Sunday, March 24, 2013

An American in Berlin...and then where?

Yes, the famous Gershwin song is actually called an American in Paris, but for purposes of this blog, I'm changing it to Berlin.  This past week, all the American Fulbrighters, both ETAs and researchers, gathered in Berlin from Sunday through Thursday for a truly enriching conference.  For the first two days, the nearly 200 German Fulbrighters who will be headed to America in a few months joined us for the discussions, panels, and networking socials.  It was really great to see so many ETAs I had met at Orientation back in September and hadn't seen for so long, and it was also great to meet new people, Americans and Germans, and have stimulating conversation with everyone on a number of various issues.  The conference itself was great--Fulbright put us all up in the Park Inn--a swanky hotel in Alexanderplatz in Berlin.  They provided elaborate buffet breakfasts and dinner and a number of wine and hors d'oevures evenings (all for the sake of networking!) as well as rented out a nightclub in Berlin for all of us to party at on the last night.  That was a nice taste of America I've really missed!

A fellow ETA captured the aura and essence of conference perfectly in his own blog- after being scattered all around Germany for over six months now, there was something to be said about all of us coming back together again, really understanding each other and the whole reason that we're here.  Yes, all of us are teaching assistants in various types of schools and work for the PAD (the German education ministry), but we're more than just teaching assistants, we're working to help bridge the transatlantic gap between Europe and America as cultural ambassadors in a way.  Work can frequently be frustrating, because the teachers we work with at our schools don't know much about the Fulbright program except that it exists, and I know that I have gotten frustrated by this fact in my work because I want to be more than just a walking dictionary or real-life example of an American accent.

Whenever Germans find out I speak German and study German and have invested so much of my time into making a life for myself in this country, they always ask me Why?!  The Fulbright program honestly answers this question-- there still exists a special relationship between American and Germany, and America and Europe in general, and the Fulbright program seeks to highlight those special points.

Throughout the conference, we touched upon a number of subjects, some of the most interesting being the differences in social media presentation and use between American and Germany and then the differences between American and European tertiary education.  It was so enlightening to listen to the opinions of Germans and other Americans, all working in different fields, be it medicine, government, music, art, or language study.  All of this intellectual and inspiring and enlightening discussion planted a bit of nervousness and anxiety within myself.  For months, I've been so set on applying to grad programs in secondary education and excited about being a teacher in a couple years, after falling in love with it during my Fulbright experience, but after this conference, I'm starting to have second thoughts.  I was talking to Mollie for a while about this--but I just honestly don't know how much of my freaking out the last few months was due to winter depression and just doing everything I could to get out of Germany and Europe once my grant was completed, and how much of it was due to me actually wanting to go back to America and start my life.

Since graduating college, I've been on an emotional roller coaster, and as of late, I've been thinking of myself as super old and needing to figure out my life...but after this conference, I'm now realizing that I'm only 22! (Okay...only 22 for three more weeks...but still.  That's three more weeks to sing along to Taylor Swift's song.)  Now, I'm feeling almost the opposite.  By starting grad school in the fall, I'll finish my master's and be certified at 25...and then what?  Boom, that's the rest of my life?  To me, that's kind of scary.  Spending so much time with Mollie this month has sparked these new ideas in my head, as well.  If I go straight to grad school after this in America, I won't come back to Europe for an extended period of time.  So part of me feels like I'm almost cheating myself by just running away back to America because it's more comfortable for me.  Maybe I should try to be adventurous for another year and stay.  I just don't know.  And traveling to Munich and Paris and then to Berlin for this conference has just given me so many new ideas and thoughts and wonderings, and the fact that I'm now having second thoughts about something I was so certain about just one month ago really scares me.

Three years ago, I went on the Kairos retreat, and at the time, I was very unsure and questioning if I even had any faith in anything.  I talked to the priest who was there for the weekend with us, and I explained my issues to him.  He told me that in his opinion, the point of faith was to always be questioning your feelings and thoughts and the mysteries of the world, because you should never just be completely comfortable with the way things are or the way things are preached or carried out.  (Disclaimer of sorts- of course, he was a Jesuit, and my decision to get confirmed last Spring was based on the Jesuit idea of faith that influenced our education at BC--the idea of faith and reason and just that--the idea of always reflecting on your spirituality and faith and beliefs and what exactly they mean to you and how they influence your actions and such.)

Anyways, this is kind of how I feel about my approaching future- I had decided on something that I felt quite sure about, and I still am sure that this is what I eventually want to do, but now I'm just questioning the timing of everything and whether or not I owe it to myself to do something else for a little bit longer before I settle into my life and career.

