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Mindy
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| Back in the DDR | Wed, Aug 9th 2006 7:47am |
| So, I had a rather interesting interesting discussion with my co-workers over lunch today. Usually we discuss work-related projects, but today somehow, the subject turned to the DDR. And no, DDR in this case does not stand for "Dance, Dance Revolution", it stands for German Democratic Republic (or Deutsch Demokratische Republik, depending on your mother tongue). It is more commonly known to us as the state that was once called "East Germany". Here´s more on the DDR for the history nerds-- I mean buffs-- among you: Wikipedia: DDR Anyway, the DDR was a Communist state that existed in what is now part of Germany, until 1990. Therefore, most of the people older than me in Germany lived in the DDR or have stories about friends who did. While it wasn´t as bad a communist state as many by several measures (see China under Mao Zedong)it still had it´s share of problems that make for good lunchtime conversation. One of my coworkers began by recounting that in her days at the university, the students all had to harvest potatoes for 4 weeks during the year to earn their keep. Not surprisingly, the cafeteria served potatoes everyday. (Mind you, they don´t have to pay tuition to go to college here, but would you want to dig up potatoes for 4 weeks, only to eat them everyday thereafter?). This anecdote led to a story about shortages that occured. My coworker said that the people living in the DDR had so little trust in their government and rulers, that shortages occured often and panic ran high. There would be a shortage of some item that was fed continually by the general panic. When a store finally got the coveted item in stock, a few people snatched up a 6-month supply of it to store in their basement. Unfortunately, this shortage occured with one of the consumer´s essential but often overlooked hygenic items: toilet paper. The shortage got to be so bad, that my coworker said that she remembers using strips of ripped newspaper instead. Before you smirk, Americans, remember that the same thing could easily happen to us: The Great US Toilet Paper Shortage This prompted another coworker to recount a story of a friend who had lived in the DDR. Having recently remodeled his house, his friend went to buy a toilet in the store. As there were no toilets to be had in the store, the guy actually went to a toilet factory and had someone smuggle out a toilet for him! Enough with the bathroom humor. Automobiles were also hard to come by in the DDR. In order to procure one of the faulty and cheap automobiles produced in the DDR (the only ones that could be bought) there was a waiting list. . .for 10-15 years! My boss at work said that people used to order cars for their babies when they were infants so that they would have a car by the time they were 18! And the lesson of the day is. . . if you live in a communist state, don´t TP your neighbor´s house if you want revenge. You just might be doing them a favor. |
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| Paris Train-ing | Tue, Jun 20th 2006 11:10am |
| Germany´s ICE (Inter-Continental Express) trains are the fastest trains in the country. . when they´re moving. The trouble with these trains is that they´re late 95% of the time (anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours) and they´re crowded. Most of the time when I ride ICE, I´m sitting in a doorway or standing in a hallway. This doesn´t bother me as much as what happened this weekend, however. The plan was for me and Brent to meet in Frankfurt and go to Paris from there. Knowing that ICE trains are perennially late, I found connections for us that got in 20 minutes or 40 minutes before our train to Paris was to depart. Both of our trains were running late, as usual, but since I had a 40 minute connection, the 15 minute delay of my train turned out ok. However, Brent´s train was so late, that it decided not to come to the Frankfurt main station at all, and dropped everyone off at Frankfurt south station, to fend for themselves. Brent somehow managed to find a train to Frankfurt to meet up with me, but the train to Paris was long gone by the time we met up. Looking at the schedule, we realized that all the remaining trains to Paris for the day were night trains. This was bad news, since we were using our Eurail passes for the trip and had only planned to use 2 days of the pass for the trip. Luckily, they let us on a night train for a small ransom of 10€ each. Coming back from Paris was more of a nightmare than arriving. In Germany, I had printed up a schedule for us to return from Paris at 3pm on Sunday (we were to arrive in Frankfurt at 8pm). We got to the train station early and waited over an hour for the train