Leipzig

That title is a stretch and I know it :D Wednesday 18th March I'll be honest, this is the first time been in the commercial centre of Leipzig at 6 a.m. on a Wednesday, but I would guess it were no less busy than it usually is this morning. I make embarrassing eye contact with a man in high-vis while he necks a miniature bottle of liqueur. As I have made a big show of, I have been trying to avoid flying since I underwent the Flygskam epiphany... but I also believe in pragmatism and avoiding blanket rules and don't really want to shell out €360 to take a 21-hour train journey home. Luckily I still get to take one train from the Hbf to the airport. They're so much posher than English ones, with functioning and uncomplicated electronic screens showing all the upcoming stops, the  original ETA of each one, and the actualised one. Which are always the same! No braying, crackly loudspeaker announcements; no shitty scrolling dotty orange lettering you have to hover over yo...

I booked my flight home on Monday evening after the Bristol Language Department officially instructed us all to skidaddle. I get real travel anxiety so have been feeling buzzed ever since. I write this with 12 hours to go until I leave. I'm gutted; I was starting to really like it here and genuinely looking forward to my term. Tuesday 17th March My alarm awoke me at 8:04 this morning and after swallowing a vat of coffee I schlepped over to  Leipzig Tafel . The tram was maybe a bit emptier than usual, but the old Volk  of Leipzig do not appear to be aware of (or are just disobeying) social distancing advice (hedonistic nutters!), so I feel a little germy as I embark in the hip Eastern Viertel . I have come with my flatmate to do some Good during these (officially dubbed by whomstever sends Bristol Uni's daily Coroney Correspondences) ~Troublesome Times~. We aren't there long, however, before it becomes clear that we are surplus to requirements. They reassure us that th...

As I came to Leipzig before the university term started, I have been a bit lonely and uninspired. In a bit of a ~creative rut~ you might say. Hence blog posts weren't as regular as they were when I was in Marseille . Whomst could have known all I needed was a global pandemic to relight my fire?! Gott sei Dank people , I'm back! For the past couple weeks, I have been pretty derisive about Corona; just sitting back and enjoying the rich wave of memes that it spawned. I was exposed to the backlash condemning mediatised hysteria before I was exposed to the original mediatisation; so - as is quite often the case in my left-wing, right-on echo chamber - I picked up the critical, alternative line, before even being aware of the issue which was being criticised. Thursday 12 th  March This is the first day I am taking the virus seriously. In the afternoon I receive an email saying that my university term is delayed by a month - to May at the earliest. I then receive corr...