Munich Lindy Exchange
[German]
Am Donnerstag die letzte Woche fährte ich allein nach München für die Lindy Exchange. Das ist eine mehrere Tage lang Tanzparty wo man jedes Tag/Nacht tanzen lindy hop, ungefähr wie die Schwedische "Dansmaran".
Ich kennte niemand da was ich wusste, wenn ankommte. Aber das war doch viele leute da und nach eine Stunde habe ich schon viele leute von Herräng dieses Jahr getroffen und auch viele neue Freunde gemacht.
Freitag war ich mit meine Mountainbike auf eine Tour in die Wälder Ost von München. Ein schönes Tag mit Sonne und Natur wie ich gewöhn bin, auch in Schweden. Freitag nacht war es ein neues Platz mit viel Boogie und Rock Musik. Das war ein echt Toll nacht mit echt energetic Tanz und ich hatte so viel Spaß! Ich durfte auch Tanzen so viel mit gute Tänzerinnen und sie erlaubte mir zu spielen mit die Musik, mein selber und die Partnerinnen in neue Hinsichte.
Samstag war ich in die Stadt mit einer Frau von Bosch Stuttgart. Ich habe ein 'neues' 2nd hand Anzug gefunden. Die abend Tanz war wieder in ein neues Platz, diesmal viel größer. Es war auch eine fantastische Nacht mit viele gut Tänze (fast alle) und es war auch mehr Raum für großere "moves".
Sonntag habe ich lange geschlafen und im Nachmittag habe ich in die Stadt gefahren (furchtbares Trafikumwelt) aber nach einer Zeit habe ich ein Parkplatz gefunden und mit inlines zur Oktoberfest geschafft. Es ist ein Verrückt großes Bierparty in München mit lustige Klamotten (Volk kleide) aber vor allem Trinken. Ich habe nicht meine Freunde gefunden, wenn die Reservierung nicht auf die Liste war, so ich fuhrte weiter zu die "Tee-dance" in ein Park. Ich blieb da ungefähr 2 Stunde bevor ich zurück nach Stuttgart fährte. Es ist so viele Baustelle auf der Autobahn so trotz höhe Geschwindigkeiten nimmt es einige Zeit. Aber fahren in 200 km/h ist eine schönes gefühl :D
#pja... und noch ein Ding. Ich haltete bei Burger King aber die nahm nur Bargeld, keine elektronische Karte. Das ist so 1900 Jahrhundert... Auch in lebensmittelgeschäfte, kann ich fast nie mit VISA bezahlen, und mann kan nie die Karte ziehen bevor die letzte Ware eingeschlagen ist, und keine Raum nach die Kasse für seine Beutel zu packen....
Total, was es eine fantastische Lindy Exchange mit ungewöhnlich viele gute Tänze und viele Frauen hatten mir inspiriert neue dinge zu machen und mir auch gezeigt moves ich ncht wusste ich machen konnte. Danke!
[English version]
On Thursday last week I alone went to Munich for the Lindy Exchange. This is a several days dance party where every day / night dance Lindy Hop, about the same as the Swedish "Dansmaran."
I believed that I knew nobody when I arrived, but there were many people and after one hour, I have seen many people from Herräng this year and also made many new friends.
Friday I was with my mountain bike on a trip into the woods east of Munich. A nice day with sun and a nature that I am used to, also in Sweden. Friday night, it was a new place with a lot of boogie and rock music. That was a really cool night with really energetic dance and music and I had so much fun! I was also dancing with so much good dancers and they allowed me to play with the music, myself and my partners in new ways.
Saturday I was in the city with a woman from Bosch in Stuttgart. I found a 'new' 2nd hand suit. The evening dance was back in a new place, this time much larger. It was a fantastic night with many good dances (almost all) and it was also more room for bigger "moves".