at 3, only to find that we needed reservations to board. With 15 minutes til departure, we ran to make reservations for the train, only to find out that it was sold out. Luckily, it was only a 3 hour wait until the next train. We made reservations for 11€ each to Frankfurt, or so we thought. The man at the counter was hasty in assisting us, and refused to write down the connection for us. The valuable lesson learned was to have written proof of a train connection, preferably an official schedule printed out from the ticket counter. The ´´connection´´ given to us by the man in Paris had us scheduled for a 3 hour layover in Brussels. Brent and I relaxed and got dinner. As the time of departure drew near, we went and searched the departure board for the track number of the train to take us home. I panicked as we searched the board and our connection did not appear. We ran over to the information station, where we were transferred between offices 3 times before finding out that the guy in Paris had given us the wrong connection. There was no train to Frankfurt then, the time we had was for a connection from Cologne to Frankfurt. Apparently, the guy in Paris had neglected to tell us about our connection in Cologne, even when we asked several times. Unfortunately, the next trains to our cities had Brent arriving at 8:30 and me arriving at 10:00 am on Monday morning. Our nearly sleepless night included a cabin of drunken French soccer fans singing songs at 4 am and a border-patrol check that almost resulted in our French/Albanian cabinmate being detained, and a nervous moment when they checked Brent and my Eurail passes. Technically, we should have paid for the night train, since our Eurail passes were marked for the day before. However, due to Brent´s quick-thinking, we got a free train ride. Thinking we were stupid rather than tricky, the fare inspectors ´´fixed´´ our Eurail passes by writing in the ´´correct´´ date. Result: we didn´t have to pay for the night train, except the 10€ seat reservation fee. I don´t really feel bad about this, considering it was the rail company´s fault that we were taking the night train in the first place. We tried to do it the honest way. Results of the weekend: Beautiful pictures and memories of Paris itself, but. . . 35€ per person in reservation fees, 2 sleepless nights aboard night trains that we didn´t plan on taking, essentially 2 lost days due to sleep deprivation and waiting for trains, a newfound hatred for the French train system (remember this name: SNCF). Quote of the weekend: "There sure are a lot of African-Americans in Paris." - Mindy, Paris (I guess there is such a thing as being too politically correct. The correct statement should have been. . ."There sure are a lot of African-French in Paris") :) |
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| Schweiz/Suisse/Switzerland! | Thu, Jun 8th 2006 10:29am |
| Last Friday, Brent and I set off on an adventure to Interlaken Switzerland. After hearing that this city, in the geographic middle of Switzerland, is the capital of adventure sports, as well as an American oasis, we were pumped. With visions of whitewater rafting and canyoning in our heads, we set on the 4.5 hour train ride from Mannheim. Our hostel confirmed what we had heard about the American oasis in Switzerland. English was spoken (as the mother tongue) of almost everyone at the hostel. In fact, fellow hostellers assumed that everyone else staying in the place spoke English as their first language. It´s very strange to be in that environment when you´ve been surrounded by German-speakers for months. Unfortunately, Brent and I didn´t get the death-defying experiences we were hoping for in Interlaken. I was sick, so we decided to shorten our stay and he took care of me. (Thanks Brent :) ). In addition to the inherent danger of canyoning, glacier climbing, whitewater rafting and the other sports offered, it had been unusually cold that week (there was snow in the Black Forest. . .in JUNE!) and we decided that it would be against our better judgment to partake. In spite of this, we had a great time. We went for a hike on a random trail we found, and it ended with a great view of Interlaken, the mountains surrounding the town, and a huge lake that had the prettiest water ever! The name ´´Interlaken´´ means ´between lakes´in German, so the town is situated between two lakes. The area around the town that is not bordered by lakes is bordered by beautiful mountains. The view was awesome and we took lots of pictures. One thing we noticed about Switzerland is that everything is a little more expensive than other places we´ve been so far. That is, everything except for Switzerland´s mountain-fresh spring water (boy do I sound like a commercial). You wouldn´t think free water would make anyone happy, but here in Europe, where you pay for EVERYTHING (no free water or refills in restaurants!), it was great. Along the hiking trail, there were springs where you could fill up your water bottle. It was fantastic. The water was so fresh and cool, and especially appreciated while hiking the mountains. There are no water fountains in Europe (at least, none that we´ve found) so we have gotten used to carrying around water for the day. When you´re walking 10-12 hours a day, you need a lot of water. Hopefully this explains why I was so excited about these things. I´ll try to post pictures as soon as we get them off the camera. I hope to go back to Switzerland someday and try canyoning. Who am I kidding. . I´m going back for the spring water! :) |
