Backed Up Entries
Day 6 - Altstadt und Politik
Today was one of our first of many Ezkursions and it was called Stadtspaziergang, a tour of some important places in Marienplatz, the center of the Altstadt. I was several minutes late getting to the Instutit because I went to a Döner Kebap place, the same one as before, got a Käse Börek, but this time since I wanted to sit outside, they insisted I sit down and it became a restauant-like experience I didn't ahve time for. I ran for it and joined the first group I saw, which was led by a man who has since became my Goethe tour guide of choice. He told us about how old the U-Bahn was, pointed out that Sendlinger Tour was once the gate to the Altstadt before a second city wall was constructed and then about these two brothers who built the oldest church in the city - one of the most icky, gold, overdone places I'd ever been until I saw one of the castles. It was really tiny too and there was a sign that said that it's not a museum, but of course we treated it like one.
Our second Hirschgarten Biergarten experience was pretty unique. We were supposed to meet people from another dorm that never happened and I got to know several people a bit better. At our table were Julius (the Zivi), Marika (Italian), Vanessa (Spanish), Luca/Martin (Italian), Kyrul (Russian), Komorko (Japanese), Austin, Elliot and I (American). I got to talk to Julius a bit, he's a pretty cool guy, very smart, very good English. He had been talking about awesome political stuff, of which I only heard snippets - such as the fact that there could only be true democracy if everyone was equal because if two guys own everything, there isn't democracy. At the time, on the walk over there, I was talking to Elliot about politics. He's made a habit recently of asking me about "stuff," which means political stuff. I guess all this made the fact that a somewhat heated and long political debate ensued at the table. It turns out that Vanessa is a communist, which we found out after I declared myself a Marxist, something that really surprised people for some reason, even though I'm totally open and natural about it.
So, Vanessa the communist went up against Austin and Luca, the non-convinced. I think the language barriet indeed made it difficult. I piped in often, but it was Vanessa's show and we all just kind of watched. I didn't like the way she approached it and if one assumes she has the same politics as me and was expressing herself adequately, I would say she took a decidely utopian and Maoist tact, in that she talked a lot about socialism and communism, but nothing about struggle and she said that we all (people who live in the richest nations) are exploiters and benefit from the oppression of the "Third World." I guess one thing that sucked was I very much disagreed with the way she was presented the whole thing and was compelled to add things that, though undercutting her also showed Austin and Luca that not all socialists think of socialism that way. I think my practical approach to it appealed to them, but it was not my place. When I started to have a side conversation with Julius, in which he proved himself to be a perceptive and very left-leaning nihilist, Elliot sort of took up my mantel and argued against his dorm mates - noticing the very common arguments about human nature and such. I was so proud that he was arguing it himself because he seems to always come to me with more sophisticated questions and finds my answers quite reasonable. I have yet to talk to Austin, but if he's actually interested, I'd be glad to. Luca was very adamant about arguing the case that socialism can't happen because humans are greedy, but at the same time recognizing that capitalism is fucked up. He lives under Berlesconi, he knows what a lack meaningful democracy looks like. With Julius, I talked about the food crisis and then he finally said that whatever happens we're all dead anyway and it doesn't matter, that capitalism may destroy the species, but people won't revolt. On the way to Andreestraße, Elliot talked to the Japanese girl about the Germanic origins of English and why it's easier for us to learn.
Day 7 - Sneaking into the Glyptothek
Today in class, I looked a little like a badass because I pulled some vocabulary out of the recesses of my brain and I knew about the DDR (East Germany). I went home, fiddled around and went to the Mediothek - the (media) library of the Institut. It's a lot of really cool, valuable stuff. Tons of grammar guides and worksheets and everything. I was really killing time until the Glypothek trip, which I hadn't signed up for in time. I took the U-Bahn to where I needed to go and got out. I took pictures of political posters (which I've continued, as well as stickers - propaganda fascinates me and I see it different because I'm not familiar with the parties and candidates. I leisurely walked about taking pictures. As the start time of the tour approached, I realized I couldn't find the Glyptothek, a museum of sculpture work from long ago. I walked around using a map that didn't have quite enough information on it. Eventually, I looked so lost that a woman asked ME if I needed help finding the place and I eventually got there, about 20 minutes late, I thought. I bought my own ticket, which was a little difficult with my level of German. I figured I'd missed the tour and just sauntered about reading the signs. After a couple of rooms I saw familar faces and found that a tour was going on. It was led by a somewhat small (presumably) German woman with dark hair, some kind of accent and who was talking too quietly, a bit too quickly and with a vocabulary that was beyond my reach. I tried for follow her until she came to the end, at which point I found Mr. Tourguide, who was just starting his tour. Julia, my roommate was also there, so I snuck into this guy's tour. It was very cool, but these museum tours are, of course, not in any way comprehensive and when I talked to Julia she said it had just started and they hadn't even gone to the other museum across the way that had just closed before I got there. This worked out well. I walked to the U-Bahn and home with Julia.
