1st day of school

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My German teacher is Oliver Dietrich, a very soft spoken man, skinny, with glasses. He has a hard time getting anyone's attention, its kind of sad. Some of the students were annoyed with him because they felt the lesson was too simple. It was--we started with numbers and the alphabet!!! But, it seemed like just a very brief overview of the very basics, I assume we'll advance quickly. I felt a little sorry and protective of the poor guy because of everyone's complaints!

The other students are from France, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, Ecuador, Libya, Jordan, Georgia, and the U.S. There is a strange congruency among several of the students from the U.S.--4 of us are grad students, 2 in history and 2 in art history! A fifth is from San Diego (where I grew up) and went to Hampshire for a year (where I went to college). All in all, I had plenty of opportunities to reflect on our "kleines Welt."

Coming out of the bathroom at the break, I ran into Whitney, a freind from home. Even though I knew she would be here, I was so excited to see her I gave her this huge hug and practically knocked her down. It made me realize that I am already a little homesick, or at least grateful for a touch of familiarity.

First impressions of other students--ended up talking only to the other students from the U.S. and the students from France & Switzerland. The girl from France is this really self-possessed 16 year old! I would have guessed she was 22. The 2 art historians are both really nice and seem like people I would like to know. David: studies 19th century romanticism at CUNY, here to gaze upon the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich. Natalie, goes to USC and plans to study 1960s art movements--very interesting!

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