Monday, June 28, 2010

Patriotism

While we`re on the subject of football, I may as well go right on to talking about patriotism- in Germany the two go hand-in-hand. 

Germany is not a very patriotic country.  It's just not.  I've been here almost a year now and couldn't sing more than a few words of the German national anthem.  In regular times, it's not uncommon to go a few days without seeing a single German flag.  Germany doesn't have a collection of hymns and songs praising its purple mountains majesties, it's grand ol' flag, it fields of grain, pilgrim's pride, its Redwood forests... well, you get the point.

For the last few weeks, though, that's been completely different.

I think it's refreshing.  I think it's quite important to love one's country- I don't mean the Germans don't love Germany, just that they don't show it as much.  Sure, plenty of Germans think that America's pride is excessive and uncalled for, but I really do believe that a sense of 'team spirit' is healthy for a country.

I guess it has something to do with Germany's history- unfortunately, the name of the country still is a little stigmatic, and excessive national pride could be percieved as recoursive.  Germans are much more proud of their region or city- city pride is quite present.

Because of the world cup, though, there are German flags everywhere- on every corner, on every car, worn as capes, on beer cans, in store windows... it's a nice reminder to me not to take the chance of living in a foreign country for granted.

Fußball

So.

I was actually going to write about baseball, but I should probably write about baseball first...

We played "baseball" in Gym the other day... it was pretty funny.  Our gym teacher explained the rules in great detail:

1.  There are to be four bases.  There will be no home base.  The runner must run to first, second, third, and fourth (where third base usually is), and then he has scored a point.  The runner must not return to his starting position.
2.  The ball shall be white.  A field hockey ball will suffice.
3.  The bat may or may not be a novelty miniature bat- if it says "baseball", it qualifies.
4.  The catcher is a third party.  The catcher shall not belong to a team.
5.  There shall be no strikes, fouls, or balls.  Batters shall have three attempts.
6.  A batter will be out when hit with a ball.  Teams will switch after a batter has been hit with a ball.  Throwing is acceptable.
7.  A batter may run around the bases as often as he wishes.

These are the official baseball rules.


That being said, Germans can play soccer!

America recently lost to Ghana.  It wasn`t a bad game, though- 2-1, and lost in the second overtime.  Not a bad deal, all things considered!

Germany won yesterday against England, 4-1- that was a very good game.  I had expected Germany to win, but not by so large a margin. As I was saying to the lovely Soraya, I made a few observations:

1. Short after your first goal, England shot a second goal that wasn't counted. It was in though, England was gypped. That being said, the US shot a goal on England in the group stage that wasn't counted, either...
2. England played terrible in the first and last 20 or 30 minutes. In between, though, they looked really good.
3. Germany really did play better. Germany's guys are also REALLY fast....
4. Props to England for being the only country loud enough to out-sing the vuvuzelas.




Germany will be playing Argentina (who beat Mexico yesterday) next Saturday.  I think Germany will win, but they'll need a little luck- Germany scores its points on break-aways, not in planned plays.  I think it will be a high-scoring match, too- Argentina has great strikers.  


I'm not going to pretend to be a soccer expert (I've never interested myself in soccer before this year), but I'd say either the winner of this match or Brazil will win the World Cup.

Some scattered updates...

Alright, I'm going to throw in a few scattered updates here- don't bother reading them all, or break them up into a few days- I do use this blog as a journal just as much as a blog, so these are mostly just for me.

First off- mein Abschlussbericht.  I won't lie, I do not write this well.  A friend of mine offered to proofread it, and she did a nice job.  That being said, the whole thing is a little scatterbrained and disorganized.... na ja.  In any case:


Wenn ich auf das zweite Halbjahr zurückblicke, kann ich kaum glauben wie schnell es vorbei ging. Es scheint mir als es gestern gewesen wäre, als ich letztens hier in diesem Stuhl saß und mein Halbzeitbericht schrieb. Genau wie damals, schreibe ich jetzt mit Bedauern- ich bin traurig, dass das Jahr zuende geht.

