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...
19.6.09
Nach drei Monaten
I should, without question, be slaving through a vast multitude of text I must have read for class next week but I cannot bring myself to waste my time with such trivial matters whilst I remain here in Germany having the time of life. Indeed I plan to work on this homework very little if at all over the weekend because I am planning a trip to Aachen for tomorrow and will be spending most of Sunday with Anne. For those of you that don’t know, Anne is my girlfriend of a little over a month now –though we have known each other the whole time I have been here (three months now –wow). I feel like I’m getting a little bit of an extra experience as the rest of the exchange students here (at least the Americans) because I have family in the area that I visit occasionally and a significant other that I not only see regularly but is an authentic part of the culture in which we are all currently living. I get to just hang out with my girlfriend rather than talk to her on Skype every day; I’ve gotten to be driven around in a car and shown the sights of not just Dortmund, but several other cities by my family and Rica’s family. I’ve also been fed normal German meals around a dinner table and taken care of by these same people. I’ve get to occasionally watch television which most of the others haven’t had the luxury of. And I’m sure there are countless other things that are so easy for me to take for granted until they are brought to my attention by one of my friends.
The exchange students here are like one giant family and I love being a part of this experience. The people here are all so very interesting and we come from so many cultures and yet we are all so very similar in that we are all the kind of people that possessed an interest in the German language and the desire to do something as specifically random as study abroad in Germany. Indeed, many of my American friends here are Southerners from South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, Georgia and so on, but they do not remind me of the ignorant conservatism that I dislike about the South because the people that contribute to that kind of society are not the kind of people that would like to study in Germany for half a year or have any interest in international culture, much less a foreign language. I feel so at ease with all of these people and though we essentially had to form relationships in the beginning of our experience against the isolation that comes naturally from being a foreigner, I also feel that many of these relationships are quite genuine and the people here (that I am glad to call my friends) would all be the type of people I would gladly have befriended back home in the States. Apart from the German culture which surrounds me almost 24/7, I have also been introduced to the cultures of other members of this international family such as Turkish, French, Hungarian, Mexican, Spanish, English, Irish, Czech and so on. I feel as if I have gained such a wealth of knowledge of culture in such a short amount of time (and indeed I have) that I’ve suddenly realized that I can no longer define myself. Every day it becomes more and more difficult to step outside of myself and look at who I am because I feel I do not recognize this person any more. I have changed so much that I never thought this to be possible. I have had thoughts I’ve never before possessed; I have tried things I’d never took the time before to do; I’ve had feelings that I’ve never before felt; I feel more alive now than I ever have in my life. I fear returning to the States, no one could ever understand this transformation that I’ve undergone. And it’s not even finished –I have still remaining two more months of adventure in the Ruhrgebiet. I know when I return, things that have not changed will no longer seem the same to me. I will be starting over no matter where I am. This experienced as opened a new chapter of my life and I believe I am only just now beginning to grasp what this entails. I have matured to a point that I though would only be possible with the raising of a family. I am no longer scared of the world and what lies around the corner because I have a new understanding of myself and I realize that what ever it is, I possess the ability to overcome it and everything will be okay. I learn something new about myself every day and that is the greatest feeling I could imagine. Each time it’s like receiving a present as a small child on Christmas morning.
For those of you who know me well enough to understand this, here’s a list of things I could come up this off the top of my head that I’ve tried and realized I liked for the first time while I’ve been here (yes, most of them are food but it was difficult to think of more abstract things –though I’m sure there are many):
strawberries, kiwis, pineapples, oranges, pomegranates, wine, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, ferris wheels, laying in the grass, cooking, salad without salad dressing, dancing, raspberries, blackberries, asparagus, apricots, mayonnaise, usw…
My skills with the German language have also greatly improved. I normally feel comfortable conversing with people in German, though I never understand everything, I feel it’s enough to make do. I try to think about how I may appear to native Germans and the example that always comes first to mind is that of Fez on That 70s Show. I know I’m not as out-going or funny (though my sense of humor does work a little better here and I often joke more than the Germans because they simply don’t that often –not that they dislike humor, on the contrary they enjoy it very much every time I joke around, it’s just not something that they regularly take part in as part of their culture) but I feel like the near-fluent speech abilities and the lack of constantly talking about one’s home country (of which I refrain as much as possible) does bare a striking parallel. Thus I tend to imagine myself as a Fez-type character: capable of getting by but not entirely compatible with society. I am so glad that Anne is as patient and understanding as she is with me and that we have so many similarities that it is easy for us to get along. As example, it did not upset her the other day but rather tickled her into laughter for quite a few minutes when I accidentally call her a term that apparently is quite derogatory, though I had no idea. She has helped me so much and in so many ways to learn the language, the details of German culture it’s impossible to obtain in a class, and also surprisingly, a great deal about myself, of which I had no prior inkling. I feel quite lucky to have her and I honestly feel (though I can’t explain why –perhaps the changes I have recently undergone) like our relationship is something that I never thought I could ever achieve in my life. For this main reason and so many million more around me in this beautiful land with such a deep history and culture, I am completely content and I feel as if this is where I belong.
As a side note: the culture in which I now reside is not one that is hated by the majority of the world. Not one that presses itself on other cultures or believes it is better or has more right than any other culture. And most importantly, it is not one that is being threatened with nuclear weapons. I only wish you all could feel how much of a relief that is to one’s peace of mind…
The exchange students here are like one giant family and I love being a part of this experience. The people here are all so very interesting and we come from so many cultures and yet we are all so very similar in that we are all the kind of people that possessed an interest in the German language and the desire to do something as specifically random as study abroad in Germany. Indeed, many of my American friends here are Southerners from South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, Georgia and so on, but they do not remind me of the ignorant conservatism that I dislike about the South because the people that contribute to that kind of society are not the kind of people that would like to study in Germany for half a year or have any interest in international culture, much less a foreign language. I feel so at ease with all of these people and though we essentially had to form relationships in the beginning of our experience against the isolation that comes naturally from being a foreigner, I also feel that many of these relationships are quite genuine and the people here (that I am glad to call my friends) would all be the type of people I would gladly have befriended back home in the States. Apart from the German culture which surrounds me almost 24/7, I have also been introduced to the cultures of other members of this international family such as Turkish, French, Hungarian, Mexican, Spanish, English, Irish, Czech and so on. I feel as if I have gained such a wealth of knowledge of culture in such a short amount of time (and indeed I have) that I’ve suddenly realized that I can no longer define myself. Every day it becomes more and more difficult to step outside of myself and look at who I am because I feel I do not recognize this person any more. I have changed so much that I never thought this to be possible. I have had thoughts I’ve never before possessed; I have tried things I’d never took the time before to do; I’ve had feelings that I’ve never before felt; I feel more alive now than I ever have in my life. I fear returning to the States, no one could ever understand this transformation that I’ve undergone. And it’s not even finished –I have still remaining two more months of adventure in the Ruhrgebiet. I know when I return, things that have not changed will no longer seem the same to me. I will be starting over no matter where I am. This experienced as opened a new chapter of my life and I believe I am only just now beginning to grasp what this entails. I have matured to a point that I though would only be possible with the raising of a family. I am no longer scared of the world and what lies around the corner because I have a new understanding of myself and I realize that what ever it is, I possess the ability to overcome it and everything will be okay. I learn something new about myself every day and that is the greatest feeling I could imagine. Each time it’s like receiving a present as a small child on Christmas morning.