Later was the first actual, official Stammtisch - weekly conversation meeting at an alcohol/social establishment. It was very hard to find, but we finally got there because Kyrul (who has limited German ability compared to Julia, Elliot and I) asked a local, who happened to be very drunk, and we finally go there. When we got there, it looked a great deal like Hirschgarten except it was Paris Cafe, or something like that. We were a solid hour late (10 instead of 9) and many of the tables were full. We found one and little groups got up to get drinks while some of us stayed to keep the space. Eventually, every time people got up, some Italians sat in their place. There are actually more (and perhaps many more by the sound of it) Italians this month than Americans and no doubt the Italians at our dorm know some of the others. I was very very tired, but I had decided to go to this thing because it's important and I would talk German. I had been lying around, but decided to come anyway. Eventually, it seemed clear that this was going to be exactly like our other Biergarten experiences except with some different people. Elliot and I went looking for other folks we know, some who might actually speak in German, but didn't succeed. Eventually, I got really frustrated and left on my own. I noticed how unbelievably sore and tired I was by the time I found the U-Bahn. But there are so many steps - getting to the train, riding, getting to the street, getting to the front door, walking up the steps and then finally getting into the dorm. When I finally got in I mixed myself a huge class of chocolate milk with Quik that belongs now to no one. I went to sleep at 23:00, exhausted.
Today was one of our first of many Ezkursions and it was called Stadtspaziergang, a tour of some important places in Marienplatz, the center of the Altstadt. I was several minutes late getting to the Instutit because I went to a Döner Kebap place, the same one as before, got a Käse Börek, but this time since I wanted to sit outside, they insisted I sit down and it became a restauant-like experience I didn't ahve time for. I ran for it and joined the first group I saw, which was led by a man who has since became my Goethe tour guide of choice. He told us about how old the U-Bahn was, pointed out that Sendlinger Tour was once the gate to the Altstadt before a second city wall was constructed and then about these two brothers who built the oldest church in the city - one of the most icky, gold, overdone places I'd ever been until I saw one of the castles. It was really tiny too and there was a sign that said that it's not a museum, but of course we treated it like one.
Our second Hirschgarten Biergarten experience was pretty unique. We were supposed to meet people from another dorm that never happened and I got to know several people a bit better. At our table were Julius (the Zivi), Marika (Italian), Vanessa (Spanish), Luca/Martin (Italian), Kyrul (Russian), Komorko (Japanese), Austin, Elliot and I (American). I got to talk to Julius a bit, he's a pretty cool guy, very smart, very good English. He had been talking about awesome political stuff, of which I only heard snippets - such as the fact that there could only be true democracy if everyone was equal because if two guys own everything, there isn't democracy. At the time, on the walk over there, I was talking to Elliot about politics. He's made a habit recently of asking me about "stuff," which means political stuff. I guess all this made the fact that a somewhat heated and long political debate ensued at the table. It turns out that Vanessa is a communist, which we found out after I declared myself a Marxist, something that really surprised people for some reason, even though I'm totally open and natural about it.
