My plan for Easter was to visit a friend in Berlin. The last time I came here with my study abroad program he was back in Colombia, so it wasn't possible to see each other until now. To get to Berlin, I used a means of transportation I'm not used to, nor very comfortable using.Yet, being young and adventurous, why not given a try?
What I'm talking about is called Mitfahrgelegenheit. People who are driving from one city of Germany to another post their info on a website so that other people who need a ride there can call them. I was not very comfortable with the idea of riding with a stranger, especially after I told my parents of my plan and they almost flipped out. However, Juan, my friend in Berlin said it was completely safe. So I asked Vera, one of my Freiburger friends, to call these people for me, since my German is still not that good and having things clear setting up these things is vital. I got a round-trip from Freiburg to Berlin for 75 euros. I had looked into buying a train ticket about a week ago, but because I waited for so long to book it and it's Easter, the cheapest price I could get was 163 euro. The difference was abysmal. Also, the train ride takes 6 hours, while the ride take 8 (theoretically). The balance tipped in favor of the Mitfahrgelegenheit, so I took it.

I met the people who were riding with me on Good Friday morning in front of the Hauptbahnhof. Thomas was the driver, and he signaled me to sit up in the front seat. The other three girls knew each other, so they had taken the back seat already. Half an hour after we departed, an uncontrollable lethargy began to overcome me. I tried to be a good co-pilot, struggling to stay awake, but it was pointless. We made a bathroom stop and switched drivers to Anja, one of the girls seating in the back. We had short conversation about what was I doing in Germany and her summer plans in South America, when sleep started firing all its artillery to take me over, again. I surrendered shortly afterwards. Every now and then I opened my eyes, but for short periods of time. However, I noticed the signs on the road said Karlsruhe and Munich.

My brief knowledge of German geography made think that we might be going the wrong way, since Karlsruhe is only an hour away from Freiburg (we had been driving for 2 hours at this point) and Munich is to the southeast of Germany, while Berlin is Northeast. I dismissed my worries and thought maybe they knew what they were doing. I was a study abroad kid that barely knew the language and surely knew much less about driving in Germany.

The next bathroom break we made Thomas and I stayed inside drinking some coffee while the girls were outside smoking. I asked him how long would it take to get to Berlin, and he said probably 5-6 hours. According to my math, we had been driving for 4 or 5 hours already, so we couldn't be just halfway to Berlin. The reason, Anja got lost. While Thomas and I slept, Anja had taken a wrong turn started driving BACK to Freiburg!!

The rest of the ride was uneventful. I got to Juan's house safe and sound and without any complications, except the 2 hour delay on the road. I guess the lesson to be learned from this is not to fall asleep in when you're shotgun, or seat in the back. And if you think things are not right...you might always know better than a local stranger.

Posted by Sebastian at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I believe so far I have given you a very fragmented image of my European adventure/study abroad program. Since two days ago I completed two months of living in Germany, let me give you an overview of what has happened since January.
The first two weeks after my arrival to Freiburg I had an intensive phase of German and PO350... a class dedicated to the history of the European Union and its institutions. It also tries to bring together what we learn from the lectures and experiences in our field trips within an academic context and prepare us for a EU Model we will hold at the end of the semester. For this model I will be Denmark's Foreign Minister, defending "my country's" position on the Environmental, External and Internal Security policies to be discussed during the model. I've always wanted to participate on some sort of UN model, but to be honest, I never did because I thought it was too much additional work. Now that I have to participate, I can weigh my political skills (hehe).

After that intensive phase, I had my first field to trip to Berlin and Riga. Berlin I wrote about, Riga is still missing its entry (coming soon). The field trip lasted 5 days, a little bit less than regular field trips (which last a whole week). When we came back, we started all other academic classes. Mine are two Econ and one PoliSci. A few weeks later we went to Geneva for 3 days, and visited the UN Headquarters (UNOG... and also mising its entry). The weekend after we had an optional day trip to the Swiss Alps, where I skied for the first time ever (this trip also missing its own entry). A week after, we had our second field trip to Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris. Luxembourg and Brussels have their own entry, but no pictures, and I still haven't written about Paris. I'm travelling to Berlin this Friday to visit a friend and see all the things I missed in my last visit. The last wekend of this month I head out for Eastern and Central Europe, that is: Budapest, Krakow, and Prague.

So... if my math is right I still have to write about Latvia, Geneva, the Swiss Alps, and Paris, and upload pictures of Luxembourg and Belgium. I think it is also necessary to give you some more insights about German daily life in general. All that before I head on my next field trip. Fortunately I don't have that much work next week. Workload abroad has been more than what I expected, and feeling I'm half of the time on vacation doesn't help that much. Anyway... 5 more entries to come and some pics. Auf Wiedersehen!

