Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Bitte, Entschuldigen Sie die Chaos!
Dear Home,
I'm here! After a 9 hour flight, a very short trip on public transport, and about an hour and a half wandering through a small German village, I made it to my final destination. The title of this blog is a sign that I found whilst wandering and it seemed fitting of my current situation. It means, "Please excuse the chaos!" and the sign was a humorous posting outside of a yard with childrens' toys in it. However when I found it, it was just too ironic to be taken as coincidence.
So here's how it went down. Today is officially the 30th of June and it is about 5:15 p.m. in Germany which means it is about 10:15 a.m. in the States. Dad dropped me off at the airport "yesterday" on the 29th at 3:15 p.m. (Chicago time). The flight went well. I met a very nice young German couple traveling with a baby and a business woman who works with Abbott Diagnostics in Frankfurt. The woman was very helpful in helping my practice German and was very interested in my project. (Big confidence boost when she complimented my speaking skills.)
On the plane, my seat was the 2nd to last row (window seat) in a 62 row plane (Boeing 747). I was glad to be in the way back because the seats had more room and we were near a place to stand and stretch your legs. My seat mate was a woman traveling with her two kids and husband back home to Germany. They are American and lived in Alaska for a long time but her husband got transferred to a military base near Frankfurt. She was very nice and we talked about a lot of stuff.
The flight wasn't horrible but anytime I go up that high, hands, feet and jaw start to swell and I can always feel the remnants of my surgery a few years ago. Not horrible just uncomfortable.
We landed in Frankfurt at about 9 a.m. German time and the weather was very beautiful. Sunny skies and about 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
I took the train from the Airport to Mühlheim which was easy enough to navigate once a made sure that the train I bought a ticket for did indeed get to the little town. Mühlheim is a small suburb of Frankfurt. And I mean small. It is quaint and has nice streets and shops but I knew right away that if I were to live in Germany in would not be here. Frankfurt is definitely more my style.
So I got off the train and had the option of turning to go to the left side of the tracks or the right side. I chose the left. I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere so I didn't stop to ask for directions to Mainstraße, which is the street where my apartment is. As I'm walking, I notice that the streets are becoming more and more industrial looking and less and less "Altstadt-y" which is what I wanted. After about a half hour, I decide that I probably am not going to find Mainstraße by myself and should probably ask someone. I asked a police officer who was very helpful, some locals at a pastry shop who didn't even think the street existed but were nice all the same, and an auto-dealership man who was the final boost I needed to realize that Mainstraße was all the way on the OTHER side of the train tracks.
Hooray! So another half hour later I found myself in the Old town. (Keep in mind that it is about 80 degrees now, the sun is directly over head, I'm carrying all of my luggage which is very heavy and wearing a sweater for some reason.) It's a bit toasty and I probably looked it.
So I'm walking through Old Town and I make note of all the Bakeries and Markets that I find so that I can come and get groceries later. A few locals with directions later and I find myself at the apartment. It is family owned and the lady who runs it, Frau Heiduschka is very nice. She has done a lot to make sure that I am comfortable. Including lending me her adapter when I realized that mine didn't fit in the socket.
After I checked in and unpacked, I immediately took a shower to try and cool off. Then I went shopping. As I'm walking back from the grocery store, I realize that I'm in trouble because 50% of what I bought is beer and wine. It looks like I'm living on Brotchen und Bier for the next week! (Don't worry mom, I did buy sausage, fruit, and yogurt too.) I also stopped at a small cafe for an espresso pick-me-up and Strawberry kuchen. YUMMY!!!
I finally get back and it's about 1:30 p.m. which means that most businesses are closed still for lunch so I can't get an adapter, which at that point I still needed because I hadn't been able to charge my computer to tell my mom that I'm not dead. So I took a nap, only to be awoken by Frau Heiduschka holding her own adapter in her hands. WUNDERBAR! And now I'm hear writing to you all.
In my VERY short time hear I've noticed three things: 1. Germans are generally fairly helpful, especially if you begin by speaking German to them. 2. Germans are generally fairly private. I keep walking past people and giving them the standard Chicago head nod and smile and they look at me like they appreciate it but don't expect it. Except for two young German men that I passed while coming out of the train station. They gave me a very energetic "Morgen!" and looked me up and down. Me thinks they were friendly for a different reason other than pure chivalry. and 3. I love it here! It's very laid back and I can't wait to go into Hanau tomorrow. I think that I will spend tomorrow there and in a few days go to Heidelberg for the day.
