Month: September 2011 (page 1 of 2)

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Lichtenstein

Last weekend was the weekend of palaces, castles, and fortresses for me. It’s been one of my favorite parts of traveling so far, being able to see all the cool sights and beautiful nature of Germany. On Friday, our class ended at noon, so we decided to spend the afternoon at Lichtenstein Castle, only a short bus ride and a steep hike away. Lichtenstein Castle, not country. And in no way related to Heath Ledger as Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein. Sadly. But the hike was incredibly beautiful, like walking through a Tolkein novel, with moss-covered rocks and castle ruins on the way up. The castle itself was also beautiful. It was built only a few hundred years ago, and was based on the description of a castle in a book. Even though it was fairly small, it still held all the awesomeness of a castle. Really, they’re pretty dang cool.

When we got back to Reutlingen that night, I decided that I really wanted to go somewhere over the weekend, because we have German Rail passes that expire next week. Since it was the night before I needed a hostel, reservations were hard to find online, and I tried several cities before finding one that would work. The first one I found was in Würzburg, a town in northern Bavaria, so without really knowing what the town had to offer, I decided to go for it! And then after reading about the town and being there, I’ve decided that randomly picking a city on a hostel website can turn out to be an amazing weekend. Even if you do have to go by yourself because the rest of your group is lazy.

Residenz

After wandering the city for a bit, I headed to the Würzburg Residenz, the palace constructed for two prince-bishops and finished in the early 18th century. The largest fresco in the world is located there, and actually is pretty funny. It depicts the four “continents” of the world, with Europe as the most modernized, and the Americas as this backwards place. Each nation had its own symbolic creature, and I found it amusing that the American scene depicted a native American woman riding an alligator. Pretty interesting stuff right there. But it was also a beautiful palace inside and out. It even had the typical palace mirror room, a room made entirely of mirrors with paint and embellishings on them.

I also hiked up a hill covered in vineyards for wine to the old Fortress Marienberg. I didn’t take a tour, so I didn’t get inside the buildings of the fortress, but even being on the grounds and in the courtyards was impressive. It gave a full view over the river Main and the downtown area of Würzburg. I also got to see the outsides of beautiful churches downtown and relax on a really old bridge over the river that had huge statues of religious figures.

The old bridge, the Main river, and Fortress Marienberg

By then it was getting dark, so I tried to find my hostel. Try being a key word. The map online definitely led me to the middle of a park. Across the river from where the hostel is. I have no idea how that one worked out. But eventually I got directions and made it safe and sound. And the benefit of traveling alone kicked in when I met another American study abroad student, because we felt a little safer walking around town and comparing our experiences so far and drinking wine with at least a hundred others on the old bridge. I think that’s one of the best parts really, getting to meet people from all over the world, or who are studying all over the world (this girl was in Luxembourg).

The next day I headed out to stop at Dachau to see the concentration camp before getting into Reutlingen. But since that didn’t have the same exciting emotions as the rest of my weekend, I’ll save it for another post. Moral of this story: travel wherever chance takes you, because you’ll never know what and who you’re missing out on if you don’t!

My Wohnheim

Adventures Walking Back to Neuhaldenstraße

September 27, 2011 / Jake Stefan / 0 Comments

Getting home at night is always an adventure. For example, I usually end up stranded in a neighboring village, being followed by a creepy bum or getting rained on halfway through my journey. My luck with the whole process is just really subpar.

Why I expected today to be any different is beyond me.

The day started off decently enough. I woke up early to visit a German high school, but it turned out that our teacher had mixed up the dates. So it was back to regular old class for us.

Our school day ended with a few presentations done by members from the class, the last of which was a presentation from Zach and his group on the topic of German wine.

As luck would have it, another obnoxious American spilled wine all over the front of my shirt. I should have taken that as a sign.

My Wohnheim

After class I headed back to “Neuhaldenstrasse” (not Neuhalde) to finish some things and change my clothes.

About three blocks from my Wohnheim the obligatorily stressful part of my journey reared its ugly head. Right as I turned the corner an old woman collapsed in front of me.

Really? Why do these things always happen to me!?

I ran to her and helped her regain her bearings a bit. Another student behind me rushed to her other side. Together we helped her turn around and sit on the half wall she had collided with on her way down.

Suddenly, Germans started coming from everywhere! Everyone was so willing to help! Even though the Germans generally keep to themselves, they jumped right in when they were needed.

Soon, a middle-aged woman took control of the situation and sent everyone except the other student and me away. It became clear that the woman had nicked up her arm pretty badly. She started bleeding onto her sandals and onto the sidewalk.

After a short debate, the three of us decided that an ambulance wasn’t necessary, but that we would take her home to call her general practice physician. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this decision, but being an exchange student I didn’t exactly have much say in it. I was in a state of shock about what had just happened, and wasn’t quite equipped with the vocabulary I needed to argue this point with them.

We got her to her feet and eventually had her explain the directions to her home a couple blocks away.

Once there we worked on cleaning up her arm and trying to get ahold of a family member. She mentioned that the only person looking after her was her daughter, and we eventually got her to tell us her daughter’s number. Despite a couple of tries, the number never went through.

The older woman began to get annoyed that we were encouraging her to sit down and wanted us to leave. However, none of us thought it was a good idea to leave her alone.

We couldn’t find the number for her family doctor, and sat for a while considering what options we had left. Soon enough, the woman in charge noticed a church bulletin on a coffee table. She must have been familiar with the church because she immediately formulated a plan.

She began speaking really quickly (in schwabisch- the regional dialect) and began relaying directions to the other student and me. Although I didn’t quite pick up everything she said, I got the gist that she wanted us to get the older woman to sit down while the middle-aged woman ran to get information from the church.

