Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A Fairytale

This past weekend, I took a three and a half hour train ride to visit Katherine in her placement city of Mainz.  I have been to Mainz a few times already, so we didn't have to focus on the sights and instead could focus on our weeks (it had only been eight days since we had said goodbye at orientation haha) and enjoy the sunshine and temperate climate of Mainz.

And of course, what you've all been waiting forrrr... the return to Heidelberg. Yep, after 14 months, after our whole senior years at BC, we returned to our dear city of great memories for just one day.  We woke up at 6am so that we could catch a train to HD (just under a two hour trip) to get there around 9:15 so we could go to our favorite ExtraBlatt for the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast!  Now let's remember that these cafes are a German chain and there are a number of them in every German city.  But no- we had to go to the Heidelberg one!  Despite being wicked tired, it was all worth it :)  Rolls and croissants and pudding and jam and cheese and meat and sausage and bacon and fruit and veggies and eggs and juice. NOMNOMNOM.



Moving on.

Next we walked up and down Hauptstrasse, not too crowded yet as it wasn't yet noon.  Stopped by the DAI where Katherine and I both had our internships during the semester and said hi.  Then walked back up the street, stopping at Studentenwohnheims where AJY people had lived, and making notes of every place a memory had happened.  Then turned around and walked back down to the Bismarkplatz bridge for my absolute favorite view of the city, and then hiked up to the Philosophenweg.  Those certain muscles required for all of that steep climbing were unfortunately a bit out of shape so we had to take a little breather when we got to the top.

i love the spot where the two hills meet at the river

the classic shot


Although we had seen this view of Heidelberg more times than we could count, it was still absolutely beautiful.  HD is such a small city, but I think that's what makes it so beautiful- because it's really only the pretty part that anyone sees, because the residential areas are on the other side of the river, where you would only go if you were living there or staying with someone who lived there.  Made a visit to the dear old Krampus as well, just as dangerous as ever, and then trekked back down the mountain.



We really thought all of this trekking around would've taken more time, but it ended up being only around 2:00.  And unfortunately Eckstein didn't even open until 6:00 so we had to wait around some more, and couldn't even eat anymore because we were so full from ExtraBlatt!  Rang the bell at the AJY Center and luckily there were a few kids in there, so we go to visit the center and chat with the new kids- hopefully they took note of our tips and pointers for how to have an amazing semester in Heidelberg!  Then we made a quick stop at Woolworth for some cheap household goods- neither Mainz nor Münster have this wonderful store :(

Then sat down outside at a cafe and went through two cups of coffee, just killing time and people watching... finally it was 6:00 and we could go to Eckstein!  Of course we were the only people in the bar at the time, and I was heartbroken to not recognize the bartender.  I asked him though if Dirk, Reinhardt, or Werner were working that night and he said they'd all be in just before 9:00, so thankfully Katherine agreed to take a later train so we could say hello to them!  Left for a couple hours to get döner at my favorite, Kebab Haus, and Katherine's favorite, Yufka's.  Made a stop at Reichsapfel, also empty, and then full circle back to Eckstein and Werner and Reinhardt recognized us right away, despite it being over a year since we had been in that bar!



Reinhardt poured us some free shots, and we happily put down a liter of beer and just reveled in all the memories we had from that small, dingy, wooden bar that played weird rock and metal music.  It has been such a surreal but amazing day walking around Heidelberg, but ending it in that bar was just icing on the cake.  Then we had to leave around 9:30 to catch the train back to Mainz...about a two hour ride that we slept for most of because we were absolutely exhausted.  Back to Katherine's flat and collapsed.  Spent Sunday in Mainz just chilling and then at a cafe before my train at 5:20- back in Münster around 9:00pm. 

It was absolutely wonderful to visit Heidelberg again, but it was almost weird being there because Katherine and I both noticed what a fairytale it really was.  Real cities don't look like that!!! And probably half the people we passed the whole day were speaking English.  I always knew it was a tourist city and that everyone spoke English, but I never realized actually how much, until now, since I've been in Münster where I have not heard anyone speak English while walking around!  It was actually bothering me hearing so many people speak English!  But now I know why my German never really got that good!- you would talk to anyone in shops in German and they would respond in English, whereas here in Münster, they give me a chance to work out the German, like today when I was depositing money at the bank to pay my bill for Uni whiich has to be done all via snail mail and through my German bank account.

