My year abroad

New Blog, New location

2010-01-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello loyal blog readers. I have switched my blog to a different address. I now have a Mobile Me account with Apple, and I am using iWeb and Mobile Me to publish a much nicer blog. I will soon have the Berlin update up. Please visit the new blog from now on. I have included all past entries, as well as added some pictures to the top page of each blog. Feel free to look back through it! Also, you can still add comments. I love comments! Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing the new blog site. Send me an email if something is not working out. Thanks!

http://web.me.com/ludvira/Wanderlust_in_Germany/Blog/Blog.html

The December, Holiday 2009, Winter Update! Part I

2010-01-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

It has been almost exactly a month since I last updated. Wow. I really need to get back on track! I have been writing this blog entry in pieces in a Word doc when I have had time. Warning: This is quite a long entry, as it contains an entire month´s worth of travel and holidays! I know only those who really love me will read it all the way through. I have put a lot of time into this one, and I am not even up to speed to January yet!

After Lissi visited me in Aachen, the past month has been extremely busy. The first week of December, I kept myself busy with different social events and celebrations. I visited INCAS for a Christmas party, and met some really cool people from all over the world. The next evening, I went to a Salsa class with a student from Indonesia, whom I had met the previous night at INCAS. I LOVED salsa! I can´t wait to go back after the holidays. I was there for about 4 hours and learned so much! Salsa is really fun, especially when you have a parter who knows what he is doing. It also burns a lot of calories, and at the end I felt like I had participated in a fitness class. The next evening I celebrated a Mexican holiday with the Mexican international student organization. I had met some Mexican students previously at other INCAS events. This was complete with homemade Mexican food, pinatas, sparklers, and music! Most Germans are not familiar with pinatas. These were made in the traditional star shape with 7 points, representing the north star. I was only familiar with the kind that we buy in the store for children´s birthday parties. That week I also visited a house bible study. I had met an American, Tim, on the bus that Sunday, and he invited me to his birthday party. He is a part of the bible study, and they had a birthday party for him that evening. I ended up meeting 3 Americans that week- that was 3/4 of all Americans I have met in Aachen. The bible study is led by a couple, Amy and Stefan. Amy is from the US, and lives in Aachen with her German husband and 18 month old. I had a really nice time meeting everyone and connecting with a few Americans! The next evening, I met with Tim and talked for a long time about our experiences in Germany from an American perspective over coffee. I cannot describe how nice it was to relate to someone from your own country. Though our country is HUGE, Tim and I shared a lot of similar experiences and opinions regarding the US and Germany.

That week really was a lot of fun. Every evening I was with a completely different group of people, and experienced something new each day. I am looking forward to reconnecting with everyone after the holidays. Now this brings me to...

My parents visit! As most of you know, my parents visited me for 10 days. I had made it clear this summer that I did not want to come home for Christmas, so we made a joint vacation/Christmas out of our time spent together. I picked them up at the train station in Aachen on Friday, Dec. 11. We took the taxi to their hotel. Dad travels a lot for business, so he enjoyed staying at the Holiday Inn with his points. They stayed 5 nights in Aachen. That afternoon, we had "Christmas" in the hotel. My parents brought several gifts over for me, including my original stocking that I have had ever since I can remember! Mom even ordered special wrapping paper that said Merry Christmas in German! (Fröhe Weihnachten). Mom had brought her homemade fudge, pecans and peanut brittle all the way from Atlanta. I also got a cool digital picture frame to display all the wonderful pictures I am accumulating over here, and to remind me of all the wonderful people back home.

Aachen Christmas market, My stocking with the special paper, and our first of many Glühweins!

That evening, we went to Willi´s house (He is my research professor here). Willi spent time in Boston for about a year in 1990. Ever since they returned to Germany, they brought the Thanksgiving tradition back with them. Each year they have a turkey and invite friends over. Our entire lab group was there, and I brought my parents along. This was a blend of American and German traditions. We had the BEST turkey I have ever had, complete with stuffing that really made the turkey moist. That was the prettiest, biggest turkey I have seen. It was Publix Thanksgiving commercial quality. Now for the German part: We had Rotkohl (red cabbage), Knödel (like a dumpling, sort of), and instead of cranberries, we had Preisenberries. Oh, and lots of wine and champagne. Willi calls it Truthahn bei Willi, or Turkey at Willi´s. After about 8, Mom and Dad were about to fall in their plates. Willi´s son Phillip drove us back.

The whole crew

The next morning, we took the train (2 hrs) to Wuppertal, but not before I introduced my parents to the wonders of the German bakery and breakfast! They learned to eat a lot of meat, bread, and cheese for breakfast!

Christmas time in the bakery

Wuppertal is the town where my grandmother grew up. She left at age 10, and lives in Atlanta now. This is where I got my interest to learn German. We visited Wuppertal to meet the family that still lives there. My grandma´s cousin, Rolf, has lived there his entire life. We met his wife, Lora, and her son Jürgen and his wife Eva. Jürgen and Rolf showed us around town. We rode on the Schwebebahn. This is a suspension train that was built when my grandma was a child. We saw the building where Opa, my great grandfather, had his factory. We saw the place where their apartment building used to stand (before if was bombed), and we saw the Grund Schule (elementary school) where everyone in town went to school, including my grandma, Rolf, and even my Oma (great grandmother). We went back to Rolf´s house and had such a wonderful day. Lora had made a pea soup for lunch, which hit the spot after a cold, damp walk through the town. We saw old pictures from the family. At the end of the day, just before we were ready to take the train back to Aachen, Rolf took us upstairs and showed us quite a surprise. He has built an entire toy railroad that consumes a room in their house. This has been his labor of love the past 40 years. I really cannot do it justice, except for the pictures I can show you.

Model Trains Lora, Me, Mom, Dad, Eva, Rolf

Schwebebahn The School

The next day, Sunday, we met the Sinkens, my other family! Mom brought some Christmas presents for the family and we hung out at their house for a while before driving to Andenne, Belgium. We ate at a wonderful restaurant with a French name of which I cannot remember now. However, everyone could speak German with us, as it is so close to Germany. We had quite the 4 course meal. Afterwards, we drove back into Germany through Holland and arrived at Monschau. This is a beautiful city in the Eifel region. It was covered in snow, and had an old city charm to it. Post card charm, I must say. The city is located in a valley with wonderful mountains around it. We went inside immediately to warm up with hot chocolate. We had quite a time getting there, as everyone else seemed to have the same idea to spend their Sunday in Monschau. They were running shuttle buses from parking areas down into the city. We managed to find a space somewhere along the mountainside. That evening we enjoyed the Monschau Christmas Market, complete with Glüh Wein, of course! We also bought a special mustard made with Riesling. Yum! Hope you guys enjoy that at home this year, Mom and Dad.

At the Monshau market, At dinner in Belgium, and at the Sinken´s House

The next day, Monday, we spent the day in Aachen. We took an audio guide tour through the Rathaus, or city hall, where over 30 kings were corrornated. This was Charlegmagne´s chosen city to call home due to the hot mineral springs during the days of the Roman Empire, and he had the Rathaus and Dom built. We also toured the Dom, where supposedly the relics of the birth cloth of Jesus resides, as well as few other relics. We also saw the Schatzkammer, or treasury, where hundreds of years of relics, statues, paintings, etc is housed under the cathedral. That evening, we bought a fair amount of chocolate at the Lindt factory. Aachen produces Lindt chocolate in a factory near my apartment, and you can buy all kinds of chocolate for reduced prices. Mom loaded up for friends and family back home. That evening we trekked back to my apartment and had Abendbrot.

Tuesday we took the train to Cologne. We toured the Dom, and Dad and I walked up the spire- more than 500 steps! What a workout. What a magnificent view of the city. About halfway up we saw the 9 bells of the tower. In the Dom, the relics of the three wise man supposedly lie in three golden shrines. Many pilgrims come here and walk under the shrine. The church is definitely something to see. It took about 800 years to build. It is in the Neo-Gothic Style.

Pictures of the Dom, need I say more?

As we were looking through handy Rick Steve´s to decide where we wanted to eat, a man came up to us and asked if we needed help. He recommended the Früh restaurant, a well known brewery that brews a special type of Kölner beer. Excellent German food, as well. During this trip I came to really like Rotkohl, or red cabbage. Before we went inside, he paused in front of a statue depicting an old Kölner fairy tale, and explained the story to us. We also learned that he was a retired engineer for Ford, and had spent time in the US on business. He was so helpful, and I helped translate everything into German for my parents.

Drinking the Früh Beee, In front of the statue with the nice man, sadly we did not get his name, and the Shrine of the Magi.

That afternoon we went to the chocolate museum, which looks like a ship on the outside and sits directly on the Rhine River. Didn´t know there was so much to learn about chocolate. From how the cacao bean is processed to how chocolate is made in the factory, it was quite an education about chocolate.

Now, I am waiting on dad to send me pictures from the rest of the trip. From here on down I do not have pictures, but will for sure add them when I receive them:

Wednesday morning we finally left home base and took the train to Rothenburg ob der Trauber. This is an old medieval city, complete with a wall around the entire city. This is quite a quaint little city. It was unbearably cold, and snowed the two days we were there. We stayed in Hotel Spitzweg, an old house built in the 1500s, now owned by a jolly old man that sits down at breakfast with you and gives you whiskey when you arrive to warm you up. The breakfast was amazing. He made a large platter of cheese, meats, fruit, and fresh eggs, coffee, muesli, and bread. I really love the german breakfast here. This was by far the best accommodations we had. No internet, not much modern in this city. That evening, we went on the Watchman´s Tour. This is a tour through the town by a man dressed up like an old medieval watchman who guards the city, and tells you what it was like to live back then in the city.

We also went to the Kathe Wohlfarht, the world famous christmas store. Overpriced, but mom bought many little trinkets for friends and family back home. The Christmas market was tiny, and closed at 7. Well, it seemed the whole town shut down after 7. This was okay, because we were quite exhausted after being out in the cold all day. The next day we walked around the wall, encircling the perimeter of the city. Covered in snow, Rothenburg was unbelievably beautiful. We also ate really good German food here. Several Guest houses also have a small, quaint restaurant that offers refuge from the cold and a nice German meal.