For those of you reading this that have kept in close contact with me over the last several months, I'm sure you're reading this and thinking that I'm crazy--of course I want to come back to America and I've been so unhappy in Germany-- but as I said, that's why I'm confused.  Because I've been so happy this month with the brief week of Spring weather (although it snowed the entire week we were in Berlin) and traveling all over the place and then being engaged in stimulating conversation with brilliant peers of every background, so I just don't know how much of my depression and unhappiness was due to the abominable winter, which, just announced, was the worst on record in German history.

One more point to mention--I want to teach social studies because I want to teach kids and teenagers who are so self-centered and stuck in their own worlds how much the world matters and how important it is to be aware of everything going on around us every day....but how can I teach that well and thoroughly when I'm just running away from the world back to my home country where I feel more comfortable?

Yes, a little dramatic, but you all know me, and that's how I am.  I'm dramatic and volatile and am absolutely terrible at making decisions.  Unfortunately for me though, the clock is ticking...

Saturday, March 16, 2013

What's a Honky Tonk?

My trip back to the States was now one month ago, but I think it was important enough that I should write about it.  Woke up bright and early at 5am to get myself on the bus and the train to the airport- felt kind of like a zombie the whole trip--boarded the plane and it was actually quite an enjoyable flight.  I had an aisle seat but the two seats next to me were empty, so I was able to use the seat next to me to put my legs up and nap a bit.  There were also the individual screens where you could pick your movies, so I watched "Lincoln"...fell asleep during some of it, but from what I did see, Daniel Day Lewis absolutely deserved best actor for his role.  The hardest part of the entire journey was getting through customs and immigration.  I've always been annoyed how America does this-- our flight got in during international rush hour, so there were hundreds of people waiting to get into the country.  For those of you who have done immigration at Dulles, you know that they divide it between American citizens and permanent residents, and everyone else.  Well, America has over 300 million citizens and even more residents, so that line usually ends up being longer than the other one, and then they have about the same number of checkers for each line- it never makes sense.  And then for permanent residents, they still have to give their fingerprints and a lot of them don't speak very good English, so our line ends up taking longer as well.  I know these are just little issues, but after sitting on a plane for nine hours, it's kind of a pain to deal with.  Grabbed my bags, and then it was another forty minutes to get through customs, despite having nothing to declare.  So all in all, it took two hours for me to get into my own country, whereas when I landed back in Germany a week later, it took me seven minutes to get in...lol.

Anyways, mom came in and greeted me with flowers, which was a welcome surprise!  Whenever I have flights landing after a long time, we always argue about whether or not she'll pay for parking to come in and greet me, and I was so emotionally drained after the past week that I didn't even ask her to come in this time, because I didn't have the strength to argue about it- so it really was an unexpected and welcome surprise to have her standing there.

Was welcomed to Virginia with cold temperatures but a beautiful blue sky!  Drove home, talked and talked and talked and talked and talked, ate and ate and ate, and then couldn't stay awake past 8:30 because of the jet lag.  I won't drag on about the details of my few days in Virginia, because it's all pretty irrelevant now- but got a temporary pass at the gym so was able to go there which was good, bought all my favorite foods I've missed in Germany, was able to get a quick coffee with Jennie, had  nice dinner and drinks with Will and Dan and we reminisced about the good ol' AJY days, stopped by the theatre and saw Danny after his birthday, stopped by Kelsey's and got to see her and her family, and was able to do simple things like watch HIMYM and The Bachelor on my TV with the DVR- it's the little things!  Remember that my mom moved about forty miles south of McLean over the summer when I was living in Boston, so we have a new house which I had only been in for five days in September before I left for Germany, so I came home to boxes upon boxes upon boxes, and this made it hard to see everyone whom I wanted to see because it was a forty-five minute drive to get back up to McLean, but I did what I could!

American noms that I've missed

Then came Thursday- set out on my 600+ mile drive to Nashville bright and early.  This was a longer drive than the 500 mile drive to Boston, but actually a lot easier, because it's literally on a two-lane highway for the entire trip, except right outside Nashville.  Also, the trip drove down through Southwestern Virginia and Northeastern Tennessee, aka right through the Appalachian Mountains, and the drive was absolutely breathtaking.  So much nicer than the boring highway drive up the East Coast to Boston.  I kept trying to snap pictures during the drive but none of them did the scenery justice.

Driving through the mountains
GORGEOUS sunset driving back from Tennessee
 
Forgot about the time change of one hour, so I was able to take a little longer at the rest stops to rest my legs.  Arrived in Nashville just before 5pm to pouring rain, but I was happy just to be there.  I was able to stay with my friend Katie, who went to BC with me.  She got a nursing position at Vandy Hospital and moved to Nashville just in January so it was so clutch to be able to stay with her for the two nights.  We grabbed dinner at a super hipster cafe next to her apartment, then we drove around the campus a bit, but since it was dark and raining, it was hard to see anything.  Katie had a night shift, so I went back to her apartment and just passed out around 10 because I was so tired.

