Dorm Life: Techno Musik, Sheep and Nudity

So, I promised an entry on Osnabruecker adventures, but, honestly, I don't feel like writing about those just yet. I fully intend to, however, as there are some interesting stories. What I really want to talk about is my living situation.

Initially, when they told us we were going to be living in a dorm, I was excited. Getting to know German students AND living on campus? It sounded so kick ass. They forgot to mention a few details, though, in our information briefings/ packets/ emails. For example, because dorms are a relatively new idea in Germany, oftentimes they aren't that close to the University, which is the case for ours. It's actually kind of nice, as the area where the University is located is the center of the city and can be a bit loud. But it sucks when you really want to go back and take a nap during lunch, as it takes an hour to get to the dorm and back to the classroom.

Another thing that wasn't mentioned was that are dorms were co-ed. Not the Mississippi version of co-ed, but all the way co-ed, including bathrooms. I didn't know this, so imagine my surprise when I see a dude walking out of the stall as I entered. Besides this encounter, though, I've hardly see anyone in the bathroom, let alone a boy, so it's cool. Besides, the Germans, who love their rules, have the bathrooms labeled with signs. You can only "pee standing" in the first stall.

While we're talking about bathrooms, I must tell you about our toilet paper. First off, it's brown and scratchy, but whatever. It's not that bad. What's bad is that they pretty much ration it. Apparently we get 18 rolls per month, and, if we use that up, we don't get any more until the next month. It sucks, especially since I don't know where to buy toilet paper in Osnabrueck, and I certainly didn't pack any.

Enough about the bathrooms, though. There's a vending machine with beer in it. Seriously. In a college dorm, they make beer easily acceptable. There's also a cigarette machine, and you can smoke almost everywhere. The TV room has ashtrays, the halls smell like smoke, and, everytime I go into the kitchen, there's someone leaning out the window with a Lucky Strike. Oh, and you can smoke in your room, too, although they don't seem to encourage this, as they don't put ashtrays in the rooms.

The students in our dorm are big partiers, or maybe it's just because we're here at the beginning of their summer break. Whichever. These kids have been partying a lot. Saturday night, they threw someone a birthday party in the student bar (!), which happens to be two floors below my room. The techno music blasted until two or three in the morning, and I mean blasted. My iPod was turned up all the way to soothing, let's-go-to-sleep music, but I could still hear the steady beat and electronic sound of the techno version of Happy Birthday. And they come in at all hours of the night, talking and singing and--you guessed it--playing techno in their cars.

I've decided that it's actually not that loud, really, and that it's just that my window is open in hopes of catching a breeze. I can hear the most obscure things, like sheep baa-ing. Not kidding. The first time I heard the sheep, I thought it was fake, a ring tone or some stupid toy. Wrong. There's a sheep farm in front of our dorm. With actual sheep. And we're in the middle of the city. My mind is blown every time I hear the wooly animals, who quite often are the reason I wake up from afternoon naps. Sheep can be loud.

As for my room, it looks like something straight out of a 1990 Ikea catalog. I love it, though. It's so German. And I don't have a roommate, which has been so awesome. It's not that I would mind living with someone. It's just that it has been so damn hot here, and there's no air conditioning. I don't even have a fan anymore (see Goettingen). So, in the intense heat, sleeping in anything at all, even Nike shorts and a t-shirt, is too much. Without a roommate, I can be naked all the time, which is so awesome. Although, as it cools down some, I'm enjoying snuggling up in my comforter and falling asleep cozy. It makes me think of Mississippi and the beauty of air conditioning.

So that's my experience with German dorm life thus far. It's been interesting. There have been days when I hated it, when I wanted nothing more to move back to our hotel in Leipzig that had air conditioning and not leave until it's time to go to Amsterdam. But overall, it's been hella fun. Write to you soon about Osnabrueck and our excursions.

Peace,
Elizabeth