Sunday I slept long and in the afternoon I drove into the city (terrible traffic environment), but after a time, I found a parking place and with inline managed to Oktoberfest. It's a Mad large beer party in Munich with funny clothes (national dress), but mainly drinking. I have not found my friends, the reservation was not on the list, so I went on to the "tea dance" in a park just north of downtown Munich. I stayed there about 2 hours before I returned to Stuttgart. There is so much constructions on the highway so despite higher speeds, it takes some time. But driving at 200 km/h is a nice feeling :D
# pja ... and another thing. I stopped at Burger King, but they only took cash, no electronic card. That is so 1900 Century ... Even in grocery stores, I can almost never pay with VISA, and you can never draw the card before the final product is set, and there is no space after the payment for packing the bags ....
Total, which is a fantastic Lindy Exchange with unusually good many dances and many women had inspired me to do new things and also showed me moves ncht I knew I could make. Thank you!
Am Donnerstag die letzte Woche fährte ich allein nach München für die Lindy Exchange. Das ist eine mehrere Tage lang Tanzparty wo man jedes Tag/Nacht tanzen lindy hop, ungefähr wie die Schwedische "Dansmaran".
Ich kennte niemand da was ich wusste, wenn ankommte. Aber das war doch viele leute da und nach eine Stunde habe ich schon viele leute von Herräng dieses Jahr getroffen und auch viele neue Freunde gemacht.
Freitag war ich mit meine Mountainbike auf eine Tour in die Wälder Ost von München. Ein schönes Tag mit Sonne und Natur wie ich gewöhn bin, auch in Schweden. Freitag nacht war es ein neues Platz mit viel Boogie und Rock Musik. Das war ein echt Toll nacht mit echt energetic Tanz und ich hatte so viel Spaß! Ich durfte auch Tanzen so viel mit gute Tänzerinnen und sie erlaubte mir zu spielen mit die Musik, mein selber und die Partnerinnen in neue Hinsichte.
Samstag war ich in die Stadt mit einer Frau von Bosch Stuttgart. Ich habe ein 'neues' 2nd hand Anzug gefunden. Die abend Tanz war wieder in ein neues Platz, diesmal viel größer. Es war auch eine fantastische Nacht mit viele gut Tänze (fast alle) und es war auch mehr Raum für großere "moves".
Sonntag habe ich lange geschlafen und im Nachmittag habe ich in die Stadt gefahren (furchtbares Trafikumwelt) aber nach einer Zeit habe ich ein Parkplatz gefunden und mit inlines zur Oktoberfest geschafft. Es ist ein Verrückt großes Bierparty in München mit lustige Klamotten (Volk kleide) aber vor allem Trinken. Ich habe nicht meine Freunde gefunden, wenn die Reservierung nicht auf die Liste war, so ich fuhrte weiter zu die "Tee-dance" in ein Park. Ich blieb da ungefähr 2 Stunde bevor ich zurück nach Stuttgart fährte. Es ist so viele Baustelle auf der Autobahn so trotz höhe Geschwindigkeiten nimmt es einige Zeit. Aber fahren in 200 km/h ist eine schönes gefühl :D
#pja... und noch ein Ding. Ich haltete bei Burger King aber die nahm nur Bargeld, keine elektronische Karte. Das ist so 1900 Jahrhundert... Auch in lebensmittelgeschäfte, kann ich fast nie mit VISA bezahlen, und mann kan nie die Karte ziehen bevor die letzte Ware eingeschlagen ist, und keine Raum nach die Kasse für seine Beutel zu packen....
Total, was es eine fantastische Lindy Exchange mit ungewöhnlich viele gute Tänze und viele Frauen hatten mir inspiriert neue dinge zu machen und mir auch gezeigt moves ich ncht wusste ich machen konnte. Danke!
[English version]
On Thursday last week I alone went to Munich for the Lindy Exchange. This is a several days dance party where every day / night dance Lindy Hop, about the same as the Swedish "Dansmaran."
I believed that I knew nobody when I arrived, but there were many people and after one hour, I have seen many people from Herräng this year and also made many new friends.
