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.

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.

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!

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!

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

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!

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.

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!

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.

Quickie Update

So I don't really have too much to say, just wanted to check in-

The last two weeks I've been working at Gabler.  Last week I spent time in Marketing, PR, and sales.  I did a lot of translations and some work with databases- I'm pretty sure I talked about that in the last post.

This week I've been in Quality Control.  It's pretty interesting- I've learned the fundamentals of reading schematic diagrams, how to use a dozen different measuring devices, and gotten a good look at the inside of a submarine company.  It's quite impressive- just about every piece is custom built, including screws, nuts, washers, and all the little pieces you'd normally expect to come from stock.

Today I'm going to play volleyball with some friends.

Tomorrow I'll be going to a university in Sachsen-Anhalt to learn about the future of solar energy- there's an overnight conference there, I'll be chilling with Todd.

Saturday I'll be going to Braunschweig!

Okay.  The short post is finished!

GABLER GmbH

I'll talk about GABLER in just a second.  First, I want to point out something that's been bothering me.

Why we say, "Should I try and save a spot for you?"  or, "Go and buy me a few turnips?"  Do we actually say these things?  Or are those just bad habits I've picked up?  Especially with try- I don't understand the replacement of "to" with "and", especially considering how ubiquitous the first person + infinitive construction is.  Why should "try" be different?  "Try and do" doesn't make any sense at all, when you really stop to think about it...

Okay.  GABLER.  I started my Praktikum (which, once again, is similar to an internship) on Monday, and I'm working at a firm called GABLER here in Luebeck.  GABLER builds submarines and thermoform machines- machines that make plastic trays, cups, joghurt containers, etc. You can find GABLER's website here.

On Monday and Tuesday I was over in Advertising and PR, yesterday and today I've been in Sales.  I think next week I mosey on to Quality Control, but I'm not sure.

I've actually been doing a lot of translation work here, in several different departments.  People have heard that there's an American in the house and call up 'der Praktikant'.  I don't mind, though- it's nice to be useful.

For the last two days I've been doing a little bit of database management and updating, too- GABLER has three databases and only one is really up to date.  I've been updating prices in the other two.  I wouldn't say it's exciting, but it's not bad work, either.

Today I had even had an extra project- I was given a printout with a bunch of costs and variables and had to duplicate the processes- so, for instance, I'd be given X and Z and have to calculate variable Y which connects the two, and then program it into excel.  That was actually pretty fun, and at the end of the day I had a pretty impressive looking Excel spreadsheet that could calculate revenues, profits, percent profits, total costs, material costs, and human labor from just a few of the variables.  I'm not sure how well I explained that, but in any case, it was rewarding.

Surfin' Safari

Wollen wir zum Strand?
Tja, aber erstmal chillen... ganz entspannt, ne?


I'm not sure how many times I heard that, but it was definitely more than a bajillion.

Nelia told me that Mrs. Janus is mad at me for not updating more often, so I'll put in just one more post tonight before bet.

On Friday we (the Hamburg/Berlin crew) went to another beach and played more volleyball.  This time, though, we went to a big Surf Fest in Pelzerhaken.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos of it, but I can tell you it was great.

See, surfing is very popular here in Germany.  Much much more popular than in Boston, in any case.  They don't have any waves, though- the Ostsee is completely flat.  They get around this by windsurfing and kitesurfing.  I could be wrong, but I don't remember either one of these being particularly popular in the US.

In any case, at this surf festival there were at least twenty vendors of boards, sails, and masts.  Everyone could try out all the new products free of charge, and the water was pretty full of surfers.  Personally, I find water pretty wet (and consequently, quite eklig), so I stayed out of it, but it looked like a good time for everyone who was there.

I met up with the other Tim and Anininine, Lasse, Christoph, and Joelle from my class, too.  They're all surfers, but they stopped in for a few rounds of volleyball.  Afterwards we had a quite lovely beach party until early in the morning.  It was one of the most ridiculous, fun times I think I've ever had- I know Annine stole my hat and wouldn't give it back, there was more volleyball, much revelry, shisha (I don't smoke),  music, and at least one existential conversation on the lifeguard tower.  Eventually we were told by the beach security that we weren't allowed on the beach after 8:00 PM, but they were cool and turned a blind eye and let us carry on.

The rest of the crew that I came up with went home around 3:00, I ended up staying there for the night with the others- at four in the morning I didn't see much point in going home.  Luckily, Tim had a seat free in his car.  It wasn't comfortable at all, but at least it was warm.

The next day was definitely a chill-day.  I don't think any of us slept too well in the car, so none of us had much energy.  I got up around 10:00 anyway (I had to stretch out a bit) and wandered the beach, and on the way back was invited to two breakfasts- one from a teacher at our school, the other from some random guy who hadn't quite sobered up from the night before.  Of course, I accepted both offers graciously.  A breakfast isn't something one should give up!

