A Life of Leisure for some December 7, 2006

Well, It’s 10 30 pm and I have called it quits on a day of study that started about 8 hours ago – with a minor interlude of grocery shopping and forgetting my money and having to beg in half English German – Germish I shall call it – the store owner not to put everything back on the shelf – really i do only live accross the road and will be back in just a second… once I did that – I lost the key to the kitchen so I had a wee issue with putting things away – but ANYWAY – its all sorted out now.

I have had 2 exams so far – short and detailed and worth 100% of my whole grade. That is disgusting. I think I did ok in Public International Law (the law of whether you can invade eachother and whether you actually have a State (as in a country) in existence at all) . Its a seriously interesting topic – we have been looking at the Israeli – Lebanon Crisis and I have been applying my new found knowledge to the Iraq invasion – I knew Bush was bad but mine gott he’s really a fool.

On Wednesday I had a Comparative Law exam that had a question that went like this ‘ You are the prime minister of an ex socialist country and you have been granted access to the EU if you adopt the German method of consumer protection (free market). How do you think this will work?’ Well… let me see, as I am an expert on german consumer protection law afterall… That question, did I mention it was worth 50%, came after a question that went like this – ‘There are 2 excerpts on the following pages – they are the US constitution and the German Constitution – how do they apply and why are they different when it comes to the use of the first ammendment protection of freedom of speech in images of a commercial nature?’ WHAAAAATATTATATATAT???????? Anyway have bumbled my way through and I hope I pass. Tomorrow is European Community Market Freedoms Test – last year the exam question was focused on a swedish law preventing alcohol abuse and whether this inhibited trade. Goooood. Looking forward to that one.

In between studying for strange exams, I am eating copious amounts of chocolate, fantasizing about being on holiday and making a huge mess in the one room that we call home. M has been in Berlin for a week which has helped me to study but I have to beat up the mess fairies who put all that crap on his side of the bed. They’ll probably just run away tomorrow morning without tidying up either and I’ll have to do it!

Ciao for now. J

Law School Mannheim September 20, 2006

Today was the first day of serious content filled lectures. I went to Comparative Law and Introduction to German Civil Law. Both were very interesting – especially the German Civil Law topic as the German legal system is really very different from the Australian, and its very old. So it’s intriguing to see how they regulate the similar or the same issues.

Last week I went for a tour with the Jura (Law) Faculty around the wing of the Schloss that contains the law school. There is a special corridor that leads into the areas where the lectures are held. I went back there with Michael today so that he could see it – and got a couple of photos. As you will be able to see – a law school in a European Castle contains some slightly different things than in Australia – where the corridors are lined with flapping posters and copies of the latest book written by the lecturers (which is bound to turn up on the essential purchases reading list for the subject next semester).

M joined me for lunch at the EO (Erenhof East – refers to the wing of the castle – the law school is in the the Erenhof West), and then I went back to classes and did a bit of socialising (after class) until I caught the tram home. It was a happy ride home as I had really enjoyed my classes, the sun was shining – and… I had managed to locate some oyster sauce FINALLY for a stir fry for dinner. Hurrah!!

Last week we went on a ‘meet your classmates’ tour to a UNESCO world heritage listed site – Kolster Maulbronn a former Cistercian monastry built in 1000s – then converted to Protestant centre, which it is still functioning as, in the 1500s. Very interesting. There was completely seperate living, eating, praying quarters for the working brothers and the monks. So we went through the two seperate areas. They needed the class distinction in the monastry so that the Monks (Brothers) could pray 7 hours a day and not to be interrupted by annoying things like work. Today there is a boarding school in there – it would be an amazing place to go to school. Only 50 students studying, theology, languages and music- would have been my kind of school!

After Michael smashed his head so hard on a low medieval stone door frame that he brought on a migrane, we had lunch and then went to Speyer – a pretty town about 20 Kms from Mannheim (M and I thought we might end up living there if we couldn’t get a room in Mannheim). The uni had organised a really poxy acted out historical tour that didn’t really tell us anything or show us anything – except that the costumes looked silly and the tour guides spoke less good English than they thought (unlike me). We are going to go back for another visit maybe this weekend – as Speyer is famous not just for its trade and cathedral but for the ancient Jewish Baths (Mikvahs) over 2000 years old. That wasn’t in the tour and we had always intended to go and see them. And I saw a most excellent hat shop that I would like to examine in a more serious way.

BARGUANE BARGUANE BARGUANE – for all of you who know how much i love to get a bargain – here is a story for you. On the way back from Bad Durkheim’s version of the Royal Adelaide Show we got off in the port area on the river at Mannheim called Ludwigshafen (as in Ludvig’s hafen – no sh). Its the part of town where most immigrants live and its really quite interesting – some good shopping too – including clearance stores. And I got (drumroll) 2 red bags – one a fine handbag for going to movies etc and the other a satchel with the word MILK in big white letters on it (don’t ask me why but it looks cool) for E7.50 for BOTH. Alllriighhhtt. M was very jealous. I felt rather groovy at uni with my bag today.It takes simple pleasures to keep me happy.

Whilst it has cooled down it is still rather sunny here so we’re going to plan a few more trips – next stop after Speyer is the thermal springs town of Baden Baden – only 45 minutes away by train but we might make a weekend of it some time soon and see the Black Forest, and reeelaaaax… will update you when that happens.

JD

As usual click to see bigger images