Okay, enough procrastination. Here it is - Kieler Woche. I still can´t motivate myself to record all the events from the Kiel Week sailing festival, but I know I´ll regret it someday if I don´t. I hope that I can get into it as I start writing.
Kiel is a somewhat stale, industrial port city with very little charm or historical significance, as the entire city was flattened during the second world war. Yet every June for the last century and a half, the city is transformed into what is now the world´s largest sailing event, and one of the largest annual folk festivals in Europe. Currently Kiel holds a population of about 240,000, smaller than Wichita. But just after the summer solstice in June, the ships started appearing on the horizon at the sea beyond the förde. Slowly at first, then with a steady momentum, and finally with a chaotic force the harbor filled with a bizarre array of sail boats, historic and famous boats, navy ships from across the globe, little dingies, wind surfers, even submarines. The thousands of boats and sailors would be enough to make the event a spectacle. But somehow over the years Kieler Woche has become a target destination for tourists from around the world, which increases every year as more and more bands, performers, and artists are provided. For about 10 days a year, Kiel´s population multiplies to more than 4 MILLION. Unbelievable. I expected to find the festivities just along the harbor, but was shocked to discover upon the first day that the entire city was transformed. Even the non-interesting industrial sections and housing neighborhoods - everything! Every possible open space and bit of earth in the city was decked with tents, campers, stages, craft displays, ferris wheels and amusement rides, and food/drink vendors. Of course along the water was where most of the activity happened, concerts and boat races and such, and I soon realized that it could become quite dangerous to be around the förde after dark. Not because the people were necessarily dangerous, but simply because you couldn´t move! One night it took me more than 3 hours to loop through a part of the harbor that normally takes 5 to 10 minutes. Aside from the stress of being around so many people, the week had SO many fun things to offer!
The opening weekend I mostly wandered about with my friends, and realized with shock and sorrow that there was absolutely no way to go to everything we wanted to see during the week. We met a couple sailors from the British and American Navy who invited us to a big concert on the American ship Saturday. Sadly, by the time we finally found the part of the förde that held all the Navy ships, the gates had closed and we missed the concert. For some reason I was really curious to have this experience, and was looking forward to meeting a whole SHIP full of Americans. Instead we wandered about, sampled some food from the international markets, and Kristin and I rode several times on the Power Tower - a 300 meter free-fall ride. Sunday we finally made it to the Navy yard before the gates closed, and went to tour some of the boats. Of course the ONLY ships we weren´t allowed on were the two giant American ships, with really tough security. But we helped ourselves onto the Norwegian, German, and Australian ships, and found some beautiful views of the city from the tall masts. Monday was the only day of the week in which I decided to stay in Bordesholm and avoid the city. Tuesday after work I joined Samuel and Kristin for the huge Bosse (popular band from Hamburg) outdoor FREE concert by the water.
Wednesday was Emmi´s birthday, and after a long day of going with her to the forest and hosting a birthday tea with relatives, I went with neighbor Harry to the opening of an art show that he was part of. I had such a good time, and the venue was perfect! The show was in a huge old abandoned bath house, which offered so many interesting display options. Harry had built a big cubic sculpture with carrots and sticks, which had already started to shift and decay after a day, to his delight. It was amazing! We walked through the other exhibits and watched a bizarre but powerful performance art piece by a couple of his friends. Then we just went and sat in the grassy courtyard as many other artists, professors, and friends collected. Soon I was surrounded by a group of very unique personalities, all of them lounging in clusters with their cigarettes and beer and philosophical conversations. There were several elements involved there which might have annoyed me under other circumstances. But for some strange reason in that moment, with the angular sun setting across the trees, buildings, our faces, the stale smell of smoke and hum of voices in the crisp evening air, there was absolutely nowhere else I would have rather been.
Thursday and Friday after work I continued my quest to take in as much of this festival as possible, and Kristin and I went to a concert at die Pumpe, a club where my friend Samuel was hired as the stage photographer. The band was not the type that I would enjoy on the radio, but they were amazing to see live! Their style was kind of old-school grunge/punk mixed with an older ACDC style, if you can imagine that. Lots of guitar riffs and screaming inhuman sounds into the microphone. I had a great time! The best part of the night was when Sam informed us that he has a friend with a sail boat, and we could join them to go sailing on Saturday! This was my biggest wish for Kieler Woche (it is a sailing festival after all), and I could not contain my excitement. Saturday was super busy as Emmi had her massive birthday party with little friends. But after we wrapped up the games and grilling, I went off to Kiel to go sailing. Sadly Kristin couldn´t go, but we still had a great time with just the three of us. Kristophe was the guy who owned the boat, and you could definitely tell he had been at sea for a LONG time. His skin was red and peeling off the face around the stark white outline where his sunglasses usually rest. We had great wind, and I was surprised at how fast we could go, and how we had to cling for our lives when the boat shifted! Kristophe could sail like a pro, as he´d been doing since he was 10, and I had no fear. I was even in charge of the steering board for a lot of the trip while Sam and Kris were working with the sails above. I was a bit nervous as there were SO many other ships and boats in the harbor to avoid, but once we made it out to sea it was easier. Amazing! My sailing experience basically wrapped up my Kieler Woche week. We did a couple more things - wandered the city, ate some wurst, listened to music and visited some friends at their flat, but nothing at all topped the sailing. Now I need a boat of my own! :)
An incredible week. An exhausting week. I´ll admit I am a bit relieved to have it all behind me now. Yesterday I was in the city again for the first time since Kieler Woche closed last Sunday, and it was so nice to have open spaces again. Boring as it may be, I have a soft spot for our little insignificant Kiel during the other 51 weeks of the year.
