Tue, Jul 29th 2008, 06:29
Mid-August will mark the one year anniversary of my arrival in Germany. I would like to think that I have learned a lot during that year. Perhaps not everything that I set out to learn, but many unexpected things about myself, my country, and different people.
One of the biggest hurdles has been adjusting to the people. At first I just assumed that most of them were rude, but now I realize it may be more complicated than that. There are many instances where I am now no longer sure if it is a case of "Jerk or German", which I joked with Mike would be a good name for a quiz show on the topic:
Brutal Honesty. At first I thought it was really rude when someone would tell you that they did not like your clothing or your cooking, but now I am starting to think that people are just a lot more direct here. Be careful when you ask someone for their opinion, because I don't think "little white lies" are very popular or well-known here. Their opinion will often come in the form of unsolicited advice, which I address later on. I cannot tell you how many people have informed me that my room stinks and I need to open the windows (Germans are obsessed with fresh air and obsessive window opening and shutting) or that I need to stop drinking soda or go for more walks outside. I am sure they mean well, but I am just not used to it.
Staring. Is it just me, or do many Europeans have no problem with staring you down? This makes me incredibly uncomfortable and I usually try to avoid making eye contact with people, but Mike tells me the only way to beat it is to stare back.
Dispensing Free Advice. Personally, I am not interested in hearing how other people think I should live my life, so I was really put off by all of the people telling me I should do this or do that. I think in the U.S. we value our independence and don't like being told what to do, so I do not respond to this very well and often react by thinking, "Why don't these people mind their own business?" Never in my life have I had so many people disapproving of my diet, hobbys, and social life, among many other things. It is probably a good thing, but in the U.S. I do not remember feeling so judged for drinking a Cola at lunch or for wanting to stay inside at my computer when the sun is shining. I'm sorry, I come from Arizona, where the sun almost always shines, so I may take it a little bit for granted.
Argumentative. I have had a few Germans argue with me just for the sake of arguing, it seemed. They have no problem disagreeing, and they will often flat out tell you that you are wrong. Maybe it's just me, but I think in the U.S. if we disagree we try to do it politely. Atleast I am not in the practice of telling people they are wrong directly or in eagerly continuing an argument just for the sake of it.
Recently I have started to worry that I am forming false opinions of people based on these types of behavior. I often interpret them as being rude, so I am having a really hard time deciding if a person is being a jerk or just a German. Definitely something I need to work on.
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Fri, Jul 25th 2008, 13:09
I have been neglecting my blog, and so now I will ambush you all with a super long post full of pictures.
I have been pretty occupied ever since we moved into our new apartment and I started taking German classes again. I go to class from 10am to 3pm four days a week. I have to say that I feel like I have made more progress in German in these last three weeks than I have the entire time I've been here.
I am dreaming in German, talking to Penny in German, and yes, even Mike and I are finally speaking some German together.
We went to the Museum Night in Dresden a while back. They sold one ticket that gave you entrance to all of the many museums in Dresden for the night. Unfortunately we got a late start, and the Biergartens slowed us down a bit, so we didn't see very many museums.
But I did get to take some cool night-time pictures of Dresden.
I also finally went to Meissen on a trip with my class. Meissen is also on the Elbe River, and is well known for its Meissen Porcelain Manufacture, the Albrechtsburg, and the Cathedral.
We went into the Meissen Porcelain Museum and saw hundreds of porcelain pieces that were all hand made. They were gorgeous and very expensive. In the shop they sold second-tier items that had tiny flaws for a little less (a little less being only a few hundred euros for a tea cup). Maybe if they had fifth-tier items I could afford those.
We got to tour the Albrechtsburg which is an old castle that was built up on a hill for protection, and the Cathedral, which is one of the smallest in Europe because it had to fit on the hilltop.
Both were very gorgeous with high vaulted ceilings and murals. (This picture I submitted to Exposaroonie's Challenge this week.
I am always so amazed at these old buildings and how much work it must have taken to build them without modern day machinery! They must have been truly awe-inspiring to see back then, even more so than today.
My final bit of news is that on Thursday we decided to take the train to Berlin and see Obama speak at the Siegessäule (Victory Column).
Maybe you had not heard, but there was some controversy over where he would speak. Some thought the Brandenberg Gate was too important for a candidate to speak at, so he ended up speaking at the column which is to commemorate the Prussian Victory in the Danish-Prussian War.
This choice is being criticized by some because they say it is associated with Hitler, but I say, it is probably hard to find something that isn't.
Anyways, over 200,000 people showed up to hear Obama speak. The crowds were crazy. We waited about an hour in a crowd where we were crammed together like cattle and I literally could not move. The problem was that there were too few metal detectors and it took forever to get through them.
When we finally did get through we were just in time for the speech to begin. But there were so many people that I couldn't even see Obama unless Mike lifted me up, and then he was pretty far away. We got some pictures and Mike held me up for a few minutes.
After that we were just exhausted from the ordeal getting in so we sat down and enjoyed the speech.
Obama is truly a good orator. He mostly spoke about the need for world cooperation. In an increasingly globalized world, we all need to put our differences aside and learn to work together!
