Finding my first class was the most difficult thing I’ve had to do in Germany so far. We were introduced to the campus on our first day there and we haven’t ventured to the school buildings after that. I thought I remembered the way and set off a little early Monday morning. Boy was I wrong. I tried to ask some other students, but unfortunately many did not understand where I was trying to go. Even when I pulled out my schedule and showed them the name of the building, it was difficult for us to communicate directions to each other. The engineering part of campus is pretty confusing! Luckily, I found a guy who was going to the same building so I was finally able to find it. Ironically, the class I was going to was my German language course, which would have been really convenient to have taken before getting lost!
German classes are much more relaxed than American ones. For classes that are three hours long, there is a half hour break in the middle. It is much less stressful. Also, all of the grades rely on the exams; there is no homework or quizzes. Although that makes the work load easier, I do not think we will learn as much. However, maybe the lessened stress will make the learning easier.
After class, our Drexel group usually goes to the cafeteria for lunch. The price is reasonable and there is a very large selection. Some of the dishes are only 2 Euros. I haven’t figured out how to tell the difference between the cheap and expensive dishes yet, but I hope to figure that out soon. I know there is a menu when you first walk in, so hopefully once I learn more German, that menu will make more sense to me.
The most inconvenient part of eating at Germany is constantly buying water. There is no free water like in America. In fact, the beer is commonly cheaper than the water bottles. Although I heard that the tap water is safe to drink, it still makes me nervous to drink from it because most locals buy their water. Additionally, when ordering water, there needs to be a clear distinction that you want “still” water. Otherwise they will give you mineral water, which is basically carbonated water. Many of the Drexel students have accidentally ordered the wrong thing.
