Week 1
Was bedeutet das?
One of the several reasons I am studying a language in another country is to experience all of the struggles that come with being an international student so that I might be better equipped to help international students back in Bellingham, Washington, when I return to school in the fall. My first week in Heidelberg, Germany, has certainly provided me healthy servings of struggle: Figuring out public transportation, jumping into classes, language barriers at school and at home (at this point, I feel like ,,ich weiß nicht” is my new catchphrase), the list goes on. But at the end of the week, reflecting on what my main goals are has really encouraged me. I still have 7 weeks to go, after all.
The first few days of classes were a bit of a whirlwind. The language school I am attending has ongoing classes, and students come and go every week. That means each Monday new students will arrive and each Friday will be someone’s last. Some students stay for 2 weeks, 2 months, an entire year, or anything in between. The majority of students come from Switzerland and speak either French or Italian and a small amount of English. After a tour of the building, everyone was placed into their class based on an assessment of our knowledge of German. We all jumped into class the second half of the morning in the middle of lessons. By now, I think I can say I have some things figured out.
One of the greatest highlights of living here is the architecture and atmosphere. The neighborhoods have an interesting mix of the old and new. Some buildings, especially on Hauptstraße and in the Altstadt, radiate history and age, while others look like run-down ’90s stores on the outside, and expensive modern department stores on the inside.
I am also lucky to have such a view from my bedroom window. It happens to be the stage for dramatic weather performances. Twice in just this past week we’ve had freak rain showers and thunderstorms that roll by to reveal bright rainbows in their wake.
I also got a shining display of pink mammatus clouds the other evening. This crazy weather–16C one day and 25C the next, cloud cover varying throughout the day, and unpredictable rain showers–has been oddly comforting. It’s not all that different from Washington.
On Wednesday, we incoming students were led by one of the staff members on foot to the Hauptstraße (Main Street). It’s about a mile long of small shops, museums, and restaurants, ending at the Neckar River with the Alte Brücke (Old Bridge).
After our relatively short tour, we all went to lunch at the Palmbräu Gasse there on the Hauptstraße. One of the guys promised us he heard that they have the best meat in town. We went in through the back entrance, and there was a moment of hilarious hesitation where everyone just looked at each other and one of the guys said in English, “It’s a cage!” We all busted up laughing because we were all thinking the same thing: it looked dark and suspicious on the outside. Once we went in, however, it was clearly popular and crowded with customers. We weren’t disappointed by the meat either.
In the picture here is the huge “pork knuckle” the guys ordered. Everyone else had schnitzel (which tasted like heaven). Almost the entire table spoke Italian, so I was in the minority. Once in a while, someone would try to translate a particularly funny joke, but most of the time we just got to listen to some enthusiastic Italian conversation. Despite not understanding a word of it, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and mood at the table. Italian is pretty easy on the ears.
I went out to lunch with students after classes at 1pm a few times this past week. It’s been fun to find and try out different restaurants in town. I’m sure by the end of my time here I’ll know all the best places.
By next week, I hope to be speaking a bit more of the language, spending more time making new friends, and exploring. Ich muss das Schloss besuchen!
Sketching: June 5-10
I was so wiped out from traveling when I first arrived that I fell asleep at 7pm. I was wide awake by 3am and started on this sketch after a while of trying and failing to sleep more. I finished up the color on the 6th, which I regret because they’re all over the place–but hey, it’s jetlag.
Oh Boy, does this one have an embarrassing story. The morning of the 5th was my day off of school. I had nothing to do–and then the church bells starting ringing. It was around 11am and it sounded like several churches were sounding their bells in conversation with one another. They have so many layers to them. Sometimes, I swear I hear an organ, but I can never be sure. The music of the church bells went on for minutes. After 3 or 5 minutes, I decided to go on a short walk to investigate the church nearest me. I walked around two blocks, looked at the church, solved nothing, and headed back to the apartment. The bells stopped ringing on the way back. I was feeling very self-conscious, not knowing the area very well, seeing other people walking by. I thought I had been smart to grab my keys, but it was a struggle to figure out how to open the doors. Long story short, I could do nothing to open the apartment door and had to wait about an hour for my host mom to return from her morning workout. Turns out you need to pull the door in a bit before pushing on it.
Pictured here is the despicable lock, the outdoor entrance to the apartments on the street, and the top of the stairs. Did I ever mention we’re on the very top floor of this 4-5 story building? Because it’s rough.
I took a bit of extra time on this one. At the school we have a 30 minute break in the morning and I took to sitting outside in the courtyard with my tea to sketch it a little bit for a couple days. I finished adding color later. You have to walk out here to get to my classroom on the left. You’ll find Americans playing frisbee or taking pictures in this space, while the Italian Swiss congregate off to the side to have a smoke together. Not pictured are the many more shoes hanging from the tree branches.
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this view from my bedroom. I didn’t plan to sketch this one, until the sun started going down and the intensity of the blue sky against the bright orange roofs begged to be drawn. While I was working on this one, a friendly hot air balloon drifted into view.