Hey Everybody!
As you know, my mom has come to visit me! She'll be a guest blogger on here a couple of times to let you know how her trip is going, what we are seeing and doing. Happy reading!
Love,
Elizabeth
Friday, May 29, 2009
Guest Blogger: Vicki from Vegesack
Good book? $15.00. New shoes for the trip? $40 (a pair) (OK, x 3). Fifteen hours on a plane? Priceless.
I watched people, enjoyed my neighbors, even the young girl who kept nudging me with her feet as she slept curled up in her seat on the long flight across the ocean, and was grateful and amazed at where I was.
I read the book that had been recommended by a friend. The book made me laugh out loud so often I found myself furtively glancing at my airborne neighbors to see if they were wondering about my lunatic tendencies. I got to read a good book for the first time in a very long time.
Annemarie was just as cute as ever, full of charm and energy, and I know she had to get up at 4:00 a.m or something to get me in Duesseldorf. What a hospitable person. Now begins the royal treatment!
After a little snack (cheese and homemade bread) and a nap, it was time for a very “lecker” lunch with Guenther and Annemarie. Yum. And I don’t want to make you envious so I won’t say more. But I would not lie, “yum” is the word.
I got to see all three adult children of the family, which I was assured was quite a rare occurrence. The whole family is a very tight-knit group, but with plenty of room for fun and independence. (Ask me about Karla’s story of Guenther’s scarecrow, those who know them!)
After that, on to the train to Bremen. There my lovely Elizabeth was running along the tracks to meet me like in the old movies! Very exciting reunion followed, and we took another train to the Blue House where she lives and I will stay until next Friday. Next a quick tour of the Blue House, unpack and sleep in heavenly peace.
And now comes the pause for reflection: Whenever I come here, it seems to me for the first few days that people are putting on an elaborate game just for my amusement by speaking this German language. It is so much fun to try to interpret and communicate, and I am grateful for all their work to establish this puzzle for me. Eventually I become less delusional and accept that they do this for themselves and because that’s how they know how to do it but it takes me some time to get there… that’s how self-centered I am! And I wouldn’t say that to just anyone, but you, my devoted facebook and blog friends, would never think less of me, would you?
Anyway, we wandered casually around the harbor and inlet here, before boarding the bus to tour the campus of Jacobs University. There I met several of her friends, a nice group of people from places all over, but surprisingly many of whom were from the United States! How had these people ended up here??? Tonight I continued to meet friends. On next Thursday we will cook dinner for them and Elizabeth will hold a reverse housewarming, donating the items she can’t bring home.
Friday update:
What a wonderful and relaxing day. We had the most excellent lunch and tea with a couple who have helped Elizabeth a lot while she was here. Renata and Hermann are the “host parents” for one of Elizabeth’s friends. When E was in distress early in her time here over her living situation, they took her under their wings and helped her move to this beloved Blue House. They also gave her dinner and company and were just excellent friends. We hope one day they will visit us so we can attempt to repay them. (No snickers, those who know my cooking!)
Then we returned to the Blue House and I lay around like a sloth, reading a novel and just relaxing. Most wonderful and exactly what I needed today.
Tomorrow: Checking out downtown Bremen and an End-of-the-Year Festival at Jacobs University.
Tschuss! Vicki from Vegesack
Komm mit! (Come with!)
The name of Alex's German book and an invitation to you!
"Broken English Spoken Perfectly"
Thank goodness!
Vegesack is an old shipping town
I watched people, enjoyed my neighbors, even the young girl who kept nudging me with her feet as she slept curled up in her seat on the long flight across the ocean, and was grateful and amazed at where I was.
I read the book that had been recommended by a friend. The book made me laugh out loud so often I found myself furtively glancing at my airborne neighbors to see if they were wondering about my lunatic tendencies. I got to read a good book for the first time in a very long time.
Annemarie was just as cute as ever, full of charm and energy, and I know she had to get up at 4:00 a.m or something to get me in Duesseldorf. What a hospitable person. Now begins the royal treatment!
After a little snack (cheese and homemade bread) and a nap, it was time for a very “lecker” lunch with Guenther and Annemarie. Yum. And I don’t want to make you envious so I won’t say more. But I would not lie, “yum” is the word.
I got to see all three adult children of the family, which I was assured was quite a rare occurrence. The whole family is a very tight-knit group, but with plenty of room for fun and independence. (Ask me about Karla’s story of Guenther’s scarecrow, those who know them!)
