Easter and Classes

I have so much to tell, and I think I'll work backwards. First, I'll tell you about this week and I'll make you eager readers wait until later to read about the Czech Republic.

First of all, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous as of lately. On Saturday, I walked to LIDL (the near-by grocery store) wearing a t-shirt and chacos. Those of you who know me well know how vital this is to my sanity and happiness. Also, when I came back from our little vacation, everything had bloomed! There are beautiful cherry trees everywhere and the plants in the fields that I walk by have at least quadrupled in size and now have pretty yellow flowers on top of them. I just love that field--there is actually a path that runs through the middle of it that serves as a shortcut to the university and cuts about 5 minutes off the walk, but I am pretty sure I would walk that way even if it wasn't shorter. It took me weeks to actually walk that way because it rained so much, and it was just too muddy. Now walking through the field is one of my favorite parts of my day.

Sunday (as all of you know) was Easter, and it was a wonderful Easter. I remember the weather being freezing cold two years ago on Easter. Everyone at the sunrise service didn't want to go out to put carnations on the cross because it was just too cold, and that memory made this Easter even better because I was perfectly comfortable outside with sandals and no jacket :-D That morning I went with Diana (another international student who is from South Carolina) and her father to a Evangelische Frei church downtown, and it was interesting because I had a vague understanding of what was going on because I speak some German and I knew the scripture (the walk to Emmaus) quite well, but in general, I couldn't understand what was being said. Next week we are going to go to a Methodist church that has an English-speaking congregation--I think it's fascinating to observe a church service in German, but that is all I am doing: observing. I need an English congregation in order to actually be spiritually fed.

Later on Sunday, I went to Carina's house and had dinner with her family. It was wonderful--I love her family so much! We had bratwurst and fish, and this was the first time I ever ate a fish that still looked like a fish--it still had the scales and fins and a head and eyes and everything. Luckily, Carina's father was very kind and cut the meat off for me--I know, my new family spoils me :-D

On Easter Monday (which is really as much of a holiday as Easter here), I went with Diana and her father back to the church we had attended the day before, and we went through the church's Oster Garten (Easter Garden). It was very neat, and they had reconstructed quite a bit of the Easter story: the last supper (where we took communion and I had my feet washed), the Garden of Gethsemane, the Cross (where we laid down rocks that represented our burdens), and the Empty Tomb. I really enjoyed it, and I was very glad that I understood the majority of it (it was all in German).

Tuesday was the first day of class, but I did not have class until 6:00. It was called "The Migration and Global Horizon of Contemporary American Fiction," and I greatly enjoyed it. The professor is actually a guest professor who teaches in Seattle (but he is originally a southerner--like all of the cool kids), and I found it extremely interesting to listen to an American professor teach a class full of German students about American literature. The discussion was easily one of the most interesting discussions I've ever heard in a class, and I am eagerly awaiting next week's class.

Today was not as exciting. My first class (Deutsch als Fremdsprache: Landeskunde--Kultur, Literatur, und Sprache) was supposed to start at 10:15, but we left at 10:30 when the teacher never showed up, and I think that my second class might be a bit too easy for me, so I might change classes. This evening, I went to a class that I am going to audit called "Nakte Tatsachen" which is a nude art class. I decided to take a class that I wouldn't ever take at home, so I'm auditing this class, and I think I will also be auditing a class called "Transnational Queer Studies" which is taught by the same professor that teaches my American Fiction class. I think it's pretty cool :-D

Well, you are completely caught up on my German life (minus Prague and Kutna Hora--soon to come, promise). I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

-Tchüss!

The view out of my kitchen window

My New Favorite City

Since coming to Germany, I have discovered something magical. It is called the "Schönes Wochenede Ticket." Literally translated, it means "beautiful weekend ticket," and with this ticket, up to five people can travel anywhere in Germany for a day during the weekend for only 37€. Magical, right? This is how Michael, Jesika, Simon, and I all got to Berlin on Saturday--for less than 10€ a piece. Once the Sprachkurs ended, we were left with a 10 day holiday for traveling, so a few of us decided to go to Berlin and Prague. The adventure began at 6:19 in the morning when we all met at the S-Bahn station at the university. From the Hauptbahnhof, we took 4 different trains, and finally arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon (oh the things you do for cheap transportation). Once we got to the Berlin train station, two of Simon's friends were waiting for him, and Michael, Jesika, and I set off to find our hostel (the first hostel I would ever stay in). The hostel (Mittes Backpacker Hostel) was pretty awesome--each of the rooms were themed, and ours was "Under the Sea." The room was painted blue and had some really poorly made fish made from bottles and stuff hanging from the ceiling, and I loved it.