That's all for now though!
Tschüs!
Emily
Monday, June 28, 2010
So much to do and so little time...
Dear Home,
Ack! It's now T-minus 29 hours before I leave for Germany. Where, oh where, has my time gone? Not only am I utterly exhausted from this past week in San Diego but over the weekend, I was with my family Emden, IL for a family reunion. Apparently, the theme for this summer is "No Sleep."
So we left off with an update of moving out of Geiger. Alas, I must say that I do miss the square, no-personality room, my residents, and yes, I even miss the Geiger "funk." But on the plus side, next year I am on the North End of campus and even better, I get to move-in at the end of July. Yes, that's right: EMILY HAS A JOB! *trumpet fanfare* I didn't think it was possible with the market being what it is AND the fact that I'm really only available for three weeks, but as it turns out NCC's Summer Language Institute only lasts that long, well, at least my part does.
So for all my Naperville friends, I will be Home sooner than I thought, which, for you, means more "Emily-time." Lol. (Feel free to perform a happy dance.)
Continuing on, the rest of my week at home was spent in blissful relaxation. Although, I have to admit that I HATE having nothing to do, so, of course, I found something to do. RICHTER NUMERO DOS! (I don't know why I do this to myself.) Anyway, the general gist of the project, and keep in mind this will be expanded upon to make my Senior Thesis, surrounds Religion and Culture as they define society, specifically the Catholic Church. I am by no means Catholic or really any other religion, as you may know, but I have always been fascinated with the influence that the Church holds upon, well, the World. Politically, economically, and socially it is a defining factor of European history, at the very least. My hope is to propose a project that would study Catholic architecture (Churches and cathedrals mostly) throughout central Europe. My base cities would be in Munich (Southern Catholic Germany), Paris, Florence/Venice, Rome/Vatican City, and Istanbul. Some may raise eyebrows at the last name but Istanbul, or Constantinople in a previous life, is considered to be a former Christian capital of the world, making it of extreme interest for this project. I would observe the cultural context of the Church, or rather the idea of the Church, within these cities, how the people view or respond to it, and what that could mean for Catholicism in Europe.
As some of you may know, the rates of Atheism in Europe are climbing and while I am a huge proponent for Freedom of Religion, or lack there-of, I have to wonder what an absence of Belief might do to society, positive AND negative consequences.
Anyway, I digress. After spending a thankfully uneventful week at home, the NCC delegation for NACURH 2010 left Naperville for San Diego! For those who don't know, NACURH stands for National Affiliation of College and University Residence Halls. It was gorgeous and fun and we met so many people and made so many inside jokes. RA Training is going to be hilarious. Our advisor (M), the three delegates (SE, SB, and MH) and I got there two days early. We spent the first day at the beach, and walking along the hippie shops which smelled "wonderful." We ate at a hole-in-the-wall diner which was fantastic and had a blast just hanging out. The next day we went to the Zoo which I can honestly say is the best Zoo I have ever been to. My favorite was seeing the golden retriever in the same cage as the cheetah (don't ask). We were very confused by this as you can imagine. My favorite animals were the giraffe and the sloth. They are SO cute.
On Monday, we packed up and headed over to UCSan Diego to check-in. It was great! We saw our good friend MR and the conference went off without a hitch. That night there was some entertainment, and I, involuntarily, took part in it. The hypnotist, Jim Wand, was there and even though I didn't volunteer, I was hypnotized in the audience and told to jump up, scream "watsup" and find another seat in the audience whenever I heard the word NACURH.
An interesting rest of the night followed...
The rest of the conference was filled with fun and games and new friends and old friends.
And we had an early flight out on Thursday morning which not only left us with about 2 hours of sleep in a 36 hour period but also extreme jet lag.
Friday I slept as much as I could, I think around 15 hours, which did not completely cure my exhaustion but it helped for sure. Saturday we left for the family reunion and had a bunch of fun with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin that night. Sunday is the day that I was in a room with 40 people all of whom I'm related to but I don't necessarily know how. Lol. That makes for a good time.