After that, on to the train to Bremen. There my lovely Elizabeth was running along the tracks to meet me like in the old movies! Very exciting reunion followed, and we took another train to the Blue House where she lives and I will stay until next Friday. Next a quick tour of the Blue House, unpack and sleep in heavenly peace.
And now comes the pause for reflection: Whenever I come here, it seems to me for the first few days that people are putting on an elaborate game just for my amusement by speaking this German language. It is so much fun to try to interpret and communicate, and I am grateful for all their work to establish this puzzle for me. Eventually I become less delusional and accept that they do this for themselves and because that’s how they know how to do it but it takes me some time to get there… that’s how self-centered I am! And I wouldn’t say that to just anyone, but you, my devoted facebook and blog friends, would never think less of me, would you?
Anyway, we wandered casually around the harbor and inlet here, before boarding the bus to tour the campus of Jacobs University. There I met several of her friends, a nice group of people from places all over, but surprisingly many of whom were from the United States! How had these people ended up here??? Tonight I continued to meet friends. On next Thursday we will cook dinner for them and Elizabeth will hold a reverse housewarming, donating the items she can’t bring home.
Friday update:
What a wonderful and relaxing day. We had the most excellent lunch and tea with a couple who have helped Elizabeth a lot while she was here. Renata and Hermann are the “host parents” for one of Elizabeth’s friends. When E was in distress early in her time here over her living situation, they took her under their wings and helped her move to this beloved Blue House. They also gave her dinner and company and were just excellent friends. We hope one day they will visit us so we can attempt to repay them. (No snickers, those who know my cooking!)
Then we returned to the Blue House and I lay around like a sloth, reading a novel and just relaxing. Most wonderful and exactly what I needed today.
Tomorrow: Checking out downtown Bremen and an End-of-the-Year Festival at Jacobs University.
Tschuss! Vicki from Vegesack
Komm mit! (Come with!)
The name of Alex's German book and an invitation to you!
"Broken English Spoken Perfectly"
Thank goodness!
Vegesack is an old shipping town
Monday, May 25, 2009
Southern food, BBQs, and Good-byes
Hey Everybody!
Sorry about the delay in the blog updates – it’s finals time and my life and schedule has gone crazy.
So let’s do a little back tracking to last Friday night, 15 May. It was the last time my friends and I met to cook with each other which made it particularly bittersweet. The theme of the night was Southern Breakfast with Blake (from Tennessee) taking the lead. We made country ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, biscuits, and veggies with fruit salad for dessert. Really good food! We had more people than we’ve had in the past, but that was really nice. Maria, Kate, Adil, Tankut, Leah, Blake, and me were all there to enjoy each other’s company and the food.
I had been working like crazy on two of my final papers – one for Asian History class and one for Migration, Globalization, Linguistics, and Literary Taxonomies. After working like a mad woman on them on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I finished them on Tuesday afternoon – and then took the evening off to recover. Wednesday night Leah had a get together to celebrate us handing in our final papers which was a lot of fun. We sat around eating yummy appetizer things and talking about everything under the sun.
On the Friday the 22 May I had a special session of my Asian History class for just the graduate students who had been in the class. I needed to read 280 pages and outline a chapter to prepare for this so I spent Wednesday and Thursday reading and outlining. I did pretty good getting 230 pages read and the outline done. The 7 hour marathon session went pretty well. We talked about the democratization of China in the first half and the Tibet issue in the second – neither of which I had previous experience with so it was a chance to learn quite a bit.
Saturday 23 May was a huge grill out for all the graduate students which was so much fun! It was actually warm – it got to 70 degrees!!! We took off shoes, rolled up jeans and soaked up the sun. I actually got a little sun burnt which is pretty exciting. It was also the last chance for me to see a lot of these people so that was good. We had a really great day just enjoying each other’s company.
Saturday night I spent the night scouring the internet for sources for my final paper for European History class only to come to the conclusion that there wasn’t any I could get by Wednesday (when the paper needs to be finished). I panicked some then went to sleep.
Sunday was a sad, sad day. One of my closest friends here, Maria from Trinidad, left. We spent the day going to mass together, having brunch with some friends, then getting the very last of her stuff together. She gave me her cookbook from Trinidad and Tobago (which is now very precious to me) and I gave her a Skyline Chili seasoning packet. I’m now looking forward to cooking Trini for y’all!
