Bits of Bremen

Last week in Bremen

2009-06-05T09:55:00.002-04:00

Hey Everybody!

My mom and I had an eventful week this past week and she was kind enough to write about it! Grab a snack and your beverage of choice - maybe some alcohol free wine like we ACCIDENTALLY bought this past week!

My time in Germany is almost up and my internet connection is going to be spotty from now till I get back to the States so bear with me on my infrequent posting.

I hope things are great with you!

Love,
Elizabeth

Vicki From Vegesack: Part II

2009-06-05T09:52:00.002-04:00

Saturday

Downtown Bremen, the Schnoor, bibelgarten, Jacobs picnic, shopping and little harbor festival walkthrough, Werder Bremen wins!

There you go. The succinct summary. Now I’ll take you through it…. Backwards!

Werder Bremen, la lalala. Late into the night there were literally singing in the streets, horns honking, men shouting. Their beloved soccer team, who as far as I can tell is called the “green/whites,” won the Germany Cup! Sounds like a big deal good thing for the fans of fussbol and it was. The celebration was rowdy and hearty. Elizabeth and I joined in by downloading the Werder Bremen song on youtube. It was all the support we could muster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzVbgkizKfE

I went to the grocery myself and only had to ask for one thing to be translated! They have some kind of deutsche card I did not understand… thought she might be asking debit or credit. However the 18 year old German girl spoke better English than I do so other than my usual embarrassment all was well. I found everything I was looking for and even translated nutritional comparisons.

We had a nice trip through downtown Bremen which of course centers on the two churches, the Frauenkirche and the Domhof (one for the general public and one for the higher classes in the old days). We ate lunch on the square, and although the picture looks a little gruesome, I swear it was the best baked potato ever slathered with a “kraeutercreme” sauce… some kind of chivey-parsley spice that was great. Everything comes with the most interesting salads, and they don’t even advertise them.

During lunch a man began to chant something very loudly (he must have majored in voice projection somewhere) on the square. He went on and on. At first we thought he was some sort of tour guide but he seemed to be very repetitive and, frankly, I could not figure out even what language he was speaking using, let alone what he was saying. Eventually the police came and hauled him away. The lunch crowd cheered.

In a courtyard of the Domhof, the major church, was a Bibelgarten, where 120 varieties of flowers and shrubs mentioned in the Bible, are planted. Each is labeled with its name and a mention of the bible verse where it is mentioned. The flowers were of course beautiful, as all flowers are here and, really, it has to be said, everywhere else where flowers are. Do I ramble?

Back to the tour.

The Schnoor is the oldest quarter in Bremen (c. 1000) with the tiniest medieval “streets” I’ve seen anywhere. There was one area where I had to turn sideways to get through (yes, I’ve put on weight, but this was inordinate!) We looked in a couple of shops and met my new boyfriend Heinrich, see photo below. He was known as Happy Heini because no matter what he always was determined to be happy. Unfortunately, he will never know of his status as my new boyfriend because he died several years ago at the age of 90+. The town loved him so much they put a statue near where he lived there in the Schnoor.

The Jacobs picnic-festival was to celebrate the end of the year. The theme was 1960’s hippies but not everyone seemed to have received the memo and those who did had some mighty erroneous info about the hippies. However, since the students represented countries as various as Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, the US, Germany, El Salvador, etc. I figured maybe there were different interpretations of the term in different parts of the world. Elizabeth received an elaborate temporary tattoo and we vamoosed.

Shortly thereafter came the aforementioned shopping expedition and on the short walk back to the Blue House I found a tiny area by the harbor where there were food booths and a merry-go-round. Fun! Took some pictures of the harbor/Blue House from the other side and then back to rest. Sleeping is fun and peaceful here… but of course last night we got to vicariously party with the wildly enthusiastic Werder Bremen fans returning at the Bahnhof that is less than fifty yards from our house. Alles Gut, we learned a new song!

Sunday – Monday-Tuesday

Church. Brunch. Rest. Goodbye pizza party at Blue House. Overnight train to Munich. Hostel, could not check in yet. Wander to information office and buy hop on hop off tours. Ride four times to see all the sights, hop off in Marienplatz, walk to Hard Rock Café/Hofbrauhaus. All shops closed due to Pentecost. Elizabeth purely miserable with allergies, in search of Apotheke! No map for me. Final day walking tour.

Church at Jacobs U involves a touring priest (who had a Mass-in-a-rolling-suitcase, hopefully with all appropriate luggage blessings) and about fourteen participants. Including us. Elizabeth was roped in the first week to do setup and readings, and an admirable job she did. “I had to go to church! They would surely have noticed if the altar was not set up or the readings were not read, wouldn’t they?” Clever Father Matthew.

Met more of Elizabeth’s friends and had lunch at the Servery (these Germans go in for fancy names) which is the main cafeteria. Outside we had a lively discussion about movies and other trends (participants from Slovakia, Mexico, El Salvador)

Then back to the Blue House for a little rest and a goodbye pizza party, Tons more kids (although Elizabeth takes offense since many of them are post doctoral students and up to maybe 35 years old. Still. Kids.) And a BABY! Who was very placid for being among so many people speaking so many languages and varieties of English.

Caught the late train from Vegesack, the section of Bremen where E lives, to the main Bremen station, to Munich. Tried to sleep, but really. The “pillows” built into the seats were hysterical. They looked like someone had one of those things you are supposed to inflate to use in the bathtub, ok, not shell-shaped but you get the idea, and then someone let 7/8 of the air out. No point to them whatsoever and they made a lump behind my head that was really not so helpful. What are they thinking? Anyway, not much sleep ensued which was sort of not good since the plan was to sleep on the train, wake up refreshed and see half of Munich, rest at the hostel (my first! And my first top bunk, not a pretty thought… or sight, I am sure) and then gad about the next day as well. We did follow the plan, but whoo were we tired.

Not to mention Elizabeth had a severe attack of allergies which necessitated a trip to an Apotheke. This ordinarily would not be such an adventure worth sharing with our faithful blog followers, since Apothekes are about as numerous in Germany as Starbucks in any major American city. However, today was, you guessed it, Pentecost Monday, when all shops are CLOSED. We eventually discovered, when she was down to her very LAST tissue, that there is an emergency Apotheke in every city! Joy! Cheers! Rapture! We hopped on our hop-on-hop off bus tour and hied our way hence to the part of town where tissues were to be found. (Guess I did not mention the lack of Walgreens or 7 – 11s, huh?) Also Elizabeth found her favorite herbal remedy, Gelo-Myrtol, which she had been planning to stock up on anyway for her return to the states… best thing ever for a stuffy head she says. It was a happy moment!

And followed quickly by Elizabeth’s excellent navigation (Rude daughter’s comment to loving affectionate albeit directionally challenged mother: “No map for YOU!”) that landed us smack dab between the Hard Rock Café and the Hofbrauhaus. More Joy. More Cheers. More Rapture! For those who don’t know, HRC is a destination in any city Elizabeth visits. Long story involving the Flintstones, not appropriate here, but funny. Ask me sometime.

Anyway we had a lovely American lunch there and sadly, PEPSI, not Coke, but with ice cubes AND ice water! Very nice.

Oh. You wanted to hear about German sites, not so much about respiratory distress or lunchtime? Ok.

So the hop-on-hop-off was sort of cool. Because of the tissue crisis we hopped off at some critical juncture that ended up requiring us to circle the city four times to see all the sights. Therefore we heard the interpretations of four different guides. Funny how statistics seemed to change! But we did get to see all the sites and walk around most of the major ones. The old town hall is of course newer than the new town hall, since it was rebuilt in the 1960’s after some major WWII destruction. Ironically, the new town hall (built c. 1900) was built to look older than the old town hall (built c. 1400) in the first place and even though the rebuilt old town hall was built to recreate the original it does look newer than the new one. Got all that? Still with me?

It was interesting to discover that there were only four kings of Bavaria in its history, one of whom was Ludwig II, the mad king that built Neuschwanstein, the castle that was the model for the Disney castle. But the first king had most excellent taste and built some incredible places with a Grecian look. And the second king built a wonderful castle for his wife after she gave him, yes, an heir to the throne. In response she built a church to thank God.

So now to the hostel. Good to try. Once. Not horrible. But the imaginary sight of me climbing up to a top bunk probably tells you all you need to know.

Back to Bremen we rode.

Wednesday
Elizabeth’s across-the-hall neighbors Behnam and Behrang (please pronounce the “h”, it’s important to them and they deserve the attention to detail) cooked us the most superb Iranian lunch! Two kinds of meat (chicken and lamb) lots of vegetables, three kinds of rice! Delectable. And they are very kind and thoughtful young men. We had a very good discussion about the state of the world and their country and our country and I think if everyone could eat that lunch and then discuss things we’d all be a lot better off. At the end we discovered that Behnam had had oral surgery and needed stitches removed so he had done all this in pain! Then he left to go to the dentist and returned for more conversation, holding an icepack to his face! What a guy. They have been very good friends to Elizabeth, and I am so glad she got to know some wonderful people from a place where we might tend to think of everyone as “the same” and with an attitude we don’t like. These two were men I’d be proud to have as sons, brothers, or any other kind of relative or friend.

Elizabeth packed. I read another book!

Thursday
Cooked all day. It was quite relaxing since I had no worries about laundry, grants, dentists, bills or anything else I could resolve at the moment. Made mom’s famous chicken and wild rice casserole, green beans, salad, and served it all up with crusty rolls, apple juice, wine and (oops, surprise, even to me, alcohol free wine!) and of course Coke. Dessert was a disappointment. Unfortunately I used what I thought was a prepared pie crust for my reasonable facsimile of apple pie, but it was more like a doughy cookie. Not so good. Sad. The apples were fine though.

Dinner time came and 10 of Elizabeth’s friends joined us around the table at the Blue House. They are a remarkable group of young people I am so glad to have had the chance to know. And when my chair broke out from under me (!!) they hardly guffawed at all. Well a little bit. But Behnam and Behrang sprang to their feet to help me, and they all were very kind. Got me a new chair and we proceeded. They loved the casserole, Mom. Great recipe… although I needed to substitute a couple items not available at a grocery near us, it turned out just fine.

After dinner, the friends of Elizabeth claimed items she can’t bring back to the States. Some of them can’t carry their items on the bus or bikes at night so they will revisit tomorrow.

To cap off the night, packing. Yawn.

Friday
Leaving day. Got up at 6:20 am to deal with checking out of Elizabeth’s room at 7. They guy never showed up! Guenther and Annemarie are on the way and called to give instructions for packing for a trip to their vacation home in Langerroch (sp?) So we repacked!

Blake, Kate and Adil came to claim items and we shared Elizabeth’s last döner experience. It is a day of very mixed emotions for her, but she is ready to move on. And now, I need to get this posted before our ride appears and we lose our internet connection. More as possible in the days to come.

Love,
Vicki

Pictures from our great journies!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82227&id=558866732&l=073c6a7ddc

Quick Update

2009-05-29T17:58:00.003-04:00

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

Guest Blogger: Vicki from Vegesack

2009-05-29T17:49:00.004-04:00

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

Southern food, BBQs, and Good-byes

2009-05-25T06:41:00.004-04:00

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

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

In Just A Bit..

2009-05-22T02:33:00.001-04:00

Hey!

I'm spending all of Friday stuck in a Chinese History class (yuck), so I'll post a real update tomorrow!

Cheers,
Bits

Last Season

2009-05-15T05:38:00.002-04:00

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

Kate bits into the mango

Kate assists Blake in the cutting of the mango

Cooking always uses every counter space we can find

Gathered 'round the table in the Blue House

Yummy Trini food!

The Friseur, our beloved on campus cafe

Sidra, Blake, and Maria

Kate, me, and Tankut hanging out

Cooking, barbequeing, and racing

2009-05-08T06:25:00.002-04:00

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

Pretty blooming trees on the Jacobs campus

A close up of one of the flowers

African Heritage Event & Werder Bremen Game

2009-05-01T05:28:00.003-04:00

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)

Springtime and a Slow Week

2009-04-24T05:36:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody!

This week has been really slow news wise for me. I gave the presentation on Thursday to my Asian History class and preparing for that presentation has pretty much dominated my life since last Sunday. The topic was “Has Women’s Status in China Improved after Employment Reform?” and had me brushing up on resources during my free time. The presentation itself I feel went fairly well. I didn’t feel like an idiot in front of the class which was my goal.