Peabody quad

Up on Friday morning, and dressed in my preppy best-- skinny jeans, Sperrys, and a tucked in button-down shirt.  I walked the twenty minutes to Peabody Campus--it was an absolutely beautiful day in the mid-60s.  Well, arrived at the Visitation Day, and did not get the memo about business casual.  So, I was the only person of about 100 in jeans.  For those of you who know me well, you know how much I freak out about being under or overdressed for anything, so I was having a mild panic attack.  I had gotten a new iPhone on Monday, so I was incessantly iMessaging my mom freaking out about this debacle, and what do I do in awkward and uncomfortable situations?  Drink lotttttts of coffee.

I haven't been to one of these awkward social events in a long time (although I worked all of them over the summer hahaha), so I found one guy to ally myself with, and he ended up being in the same department as me, so I basically hung out with him all day.  Went in for the first big session to hear about Peabody in general, which was a little over an hour....well, the seats were quite tight and I was trapped.  Remember all the coffee I drank?  My bladder almost exploded, I thought I was literally going to pee my pants, it was terrible.  I kept glancing at my watch waiting for the session to end so I could dash to the bathroom.  I probably missed half of what was said in that session, I'm sure!

Finally- reprieve!  So, not the best start to this visitation day- but things started to look up.  We broke out into department sessions, and I met a girl who's a senior at BC this year and we started freaking out about BC, and then we took small group tours around Vandy, and low and behold, our tour guide graduated from BC in 2011!  Again, major freak out about BC.  During the lunch break, I was able to chat with her about what it was like coming from BC and Boston to Vandy and Nashville and got some good insider information.  The lunch break was nice--all sitting outside on the quad enjoying the beautiful weather.  More breakout sessions about everything we could possibly have questions on, and the day was finally ended with a wine and cheese social with current students, faculty, and professors.  Needless to say, got a little tipsy (free wine!  Grad school! Hahaha) but that little buzz helped me think clearly about the whole day.

As I've mentioned, Vandy is the #1 school for education in the country, and I had no idea what to expect at this visitation day, but I was so pleasantly surprised.  I learned so much about Nashville and Tennessee and how the city and state are really the frontrunners in education, and the federal government looks to them to try new things and research.  Also, I was so impressed with the students there- no one was stuck up or arrogant at all, and this was such a welcome surprise!  Everyone was so knowledgeable and had so much to offer because of so many various backgrounds, and it was so interesting to hear cross-department conversations about things I had never even heard of!  All of the faculty were also so welcoming--I know that this was a visitation day and so it's kind of all show, but it just really felt a lot more genuine than I was expecting.

Walked back to Katie's, reflecting on my day.  This is the thing about BC- I got so spoiled because now besides a great education, I expect a complete experience from a university, and that's what I'm ultimately looking for in my grad school selection.

(Update-- since I've gotten back to Germany, I have been accepted at BU and UVA, and I just found out two days ago that I was awarded the Dean's Scholarship at Vandy which will cover 1/3 of my tuition for up to three years, which is a big deal.  I think that was the sign I needed- when I got back to Virginia, I had already decided Vandy was absolutely my top choice, but it's so expensive that I couldn't justify going there over UVA where I get in-state tuition without a significant amount of aid, and considering I just won this award, I think my mind is basically made up.)

BTW- blue dot is where Nashville is, for my geographically challenged friends :)

Now, Friday night in a big city calls for a night out!  Katie and I made some dinner and got dressed up (I dearly miss this- getting ready to go out with my girlfriends-- just such a dearth of glamor in Germany) and Katie's friends from work came by and we all pregamed and then got some cabs to go down to Broadway, the main bar street in Nashville.

Broadway Street, downtown Nashville

Let's just say, it was a completely different world.  There were live bands on every floor of every bar, people were wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots, the bands were playing country songs, and people actually asked me to dance rather than just attacking me from behind.  When one guy asked me to dance I actually had to tell him I had no idea how to dance because I was from Boston and we didn't do that up there....lol.  Also, "Vanderbilt" is basically the equivalent of saying Harvard down in the South and everyone was just instantly impressed- so I definitely was loving the attention for a bit.  But yes, our group hung out in two different bars, and just had a blast!  I've also really missed going out in America and dancing with my girlfriends and drinking Bud Light (believe it or not) because going out in Germany is just so much more laid back.