After a third breakfast with Joelli, Tim, and Annine, we spent most of the day in the back of Tim's car.  Like I said, we were pretty exhausted.  We threw open the trunk, folded up the back seat, and threw a bunch of sleeping bags in back an pretty much just sat around listening to Jack Johnson, enjoying the sea breezes and making small talk with the people who passed by- ganz gechillt, ganz entspannt.

Am Strand

SO.

Because of Ascension Day, this was a long weekend for Germany (Thursday & Friday schulfrei!).  On Wednesday I went out with a few friends on a quasi-Kneipentour- we started with cocktails at Ohana, went on to the Sternschnuppe, and ended up at Cole Street.  It was a good time! 


It really went down the next day, though- the whole Hamburg/Berlin crew came up to Luebeck.  More specifically, Basti, Simon, David, Sophie, Udo, and Flo from Berlin, and Merle, Jan, and Marie from Hamburg.  Most of these people were either in Hitzacker or Bergwerk or both.

We went to a beach on the Ostsee (Baltic Sea) on Thursday and set up a volleyball net.  It was just a little bit cold, but a lot of fun.  David and Basti are both really great players- they're both in Germany's Vierte Liga- I think that's about the level of the North Shore Spirit baseball team, for comparisons sake, or maybe one better.

Pefect form, in every sense of the word ;)

The nice thing about the sub-perfect weather is that we literally had the beach to ourselves.  And, after playing a little, it was plenty warm enough.

Big News!

So I haven't had much time to post too much here- in the last few weeks I've been on my computer pretty often, doing a lot with colleges and scholarships.  BUT I finally have a decision!

I've registered for the University of Southern California class of 2014.  Hooray! 

Now, it could turn out that UPenn pulls me from the waitlist, in which case I might be going there, but in either case I've got something set up for next year.  That's good!

I had been worrying about this- I didn't receive my aid package from USC until earlier this week, and it was already way past the May 1 SIR deadline... in any case, everything worked out. 

Hopefully I'll get around to write a little more here now... thanks for your patience!
Tim

Video Post

So unfortunately Blogger doesn't let me upload videos (or if it does, I haven't figured out how).  In any case, I have a video here for you- this is the chorus from Bergwerk.  I dedicate this song to Madame, because she's the best!

From

Narcissus

In Greek mythology Echo was a wood nymph who loved a youth by the name of Narcissus. He was a beautiful creature loved by many but Narcissus loved no one. He enjoyed attention, praise and envy. In Narcissus' eyes nobody matched him and as such he considered none were worthy of him.
Echo's passion for Narcissus was equaled only by her passion for talking as she always had to have the last word. One day she enabled the escape of the goddess Juno's adulterous husband by engaging Juno in conversation. On finding out Echo's treachery Juno cursed Echo by removing her voice with the exception that she could only speak that which was spoken to her.

Echo often waited in the woods to see Narcissus hoping for a chance to be noticed. One day as she lingered in the bushes he heard her footsteps and called out “Who's here?” Echo replied “Here!” Narcissus called again "Come", Echo replied "Come!". Narcissus called once more “Why do you shun me?... Let us join one another.” Echo was overjoyed that Narcissus had asked her to join him. She longed to tell him who she was and of all the love she had for him in her heart but she could not speak. She ran towards him and threw herself upon him.

Narcissus became angry “Hands off! I would rather die than you should have me!” and threw Echo to the ground. Echo left the woods a ruin, her heart broken. Ashamed she ran away to live in the mountains yearning for a love that would never be returned. The grief killed her. Her body became one with the mountain stone. All that remained was her voice which replied in kind when others spoke.

Narcissus continued to attract many nymphs all of whom he briefly entertained before scorning and refusing them. The gods grew tired of his behaviour and cursed Narcissus. They wanted him to know what it felt like to love and never be loved. They made it so there was only one whom he would love, someone who was not real and could never love him back.

One day whilst out enjoying the sunshine Narcissus came upon a pool of water. As he gazed into it he caught a glimpse of what he thought was a beautiful water spirit. He did not recognise his own reflection and was immediately enamoured. Narcissus bent down his head to kiss the vision. As he did so the reflection mimicked his actions. Taking this as a sign of reciprocation Narcissus reached into the pool to draw the water spirit to him. The water displaced and the vision was gone. He panicked, where had his love gone? When the water became calm the water spirit returned. “Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely my face is not one to repel you. The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same; and you smile upon me and answer my beckonings with the like.” Again he reached out and again his love disappeared. Frightened to touch the water Narcissus lay still by the pool gazing in to the eyes of his vision.

He cried in frustration. As he did so Echo also cried. He did not move, he did not eat or drink, he only suffered. As he pined he became gaunt loosing his beauty. The nymphs that loved him pleaded with him to come away from the pool. As they did so Echo also pleaded with him. He was transfixed; he wanted to stay there forever. Narcissus like Echo died with grief. His body disappeared and where his body once lay a flower grew in it's place. The nymphs mourned his death and as they mourned Echo also mourned.

http://www.echo.me.uk/legend.htm

What's interesting is the way German and English have used this myth.

