I once was a writer...

The first day of the fall semester has come. The State University of Middlemarch opens its doors to the hundreds of new freshmen, among them Dorothea Brooke. Dressed prudently for her age, she finds the room where her first class will take place, Introduction to Literary Studies  -- unlike her fellow students, her face is not buried in her smartphone, because her old, trustworthy Nokia has no internet connection. She has no need for ostentatious gadgets: her phone must make and receive calls, and it does. Her younger sister is with her today (high school does not begin until next week, and as a Senior in Middlemarch High she wants to see what expects her next year); but Dodo and Celia share only their last name. Celia, though less pretty, shows more skin and is more interested in worldly possessions. While Dodo hopes to eventually graduate with an MBA, Celia aspires to get an MRS. Meeting them at the entrance of the department of languages and literature is James Chettam, Junior ...

I had my first ever oral exam last week. I had never before had an oral exam. I don't consider my thesis presentation an oral exam, because I had two hours to present and support my thesis, and then answer questions from my panel - questions which I had already discussed with each one of the panel members individually. So that was no stress. And my thesis was awesome. But the German system is very interesting, and I had to take one 15-minute oral exam for The Alamo Seminar. It was one whole semester on The Alamo and how it was represented in film, literature and popular culture. I am now an Alamo expert. I challenge my historian friends Julie and Joe to ask me anything they want. Not everyone is required to take this oral exam for this seminar, so out of a class of 30, I think I was one of three who took this exam. I figured that the teacher would let us go easy and just make sure that we did do the readings; since I event to every single class (perfect attendance) and particip...

My situation this morning is what people make movies from.  Scary movies, that is.  Dude, if you don't find a new blog by next Monday, or if you don't notice me on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn or BBM, it might very well be because I got murdered in the lecture hall. Olsenhauserstraße 75.  And my bet is, it was the janitor lady who murdered me.  I was the ONLY ONE  at the bus stop at 7:27 a.m., and there are always more than 20 people waiting with me. There were less than  10 people (including me and the driver) on the bus, when I generally cannot find a free seat. I was the only one who got out on my stop at 7:32, which is one of the three main stops for a university catering to over 23,000 students.  The bus driver asked me, "Why so lonely?", which of course creeped me out even more, making me for the first time realize, OMFG, I'm actually alone...   I smiled, managed some sort of answer (which I later realized was wrong, because I shoul...

There are so many things wrong with that phrase. The first one being, I am not a jelly-filled doughnut, although I do eat so many of them so often, I might as well be. Also, I am more than three hours away from Berlin, so if I were to be some sort of German I would be a Kieler, not a Berliner. And no, "Kieler" is not funny, and no, it does not sound like "Killer". Long and short vowels are there for a reason. In addition to the previously stated, I would never say "Ick", like the famous person said it, nor would I say "Ish", like the foreigners say it. I would use a perfect "Ich", thus actually reinforcing my point: I am a German. I found this out as I was trying to make a point in two different classes last week. In the first class, American 20th Century Short Fiction , I was supporting my claim that there is a European-settler-vs-Indigenous-People trend in Hemingway's "Indian Camp". I mentioned how the doctor, Nick...

A few days ago, we were in class discussing issues of culture and cultural studies (just as a side note, I am so German now, that I can't help but automatically type Kultur - großgeschrieben und alles!). You need to understand that I find myself in Germany, surrounded by 12 other Germans (girls in this case, plus the male teacher), and of course the most obvious examples in trying to define and explain culture come from German culture. And wouldn't you know it: Even the Germans consider their punctuality a German characteristic of their German culture! I like German honesty. I mean, I would never describe me and my people as "unpunctual", although we most definitely are. So there we were, talking about how the Germans are punctual and how that defines them because the Germans are punctual and punctuality is important and that important characteristic defines them and their culture because punctuality is a trait that shapes a cultural habit which in turn also makes ...

