Abiball

Due to the combination of my age, my grade in the US and in Germany at the time of my exchange, and the difference in German and American school systems, my class from Germany just completed their final exam (Abitur) and therefore 'high school' To celebrate there is dance with dinner, basically the closest equivalent to our prom. However, any one can attend the 'Abiball': teachers, family, friends...as long as they buy a ticket.

Since I first came back from Germany, I've also hoped I could attend, but there was no way I was going to make a special trip to Germany just for this event. Being blessed yet again, I(obviously) managed to be back in Germany at the right time. I planned on staying with my host family, and aside from them and two other friends from Fuerstenzell(where I lived), no one knew I was coming.

I mentioned in earlier posts that I needed a dress. Well, I ended up deciding the black cotton summer dress I had was good enough, and that I would just buy a pair of killer shoes and try to look as good as possible. The dress worked out great and I found some awesome shoes. (See pictures below.)

I took a day off to get down to Passau/Fuerstenzell, since the train ride can take anywhere from 6-7hrs. I will spare you the troubling details of getting there and back. Let's just say the Deutsche Bahn, the train service, is getting worse and worse. I honestly do not know what non-German speakers do. All of the important announcements are only made in German, and even then those of us who catch the announcement aren't completely certain what to do.

Once I arrived in Passau, Friday afternoon (the dance was that night), my host mom and I went straight home. One of the amazing things, especially since I last saw my host family in February, is that whenever we are together, it's like I was never gone. We get along so well, and I'm truly a member of the family. I'm treated like a daughter, yet also a guest sometimes. The same bed is always ready for me, and the house is mine for as long as I'm there. We also have two dogs, who always recognize me and spoil me the whole time I'm there. I love dogs, so it's nice to have 'my own' for a little bit and to be accepted so readily.

The 'Abiball' took place on the 'Stadt Linz' boat on the Danube. The whole night was a river cruise. Thankfully we had great weather and no rain till the last half hour. While getting ready and on the way there, I got so nervous. It was seriously almost like the first day of school there again. I started rethinking this whole surprise thing. The problem was that I hadn't had a lot of friends when I was there, even though every time I've come back to visit (twice before) they've all been so happy to see me for the short time. I wanted to have a good evening and not feel like it was a waste to come down. It ended up working out and I had a good time. It was actually a lot of fun to walk by people and have them look at me strangely and then see their faces light up and ask me what I was doing there. While walking in, someone grabbed my arm and whipped me around. It was my old gym teacher who had always liked me. Her exclamatation was great and was a great way to start the evening.

The ball was from 7:30-11:30pm. There was a buffet and for entertainment a small band on the main deck, and then a DJ with a strobe light on the top open deck. I was still nervous, but I managed to make myself 'do rounds' and go say hi to everybody I wanted to. It of course was also nice to see the teachers again, including the principal who still remembered me. I was especially happy to see some classmates I hadn't managed to see in my previous visits, as well as one girl whom I hadn't expected to see. She was always such a dear, and she was definitely surprised to see me. The cruise was lovely and just the right length. I was exhausted from the whole day of traveling (I'd gotten up at 5:45am) and decided not to go with most students to the club. I had gotten what I had come for. It was a sad moment, because that was the last time I will a)see them all together and b) see them at all. To think that I would never see them again, was really odd, but I came to accept it.

What I always find odd is how the students are older but look the same, but don't necessarily strike me as older. It's a weird dynamic. I know I've grown a lot since I was 15/16, and I'm sure they have too. However the fact that I'm half done with my Bachelor degree just distorts the perception a little.

The next day I went to have coffee with my extended family. This included my 'aunt, two of her daughters, and their respective husband/boyfriend'. Her other daughter lives further away. My aunt and I get along exceptionally well and I hadn't had the chance to see her in Februrary, so it meant a lot to be able to see her. We had a lovely time, as always. :) Time is always too short, but luckily it wasn't as odd this time saying goodbye. Having seen my family in February made this trip really special and also not so hard to say goodbye, since we've all realized that I'm in Germany much more often than any of us expects, and we all know it won't be long before I'm there again.

That evening there was what could be considered the equivalent of a block party. It was just for our street- Ludwig-Thoma Str. There are kind of two parts of the street, the old and the new (the new has lots of families with young children). My host sister wanted to go, and since my host mom doesn't really have connections to the new people, my sister and I went to represent the Neumueller family. One of her best friends lives down the street and her family was also excited to see me. ( I think this surprise thing works well afterall..) Her friend's father said it was nice not only to see me again but see me back in the neighborhood taking part and such....basically that I was like one of them and not forgetting where I was or came from, you could loosely say, I think.