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| Statue Park Pictures from Budapest | Wed, Jun 7th 2006 2:19pm |
| Just a quick note: Brent posted photos from Budapest. Go check them out, they´re funny. For (somewhat) of an explanation, see his post about Vienna and Budapest. :) |
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| Ugly Americans. . . | Fri, May 12th 2006 2:54am |
| Here´s a clip from an article I found yesterday on cnn.com: Behavior guide targets 'the ugly American' WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Alarmed by the relentless rise of anti-Americanism around the world, a business-backed group is trying to change the behavior that spawned an enduring stereotype of Americans abroad -- loud, arrogant, ill-dressed, ill-mannered and lacking respect for other cultures. For many years, much of the rest of the world distinguished between the United States and the American people. Americans tended to get better ratings than their country and its policies. But recent surveys show that favorable perceptions of Americans have been shrinking while views on the world's only superpower grow increasingly hostile. Enter Business for Diplomatic Action Inc. (BDA), a non-profit organization founded by advertising executive Keith Reinhard after a worldwide survey of attitudes towards Americans convinced him that "our collective personality is one of the root causes of anti-Americanism." "We are seen as loud, arrogant and completely self-absorbed," said Reinhard, chairman emeritus of the advertising agency DDB Worldwide. "People see in us the ultimate arrogance -- assuming that everybody wants to be like us." Tips for travelers This month, San Francisco-based BDA -- whose board includes executives from Exxon and McDonald's -- began distributing a "World Citizen's Guide" to corporate travelers. Its 16 points are a mirror image of the behavioral patterns that earned Americans a boorish reputation in the first place. Here's a sampler from the guide. Think as big as you like but talk and act smaller. In many countries, any form of boasting is considered rude. Talking about wealth, power or status -- corporate or personal -- can create resentment. Speak lower and slower. In conversation, match your voice level and tonality to the environment and other people. A loud voice is often perceived as bragging. A fast talker can be seen as aggressive and threatening Dress up. You can always dress down. In some countries, casual dress is a sign of disrespect. Check out what is expected and when in doubt, err on the side of the more formal and less casual attire. You can remove a jacket and tie if you are overdressed. But you can't make up for being too casual. Listen at least as much as you talk. By all means, talk about America and your life in the country. But also ask people you're visiting about themselves and their way of life. Listen, and show your interest in how they compare their experiences to yours. Not good at listening "We Americans just don't listen," said BDA's executive director Cari Eggspuehler. "Listening is not an American trait." Eggspuehler traveled the world when she worked for the U.S. Department of State before joining BDA. More than 400 companies have expressed interest in the World Citizens Guide. Ten thousand copies have already been distributed and 30,000 more are now being printed under sponsorship from the National Business Travelers Association which works with BDA to push the initiative. A proposal to the State Department to issue the guide along with every new or renewed U.S. passport is still under review, according to Eggspuehler. The new guide for corporate executives follows similar but more detailed tips for U.S. students traveling abroad. Compiled by BDA and students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, that guide was sponsored by PepsiCo and handed out to more than 200,000 students. An estimated 60 million Americans travel abroad each year and BDA's Reinhard sees all of them as potential ambassadors who might win the hearts and minds of their host countries, no matter how much people there might hate