Katie and me at the Honky Tonk Central

Cabs back to Katie's after a long night, passed out on her air mattress, and woke up bright and early to make my way back to Virginia.  Had a lot of time on my drive to reflect about my day and the decision I had to make (and still have to make)!  Made a quick dinner stop in Blackburg to visit an old friend at Tech- when Becca and I went to Interlaken two years ago, we met a group of guys in our hostel and one of them was from Leesburg and was a year behind us at Tech.  He had no definitive plans for his European travels, so a week later he came up to hang out with us in Heidelberg and crashed at my place for a couple nights.  He ended up leaving one of his tshirts behind and I've had it for the last two years--I found it when I was unpacking boxes when I got home and texted him about it and told him I had to drive through Blackburg to get home and he said that if I dropped it off, he'd buy me dinner.  So there you go!  I got delicious Qudoba and he got his shirt back!

Left Blacksburg and made my way to Lexington where I was staying with Rachele for the night.  She goes to Law School and W&L and they were having their big law school gala/prom/dance thing that night so she bought me a ticket so I could join her.  Got dresses wicked fast, we went to her friend's to pregame, and then got to the dance around 9pm.  I wore my commencement ball dress and luckily, no one else was wearing it this time!  Open bar, so we drank a little too much wine, and there was also delicious food platters.  Had a great time with Rachele and got to know her new friends.  The morning was a little slow, but it was a gorgeous day in Lexington so I got to see some of the town and the law school.  Said bye to Rachele and made my way back home where I had one more night.

Me and Rachele before the dance

Mom made a big steak dinner, I told her all about my trip, and we watched the Oscars.  Monday morning was rush rush rush to pack up all my stuff and get to the airport.  Not gonna lie, I was dreading going back to Germany and was actually crying at the gate while waiting for boarding to start.  It's been a month since I was home so those feelings have subsided, but looking back on it, that week really was one of the best of my life.  That hiatus and respite was exactly what I needed.  I had been feeling so down about everything in Germany, even down on myself and my social skills and my ability to fit in with people, but the second I got back to the States, I was the Sabrina that everyone knows again (and hopefully most people love! haha)  I felt self-worth again, and at the Visitation Day, realized that I really do have a lot to offer, and in meeting new people like Katie's friends and Rachele's friends, and even meeting up with old friends like Will and Dan whom I haven't seen for ages, I realized that I shouldn't be so hard on myself, and that's why I say that my week at home was so necessary and beneficial.

Sunset as my flight left Washington

So there it is- a quick recap of America, Munich, and Paris.  Tomorrow morning I'm off to Berlin for the Fulbright mid-year conference until Thursday, and then I'll be in Montepellier with Mollie for a week, and then I'll be spending Easter weekend with Katherine in Mainz, and then another week off and I haven't planned what I'm going to do yet- needless to say though, lots more traveling coming up and hopefully by the time I get back to Münster, Spring will have hit!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Prost at Starkbierfest

As I wrote in my Paris post, my blogging is a little out of order because since I was so far behind, I thought it'd be easiest to start with the most recent and work my way back.  Now that Paris is accounted for and in the books, I can move on to Munich!

Munich greeted the official start of MollieSabrinaMarch- Mollie flew in direct from London, where she had been the week before, and I took the 6am train from Münster, resulting in us both arriving just a bit after noon.  My friend Kaycee, another ETA, was already at Starkbierfest, a special month-long festival at beer halls around München celebrating stark bier- literally, strong beer, which is a darker and more flavorful brew, also about 9-10% in volume (learned this a bit later...)

Mollie and I checked into our hostel which was right by the train station.  It's funny, because when Kelly and I did our summer Europe touring back in 2008, and then when I was abroad junior year, I always stayed in hostels-- yet this time, I've been in Europe six months and this was the first time I had stayed in a hostel!  As I've mentioned, I haven't been traveling quite as much and the traveling mentality is also different- rather than see as many new places as I can, I'm focusing more on seeing as many people as I can.  Therefore, I've always been staying with people I know-- stayed with friends in Cork and Dublin, stayed with Paul in Hamburg, stayed with Katherine in Mainz/Heidelberg, stayed with Grace and Jean in Paris, stayed with David in Berlin, and of course stayed with Rae's family in England.  Mollie has been the same way- so it was almost a little weird to go back to the hostel experience- but it suited our needs for our two nights and was actually really cheap considering Munich's a really big city.

Anywayssss...didn't have much time, so we got dressed into our dirndls really fast, grabbed some sandwiches from the bakery, and made our way to Paulaner am Nockenherberg for the festival!  Unfortunately, there was a massive line when we got there so actually had to wait about 45 minutes before we could get in, but it really wasn't a big deal, and I was just happy to be taking in the sunshine and Vitamin D that Munich's blue skies had to offer.  Finally got in just after 3, and found Kaycee and the other Fulbrighters who had snagged a whole table.  The research Fulbrighters left shortly after, so then it was just me, Kaycee, Mollie, and Morgen working on our liters of starkbier.  Being Munich, the majority of people were in lederhosen and dirndls which is always a sight to see- Mollie was so thankful that I was able to borrow my friend Rachel's dirndl for her to wear.