Whew! I´m done. I think this is all I´m going to share about Kieler Woche. More to come about other parts of my life later.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Intermission.
I am not yet ready to tackle the insane task of describing Kieler Woche, so I am going to ease my way into it by telling a couple side stories - everyday life sort of things. Maybe tomorrow I´ll touch Kieler Woche...
I am still in a mild state of shock at how COOL (as in not hot) this summer has been. It is nearly July, and we´ve still hardly seen temperatures above 20 grad (70s F). I haven´t had a day yet in which I haven´t had to dress with a long-sleeve shirt and jacket in the mornings. I often have a mid-day wardrobe change, as the afternoons are usually warm enough for a t-shirt. Last week naturally it was raining during the entire festival, but finally yesterday the sun came back again. I hopped on my bike with a mind to pay Opa Lothar a visit and see if he wanted to go on a bike ride with me. On my way to his house we happened to meet on the path, as he was on the way to visit his friend Ernst for coffee. He told me I should come along, and with no good reason to refuse I tagged along. Lothar explained to me on the way that Ernst and their other friend Jurgen are not "in harmony" at the moment, and he was a bit nervous about this coffee with them together. Oh great, I thought, not only am I the awkward young person who can´t speak fluent German, but I´m stepping in the middle of an old-man feud! But it actually turned out to be a really fun coffee, and I think in some ways I was a good distraction. This way Ernst and Jurgen could amuse themselves with talking about things like Obama, talking about Count Basie and Little Richard and singing songs about Kansas (I swear I had never really heard the song Kansas City until arriving in Germany!). Old Ernst was already nursing a dark beer, but I was happy to drink some nice black tea and nibble on fresh berries from their garden. Florence, the wife, was originally from Holland and was excited to show me photos of her daughter and grandbaby. At some point the older son, who seemed to be in his late 30s, stumbled outside groggily to pour a tall mug of coffee. They laughed and asked if he´d been at Kieler Woche the night before, and he muttered something to suggest an affirmative and shuffled away back inside. We sat and chatted for another hour or so, and then I went on my way to go on my bike ride before it became too warm. I enjoy little things like this. I find that I am so much less intimidated talking with the friends of my host grandparents than with people my own age. I´m not so paranoid about making mistakes, nor am I concerned about trying to blend in. It is nice. I think I also just miss my own grandparents a lot. Less than two months!
I am still blown away by how short my time is closing in on me now. I have less than 3 weeks left of work, and if I plan on traveling a bit at that point I should really be starting to think about packing and such. As usual, though, I will probably put it off until the last few days. No reason to live out of a suitcase with bare walls longer than necessary. This evening after work I went on another bike ride, and happened to go on a path that Miriam and I took before we went to Ireland. I remember talking to her about how I felt that no matter where I lived I always somehow felt discontent. But in that moment we were having an absolutely perfect bike ride, and she expressed how in that instant she couldn´t imagine there being anywhere else she would rather be. I took in the surroundings around me - the scenery, the smells, the comfort of a good friend, and realized I couldn´t argue. Tonight I had that same feeling - there was absolutely nowhere else I could imagine being happier in that moment. The air was sweet with the smell of oats and earth, and I felt so alive. I even threw my arms up in the air and closed my eyes like a dramatic fool as I coasted downhill against the cool evening breeze. It felt good, in a mixed sort of way. I´m thrilled about going home again so soon, but content to know I´m happy where I am now and hope I can make the most of my remaining time here.
This week was Emma Sophie´s 6th birthday. As she wished, I went along with her to Forest Kindergarden Wednesday morning, and we all spent the day playing by the lake, rolling in the grass, and eating snacks. We returned feeling happy and energized, and I told Emmi to play outside while I cooked lunch. Soon she came sulking back inside, tears quietly streaming down her face. I sat down in front of her and tried to figure out what had happened, but she just kept crying and couldn´t express what the problem was. Finally she sputtered "I stepped on a bumble bee..." "Oh no," I said, "did it scare you or hurt?" She shook her head, "no," and wailed "I... I killed it," sobbing gravely into my shoulder "poor little bumble bee..." Oh how I love this child sometimes. On one hand she can be a violent little tyrant, and other times she can be the most sensitive and caring little thing. Many kids would have TRIED to kill the bee! Oh Emmi...
Paul Luis also made me happy this week as I accidentally washed a t-shirt he had spent HOURS making with markers for his French class. It had handprints with flags, and he was so proud of it. When I was hanging the laundry on the line, I was devastated to see that the only thing remaining on the shirt was his name scribbled in black in the corner... I knew he would be furious, but that I had to tell him later and dreaded it the entire day. When he came home I sat him down and told him how sorry I was and showed him the shirt. "COOL!" he said, "maybe I can cut it up and dye it another color!" WHAT?? Things like that never happen for me! What luck. Somehow the heavens aligned that day, and I couldn´t stop hugging the poor kid.