U.S. policies. When word of the new guide first filtered onto Internet discussion groups, some participants were quick to point out that American travelers have no monopoly on boorish behavior. Selling America BDA's campaign follows several unsuccessful attempts by the government to "sell America," including a branding effort led by a high-powered advertising executive, Charlotte Beers. Under her leadership, the State Department's Office for Public Diplomacy produced a series of videos about Muslims thriving in the United States. They were meant to show that the Muslim world had a mistaken image of the United States, but several Arab governments refused to air the videos, branding them propaganda. Before Beers resigned in frustration, two years after taking the job, she told a congressional committee: "The gap between who we are and how we wish to be seen, and how we are in fact seen, is frighteningly wide." This is not a new phenomenon. The term "Ugly American" became part of the popular language with a best-selling 1958 novel of that title. It criticized the blundering behavior of Americans in Southeast Asia and prompted then-President Dwight Eisenhower to reform U.S. aid programs in the region. Beers resigned unexpectedly two weeks before the United States went to war on Iraq -- an act which further tarnished America's image in large parts of the world -- and was replaced by Karen Hughes, a close confidante of President George W. Bush. She has visited several Muslim countries and won largely negative reviews at home and abroad. The Office of Management and Budget, part of the White House, recently rated the public diplomacy program as "not performing." "There is no broad overarching U.S. government public diplomacy strategy," the OMB said. "Because of this lack of a plan, programs such as this one may not be the most effective both in the long and the short term." Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.´´ The original story can be found at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/05/10/usa.ugly.reut/index.html I have a beef with the Ugly American issue. While some Americans travelling abroad certainly are arrogant, loud, or otherwise ignorant of a foreign culture, there are plenty of non-Americans who do this as well. I think that other cultures are just as guilty of these travelling ´´sins´´ as us. Thoughts anyone? |
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| Behind the times | Thu, May 11th 2006 7:52am |
| At times, since I´ve been here, I´ve felt a little how Marty McFly must have felt, when he was suddenly transported from 1985 to 1955. In most ways, Deutschland is very much like the United States, but there have been instances where I felt like I have stepped back in time a few years. Beispiel 1: Internet availability I remember in middle school, when my family first got the Internet (dial-up connection). At that time, because of my unfamiliarity with it, and the speed, the Internet was more of a novelty. I used it mostly to write an email or two, and that was about it. By the time I was in college, I had come to rely on the internet for news, banking, credit card payment, and a major communication tool for sending and recieving emails, photos, videos, and music. I had expected that pretty much everyone in the world was ´´connected´´, especially in a country as industrialized and technologically-advanced as this. However, what I found in Germany was a state of connected-ness similar to what I experienced in middle school. DSL seems to be a new thing here, and not everyone has Internet access. WiFi is pretty uncommon here, and when you find it, you have to pay for it by the minute or hour. I was not able to get Internet for the time I will be here (you have to sign a contract for 1-2 years) so I had to find Internet cafes. Luckily, there are more than a few Internet cafes around the main train station (a 10-15 minute bike ride from my apartment). I haven´t been able to kick my Internet addiction so far-- I still rely on it for news, banking, and paying credit cards. I´m so reliant on it, that sometimes I wonder how I ever lived without it. Beispiel 2: Credit card vs. EC Karte The far majority of places in Germany do not accept credit cards such as Master Card, Visa, American Express, etc. This includes grocery stores, electronics stores (!), and even some hotels. They do, however, accept the German banks´debit card --the ´´EC Karte´´, which they call a credit card. It´s really inconvenient to be at the checkout at Aldi, with a cart full of cold foods, and have to run across the street to an ATM (not that I would know!). If a German business says they accept credit cards, most likely they mean that they accept EC Debit cards and nothing else. Conclusion: I guess Visa isn´t everywhere you want to be. Beispiel 3: Grocery stores First of