In English, we have the word "Narcissist", which is defined as this:

The term narcissism refers to the personality trait of self-esteem, which includes the set of character traits concerned with self-image ego. The terms narcissism, ', and ' are often used as pejoratives, denoting vanity, conceit, egotism or simple selfishness. ...

In German, there's the word "Narzisse".  Unlike the English word, though, "Narzisse" means daffodil- the flower that Narcissus became after his body disappeared.

I think it's interesting how a root word can evolve into two words with such wildly different meanings.

"Narzisse" are also called Osterblume, Ostergloeckchen, Maerzenbecher, Osterglocke, or Trompetenblume.  A skilled botanist could probably identify differences between all of these, but they are all species of daffodils.

Tea Partys, Plumbers, and Hangings? Oh my!

I try to keep this blog pretty non-controversial, but I stumbled onto a piece of good writing today that I can't help but to share (thanks Zach):

"It’s one thing to be ignorant. It’s another to take pride in it. And it’s quite another to venture b...eyond that into full-blown stupidity. It’s not often that you get to use the word “stupidity” in a non-ad hominem context, but now — with the majority of Republicans believing Obama is a socialist without having any idea what socialism is, over a third believing he is foreign-born, and featured Tea Party speakers calling for the hanging of a US senator (Patty Murray) — it’s becoming harder and harder to euphemize some of things we’re witnessing as anything but."

The rest of the article was too contentious for my taste, so I am not going to link to it- I don't want it's views to be reflected on me, and it gets a little too... bitchy, for lack of a better word.  This paragraph, though, seemed to have a kernel of truth- true, I'm not in the US any more, and I'm really not completely caught up.  In the last few days, though, I've been following a few news sites, and I'm not liking a lot of what I'm seeing.  

Why is Sarah Palin still around?  And what's more, when did so much of America become anti-intellectual?  When was Colin Powell replaced by Joe the Plumber?

I feel like we could have a field day in US World History on this one...

Mr. Mike

I'm going to go ahead and borrow something from a friend of mine's blog- Mike Kalunzy is a great guy, a fellow Camp Onway-er, and also here in Germany, chilling in Braunschweig.  You can find his whole blog here.

I'm actually going to take two of his posts- they're both very insightful about the German language, and are worth reading for anyone interested in learning it.  My comments are italicized in black, his posts are in purple.

The first:

beugen: to decline or conjugate (grammar)

I keep running up against this notion of noun classes and grammatical gender. Why do some languages have grammatical gender? Does it simplify language or make it easier to learn and understand? Gender is just plain confusing! In German you have to learn 3 articles for three different genders and then each gender in the 4 different cases and then the appropriate declinations for adjectives with either definite/indefinite/or no article. The list goes on and on. I have yet to find a decent explanation as to why this is all necessary.

 My own thoughts- yes!  This is very true, and, subsequently, German is an impossibly difficult language to master.  I have bemoaned grammatical gender many, many a time.  It is sometimes useful, though- for example, when there are two nouns of a separate gender in a sentence, they may both be referred to in subsequent sentences with pronouns, and the antecedent doesn't need to be repeated.  For example, in English, it's confusing to say, "The bird sat on the chair.  It was blue."  It is ambiguous- it could refer to the chair or the bird.

Of course, this only works sometimes in German.  Sometimes the two nouns will both be of the same gender, in which case we still need antecedents.

  

In German the problem is compounded by the fact that the language applies grammatical gender as opposed to natural gender. The latter is when the gender of the noun agrees with the natural gender of the object. For example die Frau: the woman. Die is the feminine article. German throws a wrench in the works by calling obviously feminine nouns such as the girl, das Mädchen. That is grammatical gender. I.E the gender of the noun doesn’t have to make sense.

For most English speakers, a language (seemingly) devoid of gender, all of this is very confusing. Learning articles is a chore that just has to be dealt with when learning vocabulary. The word Frau doesn’t exists. It’s die Frau. 

My point with all this is to illuminate the fact, that although grammatical gender in German is a pain, it also exists in English in a few number of cases. For example, oftentimes when countries, ships or cars are referred to, the pronoun she or her is used. While not required, it is a manifestation of gender in the English language.

Just an observation.

This is important to note- I think in English, when we use a gender to describe something that is traditionally genderless (countries, ships, cars, etc.), it's an emotional technique.  The application of a gender is supposed to draw a response- it's a sort of poetry in prose, designed at affecting the feelings of the audience.  

For German, this means one of two things:

1.  The German language is naturally poetic, or,

2.  German is just plain hard. Punkt.

In any case, the whole topic here reminded me of a study I read about sometime last year:

"[When] describing the word key (feminine in Spanish and masculine in German), Spanish speakers produced adjectives such as intricate, little, lovely, shiny, and tiny, and German speakers generated adjectives such as hard, metal, jagged, and useful." (Sera, Berge & Del Pintado, 1994)

What this suggests is that grammatical gender does indeed have a purpose: it helps unify the speakers in a language on a conceptual representation of nouns.  Even without a natural gender, feminine and masculine nouns are consequently lent metaphorical characteristics.  

