http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/christine715/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from christine715 en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:21:17 +0000 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 07:21:17 +0000 Alles klar I'm finally back. Just a few interesting daytoday revalations to report so I won't divide up the entry in any specific way. I must say I'm in disbelief as to how misguided most people Americans that is are about what speaking a language actually entails. Although my German will be quite good when I leave I can't help but feel like a phony when I say I speak German. At thi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-414168.html I always begin my entries with the following but I apologize for the wait. I tend to find this that and the other thing to do before writing in my travelblog. Rather than dividing my entry up as I normally do I'll divide this entry into Berlin and Magdeburg happenings. Berlin June 12th15th On Friday afternoon I headed to Berlin to start my minivacation with Alicia. That night I had di http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/District-of-Berlin/Berlin/blog-410592.html I deleted some of the more sensitive information from my entries. I finally signed my contract with the government and my director said that I need to be careful about what I tell friends and family. Not that I published anything particularly sensitive but I would rather not chance it. This blog is public after all. That said I still plan on talking politics. I just can't talk about what http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-407525.html Whew keeping updated is difficult. By the time I leave work around 4pm find something to do for an hour or two around town and make dinner all I want to do is take a short walk and read. Funny how something so simple i.e. this travel blog can be so exhausting. I say this frequently but where to begin I'll start with...Politik Politics What more can I say about my internship I love every http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-407315.html So have a difficult time getting motivated to write in this journal which is likely because so much happens to me every day. In order to organize my thoughts and so as to accomodate those who might be disinterested in certain portions of my experience i.e. I won't hate you for not wanting to hear about the ancient ritual of German handshaking I'm going to divide each entry into themes. Kul http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-405344.html I'm finally back and ready to start blogging for real. I finished or at least am in the editing stages of my human rights paper and now have time to focus on my Fullbright application reading German newspapers acquiring German friends and...updating this blog of course Where do I begin So much happened since I lasted updated. First my internship is wonderful and my directors are sti http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-403623.html First off I can't believe that I've been here for 9 days already. I still feel like I'm trying to find my way in the little city that is Magdeburg In any case as most of you know by now or at the very least have figured out I found a room I live in the heart of the city right next to Hasselbachplatz and only a few blocks away from where I work. The apartment is absolutely perfect de http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-402019.html So the apartment fell though. Herersquos the story. I left for my 11am appointment at 945am so as not to be late. I waited for the bus for 1.5 hours it is extremely unreliable on Sundays. Then nobody knew how to get to WalterRathenauStrasse so it took an additional hour on top of that to find the building. Long story short I was ridiculously late for the appointment. I rang the doorbell http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-401042.html When I was 16 I started an online lsquolivejournalrsquo which seems silly now the entries that is. I do however miss writing in it regularly as it was oddly rejuvenating. As I sat in my hostel without internet or telephone capabilities I thought a lot ldquoMaybe it would be a good idea to start the journal up againrdquo Perhaps out of boredom or perhaps because this is actual http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Saxony-Anhalt/Magdeburg/blog-401041.html