Thursday morning we headed to Nürnberg, also located in Bayern. I definitely picked up on the Bayern accent, and I am glad I do not live in Bayern. It was difficult to understand, and does not sound pleasing to the ears! Anyhow, we arrived in Nürnberg after it had snowed overnight, and it continued to snow throughout our stay there. While in Nürnberg, Germany experienced the coldest temperatures it had had in 60 years. Yeah, believe me, we didn´t need to hear the weather report to know it was cold. We are talking snow on top of snow, 6F , or -15C. And we were out in it all day sightseeing. My feet have never hurt so bad. I ended up buying another pair of boots. This time with GoreTex to keep out the water, lined with fur, and with extra special soles made of lamb fur. My feet are finally happy now, 130 Euros later. I know you guys in the South cannot imagine this. In addition, every day I had to wear about 3 layers on top, 2 pairs of gloves, a coat, hat, scarf, and 2 layers on my legs. Since my parents arrived in mid-December, this has been my daily outfit and has continued to be absolutely necessary in Berlin and as we head into January. After it had snowed so much, the streets were filled with black slush, which manages to find its way into every store. Puddles of black slush in every restaurant and store. Enough about the weather.

Nürnberg has a lot of WW2 history. We went to the DokuCenter, a museum that attempts to describe how and why the Nazi regime came to power, and how to prevent it from happening again. It is not a Holocaust or WW2 museum, however it attempts to explain how Hitler took advantage of post WWI Germany, a country torn by war and without a strong and stable government, rose to power to lead a lost people. The rally grounds surround the museum. This is unreal. I have now stood in the very place Hitler stood to give speeches to his many followers. I have seen the Grosse Strasse, were soldiers marched and later allies used it as a runway. I have seen the Congress Hall which was never finished, built to seat 50,000. We walked around all the grounds in about 1.5 hr, on the coldest day through the snow. For those of you who have been to Nürnberg and Rothenburg, I would like to compare pictures from summer/spring to those we have laden with snow. After our trek through the Winter Wonderland, we found a nice, WARM place to eat. Somewhere where I could defrost my feet. It was after this day we decided I had to have new shoes! That afternoon we went to the Toy Musuem. Germany is well known for its wood work, and was formerly quite well known for its toys. This musuem has toys from the 1800s to present.

The first day we got there we walked through the city and did our own self guided tour. Thanks again, Rick Steves! We ended at the Market place, where the Christkindlmarkt takes place. After all the Christmas markets I saw, Nürnberg by far has the best. We enjoyed listening to choirs singing Christmas songs on a stage, tried Lebkuchen, or Gingerbread, and bought a few Christmas ornaments.

At the end of our stay in Nürnberg, we ended up in Wiesbaden, which is about 30 min by train outside of Frankfurt. Dad had a free night at a Crown Plaza anywhere in the world, and wanted to stay outside of Frankfurt before their departure. Dr. Harris also happened to be in Wiesbaden for the holidays visiting his wife who works for the US military there. We had a wonderful time there, enjoyed a nice dinner with them, and I really enjoyed seeing an Auburn connection. Renee served us eggnog in her beautiful home, built sometime in the 1800s. The home is absolutely beautiful, and has been in her family for a while. Looks like a Victorian house at the turn of the century with vaulted ceilings and filled with many antiques and artwork that she made. Wiesbaden was missed in WW2, and therefore has many old buildings that many cities, like Frankfurt, completely lost in the war. Wiesbaden, as shown in the name, is known for its famous mineral bads (baths). There is a world famous resort here based on these healthy, healing waters. There are fountains throughout the city running with this hot, salty, mineral rich water. It is recommended to drink daily, but only up to 1 L due to the large mineral content. I am hoping to come back in the summer and visit with Renee and her family.

The next morning, and I mean EARLY morning, we took a taxi at 6 am to the train station. After dragging our luggage from the trainstation to our hotels all week in the snow, we were ready for a ride. We rode to the airport train station, where we parted ways to Aachen and Atlanta. I took the train back from Frankfurt to Aachen, and saw snow the entire way to Aachen. After hearing that it only rains in Aachen but seldom snows, I was surprised to see about 4 inches of snow on the ground. Apparently Aachen, or maybe the whole country, got the same cold wave that Nürnberg had.

The next two days, I attempted to get turned around and ready to go to Berlin. The highlight of these two days was my first English lesson. I walked down the road about 20 minutes to the family´s house that was interested in me teaching English to their 9 year old. I had just planned on meeting the family, and not actually teaching the first meeting. It turned into an hour of fun, English teaching! Kimberly is so sweet, and is really interested in learning the language, but is bored in school and her parents are really dissatisfied with how English is taught. We started with the basics- how to say the ABC´s after I realized she had been learning vocabulary, but did not know how to pronounce letters or words, or build sentences. We learned the whole alphabet, and at the end I agreed with the parents that I would come twice a week. It was really a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it.

The next morning, Doris picked me and my luggage up and brought me to her house. Since I was spending Christmas in Berlin, I wanted to say hello before the holidays. We had coffee and Spekulatius (special German cookie that my grandmother always has, and we refer to them as Windmill cookies), and she was so kind to give me a Christmas present: A beautiful necklace handmade in Würseln, a decorative candle, and a motivational book. I am always so amazed at her (and her family´s) hospitality towards me. I actually really missed being with them over Christmas. She took me to the train, and of course, if was delayed, like every other ICE train I have traveled with in December. This is mostly due to the winter weather. Thank God I was not traveling on the EuroStar. I can deal with a 30 min delay or cancel, but not an overnight in the Chunnel! The train ride was quite stressful from Aachen to Koln with the Thalys, another fast train. I did not get past the door, as there were so many people on board. I stood up the whole way and ran across the platform to catch the train to Berlin in Köln. Though I had a reservation, it seemed many didn´t, as the train was SRO. I climbed and crawled through several cars, over people and luggage until I finally reached my reserved seat at the end of the train. I sat in peace for the next 5 hours until I arrived in Berlin.

To be continued...

Traveling West...

2009-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

I recently found these quotes about travel. I think both sum up my previous observations and thoughts in earlier posts, though much better phrased :)

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

Since my adventure to Stockholm, I have also been to Maastricht, Holland. Lissi came to visit me from Marburg, and we spent Saturday in Maastricht. What a lovely city! We took the bus for an hour from Aachen, and it is only 5 Euro each way. We bought a map and city guide at the TI, and then proceeded to do a self-guided tour of the city. It is the oldest city in Holland, and has a lot of charm. This is due to its location on the river, the Dutch architecture and language, and all the historical buildings left from the Romans. We wandered into a second hand book store, where an independent book store owner had all kinds of books from all over the world- 1st editions, signed copies, etc. He was your typical book shop owner! Glasses, well dressed like a professor, and curly, longish hair :) Speaking of book stores, we also went into a church that had been converted into a book store in 2005. WAY cool. Lots of books in Dutch and English, a cute cafe, and beautiful architecture. I also ate some yummy dish typical of Maastricht, but sadly cannot remember the name of it. Lissi and I had fun laughing at how funny the Dutch language sounds. Once you know English, you can understand/read it a little! Everyone there could speak Dutch, English, and German perfectly. I kept switching back between German and English, and never knew what to speak.

A little bit of the Roman city walls/fortress left over:

Church renovated into the book store:

More quaint, beautiful Maastricht, and the restaurant where we ate:

Also, finally bought some boots. I have been looking all over Aachen for leather boots, an essential here in this cold and wet climate. I found some in Holland last weekend, and I am very happy to have warm and happy, stylish feet! My bank account is unfortunately much lighter, but a good pair of shoes is always worth it! :)

And one more from Maastricht. The street sign, translated as Saint Hilarious Street. If I were a saint, I´d like to be called Hilarious!

Back to Aachen:

That evening we went to the Sinkens for dinner. Once a year they have friends and family over for mussels. We had lots of yummy food, even homemade pizza. We also brought back Vla from Holland, pronounced something like Fla. This is a pudding-like dessert sold in cartons just like milk. It is thinner than normal pudding, but everyone here in Germany loves it and always buys it when in Holland. It is nothing so special, but nonetheless, I tried it. After an evening of lots of food, wine, and good company, I was tired!

Sunday we went to the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, a modern art museum. We saw some really neat art there, and then went to the Rathaus (city hall) for a self guided audio tour. I must say, Aachen has a pretty cool Rathaus, with a LOT of history.

Views from the Rathaus onto the Market Place in Aachen where the Christmas market is in full swing. The Dom is opposite the Rathaus:

I have been to the Christmas market three times now, and it seems to be getting fuller the closer it gets to Christmas. It is kind of neat to have a month long festival/market going on. Lissi and I filled up on the oh-so-bad-for-you-but-yummy fare Friday night, including Crepes and Glühwein.

My parents are coming next week- less than 10 days! Something else to be excited about- Will has booked a plane ticket to visit me in February for 2 weeks! Lately I have received wonderful mail from some wonderful AU girls and even a package. Thanks to all of you for your constant love and support! If anyone has a request for a small Christmas package from Germany, let me know what you might want! (For those of you who have been here before!)

The newest development is that I will be teaching English to a German 9 year old. I have never taught English before, but I think it will be really fun. She has already starting learning English in school, and her parents would like to send her to a bilingual Gymnasium (5th grade on) where more lessons are taught in English than German. I would have loved to go to a bilingual school! I hope to meet the family soon.

Well, I realize I still need to update pictures about Stockholm. Another time! Enjoy the beginning of the Advent season and December this week!

Liebe Grüße,

Rebecca

Stockholm, Christmas markets, and Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

As I write, most of you are probably fast asleep after all that wonderful turkey, dressing, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. I was able to skype with my entire extended family up in NC, as well as Will´s extended family in Birmingham. It was so cool to take part in two Thanksgivings. I feel like I was there. Though it was just an ordinary day in Germany (remember that Thanksgiving is specifically an American holiday), I was truly blessed to share in the celebration over skype. Thanks to all of you who helped make my day so special. I think it was the only day this whole year I will be able to see so much of family at once. I took time yesterday morning to journal all that I am truly thankful for. Most importantly: all my family and friends (those of you reading this blog!) that are back in the States who are always there for me during this year of discovery and change. I am also so thankful for this opportunity as a Fulbright scholar to have the funds and time available to just soak up all the wonderful places and people in this world- to see, observe, learn, and grow.

And by the way, WAR EAGLE! Today is the Iron Bowl back on the Plains. I will be thinking of my wonderful Auburn family! I cannot believe football season is already coming to an end. Where did the fall go?