This conclusion would lead me to strike Point 2 above, and concede that while grammatical gender is infuriating to learn, it really does lead to a poetic language-among native speakers, that is.

 -MEK & TRM

The second:

One of my favorite things about the German language is how it simply deals with common diseases and medical conditions. In English, for example, most diseases are referred to be their scientific and medical names.

Pnemonia

Diabetes

Diarrhea

In German:

die Lungenentzündung: Lung inflamation

die Zuckerkrankheit: sugar disease

der Durchfall: ~fall through

It's not just medical terms that are like this, there are hundreds of words.  "A twig", translated literally, is "a thin stick".  "A bruise" translated literally is "a blue spot".  "Fenders" are "shit wings", "power outlet" is a "stick-in box", "Vacuum" is a "dust-sucker".  In some ways, German really does make sense!

-MEK & TIM

A good read about languages (I haven't read it completely myself, only chapters here and there, but it's very interesting!):

Crosslinguistic Influence in Language and Cognition, by Scott Jarvisand Aneta Pavlenko.  You can find a lot of it on Google Books, here.

Die Projektwoche

I figure I can post real quickly about the projektwoche (project week) before I go to bed.  I'll get to Bergwerk and Sweden some other time this week- hopefully Bergwerk tomorrow.

The week before our vacation was a Projektwoche- what that means is that the Oberstufe (grades 9-12) got to go in a little later to school every day and had our choice of "projects".  I chose two- Bandprojekt and American Films You Should Know.  It's actually pretty ironic- Herr Wiegandt, my English teacher, asked if I would help lead the class.  I said sure, gladly.  Anyone who knows me, though, knows that I don't know anything about films, American or otherwise.  I'm lucky if I can stay awake through a whole movie, much less critique it.

Anyway, we ended up watching three films in the week- American Graffiti, Apollo 13, and Witness.  American Graffiti was pretty cool- I'd recommend it just for kicks and giggles for a dull rainy day.  Everyone knows Apollo 13 already (actually, everyone probably know American Graffiti already, and it's just me who doesn't... whichever).  I had never even heard of Witness, that was Mr. Wiegandt's vorschlag, but it was a pretty good film.  It was about an Amish boy who witnesses a murder- it's a thriller, but it takes a look at the Amish community.  I liked it.

In the Bandprojekt, we started a rock band, and on the last day we had a little concert.  I had originally thought that it would be a blues/boogies woogie kind of band, but it turned into rock.  Since there's no place for a trombone in rock music (usually), I ended up playing keys and singing.  It worked out well, though- we had three songs, and at the end of the week I think we sounded all right.  I was happy with it, at least.  Somebody took a movie- when I get back to school I'll try to track it down, and maybe upload it.


Okay, time for bed.  Gute Nacht!

Nazi Gegendemonstration

Okay, let's go back to March 27, 2010.

In short, the Nazi party (extreme right) had planned a march through Luebeck, like every year, and the Luebeck left (and non-political anti-Nazis) wanted to stop it.  It was a pretty big deal, so I decided to go and check it out- I invited Todd to join me.

Here's a news article (in German), if you'd like to check it out:


There were about 250 neo-Nazis, 2500 anti-protesters, and 2000 police officers (mostly state police officers).

It's important to note that the Nazis have a right to march and to rally.  Just like in the US, political parties are allowed to peacefully meet.  The anti-demonstrators were formed of three organized groups- the organized Left, Luebecks churches, and trade unions.  In addition were a handful of non-political anti-Nazi recruits- I guess Todd and I would belong to this last group.  The goal of the anti-demonstrators was to blockade all of the surface streets into the Altstadt, or the central part of Luebeck.  The goal of the police was to keep everything non-violent, and ultimately to try and separate the protesters and the anti-protesters as much as possible. 

In the end, the police and the Left were both pretty successful- Todd and I went down to the Hauptbanhof at 10:00 and literally everything was stopped.  The police had taken over the train station, keeping Nazis from coming in and anti-Nazis from leaving, the bridge leading into the Luebeck altstadt was literally covered with police vehicles and a large number of the protesters were separated from the action.  The Nazis did end up marching outside of Luebeck, but their planned march route was disrupted by the blockades assembled by anti-demonstrators.  I think I read somewhere that eight people were arrested in the whole day, which isn't too shabby for so big a deal.

Todd and I didn't actually see any Nazis (like I said, the cops did a nice job of separating the Nazis and the anti-Nazis), but we did see a lot of excited people, lots of cops, and got a feel for the German political mood.

Backtracking...

Man I've been busy lately.  I'm just going to throw out some thoughts here so I don't forget what I ought to go back and touch upon, and then later I'll clarify.  Some stuff I've been up to:


Anti-Nazi Demo
Projectwoche
Bergwerk Musikfreizeit
Sweden!