Spring is very pretty here in Bremen. It actually looks a lot like Northern Kentucky, but after the months of gray, rainy days I have new appreciation for green leaves and blue sky. (My allergies are returning in full force though.)

I do have some very exciting news – My mom is coming to visit! She’ll arrive on the 26 May and stay till 14 June. I’m very excited to show her where I’ve been living and take her around to some of the places I’ve enjoyed going to.

I guess that’s about all I have to report for this week. This weekend I’m going to a cultural event at the University celebrating Africa, cooking with Maria, and cleaning my poor apartment which has been neglected for the past two weeks while I’ve run around like a mad woman.

I hope everything is good with you!

Love,
Elizabeth

Hopefully the Craziest Week of the Semester

2009-04-18T05:53:00.003-04:00

Hey!

Sorry about the delay in the updates. Once you’ve heard about everything this week you’ll understand.

Last weekend was Easter weekend. I went to an traditional German event - Ostern-Feuer (or Easter Fires if you prefer). It’s this event where people burn giant bonfires of tree limbs and some Christmas trees (I’m way impressed people kept their trees that long).

Easter Sunday I went to mass in the morning and a dinner a friend’s house that evening where we feasted on Indian and Thai food – very spicy, but REALLY good. I also got to talk to my family on Easter Sunday, but that touch off a lot of homesickness. I miss them and our family traditions.

Easter Monday is a huge deal in Germany which I was not aware of - no stores are open and everything shuts down. On Easter Monday the Blue House hosted a dinner where we ate lamb (which apparently is traditional), potatoes (mashed and roasted), steamed veggies, and a variety of desserts including thumbprint cookies I baked, cupcakes, and kuchen. Very yummy! It was my first time eating lamb and I loved it. I will definitely be attempting to cook it once I get back to the States.

Tuesday began the craziest week of the semester for me. This is a week where there is so much school work and just other stuff going on that there is no time to think straight. On Wednesday I had to have had read a book and a thirty-minute presentation on Parisian Culture that I had to present. Thursday I had two major outlines due for my Asian History class. On top of all this I’ve been participating in a play and the performances were Friday for me which meant rehearsals almost everyday this week.

My stress level has been over the top.

Amazingly I got most of this done. The book didn’t get read, but we ran out of time to discuss it, so I got lucky and have another week to read it. The presentation on Parisian Culture went well. I turned in the two outlines (one for a term paper, one for a presentation). Unfortunately the professor did not like either outline and told me I am too much of an “American Feminist”. Really, this is all I have to contribute, my brand of feminism, and I try hard not to be ethnocentric. She asked me, on Thursday night, to rework my entire presentation and send it to her Monday morning.

Friday I spent nearly the entire day doing play related activities including the performance that went very well. I could pick out some of my friends in the audience which was heart-warming. Afterwards we celebrated by going out for drinks.

Other highlights of this week include the two Iranian guys on my floor inviting me to eat with them – they’re getting to be good friends.

Today, Saturday, I am going to start reworking this presentation and then help out with the other performance of the play. Tomorrow, Sunday, I have plans to go to church the shut myself up with this darn presentation. Say a prayer for me that I can get it to wherever my professor wants it.

I hope everything is going well for you. I’d really like to hear what is going on in your lives if you want to leave me a comment or drop me an email.

Love,
Elizabeth

Prelit bonfire - if you look closely you can see the leftover Christmas trees

Easter fire roars to life

On stage performing

Receiving a rose for a job well done - I love flowers :)

The Barcelona Escapades

2009-04-10T06:18:00.002-04:00

I just got back from my spring break trip to Barcelona, Spain. I learned that Barcelona is in the Catalan region of Spain and has its own thing going on there. They speak Catalan in addition to Spanish, fly the Catalan flag proudly, and have their own traditions that are separate from many Spanish traditions. Barcelona sits on the Mediterranean Sea which lets it have a beach on one side and mountains on the other. I spent 3 days there and really enjoyed each of them. I hope you enjoy reading about my Barcelona Escapades!

Check out my Barcelona online photo albums - lots of pictures here:

Best of Barcelona: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068672&id=164002077&l=3350d9a058

Best of Barcelona II: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068673&id=164002077&l=8cb3f0feb9

I hope all is going well with you. I'd love to hear from you if you have a minute.

Love,
Elizabeth

The Barcelona Escapades: Dia Uno

2009-04-10T06:01:00.004-04:00

The Barcelona Escapades began very early in the morning. I was up at 3:30 and caught the 4:25 train that took me to the strassenbahn that took me to the airplane that took me to the bus that took me to the metro (subway) that took me to wandering around the Plaça de Catalunya until I asked taxi drivers who spoke no English where my hostel was (the amazing part of this was that I could understand them enough to get the jist of where my hostel was).

The hostel people were very nice. I couldn’t be checked in yet so I left my suitcase with them and got some lunch (a classic ham & cheese sandwich toasted, fruit salad, and a coke) then checked in and took a short rest.

I had done a little bit of research into Barcelona before I went and learned that because Spain hadn’t fought in World War I, there had be an arts explosion resulting in Modernisme. Antoni Guadi was the golden child of the Modernisme movement. I had seen pictures of some of the things he had designed and was anxious to see them so they became my first sightseeing adventures.

I started with the Casa Batlló, an incredible home that Gaudi designed for the Batlló with a nautical theme. It’s so gorgeous there – check out the album for pictures of it! No straight lines, lots of mosaic work. The roof is particularly amazing since it has been designed to look like a dragon’s scaly back.

From there I moved onto Park Güell that is hailed deservedly as one of Gaudi’s greatest creations. It’s a park that has a few show homes all designed by Gaudi, one that has been turned into the Gaudi Museum. The park long curved benches covered with mosaics, this area that has columns and mosaics set into the roof, fountains with giant lizard things, covered walkways. It’s so difficult to describe. It was absolutely beautiful. I loved sitting in the sunshine, eating a manzana verde gelato (green apple gelato), listening to musicians who played in the park, just watching all the tourists.

After the great Park Güell experience I decided to try to find Gaudi’s Sagrada Família Catedral, but couldn’t. I ended up getting lost for the second time that day. Instead I headed to dinner at Origens, a place that had been recommended by my hostel for it’s good, authentic Catalan food.

I ordered escalivada, bread with roasted peppers, onion, and artichoke with some sort of saunce on top, as a starter and canalone, round noodles stuffed with some kind of meat, covered in cheese, and baked, for the main course. For dessert I wrapped it up with goat cheese, walnuts, and honey. It was absolutely delicious! Plus anyone willing to trust me with a giant pot of honey and a dipper just brave. (I did get honey everywhere.)

Back home to the hostel to fall into a dead sleep and recharge for día dios.

The Casa Batlló

Famous windows at Casa Batlló

A light fixture designed in the style of a whirlpool

A Gaudi "e" - he knew I was coming ;)

The lofts/attic at Casa Batlló that are supposed to remind people of a whale's ridcage

These patterned tiles covered lots of the city and were designed by Gaudi

Curving benches covered with mosaics at Park Güell

Sun mosaic at Park Güell

The famous lizard fountain at Park Güell

The Barcelona Escapades: Dia Dos

2009-04-10T05:52:00.002-04:00

Día dios got off to a rocky start with me wandering around for over an hour lost, trying to find something, anything I recognized. I eventually found Plaça Catalunya and was relieved to see the giant "i" that means tourism information. I made a quick decision to get a bus tour right then and there - my feet were killing me and I don’t do well being lost in any city period. The bus tour turned out to be a good idea with two different routes and the hop on, hop off thing. I saw the northern half of Barcelona including the Passeig de Gràcia which has La Pedrera, an apartment building also designed by Gaudi that is meant to resemble rolling waves, the outside of the Sagrada Família Catedral, Mount Tibidabo (the tallest mountain on the outskirts of Barcelona), the outside of the Monestir de Pedralbes (a convent for the order of the Sisters of Saint Clare, but also a museum), the Futbol Club Barcelona, the Diagonal (a shopping district), and where the Museu d’Art Contemporàni de Barcelona (Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona) is. I confess I didn’t get off the bus for two reasons – 1) I was scared to death of getting lost again and 2) I had signed up for a walking tour in the afternoon and didn’t want to miss it.

By some miracle the bus tour dropped me off in front of the Hard Rock Café where I had a real traditional American cheeseburger and onion rings for lunch (and got another T-shirt!).

After lunch I had more time to kill than I expected to, so I took a walk down La Rambla that my tour guide said everyone should walk down. I had no idea what to expect, but I was very surprised. There were tons of street performers and pet kiosks. You buy your pets from vendors on the street apparently. I took pictures of this to prove it because it seemed odd to me. I eventually found a fabulous market, Mercat St. Josep, which completely overwhelmed all of my senses. There were stalls that sold seafood, meat, fruits, vegetables, candy & chocolate, spices, fruit drinks. It was really cool to wander around. I did buy four small chocolates that were absolutely delicious.

I moved on to my Picasso two hour walking tour. While I was waiting for this tour to start the rain began. The kind of pouring rain that makes a person grateful that they can sit inside someplace warm. I got to go on a walking tour through it. The good news was that I had brought an umbrella with me. The tour was interesting and introduced me to new parts of the city, but even with my umbrella I was fairly soaked by the time we wound up at the Picasso Museum. I took my Aunt Maria´s approach to the museum (walked through it quickly) but enjoyed the gift shop immensely.

After leaving the Picasso Museum I stopped at a beautiful cathedral. It was really peaceful and I loved spending some time there.

By this time it was 6:30-7 and time for some dinner. I found a place so authentically Spanish they barely spoke English. I ordered the daily special salad (very good except for the raw fish on top of it) and paella which I vaguely remembered from a video in my high school Spanish class. I figured this was going to be wonderfully authentic. I was surprised to discover that paella included various kinds of fish, including a whole crustacean skeleton with eyes plus rice and sausage (I think). I ate a considerable portion, but will probably never order it again.

From there it was back to the hostel in the pouring rain. I was fairly exhausted and my feet really hurt. It was great to get back, take a hot shower, dry off, and relax.

La Sagrada Família - it's been under construction for 127 years and still not finished

Hard Rock Cafe Barcelona!

Fruits & vegetables on display at Mercat St. Josep

Spices & goods at the Mercat St. Josep

My paella that featured a crustacean and sea shells

The Barcelona Escapades: Dia Tres

2009-04-10T05:41:00.002-04:00

My last day in Barcelona I took it easy and rode the bus tour around for a long time soaking up the sites. I did go into the Poble Espanyol, an exhibit that features 700 years of Spanish architecture in one go. It was built as an example town for the International Exhibition in 1929 that showcases different architectural styles of Spain. There are also stores you can go into watch native craftspeople plying their trade. I bought a beautiful scarf (partly because it was gorgeous, partly because I was freezing in the rain).

I hopped back on the bus for more touring and stopped to get a chicken sandwich that was not like chicken sandwiches at home. I’m still not sure if I liked it or not.

After lunch, more bus tour, more cool Spanish market, and then more bus tour. I saw the Esació de Sants, Anella Olímpica, Fundació Joan Miró, Port Vell, Port Olímpic, Parc de la Ciutadella, and the Barri Gòtic. The Barri Gòtic, the Gothic Quarter, interested me so much I walked around it for a long time. There is supposed to be a museum dedicated to chocolate somewhere in it, but I couldn’t find it (but we all know my propensity for getting completely lost). It was fascinating to walk around it – I did see one of the last examples of the Roman aqueducts that had been built when Barcelona was still a Roman colony way back when.

I hopped back on the bus to the Palau Reial and Pavellons Güell. Palau Reial was first a private mansion for a family, then a palace for Spain’s royal family, now it’s a ceramics museum that I wandered through. The Pavellons Güell are these beautiful gardens surrounding the house/palace/museum. It was raining again, but the gardens were even beautiful in the rain.

I thought to head back to Origens for supper, but I discovered they do not serve dinner till 7 pm so instead I went back to my hostel to pack then eat dinner which turned out to be an excellent plan. I ordered stewed chicken for dinner which I mistakenly thought was chicken stew. No. It was a quarter of a chicken still attached to the bone with skin that had been cooked in olive oil. I created a mess of monumental proportions, but it was very good food. For dessert I indulged in Crema Catalana, the Catalan version of crème brûlée that is an eggy custard with caramelized sugar topping – pretty darn good.

After dinner I headed back to the hostel so I could get up bright and early at 4:30 am to get the bus that took me to the airplane that took me to the strassenbahn that took me to the train that took me home to the Blue House.

I got home around 1 in the afternoon on Thursday and chilled out for the rest of the day.