Michael with some of the fish

After we got settled in the hostel, we started to explore, and we saw so many amazing things!!!!! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm going to be using lots of pictures to tell you about Berlin:

The Berlin TV tower. While the wall was up, Russia abolished churches in East Berlin, but whenever the sun hits this TV tower, it makes a giant cross, which could be seen from East Berlin

This was Poseidon's Fountain--probably the coolest fountain I've ever seen. Everything was so intricate and pretty--there was water coming out of everything: a crocodile, a snake, a turtle, different jars, etc. I guess I really enjoyed it because I used to read Greek Mythology all of the time, and I love all of those stories. I can't help it--every once in awhile my inner nerd leaks out.

Finned centaurs. You have to admit that is cool.

This church was left practically unscathed during the war because the gold and stuff on the steeple made it easy to see from the sky, and bombers used it to get their bearings.

The Rathaus. One cool thing about Berlin is that is has a Rathaus for city stuff, a Stadthaus because it is the capital of the state of Berlin, and another building because it is the capital of Germany.

The Stadthaus

Berlin is the only place in the world with street-crossing lights that look like this. They sold tons of "Ampel Manchen" paraphernalia in all of the tourist shops. Instead of buying the stuff, I took a picture.

The green Ampel Manchen

This church is really neat because you can see the different stages of reconstruction and stuff

This statue has a really cool story behind it: This guy (I think his name was Nikolas?) slayed a dragon and bathed in its blood because it was supposed to make him immortal. Unfortunately, he had a leech on his back and the blood didn't touch that one spot, leaving him with one weakness. Of course, he was later stabbed in the back and killed.

The Berlin Dom. One of my favorite things so far--I liked it even more than the Köln Dom

In front of the Dom

I really love this picture, because you can see the old and the new. I really think it represents Berlin.

The Brandenburg Tor

The back of the Tor

These double-bricked lines in the road represent where the wall used to stand.

The Holocaust Memorial. It was extremely moving, and it was especially cool because we arrived around dusk.

Inside the memorial

This is the hotel that Michael Jackson hung his baby out of

A little hole-in-the-wall jazz bar that was apparently having a tap-dancing night. Super cool.

This represents the four parts of divided Berlin.

This church was bombed during the war, and the steeple was never rebuilt. I think it is pretty cool.

That's right--we went to the largest erotic art museum in Europe because we are just that cool.

I made a new friend :-D

Checkpoint Charlie. It was really weird because we were in this really historic place, and it had so much meaning, but daily life was still moving all around it. The actual checkpoint was in the middle of the road, and people were driving on either side of it, living their daily lives. It was a little surreal.


East Side Gallery--the longest remaining stretch of the Wall

The back of the Wall

Wall Street. It has a whole other meaning here.

We found a little field with a ton of daffodils in the middle of the city. It was wonderful--we just sat there and talked for hours.



The coolest Porta-Potty ever :-D

Our last night in Berlin. It's called a B-52. Kahlua, Baileys, and Rum--on fire.

The bear in the Hauptbahnhof

Well, I hope you enjoyed your picture tour of Berlin--my new favorite city!

For more pictures, here is a link to my Facebook photo album of Berlin

Tschüss!

Wrapping up the first month...

I know it has been awhile since I’ve posted, and a lot has happened in the past two weeks. I think, to make it easier on myself and all of you eager readers, I am going to break this down into three posts—my last week of Sprachkurs and Tutorium, Berlin, and Prague. So get ready.

