"There is a castle on a cloud..."

...and I'm going to live there for 6 months! I'm so excited; I just got the news this evening! I'm officially a part of the Collegium Philippinum!

I finally feel like I'm ready to go (now that I know exactly where I'm going!) I'll post my mailing address as soon as I'm informed.

Aber jetzt muss ich schlafen. But now I must sleep.
Gute Nacht,
Josiah

Wenn ich nur im Schloss wohnen könnte...

"If only I could live in the castle..."

When I first applied for housing in Marburg back in September, I was told that the Schloss--Marburg's very own castle, which is home to a small group of students--was full and I wouldn't be able to room there.

Well, I received an email from Herr Riggs, the BCA coordinator, informing me that some spots had opened up in the Schloss, and that if I applied post haste, I might just get in!

The only catch was that the application was all auf Deutsch*. However, I persevered, and after a good 8 hours of writing an correcting my application Aufsatz** to the Collegium Philippinum (the student organization that runs the Schloss), I sent it in.

I'm not sure if I'll get in, but I have spies that tell me my chances are looking really good!

Hoffentlich***....!




*in German
**Essay
***Hopefully

Viele Herzlichen Grüßen! Many Happy Greetings!

It less than 4 weeks, I will find out whether that phrase--and others I have added to my limited German vocabulary--will bring smiles of understanding, smirks of scorn, or apologetic bafflement from the people I meet.

This blog is for the purpose of providing a window into my experiences and adventures in the upcoming 6 months, as I travel to Germany to study abroad, and then from there to the UK for a two-week learning expedition about Muslims in London.

I will probably post a lot of random German words and phrases here and there, but for those of you who don't speak Deutsch, I'll try to remember to provide translation to things--that way you can learn along with me!

For starters, the title of this blog, "Reise nach Osten, Junger Mann!" means "Go east, young man!"

Bis bald!
till later!