Paris, Part Deux

On Saturday, the 3 of us got up early so do some more sight-seeing. None of us slept very well, unfortunately, but that's life. Someone was snoring loudly in our dorm, and people kept coming in and out at all hours of the night, opening up the creaky lockers under the bunks and waking us up. Oh well, that's the price you pay for saving a little money and staying in a 10-person room.

The first thing we did was go to Montmarte. This is one of the most famous areas in Paris, as it was the center of the Bohemian Revolution during the late-1800s and early 1900s. It is also the location of the infamous Moulin Rouge and Paris' red light district. The first thing we checked out was the Moulin Rouge. It was cool to see it in person, especially after watching the movie probably hundreds of times in the last 10 years (I can't believe it has already been that long since its premier...my mom and I saw it in the theater! And I don't care what anyone says...it's one of my favorite movies of all time!).

Anyway, it would have been amazing to catch dinner and a live show there, but unfortunately this costs a minimum of 150 Euro per person, which doesn't exactly fit into a teacher's salary. Instead, we took lots of pictures of the outside and also read the history that was posted in the facade. We stepped inside for a few minutes to ask where the gift shop was, and saw some of the original, personal items from some of the first women of the Moulin Rouge. There really was a "Sparkling Diamond" who was the star of the show...and her shoes, elaborate diamond necklace, and perfume bottles were on display.

The gift shop was definitely a disappointment. It was tiny, and everything was locked up in cases and extremely expensive. Don't bother going there if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods.

Just down the street (still in the red light district), there is the "Museum of the Erotic," which had been recommended to Margie as something we should check out. It was definitely a unique adults-only display...something you would never find in Montana! Needless to say, there were many sexually-explicit objects, sculptures, artworks, gadgets, pictures, paintings, films, etc. from cultures all around the world and from the earliest times to the present. My favorite was the French section from the late 1800s-early 1900s, especially about their brothels. For some reason, this is always fascinating. We also watched parts of a pornographic 1920s silent film...hahaha. It is a legitimate museum over 7 floors that is worth checking out if you aren't too prude and can handle it with a mature and open-minded attitude. Otherwise, it may be too uncomfortable.

Next, we were off to the Catacombs. Back in the 1700s and 1800s, the cemetaries of Paris were overflowing. There were too many people and not enough enough space, which led to unsanitary conditions and disease, causing even more death. The solution: to exhume over 6 million bodies and place their bones in catacombs, or special underground cemetaries with tunnels, rooms, and other recesses dug out as a second resting place. This saves a ton of room, and frees up space in the normal cemetaries for the "more recently dead." We were quite surprised at how far we needed to go underground and how long it took us to get through the series of tunnels that led to the bones...and I was starting to think it was just a hoax. However, just around this time we found them....and it took us an hour to walk through the corridors. The bones were arranged in patterns, alternating leg and arm bones with skulls, while the rib, spine, hand, foot, and pelvis bones were scattered over the top. It is hard to fathom 6 million dead, but walking through the catacombs helps give you an idea. Read more about it here, it's really interesting! Catacombs

After this, we walked through the Luxembourg gardens....although it was a little bit dead due to it being winter. I think that's more of an activity for any of the 3 other seasons in the year.

Next was the Notre Dame cathedral. It was unbelievable how many tourists were crammed into this church...it kind of made it a little bit harder to enjoy, but oh well. It really is a beautiful gothic cathedral...so beautiful in fact that it even inspried Victor Hugo to write his classic, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." There was a house next to it that appeared to be part of the church, and Nate was convinced that this was where the hunchback lived. Who knows?

Achieving our goals for the day, we headed back to the hostel. After relaxing for a few hours, we went to a very quaint, very French bar/cafe. Margie and I wanted to try some French cuisine that wasn't crepes, so we ordered foie gras (duck liver) in an egg sauce, as well as veal with mushroom sauce and noodles. This was way too much food. I wasn't so much a fan of the duck liver...it basically dissolves as soon as it falls in your mouth, but the veal was good. Nate stuck with steak and fries, although he couldn't escape some Frenchness thanks to the bleu cheese sauce over the top.

The waiter was really nice to us, which was nice. He must have thought we were Canadians.

Oh, that reminds me...on the subway, we accidently made some people a little mad because we sat down in the chairs before them, even though we were there first. They ended up getting some seats next to us anyway, and were obviously talking about how much they hated us in French. At this point I loudly said, "I GUESS WE SHOULD JUST GO HOME TO ENGLAND NOW....".

I hate being slightly embarassed to admit that I'm an American thanks to the douche bags that ruin our reputation. It's not fair, but hopefully someday the damage can be undone? I don't know. Whatever. Europeans will continue to simultanously love and hate us until the end of time.

Paris, Part Un

On Friday morning, I flew to Paris to meet up with Margie and Nate for the weekend. I was really worried that my flight would be cancelled because of the snow and cold weather, but luckily it wasn't. However, I did have to wait an extra 2 hours for the plane to be de-iced, which sucked...especially because we just had to sit in the plane the entire time and wait. Oh well....it gave me a chance to read a few more chapters in my mystery novel, "Die Zahlen der Toten."

Going through security was a pain in the butt this time, but just because I had my purse with me in addition to my backpack. This has never been a problem for me in the past, so I was a little irritated when the man at security told me (rather rudely, I might add) that I could only have one bag, and that I would have to put my purse inside my backpack if I wanted to continue. Otherwise I would have to check my backpack. This wouldn't have been a problem if my small backpack wasn't already stuffed almost as full as physically possible. Luckily, I managed to squish everything in a little tighter, and just barely jam my purse in without it exploding. Stupid easyJet.

The flight was fine, and I didn't care about being a few hours late, because I was still at the hostel over an hour earlier than Margie and Nate were.

My first impressions of Paris were lukewarm. It smelled kind of disgusting and the metro system is totally dirty and ghetto compared to Berlin's S-Bahn (although you never have to wait longer than 3 minutes for a train, so that part is great). I was also really surprised to see so many ethnic peoples...I mean, even though I know Paris is a major metropolitan city, I still expected that there would be more white people. (I'm not saying I have a problem with it, and I don't intend to sound racist at all. I'm only making an observation, so don't get too excited.)

Margie got to the hostel before Nate, and while we were catching up, we had ordered a pizza in the bar/restaurant that was also part of our hostel. It was good, except that they try too hard to be "hip" and appealing to young people by playing their music WAY TOO LOUD. It really irritated me, because you couldn't ignore it if you wanted to. And heaven help you if you didn't like the song, which I didn't 90% of the time.

After Nate arrived and we all had a chance to relax a bit, we headed out to the Eifel Tower. It is so beautiful at night, and took our breath away. It was glowing with yellow-orange light, and looked stunning. There was a cool Christmas market along the way that we walked through, which also had some beautifully lit, vintage-style merry-go-rounds.

All around the Eifel Tower, there are men who try to sell you small knick-knacks and souvenirs, and they pester you at every stop. You literally have to yell "No!" at them and keep moving. There we so many of them, wandering aimlessly around in the cold and dark with their giant key ring of little metal Eifel Towers, muttering some half-English, half-French nonsense, that they reminded me a lot of zombies. And of course, my first gut instinct to zombies is SHOOT THEM ALL!, but unfortunately they weren't real zombies and I didn't have a gun, so I just had to ignore them instead.

We waited in line for about 20 minutes before getting up to the 2nd level via elevator. We actually wanted to climb the stairs, but they were blocked off for some reason, and the top was closed. Probably had to do with the weather, because it started to snow. It was cold, but also very beautiful. The view from the 2nd level was breathtaking, especially with the snow and all of the Christmas lights.

On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at a tent in the Christmas market for some hot chocolate. Unfortunately, we didn't speak much French and they didn't speak much English. This resulted in 1) us making a few French-sounding noises that we hoped would make sense to them, 2) all of us looking confused at each other and pointing at various things, and 3) EPIC FAILURE. Eventually, the lady just chose a cup size, poured in some hot chocolate, and asked for 4 euro. lol.

We stopped at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner along the way, and had some awesome food. I might eat there again today before I leave, actually...

More to come.

Manneken Pis

One of the coolest things about Brussels is the little peeing boy statue named "Manneken Pis", probably the most famous Belgian landmark of all time.

In pictures, he looks like he is life-sized, but in actuality he is really only less than 2 feet tall. My first reaction when I saw him was, "This is it??" That's ok though...it is still pretty cool, even if he is small. Size really doesn't matter when it comes to this little guy. Here's a run-down:

In 1618, a French sculpter created the statue out of bronze, which was based on a similar stone version that had been stolen years before. No one knows the exact significance of the boy and his peeing, although there have been many theories. For instance, according to one legend, a rampant fire was raging through Brussels many centuries ago, and in an attempt to help extinguish it, a small boy started peeing on it. Another legend says that an infertile couple finally conceived a child, and right after he was born, he peed on the pastor who baptized him. Yet another legend suggests that the boy actually symbolizes a 2-year-old duke in the year 1187, whose troops were battling an enemy group. Supposedly the infant was placed in a basket and tied to a tree as encouragement for the troops, and as nature called, he answered.