My last week of Sprachkurs and Tutorium was great. I’m so glad I came early and got the chance to get to know all of these amazing international students. I’m a little sad that it is all over now, because I don’t know if all of us will ever be in the same place at the same time again. Hopefully we will all keep seeing a lot of each other as the semester goes on. I am glad the actual course is over, though. I think a lot of it was a little over my head—I’m pretty positive I was near the bottom of the class, and the same class for three hours every day for three weeks gets really old (all you Maryville kids who had to do J-Term understand). I ended up with an A- in the class, which I’m really proud of because I did work really hard and the class was fairly difficult for me. Now I’m ready to take my regular semester German classes, which I’m pretty excited about. It’s really bizarre to think that I’m starting my classes on Tuesday and everyone at home is finishing their semester in less than a month…Oh well.

On Monday (the 30th), a few of us went downtown to check out a Jazz bar. It was pretty great--I really enjoyed just sitting with my new friends, drinking wine and talking, while there was good jazz music playing in the background. I will definitely be revisiting that bar :-D On Wednesday (the 1^st) we took a tour of the brewery, which was really cool. It is called the Dortmunder-Actien Brauerei, and it is the only brewery left in the area (apparently there were 23 in 1901, 8 in 1958, and now there is only one). The tour was really interesting, and it ended with a tasting, which made me really wish that I liked beer. We tried four different beers, and I didn’t really like any of them, but the DAB was my favorite out of them.

When the Brauerei was still fairly new, they used to give workers coins everyday so that they could get beer while at work, and the coins only worked that day, so you could not save them up. Our tour guide said that they were allowed 3 LITERS of beer everyday at work, and a lot of the workers became alcoholics because of this system.

Each of the beers that I tried

Diana and I with our coasters

Friday (the 3rd) was our last day of class, and it was really fun! We divided into groups and made skits about German stereotypes, and they were hilarious. The two most common themes were the obnoxious BVB (the Dortmund football team) fans, and beer. Also, we had a “international breakfast” where everyone had to bring in a traditional breakfast from their country. Steven and I made biscuits. Yum. Overall, it was a good morning, and that evening we went to a bar for our last Tutorium. It was nice to sit and spend time with my new friends, but I left early because we were leaving bright and early the next morning for BERLIN! (but I’ll save that for another post…)

Tori and I with the Schurrbart that she used in her skit--love her :-D

Link to Facebook album for more photos

Tschüss!

Sickness, Bad Weather, and Political Extremists...Welcome to Germany.

Wow, this past week was very full, and it is a little overwhelming to think about writing all of it down, but here it goes :-)

Monday: I woke up Monday feeling terrible. My throat hurt, I had a really nasty cough, my nose was really stuffy, my ears were clogged, and I was really just having a hard time breathing in general. Super way to start the week, right? So I called Jessica in the international office and told her I needed to go to the doctor. Then Carina came to get me and took me to the address the Jessica gave her, only to find that the address in the phonebook was the personal address of a retired doctor—things are really never dull here. So we drove around and found another doctor who told me that I had a sinus infection, and I bought my medicine. The exciting part is that my health insurance doesn’t start working until April because I’m not a full time student yet, so I have to pay for all of this :-D Overall, Monday was a dreary, cold, sick day, and I hope to never relive it while I am here.

Tuesday: Tuesday night had an interesting beginning: we met our Tutorium group at the Hauptbahnhof to see a movie, and there were Polizei everywhere. When I asked one of the leaders of the Tutorium why there were so many Polizei, they told me that there was a Neo-Nazi demonstration right outside of the Hauptbahnhof. Apparently, a man was arrested for claiming that the Holocaust never happened (which is illegal in Germany), and this group was demonstrating because they want the government to release him. I found it both interesting and confusing—when I decided to come to Germany, I never imagined that I would be so close to a demonstration like this… Needless to say, we didn’t stick around very long, and we were soon moving on to see the movie “Der Vorleser.” Some of you may have heard of it—the English version is called “The Reader” and it was nominated for best picture. It was interesting because it is based on a German novel, it is set in Germany, it was filmed in English, and we watched it dubbed into German. Apparently, Germans win all kinds of awards for their dubbing abilities, and I sometimes forgot that it was dubbed while I was watching it. It was really a good movie, and I recommend it for anyone who hasn’t seen it.

