That was only two weeks?

Orientation for the MPP program ended last week and I'm pretty much finished with my first week of classes and I wanted to mention just a few key points that my leaders have used to describe the program. The first and foremost is so obvious it is impossible not to notice, like that very special mixture of odors, the stinging, nasal cavity opening smell of piss and bleach that reminds you you have entered a men's public bathroom. It's that same kind of unmistakable clarity that we are a very diverse group of people. I've met many of my 70 person class, we stretch from about 30 different countries spanning 4 continents (no one from Australia or Antarctica). As unique as the people is their previous education and training- we have people with backgrounds not only in political science or international relations, but also philosophy, theology, architecture, social work, education, law, English, European studies, human rights, computer science, and engineers of all varieties. I would be a fool to say there is a boring, or uninteresting person among us. After two weeks I feel like I can make some very interesting and long lasting friendships, and it's exciting to be around them for another two years. I will get to know some more so than other, as there is a significant amount of group work involved in the courses.
My greatest deterrent at the moment is 8am class 3 days a week, which means waking up before dawn to have enough time to press some hot coffee through my body before heading to the bus stop. The traveling is worse now because there is major construction through one of the main thoroughfares from the south, where I live, to the north, where the school is. I take a 5 minute bus, get off, take a 10-12 minute walk through narrowed, fenced in passageways next to construction workers dressed in orange and blue, to rush to my tram that faces the enormous cathedral on the hill nearby, only to take another 5 minute tram ride to the university complex. Fortunately the walk is through one of the nicer cobbled streets in the downtown district and as a result, I've gotten much more familiar with some of the streets.
Today Erika and took a walk through the more historic section of town, known as the Krämerbrucke. This involved a trip through some narrow streets lined featuring original Thuringen restaurants, jewelry stores, and various other arts and crafts. I'll have to take pictures to show better details, and I have the feeling that these sections of town own a completely different atmosphere at night, perhaps with snowflakes falling...