Natürlich freue ich mich auf meine Famille und Freunde zuhause, aber trotzdem werde ich meine Zeit hier in Deutschland vermissen. Als ich hierher gekommen bin, hatte ich feste Pläne wieder in die USA zu fliegen- meine Familie war einen Anker, sozusagen. Aber jetzt ist nichts fest- natürlich werde ich nach Deutschland zurückkommen, aber höchstwahrscheinlich werde ich viele von meinen guten Freunden hier in Deutschland nicht wieder sehen.

Na ja. Manche Dinge kann man nicht ändern. Zum Glück habe ich viele Erinnerungen gesammelt, die ich nicht vergessen werde.

Im zweiten Halbjahr habe ich ziemlich viel Zeit mit meinen Freunden verbracht. Ich habe auch mehr mit anderen Amerikanern zu tun gehabt- im ersten Halbjahr habe ich dies vermieden, sodass ich besser Deutsch lernen würde.

Ein merkwürdiges Wochenende war vor ein paar Monaten- ich bin nach Köthen, in Sachsen-Anhalt, mit Todd gefahren. Dort haben wir bei einer Solarenergiekonferenz in der Universität Sachsen-Anhalt teilgenommen. Ich fand es eine besonders tolle Gelegenheit, weil es Ingenieurwissenschaften, mein gewünschte Studiumfach, und Reisen durch Deutschland einbezog. Es war interessant, einen Überblick über Alternativeenergie in Deutschland zu bekommen.

Glücklicherweise durfte ich noch ein paar Reisen machen- mit meiner Familie bin ich an Ostern nach Schweden gefahren, mit Todd bin ich vor einem Monat nach Braunschweig gefahren, und kürzlich bin ich mit PPP nach Berlin gereist.

Natürlich, waren alle meine Reisen zwischen Schule und Alltagsleben in Lübeck. Schule ist immer noch eine Hauptsache, und ich lerne fleißig weiter. Wir hatten in den letzten paar Monaten die Fächer Chemie und Physik, die mir besonders gut gefallen haben. Gerade jetzt arbeiten wir an unserem Klassenspiel für nächstes Jahr- obwohl ich nicht mitspielen darf, schaue ich zu und helfe bei den Produktionen gerne.

Letzten Monat hatte ich auch die einzigartige Gelegenheit ein Praktikum zu machen. Ich arbeitete bei GABLER, eine U-Boot Firma hier in Lübeck.

Ich hatte die Gelegenheit mehere Abteilungen von der Firma zu sehen. In meiner ersten Woche war ich in dem PR, Marketing, und danach in Auftragsabwicklung / Versand gewsen. Meiner zweiten Woche habe ich in der Qualitätskontrolle verbracht, und ich habe mein Praktikum diese Woche in der Montage beendete.

Jetzt bin ich jedoch wieder in die Schule. Da das Wetter wieder schön ist, machen wir jetzt Sport draußen- ich fand es super witzig wenn unsere Sportlehrerin versuchte Baseball zu erklären, und noch witziger als die Deutschen versucht haben es zu spielen. Davon abgesehen, spiele ich ab und zu Fußball mit meinen Freunden und ich bin wirklich furchtbar schlecht.

Fußball ist auch etwas merkwürdiges- ich bin froh, dass ich die Weltmeisterschaft hier in Deutschland erleben darf. Die Stimmung ist einzigartig, die Spiele sind lustig und ich habe eine ganz neue Wertschätzung von Fußball bekommen.

In Bezug auf meine Hobbys, spiele ich immer noch in einer Bigband, habe an einem fortgeschrittenen Tanzkurs teilgenommen und übe ich weiter Klavier. Mit der Bigband hatte ich ein paar echt tolle Konzerte in den letzten paar Wochen und ich bin mehr als zufrieden mit den Fortschritten die ich in meinen Tanzkurs gemacht habe.

Im Großen und Ganzen, habe ich definitiv ganz viel hier in Deutschland gelernt: Deutsch sprechen, Klavier spielen, Tanzen, sogar Fußball zu mögen (obwohl nicht ganz so viel wie Football) und vieles mehr. Genau so wichtig sind jedoch die Beziehungen die ich aufgebaut habe, die Kultur, die ich ein bisschen kennen gelernt habe, und die Erinnerungen, die ich nie vergessen werde.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Sentiments

I'm just going to repost something right out of Claire's blog- it's a good piece of writing, and what she says is worth taking note of.  Thanks Claire!