Sunday night, after Maria left, I entered full on panic mode when it came to my European History final paper. I decided to be proactive about this and headed to the library and came up with six articles dealing with women and the Holocaust so I think I’m doing a survey of how academics deal with the subject of women in the Holocaust, looking for any common themes, etc. It’s Monday morning and I will have this 5000 word paper written by Wednesday. Any prayers, good juju, anything like that you want to send my way would be greatly appreciated.
Wednesday my momma comes to visit which I am really looking forward too. We are going to take some daytrips and an overnight trip to Munich, spend some time in Bremen. I’m looking forward to introducing her to my friends, showing her my room in the Blue House and lots of other fun stuff.
I hope life isn’t too crazy for you right now and that you’re doing great!
Love,
Elizabeth
Tankut grilling some wurst
Sorry about the delay in the blog updates – it’s finals time and my life and schedule has gone crazy.
So let’s do a little back tracking to last Friday night, 15 May. It was the last time my friends and I met to cook with each other which made it particularly bittersweet. The theme of the night was Southern Breakfast with Blake (from Tennessee) taking the lead. We made country ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, biscuits, and veggies with fruit salad for dessert. Really good food! We had more people than we’ve had in the past, but that was really nice. Maria, Kate, Adil, Tankut, Leah, Blake, and me were all there to enjoy each other’s company and the food.
I had been working like crazy on two of my final papers – one for Asian History class and one for Migration, Globalization, Linguistics, and Literary Taxonomies. After working like a mad woman on them on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I finished them on Tuesday afternoon – and then took the evening off to recover. Wednesday night Leah had a get together to celebrate us handing in our final papers which was a lot of fun. We sat around eating yummy appetizer things and talking about everything under the sun.
On the Friday the 22 May I had a special session of my Asian History class for just the graduate students who had been in the class. I needed to read 280 pages and outline a chapter to prepare for this so I spent Wednesday and Thursday reading and outlining. I did pretty good getting 230 pages read and the outline done. The 7 hour marathon session went pretty well. We talked about the democratization of China in the first half and the Tibet issue in the second – neither of which I had previous experience with so it was a chance to learn quite a bit.
Saturday 23 May was a huge grill out for all the graduate students which was so much fun! It was actually warm – it got to 70 degrees!!! We took off shoes, rolled up jeans and soaked up the sun. I actually got a little sun burnt which is pretty exciting. It was also the last chance for me to see a lot of these people so that was good. We had a really great day just enjoying each other’s company.
Saturday night I spent the night scouring the internet for sources for my final paper for European History class only to come to the conclusion that there wasn’t any I could get by Wednesday (when the paper needs to be finished). I panicked some then went to sleep.
Sunday was a sad, sad day. One of my closest friends here, Maria from Trinidad, left. We spent the day going to mass together, having brunch with some friends, then getting the very last of her stuff together. She gave me her cookbook from Trinidad and Tobago (which is now very precious to me) and I gave her a Skyline Chili seasoning packet. I’m now looking forward to cooking Trini for y’all!
Sunday night, after Maria left, I entered full on panic mode when it came to my European History final paper. I decided to be proactive about this and headed to the library and came up with six articles dealing with women and the Holocaust so I think I’m doing a survey of how academics deal with the subject of women in the Holocaust, looking for any common themes, etc. It’s Monday morning and I will have this 5000 word paper written by Wednesday. Any prayers, good juju, anything like that you want to send my way would be greatly appreciated.
Wednesday my momma comes to visit which I am really looking forward too. We are going to take some daytrips and an overnight trip to Munich, spend some time in Bremen. I’m looking forward to introducing her to my friends, showing her my room in the Blue House and lots of other fun stuff.
I hope life isn’t too crazy for you right now and that you’re doing great!
Love,
Elizabeth
Maria making some pancakes for Southern Night
Blake frying up some country ham and bacon
Blake & Tankut hanging out
Leah, me, Maria, Adil, Kate, and Blake getting ready to enjoy some good food!
Lida, me, Tanja, and Maria enjoying the sun!
Tankut grilling some wurst
Maria and I soaking up the sun
Lyazzat and Maria enjoying the scenary and each other's company
Friday, May 22, 2009
In Just A Bit..
Hey!
I'm spending all of Friday stuck in a Chinese History class (yuck), so I'll post a real update tomorrow!
