Morgen (Tomorrow)

Less than 24 hours from now I will be in the air.
My bags are packed.
And repacked.
And packed.
And repacked.

More to come upon arrival!

Die Temperatur (Temperature)

Based on the fact that the forecast is showing highs of 68 degrees Fahrenheit all this week in Marburg, I think it is safe to say that I will be leaving summer and entering autumn.

Die Lage und der Zeitunterschied (Location & Time Difference)

The university at which I will be studying is located in the town of Marburg. A smaller town of about 80,000 people, formed in AD 1140, Marburg has a rich history, beginning elegantly, falling into a backwater existence, and now rising to hold the oldest protestant-founded university in the world…at which I happen to be studying this fall – the University of Marburg. Founded in 1527, it is now a state university (and no longer carries a religious bias). The university has about 20,000 students, about comparable to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (the location of my domestic university studies).

The time zone in which I will be studying is GMT +1, which means it is nine hours ahead of California, USA and seven hours ahead of Kansas, USA. The quickest method I have found so far for remembering what time it is in Germany is to mentally subtract three hours (if you’re in CA) or two hours (if you’re in KS/MO) from your current time, then mentally jump twelve hours (AM to PM, or vice versa) and there you have the time in Marburg!

Die Einführung und der Titel (The Introduction and the Title)

As it stands, I will be about to land in Germany in exactly two weeks from now. While nothing has yet been packed into bags, list upon list has been made. One hopes that this will allow the packing process to be as easy as merely running down the list, pulling items in a methodical manner. Mentally and physically, I feel completely prepared for the trip. Linguistically, my German is still at the level of perhaps a five year-old (though I had previously said three-year old, whilst discussing this with a friend earlier today). The language barrier, of which there has been less and less in recent years, is something that will fall, and fall quickly, as I regain the skills in German that I once had, remembering both vocabulary and grammatical concepts.

This evening I was afraid that I had, in fact, lost something quite integral to my trip. Prior to meeting up with a friend for tea, I spent a frantic twenty minutes hunting through stacks of this, piles of that, and shelves of such-and-such. Ditto for events upon returning from my meeting. Queue wracking my brain. Queue more brain racking, as well as some frustration. This one small piece of gear was so integral to my entire trip! And yet, despite the import of the item, and helpful suggestions from my father, it appeared that it was not to be found. However, at last I have prevailed. No longer will I feel lost in areas both foreign and domestic, for I have it in my possession once again. Hopefully, I will not have to ever let it far from my sight. This time, I made sure to memorize its location.

What a relief to have my travel tea set again.

A couple of quick notes regarding this blog: From now until the time I arrive in Germany, new content will be scant. Regular posting will ensue upon arrival. The title of this blog comes from my hobby as a Disc Jockey and the location of near-future travels. “DJ nach Deutschland” … “DJ to Germany”