Tonight was one of those times that you tell yourself "Don't forget this". So I thought I'd write about it. Short and quick before I get into bed.

Today a family friend, Saskia, came back from a year in the US. A group of about 20 of us waited to greet her at the airport.

But before she came out...A teen guy walked out with the same look I did on my first day. His host family was waiting to meet him for the first time. I was in aww. At first I smiled and laughed, as if watching a family movie of myself. But my smile quickly faded. Realizing that seeing him was confronting me with my year. That was me. That was a scared young girl arriving in the first foreign country in her life. That was me arriving at a huge train station after dark and looking around frantically to where my host family may be waiting. There was me 10 months ago.

Then Saskia came out. Flabergasted and unable to speak German, she didn't know how to react to leaving one life for the next. In a matter of minutes, I saw my year flash in front of me. I saw my first moment in Germany. And through Saskia, I saw my last.

We all headed to Saskias house for a welcoming party. But my head was a blur. I cried in my host Moms and sisters arms knowing this party made me realize how close I am to the end. I realized my year has flashed behind me.

The party ended up being amazing. But coming home at 11, riding in the dark of the countryside with my family, seeing the planes fly over and the trains pass where all you could make out was lit up windows, I realized how much moments like that mean to me. Simple moments where I think with all my heart "I'm happy"- as easy as that. The end is coming, and its sad, but the ride is so enjoyable that one just has to close their eyes and act like the end isn't coming. 

 http://clairegoestodeutschland.blogspot.com/


I've begun to count my own "simple moments"- the kind words, the caring glances, the simple gestures of my friends; the beauty of the German country, the charm of Luebeck, the warm summer evening that ends just too well- over and over again I'm reminded of my astounding luck.  The little things may be little, but they make a world of a difference.

I'm happy to be here.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

America Won!

America won!

Quite unlike America, people actually care about soccer in Germany, and America just won in the last minute against Algeria!  That means we'll be moving on to the next round.

The German game starts in a few hours- if they win, they'll be moving on as well!  Hoorah!

Edit:  Germany won against Ghana, too!  That means they're moving along as well.  Next up:  Germany v. England and America v. Ghana!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Berlin Photopost!

So I'm a terrible photographer.  I really don't like taking pictures at all.  I bring my camera just about everywhere with me, but I never actually pull it out of my pocket.

Thankfully, everyone has a camera these days, and there are websites like Facebook.  Almost all of the photos that I'm putting here come from either Erin, Rachel, or Mariah's albums.  Thanks girls!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Ashamed

So I broke my promise.  I said I'd get a post out over the weekend, I didn't do it... I'm very sorry.  Sorry!  Entschuldigung!

I have to say, though, that I wasn't home all weekend long.  I went out on Saturday to Sophie's birthday party, ended up sleeping at Christoph's house, headed into Hamburg on Sunday to meet Devin's parents, met up my class and watched Faust I in theatre, and then got back to Luebeck around 12:40 am.  At that point the busses weren't running anymore, so I slept at Geo's, and then went to school today.

In any case, I haven't been around too much, and certainly not around a computer.  Sorry again.

I should probably throw a note in here about last weekend.  We had our End of Stay camp in Berlin- all 50 CBYX scholars met up and stayed in a hostel from Thursday til Sunday.  We did the whole tourist thing- took the city tour, saw the big sights, and all that jazz.  On Friday we were an audience to the Bundestag, Germany's parliamentary unit, and afterwards we went to the American embassy.

The embassy was really cool.


It was funny- you went in, and everything was very serious.  Jackets were checked, bags were searched, everything was x-rayed, everybody went through a metal detector, some were patted down... and then, after we were through security, we were very solemnly led into a big courtyard.


The courtyard was basically a beach party.


There was a DJ, a little stage, drinks and refreshments, and lots and lots of kids.  The little things really made the difference- they had imported sodas from the US that you can't find in Germany, the wall outlets were American, the doorknobs were American, even the toilets were American.  It was just like being in America!

I was also very impressed with the German ambassador.  I must say, his German wasn't too good, and it was very, very accented, but he had a huge personality.  He really knew how to stir up a crowd, how to get a message across, and how to make everyone feel at home.  I liked him!