Mollie embracing southern Germany

We made friends with some Spanish guys next to us (who of course spoke like five languages) and then some Germans on the other side of us and all had a jolly good time drinking beer, conversing, and singing and dancing to the band, which played Sweet Caroline AGAIN!  They played it at the Münster Oktoberfest as well-- maybe it's a German thing??  Keine Ahnung.

Kaycee, me, Morgen, and Mollie

Woke up to a mild hangover (again, didn't realize how strong the starkbier was until a little too late...), grabbed some breakfast at bakery and lots of coffee, and then set out on our day of seeing the Munich sights!  I went to Munich for the weekend two years ago when mom was visiting me in Heidelberg (and we went and saw Neuschwanstein), but although Mollie had seen a lot of Germany-- the Alps, Stuttgart and surrounding areas, and Berlin, she had never been to Munich.  Munich's my absolute favorite city in Germany and I think it just has so much more culture than the west (where I am now) and I like the culture better than in the north, so I wanted her to see the Germany that I fell in love with.


Many of you know that this winter has been wicked tough for me-- nevermind it being the worst winter in decades weatherwise, but homesickness has hit me hard, and I'm not totally thrilled with the region of Germany I'm in--it's fine, I just think it's kind of boring and lacks character.  When I was abroad in Heidelberg, I was in Baden-Württemburg, which is considered southern Germany, along with Bayern (Bavaria).  Southern Germany is like the south in most countries--people are just friendlier and nicer, and there's a much stronger culture in the south.  I also think it's extremely more scenic, with the rolling hills, the Alps below Munich, and the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in the Southwest.  Upon returning to Munich those few weekends ago, I was instantly reminded of why I decided to come back to Germany and why I really do like this country.

I realize that there were a lot of factors contributing to this change in attitude- I finally was reunited with Mollie, whom I hadn't seen since September, the sun was FINALLY out and was completely blinding the cloudless sky, and we happened to pick a weekend with a bierfest happening, but it really was more than that.  And it's weird to think how different things might've been if I had ended up in southern Germany- maybe I would have been happier and I would've worked to stay in Germany for another year, rather than applying to grad schools back home, preparing to resume study in the fall.  It's just weird sometimes life works out, but I guess everything happens for a reason.

Mollie on Marienplatz (note the blue sky)

But yes, Sunday was our touristy day since our whole Saturday was spent at Starkbierfest and our train left around 3pm on Monday.  We stopped by the beautiful Marienplatz, visited too many churches to count, saw the sight of Oktoberfest on Theresienwiese, and walked around the Englischer Garten as the sun was setting.  Mom and I walked around these gardens and ate at the biergarten next to the Chinesischer Turm when we visited, but it was also a beautiful day of 70 degrees.  It was sunnier this time around, but still just in the 30s, and the fields were still covered in snow--so, a completely different experience, but still beautiful.

Englischer Garten

Met Kaycee and Morgen for dinner at a traditional Bavarian restaurant (forgot the name...), and had a schnitzel and bier of course.  Back to the hostel afterwards and went to bed quite early because we were absolutely exhausted after walking around all day.  We only had half the day on Monday, so we headed back to Marienplatz to watch the big clock dance on the Neues Rathaus, and then walked around Viktualiemarkt, and then climbed the tower of Peterskirche.  I climbed this tower when I was in Munich before, but I was happy to climb it again because I love seeing cities from towers and also when I climbed it two years ago, it was quite a grey day, and my pictures from this time display the bluest of blue skies!

2011: notice how grey it was and the scaffolding on Frauenkirche

2013: cloudless bright sky and no scaffolding :)
 
After the climb, we headed to Hofbräuhaus for a massive German lunch of Käsespätzle, Weisswurst, and of course, two casual liters of beer.  Nommed on delicious German cuisine, got a little tipsy on giant beers, and listened to some great oompah music- so typisch Bavaria, and I loved every minute of it.  Rushed back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, and hopped on the train where we both proceeded to fall asleep after eating and drinking so much.  The train ride was quite scenic though, as it drove up through central Germany where a lot of the hills are.

Maße in Hofbräuhaus (note the band in the back)

We got back to Münster and went straight to bed since we had to be up at 6:45 to get to the first lesson at school.  I was subbing for my sixth graders and I thought it would be cool for Mollie to come and sit in the class to observe German children and see what German school is like since she teaches in a French school.  Unfortunately, my kids acted so terribly and I was actually kind of embarrassed.  The next day though, Rainer and I talked to the kids and they admitted that they acted really badly and felt really bad about it, and today in class, they all wrote an apology card for me and presented it to me asking me to forgive them-- I ALMOST CRIED THEY ARE SO CUTE!!!  I'm seriously growing really attached to them and am going to miss them so much when it comes time to leave Germany.