Right now I've got one more vacation week, and then I'll be going back to school next Monday.  I've been writing scholarship apps all day, and I've got more for tomorrow... some vacation.  After tomorrow I should be able to get out a little more, though- a few days work, a few days play.  We'll see.

This post is dedicated to Mrs. Janus!  She's the best and should have a wonderful day!

Extrem Wichtig!

Before I get to anything else that's been going on in the last few months, there's something very very important I need to say!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!

Have a lovely year! 

Featherweight

I just heard Featherweight's new album, it's good stuff!  Some good friends of mine- Vic, Zach, and Tim- are in this band.  Check it out here, and consider donating!

Okay, I'm going to Frankfurt.  I'll be back Monday!  Have a nice weekend!

#100!

So here's my 100th post, it seems fitting to write it in Deutsch.  This was the Zwischenbericht (sort of like a Midyear-Report) that I sent to AFS.  It's a few weeks old, but you can check it out anyway- I know not everyone on this blog can speak German, but at least a good fraction can. Viel Spass!

Timothy Miller

USA

Seit September habe ich hier in Lübeck gewohnt.  Hier habe ich ein neues Leben erschafft: ich bin ein Mitglied von einer neuen Familie geworden, ich habe Freunde gefunden, ich habe Erfolg in der Schule gehabt, und ich habe mich in mein neues Land verliebt.

Familie

Ich habe bis jetzt überhaupt keine Probleme mit meiner Gastfamilie gehabt.  Ganz in Gegenteil kann ich nicht wirklich erklären, wie zufrieden ich bin.  Ich bin der älteste von sechs Kindern.  Am Anfang des Jahres, war es meine Familie, die mir Deutsch beigebracht hatte.  Mimi (6) und Stine (9) waren immer glücklich, mich zu verbessern.  Dass ich immer Kinderbücher las, fanden sie auch ganz lustig.  Noch besser war drei Wochen später, wenn mein Deutsch gut genug geworden war, die Kinderbücher vorzulesen.  Stine malt immer ganz viele Bilder für mich, und sagt dass ich die Bilder nach Hause in die USA bringen soll, und Mimi nannte mich „Mein Tim“.  Ich habe keine Zweifel, dass ich mich an diese Mädchen ein Leben lang erinnern werde.

Hannes (10) ist mein einziger Bruder.  Eigentlich sind wir einander ähnlich:  Hannes findet Verkehrsmittel, wissenschaftliche Experimenten, und Music voll cool.   Hannes und ich passen wohl gut zusammen: Ich habe ihm Blues auf seiner Cello beigebracht, er zeigt mir immer was er neu gelernt hat, und wir spielen mit seinen Legos zusammen.  Ich glaube, dass es Hannes sehr freut, einen Bruder zu haben. 

Mia (13) nervt.  Aber ich nerve sie zurück. Sie ist wie eine wirkliche Schwester; sie soll nerven.  Das is die Weise, die es sein soll.  Sie klaut immer meine Hausschuhe, aber so ist es gerecht- normalerweise habe ich irgendwie angefangen. Mia ist cool.

Lotta (16) ist erstmal in November angekommen.  Davor war sie in Iowa, in den USA.  Lotta und ich passen auch voll gut zusammen.  Zugegeben, wir haben nicht nicht so viel Zeit zusammen verbrachte wie Mia, Hannes und ich, aber trotzdem hilft Lotta mir mit meinen deutschen Hausaufgaben, und ich korrigiere ihre Französisch und Englisch.  Wir sind ein gutes Team!

Meine Eltern, Alex und Anke, sind auch wundervolle Menschen.  Alex ist ein Querdenker und ein Problemlöser, Anke ist eine Mutter und eine Denkerin.  Viele Tage haben Alex und ich zusammen gearbeitet, Holz für unsere Öffnen zu spalten, und vielen Nächten haben Anke und ich bis spät in der Nacht über Bücher, Philosophie, und Ideen gesprochen.  Alex und Anke sind immer total nett zu mir, und wir sind gute Freunde. 

Eigentlich gibt es kein Wort das gut genug erklären kann, wie glücklich ich in meiner Familie bin.  Wenn ich „Familie“ sage, meine ich es wirklich, dass wir eine Familie sind.

Freunde

Ich finde es nicht schwierig, Freunde in Deutschland zu finden.  Für mein erstes Paar Wochen hier habe ich viel zeit mit anderen AFS Schülern in meinem Sprachkurs verbracht.  Danach habe ich viele gute Freunde in meinem Jahrgang gefunden.  Immer noch treffe ich manchmal mit meinen AFS Freunde, besonders mit Geo, der auch aus den USA kommt.  Meine Freunde und ich gehen gerne in die Disko, das Kino, oder einfach in die Stadt.  Letzte Woche habe ich ein Paar Freunde eingeladen, mit mir zu einer Superbowl-Party zu gehen.

