The GDR Has Made Me Another Victim of Stalinism

Classes have been over for a week now. I’ve spent this week attempting to finish my last two term papers and dealing with some boring administrative things I had been putting off. The past few weeks may have also seen the worst case of procrastination I have ever experienced: I’m writing up my last paper in hopes of finishing it before 18.00 tonight, at which time I must don my sneakers and take the airport express. Sometime after midnight I plan on being in Cairo. That’s in Egypt.

Snotty Papers

With Bowdoin in the fourth week of the Spring semester, I have been getting a number of emails, IM-messages, phone calls, SMSs, telegrams, carrier pigeon messages, and practically all other forms of communication asking me how my second semester is going. Well, it hasn’t started yet. In fact I’m still in the Winter 2007 / 2008 Semester. However, I finished my third final today, which means I just have to make it through this last week of classes and write up two term papers. Thus I now only have twenty-five pages of German literary and cultural analysis standing between me and vacation in Egypt.

I also have a pretty terrible cold. It makes the whole “writing” thing a bit difficult at times.

Was sich reimt ist gut!

Today a substitute teacher led my French class. He mistakenly thought that my name began with an “F.” I think he may be the most demeaning teacher I have ever witnessed.

Chavez, Warmth, and Former Roommates.

I’ve been meaning to post something the past couple of days. This isn’t really it. I have been fairly busy with class and what not, but I will put a few things out.

First this is an article that everyone should read to help realize the extent of America’s imperial aims.

Second I’m going to Paris tomorrow. I am quite excited to see Aurora and Sophia.

Third someone took my green soft-shell from a bar last night. The jacket was only in it’s third year of wear and inside the pockets were my mittens, an old hat, and my mp3 player. The jacket is really the only thing that upset me to have lost. Mainly because now I just have my parka to wear for the cold days, so I will look like I came from some mountain rescue expedition every time I have to go out. I think I will buy some sort of pea coat or other type of “Mantel” as the Germans name their overcoats from an area secondhand store.

I’ll make sure to post either Sunday or Monday when I return from France.

It’s Snowing in Berlin

Lately I have been trying to better my culinary aptitude.  I have also begun looking at graduate programs.  The cooking has led to me learning how to make many new Asian styled meals.  I learned how easy it is to make fried rice in my apartment, two nights ago I helped in cooking a pad thai stir fry and last night Ben and I cooked up some great Indian styled red curry.

As for the graduate programs, finding the ones I am going to apply for is still a long way off, but I did look into the details of the GRE and have decided to try and consciously better my vocabulary, so that I don’t slump on the verbal section.

Luckily my efforts in increasing my personal lexicon can meet my attempts at creating more Asian styled meals for others through the wonderful website Free Rice.  Now every time I correctly define a word, 10 grains of rice are donated to help feed the world’s starving.  Although 10 grains does not sound like much in the past five minutes or so I have already managed to donate 300 grains while bettering my own cant.

In other news it has snowed for the past two days here in Berlin, some may accumulate tomorrow.  Slowly the winter season begins…