Ankunft in Trier!

I am at last beginning my blog, having survived my first week (and a bit) in Trier. Said survival succeeded largely thanks to the “tutors” shepherding us through the bureaucracy and orientation with an impressive, Teutonic efficiency. My accommodation is most satisfactory, if a rather odd shade of khaki, consisting of a little apartment of my own right by the Campus in the middle of a huge park (c.f. above photo).

 

Whilst the housing is fine (and free), there are a few marked peculiarities, most notably the bed (which is more of a cot) and a low coffee table with its own swivel-chair. Being an international student, the place suffer from a slight dearth of decoration, with none of my usual additions (standard lamp, rug, decanters etc.). The other difficulty coming with being an international student is my poorly equipped kitchen, forcing me to boil water for my tea in a pan, using lemon juice rather than slices, lacking a knife sharp enough to cut a lemon. However, since I just get hobs(no oven), I can only cook in a pan anyway, so I am confident that I’ll be able to overcome these difficulties (particularly with Mumsie and Daddikins driving over with supplies soon). The only other aspect of the accommodation worthy of note is the shower-curtain assault to which I am subjected every morning thanks to an overly-zealous extractor fan.

Thus far, the Germans appear to have found my Britishness rather overt, with most identifying it before I’ve even opened my mouth by virtue of my hair. That's all well and good, but yesterday I was quite affronted by the proprietor of a “kebap” shop on campus (fret not, I was only ordering chips). Having initially complemented me on my blazer, he went on to inform me that I look like “that man from the film”. With a little input from his colleague, he confirmed: “Ja. Mr. Bean.” He received my best unimpressed face. According to one of the "tutors", I was also highly entertaining to sit near on the film evening, to which I naturally brought a litre of wine (£2.10 – most reasonable). I was not impressed by the film, and made this known, eventually concluding that it was the third worst film to which I’ve been subjected.

Anyway, I’m having an incredible time thus far; it's great fun being surrounded by German all the time. It also helps that I’ve finally got an internet connexion and a German phone, so am a bit more like a functioning human being. Bis bald! x