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This week has been very exciting, but very tiring. I’m figuring out slowly what is expected of me. I work 5 days a week, always one day of the weekend. This week I have been on breakfast duty. This means I get to work by 6am and set up the breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet includes assorted cereal, walnuts and hazelnuts. Yogurt (reg and berry), cinnamon apple sauce, mixed fruit, and rhubarb. Then we move on to the bread. We have assorted pastries (mostly with cheese in them gross), and lots of brotchen (rolls). Then we have your choice of cream cheese, butter, margarine, or nutella, and 6 different kinds of jam. Then we have a plate of cucumbers and a plate of red peppers and tomatoes, in case you want to eat them with your brotchen. Then, the hot food. We serve scrambled eggs and hard boiled eggs, bacon (score!), sausage, and little bits of ham. Then we have reg white bread for toast or whole wheat oaty bread and then a plate of assorted processed bologna or salami type meets and a tray of different cheeses. Lots to choose from. My job is to greet the guests when they come in (between 7am and 10am). A simple “Guten Morgen, was ist seine Zimmer Nummer bitte” meaning “Good Morning, what is your room number please” There is a more polite way to phrase it but I never remember it so I just say what I know. The best is the English speaking guests I got that phrase down pat. Then I make sure the coffee is always full on each table and I reset the dirty places. It reminds me of working at the Kellogg Center, and I really enjoy it. I am done by 1pm- when I work this shift so that is also a huge bonus.
The weather has been WONDERFUL this week! Monday and Tuesday after work, I went to the Neckar (it’s the river/lake next to the city) and laid in the sun… My stomach hasn’t seen the light of day since probably Christmas (okay that sounds weird, but we went to Florida remember?) so it got FRIED. Besides that, I look pretty darn good. I absolutely love the sun. Then I walked around town a lot both days. I love how much I am able to walk here, but by the time I go home at night I am completely exhausted.
I booked my flights to London (July 14th-16th) and Rome (July 24th-26th) and I am visiting Cassie for Friday night so I have an American to spend the fourth of July with J. They have a carpooling system here which I signed up for. You go on the website and type in where you are leaving from and where you are going and what date you are interested in, then you find other people who are going and how much room is in their car. So, Patrick from Heidelberg is driving me to Tubigen on Friday at 1pm as soon as I get off work. That should be nice, I believe he is a student at the University here so I will get a chance to use my German with him and it’s only 8 Euros, the train is 17,50. I do, however, have to take the train home Sat. night because I work bright and early on Sunday morning. Oh and good news, the street car doesn’t start running until 7 am on Sundays and I don’t have a bike… so 45 minute walk to work at 5am on a Sunday? Sounds good to me!
I think I’m becoming a wonderful cook! I have been using rice or noodles in almost every meal and other random things to eat with them. So far my fav is rice with grilled peppers and pineapples, so kind of like a stir fry… so good! Then I also did rice with salmon and pineapples. Today I wanted to make tuna salad, but I realized I didn’t have mayo so I just did grilled tuna and red cabbage with noodles. It was actually wonderful. This is getting me very excited to have my own apartment next year and to cook! I haven’t cooked any meat yet (fish doesn’t count) so maybe next week I will get some chicken or something and cook that. I am not allowing myself to buy anything until I use up what I have (well besides the rice, that will last me the full 2 months I think) so I’m going to have to start getting creative with my dinners.
Monday night Petra and I went to see a movie, “Die Womanizer” or “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” auf Englisch. I hadn’t seen the love of my life on the big screen in a while so I was very excited to see her once again. The movie was cute and I understood it. I actually could hear Matthew Mcwhatever and Jennifer Garner saying the words in English in my head…. I think I’ve seen too many things with them in it. But yeah it was really cool, the theater was TINY and a lot different from a American theaters. If I go again I’ll have to take a picture.
Tuesday night I was trying to do laundry, but I could not figure it out. So I heard someone upstairs in the kitchen and forced myself to go ask for help ( I mean ALL of my clothes were dirty I didn’t have much of a choice), luckily it was Susie, my fav mitbewohnerin (house mate). She was about to wash the dishes but stopped was she was doing to help me figure it out. Turns out you need coins to use the washing machine and your landlord is supposed to sell them to you… thanks a lot Helmut. So Susie (she doesn’t use this washer, she brings it home because she lives close by) knocked on the boys doors to see if they had any coins I could buy off them. Mark was asleep (he is a baker so he works really early every morning) but he heard us and woke up and said he didn’t have any. So we went down to ask Phillip, he had one and I bought it from him (it is 1 Euro for 1 coin). Then Phillip and Susie came into the dungeon (literally our basement is like a dungeon… actually it’s just like a Michigan basement now that I think of it. That’s what those are called right?) and helped me to figure out how to use the washing machine, it actually isn’t difficult. So it turns out the people that live with me are awesome and very friendly. Then Susie asked if I wanted to come chat with her in the kitchen while she did dishes so I grabbed my water and headed upstairs. I guess Mark got out of bed after our knock on his door and he found a coin and gave it to me “ein Geschenk” (a gift). Germans rock. Susie is really nice and she wanted to practice her English so she spoke English to me and I spoke German to her, it was nice. Her major is Germanistik, so sort of like a German teacher, but not. Anyway when I would say something wrong she would break apart my sentence and explain to me why… it was funny and very helpful. We talked for about an hour and she told me some of the rules or things they do at the house. I can use pretty much whatever I want but everyone also has their own stuff. There is a cupboard of spices that everyone shares so that’s cool. Everyone buys their own soap and we were out of toilet paper, so she suggested that I keep my own roll in my room… that’s too weird, I just bought a bunch for the whole house because I’m not carrying a roll up and down with me every time I have to pee (I mean that’s quite often, I drink a lot of water). She said the girls try to stick together and clean up as much as they can because the boys are slobs, so if there are dirty dishes and I have some time I should do them (score! I love doing dishes!).
Wednesday I didn’t work, but Petra, Meltem and I had a tour of Heidelberg. It was auf Deutsch, but I understood most of it so that was really nice. We went in a lot of the places that I had to write about for our pamphlet at work. It was cool because I already knew what they were about and now I got to see it first hand. The tour was only 1.5 hours and Petra and I were planning on going to the Zoo, but after we finished our lunch it started hard core raining, so an afternoon of shopping it was J I was good though, I only bought a pair of shoes for work and a pair of earrings for fun. I was so tempted to buy a bunch of stuff, but I restrained my self.
Thursday was pretty much the same as any other day, except I was beyond tired! I finished work real early, 11:30am and then I just sat on the internet for a few hours because I was too tired to move anywhere. Eventually I forced myself to leave and return some stuff. I got in this awful habit of trying something on and it not fitting me in some way BUT it’s the last one so I convince myself that if I try it on at home it will fit me. False. So I made myself return the 2 pairs of shoes and pair of adorable jeans that I bought. No worries though, I FINALLY found good work shoes and some sneakers to walk around in. I’m still trying to find a good pair of skinny jeans. You’d think it wouldn’t be that hard since EVERYONE in Germany wears them, but they like weird designs on them and gems and bulky pockets. I just want a simple pair of dark skinny jeans, is that so much to ask? The pair I forced myself to return were too long, but they were almost perfect (and since when are pants too long on me? Am I shrinking?!) Petra invited me to a party with her and her roommate, apparently it’s pretty fancy so I’m pumped. Then Cassie’s on Friday after work J
Well anyway life is treating me well, and I feel very blessed for everything I’ve experienced and everything that is yet to come. I can’t believe I only have 6 weeks left… time really flies! And Petra leaves me in one month… oh man
I miss you and love you!