all, German grocery stores have groceries, and little else. Definitely not one-stop shopping. There are no Starbucks, no 5/3 banking centers, no ´´Sunglass Hut´´ stores, no. . .well you get the picture. Secondly, the range of products is not nearly as diverse as in American stores. For instance, if you want to buy spaghetti sauce, you have two options: take it or leave it. My local grocery store sells only one brand of (bad) spaghetti sauce. When I first arrived here, I noticed lots of little old ladies on bikes, with baskets full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and breads. It´s very quaint. I soon learned that this was done out of neccessity, as grocery stores don´t give away luxuries such as grocery bags. In order to transport your stuff home from a grocery store, you have to bring a backpack, bag, basket or other assorted random container. In spite of this small inconvenience, I like German grocery stores. Not only are the prices significantly lower than in the states (probably because they don´t have to buy those expensive grocery bags to give away) but they have a proportionately larger section of the store dedicated to fresh fruits and vegetables. Yay for fresh things that aren´t sehr teuer (very expensive). Beispiel 4: Glass bottles Well, there´s not too much to say about this one. Beer still comes in glass bottles in the US, but in Germany, it´s not surprising to have a Coke machine dispense a glass bottle. Germany is the leading country for recycling, so all of their food and stuff is packaged to facilitate the recycling process. So apparently it´s easier and/or cheaper to reuse a glass bottle than a plastic one. That´s all very well, but you can´t toss around a glass bottle or throw it in your backpack for a long train ride, like you can with a plastic bottle. That said, though some of these things are inconvenient (limited Internet access for example), I realize that the German way of life is a little bit different from ours. Nearly everything you buy in Germany is packaged so that it´s easy to recycle, which is very cool. I am also of the belief that when there is more variety (of food, clothing, what-have-you) that people consume more. So, not only are Germans equipped to recycle 95% of the stuff sold in stores, but I think that they also discourage materialism and needless buying. I am limited on how much I can buy each time at the grocery store (by the size of my backpack) but I´m willing to bet that less food is wasted when smaller quantities of food are bought more frequently. Maybe there´s something to be said for being ´´behind-the-times´´ from my point of view. |
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| Stuttgart | Tue, Apr 25th 2006 4:31am |
| So. . . the original plan for the weekend was to visit a small city in France called Strasbourg. This didn´t end up working out because Brent forgot his passport. Kein problemme. One of the best things about travelling by rail (as opposed to plane) is that you can change your travel plans at the last minute and go anywhere you want, or can afford. :) In fact, I even think that I prefer rail to driving with a car because a train trip is relaxing. You never
have to worry about traffic or gas, and you just get to sit back and enjoy the scenery, or sleep. But I digress. . . So,plan B was to visit Freiburg. This city is at the beginning (or end, depending on how you look at it) of the Black Forest. This city is supposed to be chock full of culture, including some of the world´s best coo-coo clocks. However, there wasn´t a train leaving for Freiburg until about 3 in the afternoon, which would have put us there at 5, with not a lot of time to do anything. Thinking of bigger cities in Germany that I wanted to visit, Stuttgart popped into my head. Luckily, there was a train leaving in half an hour, so we hopped on. Now for some tour book facts... Stuttgart has the highest per capita income of any city in Germany (reiche Stadt!), and is the home of Diamler-Chrysler-Mercedes-Benz production. We decided to try and see the Mercedes-Benz (keyword: free!) museum, which is supposed to be pretty cool. There was also supposed to be a tower with excellent views of the city. You know, one of those rotating restaurant deals, where at the end of the meal, you´re not sure if you´re dizzy from the movement or the bill. We decided to forego the expensive restaurant and see if we could find this tower to get some pictures of Stuttgart. Oh yeah, and there are not one, but TWO castles in this city, the Altes Schloß and the Neues Schloß. It seemed to offer unending activities for the eager tourist. Arrival in Stuttgart Upon arrival in the city, our first quest was to locate a map. Instead of breaking down and buying a 3€ one, we decided to be adventurous and wing it. We took a quick glance at the map in the