January Rollercoaster

Family Holidays

I eagerly met my family (Mom, Dad, Max, Grandma & Grandpa) at the Frankfurt Airport on Christmas Eve and we spent the next 10 days visiting loved ones throughout Germany. It was WONDERFUL to see everyone, and we all ate much too much during the holidays. First we spent Christmas near Mainz with my old au pair: Constanze and her mother, sister, and husband.

The Kuttler Familie.

We were greeted with a white Christmas, but it was made by this really odd snow that they have started calling "Industrie Schnee" (Industry Snow) here, which, as far as I can gather, is a new phenomenon this year but it happens when the steam factories gathers in the cold air and then becomes this weird snow that beautifully covers everything.


Then we continued on to Jena--in our huge rental van!--where Max spent a year abroad when he was in high school. We visited his host family, the Reinholds, who are always exceptionally hospitable. Again, too much eating and drinking, but a great time! We also saw a laser show/concert made by the rock group Queen (which my grandma surprisingly really enjoyed...my grandpa took his hearing aid out and tried to take a nap) and an Opera of Hansel & Gretel (advertised as "children's opera" but enjoyed by all).

We were such Avis tools.

Because one cake isn't enough for Christmastime in Germany...7, that sounds more like it.

Max with his whole family. Brost! Zum Wohl!

We also stopped to see Buchenwald, which I think was an important part of the trip. Unfortunately we couldn't stay too long, but now I'm looking forward to rereading Elie Wiesel's Night since I've actually seen the crematoriums and what it must have looked like snow-covered in brutal winters.

Buchenwald

We make ourselves remember horrors to reinforce our work for peace.

And then our final stop was to see my tiny apartment and town in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. As we drove into my state of Germany the sun came out and the temperatures rose to an acceptable 40-50 degrees. We got a final glimpse of a Christmas market in Bielefeld (the only one I know of that re-opens after Christmas). I had a party for my friends and close acquaintances to mingle with my family.

We relaxed in my apartment, and we had a memorable celebration of the New Year. First we went to an Bach orchestra concert in a church in the nearby town of Gütersloh, then had a filling, long dinner at a nearby restaurant, and reigned in midnight with champagne and conversation at my apartment while gazing out my windows at the crazy, huge firework shows that my neighbors were putting on. Seriously, the Germans go insane with New Years fireworks. They continue all over the town for probably 30 min. after midnight. The next morning Max and I went on a run and were shocked by the firework trash that was EVERYWHERE (even in my little town--Berlin must be amazing for New Years).

The view around midnight from my back window

Needless to say, I was very sad to see my family leave but it was a really special trip that we will all remember forever. It is the first time I think I have spent so many days with my grandparents continuously, and certainly the first time I have celebrated by Christmas and New Years with them. As I reflected on where we were last year, nursing my dad to health, I'm glad we got to spend time all together, healthily and happily, this year.

January Downs & Ups

Upon their departure, my apartment suddenly felt even lonelier than it did before the holidays and Wiedenbrück seemed to be intentionally trying to make me suffer with its quaintness. The month I would have to wait before my move felt like an eternity.

Luckily, my cousin Ilana made a surprise visit to Germany and provided me with company and an excuse to take a short trip. She is studying abroad in Russia (a city in Siberia, which is about a 5 hour plane ride from Moscow--that country is F*ing HUGE!) and needed to leave for a short bit during her semester break for visa reasons. We met up in Köln and spent hours just walking around and chatting. We have never spoken to one another so much in our lives (always recognized each other as family, and played together when we were little, but never really got to know each other as adults). It was great! I also met some distant cousins who live in Köln on her side of the family. She also came to Wiedenbrück and saw the small town, came to some of my classes, and met my best friend here, Carina. I was thrilled to have her company and am now hoping that my mom and I can join her and my aunt for a trans-Siberian railroad voyage at the end of my time here (early July).

My pseudo-Russian cousin, Ilana, and me

My major project for January was to find a Nachmieter (somebody to rent my apartment after me). Overall, it just induced a lot of stress. I put ads in the paper and scheduled times when people could come by and see my place. I had to continually clean the apartment and desperately hope that someone would decide to take the place. Finally there was a very interested party who I had meet my landlords--it blew up into an unpleasant conversation, which I responded to really emotionally. I'm too tired to give details here, but basically it was a misunderstanding and my landlords thought I was only asking people at the school if someone wanted to rent the apartment. Everyone I have spoken to here says that assumption of thier's was absurd. I had followed my host teacher's directions on all of this, but she wasn't by my side at the time of the confrontation to defend my actions...and I was just a foreigner with broken English who doesn't know the German system. ANYWAY...no fun. And no Nachmieter. And no more opportunity to take the problem into my own hands and look for one. They want to do it on their own schedule, which means I will probably be stuck paying double rent for a couple months :(
Ok, so that was the major stress & downer of the month.