Another cool thing about Berlin was the dome on top of the Bundestag building.  Designed to symbolize the transparency of the government, the whole building is made of glass, including an enormous, spiraling dome.  There was a headphone tour, too, and you could walk up the spiral rampway and hear about the Berlin skyline as you went.  We had perfect timing, too- the sun went down just as we had gotten to the top.  I'll post some photos of that in the next post.


Berlin

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Sorry for the absence, everybody.  I've become quite aware of the little time I have left here, and somehow I can't seem to find time for anything anymore... I will write something in here by this weekend, I promise!  I would just do it, and not offer this filler post, but by setting a goal in writing I force myself to do it.

In any case, go Celtics!  Basketball has been overshadowed by the World Cup here in Germany, but it's certainly not forgotten.  Show those Lakers what we've got!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Beer

I figure now that college apps are out of the way, I can write a post about beer.  But, just for safety's sake, I'll put in a little disclaimer:

Dear employer, admissions officer, scholarship distributor, police officer, or anybody else who may be scouring the internet for information about my moral fiber-
      The beers on this list were consumed in Germany, where the drinking age is 16.  No laws were broken, no standards were defiled, and no hops were harmed in the consumption of these beers.


Hopefully that does it.

Anyway, I've had the opportunity to sample a nice collection of beers here in Germany, and these are some of my findings.  This is by all means an incomplete list and the opinions are simply my opinions, and I am definitely no expert.  It's also in no logical order and the beers weren't tested with any sort of standard- some were drunk from a bottle, some from a can, many from a glass... that being said, los geht's!


__________________________________________________________________________________

Astra  (St. Pauli (Hamburg))- Pale Lager, slightly bitter, like most North German beers.  Actually has a quite nice taste, drinks smoothly, and is very cheap.  Mostly a party beer, drunk mostly by kids, from what I’ve seen, considering its price, association with St. Pauli, and alcohol content (motto is “Brewed with love… and more alcohol”).  Definitely a good beer, but not my first choice. 

Beck’s  (Bremen)- Another Pale Lager from North Germany.  Beck’s is a Pils.  Beck’s is a little sweet with a bitter aftertaste. While it’s very, very smooth, the taste is a little –watery- something is lacking in Beck’s.  While I’m not a big fan of Beck’s, but it’s definitely one of the most popular beers around here. 

Becks Gold (Bremen)- Often called a woman’s beer, Anke’s beer of choice.  I’m not a big fan, leave’s a funny, chemical aftertaste to me.  Anke likes it, though, so it must have some redeeming qualities.

Carlsberg  (Denmark)-  Another Lager.  While technically not a German beer, I happened to pick up a case of Carlsberg on the way back from Sweden.  The motto is “Possibly the best beer in the world”- while its not entirely true, it’s definitely not a bad beer.  Carlsberg is definitely a good beer.  Carlsberg has a strong taste and a bit of a bite, but it’s not unpleasant. It is a little more carbonated than most beers, which can be annoying when being drunk from the can, but when poured into a glass the extra carbonation settles out and it’s just right.  Carlsberg also has a nice aftertaste that leaves you not wanting to eat or drink anything else for a while.

Carlsberg Sort Guld  (Denmark)-  I’m not sure what kind of beer Sort Guld is, but it’s definitely darker, stronger, and bolder.  Carlsberg Sort Guld has a very smoky flavor- it’s too overpowering to be eaten with most foods, in my opinion, and more than one or two makes you feel sick.  That being said, I really enjoy Sort Guld.  Its extremely strong flavor is definitely enjoyable by itself.  Sort Guld is quite creamy.

Flensburger  (Flensburg)-  Another North GermanPils.  Flensburger is also quite popular here in Luebeck, but I don’t like it.  It is heavily spiced and has a grassy taste.  Maybe it’s just too strong for me.  Does have a very nice, lacy head, though.  Has a bitter, unpleasant aftertaste.

Krombacher 
(Kreuztal)-  Pils.  Krombacher is usually my beer of choice here in Luebeck.  While not my favorite beer, it is my favorite widely available beer.  Krombacher is quite creamy, doesn’t have the grassy smell of other North German Pils, and has a solid character.  Has a good, solid taste and the right level of carbonation.  Enjoyable from bottle or glass.

