Study Tour

clark
ppaul i really have nothing interesting to say but keep the pics coming. just letting you know someone is reading your blog.

Yukata Paul
Is that your alter ego? Loved the pics. Are these also being uploaded on Kodac easy share? If they are I'd like to get your ID # so I could request to have hardcopies printed and sent to me. Or, maybe you could request the hardcopies and have them sent to me. Either way some of those shots could be blown up and mounted. The picture of the mtn tram - What were all the colorful things going up and down along the right side? You need to do more traveling on the week-ends.

Location
The pictures are absolutely amazing. Of course i'm talking about you in your dress, but the mountains were nice too. What's the travel time from the place you're staying to Tokyo? I have a friend that could get me to Tokyo for free, so that would be awesome if it wasn't too far to your place.

Tokyo
Well, Tokyo is quite a ways from where I am, but if you can get there for free, it might still be worth it anyway. But getting to here from Tokyo would not only be time-consuming, but also probably a bit complicated. I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to do it at this point. You could ride the shinkansen bullet train, but that would be extremely expensive. There are other, cheaper trains that go this way, but like I said, I don't know anything about it.

Viele Grūße aus Deutschland
Well, I'm glad to see that you are having a great time over there in Japan. I almost crapped my pants from laughing so hard about the entry you made on your dorm situation. However, es freut mich, that you're enjoying your stay over there. I can see you have lots of international friends, too. I just hope they're not trying to lecture you in any way about U.S. Foreign Policy. Anyways, everything is tip-top over here in Germany, although my entree into the Germany university system was not necessarily the smoothest or the most pleasant. The so-called 'German efficiency' isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Having to run around all over the place trying to figure out conflicting, contradicttory information in tons of different locations for the lack of centralization, or then trying to rearrange your schedule because offices are only open for about three hours a day, and in some cases, a week. It's been pretty nerve-racking. Once, for office hours to talk with the professor who, mind you, only has office hours for one hour once a week, I had to wait 3 hours. I have a class where if you don't get there at least 20 minutes early, you will not have a seat. My beginning Spanish class has about 300 students in it. Our student I.D.s are only pieces of thick paper (what a shocker!!), although with we do get to use public transportation for free, among other things. They don't have transcripts; once you've successfully completed a course, you receive a Teilnehmerschein, and you'd better not lose it because it's you're only proof that you were ever part of the course. In the library, you have to take off your coat and leave it and your bookbag outside for fear that students will steal the books (JUST INVEST IN DETECTORS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!) The still use the card catalog system. When you look up a book on the computer, it only tell you that they own the particular book but not where it is or even in which library, for instance. They complain about the newly imposed tuition fees of 600 some odd dollars per semester, but when I tell them that Rochester is $46,000 a year, they have nothing to say. I have really come to understand the meaning of the phrase 'You get what you pay for' since I've been hear. Especially, when I told a guy that I wanted to study medicince, and he asked me if I wanted to in Germany or in the U.S., I told him more than likely in the U.S. Then, he proceeded to ask why since in Germany it is free. I then replied by saying 'You get what you pay for' which he did not quite seem to understand. There is definitely a lack of resources in the university of 46,000 students. Now don't get me wrong, once you are able to look past these irritating, never-racking problems and haphazard decentralized bureaucracy, it's not sooooo bad. Outside of the academic world, I have been having a blast. I have made lots of friends, and I have partied more these past five months (wow, it's been that long all ready?) than I have in my entire life. The people here in Cologne are very open and friendly in comparison to other German regions (like Bavaria,for instance). They do say that the Rhineland is the most hospitable part of Germany. Oh, Karnaval starts next Saturday, November 11th (11/11) at 11:11 am. So there will be lots of parties, but the biggest celebration is of course is in February for Mardi Gras weekend. It's fun, but being in a Catholic region in Germany where the Church is still very much tied to the state, there are a lot of religious holidays. I think they need to get rid of them because it's not like the people are extremely church-going, or even religious for that matter here. The only thing many of them can say is that they've been baptized Catholic and that they pay their tax (the equivalent amount of paying Tithes) to the government so that they can get married in a Church or get buried in a Catholic cemetery. I think these days are a waste, especially for someone like me who doesn't realize they are coming up and then forgets to go to the grocery store before 8 p.m. when they ALL close and, as a result, has nothing to eat because all stores are closed on Sundays and holidays. I went to Amsterdam a few weeks ago (great city) and I'll be going to Berlin for my birthday the first weekend in December and then to Poland the weekend after that. Are you able to visit other countries in the region farely cheaply, say China and North Korea perhaps, Japan's biggest fans? Just kidding. Well, continue to enjoy your stay abroad as I will continue to enjoy mine. We will both be able to appreciate certain aspects of our country and culture more, but we'll also be able to look at our country and the world with a more critical eye. Bis naechstes Mal und Viel Glueck in Japan!! -Donte Watkins