For those of you who know me well enough to understand this, here’s a list of things I could come up this off the top of my head that I’ve tried and realized I liked for the first time while I’ve been here (yes, most of them are food but it was difficult to think of more abstract things –though I’m sure there are many):
strawberries, kiwis, pineapples, oranges, pomegranates, wine, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, ferris wheels, laying in the grass, cooking, salad without salad dressing, dancing, raspberries, blackberries, asparagus, apricots, mayonnaise, usw…
My skills with the German language have also greatly improved. I normally feel comfortable conversing with people in German, though I never understand everything, I feel it’s enough to make do. I try to think about how I may appear to native Germans and the example that always comes first to mind is that of Fez on That 70s Show. I know I’m not as out-going or funny (though my sense of humor does work a little better here and I often joke more than the Germans because they simply don’t that often –not that they dislike humor, on the contrary they enjoy it very much every time I joke around, it’s just not something that they regularly take part in as part of their culture) but I feel like the near-fluent speech abilities and the lack of constantly talking about one’s home country (of which I refrain as much as possible) does bare a striking parallel. Thus I tend to imagine myself as a Fez-type character: capable of getting by but not entirely compatible with society. I am so glad that Anne is as patient and understanding as she is with me and that we have so many similarities that it is easy for us to get along. As example, it did not upset her the other day but rather tickled her into laughter for quite a few minutes when I accidentally call her a term that apparently is quite derogatory, though I had no idea. She has helped me so much and in so many ways to learn the language, the details of German culture it’s impossible to obtain in a class, and also surprisingly, a great deal about myself, of which I had no prior inkling. I feel quite lucky to have her and I honestly feel (though I can’t explain why –perhaps the changes I have recently undergone) like our relationship is something that I never thought I could ever achieve in my life. For this main reason and so many million more around me in this beautiful land with such a deep history and culture, I am completely content and I feel as if this is where I belong.
As a side note: the culture in which I now reside is not one that is hated by the majority of the world. Not one that presses itself on other cultures or believes it is better or has more right than any other culture. And most importantly, it is not one that is being threatened with nuclear weapons. I only wish you all could feel how much of a relief that is to one’s peace of mind…
26.5.09
BVB
So I was all excited about getting to post a blog on BVB's awesome comeback in the Budesliga complete with pictures and everything since I went to the last two home games but it was all ruined on Saturday with a bit of bad luck but as it was fun while it lasted and I do have pictures, so I suppose I'll post anyway...
This year is very special for BVB because the club was founded in 1909 and is celebrating its centennial this season. BVB started out the season alright and then kinda just dropped off the radar. I still had faith in them and every once and a while they would surprise the hell outta me and I would think they were about to perform a miracle. I remember watching them play Bayern online before I left earlier this year and they scored about a minute into the game... only to conceded three more and blow the game. They seemed pretty helpless when I got here which was disappointing. I discovered that I could see Signal Iduna Park (the stadium where they play… the largest in Germany) from the kitchen window of my flat which was quite exciting and I have a ridiculous number of pictures of it. Soon after I arrived though, something happened and they just started to take off… they knocked Hertha Berlin off the top of the table… on the road… while I was on vacation in Berlin. It was awesome; there were so many people in yellow celebrating in Berlin that night! We kept winning games and then it came time to play Hamburg who was number three in the table and on fire because they had just knocked Manchester City outta the UEFA Cup and they had all of German on their side. We managed to beat Hamburg too and then I realized we’d lost a game.
I managed to get really cheap tickets with three of the other exchange students through a deal that McDonalds had for the 100th Anniversary Game. It was against Karlsruher and we won in blow-out fashion 4-0. That game also tied BVB’s club record for most consecutive wins (7). The next week we were on the road again to play Wolfsburg who had occupied the top of the table since we dethroned Hertha BSC. We didn’t play well and lost (failing to break the record) but it wasn’t a total disappointment because we were playing the number one team on the road and no one actually expected us to win anyway.
Jose and I at the Karlsruher game
The next week we hosted Bielefeld for the last Heimspiel (home game) of the season and I got to go again with some German friends I’d meet a few weeks earlier. It was Dede’s 300th game and they gave him an award before the game which was pretty cool. The game was completely awesome because BVB won 6-0! No other team in the Budesliga managed to score more than five goals the whole season… It was also the largest margin of victory the whole year (natürlich) because Wiedenfeller got the clean sheet. I also called the Tinga goal which was the first one scored after he was subbed in.
That home victory also secured our immaculate record in Dortmund going undefeated at home the whole year. After the game the players carried a large banner with them as they did their usual round of the stadium for the fans and it said “We’re for you and you’re for us. Thanks to the best fans in the league”. It was pure awesomeness! Both of the games I went to had over 80,000 people and seeing the yellow wall of the Süd Tribüne alive with my own eyes was indescribable. I also had goose bumps for a sold five minutes listening to all 80,000 sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before the matches.
Süd Tribüne: Der gelbe Wand
After routing Bielefeld, we finally moved into the fifth spot on the table (exactly where we needed to finish to qualify for the UEFA Cup next year). Hamburg, who had fallen to sixth, was tied with BVB in points be we definitely had the tie breaker (goal differential) in hand (23-2) so as long as we won our last game, there was no way they could pass us. Also if Hamburg lost or if we both tied, we’d still finish in fifth. Naturally, they didn’t make it easy for us and won their last game. BVB was on the road for the last game against Mönchengladbach who was 15th on the table. Inches away from ending one of the most exciting and greatest comeback seasons ever, BVB only managed to put one in the net and ended up tying Mönchengladbach 1-1 allowing Hamburg to pass us and capture the fifth spot. So we will once again not be participating in the UEFA Cup next year, scheiße!
It was still a fun ride and I’m so glad I got to experience it –I mean, 100th season, c’mon, that’s awesome! Sunday they had a big party in Westfallenpark and Anne took me. Kloppo and most of the players were there and there was a lot of events going on… fußball matches, concerts, autographs, parties, drinking, dancing, skills competitions and a hundred thousand people in black and yellow… it was a lot of fun and definitely helped everyone get over that depressing ending of the season.
