So now they actually want me to learn stuff....

The intensive German course has ended and the Summer Semester began last week. It is kind of weird with the system: for most of the lectures you "shop" for the classes you want to take. So you will attend a lot of different ones in the first 2 weeks and then decide which ones to stay in. However, this is not really the case for me because I'm taking the easy route and taking most of my classes in English and also a few courses to help me learn more German. I also have to take an Extensive German Course on Mondays for like 3.5 hours. They have an ultimate frisbee club that I've joined with some other people I know so that has been fun. The only problem is practices are Mondays and Thursdays and I have my German class the same time so I have to miss practices on Mondays. I also need to invest in a pair of cleats because I am sliding all over the field with my shoes. Not much else is going on. Once all the enrollment stuff has been finally decided I think we'll be planning more trips so that should be fun. That's about it for now, can't believe its almost May already.

The Start (hopefully) of Spring

Well the temperature has been lingering in the 50s, but I can tell warm weather is trying to break through. Since the last update I have basically just been spending my days going to the Intensive German Course early in the mornings (8:00 am) and getting back to spend most of the afternoons napping or trying to study German or just browsing through the internet. At least once a week I can usually play a game of soccer which is good to stay active and hopefully the warmer it gets the more sportly things I'll be able to do. I did manage to make it to Berlin at the start of April and it was quite a sight. Most of the buildings that had been destroyed during the war have been rebuilt so the whole city looks quite good. The Reichstag had a nice exterior, unfortunately due to the lengthy line (near two hour wait) I did not manage to get inside. Other sights included the remnants of the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery, and Checkpoint Charlie. Overall, I thought it was a very good trip and I'm really glad I got to see the city.

The Intensive German Course is nearing its end (those 6 weeks went by quite fast) and next week the actual University classes begin. It is a little surprising that I am already on the final stage of my trip to Germany, but I do still have around 12 weeks left. Hopefully I'll be able to do a lot of traveling because I think there is plenty more of Europe for me to see. The last day of Intensive German is tomorrow. We have our final exam (abschlusstest) and then we are done so I will be very glad to no longer have to wake up at 6:30 am to get to class. Hopefully the classes I get during the regular semester will not require me to wake up so early.