Friday I was with my mountain bike on a trip into the woods east of Munich. A nice day with sun and a nature that I am used to, also in Sweden. Friday night, it was a new place with a lot of boogie and rock music. That was a really cool night with really energetic dance and music and I had so much fun! I was also dancing with so much good dancers and they allowed me to play with the music, myself and my partners in new ways.
Saturday I was in the city with a woman from Bosch in Stuttgart. I found a 'new' 2nd hand suit. The evening dance was back in a new place, this time much larger. It was a fantastic night with many good dances (almost all) and it was also more room for bigger "moves".
Sunday I slept long and in the afternoon I drove into the city (terrible traffic environment), but after a time, I found a parking place and with inline managed to Oktoberfest. It's a Mad large beer party in Munich with funny clothes (national dress), but mainly drinking. I have not found my friends, the reservation was not on the list, so I went on to the "tea dance" in a park just north of downtown Munich. I stayed there about 2 hours before I returned to Stuttgart. There is so much constructions on the highway so despite higher speeds, it takes some time. But driving at 200 km/h is a nice feeling :D
# pja ... and another thing. I stopped at Burger King, but they only took cash, no electronic card. That is so 1900 Century ... Even in grocery stores, I can almost never pay with VISA, and you can never draw the card before the final product is set, and there is no space after the payment for packing the bags ....
Total, which is a fantastic Lindy Exchange with unusually good many dances and many women had inspired me to do new things and also showed me moves ncht I knew I could make. Thank you!
Got into the German working day
[English translation further down]
Aber noch eine dinge... ich folge ein Rekommendation dass ich bekommen habe, und weiterhin will ich alle auf Deutsch schreiben. Aber weil ich auch möchte meine Amerikanische und Schwedische und andere freunde zu folgen mir, brauche ich eine Übersetzung program nach Englisch. Dass hier ist ein erstes Versuch und ich weiss noch nicht wie es gehts. Die Ursache ist meine Bedarf an mehr Deutsch zu üben.
Nun ja, die letzte Freitag war ich nach Nord Stuttgart gefahren für eine Akrobatik klasse. Es war echt spaß und ich hoffe dass ich es mehrere Mal teilnehmen kann. Etwa 3 Stunde mit meistens Paar übungen aber auch Pyramide von 2 bis 5 Leute haben wir gemacht.
Wenn es zu viele regen in die Wochenende war, konnten wir nicht nach Zugspitze fahren. Hiermit habe ich eine echt Ruhe Wochenende gemacht mit Rennradfahren Samstag und ein bißchen lindy hop mit eine Show Gruppe in Stuttgart. Ich habe Ihren Show routine gelernt. Montag war es wieder Stepp tanzen in Heilbronn aber wenn ich nicht genug körperlich müde wirt, schlafe ich schlecht so damit habe ich auch Laufen mit Stirnlampe gemacht. Es gibts viele alte Schlösser und Burgen um hier so ich habe ein besucht. Dienstag war es wieder mehr Stepp und auch Boogie Woogie und heute habe ich MTB gefahren mit Nils und Florian (zwei Kollegen von Bosch) und danach Lindy hop in Stuttgart.
Ja, ich bin echt zufrieden mit meinem Leben jetzt. Ich habe viele Aktivitäten in die abends und auch die Arbeit geht besser und besser. Ich viele dass ich Kontrolle auf es haben. Ich habe auch ein bißchen mehr sprechen gemacht, und wieviel ich verstehe ist sehr unterschiedlich wenn die Deutschen mit Schwäbische dialekt sprechen oder nicht, und auch wie schnell. Aber ich bin angefangen auch mein Betruer zu verstehen und dass ist gut :)
Wir haben auch mehre Kontakt zwischen die junge Leute bei Bosch jetzt, z.B. während Kaffeepausen.
Was ist nechst? Ich fahre Donnerstag (heute) bis München für Munich Lindy Exchange, bis Sonntag. Und danach ist es viele Swing Parties in Oktober und November.