Since my last post, not so much interesting had happened until the past weekend. I have found the most of November to be depressing- cold, gray, and wet. It really has an effect on your psyche. I was sick for a few days. It seems the past few weeks everyone is coming down with some type of virus. However, I am no longer feeling so blue. This past weekend I went to Stockholm with three Spanish students and one student from New Zealand. Before I comment on Stockholm, I want to say first that living in Aachen has allowed me not only to experience Germany, but the entire world. What do I mean by that? Of course, I have now been to Holland and Sweden while being in Germany. But what I really mean is that I have had the opportunity to meet people, travel, and have really cool conversations with people from all over the world. There is such a large international population here. The past 2 tuesdays I have visited INCAS, the international organization here. They had a special Chinese evening last week, and African evening this week. They have students from these countries talk about what their culture, food, language, etc is all about. Good food from the area always follows! So far, these are the countries represented by the people I have met during my stay here that I can remember:

Germany

Austria

Holland

France

Sweden

Cameroon

Ghana

England

Poland

New Zealand

Mongolia

China

Japan

Latvia

Serbia

Pakistan

India

Iran

Spain

Italy

Ghana

Greece

Turkey

Mexico

Well, that is all I can remember now. Though I have surely not visited all these countries, I can learn about these cultures here in Aachen just by meeting students like myself. This, I find, is really cool. Now, about Stockholm. As I am in the lab writing this, I cannot update with pictures. As soon as I can, I will upload some pictures:

We flew with Ryan Air. This meant we got on the train from Aachen to Dussseldorf Weeze. Not really Dusseldorf, but out in the middle of nowhere, to this tiny airport. We flew to Stockholm, then took at charter bus to the city center. All together, this was about an 8 hour journey. The flight was 25 euro, but we paid a lot of time instead. Ryan Air is great. You can fly to multiple cities in each European country for sometimes mere euros or cents. Speaking of money, Sweden using the Swedish krona. Though members of the EU, they choose not to use the Euro. Each country of the EU can decide whether they want to adopt the Euro or not. The exchange rate is roughly 10:1. 50 kronas is about 5 euro. When you exchange 100 euros, you get almost 1000 kronas. You feel like you are carrying around a TON of money, but sadly, a 50 is only really 5 euros. Many different types of coins, too. Like, half a cent. I mean, why do you need that? I think we should get rid of the penny in the US. Half a cent?

Saturday evening we were really tired, since our day had begun at 5:30 am on the train. We checked into the hostel, and walked around the city. We had a nice dinner, and a coffee and cake at a really cool Swedish cafe. A lot of the cafes here are underground, and really old. You walk down a set of stone stairs, and then you feel like you are in a cave underground. Very cozy, with candlelight on every table. Speaking of candles, all the cafes and restaurants have large candle sticks on the table. This could have something to do with the fact that it gets dark at 3:15 pm. I imagine they have even less daylight come winter. However, in the summer, they have almost 24 hours of daylight.

Sunday morning we checked our of hostel and checked into the next hostel. We stayed at the af Chapman, a ship converted into a hostel. If you are ever staying in Stockholm, you should consider staying here. I highly recommend it. we payed about 76 Euro total for 2 nights, linens, and a Swedish breakfast buffet (complete with lingonberries and knäckebröt). We ate well there, and packed brötchen for lunch.

We took a guided tour of the City Hall, where the Nobel Prize Banquet takes place each December. They have a 3 course meal and a ball for 1000 guests following the awards. Alfred Nobel had about 300 patents, mostly in chemistry and physics. The guy invented dynamite. The prize money comes from his will. He must have been unbelievably rich! The City Hall is beautiful. That afternoon, we went to the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guard and tour the treasury, state apartments and museum. The royal family lives there time to time, and host guests there. I must say, once you have been to Versailles, nothing can really impress you as far as royal homes go. Nonetheless, it was still neat.

We also went to the church where all the royal weddings occurs. Next year, the princess Victoria of Sweden is marrying here personal trainer, and they will close the church for the next 6 months for renovations. It is a protestant church, and once was connected to the State.

I had a really yummy Swedish meal-moose meatballs, potatoes and lingonberries! Also had a meatball sandwich with some type of beat mayonnaise. Not bad.

Stockholm is essentially spread over 14 islands. Everything is very well connected either by bus, metro, ferry, or by foot. We had a 72 hour transportation pass for 2o euros, and could use all public transportation. We took a ferry to the Vasa museum, which houses the oldest ship in the world, the Vasa. A swedish warship, the Vasa sunk on its maiden voyage before it even got out of the harbor. It was found and brought from the bottom on the sea in the 1950s. It has since been wonderfully restored.

We also saw the Ntl. Library of Sweden, and walked around the christmas market. Ran into a guy from Austria who has lived in Sweden for most of his adult life. Drank Gluhwein for two hours while talking in German about all kinds of places in the world. He rents a summer house north of stockholm and will even give you a car for the time there. Sounds really nice. I want to go back in summer when it is always light and it is warm! Sweden is cold. I cannot imagine what it is like in winter.

Saw the NK department store. I guess it would be like Sweden´s version of Macy´s in NY or Harrod`s in London. Each year they decorate their display windows with whimsical christmas-winter scenes, complete with moving robotic animals. The decorations are new every year, and everyone goes just to see the decor. H and M is also a swedish store. It was right next store, and I think one the largest ones in the world. The biggest IKEA is also just outside the city. IKEA was founded in Sweden. We did not go, but I do not know how Europe would function without IKEA over here. :)

The last night, we cooked dinner with two Swedish guys at their apartment. We had met a German couple at the hostels we stayed out, and they also came. They are from Mainz, and invited me to come and visit. I plan on coming sometime next year after the holidays.

A few factoids: The prevalence of depression and suicide is really high in Sweden. Could have something to do with the lack of daylight. Also, the divorce rate is 75%. Stockholm is booming with babies (guess they do not have the same problem germany has). The country only has 8 million people. How tiny!

Last friday night I went to the Christmas market for the first opening evening. I also went back Wednesday night with friends to drink Glühwein (spiced wine). You can get your fill eggnog (Eierpunsch), hot chocolate, beer, etc., as well as Printen (sort of like gingerbread), bratwurst and other fried goodies.

Well, the next destinations on my list, in no particular order are as follows:

Heidelberg, Prague, Brussels, Bruges, Vienna, Hamburg, Paris (though I was just in Paris, I cannot pass up the opportunity to go again for only 29 euros with the fast train in 2.5 hours).

I hope this has been a small window into my world over here. Pictures coming soon, I promise! Enjoy the official beginning of the holiday season today on this Black Friday! My friend from Marbrug, Lissi, is coming to visit me this weekend! It will be nice to a visitor and a friend to spend the weekend with.

Love to all,

Rebecca

Germany through my camera

2009-11-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

I have finally lived up to my promise. Rather than posting another newsy post, I will let these pictures allow you to see where I have been the past few weeks. The pictures happen to be in reverse chronological order. (Posting pictures is not so intuitive with this blog). I will go back and add more from earlier from my time in Marburg on another blog post.

Sunset in Münster over the Aasee. No words needed.

Münster. Beautiful city, cold. Official bike city of Germany. There are more bikes than residents in the city.

Like most cities, there was a very lively market in the city on Saturday. I love the street markets in Germany!

Weekend in the Eifel, a National Park in NRW, with SMD. I walked down to this lake with a group of students. Beautiful place!

Note the windmill. These are everywhere here.

On the way back from Vaals (Holland) on my bike on a Sunday afternoon. What type of partnership does Aachen have with Arlington, Virginia?

The UGLY Uni Klinic, and the sheep that are directly behind this monstrosity.

My home sweet home at the Sinkens! This door says welcome home in Würseln!

One of many horses around Aachen. Aachen is well known for its equestrian.

View from the ferris wheel in Aachen. I rode this with Willi, Anne and Marietta the first time I met them in the city. 99 red air balloons...However, I did not ride the hot air balloon :)

This is the landscape located at the border museum from the old East/West Germany. The scenery is breathtaking there.

Former watch tower- I was fascinated with the tour and the extremes the DDR went to keep their citizens inside their borders.

Dreilandereck- Germany, Holland, and Belgium at one point.

Thoughts from Germany

2009-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, all you blog followers. As you are preparing this week for Halloween, so too is Deutschland. Well, not really, but in the past 10 years the commercialism and Americanism of the world has reached Germany, and you can also enjoy yourself at a Halloween party here. I do not think the trick or treating has taken off with kids, but who knows. I will be traveling to Münster with an international group this weekend for a day trip on Saturday. Should be fun.

Last weekend I was in the Eifel, a national park. I went with SMD, Studenten Mission Deutschland, for a Christian retreat. I was the only non-German there, and found it extremely draining to be around a group of people for an entire weekend speaking mostly German. I did not get much of anything out of the messages or small group sessions, but nevertheless, I went to meet people. There was also a group from Düsseldorf that joined in with us. The area is really pretty, but I did not get to explore much of it. However, I did take a nice walk down to a lake through the woods.

Last night I went out bowling and went to Spanish Tapas bar with some ERASMUS students. It was pretty cool to spend time with students from Germany, Poland, New Zealand, and Spain. As always, I was the only American. I am not a good bowler by any means, but bowling is not so common over here, so many people had only done it a few times in their lives. Sadly they made me look decent, but I am not!

The beer front: I am learning to like beer! This is something that I am proud of, since it is a quasi-requirement if you are going to travel or live in germany. I am no longer bound to ordering a 5 euro cocktail or 4 euro glass of wine :)

In addition to beer, I recently enjoyed a typical Bayern meal at Marietta's house. Several people from our lab group were there. She had been in München for some experiments, and brought back Weisswurst, or white sausage. They come as 2, connected together, and you have to peel of the casing before you eat it. We had fresh baked pretzels, potatoes, sauerkraut, leverkäse (which is really pork, not actually liver or cheese), homemade pear struedel, and a yummy spread made from brie for the pretzels. And beer, of course! The germans have a really yummy girly beer. It is grapefruit flavored, and oh so good! The bayerische Essen was lecker, and as always, I was impressed by the cooking.

As far as the research goes, I have not yet begun any lab work. We are still in the planning phase. It is hard for me to remain motivated when I have the entire day, week, etc. to essentially decide what I want to do with my time. This is a very self-directed study so far, and it is taking a long time to really form a feasible project idea. I have been attending a few lectures, but sometimes I do not stay the whole time because the German for 2 hours in a science class can be wearing. I have yet to make it to this history class I am interested in. The reason? It starts at 8:15, and this requires me to get up really early and take the bus. yeah, i know, you feel bad for me. However, something always seems to happen on Wednesday nights before this class. Oh well, maybe next week.

As far as what I have done between the last post, everything is becoming a blur.

I have started to meet a German student for a Tandem partnership. This means, that you both speak a foreign language and would like to improve your language skills. We meet for coffee, and talk about all sorts of things. Last week we talked in German, this week we talked in England. She is really nice, and I enjoy meeting with her. She studied in England for a year, Birmingham actually, so her English is really good. Recently I have had the conversation with several Germans about how the British English sounds and often has many words quite different the the US. Sometimes they do not realize how different the two dialects are. English is English, right? I beg to differ. For example, I explained that I would never use the word trousers to describe the PANTS I am wearing. However, they always use this term, and I find it funny.