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 10 months ago on July 4th, 2009 . Add a comment
So I just completed my first week of my internship in Heidelberg, and it’s hard to believe that I have already been in Germany for 5 weeks! Time truly is flying by and I have a few trips coming up in July that will make my summer fly by even faster. I only have 7 weeks left which is both sad and exciting. I really enjoy my lifestyle here in Germany. I feel much healthier and at peace, but I am definitely lonely here. I miss a lot of things about Michigan as well. Like the fact that I don’t have old lady’s shaking their fingers at me when I cross the street on a red walk light (sometimes I’m in a hurry to get somewhere!), the fact that stores are open on Mondays, back yards ( I really miss my backyard), DIET COKE, understanding mass, and of course my family and friends. But there are also so many things I love about Germany. I got for about an hour long walk everyday and I’m constantly getting fresh air, most places don’t have air conditioning but every building is covered with windows that set up a nice breeze through the room. I also really enjoy how patient everyone is. At restaurants they are never in a hurry to kick you or throw the bill at you, people patiently wait to cross streets, when I check people into the hotel and fumble around because I don’t understand Germany they are so patient with me and never seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere. Also I absolutely love being surrounded by hills (or mountains in American terms) All the streets go up and down and are made of stones instead of pavement and people are always walking places and riding their bikes. Although not having internet at my apartment is rather frustrating, I think it has been really good for me this past week. I have been forced to find other ways of occupying my time. So now for my week:
Monday: I showed up to work at a quarter to 8 because I have heard about how punctual Germans are and how offended they get when you are late. My boss, Frau Wagner, was sitting at the reception desk and I introduced myself, we shook hands (that’s what you do in Germany, I guess in the US too but it’s more popular here), she took me upstairs so I could put my bag in the office, then she explained to me that she had a meeting all morning so Adrian (the other person working at the reception desk that morning) would be starting my training. I didn’t understand what she said at first, I only half understood and I was SUPER nervous, so she explained it to me in English and then said that was all the English she was going to use with me. Adrian was very nice and basically talked all morning showing me different things to do when checking guests in or making reservations. He also walked me to the parking garages and walked me through them so I could better explain to the guests how to get there. Around 10:30 we were allowed to go downstairs and eat breakfast. We have a breakfast buffet everyday from 7am-10am and when it closes the employees are allowed to eat whatever is left, and there is always plenty left. Generally I eat scrambled eggs, a few pieces of bacon, some fruit, and a roll with butter. I eat a lot because I don’t eat again until I go home (and sometimes that isn’t until 6 or 8 pm). Adrian spoke only in German to me, but I understood him very well. Toward the end of my shift Petra (the other intern that is Slovakian but goes to college in South Carolina and is in the same program as myself) came in to start her shift and it was really nice to see her. We spoke in English and she told me how she had felt really lonely and overwhelmed at first and it has gotten better for her, of course she is still a bit lonely so we decided to try and do stuff together as often as we can. She knows the city pretty well from her two weeks of already being here, so that will work to my advantage. After work I went on my boss’s computer for a few hours and felt so relieved. It was really hard being alone on Sunday and computerless, especially when I was told I would have wireless internet access at my apartment. I didn’t want to get off the internet, but I still hadn’t been grocery shopping and I was starving so I forced myself to leave and stopped at the store on the way home. I bought noodles, rice, butter, eggs, red cabbage, salad fixings, bananas, some delicious cookies, and these cracker things. I still wasn’t sure what I was allowed to use in the kitchen so I didn’t want to get any meat or anything too difficult to cook. When I got home I put my food away in the kitchen and ran into my neighbor Phillip, he told me I was allowed to use anything I wanted in the kitchen, no problem. I then took my long walk, did some yoga and made myself an egg and a salad. I Started reading The Lamb’s Supper and went to bed.
Tuesday: I got to work just before 8 again and once again I worked with Adrian. As soon as I got there a guest called the front desk and Frau Wagner answered. She got a confused look on her face and thrust the phone at me. The guest wanted a set of silverware and she was having trouble understanding the words fork and spoon. I felt important, but it definitely caught me off guard to have a phone thrust at me first thing in the morning. When I told her what he wanted she said okay go and bring it to him, so I went down to the kitchen to find some silverware, the ironic part is that I couldn’t remember the words for spoon or knife in Germany. The guy working the kitchen made me repeat the names back to him after he told me them; fork = gabel, knife = messer, and spoon = lofel. Later in the day he came upstairs and made me say it again, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the names now. Adrian let me be a lot more involved today and I had fake username for the reservation system so I could pretend to book reservations. I felt a bit childish, but it was good practice for me. He also let me enter in which rooms were cleaned and which guests ate breakfast, but I got to do that for real, and by the end of the shift I was able to check a few people out, with A LOT of help, but I felt overall very accomplished. The morning was pretty slow so we got to talk a lot and he asked me questions about America, like do we really throw house parties like in the movies and we talked about the differences in the school systems and different dialects in our countries. I mean with have different accents in the US but I don’t think we really have different dialects, all the same words with different pronunciations. In Germany they like to change words and weird sounds from region to region. Petra had the day off because her professor from college was coming for a visit. They came to the hotel so he could have a tour of the building and I tagged along because Frau Wagner hadn’t got around to showing me anything yet. It’s a very nice hotel, but when they say a single room they mean a single room. I don’t know what there are like in the US, but I’m used to hotel rooms with 2 double beds in them… maybe that’s just because I’m always with my family and there are a lot of us. But the single rooms have just enough space for a single bed, a Desk with a television that looks like a computer screen, a closet and a small bathroom. For double rooms they have two single beds pushed together, and a bit more space…. You can probably see layouts of the rooms online. They are very nicely decorated though and have a lot of natural light and a good airflow. After work I did some more internetting, went home, went for my walk, made dinner, did some yoga, showered, read, and went to bed.
Wednesday: Adrien wasn’t there today so I worked with a new girl, Louisa Schumacker…. Basically the coolest name ever! She was very nice, but I didn’t get to do as much at first because she didn’t know how much I had learned, but eventually we broke through the language barrier and she started letting me do more things. Later in the day my boss came down and gave me my own user name and cash box, so now I am able to check people in and out and enter data all on my own J. That makes things easier so that when Louisa is helping one guest I can help whoever else is at the desk or book reservations. Petra had today off again, but she stopped in to ask if I wanted to go to a Stammtisch with her that night around 8, of course I want to!! I feel so unsocial here so I was very excited to get out and talk with people. A stammtisch is like a weekly gathering of students normally at a bar. The international students from the hospitality business school get together every Wednesday and Petra knew one of the people that was going to be there so I said I would tag along. Then at 2:30 Herr Hölle (my boss) said I could have a free evening and end work early… cha ching! So I got to venture into the city for my first time. There is a whole area full of shops and the streets are made of stones and there are no cars anywhere. The main street, directly across from where I work, leads straight to the castle and then has many streets to either side leading to more shops and sites. There are tons of old churches, but I only had time to go into 1 and it had just been renovated a few years ago, it was so beautiful though. I stayed there and prayed a rosary then went back to work for some internetting until Petra came and we walked to the Old Bridge. It had such a beautiful view of the city along the river and the castle. I got really excited about my further explorations of the town. We grabbed some food at an Italian place, lasagna… sooo good, but dad’s is def better, and then headed to the bar to see if the girl Petra knew was there. No one was there, it was weird, so we decided just to walk around. We ran into a girl from work who was also planning on going to the bar and she walked with us. We eventually decided to sit down for something to drink. It was really fun because when it was just Petra and I we spoke in English, but when Lisa (pronounce lee-za) came we switched into German. It was a bit more difficult to express myself, but I think I did most of the talking J Lisa ended up buying our drinks and then she helped me figure out how to buy a Monatskarte for the trains (month pass). I had been schwarzfahring (riding illegally) for 3 days so I needed to get my pass stat!