But yes, it was absolutely lovely to visit and we will be definitely visiting again, most likely in the Spring, and will maybe even do the half marathon in Heidelberg!  I already know though, that a year in Münster will be much better for my German, even if my actual job here is in all the English classes.  I'm just here in such a different context than when I was abroad and I have to remember that.  It's been hard re-experiencing Germany without all the AJYers that made my semester in Heidelberg so incredible, but I just have to find other ways to have an incredible and enlightening year here in Münster!  And here's to that!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Es regnet...again.

At the end of my last blog post, I wrote that it was actually sunny so I was going to take advantage of that and go for a run.  Well, halfway through, I got stuck in a downpour that lasted for about an hour.  After I got home and showered, the sun was back out and the sky was blue.  About an hour later, it was thunderstorming.

Today hasn't been much different- there was a projected high of 70 with rain showers all day.  It never hit 70, but the rain showers did in fact come...again, while I was out for a run.  And again, after my shower, the sun came out and I thought we were finally done for a bit.  Nope!  It's been since a few hours and it is thunderstorming and pouring rain again.

I'm realllllly trying to look on the bright side here, though I'm having trouble finding it (haha get it?) For those that know me well, they are very aware that I do not do well without sunshine, and that unfortunately, my mood is very reflective of the weather.  It's ironic that I love Boston so much, since it's one of the coldest areas in the country, when I am obsessed with the beach, sunshine, and heat.  Right now, Münster's weather is worse than Boston's- especially obvious since September-November are arguably Boston's most beautiful months, and the problem is, I am not in love with Münster as I am with Boston.

A rather pessimistic outlook and post, I know.  It's just bothersome to leave the house for the day prepared for 70 and sunshine, 60 and wind, or 50 and thunderstorms....especially when your mode of transportation is a bike.  Germans are very attuned to these weather patterns, hence why they all wear layer upon layer upon layer no matter how warm it is... I however, am not quite there yet.

Here's a nice snippet from the Münster Wikipedia page...


"A well known saying in Münster is "Entweder es regnet oder es läuten die Glocken. Und wenn beides zusammen fällt, dann ist Sonntag" ("Either it rains or the church bells ring. And if both occur at the same time, it's Sunday."), but in reality the rainfall with approximately 758 mm per year is close to the average rainfall in Germany.[18] The impression of Münster as a rain-laden city depends not on the absolute amount of rainfall but on the above-average number of rainy days with relatively small amounts of rainfall. The average temperature is 9.4 °C with approximately 1500 sun hours per year.[18] In terms of this figure, Münster is in the bottom fifth in comparison with other German cities. The winter in Münster is fairly mild and snow is rare. The temperature during summertime meets the average in Germany."

I've been in Münster not even two weeks yet but I already understand the rain-laden city part, and how there is little rainfall, it just happens a lot.  But I was a bit sad to read that this city ranks in the bottom 20% for sunshine in Germany.  Guess this means I will just have to find something else to cheer me up!  Let the quest begin.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

That time I bought half a kilogram of green beans...

Today is Wednesday meaning it's Market Day on Domplatz! Muenster has a massive Markt (market) from 8-2:30 on Wednesdays and Saturdays...this is what I've been waiting for!!!! Heidelberg had a market but it was super small and I think only once a week when I had class.  I remember visiting Mollie in Lyon and we all went to the market on Sunday and I was super jealous, but now I've got my own!  I think I'll make Wednesday my Markt-Tag, because I get done with class at 12:30 and can just pop over and do some shopping.  The title of this post though, refers to the half a kg of green beans I just bought... I actually want to cook a proper meal tonight, but when I went to the store yesterday I could only get tomatoes- couldn't find any green beans.  But of course they have them at the market!  I always forget that a kg is more than a pound- so now I've got a huge hunk of green beans!  That's okay though- I'll find a use for them.

the beautiful Dom overlooking the market

Markt!