Prettiness!

The Great Market at the Poble Espanyol

The Palau Reial

The beautiful gardens at Pavellons Güell

A pergola at Pavellons Güell

Easter Egg-Stravaganza

2009-04-09T12:04:00.016-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Every Good Friday, without fail, my mom, sisters, and I invite people over and dye Easter Eggs. I can’t imagine an Easter season without this, one of my favorite, traditions.

My family gets all into egg dyeing, making sure everyone has a dozen eggs to dye, all the white crayons in the house we can find to write on the eggs (one year it became all the crayons in the house), tape to keep parts of the eggs certain colors, rubber bands for experimenting how they look on eggs, stickers, and anything else we can think of at the last minute that we can put on these plain white eggs.

I wasn’t sure if Germany had egg dyeing kits or not, so I grabbed one the last time I was home and brought it back with me. So my friends here, some of whom had never dyed eggs or hadn’t dyed eggs in years and years could experience the joy of egg dyeing. I didn't think it would be difficult to find white vinegar in Germany, but it did warrent an emergency call to Maria to ask what the word for "vinegar" was (balsamico if you're curious).

I invited nearly everyone I’d ever met and asked Lanie to bring a second egg dyeing kit with her once I realized how many people I’d invited. As it turned out it was just a few of my hard core friends who showed up for egg dyeing. We cooked some frozen pizzas then got into the hard core egg dyeing.

Kate created some beautiful eggs that remind me of stained glass, Maria enjoyed using those shrink wrap covers for eggs (they were her “genius eggs”), Lanie created a smiley face, Lida and Arno created some classic eggs, and I made a sunset egg. Blake was bound and determined to create an American flag egg and, after 2 cracked eggs (one of which got a purple heart) he succeeded.

It was good night and I’m glad I could one of my favorite traditions with my friends.

Love, Elizabeth

PS - To see the pictures from egg dyeing go here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2068278&id=164002077&l=2b5cce96fb

Egg dye ready!

Maria dyes an egg pink

Maria takes a break from egg dyeing - it's hard work!

Blake and his American flag eggs. Can you see the purple heart?

Lanie and I taking a pause to smile for the camera

Kate & her eggs!

Lanie in Germany: The Adventures

2009-04-05T08:30:00.005-04:00

Hello!

This week, as you can imagine, has been busy and fun! Lanie, one of my best friends ever, came to visit which was incredibly nice. She arrived Sunday, 29 March and stayed till Saturday, 4 April.

Sunday I picked Lanie up from the airport and we discovered the box of American goodies my mom had sent hadn’t quite made it all the way to Bremen. It was either in New York or Paris. Thus began a week of calling Air France every evening checking for updates on where the box was. Fortunately Lanie had packed her clothes and other things in a carryon so she wasn’t missing those.

After the baggage/Air France adventure, we headed back to the Blue House to get Lanie settled in and called her parents to let them know she arrived alived. We had döners for dinner then played several hands of nickel till around 8:30 when Lanie went to bed and slept for 14 hours – jet lag is so fun!

Monday was relaxed. We slept late then headed to downtown Bremen and went on a walking tour. I enjoyed learning more about the history of the town I’ve been living in and I think Lanie enjoyed it as well. We also walked around the Schnoor, the oldest part of town that has very narrow streets and had a snack of kuchen, German pastry.

Monday night we hung out and watched movies. It was nice to just relax and be silly.

Lanie braved Contemporary European History class with me Tuesday morning and hung at the Friseur with some of my friends. We went to Bremerhaven to the Deutsche Auswanderer Haus/German Emigration Museum which I had previously been to with my class last semester. Amazingly we stopped at a town called Lübberstedt that we are pretty sure Lanie’s ancestors came from. It’s such a neat museum and I am glad I had a chance to go back. Lanie also really enjoyed it and teased me about how I got sea sick on the replications of the boats used to take immigrants from Germany to America. (Yes, I really did get sea sick.)

Tuesday night we cooked a yummy dinner of pasta, salad, and garlic bread with chocolate torte for dessert. It was pretty darn amazing.

Wednesday was quieter day. I had my three hour long class in the morning which is always a little painful, so Lanie wisely skipped it. She met up with my classmates and me at the Friseur afterwards. In the afternoon, we went back downtown so Lanie could start buying souvenirs and take some more pictures. I headed back a little earlier to go to an evening class.

I had to get some work done on Thursday during the day so Lanie ventured to Knoops Park by herself. We actually got on the same bus back to my house which we put down to best friend timing and got ready for the Easter Egg Dying Extravaganza (which I will describe in it’s own post later today) by going grocery shopping and introducing Lanie to some of the differences between German and American grocery stores.

Friday we journeyed to Hamburg to hit some of sites there. We started off at the Hamburger Kunsthalle (Hamburg Art Museum) which I LOVED. We saw a special Degas exhibit and found paintings by Van Gogh, Pissarro, Renoir, and Rubens in the permanent collection. I was enthralled.

Coming to Europe has given me a new appreciation for art. I don’t need to speak the language to enjoy looking at the art and it’s something I can do on my own no problem. Since I’ve discovered this I’ve been seeking out art museums in most of the cities I go to.

After the kunsthalle, Lanie and I made our way to the famous Hamburg Harbor where we toured the museum ship Rickmer Rickmers. On the ship I got sea sick again (yeah, I know – I’m talented). We wandered through the shopping district and got gelato at a little kiosk (sehr lecker – very delicious).

Lanie and I headed back to Bremen Nord and had dinner at a biergarten where we feasted on schnitzel, kraut salat, and pommes frites (french fries). Lanie also indulged in a Bremen specialty: Beck’s beer.

Back home for Lanie to pack after the biergarten. We watched one more movie together and finished our chocolate torte from Tuesday night.

Saturday morning we headed to the flughafen (airport) bright and early at 7:55 am where we finally got the box my mom had sent with Lanie. I was really touched by all the goodies my momma had sent – peppermint patties, Reese’s cups, pancake mix, a can of Skyline, thin mints, Rolos, Crystal Light, cheddar cheese, and my favorite granola bars.

I am so glad Lanie came to visit. There’s nothing like old friends to reminisce with and to create new memories with. It also meant a whole lot to me to see a face from home.

I hope this past week had been peachy for you!

Love,
Elizabeth

A pretty stained glass window in a Bremen church

Lanie in the Schnoor

Bits'n'Lanie

Smiling through my sea sickness on board the Rickmer Rickmers

Yay! Goodies from home! Thanks Mom!

Lanie in Germany

2009-04-03T03:31:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Things are going great here in Germany! Lanie, one of my dearest friends, has come to visit for the week. We are rushing off to Hamburg this morning so I will update you on all of our adventures Saturday or Sunday.

Love,
Elizabeth

International Experiences

2009-03-27T05:29:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Last week I wrote about how excited was with my upcoming weekend – cooking, Iranian New Year, and Skyline night. I am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations.

Maria, her boyfriend Joszef, and I cooked Chinese food with a Trinidadian flair – very yummy! We had sweet and sour shrimp and egg-fried rice with lots of vegetables. I really enjoyed the company and was way impressed with the food. My contribution was chopping vegetables for the most part – I excelled at it. ;)

Saturday evening was the Iranian/Persian New Year. I learned a lot at it. For example, it is called “Norruz” which literally translates into “New Day”, is celebrated on the first day of spring, and is celebrated by cleaning (“shaking the house”), wearing new clothes, visiting family and friends, and insisting that those family and friends who have visited eat lots of foods. There were also demonstrations of Iranian street dancing and traditional dancing, Iranian cartoons, clips of Rick Steve’s Iran, and some incredible live music. To cap it all off there was a meal of Iranian food which was pretty darn good – something like roast beef and rice, bread and dipping sauce for the bread, and yogurt sauce. For dessert there was ice cream that instead of being sweet was flavored with herbs including saffron.

Sunday night my friends and had a second Cincinnati night – this time with cans of Skyline Chili and smuggled cheddar cheese – it was SO good. It smelled and tasted like home to me. I also had found a box of brownie mix in a German grocery store that I made – they were completely edible and chocolaty, but not anything like American brownies. We also played a game of my family’s beloved card game, nickel. Blake won; I came in second, Kate in third, and last, but not least Maria.

This weekend I’m continuing to my international experiences – I’m going to a Brazilian bar where they speak Portuguese (a language I do not speak) and having a French night with my friends. Then on Sunday Lanie, my best friend from the States, is coming to visit for a week. We are going to do some day trips and explore Bremen some more together. I am very excited about her visit!

Classes are still going fine. I’m trying to get all my work for them done before Lanie arrives, so we can have more time together.

I hope all is peachy with you.

Love, Elizabeth

Maria, me, and Blake getting ready for a yummy night!

Mmm! Smuggled cheddar cheese!

A proper Skyline three way

Box of German brownie mix complete with baking pan - can you see the American Flag on the box?

The brownies were pretty, but didn't taste quite right

Too Unbelievable

2009-03-25T05:28:00.003-04:00

Here in Bremen our weather is pretty consistent - cloudy, gray, maybe some rain or drizzle. Or that weird stage where you go outside and get wet, but it isn't actually raining. It's also highly unusual for Bremen to get snow. Ever. Today, 25 March 2009, this is what I woke up to:

Snow. Lots of snow. Snow that doesn't appear to be letting up anytime soon.

My oh my

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-20T05:11:00.004-04:00

Hey Folks!

This week has not been a quiet week I am happy to say. Quiet weeks are nice and absolutely needed, but I’m glad some things happened this week.

Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day which was pretty cool. I remembered to wear green and we drew shamrocks on people who had forgotten to wear green. All in all, just silliness.

I knew there was a huge group of people going to an Irish pub downtown, but I had no plans to go originally, but practically everyone I knew was going and I was tired of sitting in my room so I went. It turned out to be pretty darn fun. It started out with 11 people traveling together from campus to this pub. Only one person had thought to get directions before leaving, so he became our fearless leader. Upon getting to the pub, it was so crowded you could barely move. There was also a band that consisted of two guys, one of whom was Irish, who played some good music. I ordered a Guinness, but after about 3 sips of it I couldn’t drink anymore. Leah and Blake, two of my friends, kindly finished it for me. We hung out swaying to the music, trying to talk to each other, but after about 2 hours we were done and headed home, running to catch the 11:11 train.

The next morning we all had 8:15 am classes which proved a bit rough. Suffice it say, we were all a bit zombified.

Today is Friday and I’m gearing up for what I hope is going to be a good weekend. Tonight I am cooking with Maria and her boyfriend who is visiting from Hungary, Saturday I am going to go to the Iranian New Year celebration, and Sunday my friends are coming over for a Cincinnati night – Skyline Chili and a game of Nickel. I am pretty excited about all of them.

Classes are going okay. I’m still enjoying European History and, to a degree, Asian History. The third class, Globalization, Migration, Linguistics, and Literary Taxonomies is not as stimulating as I had hoped it would be. All of the classes are piling on the readings and it has become not unusual for me to read a book in a day anymore. I’m not quite enjoying that.

I hope all is well with you and yours!

Love,
Elizabeth

Me with my Guinness - that was all I could drink. See the Irish band in the background?

Leah & Blake celebrating St. Patrick's Day

Quiet Week

2009-03-13T11:23:00.002-04:00

Hey everybody!

This week has been calm for the most part. My friends and I had a wonderful spaghetti dinner last Friday. Yummy, meatless spaghetti, good garlic bread, salad, and cookies and precious Reese’s Cups from the US for dessert. All this was followed by a game of rummy and a rather rambunctious game of bullshit. Somehow I had managed to live 25 years without ever playing bullshit and I was missing out. It’s a fun game.

Spring may be creeping its way in to Bremen. The sun now shines two days a week! Granted the rest of the of the week it’s windy and rainy. The sunshine really makes a big difference in everyone’s moods.

I really got back into the swing of things this week. I made it to all of my classes, did a considerable amount of reading for classes and presentations, hung out at the Friseur (a café) with my friends, and met with professors. Nothing extremely exciting, but necessary.

In less exciting news I deep cleaned my little apartment this week. I washed all my bed linens, vacuumed, dusted, and all that good stuff. I figured after being sick for a week it wouldn’t hurt to give everything a good once over and make sure there were no strep germs hanging around.

Spring break plans have been made. I will be going to Barcelona, Spain from Monday April 6 to Thursday April 9. I bought the plan tickets and booked a hostel so it is definitely happening. I’m going by myself I think so this will be quite the adventure. I hear there is a Hard Rock Café there.