Thursday: Work at 8 am sharp. As soon as I sat down to work Louisa told me Herr Hölle had an assignment for me and she handed me a bunch of papers. I was to retype the descriptions of 5 pages worth of different tourist attractions in Heidelberg (it was in German) then add all the sites from a different set of papers that were missing from the original set. Then once I completed that I was to translate it all into English… it’s a lot harder than it sounds let me tell you! His intention was to make packets that we could give to guests when they asked what there was to see in Heidelberg (and surrounding cities), well there are PLENTY of things to see here! I worked on that pretty much the whole day as well as helping with a few check ins and check outs. We had two couples from America in that commented on my lack of an accent and I told them I was from the US. It’s refreshing in a weird way to have American guests, they are so patient with me when I explain to them I’m new and an intern and then they ask me lots of questions about myself and get really impressed with my German. After work I decided to try another Döner and see if it was just the place I went to that was bad…. But I was very disappointed once again. Then I went home and did my usual routing, except I decided to skip my nightly shower (I was really gross on Friday, so that won’t be happening again).
Friday: 8am work. I forgot to switch from my flip flops to my work shoes before I left my apartment and didn’t realize until I was half way to work… I was pretty embarrassed but no one seemed to notice or care. I got there and continued my work on translating. It took me the whole day to finish, but I had to help Petra out quite often with the guests. They decided it was safe to leave Petra and I alone at the desk… I wasn’t stressed about it, but Petra was the one who had to answer phones and actually talk to the guests. I would help one or two but she had to know how to explain everything they needed to know in German, yikes! They are leaving us alone on Monday and Tuesday as well, so I guess I will be getting a lot of practice in right away. Petra was very stressed though, so I did as much as I could to help her without getting in her way. It was sooo nice out on Friday, but I didn’t feel well after work so I decided to stay in and just get my internet stuff out of the way with out exploring because I had Sat and Sun off. Around the end of my internet session Herr Hölle comes up to me with an envelope saying I have to sign the paper inside acknowledging that he paid me for the first week of work… WHAT?… I GET PAID? Yes ladies and gents I got paid and I believe this I a weekly routine, but we will see I’m not counting my chickens before they are hatched. I decided that I would walk home from work for two reason, 1: I wanted to see how long it would take and 2: I sit at a desk all day and needed some exercise and fresh air. It took about 45 minutes. I stopped for some salmon, pineapple, zip lock bags, and bacon on my way home. When I finally got home I made myself some salmon with pineapple and garlic on top of rice… it was soooo good, I had been craving salmon and rice for a few weeks. Phillip, my neighbor, was in the kitchen cooking as well so we talked a lot. He is very nice and he speaks to me in English while I respond in German. I keep telling him he can speak German, but he likes to practice his English… I kind of like it because it levels the playing field, I don’t feel like the incompetent American because he struggles just as much as I do. He invited me to go to a party with him sometime next week, so hopefully that will be fun. After that I took another long walk, got a bit lost, then I did homework and read.
Probably the longest entry of my life, but that is a glimpse at my life here in Heidelberg for the moment. I feel very blessed and I’m starting to feel so settled here that I’m wishing I had more time. I feel like once 2 months is up I’m going to be just feeling at home and then I will have to pack up and head back to the US…. It’s going to be a culture shock going home. Anyway for the time being I’m happy with where I am and where God is leading me.
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 10 months ago on June 27th, 2009 . 1 comment
Well this was my last week in Berlin and it’s been bittersweet. I’ve really enjoyed everything that I’ve learned and experienced here and I’m so grateful to have had this adventure and I will miss this city a lot, but I am definitly ready to go south and live in a smaller city and start my internship! It’s funny because I finally feel all settled here, and I got into a rhythm of things, but I’m sure now that I’m adjusted to Germany my rhythm in Heidelberg will come more quickly.
I have an apartment in Eppelheim – sort of like a subdivision next to Heidelberg. I start work on Monday at 8 am and I’m not really sure what to expect. A girl from my program is working with me in Heidelberg and she started last week. So far she has been doing mostly reception work and helping with breakfast, I’m assuming I’ll be doing the same thing? Of course she is a hospitality business major and I’m human resources, so I hope they let me get more experience in my specific field. The weather is also supposed to be beautiful in Heidelberg so I am very excited to find a spot to lay out in the sun and read ever chance I get. I’m running out of things to read though!
Monday: It was my first day without Michelle, and of course I overslept! I got to school at about 10:30 when it actually starts at 9, but I enjoyed sleeping in so I wasn’t too upset. We are reviewing adjective endings so class was a bit boring, but then we broke into discussion on a random topic, as we normally do, and the class got interesting again. After school Kallie, Joe, and I went to get 2 Euro Döners… now that is a deal! The Döner place by my house is 2,90! So we went to the one by Kallies. It was like a taste of heaven, as usual. Then we discovered a mall so we walked around for a long time. I had a few people look at my camera, but it’s hopeless. I dislike kodak a lot. Then we went to H & M (pronounce ha und em auf deutsch) and almost everything was on sale for 9 euros! I got a pair of black pants that I can work in, because the 2 that I brought from home don’t fit me anymore. All this walking is doing wonders for my figure, I’ve lost like 6 pounds since I’ve been here and I eat Döners and ice cream literally 5 times a week (probably more for the icecream)! Then we went home around 5 and I read and relaxed for a bit. We met back up at 8 to go to a beer garden with other kids from our program that have internships in Berlin. It was raining, so no one came and the 5 of us that were there decided to go to Adleys part of town for som 2 ,50 Euro pizzas! It was delicious. I love the pizza here. The crust is really thin and the cheese is light and you get a whole pizza to yourself! We all shared some wine, and stayed there for a little over 2 hours. It was great. Then home and to bed.