Wednesday and Thursday were lazy-try-to-recover-from-being-sick days. Pretty unexciting and full of really cold, terrible weather. On Wednesday I finally got internet (I was the last American to get it), which was pretty exciting. On Thursday we went to Ikea, and I discovered that German Ikeas are pretty much exactly like American Ikeas. I was very excited because I bought a thermos, and I can now take a warm beverage to class every morning :-D Huzzah for hot tea. That evening, I went to Simon’s flat in Eastend (about a 10 minute walk) and Thiébaud made us delicious French food—yummy. He also brought wine from the vineyard where he lives in France—yummy, and Judit and Tamas also came and brought delicious Hungarian food—yummy. I love being an international student :-D

The yummy "apple pie" that Thiébaud made

Wendy and I with our super delicious Hungarian food...it was a type of pastry that you rub garlic on, then you cover it in sour cream and cheese. Mmmm :-D

Tori and Judit with the Hungarian food.

My favorite French people :-D

Friday: On Friday we took a night tour of the Kokerei Hansa, a coal processing factory. It was very interesting, and everything looked really cool, because the place was lit with blue lights. Unfortunately, I still was not feeling amazing and it was particularly cold, so I did not enjoy it as much as I could.

It was a long walk up to the top of this...

The blue light made everything look so cool

My friend Diana

Saturday: To be honest, I really was not looking forward to our trip to Dusseldorf on Saturday because I was tired, the weather was cold, and I still wasn’t feeling 100%. Despite this, I bundled up (a sweater, two jackets, leggings under my jeans, etc.), and went to another very interesting German town. We started with a boat tour of the Rhine, then we had some free time downtown. Those of you who know me well will not be surprised to hear that I spent my free time eating :-) It was on this day that I learned that it is a major insult to leave food on your plate in Germany, and Germans don’t really have take-out boxes. Honestly, in the whole time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen a German leave food on his or her plate. Ever. So, I ate a huge pizza (about the size of a medium at home) all by myself. I still can’t believe I ate the whole thing. After lunch, a few of us went and bought some Altbier, the beer specific to Dusseldorf. I have to admit, that I really was not a fan. Ok, I hated it, but I can say that I drank an Altbier in Dusseldorf. :-)

With the pirate on our Rhine boat :-D

Jonas and I with our Altbier

One the way back to Dortmund on Saturday, we had an interesting experience. As the train pulled into the station, I noticed that it was packed full of people that were all dressed alike. I just assumed they were football fans (there was a big rivalry match on Saturday) and stepped up to the door to wait for them to get off, but one of the Germans that was with me put her hand on my shoulder and gently pulled me back. At that moment, countless people who looked to be about my age came pouring out of the train dressed in all black with sunglasses. They were all chanting, waving communist flags, being really rowdy, etc, and it was really intimidating for a confused foreigner like me. Once they had all left the platform and we boarded the train, I learned that this was a group called Antifaschistische Aktion (Anti-Fascist Action), which is a militant anti-fascist group that was founded around 1985. To be honest, I was really upset when I saw what they had done to the train. Now before I tell you what the train looked like post anti-fascists, I need to tell you a little about the trains in my area. I live in the industrial part of Germany, and it really isn’t the best or nicest area here. Most of the trains are pretty beat up and have quite a bit of vandalism, but this particular train actually looked really new, which is impressive for this area. Unfortunately, the train is now covered in anti-fascist stickers and black permanent marker saying things like “No-Nazis” and “AFA Liebe.” Don’t get me wrong, I dislike Nazis as much as the next person, but I don’t understand how people expect to gain followers and support when they create scenes at train stops and destroy public property… I do, however, think it is interesting that I was in the close proximity of both a Neo-Nazi demonstration and an Anti-Fascist demonstration, all in the same week…welcome to Germany.

