For my first point, I just want to say that I renovated my blog to fit the German theme. I hope you like it.
It has been a very adventurous three days, indeed. On Saturday, Richard took me around the city center and told me a ton of history about Hall. It was extremely interesting and incorporated everything from the Romans, to the founding of the city, to a great fire in the 1600s, to the Reformation (via Johannes Brenz—the guy whose house I am inhabiting), to the renovation projects. It was simply amazing.
After that history lesson, my Rotary contact Herr Mahl stopped by to say hello, give me information about the Rotary Club in Hall, and to chat. He is an awesome guy and we talked for about an hour before he invited me to lunch. He spoke in English for the vast majority of the first hour we were together, but the more time we spent together, the more we spoken in German. Richard and Oskar (Herr Mahl insists I call him Oskar) then spoke to each other about a few random happenings around the region. The subject of lunch came up and Oskar invited Richard and me to lunch. Richard gratefully declined and said that Oskar need not spend money on us. He then invited Oskar to eat with us in the house. Oskar politely said that he would love to take me out and make up for the fact that he didn’t meet me in Stuttgart and help me get to Schwäbisch Hall. Apparently this is the normal thing but he didn’t hear about my arrival until too late.
Why detail that discussion? Well, let me tell you, that was a spectacle to behold. The two men spoke SO QUICKLY about everything that I barely knew what was going on. I only caught a few words of every sentence and had to clarify once it was all over. It was like watching the most polite debate I have ever witnessed. I know Germans love their food so I’m guessing invitations to eat together are a big deal. I will never forget just standing there, trying to comprehend their conversation, by head bouncing back and forth between the two like I was watching a tennis match.
Anyway, Oskar took me out for my first meal at a German restaurant. He gave me five or six other restaurants to explore and showed me a good map of Hall. We walked about 5 minutes to a place called Sonne, which means sun. I later learned that this is an excellent example of fine Schwäbian cuisine from the people at the Goethe Institut. We talked, a mixture of German and English (mainly German and English when I got stuck), and he taught me how to order and ask for a table. I was delighted to have a tutorial on my first run through! We both ordered the Rahmschnitzel, which is schnitzel with a kind of mushroom sauce, and it came with Spätzle (delicious German egg noodles) too. We also received a salad, too. The salad came first and had everything from lettuce to cabbage to carrots to sauerkraut and potatoes. I have to tell you, the German potato salad is phenomenal. It is hard to describe, but it is like nothing I have seen in the US before. Delicious.
The Rahmschnitzel was also fantastic, and I could not have asked for a better dining experience for my first time out in Germany. Also, as you can imagine, the beer was amazing. I had the Hefe-Weiße wheat beer. The vast majority of the beer in Restaurants is the Haller Löwenbräu, so unless I mention I different brand, I’m sticking with that one. Mid-way through lunch, Oskar’s wife, Jutta, and his two kids came to join us. It was a lot of fun to meet and talk with them too.
After lunch, Oskar wished me a good day and told me to contact him if I had any problems. Also, I am meeting with the Rotary Club on Friday night and then going to dinner with his family again Saturday night. Cool stuff. It was an awesome afternoon.
That night, Richard and I went out to a place called the Blauer Bock, which means the Blue Ram. It was also delicious, and I enjoyed another beer and great food. After dinner, Richard and I headed back and we retired for the night.
Sunday, hmmm Sunday was full of yet more adventure. After breakfast with Richard, I set out to walk past Comburg to see what I could find. It was a beautiful day, and the snow was falling everywhere. I know the snow isn’t going to last forever, so I had to go take advantage of it while I can. I walked all the way past Comburg and saw another smaller church called Kleine-Comburg (small Comburg). On my way back, I got some amazing views of Comburg from the other side not previously seen from a distance. That view had fewer trees and gave an even more grandiose glimpse at the castle. Pictures are in My Photos on Facebook here: Facebook | Your Photos - Germany--The First Few Days
I saw a huge open hilly area I can only guess was a park of farm field during the more accommodating months. Again, my explorer genes went crazy. I went to check it out and I had no idea what I was getting into.
After trudging through the snow up the hill, I saw some people sledding (if only I had the right clothes!!!) and realized that the path of matted-down snow was ending and a forest was beginning. I kept on walking as the snow got to be about 40 centimeters deep (lower to mid calf on me). There were small pathways in the forest, but none that had any fresh footprints. Keep in mind it has been snowing furiously this entire time, too.
I kept following one trail that led me up a huge hill where the tree line suddenly stopped. I was standing on the edge of a huge field covered in snow. I could probably see two or three miles to my left and right. In the distance I did see two people hang gliding off a small mountain. In the snow. And arctic wind. These Germans are crazy. Turning back towards the forest, I had about four new trails to follow. I took them all, one by one, until I could go no further and had to turn around.
The first one led me into the woods until I got to a small circular opening surrounded by dense woods. I followed deer tracks on that path, and there were easily enough tracks for four or five deer to have been on that trail. Because it was snowing so much and the tracks were rather fresh, the deer couldn’t have been there more than 30 minutes before me. After being forced to turn around by the lack of walk-able woods, I took the next path. It led me to another opening at the very top of the hill that overlooked Comburg. (The picture at the top of the blog is from the view on this hill).
I then realized that the other two trails I had not yet taken led to this field, too. I found two lookout towers/chairs in the field and climbed them to get a better view. After this, I decided to head back to the house. My shoes and the bottom parts of my parts were soaked and I made my way back across the fields and woods through the deep snow. It was definitely a successful adventure.
Monday I had my test for the Goethe Institut. I bought some amazing pastries for breakfast from the bakery on the way to the school and then started the process. First was an introduction/reception one-on-one with one of the teachers. They welcomed me, gave me a binder full of information, and we had a short discussion (auf Deutsch) about me, where I’m from, and why I’m here. Then I moved to the interview, where I had to talk back and forth about myself again, but a little more in-depth this time. This was actually testing my German skills. Finally I took a 70 question test and was placed into my class. (More on the class in the next post.) After receiving all of my necessary items and information, I was sent on my way until the next morning.
I then went to the bank and opened up an account, which was the next thing on my to-do list. I now have my German bank card (Maestro Card); this is a very good thing. My next stop was the phone store to get my new phone number set up. I now have it, but for some reason I have no service anywhere. I am going to ask about that either today or tomorrow.
The rest of the day/evening was rather uneventful. I had met a few new people at the Goethe-Institut, but only well enough to know their faces. The only thing that did happen was Bärbel’s return. She came back from her trip, and Martin, the youngest son, came back from Dresden for a few days. We all had dinner together, and Martin and I talked a little bit about Dresden and sports. He invited me out for a few beers any time that I had time. Unfortunately he had to leave before we could go out, but he gave me his contact information in case I wanted to come to Dresden. I now have a place to hang out and sleep in Dresden. Very cool.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday definitely gave me a taste of the interaction I was craving. Each day I get more comfortable with my German, but each new encounter is a new challenge and a new adventure. There are sometimes when I just wish it would be easier to do things, but through all of the embarrassment and pep talks to myself, I’m definitely growing a lot from this experience. Each day I seem to enjoy it more and more. I went to bed Monday night excited and apprehensive about the day to come.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Exploring is never boring: Nick goes adventuring, Part zwei—Friday January 29 11:15 pm
I wake up the next morning (Friday) and eat breakfast at 8:00. Bärbel is still gone on her business trip, and Richard hurries off to work after breakfast. He says he has another busy day and that I should plan on lunch and dinner on my own again. We will have breakfast at 8:00 again tomorrow morning. Since he left after breakfast this morning, I have not seen or heard from Richard or Bärbel. It is very interesting. I am truly on my own so far for the majority of the past three days. I do enjoy it, but again, I cannot wait to meet more people.
It is very hard to describe the full range of emotions I have experienced since arriving in Germany, and today brought on a full spectrum of them. From frustration to excitement to anxiety to elation to fatigue to accomplishment to amazed—I felt about anything you can imagine. It started out with me trying to connect to the internet this morning. I tried for about 30 minutes to no avail. I can connect to the Haug’s wireless internet just fine, but for some reason their modem is not connecting to the internet. I have no way of contacting either of them to ask them how to fix this, so I am still Internet-less.
I decided to alleviate my frustration by walking around some more. I had an adventure I will not soon forget. I started out walking toward the side of Hall I had not explored yesterday. I went up and around St. Michael’s Church and found some cool courtyards and overlooks of the town. I originally forgot my camera, so I had to quickly stop back by the house and grab it. I went I took pictures of the things I just visited and then began a trek down to the river. I soon found an awesome riverside park. It was a pathway that wound all along the river. Needlessly to say, it was covered in snow and absolutely gorgeous.