Another widely accepted version is that a small boy was often seen relieving himself in this particular corner, whose acidic urine eventually burned a whole in the stone wall. When it rained, water would pour down and come out of the hole, and this looked as though the wall was also peeing. (The last part seems like a bit of a stretch to me, but whatever).

Every now and then on special occasions, the water in the fountain is replaced with beer, and people can go get their drink from his "flow". People get really excited about this...

One of the coolest things about Manneken Pis is that he has special costumes made for him that are changed every couple of weeks. His very first costume was made for him in 1698 by the prince of Bavaria: velvet with the royal blue Bavarian print. Since then, he has received an additional 800-some costumes through the years, many of them donated by other countries. You can see 100 of them at a time at the Museum of the City of Brussels at the Grand Place. They are switched out every couple of months. It really is quite fascinating.

This statue is a symbol of Belgium's unique culture and history. It is a statement of rebellion towards the many occupiers of Belgium throughout the years, as in, "You may be here and try to boss us around, but we'll still do wherever we want to." That is another reason why the statue has so much support and has weathered the centuries so well: people believe in his message, as unconventional and ridiculous as it may seem to us non-Belgians.

Brussels

After a few initial difficulties (see last post), I fell in love with Brussels. It is such a cool city. There are so many things to see, so many wonderful things to eat, and the people are very friendly. It truly is a one-of-a-kind.

Belgium has been under so many different occupations through the years that it has had exposure to a variety of cultures, which has led to its own unique cultural development. There are two official languages, French and Dutch; however, there is an area where Plattdeutsch is spoken (a northern German dialect), and of course English being the international language it is, it is also widely spoken and understood. From what I gathered from my short visit, there is still a conflict between French and Dutch that has yet to be resolved.

One interesting result from the presence of many languages in Belgium is the importance of cartoons and comics. Belgium is apparently famous for its cartoons, and creates more cartoons than any other country (something I didn't know before). This is a form of communication that can transcend language barriers; however, with my own experience, as well as the experience of my students, with foreign comics, this doesn't appear to be the case. Usually foreign language learners dread comics in the language they are learning. I guess the Belgian ones are just way better...they've mastered the art.

There are so many cool things to see in Brussels. The "Grand Place" is the original town square that has been there for centuries, and is surrounded with very beautiful, gothic style buildings that are 400-500 years old. In my opinion, this is something that you really have to experience in person, because pictures can't seem to capture the effect of standing there and looking at them with your own eyes. I literally spent 45 minutes in this square JUST looking at the outside of these beautiful buildings. They were so detailed, and even ornated with gold. I couldn't believe the work that the people must have put into creating them, especially 500 years ago when everything had be made with blood and sweat.

Of course, Brussels is famous for its statue of Menneqin Pis, a small boy peeing. This is actually pretty fascinating, so I'm reserving a special post just for him. :)

There is a very beautiful cathedral in Brussels that has been standing there since 1014. It is huge, not to mention absolutely breathtaking. I spent about an hour in the cathedral, really taking my time and enjoying it.

Brussels (and Belgium in general) is also famous for Belgian waffles, chocolate, mussels, and French fries! I am happy to report that I tested all of these items, and they really are as good as they say. (I had no idea that French fries were actually a Belgian creation...how misleading! Too bad they eat them with mayonnaise...yuck.)

I bought sooooo much chocolate. The quality really was amazing. All I can say here is that Belgium chocholate = mouthgasm.

One of the best things I did in Brussels what eat at a restaurant called "The Lobster House." I happened to stumble across this place when I was just walking around. One of the waiters was out front, and when he saw me pause and contemplate going inside, he said, "Hungry?" with a big friendly smile. I said I was, and he led me inside to a table with a candle and fresh flowers. It was really charming, and the service was amazing (although admittedly, a bit too friendly for me at times). I had a 3-course meal of shrimp scampi and homemade rolls, a huge pot of steamed mussels and salad, and a Belgian waffle for desert. Everything was absolutely delicious. I loved it so much I went back the next day, and had an equally amazing meal. They really appreciated that I came back, and even gave me my Fanta at no charge. :)

Belgium is also known for stitchwork. There were some beautiful table cloths and doilies, as well as stitched parasols. I really wanted to buy a parasol, but had no way to bring it home. :(

All in all, Brussels is a really cool place, and I hope I'll have the chance to go back someday.

Arriving in Brussels

Once again, I have been doing a horrible job of maintaining my blog...I apologize to those of you who have been waiting on a new post! I'll get better about this, I promise. :)

So about a month ago, I visited Brussels, Belgium for a weekend (the capital of the European Union!). Margie and I had actually planned to meet there and check it out together, but unfortunately she had to work at the last minute and couldn't come. So, I ended up just going myself, and everything went fine...after a few initual difficulties.

My first impression of Belgium was one of chaos. The airport in Brussels seems to be huge, although it's possible that it really isn't....I was just extremely lost. First of all, I had no idea which direction anything was from where I entered the airport. There were NO SIGNS ANYWHERE, not even one of those little "YOU ARE HERE" maps. So I took a chance, and walked to the left. Eventually, I wound up in a line, which I assumed was customs (I didn't even consider the fact that when traveling within the EU, you don't need to go through customs). After waiting 15 minutes in a line of many "ethnic people", I got to the counter. "Boarding pass, please," the man said. I was confused, and gave him the one I just used to get to Brussels plus a confused look. He said, "I don't think you want to be in this line, Miss. These people are all going to Africa." lol...nevermind!

I was looking for the train that was supposed to connect the airport with the Central Train Station (Centraalstasion), but there were NO SIGNS ANYWHERE about trains!! Wtf? I literally walked around for an hour, until finally I gave up all hope and asked someone. I finally found it, and then had to wait 30 minutes in line to buy a stupid ticket.

With the airport ordeal finally behind me, I rode to the Central Station. I was prepared with printed out directions from Google Maps that would take me to my youth hostel. I made it to my metro stop (subway) with no problems...however, that was where my luck ended. From there, I tried to find the street where I was supposed to walk to next. First I walked in the wrong direction until I realized I was backward. Then I went back, found the street, and turned right, just like the directions said. However, then none of the directions made sense any more! I found myself in some sort of Middle-Eastern district where no one spoke English. I'm sure I looked like the best mugging target ever with my laptop, purse, and backpack swinging off my every limb. Well, at the very least, I was obviously very lost, and a man came up to me and asked me if I needed help. I said yes, I was looking for Rue d'Elefant, where my hostel was. He told me I was definitely in the wrong area, and that I should go back the way I came. So I did, more confused than ever.

Now, I had absolutely no sense of orientation, and just started walking down a random street. I was looking for a public map, like at a bus stop or something, but there weren't any. My next idea was to go to the bank and ask there (the only place that seemed safe in this area). However, it was closed. Instead, I went into a Pakistani grocery store and asked a worker for directions. He also didn't speak any English, so I attempted the little French I knew. "Oú est Rue d'Elefant?" Luckily, he understood me, and knew where I wanted to go. He drew me a small map that took me right there. Thank God!

So, I finally made it to the hostel, and got checked in. It was now 3 hours since arriving in Brussels. Thanks, Google Maps, for totally screwing me over.

More to come.

Stockholm

So after I returned to Sweden from Norway, I decided to go to Stockholm. I ended up taking a night bus there from Gothenburg (where Margie is living), and arrived at around 6 am. I didn't sleep a wink all night, because busses are so uncomfortable, so I was pretty much running on adrenaline after that. I had planned to meet my new Korean friend JiEun who I met on the Norway in a Nutshell Tour at 8, since she was also in Stockholm for a few days.

In the meantime, I grabbed some hot chocolate and a chocolate muffin for breakfast at the bus/train station. A bird had flown into the building, and was chirping loudly from an artificial tree in front of me. At 6 in the morning, after a sleepless night, this irritated me.

8 o'clock came and went. Then 8:15 came...and went. Then 8:30. 8:45. 9:00. No JiEun. We were supposed to meet at the tourist information counter, but she never showed. I was kind of frustrated, but shook it off. I ventured out into the city, and started Rick Steve's walking tour.

The first thing I found was a beautiful church about 2 blocks away from the train station. It was made of brick and had a huge steeple. The trees around it had turned deep red and bright yellow, which was beautiful. There was no one around at all.