 
That's a lot of green beans...
Also above you can see that I couldn't resist the strawbs even though I still had some sitting in the fridge at home.  As the day goes on, the prices go down so these were 2 Euro down from 2,50.  And in Europe, they're actually a normal size!

I had two more classes today- I'm still in the first week so I haven't really done much except introduce myself to the classes and just sit in and observe.  This morning I had the 6th grade English class, which was so much fun- I loved it!  When Herr Zelzner told the class I was from America, they all that was the coolest thing ever.  The kids are working on making dialogues, so I got to go around and help some of the pairs with their grammar as well as get to know the kids a bit.  The kids are only 11 so obviously there's a lot of German going on in the classroom, but it's fun to switch back and forth between the languages with them.  Also, at that age they're just so eager and excited- it's absolutely adorable.

Next I had an 11th grade class but they're still in the introduction class for English (not the equivalent of German or Spanish or French 1 for us Americans... they've already had many years of English, but this is the introduction course of learning actual subject matter auf Englisch, rather than just learning the language itself).  The introduction course can be for 9th, 10th, or 11th graders, and since these were the 11th graders, they've elected not to take their Abitur (the German test required for admission to University) in English, so none of them are very excited about English and just seemed really bored.  It was almost funny to go from the excited 5th graders to the couldn't-care-less 11th graders.  But that's school, right?!

The sun is ACTUALLY shining in Muenster today, so I'm going to take advantage and go for a run!

280,000 Inhabitants; 500,000 Bikes - Muenster: The Bike Capital of Germany

When I found out that I would be teaching in Muenster a few months ago, I of course instantly whipped out my iPhone and did a Google search on the city.  First facts- Muenster was the city of peace (referring to the Peace of Westphalia... Muenster is located in Nordrhein-Westfalen- German for North-Rhine-Westphalia) and the city of bikes.  I thought Heidelberg had a lot of bikes.  I obviously had never seen Muenster.

I knew before I even got to Muenster that I would be buying a bike again- I could not have imagined living in Heidelberg last year without one.  Even if I hadn't lived so far from school and the downtown area of the city, my bike was still useful and even took me on a few day trips to neighboring towns with friends.  Today, I successfully bought my bike, and I already like it a lot!  Whereas last year, my bike was gold (and a piece of shit), this one is a similar style but green.  It's got the same basket though- very handy.  I paid either 70 or 80 Euro for my last bike, but then ended up paying probably 50 for repairs throughout my semester, so I decided I would shell out the cash for a nicer bike.  I paid 150 for this one, but the bike shop owner was really nice (originally from Georgia-the country-where he taught English but he's been in Germany for the last ten or so years) and I think there's something like a six-month warranty on it, so hopefully I won't have to pay extra for repairs...and hopefully I just won't have any repairs!



Biking as transportation is much more serious here though than it was in Heidelberg.  Bikes have to actually act the same as cars- driving on the same side of the road, waiting at traffic lights (even though half of the bikepaths are on the sidewalk) and waiting for pedestrians to cross.  I had to bike a few kilometers yesterday to meet some people at the cinema, and it was dark- and since that was my first time back on a bike since Heidelberg, I was a little nervous.  All was grand, though!  I'm just so excited to have a bike again- just have to make sure to know all the rules so I don't get a ticket in Muenster (because yes, that is a possibility) !

Ashleigh suggested doing a weekly or bi-weekly German movie night so we can all get more exposure to German.  We already know we won't speak German with each other, but luckily speak it with our roommates, some of the teachers, and of course need to use it to get around the city.  Ashleigh, Charles, and I went to see "Das Schwein von Gaza" last night at this cute little cinema on the East side of the city.  I had only been to the cinema once before in Germany- to see the midnight release of Harry Potter 7 Part 2 in Mannheim...but that was at a huge cinema and was in English.  This one was much more quaint- you buy your tickets and select your seats beforehand, and of course there's beer and wine available at concessions.

