Ok so i know that simply posting a music video isn't an appropriate summary of my semester abroad and i'll post something else soon with more depth but right now i have no idea what to say. Tonight is my last night in Germany and tomorrow evening i'll be back in the States. I left Dortmund Saturday morning, it was pretty hard saying goodbye to everyone especially Anne but as sad as i may be, i don't feel worried so at least i have that. Nichole and i got wasted Saturday night when we ducked out of the karaoke party the rest of my cousins we're making after our grill-out. That was pretty funny. Nothing like getting drunk with random Germans. We went to a party and some dude pulled a "Rock" move on me: as i walked out onto the terrace, he said hey to Nichole and then looked at me and said "Who are you, then?". I barely got my name out of my mouth before he slammed a shot glass down in front of me and said "Nice to meet you, let's drink!"
In the meantime, i've decided to try something a little different to actually get me motivated to write. I've started a serial that i'll try to add to at least once a week. Normally i focus too much on my writing style and editing my work to make it perfect and i lose interest in the story and my motivation completely dies. So i'm writing this one quite roughly, no fancy literariness from me this time... Short and sweet. I'll probably also feel more motivated if i know people are following it and expecting me to write more. So please leave comments. I'll just tell you ahead of time, i have no idea how it's going to end but i really like the story idea. It's the latest post on my other blog the Phoenician Sea so check it out and i'll see everyone back in the States.
3.8.09
1.8.09
Ich hab ne Gefühl, dass heute Nacht ne schöne Nacht sein wird...
Ungefahr mein Auslandssemester:-D
Ok so nicht genau aber sehr ähnlich... Wir hatten immer ganz viele mehr Bier dabei auf jedenfalls;-)
Ok so nicht genau aber sehr ähnlich... Wir hatten immer ganz viele mehr Bier dabei auf jedenfalls;-)
Und jetzt ist es vorbei... Ganz traurig.
"Naturally-born"
I could seriously give a flying fuck whether Obama was born in Kenya or the states or the fucking former-USSR. What the fuck does it matter? He is obviously American now. Or do you seriously think his loyalties with some other country come before his for the US? If so, then there is only one explanation as to why he would want to run for president of the US: he is the main component in a massive plot against America that went completely undetected by the CIA and now this secret operation is in control of the most powerful position in the Executive Branch of the US Government. How fucking retarded does that sound when you actually think about?
Really.
Fucking.
Retarded.
And why does one have to be “naturally-born”? That sounds so nationalistic! What are we Nazi Germany? Might as well be, you racist mother-fucking nation. We get a black guy into the White House and you have to find every possible way to get him out as if to say “oh, our bad, we didn’t want that decision to improve our standing in the world opinion, we take it back, can we do a re-vote?”. You people have no idea how this election was perceived by the rest of the world. We won a lot of respect and it’s just like you to fuck that up for the rest of the country by making it appear as if our own people can’t even agree on whether shit that happened because the majority of Americans wanted it to happen should have happened. That’s retarded.
“Naturally born”. Goddamn it. We are only in this country because our ancestors migrated here. That was the fucking purpose behind the country. Schwarzenegger has been a US citizen for longer than many politicians have been alive but he can never run for President while the others theoretically could. That’s retarded. And I say theoretically because no 35-year-old is ever going to win the Presidency because 35-year-olds are “too young” and “inexperienced”. All they ever want is change. Like that bastard John Kennedy. Goddamn him and his radical ways. We all know how an American solved that problem. I bet you’re all hoping someone does the same to Obama, you stupid arshlöcher! How many Americans would kill Obama right now if they knew they wouldn’t stand trial for it? Yeah you know the answer is a lot. Now think about how fucked up that is. People would kill a man (against your 10 commandments you all raise hell about preserving) and use as an excuse “well he wasn’t born here”. How is that any different from Nazi Germany?
At the very worst, you have to put up with him for 3 more years and then you elect a new person. And if it gets too outta line, just impeach him. But for god sakes don’t go about it cowardly and attack his mother-fucking citizenship. Attack his politics, at least then you’re making headway towards what would be “better” for the country because otherwise, once you’re done, the answer to who should be the next president would be reliant completely on the issue of whether or not he was born in the US. What a joke. Well thank god Obama’s outta here… Joe Biden, I guess he’s alright, at least he was born in America… STUPID!
Cullowhee peeps: back me up on this!
Really.
