June 2009
4 posts
goodbye
Tomorrow we have two finals and so I’m studying all day. And then, enjoying myself at The Producers, tonight.
It seems like I didn’t leave home that long ago, that I’ve only been here a few weeks.
Still, I’m so glad to go back. I miss everyone. And I miss Seattle.
But, I know, in a few weeks, I’m going to say the same thing about Germany. One of these days,...
day of rest
Today, I rested. It was needed.
I studied a bit, and then walked to a Bio Fresh Market nearby.
I’ve been eating a lot healthier, getting more sleep; hopefully I can take these good habits back to the states.
Later in the day I went to Classic Tattoo to get my industrial. Sadly, the piercing artist told me my ears were too crooked. ARGH. After ten more minutes of figuring out what could and...
from the Ural mountains to the Atlantic
Today I learned about the crash in the Atlantic. The plane traveling from Brazil to France. Tragedies like that are horrific in themselves, but the fact that we’re flying in a few days unnerves me.
I went to the Jewish Museum, today. It was the greatest museum I’ve ever been to. It was wonderfully-done, with tremendous thought and care. Powerful.
time
Today we traveled as a class to the Brandenburg Gate.
I imagined I saw so clearly Reagan yelling at Gorbachev. And then my mind rushed to three years later, when people were sitting on the Wall, humming along to Beethoven’s 9th.
I wish I could have been there.
Later on, I traveled to the Pergammon Museum. In Berlin, more than any other city, I’ve felt a deeper connection to history. The ruins,...
May 2009
27 posts
Stadtmitte
Welcome to Berlin!
As soon as we got here, I went off to explore, and also, to buy tickets for The Producers next week.
Berlin reminds me of Seattle to an enormous extent; it even has its own sort of Space Needle. The size is the only thing that strikes me as exceptionally different; Berlin is 8 times the size of Paris.
It was a beautiful day, and I found things that make me feel at home now:...
man's search for meaning
I’m learning how to get accustomed to a city, quickly.
I found an environmentally-friendly, and CHEAP, laundromat. Sauber und Schnell. I showed it to everyone else; I’m glad I can help other people out now, instead of relying on others to show me around and tell me what’s where.
Here is a shortened, convoluted summary of what I’ve learned concerning Romance from Herr Professor...
year of the bauhaus
I’m thinking of joining the Americorps.
In other news, I’m so thankful for this hotel. for free tea and hot showers, fresh towels and light switches!
Since Weimar is celebrating the Year of the Bauhaus, you should know this: What is Bauhaus? Bauhaus -“House of Building” or “Building School”- is a term for a school in Germany that is world-renowned for its novel approach to design,...
buchenwald
Today, we traveled to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. I can’t really describe how it went, it’s something you should experience for yourself.
We went to Don Pascual, an opera, a few hours later. The extremities of the day didn’t affect me.
I had prepared myself for it.
OBAMA
Obama’s coming to WEIMAR! I’m IN Weimar. Sadly, he’ll be here next week. And, he will be traveling to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, which I’m going to this week.
it’s not fated, but it’s close.
weimar
Today, we landed in Weimar.
I’m excited to finally be here, I’ve been studying about Weimar since spring break.
The city bows to Goethe, which pleases me.
Also, we are living in a hotel. It’s a welcome break from crowded rooms and bunk beds.
fey and fair
I’ve been watching some 30 Rock, and I realized how much I miss American television. We saw My Fair Lady in town, today. It caused me to recall my play days, and I can’t wait to have a free summer to spend trying to get into some community theatre. The set was spectacular, as well as the music. But, I didn’t care for Eliza, the lead. She reminds me too much of Kathy Griffin. On the other...
halb it all
We were blessed with the availability and opportunity to visit a laundromat. It was wonderful. We not only laundered, but accessed (FREE) Internet, and drank tea; it was refreshing, and I needed it. I gave my presentation a few days ago on Deutschpunk, and I’d like to share some parts that were significant to me: “The repercussions of this disillusionment are found in the very veins of German...
wartburg
The Wartburg Castle at Eisnach was my favorite castle/palace.
Mostly because I actually learned the history behind it, and there were chairs in every room to sit.
Interesting note:
Martin Luther (christian) and St. Elisabeth (catholic) are both lauded for their achievements at this castle.
(p.s. on May 31st, I watched an opera by Wagner, Tannhauser, that took place at Wartburg Castle!)
Today we had class with Dr. Macdonald. It was three hours long, but they were three hours well spent.
It’s Ascension Day, so most shops we’re closed. Sadly, so was Back Factory, so we ate at Burger King. I had no idea what Ascension Day was, so I’m guessing neither do you. Enlightenment below:
“What is Ascension Day?
Ascension Day marks the last appearance of Jesus to the...
We’ve made it to Erfurt; it reminds me a lot of Strausbourg.
I’m living in a five person room. It’s cozy, but I like it. I’ve gotten used to having little to no privacy. In fact, when I am alone, it feels strange, almost unsafe.
There isn’t any wireless, or laundry. However, I will seek something out. I will have my technologies.
I haven’t been able to update, lately, since we haven’t had access to the internet. But, luckily, I’m able to go back and re-write history.