That’s about all I have to report. I hope things are going peachy keen & groovy for you.

Love,
Elizabeth

One of our best meals yet! Kate, Blake L., Blake B., and Maria

Is Maria trying to sneak a peek at Lyazzat's cards?

Blake & Blake knew what they were doing

A couple of cardsharks

Back in Deutschland

2009-03-06T09:45:00.001-05:00

Hey Everybody!

I made it to Germany safe and sound, but, of course, with some new stories to impart to y’all.

My flights were from Cincinnati to Detroit, Detroit to Paris, and Paris to Bremen. There was a bit of drama regarding my luggage. Once again, I had over packed and my suitcase was over the weight limit, so Maria (who was driving me to the airport) suggested we stop at her house and get a duffle bag or something else that I could put stuff in and then get rid of when I got to Germany. As it was, I ended up checking my suitcase and a small bag and two carry-on backpacks. A backpack on the back on and one in the front is quite the fashion statement in Paris.

To top it all off I had cheddar cheese that I was trying to get into Germany in one of the backpacks. I wasn’t quite sure if bringing cheddar cheese into Germany was legal or not, but I am inclined to believe that it’s not. The very first security checkpoint in Cincinnati I got stopped for it, but they gave me it back to me and by sheer luck I didn’t get stopped anywhere else for having cheese in my backpack. All of us here in Germany are really thrilled to have the cheddar cheese – there are big plans for it.

The long flight from Detroit to Paris was really crowded and I sat next to a 2-year-old who was pretty well behaved given that it was an 8 hour flight. The neat thing about this flight was that everyone had their own personal media screen that you could watch movies or play games on. I played mah-jong tiles for a couple of hours which was pretty cool.

I did get confused going through security in Paris. I wanted to know if I had to take my shoes off so I pointed to my shoes and asked, “Meine zapatos?” which is part German, part Spanish in a Paris where they speak French. The security lady just shook her head and I went through no problems.

I did some overpriced quiche that was absolutely delicious in the Paris airport. I was impressed.

The flight to Bremen was short and easy. Kate, Maria, and Lyazzat surprised me and helped me with my bags. Maria even had kuchen for us to eat on the train. It really made me feel great.

I wasn’t feeling too great the Sunday night I got back, but I thought it had something to do with being in planes and airports for the past 24 hours. The next morning, Monday, I woke up with one of the worst sore throats I ever had and every symptom of strep throat that I knew of. I got myself to the doctor that day who confirmed my suspicions and gave me penicillin. To be proscribed antibiotics in Germany is harder than heck and you have to be really, really sick to get them. From previous experiences with strep I knew I was going to need them to get better and was prepared to fight to get them, but this doc was really great – I didn’t even have to ask. Bless him.

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in my room feeling truly horrible. It’s been a long time since I felt so awful. Thursday I made it to class for the first time in over 2 weeks, but by the end of the day I was so tired I was back in bed.

Now it’s Friday and I’m feeling probably 85% normal. My friends and I are having our weekly cooking tonight. We’re making spaghetti so that will be good. I’m planning on a quiet weekend and hopefully will be up to speed next week.

My classes this semester are fine, especially since I haven’t hardly been there. I’m taking Contemporary European History which I enjoy, Chinese History which is challenging, and a class called Migration, Globalization, Linguistics, and Literary Taxonomies – I am pretty sure it’s a literature class. It’s the class I’ve missed the most so I don’t have an opinion on it at the moment.

I hope all is well with you.

Love,
Elizabeth

Dave, Lyazzat, Maria, and I in Hamburg

Maria's got all the pots going to Trini food night!

Yum! Lyazzat, Maria, and I enjoy Trinidadian food night!

2009-02-20T16:28:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I am so sorry about the lack of updates recently. Things have been really busy on my end and I got overwhelmed.

Also, last week my called to tell me that my grandmother, Dorothy Dansberry, had been admitted to hospice. She passed away 17 February 2009. Right now I am back in Kentucky for the funeral.

More updates later. I promise.

Love,
Elizabeth

UPDATE

2009-01-28T14:52:00.002-05:00

UPDATE:

New blog post about my trip to Sweden & Denmark! Just scroll down.

2008-12-18T10:43:00.002-05:00

Hey!

I'M HOME!! It was a long and hard journey, but I'm safely home in Kentucky! Send me an email if you'd like to get together!

Love,
Elizabeth

Comin' Home

2008-12-15T18:18:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone,

I am sorry things have been quiet on my end. Since Thanksgiving, things have been absolutely chaotic. There was an excellent trip to Sweden & Denmark, a really nasty cold, a huge presentation to give, and final papers to write. I also had a really wonderful birthday - one of the best I've had. I promise to update once I'm home in the States again. I leave early Wednesday morning and get back to Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati Wednesday night.

There has been some confusion with my German voicemail and I apologize for that. The voicemail does not work. I have no way of knowing if I have messages and no way of checking it. Please DO NOT use the voicemail. I miss out on your calls completely and I feel terrible about it later.

I've been missing home like crazy these past two weeks and am so looking forward to seeing you all!

Love,
Elizabeth

Sweden & Denmark

2008-12-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

As some of you heard about, I took a trip to Helsingborg, Sweden to stay with some friends, Håkan and Malou, who were the best hosts a person could ask for. My friend Kyllikki married Håkan’s brother, Fredrik, and I met Fredrik’s family at the wedding festivities.

The trip to Sweden was an adventure in and of itself. I bought tickets to go by train and my cousin Mary asked me, “How is the train going to get there? The North Sea is in between the countries.” I thought about this and had no answers. If my train ticket said I was going to Sweden, then I was going to Sweden.

I left very early the morning after Thanksgiving and boarded the trains my tickets instructed me to: from Bremen to Hamburg, Hamburg to Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Malmö. The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen was the most interesting because the whole train drove into a ferry boat. The people on the train were instructed to go upstairs where we could exchange money, get food, and, of course, buy things duty free. I took this opportunity to exchange money because I hadn’t realized that Sweden and Denmark each use their own currency (both of which are called crowns which added to my confusion). After about 40 minutes, we were called back to the train and drove off the ferry onto dry land. It is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen: a whole train going onto a boat.

The first night in Sweden, Håkan picked me up from the train station and drove me to Helsingborg where he and Malou live. Malou had cooked a really good dinner which we enjoyed. We then took a walk and I got to see some Swedish architecture. Then we watched Mamma Mia!, the musical based on songs by the Swedish pop group ABBA. We watched it in English. Malou and I enjoyed it very much – I thought it was hysterical, but Håkan fell asleep during it so I am not sure how much he enjoyed it.

Saturday was a great day. Håkan, Malou, and I saw the Kärnan, a medieval fort, when I told them I was interested in history then walked around the town and hit up a souvenir shop (for me, obviously).

We had lunch at Håkan’s parent’s house which was DELICIOUS. Some of the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. Apparently, Kyllikki also asked if I could call her from their house so I had the chance to call her. I hadn’t talked to her since August so it was great to hear her voice. I deeply appreciate Inger and Roland letting me make that phone call.

After lunch, Håkan, Malou, and I went to meet up with some of their friend Björn and took a ferry and train to Copenhagen to go to the Tivoli Christmas Market. At the Christmas Market (which was just absolutely amazing), we met up with Matts, another friend of Håkan and Malou’s. The Christmas Market had lots of food and drink and even a Cold Stone Creamery (which was just bizarre to see). There was also all the shopping a girl could dream of. I got stackable Santa Clauses and several ornaments. After we saw all that we could see at Tivoli, all five of us walked a couple of blocks down to the Hard Rock Café, one of my favorite restaurants. We got fancy drinks, ate delicious food, and then I bought half the gift shop (or just about). I can now proudly say that I have a Hard Rock Café Copenhagen shirt in my collection.

After the Hard Rock Café, it was time to head back to Sweden via the train and ferry again. We got home late and crashed almost immediately.

Sunday, I had to head back to Bremen which was sad. I said goodby to Malou at the house then Håkan drove me back to the Malmö train station where I started my journey back to Deutschland.

I had a really good time and cannot thank Malou, Håkan, Inger, and Roland enough for being such gracious hosts. I sincerely appreciate everything they did for me.

The Kärnan, a medieval fort

The entrance to the steps in Helsingborg

Malou & I in downtown Helsingborg

Christmas in Tivoli!

Malou and I in the fabulous Hard Rock Cafe

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T09:26:00.002-05:00

Hey Everybody!

Thanksgiving 2008 was a good time with really excellent food, but also caused me some stress believe it or not.

Kate, Alissa, and I (all Americans) planned a pretty large potluck Thanksgiving at the Blue House. Warren, our brave Hall Director (or Resident Supervisor if you’re in Germany), was a professional chef at one time and made two really good turkeys. We also had three kinds of dressing (I made vegetarian), corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, corn bread, rolls, salad, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, apple pie, and pumpkin pie (which Kate made from a pumpkin that she bought that morning at a farmers she and I went to together. It was fun preparing everything together and teaching people from India, Trinidad, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Pakistan, and several other countries about the good parts of American Thanksgiving. We even went around the table and said what we were thankful for.

I really missed Thanksgiving with my family in Kentucky because it is usually my holiday, but this was nice. My family and I talked via Skype web cam and I got to see all of them, but it wasn’t quite the same.

It was really good food though and good company so that’s what matters.

Love,
Elizabeth

Link to lots of Thanksgiving pictures >>
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31808493&l=80ebe&id=164002077

Steffi and Alissa cooking something yummy!

Our prettily decorated table. I was sad I couldn't do placecards and menus here, but it would have been too much

There was so much good food it wouldn't fit on one plate!

Maria and Lyazzat enjoyed their first American Thanksgiving!

Mobashir and I happily enjoyed the great food!

It's Skyline Time!

2008-11-24T15:08:00.003-05:00

Hey Everyone!

Friday night my friends and I continued our cultural explorations of food. This time I made Cincinnati Style Chili for them – with some help from my Grandma who shipped me the Cincinnati Chili seasonings.

I cooked spaghetti, chopped onions, grated Irish cheddar cheese (it is almost impossible to get cheddar cheese here for some reason – it’s strange), and cooked the chili. My gosh the chili smelled so wonderful! It smelled like home! It also made the whole floor of the building smell like chili, but that was okay. No one was upset by it. When it was all ready I showed everyone how to make 3-ways or 4-ways depending on their preferences. We finished off the meal with mints since you can’t eat Skyline without a York Peppermint Patty afterwards (or a close substitute since there are no Yorks here).

After dinner some of us stayed around and watched the classic movie “Muppet Treasure Island” that someone happened to have. We also baked cookies and sang along with a guitar (or hummed along in my case). It was a really great night – very relaxed.

While I enjoyed my Cincinnati chili very much I’m looking forward to the real stuff in 22 days!

Love,
Elizabeth

Alissa, Steffi, Maria, and Kate learned how to compile 3 and 4 ways!

A 3 Way in Bremen, Germany

Lyazzat, Maria, and Alissa with full and happy tummies

Steffi, Me, and Kate with her mint!

Hard at work on Thrilling Schillings

First Snow!

2008-11-22T07:23:00.002-05:00

I don't have a lot to write about just yet. It snowed here though which is a big deal. Apparently we don't get snow that sticks because we are on the North Sea, but yesterday it snowed and stuck so I thought I'd share some pictures of it! It really looks like a fairy tale.

Love,
Elizabeth

Deutsches Auswanderer Haus & Salome

2008-11-18T11:36:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Things continue to move along here in Bremen. Last week my classes were particularly interesting (which makes a nice change).

My History class (History – Writing Beyond the Nation State) went on a field trip to the Deutsches Auswanderer Haus (German Emigration Museum) in Bremerhaven. I was extremely excited about the trip because my great-grandmother left from Bremerhaven to go to America. The day of the trip I actually wore a scarf that belonged to her.

The museum was very interesting. I learned that over 7 million people left from Bremerhaven – 90% going to America, 10% going to other destinations, particularly South America. The museum is designed to show what emigrants experienced as they left Germany and to help personalize it for visitors the museum gives each an ID card of an actual emigrant and so they could track their story through the museum. Ironically I got the ID card of a 17 year old young women, Martha, who left the year after my great-grandmother and for similar reasons. Listening to Martha’s story choked me up at different parts of the tour, particularly the area designed to look like the ship’s docks and the Ellis Island area. I also saw different examples of life on the ship, heard about the examinations at Ellis Island, and saw example of what emigrants packed in luggage. The last thing at the museum was an area for people to look up ancestors or other family members. I did a search for several family names and found my grandma’s record of birth, my sisters’ birth certificates, and several other documents with family names on them. It was a really awesome experience.

