Deutsch-Kompakt

Since I've been in Tuebingen I've been taking part in the so-called "Deutsch-Kompakt" course, which is a language prep/orientation course for international students. There's about 45 people in the class and about 30 of them are American, so it's way different than at the Goethe-Institute. I actually wish there weren't so many Americans, because most of them just want to speak English all the time, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do here. But, not really a big deal, because I've made a lot of good friends in the course and had a lot of fun. Besides having normal class each day, we all frequently have "excursions" like going to Stuttgart, doing a wine tasting (that was awesome, btw), going bowling, etc. They also help us with the University paperwork and bureaucracy. For the record, registering for courses at a German university practically requires a college degree in and of itself. Grrrrr, it's driving me crazy, but moving on!

For one week (March 15-20) we went to this retreat house that's owned by the university. The retreat house is in this little village called Blaubeuren, which is about an hour or so east of Tuebingen. Ironically, this was probably the most fun week ever, despite being in a town of approximately 10,000 inhabitants. It was kind of like being on a freshman floor, because we all lived in a dorm together, all ate together, etc. They also had a lot of events planned for us, such as a tour of the cloister (Kloster in German) that's in town, a visit to Ulm (which is only about 15 minutes from Blaubeuren), a hiking excursion, and even an evening at a bar with the students of the local boarding school. That last one was a little weird, just because I don't think an American would ever come to the idea to send a bunch of 20-something foreign students to a bar with 16 and 17-yr-olds, but hey, that's the German way. It actually was fun to talk with the students, though, and it's always good to speak with native speakers.

The pictures below are from Blaubeuren and Ulm, but soon I'll post pictures of some of my other activities so far in Tuebingen and write a little about the day trips I've been taking with my friends. Bis dann!

The Kloster in Blaubeuren





This sundial was correct, but there was another one there that was about 2 hours off...not sure why



Some parts of the Kloster (like that fresco) are over 1000 years old


The beautiful altarpiece in the chapel


This is how I always pictured Germany in my mind (only sunnier & with leaves)


Our goal: hike to these ruins of a 10th century fort/castle (and try not to get killed along the way)


Finally made it!


I bet this view would be even better in the summer when everything isn't dead


The cathedral in Ulm and the ultra-modern "Stadthalle" next to it (apparently there was a lot of controversy about putting such a modern building next to the cathedral, the most famous landmark of the city)



Fun fact alert! The steeple of the cathedral is the highest church tower in the world. 768 steps to the top up a tiny spiral staircase = not so fun


resting partway up





The view was totally worth it (that's the Danube river and the "Stadthalle" from above)


It was almost clear enough to see all the way to the Alps!




The Danube and the first signs of spring! it was still pretty cold though, so don't be fooled


Backward jackets are all the rage. And this picture was in the greatest bar ever: tiny (about 3 tables) and the only other people there were these 50-yr-old locals. They were awesome though; they spoke Schwaebisch (the local dialect) and were super excited that we could speak german so well. It was quite entertaining.


In Tuebingen, cooking dinner together in my dorm's kitchen.


At the dinner all the Deutsch-Kompakt people had together the first week.