The next day, the fire department was having a big fundraiser. The local fire depts are different in Germany, because although there are permament firemen, there are also lots of volunteers who help in case of emergency, including things like when there is tons of snowfall. My host mom and I actually got to ride in one of the cranes. It extended all the way up and rotated so we could get a great view of the area. We were pretty high up. All I can say, is thank goodness there wasn't more wind.

The weekend was sadly over way too soon. Ever since I lived there, my relationship and now friendship with my host sister has been improving. I have a blast with her and my host mom and I are very close. It was so comforting to be back in Bavaria. I'd forgotten how different it is from the rest of the country. The friendliness, landscape, and yes the dialect are also close to my heart. I LOVE Bavarian, and it was refreshing to hear it spoken again, and actually understand it. If you don't hear it for a while, it's harder to pick back up again.

The best part is that it wasn't really good bye. My mom and sister will be visiting me the last week in July/beginning April, since they've never been to Aachen, and yes well they love me. It's exciting. I'd better not get used to seeing them so often.

My shoe
My shoe again, different side
Subathing in the garden. That's the dress I wore
Lena and I. I sat with her family that evening.

Gruess di.....Pfiad di!

This past week I didn't work in the International Office, but instead Research Development. Because the university won a huge competition and grant two years ago, it has to continue to be at the top, especially because they want to win again in three years. To prove themselves, they need their researchers to publish more and win more awards on an individual basis. The department helps them find out about prizes and grants, how to right proposals, etc. What I did was go through various sources of information and created a data base/Excel spreadsheet of all the opportunities for 20,000EUR or more. There were almost two hundred. I then divided them up according to faculty/dept, since the university has 9 main ones. This sheet had not only the name of the prize but lots of other information. In the end, the spreadsheet looked kind of daunting, if you didn't know what you were working with.

I continue to be hit on by weird men who speak French. I swear I don't have anything written on my forehead. Last Monday, I was waiting to see if some friends would show up somewhere, and this black man (no idea how old, because you can never tell with them) starts trying to talk to me, not giving up with my one word answers and the fact that I'm not looking at him. He somehow managed to find out I speak French, which was the only benefit, because that meant I got to practice. I eventually decided to split, since he was annoying and the peeps weren't coming. He insisted he just wanted my friendship :/, and then gave me his name and number. I don't know why though. I mean if they guy doesn't get the girl's (which no man is ever going to get from me), does he really think the girl is going to call? I still have the paper, since I'm thinking I should save all the ones I get and put them in my scrapbook. :P This story wouldn't be worth mentioning, if the next day didn't occur. Tuesday evening I was on a (somewhat) completely different side of town, unfortunately like right next to where I live, and I ran into him again!! He wasted no time in chatting and trying to give me a hug, ugh.. Luckily I was on my way somewhere and didn't have to suffer, and I haven't seen him since. But talk about a weird feeling....

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I went out with my buddy's sister, Corina, and some of her friends. I really clicked with them (all guys) and they're all, including Corina, a lot of fun. I somehow managed to stay out till 2am both nights, and the best part is that, I'll probably be able to get together with them again, even though Corina is now in Costa for a month with TravelWorks.

I mentioned before that I want to make sure to talk to my boss about how I'm doing here and if she's happy. Although it isn't time to do that yet and I still plan on asking her, she and I had a conversation last week that I think answers the question. I really like it here and I could imagine coming back. I was telling her I was thinking about my possibilities for next summer (yes, already...) She actually said that it would be great to have me come back but take on more responsibility, so that she could maybe actually go on vacation or something. This is still very rough, but it's awesome that the idea is out there. I have to see how classes go and I'd want to be compensated more than I already am.

This past weekend I went back to Fuerstenzell/Passau to visit my host family and go to the equivalent of prom. I'm going to write this all in a separate entry, otherwise it'll be too long.

Catch-Up

I haven't written for a while. I don't know if readers prefer fewer but longer posts or shorter and more frequent ones. However, I think two weeks is too long for you and me.

Last weekend I went to Dusseldorf for Japan Day. Dusseldorf has the largest Japanese community in Europe I think, or at least in Germany. Although there were lots of food booths, music performances, and sports demonstrations, the real show was seeing all the fans of anime and manga dressed up. It was an art show in a way. Though, our common question was: Do they happen to have these clothes already at home or do they go out and buy them for events like this? I unfortunately do not have any photos of them.