Today as I write this, I am also making a list and checking it twice of all the things I need to pack or buy before I leave tomorrow. I might be just the slightest bit nervous but I am so much more excited to even notice.
I will keep you updated as much as possible.
Miss you all,
Wa chuntay oh gna kay,
Emily
Ack! It's now T-minus 29 hours before I leave for Germany. Where, oh where, has my time gone? Not only am I utterly exhausted from this past week in San Diego but over the weekend, I was with my family Emden, IL for a family reunion. Apparently, the theme for this summer is "No Sleep."
So we left off with an update of moving out of Geiger. Alas, I must say that I do miss the square, no-personality room, my residents, and yes, I even miss the Geiger "funk." But on the plus side, next year I am on the North End of campus and even better, I get to move-in at the end of July. Yes, that's right: EMILY HAS A JOB! *trumpet fanfare* I didn't think it was possible with the market being what it is AND the fact that I'm really only available for three weeks, but as it turns out NCC's Summer Language Institute only lasts that long, well, at least my part does.
So for all my Naperville friends, I will be Home sooner than I thought, which, for you, means more "Emily-time." Lol. (Feel free to perform a happy dance.)
Continuing on, the rest of my week at home was spent in blissful relaxation. Although, I have to admit that I HATE having nothing to do, so, of course, I found something to do. RICHTER NUMERO DOS! (I don't know why I do this to myself.) Anyway, the general gist of the project, and keep in mind this will be expanded upon to make my Senior Thesis, surrounds Religion and Culture as they define society, specifically the Catholic Church. I am by no means Catholic or really any other religion, as you may know, but I have always been fascinated with the influence that the Church holds upon, well, the World. Politically, economically, and socially it is a defining factor of European history, at the very least. My hope is to propose a project that would study Catholic architecture (Churches and cathedrals mostly) throughout central Europe. My base cities would be in Munich (Southern Catholic Germany), Paris, Florence/Venice, Rome/Vatican City, and Istanbul. Some may raise eyebrows at the last name but Istanbul, or Constantinople in a previous life, is considered to be a former Christian capital of the world, making it of extreme interest for this project. I would observe the cultural context of the Church, or rather the idea of the Church, within these cities, how the people view or respond to it, and what that could mean for Catholicism in Europe.
As some of you may know, the rates of Atheism in Europe are climbing and while I am a huge proponent for Freedom of Religion, or lack there-of, I have to wonder what an absence of Belief might do to society, positive AND negative consequences.
Anyway, I digress. After spending a thankfully uneventful week at home, the NCC delegation for NACURH 2010 left Naperville for San Diego! For those who don't know, NACURH stands for National Affiliation of College and University Residence Halls. It was gorgeous and fun and we met so many people and made so many inside jokes. RA Training is going to be hilarious. Our advisor (M), the three delegates (SE, SB, and MH) and I got there two days early. We spent the first day at the beach, and walking along the hippie shops which smelled "wonderful." We ate at a hole-in-the-wall diner which was fantastic and had a blast just hanging out. The next day we went to the Zoo which I can honestly say is the best Zoo I have ever been to. My favorite was seeing the golden retriever in the same cage as the cheetah (don't ask). We were very confused by this as you can imagine. My favorite animals were the giraffe and the sloth. They are SO cute.
On Monday, we packed up and headed over to UCSan Diego to check-in. It was great! We saw our good friend MR and the conference went off without a hitch. That night there was some entertainment, and I, involuntarily, took part in it. The hypnotist, Jim Wand, was there and even though I didn't volunteer, I was hypnotized in the audience and told to jump up, scream "watsup" and find another seat in the audience whenever I heard the word NACURH.
An interesting rest of the night followed...
The rest of the conference was filled with fun and games and new friends and old friends.
And we had an early flight out on Thursday morning which not only left us with about 2 hours of sleep in a 36 hour period but also extreme jet lag.
Friday I slept as much as I could, I think around 15 hours, which did not completely cure my exhaustion but it helped for sure. Saturday we left for the family reunion and had a bunch of fun with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin that night. Sunday is the day that I was in a room with 40 people all of whom I'm related to but I don't necessarily know how. Lol. That makes for a good time.
