It’s been a fair while since I last posted a blog so I’ll try to remember what I've been doing in the past few weeks, and I suppose talking about lectures is a good place to start. So after my initial issues with classes clashing, after picking up two more modules I finally seem to have enough credits for this semester. Apparently it’s a universal trait for universities to have poor scheduling skills. But at the end of a stressful day sorting this out a friend gave me a hug so it was all good. A little bit of affection goes a long way. After finally having lectures to attend, half were cancelled (including my 8 am that I walked 40 minutes to get to) so meeting actual German students is still going slow. Had the most awful experience of sitting in a seminar with people actively choosing to not sit next to me and basically ignoring my existence. That said, the cancelled 8 am seminar was a blessing in disguise as a boy in my class exchanged his grievances about the ordeal with me. To be exact he said it was ‘super’. There was me thinking that the Germans didn't get sarcasm. Silver lining and all that.
In accordance with my usual behaviour, when finding out I was behind on a 20 page paper as well as having to actually do my usual work I decided to take this week off and do absolutely nothing. You can take the girl out of England, but not the slack out of the girl. Though having said that, I have finally reached 3 pages of said 20 page challenge and feeling pretty good about it. It’s been a while since doing any kind of uni work so it’s hard getting back into the swing of it, especially when you don’t actually know what ‘the swing’ is. Ultimately on a work front it’s happening, slowly, but I’ll get there.
I was also really lucky to have a visit from a certain Czech friend a week or so ago. It was a relief to see a friendly face again and to feel a bit more normal. I guess eventually this will all feel normal, and then it will end and I can find another normal, as is the fashion of life I guess. During said visit we were sadly outraged by a night club experience: as if paying 8 euros to get into a club wasn't bad enough, paying 5 to get out is criminal. Also what’s even more outrageous (in my opinion), water costs more than shots in clubs. I have a severe lack of understanding for this logic. And as an aside, not appreciating the amount of sparkling water being sold either. Too many times have I bought a bottle of drink only to find that it was in fact not still. Touché liquids, touché.
I spent last weekend in Berlin with other Erasmus students and had a good time, though certainly had mixed feelings about the city. It was strewn with cranes where building work is still going on following the war and reunification and general development. It was almost like a foetus of a city. I found it to be a bit cold but I don’t know that I can really explain why. Maybe it had something to do with the main tourist sites relating to particularly unpleasant historical events, so no matter how much the city tries to build and reimage itself, it can’t escape its foundations. We went on a tour around an old stasi prison (Hohenschönhausen) and I don’t really know what to say about it other than I was there. I think when I see places with such bad connotations I just can’t really process them, like the Anne Frank Haus. Nothing you ever say will encapsulate what you felt being there and seeing the remnants of it all, which is bleak enough despite being so far detached from the reality of it. So it was just rather incomprehensible. I would put pictures from the inside up to show you what it was like, but I feel like these things aren’t mine to share so I won’t. To sum Berlin up, I went, I saw, I ate an obscene amount of junk food, got nowhere near enough sleep, and then I came home. But more importantly, I saw a polar bear. Just a shame Knut wasn’t there.
Gonna end this post with a brief reflection on Halloween. Had a suitably lovely evening despite never actually making it into a club. I will explain. Headed to a student wohnheim for a party/pre drinks type affair where Angelica and I picked up some German strays. We essentially walked into town and found out that all clubs were charging 10 euros entry so decided to not go in anywhere. But all in all it was a good night. And though my German is so far from good, it’s getting better, or at least I am more comfortable using it. Comfortable enough to just talk to randomers, which I probably wouldn't even do in England. That is the thing about moving to a foreign city alone, or maybe anywhere alone. You have to put yourself out there and make the effort, because at the end of the day you’re just one small person in amongst it all.
Also zum Schluss, have been having a good time, exploring a bit. Also surprisingly played a reasonable amount of sport. Gotta keep the spirits up somehow! I will endeavour to buck up and do some work as I feel that some good time management now will pay off at the end of the semester. It’s just a case of being a bit stricter on myself and trying to be consistent. I’m going to try to apply this to other aspects of my life too, which I’m sure some of you might appreciate. It’s just that at times it’s hard to not feel anxious about where this all leads. I feel it’s only suitable to leave you with this question: is this the futurity that Heidegger warns us of?If anyone has can answer that let me know. Like seriously do.
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