Tuesday: School once again, but today I was on time! After school Adley and I were in the best moods talking about how much we loved our class and we refused to speak in English for at least an hour. Joe Kallie and I took Adley back to the Döner place for her FIRST Döner… crazy right? But we basically inhaled them, because they are DELICIOUS! Then Joe Adley and I went to the Jewish History Museum. It was really really cool, not at all what we anticipate, but really cool. Germans are (obviously) ashamed of their past and when they do memorials or what not they focus on either the hope that came with the fall of the wall or they remember those that died during the Hollacaust, but what this museum was mostly about was the history of the Jewish people. It has 3 floors. The top floor was all about the religion and it was SOOO cool. I would get really excited because I would see a name or an object that I learned about in class so I would talk Joe and Adley’s ears off about it, but they were actually very interested in all of it. There was this one part that had 9 short videos (you could chose the language! sweeeet!) and the frist theme was meals so one was about the history of the host in Catholicism, one up the two handled cup used in Judaism and I actually don’t remember the other one but it had to do with Islam. The second set focused on prayer beads, so the history of that and it talked a little about the rosary then there was one about the Jewish Mishna and then about the Qur’an. And the third set was about niches. So where the alter are placed in each religion and how it’s all very similar in a way. Anyway the three of us had a lot of fun watching them (they were cute animate videos) and I think that was everyones favorite floor. The second floor took us through the history so basically how the Israelites were continually persecuted and had to move from place to place and there was a breif section on the Hollacaust with some gruesome pictures but there wasn’t a lot. The third floor was pretty cool it was a picture gallery of places in Tel Aviv Israel. Anyway I learned a lot and it was really cool to see everything, but after 3 hours in there I was exhausted!! I came home and did some internetting then took a long walk through my area because the weather was way too nice to sit inside. Then I made dinner (garlic noodles and cooked red cabbage) and I read my book.
Wednesday: We all decided to skip school because the weather was just perfect and we headed to Babbelsberg and Potsdam again. It was Adley Joe Kallie and I. We saw about 6 or 7 different castles. It was so cool! The frist castle we saw was a reletively small (actually really small) castle called Flat Tower castle AND the coolest thing is that it had a legit mote around it!!!! We were pumped, the mote was empty so we climbed in it and walked around. That’s something you read about in stories! Then we continued our adventure along the beautiful German country side and walked by the lake for a really long time just enjoying the cool summer breeze on a wonderfully sunny day. We went to Ceceillanhof Castle which is the place where The Potsdam Conference was held (I actually don’t know what that is, but everyone kept saying it so I just went along with it) We got to Babbelsberg around noon and walked all day until 6. We made our way to Potsdam and only stopped for our lunch, which was very German! Kallie introduced me to a new beer – Berliner Weisse – it’s like green apple flavored beer so it tastes delicious. The 3 of us girls all got Wurstchen (so they are sort of like hotdogs but they are sausage) and potatoe salad and Berliner Weisse, a very girlie meal, while Joe got real sausage and a real beer. He made a point to aknowledge that because he has been hanging out with the 3 of us girls all week and sometimes we make him suffer through our “girl talk”. Adley and I had both already been to Potsdam so we took them to our favorite places and ended the day back at Sansoucci…. it’s still breathtaking. I think my favorite castle (besides Flat Tower, we’ll say my favorite real castle) was Ceceillianhof because it just looked so German and wa surrounded by nature. That’s another amazing thing about Germany, you can’t escape nature no matter where you are. Even in Berlin there are trees EVERYWHERE it’s great. So when we finally made it home we were all exhausted. I did some internetting then took another really long walk and came home to make myself a BLT (yummm!). Then I went to bed.
Thursday: It was my teachers last day of class because she is in Iceland for 10 days, so it was a bit sad. We played a lot of fun games and she made me a mixed CD of German music! After one of our breaks Kyle was eating a snickers bar and I got the BIGGEST craving for one, but I only had 45 cents and it was 65 so he gave me some change and it was pure bliss…. I love snickers. Anyway so class was fun and I was sad to say goodbye to Ariena. After school we went to the Mensa (a cheap cafeteria type place) and I got a HUGE schnitzel and shared a plate of fries with Kallie. It was wunderbar! Then I went shopping 
I got a pair of pants and a blouse for work. I really am not a shopper, I don’t enjoy it but I was there for like an hour trying different stuff on (H&M of course) and hopeing I could get a bathing suite, but no luck. Then I headed over to the electronic store and after an hour of looking I found the perfect camera, a card and a case for a decent price… went I went to pay, however, they informed me that they don’t accept credit!! WTH! who doesn’t accept credit at a store that sells WASHING MACHINES AND FRIDGES! ohhh Germany… so I was a bit frusterated and my German sucks so it took the lady a while to explain it to me. So I left and looked at a few other places, but no deal. So I went home. Then I had to get ready to leave right away and met Kallie and Joe at a beer garden. It was SWEET! Kallie and I had our delicious Gerliner Weissers and there was a trapeze type show going on. So we stayed till 11 enjoying the show and got hushed a few times (aparently Americans are always loud) then we called it a night.
Friday: My LAST day in Berlin! I wasn’t actually sad until the night. School was a bit boring. We had to take a test because our teacher was gone, I got better than a 50% so I was happy (everyone did about the same, so don’t worry I’m not stupid). Then we watched the WEIRDEST movie I have ever seen! It was… I can’t even explain it. A fat ugly GErman guy who was jobless and this younger cute girl who was babysitting a handicap 13 year old boy who electricuted himself (purposefully) while taking a bathe… she left the kid wrapped in a towel on his couch for his parents to find later and the fat ugly German man (like 30 maybe) found her on the street and they awkwardly fall in love…. not romantic in the least. After school we said our goodbyes to our classmates and headed to Kallies train stop for our last Doners together. Before we ate though we all had errands, so I went and bought my camera YAY and I got more minutes on my phone. THEN our farewell Doners. It was soo yummy but so sad to say goodbye to them. Then I promised Claudia that I would do yoga with her. She wasn’t into (as usual) but just wanted to play with me. She also REFUSED to be in a picture with me, so oh well. Then I got ready and went to Adleys for a delicious dinner! Joe made us lemon flavored chicken breasts with amazing potatoes and steamed brocoli and I made a salad and Kallie brought some wine. It was so fun. I think they are what I will miss the most about Berlin.
Now I am off to a new adventure in Heidelberg, wish me luck!
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 23rd, 2009 . Add a comment
HELLO!
I’m in Heidelberg and it’s beautiful, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone in my life. I got here Saturday night and walked into my tiny room and although I wasn’t thrilled about it’s appearance I was excited about this new adventure that I’m on and the fact that for the first time in my life I’m on my own and I have to be a big girl now… it’s weird but I was very excited about it on Sat. So I got all unpacked and made the room look liveable and then I set out to see my town. It’s a cute little town, a lot poorer than the area of Berlin I lived in but it’s very clean and people seem friendly enough. It was about 8pm when I was out and I asked God to help me find a Catholic church AND I did right by where I live! So I looked up the mass schedule and mass was scheduled for 9:30am on Sunday. I was very excited! Then I was thinking about how I didn’t have any bedding and it would be just perfect if I found a store open past 8 that would sell bedding (yeah, that does not happen in Germany) BUT God loves me because I found one! I bought some shampoo and conditioner AND a loofa! and then some bedding so I could sleep. Everything was going well. Then I was hungry so I bought a Döner (naturlich) but it actually wasn’t that good and it was really expensive so I probably won’t be doing that often.