This year is very special for BVB because the club was founded in 1909 and is celebrating its centennial this season. BVB started out the season alright and then kinda just dropped off the radar. I still had faith in them and every once and a while they would surprise the hell outta me and I would think they were about to perform a miracle. I remember watching them play Bayern online before I left earlier this year and they scored about a minute into the game... only to conceded three more and blow the game. They seemed pretty helpless when I got here which was disappointing. I discovered that I could see Signal Iduna Park (the stadium where they play… the largest in Germany) from the kitchen window of my flat which was quite exciting and I have a ridiculous number of pictures of it. Soon after I arrived though, something happened and they just started to take off… they knocked Hertha Berlin off the top of the table… on the road… while I was on vacation in Berlin. It was awesome; there were so many people in yellow celebrating in Berlin that night! We kept winning games and then it came time to play Hamburg who was number three in the table and on fire because they had just knocked Manchester City outta the UEFA Cup and they had all of German on their side. We managed to beat Hamburg too and then I realized we’d lost a game.
I managed to get really cheap tickets with three of the other exchange students through a deal that McDonalds had for the 100th Anniversary Game. It was against Karlsruher and we won in blow-out fashion 4-0. That game also tied BVB’s club record for most consecutive wins (7). The next week we were on the road again to play Wolfsburg who had occupied the top of the table since we dethroned Hertha BSC. We didn’t play well and lost (failing to break the record) but it wasn’t a total disappointment because we were playing the number one team on the road and no one actually expected us to win anyway.
Jose and I at the Karlsruher gameThat home victory also secured our immaculate record in Dortmund going undefeated at home the whole year. After the game the players carried a large banner with them as they did their usual round of the stadium for the fans and it said “We’re for you and you’re for us. Thanks to the best fans in the league”. It was pure awesomeness! Both of the games I went to had over 80,000 people and seeing the yellow wall of the Süd Tribüne alive with my own eyes was indescribable. I also had goose bumps for a sold five minutes listening to all 80,000 sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before the matches.
Süd Tribüne: Der gelbe WandAfter routing Bielefeld, we finally moved into the fifth spot on the table (exactly where we needed to finish to qualify for the UEFA Cup next year). Hamburg, who had fallen to sixth, was tied with BVB in points be we definitely had the tie breaker (goal differential) in hand (23-2) so as long as we won our last game, there was no way they could pass us. Also if Hamburg lost or if we both tied, we’d still finish in fifth. Naturally, they didn’t make it easy for us and won their last game. BVB was on the road for the last game against Mönchengladbach who was 15th on the table. Inches away from ending one of the most exciting and greatest comeback seasons ever, BVB only managed to put one in the net and ended up tying Mönchengladbach 1-1 allowing Hamburg to pass us and capture the fifth spot. So we will once again not be participating in the UEFA Cup next year, scheiße!
It was still a fun ride and I’m so glad I got to experience it –I mean, 100th season, c’mon, that’s awesome! Sunday they had a big party in Westfallenpark and Anne took me. Kloppo and most of the players were there and there was a lot of events going on… fußball matches, concerts, autographs, parties, drinking, dancing, skills competitions and a hundred thousand people in black and yellow… it was a lot of fun and definitely helped everyone get over that depressing ending of the season.
28.4.09
Kurse und Freizeit
It’s now two weeks into the semester and I guess things are going alright. School is school and it will never be my favorite thing in the world but outside of the classroom I’m having the time of my life. I’ll tell you a little bit about my classes and then a bit about what I’ve been up to lately.
I have four classes during the week: A class on the Literature and Culture of the Early Middle Ages, a class auf Deutsch on the Relationship Between the Romans and the Germanic Tribes, a class on Pop Culture and the last is a Creative Writing class auf Deutsch. I also had a weekend seminar which met Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend and the one before that. It was on Chivalry, Knighthood and the sort and it was all auf Deutsch. And it totally kicked my ass but at least it’s over. On Wednesdays, I tutor English and geography at the Hauptschule in the Nordstadt. The Hauptschule is the lowest level of public schooling in Deutschland. I guess it’s sort of like an inner-city school in the US. And the Nordstadt is the “rough” district of the city. Eighty percent of the kids are non-German –mostly Turkish. But I find it very interesting. The students range in age from fifth grade to tenth and I don’t think they’re all that wild. I’ve definitely seen worse behaved kids in Western North Carolina. In June and July there are also several bloc seminar classes that I want to take such as one on Deutsche Film, one on Anti-Americanism and one on the Opinions of the American South in the Duetsche Imagination. So I’ve got a lot of work cut out for me this semester but I’m not gonna work too hard at it and I’m definitely not going to stress over it. I don’t need any of the credits and I don’t want to ruin my experience by having to stress myself into making deadlines.
That being said, I was out until 4:30 Saturday morning (yes, the same morning I had that weekend seminar). The university had a big party all across the campus and the south campus with 20 bands and DJs in eight different areas. It was a blast. The day before, me and a bunch of my friends grilled bratwursts in the garden behind my dorm and we hung out until about midnight. I’ve also gone bowling here which was ridiculously expensive but I came in first out of 13 people and amazed everybody because apparently no one in Deutschland has ever seen a technical and they all freaked out the first time I threw one. Sunday I went to the Westfalenpark, Dortmund’s equivalent of the Tiergarten in Berlin or Central Park in NY. It was spectacular. I swear it was one of the best days of my life. I’ve also been keeping up with a lot of the other exchange students; we eat lunch together, go to the bars on Monday and Wednesday and sometimes have movie night where we all cram into Simone’s tiny dorm room and watch a random movie on a laptop.
I’m also pretty broke at the moment which sucks. I deposited the rest of my money I brought into my bank here about two weeks ago but for some reason or another they said I wouldn’t be able to take any of it out for about two weeks unless I paid a 20€ penalty. Two weeks later and I still can’t take it out… I can see my money in the ATM but I can’t touch it. It’s quite frustrating. Especially since we have a three-day weekend coming up and people are making plans to travel and I can’t commit to anything because I may have just 4€ still on Friday.
May is just around the corner though and I’ll be getting my meal stipend for the month so I’m not that worried about it. What I am concerned about is the lack of comments my blog has. (Thanks, Ang) I even posted a link to the other one with my poems and stuff and as far as I know, no one has even looked at it :’(
Lemme know what you guys are up to and what you think of my posts, please.
