Singing Songs and Drinking Beer

The man in the front of the dingy cellar room slammed a sword down onto the table before him. As his call for silencium echoed slightly through the crowed room, everyone opened up their song books and began to sing another Lied in German. After the first verse, we raised our glasses and drank. After the second, we did the same, and once again after the third verse, I prost-ed my neighbor and drank again. What in heaven's name was I doing here?

Although I wouldn't call myself a large supporter of the American university greek life scene, I do find it endlessly fascinating. Since coming to Germany, my interest has found a new home within the Studentenverbindungen here. Similar to our fraternities, the Verbindungen in Germany have a long history steaming from the beginning of German Universities in Prague, Vienna, and here in Heidelberg. The student body during these times were split up into sects called Burse that were defined by the regions from where the students came. Along with representing the interests of their particular regions, these Burse would also often have their own dorms and markers. Overtime, these sects morphed into formal groups and then secret orders in some cases. Each group developed their own traditions and signs for recognizing other members. During the 19th century, they lost a good deal of secrecy but still thrived. In particular, one practice, Mensur, or fencing between the various other brotherhoods, held strong. Today, many of the Verbindungen have held on to their traditions and are often classified by their Mensur practices. A schlagende Verbindung have compulsory ritual duels for all members. A fakultativ schlagende Verbindung also practices Mensur; however, participation in voluntary. Lastly the nichtschlagende Verbindungen no longer practice Mensur. Nowadays, the Verbindungen still receive a good bit of criticism for perpetuating and practicing racism, sexism, elitism, and extreme nationalism.

Now, I have no idea with which type I live, but I am assuming they are most likely a nichtschlagende Verbindung. Most of the guys are pretty laid back while still enjoying their traditions. From what I've been told, it is not a very traditional fraternity and they pride themselves on the diversity of their members. In any case, the Semesterkneipe I attended was extremely interesting. Everything was in German, and I happened to be sitting next to a man in his 60s or 70s. (For many of the Verbindungen, membership is lifelong). The event lasted maybe about four hours longs with brief breaks here and there. Beer flowed, presentations were given, jokes were told, guys were initiated, and songs were sung. I felt like Jane Goodall surrounded by a bunch of chimpanzees or a kid in a candy shop. Here I was in a Verbindung cellar drinking beer with a forty-year member and singing songs about immortality and brotherhood.

German Studentenverbindungen Kultur: check!

Autumn in Heidelberg

I went away for a week and came back. The weather had chilled, and I turned on the radiator. Classes started last week, and I've just finished my second. It is the time of year I love: the leaves begin to change, the wind slightly stings my face when I am outside, and it is perfectly acceptable to burrow in my room with a book. However, it is not quite the same as being home. The leaves have hardly yet changed here. There are no reds, oranges, and yellows burning on the mountains that surround the city; they are still largely green. There is no apple cider to sip in the evenings. No apple festivals in orchards. Not a single scarecrow and bale of hay at some doorstep. Yet, it is still autumn, and along with the change of seasons, beginning my classes and internship has been cheering.

After spending the first two weeks of the school year visiting classes, I've settled on taking Creative Writing, Theater, and a literature course focusing on the turn of century before last. All of these classes are in German, and so far have been a challenge without inducing me to pull out my hair. I've also gotten an internship at an elementary school teaching English. Out of everything, I may learn the most German from this practicum. This week was my first week, and I am working with children between the ages of five and eight. Next week, I'll begin to teach my own English lessons; however, I also just help with the general classwork. Since the children may be able to count to ten, say cat and dog, and maybe tell me what their name is in English, I am forced into using my German. They don't make fun of my sentence fragments, tell me the words for things when I ask, and enjoy my miming when I can't figure out a phrase. In fact, these children have been the most patient teachers I've had yet.

With two months left of my stint in Europe, I find myself a little traveled out. So, I've decided to hunker down a bit in Heidelberg. Along with my internship and classes, I am also going into a high school to help older kids with their English and joining a choir. I also need to pick my research from Switzerland back up and finally finish it. So for now, I think I'll be hanging out in Heidelberg and the surrounding areas.

However, since I won't have many exotic photos for you from here on out, please enjoy these photos from my fall break. I took a trip to Rome, Marrakech, and Madrid.

A UNESCO world Heritage site in Morocco. Ten families still live in this ancient village from the 13th century

On my way to the Sahara desert in Morocco.

Colosseum in Rome.

Hallo! Ich heiße Hilary...

For once, the Pennsylvania State obsession with standardized-test-taking may have come in handy. During all my years of filling in bubbles and finishing sentences, I was always taught: leave no question unanswered. And so, while I sat in a German seminar hall and realized that I had no idea what the proctor just read to us, I decided I should do exactly as I was told in high school: leave no question unanswered.

I had gotten the basics of the Hörverstehen portion. The man was reading a piece about gold; what it meant in the past and its uses today. However, past the general context, I had no idea what he read. After two years of studying German, I can safely say I can structure a grammatically perfect sentence with baby vocabulary. When I don't understand someone, it is normally because my vocabulary isn't strong enough. So as this man read his article about gold, I imagined the Charlie Brown teacher standing in front of me. Where I fail with my vocabulary, I excel in creativity apparently. Question number one: How is gold extracted from the ground? My answer: With sulfur, chlorine, and big, strong men. Question number four: Why was gold important to the Incas? My response: Because they were killed for it by Cortez. Much of the test went on this way. During the writing portion, because I didn't know what one of the words in the directions meant, I wrote 600 words instead of "200 at most." Whoops.

Needless to say, I thought that I had miserably failed the DSH (the entrance exam to take classes at the University and test one's knowledge of German). And yet, two days later, I found myself in another testing center. Apparently big, strong men are required to remove gold from the ground. I had scraped by on the writing portion of the DSH and now had to take the speaking portion. My name was called with one of the other AJY students, we went into a room, and had 15 minutes to read an article. Afterwards, we traipsed upstairs and into a room with two proctors. My hands were shaking, my heart pounding. I can write you a novel with my baby German; however, I can't speak it, especially when I nervous. The lady proctor looked at me and asked me a question. Once again, all I heard was the Charlie Brown teacher, and in my defense, I have problems understanding English when my nerves are as hyped up as they were that day. I didn't understand the question, but I knew I had to answer with something. Remember: leave no question unanswered. So I said: Hello, my name is Hilary. I am a philosophy major from America. I am really excited to take a literature course here at Heidelberg University. She looked at me, paused, shook her head, and tried the question again: why did you decide to come to Germany?

However, apparently I came to Germany because my name is Hilary, and I am a philosophy major (sad thing is this may not be so far from the truth). I passed this portion of the DSH as well, which means I ended up with the DSH 2. I am allowed to take pretty much any class at the university but I can't start my masters. I am okay with that.

Otherwise, I've realized that I haven't yet posted any photos of my time in Heidelberg. For your viewing pleasure: a view of the city castle and me with some friends.