I was eating in my room and playing music when my neighbor knocked on my door, his name is Phillip and he is 29 and trying to pass a test to get a degree (I think he was talking all in German and didn’t realize I was American until much later in the conversation). He was really friendly so I was feeling more comfortable with everything. Then Sunday came and I woke up early for mass, the sun was shining and I was excited about my first day…. problem, however, it was a special event or something so mass was moved somewhere else. I walked around for a half an hour but I couldn’t find it (ugh) so I didn’t go to mass. God and I talked, however, and He understands. So I went home and changed and headed into Heidelberg to find where I work. OH MY GOODNESS Heidelberg is beyond beautiful! It’s set right in front of all these hills (I suppose in America we’d consider them mountains) and it’s one of the few towns that didn’t get bombed during WWII so the buildings are really old and it’s fantastic. I found my hotel that I work at and as soon as I looked at it I thought to myself “I can NOT wait to start working there” I don’t know why it just looked so nice! Then my landlord called me about setting up my Internet so I rushed home excited to email everyone about my life and see how everyone was doing. 3 hours after he got to my apartment my Internet was STILL not working. I don’t think I have ever been so frustrated in my life. I felt so trapped in my small apartment no way to contact anyone that knew me no way to hear about life back home. It was really weird. So I left my apartment again because I couldn’t be there. I came back to Heidelberg and walked around and said a rosary until the rain started, then I headed back to my lonely apartment. I played with some pictures and uploaded some German music from the CD my teacher made me, then I got everything ready for my first day of work and at 7:30 I crawled into bed and finished my book and fell asleep around 10.
Today was my first day of work, and I really like my job! Everyone hear is very friendly and most of the guests here speak English (score!). My boss is pretty young but I still have to call her Frau Wagner (which seems very odd to me because I have never in my life, and I’ve had A LOT of jobs, called a boss by their last name) she had a meeting so the other guy working began my training (I can’t for the life of me remember his name!) and I worked with him all day. I’m learning how to check people in to the hotel and book reservations. I also am learning how to explain to people where to park (harder than it sounds AND it costs money, komisch). We got to eat breakfast around 10 and it was good. Then at 2:30 Petra came and we spoke a lot of English together (she is in the same program I am, but started her internship 2 weeks earlier). She says she is pretty lonely too but things get easier with time. We are going to explore and do things together so I’m thrilled and so lucky to have her here with me.
I miss you and love you, hopefully my Internet will be fixed soon!
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 22nd, 2009 . Add a comment
So Michelle left this morning and now I am all alone in this big city… Well I guess not completely alone, there are still 3 other Americans that I’m good friends with to keep me company, but no one quite like Michelle. I will, however, manage somehow without her. (Except that I relied on her for skyping people and for picture taking since my skype doesn’t work and my camera is broken….. hmm)
So Thursday: Michelle and I were a bit late for school, but it was probably one of my favorite days of school. I just can’t get over how much I love my class. Each person brings a different perspective and background and it’s really cool just to learn from each other. It’s also cool how we all come from different places with different languages, but we can all communicate because we have German in common (well they all know English too, but our teacher has banned it from our classroom). After school I went home to run some errands and just relax for a but, then I met up with Michelle and we went to my favorite place yet in Berlin. The Berliner Dome. It’s an old Church and it is probably the most beautiful church I have ever seen. The pictures below don’t even begin to give it justice. The amount of detail they put into every part of the church and all the symbolism in every piece of art is truly breath taking. I just sat in awe for about 20 minutes, then I stole Michelle’s camera and went picture crazy. She actually confiscated it because I was taking too many. It cost 3 Euros to go inside, but the cool thing was that everyone was so reverent inside. They were quiet it was just really cool. In St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC it is so loud and crouded all the time and it’s hard to get the reverent and prayerful spirit, but I felt very prayerful in this church. I’m not sure if they still use it for mass or not… they might, they should I would LOVE to go to church there! I wish I could just bring it home with me. Maureen you and Brian should just fly everyone over here and have your wedding there seriously, I’m in love with this place! The other really cool thing about the Dome is that you can go to the top and walk around outside and see the whole city. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t ideal for picture taking or being outside, but it was awesome I just stood up there for like 20 minutes taking the city in. It really is a beautiful city.
After that Michelle and I met up with Joe, Adley, and Kallie and went to a few museums because it was FREE (yay!). First we went to one with an Egyptian exhibit, that was cool but I mean I saw the one at the DIA like a million times years ago so it wasn’t that exciting… but THEN we went to the Bode Museum and I was in love! All the art work (basically) was religious. I would get really excited when I would figure out what story from the bible they were depicting or which saints life the sculpture was of. Everyone was getting tired and hungry but Joe and I just walked around examine the art for ever. He kept asking me all these questions about Catholicism and although he doesn’t believe in the Catholic church or organized religion, he was very interested in everything I was saying. Unfortunately I’m not the most articulate person ever, so it was hard to explain the whole concept of God being beyond time and space and that Jesus wasn’t created after God because He is God and always has been God…. anyway I think I explained it pretty decently, but it was fun to talk about that since no one is really into faith or even that curious about it here and I’m used to all of my friends at school who talk about Catholicism 24/7.
THEN we were starving so (this is the best part) I brought Joe and Adley to a restaurant called Dolores… It was heaven. It was a burrito restaurant! Sort of like Chipotle but (dare I say it) wayyyy better. Probably only better because I have been craving burritos for the past 2 weeks. I had a burrito with beans, rice, lettuce and guac. YUMMMM and we got tortilla chips. I’m glad Adley and Joe get as excited about food as I do, because I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time we were eating. I was so sick of sausages an (surprise) Döners. We stayed there for a few hours just enjoying our food and each others company. That’s another thing about Germany. People dine for hours, I love it. You never get your check handed to you when you go out, you have to ask for it and they are never in a hurry to get you out of their resautrant. Then we went home and to bed.
Then comes Friday: School again, of course. Another fun day. Normally we are supposed to have tests on Fridays but our teacher hasn’t been giving us tests. Instead she has us write stuff down. It was Michelle’s last day of class so that made things a little bitter sweet. We were done at 12:30 (because it was Friday) and then Michelle and I went on a free 3.5 hour tour of Berlin. It was cool, but definitely the first time that I’ve felt like a tourist since I’ve been here. It was all this English speaking people taking tons of pictures at all the touristy places of Berlin. I guess it was nice to hear the history behind all these buildings that I walk by everyday, but I really don’t like feeling like a tourist. I normally just hope that people mistake me for a German, but I doubt that has happened yet. On the tour we saw the hotel window where Michael Jackson dangled a baby from, the plot of land under which Hitler committed suicide, the Holocaust memorial, the death strip, and much more. The interesting thing I learned about the memorial was that the reason it took Germany so long (until 2005) to actually have a memorial was because they couldn’t figure out where to put it. If they put it in the west that would imply the west was more responsible for the holocaust or in the east that the east was more responsible. So they ended up butting it on the death strip in Berlin, so it was no man’s land. The memorial is a bunch of blocks different heights leaning at different angles on this big plot of land. People are supposed to draw from it whatever they feel. Some people think it looks like a graveyard, or you can walk through it and think of it as how those people must have felt… it’s a confusing dark and somewhat lonely walk through. It was cool to hear the guy tell stories of the Gestapo and what not because it just gave so much more life to this city. Berlin is so beautiful and it’s a real testament to the German people and what they have overcome. Also the Reichstag (Parliament building), where Hitler used to I don’t know control or something, has recently had a dome added to the top and the floor is made of glass and the public are allowed to go up there and when you look down you can see the government at work to symbolize that they are under the people. So they are working for the people, instead of the old mentality that the government is over the people.
