Getting Arrested

I wasn't even here for a week before I got detained under suspicion of signing a questionable contract. Actually, all 110 or so Fulbrighters in Germany got rounded up in Köln and sent to a village in the middle of nowhere. There we found a large monastery that was to be our home for a few full days of intense orientation activities. I believe, though, that it is kind of an isolated mecca that serves as religious center, nursing home, and internment site for young Americans. Upon arrival, we learned some of the most important house rules: the gates offering any chance of connection to the outside world close at 9:45p.m. and there is no alcohol allowed on the premises. They're really more like guidelines, right?

Follow the wheelchairs!



We got these cool skelton keys.

Not bad for a temporary cell.

My "classroom."

A painting of the first warden?

We got fifteen-minute breaks here and there, so I got to explore the "village" a bit. This consisted of a hotel, an old brewery, a few houses in the distance, and this enormous cathedral that, because of our confinement, we didn't even realize was connected to the monastery.

And I found a friend from home!

Luckily, on our last night (which happened to be my birthday) they let us out early (meaning about 8:30) for some fun with our peers (within the gates, of course). The good things about prison, I guess, are that you get to meet a lot of people and judge the rest. I'm seriously concerned about how the United States is being represented abroad. The first step of the application process should be a video interview--BAM!--you're down to twenty. Anyway, a few shots of the night:

We were twins almost every day (it's a superior Denison wavelength, Clint, unheard by normal humans)

We enjoyed some guitar--thanks Nick.

Part of the Ohio contingent--there are eleven of us here. Represent!

And so ended our detainment. We had some time to poke around Köln while we waited for trains to our various placements. Those pictures will be coming soon.