And further on (mid March).

(<---Newbie)
Tomorrow will mark three weeks since leaving the states. Because Germany’s academic calendar is so different from ours, it is mid March and I have yet to start my classes, and won’t, in fact, for another three weeks. By that time I will have spent nearly four months outside of class. Yikes! I feel bad for my friends back at the ‘Bash studying for midterms right now, most likely without sleep or food. That is definitely not the case for me.
Because...I’m learning how to cook! You can see I'm very proud of myself. I feel this is the best way to eat on one’s own, and, yes, the cheapest. I take pride in such culinary accomplishments as self-seasoned pasta sauce, Kartoffelpüree (instant mashed potatoes sound much fancier in German), and obtaining good bread. I have been very impressed with the German bread. Extra wheat is always a plus, they say.
I'll try to list a few highlights. A couple weekends back my program (about 20 American college students) went on an excursion deep into the Black Forest hills/mountains around us. We ended up on a mountain named Feldberg, the highest such peak in the German Alps. We strapped on snowshoes and hiked up and all around it, pausing along the way to listen to our guide explain the various curiosities before us: a special tree, animal tracks, how to avoid being hit by skiers, etc. At the top we rested for Schnitzel and hot tea in an old inn before turning around to head back. The view there whacked me in the face (literally, the wind was quite whippy up top). Hill after wooded hill on all sides, with the Swiss Alps shimmering on the far southern horizon. By the day's end we were red faced, exhausted and thirsty, but filled with a good dose of satisfied winter wanderlust.
On March 10 I celebrated my sister’s wedding anniversary with friends at a local Irish pub. At the end of the night I let slip that it was also my birthday. “Well gee wiz,” they said, “another round of nachos for the birthday boy!”
Well, okay. We didn’t actually celebrate my sister’s anniversary, but nevertheless it was a rich experience I heartily enjoyed. Am besten, I was able to enjoy it with a carefully clean conscience. And that I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Settling In (late February).

One week gone, and already all but removed from everything I’ve always considered home. A new language and new places, and new yet-unfamiliar faces. I don’t think it should take long, though, to either find or fashion a new sense of home in this city. Already Freiburg is beginning to feel familiar, outsider as I am. I look forward to doffing my alien mind and melding in with the daily flow of the place and the people, perhaps even finding a sense of belonging, which I crave most of all.
However, just now isn’t the time yet for carving out my place in society. Right now I'm content to focus on the basics of bachelorhood survival: getting places and getting food. Specifically, navigating the public transportation system; crossing the street while avoiding literally thousands of determined German bicyclists; discovering which grocery stores have the cheapest pasta; finding the best Wurst in town; and most important, landing upon the real treasure--the cheapest Döner Kebap.
Sadly, it’s true: right now these are my main priorities. I look forward to having other things on my plate as time goes on, both food- and schedule-wise.
The language aspect of life here has not yet played a critical role, either yay or nay. I consider myself in a listening stage, trying to tune my ears to the strange new sounds around them. This first week I've lain low on the speaking part, having yet had to navigate nothing more complex than ordering lunch or carrying on small talk with my suitemates.
On a weather note, it’s chilly out and a light snow lies around, but in the high noon sun it's really not that bad. Some are saying it should warm up soon. Others say a cold front is moving up from the mountains. I say, "Wenn kommt der Schnee, wenn kommt der Regen, wenn kommt die Sonne: so ist das Leben." (Whether snow, rain or sun, such is life.) I do look forward to June, but as long as I must endure an easily endurable Freiburg winter, I'll be just fine.
Transportation, food, language and weather: all the greatest and least of my first week worries.

Hiking across an open field.

Inhaling deeply
I take joy in
Great big globs of greasy grimy gopher guts.


p.s. I'm searching for the right last line. Any ideas?