Link to Facebook Album for more pictures

A Full Week

♫

Sunday, March 22, 2009 18:30 Dortmund time, 13:30 EST

Well, it has been a long week. It appears as though Sunday is my “posting day,” simply because Sunday is the only day that my day is not completely filled with stuff to do. Here was my week:

Monday: Monday afternoon we had a “Doubles Meeting” where we met everyone’s doubles, played some games, and started to plan some future activities. I’m really excited because we are apparently going to have a Fourth of July party this summer complete with grilling, beer, and fireworks. I love the Fourth of July, and I don’t have to miss it this year :-) We are also planning a trip to München (Munich) which is really cool because many people consider München to be the second capitol of Germany, and there are a lot of neat thing to do there. After the meeting Carina and I went to Anna’s house and watched Momma Mia with a few other girls. I’ve never seen Momma Mia, and it was interesting because we actually watched the “sing-a-long” version—oh girl parties :-)

Tuesday: On Tuesday, we went on a trip with our orientation group (all of the international students plus three German students who are showing us cool stuff in the area—about 40 or so people) to the Bergbau museum in Bochum, a town near Dortmund, which was a museum about the history of coal mining in the area where I am living. It was really very interesting—basement was a reconstruction of a coal mine, and I learned quite a bit. Our tour guide was extremely funny, but he was also very difficult to understand because he had a very loud, booming voice and an interesting dialect (the entire tour was in German). Half the time, I couldn’t understand him, and the other half of the time, I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not (which he usually was). That evening Steven came to my room and asked if I wanted to check out the Kneipe in our dorm. It was nice—quiet and not nearly as crowded as the others, plus they apparently have a special every week, and this week it was €2 strawberry daiquiris. Next week is cocktail night, and I’m not sure what that entails, but I shall be there :-) While we were at the Kneipe, I drank a pint of a beer that I have discovered here. That’s right, I actually found a beer that I like, and it is called Franciskaner Weiβ—a wheat beer. So for all of you that insisted that I will find a beer that is delicious in Germany: You win.

With our funny tour guide at the Bergbau Museum

Cool art at the museum

Wednesday: On Wednesday, I went grocery shopping at the LIDL by my home. It’s about a 15 minute walk, and I took my backpack to put most of the food in (you have to pay for your grocery bags here, so most people bring their own, which I think is a great idea). I was very pleased to learn that food in Germany is apparently quite cheap—I got A LOT of food for only €23. It probably would have been $50 or more in America, so I was pretty excited. One of the things I bought was my first jar of Nutella, and I am now wondering how I lived this long without it :-) That evening, Stephen cooked dinner for the both of us. We have both missed eating vegetables because it appears as though the stereotype that the only vegetables that Germans eat are potatoes are cabbage hold some truth, so we ate pasta with eggplant. It was delicious, and it is just nice to eat dinner with someone else. We usually eat together at least once or twice a week, and I’m really glad that I have a “dinner buddy.”

Thursday: Thursday was another orientation day. We went to a place called Steinwache, which is a former Nazi prison that has been converted into a museum, and it is located right outside of the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). The whole place was incredibly interesting, but our tour guide spoke VERY quickly and slurred his words together (in German, of course), so I actually learned very little. Fortunately, Anika (one of the German students that are leading these trips) translated a little for us and is going to go back with a few of us, so we can learn more. One very interesting story that I did learn is about a journalist who was arrested by the Nazis because he was a social democrat and kept in the prison for awhile before he was sent to a concentration camp (they actually have the page from the registration book with his name on it framed). He spent 8 years in the concentration camp, and survived it, and afterwards, he began the mayor of the town that I live in. I wish I could remember his name…I will ask Anika and post it later. After our tour, Stephen and another American, Diana from South Carolina, came to my apartment, and we all ate dinner together. It was really wonderful, and I’m glad that some of the friends that I am making live remotely close to me so I will be able to see them when I come back.

Friday: Friday was an interesting day in class. Everyone was supposed to bring something that is typical for a German breakfast, and we all ate a potluck breakfast together. While we were eating, each country did a sort presentation about where they live. Some of them were really funny, and some were quite interesting. I already had a list of places that I wanted to go, but now that list is even longer :-) I didn’t really do anything Friday night. There was a huge party, but I didn’t go because I wanted to be awake for Saturday…