Well now, other than spending the days keeping the kids´ schedules in order, I´ve been happy with the gardens! I have been harvesting my feldsalat for over a week, and we have been eating salads every day now. The peas are also ready, but somehow they always get eaten before reaching the kitchen. Now that our strawberry season is starting to pass, the raspberries and currants are ripening. I had a fresh bowl of joghurt with berries and a few of the first cherries. Once the raspberries and red/black/white currants die out, we´ll have blueberries, blackberries and cherries. Little apples and pears are starting to form on the trees now too, but I think they won´t be ripe until after I leave. I just love how all the fruits shift here so perfectly! Just when we get sick of eating one variety they end and a new one begins! Delicious.
Sorry, you probably don´t need to hear all about my garden. But this is my life now - it is what I do! I promise the next post about Kieler Woche will be much more interesting. Be ready!
I am still in a mild state of shock at how COOL (as in not hot) this summer has been. It is nearly July, and we´ve still hardly seen temperatures above 20 grad (70s F). I haven´t had a day yet in which I haven´t had to dress with a long-sleeve shirt and jacket in the mornings. I often have a mid-day wardrobe change, as the afternoons are usually warm enough for a t-shirt. Last week naturally it was raining during the entire festival, but finally yesterday the sun came back again. I hopped on my bike with a mind to pay Opa Lothar a visit and see if he wanted to go on a bike ride with me. On my way to his house we happened to meet on the path, as he was on the way to visit his friend Ernst for coffee. He told me I should come along, and with no good reason to refuse I tagged along. Lothar explained to me on the way that Ernst and their other friend Jurgen are not "in harmony" at the moment, and he was a bit nervous about this coffee with them together. Oh great, I thought, not only am I the awkward young person who can´t speak fluent German, but I´m stepping in the middle of an old-man feud! But it actually turned out to be a really fun coffee, and I think in some ways I was a good distraction. This way Ernst and Jurgen could amuse themselves with talking about things like Obama, talking about Count Basie and Little Richard and singing songs about Kansas (I swear I had never really heard the song Kansas City until arriving in Germany!). Old Ernst was already nursing a dark beer, but I was happy to drink some nice black tea and nibble on fresh berries from their garden. Florence, the wife, was originally from Holland and was excited to show me photos of her daughter and grandbaby. At some point the older son, who seemed to be in his late 30s, stumbled outside groggily to pour a tall mug of coffee. They laughed and asked if he´d been at Kieler Woche the night before, and he muttered something to suggest an affirmative and shuffled away back inside. We sat and chatted for another hour or so, and then I went on my way to go on my bike ride before it became too warm. I enjoy little things like this. I find that I am so much less intimidated talking with the friends of my host grandparents than with people my own age. I´m not so paranoid about making mistakes, nor am I concerned about trying to blend in. It is nice. I think I also just miss my own grandparents a lot. Less than two months!
I am still blown away by how short my time is closing in on me now. I have less than 3 weeks left of work, and if I plan on traveling a bit at that point I should really be starting to think about packing and such. As usual, though, I will probably put it off until the last few days. No reason to live out of a suitcase with bare walls longer than necessary. This evening after work I went on another bike ride, and happened to go on a path that Miriam and I took before we went to Ireland. I remember talking to her about how I felt that no matter where I lived I always somehow felt discontent. But in that moment we were having an absolutely perfect bike ride, and she expressed how in that instant she couldn´t imagine there being anywhere else she would rather be. I took in the surroundings around me - the scenery, the smells, the comfort of a good friend, and realized I couldn´t argue. Tonight I had that same feeling - there was absolutely nowhere else I could imagine being happier in that moment. The air was sweet with the smell of oats and earth, and I felt so alive. I even threw my arms up in the air and closed my eyes like a dramatic fool as I coasted downhill against the cool evening breeze. It felt good, in a mixed sort of way. I´m thrilled about going home again so soon, but content to know I´m happy where I am now and hope I can make the most of my remaining time here.
This week was Emma Sophie´s 6th birthday. As she wished, I went along with her to Forest Kindergarden Wednesday morning, and we all spent the day playing by the lake, rolling in the grass, and eating snacks. We returned feeling happy and energized, and I told Emmi to play outside while I cooked lunch. Soon she came sulking back inside, tears quietly streaming down her face. I sat down in front of her and tried to figure out what had happened, but she just kept crying and couldn´t express what the problem was. Finally she sputtered "I stepped on a bumble bee..." "Oh no," I said, "did it scare you or hurt?" She shook her head, "no," and wailed "I... I killed it," sobbing gravely into my shoulder "poor little bumble bee..." Oh how I love this child sometimes. On one hand she can be a violent little tyrant, and other times she can be the most sensitive and caring little thing. Many kids would have TRIED to kill the bee! Oh Emmi...
Paul Luis also made me happy this week as I accidentally washed a t-shirt he had spent HOURS making with markers for his French class. It had handprints with flags, and he was so proud of it. When I was hanging the laundry on the line, I was devastated to see that the only thing remaining on the shirt was his name scribbled in black in the corner... I knew he would be furious, but that I had to tell him later and dreaded it the entire day. When he came home I sat him down and told him how sorry I was and showed him the shirt. "COOL!" he said, "maybe I can cut it up and dye it another color!" WHAT?? Things like that never happen for me! What luck. Somehow the heavens aligned that day, and I couldn´t stop hugging the poor kid.