Fucking.
Retarded.
And why does one have to be “naturally-born”? That sounds so nationalistic! What are we Nazi Germany? Might as well be, you racist mother-fucking nation. We get a black guy into the White House and you have to find every possible way to get him out as if to say “oh, our bad, we didn’t want that decision to improve our standing in the world opinion, we take it back, can we do a re-vote?”. You people have no idea how this election was perceived by the rest of the world. We won a lot of respect and it’s just like you to fuck that up for the rest of the country by making it appear as if our own people can’t even agree on whether shit that happened because the majority of Americans wanted it to happen should have happened. That’s retarded.
“Naturally born”. Goddamn it. We are only in this country because our ancestors migrated here. That was the fucking purpose behind the country. Schwarzenegger has been a US citizen for longer than many politicians have been alive but he can never run for President while the others theoretically could. That’s retarded. And I say theoretically because no 35-year-old is ever going to win the Presidency because 35-year-olds are “too young” and “inexperienced”. All they ever want is change. Like that bastard John Kennedy. Goddamn him and his radical ways. We all know how an American solved that problem. I bet you’re all hoping someone does the same to Obama, you stupid arshlöcher! How many Americans would kill Obama right now if they knew they wouldn’t stand trial for it? Yeah you know the answer is a lot. Now think about how fucked up that is. People would kill a man (against your 10 commandments you all raise hell about preserving) and use as an excuse “well he wasn’t born here”. How is that any different from Nazi Germany?
At the very worst, you have to put up with him for 3 more years and then you elect a new person. And if it gets too outta line, just impeach him. But for god sakes don’t go about it cowardly and attack his mother-fucking citizenship. Attack his politics, at least then you’re making headway towards what would be “better” for the country because otherwise, once you’re done, the answer to who should be the next president would be reliant completely on the issue of whether or not he was born in the US. What a joke. Well thank god Obama’s outta here… Joe Biden, I guess he’s alright, at least he was born in America… STUPID!
Cullowhee peeps: back me up on this!
26.7.09
Chaos im Campus
Jungs wird Jungs...
Last night, Jon + Jose and I decided to cause mayhem on the Campus Nord as a way of saying goodbye to TU Dortmund (even though Jose is staying an extra semester and I am coming back next year... probably not a very good idea in hindsight...). We started by breaking into a construction site and climbing all over the machinery but it was really unfortunate that the tractors here all have glass doors and we couldn't climb into them.
Then we terrorized the local rabbit population and almost succeeded in catching one. We would have got one eventually after we came up with the idea of using a jacket as a net but our night got cut really short unexpectedly (more on that later) and we never got a chance to fully implore that particular tactic. The grass was soaked from the rain all week and most of it had turned to mud. Our shoes are caked. Then we found some other Kunstwerke to climb on. We saw some random people partying around the fountain at about 01.30 which was weird... We used the benches of the picnic tables outside of the Mensa to make pyramids on top of the tables and then proceeded to the S-Bahn where our main goal lay in wait. Upon arival, however, we found a group of Spanish kids playing some game in the area above the station. It was Jon's desire to run across the S-Bahn tracks at least once before leaving Germany. It was my desire to steal one of the Meitnerweg Sommerfest posters from the pillars in between the two sides of the station. We ignored the Spanish festivities and went down into the station and succeeded in achieving both of our desires but forgot to go all the way across and come up the other side which we figured would have seemed really funny to the Spanish kids up top. But then again they we're probably too involved in their game to have noticed.
Then i did something i had been wanting to do for a long while. I climbed up on top of the little building right there next to the ticket machine but i discovered it was not flat on top but rather sunk in and it was like a black lake of filthy rain water and garbage. Afterwards, we headed over to the rings and hung from them which was quite a feat, especially the third ring which we all needed help supporting our feet while we shimmied our way to the center of the ring. We tried to take a group foto but i think we were all too tired from having climbed on so much stuff already that after i set the 10 second timer and ran to the first ring, none of us had the strength to stay in our positions and Jose + i ended up falling and hanging just from our hands and Jon was sadly completely blocked from the picture by my swinging leg. He fell off the ring shortly after the picture was taken...
Then we headed back over to Emil Figge 50 to see about some things. We were amazed to find the rhino statue was not bolted to the ground so we turned him around to face the opposite direction. We were all of the mind that he actually looked better facing the building rather than the bog between the building and the library and we wondered if anyone wold even notice it was different.