Today as I write this, I am also making a list and checking it twice of all the things I need to pack or buy before I leave tomorrow. I might be just the slightest bit nervous but I am so much more excited to even notice.
I will keep you updated as much as possible.
Miss you all,
Wa chuntay oh gna kay,
Emily
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Home at Last
Dear Home,
I'm here! Yesterday, after much sweat and blood was expended (yes, I did suffer a most debilitating paper-cut), I was able to move out of the residence hall and head home to try to re-work the laws of physics and space. (I found that the mass and volume of items accumulated throughout the past year surpassed what I had retained through the end of last summer, thus almost doubling my need for space though the amount of space allocated for said items remained the same.) This is why I'm not a physics major.
But I said my goodbyes and saved my hellos for next year. For some reason, I am not as anxious as most others seem to get the ball rolling for the fall. I feel that with the amount of stuff that I have planned, it will be amazing if I even remember the "free time" I DO have planned.
That being said, this week does not allow for much free time at all. I spent the majority of today (after sleeping a solid 13 hours), organizing clothes and getting rid of useless junk that seems to be magnetically drawn to my closet.
Tomorrow I have an eye exam and with that comes new glasses and contacts. Yay!!! I haven't worn contacts in ages simply because they have been the wrong prescription. Tuesday, I believe I get to hang with my girl Kayleigh and we are going to Six Flags!!! Hip hip hooray! A day of fun in hopefully the sun but clouds are cool too.
Then I have blocked out Wednesday for my Richter pre-trip and Thursday is an IRHA/NACURH day. Oh, these organizations which rule my life! And Friday I'm back on campus for one last hoorah before San Diego.
At some point this week, I must find time to get some sun, because I'll be darned if I'm going to be a blinding shade of eggshell on the beach...
Until then,
Wa chuntay oh gna kay
Em
I'm here! Yesterday, after much sweat and blood was expended (yes, I did suffer a most debilitating paper-cut), I was able to move out of the residence hall and head home to try to re-work the laws of physics and space. (I found that the mass and volume of items accumulated throughout the past year surpassed what I had retained through the end of last summer, thus almost doubling my need for space though the amount of space allocated for said items remained the same.) This is why I'm not a physics major.
But I said my goodbyes and saved my hellos for next year. For some reason, I am not as anxious as most others seem to get the ball rolling for the fall. I feel that with the amount of stuff that I have planned, it will be amazing if I even remember the "free time" I DO have planned.
That being said, this week does not allow for much free time at all. I spent the majority of today (after sleeping a solid 13 hours), organizing clothes and getting rid of useless junk that seems to be magnetically drawn to my closet.
Tomorrow I have an eye exam and with that comes new glasses and contacts. Yay!!! I haven't worn contacts in ages simply because they have been the wrong prescription. Tuesday, I believe I get to hang with my girl Kayleigh and we are going to Six Flags!!! Hip hip hooray! A day of fun in hopefully the sun but clouds are cool too.
Then I have blocked out Wednesday for my Richter pre-trip and Thursday is an IRHA/NACURH day. Oh, these organizations which rule my life! And Friday I'm back on campus for one last hoorah before San Diego.
At some point this week, I must find time to get some sun, because I'll be darned if I'm going to be a blinding shade of eggshell on the beach...
Until then,
Wa chuntay oh gna kay
Em
Saturday, June 12, 2010
In the Beginning...
Dear Home,
So this summer is filled with travel and adventures for me and in my somewhat desperate attempt to stay grounded in spirit (though I'm literally and mentally flying in the clouds), I decided to keep a blog for all you folks who might possibly be interested in what I'm doing and I unfortunately don't have time to call every day.
I will post pictures; I will post captions; I will describe in as much detail as I am allowed time for what I am doing. This way I don't have to feel guilty for not sending calling/skyping. And you, whoever you are, can be satiated in your desperate desire to nose into my life. Teehee.
(Don't worry, I'm not THAT vain....at least, all the time.)
So here's the plan.
Finals ended this past Wednesday and while I wait for grades to be posted, I have a few things that I'm finishing up. Tonight was the last day of RA duty and, of course, I held the primary phone. YAY! No worries, though. Nothing happened unless you count the fantastic end of year talks with the other RAs. : )
So next week should be fun as well. Later today is commencement for the seniors and I am carrying the flag of the Netherlands for the graduating senior from that country. I shall try to do so with grace and pride. Then I get to check people out of NCC on the North end of campus and move out around 6 p.m. Then I'm HOME!