Well now, other than spending the days keeping the kids´ schedules in order, I´ve been happy with the gardens! I have been harvesting my feldsalat for over a week, and we have been eating salads every day now. The peas are also ready, but somehow they always get eaten before reaching the kitchen. Now that our strawberry season is starting to pass, the raspberries and currants are ripening. I had a fresh bowl of joghurt with berries and a few of the first cherries. Once the raspberries and red/black/white currants die out, we´ll have blueberries, blackberries and cherries. Little apples and pears are starting to form on the trees now too, but I think they won´t be ripe until after I leave. I just love how all the fruits shift here so perfectly! Just when we get sick of eating one variety they end and a new one begins! Delicious.
Sorry, you probably don´t need to hear all about my garden. But this is my life now - it is what I do! I promise the next post about Kieler Woche will be much more interesting. Be ready!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
It is time.
(I say this post title using a magnificent and dramatic Rafiki voice, to anyone who might appreciate the coloration).
Needless to say, I have a lot to catch up on. I´ll try to start where I left off in early June, and will do my best not to leave anything out, nor to get too carried away in the little details. I have a feeling I will fail in at least one of these goals.
I´ll mainly stick with the weekend events, as my weeks have been fairly routine - working with the kids and all. Though first I might mention that this has been a very challenging month for me, as poor Emma Sophie developed a serious bronchial problem in her lungs a few weeks ago. Both parents were very occupied with conferences and such, and I was left completely responsible for working through the medical issues on my own. Emmi missed a lot of Kindergarten, as nearly every day we paid visits to her doctor (who fortunately works just a minute´s walk from our house) and picked up various medicines and inhaling machines from the Apotheke (kind of like a pharmacy). I was a nervous wreck these past weeks. It was a terrifying responsibility for me to struggle through conversations with the doctor and pharmacists in German, using terms I´m not familiar with and desperately making sure I understand the important details about the medicines, dosages, and such. We had to rent a big electric inhaler machine, which I filled 3 times a day with four different medicines using still-unfamiliar metric measuring units. There was also an array of syrups, tablets, and nose and ear drops (she burst her eardrums during the same week). Our counters and refrigerator spaces were an explosion of bottles, syringes, needles, receipts, and several dosage schedules that I scribbled and edited daily as I was given new instructions from the doctor. Every week I prayed fervently that she would say Emmi was completely cured and we could stop all the treatments, but this didn´t happen until just a couple days ago - just in time for Emmi´s 6th birthday. Massive celebration on many levels! I am just so relieved that I didn´t manage to kill the child over these last few weeks. I was extremely paranoid, and a bit confused that I was left with all this responsibility. I won´t get into this too much, but it seemed to me that it should be the parents´ duty to be with their child during serious matters like this. I know the conferences, exams, and science laboratories are important and all, but so is little Emma Sophie. I suppose I should feel good that they trusted me so much, but it felt undue as I honestly trusted myself very little. I´m not a doctor, nor a parent - just an au pair! But now I feel very good, having it all past us now. The only thing we do now is a couple ear drops each morning - a breeze! I also feel a strange new connection to the children now, after experiencing the gravity of how vulnerable they actually can be. I´m so used to administering the "kids are tougher than we give them credit for" philosophy - which I still believe to be true. But now I see the other side, too, which I think is important.
Okay, so back to catching up. One of the first weekends in June- the 6th or so, was a big handball championship game between our Kiel THW team and Flensburg. It happened to also be the Swedish Independence Day, and I celebrated with my Swedish friends Kristin and Hanna by going to watch the game on a massive screen in the Rathausplatz. It was amazing! One of our THW players, Stefan Lövgren (for anyone who might follow handball...) from Sweden was playing his last game - which made it a very important game. Coincidently, Hanna´s brother Oskar plays professionally for the Flensburg team, which her father coaches. I felt so torn as to whether I should be cheering for my Kiel team or supporting her brother with Flensburg. In the end Kiel was victorious, and there was much celebration in the plaza with live music and a parade as the team returned to the city in Superman costumes.
The next weekend I found a Mitfahrgelegenheit (online carpool service) to Dresden so I could visit my dear friend Anna who is working there as an English assistant. There were 5 strangers packed into the little blue VW, but we all got along well and had quality conversations during the entire 6 hour journey. I love Mitfahring! It is basically a more luxurious form of hitch hiking, but I couldn´t let that phase me as the train tickets at the time were €130 in comparison to the €20 I gave my driver. I was so excited to be reunited with Anna. We had the house (a huge glass house on top of a hill - spectacular views of the city, hills, and sky) to ourselves as her host parents were out of town, and spent the first night inside with pizza and ice cream, talking endlessly and sleeping late the next morning. The weather was beautiful and we made ourselves a nice German breakfast outside in the garden. After a couple coffees we decided to hit the city. First we explored the older historical parts of Dresden, the cathedrals and such that were rebuilt after the bombings. Most of this was all familiar to me, as I had already been to Dresden during our interterm Choir Tour in 2006. However it was much more pleasant to visit these places in the warm sunlight of June as opposed to the icy January of my choir tour. The city was very vibrant and full of energy that day, as there happened to be a big Rainbow Pride festival and parade in the Zentrum. Later we moved on to the Neustadt, a more alternative and artsy part of the city. We browsed some fun secondhand shops, and wandered through some funky stores, plazas, and art galleries. I even sunburned when we stopped for some coffee in a little outdoor beach built in the middle of the city - complete with reclining chairs and umbrellas (which I should have taken advantage of in retrospect). That night we met up with Anna´s friends from Australia, New Zealand, and Germany and spent hours Downtown. We had a great time, but it is never a good feeling to walk home after a night out as the sky begins to turn pink on the horizon, and birds begin chirping loudly for the new day... On Sunday we felt surprisingly rested, and hopped on a train through the mountains to visit the Festung Königstein, a fortress built into the top of a hill overlooking Dresden and the surrounding Sächsische Schweiz. It was a pleasant hike up to the fortress, and I was surprised as we walked through the gates of the giant walls to enter into what felt like a small city in itself. I guess I sort of expected to enter a castle or something, but it was a giant grassy area with various buildings, chapels, markets, commander houses, even a small forest! And most importantly, ice cream stands (not sure if they had those in the 13th century, but I was certainly happy to find them)! We didn´t have much time to spend there, but I had a nice walk around the outer walls of the fortress with breathtaking views. I promise to post some more photos to Flickr eventually... sorry I´ve been failing there lately. After getting a bit lost on our return hike, we caught the train back to Dresden just in time for my carpool. I rode with the same driver as earlier, and as we were all too exhausted for conversation this time we took advantage of the DVD player in the car. We watched Bruce Almighty (surprisingly chosen by the girl sitting next to me with pink hair, gothic black clothing and studded with all sorts of metal and piercings - I love how stereotypes are constantly being broken here) followed by Gladiator - random but satisfying selections. I didn´t get back to Bordesholm until well past midnight and it was so painful to get up to work after just a few hours of sleep for work Monday morning. But in every respect the weekend was well worth it. I´m so glad I was finally able to take a weekend trip to get out of Schleswig-Holstein and see some other parts of Germany.