I followed this for about thirty minutes just a merry as can be. I looked up and saw a new shape emerging through the clouds. I had spotted a castle!! I wasn’t quite for sure what to think, so I kept walking closer. Promptly, I ran out of space on the memory card for the camera. (At this point, I thought I had forgotten my big memory card at home, but I found it in my bags later this evening.) I excitedly rushed back to the house, downloaded the pictures from my camera to the computer, cleared the memory card, and went back to further investigate my discovery.
I made it back to the place where I had previously turned around and scouted out my next best move. I wandered through the street for a few minutes looking for some sort of access point to the castle. I finally found a snow covered path that headed directly uphill. Bingo. As I trudged through the snow, random statues of different religious figures stared down at me during my ascension. At the top of the hill, the fantastic castle gates were wide open. If you know me, then you know I just HAD to investigate. I had no other choice. I couldn’t pass up on this adventure.
I wearily crossed through the threshold and constantly gazed around. I found a map of the castle, called Comburg, and a few signs greeting visitors. It turns out St. Nikolaus Church is nestled right in the heart of the castle walls, surrounded by a myriad of other buildings. I kept wandering around and found new passage ways and openings at every turn. I eventually explored them all and spent most of the time navigating the pathway that circumvents the grounds along the castle wall. It was an exhilarating experience, and I felt like an accomplished explorer.
At this point, it has been three hours since I first left the house, and my stomach was growling. On my way back down the hill, I used my explorer’s-high and rode my adventurous spirit to convince myself that I was going to stop at the bakery that I passed at the bottom of the hill. I was all set to go in and order until I actually got to the front door and looked in. A wave of uncertainty hit me, and I suddenly felt nervous to go in and engage in conversation. I kept walking past the door only to turn around 10 feet later and make another pass. I again kept going without entering the bakery because I kept psyching myself out. I went around the corner and immediately stopped. I checked to make sure no one was around and took a deep breath. This was it. I HAD to do this. I squared my shoulders and marched determinedly into the bakery. I proceeded to order, pay, and briefly converse with a woman in the bakery, and then I walked out.
I cannot describe the pure elation and overwhelming sense of victory that washed over me! It was the first time I had gone into a store to order something directly. Sure, supermarket on Thursday was a small victory, but that was pretty easy. It was just like a supermarket in the US. You go up, say hello, wait for the price to come up, hand over the money, and say goodbye. This time I actually had to TALK. I was so proud of myself. The apple turnover and sweet bread that I ordered just might have been the most delectable pastries that I have ever consumed. I mean, they were good to start out with, but the taste of victory made them all the sweeter. You have to rejoice in the small things, right? Haha I happily munched on them as I made the trek back to my side of town.
I walked back on the opposite side of the river on my return, guessing that it would put me where I wanted to go next—the supermarket again. I was right and 20 minutes later I walked through the sliding doors of Handelshof. This time I bought more water, some nutella and bread, and my first German beer to celebrate the morning’s accomplishments. I also bought this soda called Schwip Schwap. It is cola (I’m pretty sure it’s Pepsi, judging by the label) that is mixed with orange soda. I was fascinated when I saw it and had to try it. Why not continue the adventurous trend? I made my purchase and made my way back to my room.
Once back in the warmth of my room, I was reminded of my frustration at the lack of internet, but I ignored that momentarily to continue my celebration of the morning’s accomplishments by looking at the pictures I had just taken. I first tried the beer, called Haller Löwenbräu. I bought the Haalgiest Dunkleweisse version because I like dark beer (dunkel means dark). It is brewed privately in the region (hence the “Haller”) and has been brewed since 1724. It was simply amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course my nutella snack was delicious as well. I tried the Schwip Schwap and was pleasantly surprised. I only drank a little of it and plan to ration it as a treat.
After loading all of the pictures, I looked at the clock and saw it was almost 3. I tried to connect to the internet again and became more and more frustrated. I looked out the window and saw that it was snow furiously and opted, again, to go walk around to help my blood pressure drop from the unwanted cyber-stress. I forgot to mention that it snowed the entire time I was on my adventure through the park by the river and to the castle. I love the snow and hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon.
My afternoon walk was refreshing, although not nearly as exciting as my morning adventure. I returned home around 16:30 thoroughly exhausted. I took a nap, meaning to wake up at 17:00 and head out to the information center and ask where a good place was to eat. My body had other plans and I instead woke up at 18:30. I quickly headed out to see if the information center happened to still be open. It closed at 17:00 apparently, so I wouldn’t have made it even if I woke up when planned. I looked around for a place to eat but again became intimidated by the sheer number of options and the fact that I didn’t know where most of them were. My fear of not knowing enough German also returned, so I walked around for about 30 minutes trying to both find a suitable place to eat and work up enough courage to eat there once I found it. I caved, though, and went into the supermarket instead. I guess I can only handle so much adventure for one day. I regret not going to a restaurant now, but I am determined to go to one tomorrow night. It would be easier if I had someone to go with, but soon I will know people here. I just need classes to start, really. I am determined to go to the information center early tomorrow (Saturday) and ask for several good places to eat so I have an idea of where to go next time.
Anyway, I bought some meat, cheese, mustard, and bread and made several sandwiches back at home. Again, not being able to connect to the internet and not know where to go in town, I took a break and watched a movie while I ate. I then started on these blogs and plan to study a little German before I head to sleep. Tomorrow should be another adventurous day!
It is very hard to describe the full range of emotions I have experienced since arriving in Germany, and today brought on a full spectrum of them. From frustration to excitement to anxiety to elation to fatigue to accomplishment to amazed—I felt about anything you can imagine. It started out with me trying to connect to the internet this morning. I tried for about 30 minutes to no avail. I can connect to the Haug’s wireless internet just fine, but for some reason their modem is not connecting to the internet. I have no way of contacting either of them to ask them how to fix this, so I am still Internet-less.
I decided to alleviate my frustration by walking around some more. I had an adventure I will not soon forget. I started out walking toward the side of Hall I had not explored yesterday. I went up and around St. Michael’s Church and found some cool courtyards and overlooks of the town. I originally forgot my camera, so I had to quickly stop back by the house and grab it. I went I took pictures of the things I just visited and then began a trek down to the river. I soon found an awesome riverside park. It was a pathway that wound all along the river. Needlessly to say, it was covered in snow and absolutely gorgeous.
I followed this for about thirty minutes just a merry as can be. I looked up and saw a new shape emerging through the clouds. I had spotted a castle!! I wasn’t quite for sure what to think, so I kept walking closer. Promptly, I ran out of space on the memory card for the camera. (At this point, I thought I had forgotten my big memory card at home, but I found it in my bags later this evening.) I excitedly rushed back to the house, downloaded the pictures from my camera to the computer, cleared the memory card, and went back to further investigate my discovery.
I made it back to the place where I had previously turned around and scouted out my next best move. I wandered through the street for a few minutes looking for some sort of access point to the castle. I finally found a snow covered path that headed directly uphill. Bingo. As I trudged through the snow, random statues of different religious figures stared down at me during my ascension. At the top of the hill, the fantastic castle gates were wide open. If you know me, then you know I just HAD to investigate. I had no other choice. I couldn’t pass up on this adventure.
I wearily crossed through the threshold and constantly gazed around. I found a map of the castle, called Comburg, and a few signs greeting visitors. It turns out St. Nikolaus Church is nestled right in the heart of the castle walls, surrounded by a myriad of other buildings. I kept wandering around and found new passage ways and openings at every turn. I eventually explored them all and spent most of the time navigating the pathway that circumvents the grounds along the castle wall. It was an exhilarating experience, and I felt like an accomplished explorer.
At this point, it has been three hours since I first left the house, and my stomach was growling. On my way back down the hill, I used my explorer’s-high and rode my adventurous spirit to convince myself that I was going to stop at the bakery that I passed at the bottom of the hill. I was all set to go in and order until I actually got to the front door and looked in. A wave of uncertainty hit me, and I suddenly felt nervous to go in and engage in conversation. I kept walking past the door only to turn around 10 feet later and make another pass. I again kept going without entering the bakery because I kept psyching myself out. I went around the corner and immediately stopped. I checked to make sure no one was around and took a deep breath. This was it. I HAD to do this. I squared my shoulders and marched determinedly into the bakery. I proceeded to order, pay, and briefly converse with a woman in the bakery, and then I walked out.
I cannot describe the pure elation and overwhelming sense of victory that washed over me! It was the first time I had gone into a store to order something directly. Sure, supermarket on Thursday was a small victory, but that was pretty easy. It was just like a supermarket in the US. You go up, say hello, wait for the price to come up, hand over the money, and say goodbye. This time I actually had to TALK. I was so proud of myself. The apple turnover and sweet bread that I ordered just might have been the most delectable pastries that I have ever consumed. I mean, they were good to start out with, but the taste of victory made them all the sweeter. You have to rejoice in the small things, right? Haha I happily munched on them as I made the trek back to my side of town.
