The First Three Weeks of Classes

So! School as actually started, finally. After more than a month here in Tübingen, I finally started going to classes on the week of April 20th.

I managed to get all of my classes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. While this is cool in the sense that I essentially get a five-day weekend, it also means that Tuesdays are mega-tiring. From 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM, I'm in and out of classes, with a few breaks in between. Needless to say, by the end of the day on Tuesdays, I'm bushed! I kind of like this setup, though, so I won't complain.

Here are the classes I'm taking:

• Politikfeldanalyse (Field analysis of politics/policies)
• Foreign Policy Analyis
• Deutschland/EU in der internationalen Politik (Germany/the EU in international politics)
• Politische Theorien: Demokratietheorien (Political theories: Democratic theories)
• Introduction to international relations

The two courses with German titles are instructed in German, while the classes with English titles are instructed in English. Makes sense, right??

The German courses are an extra challenge. Although the subject material is not necessarily brand new for me, I still have the added challenge of listening to the lecture in German, trying to take notes and keep up, reading extensive "required readings" for class (in German), and trying to synthesize everything into working knowledge. I'm trying to supplement the German readings with English texts on the same subject; hopefully this proves useful!

On a different note, I've been in Stuttgart for the past two weekends to attend the Frühlingsfest (Spring Festival) with some friends I've met. It was an absolute blast! Imagine Oktoberfest, but in the spring, and not in Munich. There was live music, good food, and plenty of liters of beer, of course. The festival took place inside a carnival, so there were also your typical carnival rides, games for prizes, etcetera. I found out at the BB-gun wagon that my aim is only moderately affected after five liters of beer. But hey, I still one a prize for one of the girls! Hahah!

This coming weekend, we're traveling again, but this time, we're going to one of my friend's home town in Croydon, England, which is right near London. I manage to get a relatively cheap flight with Ryanair (80 Euros). We're flying out tomorrow (Friday, May 8th) and coming back the following Monday. It will be my first time in England, and I'm expecting to have an awesome time!

I certainly miss everyone back home! I hope everything is going well for all of you.

- Alex