Michelle and I left early though (after 2.5 hours) because we had seen the rest of the city and we were exhausted. We went home and relaxed for a few hours, then met up with friends for a late dinner. We went to a “Latin American” restaurant and I got an enchilada! IT was probably the best decision I have made yet on this trip. We sat there for a good 3 hours eating and talking. The service was really slow, but that’s a just a part of the German culture. When people are out to eat they are never in a hurry and are just happy to enjoy the company they are with. There was a guy sitting at the bar who was staring at us a lot and eventually asked if we were American. We found out he was Canadian and invited him to join us while we were finished our drinks. He was an interesting guy, just here visiting family. And our waiter was really cool. I refused to speak English to him, even though it was really hard for me to communicate with him in German and he kept correcting me. It was fun though, he was a nice guy and told us the name of a Latin American dance club to go to… but we were all too tired to go.
Then came Saturday: I did nothing ALL day. I ran a few errands and went for a walk for about an hour (it was finally sunny!) Then I read for most of the day. Michelle went to an old concentration camp for the day, so I went in her room and laid on her couch and read and slept for a few hours. I’m reading Der Kleine Prinz and when my head hurts from that I am reading The Kite Runner. At about 9 Michelle and I met up with friends for drinks to say goodbye to Michelle and Jason. We went to a beer garden, which is like an outdoor bar. It was a lot of fun, really chill and actually a bit chilly but it was good company and we just talked for hours. Then Michelle and I left early because I had church today and she had to finish packing so she could wake up in time for her train.
And finally today, Sunday: I said goodbye to Michelle, and got ready for mass. When I got to church I was so confused because no one was inside. Then I saw people walking out these doors so I followed and it turns out we were having mass outside in the courtyard…. soooo cool! I understood pretty much everything today, still not sure how to say peace but I’ve realized that a smile will suffice. After the mass they had a Eucharistic procession into the church and we ended with Benediction. I’m not quite sure what the occasion was, I didn’t understand that part, but it was awesome none the less. Now I’m just trying to figure out what to do with myself without Michelle. One more week till Heidelberg!
Miss you all!
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 14th, 2009 . Add a comment
A quick update from Monday and Tuesday:
So Monday was fun, we had school as usual. After school time flew by. I was going to teach Claudia (my host sister) yoga and then I realized it was time for me to go grocery shopping because I was making dinner with friends. So I went to the grocery store and got some salad fixings and then came home to wake up Michelle. We went over to our friend Adley’s where she and Joe had prepared us some shrimp scampi…. I know what you are thinking, “wait a minute, you hate shrimp Elizabeth!” But the truth is, it was AMAZING! I loved it I ate a lot of shrimp, and I still think I hate cold shrimp because it creeps me out BUT watch out sisters because if it’s warm I’m all over it! So we had dinner and some wine with dinner. I’m starting to really love wine, this might be a bad thing. We stayed and talked for a long time and then I came home and fell right asleep.
Tuesday was school of course. I really love my class. We get into the most interesting discussions and there are just so many different cultures represented there. I’m really improving in my German too, which is of course exciting. After school I came home and napped. I was exhausted! Then when I woke up I went out for a Döner and a walk around Lichterfelde (the area I live in). When I came home, Claudia was there to great me at the door very excited about our Yoga lesson that I had promised her. So I turned on my music and taught her some moves. I tried to take her through my routine, but she got bored… instead we looked up hard poses and she was able to master them within seconds while I struggled due to my lack of balance (and the fact that I’m at least 3 times her size). She was, however, impressed with my flexibility. I’ve master the skill of touching my toes, both while standing at sitting. I know you are all very impressed with me Then I got to skype with Elizabeth, Mom, and Zac. So needless to say I had a wonderful day!
Wednesday, however, is when the real excitement happened! Michelle and I played hooky because we heard the weather would be sunny and 70 (who wants to go to school on a day like that!), so we headed down to Potsdam. It’s a small town just south west of Berlin. About 45 minutes by train. When we got there we had no idea what to do, all we had were a few places Michelle looked up online but no idea how to get to them. We saw a map across the street so we walked over and were checking it (totally confused) and this old German man (from now on know as Herr Potsdam) walks up to us and asks what we are looking for. We explain to him that this was a random trip and we have a few places in mind but have no idea where they are or where to begin. Herr Potsdam (speaking only German of course) then began to point out all the interesting parts of the city. He took us down random streets (completely out of the way of our actual destination, which we were unaware of at the time) because he wanted to show us different statues or buildings. We would point to a tall shiny building and he would just tell us it was important and then take us to something even better. We walked with him for maybe a half an hour and then we ended up in the middle of the town by the Brandenburger Tor (not the one in Berlin, there is another one… weird) and that is where Herr Potsdam said his farewells because he was around the corner from his house. Michelle asked for a picture with him, but he scurried off and said no thanks. So then we headed around the corner and made our way to Sansoucci Palace. Basically the most beautiful palace I have ever seen (I haven’t seen too many) the gardens were phenomenal. Sansosouci Park is an ensemble of palaces and garden complexes, which were built under Frederick the Great during the 18th century and were expanded under Frederick William IV in the 19th century. Sanssouci Palace, the summer residence of Frederick the Great , is its main focus. This park is the point of departure for all the later park designs in Potsdam. How smart did I just sound? Yeah I took that from the pamphlet, I figure they can phrase it much more efficiently and elegantly than I can. For those of you who aren’t French speakers, however, Sanssouci is French and means without (sans) worry (souci) and in German it would be “ohne sorgen”. It was free to walk through the gardens so we spent about 4 hours just walking around (we didn’t even see all of it) and then we decided to pay 3 Euros to go into the guest chambers (it was the cheapest thing to see) and the insides were just gorgeous. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but it was just gold and marble and sculptures and paintings and just beautiful. So elegant, I wouldn’t actually want to live in it though. It was so big! After that we wanted to go see some more of the city, but we realized we didn’t have much time so we decided to walk through the Church of Peace and then through town again. The church was so pretty. Michelle likes to tease me because when I see pictures of Jesus that I’m not expecting to see I gasp and say “Hey! That’s Jesus!” and well in the garden by the church is a HUGE statue of Jesus, and I got pretty excited again. The Church was really beautiful inside. They had scripture verses everywhere so Michelle and I would try to figure them out and I think I got most of them. Then on the walls outside of the church were these long passages in German and we were staring at them when I realized and one side were the 10 Commandments and on the other where the Beatitudes. I just think everything is cooler in German and I get really excited when I start to understand things. I think I’ve been learning a lot of German vocab lately by reading things and asking questions. After the church we went back into the city and were tempted to buy stuff, but we kept each other in line…. until we got to the chocolate shop! SO GOOD! I’m obsessed with German chocolate, and in order to make sure my body doesn’t hate me I bought DARK chocolate I got two flavors, mint and hazelnut. Hazelnut is my absolute favorite. Whenever I get ice cream (like the one I just finished) I get hazelnut. It’s too bad they don’t have that back in the states… So we continued our walk through the city until we hit Sts. Peter and Paul Church. Once again, breathtaking! I just love Catholic churches. So much detail into everything and so much symbolism. It’s really fun to just stare at a painting and try to figure out what all the different things mean. Michelle’s camera was dead at that point, so we didn’t get any pictures in that church.
