http://www.nachde.net Stories and photos from Alex Ravenel's travels through Europe Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:28:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Probably the weirdest thing I've experienced since getting back is also one of the things that you would never expect to really notice. Since getting back, I've felt like I was a giant, much taller than my very average 5'8". It seems that everything back home--from chairs to tables to ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/23/height/ I never thought it possible to be culture shocked returning your home country, but indeed, it is. I got to the Atlanta airport yesterday, and sitting in the food court waiting for my flight, I got to listen to people talking about American Idol, Nascar, and celebrity gossip. And see ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/22/culture-shock-delta-sucks/ Well, this is it. In less than an hour, I leave Tübingen. Last night, I went out with some friends for the last time. It worked out very well, with me seeing my two teachers from my summer Sprachkurs once more before leaving. It felt like a proper sendoff, and ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/21/its-that-time/ There are a lot of changes going on right now--with me, and with Tübingen. The most obvious is that on Tuesday morning, my time here in Germany is done, and I catch my flight back to the US. I've been busy getting things together, packing, cleaning, closing bank accounts and ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/19/changes/ Thanks to a very good tutorial I've added an AJAX search to the site. Try it out with the search bar above--it's very, very slick. http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/18/new-search/ I've just found the most incredible comparison (for lack of a better word) between the US and Europe. Bruce Bawer managed to put into words the feelings I've felt since getting here, that despite Europe's benefits--respect for learning and culture being primary--there's just something about it that doesn't quite jibe ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/18/hating-america/ She's just done it again. To give an idea of just how quiet my music is, when I turned it down one notch, I was unable to make out the words anymore, and I'm sitting less than three feet from the speakers. I'm not chalking this one up to cultural differences ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/17/suitemate/ I like to think that I'm quite respectful of my suitemates. I pick up after myself, make sure to do my part of the cleaning chores, and am careful to be quiet, especially during hours when people might be sleeping. Apparently that's not enough. I was listening to music in my ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/15/discretion/ The photo gallery is back up, albeit with a different look. I still don't know what happened, but moving to this new theme apparently fixed it, so I'm just going to let it be. http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/13/photos-back-up/ It's time for the third and probably last installment of Germany: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. You can read the first part here or the second part here. The Good The Countryside. The German countryside is just beautiful. Amazingly green, and covered in farm fields and quaint villages, it's a ... http://www.nachde.net/2006/02/12/germany-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-part-iii/