Ich habe auch Freunde in meiner Bigband gefunden und auch ein paar Freunde ziemlich spontan kennen gelernt.  Zum Beispiel, in den Winterferien war ich mit meiner Familie auf  einer Musikfreizeit. Da habe ich auch viele Freunde gefunden.  Da habe ich auch meine Freundin, Sinja, kennen gelernt.  Von ihr lerne ich viel Deutsch, da wir fast jede Nacht chatten.  Auf dieser Weise entwickelt sich mein Deutsch viel schneller.

Schule

Schule ist ziemlich leicht.  Eigentlich find ich es zu leicht: ich habe viele von meinen Fächern schon in den USA gehabt.  Ich glaube, dass mein größtes Bedauern von diesem Jahr ist das ich in die 11te, anstatt in die 12te Klasse gegangen bin.  Trotzdem bin ich gluecklich in die 11te- dieses Bedauern ist auch nicht so gross.  Meine Klassenkameraden sind aber voll lustig, und ich fühle, dass ich eine wahre Rolle in meiner Klasse habe.  Unsere Schule hat einen Laden, den ich mit Kristin, eine Freundin, führe.  Ich bin auch für die Finanzen verantwortlich.  

Ich gehe auf die Freie Waldorfschule Lübeck.  Sie ist ein Bisschen anders als normale Gymnasien: die Waldorfschule hat unter ihrem Kursangebot Handarbeit und auch andere besondere Fächer zu bieten.  Dass ich Tischlern lernen kann, zum Beispiel, finde ich echt cool.  Dieses Jahr habe ich auch HTML, Plasticien, und Kunst Geschichte gelernt, zusätzlich zu meinen normalen Stunden: Mathe, Englisch, Französisch, Deutsch, etc.  Ich habe auch die Gelegenheit, ein Praktikum zu machen.  Ich habe schon mit einer Firma in Lübeck gesprochen, und ich freue mich schon darauf, dass ich in Mai bei einer U-Bootbaufirma arbeiten kann.

Trotzdem würde ich gerne ein echtes Gymnasium ausprobieren.  Ich habe es mir übergelegt, vielleicht ein Quasi-Midstay zu machen.  Da ich ein PPP Stipendiat bin, hatte ich nicht die Gelegenheit, ein normales Midstay zu machen.  Nächste Woche werde ich AFS fragen, ob ich mit einem Freund von einer anderen Stadt für einige Wochen wohnen darf, damit ich auch ein Midstay erleben kann.

Sprache

Offensichtlich ist mein Deutsch viel weniger als perfekt (Geo hat mir viel mit meiner Grammatik in diesem Bericht geholfen).  Trotzdem bin ich glücklich, mit allem das ich schon gelernt habe.  Ich bin hier mit gar keinen Deutschkenntnissen angekommen, aber jetzt kann ich Bücher lesen, meine Lehrer verstehen, Berichte schreiben, und, hauptsachlich, mit Leuten reden.  Ich weiß, dass ich auf meine Aussprache, Akzent, und Grammatik arbeiten muss, aber ich mach mir keine Sorgen darum, weil ich noch ein halbes Jahr um Deutsch zu lernen habe. 

Ich bin stolz auf mich selbst, weil ich schon im Dezember ein ziemlich kompliziertes Buch für die Schule gelesen hatte.  Jetzt lese ich gerne Bücher auf Deutsch auf Spaß.

Ich bin auch stolz auf mich selbst, weil ich normalerweise mit meinen Freunden aus den USA die auch hier in Deutschland sind Deutsch spreche.  Manchmal ist es auch einfacher: mein Englisch ist ja immer noch besser als mein Deutsch, aber meine Gedanke sind oft auf Deutsch, und auch wenn sie auf Englisch sind haben sie einen deutschen Satzbau.

Hobbys

Ich bin immer beschäftigt.  Noch ein Bedauern, das ich zu diesem Jahr habe ist, dass ich nicht alle meine Bewerbungen für Universitäten und Stipendien vorher geschrieben hatte.  Das heißt, dass ich ziemlich oft Bewerbungen jetzt schreiben muss.  Deshalb habe ich nicht so viel Zeit, wie ich haben möchte.

Trotzdem kann ich viel unternehmen: ich spiele in drei Bands, ich spiele Badminton, und ich verbringe Zeit mit meinen Freunden.  In meinen Bands spiele ich Posaune, und normalerweise alle zwei Monate haben wir ein Konzert.  Da meine Gastfamilie ein Klavier hat, versuche ich Klavier zu lernen.  Fast jeden Tag übe ich ein Bisschen, und ich glaube, dass ich einigen Erfolg gehabt habe.

Alex und ich spielen jeden Montag Badminton, und wenn ich die Gelegenheit habe, spiele ich  auch manchmal in der Woche mit Freunden. 

Chez moi koche ich, lese ich, spiele mit Hannes und Mia, und spalte gerne Holz.  Ich habe fast sieben Dinosaurier!

Tim

Letter to Harry

Earlier today I got a letter from Harry, who's one of my best buds in the US.  I figured I'd share some of the things I wrote back- the bold texts are excerpts from Harry's letter to me.