It was nice to go to Dusseldorf, since I've never been there. We got a two hour city tour, complete with the history of the Japanese in Dusseldorf with way more numbers and dates that I can remember a week later now. We had amazing weather, which I've concluded is the one factor that makes or breaks the mood. The day was further made enjoyable because instead of hanging out with the UROP students, I decided to stick with the student assistants from the International Office, who had also come. I figured I needed to work on building closer relationships and friendships with people I see at work. In the above picture, I'm with Carlo and Sara. She's actually another American intern. I have no idea what's up with all of our green. Dusseldorf was also great, because it has a river, which Aachen is lacking, making it less enjoyable than any city with a body of water. The day was concluded with an excellent Korean buffet.

Work continues to go well. This past Friday was Carolin, the German intern's, last day. It is so amazing to think it's already been four weeks. Now that she's gone, I imagine I'll be able to fill my time more. I'm hoping I don't get too lonely, since we worked together a lot and always got lunch together. I'll be seeing her again, so I'm not too worried. We actually went to a movie this past Tuesday (it's cheaper then) and saw 17 Again. Now, personally, I wasn't very interested in seeing it, even though I had heard that it was good, but she hadn't read Angels and Demons yet, so we couldn't see that. 17 Again was very funny and indeed well done. I wish I could say more to Efron's performance, but since the movie was dubbed, I didn't hear his voice. Taking this into account, he still managed to steal the show, so that must say something for his acting abilities. Aside from the movie's content, I found the film amusing, because as an American, I know what high school is like and what the common stereotype of American high schools in films is. Germans only see one side. I was cracking up just because so many things hit close to home, but also because I know what is true, and I could only imagine what the Germans must think when watching movies set in high schools.

I often get this type of feeling. The one where someone assoicated with the topic being presented is in the room, but either most other people aren't or they don't know I'm there. For example: This past week was "Go-Out Week". The International Office sponsored it in an effort to get more students aware and active about studying or interning abroad. Every day was devoted to a different continent or so. I attended the presentation on the US. It was so fascinating to hear what the woman had to say about our universities or how things are done ( in a positive and correct way, to boot). I'm always consumed with amusement. I don't know if this is because students don't know what awaits them or because I just love the US and college so much.

This past Thursday I went to an orchestra concert with Sara. It was made up of students and faculty of the University of Maastricht, which is right across the border in Holland. It was really good, though I'm no expert in classical music. One of the pieces featured a pianist, who is only twenty years old. He was amazing!! He ended up playing a ten minute encore just about. The pieces included: 2nd Piano Concert from Rachmaninov, „Russia“ from Balakirew, and Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Afterwards we went for drinks, and I had a frozen strawberry daquiri for the first time. It was so good, I had to get two. ;)

Saturday we took a group of the UROP students to Maastricht. It's only an hour bus ride away, that costs 5EUR. It's famous for it's shopping district, but it's just a great atmosphere. It's also on a river, as the name denotes. Maas-river, stricht- cross....more or less anyways. The town has a university, further increasing its appeal. When we first got there, we took a two hour city tour. Our guide spoke the cutest English and was quite wonderful. Maastricht has the oldest gate in the Netherlands and has quite an interesting history. It as once a stop for pilgrims. It also played an important part during WWII, though I don't remember those details. Back to the gate: It's called Hell Gate, and they say there are three reasons. The first is that during the plague the sick were taken right outside of it to where they were quarentined and eventually died. It was said that they were going to hell. The second was that there were lots of blacksmiths in that area and thus lots of fire and sparks flying...hell. The third is that the equivalent of the red light district was also located here, and so it was appropriately called hell. Maastricht didn't have a very high literacy rate at one point, so many of the streets have pictures above the establishments, such as a cow above a butcher shop. This reminded me of the book "The Handmaid's Tale", because in that book, if I remember correctly, certain people aren't even allowed to learn to read and write, hence signs. I highly recommend that book too. Since the city used to be so religious, it has 52 churches. The guide pointed out you could go to a different one every week, but that the city is all about balance, and so they also have enough bars and such for you to go to a different one every day. Because there are so many churches and fewer church-goers nowadays, churches have been converted into other things. The bishop has however said that any alterations can't be destructive or permanent in the event that the church need to be used in the future, otherwise it'll just get torn down. They've been turned into stores, restaurants, cafes, etc. We saw one that was a bookstore. Talk about a cool work place.

Later in the day we took a river cruise to the St. Petersburg (mound/hill more or less). Lots of sandstone was mined there, and now you can take tours of the caves created, which we did. There are over 22,000 passageways and hundreds of miles. The caves were once prepared in case locals needed to escape or get to safety during the war. There are even ovens and chimneys that were never used. It also became a common place to hang out or take walks. As a result, lots of artists created art on the walls. They needed porous materials, so most of the work is done in charcoal or chalk, since acrylic paint hadn't been invented yet. Our guide for this tour was also excellent. If anyone is interested in more check out maastrichtunderground.nl.





