Since I last wrote

Hello loved ones! I hope everyone is happy and that life is treating you well. Other than missing my family terribly, I love living in Dresden. Last weekend my fellow Dresden Fulbrighters and I went out for a Döner, like a Gyro but better, and then hung out for a while. On Sunday, I stood in line for a half hour in the rain to see the Semperoper, the historic opera house in the Altstadt, during its open house. I did not expect so many people to be there, but it was packed. It was totally worth the wait as the theater is gorgeous and breathtaking. 

I am continuing to work at my school for about three hours a day and then I have the rest of the day free. I don’t want to go home and sit in my room, so I usually go into the Altstadt and walk around. Last night I went to a play. It was One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It was wonderful. I was familiar with the name, but had never read the book or seen the movie. It was even better because it was in English! I know what you are thinking, but although I know enough German to live and get around in Germany, I still have more to learn and would have understand a lot less if the play was in German. The actors were amazing. They were all from the British Isles and yet their American accents were so believable that I would never have guest that they were not Americans.

Today, I am officially a student at the Technische Universität Dresden. I am really excited! I cannot wait to take some German classes so that I can be more confident in my German. I am also really excited about a history class that I am going to sit in. It covers German history from 1933 to 1939. Then next semester, there will be a class on German history from 1939 to 1945. I think this class will be really interesting and I believe it will give me a new perspective on the time period. The class is obviously going to be in German, so I am a little nervous that I will not understand a whole lot, but that won’t stop me from taking the class.

Who knows what I will be doing this weekend, but Monday begins Saxony’s Fall Break and I am taking advantage of it. I will divide seven days between Florence and Rome. Four years ago, when I was in Salzburg, I visited Venice and Tuscany with my Uncle Brian and Aunt Jeri. I will miss not having them there with me, but every time I see a roundabout, I will be thinking of you! LOL! Sorry, that is an inside joke that we will have to tell later. As a history buff, I have wanted to go to Rome for years and see all the ancient sites. Florence, on the other hand, was chosen because my sister Clare study there for a summer and my family visited there without me four years ago. I have also heard great things about it and love the movie A Room with a View. So come back in two weeks for some great pictures and a detailed account of my adventure!