Cheers,
Bits
I'm spending all of Friday stuck in a Chinese History class (yuck), so I'll post a real update tomorrow!
Cheers,
Bits
Friday, May 15, 2009
Last Season
Hey Everybody!
We are getting to the last season – last time to hang out with the friends I’ve made here, last classes, last Friseur, etc. I’m not really a fan of this season. It makes me sad. There are some good things though – knowing that it’s the last time for these things make them sweeter.
This past Saturday Blake, Kate, Maria, and I met up for our last time eating Trinidadian food together. Trini food has become a favorite with us and this was especially good (and especially spicy!). Maria was the lead chef and the rest of us were her sous chefs. We chopped vegetables mostly. We feasted on curried chicken (and curried fish for Kate, our pescatarian), curried mango, rice, potatoes & chickpeas, and mashed pumpkin (my favorite). For dessert, apricot & mango ice cream. It was really, really delicious. Nothing particularly special or that sticks out – just another fun night with friends. Tonight is really our last night cooking – Blake is going to lead us in Southern food.
It was the last week for classes and I wasn’t too sad about that. I was sad to say good-bye to Prof. Dr. Boris Barth, my favorite professor here. He’s a German historian and is wonderful to learn with. He really challenges students to make them think. I did get a chance to spend time with him one last time though. On Wednesdays there is a mandatory speaker that all the Intercultural Humanities and Modern Global History students have to attend. After the speaker everyone, the profs and the students, go out for dinner together. I ended up sitting next to Prof. Barth and we talked about family, Kentucky, and other stuff. It was fun and a nice way to say goodbye to the semester.
My friends and I have the habit of going to the on-campus café after every class and Thursday it was our last time there (unless we make a special trip back to camps). It was just the same as always, discussing our childhoods (there are some surprising international cartoons – everyone knows about the smurfs), class, philosophical issues, and all that jazz. I did remember my camera and got pictures.
Now begins the paper writing season in earnest. I’ve already started two of my three papers and I think I just may have a topic for my third. I have high hopes (i.e. delusions) of getting all the papers written before my mom comes to visit on 26 May.
I hope all is peachy keen with you!
Love,
Elizabeth
We are getting to the last season – last time to hang out with the friends I’ve made here, last classes, last Friseur, etc. I’m not really a fan of this season. It makes me sad. There are some good things though – knowing that it’s the last time for these things make them sweeter.
This past Saturday Blake, Kate, Maria, and I met up for our last time eating Trinidadian food together. Trini food has become a favorite with us and this was especially good (and especially spicy!). Maria was the lead chef and the rest of us were her sous chefs. We chopped vegetables mostly. We feasted on curried chicken (and curried fish for Kate, our pescatarian), curried mango, rice, potatoes & chickpeas, and mashed pumpkin (my favorite). For dessert, apricot & mango ice cream. It was really, really delicious. Nothing particularly special or that sticks out – just another fun night with friends. Tonight is really our last night cooking – Blake is going to lead us in Southern food.
It was the last week for classes and I wasn’t too sad about that. I was sad to say good-bye to Prof. Dr. Boris Barth, my favorite professor here. He’s a German historian and is wonderful to learn with. He really challenges students to make them think. I did get a chance to spend time with him one last time though. On Wednesdays there is a mandatory speaker that all the Intercultural Humanities and Modern Global History students have to attend. After the speaker everyone, the profs and the students, go out for dinner together. I ended up sitting next to Prof. Barth and we talked about family, Kentucky, and other stuff. It was fun and a nice way to say goodbye to the semester.
My friends and I have the habit of going to the on-campus café after every class and Thursday it was our last time there (unless we make a special trip back to camps). It was just the same as always, discussing our childhoods (there are some surprising international cartoons – everyone knows about the smurfs), class, philosophical issues, and all that jazz. I did remember my camera and got pictures.
Now begins the paper writing season in earnest. I’ve already started two of my three papers and I think I just may have a topic for my third. I have high hopes (i.e. delusions) of getting all the papers written before my mom comes to visit on 26 May.
I hope all is peachy keen with you!
Love,
Elizabeth
Friday, May 8, 2009
Cooking, barbequeing, and racing
Hey Everybody!