Then I walked to Gamla Stan, the historic and oldest district of Stockholm. Here, you will find the Royal Palace, Parliament, the Stockholm Cathedral, the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, Stortorget (the central square where the "Stockholm Bloodbath" occured back in 1520, when Swedish noblemen were massacred by the King), the German Church, the Danish Church, cobbled streets, midievil alleyways, and archaic architecture.

As I was making the rounds, I met a group of 7 Turkish girls who were international students at a nearby university. Initially, they asked me to take their picture, and then we all just sort of stuck together. They were very sweet, and I was glad to meet them. We also looked around a few shops, until the changing of the gaurd was taking place at noon.

We went to the Royal Palace, where a large crowd was already starting to form. I was excited, because I've never seen any type of changing of guards before. It was quite cold outside, and my hands, face, ears, and legs were freezing. All of the sudden, someone tapped on my shoulder, and it was JiEun! I couldn't believe that we found each other!! I guess she thought we were meeting at a different information counter, and we never found each other.

Unfortunately, because of some sort of police emergency, the changing was delayed by 20 minutes. Everybody groaned, but waited anyway. Then the guy came back on the mic, and said that it would be yet another 15 minutes. At this point, JiEun and I said "screw it" and left. We found a restaurant and had the traditional dish of Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes. It was extremely salty, but good nonetheless.

After this, we visited the German church. Gamla Stan was an interesting place back in the day, when many settlers from many different countries occupied the city. Therefore, there is a German church, a Danish church, and a Dutch church. Everyone wanted their own church!!

Then we went to the Nobel Museum. It was a little hard to get into because of all of the intense information to read, and we didn't have much time to stay there. There were also some pieces of artwork here that were very interesting...like a statue of the Dahli Lahma carved entirely out of a stack of Manhattan phonebooks!

Next, JiEun and I walked down the cobblestone roads to the sea. My feet were killing me thanks to those damn stones. They are beautiful to look at, and even walking on them is ok....as long as you don't do it all day long. To make matters worse, I had my backpack, my purse, and my laptop. Adding this to no sleep, blistered feet, no sleep, and a chronically sore back and neck, it wasn't the best thing in the world.

We caught a ferry over to a different part of Stockholm, where we visited another cool open-air museum/zoo called Skansen. It is 75 acres, including an full replica, 19th-century town with over 150 buildings and people dressed in period clothing. There are also beautiful gardens, a fernicular train, a reindeer farm, bears, and windmill...the list goes on. It was really unique...definitely my favorite thing in Stockholm. I highly recommend it!

Next, we went to the Vasa Ship Museum. Back in the 1600s, a top-heavy warship named the "Vasa" was built, only to sink on its native voyage a little over a mile off the coast due to insufficient ballast. There were 145 sailors and 300 soldiers on board, off to fight in the Baltic fleet during the Thirty Years' War. All perished. Then, in 1961, the Vasa was recovered from the ocean floor...in remarkably good condition. It has been preserved and kept in this museum ever since. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship))

We stayed there until closing, before heading back to JiEun's youth hostile to rest. We literally did nothing except lay down and mess around on the internet for the next 3 hours. After that, I caught the night bus back to Gothenburg, and returned to Margie's at around 8 in the morning, more exhausted than I have ever been in my entire life.

48 hours of no sleep at all + hardly eating (except for a few really sweet or salty things) + constantly walking on cobblestone roads with loads of bags = a really really bad idea.

Overall though, it was cool to see. Check it out if you get the chance.

One more thing: Norway=Really Freaking Expensive

One thing I didn't mention in my last post was how freaking expensive everything is in Norway. I only bought the absolute necessities, such as 1 meal a day (the other two being stretched out from the complimentary breakfast at the hostels), a place to sleep, a refridgerator magnet or two, and...that's it really. However, I still managed to put myself in the red a little. To give you an idea:

-Most places in Europe/Scandinavia, you have to pay to use any public restroom. In Germany, this averages around 50 cents. In Norway, this costs $2. Yes...$2!!! Going to the bathroom is a basic human function, and they exploit it fully. I can't believe this injustice, and was tempted to rebel and just go outside. Luckily however, I timed myself so that I only went at the hostel or someplace I ate at for free. Screw you, officials!

-One scoop of ice cream in a cone = $6.

-2 regular candy bars, nothing special = $8.

-Whopper Combo Meal at Burger King = $20.

-Cup of potato soup (not bowl, a CUP) with a slice of bread and small non-refillable drink = $25.

-Small bottle of Fanta = $4.

-Lunch special at TGI Friday's, including one medium drink = $40.

I could go on, but you get the idea. The basic formula you should keep in mind is as follows: 4*(Average US price)=Norweigian cost(roughly).

Yeah, bring lots of money when going to Norway. That's all I can say.

More on Norway

So, once again I've been slacking on my blog. Sorry, guys! :ß

Anyway, more about Norway. The first night I was there I stayed in Oslo, since early the next day I had to catch the train from there to do my tour. When I got off the bus, I felt totally lost and disorientated...and of course, all signs were in Norweigian, so that wasn't much help. After asking about 3 people, I finally found my way to the hostel I was staying at. It was pretty nice, and once I got there I completely crashed for several hours. I wasn't too worried about going out because I knew I would be coming back.

The tour I went on is called "Norway in a Nutshell", and it seems to be quite popular. Normally I would book everything myself, but this package made it so easy because it included every train ticket I needed plus the ferry ticket through the fjords, which was definitely high on my priority list. Plus, I could also meet other tourists since we all had something in common. It wasn't too expensive, either.

I started my tour in Oslo, which is in the eastern part of the country. The first train went a town called Myrdal...a 5-hour, very scenic ride. The countryside really is something to admire, and the brilliant fall colors only added to its beauty. There are mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, quaint little villages and farms, lots of sheep, and rugged hills. It is probably the most photographic location I've ever been to.

Once in Myrdal, I changed to a smaller train that would take me to a small village named Flamm. This was only a 12-mile stretch, but it was extremely beautiful. The conductor even stopped a couple of times for people to get out and take pictures. There was a breath-taking waterfall, as well as some of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen. On this train I met a nice family from Australia that took me under their wing, as I was traveling alone. I also met a really sweet retired couple from Virginia, and a girl from South Korea named JiEun.

We stopped for a few hours in Flamm to eat lunch and do a little exploring. I had a salmon meal that was pretty tasty. After this, it was time to tour the fjords, so we all boarded the ferry. The water was so calm and reflective...it was like a dream. The air was a little bit brisk standing outside, but it was totally worth it. The ferry doubled as a regional mail carrier, so along the way we would stop and the various villages along the fjords to drop off crates.

The fjord tour last 2 hours. Afterward, we were bussed to the next town called Voss to catch the train headed for Bergen (west coast), my last stop for the day. We arrived fairly late, so my hostel was already closed for the evening. Luckily I called ahead of time and the lady told me to pick up my key at a pool hall next door. I thought this sounded a little sketchy, but in the end everything worked out.

I actually had a German roommate! She was really nice...around 40 years old, and shocked that I could speak with her in German. It was great. Haha. I have to say, there are soo many Germans in Scandinavia! Everywhere I went I heard German.

The next day I spent touring Bergen. Unfortunately, due to the season, many things that I would normally want to see were closed, but that's ok. The best thing I did in Bergen was take a trolly that went straight up a mountain that half of the city rested on, and got an amazing view of the city, the mountains, and the bay. Also, the Edvard Munch exhibit was actually visiting Bergen (normally in Oslo), so I managed to see "The Scream". He is the most famous Norweigian artist, and "The Scream" is nearly as well-known as the Mona Lisa. It was awesome!

I took the train back to Oslo that evening. The next day, I did Rick Steeve's walking tour, and saw some interesting things. The Royal Palace was preparing for a visit by the Swiss president that day, so there was a military parade. It was really cool...the soldiers carry swords! I also saw the main cathedral, and I thought it was beautiful.

By far my favorite thing I did in Oslo was visiting the Folk Museum. It is an "open-air" museum of over 150 original, preserved buildings from various periods of time. It was so cool, and reminded me a lot of my dad's Old Train Town in Cody. Very quaint. There was so much to see. I wish I had more time to go through it, because I would gladly spend an entire day there. I highly recommend it.

Right next to the Folk Museum was a Viking ship museum, with actual restored Viking ships. It was pretty cool to see them, too. Only problem was that my camera was dead at this point. lol.

Speaking of my camera, something happened to it the night before my tour, and most of the pictures I took were blurry. Some of them turned out well, but unfortunately not as many as I wanted. Oh well. Stupid camera.

All in all, it was cool to see Norway from my own eyes, especially since that's where my Great-Grandpa Sam came from, who I've been hearing about for my entire life. I have to say that his home town of Oslo was totally different that I expected. Not bad, but I think he made the right choice to come to America. ;)

Getting into Norway

Part of my Scandinavian vacation was touring Norway, seeing the major sights and the beautiful scenery. I did something called "Norway in a Nutshell", which is a package deal of train/bus/ferry tickets that collectively get you from one side of Norway to the other, via the most scenic route.