Warsteiner  (Warstein)-  Pils.  At the beginning of my year here, I liked Wasteiner a lot.  I’ve grown to like it less, though- it lacks the flavor of other Pils and is simply too watery.  That was probably its appeal at the beginning of the year, though- a little weaker in intensity than other beers, it’s a good one to start out with.  Very light, pretty thin.

Wolters  (Braunschweig)- Another very good Pils.  Unfortunately I’ve only tried one, and that was from the bottle, but I’d welcome the chance to try another.  Not widely available.  Has a distinct, solid taste- a mix between herbal and sweet.  Does have a fairly strong, herbal smell.  I would not call it a light beer, but certainly drinkable.  Not very carbonated, as a result feels a little heavier than expected, but nevertheless refreshing.

5.0  (Braunschweig)-  Another party beer.  Extremely cheap, only sold in .5L cans, 5.0% alcohol.  The brand makes four types- Pils, Weizen, Lemon, and Export.  I haven’t tried the Lemon or Export.  The Weizen is pretty bad, it’s quite weak.  Weizen should definitely not be drunk from a can.  The Pils is okay for the price.  It has a solid flavor, but it’s nothing special.  Don’t seek it out unless you specifically want cheap beer.

Wikinger Bier-  A very weak beer that’s served in a very funny looking 1L can with a Viking on it.  Funny to look at, but as far as beer goes nothing special.  Okay, I’ll even go far enough to say it’s bad.

Jever  (Jever)-  North German Pils.  I hate Jever.  From the bottle it’s terrible. Just throwing it out there.  I’ve had it a few times, and it’s always tasted terribly skunked.  I’ve also had Jever from tap, that was better, but still not my favorite beer, and still had a skunky smell.  Jever has an incredibly strong, herbal taste and a bitter aftertaste.  It’s worth trying, though- I do know a few people who swear by Jever, and it is certainly unique.

Loewenbraeu Oktoberfest (Muenchen)-  This is an Oktoberfest beer and very good.  I really like the beers from the Loewenbraeu brewery.  It’s simple but solid and drinks smoothly.  Very refreshing.  Has a dry aftertaste.

Loewenbraeu Triumphator (Muenchen)-  This is a doppelbock beer with a surprising 7.6% alcohol.  I’ve only had it from tap, but from tap served cold it was hands down the best beer I’ve had here in Germany.  The beer is a red copper color and it doesn’t have much of a head.  The taste is very complex but perfectly balanced-    it has a disguised fruity taste and also hints of pepper.  Smells like malt and toffee.  Has a medium body and a rich taste.  Once again, a very good beer.

Franziskaner Weissbier (Muenchen)-  A Weizen, typical of Munich.  A very well known brand.  Not as good as Loewenbraeu, but still a solid beer.  Considerably carbonated and keeps a nice, creamy head.  Crisp and smooth.

Richmodis Koelsch (Richmodis)-  I’ve only had one Koelsch, and it was from the bottle, warm.  Nonetheless, it was pretty good.  Not my favorite beer, but definitely something worth trying.  Has a dry, sort of smoky flavor.  Not something you can drink too fast.

Koenig Pilsner  (Duisburg)-  Pilsner.  Actually the first beer I had here in Germany.  A good, solid beer, but not my favorite.  A pretty light beer- I enjoyed it at the beginning of the year for the same reason I enjoyed Warsteiner, I think.  Very smooth, but not much flavor, slightly bitter, medium carbonation.  Slightly smoky aftertaste.  Good, but nothing special.

Bitburger  (Bitburg)-  North German Pilsner. I’ve only had one of these, too, and I’m pretty sure it was skunked.  It was bad, and had almost a chemical taste.  It was pretty heavy. That being said, Bitburger is a very popular beer here in Luebeck.  Sorry I can’t give a better review.

Paulaner Premium Pils (Muenchen)-  A good beer, but weak compared to North German Pils.  Light, dry, crisp.  Well balanced.  Actually a very good beer, just… not my favorite.  Worth trying, though. 

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Dunkel (Muenchen)-  I’d seek this one out.  Is a very nice looking beer.  Nice and creamy.  Smells good, has a nice head, drinks smoothly.  Tastes of hefe and berley with a hint of something sweet. Leaves a pleasant wheaty aftertaste in mouth.  Definitely worth trying. 