There was also some weird exhibition in one of the squares.

Later that night in Aachen, I went to a birthday party that my buddy invited me to. There was a never ending supply of booze and food. It was quite impressive. I hadn't been there longer than two minutes, when I found myself with a tequila shot in one hand and martini in the other. Talk about knowing how to have fun... Their supply and variety was so good, I even ended up having spiked watermelon (with vodka), that I didn't realize was spiked when I first bit into it. Let me tell you, that certainly packs a punch. That is also something I think everyone should try at least once in their life. The best drink I had though was with this liquor I'd never heard of: 43. As Wikipedia states, "it is made from citrus and fruit juices, flavored with vanilla and other aromatic herbs and spices, in total 43 different ingredients (hence the name)." What is weird is that you mix this with milk (lowfat). Just that makes me uneasy and watching it, I was very skeptical, but it's so delicious!! I swear you could drink tons of it. It's not a girly drink and it's way better than a white russian.

I went to the church for the first time yesterday, and I'll probably go from now on, provided I'm in town. Mass was at 7:30pm...perfect. And finally, I managed to see the cathedral in the last two weeks. For those of you who don't know, it served as the coronation church for Charlemagne among other emperors. It's actually very small in terms of length and width, but it's got huge ceilings and the detail is exquisite. I didn't take any pictures, since you're supposed to pay, apparently, and I figured I would respect that. Check it out at www.aachenerdom.de It claims to have four relics, all of significant important, though if you ask me that's what makes a relic a relic: the apparel of the Virgin Mary, the so-called swaddling clothes and the loincloth of Christ, and the decapitation cloth of John the Baptist.

50 more days till I come home. I swear I'm not really counting.

Creativity fails me at the moment

I figure it's time I try to collect my thoughts and not just report after crazy adventures. These are all in no particular order, just as they occur to me.

I've been thinking how very happy I am to be taking German classes in the fall. It's about time that I had more official education about German and German related studies. However, what I'd really like is a speaking lesson. It's technically been 4yrs since I've been taught how to pronounce the language. I'm sure that there's not much more I would have learned in high school, but after having spent a year abroad, I haven't taken many classes at college and people kind of stay away from correcting me. I hear all the time, that I speak great German, either perfectly ( which I know isn't true) or with hardly any mistakes, but that people can hear that I'm not from Germany. Although it would be lovely to eventually have no accent, I'd just like to pronounce things a more correctly. With that I'm sure, I'll lose some of my accent.

Also, I have realized lately, mostly through translation tasks, how amazing the German language is and why I love it so much. The vocabulary, how they create words, the sentence structure, etc. It all fits together so well, and when you read a German sentence, it has this very natural feeling, like it's complete and you know exactly what it's saying and without too many words. Trying to translate some sentences is not only hard, but it's almost saddening, because I know the English won't be anywhere as lovely as the German. You can't change something that's perfect. When I talk about how they create words, I mean how some prefixes can change words, and often if you add that prefix to another verb, it carries the same change. For example the infinitive for to run, to walk is 'laufen'. If you want to say you got lost, you would use the word 'verlaufen' as in 'mis-walked'. If I were to add 'ver-' to the infinitive to write 'schreiben' and wanted to say that I miswrote something, I could say 'verschrieben'. Although we have this in the English language, it just doesn't feel the same. We also make up words all the time in English "facebook it" or I just "googled it". German has similar trends, but they're all so much more beautiful and less casual somehow. There's also nothing that beats the feeling of saying a complicated German sentence and coming out on the other end, nice and clean with a verb and with your point made.

People have lately been asking me why I decided to learn German and why I'm in Germany. Aside from the above note, there are a few reasons, though I'm still actually not really sure. I've been doing German for so long, that it has just become a part of who I am. It doesn't take much effort, and I don't feel like I'm pursuing something -studies-wise- because it's so natural for me. I knew going into college I wanted to pursue German, and oftentimes I think I decided that, simply because it was a good fallback, but I don't think (I hope not at least) that is the only reason. I haven't actually taken enough German classes at the university level to comment further on this exact point, but it's just fulfilling understanding something I didn't grow up with and that I've dedicated myself to and immersed myself in. Germans ask why I'm here and how I decided to come here. Recently there has not been a thought process along the lines of 'I have to be in Germany. That's the only place I want to be.', because that wouldn't be true. If I ever thought that, it was a long time ago. I love my life in the States and I rarely want it to end. Having learned other languages and having been exposed to other parts of the world, I would love to spend time somewhere else. If I could spend next summer with some position in a French-speaking country, I would love it. Germany has its perks, because I'm automatically comfortable here at this point. Granted there is always culture shock, but at any moment I can live here happily. Going to Germany always means a small adventure related to my purpose of going there. The larger adventure of Germany itself was over in a way after my exchange year. Having written that, it sounds a bit sad, but being in this position, has allowed me to grow in other ways, and not have to focus on just getting around and worrying about getting a ticket at the train station.

