Day 9 in Magdeburg

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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, decently inexpensive and in a beautiful location. As of right now, the only 'downer' is that my roommates are a little boring. Ach so, when I'm done with my human rights paper, I plan on forcing them to go out for a beer with me. One of my Mitbewohneren (roommates), Alex, studies European Studies and seems cool -- you know, socialized and everything -- so we should have plenty in common. The other, Martin, is temporarily staying at his 'garden' outside of the city. He'll be back on June 1st. Again, I intend on forcing them to go out for drinks with me.

I've been a little anti-social, I should admit, what with trying to finish my paper for human rights. I planned a trip to Leipzig on Saturday, which means that I have to be done by Friday -- at the latest. I hate feeling like I'm wasting time here doing school work. Na ja.

The funny thing is, I hope to finish soon, so I can start working on my Fullbright application. Technically, I'll still be doing school work, but at least it won't be a paper in which I'm no longer interested. Speaking of which, I went to two small cities in northern Sachsen-Anhalt -- the names of which I cannot remember at the moment -- to meet with 3 women's rights NGOs. The meetings were fascinating, and I've surprised myself at how well I understand spoken German now. When I initially arrived in Magdeburg, fast German totally freaked me out. Now, I can understand it almost fluently. The problem is, speaking without second guessing the grammar in everything I say. The woman I traveled with, Frau Buell, kept telling me that my German will be very good in a few weeks -- once I'm adjusted to Magdeburg. That makes sense.

Something that bothers me a little is when I speak German, i.e. when ordering at a restaurant, and the person responds to me in English. I cope by responding: "Ich kann Deutsch ziemlich gut sprechen, " or: "I can speak German pretty well." Otherwise, I respond to their English in German. I refuse to let myself speak English here when a.) my goal is to improve my spoken German; and b.) I know the language. There's really no excuse for me to speak English for the next 3 months. I've caught myself thinking in German, which is a good sign!

What's interesting to me at the moment is how surprised and baffled Magdeburgers are that I'm an American living in Magdeburg for the summer. Perhaps I said this in a previous entry, but Magdeburg is not a tourist-y place. I was reading a blog from an ex-pat currently living in Magdeburg, and one of her entries said something along the lines of: Magdeburgers are really friendly when they find out I'm American. That's absolutely true. I can see why cities like Rome, Athens, etc. react negatively to tourists, i.e. Broncos sweatshirts and fanny packs, given how many tourists infiltrate their city every summer. On the contrary, Magdeburgers haven't experience tourism to that extent. That fairs well for me, I suppose.

Otherwise, my internship is going well. My directors are extremely accomodating, and I've become friends with a girl, Nina, who's my age and works for Die Linke. We've had lunch once, but I intend on asking if she has any friends (including herself) who might be interested in getting a beer or hanging out. Right now, I hate not having a group of friends. I've developed a lot of humility since arriving and plan on asking her tomorrow.

That's all for now. I'd love to update in more detail, but I've got a paper to work on.
Tschues!
-Christine

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