Der Mensch ist ein Gewohnheitstier

Today's word is actually a proverb and it means “Man is a creature of habit.” Well literally Gewohnheitstier means something like a “habit animal,” but you get the point.

I was in Germany in 2008 as an exchange student in Tübingen and I had a dorm very much like my current dorm in Neubrandenburg. My old dorm had a German ghost (the chick was literally never there), a Belgian whose name was something like Korneel, but the R was rolled in the back of your throat and the “ee” was more of an “eh”. Anyways, I made it a point to speak to him only one-on-one so I didn't have to say his name. Finally, we had an Italian guy named Roberto, and I could have written pages about the number of Italian stereotypes that are absolutely true.

In my new dorm, I have a German who is very tall. I don't know how it is for typical height people to see me, but I figured it was nothing special. Then I met Thomas, and all I wanted him to do was sit down. My other roommate is Hungarian and named Zoltán. When I met him, I really didn't care if he sat or stood, but I wanted him to tell my fortune to me. See, I confuse Zoltán and Zoltar:

Unlike my old Guest Oma's house, I'm totally able to take pictures of this one. So lemme show you why I titled this post like I did; I'll show you side-by-side pictures of my old dorm in Tübingen and my new one in Neubrandenburg:

(Old is on the left)

So, I'm clearly falling into some old habits. I have, however, noticed a few key differences though. First and foremost, I speak significantly less English than I did in Tübingen. Basically, unless someone asks me what an English word is, I speak no English in a day. Granted I still Facebook, Skype (occasionally), and read in English, but I'm getting the feeling that I'll sound like an immigrant when I return to the States.

I also enjoy my classes a lot more in Neubrandenburg. They are a lot more engaging, and since I'm at a University of Applied Sciences they offer much more specific courses. So far I'm taking:

Environmental Politics (Umweltpolitik),

Environmentally Friendly Plant Production (umweltschonende Pflanzenproduktion),

Basic Crop Farming (grundlage Pflanzenbau),
Special Crop Farming (spezieller Pflanzenbau),

Special Genetic Technology (spezieller Gentechnologie),

Agricultural Ecology (Landwirtschaftsökologie), and last but not least,

Polish (Polnisch)

I decided on Polish mostly because in language classes you have a lot more partner work so you can meet more Germans, which is good. There is also the added bonus that because the teacher is teaching a language, she speaks really simple German. It's also an ego boost for me; all around me I see the German students speaking with ease to the teacher and asking hard-hitting questions, but when they speak Polish, they suck as much as I do.

So, that's where I'm at after exactly one week in Neubrandenburg. Let me know if you want me to talk about anything special in my blog. I mean, if you are just dying to know how the grocery store looks, how waiters act, or anything specific sent me a message on Facebook or an email or leave a comment. If I don't know about it, it'll be a fun opportunity to research something here.