Posted by Sebastian at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the things I love the most about this program I'm attending is the fact that I get to travel and learn a lot at the same time. This last week was our second field trip around Europe. My group traveled to Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris. The main European Union institutions are seated in Luxembourg and Brussels. The European Court of Justice (aka ECJ) is in Luxembourg, (which was a surprisingly beautiful city) and the European Commission, Parliament, and Council have their main headquarters in Brussels. Paris, being one of the main players in European politics and not that far from Brussels, was the stage for two meetings with a pro-EU think tank employee and a professor at the prestigious ScienPo. Exciting as it sounds, the trip was a wild ride of ups and downs. First stop... Luxembourg.

Luxembourg is a small city in a tiny country, although in terms of GDP/capita it's the wealthiest nation of the EU. It is built on a very hilly placed, and it has amazing bridges and fortifications. I was not expecting Luxembourg to be as nice as it is, although it is worth a short visit. The ECJ visit mirrors my experience with Luxembourg. The ECJ is the least controversial of all the EU institutions, since it does not direct policies across the EU, it just decides over cases and acts as the supreme judicial body. However, the lecturer kept the interest alive in what he said and I got to know better how the ECJ works. After leaving the building and walking around downtown for 2 hours. We left for Brussels.

Brussels is, in EU political jargon, the Heart of Europe, since the three decision-making bodies of the EU are located here. My first impressions was weird, since to me Brussels looked like New York without skyscrapers; lots of cars and neon lights and busy streets. The next morning we went to the European Council, and had a civil servant talk to us about what was being discussed about environmental policy. The Council is where the ministers of the different national governments meet to discuss bill proposals and co-decide later on with the Parliament on it. The lecture part of our meeting was interesting, but the Q&A showed what many politicians excel at: using a lot of words to say very little. Next, we headed to the European Commission. This is the body where the nationally appointed commissioners sit down and initiate legislation to be revised by the Council and Parliament. Two meetings were scheduled for us, discussing the Euro area expansion and the Lisbon Strategy (this is the effort made by the EU to become the largest knowledge-based economy by 2010). I would like to keep telling you about those, but I won't for two reasons:

1.The content of the lectures may be too boring for a non-Economics major and
2. I have to write a paper about it tomorrow night, so I'd rather not write about that too much.

Besides, after I write the paper maybe I can leave out some theoretical details of the lecture that may be interesting.

After a long day of meetings, I headed out with a small group of friends to explore the Belgian nightlife. We were lucky enough to have Delirium Tremens bar a short walking distance from our hotel. Delirium Tremens is known for having the a wide variety of beers, being more than 200. Ordering your drink from the bartender upstairs would illuminate you of that fact because on his 40 ft workplace is filled with beer taps on after the other. I didn't count how many were there, but I hope the visual image allows some awe. Another attractions of the bar is the Stiefel, made famous by the movie Beerfest. The Stiefel is a boot-shaped glass from which you drink the beer you order. There is a 20 euro deposit for the glass, but it is a enjoyable experience, especially if you start taking roles from the movie.

My time in Brussels was also special for two things besides sightseeing... which you can easily get now from the Internet: waffles and music. I am not one of those people who drool uncontrollably at the sight of chocolate, neither a dessert freak. However, I would do anything for those waffles. Belgian chocolate has been the most delicious experience so far. Your hands will get dirty, your face will drop chocolate all over, but it is worth it. You can't say you have been to Brussels if you haven't tried the awesomeness of the a Belgian waffle. Brussels also has the Musical instruments museum, which houses one of the largest musical instrument collection in Europe. The neat thing about this museum is that you're given a set of headphones with your ticket. Once you approach any particular instrument, the headphones catch a designated signal start playing music with the instrument right in front of you. The highlight of my visit was the glass harmonica, a 17th century instrument that looked like a huge glass shell seated on a desk. Based on the same principle of sound used when you rub your finger against the edge of a wine glass, the glass harmonic produced really quirky sounds. However, the music selected by the museum curators made the instrument a remarkable discovery for me.

Next Paris.... but that is a subject for another entry, since Paris is..... well it's Paris. I had promised pictures for this entry but my camera's memory card decided to stop working. The pictures for the whole trip are lost... or at least that is the case for now. And my camera cable came in today with the mail. So... yeah... technology is hating me now. Other entries do have pictures now though. So check'em out!

Posted by Sebastian at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)