Ich antworte alle e-mail dass nach mir geschickt sind, aber es kann einige Tage nehmen.
Bis denn,
Ciao!
[English version... sorry for the bad translation, but I don't take the time right now to do it in 2 languages]
But one more thing... I follow a Rekommendation that I have received, and I want to continue to write in German. But because I also want my American and Swedish and other friends to follow me, I need a translation program to English. That is a first attempt and I still dont know how it goes. The cause is my need for more German practice.
Well, last Friday I was driven to North Stuttgart for a class acrobatics. It was really fun and I hope that I can participate several times. Approximately 3 hours with mostly couple exercises but also pyramid 2 to 5 people, we have made. Because there are too much rain the weekend was, we could not go to Zugspitze. Hereby, I have a really calm week-end made with biking Saturday and did a bit lindy hop with a show group in Stuttgart. I have learned their show routine.
Monday was again Stepp dance in Heilbronn but if I do not become enough physically tired, I sleep so bad so I also had to do running with head lamp. There's a lot of old palaces and castles around here so I have a visit. Tuesday was it Step again and Boogie Woogie and today I drove MTB with Nils and Florian (two colleagues from Bosch) and then Lindy hop in Stuttgart.
Yes, I am really happy with my life now. I have a lot of activities in the evening and also the work goes better and better. I feel I have it under control. I also talk a bit more, and how many I understand is very different if the Germans with Schwäbische dialect speak or not, and how quickly. But I'm starting my supervisor to understand and that is good:)
We also have more contact between the young people at Bosch now, for example during coffee breaks. What is nechst? I drive Thursday (today) to Munich for Munich Lindy Exchange until Sunday. And then there are many swing parties in October and November.
I answer all e-mail that are sent to me, but it can take several days.
Until then, Ciao!
Aber noch eine dinge... ich folge ein Rekommendation dass ich bekommen habe, und weiterhin will ich alle auf Deutsch schreiben. Aber weil ich auch möchte meine Amerikanische und Schwedische und andere freunde zu folgen mir, brauche ich eine Übersetzung program nach Englisch. Dass hier ist ein erstes Versuch und ich weiss noch nicht wie es gehts. Die Ursache ist meine Bedarf an mehr Deutsch zu üben.
Nun ja, die letzte Freitag war ich nach Nord Stuttgart gefahren für eine Akrobatik klasse. Es war echt spaß und ich hoffe dass ich es mehrere Mal teilnehmen kann. Etwa 3 Stunde mit meistens Paar übungen aber auch Pyramide von 2 bis 5 Leute haben wir gemacht.
Wenn es zu viele regen in die Wochenende war, konnten wir nicht nach Zugspitze fahren. Hiermit habe ich eine echt Ruhe Wochenende gemacht mit Rennradfahren Samstag und ein bißchen lindy hop mit eine Show Gruppe in Stuttgart. Ich habe Ihren Show routine gelernt. Montag war es wieder Stepp tanzen in Heilbronn aber wenn ich nicht genug körperlich müde wirt, schlafe ich schlecht so damit habe ich auch Laufen mit Stirnlampe gemacht. Es gibts viele alte Schlösser und Burgen um hier so ich habe ein besucht. Dienstag war es wieder mehr Stepp und auch Boogie Woogie und heute habe ich MTB gefahren mit Nils und Florian (zwei Kollegen von Bosch) und danach Lindy hop in Stuttgart.
Ja, ich bin echt zufrieden mit meinem Leben jetzt. Ich habe viele Aktivitäten in die abends und auch die Arbeit geht besser und besser. Ich viele dass ich Kontrolle auf es haben. Ich habe auch ein bißchen mehr sprechen gemacht, und wieviel ich verstehe ist sehr unterschiedlich wenn die Deutschen mit Schwäbische dialekt sprechen oder nicht, und auch wie schnell. Aber ich bin angefangen auch mein Betruer zu verstehen und dass ist gut :)
Wir haben auch mehre Kontakt zwischen die junge Leute bei Bosch jetzt, z.B. während Kaffeepausen.