I took a bus from Margie's in Sweden to Oslo, which was about a 4 hour drive. It's great, because the busses actually have WIFI, so I could mess around online during the trip.

Getting into Norway was a bigger pain than I thought it would be. Our bus stopped at customs, and the border control people came in to check IDs and passports, while their dogs went through everything. No big deal, I thought...I'm legit. Well, then one of the border control ladies came up to me for my passport (I think I was the only person on the bus not from either Sweden or Norway). I gave it to her, and she studied it with a very mistrusting look on her face. "What is your business in Norway?" she asked.

"Tourism," I replied, mistakenly assuming that this one word would resolve everything.

"How long have you been here?"

"Um...I have been out of the US for almost 3 months, and I've never been to Norway."

"Where were you before you came here?"

"Germany."

"What were you doing in Germany?"

"Teaching English."

"Where?"

"At a school..."

"How long are you staying in Norway?"

"4 days."

"Where are you staying?"

"Oslo and Bergen."

"At a hotel or someone's house?"

"Youth hostels."

"Which youth hostels?"

"[Hostel A] and [Hostel B]."

At this point, she looked very closely at my passport for the 12th time, gave me a very serious, no-bull look, and gave it back to me. No thank-you, nothing. Then she just went to the next person.

I felt like a criminal, dealing more with an opposing lawyer than a border-control worker. I expected Norway to be more like Canada, where if you just wave at the border people on your way in, you're good. Guess I was wrong there...

Anyway, after that everything was fine. I made it to Oslo, and after asking 3 different people how to get to my hostel, I finally got there. The hostel was nice, so I was relieved. I went to bed early, because the next day was the big tour.

Copenhagen

So, I have been incredibly behind on my blog lately, and thought I'd better do something to appease the masses. Sorry guys!

I left off my last post with Margie and I at the bus station in Göteborg, getting ready to take the 2:55am night bus to Copenhagen, Denmark. It was freezing outside, so we were definitely ready to get in when the bus finally came. We arrived in Copenhagen around 7:30.

It was awesome to get there so early because then we could watch the city "wake up", so to speak. Our first impressions of the place were kind of sketchy, though. The fog was so thick that we could barely see 20 feet in front of us, and there was garbage EVERYWHERE. Especially crap from McDonalds, for some reason. That was kind of disappointing, and not good for pictures. However, later in the day the fog cleared and the garbage was all cleaned up by the city sanitation crew, so that helped.

We followed Rick Steves' walking tour, and it was wonderful. For those of you who don't know, Rick Steves is a travel guide who has written many guide books. The best part about him is that he includes walking tours with a map. You start at one place, and simply follow the numbers on the map to see some of the coolest stuff. A person can get a little exercise and not have to pay anyone for hauling them around. It's great. He's also a pretty funny writer. Margie and I are crazy about him and his books!

At the beginning of our walking tour, around 7:30, we saw people going home from clubs, still drunk. People party so hard here. We also ran into this middle-aged guy from New Zealand who just randomly started talking to us. We thought it was cool to talk to a Kiwi, until he started dissing Americans (very incoherently, I might add). He kept saying, "Americans, oooohh...tsssst...Americans...". What the hell is that supposed to mean? And this guy was so hypocritical, too. He said we weren't open to new cultures, and then said (about Americans): "They're just so...different...I mean, everything's so...different, like they're just...different. I don't like them..." What a tool.

To sum it up, we saw some cool churches, courtyards, alleyways, old buildings, castles, history museums, ships, statues, parks, the artist haven and anti-establishment commune "Christiana", and a few stores. The buildings were painted really cute, and it was fun to just look around and take pictures. We even got to see the national treasure reserves, which was awesome...There were diamond- and jewel-encrusted guns, and all sorts of other cool things. The guns reminded me of my dad, because I know he would have loved them!!

One of the funniest things I think we saw was a bar, with "PROBABLY THE BEST BEER IN TOWN" written on front of it. Haha, they are so polite about it! I have never seen the word "probably" used in advertising before. lol.

The only major problem we had in Copenhagen was the exchange rate, which we failed to check before going there. Unfortunately, we thought it was more in our favor than it actually was, and...yeah. You get the idea. We spent way more money than we thought we did, even though we didn't buy much.

Then we took the late bus back to Sweden and made it back to Margie's around 3am. We were both pretty tired, but that's ok. Good times were had by all!

Sweden!

On Saturday I got up at 5 am so I could make my flight to Sweden and visit Margie in Gothenburg (Göteborg). It was crazy...I was in the city so early getting to the airport that I actually saw a pigeon wake up. He was in his nest when he slowly opened his eyes, slowly moved his head from side to side, stretched out his wings, and then tiredly flew below to look for breakfast crumbs. lol.

The flight to Gothenburg from Berlin was only an hour and 15 minutes. Everything went fine. I was so excited to get a soft pretzel for a snack on the plane (gotta love German airlines ;), until I realized it was really only a little bit of bread around a solid brick of butter in the shape of a pretzel. I guess disappointing airline food really is international...

Sweden is so clean, and the people are really friendly here! It is also very beautiful right now with all the fall colors. Margie and I met, and she showed me her apartment. It's pretty cute. I'm staying in a sleeping bag on the floor, living the dream. :P

In the afternoon, we took a ferry to the islands around Gothenburg. They are soo beautiful. We walked around one of the islands (which is actually residential), and got totally lost. It was a great adventure, except for the part when we found a dead jackrabbit. That was pretty nasty....lol.

Later that evening we met Margie's roommate Lotte and some other friends of theirs from the lab to sing karaoke at a friend's apartment. It was actually a PS2 game called "Singstar", where you are judged on pitch, rhythm, lyrics, etc. and receive points for accuracy. We played in teams, and our team totally sucked (Margie and I were major failures, haha). We lost all 14 rounds!! Hahahah....so sad.

We went home for a quick few-hour nap before having to leave at 1:30am to go catch our 2:55 bus to Copenhagen. More on that in the next post. :)

Margie in Berlin

So on Saturday, Margie flew into Berlin to visit me from Sweden. It was so great seeing here again and catching up! I love this girl. :D

I picked her up at the airport Saturday evening, and we went into the city to hang out for a while. She chose the perfect weekend to visit, because Sunday was "Tag der deutschen Einheit" (Day of German Unity), a celebration of exactly 21 years since the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of communism in Germany. There were a lot of celebrations going on around the city, including a major one underneath the Brandenburg Gate.

We also hung out with our mutual friend Calder, who showed us around some cool random places. Margie got to try Döner for the first time (a Berlin classic--although it is actually a Turkish item...basically it's a meat and vegetable filled pita thing...sort of hard to describe). We also went to a trendy little bar in Kreuzberg and I tried a drink called "Weird Boobs". It tasted like nothingness, and I don't exactly know where the weird boobs come into play...so much for that 4 Euro...

At one point we also checked out a bookstore of all books in English (great for Margie), and then went to a high-quality absinthe bar and had absinthe for the first time. It was the most amazing drink I've even had, and I could see myself becoming wildly addicted to it if I wasn't careful. Good thing it's so expensive and therefore can only be for very special occasions! That takes care of that problem.

We got all of the fun stuff done we wanted to do, including going to the Brandenburg Gate, Alexanderplatz, the German History Museum, Kunsthaus Tacheles, the Jewish Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, the remains of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Cathedral, White Trash Fast Food, etc. I also took Margie to a few grocery stores when we went on food runs (exotic! Haha).

Margie bought an authentic Soviet military hat for her brother Kaj, and just for fun we messed around taking pictures at the Wall wearing it and making stupid faces and gestures. Of course at this time, a carload (and later a BUSLOAD) of people drove by, laughing and taking pictures of us. Hahaha. That was only slightly embarassing...

Tomorrow, we get to switch roles when I visit her in Sweden! We are going to do stuff in Gothenburg, then spend a day in Copenhagen, Denmark before she has to return to work and I go tour Norway. Finally, I'll have a day in Stockholm before flying "home". I love my life!

Russian

During the Soviet occupation of East Germany and East Berlin after WWII (or "World War Squared", as I like to call it), learning the Russian language became mandatory in East German schools. English, on the other hand, was optional and not as encouraged, as the English-speaking world was almost entirely capitalistic. Therefore, it's not surprising that many of the adults ages 35 and up in former East Germany can still speak and understand more Russian than English (if they know any English at all).

This is good for me, because it forces me to speak German to these people.

It's funny, because the very basic Russian that I knew before coming here has widely impressed some of my new friends. Who knew an American could be familiar with one foreign language, let alone 2, 3, or even 4? :P

So one of my co-teachers has been giving Russian lessons once a week after school, just for fun, and I've joined the little group of high school students. So now I'm learning more Russian, via the German language. It's intense, but in a good way. Even though it's really hard, at least at first, I am happy it gives me something to do, and something new to study.