My life in Germany will never be like that of the one in America, but that's almost why I come here: to get away, escape, clear my head, do things for myself, enjoy my years as a young adult, explore, make mistakes and run with them, meet other people, and then apply all that to my life in the US.

I've found that although I love college and everyone and everything at U of M, my mind is often wrapped around certain events and people. Getting away from there provides a mental release and allows me to go back to school with a new beginning. This is the same reason why Skagway, AK, was absolutely amazing.

On a side but related note, people watching here is so fascinating. Not only how men dress themselves but how middle-aged women put themselves together. It's eye candy all the time. Despite the fact that Germans may be worried, strict, or not as friendly as Americans, my opinion is that I see more middle-aged men enjoying themselves at lunch than I would ever see in the US. This combined with how well dressed they are, their briefcases, their casual appearance over beer at lunch, and the fact that they're German, just makes me smile. It's inspiring in a way. Although I love the US and nothing compares to it, this is a time where there is always a cloud hanging over our heads, especially in Michigan and especially in my family. Seeing these business men is inspirational and reminds me that, no matter what may be going on in my life/at home/the economy/the world, I can enjoy life, and it's my decision how and whether or not to do that.

Things at work are going well. It is typical German not to praise you for your accomplishments and what not, so knowing that, I don't expect praise from my boss, and I know that I will ask her in a week or two how I'm doing. Sometimes I feel like she can't be pleased at all and sometimes I just don't know what more I could do. I've never done anything less than I should, but it is my responsibility to make sure that I fulfil my role as expected and that in doing so, I also get as much out of it as possible.

I've often said that after having been an exchange student, I wouldn't mind working for an exchange organization. Working in the International Office has definitely been a window to new possibilities. I keep thinking I might like to be a Coordinator/Director/was weiss ich in the long run, but I have a feeling, it's just because I'm caught up in it right now. I look foward to my next two years of school and seeing how I grow and what topics/themes/tasks interest me. There has never been a straight path for me nor a solid desire. My life has always had opportunities and options, always allowing me to move in one direction and then another. I realize that I'm moving forward in some way, but right now I'm so immersed, that I cannot see the larger picture of where this is leading. My only wish is that when I graduate, I have a goal or a plan. Lauren Conrad from the hit show "The Hills" decided to leave the show finally (it was created for her) and quit her job. She was telling her boss and friends that this is the first time in long time that she hasn't known what was coming next and how happy she was about that. I believe that in some way, I'm in that place right now. Despite the fact that I always know I'll be in school, have classes, be an APA, etc, I don't know what's going to happen after all that, and I'm not obsessively planning for what comes after, not yet anyhow. But, that being said, I don't want to graduate and spend the summer soul or job searching. I want to know that I'm entering a career or a new academic phase, that of graduate school. I suppose I already sound a lot more directed than most people, and I'm blessed to have this peace of mind. However, I'm naturally like this. I don't put forth extra effort, nor do I have the pressure of my parents or peers to create a plan. Somehow I've always been as on top of my game as I need to be and so far it has worked. As far as having this internship goes, it seriously just fell in my lap. In that way, I don't feel like I've ever had to work very hard to get anything or be successful. Most people wouldn't agree with me, and I'll compromise by saying that I work hard all the time, and thus success just comes when it does. If I hadn't had a great research sponsor/mentor these past two years, I wouldn't be here at all. Getting this internship has also further emphasized the point that I should never fail to read anything and everything; it would have been so easy to miss the announcement about this opportunity.

On a closing note, I just want to be happy (and maybe somewhat comfortable). I think I'm worried that I know I'll always be happy as an undergrad at U of M, but I'm not familiar with my life after graduation and I cannot imagine where I'll be. As I said though, I try not to think about it and just focus on the now.

