Orientation Week- Starting to get used to University life

me, Aki-chan and Chisako

I was aware that my first days here would be tough, I only had one friend in the city, and not only because my poor german, I still needed to orientate myself. It is a small city compared to my hometown, but it is very different too. Old buildings, old streets and the campi are scattered throughout the city, bike or bus are necessary.

All the important information, in german! =(

At the first orientation day, I met another brazilian, so, I as expected, we are two girls from São Paulo, the rest of my colleagues are a mixture between koreans, japanese, chinese, americans (I was surprised and happy with that) and we are mostly women, I would say 80% of the TS students are girls! I am ok with that.
After trying to memorize some names, drinking cheap beer at the mensa I went home, happier than in the beginning of the day.
Wednesday we had some more instructions, the systems here are a bit confusing and old fashioned, with weird lists and passwords, did I mention that I am still waiting for the passwords of my bank account and for my student´s ID? All the girls laughed at me...Seems that I am the only one waiting...
After the instruction the girls started to dissipate, it was not even three o´clock, so I invited them to kaffee und Kuchen, coffee and cake, and our table was really something, me, 3 americans, 2 japanese and 2 coreans, I was almost feeling like in Toronto, doing a language course...hahaha
Basically I am improving my english skills in talking about cultural differences, remembering japanese, and suffering to understand german, until tomorrow, when my classes will start for real.
Thursday was the last day and we visited another campus, a very far one, but where the gymnastics classes are held, so really important things, I am willing to practice some sports, the free classes, off course, like Capoeira, Salsa, Badminton. But I still need to set up my schedule for college, we are responsables for making our own curriculum, so we need to look very carefully.
And the best thing of the week, I got a room at the student´s housing, cheap but with not tha many utillities, I will have to use the internet at the library.

Now, heading  to Frankfurt center to make some pictures of a cool store.

Just wondering around, I need to learn german asap!

I had the friday off to walk around the city center of Frankfurt and to try the new german words I´ve learned.
I also had the mission to check what the girls are wearing this fall, because it will probably inspire the brazilian fashion for next winter. And I will post it on elropero.com.
One amazing fact, I can wear my Timberland boots with almost everything, because that´s what they do here, adventurous yet feminine...

So I took pictures of some Graffitis I am really used to see, they have them all over the city because this year Brazil is guest of honor of the Frankfurt Book Fair that will be taken place next week. Funny, for more than four years I saw Zezao on my way to work, in Perdizes, and now I can see it again, look how awsome it is:

You can get the map and search for the graffitis! http://www.schirn.de/en/Map.html
Some more pictures of the buildings:

After hours of walking I decided to grab something to eat, problem! I don´t understand the name of the things, ok, maybe wurst and pommes, but it is a nightmare to try to communicate, when I was shopping at Primark Store, I went to the dressing room, and the young woman that was designating the rooms told me I could only try acht pieces, the numbers I understand, but when I asked her to leave some clothes separated she screamed if somebody there could understand english, a espanish woman came and just told me "yes livi you tings hier, back later".
So after this episode I wasn´t feeling like expressing my self in mimics, that´s why I went to McDonald´s, I know the numbers, I know "normal coca-cola", I could do it with no harm.
"Bitte, nummer eins mit normal coca"
"Aw, you want Big mac with the meal?" Asked the girl in a good english "That would be 5,90 Euro"
She gives me the burger, french fries, and that´s it.
" And my soda can be regular coke"
"What? For soda you have to pay 40 cents more"
"Not a problem, here they are, I thought the meal comes with soda"
" Whatever, just go." And gives me the coke. I can´t understand what happened until now.
I had my meal, a little girl asked me for money, inside the mcdonald´s, which, by the way is a dirty and awfull place, and was relaxing when two young guys entered looking for a place to sit, pushing all the trays away, because here there are no people doing those small jobs, but without them, the costumer needs to e polite and throw your garbage away, what doesn´t happen that often, and I looked at them and tryed one more time:
"Entschuldigung, bitte!"
And I gave them some space, they were so surprised and happy, and I was happy too, because I know they are stupid and easy words, but I have to try anyway!