Erdinger Dunkel (Erding)-  A very dark beer, and very good.  Another one I’d seek out.  Very dark and cloudy, has a caramel smell.  Has a crisp bite and a yeasty finish.  Tastes good right from the bottle.  Has a very beer-like taste, with few additives.  Another one of my favorites.

Tucher Pilsener (Nuernberg)-  Weak for a Pilsner.  While not bad, there are so many other good Pils that this one isn’t worth seeking out.  The bite is just a little too strong, the flavor is just a little too bitter, the aftertaste is just a little too lasting.  Skip this one.

Tucher Weizen (Nuernberg)-  Much better than the Pils, but doesn’t really taste like a Weizen.  Has a very distinct character, malty and citrusy at the same time.  Again, don’t drink this beer looking for a Weizen.  Enjoyable nonetheless, feels good in the mouth, has a nice carbonation.  A good beer for grilling.

Mixed beers:


Beck’s Ice / Lime / Whatever else Beck’s has for mixes
-  Way, way, way to sweet for me.  I get a headache and a bellyache from just one of these things.  Basically just sugarwater.

Radler- Not actually a beer brand, Radler just means beer and lemonade.  Good for grill parties, drinking after working, etc.  Enjoyable, refreshing, and best when cold.  It’s beer an lemonade, for God’s sake… it’s got to be good!  Krombacher has a nice variety.

Cab-  An acronym for Cola and Beer.  Also too sweet for my taste.  Nothing special.

Schoefferhofer Grapefruit- I’ve heard it described as a “breakfast beer”.  Schoefferhof Grapefruit is a mix of beer and grapefruit juice and is by far my favorite of mixed beers.  Fruity, sweet, and very good.  One is just enough, more is too much sugar, but one is perfect and refreshing.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Graduation

Congrats on graduating, Lynnfield '10!  You're the finest class Lynnfield has ever had.  I'm looking forward to catching up when I'm back in the states!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Mr. Mike

I was in Braunschweig last weekend with Todd and Mike.  Here's a link to Mike's blog, in case you're interested... you can see German's Eurovision winner there!  Eurovision is a similar concept to American Idol- okay, it's not really, but I don't want to get into specifics here.

In any case, Braunschweig is great.  It may be my favorite German city.  What's more is that I got to play Ultimate with some of Mike's friends.  We played Americans vs. Germans, and even gave the Jerrys an extra player... we still crushed them 9-2.  I guess they just couldn't keep up with our chicanery.

That being said, German's aren't very good frisbee players.  It's not exactly a mainstream sport here- this weekend was the first time I've touched a frisbee in ten months.

A few fun facts:
Braunschweig is in Niedersachsen and has about 250k inhabitants.  The city itself is much bigger than Luebeck, though.  Luebeck has about 240k inhabitants.

My host-grandmother hails from Braunschweig.

Braunschweig has three breweries- 5.0, Wolters, and a third which probably isn't worth mentioning.

Braunschweig is a the biggest rival of Hanover, but Todd, Mike, and Isurmise that a secret rivalry between Braunschweig and Berlin exists for various reasons.

Braunschweig is "the Lion city"!  There's only one lion, though.

Mon Accent

The American accent is a pretty controversial topic among anyone who cares about it.  I've heard so much about it- that it's a great accent to have, that Germans would kill for an Ami accent, and that it sounds cool, but also that it's terrible, an assault on the language, and is the worst kind of accent.

About two months ago my German was good enough that I could start to think about my accent.  I've made little corrections here and there, but by and large it's still pretty strong.  Many, many people have told me that it's not as strong as many other Americans they've met, but what does that mean? 

Sunday was a first, though- I was riding the train home, looking for anybody who had a group ticket that wanted to share (it's much cheaper to ride in a group).  I ended up joining up with a thirty-five-ish year old pair of sisters and their mother.  We established pretty quickly that I was an American:

Mother:  I take it from you're accent that you're foreign.  English?
Me:   Nope, American.  Out of Boston.
Sister #1:  For an American, your accent is hardly noticeable.
Mother:  Well, it's definitely there, there's no mistaking that.  But it's nice.
Sister #2:  Nice?  His accent is downright erotic!

That was a first.