Then we went over to the "beach" outside of the Sonnendeck and made pyramid of the beach chairs and stacked all the tables on top of each other in a tower. As we were about to leave, we looked back at the rhino and decided he would look better on the walking path. So we went back and strained and carried that heavy bastard through three-inch-deep mud to get him onto the path. But before we could turn him and get him properly placed, some guy opened the door to Emil Figge and saw us. Jose led the charge after i suggested "run away?". He is the fastest man i've ever seen. Jon was quick to follow though and gracefully scooped up the rolled-up poster that we had tossed aside to deal with the rhino. I brought up the rear but i was so worn-out from moving that statue and climbing on shit and boosting the others up onto higher shit, that when i got to the stairs that lead down into the S-Bahn pit (no more Spanish kids, Gott sei Dank!), i thought "how the hell did they get down the stairs that fast?!". The idea of the guard chasing us catching me and having to go to jail in Germany motivated me a little i guess and i ended up jumping the entirety of each of three sections of stairs going down to the S-Bahn. Then we all scattered and sent the rabbits flying in every direction; if we weren't so focused on being chased, we could have grabbed a few because this time they were so confused they had no idea which way to run and they were almost colliding into our legs as we ran. We didn't stop until we got to a parking lot on the opposite side of the Studentendorf where we hid behind some cars until we figured it was clear. We couldn't stay together in case they called the Polizei but Jon lived in another building anyway so we said our quick goodbyes (we won't see him again before he leaves Germany) and split up. Just as we got back to Meitnerweg, Jose and i realized we never made it to McDonalds like we had wanted to and all of that climbing, lifting and running had made us really hungry. We couldn't really go back to the S-Bahn anymore so we checked the schedule for the Nacht Express (which wasn't running to Meitnerweg anymore) and then decided to make some chicken nuggets and fries i had in my freezer. We cooked them at about three in the morning and watched an episode of South Park online while we ate. All in all, it was a terrific evening and a good farewell to Dortmund (at least for now).
Last night, Jon + Jose and I decided to cause mayhem on the Campus Nord as a way of saying goodbye to TU Dortmund (even though Jose is staying an extra semester and I am coming back next year... probably not a very good idea in hindsight...). We started by breaking into a construction site and climbing all over the machinery but it was really unfortunate that the tractors here all have glass doors and we couldn't climb into them.
Then we terrorized the local rabbit population and almost succeeded in catching one. We would have got one eventually after we came up with the idea of using a jacket as a net but our night got cut really short unexpectedly (more on that later) and we never got a chance to fully implore that particular tactic. The grass was soaked from the rain all week and most of it had turned to mud. Our shoes are caked. Then we found some other Kunstwerke to climb on. We saw some random people partying around the fountain at about 01.30 which was weird... We used the benches of the picnic tables outside of the Mensa to make pyramids on top of the tables and then proceeded to the S-Bahn where our main goal lay in wait. Upon arival, however, we found a group of Spanish kids playing some game in the area above the station. It was Jon's desire to run across the S-Bahn tracks at least once before leaving Germany. It was my desire to steal one of the Meitnerweg Sommerfest posters from the pillars in between the two sides of the station. We ignored the Spanish festivities and went down into the station and succeeded in achieving both of our desires but forgot to go all the way across and come up the other side which we figured would have seemed really funny to the Spanish kids up top. But then again they we're probably too involved in their game to have noticed. 
Then i did something i had been wanting to do for a long while. I climbed up on top of the little building right there next to the ticket machine but i discovered it was not flat on top but rather sunk in and it was like a black lake of filthy rain water and garbage. Afterwards, we headed over to the rings and hung from them which was quite a feat, especially the third ring which we all needed help supporting our feet while we shimmied our way to the center of the ring. We tried to take a group foto but i think we were all too tired from having climbed on so much stuff already that after i set the 10 second timer and ran to the first ring, none of us had the strength to stay in our positions and Jose + i ended up falling and hanging just from our hands and Jon was sadly completely blocked from the picture by my swinging leg. He fell off the ring shortly after the picture was taken...
Then we headed back over to Emil Figge 50 to see about some things. We were amazed to find the rhino statue was not bolted to the ground so we turned him around to face the opposite direction. We were all of the mind that he actually looked better facing the building rather than the bog between the building and the library and we wondered if anyone wold even notice it was different.
