For example, on Wednesday we had a summer BBQ party, and in the party I played the violin. I didn’t plan on that; plus the atmosphere in the party was not good for classical music. But I played anyway, and I explained to the other students before my play like this: I. Have brought my violin here anyway, so there is no reason for me not to show off my skills, although I am only a layperson. And it turned out to be very good. I played the theme song from a very famous Japanese animation movie which a lot of people know, and a traditional Chinese song.

After the BBQ party I went to a karaoke bar. This wax my first time going to karaoke outside China, and the layout of the place is very different from that in China. In China the karaoke usually have lots of separate rooms, big or small, so groups of people can sing on their own. But here in Germany it’s more like a bar with karaoke function. There are no separate rooms but a stage; people wishing to sing send the song to DJ and when their turn comes they go to the stage to sing, and all the people in the bar can enjoy it and dance to it. Other than that karaoke here is like a normal bar: people can have drinks, chat, dance, listen to music. It’s definitely smaller but more sociable than the karaoke in China.

(I have never been to a karaoke in USA… Shame on me)

Aside from that was the project. After our visit to that “Bayerischer Bahnhof”, on Thursday this week we went to “Kleingarten”. This is something I didn’t have a concept for before. I didn’t think we have that in Chin. Little garden? What is little garden? And that is typisch Deutsch? And then I gradually have a concept of this word Kleingarten. It is basically a private garden, but the functions are not limited to planting flowers or fruits or vegetables. It is a place for people to relax and enjoy life. For example, there are small hits in the garden designed for tea drinking. There is also another famous item in the garden: the German Elf, “Zwerg”. Those are those well know figures: red tall hats, big nose, long mustache. It’s interesting to know that the lovely elves in various fairy tales actually come from this Zwergen from the little gardens. I even bought two bottles of Zwinger Medizin, haha. But anyways, the garden that I first attributed little interest and importance is actually a part of German culture.