I walked back on the opposite side of the river on my return, guessing that it would put me where I wanted to go next—the supermarket again. I was right and 20 minutes later I walked through the sliding doors of Handelshof. This time I bought more water, some nutella and bread, and my first German beer to celebrate the morning’s accomplishments. I also bought this soda called Schwip Schwap. It is cola (I’m pretty sure it’s Pepsi, judging by the label) that is mixed with orange soda. I was fascinated when I saw it and had to try it. Why not continue the adventurous trend? I made my purchase and made my way back to my room.
Once back in the warmth of my room, I was reminded of my frustration at the lack of internet, but I ignored that momentarily to continue my celebration of the morning’s accomplishments by looking at the pictures I had just taken. I first tried the beer, called Haller Löwenbräu. I bought the Haalgiest Dunkleweisse version because I like dark beer (dunkel means dark). It is brewed privately in the region (hence the “Haller”) and has been brewed since 1724. It was simply amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course my nutella snack was delicious as well. I tried the Schwip Schwap and was pleasantly surprised. I only drank a little of it and plan to ration it as a treat.
After loading all of the pictures, I looked at the clock and saw it was almost 3. I tried to connect to the internet again and became more and more frustrated. I looked out the window and saw that it was snow furiously and opted, again, to go walk around to help my blood pressure drop from the unwanted cyber-stress. I forgot to mention that it snowed the entire time I was on my adventure through the park by the river and to the castle. I love the snow and hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon.
My afternoon walk was refreshing, although not nearly as exciting as my morning adventure. I returned home around 16:30 thoroughly exhausted. I took a nap, meaning to wake up at 17:00 and head out to the information center and ask where a good place was to eat. My body had other plans and I instead woke up at 18:30. I quickly headed out to see if the information center happened to still be open. It closed at 17:00 apparently, so I wouldn’t have made it even if I woke up when planned. I looked around for a place to eat but again became intimidated by the sheer number of options and the fact that I didn’t know where most of them were. My fear of not knowing enough German also returned, so I walked around for about 30 minutes trying to both find a suitable place to eat and work up enough courage to eat there once I found it. I caved, though, and went into the supermarket instead. I guess I can only handle so much adventure for one day. I regret not going to a restaurant now, but I am determined to go to one tomorrow night. It would be easier if I had someone to go with, but soon I will know people here. I just need classes to start, really. I am determined to go to the information center early tomorrow (Saturday) and ask for several good places to eat so I have an idea of where to go next time.
Anyway, I bought some meat, cheese, mustard, and bread and made several sandwiches back at home. Again, not being able to connect to the internet and not know where to go in town, I took a break and watched a movie while I ate. I then started on these blogs and plan to study a little German before I head to sleep. Tomorrow should be another adventurous day!
Exploring is never boring: Nick goes adventuring—Friday January 29th 10:02 pm
First, let me say that I have had a great deal of trouble connecting to the internet after my initial success Thursday afternoon. I have not been able to connect since Thursday around 15:00 so I apologize to any and all who have been looking to hear from me. I will hopefully get this figured out tomorrow morning (Saturday) and be back online. Until then, I have been typing out my blogs and then will post them once I am able. Ok, to pick up where I left off:
The next morning, Thursday morning to be exact, I woke up at 7:00. That put me at about 9 hours of sleep. Getting some rest felt amazing, but I was not over my jetlag by any means. We, the Haugs and I, had agreed to eat breakfast together at 8:00, so I began my morning exploring the amenities of my new house. A few things I noticed to start out:
• Germans are very efficient.
o They always close doors to every room and hallway. This seems exclusionary? Not quite. Each room has its own heater, so they only heat the parts of the house that are in frequent use. Closing the doors keeps the heat where it is supposed to be. My room and bathroom are quite cozy and warm, but the hallway inbetween is a tundra of linoleum.
o The toilet has a flush and a stop button. Well they are the same button, but you press one side to flush and the opposite side to stop the water. The water does stop automatically after about 5 seconds, but if you only need 2 seconds of flushing then you can just used 2 seconds of water.
• Softness is not an adjective well-known to the Germans. This applies to linens, as of now. I don’t say this in a negative connotation, but merely as a fact.
o The towels are maybe 0.5 meter by 0.75 meter. This isn’t huge. It doesn’t nearly cover me, but it is exactly the right amount of towel to sufficiently dry me. See? Efficiency. Also, German towels feel…different. They aren’t soft, but it’s not easy to describe what they are. I want to say they feel brittle, but they are towels—that is counterintuitive. I will say they are rough, but not in an unusable way.
o The sheets aren’t the softest, but I could care less. Everyone reading this probably knows that I can sleep just about anywhere, especially when I am as tired as I am.
o The toilet paper is far from soft. Enough said.
The hot water in the shower worked just fine, but it seems there are only three different values of heat: scalding, lukewarm, and frigid. I opt for the lukewarm, and it feels pretty amazing after a few seconds of either other extreme.
The first thing I did after showering and dressing was to help Richard move a small refrigerator from the attic to the kitchenette on my hallway. These people really have a grand set-up for me. I could not have had it better. After slowly carrying the surprisingly heavy and cumbersome fridge down a narrow attic staircase, we headed down for breakfast. Here again, proved an interesting food experience.
Breakfast consisted of several options. The cereal option included oatmeal and cornflakes. I opted for cornflakes and looked around for the milk. The only milk I saw was for the coffee on the table. I looked at Bärbel very confused and asked what to do. She showed me the small container of yogurt on the table and said to use that. So my cornflakes became cornflakes and yogurt…except this yogurt was room temperature. Trying not to act surprised, I quickly finished that and looked for something else to move on to. Why finish quickly? Well room temperature yogurt and cornflakes isn’t exactly my idea of scrumptious, so I was very much ready to move on to another option.
I then ate a roll with salami and a banana. I called it a meal and then helped clean up. Bärbel did not have to be at work until 12:00, so she offered to show me around. We walked out into the town and I got my first honest glimpses of Hall. Before, I had only seen it from a taxi. Now I was walking through it. She pointed out the bank, the information center, a few good bakeries, gave me directions to the supermarket and then walked me by the Goethe Institut, where I will be studying. After that, we walked back to the house, and she bid me good day. I grabbed my pocket German dictionary and my camera and headed back out.
I walked all around the city and took pictures. I did my best to absorb everything I could. I walked down every street I saw and took every new turn that I could. Elation would be the best way to describe my feelings during this excursion. Everything looks amazing, and I am truly in Germany. There is snow everywhere. It has snowed almost constantly since I have been here. Today (Friday) it was actually 0 degrees Celsius, so it was what they like to call “warm” here. The region has received more snow than usual, Bärbel said, and she could not recall how long it had been snowing since it has been around that long this winter season.
As I walked, I said hello to many people that I crossed. I definitely enjoyed this brief interaction. I have, for the most part, been on my own. Bärbel has been gone since she and I parted ways Thursday morning because she is traveling for business. Richard has spent long hours at work, too, so I have my time to myself. That being said, the little time I have to interact with people are the people I run across in Hall and the friends I can talk to online. I have yet to meet any friends my own age here because class has not started. There are definitely young people around, but it is hard enough to approach a group of peers you don’t know as it is, and even more so if you don’t speak their language very well. All of the people my age are in groups and hurrying off somewhere anyway, so I wouldn’t want to stop them. I am very positive that I will meet a good deal of people once my classes start, and I look forward to that very much. I would almost say I am starving for interaction, but that wouldn’t be fair. I am craving it, but I also enjoy the solitude. I enjoy being able to wander around and become lost in my surroundings and my thoughts. Also, it gives me time to think about and practice my German to myself as I walk around. However, I think I am getting that isolation and individualism desire thoroughly quenched. It is good for me, for when I finally have the chance to meet and interact with people in my classes and through my time at the Goethe Institut, I will be so eager to connect with someone that I will have less reservations about speaking in German.
Being in Germany is already proving phenomenal for my German. As I was walking around Hall for the first time, I began thinking about how to describe the town and my feelings for the blog. I quickly realized that I was thinking about how to say all of this in German, though, instead of English. I laughed to myself, but it is a good sign. As I walk around everywhere, I am constantly thinking of things to say in German in case a situation arises where I need to communicate. There are several times when I think about engaging in conversation with someone, but my heart starts beating quickly and I get too nervous to think clearly. Of course, as soon as I am past the situation, I think of a million things to say. This is all part of the transition into getting comfortable with my German. I get braver and braver each hour. I will expand upon my interactions with the locals later on.
I walked around Hall for about two hours, exploring and wandering aimlessly. I walked across the river that flows through the middle of the town and continued up a large hill. I walked and walked and walked, passing houses and businesses. I finally ended up in a neighborhood at the very top of a hill and explored that before heading back. It is all very interesting to see, and I love walking around in the snow.