Lost in Translation

One week here and I have some thoughts I really need to share, now I understand how the immigrants from Japan felt when they first went to Brazil in 1908, ok maybe not like them, because they went there to work on planting and were restricted to their circle, so I would say I am feeling like the new Chinese immigrants, having to work in the stores in the big cities and having to commute from home to work, attend costumers, shopping for food, and everything else in a mix of mimics, loose words in a funny accent.

I think I am more similar to the asian people here, then to the English/Spanish speaking foreigners because deutsch sounds like nothing though like a lot of languages I know, to make fun of myself, I am drawing a chart:

It is just a joke, impression of what I heard, Fyi: Bless you, excuse me and speed limit are the words in red.

They say you need 10 thousands hours doing something to become good at it, I wasn´t sure where my life would take me, so I have never considered that I would actually come here. In fact I have, but you never know if things will end up the way you expect, and I try not to create high expectations, what leads us to the beginning of this paragraph, I wanted to come here, to learn Deutsch, and was intending to start studying in December last year, in fact I did, but only had 3 hours, this year as soon as I was aware that my University had accepted my application, I started looking for a course, but the best one in São Paulo is also the more expensive one, there are some cheaper ones, but it would take me at least six months to start learning something and I only had six weeks to do it.

I tried to appeal to the language exchange group that the Couch Surfing São Paulo has. And I´ve met the coolest Tandem partner ever. But, still not enough!  My first week here was exactly like the movie with Scarlett Johannson and Bill Murray, in fact he was here, because I’ve watched, and loved, his movie Hyde Park am Hudson. Audio: English, subtitles: Deutsch. To make things worse, or to make it better because English is more similar than Portuguese, I speak a second language almost 75% of my time, my Muttersprache only with my host friend.

Me with my german speaking friends, they make fun of me and I just laugh

Lesson learned, if you want to make life easier, go to a country that speaks your own language, or study it before, but if you want to live very interesting moments and really effort yourself, hold your breath and jump right in!  

Görisried

Lovely small town in the south of Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein is the symbol of German Idealism, according to the brochure I got at the Castle, maybe it means that the castle in it´s crazy mixture, it´s a thing apart from anything else, walking through the halls is letting yourself be surprised by details that we would never expect to see together, but that within this context, a castle that went out from a fairy tale, makes sense and causes comotion. Each room has one or more stories on its walls, some, and romanticism. It also represents the psiqué of its owner, a romantic dreamer, as some people say, Ludwig II.
I was interested about going there because my former boss, Walt Disney, was inspired by this particular castle to build Cinderella´s at Walt Disney World.

A picture of the König Ludwig II of Bavaria

Bottom: Hohenschwangau Castle

Ludwig only stayed there less than 140 days, because in 1886 he was found dead with his psychiatrist, funny fact, after only six weeks of his death, the castle was open to visitors, a solution to pay the loans he owned.
Things I enjoyed: the castle has running water, a cave (that really reminds me of Disney) next to his bedroom, a telephone (! I wonder if he made the first long distance call ), floors that were never finished, a room for ophera and the Throne Room, my favourite. We can´t take pictures inside the castle, what is a shame, but at least you can find some pictures online. Like this one, a painting of St George ( I couldn´t help thinking about my family and Corinthians!!!!):

St George killing the dragon. Mural in
the Throne Hall, W. Kolmsberger, 1884

I liked the tour, but it is a bit short, you don´t have time to look at all the paintings. Another group is right behind you, Neuschwanstein has a lot of visitors everyday and it only closes for a few times per year.
Worth it.

I was sure I would find somebody from Brazil =)

A model of the castle

Outside the castle with the damn fog

The nature around