I can't express who beautiful an idea that is. Home. *sigh* Just thinking about it makes me happy, hence why I have addressed this post as such.
On Tuesday, my good friend Kayleigh has invited me to stay at her place so I believe the plan is to go to Six Flags. I am very excited for this considering the last time I was at a theme park was Ceder Point in 2004. Fun times, though I did lose my glasses. Oops!
Then I'm back on campus Friday for a job interview as a Summer Language Institute Counselor. Hooray! Wish me luck because this sounds pretty much perfect for me. Starts July 30 and goes right up until before RA training on August 22. I would be staying in the residence halls with the foreign exchange students, helping them adjust to US culture and the like, as well as leading field trips into the city. How much fun does that sound?
Friday night I am staying on campus with the rest of the NACURH delegation before we head off to San Diego!!! I can't believe that it is already that time. Perfect time to go, too. I can just hear Mungo Jerry singing "In the Summertime."
We get back the 24th of June which doesn't leave much time to recover before the family reunion that weekend and then I leave for Germany on the 29th. After a week in Hanau, a week and a half in Kassel and about 3 days in Frankfurt I head home on the 20th of July. 10 days for myself and then (fingers crossed) move back onto campus for SLIC. (See above).
RA training starts on the 24th and this is going to be a good year, I can already tell.
So all of the above is what I intend on keeping a log of, at least until I come back and can tell you in person.
Hopefully, you like it. And I will post again when something exciting happens.
For now,
Wa chuntay oh gna kay
Em
So this summer is filled with travel and adventures for me and in my somewhat desperate attempt to stay grounded in spirit (though I'm literally and mentally flying in the clouds), I decided to keep a blog for all you folks who might possibly be interested in what I'm doing and I unfortunately don't have time to call every day.
I will post pictures; I will post captions; I will describe in as much detail as I am allowed time for what I am doing. This way I don't have to feel guilty for not sending calling/skyping. And you, whoever you are, can be satiated in your desperate desire to nose into my life. Teehee.
(Don't worry, I'm not THAT vain....at least, all the time.)
So here's the plan.
Finals ended this past Wednesday and while I wait for grades to be posted, I have a few things that I'm finishing up. Tonight was the last day of RA duty and, of course, I held the primary phone. YAY! No worries, though. Nothing happened unless you count the fantastic end of year talks with the other RAs. : )
So next week should be fun as well. Later today is commencement for the seniors and I am carrying the flag of the Netherlands for the graduating senior from that country. I shall try to do so with grace and pride. Then I get to check people out of NCC on the North end of campus and move out around 6 p.m. Then I'm HOME!
I can't express who beautiful an idea that is. Home. *sigh* Just thinking about it makes me happy, hence why I have addressed this post as such.
On Tuesday, my good friend Kayleigh has invited me to stay at her place so I believe the plan is to go to Six Flags. I am very excited for this considering the last time I was at a theme park was Ceder Point in 2004. Fun times, though I did lose my glasses. Oops!
Then I'm back on campus Friday for a job interview as a Summer Language Institute Counselor. Hooray! Wish me luck because this sounds pretty much perfect for me. Starts July 30 and goes right up until before RA training on August 22. I would be staying in the residence halls with the foreign exchange students, helping them adjust to US culture and the like, as well as leading field trips into the city. How much fun does that sound?
Friday night I am staying on campus with the rest of the NACURH delegation before we head off to San Diego!!! I can't believe that it is already that time. Perfect time to go, too. I can just hear Mungo Jerry singing "In the Summertime."
We get back the 24th of June which doesn't leave much time to recover before the family reunion that weekend and then I leave for Germany on the 29th. After a week in Hanau, a week and a half in Kassel and about 3 days in Frankfurt I head home on the 20th of July. 10 days for myself and then (fingers crossed) move back onto campus for SLIC. (See above).
RA training starts on the 24th and this is going to be a good year, I can already tell.
So all of the above is what I intend on keeping a log of, at least until I come back and can tell you in person.
Hopefully, you like it. And I will post again when something exciting happens.
For now,
Wa chuntay oh gna kay
Em
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