After about an hour of this whole situation, the middle-aged woman figured it would be okay if the other student and I left. She was able to get in contact with some family or friends that would check in often.

On my way back to my Wohnheim I found my arms covered in blood and dirt, my pulse still a little high and maybe just a little bit proud that I had navigated this entire situation in German.

Looking back now on the whole situation, I’m reminded of the good in people. No one had to stay with her, they could have simply called the police and left. But instead this middle-aged woman decided to spend her entire afternoon helping this other woman find help.

But I’m also reminded of why I want to go into medicine. There is just something about the feeling of knowing you made a difference in someone’s life, even if that difference is simply asking if someone is okay, holding their hand, and walking them home.

A Weekend to Remember.

September 26, 2011 / Jodie Buchanan / 0 Comments

The local kids teaching us to dance.

This past weekend was definitely one to remember. Early Thursday morning we all headed to the Namibian coast town of Swakopmund, also called Swakop. We were all super excited to get out of the house for a weekend and Swakop did not disappoint. When we drove into the town, I felt as if I had just entered a beach town in Florida. There were palm trees lining the streets, cute cafes and shops, and sand galore. As per usual, this was not just a trip to relax, but to try and learn more about the Namibian culture. Prior to coming to Swakop, we had learned about the German-Herero Genocide that took place in the early 20^th Century. This genocide is one that is rarely acknowledged, however the Germans implanted an “ethnic cleansing” of the area and ended up killing 65,000 Herero people, leaving about 15,000 as refugees. The area of Swakopmund was the site of the concentration camp that the Hereros were sent to, and many of the dunes that surround this beautiful town became mass graves to those that are long forgotten. Swakop’s past is one that has been full of pain and heartache, but we all had the opportunity to see how far the town has come.

On the Thursday that we arrived, we were given a tour of the city and it was amazing! It started off with a cappella performance by the local group called Vocal Galore. They were amazing and it was such a treat to hear them sing. We then went to visit a kindergarten in the township where the students sang to us and taught us traditional Oshivambo dances. They were so full of energy and excitement that every single one of us could not wipe the smile off of our faces. That evening we walked along the ocean and ate dinner at a restaurant on the pier. It was already a fantastic start to the weekend

Climbing up Dune Seven.

On Friday we had numerous presentations about the inner workings of both Swakop and Walvis Bay, which is a neighboring town. We then visited three different places to get more of an idea about economy and the role that it plays there. The first place was a factory that had products shipped from Germany here and then the Namibians would add a simple thing such as a bolt, and then ship it back. It seemed as if the factory was not a necessity, but it was still awesome to see the machines at work. Then we headed to center for people with disabilities and had the opportunity to see the how here in Namibia, there has been nothing put into place to help those with disabilities. The tours of the day ended with the viewing of a fish packing factory. We were put into big lab coats and taken into the factory where we were able to view how everything worked. This factory in comparison to the one we had seen earlier was more of a well-oiled machine. While all that was extremely eye-opening, the best part of the day was getting to climb Dune Seven, which is massive 100-meter high sand dune in Swakop. It was quite a feat to tackle, but the view from the top was breathtaking. All in all it was a fabulous day.

Relaxing by the ocean with my friend Jessy

Saturday was a free day for us, and everyone split up to do different activities. Some went sand-boarding and quad biking, while others decided to kayak with seals and dolphins. I decided that I just wanted to chill, explore the town, and sit on the beach by the ocean. Which is exactly what I did. Two of my friends that I have made in Windhoek drove down to hang out. There is nothing like sipping a glass of wine and watching the waves of the ocean crash onto the beach. It was the perfect end to an trip that I will not soon forget.

Finding my place

September 25, 2011 / Jodie Buchanan / 0 Comments

SU Namibia Logo

Here in Windhoek, I have been placed in an internship with the organization called Scripture Union. I was very excited that this was my placement, because the goal of SU is to make the news of Christ available to young children. I felt as if I would be a really good fit for the organization, while at the same time learning a lot about a different culture. However, when I arrived at SU, I realized that my role within the group was not what I had anticipated it would be. At this point in the year, the schools in Namibia are entering their third term, which means most of the students are going through exams. As of a result of the busyness of the students, SU does not have as many programs scheduled. Adam, one of the SU staff, explained to me that they have worked hand in hand with the education system in Windhoek, and realize that it is very important for children. So when they need to focus on exams for school, SU will ease up on their programming. I was very pleased to hear that, because I feel that Christian organizations can often neglect certain aspects outside Christianity, such as practical life skills and education, to name a few. While I was agreed with SU’s stance on education, there is not much to do at my organization for an intern, however there are tasks that need to be done by a full time staff member. Yet the problem is that the two full time staff members have new born babies in their lives. So the tasks that they usually do they need help with, but I don’t know if I feel qualified to do them. Every day that I go to my internship I feel that there is so much that needs to be done but I feel like I have no idea how to begin tackling it. Naturally, I felt a sense of hopelessness in creating my goals for the semester because everything that I had thought this internship would entail was false. I constantly would pull out my learning objectives sheet (part of the requirement for an internship here) and stare at it blankly, confused at what direction to take my learning in this internship. I knew that it was coming close to my meeting on Wednesday with my supervisor, so to the best of my abilities, I created what I hoped to get out of my experience.