The very next day I gave a presentation on Oscar Wilde’s play Salome in my Literary History class and the next evening the class went to see Richard Strauss’s opera Salome. Salome is the story of the girl who asks for John the Baptist’s head on a silver platter. The opera was done very post modernly and rather peculiar in my opinion (I really know nothing about opera though). Still, getting dressed up and going to the opera was a fun experience.

Plans are underway for an American style Thanksgiving here – I’m looking forward to that, but sad to miss my family’s Thanksgiving at home. It’ll be okay though – we’ll skype so I won’t be left out completely.

I hope things are well with each and every one of you. I’d love to hear from you if you have any time!

Love,
Elizabeth

Found my Grandma's Record of Birth!

Me, Blake, and Maria freezing in Bremerhaven

Outside of the German Emigration Museum there are these stones with people's names, the year they left Germany, and where they went to.

The Deutsches Auswanderer Haus or German Emigration Museum

Halloween - Election Night - Deepawali

2008-11-15T16:34:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone!

It’s been a couple of weeks since I updated and lots of exciting things have happened so I thought I should probably update y’all.

Halloween, to everyone who isn’t from the States, is not a big deal. It was definitely an insistence of culture shock for me. Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but I’m used to pumpkins and costumes everywhere, candy, and lots of black and orange. No one dressed up on campus or anything. There were scary stories being told in one of the residence halls (or colleges as they’re called at Jacobs) and a costume party the day after Halloween, but nothing on Halloween night. Fortunately the Blue House came through with pumpkin carving (apparently the Resident Supervisor had to travel way out into the country and buy the pumpkins from a farmer because they aren’t sold in stores here) and a scary movie so old that it was funny. I was feeling pretty awful Halloween night so I carved a pumpkin then went to bed around 11. It was rather odd. For those of you in the States, I’m still waiting for pictures of a good, old fashioned Halloween. ;)

The next big thing here was Election Night. The US elections were a huge deal on the Jacobs campus and in Germany in general. There were several parties I heard about and considered going to, but in the end I decided to go to a party at the Yellow House (another university owned house). My friends Kate, Alissa, and I were the only two Americans there and at one point someone said how exciting it was that there were “real Americans” there. I got there about 8:30 pm (2:30 pm Kentucky time). We watched internet videos of things related to the election like “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and JibJab’s “Time for Some Campaignin’”.

At midnight here the first polls started to close in the US so we switched to CNN. Incredibly, Kentucky was the first state reported on, so that was pretty darn cool. However it was a red state which didn’t make any of us at the party happy. We spent the next 5 hours glued to CNN, impressed with the holograms (that was just cool), the graphics, and that map that allows you to see what each state was called. We were all thrilled when Obama was declared the President Elect. Around 5 am the buses started running again so my friend Kate and I ended up getting home around 5:15 in the morning. I went to bed around 6 am after watching part of McCain’s concession speech. It was just an incredible night. I’m still sad I wasn’t able to get my absentee ballot to vote properly and to be in the States for this historic election, but it was pretty darn cool to be in Germany for this. Everyone here loves Obama. People I don’t know are still coming up to me and congratulating me on Obama’s victory. It’s a bit surreal.

Election night was Tuesday and Sunday the Jacobs campus celebrated Deepawali, or the Hindu Festival of Lights. Deepawali is a Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of Good over Evil and the goddess Loxmi. To celebrate the Indian and Nepali students had a day where they taught anyone who wanted to learn some yoga-mediatation, pottery, painted henna on people, made rangoli designs (colorful, symmetric designs made out of colored sand or rice), gave a presentation on why they celebrate Deepawali, performed Indian and Nepali folk dances and songs, and finished it by cooking huge amounts of traditional food for everyone. It was the first time that I tried curry and liked it. I also really like the dahl surprisingly (a kind of spicy soup). I did not like the coconut chutney. Oh well. I think that’s an acquired taste. I did get henna painted on my hand and arm and am loving it. It’s way better than the henna you can get on vacations.

I’ll put some more of my adventures in another post. I hope that everything is going well with yall and that your Halloweens and Election nights were happy.

Love,
Bits

My friends Alina from Romania, Maria from Trinidad, and I at a restaurant

My friend Maria and I dressed up for a concert for Gambia

My freshly henna-ed arm - don't worry it'll fade in 2 - 3 weeks

Saturday and Sunday in Berlin

2008-11-02T11:28:00.003-05:00

Saturday I woke up early and had breakfast with people from Ecuador and Peru who were studying in Barcelona and had come to Berlin for the weekend – this is when I realized how international my life had become.

The Three Little Pigs hostel is part of the New Berlin Tours. New Berlin (or New whatever city you happen to be staying in) is a really great program where guide pick people up from the hostels and take them to a central meeting spot. From the meeting spot there are free tours around the city in either Spanish or English. It’s a three and half hour walking tour and pretty darn amazing. The program believes everyone deserves a tour of the city regardless of their financial status so the tour guides only work on tips.

My tour guide, Colin, was from Scotland and excellent at his job. He was able to be funny at times and somber at others which is completely appropriate for the city of Berlin.

We started at the Brandenburg Gate where I learned about the history of the statue on top of the gate. It was first a symbol of peace with the goddess on top holding an olive branch. When Napoleon conquered Berlin he took the statue back to France with him as a spoil of war. Once the Germans got her back they changed the olive branch to a spear, tilted her head so she’s looking at the French Embassy, and changed her name to Victoria, making her the goddess of victory. To add insult to injury the Germans renamed the square “Pariser Platz” – and who says those Germans don’t have a sense of humor?

From the Brandenburg Gate we headed to the Reichstag, the German Parliament Building, where I learned how the building was set on fire under suspicious circumstances during Hitler’s early reign. We also saw the memorial to the politicians who had been killed by the Nazis.

We walked through the Tiergarten (a large park) to the Jewish Memorial. This time instead of just wandering around I was able to hear analysis of the blocks and learned how the memorial was purposely left open to interpretation. They varying sizes of the blocks from flat to 2.6 meters high (8.5 feet) can represent a graveyard, the rise and fall of anti-Semitism, the train cars that took the Jews away, or anything else. My initial impression was of a mountain. We took some time at the memorial for reflection.

After the memorial we moved to the spot where Hitler’s secret bunker (obviously not so secret anymore). This is the place where Hitler and his wife, Eva, committed suicide. The actual bunker is not open and probably will never be open for visitors. The German government is afraid that the neo-Nazis or a similar group will turn it into a shrine or rallying point. Today there is just a sign over the spot marking it.

From the bunker we moved on to the last Nazi building standing. This building is massive, dark, and designed to make people feel insignificant. It was originally used as Luftwaffe Headquarters by the Nazis. When the communists took over it became their Ministry of Ministries (they approved of the looking, dark architecture). During the communist era a huge mural was painted on the side of building showing the joys of communism. Today the mural is still there and mirroring it is a memorial to those who protested communism in the East Germany the exact same size of the mural. It is very thought provoking. Today the building the is German tax building – clearly this building will always be used for evil purposes.

Next we looked at a section of the Berlin Wall that was next to the evil building and learned that there were actually two walls – an inner and an outer wall with the “death strip” in between them. The walls had sewage pipe along the top which was apparently more effective than barbed wife for deterring people from escaping. The death strip had sand or gravel to slow people down, land mines, and armed guard towers every 150 meters that held guards with shoot-to-kill orders. Friendly place to say the least.

We moved on to Checkpoint Charlie again and heard about a couple of successful escape stories, but also the story of a young man who bled to death in the death strip. He was shot by the communists and the people on the West Berliners were unable to reach him.

After a brief lunch we headed to Gendarmenmarkt to see the French Cathedral, the German Cathedal, the Konzerthaus (Concert Hall), and a statue of Schiller, the guy who wrote lyrics to Ode to Joy. It was lovely.

From there we walked to Bebelplatz where the Nazis burned over 20,000 books from the Humboldt University library. They burned books by Jewish, Gypsy, homosexuals as well as any books that had ideas that the Nazis considered inflammatory. This is where I cried. I cannot imagine people suppressing ideas and knowledge just because it is contradictory to what they believe. There is a memorial to the books, some of them centuries old and completely irreplaceable. There is also a plaque with an 1820 quote from Heinrich Heine, “Where they burn books, they also burn people”. It was very moving for me.

We passed by Humboldt University and headed to Neue Wache, the memorial to all those killed in the name of fascism and tyranny which is also moving. Inside the building there is a pieta, a mother holding her dying son by artist Käthe Kollwitz.

The last stop on our tour was the Museum Island – obviously lots of museums there and the Berlin Cathedral. Colin, the tour guide, told us the dramatic story of how the Berlin Wall came down and pointed out his favorite museum. The group split up and I ended up going up and down a street fair, doing some shopping. It was really nice just to wander a little bit.

After picking out some Christmas gifts I went to the German History Museum which was really cool. There were lots of early Catholic artifacts that featured women on them which was sort of unusual, but I loved looking and learning.

I decided to make my way to the East Side Gallery which is part of the Berlin Wall that has political art painted on the sides. It took me a little while to get there and by the time I did it was getting dark, threatening to rain, and not in the best area of town, so I looked briefly then decided I would move on to the Hard Rock Café of the far, far side of town.

Getting to the Hard Rock Café turned out to be quite the adventure. First it involved me figuring out Berlin’s public transportation system which is never a strong point for me. I managed to get off at the right stop, but took a wrong turn and ended up in Berlin’s Red Light District. Managed to find my from there to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and another street fair, which was very interesting, but not the Hard Rock Café. After asking about 4 times for directions I managed to get there and was so happy to be there. I got an American Cheeseburger, onion rings, and a virgin daiquiri. It was delightful. After that I got my Berlin Hard Rock Café souvenir shirt and very happily headed back to my hostel. It was about 10:30 by the time I got back there and I collapsed from tiredness.

Sunday was a quieter day. I woke up late and went back to see the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church during the day. The KWMC is a church that was bombed during World War II and never rebuilt. Instead it was preserved as a memorial to loss. I picked the one day of the week to go when it was closed, but it was very pretty look at from the outside and I am glad I got to see it.

My next big adventure was getting home – it involved four trains and took about 6 hours. By the time I got home to Vegesack, my little area of Bremen, I was completely exhausted.

Over all I have some great memories of Berlin and am so impressed by the town. I learned so much and was overwhelmed by the amount of history crammed into one town. I’d like to go back some day.

Much love you all.
Ebits

PS - I took over a hundred pictures and the best ones you can see by clicking these links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059239&l=64870&id=164002077

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059286&l=3da9c&id=164002077

Berlin: Friday

2008-10-28T10:49:00.004-04:00

This is going to be a really long post and I’m tempted to break it up and post it as different posts for different days. There’s just a lot to cover.

Friday I started out and successfully made it via three trains and a bus to my hostel, the Three Little Pigs Hostel (found via hostelbookers.com – a good website). It was my first time staying in a hostel and this one was very nice. It used to be a convent or monastery and the private room I stayed it looked exactly like the St. Joseph Heights, where the Sister of Notre Dame live at home.

After dumping my stuff I asked the guy at the reception desk to pint me in the direction of something interesting. He pointed me in the direction of the Brandenburg Gate and I started walking. Along the way I found the Potsdamer Platz, an exhibition on the Berlin Wall, the memorial to gays and lesbians killed by the Nazis, and the memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Then I reached the Brandenburg gate which was pretty incredible to see something in person that I’ve seen in pictures, TV, and on stickers. It was a “wow” moment. I went into a souvenir shop by the Brandenburg Gate and found a brochure on the Kennedy Museum that looked pretty cool. I went outside and there the Kennedy Museum was so I went through it. And it was cool – lots of Kennedy family photographs, memorabilia, artifacts, and magazine covers.

From the Kennedy Museum I decided I needed a snack and got a “Berliner küchen” which is apple-y, icing-y, and not as good as you would expect. A bit of a let down actually.

Then it was time to march on – this time to Checkpoint Charlie with a side trip to a bookstore that sells English books. (I had finished the book I brought with me on the train ride to Berlin.). Checkpoint Charlie was pretty darn cool. There were displays explaining about the Berlin Wall, attempted escapes, etc.

Right now a Festival of Lights is going on in Berlin. Many famous or important buildings are lit up during the nights. I decided to go on a bus tour of these which was pretty darn cool. I saw lots of landmarks including the Reichstag, Alexanderplatz, the TV tower, Brandenburg Gate, and other fun sites.