Not to mention, now German seems like a piece of cake!! :P

So much time on my hands...

Only having 12 hours per week to work is great, because I am free to do pretty much whatever I want in the remaining hours. I can go into the city whenever I want, I can sleep in late every day, I can waste hours on the internet....The only work I have to do for school can be done in a matter of 20-30 minutes.

However, this has some major drawbacks. Constantly living in vacation-mode has made me extremely lazy. I sleep way more than is neccessary, I procrastinate on everything official, and I've become totally unorganized and ADD. This is the opposite of what I expected from living in such an orderly, efficient society. Too bad everyone at school is extremely laid back about my presence...I guess that's what happens when I am shared by 4 teachers. They are just happy when I can be there at all.

Things I should be doing include: practicing my violin, organizing the hundreds of photos I have taken and post them online, prepping my research, studying German vocab, responding to emails and facebook messages, exploring German media, returning phonecalls, updating this blog, reading, etc. It's not like I don't have the time!!! UGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eisenhüttenstadt

So, I have been horrible about maintaining my blog lately. Sorry, guys!

There have been many occasions since I've gotten to Germany that I have spent with Nicole, her parents, and her boyfriend Adrian in Eisenhüttenstadt. (They are like family to me!) We have already done quite a few things that I just haven't written about yet, but here are some of the highlights:

-Stadtfest. This is a lot like the Montana Fair at the Metra, except it is celebrated on two intersecting streets. There are fair rides, food stands, outdoor concerts, little stands to buy cheap junk, etc. Oh, there are also a lot of drunk people at this. We went to the Stadtfest on two nights, and I got to meet some of Nicole and Adrians' friends. Both nights we stayed out until 3 am. Good times!

-Small plane exhibit and festival on the river with Nicole's dad Peter. Got to see some cool planes! What more can I say.

-Tractor/farm equipment exhibit with Nicole's parents. There were a lot of neat pieces of equipment at this, mostly from the GDR era. Got to see a lot of interesting things!

-Stew-over-Open-Flame cookout. Nicole's mom Sonja made some really good stew with gyro meat, red peppers, onions, and tomatoes. It was amazing...my mouth is watering just thinking about it! She cooked it in a big kettle over an open fire in the courtyard, and they had neighbors over to help eat it all. It really reminded me of eating chili around the campfire in the fall!

-Speaking of Sonja's awesome meals, we also ate RABBIT! It was sooo good with potatoes, kalarabi, and rabbit gravy. Mmmm, mmmm......gotta love my German mama's home cookin'! :D

-Riding in Adrian's Trabant. I'm guessing that most people reading this blog probably don't know what a Trabant is. Well, it's a car that was used in communist Germany (the East), and has become an East German trademark. People would order their Trabant, and often have to wait years before receiving it. Someone I met had to wait 9 YEARS before getting hers! I can't imagine. Anyway, Adrian has a cute little whitish one that the three of us took to a town a couple hours away. :)

How to Register as an Alien

Getting a visa is such a pain in the butt. Let me illustrate.

First, you have to register with the local courthouse and inform them that you are now living in the town. That's not too bad, as long as you manage to go to the office sometime during the 6 hours in the week that it's actually open, and have a passport and all official paperwork. I did this on Thursday. It took about a half an hour.

Next, if you are me and you live in Neuenhagen, you have to go to a small town named Seelow that is about as obscure and out-of-the-way as possible and takes up the entire day to get there, do your thing, and come back. Why? Because that's where the alien registration office is for this region. You wouldn't want to be deported after only 90 days, would you?

So, you have to catch a train to the Berlin East Train Station. 30 minutes. Then, you have to take another train to Frankfurt Oder. One hour. Then, you have to change trains and go to Seelow. 20 minutes.

Ok, you're in Seelow. Now what? A mile and a half walk until you find the right street, but not the building number. 30 minutes. Now you have to find a friendly-looking person to ask for help. Not always so easy, since people don't smile at strangers here. I always target the elderly first. Somehow, they are less intimidating.

Alright, so you've found the right office. Now you have to take a number and wait an hour behind a group of fighting Russian people. Oh look, finally your number is called!

Now you walk into the office and introduce yourself as the next foreigner wanting a visa, trying to ignore the rudeness of the jerk behind the counter that you have to talk to. Present him with your passport, residential permit, official paperwork, and insurance card. Oh, make sure you understand all of his official jargon EXACTLY, otherwise he will roll his eyes and sarcastically repeat things LOUDLY and SLOWLY until you just nod and smile akwardly. After he gives you your stuff back, plus additional paperwork to fill out, he says you have to come back again in 2 weeks. Ugh.

Don't forget, the office is only open on Tuesdays and Fridays! If you try this on Wednesday, you're screwed. Oh, and did I mention that this all has to happen before noon? Smile!

Skinny!

So, I finally weighed myself the other day, and after being here almost 2 months I have lost 16 pounds! That's insane!!

When I left I wasn't necessarily fat, but I definitely had some unnecessary weight around my belly, hips, and thighs. It's not all gone yet, but at this rate it won't take long.

I haven't intentionally exercised at all since I got here. However, not having a car = riding bike and walking a lot, so that has helped. Also, I haven't been eating out nearly as much, and I've been eating a little better. I still eat tons of junk food though, so that doesn't make any sense at all...

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised. That is all.

School Life and Teaching

For the last week or so, I've been working at the school. It's a great deal...only 12hours a week, 4 days a week! So far, I've mostly been there observing and walking around to assist the students, or participating in the discussions. The kids seem to be pretty interested in me because I'm something new and different. Luckily, most (if not all) do not seem to be too shy about speaking English while I'm around, and that makes things a lot easier.

The school system here in Germany is quite different than ours in the US. Any schooling that a child receives before entering the elementary school (1st grade) is considered kindergarten. For us, this would be a combination of pre-school AND kindergarten. This is not part of the elementary school...kindergartens are in different buildings. Also, kindergarten is not required in Germany.

At age 6, all children must be enrolled in the Grundschule, or elementary school. All students remain together until the 6th grade. During the years in elementary school, it is determined what educational path the students will take next. There are several different options. The Gymnasium, where university-bound students attend, is for students grades 7-13. There are 3 other types of secondary schools: the Realschule, through grade 10, teaches the same subjects as the Gymnasium but is partially vocational for mid-range students; the Hauptschule (also vocational and somewhat alternative), where subjects are taught at a slower pace; and finally, the Gesamtschule, which is a mix of the earlier three types.

I teach at the Einstein Gymnasium here in Neuenhagen. So far, the students have really impressed me with their English skills. I haven't had any issues as of yet, outside of one exception. One day, I was introducing myself to the class, and when I came to a close I asked the students if they had any questions for me. One kid raised his hand, and I called on him. "What do you think about the people in America burning the Quran?"

"Um...ok....I think it's a little early for questions like that (11:00am). Next question, please."

Same kid raises his hand. "What kinds of things have you heard about Germans in the US?"

I wasn't really expecting such upfront questions. I told him that Americans were under the impression that Germans are very efficient and serious, but I was eager to change the subject. That's not the tone I wanted to set for this class!

Anyway, the other teachers are nice and insist on speaking to me in only English. That makes it easy for me, but at the same time I don't get much of a chance to practice my German at the school. Oh well, maybe I'll just have to get to know the students during lunch and practice it then. Hopefully they like my accent. :P

Exploring Berlin II

In the meantime, I have also been checking out Berlin with some random new friends I've made. Some of the highlights include:

-White Trash Fast Food. The name sounds like crap, but the food is awesome! It's actually a restaurant with a concert stage, which generally books only punk bands. They have tables inside and outside on the patio, and it's got somewhat of a piratey theme. I ordered a cheeseburger and it was amazing. Sort of like the cheeseburgers at Red Robin.

-KaDeWe. This is a huge, popular department store that consists of about 5 stories separated by escalators. My favorite floor was the food floor. They had these food counters all around that served everything from gourmet deli to French cuisine and and truffles to sushi. They had groceries and candy from all around the world, in mass quantities. MASS QUANTITIES OF CANDY. I found the small American section which contained: Campbell's Tomato Soup for $6/can, Pepsi/MountainDew/Dr.Pepper/etc. for $5/can (warm), a box of generic macaroni and cheese for $4.50, plus other random things like Oreos and Reeses' Peanut Butter Cups. By that time, I was too scared to check more prices. Stupid importing costs and taxes...