There is one more topic that I'd like to mention. It has been floating around for a while now and people tend to ask me questions, so I'm going to address it. I've only been in Germany for almost three weeks now, but I've already been asked (including by my parents) if I've met any guys yet. I understand that it can be meant as a joke/fun and that I have a long track record of extraordinary guy friends, but in no way am I on the search for a boyfriend. In the past year, after a lot of reflecting and pining (thank god for patient friends), I realized I was happy single, and that is still true. I would never be against being in a relationship, but I refuse to look for guys or view them as potential boyfriend material. (I know it happens instinctively, but I try to stop that.) If I'm meant to be with someone, it'll happen. I'm not going to evaluate every attractive or interesting guy I meet and imagine what could hypothetically happen. I don't need that. It might be fun to meet a German and be able to grow close. I'm never against something happening, but the point is that I'm not going to make an effort of pursuing someone or trying to find someone. I have no doubt that one day I'll meet someone who completes me and whom I complete, but for heaven's sakes, I'm nineteen. I'd love to think how much I could grow and experience between now and the time I meet my soulmate or a solid relationship partner. I don't think meeting him in the next year would be good for either of us, though you can always grow through a relationship and each other. Along those lines, although children are always a possibility, I've realized how much other people assume I'm going to have children. In may in fact not happen (sometimes I feel like I shouldn't have any just to spite people). They are a blessing, but clearly at nineteen years of age, I'm not sure if they play a role in my life, and I would appreciate it if people would stop imagining their role in my life for me. ( Not lashing out, just commenting on recent remarks.)

Sometimes I wonder if people say things to me because they forget how young I am and how much they have behind them.

These are a few of the things on my mind. I originally intended to write more about work, but that doesn't seem to belong here, so I'll include that in the next post.

"Be all that you can be, for that is all there is of you" Emerson

Has your hotel ever been closed due to bankruptcy?? Yeah, I didn't think so...

Well as you can gather from the title, I had quite the interesting experience; thus, why I'm writing this post three days too soon. I arrived in Cleves at 10:30pm and met my friend Bacchus. We knew that the hotel was about a 30min walk, but never having been there before and it being dark made the walk take almost an hour. That wasn't really so bad. The shock came when we found the hotel. On the door was a letter from the lawyer explaining the situation; basically the hotel had been closed about four days prior due to bankruptcy. I don't know how this crazy shit happens. (Once again, thank goodness we know German as well as we do...) Luckily I'd only paid a deposit, that I'm working on getting back now. We knew that there weren't many hotels around, but we figured we would wander around and try to find one. It was even crazier because the whole town was shut down. We were both used to university towns where cafes and bars are just getting started at 11pm, but it was deadsville there. Worst comes to worst, we would check out when the next train left the following morning and somehow chill on a bench or maybe the police station for the night. We eventually saw a sign for the hostel, but couldn't find the hostel. (Probably didn't have room anyways; that's why we were booked at the hotel to begin with.) We stumbled upon the Tourist Information Center and found a list of hotels with their numbers in the window. We called one and they confirmed that they had a room available and advised to get a taxi, because the way by foot would have been a bit difficult. We found a taxi at the train station and made it to the hotel at about 12:40am, 2hrs after my original arrival. The whole ordeal might not have been as bad if I hadn't needed to use the bathroom soooo badly! At to make it better (literally) Bacchus managed to keep me laughing hysterically the whole two hours. I have laughed that much and that hard in a long time. I actually really needed it. Based on the price of the hotel, we decided to only stay one night. It was extremely far out. The Golden Tulip provided an amazing night and lovely bed and bathroom. Breakfast was great too, though it was extra and basically served as lunch too. We just couldn't understand how the first hotel managed to book us. I called like two days before they closed to ask a question and they answered it no problem. No mention of them not existing in a week.

We decided we couldn't just go to the city and try to leave right away.. we weren't really feeling it the next day. We went to the tourist information center and got a map and some brochures and proceeded to check out the castle and a church. We had heard about a museum by a park and a small zoo too, so we head out in that direction. The museum had the most abstract exhibit. By abstract I mean there were square panels of wood just completely covered in chalk of one solid color.(looked painted). It basically looked like pieces of colored wall that had been cut up. We walked around the park and managed to take a path that took us along the back side of the tiny zoo, getting to see probably most of the animals for free. We also found a very nicely equipped park where we revisited our childhood for a while. The only bad thing about the day, besides not knowing plans for later, was having to carry our stuff with us. 'Twasn't much, but enough to be a pain on your shoulders.

After figuring out the possibilities with our existing train tickets, since we were skipping town two/three days early, we set out in the general direction of Krefeld/Duesseldorf. We decided we'd had enough for one day; it felt like it had been a lot longer than 15hrs. After stopping in Krefeld for a hearty meal we thought we owed ourselves, complete with a glass of beer, I set out for Aachen (his train left later) and arrived home by 7:45pm. It was quite the short adventure.