I finally had the chance to sit down with not only my supervisor, Graeme, but also one of the other staff members, Adam, and discuss my goals for the semester. I first had the chance to talk with Adam and I really appreciated everything that we were able to discuss. He really listened as to where I wanted to take my internship and asked questions as to guide me in how I wanted to attain my certain goals. Adam was also very cognizant of the reality of my goals and if I would be able to accomplish them. One of the things that I hope to achieve is being able to learn more about the issues that are facing the youth in regards to forming a relationship with Christ. Within my agreement I specified that I hoped to achieve this goal by spending time with not only students, but also with their teachers, because I feel that the educational system plays a very big role in teaching children about Jesus. Adam expressed that obtaining an understanding of how the educational system plays a role in teaching children about Jesus would be difficult if I stayed in the office. He instead has decided to set up multiple interviews with teachers at the local schools. He also said that he is going to get in contact with the local SU clubs in the high schools so that I can facilitate some of the meetings and get to know students in town. After talking with Adam I felt much more at ease as to what this internship holds for me.

I then had the opportunity to talk with my main supervisor, Graeme, and I don’t think that it offered any sort of guidance for my internship, but we did have a great conversation. It has been very beneficial for me to have Graeme as my supervisor, because he is also a foreigner in Namibia. He has been a real blessing in the fact that I am able to discuss issues as far as cultural differences or norms that exist here. We had a long conversation about how it is easy to judge a situation from afar in contrast to actually living some place and experiencing things first hand. We also discussed how both he and I are going to go back to our home countries with new perspectives on things, and back home people will most likely be unaware to what we have learned. I totally agree with him, because that is exactly what I experienced when I came home from Vietnam. However, one of the main things that I took away from our conversation is that part of my role here is to learn and share what I have experienced here with those from home. And while I might not be able inform every single person in America about the reality of the situation in Southern Africa, I can tell the people around me. I have really become excited about my time with Scripture Union; I think it will be a good time of learning and understanding, not only about how certain organizations function in Namibia, but also a time of learning about me.

Language Retreat! A Week in Blaubeuren

September 24, 2011 / Zach Nelson / 0 Comments

First of all, sorry for not having posted anything in an extremely long time! Our German course here is really starting to pick up, and lately we’ve had more tests, projects, presentations, and homework than we’ve known what to do with. Other than all of the work (which is really helping our German skills very much), the course itself has been very enjoyable.

The best part so far, in my opinion, was definitely last week. On Sunday, September 11^th we departed for a weeklong “language retreat” of sorts in Blaubeuren, a small town in the Alb mountains about an hour away from Tübingen. The University of Tübingen has conference/retreat center in Blaubeuren, where we were housed in single, double, and triple rooms. Our accommodations were comparable to a pretty nice hotel, and the food they served us was amazing – absolutely no comparison to the cheap groceries we have become accustomed to here in Tübingen. Because I am gluten intolerant, they would even cook me special meals and place them out on the buffet line with a little sign that said ,,Glutenfrei” (Gluten Free.) Our classes and tutorial sessions continued as normal with the exception of a three-hour midday break, which we often used to explore as much of the city as we could before running back. Although the workload didn’t decrease, we still all found time to be social and expand a little bit beyond our regular friend groups that have formed over the past few weeks. In Tübingen we typically only spend time with the other students in our class, but I really enjoyed having more opportunities to branch out and meet some people from the other two classes.

A view of the "Heinrich Fabri Institut" where we spent a week in Blaubeuren. (The three tan buildings in the back are where we stayed and took classes.)

Anyway, the city of Blaubeuren is named after its most famous landmark, known as the “Blautopf,” which translates literally to “Blue Pot” (or “Blue Bowl”.) The picturesque Blautopf is a crystal-blue spring that feeds the Blau River, which eventually flows into the Danube in nearby Ulm. The vibrant blue color is the result of a high concentration of limestone, and it reminded me instantly of the bright-blue Caribbean water on the beach in Cozumel. The spring itself is approximately 70 feet deep, and serves as the entrance to an extensive underground cave system. Unfortunately, these caves have only been explored a handful of times by experienced scuba divers. There have been a number of fatalities and accidents while exploring, so permission to scuba dive in the Blautopf is seldom granted.

The crystal-blue Blautopf

The picturesque Blautopf and Mill

The surrounding landscape is not only beautiful, but historically significant as well. In addition to the underwater caves, there are also many caves in the surrounding mountains where ancient artifacts have been found. Among the most notable of these artifacts are the oldest piece of artwork ever discovered (a small sculpture called, “Lion Man,”) and the world’s oldest known musical instrument, both of which date back approximately 40,000 years ago. These and many other artifacts are housed in Blaubeuren’s “Urgeschichtliches Museum” (Pre-history Museum) – a small but interesting museum full of exhibits about the caves and the ancient neanderthals who inhabited them.

The world's oldest known piece of art. The Löwenmensch. (Lion Man)

Another one of our day excursions was a hike to the ruins of an old castle in the mountains that overlook the small, pastoral town of Blaubeuren. After a couple hours of hiking we finally reached the tiny castle, and the view was breathtaking. It vaguely reminded me of climbing to the top of Yosemite falls in California and looking out over Yosemite Valley, however, the Alb Mountains are not nearly as high.

A view of the Ruins

"Inside" the Castle Ruins

The Castle (to the right on top of the rocky cliffs)

The next day we all took the train to nearby Ulm, where there was also no shortage of picturesque views. Ulm is a small city of 105,000 that is famous for the church located in its city center. Construction on the “Ulmer Münster” (The Minster of Ulm) began in 1377, and it became the world’s tallest church tower upon completion in the late 1800’s, a record it still holds today. It was constructed in the gothic style of architecture, so gargoyles and flying buttresses are in no short supply. Many of us took advantage of the opportunity to climb the hundreds of stairs to the top of the tower where there is a very small observation deck. So small, actually, that we were stuck for about 25 minutes at the top because the influx of tourists caused a traffic jam in the narrow spiral staircase. Afterwards, we crossed the river into Bavaria where we ate dinner at a nice Biergarten before taking the train back for the night.

