Classes done, only a few days left
So I passed all my finals. What a relief after all those months of thinking to myself "What if I'm not smart enough to do this?" Apparently I am. Personally, I think they did take it a bit easy on me, but that's understandable because, let's face it, although my German is good, it's not fluent to the point where language is not an issue when I'm talking about the law. I showed them all I learned something here, and for them (and for me, honestly) that was good enough to pass.
So now there's only a few days left. That's right -- it is now Monday and our flight back to the U.S. leaves from Munich on Saturday morning. After a brief layover in London we will be rounding the last turn, so to speak. Whoo, baby. A lot of emotions all wrapped up in this, some surprising, some not.
Before we go, however, SP are taking the opportunity to spend some time together. We went to Nuremburg on Saturday, which is north of Augsburg but still in Bavaria. To be perfectly honest, I didn't care for it much. Quite possibly, our biggest mistake had to have been going to the Nazi rallying grounds and Nazi Documentation Center Museum before actually having a look at the city. I would not recommend going about it this way. The Documentation Center is a very well-done and informative museum that mainly educates people about the National Socialists' rise to power through their sickeningly clever use of propoganda. It serves a very important purpose. But it made me absoutely sick to walk through there and hear the pictures, see the video, and hear the audio of the Nazi rallies that happened in Nuremburg.
Hitler loved Nuremburg because to him it seemed like a quintessentially German city. I could understand that. But I don't see how anyone who really knows and has thought about its past could really live there. All I could think about as we walked through the town (it was a warm Saturday afternoon, Karstadt was having a huge sale, and there were bands playing and booths set up stelling stuff --- essentially, everyone was in a good mood and spending money) was about how the Hitler Youth and the SS and all the other Nazis used to have their parades through those wide streets. I honestly felt nauseous most of the time I was there walking around there.
There were some things that were nice, including the St. Lawrence Church. But all in all Nuremburg was a sad place to me, and, honestly, a disappointment. I just felt tired and worn out when I left there.
Sunday was a little better. We went to the Augsburg Zoo and the Botanical Garden. Having grown up in San Diego, I know something about world-class zoos. While the Augsburg version is not near the class of San Diego's, it was very nice. They had a lot of different types of animals, including elephants, giraffes, lions, etc. What was really cool was how close visitors could stand to the exhibits. In American zoos you are kept so far back from the animals you sometimes need binoculars. Not here. I could practically reach out and touch the monkeys (but I didn't --- they're dirty and have sharp teeth).
I have mixed feelings about zoos. Are we exploiting animals by having them, and is it cruel to keep them locked up like that? Possibly yes. But there were a ton of little German kids there yesterday, seeing the animals up close and learning about their lives as real creatures. To me, an experience like that is a lot more likely to make kids care about animals and ensure that they're treated humanely than any TV show. That's human nature for you. So I think well-managed zoos are very important (although I still don't like seeing the animals locked up like that).
The gardens were also nice and quite large. It was nice to sit in the shade under some trees because it was very hot and we had a long day of walking around in the sun.
So now I'm wrapping up a few last things here in Augsburg. On Thursday night we move out of our apartment here at the university and into the luxury of the Kempinski Munich Airport Hotel. I am very excited about this. SP and I have been sleeping in a tiny twin bed in this miniscule un-air-conditioned student apartment, and I haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks. This hotel is supposed to be very nice and luxurious. The best thing about it is that we will be right there to catch our 7am flight on Saturday.
We will have some time to see a few more things in Munich before we leave, but mainly it will just be preparing to go back home. I will be somewhat sad to leave Augsburg when it's all said and done. I had some good times here --- I met some nice people, I learned some interesting stuff, I spoke a lot of German, etc. But that is outweighed by this overwhelming need to just get out of here and go back home. It's time to get back to real life.
So now there's only a few days left. That's right -- it is now Monday and our flight back to the U.S. leaves from Munich on Saturday morning. After a brief layover in London we will be rounding the last turn, so to speak. Whoo, baby. A lot of emotions all wrapped up in this, some surprising, some not.
Before we go, however, SP are taking the opportunity to spend some time together. We went to Nuremburg on Saturday, which is north of Augsburg but still in Bavaria. To be perfectly honest, I didn't care for it much. Quite possibly, our biggest mistake had to have been going to the Nazi rallying grounds and Nazi Documentation Center Museum before actually having a look at the city. I would not recommend going about it this way. The Documentation Center is a very well-done and informative museum that mainly educates people about the National Socialists' rise to power through their sickeningly clever use of propoganda. It serves a very important purpose. But it made me absoutely sick to walk through there and hear the pictures, see the video, and hear the audio of the Nazi rallies that happened in Nuremburg.
Hitler loved Nuremburg because to him it seemed like a quintessentially German city. I could understand that. But I don't see how anyone who really knows and has thought about its past could really live there. All I could think about as we walked through the town (it was a warm Saturday afternoon, Karstadt was having a huge sale, and there were bands playing and booths set up stelling stuff --- essentially, everyone was in a good mood and spending money) was about how the Hitler Youth and the SS and all the other Nazis used to have their parades through those wide streets. I honestly felt nauseous most of the time I was there walking around there.
There were some things that were nice, including the St. Lawrence Church. But all in all Nuremburg was a sad place to me, and, honestly, a disappointment. I just felt tired and worn out when I left there.
Sunday was a little better. We went to the Augsburg Zoo and the Botanical Garden. Having grown up in San Diego, I know something about world-class zoos. While the Augsburg version is not near the class of San Diego's, it was very nice. They had a lot of different types of animals, including elephants, giraffes, lions, etc. What was really cool was how close visitors could stand to the exhibits. In American zoos you are kept so far back from the animals you sometimes need binoculars. Not here. I could practically reach out and touch the monkeys (but I didn't --- they're dirty and have sharp teeth).
I have mixed feelings about zoos. Are we exploiting animals by having them, and is it cruel to keep them locked up like that? Possibly yes. But there were a ton of little German kids there yesterday, seeing the animals up close and learning about their lives as real creatures. To me, an experience like that is a lot more likely to make kids care about animals and ensure that they're treated humanely than any TV show. That's human nature for you. So I think well-managed zoos are very important (although I still don't like seeing the animals locked up like that).
The gardens were also nice and quite large. It was nice to sit in the shade under some trees because it was very hot and we had a long day of walking around in the sun.
So now I'm wrapping up a few last things here in Augsburg. On Thursday night we move out of our apartment here at the university and into the luxury of the Kempinski Munich Airport Hotel. I am very excited about this. SP and I have been sleeping in a tiny twin bed in this miniscule un-air-conditioned student apartment, and I haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks. This hotel is supposed to be very nice and luxurious. The best thing about it is that we will be right there to catch our 7am flight on Saturday.
We will have some time to see a few more things in Munich before we leave, but mainly it will just be preparing to go back home. I will be somewhat sad to leave Augsburg when it's all said and done. I had some good times here --- I met some nice people, I learned some interesting stuff, I spoke a lot of German, etc. But that is outweighed by this overwhelming need to just get out of here and go back home. It's time to get back to real life.
posted by Jennifer at 23:02
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