The next weekend would be completely different, as my life has been ALL about Kiel since June 19, the beginning of Kieler Woche. Oh wow... this is going to take a while to describe. I think I´ll start a new post to devote entirely to Kieler Woche, giving your eyes a break and starting fresh again. More to come in the next post!
Needless to say, I have a lot to catch up on. I´ll try to start where I left off in early June, and will do my best not to leave anything out, nor to get too carried away in the little details. I have a feeling I will fail in at least one of these goals.
I´ll mainly stick with the weekend events, as my weeks have been fairly routine - working with the kids and all. Though first I might mention that this has been a very challenging month for me, as poor Emma Sophie developed a serious bronchial problem in her lungs a few weeks ago. Both parents were very occupied with conferences and such, and I was left completely responsible for working through the medical issues on my own. Emmi missed a lot of Kindergarten, as nearly every day we paid visits to her doctor (who fortunately works just a minute´s walk from our house) and picked up various medicines and inhaling machines from the Apotheke (kind of like a pharmacy). I was a nervous wreck these past weeks. It was a terrifying responsibility for me to struggle through conversations with the doctor and pharmacists in German, using terms I´m not familiar with and desperately making sure I understand the important details about the medicines, dosages, and such. We had to rent a big electric inhaler machine, which I filled 3 times a day with four different medicines using still-unfamiliar metric measuring units. There was also an array of syrups, tablets, and nose and ear drops (she burst her eardrums during the same week). Our counters and refrigerator spaces were an explosion of bottles, syringes, needles, receipts, and several dosage schedules that I scribbled and edited daily as I was given new instructions from the doctor. Every week I prayed fervently that she would say Emmi was completely cured and we could stop all the treatments, but this didn´t happen until just a couple days ago - just in time for Emmi´s 6th birthday. Massive celebration on many levels! I am just so relieved that I didn´t manage to kill the child over these last few weeks. I was extremely paranoid, and a bit confused that I was left with all this responsibility. I won´t get into this too much, but it seemed to me that it should be the parents´ duty to be with their child during serious matters like this. I know the conferences, exams, and science laboratories are important and all, but so is little Emma Sophie. I suppose I should feel good that they trusted me so much, but it felt undue as I honestly trusted myself very little. I´m not a doctor, nor a parent - just an au pair! But now I feel very good, having it all past us now. The only thing we do now is a couple ear drops each morning - a breeze! I also feel a strange new connection to the children now, after experiencing the gravity of how vulnerable they actually can be. I´m so used to administering the "kids are tougher than we give them credit for" philosophy - which I still believe to be true. But now I see the other side, too, which I think is important.
Okay, so back to catching up. One of the first weekends in June- the 6th or so, was a big handball championship game between our Kiel THW team and Flensburg. It happened to also be the Swedish Independence Day, and I celebrated with my Swedish friends Kristin and Hanna by going to watch the game on a massive screen in the Rathausplatz. It was amazing! One of our THW players, Stefan Lövgren (for anyone who might follow handball...) from Sweden was playing his last game - which made it a very important game. Coincidently, Hanna´s brother Oskar plays professionally for the Flensburg team, which her father coaches. I felt so torn as to whether I should be cheering for my Kiel team or supporting her brother with Flensburg. In the end Kiel was victorious, and there was much celebration in the plaza with live music and a parade as the team returned to the city in Superman costumes.