After that we had to leave because we had made plans to meet up with some of Michelle’s Singaporian friends for dinner. It was me an 9 Asians, needless to say it was awesome. We met them by the TV tower and walked around to find an actual German restaurant (there are so many Italian and Asian restaurants around here!). We found one and all sat down. It was so interesting for me because the main language in Singapore is English so that’s all they spoke, but about 80% of the time I had no idea what they were saying! It’s such a different dialect. But it was cool. I feel so worldly because I’m meeting all these people from different countries! I feel like I know someone from everywhere now!!! After dinner we went back to the hostel they were staying at… it was sooo nice! Apparently everyone in Singapore is SUPER rich. These were all people over the are of 18 either in college or going into college and they just decided to travel around Europe for a few weeks. The room they stayed in was as nice as getting a hotel, but they didn’t like it and said it was cheap. Michelle was so embarrassed because she felt like I was getting a bad impression of Singaporians but she said that’s what they were all like… so I don’t know. They were interesting and nice. Then Michelle and I walked around and found a burrito store (story on that for the next post!) and a book shop. We walked in and they were getting ready to close BUT I bought a book. “Der Kleine Prinz” or more commonly know as “The Little Prince”. I’m really excited to read it, I just finished the Namesake which was awesome so now I’ll read Der Kleine Prinz and then onto the Kite Runner. I love reading when I get to do it at my own time and pace.
Well I will post again maybe tomorrow with updates from Thurs and Friday… I’ve had a really exciting past few days!
God Bless!
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 12th, 2009 . Add a comment
So This weekend has been pretty chill here’s what I’ve been up to:
Thursday: School was a lot of fun, I really like my class and my teacher is pretty young and very chill so she sort of let’s us help plan the lesson and lately it’s been learning Konjunktiv II (which suuuucks!) but today we got to do a lot of discussions and just talk to each other. We talked about marriage and German government and what we would do if we were in charge of it. Then after school I went home and did some yoga (I found a sweet website to show me some moves, so that’s exciting) and I read for about 2 hours. My book is so interesting (The Namesake) but I don’t get much time to read it! Then at about 6 I met Michelle at Museeninsel (Museum Island) because Museums are free on Thursdays for students. I only went to one Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie. It was just your typical art Museum, but I really enjoyed it (some sweet pictures are below). Then I had to come home because I had a skype date with Momma. That was nice because besides Dad for about 5 minutes the day before I hadn’t seen or heard anyone for the past 2 weeks.
Friday: I skipped school (we didn’t have an exam this week so it wasn’t bad that I missed!) to write my paper for my CAS class. It was sooo boring, I will never skip class again! I slept until 10 (the only good part about skipping) and then I woke up and started reading all these boring articles and writing my paper. It was nice to have it done though. Then at 9 I met up with my friends and we walked around for an hour until we found a cute little pizza place to have dinner. There were 7 of us and each of us got our own pizza (they were small, don’t worry) for about 3 or 4 Euros, so it was a good deal. We got a lot of wine (3 bottles I think) and they were so delicious. The first one was just a boring white wine (I don’t really like white wine) but then the next one tasted just like apple juice and the third just like cherry juice. Our waiter loved us and would laugh when we tried to order. I feel like my German is getting worse…. But the restraunt was supposed to be Italian (the name was in Italian and it was pizza, so I’d assume it that was their theme) but the music they were playing was definitly Mexican. I love how Germans just mix cultures together, it’s pretty entertaining. Then after that we went out and I stayed up ridiculously late. When I got home the sun was coming up and my host family was getting ready to drive to Poland for the day.
Saturday: I woke up at 11:30 and Michelle and I had the place to ourselves for the day. Goscha (my host mom) is Polish and her family is only a 2 hour drive away so they can just go to a whole other country and hang out for the day… okay I guess we could go to Canada just for the day or night or whatever, but Poland is so much cooler! Michelle and I were lazy all day and I watched about 4 television shows auf Deutsch (How I met your mother, Scrubs, Gossip Girl, and 90210). We went grocery shopping for our dinner and on the way back I had a Döner for lunch and she had half of a chicken. The guys at our Döner stand love us. Around 7 we started our dinner. We had a very colorful salad, Michelle had asparagus soup (she ate a ton of German bacon about an hour earlier… she has to eat about every hour the girl is a bottomless pit!) and I made some salmon wrapped in bacon with pineapples (or ananas auf Deutsch) and man oh man was I in heaven! I love Salmon and having home cooked meals. Then we met up with our friends at 9 bought some wine and a big cake and came back to our place to hang out. We thought our host fam would still be gone, but they were home when we got back. They weren’t upset that we brought friends, but they told us to ask next time… oopsies. I went to bed at 12:3o and left Michelle to entertain the guests because I had to wake up for mass in the morning
Sunday (today): Woke up for Mass. I guess today was Holy Trinity Sunday? At least that’s what I gathered from the opening and the homily. I feel like I followed along a lot better this weak, which was really nice. I gathered that the first reading was from Dt. and about Moses and the second was from Romans… but I don’t know what the Gospel was. Anyway I’ll have to go read those in English. I still have no idea how to say peace be with you so I just shook peoples hands and smiled. But the one phrase that I realized what it meant this week was “lass uns beten” or “let us pray”. After mass I came home and made myself the most delicious sandwhich ever! Turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, and red peppers. It was delic. And since then I’ve been working on homework.
The weather still sucky, but it is supposed to be in the 70s all week and get sunny by the weekend. BUT Berlin is just like Michigan and likes to tease me… we will see
Miss You all!!
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 7th, 2009 . Add a comment
So I have been in Berlin a week and a half and haven’t really SEEN Berlin, so today started my journey of seeing the city. After class Michelle and I went to East Side Gallery. It’s a strip in East Berlin where the wall is still standing. I’m not quite sure what I expected, but when we first got there we were very dissapointed. It was all blocked off and it didn’t look that cool, so we went in this shop that had a bunch of cool things that have to do with the wall. There were people in the store already from New York so the shop keeper was telling them stories of the wall in English and it was really interesting. They had a lot of postcards and pieces of the wall, and some cool shirts… I might go back and buy one. Going over to the East side of Berlin is so much different then the West. I’ve been at night, but to see it during the day is a whole new experience. The people, the cars, the buildings are all so different. You can tell it had a lot more rebuilding to do and is still a bit behind the West.
As we continued our walk we realized that they had blocked off parts of the wall because they are restoring it. They didn’t have it all blocked off but what they did have was in the process of being painted. The paintings were really interesting I will try to translate what some of the sayings mean in the pictures below, but my German isn’t that great (Cassie helped me). The area that wasn’t blocked off had a lot of graffitti all over it and was pretty beat up. The colors were really cool, and seeing how many people had been through their and what the wall meant and how it was no more was really cool… kind of hard to explain but I hope you sort of get it. It’s weird because I have been learning all about these places for so long and now I get to see them and it’s sort of sureal. Michelle and I also found some cool beach bars right along the wall, so we’ll have to check those out soon.
The weather was such Michigan weather today. Yesterday was AMAZING I went out for ice cream with some friends and then came home and read on the porch in the sun. I was in bliss. I wish it would be that warm every day because so I could just sit in the sun and read. Today, however, was FREEZING. And being the genius that I am I didn’t bring a coat or jacket or anything only my super attractive white sweatshirt. So I had to wear in public today and thanks to dad’s comments prior to my flight I was super self conscious ALL day. Whatevs I look good in just about anything, let’s face it But yeah it was cold and cloudy this morning, but when we went to the wall it was decent and sunny, then when we got home it was freezing and raining, then the sun came back, then it rained again…. so crazy! They call this weather “April weather” aber auf deutsch.