After this I was exhausted, so I headed back the Three Little Pigs and crashed for the night.

The Brandenburg Gate

Checkpoint Charlie

The Memorial to Jews who were killed by the Nazis

An exhibition of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz.

The Wall is covered with graffitti.

My nun-like room at the Three Little Pigs Hostel

Good housewives, IKEA, and an 80s party all rolled into one

2008-10-20T16:34:00.002-04:00

Hey Everybody!

I’m sorry I haven’t updated sooner – things have been kind of quiet here.

Two weekends ago I visited some of my German cousins including Irmgard and Alois, Christian and his daughter, Sophie, and Marcos and his wife, Melanie. Günther and Annmarie were also there. We had coffee and cake at Irmgard and Alois’s. Everyone says that Irmgard is a good housewife and by that I thought they meant her house was clean, etc. I was mistaken. What they meant is that Irmgard served apfelkuchen that she had made from scratch with apples she picked from her garden. There was also a homemade mocha torte thing that was to die for and homemade bread with supper. She even made the lace that was sewn on the tablecloth. My socks were blown off I was so impressed.

Last week during the week I was pretty homesick, but I don’t think anyone wants to hear about the hard stuff. The homesickness was combated with Skype calls to my family and Lanie. If any of you have Skype and want to contact me that would be wonderful. I really do miss hearing about what’s going on.

I did discover the Paper Studio last week. It’s this little place on campus that is only open for a couple of hours a week where students can do art for free. There’s all these one of a kind rubber stamps, paints, stencils. There is also Norah Jones music (one of my favorites) and tea. It’s warm, inviting, and relaxing. I can’t wait for it to be open again!

This past week had a lot of shopping going on. I found an electronics store and was able to get a better power cord for my laptop so I don’t have to worry about it sparking anymore. I am not a computer person, but I was pretty sure sparking was bad for everything involved. I also got a battery charger for my camera and a second converter. Small things, but things that make life so much easier!

Friday I made another trip to IKEA. This time it was Maria and Lyazzat. I got a duvet cover for my blanket, pillowcases, and a couple of kitchen-y type things. I am still loving IKEA. It’s a wonderful, magical place.

Friday night was a birthday party for my friend Kate. The party had an 80s theme to it, so a few people (myself included) dressed for the occasion. Outrageous make and large hair were all the rage Friday night. There was 80s music, Tom & Jerry cartoons in Japanese (which was sort of baffling), and lots of people. It was a fun night.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, but I am planning a trip to Berlin for this upcoming weekend. I’ve planned my trains and booked a bed in a youth hostel. I’m really looking forward to it and will be sure to post when I get back!

Love,
Elizabeth

Günther, Alois, me, Irmgard

All the 80s people! There were lots more people there, but these are the costumed people. I'm sporting a fashionable Punky Brewster look!

Saskia (from Costa Rica), me, and Maria having a blast at Kate's party!

International Food

2008-10-05T14:30:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone,

I think I’m finally settling into a routine here which is nice. My life revolves around classes and spending time with friends. I had a presentation on Thursday on contemporary Turkish children’s literature that went surprisingly well considering I didn’t know anything about the topic till two days before the presentation. I think the fact the presentation was on 5 – 10 minutes had something to do with it’s success.

This coming Tuesday I have a presentation on American media – something I know about (at least a little anyway). This presentation is an hour and fifteen minutes long though.

This week has sort of been a week for international food, so I thought I would tell you a little bit about the food I’m encountering since I don’t have any cool trips to talk about.

I usually eat yogurt with müsli for breakfast. Sometimes I vary it with bread and cheese or a peanut butter and honey sandwich. It’s not that different from my American breakfasts.

Lunch I try to eat something “good” (which usually means hot). There is a café on campus called “Die Friseur” and my friends and I usually eat there. I’ve tried gulasch with pork there and really liked it a lot. I also tried kartoffelgulash which is like vegetable soup only with better spices. It is so good! If the special isn’t something I like I usually get pasta – it’s a safe fall back.

Dinner is a something different every night. If I’m not in the mood to go out or do anything it’s bread and cheese. I love döners which are good for lunch or supper. Pizza is also cheap and good here. There is a place up the road that makes it when you order it and bakes it in a fire oven – it’s cool.

Last night, Saturday, Maria cooked us Trinidadian (Trini) food which was AMAZING. Stewed chicken, homemade potato salad, macaroni pie (baked mac’n’cheese with carrots),“peas” (veggie mix), and salad. It was really, really incredible. I’m going to have to get the recipes from her.

Tonight, for the first time, I tried blinis which are little Russian pancakes. We put different toppings on them (ham, cheese, onions, sour cream, etc.) and ate them for dinner and then put sweet toppings (honey, nutella, fruit, jam, etc.) on them and ate it for dessert. It was pretty amazing.

I also snack on a lot of fruit and have discovered spekulatius, a kind of ginger Christmas cookie. I love them. I also like kasastanger – crispy cheese sticks, but I don’t buy those as often – they disappear to quick. I've also had the opportunity to eat crepes twice - once filled with bananas and nutella - what a treat!

My friend Maria’s host parents have invited me to tea twice (and I actually drank the tea) and they had really good homemade pastries. I can’t figure out why the pastries here are so much better than the ones in the States. There has to be some trick to it.

I’ll keep you update on my gastronomical experiences and the other more exciting ones as well.

Love, Elizabeth

Donnerstag (Thursday) is Doner-Tag!
My favorite doner place sells doners for cheap on Thursdays

Embracing local culture with pretzels and beer at GSA Oktoberfest

Trini food night at the Blue House
From Left: Lyazzat, Maria, Ben, Kate
and whole lot of good food!

A plate of good Trini food!

Maria, me, Lyazzat, Ben

Zimmer at the Blue House

2008-09-29T18:23:00.003-04:00

Hey!

It's been busy as usual here in Bremen.

Saturday I went to the neighborhood castle - die Schloss Schönebeck which was interesting, but not what I thought it would be. It was more mansion than castle by today's standards, but for early generations it was castle. The basement and first floor had lots of general interest history exhibits, but the second floor was dedicated to fishing/whaling/sailing - generally not my cup of tea. To top it off, our tour guide was a retired sailor so we spent more time looking at the sailing stuff than anywhere else.

Saturday afternoon I took a load of stuff to my new room at the Blue House (more on that later). After that I headed to the University for a presentation/discussion on the upcoming US elections. Jacobs University invited the US consulate to speak, someone who could help the US citizens register for an absentee ballot, and had the CNN Candidates Revealed film. It was really cool. It was mostly US and German citizens in the audience, but there were some people from other countries as well. After the presentation there was a reception with "American" cookies (chips ahoy and homemade chocolate chip) and a mock election - Nader in 3rd with 1 vote, McCain 2nd with 7 votes, and Obama won with 20 votes.

Sunday was dedicated to moving and settling in. Maria's host mother, Renate, graciously drove me from Herr Hammer's to Blue House with the last of my stuff. Since then I've hung things on the walls, washed almost all of my clothing/bedding to get the nasty smell from Herr Hammer's out, gone grocery shopping, and just generally settled in. I have a landline now if you would like my number please email me at bits1212@yahoo.com .

I really feel like I've found a home here in the Blue House. I like living with other students. My roommate, Maaheen, is nice, quiet, and considerate. I think my balcony is pretty darn cool and I love the fact I live about my favorite eatery - a döner place. Döners are this Turkish food that is bread, gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and two kinds of sauce which I can pronounce but not spell. They are wonderful.

Okay it's 1 am and I'm exhausted.

Love you,
Bits

My pretty bed!

All settled into my new zimmer!

Closet space isn't valued here

Window and door that leads to my balcony

Bathroom

Oldenburg

2008-09-26T16:13:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Today I did something pretty big for me: I went to Oldenburg by myself. This may not seem like a huge deal, but it was really a big accomplishment for me.

What started this adventure was these signs around advertising an Expressionist art exhibit in Oldenburg. I was pretty curious about it and asked my friends if they wanted to go to Oldenburg with me today. As luck would have it none of them could go. I went back and forth on if I should go by myself, but I reminded myself that this Europe thing is a once in a lifetime experience and I should get the most out of it as I can. Then I looked up train schedules from Bremen to Oldenburg.

I managed to get to Oldenburg no problem and even ate this pastry thing during the train ride. I really have no idea what this pastry was - it was apply, crumbly, and this pudding type thing in it. It was good.

So I got to Oldenburg and after wandering around the hauptbahnhof (train station) for about 10 minutes I found the tourism office. A girl spoke some English and pointed me outside. Once I got outside I sort of cheated and asked a taxi to take me the Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte (roughly translated: art museum). Something got confused though and I ended up at the Landesmuseum für Natur und Mensch (roughly translated: Natural History & People Museum). It was not what I was expecting, but I did wander around. Every single thing was in German so I couldn't really read the signs, but it was good none the less. There was an exhibit on early Christian artifacts that was pretty cool, but, once again, would have been way cooler if I knew what I was looking at.

After I left the nature & people museum I decided to walk in the direction of die Schloss Oldenburg (the Oldenburg Castle). Along the way to the castle I found the art museum I had wanted to go to! It was awesome. The person at the desk spoke English and I was able to walk around. The nice thing about art is that it is open to translation and you don't have to read signs describing it. I really enjoyed it.

After the art museum I made it to the castle, but just looked it from the outside. I wandered around and found a really cool church as well, but it had construction going on inside and outside so I wasn't able to go in and explore.

Overall it was a good day and I'm proud of myself for taking on a new city by myself when I don't speak the language.

Love,
Elizabeth

Pretty street scene from Oldenburg

Signs for die Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch

This was on the ceiling of the art museum and I may or may not have been allowed to take it. Never the less it depicts a female as queen of heaven - email me if you are interested in some more of my observations of this painting.

One view of die Schloss Oldenburg

One of the better photographs I've taken - a park in Oldenburg. The water is actually part of this moat thing that was originally set up to protect the city from invaders. The city has expanded well beyond this boundary of course and now it's just a pretty park.

Pictures from the Schnoor!

2008-09-24T05:35:00.003-04:00

The Schnoor is a huge tourist attraction on a Saturday (Samstag). You can see that some of the signs are in English. I also heard several other English speakers and English was spoken to me in the stores. I was a little bit disappointed in having English spoken to me - it means I can't practice my German, but as soon as I open my mouth I am identified as an American.

That is me in one of the widest parts of the street holding a bag of Christmas presents. It was a really pretty day when Tankut and I walked around.

One of the narrowest, if not the narrowest, streets in the Schnoor. I had to wait for a while before I could get the picture. Also, this is a random history lesson for you history loving people. The architecture of the house on the left is a very common old style here. People built the structures of the homes with the wood then filled in the squares with clay/mud, sticks, straw, etc. Now most homes are filled in with bricks instead of these, but the idea is still there.

Good weekend!

2008-09-23T07:22:00.006-04:00

Hello!

Things are going along well here in Bremen. This past weekend I had a treat when I received a care package from one of my best friends, Kyllikki. She sent a digital photograph viewer keychain which she had uploaded some photos of us on to - it could not have been more perfect! I really love it.

Saturday I explored the Schnoor, the oldest part of the oldest section of Bremen with my friend Tankut. The streets are no wider than a twin size mattress. It tends to be a very touristy area of town and I took advantage of that to buy a couple Christmas presents. I also took some pictures, but I will have to put them in another post since I don't happen to have my camera with me.

From the Schnoor, Tankut and I headed to the Viertel (the Quarter). The Viertel is the student section of town with bars, restaurants, clubs, and lots of bookstores. Tankut had previously found a feminist bookstore and we looked at. 98% of the books were in German, but there was one row of books in English. They weren't really feminist, one in fact was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but it was nice to know there is a place in town that I can get English books if I so desire.

Sunday was a relaxed day. I went to an English mass on Jacobs campus then all 15 of the people who attended mass at brunch together at one the college servieries (a fancy word for a cafeteria). It was neat to meet more people and have some more discussions.

Sunday afternoon and evening I spent at the Blue House doing my laundry, hanging out with Alissa, and then there happened to be a big group dinner where we ordered Chinese food. It was kind of bizarre to see a menu for Chinese food in German. I got something similar to chicken fried rice and it was really good. We all watched a movie of the Jacobs Olympix (which I did not participate - I know you all are shocked). It was just relaxed fun.

I'll try to post some pictures toinght!

Love,
Elizabeth

Care package!

