I love my hood

Graffiti sometimes cracks me up. I love my hood. So much that I am willing to deface public property to declare it. Thats dedication. This is sort of like the graffiti at the university of education in Karlsruhe, where I studied last year. That particular gem reads "love children". Amusing, I know.

In all seriousness, though. I do love my hood. Except for the cold. And the dark. But seriously, it's lovely here. I have a good balance of cultures in my life at the moment. My university is the oldest in Germany, so I get a good dose of history and culture (and tourists) at the university and in historic old Heidelberg. On the other hand, when I need a dose of just folks, I can go to Karlsruhe, where I don't run into American and Japanese tourists every 10 minutes, where every other building isn't a UNESCO cultural heritage site, and grocery shopping on a budget works.

In other news, I am in full school mode...reading, reading, giving presentations, reading more. This week I had the luxury of being assigned an article in English to read. That was pretty great. I can't believe how fast time seems to pass as soon as "school mode" kicks in. I actually think that it goes faster in Germany since classes are only held once a week. Anyway, classes are, with one exception, extremely interesting and univeristy life here never ceases to amuse and surprise me. (That is unfortunately the only article that I found on the subject that is in English...but yes, a Lecture hall has been taken over and is being occupied by students in a show of protest and solidarity with the university of Vienna) Don't worry, its not dangerous! But here are some pictures to help illustrate. Enjoy! ~love~