The next weekend I found a Mitfahrgelegenheit (online carpool service) to Dresden so I could visit my dear friend Anna who is working there as an English assistant. There were 5 strangers packed into the little blue VW, but we all got along well and had quality conversations during the entire 6 hour journey. I love Mitfahring! It is basically a more luxurious form of hitch hiking, but I couldn´t let that phase me as the train tickets at the time were €130 in comparison to the €20 I gave my driver. I was so excited to be reunited with Anna. We had the house (a huge glass house on top of a hill - spectacular views of the city, hills, and sky) to ourselves as her host parents were out of town, and spent the first night inside with pizza and ice cream, talking endlessly and sleeping late the next morning. The weather was beautiful and we made ourselves a nice German breakfast outside in the garden. After a couple coffees we decided to hit the city. First we explored the older historical parts of Dresden, the cathedrals and such that were rebuilt after the bombings. Most of this was all familiar to me, as I had already been to Dresden during our interterm Choir Tour in 2006. However it was much more pleasant to visit these places in the warm sunlight of June as opposed to the icy January of my choir tour. The city was very vibrant and full of energy that day, as there happened to be a big Rainbow Pride festival and parade in the Zentrum. Later we moved on to the Neustadt, a more alternative and artsy part of the city. We browsed some fun secondhand shops, and wandered through some funky stores, plazas, and art galleries. I even sunburned when we stopped for some coffee in a little outdoor beach built in the middle of the city - complete with reclining chairs and umbrellas (which I should have taken advantage of in retrospect). That night we met up with Anna´s friends from Australia, New Zealand, and Germany and spent hours Downtown. We had a great time, but it is never a good feeling to walk home after a night out as the sky begins to turn pink on the horizon, and birds begin chirping loudly for the new day... On Sunday we felt surprisingly rested, and hopped on a train through the mountains to visit the Festung Königstein, a fortress built into the top of a hill overlooking Dresden and the surrounding Sächsische Schweiz. It was a pleasant hike up to the fortress, and I was surprised as we walked through the gates of the giant walls to enter into what felt like a small city in itself. I guess I sort of expected to enter a castle or something, but it was a giant grassy area with various buildings, chapels, markets, commander houses, even a small forest! And most importantly, ice cream stands (not sure if they had those in the 13th century, but I was certainly happy to find them)! We didn´t have much time to spend there, but I had a nice walk around the outer walls of the fortress with breathtaking views. I promise to post some more photos to Flickr eventually... sorry I´ve been failing there lately. After getting a bit lost on our return hike, we caught the train back to Dresden just in time for my carpool. I rode with the same driver as earlier, and as we were all too exhausted for conversation this time we took advantage of the DVD player in the car. We watched Bruce Almighty (surprisingly chosen by the girl sitting next to me with pink hair, gothic black clothing and studded with all sorts of metal and piercings - I love how stereotypes are constantly being broken here) followed by Gladiator - random but satisfying selections. I didn´t get back to Bordesholm until well past midnight and it was so painful to get up to work after just a few hours of sleep for work Monday morning. But in every respect the weekend was well worth it. I´m so glad I was finally able to take a weekend trip to get out of Schleswig-Holstein and see some other parts of Germany.
The next weekend would be completely different, as my life has been ALL about Kiel since June 19, the beginning of Kieler Woche. Oh wow... this is going to take a while to describe. I think I´ll start a new post to devote entirely to Kieler Woche, giving your eyes a break and starting fresh again. More to come in the next post!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Correction...
The sky becomes pink with sunrise and the birds start singing at 3:40 a.m.
I involuntarily made that observation this morning.
Sun set was well after 11:15 tonight.
My body is so confused... it isn´t fair. Complete darkness and silence during the night are vital to my sleep pattern and happiness. Doesn´t The North understand?!!
I involuntarily made that observation this morning.
Sun set was well after 11:15 tonight.
My body is so confused... it isn´t fair. Complete darkness and silence during the night are vital to my sleep pattern and happiness. Doesn´t The North understand?!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Oh no.
Here it is. The ever-predictable "I can´t believe it is already June!" blog post. I had a minor panic attack (not really, but enough to make me choke a little on some bread) when this realization came to my mind and slapped it around a bit. As you all well know, I imagined back in August that this would be the longest year of my life. Now of course I can´t hold on to it long enough, as it is slipping away before my very eyes. I am so torn between the self-indulgent part of me who wants to make the most of my time left here in Germany and have some weekend adventures while I am footloose and fancy free, and the logical part of me (which won this weekend) who wants to stay in, be practical, save money for a bit of traveling at the end of my term, and focus on finding a job and housing for the coming Fall. There are two job positions in particular into which I´ve put a lot of effort this week. One is only part-time, but would be an amazing learning opportunity and I would be insane not to accept if by some miracle it is offered to me. I applied for an opening as the Collections Assistant at KU´s Spencer Museum of Art. I won´t go into too much detail, but basically it is the most ideal position I can imagine right now (if only it were full-time, but can´t be too choosy now, can I?). I even feel like I might be fully qualified, but worry that I don´t have enough long-term experiences. I just got a confirmation today that they have received my application and supplementary documents, and they´ll be reviewing this week. The other job I applied for just today is an Admissions Counselor at the Kansas City Art Institute. While I have literally no experience in Admissions aside from giving occasional campus tours and hosting prospectives, this position would primarily require me to travel to art academies, review student art portfolios and applications, critique their work and art proficiency, and communicate my observations with department heads. Sounds alright to me! Again, reviews begin this week, so we´ll wait and see. PLEASE offer me any prayers or support you have right now. I know that I should relax and go with the flow, but I really have worked hard on these two applications in particular (over 12 hours today revising resumes AGAIN, writing cover letters, essays, salary expectations, references, etc.). AH! But all this aside, things will work out. I´m lucky today is a state holiday, so I had time to work more on these things. I´m also looking at random places like Wheat Fields bakery and Waxman Candles. I´m leaning primarily toward living in Lawrence, as I´d be closer to my brother and I do love that community so. Most of my job prospects in pending are also in Lawrence, surprisingly, as I haven´t found too many in KC yet. I need to make a decision quickly as I have modmates in both Lawrence and KC with whom I could live, and they need to start looking for housing now. It isn´t fair to them for me to stay in limbo like this.