2008-09-19T13:19:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone!

I just got my first care package courtesy of my Mom, Tess, Alex, Grandma, Curly, Frank, Maria, and Bennett. It had some much needed allergy medicine, a necklace I had ordered before I left, and lots of messages from home that really touched my heart. I can't really say the care package was a surprise since I had asked my mom to ship me the allergy medicine, but it arrived on day that it was needed.

This week has been a little slow. I've gone to all my classes, into Vegesack, the grocery store.

Tuesday night my friends Alissa and Kate decided to cook dinner for everyone who wanted to come - you just had to bring a bottle of wine. It was very relaxed (might have been because of the wine) and I met a lot of people. It was also at the Blue House where I am moving to next week so I got to meet more people who live there and explore it a little more.

Thursday night three other women and I started a prayer group which will be very nice I think. This is an area of my life that needs some attention and I think it will be good place for exchanging ideas and support.

Classes are going fine. Nothing to exciting to report about them. Lots of reading, but oddly, not as much as I had at UofL. German class is crazy. This week I was picked to have a conversation with a guy in front of the class where we asked each other our names, addresses, phone numbers, and zip codes. I could manage my name and address just fine, but had no idea what my postal code or telephone number was. I tried to give the zip code from the US, but the teacher thought it was my phone number in Germany. It's amazing what gets lost in translation. The German teacher also pronounces the word "verb" as "worb" and it makes me want to laugh. We conjugate worbs quite a bit.

Skype is becoming ever more popular. My grandparents learned how to use it yesterday and it was exciting to see and hear them. Skype is really an amazing program that allows people to make calls with cameras and microphones for free so it's like you are sitting across the table from the person.

This weekend I'm going to explore Bremen some more with Tankut and on Sunday, do laundry. With a dryer. Dryers are such a rariety over here so the fact I get to use one is a little exciting.

I guess that is all to report on for now.

Love,
Elizabeth

Lots of Things to Say!

2008-09-15T12:01:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone!

Lots to tell you about. As you know, Thursday was Gelato Day and seriously the best day I've had since I've been here. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were busy as well. I'll write about them and post pictures with each day below.

Love,
Elizabeth

Agya & I in the restaurant with our fabulous ice cream

Gunther & Annmarie, my cousins

Sunday

2008-09-15T11:59:00.001-04:00

Sunday I went for a 21 Kilometer bike ride. It is Monday evening and I am still taking painkillers. I don't need to say anymore.

Werder Bremen!

2008-09-15T11:42:00.004-04:00

I have now attended my first German football match – Werder Bremen against Cottbus. Saturday, Guenther and Annmarie came up from Bocholt with tickets that Christoph & Clemens, their sons, could not use, so Agya and I got to go. It was quite the adventure.

I should start with how Agya and I got to the game. We got on a strassenbahn (tram) where everyone was wearing green and white, holding and drinking beer bottles, and singing the Werder Bremen songs. Once we got off, we didn’t exactly know where the stadium was, but we were confident if we just followed the green people we would find it – and we did!

Apparently the section that mine and Agya’s tickets had us in you did not sit (Guenther & Annmarie were in the VIP section). You stand for the entire game. Another thing I did not know – you just push your way into the aisle and make a space for yourself. It’s utter chaos. We managed to carve out a place to stand and the first half of the 90 minute game went rather slowly in my opinion. I had a hard time seeing it because the person in front of me was tall, but I do know that no goals were scored.
In the last fifteen minutes I sat down on the concrete where we were standing to rest my feet for a couple of minutes. While I was sitting everyone started screaming, jumping up and down, spilling beer. I surmised that we had scored a goal and stood up before I was trampled. The goal was scored by Diego from Brazil who apparently is the star player. A couple minutes another goal was scored and then a third goal. Werder Bremen won the game 3-0. Fans were ecstatic to say the least.

It was fun to be there with Agya who really enjoys football. She could point out some aspects of the game to me. We took a ridiculous amount of photos – the majority of which are on my facebook profile if you’re interested in them. After the game, Guenther, Annmarie, Agya, and I went out for dinner at a very fancy restaurant that had some amazing ice cream mit heidelbeere (with blueberries). I’m glad I went and saw a football match. It was fun to watch the fans and see this aspect of the culture.

Flags waving!

Agya & I enjoying our day!

The Green players are Werder Bremen and the other guys are Cottbus

Fans take the game seriously here in Bremen

Check out that winning score!

Hannover is not where the pretzels come from.

2008-09-15T06:14:00.006-04:00

Friday I went with Kate, Tankut, and Lyazzat to Hannover for the day. (The semester ticket gets us to Hannover, Hamburg, and Osnabruck for free – plus all the little towns in between.) We did a little research before we went and knew that there was a red line that went by all the prominent tourist attractions. What we did not know is that whoever painted the red line of tourism must have been drunk on Beck’s (the local beer made in Bremen). It went all different ways. We followed it to the best of our ability and saw the Market Church, went through a museum detailing the history of Hannover that had a special exhibition on fashion, saw a Catholic Church that I can’t remember the name of, the Nanas (statues by Niki de Saint Phalle), had a drink at a small café, a church that had been bombed in World War II, and a castle.

The weather held out and was amazing for us. It was bright, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky. I could hardly believe it. It was in the upper 60s I think and just perfect for walking around looking at things.

My favorite part was the History of Hannover Museum. As part of the fashion exhibit there was an area where people could try on hats and clothes – which, of course, we did. I unfortunately do not the pictures, but Tankut is supposed to send them to me.

Of course, when traveling in a foreign country there are always incidents. We stopped at a little café to get a drink like I said. Tankut and Lyazzat ordered coffees and Kate and I ordered cokes. Kate decided she wanted to switch to coffee and asked the waiter if she could. He replied, “No! I made coke already. No change.” It sounds kind of mean, but the tone with which he said it was hilarious.

I also learned that Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels do not come from Germany. They come from Hanover, Pennsylvania.

The hour and twenty minute train ride to and from Hannover was also enjoyable. I learned about Turkish politics, some about Saudi Arabia where Kate lived, and some things about Kazakhstan where Lyazzat is from. I find it all very interesting and constantly awed by the variety of life experiences. It’s not like northern Kentucky where everyone is more or less the same. It’s fascinating.

A hull of a church that was bombed in World War II

Me, Lyazzat, and Tankut getting ready for an exciting day in Hannover!

The Market Church, a Protestant Church in downtown Hannover that was built in the 13th century.

The Nanas - giant statues of women by Niki de Saint Phalle

Kate drinking the coke that she couldn't change.

Gelato Day

2008-09-11T14:37:00.005-04:00

Today is a good day. In fact, today is the best day I've had since the very first day I was here. From now on it will be known as Gelato Day.

It began last night actually when I learned that my only class today was cancelled so I could sleep as late as I wanted to. I slept till 8:30 am which is now kind of usual for me. It's definitely not a third shift schedule anymore.

After a slow morning I made it to campus where I had lunch with my friends and we planned our trip to Hanover for tomorrow. It was a warm, sunny day (HIGHLY unusual for Bremen), so Kate and I walked to Vegesack where we did some banking then went to Haven-Hoovt and met up with Maria.

The Haven-Hoovt is like a mini mall. It's set up just like one only it's on a much smaller scale - there's only 2 floors and one hallway, but it's shopping and it's something that's not campus. There's food there as well, but it tends to be expensive as compared to up the street. Anyway, back to the story:

We first went to the Euroshop where everything is 1 Euro. I found good old fashioned normal ice cube trays which is a miracle. Seriously. I've only found them once before and they were silicon and they made the ice cubes taste funny. These are real ones. The ironic thing is that I was asking my mom to ship me some this morning and this afternoon I found them. Incredible.

Kate needed to get her bangs trimmed and Maria was looking for winter clothing and running shoes. The first hair place Kate went in to they trimmed her bangs for free! Yay! Then we went to a sporting goods store where Maria found shoes that fit her well and were on sale! Yay! While at the sporting good store Guenther called and told me that it was okay for me to move into the Blue House! Yay!! I danced a little.

Then we all got gelato which is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted. It's better than Graeter's guys. It may even be better than Ben & Jerry's. I'm not sure about that yet. We sat outside, in the sun, looking at the harbor, and it was amazing. I went home happy.

That's not all!

When Herr Hammer got home this evening he embarked on a long and complicated process (that is still going on actually) and I have internet here now. Life is good. I'm still moving to the Blue House b/c Blue House is freaking amazing, but life has slightly improved at Herr Hammer's.

Thus Gelato Day is the most wonderful day ever.

Maria from Trinidad & Kate from all over soaking up some sun after eating gelato

Maria & I in front of the Harbor

Kate & I using binoculars like the statues that we forgot to take pictures of

The Blue House which is blue on the bottom half that can't be seen

Really?

2008-09-10T14:57:00.002-04:00

Just a quick message this evening. Today I went to a very confusing German class then to the introduction for the colloquium. After the introduction there was a reception. Very interesting conversation with Prof. Dr. Marc Frey at the reception. I told him my name and this is what he said, "Ah yes. I remember your application. I didn't think you'd fit in here at Jacobs with your interests." Interests meaning my academic interests in women in religion and women in history. He then suggested I talk to some professor who is the premier Islamic professor in Germany. I'm not quite sure I needed to know that the profs did not think I would fit in. My advisor asked me exactly what I planned to do while I was here as well (only she said it, "Sometimes we cannot tell when students apply what their intentions are. We wondered about yours." Really? I just want to learn and this is a university therefore I should be able to learn at this university.

It was sort of weird. I am pretty sure that I am in culture shock. Not from this in particular, but little things like this are starting to pile up. We'll see how things go.

Love,
Elizabeth

2008-09-10T11:19:00.003-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Things have been going okay here. Still have the cold, still have the sprained ankle, but also still attending classes. Not surprising the favorite part of my day is spent with friend I've made. Tomorrow we are going to get together and talk about where we want to travel on the weekends. Things have been a little rough here this past week so any prayers people want to send my way would be much appreciated!

Love,
Elizabeth

I thought you might like some more pictures of Jacobs:

This is Lyazzat (from Khazakstan) and Agya (from Nepal) sitting on the one bench Jacobs has to offer. It's actually sunny today!

This is the Interfaith House on campus - I think it's kind of pretty.

The IRC (better known as the Library). I spend the majority of my time here.

Picture of campus - notice the guy sleeping on the lawn. It reminds me of Morehead a little.

Club Fair & Mail

2008-09-07T11:46:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone!

It's later on Sunday and I am back on the school computers b/c I was not up to carrying my laptop to campus. I went to the club fair today and I can do la cross, volleyball, cricket, golf, football/soccer, rowing, tai kwan do, and basketball, but no yoga! I signed up for Amnesty International (which does Gender Awareness Week in January!), art club, and B-Link which does a variety of things, but one of them is hold political discussions. I'm learning how much I don't know and that's good for me. I want to educate myself.

I now know for sure I can get mail at Herr Hammer's as I received two letters this week - one from my bank with my bank card and I don't have any idea what the other one is yet, but I'm sure it's something interesting. I hate not being able to read my mail.

I did go to the open house at the Blue House (the place I want to move to) today - it has dishwashers!!!!!!!!!!! And washers and dryers. Oh dear God, how I want to move in there!!!!! I met the housing director and wrote down my name & email. Apparently there is a list of 43 graduate students who want to move in - not surprising. We'll see what happens. The worst will be that I have to live in Herr Hammers for this semester and move to university housing next semester. I never thought I'd see the day where I wanted to live in University Housing.

Peace,
Bits

Halsschmerzen & the apotheke

2008-09-07T06:39:00.002-04:00

Hey Everyone!

It's been a rough couple days here in Bremen. For starters I have contracted my first cold. Instead of going to the doctor, like I would in America, Mary came with me to the apotheke (drug store) where I got something like cough drops, some pills for my halsschmerzen (sore throat), and nose spray. I also stocked up on tissues, but have used about half my supply already. I did spend Friday night at Mary's house and she took excellent care of me on a night when I really needed some TLC (tender loving care).

In addition the cold I have sprained my ankle. It's pretty swollen and hurts like heck. It's slowing down my walking quite a bit. I wouldn't walk on it, but I honestly have no other way to get around. I'm not sure what to make of this.

There have been a couple of bright spots though. Like a trip to IKEA. I love IKEA. I mean I really love it. I got a lamp, some way cheap towels (seriously cheap - only 19 cents), a bathroom rug (only 99 cents), sheets, pillow cases, a big pillow, a plant that I'm going to try to hard to keep alive, and a couple of other things. I am loving how they look in my room. I chose bright pinks and purples because everything tends to be either be dark or gray here. I am trying to soak up all the color I can.

