I had breakfast for the first time at the Akademie today. It seemed pretty typical for a European breakfast, with bread and jam and even cereal. What I was not used to was the appearance of deli meat and cheese. I didn't know some people ate this with their breakfast here. Seems interesting, but for now I am going to stick with bread and jam. Also, their butter are little individual slabs so people can easily take what they need. What is ingenious is that the butter slabs are kept in a bowl of cool water, so they won't melt or stick to each other during the buffet service.
We jumped into our classes for real today. In Search, we began by discussing the definition of values and then American values. This was to introduce us to the fact that different cultures have different values. In German, we talked about culture as well, and then progressed to some vocabulary words and tools and projects we had to do for the class. By noon, we were off to lunch and then our excursion.
We jumped into our classes for real today. In Search, we began by discussing the definition of values and then American values. This was to introduce us to the fact that different cultures have different values. In German, we talked about culture as well, and then progressed to some vocabulary words and tools and projects we had to do for the class. By noon, we were off to lunch and then our excursion.
Our excursion took us to the Tholey Abbey, one of the old Catholic monasteries in Germany. Interestingly, the Abbey is still a functioning monastery following the Benedictian Rule, so we were greeted by the Abbot and given a tour by his second-in-command.
Our tour guide showed us all around the monastery, including the original church and then the smaller main hall the monks usually use. The original church had some beautiful, unique stain glass windows with abstract designs instead of the classic depictions of Biblical scenes. Then he took us up and showed us through the various hallways - in one, they had a frame on the wall with a tiny piece of wood that our tour guide told us was allegedly a relic of the Cross. He even showed us the refectory, where the monks ate, and explained how it worked, how food got distributed and the process for leaving the room after the meal.
Our tour guide showed us all around the monastery, including the original church and then the smaller main hall the monks usually use. The original church had some beautiful, unique stain glass windows with abstract designs instead of the classic depictions of Biblical scenes. Then he took us up and showed us through the various hallways - in one, they had a frame on the wall with a tiny piece of wood that our tour guide told us was allegedly a relic of the Cross. He even showed us the refectory, where the monks ate, and explained how it worked, how food got distributed and the process for leaving the room after the meal.
The Abbey was really cool. Seeing an actual, functioning Benedictine community helped give an insight into the readings I had done of The Rule of St. Benedict in the last Search semester. I had been picturing a somewhat drear place, but honestly, the monks there seemed incredibly happy. Our tour guide was one of the most cheerful people I've ever met, and all of the monks we briefly met were always happy and smiling. Although my readings made me think that it would be very dull and unfulfilling to be in a monastery, I didn't have the right perspective. It is clear that the monks felt very fulfilled and like they had found where they belonged.
We got to walk around town after the excursion, and I got a pastry at a nearby bakery. It was pretty similar to one I had gotten at a Mexican bakery next to Bryan's in Memphis, and it was interesting to navigate buying the pastry without explicitly speaking in English. The cashier did catch on in the end though, and after speaking in German to most of us, did the last transaction entirely in English. So that was my first experience buying something in Germany! It was a good experience, because I found out that while German cashiers may speak some in English, they will always give the amount in German. Evidently, English numbers are just as non-intuitive to them as German numbers are to me.
We got to walk around town after the excursion, and I got a pastry at a nearby bakery. It was pretty similar to one I had gotten at a Mexican bakery next to Bryan's in Memphis, and it was interesting to navigate buying the pastry without explicitly speaking in English. The cashier did catch on in the end though, and after speaking in German to most of us, did the last transaction entirely in English. So that was my first experience buying something in Germany! It was a good experience, because I found out that while German cashiers may speak some in English, they will always give the amount in German. Evidently, English numbers are just as non-intuitive to them as German numbers are to me.