Peace
I have four classes during the week: A class on the Literature and Culture of the Early Middle Ages, a class auf Deutsch on the Relationship Between the Romans and the Germanic Tribes, a class on Pop Culture and the last is a Creative Writing class auf Deutsch. I also had a weekend seminar which met Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend and the one before that. It was on Chivalry, Knighthood and the sort and it was all auf Deutsch. And it totally kicked my ass but at least it’s over. On Wednesdays, I tutor English and geography at the Hauptschule in the Nordstadt. The Hauptschule is the lowest level of public schooling in Deutschland. I guess it’s sort of like an inner-city school in the US. And the Nordstadt is the “rough” district of the city. Eighty percent of the kids are non-German –mostly Turkish. But I find it very interesting. The students range in age from fifth grade to tenth and I don’t think they’re all that wild. I’ve definitely seen worse behaved kids in Western North Carolina. In June and July there are also several bloc seminar classes that I want to take such as one on Deutsche Film, one on Anti-Americanism and one on the Opinions of the American South in the Duetsche Imagination. So I’ve got a lot of work cut out for me this semester but I’m not gonna work too hard at it and I’m definitely not going to stress over it. I don’t need any of the credits and I don’t want to ruin my experience by having to stress myself into making deadlines.
That being said, I was out until 4:30 Saturday morning (yes, the same morning I had that weekend seminar). The university had a big party all across the campus and the south campus with 20 bands and DJs in eight different areas. It was a blast. The day before, me and a bunch of my friends grilled bratwursts in the garden behind my dorm and we hung out until about midnight. I’ve also gone bowling here which was ridiculously expensive but I came in first out of 13 people and amazed everybody because apparently no one in Deutschland has ever seen a technical and they all freaked out the first time I threw one. Sunday I went to the Westfalenpark, Dortmund’s equivalent of the Tiergarten in Berlin or Central Park in NY. It was spectacular. I swear it was one of the best days of my life. I’ve also been keeping up with a lot of the other exchange students; we eat lunch together, go to the bars on Monday and Wednesday and sometimes have movie night where we all cram into Simone’s tiny dorm room and watch a random movie on a laptop.
I’m also pretty broke at the moment which sucks. I deposited the rest of my money I brought into my bank here about two weeks ago but for some reason or another they said I wouldn’t be able to take any of it out for about two weeks unless I paid a 20€ penalty. Two weeks later and I still can’t take it out… I can see my money in the ATM but I can’t touch it. It’s quite frustrating. Especially since we have a three-day weekend coming up and people are making plans to travel and I can’t commit to anything because I may have just 4€ still on Friday.
May is just around the corner though and I’ll be getting my meal stipend for the month so I’m not that worried about it. What I am concerned about is the lack of comments my blog has. (Thanks, Ang) I even posted a link to the other one with my poems and stuff and as far as I know, no one has even looked at it :’(
Lemme know what you guys are up to and what you think of my posts, please.
Peace
22.4.09
My Poems
Hey, I just wanted to get everyone's attention reading this blog and make sure they had the link to my other blog where I've posted some of my poems. I believe my muse has finally found me in Deutschland and I know there'll be a whole new batch of fresh work soon to come; I've written a few short stories already since I've been here but I'm not going to post everything I write.
So please check it out and leave me some comments.
So please check it out and leave me some comments.
19.4.09
Berlin, Prag und der Nordsee
I’m going to attempt to summarize my trip to Berlin and Prague the North Sea in one post because I feel like I need to move on or I’ll never be able to catch up to the present. I’ve started a Flikr account where I’ll put all of my pictures but I haven’t finished uploading so I’m not gonna post the link just yet. That being said, our Deutschkurs ended on 3 April and the semester didn’t begin until 14 April so we had week or so vacation and I went with my friends Danielle and Jesika to Berlin and Prague. Simon also rode with us to Berlin but he met other friends there. It took us a while to get out of the Alexanderplatz Bahnhof because we didn’t realize that our subway line didn’t run through there. Eventually we found our hostel which was ridiculous. We were tired from the 10-hour train ride on the 
Regionalbahn that we had to take with our discount ticket and I had less than two hours sleep the night before because I went to a club with some of the others after the bar. For some reason, we found everything hilarious and our “underwater”-themed room was hysterical. The hallways also had random paintings that Jesika properly described as the things nightmares are made of.
I walked us around Alexanderplatz and we saw all the important buildings there and then we sat in the Lustgarten in front of the Berliner Dom for a while until we were assaulted by a homeless Turkish woman and her children begging for money straight-up Slumdog Millionaire style.
We walked down to the Brandenburger Tor and I showed them the bricks marking where the Berlin Wall once stood. There were also a crap-load of happy BVB fans dancing around in their bright-yellow jerseys because Dortmund had just beat Herth Berlin who was at the top of the table at the time.
We headed over to the Holocaust Memorial and it was possibly even more breathtaking than I remembered it. It was dusk and we walked all the way through it and talked about it for a long while. We all decided that the guy who designed it was a genius and we hung out there for a while.
We wanted to go out that night so we found a club in Danielle’s travel book that played live jazz. We went down to the cellar and there was a band just getting ready to start. After a couple songs, the guy that introduced the band just broke out into unexpected tap-dancing and pretty soon there were tap-dancers coming out of the woodwork. Apparently everyone there besides us were tap-dances and they all did improv dances and duets which were awesome.
The second day we changed hostels and went to find the largest erotic museum in Europe. We ended up having to use the U-Bahn station for the zoo to go underneath a 
half marathon that was blocking anyone from crossing the Kudamm. The museum was awesome and it actually had a lot of historical value and thousands upon 
thousands of artifacts. I couldn’t get over how old some of that stuff.
We went to Checkpoint Charlie but Danielle and Jesika concurred with what I felt last year: that it was not as
impressive as it was worked up to be and we decided to go find the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the wall still standing. It’s in the former GDR which was pretty run down and didn’t smell too good in the slightest. The wall was so cool though. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip and the artwork was really interesting.
We ended up back on Unter den Linden and found a big patch of daffodils around a tree and we sat down and talked for a long time. I think the three of us traveled really well together because we found it so natural to do stuff like that.
We went back to Wombats (our hostel) and went up to the bar and had a few drinks and a pizza. The whole trip was kinda done on a wing which is how I liked it; it kept it exciting. Zum beispiel: we didn’t book our train to Prague
until after we check out of our Berlin hostel… We ended up taking an EC train which had super-awesome Hoggwarts Express-esque cabins. We went through Dresden and I got to see some of the bombed buildings on the outskirts of the town which excited me and the area around the city was really cool because it’s higher up in the mountains. I want to take a trip to Dresden now.