I went for a walk yesterday to clear my head and get some exercise. The weather has been pretty mild here lately. Chilly, but nice with little rain. The fall colors are absolutely beautiful. I need to take more pictures before all the leaves fall. I am glad that the winter weather we had a few weeks ago did not stick around. That was so cold!

I have continued to have similar conversations with Germans about the education system, health care, and also a general theme of uneducated, uninformed Americans. You know, sadly this is often true, but I am trying to stand up for my country and be the exception, and explain that not every American is clueless or stupid. Many people have opinions about the US, but they have never been to the US before. Oh well. As a Fulbright scholar, it is intended that I am an ambassador for our country. This I am trying to do, but find it hard to be the only American in a room trying to represent an entire country. I keep explaining that the US is so big, there are so many different cultures, ideas, regions of the country, types of people, etc. I have yet to meet an American here, and most people are surprised that I am here. Why did you learn German? You are American- how can you speak so well? Why Germany, Why Aachen? What are you studying? What, you are not working on a degree here? And so on...

I do not think any European can understand how insurance and education are not a right in the US, that students go into massive debt after college, and that you must pay for insurance. The social ideas here are interesting, and provide for many thought provoking conversations. So does the topic of Obama...

One thing I love about the EU is mobility. With the Euro and the lack of border patrol, as well as programs like ERAMUS that encourage students to study anywhere in Europe, it makes for so many great opportunities to connect internationally through travel, study, commerce, etc. This is not something we have in the US, and I think it is so neat to live somewhere like Germany, where you have 9 countries bordering you. Let's go to Amsterdam this weekend- ok. Or, I think I want to study in Finland next semester. Or, I think I will go to Spain for a week of vacation. So nice! On the other hand, I try to explain to others that we do not have this opportunity in the US. It costs lots of time and money to visit so many different countries and cultures, and our country is big enough as it is. However, I truly believe in exchange of ideas, cultures, and that it is essential for one to visit another country to realize how many other ways of living there are. You clearly realize that there is no absolute right and wrong when you move from one culture to another.

Well, I will expand on this another time. My days here are always different. I usually live one day at a time, and never know how they will turn out. Some days are good, some days are really low. However, I am learning so much and observing a lot, and I know that this exchange year is worth it. It is far from a year long vacation. Traveling to europe and attempting to live and establish yourself in Europe are two totally different things. I wish that everyone had such an opportunity.

Like always, I want to upload pictures, but never want to fool with it. So, sorry if you were expecting something visual. At least I updated, right?

Looking forward to the weekend ;)

From that crazy german speaking American,

First post from my apartment!

2009-10-12T14:20:00.000-07:00

As always, it has been too long since the previous post. However, I am pleased to announce that I am officially living in my apartment in Halifaxstrasse! Address follows:

Rebecca Ludvigsen

Halifaxstr. 81

Nr. 14-41

52074 Aachen

Deutschland

Rather than do this post in chronological order, I will try to sum up by points of interest:

IKEA-I have been to IKEA twice now, and have spent a good number of Euros there! It was all worth it. That store is just great! You can buy anything for the home, all in one day, and eat there! This simplifies a LOT! This past weekend I went there with Willi, my professor. We had a lot of yummy cakes and coffee, as well as managed to find lots of things for my room, functional or purely for fun. I bought two plants, in an effort to be more German. Every German, every household, office, etc....has plants inside, in a windowsill, and/or has a garden! Even many guys. Well, I am no green thumb, but I bought an orchid and some type of "Himalaya Forest Mix." Whatever that means. The instructions were naturally in dutch, since the IKEA close by is in Holland. So, if anyone would like to give me instructions (Grandma!) about the best care for these lovely room additions, let me know!

I now have storage baskets, boxes, floor lamp, bedding, mattress, lattenrost, pillows, bath rungs, bath rug, the plants, blankets, hangers, candles, well everything you really need I guess. And everything always fits in the car! What a great concept.

Fahrrad! Yep, I bought a bike! I am no biker by any means, but here bikes are about as common as cars. In the city of Münster, about 2 hours from here, but still in NRW, the city literally has more bikes than people. They also have a multi story bike park. I hope to go there this year. However, Willi helped me buy a bike, a lock, a bell, a helmet, a basket. I am all equipped to zip around town. Now if I just learn those European road signs....

Bureaucracy....

Well, this is never ending, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I enrolled with the University (I think), payed a bunch of fees, so on and so forth. Still not sure where I fit in to this University since I am neither Bachelors or Masters student, or ERASMUS student. Most exchange students here are from the EU, the ERASMUS program, where students in the EU can study anywhere in the EU. I also now have a German CV, complete with my picture and everything, thanks to Willi.

My guest family- The Sinkens were just absolutely great to me. Even though Doris brought me and the remainder of my things to my apartment today, we both agreed that we would see each other this year! I look forward to going back. It was so nice to be a part of a family. She picked me up today, brought me back to Würselen, and I ate dinner with them. I want to host an exchange student one day. I think it such a great opportunity for both sides.

Shopping in Holland- I went to an outlet mall in Holland about an hour from here on Friday with Anne and Marietta, two doctoral students from the lab. (As well as their boyfriends). I did not buy anything, but that place is huge! Lots of expensive clothes, shoes and everything really. I have yet to master the European clothing system....That will be my next task, considering that I need winter clothes. I am already wearing my winter clothes and coats. For example, Wednesday morning the low is 30 degrees, high of 46. Yeah, and it is only October.

Food- I ate Muscles for the first time with Marietta, Anne and their boyfriends.. Apparently they are eaten here often in this area. Very good! Plus we had a homemade peach struedel and tomato soup. Germans can cook- students here know what they are doing. Their impression is that Americans cannot cook. Sadly, I think that their impression is mostly true. Not only do they mostly all cook, but they most often do it from scratch.... I also have come to LOVE pumpkin soup. Have you ever heard of such thing? I had not, however, I want to try to make it soon. I ate this, as well as Zwiebelküchen and Federweiße (only available Sep. thru Nov. when the grapes are harvested and begin the fermentation process. So sweet, bubbly and delicious!) at the house of Andre, an Erasmus student tutor who helps organize erasmus events. He can cook well! Guys and students here cook- what a novel idea.

Classes and Research- I currently have no idea what classes I should take. No one here seems to know how to help me or what to recommend. The semester starts this week, so I guess I should figure that out soon! As far as research is concerned, I gave a small talk last week to the lab group. I do not think it went well. I feel very overwhelmed and in over my head with this whole research project. I do not know what is possible to do in 10 months, and what is expected of me. I feel very ill equipped!

I also went to Köln last Sunday for a conference. Did not get to see any of the city, and the conference was really mostly boring. Oh well, I know I will go back soon. There are also plans of my Erasmus group going to Amsterdam. Sign me up!

I am drawing a blank as to what else has happened. Everyday is different for me here. I am looking forward to making some true friends, or just people to spend time with. I know that will come with time, though. Maybe if I learn to drink beer, lots of beer, this will happen :)

I think I will sign off here. I promise, one of these days I will upload pictures. Until then, I will say Tschüss!

Is it really October already?

2009-10-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow blog followers,

I really need to get better about updating more than once a week, because usually too much transpires in a week to sum it all up in one post. However, how shall I start to describe my first week in Aachen and Würeselen? With the train ride, of course!

Last Thursday, I checked out of the my room, or shoebox as we liked to call it oh so lovingly. This appointment was at 8am following our farewell evening. Needless to say, I was quite tired! I waited around that morning, because my train came at 11:30. However, I was really anxious due to the LARGE amount of stuff I had to carry. Somehow, everything did not fit back in the suitcase. I accumulated too much stuff over those past 6 weeks, and ended up carrying a HUGE AND HEAVY rolling duffel, a packed bookbag, a laptop bag, my purse, and a daypack. This is NOT an ideal way to travel alone with the train, but what was I to do? It had to get to Aachen with me, and I had to carry it. I had a fellow Fulbrighter help me with my things from the dorm to the taxi and then to the track. After that, it was up to me. I took the first train from Marburg to Gießsen. I had only 20 minutes to get my things off the train, up the stairs, over a bridge, down the stairs, through the train station, down the stairs and up again to track 12. Well, long story short, I did not make it in time. The station is under construction, and they often change the track number where your train will arrive without you knowing or hearing. Well, I guess if you know the language or the station really well, but for me. I was unlucky! So, by the time I had reached the track, I realized something had been changed, and I lugged everything back to the information desk, where they informed me that the track had been changed, and I needed to wait an hour for the next train. Anywho, after two more trains following Gießsen, I arrived in once piece in Aachen at almost 5 pm. That was a very long day, to say the least. I did not really appreciate the comments I got about how much luggage or how heavy my luggage was. A girl who has to live in a foreign country for a year needs a lot of stuff, ok? Anyways, I was at least fortunate enough to have found men to help me carry my baggage on and off the train, and occasionally up and down stairs. I almost missed the last connection in Siegen to Aaachen, bc we had only 7 minutes to find the track, go down and up the stairs and hop on the train! I got on that one just as the train left...

Enough with the travel woes! Doris picked me up with a luggage cart and a car that evening, and brought me back home. I was so tired, and was glad to just be for the evening. On Friday, I was also content to stay at h ome. I spend the entire day doing laundry because I had not done any in Marburg for a few weeks. That evening, I met with Brian (my cousin) and his roommate from ATL. They were taking a vacation in Germany and Austira, and began their trip in Aachen. Brian gave me a shopping bag full of stuff from home. Thanks Shelia, Mom and Dad for all the goodies! We went out to eat, and sat outside on one of many squares in Aachen. There was a band setting up because this past weekend Fri thru Sat they had a band festival all weekend long. Btw, the chairs outside here often have blankets or fur type rug things on them, allowing you to sit outside when it is cold! That evening, we walked around the Katschhof. This is the main event square between the Rathaus (city hall) and the Dom, the church where Charlegmagne's remains are and where more than 30 something kings were crowned. Anywho, there were lots of tents for beer and food, as well as a ferris wheel. We had a few drinks at a few places in the city with Brian, Ted, and Nicole, a friend of Brian's who lives in Germany.

On Saturday evening, I met my professor and two of his doctoral students for the first time. We went back to the same place and actually got on the ferris wheel! Cool! I could see the whole of Aachen. We also went to a Spanish Tapas bar ( I thought about you Brit!). I actually had never been to one, and it was really good! Good tapas, red wine, and some other dish and a cappachino later! We then walked to the marktplatz and sat down for a beer. There was a huge amount of people there listening to whatever band was playing at the moment. I had a lot of fun with them, and they are very friendly and nice!