-Kunsthaus Tacheles. This was perhaps the most hardcore thing yet. Basically, this is an old 4-story building that some barely-alive, crackhead artists try to sell their work in. Some of it was really cool, but a lot of it was most definitely inspired by acid. Every square inch of the inside walls and doors was covered in grafiti and/or flyers of some sort. The building smelled like a horrible combination of incredibly strong weed and pee. Apparently, the owners of the property are planning on tearing this building down to get rid of squatters and other unpleasantness, so it may not be around much longer.

-Schwarzes Cafe. This is a cool, artsy little cafe with a balcany overlooking the street and good hot chocolate. Perfect way to kill a few lazy hours.

-The official Ritter Chocolate store. This place was amazing, because you can create your own Ritter chocolate with whatever ingredients you want! Then they also have a chocolate museum exhibit thing and a fancy cafe. It's pretty intense.

-A really cool vintage toy store. Can't remember the name of it, but I do remember how to get there. Don't remember the street though. So basically this bullet is pretty useless.

Ok I'm done for now.

Orientation

So, to pick up from where my last post left off...

I made it successfully to the main train station in Cologne, and after the incident with the dead guy, I overheard a fairly large group of Americans. I tapped on this girl's shoulder and asked if it was the Fulbright group, and it was. Her name was Clair, and she was really nice. I also started talking to a guy from Seattle named Karl who was pretty funny, and was a stark resemblance to someone back home.

It seems like everywhere I go, I see at least 3 people who look exactly like someone back home. Maybe it's just an overactive imagination from so much new stimulation, and the brain is trying to connect it to something familiar...or maybe it's because there are only so many different features/hairstyles/face shapes/colorings and about 6 billion people on the planet that at some point nature just starts repeating itself. But I digress.

Anyway, orientation was a blast, but also reallllly exhausting. There were 140 Americans, 20 Brits, 2 Australians, 2 New Zealanders, and the entire German staff. We stayed in a youth hostel (with surprisingly good food, I might add). My roommate's name was Emily and she was from Boston, also here to teach near Berlin. We really hit it off, so I hope we can get together again at some point.

One bad thing was that we had over 90 women and only 2 showers. I think it's fair to say that despite the few determined to get up at 4:30am and run over there, everyone was coasting out until they get home. Thank God for deodorant and body spray!!

It was great to be around a large group of Americans again. I know I'm here to experience the German culture to the max, but there will be plenty of time for that. In the meantime, I just enjoyed people's eye contact, smiling, and friendliness again (see earlier post). I was soooo excited! I felt like the lost dog getting reunited with his family! Everyone was totally in the "I want to meet you!" mood. The only bad part was that we only had about 3 days to get to know as many people as possible, and with the amount of people reaching 200, that was incredibly overwhelming.

It's all about building up your network, and finding/being part of the Fulbright Family.

A lot of the stuff we did in the workshops seemed a bit redundamt to me, just because they were trying to teach everyone how to be a teacher in 2 days, and I spent the last 4 years studying it. It was great to be prepared, but yeah. However, I did learn some stuff about the German school system I didn't know, and I got to help the others out a bit.

My group and I also taught a lesson on stereotypes. It was the perfect set up because we had both American and British people in our group, so both sides played off each other. Surprisingly, none of the Brits seemed to know about the "bad teeth" stereotype...interesting...

We also learned about what a pain it will be to get through the "beaurocratic red tape" of becoming a (legal) temporary worker/resident of Germany, plus a bunch of other technical stuff I won't bore you about here.

Most people have heard that Germans are incredibly efficient and systematic. Well, orientation was no exception. Everything started at EXACTLY the time it said on the itinerary, and every minute from 6:00am-9:00pm was planned out EXACTLY. Poor us...This American, at least, is not used to that much structure!

After falling asleep several times along the way, yet miraculously finding my way home to Neuenhagen all the way from Cologne, I got home and slept the entire afternoon. I think my body is still recovering.

Dead Guy

On Monday, I had Frau Wassmansdorff knock loudly on my door to make sure I got up around 7 to make it to the airport on time. I had to fly to Cologne for orientation. Waking up that early was rough, especially after sleeping in until about 11:00 for the last 3 months...

Luckily I had everything packed the night before, so I was able to leave by 7:20. I made my way to the airport, remembering the route from my practice run last week. I made it there plenty early, checked in, and flew out of Berlin at 11:00. The flight to Köln (Cologne) was only an hour long. I took the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), and made it there in plenty of time. Ate some Subway, and then checked out the Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral). It is so beautiful!

On the way down the cathedral steps back to the train station, I noticed a normal-looking, 30-something guy in a little ways in front of me had fallen down and was spasming a little. I assumed he was having a seizure or something, but I wasn't sure. He wasn't moving anymore, and was entirely blue with his eyes glazed over and gazing in different directions. He had a guy with him who was trying to help him, and finally two police women rushed over to resuscitate him. They did CPR and artificial breathing until the ambulance rushed to the scene and the EMCs took over. They gave him an IV and were working on him for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, I had nothing better to do that watch them as much as possible.

Of course, crowds started forming. The police woman told people, "Gehen Sie bitte weiter, danke schön" (Keep moving please, thank you) and "Hier gibt's nichts zu sehen!" (There's nothing to see here!). I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, and managed to avoid being chased away by blending in to other areas and avoiding eye contact. My plan was to say I was supposed to meet someone there on the steps if they approached me. Anyway, finally they gave up...the guy was dead. They closed his eyes and covered him with a white sheet. The guy was completely stiff...a total goner.

Eventually one of the policemen noticed that I was suspiciously still hanging around, or loitering, if you will. The policelady was still yelling at people to go away, and the policeman came up to me and said, "Sie auch" (you too). I immediately said ok, not wanting to get in trouble with the law on the first day of my grant.

I've never seen someone die before my very eyes before. It was surreal, especially because he was so young. I'm guessing he had an aneurism or something. It just really makes you think...that could happen to anyone. We are all so fragile!

Strangers in Germany

The thing I miss most about Montana right now is the way strangers react to each other.

At home, when you see someone you don't know and you are relatively close to them, you make eye contact and smile. Makes the situation less akward and both parties walk away feeling a little brighter. Well, in Germany, that doesn't appear to be the case (at least from my personal experience). People go out of their way to avoid acknowledging your presence on the street, on the train, in stores or restaurants, etc. Everybody seems to be walking around with blinders on so that everyone else is blurry and non-existent. That is, unless they recongnize you out of the corner of their eye as a friend.

If you happen to actually make eye contact with someone, they will stare at you, dead serious. If you smile, they continue to stare, dead serious. There are only two ways to end this horrible occurance: a) you have to look away first, or b) the other person blinks out of physical necessity or gets bored with you. That's it.

NEVER TRY TO OUTSTARE A GERMAN. Your eyes will bleed. They always win.

I just don't understand why people have to be so cold to people they don't know. It's not even just in the big cities like Berlin; this happens everywhere. Walking around trying to fit in to the culture by acting and looking so serious actually puts me in a bad mood sometimes.

The purpose of this entry isn't to make the German people out to be mean, because that's definitely not the case. I have met a lot of extremely nice, friendly, and incredibly generous Germans once I got to know them. The key is appropriate timing and being as polite and non-intrusive as possible.

That being said, I miss driving down the road at home waving or waving back at other cars. I don't expect that level of friendliness here, but a smile once in a while would be nice.

Exploring Berlin

Well, it's been a long time since I've updated my blog, so I suppose it's time for a new post before I forget everything!!

After settling in to my apartment in Neuenhagen, I spent a few days of last week exploring Berlin. I spent most of my time near Alexanderplatz (Alexander Plaza) and Unter den Linden (a famous street that includes to the Brandenburg Gate). This is in the heart of the city. There is a huge shopping mall here called Alexa, which has 4 or 5 levels, I'm not sure...all I know is that it's huge! I finally got my surf stick for internet there, as well as some other necessities like extension cords, power converters, measuring cups, a DVD player and some DVDS (like That 70's Show!), a hair dryer, etc. at this 4-story electonics store called MediaMarkt.

After waiting in line for what seemed like an eternity, I got to the register. The lady scanned everything, and the total was 140 Euro-ish. No problem, EXCEPT THEY DON'T ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS! What the crap? Am I the only one who sees the irony in this? Long story short, I had to run to the ATM and get some cash. Lame.

I also spent a total of 2 days going through the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum). It was awesome! I couldn't believe how much information they had there. The first day I got there around 3, and by closing at 6 I was only through WWI...and that was with me rushing me a LOT. The next day it took me about 5-1/2 hours to get through the consequences of the war, the Great Depression and the development of the National Socialist (Nazi) party, WWII, the Cold War and the separation of East and West Germany, and the reunification. So much information! I loved it though. :)

I also went through the Berliner Dom (a big beautiful church). Everything was so... fancy. The weirdest, and arguably the most interesting, part of churches in Europe is that when someone important dies, like a priest or royalty of some sort, they aren't buried in a cemetery like "normal" people. Rather, they are kept inside the church either in an ornate casket, or sealed in the walls of the crypt downstairs. At the Berliner Dom, there were some extremely ornate, solid gold caskets with beautiful figures and designs. These were for a king and his queen. Then, downstairs, there is a huge area full of about 100 caskets dating from the 1500s to the 1900s of royalty and other nobility. The bodies aren't on display, but it is still pretty eerie.