Blah blah - enough of these worries. This is my biggest problem lately. As much as I know things will work out in the end somehow, I just cannot allow myself to shove these worries aside and live in the moment. I have less than two precious months left here in Bordesholm (my last day of work will be before July 20), and while I know I´ll have a blast traveling around before my return flight on August 12, I want to do some more exploring in Germany and continue to build strong connections here in Bordesholm and Kiel. I adore the garden house and am quite content staying in my snug little home, working in my garden and biking all day. But I know I should be doing more than that, and will have regrets if I don´t try to get out more. My language skills could use a bit more communication, too.
I have a couple funny stories. First comes from the supermarket last week. I was in the produce section picking out some fine apples, when I hear a booming voice behind me proclaim "MISS AmERica!!!" I turned to see my crazy old neighbor from down the street, who has shouted this to me from his garden nearly every time I walk past. He is a big booming old man, with a round belly, red face, and always wears bright green dirty overalls. I usually just laugh awkwardly, as the rest of the neighborhood gazes, say a short "Moin moin" or "Guten Tag" and go on my way. But this was the first time to actually meet the man in person, in a public place nonetheless. He went on to exclaim how late I always go to bed (apparently he can see my window from his house, great...), and asked if I stay up to watch boxing. Aside from being slightly creeped out, I found the whole conversation quite hilarious. He joked about using lazers to talk to each other, and passed on his greetings to my host parents. This gave me a good laugh for the day, but I am definitely more careful to make sure my blinds are closed now... the farm girl in me still forgets this sometimes! Oh well, it is Germany after all. Nobody cares.
On that note, I had a similar intrusion this weekend. After a morning of yoga, gardening, and moving giant stones I treated myself to a nice long shower. While singing away in my happy steamy stream of water, I was shocked when suddenly the door swung open and Emma Sophie came running inside. This child has absolutely no comprehension of privacy, and no attempts on my part have ever had any impact at all in helping her to understand that some people actually do like to be in the bathroom alone (it honestly doesn´t upset me too much, but I thought I might try to spare some future au pairs!). She thinks it is perfectly normal to stride in to chat while I´m on the toilet, and it is difficult to prevent things like this as none of the interior doors have locks. I´ve kind of given up. But this weekend in particular was a little beyond my comfort. My shower offers little to conceal, as it is completely glass, and when the door to the bathroom is open one can see through the front door and windows into the garden and neighbor´s yard. I could hear Paul Luis and his friend Marlon playing in the garden, and I told Emmi to close the door quickly! She went on begging me to come outside NOW to help her hold her bunny (on loan from Harry). I said she´d have to wait until later, to which she started bawling and threw a tantrum, running away and leaving all my doors wide open, of course. Oh, that child. Sometimes my sacred weekends in my safe house are just an illusion!
I have also had some really sweet moments with the children lately, and have a feeling that they are starting to sense that I won´t be around much longer. This must be so confusing for children, and I have no idea how to make it easier for them. On one hand I am thrilled to feel so connected to them, and my heart swells so much lately as Emmi frequently snuggles and tells me she loves me, and Paul Luis quietly shows affection in his own ways (letting me win chess, patting my head after one of Emmi´s tantrums, etc.). On the other hand I worry that if I let them get too close they will be severely confused in August when I disappear permanently from their lives. In any case it is too late now, so I´m not going to shut myself off to them or anything. But I have tried to find small ways to prepare them for the change, mentioning my plans for the fall, talking about my family in KS and the farm a lot (so they realize I have another life, too), and discussing things about Natalie, the new au pair for next year. I have no idea if any of this will ease the transition at all, but I am extremely worried about their emotional wellbeing. The last two au pairs were here for less than 6 months each, so the children never really attached to them. And they were only 2 and 3 the last time someone stayed longer than a year, so it was easier for them to move on. I´m really glad that they´ll have the whole 6-week summer holiday to spend with their parents full-time, so there will be stability after I leave instead of an immediate change.
Once again I have written a ridiculously and unnecessarily long post, and must beg apologies. It is time for me to go to bed, but it is impossible for me to try to sleep when the birds are still singing! It is 11:00 and I can still see sunlight on the horizon... (and I can guarantee you that those birds will be singing again as the sun rises before 4:30 a.m.) Oh the North...
Blah blah - enough of these worries. This is my biggest problem lately. As much as I know things will work out in the end somehow, I just cannot allow myself to shove these worries aside and live in the moment. I have less than two precious months left here in Bordesholm (my last day of work will be before July 20), and while I know I´ll have a blast traveling around before my return flight on August 12, I want to do some more exploring in Germany and continue to build strong connections here in Bordesholm and Kiel. I adore the garden house and am quite content staying in my snug little home, working in my garden and biking all day. But I know I should be doing more than that, and will have regrets if I don´t try to get out more. My language skills could use a bit more communication, too.
