The Auslander

So after a painful 24 hours of traveling, which was preceded by an even more painful 24 hours of finishing up everything in Sydney, I arrived in Freiburg - in July, the height of summer - to be greeted by rain. Everyone's been telling me that it's a weird summer here in Freiburg (otherwise known as Germany's sunniest town) and I almost believe them ... almost. I guess it was just bizarred to leave Sydney in winter on a sunny, 24C day to arrive in Germany, in summer, in the rain.

While my first couple of hours were a little mnnnr-inducing (there was hardly anyone here when I first arrived, and I was really really tired), the rest of my first week here has been pretty good. I was really lucky to get to know the more social members of the Center first, and they've pretty much been my ticket to all social going-ons here. And as far as timing - my arrival was perfect. The University here is celebrating it's 550 year anniversary this year (which is cause for celebration), and WeinFest started on Thursday too, but my favourite event was on Friday: FauchFest. And if you don't understand why I think it's amusing, keep in mind that the first I heard about it was when David and Sven were talking about it in German, so all I heard was "wegewegewege FauchFest wegewege". I couldn't help but to give them a funny look, and they (like all Germans, it seems) speak enough English to understand why I thought it was amusing that they were talking so excitedly about a FauchFest.

Despite it's name, it ended up being pretty good and very very German. The weather was beautiful that day, and one of the best things about Europe in the summer is that it only starts to get dark at 10.30pm or so. FauchFest itself is actually the Faculty Party for our Faculty, Natural Sciences, and like all good German Festes, it consisted of a lot of bier and a lot of sausages, and a lot of standing around having a good time. While the stereotype of the Germans is that they're very uptight and formal (and perhaps this might be true further to the north), the academics here seem pretty relaxed: both the BierMeister (guy who pours the beers) and the DJ are professors here (apparently the DJ refused to be called by his real name and instead insisted on being referred to as "DJ Eis").

The plan on Saturday abend was to have a bbq while watching the Live Earth concerts on TV here at the Centre (they have a big LCD and a nice balcony - perfect for summer bbqs) so in the morning, I went into town to buy some food for that night. I got in and was walking around near the Munster (the cathedral here) before I remembered that there was a FarmersMarkt on so I ended up doing all my shopping at the Markt too, which was just amazing. I guess coming from an Australian city where you don't really have anything like it, it was just a beautiful feeling to be in the middle of all these people and all these stalls with the fresh goods: Obst und Gemüse (fruit and vegetables), Honig, Kräutertees (herbal teas) und Gewürze (spices), and of course lots of Fleisch (meat). I even managed to get a punnet of fresh raspberries - my favourite. And the most satisfying thing for me was that I got the correct prices for everything - meine Deutsche ist nicht gut, but it's getting better.

The concert and bbq were good - a nice group of people and very very relaxed. And this morning was spent playing beach volleyball of all things. After finally getting decent at squash, I'm having to start again at a new sport. A group here plays every Sunday morning in a camping ground a little bit out of town - at first I was worried that I'd missed it and gone too far, but it's a beautiful spot: the mountains on one side, and a stream running by on the other. I was pretty crappy (it was ok though - I'd proved my physical prowess at Wii bowling the night before and absolutely trounced the competition ... hey, it's *almost* a real sport) but it's nice to be out.

The thing that's hardest for me to get used to here in Germany is that on Sundays, everything is closed. Well, the odd cafe and restaurant are open, but supermarkets and all the other shops are closed. Forget going down to the shops for that odd Lebensmittel you forgot. But to be honest, I kinda like it - I don't consider myself a religious type person, but the idea of having a Sabbath really appeals to me for some reason. It gives you a pause from the week. Anyway, I just got back to the Center and am having my own pause, a chance to write to people, before I head out later on tonight with the rest of the group for a drink at one of the pubs here.

Life can be tough.

Photos coming soon.