Wednesday and Ben Folds in Frankfurt

At 2:38 a.m. I am happily back in Wehrda after a long long long day in class and a wonderful evening in Frankfurt.

For those who don't know, Wednesdays (Mittwoch) are the bane of the German Uni student's existence, including the foreign students despite their smaller class load. For this student, the day usually begins at 6:30 a.m. with a lovely wake up call and the beginning of the morning ritual to prepare for the day. Once ready, the next step is to rush down to the bus stop to catch the 7:29 C bus to Stadthalle and then ride the bus for a relaxing 20-25 minutes. Get off at Stadthalle at 7:55ish and then a brisk 5-8 minute walk (it depends how cold it is) to the Phil-Fak to rush into the 8:30 class to get a seat. Now sit and relax, this class is going to last 4 hours, so enjoy!

Ok, now class is over and it is time to rush to Conversation class which begins in 15 minutes and is half way across town. Grab the bus (any of them - they all go to Bunsenstraβe) and get off, run across the street to Elizabethkirche and run into class. Enjoy for the next hour and a half.

Time to leave conversation rolls around and, finally, a two hour break. But no! Actually instead of a real break, it is time to rush to a group meeting to help get ready for a presentation for the next week. Walk on over to the Mensa, track down the group, and collapse into a chair. Most times there might be time to grab a drink and a schnitzel sandwich but this week there are muffins on the table courtesy of another group member. This is perfect as it both save money and provides the opportunity to eat yummy yummy chocolate banana muffins. Eat, discuss, and chat for a bit and then run on out to make it to the next class.

After leaving the Mensa, it is time to head to the Psych building for the final class of the day at 4:00 p.m. Thankfully it is a nice relaxing walk along and across the river, down Am Grun, and then into the building. Once in the building, chat with some of the Germans on the ground floor and then head up two floors and into class. Sit down and enjoy 4 more hours of class. Most of the time the class can drag a bit but it is survivable. Once over, just head back to the closest bus stop, head back to Wehrda (a 30 minute ride), and collapse into bed/do homework.

So that is a normal Wednesday in Germany. However, today was slightly different as instead of staying in class until 8:00 p.m. I managed to get out at 6:00 and run to the bus stop to catch a bus to the Hauptbahnhof(Hbf). It was particularly nice because Saumirah was on it and we caught up a bit before I got off at Hbf and met David to go into Frankfurt. We caught the 6:45 train to Frankfurt Hbf and, once in Frankfurt, had a quick bit at McDonald's in the Hbf. While eating we chatted with two other travelers, one girl from Hungary and a Argentinian male who lives in Italy. With parting offers to come visit Italy and have free housing (a tempting deal) we had to run to the U-Bahn station in the Hbf and catch the U-4 going to Merianplatz. We got off at Merianplatz and took a quick 4-5 minute walk to the Mousonturm where Ben Folds was performing! So we arrived, witnessed, and took part in a great concert and then rushed back to the U-Bahn station to get back to the Hbf in time to catch the last train at 12:35. If we missed it we knew the next train wouldn't be until 5:32 a.m. so we desperately wanted to make it back on the last train. Funnily enough, we ran into two other Uni-Marburg students in the U-Bahn station, one of which I knew from my first few days in Marburg. Turns out they both were at the concert and were also trying to get back to Marburg, so we chatted a bit and decided to travel back together. After getting to the Hbf we managed to catch the train and make it back to Marburg at about 2:10 a.m. As the last bus runs at about 1ish and doesn't start again until 5:00, we just caught a taxi home and here I am.

Overall, the day was exhausting, crazy, and totally worth it! Not only did I see Ben Folds but I made some new friends and reconnected with some old ones. What could make a better day? Nothing except for maybe some turkey, stuffing, and other Thanksgiving food. But that is for later tonight...

So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Are you happy with the new president of your country?

I cannot count how many times I have been asked this by other students and random Marburg citizens in the past week. Almost always followed with the question, "Did you vote for Obama or McCain?", the questioner has (for the most part) voiced heir support for Obama and their happiness that Obama is the new President-Elect of the United States.

Every time I was asked the question, "Who did you vote for, Obama or McCain?", I answered simply, "It doesn't matter." Shocking I know, exercising my right to secret ballot and all that. Yes, I did fill out my ballot on the bus in full view of at least twenty other people making my ballot anything but secret... but really it doesn't matter what that ballot said and whether in the end the circle was filled in for Obama or McCain. Actually, it doesn't matter who I voted for, it just matters that I took the time to vote and voice my opinions and wants. Indecently, yes I am happy with the election. Not because my candidate won or lost, but rather because people threw off the air of apathy that has surrounded so many previous elections and VOTED! People ignored the little voice that says one vote won't count and went out into the polls.

Yay for voting and the democratic process!

EDIT: Also, do you know how many people watch our election with bated breath, waiting to see who the new leader of the United States will be and what the next four years will be like? Let me tell you, more people over here care about the U.S. election and our voting system than you can imagine. In the course of a day, I had to explain the electoral college five separate times. FIVE. Now think about how much Americans know or care about the other governmental systems, Germany for instance... I am betting it doesn't even cross the mind of the common American. Sad how the world cares so much about us and we don't even notice them.