main shopping district, and headed off to see the sights. The Altes Schloß and Neues Schloß we found right away (they are across the street from one another). Unfortunately, although the Neues Schloß is a cool building (with all the obligatory fountain and statues and whatnot), there didn´t appear to be any way to get inside. But we got some nice pictures of the exterior. The Altes Schloß looked like a more promising adventure. We walked through a little passageway into the courtyard of the castle, just in time to see the. . . caterers. The only part of the castle that is open for viewing is the cathedral, and we happened to arrive right before a wedding was about to start. We thought of crashing the wedding, if only to see the inside of the church, but decided against it and moved on. Next, we decided to try to find the rotating-restaurant-and-scenic-view-tower thinggamajigger. A huge tower that is used for scenic viewing should be an easy thing to find, right? We located the tower far off in the distance, and headed straight for it. Up a steep hill. We stopped for a picnic on the way up. It was very peaceful and nice, and was the first time in my life I´ve ever picnicked in a staircase going up a mountain. :) After lunch, we continued to walk up the hill/mountain in search of the tower. A funny thing happened on the way up-- the tower disappeared from sight. Figuring that we would see this gigantic tower at the top of the hill, we plodded through very steep residential streets for about 20 minutes (in drizzling rain) in search of this thing. We finally ran into the dead-end of Sonnenbergstraße, and gave up in our search for this elusive tower. We decided to take the train back to the center of town. Since it was now raining, we decided it would be a good time to try out the Mercedes-Benz museum we had read about. We took the train to the stop and began walking towards the museum, when all of a sudden, we realized that we were walking straight into thousands of crazy German soccer fans. Apparently a game had just let out, and we had to walk through literally thousands of people going the other direction. It was a cultural experience. Finally arriving at the museum, we are denied admission. It seems that there is some kind of black-tie, invitation-only affair going on that day. We took pictures of the outside anyway. We encountered lots of soccer fans again at the train station on the way back to downtown. It was crazy. Several fans even got on the regional train as we headed back to Mannheim. It´s really weird to see teenagers and adults drinking bottle after bottle of beer on trains. On the first train that Brent and I boarded (on the way to Stuttgart in the morning), there was an empty case of 12 beer bottles in the seats behind us. The rest of the ride, we were entertained by a couple of teenagers and middle-aged men, singing songs and chanting in favor of their teams. It´s strange how, in a given city in Germany, people don´t say ´´hi´´ to each other, even if they see each other every day. There just doesn´t seem to be as much openness with strangers or even aquaintances as in the US. But if you mix in soccer and a little bit of beer, anyone from your city or Bundesland (state) becomes your best friend, and the offer of a gratis bottle of beer is extended. After all that culture, we headed to Burger King. We were both curious if everything would be the same as in the US. Although I could tell it was Burger King (if only by the half German-half English menu), it was definitely a lot different than ours in the States. It was nicer, complete with TVs showing music videos while you eat. As Brent pointed out, if Burger King´s in Germany looked like the BK´s in the US, Germans probably wouldn´t go there. Well that´s all for this week. Next weekend we´re heading to Füssen, home of the famous Neuschwanstein castle. This is the castle that supposedly inspired Disney to create his ´´Sleeping Beauty´´ castle. Auf Wiederlesen! |
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| Deutsch Fernseher (German TV) | Fri, Apr 14th 2006 12:08pm |
| Stuff I've seen on German TV: Chip n Dale (Chip and Chap in German) Sesame Strasse some American movie about high schoolers (I know I've seen it but I can't remember the name) Spongebob Schwammkopf (Schwammkopf== sponge head) Goofy Ice Age (the movie) If you notice a trend, I've been sticking to cartoons and kids shows for the time being because 1.) they entertain me and 2.) I can understand the German in them, most of the time. If you ever thought Daffy Duck was difficult to understand in English, try listening to him with a German accent. It's funny. I checked out Markuskirche (St. Mark's Church) this morning. It's an evangelical church. I was surprised at how much of the service I could understand. After yesterday, where I had a couple of