Was ist nechst? Ich fahre Donnerstag (heute) bis München für Munich Lindy Exchange, bis Sonntag. Und danach ist es viele Swing Parties in Oktober und November.
Ich antworte alle e-mail dass nach mir geschickt sind, aber es kann einige Tage nehmen.
Bis denn,
Ciao!
[English version... sorry for the bad translation, but I don't take the time right now to do it in 2 languages]
But one more thing... I follow a Rekommendation that I have received, and I want to continue to write in German. But because I also want my American and Swedish and other friends to follow me, I need a translation program to English. That is a first attempt and I still dont know how it goes. The cause is my need for more German practice.
Well, last Friday I was driven to North Stuttgart for a class acrobatics. It was really fun and I hope that I can participate several times. Approximately 3 hours with mostly couple exercises but also pyramid 2 to 5 people, we have made. Because there are too much rain the weekend was, we could not go to Zugspitze. Hereby, I have a really calm week-end made with biking Saturday and did a bit lindy hop with a show group in Stuttgart. I have learned their show routine.
Monday was again Stepp dance in Heilbronn but if I do not become enough physically tired, I sleep so bad so I also had to do running with head lamp. There's a lot of old palaces and castles around here so I have a visit. Tuesday was it Step again and Boogie Woogie and today I drove MTB with Nils and Florian (two colleagues from Bosch) and then Lindy hop in Stuttgart.
Yes, I am really happy with my life now. I have a lot of activities in the evening and also the work goes better and better. I feel I have it under control. I also talk a bit more, and how many I understand is very different if the Germans with Schwäbische dialect speak or not, and how quickly. But I'm starting my supervisor to understand and that is good:)
We also have more contact between the young people at Bosch now, for example during coffee breaks. What is nechst? I drive Thursday (today) to Munich for Munich Lindy Exchange until Sunday. And then there are many swing parties in October and November.
I answer all e-mail that are sent to me, but it can take several days.
Until then, Ciao!
Things are slowly falling in place
Things becomes better and better, slowly... I got my German bank card today (I have hardly been able to use my Visa card) and I also did 2 good bike rides last weekend, well, the saturday ride was nice but about 1 hour of rain made it a bit cold, also with +21 degrees... but the one on Sunday with my MTB was awesome as after 20 min, when I had found a "forest", a guy passed by so I hanged after him and started chatting. He was a really nice german doctor who led me around on great mtb-trails for about 2 hours. He was not at all as most german people I've met so far, and I'm glad he proved me wrong about "all" germans being a bit closed.
Monday I also took my first tap-class (stepp) ever, it was great and I will try keep doing that. Tuesday I tried boogie woogie in Stuttgart, unfortunately it wasn't too many couples there but it was good practice.
Wednesdays do all internship-people, summer job guys and also all thesis-people (me), have lunch together. It has been very nice and it's way more "very" young people then, like 19-25 instead of 25-40. We went to Heilbronn together after work for a beer and then I went to Stuttgart for some lindy. It was at a (for me) new place, where it use to be most of the season, and this meant also many more people which was great. It didn't last more then about 2 hour social dancing though... and it's still extremely warm here. 24 degrees at 23.00 is quite warm, but especially the high humidity makes me sweating incredibly much.
Today a friend at work asked me for a bike ride too! so we went some hours mountainbiking. It's really nice nature here, a huge national park just around the corner, and very hilly. Not as many small bike trails as Sweden though, but still many dirt roads combined with bike trails.
Later tonight I also tried my first Rock'n roll lesson ever. It's a bit different dance style but some similarites with lindy, as it's derived herefrom and mostly kind of swing music we dance to. I will try keep doing it, if my rock dance partner stands me :)
The plans for the weekend fall apart though (some mountain hiking) as the forecast says constantly rain for the next couple of days... To everybody going to Dansmaran: have 2 great nights and dance for me as well!!