We got to Prague and discovered that the underground was much easier to navigate than Berlin’s and we found our hostel without complication (despite the fact that we couldn’t read any Czech). We had no money because they use Krowns instead of Euros so we walked to a shopping mall and found an ATM. We took out 3000Kr which turned out to be 150€. Everything in the Czech Republic was cheap (except for the ticket out of it) and that money lasted us for the whole trip pretty much. We had a traditional Czech meal at a really cool restaurant near our hostel. It was delicious and our waitress was really friendly and even with the liter of beer I drank, the total was still only the price of a small currywurst in Dortmund.
We discovered the bone church we wanted to see wasn’t really in Prague but about an hour and a half away. But then we discovered that a bus ticket there only cost the equivalent of 3.50€ so we went on quite an adventure to try to find the bus station and buy a ticket.
Eventually we got to the town (Kutná Hora) which is now my favorite place on Earth. We had no idea where anything was and no map so we just started walking towards steeples. We found a handful of really amazing churches but none decorated with bones. Eventually we came across an Italian advertising his pizzeria and the back of his menu had a map and he gave us directions.
We walked the 5km to the Sedlec Ossuary (bone church) and though it was much smaller than I had anticipated, there is no way I could have prepared myself for what it was like to walk into the doors of a church decorated with the bones of over 40,000 human skeletons. It was cold and you were instantly seized by chills that did not originate because of the temperature.
Finger bones and arm bones of children were used to spell out scripture on the wall and on either side of the staircase leading down into the Ossuary was a huge chalice and in the center there was the entrance to a crypt that was closed to the public but above the crypt was a huge chandelier made entirely out of bones and included at least one of every bone in the human body. It was the most impressive and moving part of the trip for me and I could have stayed in there for hours just trying to take it all in.
We made it back to Prague for even cheaper than it took to get out there. We were staving so we headed back to our favorite restaurant and had another delicious meal. We also had a few drinks and some shots. We later discovered that it was customary to tip in the Czech Republic so we walked all the way back and gave our waitress a huge tip for all of her help for the last two days. We went into the inner city and discovered that the majority of Prague was not as sketchy as we initially thought. There was a really cool church and an Easter Fair in the town square. We also found the Astronomical Clock which was really awesome. We made note to go back the next day during the daytime to get better pictures and see the Easter Fair in operation.
The next morning we walked up the mountain to the Prague Castle which was a lot like a palace. We saw a cathedral, the changing of the guard, some of the embassies and a great panoramic view of the city from the top of the mountain. Unfortunately it began to rain and we headed back to the hostel where we took a nap and then headed back to the town square.
We had some traditional Czech pastries and drank
warm mead which was awesome. We saw the Astronomical Clock strike the hour which was quite a spectacle and walked down to Charles Bridge but it was under construction so it wasn’t that impressive. The road we took to get there however, had a hundred puppet shops and black-light theatres because puppetry is apparently the most important thing about Prague culture which is pretty interesting.
The next morning we checked out and went to go buy a ticket back to Dortmund but it was way more than we had anticipated so we just got one to Berlin since the train went through there anyway. In Berlin, however, we apparently got onto the wrong train because there was a late train that arrived on our platform at the time our was supposed to and we failed to match the number of the train to the number on the sign (something I always do now) and we rode towards the Baltic Sea (unknowingly) for two hours. We had to buy a ticket back to Berlin and then upgrade to expensive tickets to Dortmund because the only trains going that way by the time we got back were ICEs, so that was kinda frustrating but at least we made it home.
I got a few hours of sleep before I had to go straight back to the HBF (Hauptbahnhof = main train station) the next morning. I went to Duisburg to meet my Tante Isolde and Onkel Norbet.
They took me with them to see their son Rüdiger (my eldest cousin) and his family. They live in Jever, a small town near the North Sea. We had a really cool trip and we went several times to the sea and once to the Naval Museum in Willhemshaven which was really cool. We spent Easter there and the next day was his daughter, Feylin’s fifth birthday. I had plenty of delicious, home-cooked food and it was a great trip.
On the
way back to Dortmund, I had about an hour before my next umsteigen (train change) in Osnabrück so I walked down to a really cool church. They were having an Easter service because in Deutschland, Easter lasts from Saturday night, when everyone has a huge bonfire, to Monday night after church. I walked around inside the church and it smelled really good because of all the incense. I really liked it and exploring the city to find it. I made it back to Dortmund pretty late and went to bed because classes started the next day.
I'll post again soon on my first week of classes. Hope everyone back home is doing alright.
Regionalbahn that we had to take with our discount ticket and I had less than two hours sleep the night before because I went to a club with some of the others after the bar. For some reason, we found everything hilarious and our “underwater”-themed room was hysterical. The hallways also had random paintings that Jesika properly described as the things nightmares are made of.
I walked us around Alexanderplatz and we saw all the important buildings there and then we sat in the Lustgarten in front of the Berliner Dom for a while until we were assaulted by a homeless Turkish woman and her children begging for money straight-up Slumdog Millionaire style.We walked down to the Brandenburger Tor and I showed them the bricks marking where the Berlin Wall once stood. There were also a crap-load of happy BVB fans dancing around in their bright-yellow jerseys because Dortmund had just beat Herth Berlin who was at the top of the table at the time.
We headed over to the Holocaust Memorial and it was possibly even more breathtaking than I remembered it. It was dusk and we walked all the way through it and talked about it for a long while. We all decided that the guy who designed it was a genius and we hung out there for a while.We wanted to go out that night so we found a club in Danielle’s travel book that played live jazz. We went down to the cellar and there was a band just getting ready to start. After a couple songs, the guy that introduced the band just broke out into unexpected tap-dancing and pretty soon there were tap-dancers coming out of the woodwork. Apparently everyone there besides us were tap-dances and they all did improv dances and duets which were awesome.
The second day we changed hostels and went to find the largest erotic museum in Europe. We ended up having to use the U-Bahn station for the zoo to go underneath a 
half marathon that was blocking anyone from crossing the Kudamm. The museum was awesome and it actually had a lot of historical value and thousands upon 
thousands of artifacts. I couldn’t get over how old some of that stuff.We went to Checkpoint Charlie but Danielle and Jesika concurred with what I felt last year: that it was not as
impressive as it was worked up to be and we decided to go find the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the longest remaining stretch of the wall still standing. It’s in the former GDR which was pretty run down and didn’t smell too good in the slightest. The wall was so cool though. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip and the artwork was really interesting.We ended up back on Unter den Linden and found a big patch of daffodils around a tree and we sat down and talked for a long time. I think the three of us traveled really well together because we found it so natural to do stuff like that.