Saturday: We went to Köln (Cologne)! It was really cool, but it didn’t start out so well. We were meeting at the Hauptbahnhof at 10:00, and the S-Bahn left the University at 9:49, but I missed it. It was like a scene out of a movie: I went running down the stairs and banged on the door of the train as it pulled away. Sad Face. Unfortunately, trains don’t run as often on the weekends so I had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Fortunately, they weren’t actually planning on leaving the Hauptbahnhof until 10:49, so I still made it before our train to Köln. First, we went to the Dom, which is a huge gothic cathedral that is very well known. It was bigger and more intricate than anything that I had ever seen—every time you would turn around, you would see something else, and there were countless cool things inside. I wish I knew more about Catholicism, so I would have understood more It apparently took hundreds of years to build, which does not surprise me at all because the detail was unbelievable. I have such a hard time imagining how mankind built something like this—especially without the technology that we have now, and I am so jealous because we really don’t have anything in America like the cathedrals and castles in Europe. After looking at the outside and the inside of the Dom, we actually walked to the top of the tower and looked around. The view was fantastic, but the walk was exhausting—509 stairs. After the Dom, we went to the Lindt Chocolate Museum which was also very interesting. There were displays about the history of the cocoa trade, what chocolate does to different parts of your body, what the ingredients are used for different types of chocolate, etc. One room, which was really cool, was basically a chocolate factory. We could watch every step of the process—starting with the cocoa bean and ending with a chocolate fountain :-) Delicious. After the museum, we were free to go home or do whatever we wanted in Köln. Stephen and I stayed with two other Americans (Tori and Wendy—both from Iowa), because we all wanted to try Kölsch. Kölsch is the traditional beer of Köln, and I believe that Köln is the only place that brews it. Most of you will not be surprised to hear that I didn’t like it, but I did drink a little glass because I was in Köln and it is basically required. Afterward, we met up with two Irish students who had stayed behind to watch a really important rugby match in an Irish pub. That was very entertaining. Overall, a really good day—filled with the old, the new, good friends, and lots and lots of sunshine! :-)

The exterior of the Dom

The interior—I just thought this was pretty with the colored light from the window…

The view from the tower

Next to the chocolate fountain in the chocolate museum

Tori and I with our Kölsch

Today: Today was Carina’s sister’s birthday and I was invited to her party. It was really nice, Carmen’s (her sister) home was filled with family and friends and lots of food. I got to work on my German a little because many people didn’t speak much English, which is always nice. I really do love Carina’s family. They just kind of took me in, and they are all so friendly and loving :-)

As you can see, they keep us very busy here. Unfortunately, I think that I am getting sick. I actually missed class on Thursday because of it. My throat has slowly been getting more and more sore until today, when it stopped being sore and was replaced with a stuffy nose, complete with drainage, clogged ears, and icky coughing. Super. Tomorrow I’m going to try and go see a doctor. I mean, I pay €65 a month for German health insurance, so I might as well get my money’s worth out of it. I really don’t want to miss anything because of it, so I’m trying to take care of it early. I’m just worried because I don’t really know how the healthcare system works here. I’m not sure how to find a doctor (or more specifically, a doctor that speaks English), and I don’t know if they work with appointments or walk-ins, etc. I guess I’ll learn tomorrow. Another bummer: I still don’t have internet in my room. This is apparently a common problem with quite a few of the American students. We faxed our forms well over a week ago, and the international office has been working for days to try and fix it. I guess it’s not the worse thing that could happen, but it’s the little things like having to walking 15 minutes for internet that wear you down when you leave home.

As I’m finishing up, I thought I might make a list for you of the things that I miss and don’t miss about the U.S.:

I don’t miss…

*T.V.—I haven’t watched T.V. since I arrived
*Paying for gas
*Hersheys—the chocolate here is so much better
*WalMart—the LIDL where I shop is maybe the size of a CVS
*Fast food—I cook every night
*How spread out everything is—there is a grocery store, a bakery, three good bars, etc. all within walking distance of my home here

I miss…
*Free water—beer is actually cheaper than water here
*The accessibility of being able to drive—I’m still trying to understand public transportation
*Peanut butter, Poptarts, and Sonic peach tea
*Jack FM—as soon as I get internet, I’m going to stream it in my room
*Being able to understand everyone

****Update: I went to the doctor today (Monday). I have a sinus infection, and the doctor gave me antibiotics and decongestants.

Link to my Facebook album for more photos