February 27th

February 27: hear

"Where'd you hear that?" is a common phrase now...and probably always. People hear things through 3 main sources today: face to face interaction, online sources, and phones. The three can be intermixed (thank you, skype), but "hearing" something generally implies learning new knowledge. There's a lot that I haven't heard yet, and a lot that I've already heard. C'est la vie.

I'm thrilled to have been accepted to the Patterson School of International Diplomacy and Commerce!

I feel like this. The relief of the above and the giddiness of the below.

February 26th

February 26: lift

One of my absolute favorite things to drink is Lift, which is the brand name for apfelschorle, which is total lecker. It's carbonated apple juice, and German apple juice is so good - not too sweet. So I've been searching for an American equivalent ever since I got back, and the best I have found is Izze. It's not pure apple juice though, but mostly apple with added juices. Drinking it tends to lift my spirits. It reminds me of how happy I was all summer (I'm still happy, but that level of euphoria couldn't be sustained more than a summer), and makes me smile.

February 25th

I took these pictures on the correct day, but I didn't upload them in a timely manner. Oh well.

February 23: live

There are stairs to nowhere in UCA's fine arts building. I climbed them anyhow. Climbing on stairs to nowhere is symbolic somehow...I guess. The thing is, I knew the stairs weren't going anywhere, and that meant I had to climb them. A set of stairs that went somewhere weren't of interest to me! It's the opposite of life...where we don't want to get stuck going nowhere. Hopefully, my life will not be like these stairs. Hopefully, I will live.

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February 24: vision

One needs vision to run an organization. Hopefully it's not short-sighted vision, but sometimes that happens to all of us! I spent this day thinking of "Be Thou My Vision." I don't like that song very much, but my reason for disliking it isn't very strong. I should give it another try.

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February 25: cover

1) I have had the song "I'll Cover You" in my head all day. I don't really like Rent.

2) My first thought was to take a selfie of myself in my dripping raincoat because it covers me and protects me from the rain.

3) Then I saw this sign in the bathroom at Pat Walker. Part of it at the bottom says "get covered!" Pat Walker is covered by the student health fee, and other stuff is probably covered by insurance. I'm fortunate enough to have both of those paid by someone else at this point in my life (yay not being 26!). We're often fortunate enough to have something or someone covering us. I know I try not to take it for granted, but I need to think about that more often.

(Side note: antibiotics are covered by insurance, which makes going to the doctor and getting a prescription way cheaper than trying to get better using over the counter medicines. So happy to be covered. And if this post is odd(er than usual) I blame my excellent coverage.)

Berliner Dom

I just discovered that the Berliner Dom is super beautiful on the inside. If I ever get the opportunity to return to Germany, I'm definitely going to have to visit it. It's annoying that I visited every Catholic Church in Germany, but I didn't get to go into this beautiful Protestant church...oh well. C'est la vie.

Also, I've been listening to German church music because I've been reading the lyrics for poetry class.

Side note: I have pictures for the past two days! I just haven't uploaded them. I'll do a three-day recap sometime today...

February 22nd

February 22: spirit

I've been watching too much Parks & Recreation lately. Mostly because one of my favorite fictional characters, Ben Wyatt, got married on the show last night, and as a devoted fan I felt compelled to watch the episode 4 times.

So the word of the day is spirit. I chose to take a picture of Li'l Sebastian...which seems odd. But it's not what Li'l Sebastian is, but what he represents (in the world of the show. not seriously). He represents the spirit of Pawnee, Indiana. It's hard to capture the spirit of small-town life in a single object, but Li'l Sebastian successfully portrays how ridiculous a town can be while remaining entirely sincere.

My first thought when I think of "spirit" is air, but it is hard to take a picture of a light breeze.

This film approved by the Nazi Party...

Today in German Cinema, the film showed was Die Feuerzangenbowle, which was made in 1944. So this film had to get through the Nazi approval process before being showed to the public. It's really funny...not a propaganda film. I didn't realize that other kinds of films were being made in Germany at the time. It kind of seems like a waste of money and manpower that could've been used to win the war, but I guess that turned out all right for me!

There's a scene at the end of the movie where a student (below, right) is impersonating a teacher (below, left).

It reminded me of this scene from V for Vendetta, which seems peculiar because the first movie was made under the supervision of the National Socialist Party and the second is clearly anti-fascist. 

Anyhow, this scene is hilarious.