Last weekend I stayed busy cooking for some friends, going to a barbeque and the Jacobs University Talent Show, and keeping up with my family in Kentucky. I also found out that last Friday, May 1, was the German equivalent of Labor Day, so everything was closed which was slightly annoying for me, but I respect that on the “Day of Work” all the workers get the day off. The school week has been rather uneventful – it’s final paper writing season. I’ve started two of my final papers and am making good progress, but I can’t say I’m really enjoying it.
There are two Iranian guys who live on my floor and have been nothing but nice to me since I met them back at the end of September. This semester we have started teaching each other about our respective cultures and trying food from each other’s home countries. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy Iranian food and was eager to cook for them. Last Friday I got the opportunity too. I made chili-spaghetti, a hometown favorite, which they seemed to really enjoy (they each had three helpings which seems more than polite). I really enjoy chatting with them and this was a nice opportunity to.
Saturday was Kentucky Derby Day back home, but there were no Derby parties here. The Blue House did have a barbeque in the campus garden that day and I was bound and determined to make Derby Pie for this event. Unfortunately I could not find the right kind of chocolate, white syrup, pecans, or pie crust in MarktKauf. I made cookies instead and told my friends about the Derby.
I was also missing my uncles who are the traditional family barbeque-ers. I had brought was I thought was a pre-made hamburger patty to be grilled at the barbeque, but when I got there I discovered that each person had to grill their own meat – something I think I may have done once before. “Ok,” I thought, “I can do this. I know what a hamburger looks like when it’s cooked.” Well, what I thought was a hamburger turned out to be a European hamburger thing – nothing like a traditional American hamburger. When I took it off the grill and ate it, it may or may not have been completely done. I miss American hamburgers. I also need grill lessons!
Spotlight 2009, the annual Jacobs University Talent Show, was a fun expedition Saturday night. I met up with Maria and Blake and we enjoyed performances of singing, dancing, stand up comedy, piano playing, and some other good talent. It was a fun evening.
Lat Saturday night kicked off a flurry of phone calls (with PeterPays) to Kentucky. My youngest sister, Alex, was off to her first prom and I was missing being there, helping her get ready, taking pictures, etc. I did get to call and talk to her before she left so that was nice.
I was also on a mission to watch the Kentucky Derby, but the Blue House TV which has hundreds of channels was not showing it and I couldn’t find it streaming online. I called my grandpa, Curly, when I thought the race was over, but the horses were going to post so I called him ten minutes later and he told me Mine That Bird had won. I’m sorry I didn’t get to watch the race, but I surely appreciate Curly’s help in keeping me updated.
Sunday began the school week for me. Two of my final papers are dealing with the topic of the Chinese suffrage movement and the third one I don’t have a topic for yet. I’m not panicking about this yet because Chinese suffrage has invaded my brain, but I have hopes of finishing these papers by the end of this week.
I’ve been making plans for when my mom comes to visit. We are going to take an overnight trip to Munich and day trips to Hannover and Hamburg. I’m really looking forward to it.
I’d love to hear from you. If the comment thing doesn’t work, my email is bits1212@yahoo.com. I hope all is well with you! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!
Love,
Elizabeth 
Last weekend I stayed busy cooking for some friends, going to a barbeque and the Jacobs University Talent Show, and keeping up with my family in Kentucky. I also found out that last Friday, May 1, was the German equivalent of Labor Day, so everything was closed which was slightly annoying for me, but I respect that on the “Day of Work” all the workers get the day off. The school week has been rather uneventful – it’s final paper writing season. I’ve started two of my final papers and am making good progress, but I can’t say I’m really enjoying it.
There are two Iranian guys who live on my floor and have been nothing but nice to me since I met them back at the end of September. This semester we have started teaching each other about our respective cultures and trying food from each other’s home countries. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy Iranian food and was eager to cook for them. Last Friday I got the opportunity too. I made chili-spaghetti, a hometown favorite, which they seemed to really enjoy (they each had three helpings which seems more than polite). I really enjoy chatting with them and this was a nice opportunity to.
Saturday was Kentucky Derby Day back home, but there were no Derby parties here. The Blue House did have a barbeque in the campus garden that day and I was bound and determined to make Derby Pie for this event. Unfortunately I could not find the right kind of chocolate, white syrup, pecans, or pie crust in MarktKauf. I made cookies instead and told my friends about the Derby.