Anyways- back to MSM... Mollie also came to my next period, the 11th graders, who just started reading Enduring Love by Ian McEwan.  Like me, she was extremely impressed with the level of English of the students (this is by far my best class and every day, I am so amazed at how well the students speak English at only 16 years old).  After my classes, it was only 10, so we headed to Extra Blatt for the famous buffet breakfast that Katherine and I have made sure to inform the world about--keeping the Heidelberg AJY tradition alive.  My friend Jeff, another Fulbrighter who lives in Hamburg, joined us as well, because he was traveling south through Germany to get to Basel, Switzerland during his spring break, and wanted to check out Münster for the day.  After making ourselves uncomfortably full, we walked around the city a bit, I showed them the castle, and we stopped by a lot of the churches.  Jeff then had to go to make his way to Düsseldorf, and Mollie and I stopped in the Dom, which is finally done with construction, so it was also my first time in it as well!  It's absolutely beautiful on the inside, I was really impressed.

Jeff and Mollie in front of the Schloss (SKY!!!!)

Mollie and the Münster St. Paulus Dom, finally without scaffolding!

After that visit, we headed to the Aasee and laid on the dock for a schlafchen-- forgot to mention that the two days Mollie was here in Münster were literally the two most beautiful days we've had since October.  The sky was bright blue revealing a beaming sun (a rarity for Münster) and the temperatures hit above 60 degrees, so it was a glorious feeling to lay outside, and I was again reminded of my myriad mornings, afternoons, and evenings laying on the Neckarwiese in Heidelberg, letting time go by, and just being happy to lay in the sun and read a book, or to sit and drink beers and eat chips with my friends, or to get excited over a game of flunkyball.

Aasee sunset--these are very rare

Met up with Rae later and took Mollie to our favorite döner place for dinner, and then we came back here and had an early night.  The next day I had to work one lesson and Mollie met me in town afterwards.  We went to the market for about an hour and spent entirely too much money, but it's always so fun to go to the market and buy everything fresh and just watch all the Germans doing their shopping.  We got some Reibekuchen, because Mollie had to try it while she was here, and while we were sitting eating it, an old German couple came and sat next to us and the lady just started talking to me all about how beautiful the day was and how maybe Spring was finally coming and how good my German was (lol).  As I told Mollie- I really wasn't exaggerating about the horrible winter, and although she didn't experience any of it, the reactions of all the Germans to the two beautiful days was enough to convince her how bad the last few months must've been because everyone was going crazy.  Stopped for coffee happy hour at DBV after, and then headed back to the Aasee for another little nap in the sun.  Back home to cook a big elaborate meal with all the food we had just bought, and then met up with a bunch of friends at Bullenkopp for happy hour.

Abendessen with the freshest ingredients!

All in all, a good visit in Münster for Mollie, and we got back and finished packing and headed to the train station just after midnight to catch our train to Paris- the story of which continues in my previous blog post. 

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Bienvenue à Paris- la ville d'amour

Nearly ten years since my first trip to Paris, and my first trip to Europe actually when I was 13, I finally had the opportunity to return to this beautiful city and capital!

March 2013 marks what Mollie and I are referring to as "MSM" (MollieSabrinaMarch).  We're both living in Europe, but I'm in the northern part of Germany and she's in southern France, so we haven't had any opportunities to see each other until this month!  She had break from school, so for the second week, she joined me in Munich for the weekend, and then we spent a few days in Münster, before heading off to Paris for a long weekend.  We parted ways on Sunday, but my break starts the last week of March, so I'll be flying down to Montpellier to spend that whole week with her.  Hence- MSM!

the start of MSM!

I haven't blogged in FOREVER, and people are actually getting on my case about it (which actually means a lot- people are reading these posts!!) So as of now, I'm behind with my trip back home and to Nashville, Munich, and now Paris.  Paris happened most recently, so I'll begin with that since it's in my head.

Mollie and I had an interesting journey to Paris- we called it an adventure.  Until we got to France, ein Abenteuer, and once we crossed into France, une aventure!  Our train left Wednesday night/Thursday morning from Münster at 1:15am.  We had a four hour ride, switched in Koblenz around 5am, got on a regional train for about an hour, switched in another random town, then got onto another train in Kaiserslautern, and then finished the journey after about two hours on that train to Paris.  The trip went smoothly except for our third switch sometime right before 6am, and I led us onto the wrong train and Mollie thankfully pointed out that our stop wasn't listed, and we dashed up and down the stairs to the neighboring platform and got on the correct train just in time.