Now I’m reading 40 pages of bologna for my CAS class that I have to take for my internship because I have a 3-5 page paper due in 5 days (total quatsch!) and Michelle and I are watching Greys Anatomy auf Deutsch. German television is hilarious! We just keep laughing at all the ridiculous commercials.
They made us dinner again tonight and it was rice with this chicken mushroom gravy and a delicious salad. I don’t know what it is, I guess the dressing, but I actually love salad here! And they use really good lettuce. At home I hate salad and I hate dressing. I also eat so much chocolate and ice cream! At home I’m way healthier, but I walk a lot here so it’s not too bad.
Tomorrow we are going to the German Historical Museum so that should be interesting. Museums are free for students on Thursdays!!
I miss you
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 3rd, 2009 . Add a comment
Well Sunday morning I got to go to church and it was wonderful! I don’t think I’ve ever felt the need to go mass so much as I did on Sunday. I got there and was really nervous because I wasn’t sure if maybe things were done differently but I grabbed a Hymnal and sat down on the end of the pew toward the back and decided to kneel and pray because that’s just what I do, well I noticed that everyone was doing that so I decided just to do what I normally do and try not to stand out too much. Mass was the same as ours, except they only have one reading and a Gospel and they sing like everything. The creed… everything. That was hard for me because I can barely speak German let alone sing in German! At the beginning of mass the deacon, well I think he was a deacon, took a mini air balloon and was explaining to the kids what Pentecost was, or Pfingst auf Deutsch. It was really neat, and I tried to follow along as best I could… but to be honest I have no idea what he said OR what he said during the homily, OR what the readings were. It was a cool experience none the less. And in case it ever kept you up at night, Americans are not the only ones who dress their children in matching outfits!
Some things I’ve noticed about Germans:
They aren’t loud or obnoxious like Americans, when my friends and I go out we are definitly much louder in comparison
They bike EVERYWHERE, and the women bike in skirts and heels, impressive
I never want to eat sausage, hotdogs, or bratwurst again… these people can EAT!
German moms are all SUPER clean, and you are expected to wear socks while in the house
The kids here are so independant, 10 year olds take the trains to school alone and go for walks around town… Patrick would get so lost!
PDA is perfectly normal, I have seen so many people making out here it’s not even funny. But no one is taken back it’s just life.
Ice cream and Döners are EVERYWHERE and will be my downfall. The Döner guy already knows me by my house, as do the ice cream people next door… oops!
I’ll think of more to add later, now onto the Parade!
So since I was being the good Catholic girl that I am, I got to the Karneval a bit later than everyone else. But once I got there we headed toward the parade. Now the parade’s that I am accustomed to are parades like the Memorial Day Parade in Walled Lake, or a “real” parade like the Thanksgiving Day Parade. These parades are NOTHING in comparison to a German parade! A bunch of different cultures would be dressed in crazy outfits, with facepaint and masks and they would dance and play instruments and sing and make tons of noise and throw confetti all over you and pass out fliers. It was insane and SOOOOO long. We eventually just walked against the parade to see it in fastforward but it was definitly a good time. It’s hard to explain it really, but Germans are way more comfortable with themselves I suppose. Most of the women wore little to no clothing and this wasn’t a big deal at all. It’s just a part of life here. But the parade was a lot of fun. We got very tired from 4 hours of walking and Cassie Michelle and I spent the rest of the night at home. Cassie and I went out for some Spatzle and it was delicious.
Today Cassie left, and Michelle and I went back to the Karneval. It was so crowded though and we were sick of the crowds so we met up with a few friends and continued our exploration of Berlin. We found a lot of parks and a lot of potential sunning/reading places. I am seriously sun deprived here! I left them early and came home to do laundry and get my homework done. Back to school tomorrow. I am glad to go back though because I have barely spoke any German the past few days! I like school too.
I might have a place to live in Heidelberg, I’ll let you know soon. Also Christina emailed me and she is studying in Tübingen which is where Cassie is. So I will hopefully visit her there as well as her family in Schwäbisch Hall!
here are some pics of the parade.
OH and I don’t know if Grandpa C ever reads this but I took a special picture for him of his favorite restraunt, they are openeing one in Germany. I know how much he loves their chicken wings!
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on June 1st, 2009 . Add a comment
So it’s Saturday morning and last night started the Festival of Cultures here in Berlin. If you travel to southern Germany they constantly are having festivals and holidays where they get school off, but then in the Berlin area they barely have ANY holidays because it’s a heavily Protestant area and southern Germany is mostly Catholic… so I got lucky that they love Pentecost here in Berlin and I get to go to a festival all weekend and have no class on Monday
I went exploring on Wednesday night and I found my church that I will be going to while I’m in Berlin! St. Annen and they have mass at 10:30 on Sunday mornings which is perfect! they also have it Friday nights at like 6 so I might check that out next week. Unless I go travel with my friends, we will see!
Then on Thursday Cassie came and we met up with my friends at a bar and just talked for a few hours, it was a lot of fun. Friday we had school but it finished at 12:30 instead of 1:30 like it normally does and we had a test that I did really well on . After school we went to a random part of Berlin and got some food and explored. I had a Döner (of course) and then we went grocery shopping for our dinner that night. My friend Joe’s host family went out of town this weekend so he had his apartment to himself so we decided to all get together for a homecooked meal. Joe made us all lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. It was SOOOO GOOD! I wish I had pictures of it because he decorated the table really nicely and we all ate our food and hung out for a few hours and it was such a great time. Then we left aroun 9 and explored another part of Berlin. Berlin is seperated into a bunch of areas like neighbor hoods I guess. We stop at a bar around 11 and hung out for an hour then headed to a club. Oh man German clubs are CRAZY. Ladies got in for free and got 3 free drinks and the guys had to pay 9 Euros. So I gave my guy friends my free drinks. The music was hilarious. They played Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Who Let the Dogs Out, etc. and some funky German songs. But we had a blast and Cassie met up with me around 2:30 and we headed home for the night.
Today we woke up at noon (finally got to sleep in!) and went to the festival (Cassie Michelle and I). We got there around 2:30 and met up with Cassie’s friends from Tubigen. It was so interesting. There were booths everywhere with food, beer, and stuff to buy. They had a lot of African food, they had “American food”, Asian food, Polish, Holland, Belgian Waffles, Crepes, and so much more. I was so tempted to buy food everywhere! But I started the day with a crepe and ended with a HUGE Polish sausage thingy. SOOO yummy. I have been eating so much here, it’s ridiculous! But it’s a part of the experience I supposed. I started to take a lot more pictures too, now that Cassie brought my camera back. It started pouring around 6 while we were at the festival so we decided to finish our Polish food and then head home for the night. While we were walking to the U-Bahn things got a bit crazy… Germans apparently have no idea how to handle the rain and everyone was running for shelter by the U-Bahn station. It was so crowded and everyone was pushing and shoving and shouting and they all looked so terrified, I was fighting back laughter the whole time! I decided it was time to put all those years of basketball to use and started boxing people out so I could get to my train with Michelle and Cassie. It was ridiculous, but really fun at the same time!
Cassie went out on a Pub Crawl with some of her friends, but I was too exhausted so I decided to come home and relax and get ready for mass in the morning, and the Parade. We are also thinking of going to a basketball game tomorrow! More news to come!
I love you and miss you
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
Posted 2 years, 11 months ago on May 30th, 2009 . Add a comment