On Sunday, I met Becky for the first time in the city. She is my international office mentor buddy friend. We walked around the city and had lunch. She is very helpful and friendly!

On Monday, I went to the lab for the first time. This is in the Uni Klinic, where the hospital, medical school, research labs, well, everything is located! It is just about in Holland, west of the Aachen city center. It is by far the most confusing, largest, and ugliest building I have ever been in. For you AU kids, Haley center does not even hold a candle to the massive confusion this building creates. The outside has all these pipes of all different colors. The inside has green metal walls, sometimes yellow, with kelly green carpet. Just plain ugly, confusing and depressing! Oh well. I really like the lab group, though. I went all over with the professor's secretary, Renate, trying to get all this administrative beaucracy that Germany is so well known for taken care of. She was really nice to help take me everywhere. She also lives in Würselen, and gave me a ride to the clinic. I had to go to the doctor to get my blood tested and a phsyical done to make sure I was fit and not carrying any disease! We also had to go to someother office to get my key and card, so that I have access to the lab. Well, this was unsuccessful, but I think I can get everything easier once I have enrolled with the university. I am not even sure where all we went and what was all required. All I know is that we ran around all day trying to navigate the beaucracy of Germany!

On Tuesday, more beaucracy to be tackled! However, I had Becky to help me, thank goodness! We went to Deutsche bank and had my address changed, went to the city office to register my new address, and went to the office of the university where you sign your rent contract. You have to register in Germany with every city you live in! This requires time, patience, a smile, a passport, and a rent contract! I also went to the WG to meet with Arnie, who just moved out of my room. We had to draw up some unoffical contract that we both signed. This contract listed what things that he owned that he was leaving in the room for me. I am now officially responsible next year to get rid of them. Silly, but whatever. I am using a broken but repaired bed frame from Alex, and the shades, curtains, pantry shelf, tv, tv cart, desk chair, and carpet from Arnie. Not bad, I would say. I also went to the Lindt factory with Becky. Lecker! You can find all kinds of Lindt chocolate in this warehouse store for super cheap. Either it is misprinted or a mess up and really cheap, or they have new flavors to test. You would not believe the flavors they mix with chocolate. YUM! Also went across the street to Leibniz, which makes snacks, cookies, etc. They are based in Hannover, but have an outlet store here. Yum, as well! I came back that day with lots of chocolate and cookies.

On Wednesday, I went back to the lab. I tried to collect journal articles concerning the lab's main research interest. I did not really get very far, but at least I started. I also got internet on my computer. SO great! The entire group, aoubt 12 people, all use Apple! This is excellent, and I fit right in. Everything works, and my internet only required me typing in a password to the airport. This was like heaven, compared to my last internet experiences in Marburg and so on. I also saw the room where they keep on the research mice in the Uni Klinic. We had to wear so much protective wear, I looked like I was going in to surgery! Footies over your shoes, hair net, mask, gloves, and a coat that ties around from the back. I think my research will be with mice. Later, I ate in the Mensa with the lab students, and then rode back to Würselen with Renate because I have not gotten my semester bus ticket yet. Without this, traveling with the bus costs a fortune. That afternoon, Doris and I waited in line at the ASEAG office, the Aachen bus transportation office, for a monthly bus ticket for me. Normally this costs 70 Euro, but I had received a coupon for a free ticket from the city office welcoming me as a new resident. I guess the coupon book is one good perk of registering with the city!However, this old, fat man stood behind us the whole time and did not give us any personal breathing space. It was so disgusting, and made us want to scream. My personal space was definitely compromised, and I felt slighly closterphobic from this man. Plus, he kept playing with his dentures and poking them in and out of place. eww!!

Today, I met Becky again and we went to the apt complex to meet with the Hausmeister. I showed him my rent contract and he gave me my keys and explained the WG rules and such. I now have an APT, and address, keys, and my name on my mailbox! yay! Becky and I also went to a store, sort of like a campus book store, where I bought some notebooks and folders to organize my things. A little culture note: Binders here are either 2 or 4 rings, without any pockets. We also went to Deutshe Bank to ask for a folder to keep all my bank statements. In Germany, there is a law (there are lots of laws here) that says the bank must send your account statement. You are supposed to print it at the cash maschines or online every 6 weeks. Otherwise they have to send it to you in the mail, and charge you a fee each time. Therefore, you have to collect these statements and store them away. Komisch.

Well, I also just remembered that on Sunday the national elections happened. Angela Merkl will remain the Kanzlerin. However, CDU and FDP will form the Schwarz-Gelb coalition. This is a big deal, because FDP has never had such presence in the Parliament before. There will probably been a red red green coalition between die Link, Grüne, and SPD. SPD is a really big party here, but did not have good results in this election. Well, I could talk a lot more about the politcal system here, but this post is getting too long and probably too boring for most of you.

Tomorrow I am going to Holland to shop at IKEA! Hopefully I will come back with everything I need. I will write later on how different the beds are here. Honestly, I have decided that Americans always do things different than the Germans and Europeans in general. No matter what subject you can think of, somehow there will be a different way of doing it. Why did everything get to be so different in the US?

I willl upload pictures once I have internet on my computer in my computer. Currently I have to use the family computer. Speaking of my guest family, they are all so helpful and nice! I am really glad I did this homestay program.

Bis später,
RL

PS I can now say I have been in Germany for 8 weeks. CRAZY!

My last week in Marburg

2009-09-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

As I write this blog post today, many of you seem to be waterlogged and flooded in Atlanta. This is unreal! I hope you either enjoyed your day at home or were able to work from home. It sounds like one for the history books, though I would rather be here on the huge hill/mountainous terrain in Marburg high and dry. ;)

Since my last post, much has transpired. The main topic of the week/past week: A SUCCESSFUL APARTMENT SEARCH! After deciding that I really did not want to live in a all-in-one single apartment that would cost about 40% of of my stipend (if not more) without contact with others or a basic oven or microwave, I was sought out by a student looking to fill any empty room in his WG. A WG stands for Wohnheimgemeinshaft. It is a very common form of student/young adult living here for the 18 to 30 crowd. Essentially, each person has their own bedroom, but shares a kitchen and bathroom with 1,2,3 or more people. This is a great setup, and often times you end up renting an already furnished room. It really pays to know people here and get connected right off the bat. My host mom had suggested that I call the local representative for Experiment in International Living. This is the organization that is in charge of the host family program. I spoke with him last weekend, and he agreed to see what he could find out from Studentenwerk, which is essentially at every univerisity for the purpose of student housing. I got a call last Wednesday from a guy who had talked to Till (the representaive), and he waslooking to fill a room in his WG. They have 3 guys and 1 girl, but need a new roommate once a guy moves out at the end of the month.

I visited this past weekend. A nice less-than-24 hour-trip to Aachen was very worth it! I met the guys, Alex and Julio, but the girl, Annika, was on vacation in Spain. Julio came from Brazil to Aachen to study econ in 2005, and Alex is from Germany and studies Mechanical Engineering. Annika studies Medicine. And if you are wondering, it is totally normal for apartments to be co-ed here. It is actually more normal than finding an all-female apartment. My room is 15 m2, with a desk, a clothes cabinet, and a bookshelf. I have to buy a bed and matress. The kitchen is fully stocked, and I am free to use all appliances, kitchen utensils, etc. This is great! It has an oven! AND a dishwasher...this is quite the luxury! It also has two bathrooms and two fridges. I also get a pantry/storage closet. The complex is in walking distance from my lab and the science buildings. It is also just a bide ride away from Holland. People go to Holland on Sunday to go shopping when all the stores are closed in Germany. Ikea is also just 20 min by car in Holland, which I hope my guest mom will take me to look for furniture!

I spoke German and English with Julio and Alex, and it was great knowing that I will be able to continue to better my language skills living with students. I can move in Oct. 1, and plan to slowly move in since I will stay with my host family until Oct. 9.

After my short and sweet weekend in Aachen/Würselen (train ride Friday night and Saturday night), I went on the field trip with the Fulright group on Sunday. We took a charter bus about 2.5 hours to one of the old East-West checkpoints. There is a border museum there. They still have some of the original fence and towers set up from the GDR. Our tour guide was excellent. He lived in West Berlin during the separation. It was fascinating and saddening to learn more about the border patrol and all the attempted escapes, as well as what the GDR did to keep its people contained in the GDR. The entire system of that government is entirely impossible to understand and imagine. I actually saw a Trabi car drive by while we were there.

This week, things are coming to an end. We have our farewell dinner Wednesday night, and I leave Marburg for good on Thursday. I cannot believe I have been here for 6 weeks already! (As of today)

Something of interest from last week: We did our radio program live! It was a success, and I talked about Auburn and how important sports, namely football is. Uni Sports are a foreign concept to the Germans. I played "War Eagle" on the radio! Yep, representing the Auburn Family all the way in Germany!

I will update more later.
Bis dann,
Rebecca

My dorm!

2009-09-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

These 3 pictures were taken the first afternoon in Marburg.

All of my belongings for the year!

My lovely bed, the first day I arrived.

A view from my "shoebox"

A few pics from the past 5 weeks

2009-09-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

A window view from Jan's house

The room I slept in

My first night's sleep in Germany :)

Another window view- The Germans really do their gardens right here, and also have large windows without blinds or panes that allow lots of light in and allow you to feel like you are in the garden!

Recognize this door, Lilburn Ludvigsens?

I wanted to upload several more pictures, but the site wouldn't let me. So, I will post a new post with more pictures.

Oops

2009-09-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

So, if any of you tried to mail me anything using the address I posted a while ago....I don't think it will get here! It is too late to receive anything now, as I am leaving next Thursday on Sept 24. In any case, the dorm number AND the street number is 5, and apparently I thought it would be good enough to write 5 just once somewhere...

Here is the correct address:

Geschwister Scholl Strasse 5

Jung Stilling Haus #5

Zimmer-Nr 204

35309 Marburg

Deutschland

Anywho, I am back in Marburg tonight. The trip from Aachen, or really, Würselen seemed to take forever. We left the house at 3. I got back to the dorm at 9...

It takes car, train and bus to get from one place to the other. Oh well, I am here safe! Looking forward to returning next Thursday!

See ya,

Aachen, and a much needed update from the past 2 weeks!

2009-09-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

I have not updated in so long, so it is about time! (This post will be in reverse chronological order as I think back to the last few weeks!) I am currently in Aachen. I traveled here this weekend because we had Thursday afternoon and Friday free. I took a taxi with lots of luggage to the train station, took the train to Gießen (the next stop on the way to Frankfurt) and then changed trains in Gießen. This was quite the task with so much luggage and very little time in between. The train going to Aachen was originally suppossed to be at track 1, but it was actually at track 12! I freaked out for a second when I saw that my train was not at track 1, and that I only had 15 mintues to find the new track and lug all my luggage there. However, I found the correct one and took the next train to Aachen. (For a while I was worried if I had gotten on the right train!) This endeavor took about 5 hours, from the time I was picked up by the taxi to the time I arrived at the main train station in Aachen. My guess family picked me up and brought me to their house. We only speak German, but switch to English only sometimes if I do not understand. They have two daughters in high school. I like living here, and they are very helpful and nice.