Monday I also took my first tap-class (stepp) ever, it was great and I will try keep doing that. Tuesday I tried boogie woogie in Stuttgart, unfortunately it wasn't too many couples there but it was good practice.
Wednesdays do all internship-people, summer job guys and also all thesis-people (me), have lunch together. It has been very nice and it's way more "very" young people then, like 19-25 instead of 25-40. We went to Heilbronn together after work for a beer and then I went to Stuttgart for some lindy. It was at a (for me) new place, where it use to be most of the season, and this meant also many more people which was great. It didn't last more then about 2 hour social dancing though... and it's still extremely warm here. 24 degrees at 23.00 is quite warm, but especially the high humidity makes me sweating incredibly much.
Today a friend at work asked me for a bike ride too! so we went some hours mountainbiking. It's really nice nature here, a huge national park just around the corner, and very hilly. Not as many small bike trails as Sweden though, but still many dirt roads combined with bike trails.
Later tonight I also tried my first Rock'n roll lesson ever. It's a bit different dance style but some similarites with lindy, as it's derived herefrom and mostly kind of swing music we dance to. I will try keep doing it, if my rock dance partner stands me :)
The plans for the weekend fall apart though (some mountain hiking) as the forecast says constantly rain for the next couple of days... To everybody going to Dansmaran: have 2 great nights and dance for me as well!!
Dryg trafikmiljö här...
Ville bara säga nånting om trafikmiljön här... Skulle på en dansfest ikväll med alla möjliga danser - swing, tango, walz mm.. och det var ca 6 mil bort. Tyvärr var det inte längs Autobahn utan in i skogen med en massa småbyar (gula skyltar här, dvs. allt som inte är autobahn är typ riksvägar). Förutom spöregn och svart asfalt med svart skog gör det förbaskat mörkt att köra, så är skyltningen grymt dålig. Var miljarder med andra namn som pekade i helt andra riktningar, rondeller som plötsligt fick en extra utfart (som inte var skyltad) och massor med småkurvor och omvägar. Tog 1½ h dit, lika länge hem... På de 4h som jag var "borta" så hann de dessutom stänga av de sista 2km från en by ut till Autobahn med 12 km omväg som följd. Nä att köra utanför de stora vägarna är inge vidare, om man inte har en kartläsare och en väldigt högupplöst karta....
Dansen? Jo det var ok, men på ett litet ställe och då jag inte "kan" vals och tango så blir det såklart lite improvserat med viss bakledning för att det ska likna tango. Wienervalsen funkade väl ändå, men rumban stod jag över :/
Ja just ja... de har mycket poliser här också. På de här 1½ veckorna har jag blivit stoppad en gång och åkt med när vi blev stoppade 1 gång. Sen jag tog körkort (drygt 7år sen) har jag aldrig blivit stoppad i Sverige...
Dansen? Jo det var ok, men på ett litet ställe och då jag inte "kan" vals och tango så blir det såklart lite improvserat med viss bakledning för att det ska likna tango. Wienervalsen funkade väl ändå, men rumban stod jag över :/
Ja just ja... de har mycket poliser här också. På de här 1½ veckorna har jag blivit stoppad en gång och åkt med när vi blev stoppade 1 gång. Sen jag tog körkort (drygt 7år sen) har jag aldrig blivit stoppad i Sverige...
One week at the new job - and almost 2 in Germany
I've been in Germany for 1.5 week now and the first week at my new 'job' is over. I have my new position for writing my master thesis at Bosch car body (karosseri) unit in Abstatt, just north of Stuttgart in southern Germany. It's a really cool place with about 2700 employees and what we do is developing the electronic devices that one find in all cars. We have all kind of cars: e.g. BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, VW, Volvo and so on. Basically ALL car brands! My specific area is developing and testing some theory for an electronic device that will improve the new cars' road maintenance.