Then I walked under the Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) just for the heck of it. It was kind of cool I guess, just because so much history went down there.

I also practiced getting to the airport from my house, timing myself to be prepared for when I have to fly to Cologne next week for orientation. I have to take the S-Bahn (the city-wide network of trains), switching trains once, and then catch the bus up there. All in all it takes about an hour and a half.

I'm happy to report that I now have absolutely no more fear of the train system in Berlin. Woohoo! I still need a little work with the regional and country-wide trains, though...

Yeah. I'm hoping to add some pictures to this blog soon.

Adjusting to New Surroundings

I got back to Eisenhüttenstadt on Saturday the 21st (the night before my 22nd birthday). Nicole and her parents set up a grill party to celebrate, and invited some friends and neighbors over for my birthday gathering. The food was awesome! Nicole’s dad Peter grilled up some marinated steak and chicken…my mouth is watering just thinking about it. After we ate, I asked the neighbor woman about their trip to Sweden, and it was like opening a can of worms…she was so excited to tell me EVERYTHING about Sweden! This information may come in handy when I visit Margie. I generally enjoy these sort of one-sided conversations at this point, where I just get to listen and say, “Ja”, “Ok”, “Super!”, or smile and nod.

Afterward, Nicole, her bf Adrian, another girl and I went to a fireworks display near the canal. It was awesome…and I especially enjoyed the part where Beethoven was playing in the background. Then we watched YouTube videos and I showed them The Onion. However, the subtleties that make The Onion awesome may have been lost in translation…

The next day, my birthday, I opened gifts before eating plum torte cake with the Edels and Adrian. We then went to a street fair and then walked around near the river before taking off to my new home in Neuenhagen. Once we got there, we drove around town a bit so I could get the sense of where the school is, where the grocery store and S-Bahn is, etc.

The house I’m staying in is totally German (no surprise there, hahaha). It’s very quaint, and my apartment is upstairs, nice and cozy. Everything has a orange theme, so it’s a little like living in the 70s. There’s a big picture of a jolly Italian man playing the violin on the wall, who smilingly reminds me to practice. I also have cable tv, a refridgerator/freezer, a toaster, my own bathroom, and all necessary furniture (including two 50s’ style twin beds that married couples used to have, like Lucy and Ricky). It’s nice to know that I have somewhere for a guest to sleep in case someone wanted to stay with me. In the meantime, my 2nd bed is going to be the couch.

One major drawback is that I have no internet here. At all. No wireless, no cable hookups, nothing. I need a prepaid/no-contract surf stick, which I discovered can only be found in Berlin.

My landlady, Frau Wassmannsdorf, is super nice. She’s probably about 75 years old, can’t speak a word of English, and lovingly checks on me like a true grandmother. She even makes my bed, does my dishes, and empties my trash every day, even though I told her that she didn’t have to. I have decided that in return, my gesture of gratitude will be giving her all of my recyclables that she can get rebates for. Yay for friendly cohabitation!

Frau W. is also letting me use her old bike that she used to ride when she was younger. It’s maroon, about 50 years old, and has a horn. Generally, I feel like a badass when I ride it (except for the times that I occasionally lose my balance). I asked her if she had a lock for it, and she said, “That thing is so old there’s no way anyone would want to steal it. Hahaha!” The next day her husband got me a lock.

After Frau W. turned the bike over to me, I decided to do a little exploring all by myself for the first time ever. I took my backpack and a book bag and rode to the grocery store (in most cases, you have to bring your own bags to the store). Grocery shopping in Germany is interesting, because 95% of the labels are unfamiliar (plus, they eat stuff like “Quark”, which is blended up cottage cheese). Also, all the drinks are separate in “drink markets”, and personal items like shampoo are generally only sold in pharmacies or specialty shops. Nothing is bought in bulk. It takes a little getting used to. I won’t lie, I miss Walmart and Costco, but I’ll live.

I could barely shove all of my groceries into my bags, but luckily I managed. The hard part was getting back on the bike with all that crap to carry. Luckily, I avoided any accidents and found my way home, safe and sound.

The next day, with a instruction from Herr W. ( Frau W.’s husband), I was able to ride my bike to the S-Bahn, get a ticket, and ride to Alexanderplatz (a major market/attraction area) in Beriln all by myself!! I went to this massive mall, found an electronics store, and asked about the surf stick. Only problem was, I didn’t have my passport for an ID, or a proof of residency. Oh well. After hanging around a bit, I successfully found my way home. Woohoo! I feel like a tiny child slowly learning how to tie my own shoelaces.

Visit to Julia's

For the last 2 weeks or so I have been in Bavaria (southern Germany) with my good friend Julia. It was a blast! We did something interesting every day, so there is a lot to share.

On the first day, Julia took me to the famous Neuschwanstein castle (the one that the Disney castle was modeled after). The drive there was beautiful…Bavaria is full of lush green grass and gorgeous mountain ranges. We were lucky that the weather was good. However, once we got there, we found ourselves in the total chaos of international tourists…EVERYWHERE. Because we didn’t get there when it first opened, we weren’t able to get tickets to go inside Neuschwanstein, but we did get to go into the “sister castle” Hohenschwangau that’s right next to it. It was unbelievably gaudy and glamorous, and it had the most amazing views toward the lake and mountains. I wished I could have stood there at that window forever!

I hate tourists. (I can say that now without being TOO hypocritical, seeing as I have a visa and am a semi-citizen of Germany…just saying). Especially the tourists with fanny packs, cameras around their necks, hawaiian shirts, tan shorts, and sunglasses. Yes, there were many of these stereotypical tourists here. I also know now (one of the reasons) why Americans have such a bad reputation…There were several really obnoxious Americans that thought the world revolved around them, leaving garbage behind and yelling across the street at each other. Why do idiots like that have to make traveling abroad so hard for the rest of us?

The next day, I almost died on a 4-hourish bike tour around the region that Julia lives in. Things like that make me even more aware of how horribly out of shape I am, at least in the strength/endurance area. I had to stop and rest so many times, it was embarrassing. It amazed me how Julia could just keep riding and riding without stopping or even getting out of breath, while I was passed by an 80-year-old man. Anyway, our ride was awesome…there were so many things to see! Along the way, we stopped for a swim in the lake. I brought my swimming suit along, but there was no where to change, forcing me to do so in public (no big deal in Europe). AHH!!! AKWARD!!!

Julia also took me to Salzburg, Austria one day. It was pretty cool to see where Mozart was born/lived, even if only from the outside. We did a little shopping in the old part of the city, had some lunch, checked out some old churches, and literally CLIMBED A FREAKING MOUNTAIN to the huge castle in the middle of the city. Awesome!

I have never seen such massive snails and slugs in my entire life as the ones I have seen in southern Germany. They are disgusting! Generally, the slugs are about the size of a large lipstick container, while the snails with their shells are even bigger.

Being the simple Montana girl that I am, the idea of mass public transporation scares the crap out of me. Julia was kind enough to teach me the way of the S-Bahn, a subway type deal that runs above ground. So much to learn! We rode it to Munich, did some shopping, watched the glockenspiel (a cool bell thing with little dancing puppets that goes off every 3 hours), and toured the Frauenkirche (womens’ church). The thought of taking the S-Bahn by myself is still a scary thought, though…

I also experienced my first German movie theater adventure in Rosenheim when Julia and I went to “Kiss und Kill” (aka “Killers” with Ashton Kutcher). Watching movies that are redone in German is strange…everyone’s voices are different, and the language doesn’t match the culture in the movie. Later, we also watched “Letters to Juliet”.

The indoor swimming/sauna place here is awesome…there are so many pools, inside and out! One of the pools had music that you could only hear underwater. Another had waves and a current that swirled around like a whirlpool. Wish we had something like that back home. Maybe someday.

After two weeks of being in Bavaria, I can finally understand a little “Bairisch”, the local dialect. At least, I now know it isn’t some kind of wacky French. ;)
At the end of my stay, I caught a ride back to Eisenhüttenstadt with another random person from the internet, who seemed to be pretty nice. Again, not a rapist/serial killer. That’s pretty much my only standard.

Wanna feel like a 4-year-old again? Move to a foreign country!

Hello! A new blog entry is long overdue.