At this point, I can only laugh about the entire experience. Usually I would have either been calm and pissed or super pissed, but I wasn't. I'm not sure why, but the fact that we were too busy laughing about it definitely helped. It sure makes a great story.

Tu t'appelles comment? Ostend, Belgium and more

I just want to comment further on some things before I talk about Ostend. I really was quite pleased with the fact that I used so much French, all things considered. I was able to use it at the train station, in a bookstore, buying postcards, asking the waiter something. I realized that even if I couldn't use the extent of the French I know, it was the little things that counted, ESPECIALLY NUMBERS. Thank god my French professors drilled numbers into us. It kept me from looking like an idiot all weekend. Also as I mentioned, I managed to run into everything important though walking around randomly. That even included finding a breakfast nook that was recommended in the online city guide that the hotel provided: Le pain quotidien.

On to Ostend:

This is a city on the coast of the North Sea. It is famous for it's beach and fresh seafood, of which I can guarantee you there was a plethora. I was in Ostend from Sunday afternoon/evening to Monday afternoon. I could have stayed a bit longer, but I figured my skin had had enough of the sun, and I could only lay/sleep/read on the beach for so long by myself. That weekend was also a great weekend to go there because there was a huge Mariner's Fest going on. Tons of watercraft, mostly wooden and expensive looking (I'm not sure that they would be called yachts) were everywhere. People were seriously flooding the streets. My hostel was also easy enough to find, once again without a real city map, just consulting a sign here and there. It was also pleasantly close to the beach.


After dropping my things at the hostel I walked to the beach to sit for a bit and enjoy the water.

It was at that point that I somehow got hit on. I was bury my calves and this guy came up to me offering to help me bury myself. Whereas I at first thought that he would just go, he started talking to me, asking if he could sit with me. I said yes, figuring nothing would happen. (nothing did) I found out that he's from Afghanistan, though he was quick to mention that he has no problem with the US and sort of likes Obama. He's living Belgium I think to learn Dutch, though he kept calling in Netherlands, at first refusing my attempts to correct it and say Dutch, because he thought I was saying Deutsch, referring to German. We were speaking in English/French. He wanted to speak English, though it probably would have been easier to speak French honestly. He apparently works at some pizzeria too. I was just sitting there looking at the ocean; I mean he was the one who came up to me, so he should really be carrying the conversation. Eventually after some small talk he had to go and gave me a hug goodbye. I have his number and email address...I haven't decided what I'll do with them yet. :) He has nothing from me, just my name.

I also walked around into the main part of town and the pedestrian zone. It looked like it might have been a great place to look for a dress, but I really didn't want to spend anymore money or try things on, so I decided against that. There were stages set up here and there and also booths selling anything from nautical gear to food. After I got hit on by that Afghan guy, I decided to go out to the far end of the boardwalk and enjoy the sunset with a beer.


I felt obligated to try more than one beer while in Belgium. Well while sitting there by myself, kind of imagining that someone would talk to me or approach me, though there was really no one interesting there, I noticed the bus boy. He seemed pretty cool, black, pretty good looking, and at least young. It was just my luck that he decided to wipe off all the tables, including mine. I said "Merci" to which he replied " You speak French?", in French. Then we proceeded to try to make conversation. It was quite hard to understand him due to his accent possibly, but moreso to his probable use of slang and word order when asking questions. I managed to talk to him though, especially after I got him to repeat things or say things more slowly. At one point I said my French wasn't very good and he kind of agreed (I think) but then when I proceeded to explain why I didn't want to go out or why I wasn't sure, he said my French was good, which I'm sure in my position it was. Yuipee! He asked if I was going out that night and said that he would be "there". Wherever that was... I said I was thinking about going out but wasn't sure what I would be doing yet. He decided to give my his name and number if I was interested so I could contact him later that night. I was sorely tempted to go out, but for various reasons, none of which being safety, I decided not to go. When I tried to text him the next day telling him I couldn't go out the night before, but asking if I could call him if I was in town again (I'm considering going back one weekend), he didn't respond. Schade... but I'll try again if I go back. This is what the walk back from the boardwalk looked like:


The next day I decided to check out the cathedral/church and the park before heading to the beach. I'll spare you the photos from yet another church. It is amusing to note though that some children had recently made their First Communion and had written short comments on what it had been like for them. These were hanging on a board inside the church. Despite the fact that they were written in Dutch (Ostend is primarily Dutch speaking town), I was able to figure out what most of them said. I had to chuckle: "It was a very emotional day for me", "Jesus is my best friend", etc. Unfortunately I can't remember the rest exactly. The park was very pretty and small.