Then we went over to the "beach" outside of the Sonnendeck and made pyramid of the beach chairs and stacked all the tables on top of each other in a tower. As we were about to leave, we looked back at the rhino and decided he would look better on the walking path. So we went back and strained and carried that heavy bastard through three-inch-deep mud to get him onto the path. But before we could turn him and get him properly placed, some guy opened the door to Emil Figge and saw us. Jose led the charge after i suggested "run away?". He is the fastest man i've ever seen. Jon was quick to follow though and gracefully scooped up the rolled-up poster that we had tossed aside to deal with the rhino. I brought up the rear but i was so worn-out from moving that statue and climbing on shit and boosting the others up onto higher shit, that when i got to the stairs that lead down into the S-Bahn pit (no more Spanish kids, Gott sei Dank!), i thought "how the hell did they get down the stairs that fast?!". The idea of the guard chasing us catching me and having to go to jail in Germany motivated me a little i guess and i ended up jumping the entirety of each of three sections of stairs going down to the S-Bahn. Then we all scattered and sent the rabbits flying in every direction; if we weren't so focused on being chased, we could have grabbed a few because this time they were so confused they had no idea which way to run and they were almost colliding into our legs as we ran. We didn't stop until we got to a parking lot on the opposite side of the Studentendorf where we hid behind some cars until we figured it was clear. We couldn't stay together in case they called the Polizei but Jon lived in another building anyway so we said our quick goodbyes (we won't see him again before he leaves Germany) and split up. Just as we got back to Meitnerweg, Jose and i realized we never made it to McDonalds like we had wanted to and all of that climbing, lifting and running had made us really hungry. We couldn't really go back to the S-Bahn anymore so we checked the schedule for the Nacht Express (which wasn't running to Meitnerweg anymore) and then decided to make some chicken nuggets and fries i had in my freezer. We cooked them at about three in the morning and watched an episode of South Park online while we ate. All in all, it was a terrific evening and a good farewell to Dortmund (at least for now).
22.7.09
Meitnerweg Grill-out
I just got back to my room and dried off from one of the coolest parties I've ever been to. It was mostly exchange students and there were people there from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece, England, Turkey and Mexico and I was the only American at the party. It started to rain even before most everyone arrived so we took the two grills around to the front of Meitnerweg and stashed them under the overhang to building 11. As more and more people came, we moved into the stairwell so everyone could stay dry but eventually our number got so large that the party had consumed the entire ground floor of the stairwell as well as the entire outside area protected by the overhang. The smoke was pouring into the building and we were loud as hell and I'm sure we were violating all kinds of rules by creating a major fire hazard as well as blocking the only exit from the building. But there are no smoke detectors in our flats (as we learned two months ago when Jose's almost burnt down) and our Hausmeister was out of town, so the party raged on until the lightning became wicked awesome flashes of purple that lit the sky seemingly constantly for five minutes straight and then the sky opened up and the hardest rain I've ever felt in my life poured down on Eichlinghofen for a good five minutes more. We danced outside until we were all thoroughly soaked and after having said good bye to the unfortunate souls who had to walk back to the S-Bahn, we at least attempted to tidy up Meitnerweg. But we failed. Paper plates and grilled corn-on-the-cob still litter the outside area of building 11 and empty beer and wine bottles still stand on the table that somehow found its way into the stairwell tonight.