Today (Friday) my guest family mom (Doris) helped me look for apartments. She also drove me around Aachen and Würselen (where they live, directly outside of Aachen). I like it here! Much more going on than Marburg. I had an appointment to meet with a student who currently lives in the single apartment I have reserved. It is a little expensive because it is in the city center. It has a small kitchenettte on one wall in the same room as the bed! It has no oven, microwave or dishwasher, and a tiny refrigerator. We looked for other apartments with no luck today. Either all apartments have been rented bc the semester is about to begin, or the people I tried to call did not answer the phones because often times businesses close early on Friday. However, I was in Holland today for about 2 minutes! During the drive through the city, Doris took me over the border to Holland, and Belgium was just down the street- literally! I plan on exploring more when I acutally live here.

What else has happened in the past two weeks? Not a whole lot this past week. We worked on our Radio program script in class. I allso went to a SPD rally or speech on Tuesday. The election is at the end of the month, and SPD has a very strong precence in Marburg. It was interesting to experience.

I also went over to Sophia's on Monday. We talked about Nordrhein-Westfalen, because I had to talk about the Bundesland in culture class. Aachen is located in NRW, and everyone has to do a project on their Bundesland. I learned a lot of interesting things, and we drank Chai tea that she had bought at the Middle Ages fair a few weeks ago.

Last Saturday was the first AU football game of the season! We won! I was not personally there, but I wore my AU sweatshirt in support. Yep, it is fall here. I am wearing clothes that I normally wear in November! HAHA. Instead of football, I watched Fussball! The German ntl team vs South Africa game was on, and Germany won. Next year, the world cup is in S. Africa. so all the games leading up to this are very important. I was at Sophia's house, and we made typical German food for a fussball game. We made Frikadellen, Pototoe salad, and some type of appetizer. Frikadellen are similar to hambugers. They have ground pork and beef, with onions, spices, something like bread crumbs to hold it together, and egg. I mixed it all with my hands, and Sophia asked me to taste it to see whether the spices were good! This was raw meat! Apparently it is okay to eat raw pork or beef here. She says it is good on bread. I was really surprised, but I did taste it, and it was good! She also made Potato salad with mayo from scratch! The appetizers we made were grape tomatoes, blackbread, and gouda on a toothpick- the colors of the german flag!

On Sunday, I took part in a german cooking class. There were 9 of us from the group, while the others took a tour of the local castle. This was from 4 to 11, and we made lots of yummy food! I also got a copy of all the recipes. They are old, from the insturctor's grandmother! We made an appetizer, a soup, a main course, and a dessert. With every course we had a different wine. Every wine and dish we made came from Germany. Even all of the ingredients were made or grown in Germany. When I am back at home, I will write more about the dishes when I have the recipe book in front of me. Grandma, maybe we can make some of these when I come back!

I actually cannot remember now what I did the week before! I will have to think on it, as I am getting tired here typing.

Hope all is well in the US. I know today was 911. It is crazy to think that it has been 8 years already. I found CNN in English on the TV today, and they were showing the memorial service. I couldn't watch it very long, and I am not even from NY and do not know anyone that was personally affected by 911. Nevertheless, it still seems to have a big impact on everyone of us.

Got to go eat Abendbrot!

See ya,
RL

A beautiful morning

2009-08-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

These are taken standing in front of the church building where I went to a worship service today, which is about 20 minutes away by foot from my dorm room. you can see the church in the Oberstadt, as well as the castle.

For Autumn (and anyone else interested) :)

2009-08-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

For purposes of mail the old fashioned way :)

My address is:

Rebecca Ludvigsen

Geschwister Scholl Strasse

Jung Stilling Haus #5

Zimmer-Nr. 204

35039 Marburg

Deutschland

So, I forgot to say that we went to the one of the local radio stations here in town for our Thursday afternoon class. Our class will be producing and hour long radio program- speaking about whatever we want in German and playing whatever music we would like. This is definitely a first. We learned all about radio in Germany, equipment, and got a tour of the station. Essentially anyone can come here and produce a radio program for free. This place is in in old building that used to be part of the railroad, and trains still rush by and shake the building. Everything in there was OLD! They still use VHS, CD, mini-disc, and probably other forms of data recording that I am too young to know about. I couldn't believe they don't use I-tunes, or any type of computer player. Anywho, we learned how the soundboard works, and got to practice speaking on the radio, and controlling the music and microphone, etc.

On Saturday, we took a charter bus to Frankfurt. This weekend is the museum festival. You can buy a button for 4 Euro, and this gets you into all of the museums all weekend long. There are probably 25 museums in one little area of town by the river. There are also TONS of people that are drawn to this event, mainly for the festival events. There are hundreds of tents set up along both sides of the river selling food, alcohol, souvenirs, and really anything you can think of (I even saw a palm reading kiosk). I saw the Goethe house and museum, and walked around the festival taking it all in. There are also radio stations set up, and stages for live music, and poetry readings, well, anything I guess. We also had a city walking tour for 2 hours when we first got there. Frankfurt is the home of the tallest sky scraper in Europe, the Commerz building. It would be dwarfed in the US. It is a huge banking and trading city . Apfelwein is a big thing in Hessen, and I tried it mixed with Fanta, which cuts out the bitterness of the wine.

That evening, I hung out with Lizzy for a while, and showed her my "shoebox" of a room! She couldn't believe how small it was. I also started reading the book she gave me in German along side the english version online through Amazon. It is good, but I only read 9 pages since reading it in German is quite a long process! It is called Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher, or the city of the dreaming books.

This is the first Sunday we have had so far that is free of any trip or scheduled event. It is interesting when there is nothing open at all! I am going to the open air kino with Lizzy to see a French film dubbed in German.

See ya,

Week 3!

2009-08-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hallo!

I can't believe another week has already gone by. Jede Woche ist besser als die letzen. (Every week is better than the last). I guess I need to start with Monday, if I can remember everything!

I met Lizzy after class. She brought me eine Küche! Well, actually it was a pot, pan, wooden spoon, cutting board, and knife that she is allowing me to use. How nice! I have not had time to cook yet, but I hope to next week! She happened to be meeting a friend, and asked me to come along. We went in two different elevators that take you to the top of the city so that you don't have to climb endless numbers of hills and steps! Her friend lives in a WG (shared apartment) that overlooks the city- great view. He served us really good cake and coffee, and we sat around for a few hours talking German and English with two of her friends, which I think were named Fabian and Florian, but don't count on that! This was a nice way to spend a very rainy afternoon. Lizzy also gave me a fantasy novel to read by a German author! Should be good! That evening, I went home and ending up eating PB toast and pretzels-typical college dorm dinner.

On Tuesday, language class was really hard to get through...thinking and learning and speaking in a foreign language is draining! That evening, I looked around with a Fulbrighter in her quest to find flip flops. This was quite the challenge, and only found one or two stores with flip flops! Crazy! Everything summer is on sale now, and flips flops are super hard to come by.

Wednesday, we made HUGE progress.....I now have a bank account with Deutsche Bank!!! Nora spoke with DB and set up appointments for all all but about 2 people in our group. That is 30 Americans with little German knowledge attempting to set up a bank account! The employees were so nice, and they took our documents, copied them, and basically told us to sign on about 5 places. It was super easy, and I should have a working bank account with a debit card and a credit card by next week! You really can't do much in Germany without a bank account. There is no such thing as checks anymore. Everything is done via transfer. Z.B., you can set up direct withdrawal for your rent, your cell phone, etc. Also, if you want to pay a friend back, you just transfer money into their account online. You get a list of about 80 TAN numbers, which are essentially transfer numbers that allow you to transfer money online to another person's account (and you actually tell people your bank account number!) You pretty much need a bank account to function here! You also have to use a credit card if you want to purchase anything online. Btw, if you have Bank of America, you can withdraw money without a processing fee because they are affiliated with DB. I also discovered DM- it is like a CVS without the medicine part...and it was air conditioned! Omg, it was glorious!

That afternoon, I met Lizzy and her friends at Aldi. We bought groceries to make Musaka, a Greek dish that they always cook. It has potatoes, onions, eggplant, ground beef, cheese and cheese. While dinner was cooking, we road bikes to the video store. This was the first time I had ridden a bike in a city on a road, and I definitely had fears, but it was totally fun! We came back and ate dinner around a table with about 8 people, drank good wine, and ate lots of Musaka. Lots of fun, and good practice for my German! It has been really great to hang out with German students and get out of the Studentendorf!

Thursday, after another full day of language class, I came back to the dorm and chilled out. I went back to the worship service. This time, I could understand the the message much more! It was awesome to understand much more.

Friday, we got out of class at lunchtime. I picked up my first care package- Thanks Marianne! I also chilled out in the dorm. Downtime is a rare commodity around here! That evening, I took the bus to Rudolfsplatz to buy dinner at a backery. I also went to the grocery store to get some really good chocolate and a mini bottle of wine for the movie. I love that you can buy wine and drink it anywhere! I went back to the building we have class in with food and wine in tote, and watched Goodbye Lenin with everyone. Good movie. I had seen it before in my German film class, but forgot most of it. I recommend it. Good film concerning East and West Germany.

Well, I could write much more, but there is only so much time. I am starting to get settled in much more and getting used to living here. I am starting to think and speak in Danglish...sometimes I can't say anything because German and English get mixed up in my head and nothing ends of coming out!

Tomorrow we have a day trip to Frankfurt. Should be good!

Bis später,

Rebecca

A nice weekend!

2009-08-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

After I last posted, the weather made a definite change for the better! The weather here in Marburg has been low 50s, hight 70s. After the rain cleared on Friday, the weekend was gorgeous! (And even chilly in the evenings!) What a welcomed change.

The worship service Thursday night was great. The service is held in this really old protestant church in the Altstadt (old city). It over looks Marburg- beautiful view. This church group is what we would call contemporary. They have worship music and a message on Thursday night, as well as bible studies Monday night and a service on Sunday morning. Most of the worship songs were German and the tunes were new to me. It was neat to worship the Lord in another language with people from all different places in this world! They even sang "Sanctuary", but it was translated into Deutsch. They also sang some songs in English, only one of which I was familiar with (Hillsong United, Might to Save). Regardless, it was awesome to be among believers and worship in another country and language. I could understand the gist of the message, but Germans talk so much faster than we are accustomed to hearing in language class! It was a good exercise for my listening comprehension skills. I introduced myself towards the beginning when they asked visitors to stand up. I spoke in German, and told everyone where I was from and what I was doing here. A German student came up to me after the service and introduced herself to me after hearing me speak for a minute. She was really nice, and we spoke German and English. She offered to hang out next week, so I am hoping that works out!