We went back to Wombats (our hostel) and went up to the bar and had a few drinks and a pizza. The whole trip was kinda done on a wing which is how I liked it; it kept it exciting. Zum beispiel: we didn’t book our train to Prague
until after we check out of our Berlin hostel… We ended up taking an EC train which had super-awesome Hoggwarts Express-esque cabins. We went through Dresden and I got to see some of the bombed buildings on the outskirts of the town which excited me and the area around the city was really cool because it’s higher up in the mountains. I want to take a trip to Dresden now.We got to Prague and discovered that the underground was much easier to navigate than Berlin’s and we found our hostel without complication (despite the fact that we couldn’t read any Czech). We had no money because they use Krowns instead of Euros so we walked to a shopping mall and found an ATM. We took out 3000Kr which turned out to be 150€. Everything in the Czech Republic was cheap (except for the ticket out of it) and that money lasted us for the whole trip pretty much. We had a traditional Czech meal at a really cool restaurant near our hostel. It was delicious and our waitress was really friendly and even with the liter of beer I drank, the total was still only the price of a small currywurst in Dortmund.
We discovered the bone church we wanted to see wasn’t really in Prague but about an hour and a half away. But then we discovered that a bus ticket there only cost the equivalent of 3.50€ so we went on quite an adventure to try to find the bus station and buy a ticket.
Eventually we got to the town (Kutná Hora) which is now my favorite place on Earth. We had no idea where anything was and no map so we just started walking towards steeples. We found a handful of really amazing churches but none decorated with bones. Eventually we came across an Italian advertising his pizzeria and the back of his menu had a map and he gave us directions.
We walked the 5km to the Sedlec Ossuary (bone church) and though it was much smaller than I had anticipated, there is no way I could have prepared myself for what it was like to walk into the doors of a church decorated with the bones of over 40,000 human skeletons. It was cold and you were instantly seized by chills that did not originate because of the temperature. 
Finger bones and arm bones of children were used to spell out scripture on the wall and on either side of the staircase leading down into the Ossuary was a huge chalice and in the center there was the entrance to a crypt that was closed to the public but above the crypt was a huge chandelier made entirely out of bones and included at least one of every bone in the human body. It was the most impressive and moving part of the trip for me and I could have stayed in there for hours just trying to take it all in.
We made it back to Prague for even cheaper than it took to get out there. We were staving so we headed back to our favorite restaurant and had another delicious meal. We also had a few drinks and some shots. We later discovered that it was customary to tip in the Czech Republic so we walked all the way back and gave our waitress a huge tip for all of her help for the last two days. We went into the inner city and discovered that the majority of Prague was not as sketchy as we initially thought. There was a really cool church and an Easter Fair in the town square. We also found the Astronomical Clock which was really awesome. We made note to go back the next day during the daytime to get better pictures and see the Easter Fair in operation.
The next morning we walked up the mountain to the Prague Castle which was a lot like a palace. We saw a cathedral, the changing of the guard, some of the embassies and a great panoramic view of the city from the top of the mountain. Unfortunately it began to rain and we headed back to the hostel where we took a nap and then headed back to the town square.We had some traditional Czech pastries and drank
warm mead which was awesome. We saw the Astronomical Clock strike the hour which was quite a spectacle and walked down to Charles Bridge but it was under construction so it wasn’t that impressive. The road we took to get there however, had a hundred puppet shops and black-light theatres because puppetry is apparently the most important thing about Prague culture which is pretty interesting.The next morning we checked out and went to go buy a ticket back to Dortmund but it was way more than we had anticipated so we just got one to Berlin since the train went through there anyway. In Berlin, however, we apparently got onto the wrong train because there was a late train that arrived on our platform at the time our was supposed to and we failed to match the number of the train to the number on the sign (something I always do now) and we rode towards the Baltic Sea (unknowingly) for two hours. We had to buy a ticket back to Berlin and then upgrade to expensive tickets to Dortmund because the only trains going that way by the time we got back were ICEs, so that was kinda frustrating but at least we made it home.
I got a few hours of sleep before I had to go straight back to the HBF (Hauptbahnhof = main train station) the next morning. I went to Duisburg to meet my Tante Isolde and Onkel Norbet.
They took me with them to see their son Rüdiger (my eldest cousin) and his family. They live in Jever, a small town near the North Sea. We had a really cool trip and we went several times to the sea and once to the Naval Museum in Willhemshaven which was really cool. We spent Easter there and the next day was his daughter, Feylin’s fifth birthday. I had plenty of delicious, home-cooked food and it was a great trip.On the
way back to Dortmund, I had about an hour before my next umsteigen (train change) in Osnabrück so I walked down to a really cool church. They were having an Easter service because in Deutschland, Easter lasts from Saturday night, when everyone has a huge bonfire, to Monday night after church. I walked around inside the church and it smelled really good because of all the incense. I really liked it and exploring the city to find it. I made it back to Dortmund pretty late and went to bed because classes started the next day.I'll post again soon on my first week of classes. Hope everyone back home is doing alright.
14.4.09
Fahrrad Fahren
I tried riding a bike the other day for the first time in almost ten years...
Riding a bike is not like riding a bike!
Anyway, I've had quite an adventure since I last posted. There'll be pictures and summary of my trip to Berlin, Prague and the North Sea soon to come.
Riding a bike is not like riding a bike!
Anyway, I've had quite an adventure since I last posted. There'll be pictures and summary of my trip to Berlin, Prague and the North Sea soon to come.
25.3.09
Das Wetter
Das Wetter in Dortmund ist Scheiß!
I still don't have internet in my dorm so I have to come to the library to do anything. I'll put something of value up here when I can do it in the comfort of my room. So far though, my time at the Universität has not been a pleasant experience. The weather is terrible (freezing, raining, sleeting, hailing, snowing, windy, I live a mile from my class, the library and the cafeteria, etc...) and because I came in the middle of the Deutsch class for the exchange students, I'm the odd one out.
But it's definitely getting better. Yesterday we went to see The Reader auf Deutsch (Der Vorleser) and I thought it was pretty good but still not worthy of the Oscar people said Slumdog cheated it out of. Slumdog was better. I was surprised that I could understand almost everything for at least the first half of the film and at least half through the rest of it; it was a good experience. I met some of the other students from the other levels of the Deutsch class and today I had lunch with some of them and then we went to a cafe called the Sonnedeck (Sundeck) and oddly enough the sun did make a brief appearance through the seemingly endless mass of clouds above the glass roof. Tonight I think I'll try the party at one of the student bars; a different dorm hosts a party each night. I went Monday and had a good time but Tuesday morning i felt like dying so at least I know where my limit is with Deutsch Beer now.
I still don't have internet in my dorm so I have to come to the library to do anything. I'll put something of value up here when I can do it in the comfort of my room. So far though, my time at the Universität has not been a pleasant experience. The weather is terrible (freezing, raining, sleeting, hailing, snowing, windy, I live a mile from my class, the library and the cafeteria, etc...) and because I came in the middle of the Deutsch class for the exchange students, I'm the odd one out.
