The Freiburg Kid: Weekly Routine and More and Pictures

Hi everyone,

This may be an aberration, but I'm going to try to write 2 Posts in one week. I know its almost unheard of, but I have more to explain.

Usually when the semester starts, I take a few weeks to figure out my schedule outside of class. That could mean anything from when I study, with whom I study, what time I eat meals day to day or even what is the latest I can wake up and still make it to class without being late. It sounds trivial, but without this plan, there is no way I could make it through the average week.

Everyone has a routine; I'll just go through the main (and calculated) parts:

If I have class on a particular day, I have to set my first alarm for 1 hour and 15 minutes before class starts. I hit the snooze button twice (each time for 15 minutes)
I have to be out the door at 41 past the hour in order to make the Straßenbahn (street car) that arrives at 48 past the hour
If I don't have class, I will set my alarm for 1 PM, but I don't actually have to wake up by then. It's just to make sure I do wake up at some point
On Mondays, I play basketball with Tobias at the University Sporthall from 8:30 to 10. We form teams with other people who play there regularly. On Fridays, we play again, but it's earlier, 7-8:30
I don't have a planned part of the week where I go grocery shopping, because I usually just pick up groceries whenever I need something specific. That could mean anytime of the week, except Sundays. Nothing is open on Sundays. (Chick-Fil-A would fit right in)
Unlike when I'm in Austin, meal times are very variable. I usually have to cook, so I'll eat when I'm not too tired to do so.
On Sundays, I'm on the computer from 7 PM-1:30 AM watching NFL. Don't bother me, unless it's to comment on football or fantasy football.

That is the main list of important things. There are other ~~even~~ smaller things, but less important. Now, I'll touch on some other happenings.

Yesterday was my first attempt to reach out to the Jewish community in Freiburg. On Thursday (Dec. 1st) around 4 PM, Tobias (He's not Jewish, just intrigued) and I went to the Jüdische Gemeinde Freiburg to see what the place was like and if they were doing anything for Hanukkah. We wandered around the place at first, just looking at all of the memorials and Jewish artifacts. It was much, much different than my synagogue in Houston.

I met the Rabbi, and then it was time for Mincha and Ma'ariv. We went into the sanctuary and it was nice to do something Jewish for the first time in a while. Afterward, we lit the candles for Hanukkah and there was a small reception downstairs. Tobias left to go play volleyball (that would be on his list of his weekly routine if he had a blog and decided to do a post like this one).

Now I was alone. I had met the Rabbi (in the last paragraph), but certainly he was busy with the members to just talk to me the whole time. That's when a few other students, a little older than I am, asked if I wanted to sit with them for coffee. I met a few of them and we had a nice conversation for awhile. By the end, I learned that they have student events from time to time, including a group who all go to Shabbat services on specific weekends. Unfortunately, the cool event they have having is when I will be in Basel (On Saturday!!!), but I can still go on Friday night for services.

What I found funniest about this German synagogue was the transliteration from Hebrew to German. In the German language, the letter "W" sounds like the letter "V" in English. A "V" sounds like an "F" in German as well. So, words like Soviet are spelled, Sowjet in German. This makes the transliterations hilarious looking from an English perspective. It was actually really hard to read it like it should sound. "Oseh Shalom Bimromaw" just looks funny at the end...Whatever, I thought it was funny.

Hopefully, you could see my menorah pictures that I put up on facebook. I'll include one here too.

Last comments before pictures: Texans played the Eagles and lost this past Thursday. Texans have to beat the Ravens this week to stay in the playoff hunt. Go Texans!

I'm also going to try to go skiing soon. I've never been before, so it should be entertaining.
and...Going to Basel on Saturday, then Zurich on Sunday. Gonna be a blast.

Picture time, say cheese (You can click the pictures to enlarge them):

1) SC Freiburg 1-0 FSV Mainz 05