I have a couple funny stories. First comes from the supermarket last week. I was in the produce section picking out some fine apples, when I hear a booming voice behind me proclaim "MISS AmERica!!!" I turned to see my crazy old neighbor from down the street, who has shouted this to me from his garden nearly every time I walk past. He is a big booming old man, with a round belly, red face, and always wears bright green dirty overalls. I usually just laugh awkwardly, as the rest of the neighborhood gazes, say a short "Moin moin" or "Guten Tag" and go on my way. But this was the first time to actually meet the man in person, in a public place nonetheless. He went on to exclaim how late I always go to bed (apparently he can see my window from his house, great...), and asked if I stay up to watch boxing. Aside from being slightly creeped out, I found the whole conversation quite hilarious. He joked about using lazers to talk to each other, and passed on his greetings to my host parents. This gave me a good laugh for the day, but I am definitely more careful to make sure my blinds are closed now... the farm girl in me still forgets this sometimes! Oh well, it is Germany after all. Nobody cares.
On that note, I had a similar intrusion this weekend. After a morning of yoga, gardening, and moving giant stones I treated myself to a nice long shower. While singing away in my happy steamy stream of water, I was shocked when suddenly the door swung open and Emma Sophie came running inside. This child has absolutely no comprehension of privacy, and no attempts on my part have ever had any impact at all in helping her to understand that some people actually do like to be in the bathroom alone (it honestly doesn´t upset me too much, but I thought I might try to spare some future au pairs!). She thinks it is perfectly normal to stride in to chat while I´m on the toilet, and it is difficult to prevent things like this as none of the interior doors have locks. I´ve kind of given up. But this weekend in particular was a little beyond my comfort. My shower offers little to conceal, as it is completely glass, and when the door to the bathroom is open one can see through the front door and windows into the garden and neighbor´s yard. I could hear Paul Luis and his friend Marlon playing in the garden, and I told Emmi to close the door quickly! She went on begging me to come outside NOW to help her hold her bunny (on loan from Harry). I said she´d have to wait until later, to which she started bawling and threw a tantrum, running away and leaving all my doors wide open, of course. Oh, that child. Sometimes my sacred weekends in my safe house are just an illusion!
I have also had some really sweet moments with the children lately, and have a feeling that they are starting to sense that I won´t be around much longer. This must be so confusing for children, and I have no idea how to make it easier for them. On one hand I am thrilled to feel so connected to them, and my heart swells so much lately as Emmi frequently snuggles and tells me she loves me, and Paul Luis quietly shows affection in his own ways (letting me win chess, patting my head after one of Emmi´s tantrums, etc.). On the other hand I worry that if I let them get too close they will be severely confused in August when I disappear permanently from their lives. In any case it is too late now, so I´m not going to shut myself off to them or anything. But I have tried to find small ways to prepare them for the change, mentioning my plans for the fall, talking about my family in KS and the farm a lot (so they realize I have another life, too), and discussing things about Natalie, the new au pair for next year. I have no idea if any of this will ease the transition at all, but I am extremely worried about their emotional wellbeing. The last two au pairs were here for less than 6 months each, so the children never really attached to them. And they were only 2 and 3 the last time someone stayed longer than a year, so it was easier for them to move on. I´m really glad that they´ll have the whole 6-week summer holiday to spend with their parents full-time, so there will be stability after I leave instead of an immediate change.
Once again I have written a ridiculously and unnecessarily long post, and must beg apologies. It is time for me to go to bed, but it is impossible for me to try to sleep when the birds are still singing! It is 11:00 and I can still see sunlight on the horizon... (and I can guarantee you that those birds will be singing again as the sun rises before 4:30 a.m.) Oh the North...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
photos
I finally got around to adding more photos to my flickr.com page, as promised. The newest sets are "February 2009," "Ireland," "March-April 2009" and "April-May 2009." Again, I highly recommend clicking on the sets along the right-hand side of the page, rather than searching through the terribly disorganized photostream. Here are some links directly to the sets, in case the hyperlinks don´t work:
February 09: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618480224638/
Ireland: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618394758777/
March-April 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618486656922/
April-May 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618489581424/
I warn you in advance, I got a leeetle bit crazy taking photos out in the Raps (canola) fields, and had no idea how to choose which ones to delete out of dozens and dozens of yellow blossomy photographs. Sorry about that... sometimes I go a bit overboard, don´t I?
Enjoy!
February 09: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618480224638/
Ireland: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618394758777/
March-April 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618486656922/
April-May 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30265955@N07/sets/72157618489581424/
I warn you in advance, I got a leeetle bit crazy taking photos out in the Raps (canola) fields, and had no idea how to choose which ones to delete out of dozens and dozens of yellow blossomy photographs. Sorry about that... sometimes I go a bit overboard, don´t I?
Enjoy!
to the sea, to the sea!
Just so you don´t worry that I´ve dropped off the planet for the next few days, I thought I´d let you know that my host family and I made the decision on a whim yesterday to go to the East Sea tomorrow. Apparently Germans "celebrate" Ascension day, and school and businesses will be closed for the next couple days, giving us a nice long weekend. Claudia´s aunt and uncle have a nice little cabin on the shore, so we´ll be making the drive tomorrow morning, splash in the water for a few days, and hopefully return by Sunday. I am thrilled about this surprise holiday! I have been kind of disappointed that I haven´t been exploring more parts of Germany, and am excited to see some new sides of the country. And that sea breeze has definitely been calling me as the weather warms...
Wish me sunshine!
Wish me sunshine!
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