But it's definitely getting better. Yesterday we went to see The Reader auf Deutsch (Der Vorleser) and I thought it was pretty good but still not worthy of the Oscar people said Slumdog cheated it out of. Slumdog was better. I was surprised that I could understand almost everything for at least the first half of the film and at least half through the rest of it; it was a good experience. I met some of the other students from the other levels of the Deutsch class and today I had lunch with some of them and then we went to a cafe called the Sonnedeck (Sundeck) and oddly enough the sun did make a brief appearance through the seemingly endless mass of clouds above the glass roof. Tonight I think I'll try the party at one of the student bars; a different dorm hosts a party each night. I went Monday and had a good time but Tuesday morning i felt like dying so at least I know where my limit is with Deutsch Beer now.
21.3.09
Venlo
Today was my second full day in Deutschland and it went very well. I’ve been working really hard on my Deutsch and so I apologize because I will probably become more and more hypocritical over time as I make grammatical errors due to my mind being set in Deutsch and not English. I am still a grammar nazi, I assure you.
I’ve been staying with my Tante Martina and Onkel Freddie and I have a good opportunity to practice my Deutsch since my Onkel doesn’t speak English and my Tante knows just a little more English than I know German. I’ve got to hang out with my whole family (minus my cousins, most of which all have their own jobs and houses now) at my Opa’s house twice now and that was really cool. Living in Deutschland with locals has revealed many new things to me that I did not experience last year traveling across the country as a tourist, I definitely like it. I was made for this kind of life.
Today I went to Venlo with my Tante Isolde and Onkel Norbert. Venlo is the first Dutch city over the border in the Netherlands. That was definitely an experience; there was a lot to see there. And it is where I took that picture of the skull with the crown of thorns. It was mounted on the back of their Rathaus. I learned a lot of Deutsch on that trip because they speak English very well and they like to talk.
When we got back, I took a walk with my Tante Martina down the road to a restored 18th century village. That was pretty neat, also in the open-air museum was a building with a huge train set –bigger than any I’d ever seen in hobby shops or anywhere else in the states. It was pretty neat too. When we left there, we were already pretty close to the house that my cousin Yvonne just moved into with her husband in February so we went to visit them and their place is really cool. It is small, one house split in two like most Deutsche houses, but I really liked it. I found out it’s not that expensive either –it’s about two or three times more than I paid for my apartment junior year but twice as large and at least ten times as nice –large windows, a porch and a yard with a shed, spiral stairs, a basement and an upstairs… and that’s all after I converted the rent in Euros to Dollars. Lemme just come clean: I’m not coming home ;-)
We had homemade, Deutsch style pizza for dinner and it was gooood. In the evenings we watch a little bit of TV which is pretty crazy here. It also helps my Deutsch because they talk very quickly and they have different accents. We watch a comedian named Mario Blarth and he’s pretty damn funny. It’s like Mind of Mencia (except obviously better) or imagine a late night talk show mixed with a sketch comedy show –it’s hilarious, even if you only understand half of it. They guy reminds me of a mix between Paul Rudd and Simon Pegg, two of my favorite comedic actors.
16.3.09
Goodbyes
I can’t believe it’s only two days now before I leave. This will most certainly be the longest amount of time I’ve ever spent out of the country but it will also be the longest trip I’ve ever been on and every minute that I get closer to it, these things become more and more evident to me and it’s beginning to blow me away just thinking about it. Having to say goodbye 90 different times to the residents at Ardenwoods was difficult enough but then I was faced with saying goodbye to my friends which I had no idea how to go about doing. Whether it was Megan, who I’ve known for seven years or Maren, who I just met in January, or my college friends I’m so comfortable with or Michelle and Katie and the other people I work with whom I consider friends though we don’t hangout that much after work –I left everyone after wishes of god luck and pleas not to forget to come back and every time I had a sinking feeling in my gut as the fact settled in me that I wouldn’t see them for almost five months.
I also have at least a couple friends I didn’t get to see and some that are graduating in May (including a few of those I didn’t say bye to). This is all relatively new to me and I’m having a hard time processing it. I know I’m going to miss a whole lot while I’m gone but I’m both a little curious and also a little afraid to find out what I will miss the most once I’ve been over there for so long.
To everyone I may not see again (or won’t be seeing for a very long time most likely), I wish you all the best of luck in your lives and I hope maybe someday when we’re older we’ll find somehow to catch up. To everyone in the Whee (and also Angie) we need to have a big throwdown when I get back. And to everyone who doesn’t know what they’re going to do without me, I wouldn’t be going anywhere permanently unless I could take you with me ;-)
I also have at least a couple friends I didn’t get to see and some that are graduating in May (including a few of those I didn’t say bye to). This is all relatively new to me and I’m having a hard time processing it. I know I’m going to miss a whole lot while I’m gone but I’m both a little curious and also a little afraid to find out what I will miss the most once I’ve been over there for so long.
To everyone I may not see again (or won’t be seeing for a very long time most likely), I wish you all the best of luck in your lives and I hope maybe someday when we’re older we’ll find somehow to catch up. To everyone in the Whee (and also Angie) we need to have a big throwdown when I get back. And to everyone who doesn’t know what they’re going to do without me, I wouldn’t be going anywhere permanently unless I could take you with me ;-)
10.3.09
One week to go
The past week has been quite a trip. First we got that big snowfall Sunday night which was a cool change of pace. I got my car stuck on a hill trying to get home and then took a cool walk the next morning with my sister. I had a couple days off from work and I didn’t have to teach at all. Thursday and Friday I hung out at Jeremy’s and Friday –I think– was one of the chillest days of my life. I felt so good. A positive light was suddenly cast on everything and it lasted all day and a little into Saturday. Sunday, at work, I was kinda pissed off but afterwards I watched Transsiberian, which was pretty cool. I definitely liked the fact that the Russians actually spoke Russian. I also threw together a PowerPoint on the Byzantine Empire and the Crusades which I taught today.
The lesson went fairly well but I just wasn’t feeling it the way I was with the last couple I taught. I wasn’t very familiar with the content and I had already talked to them a bit about Byzantium on the day that I subbed so I think they were getting bored a little bit.
Right now I wish I had asked off for this whole week or not booked my flight until a week later because I feel very rushed. I have to teach again on Friday and this time I will be observed by my professor from Western and I have to have a professional lesson plan done up. He also has not responded to my e-mail as yet and this is beginning to frustrate me. I haven’t started to pack anything and I leave in 9 days. I know it’s all going to work out someway or another, though. Whatever loose ends I have next Wednesday morning, they’ll just have to wait 5 months to be resolved because I am getting on that plane. If it gets too stressful, I’ll probably just watch Sarah Marshall again and I’m sure I’ll feel better afterwards.