After reading Simone de Beauvoir, we were asked to respond to a prompt and write an essay. I’d like to share a little bit of mine with you:
“It’s fair to say that the model of didactic instruction reached its peak long ago....
I’m not sure how I feel about going home—Germany reminds me so much of home, I don’t miss it as much, anymore.
There are houses—I’ve missed houses. Parks are everywhere, the streets are open, the city is sprawling. There’s a quiet air that has given me so much peace. Yet, the people which make my city mine, are far away, and that’s the part I’m missing.
glad to be in the navy
We welcomed the return of the rest of the group after dinner. I was regaled with stories about Italy, but I’m still glad I stayed behind. I’ve been doing the reading Dr. McDonald asked us to, and I’m excited for his arrival on Wednesday. I passed by a Taco Bell on a military base the other day. For once in my life, I’m extremely happy to be a military dependent. I plan on ordering food for...
spanish inquisition
Today almost half the group left to explore other parts of Europe. I stayed behind for a much needed period of rest, and to conclude my European Culture report. During class, after dinner, we learned about the Spanish Inquisition. I found one man, Tomas de Torquemada, or, the Grand Inquisitor, very interesting, so I did a little research:
“The purpose of the Inquisition was to root out...
simone and algeria
Today was another free day, so I’d like to talk about what we learned in class. Dr. Baah told us that Simone Beauvoir, the author of The Woman Destroyed, had the brain of a man—at least, according to her father. I find that remark offensive, for obvious reasons. Yet, at that time, I’m sure it would have only served to inflate my ego, if I had been told that. In the first story we read, The...
heidelberg
We traveled to Heidelberg, today. We visited the University, and to my surprise, learned some very interesting things about life at the University. The best part about the tour was learning about the University’s prison.
“The University of Heidelberg has a long tradition as a center of learning, but students at the 500-year-old uni have often taken the view that “All work and no ...
dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
Nothing much happened today, as it was another free day. I guess I’ll enlighten you as to what I learned today. Megan gave her culture report on WWI and how poetry was affected. A simple synopsis would be that pre-war poetry used elevated language to highlight the romantic aspects of war, while after-war poetry used concrete imagery to depict the tragedy of its futility and fatality. She read a...
thunderdays
I love Germany. The people here seem so much more open and welcoming. Maybe it’s because we’re in a small town, but everyone’s all smiles. I also feel like they try harder to communicate to us; in France and Spain we’d be the ones looking like idiots trying our hardest to get our words across. Here, I’ve had people flap their arms at me for mutual understanding. After a couple hours at the...
weinheim, day 2
We found an internet cafe! It was a forty minute walk, and I’m exhausted, but it’s well worth the connection to home. I forgot to mention, but yesterday, we made friends with other people in our hostel, a group of high school kids from France. We then proceeded to play six games of volleyball. It was tiring, but all these good, home-cooked meals call for some exercise. In fact, tonight, we played...
weinheim, day 1
Today we traveled to Weinheim. It was a relatively short train ride. I’m so excited to be in Germany; this is the one country that I’ve never been to, and I’ve wanted to for such a long time. I’m also 1/4 German, and a little bit of it is me wanting to discover my roots, I guess. It seems like we’re in the middle of nowhere; I’m not sure where town is. Though, there’s a basketball and volleyball...
imperial
I wasn’t that thrilled to travel to the European Union. I thought we’d walk around a building, and not learn anything that profound. Instead, I was ushered into a room like the one that holds the Imperial Senate in Star Wars, and listened to thirty odd people make their cases about human rights interests. Since it was the last day for their term, the proceedings got a little emotional. I...
strasbourg, dear
After seeing La Sagrada Familia, I wasn’t prepared to be as awe-inspired as I was by the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg. It was red and Gothic and towered high above the rest of the city. Its frame didn’t fit with the scenery, and I felt like it had been painted on to a huge backdrop. We went inside to view an age-old clock that had a unique history behind it. The chimes itself weren’t that...
living on the Rhine
I’ve heard so much about the Rhine, and the Alsace and Lorraine regions. Seeing them in person is so weird, and I hardly realized it the first day we moved here. The Rhine River’s name means “raging flow”, but it’s quite still where we’re at. We’re just a twenty minute walk away from Germany, and I can hardly believe I can just walk along a bridge to get to another country. It’s also been called...
bienvenue, Paris
I’m still sick. With all this scare about swine flu, I’ve been doing a lot of research about disease. I know I don’t have the virus, and it’s just a travel bug, but the idea of a pandemic has drowned my poor drowsy mind, and so I lie in bed for hours clicking through the internet and reading about death. I’ll share some interesting history about the 1976 U.S. outbreak of swine flu. In February of...
April 2009
35 posts
La Sagrada Familia
A friend of mine from Switzerland, Halley, came down for a couple days to hang out in Barcelona.
The day she arrived we went to see Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia. It’s a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction since 1882, and might not be finished until 2026.
So much work has been done on it since I last saw it in 2004. I’m hoping to...
siesta and tapas
America, we need siestas. Reasons listed below -
the heat can be “unbearable in the early afternoon”, and ultraviolet radiation is at its peak and out to get us.
and so, to be safe, we should run under our covers at home, bringing with us large amounts of snacks.
and then we can commune with our picnic naps with friends and family.
also, we have a biological need for naps, and I am...