After I finished my trek, I grabbed some lunch back at the house. I plan to meet with my Rotary contact, Herr Hahl, on Saturday. Then I will set up my bank account, buy my phone card or new cell phone, and get some advice on life in Hall. Until then, I am trying to conserve money moderately so I don’t unexpectedly run out of Euros. After I get that bank account set up though, I will be going into every little shop possible and looking around. I plan to single-handedly support the backeries, pubs, and delis around. So, I grabbed lunch at the house, and got on the computer.
I headed back out that afternoon and explored some more. My two big adventures of the afternoon were my visit to the Goethe Institut and my first time in the supermarket, Handelshof. I knew these would be big tests of my German skills and would require interaction. My trip to the Goethe Institut went well, and they said I should come back Monday morning to take a test to see if I was placed correctly in my classes. Actual classes start Tuesday. All of this was in German, and I was very proud that I could have that conversation in German. The woman that I spoke with, though, did know that I was from the US and did not speak German perfectly, so she definitely spoke slowly. Also, I could almost watch her select words that she thought I would know. I was grateful for this, but it also made me feel inadequate. I hope to use that experience as motivation to get better at my German.
I went to the supermarket then and just strolled through for a little while, absorbing all that I could. The shoppers and employees probably thought I was crazy. I felt like people were looking at me weird all day. I felt like they knew that I didn’t belong. Maybe it was a look of bewilderment on my face, maybe it was the fact that I was wearing cargo pants (not very German), or maybe I was just being too self-conscious. I bought some lotion and some bottled mineral water. That reminds me about the water situation. Hall used to be known for its salt deposits. There are huge deposits all around the area. For that reason, the water here has a lot of salt in it. German tap water is hard water anyway, and isn’t exactly the best to drink. Even though I was fully aware of this, I had been drinking tap water like a madman. I was so thirsty after my travels. Also, the tea and coffee I had during my first two meals only dehydrated me further. That yogurt and corn flakes combo plus salami and bread required some water, too, in order to settle my stomach. I knew that I needed some bottled water in order to survive, so that was numero uno on my list of things to buy. I also bought some snack bars, which came in handy later. I made my purchase successfully and happily made my way back to my room.
As soon as I stepped in my room (and after I chugged a bottle of water), a sudden wave of fatigue hit me. I decided to take a nap and set my alarm for 19:00. My exhaustion from my trip plus a full day of adventure was catching up. I accidentally overslept and woke up at 20:15. I was starving and rushed out to find some place to eat.
Here is when I made a very important discovery. Hall pretty much shuts down at 20:00. All of the restaurants I knew of were closed. I am absolutely sure that some restaurants and pubs were open somewhere, but this is only my first full day in this city. I had no idea where to look. I searched in vain for about 15 minutes and headed back home dejectedly, cursing myself the whole way. I ended up eating all six of the snack bars I had purchased just hours before. I was starving, and each bar had only 99 calories. I would eat one, wait twenty minutes and be forced out of hunger to eat another. So that and bottled water made up my first meal on my own in Germany. Impressive, right? Not quite. I then turned in for bed around 12:00 and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, Thursday morning to be exact, I woke up at 7:00. That put me at about 9 hours of sleep. Getting some rest felt amazing, but I was not over my jetlag by any means. We, the Haugs and I, had agreed to eat breakfast together at 8:00, so I began my morning exploring the amenities of my new house. A few things I noticed to start out:
• Germans are very efficient.
o They always close doors to every room and hallway. This seems exclusionary? Not quite. Each room has its own heater, so they only heat the parts of the house that are in frequent use. Closing the doors keeps the heat where it is supposed to be. My room and bathroom are quite cozy and warm, but the hallway inbetween is a tundra of linoleum.
o The toilet has a flush and a stop button. Well they are the same button, but you press one side to flush and the opposite side to stop the water. The water does stop automatically after about 5 seconds, but if you only need 2 seconds of flushing then you can just used 2 seconds of water.
• Softness is not an adjective well-known to the Germans. This applies to linens, as of now. I don’t say this in a negative connotation, but merely as a fact.
o The towels are maybe 0.5 meter by 0.75 meter. This isn’t huge. It doesn’t nearly cover me, but it is exactly the right amount of towel to sufficiently dry me. See? Efficiency. Also, German towels feel…different. They aren’t soft, but it’s not easy to describe what they are. I want to say they feel brittle, but they are towels—that is counterintuitive. I will say they are rough, but not in an unusable way.
o The sheets aren’t the softest, but I could care less. Everyone reading this probably knows that I can sleep just about anywhere, especially when I am as tired as I am.
o The toilet paper is far from soft. Enough said.
The hot water in the shower worked just fine, but it seems there are only three different values of heat: scalding, lukewarm, and frigid. I opt for the lukewarm, and it feels pretty amazing after a few seconds of either other extreme.
The first thing I did after showering and dressing was to help Richard move a small refrigerator from the attic to the kitchenette on my hallway. These people really have a grand set-up for me. I could not have had it better. After slowly carrying the surprisingly heavy and cumbersome fridge down a narrow attic staircase, we headed down for breakfast. Here again, proved an interesting food experience.
Breakfast consisted of several options. The cereal option included oatmeal and cornflakes. I opted for cornflakes and looked around for the milk. The only milk I saw was for the coffee on the table. I looked at Bärbel very confused and asked what to do. She showed me the small container of yogurt on the table and said to use that. So my cornflakes became cornflakes and yogurt…except this yogurt was room temperature. Trying not to act surprised, I quickly finished that and looked for something else to move on to. Why finish quickly? Well room temperature yogurt and cornflakes isn’t exactly my idea of scrumptious, so I was very much ready to move on to another option.
I then ate a roll with salami and a banana. I called it a meal and then helped clean up. Bärbel did not have to be at work until 12:00, so she offered to show me around. We walked out into the town and I got my first honest glimpses of Hall. Before, I had only seen it from a taxi. Now I was walking through it. She pointed out the bank, the information center, a few good bakeries, gave me directions to the supermarket and then walked me by the Goethe Institut, where I will be studying. After that, we walked back to the house, and she bid me good day. I grabbed my pocket German dictionary and my camera and headed back out.
I walked all around the city and took pictures. I did my best to absorb everything I could. I walked down every street I saw and took every new turn that I could. Elation would be the best way to describe my feelings during this excursion. Everything looks amazing, and I am truly in Germany. There is snow everywhere. It has snowed almost constantly since I have been here. Today (Friday) it was actually 0 degrees Celsius, so it was what they like to call “warm” here. The region has received more snow than usual, Bärbel said, and she could not recall how long it had been snowing since it has been around that long this winter season.
As I walked, I said hello to many people that I crossed. I definitely enjoyed this brief interaction. I have, for the most part, been on my own. Bärbel has been gone since she and I parted ways Thursday morning because she is traveling for business. Richard has spent long hours at work, too, so I have my time to myself. That being said, the little time I have to interact with people are the people I run across in Hall and the friends I can talk to online. I have yet to meet any friends my own age here because class has not started. There are definitely young people around, but it is hard enough to approach a group of peers you don’t know as it is, and even more so if you don’t speak their language very well. All of the people my age are in groups and hurrying off somewhere anyway, so I wouldn’t want to stop them. I am very positive that I will meet a good deal of people once my classes start, and I look forward to that very much. I would almost say I am starving for interaction, but that wouldn’t be fair. I am craving it, but I also enjoy the solitude. I enjoy being able to wander around and become lost in my surroundings and my thoughts. Also, it gives me time to think about and practice my German to myself as I walk around. However, I think I am getting that isolation and individualism desire thoroughly quenched. It is good for me, for when I finally have the chance to meet and interact with people in my classes and through my time at the Goethe Institut, I will be so eager to connect with someone that I will have less reservations about speaking in German.
Being in Germany is already proving phenomenal for my German. As I was walking around Hall for the first time, I began thinking about how to describe the town and my feelings for the blog. I quickly realized that I was thinking about how to say all of this in German, though, instead of English. I laughed to myself, but it is a good sign. As I walk around everywhere, I am constantly thinking of things to say in German in case a situation arises where I need to communicate. There are several times when I think about engaging in conversation with someone, but my heart starts beating quickly and I get too nervous to think clearly. Of course, as soon as I am past the situation, I think of a million things to say. This is all part of the transition into getting comfortable with my German. I get braver and braver each hour. I will expand upon my interactions with the locals later on.
I walked around Hall for about two hours, exploring and wandering aimlessly. I walked across the river that flows through the middle of the town and continued up a large hill. I walked and walked and walked, passing houses and businesses. I finally ended up in a neighborhood at the very top of a hill and explored that before heading back. It is all very interesting to see, and I love walking around in the snow.
After I finished my trek, I grabbed some lunch back at the house. I plan to meet with my Rotary contact, Herr Hahl, on Saturday. Then I will set up my bank account, buy my phone card or new cell phone, and get some advice on life in Hall. Until then, I am trying to conserve money moderately so I don’t unexpectedly run out of Euros. After I get that bank account set up though, I will be going into every little shop possible and looking around. I plan to single-handedly support the backeries, pubs, and delis around. So, I grabbed lunch at the house, and got on the computer.