On Fridays, we get done with class at 12. I went out with Laura, a Fulbright student, to eat lunch and shop all afternoon. It was a lot of fun, despite the rain. I did more window shopping than actual shopping, but I did end up with a Sigg water bottle, european straightener, and a German dictionary (with the definitions all in German). That evening, the group went bar hopping. This was fun, but I did not last through the night with everyone. I had a few glasses of wine, but that was it! Maybe by the end of the year I will be able to drink beer...in the large quantity that it is served here.

On Saturday, I met Elisabeth and Sophia and we went to the Middle Ages festival. This comes once a year to Marburg, and I guess it would be like the Renaissance festival in Atlanta on a smaller scale (though I have never been). This was quite amusing and interesting. The people that put on this festival sleep in tents on site, and dress up in the medieval garb. I think they travel around Germany, putting on these festivals. They have arts, crafts, entertainment, and food that is all indicative of the times. When you buy cheese for example, they weigh it on a balance with weights old school style. There was a guy that made paper, a guy that made glasses, they had ceramic pottery and baskets...really anything you could think of. I tried mead (honey wine) for the first time. They also had a Fleisch station (meat), with deer bratwurst, and some type of bacon-like meat on a stick. When I think of Germany, I think of meat...

That evening, I went back to Elisabeth's apartment. Some of her friends came over, and we played two board games and ate a variety of snack food. It was fun speaking German, meeting other German students, and trying to understand what was going on . I got the hang of the game after a while, but had to have a lot of English explanation. It is one thing to study German, it is another to understand how to play a German card game you have never played in German! HaHa. I am really glad I was there. It was nice to spend the evening outside of the Studentendorf and in good company speaking German!

On Sunday we had another day trip. We went to Saalburg. Here Roman ruins have been restored and reconstructed to resemble a Roman camp. We had a tour guide, and she explained what the life of a Roman soldier was like. We got to try our hands at archery and javelin. If I had to find my dinner or kill my enemy via javelin or archery, I would either starve to death or be killed...Oh well. Love not war :) We also saw "Limes", the old border between the Roman empire and the Barbarians.

We had another "typisch Deutsch" meal. It was ok, but nothing to write home about...

Tomorrow, I might see The Proposal at the cineplex. All movies here are dubbed in German. No subtitles in German, just audio in German. Should be interesting.

I think my goal this week will be to figure out how to better navigate the grocery store and manage to cook something in our dorm kitchen. As a side note, so many products here are "bio", or organic. Rather than have a special organic section, the entire store is filled with organic products, and they don't necessarily cost more than those that are not labeled bio. In general, food contains fewer or no preservatives, and does not last as long.

So far, I have been impressed with how environmentally conscious the German system operates. (Though, sometimes this can be frustrating for us wasteful Americans). For example, you never find paper towels in bath rooms, you never get styrofoam to-go containers, and there is a very organized garbage/recycle system. Glass, plastic, paper, and organic waste. If you buy a bottle at a grocery store or cafe, glass or plastic, you get a refund for returning the bottle. This ensures it is recycled, and you have incentive to do so because you get money back. I even got 50 cents back at the festival for returning my leftover food to the trash can. This ensures that you won't leave your trash out. The fork was made of wood, and the "bowl" was cabbage leaves, so there is essentially only organic waste. I have already mentioned the lack of shopping bags in stores. There are many trees everywhere. They seem to only cut down trees if it is necessary for building space, rather than just clearing everything in site, which seems to be the norm now in the US. The windows are always large and without panes, so they let in a lot of light and lamps are not needed during the day.

Anyhow, these are just some of my observations.

Thanks for keeping up with me and tuning in to an American's perspective in Germany!

Love,

HOT!

2009-08-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

In case you thought Europe was cooler during the summer, think again! This is like thinking that New York has cooler summers than Atlanta because it is further north. Nope. Today the high was 91...That is so hot! And with no AC, whew...I was so glad Frank let us out of class early due to the heat! I opened the doors in class and took of my shoes so I could function. Can't wait for fall to come!

Tonight I am going to a worship service in town. Looking forward to that!

Last night, I hung out with Elisabeth. The university matched us up with a student here if we wanted to have a contact in town to get coffee or beer with, or whatever. She is a law student here at the university. I really enjoyed meeting her, and we spoke German for a few hours. Definitely good for me to speak the language with a native speaker! We determined we both don't really care for "German" food or beer, and that we both love red wine! She invited me to cook together at her apartment, and I am hoping we can make that happen. We are also going to a festival at the castle here in town this weekend. She also helped me sort through my apartment decision and fill out a form, which I am very thankful for!

Yesterday I talked with a few Fulbrighters about getting Mexican food, and how we really miss it. There are two "mexican" places here in town, so I think we will try it soon. We also had our culture class yesterday. We learned about German music and about German abbreviations. We had to go out on the street with a partner and asked people on the street if they could tell us what these acronyms meant! It was funny, and they were really nice about this "homework" we Americans had!

Not much else to report here. Still learning my way around the city, the culture, and the Fulbright program, but this week is going much smoother than last. I cannot believe that almost 2 weeks have past!

Tschüss!

P.S. I will post pictures soon when I have time of Marburg!

Something new everyday

2009-08-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, things have been looking up! I finally got internet on Monday (ethernet), so I can now connect to the world! It is so strange going without internet for a week. You should try it sometime...

Saturday night, I went grocery shopping for the first time at Tegut. I didn't know what most of the food items were or how to read the labels. I also didn't know what I should possibly make in the dorms in the "communal" kitchen...So, I bought a very random assortment of food. I filled up two Tegut canvas bags. For those of you who don't know, in Germany, you must bring your own bags to the store and bag your own groceries. This goes for most any store in Germany, be it the pharmacy (Apotheke), Schlecker (like a dollar tree with household goods) or anything really. You buy plastic or canvas bags for something like 15 cents. With all of my purchases in tote, and everything else I had bought for the day, I attempted to find the bus back to the Hauptbahnhof. This is the main train station, and happens to be half way to the Studentendorf (Student village). I got on the bus, and freaked out that I was on A3, not the 7. I find out later they are the same. I got off the next stop, and walked home thinking I would find another stop to get on the bus. By this point in the weekend, I hadn't really figured out the bus system, and didn't want to go somewhere I wasn't supposed to. Summary: I walked an hour home with two large bags of groceries and a big back pack full of things. I will never do that again!

On Sunday, we went to the Der Hessenpark, an open air museum . This is basically a reconstructed village that is intended to bring back to life the half-timber buildings and rural culture in Hesse of the 16 and 17th centuries. We had a tour guide, and then walked around on our own. Beginning in the 70s, original buildings were rebuilt and moved to this open air museum. It was super hot, but interesting. We all ate a late Mittagessen (lunch), with typical German food and a menu all in German! I ordered some entree with apple kraut, bread, and bratwurst. I have yet to warm up to German food, but maybe I have not found the right thing yet. The bus ride back was a nice hour long nap for most people, including myself.

Sunday night, I did my laundry for the first time. It was very time consuming, and I figured out the laundry system here, albeit expensive and complicated.

On Monday, I got internet wifi on campus for the first time! It was a glorious day. Later on, I was able to get ethernet. Now that I have a cell phone and internet that work, I feel so much better! We all applied for our residence permit, and got one of our first looks into the German bureaucratic system. This took an 1.5 hr to complete, and after sending away many precious documents, we should be permanent residents by next week! I went out to dinner with two people from the program, and we had a good time talking about the past week's events over Apfelwein.

Today I went to a local bakery and tried Schinkenkaese- a croissant like bread with bits of ham and cheese baked into it. Not too bad. We had German class essentially all day. I came home exhausted and took a nap before getting Indian food with a fellow Fulbrighter. This was my first time in an Indian restaurant- not bad. We also checked out another grocery store and managed to bring even more food back! I tried a cappuchino and Eis (like gelato). Neither was good...We asked for it to go, but then decided we wanted to sit down and eat because we had so many groceries. However, they quickly informed us that we were not allowed to sit because we indicated we wanted it to go. That was strange.

I am still hopeful that I can find something that is good here. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to buy in the grocery store or eat out?

If you skype, my user name is rludvigsen87.

I have definitely come a long way since I arrived here last Tuesday, but I have a long way to go to assimilate into this town and culture.

Thanks to all of you for keeping up with me and sending your thoughts and support!

Auf wiedersehen,

Rebecca

Oops

2009-08-15T10:20:00.001-07:00

Sorry for all the grammar mistakes! I am still learning to use the German keyboard, which is slightly different the the US version.

"What doesn´t kill you makes you stronger"

2009-08-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

It has been an entire week since I last posted, and much has occured since Monday. I would like to update more frequently, but it seems communicaton in Germany is much harder to come by in the US. However, I will try to document the last week.

On Tuesday, Jan drove me to the train station and helped me by a ticket from Frankfurt to Marburg. We said goodbye, and I waited until the train departed. A Turkish man helped me with my luggage. The Turkish in Germany are like Mexicans in the US. They come to Germany for work, and are often not as educated. They were invited in after the war to be guest workers to help rebuild the country. However, Germany did not really intend for them to be permanent citizens, and many Germans have negative feelings towards the Turks, just like many Americans feel the Mexicans benefit from the US greatly but they do not feel they should stay in the US. I personally have nothing against them, and was thankful to have luggage help and to speak German. He speaks no English, so we talked entirely in German on the train. That was a good confidence booster for my language skills.

I arrived an hour later in Marburg at noon. I had to take a duffel bag, 2 suitcases and a bookbag off the train. You should never travel with this much luggage on a train, but for me it was necessary given how long I will live here. So, I took everything off one by one, and realized this was not the right stop. I put everthing back on just intime to hop back in the train and ride for the next station. That could have been bad! I get off the train, this time at the right place, and soon realize that nothing will be very easy. I have to lug all my luggage down a staircase, and then up another staircase so that I will be on the city side of the station. NOT fun! Then, I meet up with some fulbrighters, and we wait for a bus to take us to the dorms. I was thinking this bus would be big enough for everyone. Nope. It only has room for 4 people's luggage since we have so much. So I wait on the next bus since there are so many of us. We get to the Studentendorf, where there are many dorm buildings. A german student helps me with the baggage and orients me in the dorm. This is a brand new dorm, with motion sensing lights that only come on when someone is moving in the hallway. No AC. AC cannot be found anywhere! Also, no elevator. I expected no air or stairs, but it makes life everyday a little harder! HAHA. My single dorm room is a box. One window, single bed, built in desk, bookshelf, closet and sink. The showers and toliets are communal, and there is a kitchen on each floor.