Hey, man! How's it going?

Hello!  Life is good, everything is going well.  It’s great to hear from you.

How are you? Are you taking over Germany yet?

I tried to take over Germany but I got distracted by beer, beautiful women, delicious food, and great people.  Then I realized that if taking over a country would be so demanding that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it, it’s probably better just to enjoy the time I’ve got here.  So no dramatic country-stealing heists, sorry.

Are you dreaming in German yet?

I actually dreamed in German my first two weeks here, and I still dream in German now.  The only difference is that now I understand what everyone’s saying in my dreams… that’s important!

Big congrats, by the way, on UCLA.

Thanks for the congratulations!  I’m not sure if I’m going there yet, but it’s really nice to know that in the worst-case-scenario I have somewhere to go.  I got into Marquette a few months ago, with practically a full scholarship, but as winter went on I realized that I have absolutely no desire to study somewhere so cold as Milwaukee- if I didn’t get in anywhere else, I would even consider doing another year at LHS.  So yeah, it’s nice to have somewhere to turn too.

The play ended this past Saturday.

I had a nice convo with Ali the other day about the play- it sounds like in the end it came together pretty well.  I heard the crew pulled through, Sean told me that they earned the Stagemanager’s award, and Ali said the acting was impressive.  Good work to all of you!  I missed the Festival- that’s always such a good time, regardless of who wins or loses.  Festival people are just cool people.

School is fine. I feel like you would have finally enjoyed English this year. Mr. I is the man.

I’m glad to hear school is good.  I’ve heard good things about Mr. I.  From what I’ve heard, he sounds like my Deutsch teacher, Herr Schlauss- Herr Schlauss is also wicked cool.  His lesson is almost entirely a lecture- he tries to make it interactive, but with some notable exceptions it’s usually him on the main-stage.  We just finished comparing texts from Kant and Schiller, and a while back we did some work with Kleist- I really like the German philosophers.  German is a good language for philosophy!  Somehow, though, I always find myself comparing them to Voltaire (who’s the man), or Descartes.  French is pretty cool too. You’d probably enjoy Herr Schlauss, too- he gives you a lot to think about.

Finally I’ve been able to get a little back in the swing of French- until last month, I literally could not put three words together in a sentence.  I could still read it perfectly well, and I could still understand it very well, but when I tried to speak it always came out German.  I’m still having trouble- I’m nowhere near as fluid as I was when I left- but now I have hope.  I was really afraid about losing it earlier this year.  I love French!

I actually have no doubt that my grammar has gotten much better when I’m writing.    Madame would be proud!  I’ve learned a lot of little things that are starting to stack up- I would like to keep studying French in college, I think. 

It’s actually funny- my teacher here is appalled at my American accent (in French.  Apparently my accent is much less noticeable when I speak German) (she’s French, by the way.  Her German is also sometimes less than perfect).  I don’t know if I’m making progress in that field, but I can definitely tell where I’m wrong.  The word “mais”, for example- I’ve always said it like “may”, but it’s really more like “meh”.  Or “ai”, as in “j’ai”, that’s also more of a “eh”.  Everything I say is too hard.

Physics sucks.  (not a quote)

We just started Physics on Monday- we have it every day for two hours for the next few weeks.  I think somewhere on my blog I explained the way the Epoch schedule works… but anyway, the class started Physics last year, so I’m a little behind, but I took out a textbook and I’ll probably be caught up by the end of the week.

I miss you a ton, dude.

I’ve been missing the Fantastic Four (and a woman!) recently.  I was actually just talking about you guys to a friend of mine the other day.  I’ve realized that when I talk about High School, it sounds totally ridiculous.  I try to explain to people about the Mez, and how I used to go up there and chill in my hammock during Math and English, but somehow I don’t come clear.  Or our Chemistry class and how ridiculous it was:  poke wars, oxidizers, experiments, Triff’s mad skills, goldfish… or about the terribly depressed and pitifully pitiful Mr. Tarr, or about the adventures of French Class, with Jeopardy and cookies and Communists.  I think, though, that these kinds of memories are ones that you need to share with the people who lived them with you- so yes, I miss you all too.

With your permission, I would like to take over Team Trix for the year

Not only would I do you have my permission and my blessing, but also my thanks for taking over Team Trix- that’s really important to me, that Team Trix lives on. 

I hope you're living it up in Deutschland!

I am! I’m doing really great, as I said.  My German has come along considerably in the last month or two- I can definitely carry on a conversation without trouble.  German is an incredibly complex language (there are 16 possibilities for the word “the”), and my grammar is really terrible, and everyone can tell that I am a foreigner, but I can understand just about everything and everyone can just about understand my crappy German- and that’s what’s really important.  I’m working on my accent and starting to get a hand on the grammar, though, so I’m still making progress. 

Outside of school, I’ve been keeping really busy.  I’m playing in two Jazz Ensembles (down from three at the beginning of the year), taking a standards- dance course and a swing dance course, and play badminton with my host father. 