I headed back out that afternoon and explored some more. My two big adventures of the afternoon were my visit to the Goethe Institut and my first time in the supermarket, Handelshof. I knew these would be big tests of my German skills and would require interaction. My trip to the Goethe Institut went well, and they said I should come back Monday morning to take a test to see if I was placed correctly in my classes. Actual classes start Tuesday. All of this was in German, and I was very proud that I could have that conversation in German. The woman that I spoke with, though, did know that I was from the US and did not speak German perfectly, so she definitely spoke slowly. Also, I could almost watch her select words that she thought I would know. I was grateful for this, but it also made me feel inadequate. I hope to use that experience as motivation to get better at my German.
I went to the supermarket then and just strolled through for a little while, absorbing all that I could. The shoppers and employees probably thought I was crazy. I felt like people were looking at me weird all day. I felt like they knew that I didn’t belong. Maybe it was a look of bewilderment on my face, maybe it was the fact that I was wearing cargo pants (not very German), or maybe I was just being too self-conscious. I bought some lotion and some bottled mineral water. That reminds me about the water situation. Hall used to be known for its salt deposits. There are huge deposits all around the area. For that reason, the water here has a lot of salt in it. German tap water is hard water anyway, and isn’t exactly the best to drink. Even though I was fully aware of this, I had been drinking tap water like a madman. I was so thirsty after my travels. Also, the tea and coffee I had during my first two meals only dehydrated me further. That yogurt and corn flakes combo plus salami and bread required some water, too, in order to settle my stomach. I knew that I needed some bottled water in order to survive, so that was numero uno on my list of things to buy. I also bought some snack bars, which came in handy later. I made my purchase successfully and happily made my way back to my room.
As soon as I stepped in my room (and after I chugged a bottle of water), a sudden wave of fatigue hit me. I decided to take a nap and set my alarm for 19:00. My exhaustion from my trip plus a full day of adventure was catching up. I accidentally overslept and woke up at 20:15. I was starving and rushed out to find some place to eat.
Here is when I made a very important discovery. Hall pretty much shuts down at 20:00. All of the restaurants I knew of were closed. I am absolutely sure that some restaurants and pubs were open somewhere, but this is only my first full day in this city. I had no idea where to look. I searched in vain for about 15 minutes and headed back home dejectedly, cursing myself the whole way. I ended up eating all six of the snack bars I had purchased just hours before. I was starving, and each bar had only 99 calories. I would eat one, wait twenty minutes and be forced out of hunger to eat another. So that and bottled water made up my first meal on my own in Germany. Impressive, right? Not quite. I then turned in for bed around 12:00 and quickly fell asleep.
My Family—Thursday January 28th 10:30 pm
To pick up where I left off, I made it to Hall. Phew. What a trip. At the train stop at Hall, I was supposed to meet my host mother, Frau (Mrs.) Haug. I gathered all of my bags and exited the train with about 20 other people. I set everything down and took a deep breath. After that brief moment of relief, I started to scan the place for someone who looked like they were looking for me. In a matter of seconds, the “crowd” cleared out and I saw a smiling woman approaching me. I smiled and took a step toward her asking, “Sind Sie Frau Haug?” It was indeed Frau Haug, and we exchanged greetings. This was the first time I had to truly test my German, and it was shaky at best. I could communicate, but again, she spoke so quickly. I had a hard time making out individual words instead of just recognizable but meaningless sounds. Frau Haug noticed I had a little trouble keeping up with her and subsequently slowed down her speech. I was very thankful for that, be assured.
We got a taxi back to the house because her son is currently borrowing the car…but more about her children later. My first impression of Hall was: absolutely gorgeous—and absolutely German. Everything and everyone here just looks German. It is very hard to describe if you haven’t experienced something like this. It seems almost cliché to a fault, except it’s not a fault. It is very awesome. If you look at my pictures, you might be able to glimpse what I’m talking about. I’ll talk more about my first adventures through Hall in the next post, though.
Frau Haug told me about her house as we pulled up to it. It was the home of Johannes Brenz from 1522 to 1548. He was a Evangelical reformatory figure and the equivalent of Martin Luther for this region. Yeah I live in his former house. Crazy, right? Why, you ask, do the Haugs get this gem of a residence? Well, Herr (Mr.) Haug is the head of St. Michael’s Church, which just so happens to be the church that is one of Hall’s claims to fame and the church Brenz started. So yeah, I’m pretty much blown away by all of this.
Frau Haug insists that I call her Bärbel (Baerbal), which is short for Barbara for those of you who are wondering. In German, there is a formal tense and an informal tense, and Bärbel insisted I use the informal tense with her after just a few hours. Throughout our conversations, my German is rough at best, and I have some difficulty understanding her. She does know English, but she is not great at it, like me with German. That being said, she is much better at English than I am at German. She can read it just fine, but speaking it is difficult for her—or so she says. She actually speaks it pretty well, but she is unsure of herself and has to ask me if certain things are right. We only speak English, though, when I am having trouble comprehending something. We speak German first always, which I love (and desperately need in order to improve), and then resort to English if I’m struggling still on the third or fourth attempt.
I find myself using the German words I know a lot but then coming up short on one or two words per every three sentences. I have to insert English words in these gaps and then ask how to say them in German. It is a very frustrating experience. I have always felt that a strength of mine was the ability to express myself well. Also, as you can tell from reading this, I tend to be verbose. I can do neither yet in German. I have so many thoughts in my head all at once, but I cannot express myself quickly enough in German. I think a mile a minute, but by the time I have selected the German words to say one or two things, I have lost two other questions or points that I had. That is why I am here though! I need to improve so I can communicate well. Soon, I hope I can let my personality shine through my expressions like I can in English. That will just take time.
Anyway, back to the house. It is absolutely gorgeous and over 700 years old. No biggie. My room is on the second floor (well actually the third—in Germany the first floor is like a “welcome floor” and the second floor is the first floor.). I have the whole upstairs to myself. It is where the three Haug children used to live. My room is Ulrike’s old room. She is the oldest of the three and the only girl. The room is definitely big enough and has a beautiful view from both windows. In the hallway, there is a bathroom which I have all to myself, a lounge with TV and stereo, and the two other bedrooms. All three of the kids are gone at the moment. Ulrike, 30, is studying in Stuttgart. Joachim, 28, is studying in Freiburg, and Martin, 26, is studying in Dresden. From what I gather, Martin is coming back home this weekend with the car.
I settled in to my new room once we arrived, feeling pure excitement, pure exhaustion (I still have only slept “two hours” at this point), and pure anxiety all at once. The first two feelings seem rather obvious, but why anxious? I knew that from here on out my life would be challenge after challenge as I fought to improve and communicate in German. Herr Haug, who insists that I call him Richard, came home from work around 19:00 (7:00 PM) and we ate dinner around 19:30.
Dinner was a very interesting experience for several reasons. First of all, I had to introduce myself to Richard and become acquainted with him. He speaks very good English and seems very intelligent, as does Bärbel. As I mentioned, he is the head of St. Michael’s church, and Bärbel is a French teacher at the university here. Richard studied for years in Edinborough, so he claims his good English on that. The things we talked about at dinner included my education (they seem impressed and surprised at the chemistry and psychology combination); the sports I play; the region of the US I am from and where I go to school (we broke out the maps for this one); and our past travels. A few points:
• There is no rugby in Hall, but it is around Germany. This saddened me, but they mentioned that American football is very big here. The university even has a team. During WWII, American officers stayed in Hall and apparently established a love for football. Bärbel knows one of the coaches and said she will mention that I am interested!!
• The Haugs have traveled to Columbia, Peru, the US, and all around Europe. Richard speaks decent Spanish, he said.
• They visited the US when Ulrike, their daughter, spent a year in high school at Harper Creek High School in Michigan. She speaks fluent English.
For dinner, we had a variety of things to eat. We started with a grainy soup that we garnished with crunchy little balls of some kind of grain. I asked what it was called, but now I can’t remember…it was good though. After the soup, we moved on to the main course. I drank hot tea, as did Richard and Bärbel, and we ate bread and meat. There were several kinds of bread, but my favorite was Preztelbrot. At least I think that was what it was called. It is the consistency of a soft pretzel with a crunchy outside and salt on the outside, too. However, it is shaped like a giant dinner roll. I asked how I should go about eating all of the food, and Richard gladly showed me. We buttered the bread and then put salami on it and ate. I then ate cheese with flat, cracker-like bread. Also, they had this meat that was in a flavored gelatin. It was a rectangular prism with two rows of meat in circles. Filling the gaps between the circles of meat was the gelatin. The consistency and texture of the gelatin was not something I am used to and took some adjustment, but it tasted good. Dinner took awhile because we were talking about everything the whole time. I got so involved in trying to speak German that I didn’t even notice the radishes on the edge of the table. Apparently Bärbel and Richard both ate some, but I was so focused on trying to communicate that I missed that bowl completely.
