(from May 2017) Es sind die kleinen Dinge… It is the little things this week that have really made me appreciate again the amazing opportunity I have to be in Germany right now in my life, along with the incredible people I’ve met and all the unique things I have learned so far
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| Touring the University of Hohenheim with Amanda |
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| Swabian food at “Sophie’s Brauhaus”(lentils, sausage, spätzle, salad) |
To start, on Tuesday I got a visit from Amanda, my international program adviser from UGA! She is traveling to a few cities in Europe this month to visit exchange programs currently being hosted through the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, which includes me and the University of Hohenheim. We had a great time touring the campus and the city, sharing photos and stories, updating Instagram accounts, and eating authentic Swabian food (courtesy of the UGA budget of course). It was nice to see a familiar face, especially one that was so instrumental in my application for this exchange program and very encouraging throughout the entire process.
I also had the chance to eat more Swabian food this week… right in my dorm building! I was invited by my German flatmate to join him and some friends in making homemade käsespätzle (a traditional type of soft egg noodles covered in cheese and topped with fried onion). I’ve eaten käsespätzle before at restaurants, and at the Uni cafeteria if that counts, but it was so cool to see the process of the food from start to finish. The dough is simply made from flour, oil, salt, water and eggs. The noodles are cooked by shredding the dough or pressing it through a special spätzle press (spätzleschwob) into boiling water. As they solidify, the noodles are taken out and put in a pan, later to be topped with plenty of cheese and warmed in the oven. It was delicious!
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| Cooking käsespätzle with my German flatmates in Fruwirthstrasse 7 |
Also this week, May decided to grace Stuttgart with a few days of sun and blue skies. In German they have a common phrase, “April macht was er will” – which means in general, “April does what it wants”. This has definitely been true for the last few weeks (April and May)… lots of rain, a day of snow, and a few amazing sunny days in between the chaos. One thing I really have come to notice about Germany and Europe in general is the people’s appreciation for nice weather. On a good day when the sun is out almost everyone is outside walking, playing sports, picnicking in the grass or simply talking about the weather. Our international group decided to enjoy the weather by playing sports in front of the castle and hosting a BBQ on the balcony of someone’s dorm building. It was a great time with great friends (:
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| My favorite path to run in Stuttgart, rain or shine |
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| Enjoying the sun on campus in front of Schloss Hohenheim |