The Ulmer Münster

A closeup view of the Flying Buttress architecture

Minster Interior

Looking up towards the staircase column and observation deck

Traffic Jam! Rachel and Jake stuck in the staircase waiting to get to the Observation Deck

View from the tower. Ulm (Baden-Württemberg) and New Ulm (Bavaria) separated by the Danube River

Our last night in Blaubeuren was concluded by a visit to an “Internatschule” (Boarding School). The school is attended by students from 9^th to 13^th grade, and is housed in a Monastery that was founded in 1085 by Catholic monks. The Monastery is yet another truly historical landmark in Blaubeuren, and became protestant during the height of the Reformation. The architecture was absolutely stunning – I was really jealous of the students who get to live and go to school there!

A view of the Monastery

The Blautopf with the Monastery in the background

So after we had made our way through the touristy part of the monastery and into the boarding school, we were welcomed by the students into their bar. That’s right – their school has a bar. We were explained that the “Internatsbar” is somewhat of an experiment, for the purpose of teaching kids how to responsibly enjoy alcohol at a young age. The more I thought about it, the more I actually really liked the idea. There was no hard liquor – only beer, wine, champagne, and soda, and it is only open on Thursdays until 11:00 PM. In Germany, the drinking age for beer, wine, and champagne is 16, while the age limit for hard liquor is 18, so the younger students are of course not allowed to have alcohol. This was a pretty stark contrast to America, where “Alcohol” is a forbidden swearword in public schools, not to be uttered by a single underage soul. I think our high drinking age presents many problems, in particular, the fact that many people don’t know how to responsibly enjoy it once they are old enough because alcohol is such a taboo subject in America. I have no idea how well the experiment is working for them, but I think it’s a very interesting concept at any rate.

We spent a couple hours visiting with the students, and had a lot of interesting conversations. Some were more interested than others to meet the “international college students from Tübingen,” but the questions they asked us about our home countries were interesting, and good conversation starters. We, in turn, got to learn about their experiences living at a boarding school away from home, which was also very interesting. A few lucky members of our group were even offered tours of the students’ living quarters.

I think that pretty much sums up last week! I have a couple more things I’d like to blog about, which I’m hoping I can get to on Tuesday night. On Monday I have another big grammar test, and on Tuesday I have to give a presentation (by memory) about German Wine. I guess I know what I’ll spend all of tomorrow doing! On Wednesday we are taking a class trip to the Bodensee (“The Lake of Constance”) in the south between Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

Today, Hannah, Rachel, Emily, Jake and I walked to the home of the Brixners, longtime friends of VU and former professors for the VU Reutlingen program. There we were very hospitably served with one of the best dinners I have had in a long time. My next blog will be about our experiences there, and our 3.5 hour walk through the woods. Needless to say we got hopelessly lost.

That’s all for now!

Bis dann!

Cologne and Heidelberg

September 24, 2011 / Stephanie Volz / 0 Comments

So after our completely amazing Berlin trip, we had to decide where to go that could compare in the least to our last few days. We decided on Cologne (Köln, in German) because of its incredibly massive cathedral. And indeed, the first thing we see as we step out of the train station was this incredibly massive cathedral. That doesn’t even begin to describe the monstrously huge intricate structure blotting out the skyline. It was absolutely beautiful, but the first reaction was naturally “oh my freaking gosh that is so freaking big.” Or something along those lines.

IT'S SO BIG

But since it was already night by the time we got to Köln, we couldn’t go inside until the next day. And we put it off until we had visited other sights the city had to offer. Like the Lindt chocolate museum. With its free chocolate tasting along the way. And chocolate cake and hot chocolate afterwards in the Lindt chocolate cafe. And more chocolate. And an insane chocolate overload afterwards. Totally worth it, though. So to work off our body’s protestations, we wandered around the Stadtmitte for a bit and found a wooden handiwork shop, which had intricate cuckoo clocks and wooden figurines covering the walls. It really was a typical German shop, and I was fascinated by the craftsmanship that went into everything.

Inside the Cathedral

THEN we finally got into the cathedral. It was so enormous, and so marvelous. Did I mention enormous? And beautiful. Words really can’t describe how amazing it was, so you’ll just have to check out all my pictures on Picasa (link: picasaweb.google.com). But you can see a few here. And once we had wandered the main part, we climbed way, way too many stairs to one of the two tallest towers to check out the view, and to see again just how enormous the cathedral is. The view really was amazing once we caught our breath, especially since it overlooks the Rhine river.

After making our way downstairs again, we split up to explore on our own. I decided to first check out the Roman-German museum (since Romans occupied most of Germany way back when). Although it didn’t actually give me much history, it did give me a chance to see tons of artifacts from olden days, many from 1st to 3rd century A.D., as well as some older pieces. After steeping myself in history, I went to the Rhine river to sit on the bank and relax for a while. A few minutes later a guy came to sit with me, and we ended up talking in German (brokenly on my part) for a good half hour or 45 minutes. And of everything in Köln, this was one that will stay with me the most, sitting on the banks of a beautiful river practicing my German skills. (German language classes should consider this method, it’s very effective). And that night for dinner we found a restaurant on the edge of the river from which to admire the view.

Heidelburg Castle

Matt on top of a vat of wine. Believe me now that it's the biggest one in the world?

The next morning we set off for Heidelberg on our way to Reutlingen. I had actually seen this town before when I visited Germany with my family 3 years ago. But seeing it again brought new experiences, naturally. I was still impressed with the famous bridge across the Rhine, and with the outside views of the castle of Heidelberg. However, the inside of the castle was disappointing, because you could only go into the courtyard, and there wasn’t much to see from there. Except, of course, the largest vat of wine in the world. But Heidelberg as a town is still worth the trip, because it is just absolutely beautiful, in the typical German old-town beauty.