I think there is nothing worse in life than being average. That is actually my biggest fear - well, right alongside the crocodiles under my bed finally eating my toes, and the guy sitting in the corner of the living room walking towards me. There are (thank god) no monsters in my closet. No, but seriously: I am terrified of being average! I think it is terrible to get lost in the masses. Especially now that the masses have reached 7 BILLION (and according to the BBC World Citizen Counter I am number four billion six hundred ninety-seven million six hundred and one thousand eight hundred twenty). I mean, we have got to find a way to stand out. But then again, if all us, if all seven billion of us try to stand out, we will, ironically, not. So I guess some, the majority, would have to actively NOT stand out in order for a few of us to do something *special* that will differentiate us (whether positively or negatively is up to each of us) from the rest. It's not easy. And that'...

I got good news today. News so good, that I almost forgot that my heart is broken because the owner of the cat took away my cat. News so good that a friend of mine thought I was pregnant - no, not pregnant. Let's hope for a ring before we hope for anything further, yes? So the good news - ready? I finally have the official, signed, sealed and delivered documents that make me a Masters student at the Christian Albrechts Universität zu Kiel. YAY! I get to begin my masters! Finally! Just in case you're wondering, it's called "English and American Literature, Cultures and Media." And it will be amazing. But don't worry - not that you are worrying. I still have to continue with my German course. Some crazy thing about "When in Rome..." Only, for me it is more of a "When in Germany..." thing. And so, because it was my huge dream and all, I ain't allowed to complain no mo' . When it's too cold outside and I must be off to stud...

In many languages, such as Spanish and German, there is a formal and an informal way to address "you" (second person singular): tu  and usted  in Spanish, and du and Sie  in German, respectively. The problem is, the pronouns for the formal voices are very similar (if not identical) to the pronouns for other voices. Let me make the situation VERY clear with what I did yesterday. In case my teacher is reading this, es tut mir SCHRECKLICH leid, wirklich!! My classmates exasperate me. That's unfair, not all of them do. Actually, only two of my classmates (out of 12) exasperate me. Seriously. I want to hit them sometimes (but physical aggression is illegal here in Germany). They get into these absurd, pointless discussiones with false (and fake) arguments. Tuesday is my least favourite day, and at the very last class (tired, sleepy, hungry and cranky), they got into this discussion: The Police is Singular and Plural. Well, no, the teacher explained: you can't count ...

This post is dedicated to my dear friends Cris, Cata and Luisa, who knew that one day I would adapt to the European Lifestyle - and stop wearing winter panties in German-Warm-Weather. It only took me 10 months! My European lifestyle dictates that every day is a good day to wear a skirt. What I wear under the skirt depends on the weather. But also, every day is a good day for rain - so I always carry a European-style, fashionable rain coat. My European lifestyle dictates that, when possible, riding my bike to and from Uni is not only environmentally-conscious, but also fashionable, sporty and sexy. Also, every day is a "possible bike-riding day". Also, as above, every day is skirt-day, and every day is rain-day. My European lifestyle dictates that curls are in - because so few Germans have them. Also, volume is in, and the more the merrier. Since, as above stated, every day is rain-day, frizz and humidity beautify my voluminous curls all the more. My European lifestyle...

I miss my friends. I miss them so much. We had fun together, yes; but I have fun with my "German Acquaintances", too. We did stuff together, yes; but I do stuff with my "German Acquaintances", too. We used to talk very often, not to say all the time ; but I talk with my "German Acquaintances" all the time, too. I miss my friends because they get me. I miss my friends because they are like me. You see, I'm a geek. Or a nerd. Or a book-worm. Whatever you wanna call me, I'm that: I'm that girl who always does her homework, just because, well, you should  do your homework. I'm that girl who does her homework in a clean sheet, just in case it needs to be handed in; and I'm that girl who uses colors to emphasize different topics. I'm that girl who takes awesome notes in class. I'm that girl who does not need to study for a test the night before, because she has been studying since the chapter began two weeks ago. I'm that girl ...