I think that both of us have taken for granted the fact that we really do speak German and French and live in our countries, rather than just study as international students.  When Mollie got to Germany the weekend before, the first thing she said to me was, "I can't understand anyone!!!"  Once our train crossed into France, I could no longer understand the train announcer (granted, he did follow his spiel in French with a spiel in German and then in English), but I knew what she meant after that.  I realized last week that this trip to Paris was my first trip since being abroad that I've been to a non-English speaking country.  I traveled to Ireland during Fall Break, to England during Christmas break, and other than that, have only been traveling around Germany on long weekends.  I guess in all that time, I've really taken it for granted that I can travel anywhere in any of these countries (England, Ireland, Germany...) and travel with ease and communicate with people.  So for the first time in a long time, I felt that alien and foreign feeling of not understanding everything!

Granted, I've been studying French all semester, so I was able to understand quite a lot that I heard as well as read signs, and of course Mollie is practically fluent in French, but it was just a feeling I hadn't experienced in so long!

Anyways, arrived in Paris and made our way on the expansive and overwhelming metro to the apartment where we were staying in the 13th district.  Mollie's mom worked with a woman, Grace, at Reuters, who recently moved to Paris last fall because her husband, Jean, picked up a two year contract at a lab in Paris.  (The pair met on OkCupid- so many of my friends, both living in Germany and in America have created these profiles and now I'm super interested!  Seems like it might work better than my usual methods of finding love in hopeless places ha ha haaaa)  They had a guest room and welcomingly and warmly invited both Mollie and me to stay there for our three nights in Paris.  Their apartment came furnished and we took advtantage of the numerous Paris guidebooks that were present.  Grace and Jean were also just so wonderful- they had lots of coffee, and we had a lovely French style breakfast with them Saturday morning as well as a delicious raclette dinner that night, and they provided us with spare keys so we could come and go as we pleased.  They also gave us wonderful suggestions on where to go for an amazing dinner and a beautiful park to visit.  Grace is American and Jean is from French Canada, so we also all had great conversation discussing cultural differences between France, Germany, America, and Paris, as well as the funny and quirky and hard things about living abroad.  We honestly could not have asked for better hosts in Paris.



Back to the story though- caffeinated ourselves at the apartment, checked out some guidebooks, showered, and then headed out to do some sightseeing!  We found some walking tours of Montmartre, so we started at the bottom, but of course grabbed some pastries and quiches first to give us energy to climb up the giant hill, walked through the red light district and passed the Moulin Rouge, and then began our ascent up to Montmartre.  It was quite a gray day, but a pleasant temperature, and when we got up to the massive church, the sun was beginning to set over Paris, and the way the city and Eiffel Tower were illuminated in the dusk was absolutely breathtaking.  Say what you want about Paris- that it's a crowded, dirty, stuffy, touristy, dangerous, expensive (all things with which I would agree) but no one can deny the absolute beauty of the city.

Me in front of Montmartre

Paris panorama

Needs no explanation

More climbing up and down the hill, an espresso break, and then we met up with Maggie and her sister Briggs who were also going to The Lumineers concert that night.  We grabbed some food and drink to munch before the event, and then made our way to La Trianon- a beautiful theatre where the concert was being held.  (I feel like I'm going to be overusing the word beautiful in this post- sorry.)

I'm not big into concerts and my music taste isn't very original, but when Mollie suggested going to see The Lumineers, I thought it would be a cool thing to do, and boy am I glad we did!  The concert was incredible!  The venue was quite intimate and The Lumineers are one of those bands that is just so much better live and really brings you into their music with them.  The lead singer's voice is also really really good in a live venue.


After the concert, Mollie and I peaced out pretty quickly because we were in desperate need of sleep.  Got back around midnight and went straight to bed.  Woke up on Friday to a rainy morning in Paris.  We ate some breakfast and drank some coffee, mapped out our day, and headed out to go walk around the downtown area and around the Louvre.  We were doing a lot of walking and the rain was not brightening my mood at all, but we did stumble upon a really cool church- St. Eustace, right in the middle of the city.  It was absolutely gorgeous on the inside and huge!  There were only a handful of tourists roaming around next to the cold and damp architecture, but I'm glad we stopped inside.

Next was the Louvre.  Mollie's been inside, and I took a tour back when I was 13, so we just walked around the outside--in the pouring rain--but nevertheless, the museum square is always impressive.  After that we walked across the bridges over the Seine, the ones that are covered in locks for love (again, Paris est la ville d'amour!) and then made our way to Notre Dame.  I think the outside is the striking part of this cathedral- oui, the interior is impressive, but there are just so many tourists that it's kind of hard to enjoy it.  Then a baguette break, and took a trip to the Pantheon, where a myriad of famous French people are buried.  We were then going to go to the Eiffel Tower, but were absolutely exhausted and it had started raining again, so instead we headed back to the apartment to get ready for dinner.