20.7.09
Schwerkopf
There's that feeling just before you cry when everything inside you feels as if it's sinking quickly --being pulled towards some point deep inside your soul. It only lasts an instant and then the tears come out and the feeling subsides and all that's left is the liquid leaking from your sinuses. But i feel right now like that sinking feeling is possessing me more often than i am without it. I don't know what to think. I can't think. I don't want to leave but i want to go home. At least for a couple reasons. But there are a lot of reasons i want to stay. I know when i leave, it will all be over. My semester abroad will be done and i'll never have it back. And no one will ever understand what i went through. Ever. And even if i stayed, it would still be over. All of the friends i've made here would be gone and it wouldn't be the same no matter how hard i tried to make it so. I would no longer be in a semester abroad but rather simply living in Germany. I don't want to leave Anne and Kathi and the rest of my friends i've made here. I'm going to miss her so much. But even though i know we're going to see each other again, i also know that just like my semester abroad, it will never be the same. So much time apart is no doubt going to change so much and i'm afraid of not knowing the extent of how much or in what ways it will change. I have been plagued by either intense feelings of sorrow or else sheer happiness and there have only occasionally in the last few months been any other emotions between the two. This is quite hard for me to comprehend but it's how i've been living and i'm not sure what it's done to me. I know i've changed a lot but i haven't been home or around a norm (z.b. family and friends) against which to compare myself to see just how much i've changed. Last night i went to bed before it was completely dark wishing i was dead (or maybe just that i had the last two months of my life back so that i could try to make some sense of it a second time around). I wanted to cry but i couldn't. I knew i wouldn't feel better again until i did but i just couldn't. I lay awake for hours intentionally trying to make myself cry but it was all to no avail. This morning i felt quite normal and finished up the last of my homework. I packed up my bag to go down to the campus as i have no food in my room and had planned to grab some bread or something and then spend the rest of the time in the library before class. But as i was walking out of the door, the tears came suddenly. I dunno why. Maybe it's my mood combined with this dreary weather that's seemed to have occurred the last couple of weekends. It was just two or three tears and it only lasted for a minute but that sinking feeling is still in my gut --like my body forgot to switch it off after i succeeded in crying. It is a terrible feeling. I would honestly rather feel pain. I don't know what to think and i'm not sure about anything anymore. And i mean anything. Everything i've ever believed is all being distorted and sinking with me and i don't like this at all.
Yesterday evening i stood at my window with it opened and watched the rain come across the field. It was rather heavier than normal German rain (though it has become increasingly so during the last month or so, due to summer no doubt). As the rain got to my dorm, i felt the desire to remain there. In fact i leaned out of the window a bit and let the rain consume me. It was blowing directly onto me and into my room but i did not care. I could hardly even feel it. I felt like i was already wet and so it couldn't get any worse. It felt as though it was raining in my soul.
Yesterday evening i stood at my window with it opened and watched the rain come across the field. It was rather heavier than normal German rain (though it has become increasingly so during the last month or so, due to summer no doubt). As the rain got to my dorm, i felt the desire to remain there. In fact i leaned out of the window a bit and let the rain consume me. It was blowing directly onto me and into my room but i did not care. I could hardly even feel it. I felt like i was already wet and so it couldn't get any worse. It felt as though it was raining in my soul.
23.6.09
Muslims
Ich bin gerade ein bisschen blau aber ich will über das sprechen...
"Foreigners" in Germany doesn't mean mexicans or latinos... It means people from other parts of Europe and nearby areas such as north afrika and the middle east. It means i've met more french-africans that are better examples of christians than i ever have in the states... it means that i've met more muslims than i ever though i would. (the largest minority in germany in turkish) and those muslims (which i hope i don't have to remind you, believe in the same god as christians) are by far, more devout than most christians i have ever met. And i feel their religion demands so much more of them, about which they never complain and simply do. Deshalb fühle ich sehr sauer, wenn ich ein E-Mail bekomme, dass sagt, dass Muslims sehr böser sind. It's ridiculous and embarrassing for me to admit that i am american here (where people are normal and think about things the way the rest of the world does) because the second thing (after obama's popularity) that everyone identifies america with is their "hatred" towards islam... C'mon people. The rest of the world thinks that we hate islam... And because of stupid e-mails like the ones i get so often, they can rightful claim such things... Is is christian to hate anything? then shut the hell up! You're only contributing to the problem...
"Foreigners" in Germany doesn't mean mexicans or latinos... It means people from other parts of Europe and nearby areas such as north afrika and the middle east. It means i've met more french-africans that are better examples of christians than i ever have in the states... it means that i've met more muslims than i ever though i would. (the largest minority in germany in turkish) and those muslims (which i hope i don't have to remind you, believe in the same god as christians) are by far, more devout than most christians i have ever met. And i feel their religion demands so much more of them, about which they never complain and simply do. Deshalb fühle ich sehr sauer, wenn ich ein E-Mail bekomme, dass sagt, dass Muslims sehr böser sind. It's ridiculous and embarrassing for me to admit that i am american here (where people are normal and think about things the way the rest of the world does) because the second thing (after obama's popularity) that everyone identifies america with is their "hatred" towards islam... C'mon people. The rest of the world thinks that we hate islam... And because of stupid e-mails like the ones i get so often, they can rightful claim such things... Is is christian to hate anything? then shut the hell up! You're only contributing to the problem...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
