Marburg is like rehab for internet addicts

 

My first few days in Marburg were spent without the internet. Unlike UK universities, Marburg uni doesn’t feel the need to supply an internet connection to all of its residencies. People living in the Studentendorf (student village) appear to be the lucky buggers who have internet access in their bedrooms, whilst the rest of us have to make our own arrangements. I was only internetless for 2 days but those days were hard. Now I’d never considered myself to be an online junkie, but I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had truly gone “cold turkey”. No internet meant no means of talking to my mum, no internet meant no way of taking my mind off of the prison like room that they call a bedroom, no internet meant I was trapped in this mean German reality.

Luckily for me I had read up about this internet problem on some blogs before arriving in Germany and had heard of a devise called a “surf-stick” – its a prepaid internet stick supplied by most leading phone companies, So on day 3 in Marburg I rushed around the shops trying to find a surf stick. I bought one, it was expensive, €40 for a months worth of internet, but I didn’t care.

Now although the internet is expensive, it is fast….well its fast when I use it anywhere except for in my halls of residence. Yes its sods law that I end up situated in the one part of town that receives very little mobile signal. This means that Skype has a 5-20 second delay, I can’t watch videos on Youtube, nor can I download music or upload photos onto Facebook. The internet often disconnects because of lack of signal and if it runs out of credit on a Saturday night then you will have to wait until Monday to reconnect with the world, as I tragically learnt this weekend. Nonetheless I’ve put up with it for a month and its better than not having any internet. I’m hoping to find someone in my hall to share internet with. Some people who are here for a few years buy their own contracts, modems and routers. I’ve put up a poster on the bulletin board asking if anyone would like to share with me and I will pay then how ever much a month they see fit, I’m also going to put a similar note underneath my neighbour’s door. Fingers crossed someone will come to my rescue.