That’s it for our Berlin trip! But right now I’m touring Würzburg, a town in northern Bavaria, so be sure to keep up with the blog in the next few days to hear about more of my travels! Bis dann!

The Coolest City in the World

September 19, 2011 / Stephanie Volz / 0 Comments

The title might be a misnomer. I obviously haven’t visited every city in the world. But I’ve traveled a lot, and by far the coolest one I’ve seen is Berlin. The Reutlingen program brought us to Berlin for a “class” trip for 5 days, and during that time we were able to explore Berlin and learn about all of its crazy and important history and its culture. And even though we didn’t have class per say, just being in that city and touring around and talking to people was so much more informative than sitting in a classroom. So here I’m gonna outline a bit of what we did while there.

We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday, and were set free to explore on our own til the following morning. First order of business after a long train ride was dinner, so we wandered around until we found a typical German restaurant that looked good. Turns out we made the best decision of the day right there, their crispy baked half duck and apfelstrudel was AMAZING. And even despite all the restaurants in Berlin, it was so good that we had to return later that week.

Brandenburg Gate

Wall museum and remnants of the wall

The next morning we met up with Professor Malchow to take a guided tour of the city. During the extremely interesting tour, we got to see the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag (the German Parliament building), parts of the old Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the square where the famous photos of Hitler speaking to gathered ranks of Nazis were taken, among many many other places. The tour guide also taught us about the deep history of Berlin, from the Hohenzollern dynasty to Nazi dominance and through the end of the Cold War. It was amazing to see all the places where some of the most well-known history actually happened. That night, a few of us decided it would be really cool to go see an opera or a classical concert or something of the sort, so we found that the famous Deutsche Oper (German Opera) was putting on Das Rheingold that night. Which I had seen as part of my German 351 class a year ago broadcasted live from Chicago. But seeing it in person (and in Germany!) was so much cooler.

One of the palaces from the bottom of their terraced garden (!)

The next day we took a day (well, afternoon) trip to Potsdam, about a half hour train ride from Berlin. We had heard there was a pretty cool palace there from Frederick the Great called Sansoucci. Pretty cool doesn’t even begin to describe it. We spent about four hours there that afternoon, and didn’t even go inside any of the three gorgeous palaces on the grounds. In my opinion, the gardens themselves are the best part about it. We literally spent all four hours exploring the grounds, and never got bored or ran out of things to explore. It truly was beautiful and amazing (and I took so so so many pictures–you can see them on my Picasa account). In fact, before we left the last day we decided to spend another few hours there.

The next day (Monday) we decided we should actually go inside a few of the sights and museums in the old Eastern part of Berlin, where most of the history is. So we headed to the Berliner Dom (Cathedral), and it was incredibly beautiful. And when we climbed countless steps to reach the top balcony on the outside, we were able to see a lot of the city and overlooked the courtyard where the famous Nazi demonstrations/gatherings were held. Once we finished there, we found some of Berlin’s specialty food, currywurst, which is spicy sausage with sauce served with a roll. It definitely lived up to its expectation. After nourishment, we were on a roll (pun not intended), so we headed to the Reichstag to see if we could get in. Of course they need a reservation 3 days in advance, so we couldn’t.. But we chilled on the vast lawn in front of it for a while. And got a brochure that told us everything we’d need to know about Germany’s Parliament. And on our way back to the hotel we passed by the Prussian Victory Pillar and decided to have a look. Once we finally made it to the top, the view over the big park that surrounded it was amazing. And on our way up we got to see the histories of many important buildings worldwide.

Inside the Berliner Dom

The square that the famous pictures of Nazis always are in. Hitler spoke from the steps on the right.

Our last full day there we visited Checkpoint Charlie as part of our “official” program. It’s really touristy, and not actually as important in the grand scheme of things as America makes it out to be (after all it is the famous American checkpoint, and we’ve got to keep our American pride!) But parts of it still were interesting, and we learned a lot of the history of the wall. I was then going to explore the German History Museum, which is supposedly one of the best museums to visit, but decided a nap was more necessary.. So instead we hit up the Hard Rock Cafe in Berlin after a few hours relaxation. And guess what?? They actually serve free tap water if you want it! Nowhere else in Germany does! It was a little taste of home in a huge foreign city.

Checkpoint Charlie!

Since it was our last night there, a few of us grabbed some drinks and went to sit in a market square to listen to street musicians playing and watch fire twirlers twirling. And nothing made it better than seeing the beautiful architecture lit up at night on the side of the Spree river, along with the culture all around us. Despite us not taking part in Berlin’s great nightlife like we did almost every other night, it was a great relaxing way to have one last hoo-rah in the cultural center and mix of Germanic outdoor eating and relaxation with deep history and with a big city, the great mix that makes Berlin the coolest city in the world.

Like I mentioned earlier, after seeing Potsdam again, we headed away from Berlin the next day (much to everyone’s sadness. The theme of our lives right now is that we still want to be in Berlin). But to hear about our next two days of adventure before making it back to Reutlingen you will have to wait til the next post! Bis dann!

It’s Always a Learning Experience…

September 13, 2011 / Jodie Buchanan / 0 Comments

My host brother Dantago.

Only a mere week ago, I was headed to live with Namibian couple Sam and Trudy Geiseb, Katatura, a township of Windhoek. I am not usually one who gets nervous over social situations and looking back on my first home stay experience in Soweto, South Africa, I was not nervous at all. But the entire day before I was going to meet my new “family” for the week I couldn’t shake the butterfly feeling from my stomach. I could not help but think of the amazing time I had with my host grandma, Machanza, in South Africa, and pray that I had a similar experience. I was worried that I was not going to get along with these new host parents as well or that I would not be able to have such a relaxed relationship as I did with Machanza. However, in any situation it is not fair to go in with a preconceived notion as to how the experience will play out. And as fate would have it, the experience turned out to be like nothing I could have imagined.