I was happy to say that I understood most of the movie- it was actually quite good!  Not originally a German film- it was dubbed over.  The movie was ultimately about Israeli-Palestinian relations, and ended quite nicely.  Again, as an IS major who has taken a lot of classes on the conflict, I ate that up.  I'm excited to continue those weekly meetings, though!  I didn't concentrate so much on bettering my German was I was abroad last year- more on traveling and making friends, but this time around, I'm abroad in a different context, so I really would like to actually work on my German.

Must go get ready for school now!  It was a 15 minute walk but now it'll be about a 5 minute bike ride- hurrayyyy!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

I'm gonna make this place your home...


Orientation flashback- me, Matt, David, and Brian gettin' our draaank on




This blog title refers to the new single by Phillip Phillips called "Home."  (Thanks to Marianne for sending it to me!)  So, as titled, one of the lyrics is "I'm gonna make this place your home."  And that's just what I was thinking this Sunday afternoon in Muenster- my fourth day here in this city.  It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day- a perfect seventy degrees and a blue sky- and since it's a Sunday and this is Europe, everything is closed, meaning every German is outside walking around.  I did a run along the Aasee and took a break just to lay in the grass and it was just glorious.  So much of this city reminds me of Heidelberg- the Aasee is so similar to the Neckarwiese, and the Altstadt is very similar, with the two main churches...

Above is a view of the city and the Aasee (lots of sailboats!) from the first bridge- as in Heidelberg, I run along the paths and depending how far I want to run that day, I pick a different bridge!  Anyways, there is so much to explore around this city- so many places to discover and of course, I still need to find my favorite bar!

Altstadt


I got introduced to my school on Friday- got a tour of the building and met a bunch of the teachers, they're all super friendly and nice.  First day of actual work tomorrow!  Then my Betreuunglehrerin (mentor teacher) took me to open a bank account and register at the city.  I still need to register at the Uni though, and get my visa issue squared away.

Mom was here yesterday for the afternoon.  She was in Brussels and Frankfurt for work, and with Frankfurt being only a few hours away by train, it worked out that she was able to pop up for a few hours.  Anne (my mentor teacher) took us around for a couple hours and showed us the main sights of the city and gave us some good history- I was glad she offered to do that, because being here not even a week yet, it was informative for me as well!  Then we had a nice lunch and did some shopping- had to get a decent jacket for the weather here and a giant scarf that covers my entire face, because oh Lord, Germans and their scarves... But then of course I get this new jacket and then it's finally warm and not raining today- not complaining though!

Said tschau to mom, and then went over to Rae's (one of the ETAs from England) for a little predrinking with all the ETAs in the Muenster area.  There's about ten from England, one from Scotland, one from Wales, a girl from Canada, and then me and Kory from the States.  It's interesting because all the UK ETAs do their year in the middle of University, so they're all 20.  But we all met each other and of course are instantly friends because we're the only English-speakers in the city, at least until the University students get here.  After hanging with the Irish all summer as well, I was able to get a lot of the UK lingo and banter with them quite well !

Out to some German clubs... Germans and their clubs.  You just can't even explain it.  We ended up at a Heavy-Metal club around 2am... does any of us enjoy heavy metal?  I'd say not particularly.  But hey, when in Rome! It was my first proper night out in Germany...I think I'm getting a bit old for it all though, maybe?!  And now gonna be hanging around these 20 year olds.......nahhhh.

Tonight, my flatmate, Karim, had his friend over- they're both originally from Casablanca and they made couscous for dinner.  It was in this giant wooden bowl and then everyone eats out of it- and they invited me to eat with them out on the balcony- so delicious!



It was such a lovely evening to be outside enjoying a lazy Sunday, as the Europeans love to do.  It was also just funny to think that it was an American, and two originally from Morocco- all sitting in German and conversing in German.  The world has just become so connected!  As an International Studies major, I obviously eat that stuff up.

My news has come to a close, but let me just say Bon Voyage to my dear friend, Mollie!  She's on the plane as I type, flying to Paris to start her own ETA year in Montpelier! Can't wait to go visit her :)

We are just too similar...