I then proceeded to lay on the beach for about 5 hours, where I got a nice tan on some parts of my body, and an unfortunate but not terrible burn where the sun block wasn't as aptly applied.


After way too much hassle, mostly in Brussels, I arrived home in Aachen. It was so nice to be back in my own bed and I managed to be completely rested for work today. It's lovely to think that it's only a three day work week since I'm taking Friday off to go to Cleves. I'm also very excited for that trip. There remains of course odds and ends to do around here and getting out more on my own in the afternoons and evenings, but time escapes so quickly somehow. à bientôt!

Je parle français encore!!

This is going to be a rather long post. I think I'll split up Brussels and Ostend into two different posts. Throughout the entire trip I had to keep reminding myself that I was in Belgium. Because I was speaking French, my mind automatically assumed that I was in France. The Belgian landscape is quite plain - lots of green pastures, cows, and no hills.

Once arriving in Brussels I was please to be able to find my hotel without any hassle at all and to later find out that it was extremely centrally located. I didn't have a city map the entire time I was there, so getting there was sort of a miracle and then getting around the rest of the two days was just chance. General observations about Brussels would be that people are very polite and friendlier than I would expect from Europeans or French-speaking persons. It's very dirty and much of Belgium seems to be under construction but as pointed out in one city guide, Brusseliers love the fact that a modern building can be put up right next to an old one. The basic feeling I had when in Brussels was one of comfort, quiet, but randomness. Probably the most exciting thing the whole weekend was the fact that I actually used my French most of the time. I not only checked in at my hotel in French (which gave me such a high, I'm still on it) but I managed to get most people to speak French back to me, when I spoke to them. Saturday was spent mostly walking around following some signs and ending up in some random places and going in odd circles. Brussels, like Aachen, seems to have no order, but it does indeed have some. There are certain districts, radiating circles, and the main buildings are built in a straight eye-shot as they should be.

This is St. Michael Cathedral, the first thing I ran into on my walk. I went there for Pentecost mass, choosing to go the earliest mass, which was in French and Dutch. They had programs of the mass parts and readings. One reading was read in Dutch, written in French in the program, and the gospel was read in French, written in Dutch. (They only do one reading in Europe, not two) They also had Gregorian chant and used Latin for most of the mass parts, which was thankfully in the program. Their spoken Latin is clearly not classically spoken, but much more forgiving than the ecclesiastical Latin of the US. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't know French, German, English, and Latin. I seriously think I used all of them throughout the mass. It was quite an incredible feeling and made me feel completely justified in all the language decisions I've made the past few years.

Brussels is a huge fan of flea markets. I ran into quite a number of them. You wouldn't believe all of the random things that some people were selling. Seriously, you name it, I could probably tell you that there was someone there selling it. I went with some friends to Brussels, but as you can tell didn't spend the whole time with them. We managed to come on a great weekend though, because the city was having a three day jazz marathon. We spent all of Saturday evening drinking and listening to great music; the night was kind of rounded off with rock music.
In terms of trying Belgian beer, I would definitely recommend trying Chimay, Duvel and then another one that starts with a K, that's kind of fruity. I'm too lazy to look up the name. I managed to see most of the important monuments in Brussels, though I didn't go to the comic book museum. They love comics in Belgium, e.g. Tintin, and this is actually the year of the comic there. There really isn't much to do in Brussels, but it's a cozy city, especially if you know someone there and just want to hang out. It helped that we had incredible weather. Saturday night a friend convinced me to check out the gay scene there, which is could be considered important as May was gay pride month there and my minor is focused on LGBTQ studies. That was the first time that I had ever been in a primarily gay area/night. It was amazing. Not only was it fascinating to see the types of guys there, but I have never had more fun dancing - no disgusting, creepy guys trying to dance on you. Everyone leaves you alone and just kind of watches you or the guy you came with and the music they play is great.

Brussels just seemed to have a lot of old mixed with new, vintage with modern. Watching people was great fun. I have never seen so many pregnant women in one place at once. It was very odd. I of course tried the obligatory waffles ( all three kinds in fact), french fries, beer, and chocolate. I'm pretty sure I consumed nothing healthy all weekend and am now going to try to combat that. Belgium seriously is the land of sugar. With all the waffles, candy shops, chocolate shops, etc. it easily trumps Germany, though Germany probably has better bakes goods. The following photos are just the effect of stained glass in a church, me walking in a park, me drinking, me with the friends at the jazz festival.