I was also missing my uncles who are the traditional family barbeque-ers. I had brought was I thought was a pre-made hamburger patty to be grilled at the barbeque, but when I got there I discovered that each person had to grill their own meat – something I think I may have done once before. “Ok,” I thought, “I can do this. I know what a hamburger looks like when it’s cooked.” Well, what I thought was a hamburger turned out to be a European hamburger thing – nothing like a traditional American hamburger. When I took it off the grill and ate it, it may or may not have been completely done. I miss American hamburgers. I also need grill lessons!
Spotlight 2009, the annual Jacobs University Talent Show, was a fun expedition Saturday night. I met up with Maria and Blake and we enjoyed performances of singing, dancing, stand up comedy, piano playing, and some other good talent. It was a fun evening.
Lat Saturday night kicked off a flurry of phone calls (with PeterPays) to Kentucky. My youngest sister, Alex, was off to her first prom and I was missing being there, helping her get ready, taking pictures, etc. I did get to call and talk to her before she left so that was nice.
I was also on a mission to watch the Kentucky Derby, but the Blue House TV which has hundreds of channels was not showing it and I couldn’t find it streaming online. I called my grandpa, Curly, when I thought the race was over, but the horses were going to post so I called him ten minutes later and he told me Mine That Bird had won. I’m sorry I didn’t get to watch the race, but I surely appreciate Curly’s help in keeping me updated.
Sunday began the school week for me. Two of my final papers are dealing with the topic of the Chinese suffrage movement and the third one I don’t have a topic for yet. I’m not panicking about this yet because Chinese suffrage has invaded my brain, but I have hopes of finishing these papers by the end of this week.
I’ve been making plans for when my mom comes to visit. We are going to take an overnight trip to Munich and day trips to Hannover and Hamburg. I’m really looking forward to it.
I’d love to hear from you. If the comment thing doesn’t work, my email is bits1212@yahoo.com. I hope all is well with you! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!
Love,
Elizabeth
Pretty blooming trees on the Jacobs campus
A close up of one of the flowers
Friday, May 1, 2009
African Heritage Event & Werder Bremen Game
Hey!
This week was rather eventful. The final paper craziness officially started (which I loathe), I went to an African Heritage event, and to a Werder Bremen game.
The African Heritage event was the main event of African Heritage week. It was a presentation that featured a fashion show, several examples of singing and dancing from different regions, a skit, and a poem. It ended with some good food from different African countries (though my suspicion that I do not like anchovies was confirmed). I liked learning about this continent that I do not know too much about.
Tuesday Günther called and invited me to the Werder Bremen football (soccer) game. It was the semi-final for the UEFA Championship which was a big deal. What was a bigger deal was that Werder Bremen was playing Hamburger SV, Hamburg’s team, which is Werder Bremen’s big rival. I agreed to go to the game and am very glad I did. Unfortunately I forgot my camera though so there are no pictures to share.
The Werder Bremen adventure started off with Bernhard, a guy in my Asian History class, who was going to the game also asked if I knew where I was going (and I didn't of course). He said, "You will come with us" meaning him and his girlfriend who was in the play with me and is from China. We caught the train to downtown Bremen and it was a crazy ride – the Werder Bremen fans were out in force already. From the train to an overcrowded strassenbahn then a walk to the stadium where we saw riot cops escorting the big group of Hamburger fans and a fight still almost broke out. It was seriously more cops than I have ever seen at one time before.
I found Günther and discovered that we were sitting in the VIP clubhouse and was very excited – I've never been to anything like! I still have my special VIP bracelet on (but that's because I was too tired to cut it off last night). However I'm very impressed with my bracelet – it’s specialized for last night's game and fabric as opposed to something that should be thrown away. The VIP section had lots of free food, but I only got to try different types of brötchen (bread with different fillings). I have no idea what was in these bread-twisty things, but it was really good so I ate those for dinner. Then Günther showed me where the TV studio is, where the retired players sit, etc. and then we went to the special box where we sat with eight other people. There was more food laid out, a glass screen you could put up and down depending on if you were chilled or not, and a TV. A waiter comes and brings you drinks and cokes kept appearing.
It was fun to watch the crazy fans. The Hamburgers were very sophisticated in the cheering – they got a whole block of people do choreographed movements, they jumped up and down (which looked cool), and set off fireworks (that just seemed dangerous). The Werder fans just had big flags and they sang sometimes. Unfortunately Werder lost the game. We did say that Werder would have won if my cousin Ben (who is an excellent football/soccer player) had been playing for them.
