Every Friday at 11:00 the Hosanna Bell, which sits in the bell tower of the Munster and was cast in the 13th century, can be heard around the town. It rings in commemoration of the Passion of Christ.
In fact, all over town, bells can be heard ringing. Every large church in town puts on its own show of bell ringing- at least a few times a day. There is no mistake when noontime comes, as the bells seem to engulf the city.
Bells are also heard at the Goethe institute, signaling the start of class, the beginning and endings of breaks, and the end of class. It has a nice sound and reminds me of being in grade school. The Goethe institute itself, reminds me of the German kindergarten I attended. The classes are in German. There are no hallways, but rather a common area where all of the classes open up in to. Each classroom has its own set of hooks for coats and umbrellas. The only thing missing are cubbys for house shoes and having my best friend in the classroom next door.
My first full week here has gone well. My class consists of 15 people from 13 different countries. I cannot say that I've ever been in such a diverse setting and I'm hopeful that I will learn much about other cultures during my time here. I'm getting used to having everything in German. While I can understand 95% of things that are said in class, I find it difficult to not be able to ask a clarification question in English, and I often want to speak in sentences that are half English, half German when having conversations with my classmates.
I'm also settling into a routine. The morning consists of class and the afternoon consists of lunch at the local University cafeteria, a run, a nap, and homework. It has been raining for the past three days, so this has limited my excursions, enabling me to pace myself. Throughout the week there have been several organized events that I have also participated in: a tour of the town, Stammtisch social, and tonight is the anticipated pizzabuffet.
There is much traveling to be had over the weekend. More to come soon...
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