Mid-terms? What?

Things have been pretty exciting here, as I experience new things every day. I am becoming much more comfortable here in Freiburg which is so nice. And though my German is improving daily, I wish I could convey my wants and needs better. I must say thought, I'm able to understand prices now, which is huge.

I had my first class on the regions of

the EU which was interesting. We started by splitting into groups and drawing the regions of the US. There was a surprising amount of variance between them. One boy even thought Minnesota wasn't in the Mid-West. It was pretty funny. Academically though, things have been moving fast. I already have a mid-term on monday. A mid-term!! I've barely been here a week and a half!! Woah. Someone did point out though, that since we've been having class everyday and won't the rest of the semester. And with all the traveling- we technically are halfway through! How bizarre!

Last night we went to the BierGarten on the Hill that looks over Freiburg for bretzels und bier. it was beautiful. Simply stunning! That's the first picture you see- the sunset next to an old city gate. I would like to clarify that THIS is the gate that has the painting of the man, not the one I thought it was on before. Oops!

This morning I got to go back to the Market where I purchased some groceries- but not TOO many since we're leaving for Berlin and Riga on tuesday! The second picture is of the Munster and the Market that I took this morning. It was sooo busy. Actually, there's an election happening in Freiburg and all the candidates were out meeting people today. I wanted to talk to them but... I don't speak the Deutsch. Interestingly, the police were out in full force today. They were HUGE. Walking around in groups of four or so. Let me say I wouldn't want to mess with them. They must have had flack (how on earth is that spelled?!) vest on, and these big plastic shin guards. They made me nervous so I moved quickly and left the main street promptly. I studied at a cafe today and it was lovely. I'm going to try to do that much more often.

The last pictures are of Vauban, which is where I live. That boat is a play structure that is amazing. It has all sorts of ropes to swing on Jack Sparrow style. Kids play there all the time, because Vauban has... regular housing as well as student housing. This week I went and visited friends at another residence across town, which was stunning. It was really nice, and the disparity between the two is depressing. Interesting fact- I found out this week that the Nazi's initially began construction on my building, but then the French took it over and finished it to house their troops. On top of this, I decided it was time to do laundry. That was an event, as it's very different here. Anyway. It's really creepy down there. And gross. There was some mold growing in the laundry room. Disgusting. Anyway, down there it's just a hallway with a bunch of locked doors. That's the fourth picture. So we decided that our residence building in Vauban is East Germany and everyone else lives in the much nicer West Germany. Sadly, it's a very apt analogy. They're much more technologically advanced over there. It's probably an inapropriate analogy as well, but we think it's funny. Better to laugh then cry, yes?

Tomorrow we're taking a day trip to lake Kontanz. This should be fun, and then we leave for Berlin and Riga. Because I didn't know/realize, Riga is in a Baltic state by the name of Latvia. I'm pretty excited for this, cause I've never been anywhere like a Baltic state!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, wherever in the world they are!

Much love,

Anna

PS: The order of the pictures is all... messed up. But you guys are smart! You can handle it. :)