I proceeded to crash for 2 hours, and then met the rest of the group. A student led us to our orientation dinner. This was about a 30 minute or 40 minute walk. The fulbright staff introduced themselves, and we had a nice buffet dinner. That evening, we followed a few Fulbrighters from last year to the old city area. We sat outside at a cafe and had beer. I had Apfelwein for the first time. Not bad.

Wednesday was information overload!!! We learned about all kinds of things, and by the end of the day we were saturated with info. That evening, we walked up this huge hill. Marburg is very hillly. We walked in the rain (after everyone made an impulse buy at this shop on the way for umbrellas) up this steep, winding, cobblestone road all the way to the top of the mountain to an old castle. There is a restaruant there, and we all ate dinner and drank for a long time. German food is very heavy, often with lots of cream. Everyone left at their leisure, and I stuck around until most were gone. I walked back down this steep, winding road in the dark with another girl. We then walked home, which is about a 45 min walk from the castle back to the dorms. To say the least, I was exhausted the next morning.

Thursday was our first language course, and we were on our own for food from now on. I was placed in level 3 out of 4. Our teacher is young, and we only speak German in the class. We have class from 9 to 10:30 and then a coffee break. 11 to 12:30, break for lunch, and 2 to 4. All in all, lots of class time! That afternoon, I went around town with two guys from the program looking for basic items. I searched all over for contact solution, but was unsuccesful. We went to Media Markt, where you buy anything electronic. I bought a SIM card. We also went to Woolworth's for school supplies, and the Pharmacy because I needed medicine. That evening, I tried without success to find the one guy in all the the dorms that can set up internet for you. I also tried to register to SIM card, but it did not work that night. I met several guys that study here in my dorm. They let me use their computer and walked me though the SIM registration, and also helped me look (in vain) for Jan the internet guy. I met guys from Iran, Lebanon, Germany and somewhere else I do not remember. Mohammed cooked Iranian food, and we spoke mostly all in German. Very great way to improve your language skills. After 12:30, I had to leave even though I was enjoying our conversation. I went back to clean up my room and do my German homework. I got to bed late, and woke up early.

Here begins the worst day yet....
Friday morning, I woke up exhausted and feeling horrible. It seems my body is physically reacting to all this stress. I walked to my classroom (25 min) and found a bakery nearby since I have not had time to go shopping for food. I bought milk knowing that I dont care for milk in europe, as well as yogurt with fruit and a roll with lots of seeds on it. I do not really care for the German or european breakfast. I ended up throwing most of it away. I went to class, and was miserable the entire first period because of how physically bad I felt and how unconnected to world I was at this point. I desperately wanted and needed my phone to work for safety and emotional needs, and had no internet. I could not resisit crying in class. How embarassing. It is hard to concentrate on your studies when your basic needs are not met . Classic Maslov's hierarchy. I resolved to fix my physical ailments by going to the drug store during the break. I walk into the Drogerie, where you buy all the things we have at CVS without the pharmacy part. The sensor went off immediately, and a store worker asked me if I had anything in my pockets or if i was wearing something new. In the US, if you walk in a store and the sensor beeps, we ignore it. Here they must find the source, otherwise when you leave and it beeps they can assume you stole something. the woman wanted me to find whatever was making it go off. I fell apart in a drug store with a random german employee, sobbing because i could not handle one more unlucky thing or anything else that would go wrong. All of our conversation was in German, and she got out a huge wand to search me with in the back of the store. This was more than I could handle, and I realized that I failed to cut the sensor out of my jeans that so many stores sew into your clothes. i had to go to the bathroom to cut it out, and by this time had gotten nothing that i needed and had 15 minutes before class started. If you ever come to germany, make sure all of your clothes have had the sensor cut out to avoid humiliation.

I did find contact solution in this store, and I hope I never have to go back and see that lady who will now think of me as that American girl who fell apart crying in the back of the store....

I walked to the pharmacy, and explained through German and hand gestures I needed something like Pepcid. She gave me an equivalent, and I went back to class, late of course, due to the securiy issue.

After class, we walked to the Mensa (cafeteria). I had little appetite, and did not care much for the food. We had little time, because we had to meet the entire group at 2 for a city tour. I walked with a Fulbrighter there. Fulbright had arranged for a local tour guide to show us around and give lots of historical information about the town and its buildings. This would have been better, had I not been so worn out and stressed out. Not far into the tour, I got stung by a yellow jacket. It took me by surprise and stung like you know what. I start crying in the street in the middle of the tour, because by this point, i cannot take one more stressor. Our group leader and another Fulbright girl come with me to the pharmacy to get some cooling gel for stings. By this point, I am exhausted, in pain, and all I want to do is go home and talk with my parents and Will. I had been in Marburg 4 days with no internet or working cell phone. I went back to the dorm with this girl who offered to take me back and use her phone and internet. I was so embarassed that I became the girl who cries at a bee sting or in class or in the drug store. After our long trek home, involving lots of walking a a bus ride, we went to her room where i was able to skype will and my parents. The enjoyed a phone call with me in hysterics. I went back to my room, allowed myself to regroup and cry out my frustrations and pain. I tried entering my PIN number into my phone again, and it worked!

I now had phone access, and called my parents and Will immediately. This did wonders for my spirits to talk with them and to know I now have a means of communication in this country. I then decided I would try again to find the internet guy. I had to as a lawn maintenance guy to let me in his dorm, and then i waited for a while. After asking every guy that came in the dorm if he were Jan, I finally found him. He wanted us to come back an hour later at 10 (by this time 4 other people also wanted to get internet). I took a shower and cleaned up my room, and treked back over to his room. He helped 5 people with internet setup. This means he now has the information needed to put us in the system so that on Monday when the server is up he can enter our data in. Then, we have to do something additional on our computers. Wireless is not even an option, and some dorms do not even have ethernet. This whole internet thing boggles me. Apparently Germans do not need or value the internet 24.7. I went to bed, exhausted from the past 24 hours of defeat, but happy knowing that I had a phone that worked and had began the internet setup. By the way, I was very lucky I found Jan. He is leaving this weekend, and keeps no regualar hours in his dorm, so it was very important I found him soon.

This morning, I woke up after 12 hours of glorious sleep.I met the same girl who helped me yesterday with her phone and internet. We walked into town and had some Greek food, but not without another visit from a yellow jacket. Fortunately, we were not stung. Because AC is not used here, everyone keeps the doors and windows open. Also, screens do not exist. So, more often than not there are yellow jackets and bees inside. GREAT!!! I had to trap the thing in my Fanta .... oh well.

We had our biometric photos make at a department store. This means you cannot smile and that it essentially looks like a mug shot. We need these specific photos to apply for a resisident permit. We did more shopping in Ahren's, and also in several other places. We looked all over for a top up card for our cell phones ( I managed to use it all up last night since I had not talked to the US since Monday). We found the only place with our provider to buy more minutes, and the employees helped us reload our phone. by the way, you can contracts here are for two years, and you must have a bank account. We are stuck with pre paid phones.

I have learned a lot this week. The simplest things have become the most complicated and frustrating. The language and culture barrier makes it harder, but i have been amazed at how well I can understand and communicate in German. Everyday, accomplishing basic tasks becomes a big achievement!

Tomorrow we are going on a day trip to tour an open air museum in Hessen. It has several builidings and homes that have been rebuilt to recreate the look and feel of Hessen several hundred years ago, along with people that do traditional arts and crafts that is indicitive of the area and its history.

My next task is to buy groceries, as essentially nothing is open on Sunday. Even on Saturday, many stores keep limited hours.

When I get my laptop internet activiated, I will soon upload pictures from the week. I know this post is very long, but so much has happened. Later I will comment on the people within the Fulbright program. Also, more to come about the German way...

If you got bored reading this, I am sorry! I had to get it all down before I forgot it. I think that next week can only get better!

Love from Germany,
Rebecca

Arrival in Germany- the beginning of my year!

2009-08-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Here is my first real blog post from Germany! I am in Jan's house currently. Jan is a friend of my cousin and agreed to pick me up from the airport this morning.

The flight was tolerable- I hardly got a wink of sleep, and there was some definite turbulence- Clara, you would not have liked it ;) But, nonetheless, Lufthansa got me to Frankfurt. As Brittany commented, 11 minutes late- but who's counting when you lose all sense of time? I had no problem getting my baggage, and after a little wandering around Jan and I met up. At the airport, they have luggage carts that fit onto the escalator. I had 2- 50lb suitcases, a carry on duffel, and a bookbag. Let's say it was good Jan and I both held on to the cart as we went down the escalator! We walked a good while inside the airport to the parking deck, where we managed to fill his Audi with all of my belongings. It was really hard to pack for a year with such restrictions!

We drove to the Dreieich-Buchschlag train station. We were supposed to meet a current Fulbrighter, Elizabeth, who has been so kind to offer me some of her things before she leaves for the US in 2 days. We could not contact each other by phone and could not see one another at the train station, so Jan and I decided to go to his house, where I proceeded to CRASH! I think I slept 2 hours. But, most importantly, I was able to skype with Mom, Dad, and Will. I essentially gave my parents a 5 AM wake up call, right before their alarm went off. Later on, Jan and I went back to a different train station- this time in Darmstadt. We finally met up with Elizabeth and off loaded 2 large bags of bed linens, towels, baking pans, and who knows what else. I was too tired to even look in the bags. We had a funny encounter at the post office when we tried to explain we wanted to ship all of this. They found a REALLY big box, and shipped it to Aachen for almost 10 Euro-that's about 14 dollars. I was expecting the rate to be much higher.

I came back, skpyped again (which has become my most recent hobby it seems!) Please let me know if you skype! It is such a good way to keep in touch for free! Now I am waiting on Jan to wake up- he was really tired today from partying all weekend... HaHa.

I haven't really spoke much German here- I get really shy about speaking since I don't say all the grammar right or speak fast enough. However, I am sure within the year I will have no problem.

Tomorrow I leave for Marburg.

Thanks to all of you for showing your support and thoughts through your phone calls, notes, emails, and facebook messages. I really appreciate having such a wonderful support network, even across the atlantic ocean and 6 or 7 hours time difference!

Tschüss!

Rebecca

T- 3 weeks

2009-07-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

So far, this summer has been a transition from graduating from Auburn to preparing to move to Germany for a year. I am looking forward to seeing everyone next week at the going away party!