Louvre

Me in front of Notre Dame

Pantheon

Grace gave us a wonderful recommendation for dinner at a restaurant called Chez Gladines, which was some of the most wonderful food I've ever had!  The atmosphere was also great- busy busy busy on a Friday night, with the aromas of fresh food and wine wafting through the air combined with sounds of conversations in every language.  Mollie and I were with our friend Etienne, who was studying in Lyon while Mollie was abroad there and whom I therefore met when I visited her two years ago, but he just moved to Paris for an internship.  The three of us joined a table of another trio- two Brazilian women and a French man.  We all had a lovely dinner (not starting until almost 9, remember, because it's France!) sharing stories and jokes and just simple conversation.  The bread and the wine were plentiful and my salad was absolutely delicious (I know that a salad doesn't sound too great- but this restaurant is actually known for its salads that have so many toppings).

Delicious noms


After our bellies were full of food and our minds buzzed with red wine, we all trekked a bit to another part of the city where Roma, the other French guy, used to study when he lived in Paris, and we all sat at a bar and had a relaxing drink.  This was the kind of night that reminded me why I love Europe so much and why I elected to spend another year of my life here.  This harsh and depressing winter has honestly caused me to forget everything I love about Germany and about France and about this continent in general and its lifestyle- because it's honestly a lifestyle and culture that just works better when the weather is nice- just lots of strolling and eating and drinking and just enjoying life and everything around you.  It's just hard to do that when the sun shines less than 100 hours the entire winter, the temperature rarely rises above freezing, and the air is dry and raw and bitter (I posted an article on my Facebook that discussed how this is the worst winter in Germany in over 40 years, if not the worst on record!)

Mollie, me, and Etienne having a drink after dinner


We said Au Revoir to our new friends and made our way back to the apartment, a welcome trek to walk off all the calories we had just eaten.  To bed again, and woke up on Saturday to share a lovely French-style breakfast with Grace and Jean.  Both of them are so interesting, so it was really nice to just sit and chat with them about live and abroad and such.  Got ready for the day and then headed to the Eiffel Tower where Etienne was meeting us.  It was good we had another friend with us because we finally had someone to take pictures of the two of us!  Before that, we just had pictures of each other in random places- just not the same.
Classy b&w

très belle :)

Saturday turned out to be just the most beautiful and pleasant day.  The clouds soon parted to reveal a bright blue sky and a beaming sun.  After the Eiffel Tower, we grabbed some picnic food at a grocery store and then made our way to a giant park on the outside of the city, Buttes Chaumont, and sat in the grass devouring bread and cheese and hummus and fresh strawberries, and all took a little rest afterwards.  I was laying in just my tank top and told Mollie and Etienne how, without exaggeration, it had probably been five months since the sun had touched my chest and arms- it was a glorious feeling, and made me so hopeful and excited for the spring weather (just not going to think about my deathly allergies that will inevitably be part of that).

Buttes Chaumont on a beautiful day


Strolled all through the massive park, just observing families and couples and friends all enjoying the beautiful early Spring day.  Etienne was also quite a joy to be around- he was making conversation with everyone we passed or came into contact with and I think that helped brighten mine and Mollie's moods even more.  After the park, we made our way to the famous cemetery, Père Lachaise, but unfortunately it had just closed, so instead we headed down to the quai and walked along the Seine to witness a miraculous sunset over Notre Dame.  A perfect end to a day in Paris.



We parted ways with Etienne and went back to the apartment where we had a dinner of raclette...if any of you have been to The Melting Pot, it's kind of like that.  You melt special cheese in this stove thing, and then drizzle it all over potatoes, veggies, meat, bread, etc.  Divine!  And of course an appetizer of fancy French bread and cheese and plenty of wine and great conversation--just another great dinner.  Afterwards we were too full to move, and despite it being Saturday night in probably the most glamorous city in the world, we elected to rest our heavy eyes and tired feet for a restful night.

Sunday morning, after some wasted time dealing with my lost train ticket (it's quite a long story, and actually kind of funny, but I'll just say that after some minor panic attacks, all turned out fine!) we only had a short bit of time, so we went back to Père Lachaise, which turned out to be so much bigger than we realized, so we just kind of had to literally run around it and then leave-- unfortunately missed Chopin's and Jim Morrison's graves, but the cemetery was still very impressive.  Dashed back to the apartment, shoved some sandwiches in our mouths, thanked Grace and Jean, and rushed to the metro, said goodbye until March 22, and made our ways back to Montpellier and Münster!

Just a small part of Père Lachaise

All in all, an absolutely wonderful visit to Paris.  Although I was welcomed back with snow and sub-freezing temperatures, it was nice to be back in Germany and a language I understand and to just have a week of relaxation.  On Sunday I head to Berlin for the Fulbright mid-year conference and the day after that ends, I head down to Montpellier to spend the first week of my Easter break with Mollie and then head back up to Mainz to spend Easter weekend with Katherine.  Lots to look forward to, especially the hopefully soon to be higher temperatures!