Week 2 in Halle...from the school computer lab.

Week 2 in Halle was a good combination of work and play. Beth and I worked in the studio Monday-Friday and really got a lot done. I am working on a series of hybrid houses which are metaphors for my ancestry. Each house is based off the house of one of my family members, but I am including more German influence in the design since my family originally comes from Germany. When they are done I plan to leave them behind (most likely outdoors) as a representation of my family’s return to it’s place of origin. So far I have made 5 houses, although I am planning to go back and remake several of them as I observe more German architecture.
It is has been interesting to work in such a different atmosphere. Many of the students are away at other classes during the day, so many afternoons are fairly quite. Unfortunately the language barrier has made it very difficult to get feedback from most of our peers, and it seems that the professors are rarely in the studio. It has been very hard to not be able to talk through my ideas (with anyone other than Beth of course, who is probably sick of hearing me!) but at the same time it is a growing experience. It definitely makes me thankful for my O.U. family of critics though.
Friday evening Beth and I were planning to attend a party being thrown by several other students, but we lost the invitation and ended up on the opposite side of town from where we should have been. Instead we decided to go to Object 5 (a restaurant/concert hall/ discotheque) to see if we could hear some good music. We only caught the last 10 minutes of a French gypsy band, but were just in time for dancing. I was surprised to find how many French people had come to see the band, as I often forget how easy it is to travel internationally in Europe. Dancing was a lot of fun though.
Saturday Beth and I went to the Renaissance festival being held at die Burg. It was really amazing to see a Renaissance festival in an actual castle, since all the ones I’ve been to in the US have just been in a field or forest. There was lots of great food, crafts, and even a bagpipe band to enjoy. To top it all off I bought a really cool scarf too. Afterwards we followed our new friend Merium to Lydia’s (another keramic student from Russia) where we spent the night eating home-made sushi, drinking French wine, and enjoying wonderful conversation. It was the first time we had really been able to just sit and talk to people, so I really enjoyed it. Merium’s English is very good since she was an exchange student in high school, although Lydia’s is more basic. We still were able to learn a lot about each other’s pasts and Lydia told us about growing up in Russia. Lydia’s boyfriend Bert (which is pronounced more like Beart) was also there. He works in the German film industry, which was also very interesting to hear about.
Sunday morning we were invited back to Lydia’s apartment for a traditional Russian breakfast of creap-like pancakes. It was sooooo tasty! After more wonderful conversation Beth and I drug ourselves to the studio to try and get some work done, although with the Renaissance festival happening all around us and the beautiful weather we weren’t able to keep ourselves there long.
Overall it has been a really wonderful week. I am finally feeling very accustomed to my new life-style and am enjoying myself greatly. Between walking sometimes up to 2 hours a day and having minimal stress I feel better physically and mentally than I have in a long time. I am really looking forward to the rest of my time here.

An action shots of Cha Cha- my roommate's friend's dog who likes to randomly run into my room and roll around upside down on my floor (this happens almost daily).
Spring is comming to Halle!