The other bright spot in my life is my new friend Maria from Trinidad. She did her undergrad work here and is back just starting her masters in the Intercultural Humanities program. She is funny, let me do my laundry at her apartment, and knows lots of things, like how German windows can open two different ways. Maria and I went school supply shopping then she showed me this store that sells everything (kinda like a smaller version of meijer's, but with more cheese). It even had peanut butter. I am so glad to have my peanut butter back. They also carry quite a few American brands.

American brands. I don't realize I've missed them until I see them then I get all excited. Immediately after the excitement I feel guilty though because I feel like I should be soaking up everything I can and learning to love something strange like sparkling water (which I am pretty sure will always taste yicky to me, but I am coming around on the bread-butter-cheese combination).

Today I attended an English mass on campus which was really nice. There was a very small group, but it felt right being there. I am planning on going back.

I hope things are going well with each and every one of you.

Love,
Bits

Photos of my room at Herr Hammer's

2008-09-04T06:25:00.000-04:00

Kentucky Fried Chicken

2008-09-04T06:11:00.003-04:00

Two more days of classes and lots more stories!

Wednesday morning I saw on my schedule that I had a class at 9:45 am so I got up early, made it to campus early (even early for me), found the room, met other students in the class. The only problem was that the professor never showed up. Apparently the class, Writing Beyond the Nation-State, does not begin until 1 October, but no one told the students. We laughed because it is kind of funny that everyone showed up but the professor, but it is another example of the disorganization that goes on here. Apparently this class is in conjuction with a class at University of Bremen (or Uni-Bremen as we call it) and they don't start until 1 October.

My next class was a German language course where the professor immediately asked me where I was from because of my accent. I said America then Kentucky and she made jokes about Kentucky Fried Chicken. I said, "yes, that is where I'm from" and she was surpised by that for some reason. Maybe she thought there wasn't really a Kentucky? I don't quite understand her train of thought.

Today's class is Literary Historical Theory (or something like that). I'm not sure about it yet. I know I am doing a presentation on something to do with Salome and how she's been depicted in either art or movies or literature or something (I haven't chosen yet). Salome is the girl in the Bible who asked for John the Baptist's head on a silver platter, by the way. I'm planning on working feminism into my presentation.

Tomorrow, Friday, I am going to meet up with Mary and she is going to take me to IKEA. I cannot say how excited I am about this trip. I'm planning on getting pillows!

That's about it for now unless anyone knows where I can buy my German Language course books (they don't sell them at the bookstore on campus for some reason).

Love,
Bits

First Class!

2008-09-02T13:17:00.002-04:00

Hi everybody!

This day is wrapping up for me here in Deutschland. It was a pretty good day. I met up with Agya at the University and we decided it would be a good idea to go into Vegesack for some lunch. Neither of us have ridden the buses without someone more experienced with us, but we decided to try it out. We managed to get into town without a problem. We found a little restaurant in the Haven-Hoovt and, with minimum struggle and some laughs, we ordered food. After doing some very small shopping (I needed nail clippers) we decided it was time to go back to the University. We went back to the bus station and got on what we thought was our bus from before, but, of course, it wasn't. Somehow we got on a different bus completely. We lucked out though and the bus dropped us off kinda near the University. Everyday, even with the smallest things, it's an adventure here.

I attended my first class tonight, Transnational & Global Communication Issues. I am not sure about the professor. He has a German accent, is monotone, rambles, and speaks slowly. This sounds like a set up for disaster from the description, but it was quite as bad as it could have been. Granted it wasn't great, but I think I got the main points. Even if I didn't, my friend Kate is in the class and we're going to compare notes after class to make sure we got the important info.

One thing that I had no idea about was that at the break (it's a 3 hour class) and at the end, the students rap their knuckles on the desks. Apparently it's a sign of agreement and respect for the professors. I had no idea. It's kinda interesting.

Tomorrow I have 2 classes - Writing Beyond the Nation-State and German Language. I'm auditing the German class, but it I think it will be good for me to pick up some of the basics.

I'm really hungry and I have to go deal with my landlord about using the washing machine (apparently clothes dryers don't exist over here much to my chagrin), so I will talk to you soon.

Love,
Bits

2008-09-02T06:01:00.001-04:00

Yes, that's me in a bar in downtown Bremen eating ice cream instead of drinking alcohol - cuz I am just that cool.

(Emily, notice the hot German guy next to me?)

2008-09-01T05:24:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for the silence this weekend - I was only online for 10 minutes and that is not quite enough time to do everything I want/need to do.

Things are still going okay here. Friday and Sunday I spent further exploring the town of Bremen and the area I'll be living called Vegesack. Friday and Saturday I also began to shop in Bremen which is always interesting. I found the shampoo and soap I use here so I didn't actually need to haul the huge bottles from costco, but oh well. I didn't know.

Sunday evening I moved into my new room in Schonebeck. I am unpacked and working on getting settled. I think I am having a case of "buyer's remorse". Now that I live there I'm unsure about how great it is. Mainly I'm concerned about the bed - it's more like foam padding than a mattress. I'll sleep on it for a while longer and see if I adjust. If there really is awful then I can move back into Mary's until I find a new place. It really is an okay place - just not what I'm used to.

I got to talk to my Mom, Tess, Alex, Grandma, Curly, Maria, and Bennett on Saturday night and that was great. It was so good to hear everyone's voices! I got caught up on some family news and that was good. I also filled them in on what was happening in Germany which is basically the same things I write here.

I think the best thing since I last wrote was exploring Domsheide by myself on Sunday. It was so nice to sit in the sunshine watching people (mostly tourists) and looking at the Dom (cathedral), Bibelgarten (a garden made up of plants mentioned in the Bible), the Ratskeller (town meeting hall), and just some other interesting things. Pictures below:

Roland, the protecter of Bremen The Musicians of Bremen
Dom (Cathedral of St. Peter)
Coriander in the Bibelgarten
Just a pretty European Picture

First Pics from Germany!

2008-08-27T12:41:00.003-04:00

An old fashioned boat at Harborfest

An old fashioned boat at the Harbor Fest where sea chanties were being sung

The Ferry Boat on the River Weser
Welcome to Jacobs!

Whew! There's Ben & Jerry's here! I haven't actually seen it yet, but the I find the poster reassuring!

Very busy orientation week!

2008-08-27T12:23:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone!

I had a really nice post typed out earlier and then it entered the great blogosphere in the sky. I am still not sure what happened there, but I had to run to a fire safety presentation where I got to practice using a fire extinguisher with about 500 other people. It was interesting to say the least.

Today has been a very busy day for me and it's not over yet. I've been to meetings, signed up for German classes, took a Library tour, got an IT lesson, and went to a Intercultural Humanities program meeting. Later on this evening there is a Graduate Student Association (GSA) party that the students have taken to calling the "beer party". Apparently German universities allow alcohol on their campuses - something that differs greatly from American universities!

I now know something about my program which is a good thing. I'm looking at how cultures interact through literature, art, and history. It sounds right up my alley. I met my academic advisor who is impressed with my areas of interest (women in religion and women in history) Tomorrow, Thursday, I am meeting her for lunch to discuss - well, I am not sure yet. I'll let you know after it happens.

I am meeting so many interesting people! I've clicked with a several students including Agya from Nepal, Lyazzat from Khakizstan, Alissa from Pennslyvania, Mobashir from India, and Kate from America by way of Japan (apparently she never lives in one country for long). Also Tali from America & Israel and Martin from Slovakia. All these different countries make me wish I had taken ASS class at Notre Dame and that I had had to map the world. Right now I can just pick out the geographic regions for these places.

One thing that surprises me is the lack of organization at Jacobs. Students, faculty, and staff have all told me to expect it. Apparently the student is growing so fast that it is hard for the university to keep up.

I've been trying some things like watching television in German. Last night I watched CSI:Miami dubbed in German which was an experience. I had actually seen the episode in English, but could hardly follow it in German. Instead I noticed things like costumes, setting, etc. I'm not sure if I'll do it again anytime soon.

Right now I don't have regular internet access so I will respond as often as I can. I REALLY REALLY appreciate the comments and emails. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to reading them everyday. At the moment I also don't have access to a telephone, but I am hoping next week that I will. At the very least I think I will have skype next week.

I'm think about you all!

Love,
Elizabeth

Day 3

2008-08-25T05:37:00.001-04:00

It is the evening of my third day in Germany. I have done and learned so much already! I am now used to talking in translatable English (slow and always read to explain things in various ways.

Going back to Friday, the day I arrived. I got in about noon and Annmarie picked me up at the airport with a photo of me from 12 years ago. From there we drove an hour to Bocholt on the autobahn where her and Günther's home is. There she had potato soup and garlic bread waiting (it's like she already knows me!). Günther was there on his lunch break and so I got to see him for a few minutes. We ate then I slept for a while. When I woke up there was a welcome dinner for me with Günther, Annmarie, Karla (26), and Clemens (24). It was really a great time. We talked, laughed, sang, looked at pictures, and watched some very old home movies from 1996-97. I looked terrible!

Saturday, 23 August, We got up in the morning and ate breakfast and prepared to go to Bremen. The 2 1/2 hour drive was filled with family history lessons and we went 150 KPH on the autobahn. Going that fast made me a little sick to my stomach. Once in Bremen we went to Mary's where I am staying till I have some rooms of my own. Günther and Annmarie went out to a soccer game so I settled my things sort of (I'm afraid to unpack then just have to pack everything up right away). That night when Günther and Annmarie came back, we drove around town and looked at different things including a ferry and an old church (old as in 1,000 years old). We ate dinner at a restaurant that had an english menu (whew) then went to the ratskeller (old town hall) for after-dinner drinks. I drank 2 glasses of wine which is more than I think I have ever had to drink at one time. Then we came home and I fell asleep almost immediately.

Today, Sunday, we went to an appointment to see a room I could rent. I like the room very much, but we will see what happens. After the appointment we went to the Harbor Fest and had lunch of fish sandwiches (I had herring), kartoffell puffer (potato pancakes), and crepes. I enjoyed looking at all the old fashioned boats and listening to a chorus sing sea chanties. After the Harborfest, Annmarie and Günther drove back to Bocholt and Mary and I came home. I took a walk and found the location to get on the tram or strassenbahn. I also had a very good talk with Mary and am feeling comfortable here. This evening Mary drove me to the train station where we looked around and familiarized me with the station and which train will get me to Jacobs University tomorrow.

I think the weather is gorgeous here! It is about 17 celsius or 63 fahrenheit. There is no humidity and I am enjoying it very much.

I have a cell phone here (a handy). Clemens set it so that it shows English and I made the ringtone frog noises. The radio stations play lots of american music which makes me happy.

Tomorrow orientation starts and lasts a week. I start classes on Labor Day which is obviously not a holiday here.

I have trouble with the keys to Mary's apartment. I practiced for about 10 minutes today before I went on my walk. Also the keyboards are different the y is where the z should be and vice versa. There are new keys as well and it takes me forever to type.

I am trying not to think of home because when I do I tear up, so please do not be offended if it takes me a while to respond to anything - it's hard for me to not think of you all and I am trying to do that just for now. I think things will be better once I am settled in rooms of my own and have a regular internet connection.

Love,

Elizabeth

Last post from the US!

2008-08-21T11:04:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone!

This is, I'm sure, my last post from America. I'm sitting on my bed with my dog curled up next to me (Shh! Don't tell Tess that Maggie is on my bed).

I am a little bit nervous still, but at this point I am so excited to be heading off. I'm looking forward to getting my own rooms over there, meeting new people, learning German, eating good food, and having some great stories to share with yall.

My mom and I called Guenther yesterday and he offered to send me home at Christmas so I will be back then. I did not think I would be so I am so thrilled that I will be back. This news made me repack my suitcases (which are overflowing).

I had a great last week here - the going away party with family and friends, going to a soccer (or football game if you prefer), the "Last Supper". It was good times with family and friends. It was a good sendoff. Of course, I cried like crazy, but given that this is me that was expected.

Well I am going to sign off now. Take care!

Bits

2008-08-08T21:32:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to start this blog before I leave for Bremen, Germany in a week and a half. I'm super nervous about leaving, but I am also looking forward to experiencing the German culture and really looking forward to traveling on the weekends. I am really lucky to have family in America and in Germany that is supporting me in this endeavor. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Signing off now,
Bits