On Wednesday we drove to a testing district little north of here for doing some tests and there were all kind of tracks for testing the cars. A little bit as a swedish 'halkbana' where you can test a car's brake distance but here where all kind of tracks. I drove a BMW and pushed it to the limit on a curvy test road among others.
Everywhere you can also see the new cars covered in different disguises (förklädda) when driving around and doing tests, but avoiding the journalists cameras. At least I think it's a really cool environment and also in the garage it's much "cleaner" than I expected. Not a single spot of oil anywhere, you can almost eat your food from the floor there.
Wednesday night I also tested the lindy scene again in Stuttgart, I met some more interested people but the scene isn't very big, despite it's many jazz bands around. Yesterday Friday a lindy friend, Denise, brought me to a Jazz basement in Stuttgart and different live bands are playing there 3 nights per week. We danced about 3 hours and I really like these nice and cosy (mysiga) places that I've been to - so far only in USA and Germany - the very genuine and real jazz feeling is really there. We were the only dancing couple yesterday as most people were there to listen, so we got some hugs and applauses too (on top of the band) for dancing.
It's been very warm (according to me) here, yesterday night it was still 27C at 22.00 and most people think it's nice but when doing activities (as I always do), it make me sweat unlimited.
The other days this week have I been biking and some weight lifting, trying to find a good gym for my training. It's very expensive though (about twice the Swedish prices - 4000 kr/halvår) so a probably stick with the gym they have at Bosch.
I was biking quite a bit today, and it came some rain that made me a bit cold. I thought a bit about the nature and differences to other places, and most of the German (should I say south-german?) nature is made up of either leaf trees, fields or cities. In the city, it's like cities everywhere in the world. The fields can be found also in other countries but one (for me) new thing is that it's so many trails and bike roads crossing the fields everywhere. I'm also surprised it's so many farmers here, in Sweden it feels much more industrial than here. Also here in the village Abstatt with 5000 people, just in the "town" there are suddenly a lot with horses or goats (getter) so it's a very relaxed and country feeling.
It's many apple trees everywhere too. Along the roads, out in nowhere there are lots of trees with apples, free to take.
When biking a long some of the smaller roads it's still a lot of cars. Sometimes so many so I becomes annoyed, when I can't even cross the road because it's constantly coming cars and they all drive fast. I thought USA was a car-driven country but now I'm sure most industrial countries are so. Also in northern Sweden or a lot of other places, the way we live is a total dependancy of the car. Here they take the car just to drive around on the roads though in the weekends. That's not too usual in Sweden, maybe with motorcycles.
It's a little bit reserved people in general I've met here. Very bureaucratic too. Nobody want's to directly take care of anything (e.g. at the gym or bank/state departments) but all people want one to make an appointment and come back in a couple of weeks. No sense for service at all. Also the opening hours for most things are very bad, many food shops have open 08-20 wich isn't too bad, but many close as early as 16 too! And no shops are open on Sundays. A surprise though, is the post service. I ordered some bike parts on Friday, and today Saturday! it knocked on the door and some of them where delivered, to a very low price.
When living in another country as an exchange student, you get so much things automatically: a natural and direct contact with lots of people in the school, often many clubs with activities (as sports, dance, theater...) at the university, and can from there create your own life in whatever way you want. Here it's been very hard when I sit and works alone on a problem for many hours, in an office landscape, but still without a lot of speaking to other people There are neither many clubs right here, and it pushes me a lot more to search for activites in the near-by areas so I don't have to sit home alone in the nights. But till now, it's been a lot harder to making friends and "getting into" good groups of people than US.
The lack of natural contact with people also prevent me a bit from developing my language, as I don't get as much speaking practice as I would like to. Hopefully everything becomes better after a bit, beacuse many clubs and activities I've found have "summer vacation" until next week. I feel quite OK with reading now and also kind of OK with listening to someone speaking to me, but not listen on the TV. Neither my own speaking is close to what it has to be for calling it "fluent".
Well, more time to come!