I was picked up on Monday evening by my host father, Sam, and as far as first impressions go, he seemed like a very nice man. We had good small talk in the car while we headed to his house (soon to be my home also for the next week) to pick up his son Dantago. We then continued to pick up my host mother Trudy from work and then headed home for the night. What seemed like a very simple task of picking people up, was actually more stressful then you would think, mostly because there was a screaming one and half year old in the car. However, I think that is the best word that can describe my overall week with the Geiseb family, stressful. There were a few moments that were really great throughout my time with them, but for the most part I was really happy to return to the CGE house on Sunday evening. There are a few things that stick out in my mind for the week, some good and some bad. I’ll start with the bad news and end with the good!
The most stressful thing for me had to be the fact that I felt like I constantly did not fit in. Now at this point in my trip it should not surprise me, because I have once again adapted to being the minority in a country. Nevertheless, it became more than feeling like the odd man out for me this past week. I strived throughout this experience to really understand the people that I was living with along with their culture, and in return I felt that there was no interest about what made me tick as a person. There were multiple times during my experience, where I felt like a burden to my family. For instance, most nights they would not realize until it was late into the evening around eight or nine pm that they needed to feed me dinner. Every time we sat down together, I asked so many questions so that I could begin to comprehend where they fit within the constructs of Namibia. They would politely answer my questions, but never ask where I stood on the issues that I brought up. I think the most difficult time of my stay was on Saturday. I was left alone in the house without any word of when the family would return. Even though I had been staying in their home for almost 6 days, I felt like a complete stranger. Later in the day when Trudy finally arrived home, I once again became pseudo babysitter to my host brother. (The babysitting had been going on all week and only got worse over the weekend.) At around four o’clock Sam, Dantago, and myself headed to a family party. When I arrived, all eyes were on me, and not in the good way. I could feel the heat of everyone’s stares, but being optimistic I kept a smile on my face thinking that when they got to meet me it wouldn’t be as awkward. But they never even came over to ask my name, they all just whispered and stared at me; for the entire evening. It was one of the most uncomfortable experiences I have ever had. And to add to the “fun” of the evening, I not only babysat my host brother but a whole slew of other children, and I was not fed because I was allergic to all the food they had. The entire day was stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting and that night was the first time I felt a sense of homesickness. Despite all of those feelings, there is a light the end of the tunnel.

Me and my new friend Percy 🙂

The good news in all of this is that I really respect the Geiseb family and feel that I really I learned a lot. Although I feel like most of my conversations with Sam and Trudy were one sided, I think they are both amazing individuals with a heart for service. They are a fairly wealthy family, yet they live in a lower class neighborhood, which is not the safest place to be. And when I asked them why they had not moved out, they both agreed that they have not made a significant impact in their community. Sam and Trudy, on separate occasions made it known to me that they thought their neighborhood was not headed in the best direction and it is not the ideal place that they want to raise Dantago. However they both do not want to leave, letting their hometown fall to pieces. They both long to see positive change before they move on. I think that both Sam and Trudy are amazingly compassionate and intelligent people. I have begun to realize that not every experience I have here is going to be amazing, but every experience is a learning one, and that is the most important.

"Stay on Red. Be a role model for children."

“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” of Germany

September 11, 2011 / Jake Stefan / 1 Comment

As compared to Americans, Germans live very different lives. After being here for a little over a month, there are many things about the German culture that I have come to love! There is so much here that us Americans can learn from. But there are also things that I find ridiculous here in Germany. So without further adieu, here is my list of the good, the bad and the ugly of Germany.

The Good:

Solar Panel Screen in my dorm

Solar Power: Alternative energy is huge here in Germany. Almost every other house here in Tuebingen has solar panels, and my entire dorm building is solar powered! In the entranceway to my dorm there is a big screen that tells how much energy the panels have collected today. Motion detectors control all the lights in the building so no energy is wasted by keeping the lights on all the time. It’s a great concept that America could learn so much from!

Pfand Symbol

Pfand: When you buy a bottle of water or soda here in Germany, they charge you a little bit extra for what they call “Pfand.” It loosely translates to “collateral” or “security (deposit).” But after you finish your drink, you simply take the empty bottle back to vending machines located in every supermarket and you get your “Pfand” back! Not only does it encourage people to recycle because they want the “Pfand” from the bottle, but it also is a great way for students to buy snacks! We save up all our “Pfand Flaschen” (bottles you can get money back for) and then go and buy chocolate with the money we get back.

Responsibility with alcohol: In the United States, most people are very sensitive about alcohol. Children are shielded from it and taught in school about how dangerous it is. Of course there is truth in those warnings, but in general there is a very “taboo” sense around drinking. Here in Germany they are completely open about it. There are kids who are 14 or 16 years old having a beer in a Biergarten and nobody thinks twice about it! However, because there is more of a loose atmosphere around drinking, Germans handle alcohol more responsibly. (Of course this is only my opinion and many might disagree.) When I have gone out to parties or bars here in Tuebingen, the majority of people drink simply to have a good time, not to overindulge or for the purpose of “getting drunk.” (See Stephanie’s post about alcohol in Germany here.)

Bus in Tuebingen

Public Transportation: The bus and train systems here in Germany are phenomenal. Although they can get a little pricey, you can take a bus or train to almost anywhere in the country. Even little towns in the countryside are connected to bigger cities by rail, and if not, there’s for sure a bus that will take you to a city where you can find a train. In America our public transportation is very scattered and not as comprehensive. Even here in Tuebingen (a midsized city but hardly a major hub) the bus system runs all the time and would rival that of American cities 3 or 4 times its size.