Afterwards, Günther drove me home which I was very grateful for. I was not looking forward to riding the train back with the crazy, drunken disappointed fans. Once back in Vegesack Günther stopped and talked to the döner guys, who recognized me, and then talked to Günther about me. The only phrase I understood was "meine cousine" (“my cousin”). I am very curious to know what was said. Günther did say the döners are lecker (delicious) there. While he ordered the döner, I ran upstairs and got the book & calendar Uncle Bernie sent for him which Günther loved. Günther then told me how glad he was to see me and headed back home. It was a really great night and I’m glad I went.
So that was this past week. Tomorrow is Derby Day in Kentucky which I am missing very much. I’m not sure what all is happening this coming week. I’m going to a BBQ tomorrow for the Blue House. We’ll find out though!
I hope all is going great with you!
Love,
Elizabeth
Lyazzat & Maria getting ready for the African Heritage Event
The African Choir sang some very cool songs
Yummy food! (except the anchovies)
This week was rather eventful. The final paper craziness officially started (which I loathe), I went to an African Heritage event, and to a Werder Bremen game.
The African Heritage event was the main event of African Heritage week. It was a presentation that featured a fashion show, several examples of singing and dancing from different regions, a skit, and a poem. It ended with some good food from different African countries (though my suspicion that I do not like anchovies was confirmed). I liked learning about this continent that I do not know too much about.
Tuesday Günther called and invited me to the Werder Bremen football (soccer) game. It was the semi-final for the UEFA Championship which was a big deal. What was a bigger deal was that Werder Bremen was playing Hamburger SV, Hamburg’s team, which is Werder Bremen’s big rival. I agreed to go to the game and am very glad I did. Unfortunately I forgot my camera though so there are no pictures to share.
The Werder Bremen adventure started off with Bernhard, a guy in my Asian History class, who was going to the game also asked if I knew where I was going (and I didn't of course). He said, "You will come with us" meaning him and his girlfriend who was in the play with me and is from China. We caught the train to downtown Bremen and it was a crazy ride – the Werder Bremen fans were out in force already. From the train to an overcrowded strassenbahn then a walk to the stadium where we saw riot cops escorting the big group of Hamburger fans and a fight still almost broke out. It was seriously more cops than I have ever seen at one time before.
I found Günther and discovered that we were sitting in the VIP clubhouse and was very excited – I've never been to anything like! I still have my special VIP bracelet on (but that's because I was too tired to cut it off last night). However I'm very impressed with my bracelet – it’s specialized for last night's game and fabric as opposed to something that should be thrown away. The VIP section had lots of free food, but I only got to try different types of brötchen (bread with different fillings). I have no idea what was in these bread-twisty things, but it was really good so I ate those for dinner. Then Günther showed me where the TV studio is, where the retired players sit, etc. and then we went to the special box where we sat with eight other people. There was more food laid out, a glass screen you could put up and down depending on if you were chilled or not, and a TV. A waiter comes and brings you drinks and cokes kept appearing.
It was fun to watch the crazy fans. The Hamburgers were very sophisticated in the cheering – they got a whole block of people do choreographed movements, they jumped up and down (which looked cool), and set off fireworks (that just seemed dangerous). The Werder fans just had big flags and they sang sometimes. Unfortunately Werder lost the game. We did say that Werder would have won if my cousin Ben (who is an excellent football/soccer player) had been playing for them.
Afterwards, Günther drove me home which I was very grateful for. I was not looking forward to riding the train back with the crazy, drunken disappointed fans. Once back in Vegesack Günther stopped and talked to the döner guys, who recognized me, and then talked to Günther about me. The only phrase I understood was "meine cousine" (“my cousin”). I am very curious to know what was said. Günther did say the döners are lecker (delicious) there. While he ordered the döner, I ran upstairs and got the book & calendar Uncle Bernie sent for him which Günther loved. Günther then told me how glad he was to see me and headed back home. It was a really great night and I’m glad I went.
So that was this past week. Tomorrow is Derby Day in Kentucky which I am missing very much. I’m not sure what all is happening this coming week. I’m going to a BBQ tomorrow for the Blue House. We’ll find out though!
I hope all is going great with you!
Love,
Elizabeth
Lyazzat & Maria getting ready for the African Heritage Event
The African Choir sang some very cool songs
Yummy food! (except the anchovies)
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