Stuttgart!!!!

Hello! I've been in Stuttgart, Germany for about 5 weeks now, and I've finally gotten into the groove of things. The lab work has been going amazingly, I've been learning so much and I didn't realize I would get to work so independently. The only problem is now I've learned everything in German. Essigsäuerethylester? Triethylamin? I don't know my Lösungsmittel in English!

Everyone in the lab is friends with everyone else and goes out after work at least once a week, so it was nice to have this group set up for me before I came. The lab is also pretty relaxed, we take coffee breaks three times a day! Everyone in the lab is addicted to it. I don't drink coffee and I've been drinking tap water instead, but apparently tap water is taboo here. The first couple of weeks my coworkers would repeatedly (and disbelievingly) ask me if I was sure I didn't want something else to drink besides tap water. And they warned me of the dangers of drinking tap water in countries outside Germany.

I've been traveling on the weekends with other students on different DAAD programs. I went to Geneva a couple weekends ago, which was a total culture shock because everything was in French and I'd never been to a place where I didn't know the language before. I've also traveled around southern Germany a bit, and next weekend I've going to Paris. A lot of the people I travel with are Canadian, and I've started to pick up a Canadian accent. A few times I've caught myself saying, "Eh?"

I'm having an amazing time here. Thanks IRES!