The Bad:

Crosswalks: Here in Germany the little light that tells you whether or not pedestrians can cross at an intersection is held in such high esteem that every German will always, ALWAYS obey what it says. It could be the middle of the night on a one-way street with no cars in sight. But people will wait. And wait. And wait. And wait until the pedestrian light turns green. It drives me nuts! To top it off they even try to guilt you with signs that translate to “Be an example. Stay on red, go on green,” and “Don’t walk on red. Be a role model for children.” God forbid you ever see that there are no cars, buses or bikes in sight and cross the street on red! Then you’ll have people yelling at you left and right! Okay Germans, I get that you want to keep everyone safe, but I don’t need a little light to tell me what I can see with my own two eyes.

"Be an example. Stay on Red, Go on Green"

"Stay on Red. Be a role model for children."

Bureaucracy: A stereotype of the German people is that they are very orderly. They take this organization to the extreme with their paperwork. There is a form to fill out for EVERYTHING here in Germany. You want a student ID? Here are 4 different packets to fill out. You want to eat in the cafeteria? Another form. You want a pre-paid cell phone (it doesn’t even come with a contract!) and you must also fill out form after form after form. This bureaucracy culminated in a process called “Immatrikulation” (matriculating = enrolling in the University). This huge process took days to prepare for – and that was with help from the International office here in Tuebingen. I’m so sick of paperwork right now; I can’t even begin to explain my frustration.

Powdered Soap/Paying for Bathrooms: Who knew there was such a thing?! Powdered soap? In the cafeteria, on the train and in other public places powdered soap is everywhere. Not only is it disgusting in theory, but also in its application. I feel like I’m washing my hands with sand, and at the end they still don’t feel clean. The Germans really need to use liquid soap across the board. I mean, is it really THAT much more expensive? Also, I pretty much believe that you shouldn’t have to pay to perform natural bodily functions like breathing or going to the bathroom. But no, you have to go to the bathroom in the train station? That’ll be 1 Euro. In a tourist district? 1.50 Euro.

The Ugly:

Body Odor: In America I’d never really notice many people that didn’t bathe regularly. With the exceptions being a men’s locker room or a middle school hallway, most people at home have the whole personal hygiene thing down. But here? Probably about a dozen times a day you’ll get a whiff of rank body odor. Walking down the street, on the train, in an elevator, standing in line at the supermarket. It’s everywhere. I am looking forward to winter simply because there won’t be as much B.O. floating around.

—

I hope that none of that came across as particularly bitter, but there are some things that begin to wear on your nerves when you’re in a foreign country.

This next week I’ll be on a retreat for my intensive German class, so I won’t be able to update this blog or my twitter until next weekend. Until then, all the best!

Tschüß!

View from the Castle Park where we spent many of our "Summer" days.

The end of “Summer”

September 11, 2011 / Zach Nelson / 0 Comments

With the beginning of the “Deutsch Kompakt Kurs” this Monday came the end of my two-week summer vacation in Germany. After the hardest semester of my life this spring and an exhausting summer full of hard work and preparation for my year abroad, it was really nice to have a few weeks to myself to relax and settle in to my new “home” in Tübingen. Yes, indeed, my few short days of summer are over.

View from the Castle Park where we spent many of our "Summer" days.

The week began pretty slow, with some bureaucratic paperwork, a placement test, and a dinner for everyone in the course to get to know each other. Then on Wednesday at 9:00 AM sharp, we all hit the ground running at our first day of German Grammar bootcamp. The class Jake and I were placed into can be relatively difficult (in my opinion,) as well as slightly intimidating at times. One of our classmates is a Norwegian with a bachelors degree in German, who as you could imagine, speaks nearly flawlessly. Another one is a Swedish girl who grew up in Switzerland speaking German her whole life. Us Americans in the course are not quite there yet…

Rachel and I climbing the steps up to the castle!

Luckily, everyone in the course is extremely nice and friendly. The atmosphere is very comfortable, so nobody feels shy to speak up in class – we’re all of the understanding that as a bunch of foreigners here to learn German, we will all inherently make lots of mistakes. Sometimes it seems strange to speak German when the five of us Valpo students are together, or when we are with other Americans. It is much easier, however, to speak it with Koreans, Swedes, Belgians, Russians, and Brazilians, for example. (All you have to do is pretend they don’t speak English… Which they all do.) All in all, I’ve gotten to know a lot of very interesting people, and I’ve really learned a lot in the last week.

For this blog post, I’ve decided to do a “Top Ten” list of sorts, consisting of things I learned / found interesting / observed etc. this past week. Naturally, I learned a lot of new grammatical rules and conversational German phrases, but I’ll leave most of those out for the sake of not boring the non-German major blog readers. Many of the things listed below have something to do with the cultures represented in our course, as these are the people I’ve been talking to / getting to know over the last week!

1) Scandinavians (minus the Finns, i.e. Norwegians, Swedes, and the Danes) can all speak to each other and understand each other in their native languages. The three languages are pronounced very differently (almost as if they are dialects of the same language) but are still very similar. So similar, that the three nationalities have no problem communicating as long as they speak slow enough to “translate.” There’s also a really neat saying meaning, “Thanks for today,” that the Scandinavians say to each other at the end of the day that is also somewhat similar in each of the three languages.

2) Although Europeans in general are known for their ability to speak multiple languages, the Belgians and the Dutch are particularly well-known for their language abilities. For example, many Belgians can speak four languages (one Belgian girl in another class can speak six.) Because Belgium is such a small country, nearly everyone can speak both Flemish and French, regardless of whether they come from the French-speaking region, or the Flemish. They begin learning English at a very young age, and many then choose to learn German and perhaps even more languages. This fascinates me more and more each day as I attempt to learn my second language. Learning German has given me a very strong appreciation of multi-lingual people, because learning a language can feel very deceivingly and unbelievably difficult.