I celebrated my 23rd birthday, as always, on Jan. 16th. I ended up acquiring 3 cakes over the course of the day, which was pretty comical, but other than that it was lonely, boring, depressing and quiet) (my internet also took a 24 hour break from working, so I couldn't talk with the States easily--I guess there's always next year.

Julia & Carina brought me my first birthday cake at midnight

The following weekend I took a lovely long weekend trip to Bremen and North Germany with a woman, Katja, from my running group. We stayed at her parents and it was fun to be in another German home--especially interesting to be in one from a different generation. Although they are very active and seem pretty young for their age, I felt stuck in the past because the interior decor had a real early-60s feel to it. The "ne?" that her parents add to the end of almost any sentence was a charming example of the different dialects found throughout Germany. The weather was terrible, but we walked around Bremen despite it. I read the Grimm's fairy tale of the Bremen musicians, learned about the pride they hold in their long history of civic independence and freedom, and enjoyed the North German winter cuisine: Kohl & Pinkel.

Bremen Stadt Musikanter

My favorite part of Bremen: Schnoor Viertel. Very old part of the city with lots of small, narrow, winding streets.

We also took a day trip to the North Sea coast. The weather was even worse there, so we didn't stay for too long, but it was great to see some sand and seagulls, smell saltwater in the air, and visit a spot I'll definitely return to in the spring. The tide recedes a huge distance on this part of the coast. When you look at a map it looks like there are some islands off the coast, but many of them can actually be reached by foot during long parts of the day when the tide is out.

Can't see much but the gray weather. The tide is pretty far out though.

Move on Up

After a long month where I felt like I was riding an emotional rollercoaster, I finally had a successful move to Bielefeld yesterday. It was a stressful week getting everything packed up, notifying people of my address change, returning my furniture to its original owners, and getting my bike stolen from the school, but it ended wonderfully last night as I lay in my new queen-sized bed and took advantage of the strong wireless internet connection in my new apartment after returning from a theater performance of Woody Allen's "Play it Again, Sam," which I saw with one of my new roommates. Unfortunately, I had to shell out a LOT of money yesterday because there is no renter for my old apartment yet and I am still locked into that contract for another two months (and I had to pay security deposit on this new one), but I have just resigned myself to being broke and that helps my stress level a lot.

My new plan at the school for this semester accommodates my commute, and I'm excited about the new classes I'll be working in. I'm also looking better to taking better advantage of freetime and all of the opportunities a slightly larger city with a better apartment and wonderful roommates offer me. Already I've enjoyed a bit more culture and fun (theater last night, clubbing tonight), regular company of roommates, and "luxuries" like a dishwasher, microwave, washing machine, and oven.

Sidenote: That last sentence makes me think about how greatly our demands change based on the context we are in. As I think of the letter I recently received from Becca, who is working in the Peace Corps in rural Cameroon, describing moving into a rodent-filled house with no roof, I have to remind myself that life is really pretty unbelievably sweet in the developed world (probably excessively so). Thank goodness I have had experiences, like my 4 months in Kenya, that jolt me back into that reality when I'm feeling down. I've been sadly following headlines about the continued unrest and downward spiral of violence that is engulfing much of central Kenya. I'm (selfishly?) grateful that most of people I met and felt close to during my time there live along the coast and are not in the core of the violence, but such political unrest must have terrible repercussions throughout the country and region, and I'm really sad to see that happen in Kenya. I have to applaud all my American friends who are currently there and those who are departing soon to start work with Peace Corps--I find their interest, passion, commitment, and adventuresome incredibly admirable.

Preview of upcoming attractions in this blog
- possible trip with Carina to visit Anna in Berlin to see the Berlin film festival: Berlinale
- considering training for a 32k race beloved in Bielefeld (Hermannslauf)
- maybe i'll actually start job searching
- time to start spring break and summer planning (visit Maria in London, go with Gaby to Poland, tramp around SE Asia with Maggie, Nora, and Becky, stop by Dublin to see Jake, meet Aunt Lenor in Greece for a wedding, hike a pilgrim trail in Spain with Max, ride the trans-Siberian railroad with Mom, Ilana, and Aunt Elaine.....ohhhh the possibilities!)

love & miss you all & will hopefully write more personal notes soon!