On Wednesday we drove to a testing district little north of here for doing some tests and there were all kind of tracks for testing the cars. A little bit as a swedish 'halkbana' where you can test a car's brake distance but here where all kind of tracks. I drove a BMW and pushed it to the limit on a curvy test road among others.
Everywhere you can also see the new cars covered in different disguises (förklädda) when driving around and doing tests, but avoiding the journalists cameras. At least I think it's a really cool environment and also in the garage it's much "cleaner" than I expected. Not a single spot of oil anywhere, you can almost eat your food from the floor there.
Wednesday night I also tested the lindy scene again in Stuttgart, I met some more interested people but the scene isn't very big, despite it's many jazz bands around. Yesterday Friday a lindy friend, Denise, brought me to a Jazz basement in Stuttgart and different live bands are playing there 3 nights per week. We danced about 3 hours and I really like these nice and cosy (mysiga) places that I've been to - so far only in USA and Germany - the very genuine and real jazz feeling is really there. We were the only dancing couple yesterday as most people were there to listen, so we got some hugs and applauses too (on top of the band) for dancing.
It's been very warm (according to me) here, yesterday night it was still 27C at 22.00 and most people think it's nice but when doing activities (as I always do), it make me sweat unlimited.
The other days this week have I been biking and some weight lifting, trying to find a good gym for my training. It's very expensive though (about twice the Swedish prices - 4000 kr/halvår) so a probably stick with the gym they have at Bosch.
I was biking quite a bit today, and it came some rain that made me a bit cold. I thought a bit about the nature and differences to other places, and most of the German (should I say south-german?) nature is made up of either leaf trees, fields or cities. In the city, it's like cities everywhere in the world. The fields can be found also in other countries but one (for me) new thing is that it's so many trails and bike roads crossing the fields everywhere. I'm also surprised it's so many farmers here, in Sweden it feels much more industrial than here. Also here in the village Abstatt with 5000 people, just in the "town" there are suddenly a lot with horses or goats (getter) so it's a very relaxed and country feeling.
It's many apple trees everywhere too. Along the roads, out in nowhere there are lots of trees with apples, free to take.
When biking a long some of the smaller roads it's still a lot of cars. Sometimes so many so I becomes annoyed, when I can't even cross the road because it's constantly coming cars and they all drive fast. I thought USA was a car-driven country but now I'm sure most industrial countries are so. Also in northern Sweden or a lot of other places, the way we live is a total dependancy of the car. Here they take the car just to drive around on the roads though in the weekends. That's not too usual in Sweden, maybe with motorcycles.
It's a little bit reserved people in general I've met here. Very bureaucratic too. Nobody want's to directly take care of anything (e.g. at the gym or bank/state departments) but all people want one to make an appointment and come back in a couple of weeks. No sense for service at all. Also the opening hours for most things are very bad, many food shops have open 08-20 wich isn't too bad, but many close as early as 16 too! And no shops are open on Sundays. A surprise though, is the post service. I ordered some bike parts on Friday, and today Saturday! it knocked on the door and some of them where delivered, to a very low price.
When living in another country as an exchange student, you get so much things automatically: a natural and direct contact with lots of people in the school, often many clubs with activities (as sports, dance, theater...) at the university, and can from there create your own life in whatever way you want. Here it's been very hard when I sit and works alone on a problem for many hours, in an office landscape, but still without a lot of speaking to other people There are neither many clubs right here, and it pushes me a lot more to search for activites in the near-by areas so I don't have to sit home alone in the nights. But till now, it's been a lot harder to making friends and "getting into" good groups of people than US.
The lack of natural contact with people also prevent me a bit from developing my language, as I don't get as much speaking practice as I would like to. Hopefully everything becomes better after a bit, beacuse many clubs and activities I've found have "summer vacation" until next week. I feel quite OK with reading now and also kind of OK with listening to someone speaking to me, but not listen on the TV. Neither my own speaking is close to what it has to be for calling it "fluent".
Well, more time to come!