After dinner we cleared the table, and they said I was welcome to go to bed. I happy accepted the offer, seeing as I was completely exhausted. I brushed my teeth and collapsed into bed around 22:00. What a day!! Well, more like 36 hours…
We got a taxi back to the house because her son is currently borrowing the car…but more about her children later. My first impression of Hall was: absolutely gorgeous—and absolutely German. Everything and everyone here just looks German. It is very hard to describe if you haven’t experienced something like this. It seems almost cliché to a fault, except it’s not a fault. It is very awesome. If you look at my pictures, you might be able to glimpse what I’m talking about. I’ll talk more about my first adventures through Hall in the next post, though.
Frau Haug told me about her house as we pulled up to it. It was the home of Johannes Brenz from 1522 to 1548. He was a Evangelical reformatory figure and the equivalent of Martin Luther for this region. Yeah I live in his former house. Crazy, right? Why, you ask, do the Haugs get this gem of a residence? Well, Herr (Mr.) Haug is the head of St. Michael’s Church, which just so happens to be the church that is one of Hall’s claims to fame and the church Brenz started. So yeah, I’m pretty much blown away by all of this.
Frau Haug insists that I call her Bärbel (Baerbal), which is short for Barbara for those of you who are wondering. In German, there is a formal tense and an informal tense, and Bärbel insisted I use the informal tense with her after just a few hours. Throughout our conversations, my German is rough at best, and I have some difficulty understanding her. She does know English, but she is not great at it, like me with German. That being said, she is much better at English than I am at German. She can read it just fine, but speaking it is difficult for her—or so she says. She actually speaks it pretty well, but she is unsure of herself and has to ask me if certain things are right. We only speak English, though, when I am having trouble comprehending something. We speak German first always, which I love (and desperately need in order to improve), and then resort to English if I’m struggling still on the third or fourth attempt.
I find myself using the German words I know a lot but then coming up short on one or two words per every three sentences. I have to insert English words in these gaps and then ask how to say them in German. It is a very frustrating experience. I have always felt that a strength of mine was the ability to express myself well. Also, as you can tell from reading this, I tend to be verbose. I can do neither yet in German. I have so many thoughts in my head all at once, but I cannot express myself quickly enough in German. I think a mile a minute, but by the time I have selected the German words to say one or two things, I have lost two other questions or points that I had. That is why I am here though! I need to improve so I can communicate well. Soon, I hope I can let my personality shine through my expressions like I can in English. That will just take time.
Anyway, back to the house. It is absolutely gorgeous and over 700 years old. No biggie. My room is on the second floor (well actually the third—in Germany the first floor is like a “welcome floor” and the second floor is the first floor.). I have the whole upstairs to myself. It is where the three Haug children used to live. My room is Ulrike’s old room. She is the oldest of the three and the only girl. The room is definitely big enough and has a beautiful view from both windows. In the hallway, there is a bathroom which I have all to myself, a lounge with TV and stereo, and the two other bedrooms. All three of the kids are gone at the moment. Ulrike, 30, is studying in Stuttgart. Joachim, 28, is studying in Freiburg, and Martin, 26, is studying in Dresden. From what I gather, Martin is coming back home this weekend with the car.
I settled in to my new room once we arrived, feeling pure excitement, pure exhaustion (I still have only slept “two hours” at this point), and pure anxiety all at once. The first two feelings seem rather obvious, but why anxious? I knew that from here on out my life would be challenge after challenge as I fought to improve and communicate in German. Herr Haug, who insists that I call him Richard, came home from work around 19:00 (7:00 PM) and we ate dinner around 19:30.
Dinner was a very interesting experience for several reasons. First of all, I had to introduce myself to Richard and become acquainted with him. He speaks very good English and seems very intelligent, as does Bärbel. As I mentioned, he is the head of St. Michael’s church, and Bärbel is a French teacher at the university here. Richard studied for years in Edinborough, so he claims his good English on that. The things we talked about at dinner included my education (they seem impressed and surprised at the chemistry and psychology combination); the sports I play; the region of the US I am from and where I go to school (we broke out the maps for this one); and our past travels. A few points:
• There is no rugby in Hall, but it is around Germany. This saddened me, but they mentioned that American football is very big here. The university even has a team. During WWII, American officers stayed in Hall and apparently established a love for football. Bärbel knows one of the coaches and said she will mention that I am interested!!
• The Haugs have traveled to Columbia, Peru, the US, and all around Europe. Richard speaks decent Spanish, he said.
• They visited the US when Ulrike, their daughter, spent a year in high school at Harper Creek High School in Michigan. She speaks fluent English.
For dinner, we had a variety of things to eat. We started with a grainy soup that we garnished with crunchy little balls of some kind of grain. I asked what it was called, but now I can’t remember…it was good though. After the soup, we moved on to the main course. I drank hot tea, as did Richard and Bärbel, and we ate bread and meat. There were several kinds of bread, but my favorite was Preztelbrot. At least I think that was what it was called. It is the consistency of a soft pretzel with a crunchy outside and salt on the outside, too. However, it is shaped like a giant dinner roll. I asked how I should go about eating all of the food, and Richard gladly showed me. We buttered the bread and then put salami on it and ate. I then ate cheese with flat, cracker-like bread. Also, they had this meat that was in a flavored gelatin. It was a rectangular prism with two rows of meat in circles. Filling the gaps between the circles of meat was the gelatin. The consistency and texture of the gelatin was not something I am used to and took some adjustment, but it tasted good. Dinner took awhile because we were talking about everything the whole time. I got so involved in trying to speak German that I didn’t even notice the radishes on the edge of the table. Apparently Bärbel and Richard both ate some, but I was so focused on trying to communicate that I missed that bowl completely.
After dinner we cleared the table, and they said I was welcome to go to bed. I happy accepted the offer, seeing as I was completely exhausted. I brushed my teeth and collapsed into bed around 22:00. What a day!! Well, more like 36 hours…
Thursday, January 28, 2010
How six hours were magically deleted from my life...
DISCLAIMER: This is a long post. I detail everything about my flight and trip to Germany so that I can remember this when I look back. You might want to scan for the highlights.
Here is a summary:
1. My height gets noticed the second I step on the plane in Louisville.
2. The flight to Germany is good, but I don't sleep much.
3. The Amsterdam Airport, Schiphol, is huge and I made a fool of myself.
4. Stuttgart was an adrenaline rush because I had to buy my own train tickets and navigate the train station within 10 minutes and manage to carry all of my bags at the same time.
I am here in Germany!!
I have so so SO much to talk about, and I am still in my first 20 hours of being here. Because of that, I am going to break up my experiences over the last 36 hours into a couple posts. First, the trip.
Ok, so I know we've all heard of comfort zones. And we've all heard of streching them, right? In order to grow as a person, we need to take a step out of our comfort zones and stretch them to new limits. Well, if my physical growth were to coincide with my personal growth over the past few days, I would be standing roughly 10 feet tall.
I will now admit, now that I am actually in Germany and my excursion to Schwaebisch Hall (called Hall for short) is over, that I was absolutely terrified about my journey to Germany. I don't get scared in any capacity very easily. However, this was my first time flying out of the country, flying in a different country, speaking another language out of necessity, and traveling within another country. Also, I was doing this completely alone. I am all for independence. I wouldn't have it any other way, but I relied strictly on my mental fortitude to remain calm and not freak out. I was successful in my attempts to remain calm, but I can't remember the last time I had to give myself so many internal pep talks to remain composed.
My flight from Louisville to Memphis was easy enough. I had a window seat (which I did request) on a small commuter jet. When I walked into the plane, or ducked into the plane rather, the flight attendant, named Rose Marie, took one look at me and asked, "What seat did they give you?" I laughed and said the emergency exit row, so no worries. The seat next to me was occupied, but the whole row in front of me was empty. Rose Marie came up to me about 2 minutes after I sat down and asked if I wanted more room because I was a "big guy". The man sitting next to me moved up, leaving me my beloved window seat and the whole emergency row to myself. He turned around and asked me, "How tall are you?" There's my quota for the day, but it was definitely not the last time my stature was noticed on this trip. I responded with my usual, "Eh, 6'6 1/2." He laughed and retored, "Yeah I noticed you when you walked in that door and felt sorry for you." Great. Haha but the rest of the flight to Memphis was fine. Rose Marie seemed to pity my height because she asked if I needed anything every chance she had. She also asked where I was flying. When I responded, "Germany to study abroad for a semester," her eyes seemed to bulge out of the back of her head and she acted so taken aback. You would think a flight attendant would be more accustomed to people traveling, right?