So, Vanessa the communist went up against Austin and Luca, the non-convinced. I think the language barriet indeed made it difficult. I piped in often, but it was Vanessa's show and we all just kind of watched. I didn't like the way she approached it and if one assumes she has the same politics as me and was expressing herself adequately, I would say she took a decidely utopian and Maoist tact, in that she talked a lot about socialism and communism, but nothing about struggle and she said that we all (people who live in the richest nations) are exploiters and benefit from the oppression of the "Third World." I guess one thing that sucked was I very much disagreed with the way she was presented the whole thing and was compelled to add things that, though undercutting her also showed Austin and Luca that not all socialists think of socialism that way. I think my practical approach to it appealed to them, but it was not my place. When I started to have a side conversation with Julius, in which he proved himself to be a perceptive and very left-leaning nihilist, Elliot sort of took up my mantel and argued against his dorm mates - noticing the very common arguments about human nature and such. I was so proud that he was arguing it himself because he seems to always come to me with more sophisticated questions and finds my answers quite reasonable. I have yet to talk to Austin, but if he's actually interested, I'd be glad to. Luca was very adamant about arguing the case that socialism can't happen because humans are greedy, but at the same time recognizing that capitalism is fucked up. He lives under Berlesconi, he knows what a lack meaningful democracy looks like. With Julius, I talked about the food crisis and then he finally said that whatever happens we're all dead anyway and it doesn't matter, that capitalism may destroy the species, but people won't revolt. On the way to Andreestraße, Elliot talked to the Japanese girl about the Germanic origins of English and why it's easier for us to learn.
Day 7 - Sneaking into the Glyptothek
Today in class, I looked a little like a badass because I pulled some vocabulary out of the recesses of my brain and I knew about the DDR (East Germany). I went home, fiddled around and went to the Mediothek - the (media) library of the Institut. It's a lot of really cool, valuable stuff. Tons of grammar guides and worksheets and everything. I was really killing time until the Glypothek trip, which I hadn't signed up for in time. I took the U-Bahn to where I needed to go and got out. I took pictures of political posters (which I've continued, as well as stickers - propaganda fascinates me and I see it different because I'm not familiar with the parties and candidates. I leisurely walked about taking pictures. As the start time of the tour approached, I realized I couldn't find the Glyptothek, a museum of sculpture work from long ago. I walked around using a map that didn't have quite enough information on it. Eventually, I looked so lost that a woman asked ME if I needed help finding the place and I eventually got there, about 20 minutes late, I thought. I bought my own ticket, which was a little difficult with my level of German. I figured I'd missed the tour and just sauntered about reading the signs. After a couple of rooms I saw familar faces and found that a tour was going on. It was led by a somewhat small (presumably) German woman with dark hair, some kind of accent and who was talking too quietly, a bit too quickly and with a vocabulary that was beyond my reach. I tried for follow her until she came to the end, at which point I found Mr. Tourguide, who was just starting his tour. Julia, my roommate was also there, so I snuck into this guy's tour. It was very cool, but these museum tours are, of course, not in any way comprehensive and when I talked to Julia she said it had just started and they hadn't even gone to the other museum across the way that had just closed before I got there. This worked out well. I walked to the U-Bahn and home with Julia.
Later was the first actual, official Stammtisch - weekly conversation meeting at an alcohol/social establishment. It was very hard to find, but we finally got there because Kyrul (who has limited German ability compared to Julia, Elliot and I) asked a local, who happened to be very drunk, and we finally go there. When we got there, it looked a great deal like Hirschgarten except it was Paris Cafe, or something like that. We were a solid hour late (10 instead of 9) and many of the tables were full. We found one and little groups got up to get drinks while some of us stayed to keep the space. Eventually, every time people got up, some Italians sat in their place. There are actually more (and perhaps many more by the sound of it) Italians this month than Americans and no doubt the Italians at our dorm know some of the others. I was very very tired, but I had decided to go to this thing because it's important and I would talk German. I had been lying around, but decided to come anyway. Eventually, it seemed clear that this was going to be exactly like our other Biergarten experiences except with some different people. Elliot and I went looking for other folks we know, some who might actually speak in German, but didn't succeed. Eventually, I got really frustrated and left on my own. I noticed how unbelievably sore and tired I was by the time I found the U-Bahn. But there are so many steps - getting to the train, riding, getting to the street, getting to the front door, walking up the steps and then finally getting into the dorm. When I finally got in I mixed myself a huge class of chocolate milk with Quik that belongs now to no one. I went to sleep at 23:00, exhausted.