In April I’ll be flying to Sweden for vacation with my family, and then in May I have a three-week internship at a submarine building company.  I’ve got a lot going on, but it’s better that way.

Liebe Grüße-

Tim

Stuff

A few thoughts-

1.  Today is Pi Day in America!  Since Germany only has twelve months and writes its dates sillily, Pi Day hasn't been invented here yet.

2.  Today is Lord Todd Norton's birthday.  Alles gut zum Geburtstag, Todd!

3.  The people at the Luebeck Library said that I'm not allowed to get a library card because I don't have a German ID, but I'm going to try again later this week.  Maybe I'll get a nicer lady behind the counter.  Geo has one, after all.

4.  I got accepted to UCLA!

5.  I read an article in the paper that reminded me of Harry- I know his usual magazine is The Week, but for some reason I associate Wired with him, too.  Anyway, Wired nominated the internet for a Nobel Peace Prize.  Yeah, the internet.  Weird.

6.  I found a dance partner for my swing class!  Coincidentally, she too is named Sinja.

7.  I gave a presentation in French class on Friday.  I think it was well written, but the teacher commented once again on my American accent.  It's "tres, tres fort".  I don't think I'll ever figure out a French accent.

8.  I'm not too concerned about the French accent right now.  Just a German accent would be nice.  That's not happening any time soon either, though.

9.  I'm procrastinating.  I really ought to be writing a report on calculating vectors.

Ciao for now!

April Showers

April showers came a month early.

Luebeck's been rainy recently, but it's starting to warm up.  It's been hovering between 0 and 7 degrees Celsius for the last week or so, and the forecast is rainy for all of next week.  Most of the snow is gone, which is good, but now everything is wet.  Just one day of sun, though, and we can burn up the wet and everything will be beautiful- I'm sure of it.

I had a good weekend!  On Friday I was at the Walli with some friends- we saw a concert there that was pretty good.  The band was Dub Spencer and Trance Hill- it was a soft rock/reggae kind of sound.  I hadn't heard of them before, but it was a good time.  The cool this about the Walli, though, is that you always meet someone.  I went with a few friends, ended up meeting up with half dozen more, saw a few German AFers in the crowd, and ended up spending half the night talking with some random guy about the anti-Nazi march in a few weeks that he's helping to plan. Der Walli a pretty Ossie place- everyone's either a goth, and emo, or a radical leftist, but all in all a good crowd.

Last night I watched "Das Wunder von Bern" with Geo and Anke.  The lady at the history museum in Bonn (or was it Koeln?) had recommended it, and it was a good pick.  Anyone who's looking for a good German film should take a look.

 On second thought, this place looks a lot sketchier than it really is...

Tanzen!

So I've been taking a Standards dance class for the last few weeks.  It includes:

Jive
Salsa
Disco Fox
Cha-Cha-Cha (or is it just Cha-Cha?  I never knew)
Foxtrot
Waltz (fast & slow)

There might be one that I forgot, but that's about it.  It's a fun class, but very slow.  It's a big group of kids, though, so I can understand why they need to proceed slowly. 

Today I also started a four-week Swing class.  That's really cool, and it's a much smaller group.  It's definitely a better way to learn.  BUT I have a predicament!  I need a partner!  Today I danced with a lady who's husband was sick- we got along very well- but for the next three weeks I need a partner.  Problem is, nobody is free on Wednesdays.  Plus, whoever I do find will need to learn everything from the beginning.  That won't be so hard, but still... we'll see what happens.

Have a nice Wednesday, everyone!

A German Haircut

So this was like a badass haircut.

First things first, I've never had an hour-and-a-half long haircut before.  Ever.  In Germany, in the USA, in my basement- ever.  Until today.

Anyway, I got to the studio at 5- the girl was waiting for me (I had called ahead).  She took my coat and sat me right down, and then offered me something to drink.  That's standard here- every time I go to the friseur I'm offered coffee, water, or tea.  I think that's kind of cool- we should have drinks in our haircutteries, too.

The girl (Sarah) proceeded to rinse, shampoo, and then condition my hair with TWO different conditioners.  So much conditioner habe ich noch nie gesehen!  Then after she dried it off, she put some more stuff in my hair!  I asked what it was, she replied bluntly "Haar Wasser".  Hair water?  What's that supposed to mean?

It's not very important what hair water is, though, because once the hair water was in she gave me a scalp massage for a good twenty minutes.  I guess she has to show a good head-massage on her test this week too, but whatever the case was, I'm not complaining.  I've never had a head-message in a haircuttery in the US, either.

After that was done she proceeded to cut my hair.  I think she did a good job, but she sure took a long time.  When that was finished, the hair-master of the salon came and looked over the work, evened a few things out, gave her approval, and went on her way.

Sarah told me that if I wanted, I could come back in a few weeks and get another free haircut.


In any case, I'd say I lucked out.  Mia has given her tentative approval, Hannes declares my haircut "ganz witzig", and I'm happy with it.  Success!