Studentkarzer

It's getting pretty late (not super late, but late enough for me), but I wanted to get as much down as I remember now, because if I don't I will regret it later. So here goes yesterday and today!

Yesterday we visited the Studentkarzer (student prison). It was an interesting experience. I had never before heard of a university having a prison for their students. I suppose it makes sense that of all places, a German university would have one, since I have been reminded over and over again in the short time that I have been here that Germans (general term) love their laws, so they would have to have some sort of reprimanding for law-breakers. Andrea and Tim explained to us that the Studentkarzer when it first started to be used had a negative stigma attached to it, but eventually students actually tried to get put in the prison, because it served as a sort of initiation into the fraternity at the university. Students would stay one or more nights, and their friends would bring them food and sort of congratulate them for getting in. The prisoners would leave their impression in the prison, either by drawing their silhouette or composing poetry on the walls. Andrea read one poem/story to us that basically said, "We are honest people, and since we are so honest, when we found a brick in the road we took it to the police station and proceeded to toss it through the window." That was why that group was in the Studentkarzer! Here are some photos:

Very colorful walls!

It was quite an interesting experience, and very fascinating. On our way out I found this gem:

It's just a decoration on a spigot, but I thought it was rustically beautiful, and I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the photo turned out so artsy :)

That was all we had planned yesterday. After lunch Nattie and I went on a trek to post signs in hopes of getting a Tandem partner for the semester. Our waiter on the first night at La Boheme told us about the university's tandem program, where you can meet with someone who speaks a language you are learning and is learning/wants practice with your own native language, so that both can practice with a native speaker. While we were posting we saw signs for several different language combinations. We posted signs in 3 different places, and hopefully someone will contact us. We were going to try going to the Hauptbahnhof (train station) so that we know where it is and how to get there, but by the time we finally finished with the signs, we were too tired to get on our bikes and ride ten minutes to the other side of town, so we will do that another day. Maybe tomorrow, if the weather is nice.

Today we had a scavenger hunt, planned by Tim and Andrea, that was supposed to help us get more acquainted with the town. I think most of us pretty much knew our way around, although there were some new places that I discovered today, so that was nice. We turned it into a competition between girls and guys (since there are only seven of us total), and the guys found everything except one thing. I was impressed. There were several things that we didn't find, but there was a bonus photo that Tim and Andrea decided us girls won. The guys still beat us, but only by 2.5 points :)

Here are some photos from today!

On the Alt Brücke; me, Kristen, Megan, and Nattie.

The girls with a lovely German couple that we met (that took the above photo for us).

After the scavenger hunt we were supposed to take a bus (for the first time, and without Tim and Andrea by our sides). It's actually fairly simple; the public transportation in Germany is very logical and well-organized, which I appreciate. However, we got to the stop where we were supposed to catch the bus and saw this:

We knew that the river floods, because Tim had told us on our first tour and showed us on the bridge where they have marked how high the flood has been in the past. It rained all night last evening and into the night, but none of us thought about the street flooding and keeping us from getting to the Schwarz's house. There was a sign on the bus schedule that said to go up to St. Peter's Church, so we made our way that way, although at that stop we got on a bus going the wrong direction and had to switch busses to get back. Time said yesterday that we should fail at least once if we are to learn anything, and we certainly failed today. We didn't get lost, we just went the wrong way, and the kind bus driver pointed us back in the right direction.

Once we did get going in the right direction, we got a bit further away from the city to the outer reaches of Heidelberg, where the Schwarz's live, and saw that it is just as beautiful there as in the the Old city.

After a little bit more confusion, we finally arrived at Tim and Andrea's house, which is beautiful. I decided that when I have a house, I'm just going to have Andrea decorate it, because I loved everything about her house, down to the silverware.

Andrea cooked several different desserts for us, and then a few hours later invited us to stay for dinner. It was all delicious.

Apple cake

Crème Brûlée

...And I got more chances to take some artsy photos.

The past week has gone by so quickly, yet also so slowly. We have been doing so much orientation stuff that we are exhausted each night, and it makes it seem that we have been here for an eternity already. I am already finding my way pretty well around the town, and we as a group are starting to be pretty comfortable around each other. I noticed a couple of days ago that I don't really notice school distinctions anymore. It's pretty nice actually. We are just a group of students-turned-friends that pay no heed to the rivalries between our schools (whether real or imagined). Putting that aside has given me a wonderful opportunity to get to know the others better, and so far I really like our group dynamics. Perhaps soon I will explain the different personalities, but for now I should go to bed. It is nearly midnight, and I'm exhausted from tramping around the city all day. Tomorrow will be my first Sunday in a German church, which I am excited to experience.

Grace and Peace!

Suzannah