I have had an action packed few weeks, so I think I will have a quiet, laid back weekend. But I'm glad we decided to go to Berlin, even though it was last minute. I think it would have been dumb not to go see something as historic as that when it is so close.
As usual, if you'd like to see more pictures you can check out my photo albums.
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Fri, Jul 4th 2008, 13:18
I just entered a photo for the challenge at Exposaroonie.
This is a web site that encourages people of all skill-levels to take pictures and submit them in their weekly challenges. Occasionally they have prizes.
The theme this time was Vintage. I'm not completely thrilled with my submission, but I figured I'd give it a try anyways.
Yeah, not so vintage, but oh well.
I would like to try to submit one again soon, except that the next one is a patriotic challenge, and I'm pretty sure they intended it to be American for the 4th of July and not German, so that should be tricky. But maybe I will think of something creative.
Check out the website and vote for your favorite submission. It doesn't have to be me, since there were so many better pictures submitted. Maybe you can even submit one yourself!
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Fri, Jul 4th 2008, 03:42
Sometime on Tuesday afternoon, I realized that Elton John was playing a concert in Leipzig (which is about an hour away) this Thursday night (July 3rd).
I soon discovered that the concert was sold out, but that there were tickets on Ebay. Of course I couldn't understand Ebay in German, so I called Mike in and asked what he thought.
He said something to the effect of, "That's two days away, no."
But I had my little heart set on seeing Elton John and I started playing "Tiny Dancer" on repeat.
Mike finally realized that I really wanted to go, and so we tried to bid on some tickets. The first seller ignored our requests to pick up the tickets in Dresden, and he mailed them to Markersdorf, making it impossible for us to get them before Thursday.
This made Tessa sad, so we bid on some different tickets that we could pick up outside of the entrance on Thursday night.
Mike kept reminding me that the tickets could be fake or that the guy might not show up with them, but I was excited, none the less.
The afternoon before, as I was listening to "Candle in the Wind", I began to worry. What if it really does go wrong? Or what if the concert is lame, and Mike is bored, and it's all my fault?
Well, I shouldn't have been so silly because Elton John is awesome. Even though apparently, in Germany, he is not as famous as he is in the U.S. Mike told me he is well known for his Princess Diana version of "Candle in the Wind".
"But haven't you heard of "Benny and the Jets", "Crocodile Rock", or "Your Song?"
"My song?
"No, "Your Song"!
Sometimes I am really quite shocked by the differences in our musical tastes.
On the car ride there we started seeing grey clouds and heard on the radio that there was a weather warning for a storm in West Saxony, exactly where we were headed.
When we got to the concert, we found the man almost immediately, got our tickets, and got in. It all went very smoothly.
Our seats were not amazing, but that's what you get for barely paying half price for them. I could still see the huge screen, so I figured it would be okay until people started standing up, and then my height deficiencies would come into play.
Elton came on stage with his band and started with some song I don't know. Then he played, ahem, The B*tch is Back, and another one I didn't know. So far the concert was pretty tame. People were sitting, talking, and smoking (how rude!) as Elton played.
Finally Elton played "Tiny Dancer" and dedicated it to all the ladies. I thought, surely now everyone will get excited? But nobody seemed to even know the song.
I happily sang along to one of my favorite Elton songs, but began to wonder why some of these people even came to see it.
Elton played more songs, like "Levon", "Honkey Cat", "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", and "Rocket Man". But still, not much enthusiasm. I was very surprised, because Rocket Man is quite a popular song in the U.S., I think.
Finally, Elton started playing "Sacrifice", which is just okay for me. And all of a sudden people started cheering and a crowd rushed the stage.
I couldn't believe it, but apparently everyone knew this song, even though I just vaguely remembered it as some song from the 90's. They also seemed to really like "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me".
I asked Mike if we should go rush the stage, too, and he said yes, so we pushed our way up there, and got fairly close.
This is when the concert got really fun. Everyone was dancing (although there wasn't much singing since no one knew the words), and having fun. I was so close to Elton that I could see him and take his picture.
Mike and I danced while Elton played songs like "Crocodile Rock", "Benny and the Jets", and "Candle in the Wind".
Finally came the encore, and I knew that he absolutely had to play "Your Song", or I would be sorely disappointed. And he did. I was actually surprised when he came on and played "Pinball Wizard" as well.
Elton John was a lot of fun. He made me laugh with his facial expressions, and he really put on a good show. And it didn't rain, too much.
While we were there I saw posters for a concert on July 14th with Billy Idol. Now that I've got concert fever, who wants to go with me? Mike doesn't seem that interested!
I only included a few pictures of the concert, because I didn't want to bore those of you who aren't really interested. But if you are, there is an album with more here.
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Wed, Jul 2nd 2008, 03:48
I finally am getting around to editing and uploading some of the photos I scanned while I was in Arizona.
I may not have mentioned it before, but I undertook the huge task of scanning all of my mother's photos. I did half of them last summer, and the other half during the week I stayed with them in May.
So, here are some photos taken while I was in Arizona in May with my family.
This is my Granana
We have a strange family tradition of wearing funny hats while playing games. This is my dad and my brothers. We played Mexican Train Dominoes and Cranium.
My brothers and I the night of Nathaniel's high school grad. Would have been a great picture if he kept his eyes open!
Kampfkatze
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