Arrival in Germany
On my first international flight I learned that they make up for the lack of leg room and extreme muscle cramps with very kind and efficient stewards. That free hot towel and pillow definitely soothed the shooting pain in my back. Landing in Frankfurt International Airport transported me to the set of RoboCop. There were clean lines, sliding glass doors, and wide open concrete rooms with free wifi. The RoboCop looking security officers had a sort of non-attitude, in that I couldn’t discern any emotion from them at all, not even boredom. The train through the countryside on my way to Mannheim reminded me of Montreal. I had a view of long, flat farmland with mountains springing up in the distance. A very kind German man helped me with my suitcases which confirmed my suspicion that not all Germans are RoboCops.
[Ofcourse a journey to another country can’t continue this easily. The biggest mishap when I got to my room was the terrifying realization that I could not connect to wifi. I was alone without google maps or a way to contact my family for free. I’m extremely happy to say that after a few hours of melting down and praying to God, “why did I do this? five months? oh my goodness! what did I do?!” the wifi started working again and I could continue my journey.]
Here We Go
I live in a shared apartment along the river. Every morning I can look out my kitchen window and see the swans enjoying the water or walk down to the boardwalk on Hafenstrasse. To my left is a dance club called Hafen49 and to my right is the college PopAkademie. My first outing was to LuisenPark just outside of the Quadrate of Mannheim. It’s regarded as the most beautiful spot in Mannheim and I can’t disagree. A bird exhibit with penguins, a lake with boats, and numerous natural playgrounds made it the perfect place for me to collect my thoughts before school began on Monday. Staring at the lake with some wild, giant gulls strutting next to me I wrote this entry:
“I feel like I’m standing on a small rock in the middle of the ocean. I have my eyes open and looking at the storms in the distance. I long for a boat filled with friends to help me cross the waters. At the same time I am grateful for my small rock. I’m not drowning. No storm is tossing me. I’m just a bit lonely and stuck. I see this ship with a white flag far in the distance but its carrying the storm with it. Soon I’ll be scooped off my rock and set sail on turbulent waters.”
My first production class was entirely in German for 7 hours a day, every day of the week. (Turbulent waters indeed.) I met another American girl and we became friends trying to decode what the heck was going on. Us foreign exchange students all found each other within a week. It was pretty easy, just listen for what you can understand. Wednesday night was the Band Market. All singer/songwriter majors perform an original song and then instrumentalists and producers vote for who they want to work with. The weekends were reserved for exploring the many bars and clubs in Jungebusch (the night life section of the city and where I reside). I raved, danced, laughed, and met some wonderful and talented musicians. People truly appreciate techno music here and while dancing five hours at Hafen49, I felt I found where I belong. I got my studio license giving me access to the great equipment and studios at the school. The second studio has a view of the hills of Heidelberg and the Mannheim chocolate factory.
Ups and Downs
A few days later my studio license was taken away because although I passed the course, I am technically a songwriting major and the studios are already in high demand. Now moving onto the second real week of classes, the lectures are still entirely in German and I am without a band. Everyday I ask the teacher to send me the powerpoint slides. Every night I spend a few hours translating them to English. I’ve had difficultly finding band members who are interested in performing live electronic music. With my first concert only 2 1/2 weeks away, I am a little nervous about what the final band will look like. I will keep you updated on how this concert turns out. Currently I am teaching myself Ableton and writing music in preparation for this mystery group.
I have a great group of friends from all over the world. We’ve started planning some trips together to the black forest, Ireland, and the surrounding cities.
The dress shops in the city have the poofiest most princess-like wedding dresses I’ve ever seen. They don’t do this modern, mermaid, bohemian, elegant stuff. The more poof and sparkles the better!! I’m on team German wedding.
Whenever a teacher finishes a class all the students clap or bang on the desk. It’s funny realizing that American students don’t thank their teachers in the same way.
I finally have an international bank so I won’t be so worried about counting every Euro. I can afford my first German street pretzel.
My roommates are cleanly, nice, and normal.