Day 18: Of Closed Groups and Barbecues

Phew… Time flies… It feels like I arrived yesterday and it's already been almost three weeks. My German is improving, but I'm still miles away from being able to make a complete sentence without problems. I'm not enjoying the TUDIAS course. The advertising they sent me to Ávila made it seem like after their one-month intensive course, even if you didn't know any German, you would be able to handle yourself confidently at the university, but so far, all this course has taught me is basic vocabulary for working in a fruit shop… Otherwise, I'm getting used to the aforementioned German monotony, their schedules, their food…

But I'm lacking some social life. When you've been away for a while, you realize that it's great to go out with people from other countries, but you also need people from your homeland, people who have something in common with you… Maru, the girl who helped me at the beginning, has already left, and Juan, my friend from whom I inherited the room and furniture, is in exams, although he's still always encouraging me and taking me out to meet people and see new things. The Spaniards I've met so far at TUDIAS have disappointed me a little… I arrived a week late, and that has made a big difference: the friend groups are already formed. To a certain extent, I can understand it. When you arrive in a strange place, the first thing you do is “bond” with people who are in the same situation as you. When someone new arrives later, that person is a step below you, and you no longer have the same need to make friends. The problem is that the group of Spaniards that has formed is very closed; it's hard to get them to take you into account. I think it's a mistake: it's your Erasmus year; you have to take advantage of it to meet people, not close yourself off to the first 5 you met on the first day…

There's something that fascinates me about them: they feel very confident when moving around the city, dealing with city hall paperwork and university procedures; they know all the bars and interesting places in Dresden, as if they'd been living here their whole lives (compared to the infinite insecurity with which I move, probably caused by my zero German level).

The other day, TUDIAS organized a barbecue for all the students next to the Blaues Wunder, a very beautiful bridge that survived the final days of World War II (its name means the Blue Wonder). They made a huge bonfire, and we were treated to sausages. The beer flowed despite being lukewarm. This barbecue allowed me to meet more Spaniards. There are more groups! Talking about the song Andrés Calamaro made for Maradona, I met a group from the University of Zaragoza. I also met Spaniards who had been living in Dresden for a long time.

The party went on much longer: I was talking for a while with one of the guides from the other day, who was showing me his 1970s Volkswagen van. That van was the origin of the party (the music and beers were coming from it) and one of my dreams. I hope that when this year is over, I can return to Spain in a van like that, traveling through Europe little by little… A Japanese guy spent an hour trying to tell me how high the price of potatoes is in Asia (I don't know if he took so long to tell me because I didn't understand him or because he couldn't explain himself). And it also allowed me to learn that Dresden is very big… It took me 35 minutes by bus, without a single transfer, to get back home from the party.

Next post: Day 21: Oktoberfest

Previous post: Days 13, 14, and 15: Tourism in Saxony