September 16

I am finished with my German class and had my first day of orientation today. There are a lot of exchange students from all over the place. Most are from Spain, but there are also many from Australia, Finland, and USA. I sign up for classes Friday, and I am looking forward to see for sure what I will be taking this semester.

My friend Graham from high school has been staying with me since Saturday. We went to the Deutche Museum earlier in the week. It is one of the most famous museums in Germany, focusing on German science, engineering, and technology. It was really interesting and some of the displays were interactive, like an airplane flight simulator. I could spend days in there. We were there for a couple of hours and maybe only saw about a third of the museum, so I will definitely be going back. Other than that, we walked around the Englisher Garten, a huge park right next to my dorm. We eventually found the biergarten in the middle and stopped for a few weissbiers.

Here are some pictures I've taken so far:



My first meal in Munich:

In the Englisher Garten:

From the Olympic village, Maybe it was just a gloomy day, but this area was a bit depressing due to the size and emptiness of it:

Allianz Arena where Bayern Munich Plays

Week 1

I've been in Munich for a little more than a week now. It took a while to get used to living in such a big city, but I'm enjoying it. My room is very nice with a bed, a sink, a desk, and a great view. The Germans in my dorm have been very welcoming, offering to help and asking many questions about the USA.

I'm enrolled in a two week German course right now, and I am slowly learning a bit of the language. It's a bit difficult to practice since all the Germans begin to speak English as soon as they hear me struggle through a sentence. But I think by the end of this semester I may could hold a conversation.

The city is amazing. It's hard to explain, but everything just makes sense. From the public transportation to the way stores operate; logic seems to be prevalent here. The beer is not bad either. The weather has been cool and sunny for the most part, very pretty early in the morning and late in the evening. As soon as I can get them from my phone to my computer I will post some pictures.

A friend from high school is stopping by this weekend on his way to Wales to study for a year, so I am looking forward to showing him around what I've discovered.