The wait in Memphis was fine. I board my plane to Amsterdam with ease. I think I experienced two different worlds in the realm of aircraft because this plane is the biggest freaking commerical jet I have ever seen. Those of you who have been overseas before are probably laughing at my awe now, but prior to this, the biggest plane I had ever been on had three seats on either side of the aisle. This sucker had two seats, aisle, four seats in the middle section, aisle, and then another two seats. Huge! And the wings were monstrously large.
I requested a window seat for this plane as well, and I sat against the right side of the plane, right on the wing. There were plenty of empty seats (I guess the demand to fly from Memphis to Amsterdam on a Tuesday night in January just isn't there), so I had the seat next to me free to use. A German family sat behind me and subsequently spread out to the empty rows next to us so they could lay down to sleep. I tried to understand what they were say, but they had thick accents and spoke very quickly. This was my first experience with trying to understand German from the mouth of a German. It was not encouraging.
The flight was fine. I tried to watch a few movies, but I could not focus. I studied for most of the time, trying to absorb any last lessons from my German textbooks as I could. Sleeping was out of the question for most of the 9 hour flight. My mind was racing too quickly to calm down for real sleep. I drifted in and out for about two hours, but that was the extent of my sleep for Tuesday night. We flew from Memphis up to D.C., then over Boston and up to Newfoundland. It was crazy to think I was that far north, and I had failed to realize how far north Amsterdam, and Great Britain for that matter, actually lies.
Upon arriving in Amsterdam, I though back to a conversation I had when I visited my friends at the University of Kentucky last week before I left. My friend Rick told me about his 5 week trip to Europe the summer after our senior year in high school. He said something like: "...landing in Europe isn't as strange as you might imagine. You look around and see that you are still on plant Earth." This echoed through my head as I exited the plane. There were never word more true. This seemed like a normal airport...until I continued to my gate, that is. I had to pass through security to get from one terminal to the next, which I found unusual but rather logicial. I, of course, was very nervous and fumbled my way through security. Both people I spoke with talked to me with a British accent, but for some reason I was still nervous. I made it through just fine, but then walked by the customs counter.
Not wanting to break any international laws during my first hour in a new country, I asked the congregation of security personnel in front of the customs counter what all needed to be declared. The man I asked looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "You can ask that customs officer over there." I impulsively responded, "But what needs to be declared and what doesn't?" He repeated his answer with a much more pronounced annoyance, and I disheartenedly trudged over to the customs officer. He said I was all clear and sent me on my way. I still felt the burning pangs of embarrassment, though. I had my first moment as one of those "stupid Americans". I hated myself for it. Some people say I'm too hard on myself...
Waiting in the Schiphol, I heard Dutch, English, and German versions of all of the announcements. I never realized how much of an international hub Amsterdam was. I saw people from every region of the world and heard announcements for flights to Nigeria, South Korea, Boston, and Moscow. As I was handing my ticket and passport to the woman at the gate before I got on the plane, she asked me to wait just one momemnt. I, of course, wondered what in the world I could have done wrong. I was one of the last people on the plane. The guy behind me, that last guy in line, started laughing and said in broken English that I am not allowed to fly because I am too big. Of course, I was mildly offended but let it slide. Then the woman handed me my passport and wrote a different seat number on my ticket. She had checked the available seats and gave me an emergency exit row seat with no one next to me. She said I would be more comfortable and have more leg room there. Apparently my height struck her as well. I thought the Dutch were tall? Shouldn't she be used to us giants?
The flight was run by a French flight crew. One flight attendant spoke German and French while the other spoke French and English. The captain spoke English, too, as well as Dutch, German, and French. An excitable group of 6 German women sat behind me and laughed at random things the entire flight. Again, understanding them was very difficult, but I wasn't worried about that. I have a hard enough time understanding 6 women talking to each other in English.
Touching down in Stuttgart was nothing short of ordinary. I got off the plane, got my luggage very easily, and followed the signs to the S-Bahn, or Subway. There I went to get my tickets for the train to Hall, and realized I had all of 6 minutes to purchase the ticket and get to my platform before the next train came. So hurriedly printed out my ticket and time information and made it to the platform with a minute to spare. I had far more luggage than anyone else, but I think I was the only foreigner there. The train from the airport to the main train station took about 30 minutes with several stops, including one at the University of Stuttgart. Here, a guy about my age sat down next to me, took one look at my luggage, and put his earphones in. I was glad to have been excused the opportunity to talk to him. I was so nervous that I would have sounded like more of a blubbering idiot than normal. Once we rolled into the main train station in Stuttgart, things started getting interesting. Getting all of my bags off the train took a second, and some Germans laughed at me. They muttered something, but I just looked them in the eye and said, "Entshuldigung Sie mich." That means excuse me. They stopped laughing and let me pass through. I then hurried through the station to get to my next train to Heilbronn. I made it again, with about a minute to spare. It was a 45 minute ride, and it took all 45 minutes to slow my heart rate down.
On the train, two students about 19 or 20 got on at a stop and talked together. I picked up enough, but Germans speak so quickly. I feel like they must shoot speed and then start a conversation because it sounds like German times the speed of lightning. I made my transition to the last train to Hall at Heilbronn. That was also a 45 minute train ride. I stood the entire time on that train because it was crowded. However, I almost fell asleep several times standing up. By that time, it was 16:00 (4:00 PM) or 10:00 AM in the US. I had been up for 24 for hours and had barely gotten 2 hours sleep on the plane.
I finally made it to Hall, where my host mother, Baerbal Haug, met me. But more about my host family later. That is quite enough for one post, and it was assuredly quite enough to pack into 24 hours. I am tired again just typing about it. Know that I love Hall and my host family is awesome. You will hear about them later.
Here is a summary:
1. My height gets noticed the second I step on the plane in Louisville.
2. The flight to Germany is good, but I don't sleep much.
3. The Amsterdam Airport, Schiphol, is huge and I made a fool of myself.
4. Stuttgart was an adrenaline rush because I had to buy my own train tickets and navigate the train station within 10 minutes and manage to carry all of my bags at the same time.
I am here in Germany!!
I have so so SO much to talk about, and I am still in my first 20 hours of being here. Because of that, I am going to break up my experiences over the last 36 hours into a couple posts. First, the trip.
Ok, so I know we've all heard of comfort zones. And we've all heard of streching them, right? In order to grow as a person, we need to take a step out of our comfort zones and stretch them to new limits. Well, if my physical growth were to coincide with my personal growth over the past few days, I would be standing roughly 10 feet tall.
I will now admit, now that I am actually in Germany and my excursion to Schwaebisch Hall (called Hall for short) is over, that I was absolutely terrified about my journey to Germany. I don't get scared in any capacity very easily. However, this was my first time flying out of the country, flying in a different country, speaking another language out of necessity, and traveling within another country. Also, I was doing this completely alone. I am all for independence. I wouldn't have it any other way, but I relied strictly on my mental fortitude to remain calm and not freak out. I was successful in my attempts to remain calm, but I can't remember the last time I had to give myself so many internal pep talks to remain composed.
My flight from Louisville to Memphis was easy enough. I had a window seat (which I did request) on a small commuter jet. When I walked into the plane, or ducked into the plane rather, the flight attendant, named Rose Marie, took one look at me and asked, "What seat did they give you?" I laughed and said the emergency exit row, so no worries. The seat next to me was occupied, but the whole row in front of me was empty. Rose Marie came up to me about 2 minutes after I sat down and asked if I wanted more room because I was a "big guy". The man sitting next to me moved up, leaving me my beloved window seat and the whole emergency row to myself. He turned around and asked me, "How tall are you?" There's my quota for the day, but it was definitely not the last time my stature was noticed on this trip. I responded with my usual, "Eh, 6'6 1/2." He laughed and retored, "Yeah I noticed you when you walked in that door and felt sorry for you." Great. Haha but the rest of the flight to Memphis was fine. Rose Marie seemed to pity my height because she asked if I needed anything every chance she had. She also asked where I was flying. When I responded, "Germany to study abroad for a semester," her eyes seemed to bulge out of the back of her head and she acted so taken aback. You would think a flight attendant would be more accustomed to people traveling, right?
The wait in Memphis was fine. I board my plane to Amsterdam with ease. I think I experienced two different worlds in the realm of aircraft because this plane is the biggest freaking commerical jet I have ever seen. Those of you who have been overseas before are probably laughing at my awe now, but prior to this, the biggest plane I had ever been on had three seats on either side of the aisle. This sucker had two seats, aisle, four seats in the middle section, aisle, and then another two seats. Huge! And the wings were monstrously large.
I requested a window seat for this plane as well, and I sat against the right side of the plane, right on the wing. There were plenty of empty seats (I guess the demand to fly from Memphis to Amsterdam on a Tuesday night in January just isn't there), so I had the seat next to me free to use. A German family sat behind me and subsequently spread out to the empty rows next to us so they could lay down to sleep. I tried to understand what they were say, but they had thick accents and spoke very quickly. This was my first experience with trying to understand German from the mouth of a German. It was not encouraging.