Thursday, September 13, 2012

Wilkommen in Deutschland...and Münster!

It's Thursday night- I've been back in Germany since Sunday morning but this is the first time since I deplaned that I've had a moment to myself.  The flight took off about two hours late, but we made up time and were able to land by 10:30ish in the morning in Frankfurt.  My individual screen didn't work but I had a window sleep and was mentally and emotionally exhausted so I fell asleep right after they took away the dinner plates and woke up with a breakfast tray in front of me.  I think that's the most I've ever slept on a trans-Atlantic flight!

Deplaned, went through passport control, collected my hundred pounds of baggage, and found Katherine waiting for me on the other side!  After excitement from both parties we collected our stuff and comically made our way to the Frankfurt train terminal.  We bought our Bahn cards and bought our tickets to Koeln (Cologne) ignoring all the Germans staring at us because we were so loud and had so much luggage that it was obnoxious.  I allowed myself to be an obnoxious American for one day.

Got off the train in Koeln and were greeted by a beautifu bright blue sky, the Koelner Dom, and a breezy 75 degrees.  Found our hostel, used the internets with our Apple products, and took some power naps.  David found us a little later, and luckily we had a room for the three of us so we could just leave all our stuff everywhere.  Ventured out into the city in search of food and beer and what better first meal back in Germany than Doener and Koelsch?! Delicious.

Explored some more- I've been to Koeln twice before so I wasn't feeling too adventurous.  We found the river though and it was just the most beautiful evening so we sat at a Biergarten in a little Platz and just all talked about Fulbright, about Germany, about BC, about our expectations and whatnot over a solid few beers.  It was kind of nice not having any smartphones that actually worked because we weren't distracted by anything else- it was a great first night back in Germany!

Back to the hostel, Katherine and I hit the sack very fast, and then up in the morning, checked out and what not.  More comics with us moving our luggage everywhere.  We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for our last "American" iced coffee before we really immersed ourselves in Germany.  Let me just say that DD caffeine level is VERY different in Germany than it is in the US.  Katherine and I both drink quite a lot of coffee and we were OFF THE WALLS after these iced coffees.  Like actually uncomfortable.  And it lasted until that night- absolutely ridiculous.  Went to our favorite ExtraBlatt for a nice lunch and chat, and then joined the other 138 ETAs at the train station to get on the bus to Altenberg where our orientation was being held.

Everyone was just tired and hot and frazzled on the bus, but we arrived in Altenberg, and were actually staying at a monastery!  That's why my internet was so shotty all week though... It reminded me very much of a BC retreat at Dover, except at night they opened up a bar where we all drank too much to deal with mental exhaustion from the day's work.  It's not that we were doing so much work during the day- learning about what our roles in the classroom were as English teaching assistants and learning how to plan and teach lessons, but there was just an information overload that everyone was just really stressed.  Soooo much needs to be done now that we're all in our cities, but just gotta take it one step at a time!

Also, there was added stress with there being so many of us, and all of us all over Germany that it was hard to remember everyone I had met.  I ended up forming some friendships with people around Muenster, as well as some other in Hamburg and some in Berlin.  I'm an honorary member of the Berlin group anyways since I was in their small group for all the group work anyways!

I'm not going to go on and on about orientation- it was a nice initiation into the program, but it made me forget I was in Germany since it was 90% in English and we were literally isolated in this tiny town and actually locked in the monastery at night when the gates closed.  I like the people I met though.  It was interesting to be around such a big group with such different backgrounds because I've been at BC for four years where everyone looks, acts, and dresses the same- it was almost like culture shock being around so many people that didn't look preppy and BC and were more socially awkward.  More like real life I guess...?!

Up bright and early this morning, pounding down three cups of coffee.  Said goodbye to new friends, and caught the train with four others to Muenster.  The others were in Hamburg but had to switch in my city so I went with them, and they were able to help me my luggage, thank the Lord.  Got to Muenster around noon, put my luggage in a locker at the train station, and went out to explore the city a bit.  My flatmate, Karim, didn't get off work until 4:30 and I had no key, so I had time to kill.  My welcome to Muenster was COLD and grey.  Like...REALLY cold.  Already time for scarves and pants UGH.  But that's German weather for you.