Bearing in mind that as of Tuesday I go back to being super busy --well, as busy as a University Student should be-- and wanting to find the appropriate way to optimize processes; and seeing that the Internet offers plenty of options for automatization of optimized processes; and accepting that I am a little embarrassed every time I send an E-Mail, as if saying, "Hey! Read me!"... well, I'd like for you to register to my Blog! To the right of this column, ------------------------------------------------------------------------> above my picture (courtesy of Rosita Lama Muvdi), there is a text box under the title "Follow by E-Mail", where you can enter your E-Mail address. By doing entering your E-Mail, you are registering to automatically receive every new Blog entry. If you seem to be facing problems or inconveniences, please don't hesitate to contact me, and I will gladly solve these issues for you. I would be so awesome as a customer service repr...

I'm a University Student. That's right - capital U, capital S. University Student. I paid my dues (literarlly, the university dues, not like "I paid my dues" as if life had treated me so badly that I paid for it with tears, sweat and pain... I just slid my card and paid my dues. No tears. No sweat. No pain. Kinda anticlimactic, now that I come to think of it...) earlier today, and tomorrow I will get my official ID and my official documents and my official schedule (which I already know, btw. It's awesome!). So I guess today I'm a university student, lower-case u and lower-case s. But as of tomorrow, as of tomorrow I get to officially place capital letters on those two words! A city viewed from the perspective of a University Student (I've waited 8 months, I get to use capital letters a few hours before it's official, ok?) is completely different from the city viewed from the perspective of a "normal" person (OMG, I just made it sound l...

The most important part of adpating to a new culture is embracing it, and acting like the natives do. Like, if you live with gorillas, you should pick their skin too and eat their little lice. If you live in a nude community, you should walk about bare. Bare naked, that is. If you live in Germany, well, you have to do as the Germans do. Monkey see, monkey do. For starters, if you want to be German, you have to go outside at the smallest sign of a ray of sunshine. If you want to be German, if the temperature goes above 0°C (and there is the aforementioned sun), you have to go outside. If you want to be German, if there is the tiniest sign of baby flowers blooming (and the aforementioned sun and the aforementioned +0°C rule), you have to go outside. You see, being outside is very important to the Germans. It's very important because you can almost never go outside! According to the Gregorian Calendar (the calendar we westerners follow), Winter goes from December to February. Not ...

I would have said 9, which is more accurate, but unfortantely no one can read "9 months" and not have "baby" thoughts. So, 8 it is. Success in Germany takes a while, in any case. And with that, I mean academic success. And also, by "success" I mean "ability to start studying in a Universiry" - I'm just implying that, not even having begun my German course, I have already finished my Ph.D. Aim for the sky, right? Ha! I finally took the test thingy. And I did good! I think so, at least. And someone told me it's all in the mind. I know they didn't mean this precisely, but "all" means all. And I think I did good, then I did. Because me and my mind say so. I get my results on Tuesday, I register the following Thursday, and the following Monday I begin my German course. Again. But this time, I will be a University Student. See how I capitalized both words? That's how awesome I will be: I will be a university student, with i...

I took a singing class when I was in college. Gotta love American universities: you have to take some science, some math, some language, and some art. For the "some art" category, you can take photography, sculpting, acting, playing an instrument, singing... Well, at first I auditioned for a play, but got rejected because my accent was not Southern enough. In all honesty, it wasn't. It's never been. It never will--unless "Southern enough" suddenly means Southern like down in South America. In which case, given that Colombia is the first country in South America, is also not Southern enough (that would be Chile or Argentina, I guess). In any case, after being completely offended for a few hours, I read the whole play (not just the part I read at try-outs) and realized it was the story of three Southern sisters (GA girls) who had a very Southern  life. I understood then that it was impossible to "hire" a Latina (regardless of how accentless my Englis...