The Season has started!

Hey guys,

it's been 2 weeks since the last entry. Time flies by so fast. I just came home from the Rebels' second home game. Second home game, second win. The atmosphere is amazing. The stadium is great! And the tailgating? WOW! The setups of some families and groups are incredibly elaborate. You are welcomed with friendliness everywhere. There's usually more than enough food. Almost every tent has a TV playing football all day. It's just a dream. And there are so many people around, everyone is looking forward to the Walk of Champions (players and coaches walking through the tailgating area - the Grove). The marching band and the cheerleaders are out and about. And all of this on the most beautiful campus in America. I love it! There's always a "dress code" for game days. The Rebels fans all wear the same color - well, mostly. That makes the atmosphere even better. Tomorrow, the NFL season really kicks off (the first game was already on Thursday).

Other than that, I'm busy attending various sports events. There are so-called Rebel Rewards, where you can win different prizes. Currently, I have about the 20th most points in the entire university :)

Next week, the first exams are coming up at the university. One is a multiple-choice test in Supply Chain Management, and the other one is about Urban Economics. But, as expected in Germany, it includes open-ended answers. I'm really curious about the level of difficulty. My Supply Chain course has been canceled for two consecutive Thursdays. Why? This week because of technical difficulties. Since the lecturer is not in Oxford, you should be able to hear him through the speakers. Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out. And last week? Tornado Warning. Things were really going on here. I had at least 10 alerts on my phone. They told us to stay indoors and seek shelter. In such a situation, ALL lectures are suspended. The whole university is on hold. And what's the weather like? No wind at all and it's raining cats and dogs. Many people still went outside and the atmosphere in the cafeteria was not necessarily tense.

Otherwise, the days go by very quickly. Preparing for the lectures keeps me busy. In addition, I am now part of the International Student Council, which aims to make the experience for international students even better. The topics here include events, housing,... In 6-7 meetings spread over the semester, the individual departments are invited to discussion rounds. The council consists of about 30 students from all over the world, from Nepal to Saudi Arabia to China and Germany. This week, I tried rugby. It's a club team here at the university, which means anyone can participate. It was really funny and the guys welcomed me warmly. Let's see if I can make it there regularly.

I'll leave you with a few pictures. What else are you interested in? What else should I tell you more about? The cafeterias? Lecture material? Free time? Organizational stuff? Parties? Just leave a comment about what interests you and I'll try to cover that in the next entry.

Hotty Toddy!

Franz