Got my dinky pay-as-you-go phone- stupid iPhone 4 not having a sim card BOO. Explored the city a bit just on my own, letting myself get lost and such.  It's much bigger than Heidelberg, but of course it's still Germany, so it's still got a very similar feel, the same shops, and of course like 3863298 beautiful churches.  I'm excited to get to know the city though- I just have to avoid comparing everything to Heidelberg, which I'm realizing is very much a fairy tale town.  Katherine and I are going to try to go visit at the end of the month.

After exploring, I retrieved my luggage and took a cab to my apartment.  After months of emailing, met my flatmate, Karim.  He is super nice and friendly- doesn't speak very much English at all, which is actually really good for me because it will force me to speak German.  I've taken six years of German, majored in it, studied abroad in the country, and have somehow gotten out of really speaking it past elementary things.  And I'm now realizing just how terrible my speaking is!  But this will be good for.  Karim's originally from Casablanca, so his mother-tongue is actually French, which I've been attempting to learn for the past year or so but keep getting lazy, so hopefully he can teach me some French as well...and then I can get by in France when I go visit Mollie!

The apartment is really nice.  It's a good price and it's not more than a 15-minute walk from my school (although I need to go find a bike soon...Muenster is the bike capital of Germany) and it's in a cute and quiet area but not far at all from downtown, and my room is HUGE. Like, GIANT.  Bigger than my room in Gabelli at BC.  And I've got a double bed and a couch that could fit two people, which will be a welcome change from people having to sleep on the floor when they visited me in Heidelberg.

But that's everything!  A long post, but obviously had a lot to say!  My anxiety about coming here is gone-  it'll of course be a rough couple weeks as I get situated here, but I'm looking on the whole situation with excitement overall.  Pictures aren't on my computer yet, but I'll hopefully post some soon!


Saturday, September 8, 2012

Deutschland, Part 2

So here goes nothing- after months of living in denial, I am sitting at gate C12 at Dulles waiting to board my flight that will take me to Frankfurt, Germany.  Because of the storms that hit the East Coast this afternoon, my flight is delayed (a sign that I'm not supposed to go, perhaps...?) There's no saying how long the delay is because the plane we're supposed to take, that came from Rome, got diverted to Norfolk, VA and hasn't left to come up to Washington yet... so.... we wait.

My anxiety about leaving is not as high as it was a few days ago, which I guess is a positive.  I keep looking about leaving for this year as I looked on bungee jumping the two times I did it- I thought it would be super cool, signed up for it, and then was care free on the whole way up to the top...and then when it came time to jump I flipped out and had to have the instructors calm me down until I was finally able to jump...and once I jumped, my fate was in the hands of a bungee cord.  So that's kind of like this journey- I accepted my Fulbright, knowing it was an incredible experience and very prestigious, and then went on to have an incredible summer with my dearest friends, not thinking about leaving for Germany at all...and then the time to leave came and I freaked out.  But I accepted that I had to go, and here I am at the gate, and now we see what fate has in store for me.

Don't get me wrong- I do realize what an incredible opportunity this is for me.  Spending a year in Germany on a Fulbright, in a new city, meeting new people, and seeing new places.  It was just so incredibly difficult to say goodbye to my friends and to Boston and to a life that I know and love so much.  Like, when people make changes, it's usually because they're unhappy or want to try something new.... well, I was perfectly happy with my life and I almost feel like I'm being forced to go move across the world when I don't want to.

I know I won't feel like that in a couple weeks once I'm settled and everyone back home is bored with their same old routines, and also, if there's ever any time for me to get up and move abroad for a year, now would be it.  I'm not tied down by anything, and I know in the end it's going to be an incredible experience.  I had crazy anxiety before I left for my semester abroad too, though, and look how amazing that turned out.

I just hate change and moving... and this is a pretty big change and a pretty big move!  Hopefully this plane gets here soon so I can get the worst part of the journey done-- the flying.