My first week was spent with Nicole and her parents in Eisenhüttenstadt. We had quite a bit of fun just hanging around. I have been talking in German pretty much since I got here, which has been a challenge, but I seem to understand people fairly well and can get my point across when I say something. I'm sure I sound like Borat when I talk, but that's ok. Yeckshamage! (Double thumbs up!)

Nicole's mom Sonja, a high school government/politics teacher, has been teaching me school words and phrases so I'll be more prepared for work. She's also teaching me about the different methods they use, which is important so I don't step on anyone's toes. I am so greatful for all her help!

It is so hard to write this right now because I have barely used any English in the last 2 weeks. It is such a weird feeling to know that you know how to say or write something, but you just can't make the connection any more unless you really try. I can only imagine what it's going to be like after a year. The people at home that I have talked to on the phone say I sound different somehow...and talk a little slower. Makes sense, because I'm trying to remember stupid little words that seem to have escaped me. Oh well. I'm going to have to freshen up my English before teaching it at the school....

My luggage finally arrived about 4 days after I got there, which was a relief...I was starting to wonder if it really did land in Istanbul like Nicole's dad thought. Luckily everything was fine, other than a few feather-shaped suckers I brought along for the kids (they were totally kaputt).

Nicole helped me get a cell phone, so I feel a little more connected to society again. Sonja let me use her old phone, so luckily I only had to buy a SIM card and not a phone. I have a prepaid phone card, which makes things easy, and it only costs 5 Eurocents per minute to call home (about 7 American cents). However, I'm trying to be careful with how much I use it.

I finally got to meet Adrian, Nicole's boyfriend for the last 3 1/2 years. He is so fun! They are a really cute couple and I hope they stay together forever! Anyway, we hung out quite a bit. One night we went out for pizza and then afterwards went to C'est La Vie, a cozy little bar. We spent most of the time teaching each other random things, like tongue twisters and how we write our letters.

At one point, we passed a bunch of douche bags that were ready to party right in the middle of the street. After I told them that these guys looked like douche bags, the question, ''What's a douche bag?'' came up. Explaining precisely what a douche bag is is a little hard. A douche bag isn't really an idiot, and it's not really an complete jerk either. It's something in between; something you learn in context. My best explanation was, ''Think of David Hasselhoff.''

''OHHHHH!!!!!! Alles klar.'' Hahaha.

I have never heard so much Rammstein (a German rock band) in my entire life as I have in the last couple of weeks. Hahaha. It's great though, because now I understand almost everything they are saying.

There is a great carpooling website here that lets you find people going in a certain direction that you can ride with for a small price. Because I am visiting my friend Julia in Bavaria , Nicole found a guy for me to ride with to Munich. He had a whole car full of other random strangers. Luckily, this guy wasn't a serial rapist/killer psychopath that I would need to hose down with bear spray...in fact, he looked and acted a lot like Matt Damon. I kept expecting him to break out some sweet Jason Bourne moves, but unfortunately that never happened. Oh well.

On the autobahn, there are 3 speeds: fast, faster, and fastest. We were in the fastest lane for almost the entire trip. I had no idea that cars could almost literally FLY. And of course, I had the middle seat in the back, as always. 120-125 mph. I've never been so religious (or nauseous) in my entire life as I was for those 6 hours.

So Matt Damon was supposed to take me to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), but dropped me off in some random place in Munich instead because everyone else was getting out there. I said, ''Wait, aren't you taking me to the Hauptbahnhof?'' He said no, I could just take the subway there, and then drove off. Huh? Subway? Like the sandwich place?

So I was lost in Munich. Wonderful. I called Julia with my new cell phone, and told her I wasn't at the Hauptbahnhof. So she said, ''Where are you?'' I said I had no idea. Near some tracks and some stairs...? The street had no name. Finally, I found a bus stop that said, ''Donnersbergerbrücke.'' Unfortunately, between my American pronunciation, poor reception, and the thick traffic in the background, she didn't recognize the name. Luckily, after an hour or so and repeating the name about 9 times, we finally made the connection.

She found me. Thank God she found me.

More on my stay with Julia in the next entry.

The Journey to Germany (say that 10 times fast...)

Hello everyone!

It has been too long since I wrote my last entry, because I have a lot to catch you up on. :P

In May and June I stayed in Bozeman to tutor and enjoy the scenery a bit longer. I'm really glad that I had the chance to stick around a bit more because I knew I would definitely miss it when I left. The tutoring business was really slow in May (ie, nonexistent), but it really picked up in June, allowing me to save some money for my year away.

On July 1st I moved home to Billings to spend my last month in the US with my mom and other friends/family. It went by extremely fast...we went on a few small trips, ran errands, hung around a bit, and suddenly it was the my last week. I got my mom an adorable kitty named Meow-Meow, and she is unbelievably sweet!! I wish I could have taken her all for myself...hehehe.

Before leaving I also had a chance to meet some new family on my dad's side. They are all such great people and I feel so lucky! My aunt Helen and her husband Joseph gave me a sapphire ring to remind me of them while I'm away. It was really sweet.

My mom and I took one last trip together (Meow Meow in tow) before I left in one big circle: Thermopolis, Meteetsee, Cody, Yellowstone, West Yellowstone, Ennis, Virginia City, Townsend for the rodeo, then back to Billings. We had a pretty good time.

On August 1st, my family and I had one last going-away party in Columbus at the 307. It was nice to see them once again before leaving for a whole year. Afterward, we rushed back to Billings so that I could set up video chat on the computer, buy some last minute items, run a few last minute errands, and PACK! I was up until 2am.

My mom and I met my aunt Sandra at the airport around 9 in the morning, since my flight to Denver was supposed to leave at 10:19. However, we found out that this flight was CANCELLED. They tried to get me on another flight at 12:30, but it was full...the soonest was a flight at 3:00 that was running 3 hours late. Needless to say, I was in a state of panic, because it takes an hour and 40 minutes to get to Denver, and my flight to London left at 8:15. This left approximately 20 minutes for me to get off the plane, get my boarding pass, and board the other. Yeahhh...

It was nice to have some extra time together though.

My two rolling suitcases that I checked were going straight to London, so I didn't have to worry about those...until later. I made it to my gate in Denver just in the nick of time. Phew.. Onward to London. I sat next to a really sweet Danish girl on the airplane, and we hit it off right away. We talked and played games until we fell asleep and landed. We went through security together, and asked someone about our luggage. A woman told us that mine would be transfered directly to the plane to Berlin, and I didn't have to worry about it yet. We ate lunch and parted ways.

The flight to Berlin went fine except for the SCREAMING BABY right behind me. Ughh..so much for sleeping. We made it there on time, and Nicole and her dad were waiting for me right where I could see them. Perfect. Now for the luggage. I stood there and waited....and waited...and waited. Soon I was the last person there, and no more luggage came out. It was lost...every traveler's nightmare. We had to go file a report, and this was my first German-speaking challenge. Luckily the man and I could make out what each other was saying, and now I just have to wait.

That night I slept for 13 hours. I think I'm used to their time now. We have been having a pretty good time, and I'm trying really hard to speak in German. I know that I totally sound like Borat to them and they probably think I'm "slow" or something, hahaha. Oh well! So far, I haven't had much trouble understanding what they are saying. We have eaten out a few times, driven around their "village", checked out their schools, gone shopping, and horse riding. So far, so gut.

If only the luggage would get here..!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new blog. This will generally be the avenue through which I share stories, pictures, and other information with my friends and family back home.

Back in September, I applied for a Fulbright scholarship on a whim after my good friend Margie Nicholson convinced me to do so, who was also in the process of applying for a Fulbright to study neuroscience in Sweden at the University of Goettingen. I had approximately 3 weeks to get everything together, which consisted of 3 letters of recommendation, a German language proficiency evaluation, an official transcript, a completed 9-page application, and write a grant proposal and curriculum vitae (or "personal statement"). The process was daunting, and took over my life at that point. After the Fulbright committee accepted me, my application was sent off to Bonn, Germany to be evaluated by the German commission. I also had to translate my grant proposal and cv into German, a massive project for me that took approximately 48 hours to complete. Luckily, with the help of my editors, Julia Straßberger and Karoline Krauss, the documents came across strong and officially landed me the position.

Back in April, I was notified that I would be teaching English and conducting my math research at the Einstein Gymnasium in Neuenhagen bei Berlin, a "village" in the state of Brandenburg (which surrounds the city-state of Berlin). There are 3 or 4 different types of secondary schools in Germany, and a "Gymnasium" is generally the honors-track version geared for university-bound students. It should be an interesting experience.

I will be leaving Billings on August 2nd, a month early to visit friends and become reacquainted with a German-speaking environment before a 3-day orientation in Altenburg (near Cologne).

I hope to update this blog at least once a week with new information. Hope you enjoy!

Here are some links to my articles/publications:
http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=8547
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/education/article_57fd70ea-6d3d-11df-9ee2-001cc4c002e0.html