The lesson went fairly well but I just wasn’t feeling it the way I was with the last couple I taught. I wasn’t very familiar with the content and I had already talked to them a bit about Byzantium on the day that I subbed so I think they were getting bored a little bit.
Right now I wish I had asked off for this whole week or not booked my flight until a week later because I feel very rushed. I have to teach again on Friday and this time I will be observed by my professor from Western and I have to have a professional lesson plan done up. He also has not responded to my e-mail as yet and this is beginning to frustrate me. I haven’t started to pack anything and I leave in 9 days. I know it’s all going to work out someway or another, though. Whatever loose ends I have next Wednesday morning, they’ll just have to wait 5 months to be resolved because I am getting on that plane. If it gets too stressful, I’ll probably just watch Sarah Marshall again and I’m sure I’ll feel better afterwards.
21.2.09
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Nevermind: I just watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall for the fourth time and it is awesome. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Seriously; top ten. It's so good just because it is, not because of the good mood I've been in. It simply is awesome.
19.2.09
Good Day(s)
Monday I had a day off from work –my first in over two weeks– but I had to spend it working on my lesson I presented yesterday. I taught the class a section in the chapter on Ancient Rome. It covered Caesar, Augustus, the Early Empire and the Pax Romana (all the important stuff about Rome). It went so well. I finished with just enough time to give them a review quiz and summarize the chapter before the bell rang. The class seemed genuinely interested in the lesson –something I contribute to the material and not necessarily my instruction– and they asked a ton of questions. I did a PowerPoint presentation which I think they really liked. I’m so used to professors using PowerPoint that I’d forgotten how little it was used in high school. Today in class, one of the students even suggested that the teacher use PowerPoints from now on because it helped her learn and another told me the way I taught made it easier for him to take notes yesterday.
After school yesterday I went back to work and it seemed like an eternity since I’d been off –I’ve grown so accustomed to being in uniform and pouring coffee and whatnot. Yesterday night I went over to my Grandparents’ to watch the Sabres stomp the Leafs on the road which was sweet.
Today went rather smoothly and I had the day off again. Surprisingly, I was not called in and I was able to get some errands run which always makes me feel good. I found out I have over $1000 in the bank for the first time since the summer of ’07 so I’m pretty damn proud of myself about that. All in all, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m not even worrying too much about my thesis right now, I’m just trying to not let things get to me and I have to admit it is so much better this way.
I watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall just a couple of hours ago and I thought it was great. It’s probably due more to my overall mood these past few days but I laughed out loud all by myself watching it. It was hilarious and Mila Kunis definitely redeemed herself for her role in Max Payne because that movie was definitely not good. I’m sure if I had watched it at any other point in my life, it wouldn’t have seemed so good to me but I did and so it did.
That’s it right now. Just wanted to put down some thoughts on how good I’ve been feeling.
After school yesterday I went back to work and it seemed like an eternity since I’d been off –I’ve grown so accustomed to being in uniform and pouring coffee and whatnot. Yesterday night I went over to my Grandparents’ to watch the Sabres stomp the Leafs on the road which was sweet.
Today went rather smoothly and I had the day off again. Surprisingly, I was not called in and I was able to get some errands run which always makes me feel good. I found out I have over $1000 in the bank for the first time since the summer of ’07 so I’m pretty damn proud of myself about that. All in all, I’m feeling pretty good. I’m not even worrying too much about my thesis right now, I’m just trying to not let things get to me and I have to admit it is so much better this way.
I watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall just a couple of hours ago and I thought it was great. It’s probably due more to my overall mood these past few days but I laughed out loud all by myself watching it. It was hilarious and Mila Kunis definitely redeemed herself for her role in Max Payne because that movie was definitely not good. I’m sure if I had watched it at any other point in my life, it wouldn’t have seemed so good to me but I did and so it did.
That’s it right now. Just wanted to put down some thoughts on how good I’ve been feeling.
12.2.09
Improvements and Procrastination
My life at present is not much better off than it was when I last posted –in some areas (notably my thesis), it’s quite worse due simply to the fact that it is has now been three weeks since then and I haven’t worked much on any of the things I wrote about before. My daily schedule is split into two halves –the first, in which I am at the high school doing my internship– and the latter, in which I go to work at Ardenwoods. I’m working weekends and about three weekdays and on my days off I usually do something when I come home from school like get called into work. So needless to say, I have resolved my schedule situation at work –or rather it has been resolved– I don’t take credit for its resolution. I can now a afford a plane ticket but it’d still be nice to have some back-up money before I leave (in just over a month now), so I’m gladly working every shift they wish me to.
This isn’t the reason I haven’t worked on my thesis –that’s due to my laziness and procrastination. I dunno what I’m gonna do about that and I don’t even want to think about it right now.
I’m glad I did start posting now, before I left the states because there were some things I’d even forgotten entirely –like contact my family in Germany. I’ll do that soon…
All in all, I am very ready to leave. I feel like I’m waiting and I can’t really do anything until what I’ve been waiting for is over. I know as soon as I get there I’m going to feel a thousand times less stressed than I am now and being so close but so far away from such relief is only further adding to my current stress.
But it’s not all bad; I taught my first lesson today. I was nervous, of course, and I taught it much faster than I had anticipated and finished up with too much time than what would have been considered acceptable if I was the teacher. But matters such as this are not what worry me about going into the field. I know it’s just nerves. And pacing can only be learned with practice so I’m not concerned. Instead, I’m happy with how well I held the students’ attention and how efficient I was relaying the material to them.
I believe that’s all I wanted to write for now. Hopefully the next entry will bear better news about my thesis and such.
Peace.
This isn’t the reason I haven’t worked on my thesis –that’s due to my laziness and procrastination. I dunno what I’m gonna do about that and I don’t even want to think about it right now.
I’m glad I did start posting now, before I left the states because there were some things I’d even forgotten entirely –like contact my family in Germany. I’ll do that soon…
All in all, I am very ready to leave. I feel like I’m waiting and I can’t really do anything until what I’ve been waiting for is over. I know as soon as I get there I’m going to feel a thousand times less stressed than I am now and being so close but so far away from such relief is only further adding to my current stress.
But it’s not all bad; I taught my first lesson today. I was nervous, of course, and I taught it much faster than I had anticipated and finished up with too much time than what would have been considered acceptable if I was the teacher. But matters such as this are not what worry me about going into the field. I know it’s just nerves. And pacing can only be learned with practice so I’m not concerned. Instead, I’m happy with how well I held the students’ attention and how efficient I was relaying the material to them.
I believe that’s all I wanted to write for now. Hopefully the next entry will bear better news about my thesis and such.
Peace.
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