The flight was fine. I tried to watch a few movies, but I could not focus. I studied for most of the time, trying to absorb any last lessons from my German textbooks as I could. Sleeping was out of the question for most of the 9 hour flight. My mind was racing too quickly to calm down for real sleep. I drifted in and out for about two hours, but that was the extent of my sleep for Tuesday night. We flew from Memphis up to D.C., then over Boston and up to Newfoundland. It was crazy to think I was that far north, and I had failed to realize how far north Amsterdam, and Great Britain for that matter, actually lies.
Upon arriving in Amsterdam, I though back to a conversation I had when I visited my friends at the University of Kentucky last week before I left. My friend Rick told me about his 5 week trip to Europe the summer after our senior year in high school. He said something like: "...landing in Europe isn't as strange as you might imagine. You look around and see that you are still on plant Earth." This echoed through my head as I exited the plane. There were never word more true. This seemed like a normal airport...until I continued to my gate, that is. I had to pass through security to get from one terminal to the next, which I found unusual but rather logicial. I, of course, was very nervous and fumbled my way through security. Both people I spoke with talked to me with a British accent, but for some reason I was still nervous. I made it through just fine, but then walked by the customs counter.
Not wanting to break any international laws during my first hour in a new country, I asked the congregation of security personnel in front of the customs counter what all needed to be declared. The man I asked looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "You can ask that customs officer over there." I impulsively responded, "But what needs to be declared and what doesn't?" He repeated his answer with a much more pronounced annoyance, and I disheartenedly trudged over to the customs officer. He said I was all clear and sent me on my way. I still felt the burning pangs of embarrassment, though. I had my first moment as one of those "stupid Americans". I hated myself for it. Some people say I'm too hard on myself...
Waiting in the Schiphol, I heard Dutch, English, and German versions of all of the announcements. I never realized how much of an international hub Amsterdam was. I saw people from every region of the world and heard announcements for flights to Nigeria, South Korea, Boston, and Moscow. As I was handing my ticket and passport to the woman at the gate before I got on the plane, she asked me to wait just one momemnt. I, of course, wondered what in the world I could have done wrong. I was one of the last people on the plane. The guy behind me, that last guy in line, started laughing and said in broken English that I am not allowed to fly because I am too big. Of course, I was mildly offended but let it slide. Then the woman handed me my passport and wrote a different seat number on my ticket. She had checked the available seats and gave me an emergency exit row seat with no one next to me. She said I would be more comfortable and have more leg room there. Apparently my height struck her as well. I thought the Dutch were tall? Shouldn't she be used to us giants?
The flight was run by a French flight crew. One flight attendant spoke German and French while the other spoke French and English. The captain spoke English, too, as well as Dutch, German, and French. An excitable group of 6 German women sat behind me and laughed at random things the entire flight. Again, understanding them was very difficult, but I wasn't worried about that. I have a hard enough time understanding 6 women talking to each other in English.
Touching down in Stuttgart was nothing short of ordinary. I got off the plane, got my luggage very easily, and followed the signs to the S-Bahn, or Subway. There I went to get my tickets for the train to Hall, and realized I had all of 6 minutes to purchase the ticket and get to my platform before the next train came. So hurriedly printed out my ticket and time information and made it to the platform with a minute to spare. I had far more luggage than anyone else, but I think I was the only foreigner there. The train from the airport to the main train station took about 30 minutes with several stops, including one at the University of Stuttgart. Here, a guy about my age sat down next to me, took one look at my luggage, and put his earphones in. I was glad to have been excused the opportunity to talk to him. I was so nervous that I would have sounded like more of a blubbering idiot than normal. Once we rolled into the main train station in Stuttgart, things started getting interesting. Getting all of my bags off the train took a second, and some Germans laughed at me. They muttered something, but I just looked them in the eye and said, "Entshuldigung Sie mich." That means excuse me. They stopped laughing and let me pass through. I then hurried through the station to get to my next train to Heilbronn. I made it again, with about a minute to spare. It was a 45 minute ride, and it took all 45 minutes to slow my heart rate down.
On the train, two students about 19 or 20 got on at a stop and talked together. I picked up enough, but Germans speak so quickly. I feel like they must shoot speed and then start a conversation because it sounds like German times the speed of lightning. I made my transition to the last train to Hall at Heilbronn. That was also a 45 minute train ride. I stood the entire time on that train because it was crowded. However, I almost fell asleep several times standing up. By that time, it was 16:00 (4:00 PM) or 10:00 AM in the US. I had been up for 24 for hours and had barely gotten 2 hours sleep on the plane.
I finally made it to Hall, where my host mother, Baerbal Haug, met me. But more about my host family later. That is quite enough for one post, and it was assuredly quite enough to pack into 24 hours. I am tired again just typing about it. Know that I love Hall and my host family is awesome. You will hear about them later.
Friday, January 22, 2010
And so it begins...
Hey everyone!
This is the beginning of the adventure blog, as I like to dub it, for my three-month stay in Germany. I am now approaching about 90 hours until I depart from Louisville. I am starting the ever-so-delightful packing process tomorrow and hopefully getting the majority of it done during the day. As I have traveled to South Carolina and UK to visit people and say goodbye for the semester, a vast majority are curious about what my program includes exactly. If you are curious, didn't know, or have forgotten, here are the basics:
1. Cultural Immersion Program through Rotary International
2. Taking only German classes at a language institution called the Goethe Institute
3. Living with a host family--a husband and wife named the Haugs
4. Studying for three months, Feb 1st-Apr 30th are the dates I'll be in class
5. I will either return in mid/late May or early Aug depending on a few possibilities
6. I will be in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany. It is close to Stuttgart in SW Germany
As I prepare for my travels, feelings of apprehension, excitement, and surreality set in. I cannot fathom the fact that this time next week I will be walking the streets of a small town in Germany. I am nervous based only on the actuality that there will be a language difference. Obviously, a good number of Germans speak English, but the fact remains that I will be required to speak a language that I am still learning. I mean, I am going on a cultural immersion program in order to greatly improve my German language skills, so it will be an awesome and highly educational adventure. Becoming conversational is one of the biggest goals of my expedition. But...it still is a little nerve-racking. Despite the nerves, the experience of being in a foreign setting, both linguistically and culturally, is probably the most exciting aspect of my trip, too.
To be completely honest with you, I could talk for a decent amount of time about the things I am expecting to think, feel, and experience once I set foot on that plane and the subsequent events. However, I have NO IDEA what to expect, so my postulations of these expectations are well...worthless. My imagination just doesn't have enough similar experiences to draw from to form a complete conjecture of the things waiting for me overseas. So I'm just going to go with what happens. My mantra at the moment is: "If something strange or difficult happens, it will be a good story later." That being said, I do hope that I don't acquire too many stories in the first few days...
More to come once I'm in Germany!!
This is the beginning of the adventure blog, as I like to dub it, for my three-month stay in Germany. I am now approaching about 90 hours until I depart from Louisville. I am starting the ever-so-delightful packing process tomorrow and hopefully getting the majority of it done during the day. As I have traveled to South Carolina and UK to visit people and say goodbye for the semester, a vast majority are curious about what my program includes exactly. If you are curious, didn't know, or have forgotten, here are the basics:
1. Cultural Immersion Program through Rotary International
2. Taking only German classes at a language institution called the Goethe Institute
3. Living with a host family--a husband and wife named the Haugs
4. Studying for three months, Feb 1st-Apr 30th are the dates I'll be in class
5. I will either return in mid/late May or early Aug depending on a few possibilities
6. I will be in Schwaebisch Hall, Germany. It is close to Stuttgart in SW Germany
As I prepare for my travels, feelings of apprehension, excitement, and surreality set in. I cannot fathom the fact that this time next week I will be walking the streets of a small town in Germany. I am nervous based only on the actuality that there will be a language difference. Obviously, a good number of Germans speak English, but the fact remains that I will be required to speak a language that I am still learning. I mean, I am going on a cultural immersion program in order to greatly improve my German language skills, so it will be an awesome and highly educational adventure. Becoming conversational is one of the biggest goals of my expedition. But...it still is a little nerve-racking. Despite the nerves, the experience of being in a foreign setting, both linguistically and culturally, is probably the most exciting aspect of my trip, too.
To be completely honest with you, I could talk for a decent amount of time about the things I am expecting to think, feel, and experience once I set foot on that plane and the subsequent events. However, I have NO IDEA what to expect, so my postulations of these expectations are well...worthless. My imagination just doesn't have enough similar experiences to draw from to form a complete conjecture of the things waiting for me overseas. So I'm just going to go with what happens. My mantra at the moment is: "If something strange or difficult happens, it will be a good story later." That being said, I do hope that I don't acquire too many stories in the first few days...
More to come once I'm in Germany!!
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