justification) in reality he is paying more due to government loans. Just another way that the system is terrible in the US. This is where capital market systems DO NOT WORK! I could go on as this is a topic I am quite passionate about though I appear this passion is futile to make a change. Giving people scholarships and the like is just feeding the problem. This is something I always found annoying. If I earned a scholarship (merit based), I earned it! Don't then go and say well you don't have a need anymore and take away any other money. How is it fair that the person who didn't try as hard or who didn't spend countless nights studying to get good grades recieves the same aid as the one who did, but come from the same social backgrounds. It becomes Communism 101.

But I digress! Well here are some photos from our trips.

London

Switzerland

Schwarzwald: Triberg und Freiburg

Festivals...festivals everywhere!

So skip ahead a few weeks and I'm going to write about the recent Heidelberger Herbst which is an annual fall festival located in the Alstadt (old town) of Heidelberg. The festival involves flea markets a lot of food stands as well as beer stands and small concert venues. It was so exciting to see all the people that came to visit the town. We went early in the morning to check out the flea markets even at 930 in the morning it was hustling and bustling. It surprises me how much junk there was but they were all so many many antiques. However it was super expensive. For some small pieces of silverware anywhere from 12 to 50 Euros. What the real gym was the food. Everywhere were wood-grilled stands cooking bratwurst sausage, and variety of the other meats. There was even a spot that had roasted pig on a spit. I tried the roasted pig as well as some homemade paella! The payoff was very good the roasted pig was to die for. Juicy and flavorful it was unlike anything I've ever tried. All throughout the day they had concerts at the venues performed by many bands. I felt like a giddy school child!  there were also a variety of beer stands.  you could buy any liter of local beer in a bottle for only 3 euros. We ended up going there in the morning and coming back for the evening. We finished off the night by going to the Schloss and taking in the gorgeous views and not to mention the sounds! The one thing about living 4km away from the center of town, is that you want to stay out late and just hang around. However you know that it takes 25 min to get home which sometimes takes the excitement of finishing off the night. But nonetheless it was an awesome day! One of the best so far in Heidelberg!

A New Home

Although Dina and I traveled a bit through Germany before coming to Heidelberg, I will not delve too much into those expeditions as I feel that I would need to be writing extensively to keep up. With all the new things going on in my life, its hard to keep up and place them into words. I had to arrive in Heidelberg by myself as Dina was going to be dropped off by our friends once I had the apartment situation settled. The train from Pirmasens didn't take long (~2hrs) and soon enough I was in a new city yet again. I haven't traveled in a foreign country by myself since I started dating Dina. Either way I had to go the Universitaet Platz to the Triplex Mensa in order to get my keys to my apartment. However the directions provided weren't very helpful, and I was quite confused. Besides as always I tried to save money and walk there, underestimating the distance, and the complexity of the matter. In addition I had to find a Deutsche Bank in order to take out money without paying a service fee. Yes, I could withdraw money at the nearest ATM, but I am not a rich student with unlimited resources. Every 5 euro spent on admin fees, is 5 euro I have less to spend on fun things such as trips. It took over an hour and some guidance from Dina who had internet access. Got my keys and this time I took a bus to my apartment. I'm glad I did. It was very hot outside, carrying a backpack did not make it any easier. Our friends came with Dina and even helped us shop for some basic food items so that we weren't hungry. Finally we settled into our apartment for the night.

All white, with not a drop of color in it. We felt like we were in a hospital room, or psychiatric facility. 

My life in a suitcase

How do you travel for 10 months with your life in suitcases? When the thought first occurred to me I thought hey, I don't have much stuff. This should be easy. But as we packed up our apartment, the amount of "STUFF" we had was just overwhelming. There is never going to be anyway that I'll be able to fit everything. But with the help of SpaceBags and a little ingenuity we did it. Now navigating the airport was quite entertaining. So I had two of the largest suitcases, a duffel bag, and my backpack. My wife had two of the smaller but still large suitcases, her carry on suitcase and purse. We looked like badly packed tourists! Fortunately we only had to navigate to the counter and not across the entire airport. Oh and did you know that there are no mailboxes after you go past security. One would think people would have some sort of mail to send out. Besides you already go through a security check. One that is probably more advanced than the ones used at mailing facilities. Oh well.
Our flight had no issues (Iceland Air) and we flew into Reyjavik. Such an interesting airport. Not the behemoths you see in elsewhere. Simple construction, low roofs, and basic materials of glass, wood, and steel. Oh Iceland your the bane of my existence in "Plague." Then we finally made our way to Frankfurt!

It's been 3 weeks since I entered Germany and began my 10-month long adventure. New sights, new places, and a new language. All exhilarating but at the same time frightening. In a way I expected this, but in another, I wasn't fully sure. Many times I get asked why did I go to Germany. Why not Russia where you speak the language. Why not some third world country. I don't have a straight answer to give people. Not because I am unsure that this is where I want to be, but because it is difficult to place into words my motivations. Its a combination of my love for history, traveling, language, and adventure. I've always had this odd fascination about Germany itself. I've taken several courses in history and was always amazed at the resilience of the country. Whenever Germany became unified, it became one of the most powerful countries/entities in the world. The Goths in late Roman times, the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V, Otto von Bismark and the Prussians, post WWI, and even after the reunification of 1990. All of these are just examples of what happens when to a unified Germany. Its no wonder why post 1945, Germany was split. Never again can this country become unified. But I have gone too far on this subject. Basically this was something I wanted to experience in my life before I am caught up the world of residency and life. I wanted to live an adventure, with fears but excitement. Visit new places and see new sights. This year I hope all of this comes true. I know this will be a life changing experience.