3) In German, there are two ways to say “you:” “Sie,” when you want to be formal, and “Du” when you are speaking casually with a family member, friend, or someone who has given you permission to speak to them on a more personal level. The distinction between “Sie” and “Du” is often times a very difficult one that hinges on multiple factors. As we were explained, using “Du” with someone is like a gift: if you are speaking to a superior, coworkers, someone older than you, or those with authority, you should always begin with “Sie.” If and when they tell you it is okay to use “Du,” (which depending on the situation, can be a big deal) it is impolite and rude to continue saying “Sie,” against their wishes. When speaking to kids, family members or other students you always use “Du,” but here are some of the more interesting distinctions we learned between the two forms:

When hiking in the mountains, you always greet passersby with “Sie,” unless you are higher in elevation than 1500 meters above sea level, in which case you always use “Du.”
Certain political parties in Germany have adopted either one or the other forms of you. For example, the more conservative CDU and FDP parties use Sie, and the more liberal Greens, SPD, and the “Lefts” use du. This applies not only to politicians and those who work for the political parties, but sometimes to the voters as well. An example directly from our teacher: If you typically vote Green, (as the majority of people actually do in this region of Germany,) and you know somebody to be CDU, you probably wouldn’t want to introduce yourself immediately as a Green voter by using “Du.”

4) (This one isn’t something I “learned,” per se, more something I’ve observed and find interesting.) Many countries, such as Brazil, are much more lax about citizenship than the United States, and allow for multiple citizenships and passports. One girl in our class is from Brazil, for example, and because her great-grandmother came from Italy, she is eligible for an Italian passport – which she is currently waiting to receive by mail. Just Imagine: how many people would love to have dual citizenship in the United States because their great-grandparents were born in another country? I might be wrong, but I don’t think it’s even possible anymore to have dual citizenship if your parents are from another country, much less grandparents or great-grandparents.

5) The alcohol laws across Europe are interesting, and quite varied. In Germany, it is apparently no problem to walk around in public with alcohol, as long as you aren’t belligerently drunk and/or causing problems. Last night, for example, a big group of us from Deutsch Kompakt went out for dinner. Afterwards, we found a bar where they were selling “Cocktails to Go,” for €5. We each bought one, and drank them as we sat on the steps near the marketplace for nearly three hours. In the United States, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find “Cocktails to Go,” (especially with our culture being dependent on cars and driving) or municipalities that would allow the free roaming around in public with Piña Coladas. I’ve always found it crazy that in Indiana, it is illegal to buy alcohol on Sundays. Surprisingly, in Norway, a country known to be quite liberal in comparison to the United States, you cannot buy alcohol not only on Sundays, but also after 8:00 PM on weekdays or after 6:00 PM on Saturdays.

6) Wifi is practically impossible to find here in Germany. This, and the fact that credit cards are often not accepted in the country home to Europe’s banking capital, are somewhat surprising to me. Germany is an extremely modernized country. In many ways, for example, its solid infrastructure and economy, I would say it is even more modernized than the United States. (Now gasp, and call me un-American. Just kidding. Kind of.) Still, it has somehow managed to leave widespread Wifi and credit/debit card acceptance in the dust. Interestingly enough, it’s not just us Americans who think this. A girl from New Zealand whom we met couldn’t understand why credit and debit cards are not widely accepted here, and the two Belgians in our class tried to take their laptops to Burger King in an unsuccessful search for Wifi.

7) Bureaucracy like you’ve never seen. The Germans love bureaucracy. The more complicated, the more forms, photos, permissions, numbers, passwords, and long lines, the better. Simple things like “Matriculating” that take 5 seconds in the United States can take much longer here. We were commiserating with the Belgians and Scandinavians about this as we stood in line with our envelope full of paperwork (complete with biometric photo) to register as official students – complete with internet access that will arrive in no less than one week. In other parts of Europe as well as at home, this is all done online. We login to DataVU, and click, “YES, I WILL be returning in Fall 2011” or, “NO, I will NOT be returning in Fall 2011.” Then we click to confirm our registration in all of our classes. Then we click “Submit.” Done. The Germans, however, love their paperwork and they love their personal contact. I guess I can see the benefit of personal contact in a world that seems to be losing its ability to interact with others. I just wish it would be a little less complicated and time-consuming. Oh, and did I mention that there is an “Exmatriculation” process that has to be completed when we leave next July?

8) English is truly the international language. It is so interesting to me that every time the Czech, Belgian, or Swedish students talk to each other, it is in a language that nobody else understands. When we Americans talk amongst ourselves in English, it’s not hard to see the heads turning and subtly leaning in to listen in on our conversation that everyone else can also understand. It fascinates me greatly that when the Italians have trouble speaking in German to the Danes, for example, or the Norwegians to the Czechs, they automatically switch to English to explain themselves. The Italians typically don’t learn Danish, just as the Danish typically don’t learn Italian, the Norwegians typically don’t learn Czech and the Czechs typically don’t learn Norwegian. They’re all here to learn German, a third or fourth language that is not their own, but when that fails they turn to their second or third foreign language: English. This presents a difficult challenge for Americans learning other languages (I mentioned this in my last entry,) but I also think it’s incredibly motivating to try hard to keep up with them!

Tomorrow we leave for our six-day-long class trip to Blaubeuren, a small town in the mountains where the University of Tübingen owns a house. From what we can tell it sounds like it will be a retreat or sorts, kind of a like a one-week German “camp,” complete with hikes to a waterfall. I don’t know much else, but I do know that I’ll be without internet until Friday. I’ll post an entry about the week upon my return!