problems understanding people around town and getting them to understand me, it was a nice confidence boost. I think the priest was easy to understand because he didn't speak as fast as most people and didn't use slang. I think one reason I was having so much trouble yesterday was because people were speaking fast, trying to make a sale, and they were probably using slang and/or dropping words, as we do in English when we're in a hurry. Oh well, hopefully I will pick up the slang and be able to understand eventually. Going back to the church service, I was able to recognize the Apostles Creed and the Lord's prayer. They seemed to be almost word-for-word translations. The little music in the service was very traditional, with an organ and choir. I was hoping I'd be able to find a Protestant church with contemporary worship (wishful thinking, eh?). Overall, I liked the service and think I'll go back next week, if only because it's something in German I can understand :) I'm going out for a walk today. Yesterday I walked about 10 km. around town. I had a couple of errands to run (to the Post and to a Lebensmittelgeschaft-- grocery store) but mostly I was just exploring and getting lost. It was fun, and the weather was pretty nice, save a quick afternoon rain shower. I also wanted to find an Internet cafe, which evaded me for the first few hours of exploration. Then, as soon as I found one Internet cafe, I found 3 more within the next hour (when it rains, it pours). I was able to send out a couple of emails and call my parents, but I'd still really like to have Internet here. Even with a bike, the Internet cafes are about 4 km (a little less than 2 miles) away, so it's a little inconvenient. I'm going to inquire about getting Internet set up here as soon as I figure out who to ask and how. :) Alright, I'm off for a walk. I'm pretty bored today because all of the stores here are closed on Sunday. I could really use a Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper now. The Diet Coke here (Coke Light) tastes different from the US, and there is no Dr. Pepper to be found. Other than that, German doesn't appear too different from the US, or at least, Cincinnati. Sometimes I forget I'm in a foreign country-- that is, until I hear someone start to talk. Hope everyone back home is well! Send me emails! :) |
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| Arrival in Mannheim | Fri, Apr 14th 2006 12:07pm |
| After a 3 hour train ride and 1 train change (at which time I had to say goodbye to Brent), I made it to Mannheim. From all the sources I read, I was expecting a small, industrial village when I arrived. Therefore, I didn't expect any problems when my HR contact said she would just meet me at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). I should have known better (hindsight is 20/20). I wandered around the Hbf for about 25 minutes until someone came up to me and said, "Entschuldigung, sind Sie Frau Jorgensen?".
To make a longer story shorter, the lady from my company was awesome. My apartment is great-- I have my own bathroom and kitchen, plus free laundry facilities and a backyard, complete with a picnic table. It's about 10 feet away from a train station, too. The lady from my company took me to my apartment, where she gave me some flowers (!) and groceries she had bought for me. I have a TV, but so far there's not much going on around my apartment. Although it's in a residential area, I haven't seen many people my age. There is a university here, so I'm planning on checking that out some time this week. The only real disappointment was the lack of an Internet connection of any kind. Hopefully I can have Internet installed or something. I admit it: I am dependent on the Internet. Because it
s so common in America to have it, I have become dependent on the Internet for weather, news, banking, and credit card payments, and I was planning on using Skype (an Internet-based calling and messaging program) as my phone.
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| Wir sind ankommen! | Sat, Mar 18th 2006 4:34am |
| Yesterday we arrived in Frankfurt, safe and sound, if not a bit tired! Our flight from Cleveland to Atlanta was 20 minutes late, resulting in a sprint through the Atlanta airport just in time to make it to the gate as our flight to Frankfurt had its final boarding call. But we made it. What a long flight! Even with a movie and 2 meals, the flight was quite long and I found that I couldn't sleep.
Once we arrived in Frankfurt, more adventures awaited, as we had to purchase our Bahn50 cards and tickets to the train station closest to where we are staying. Yesterday afternoon, we toured the "historical" parts of Frankfurt. (I use quotes because most of the city was rebuilt after WW II, because most of it was destroyed!). There is a little town square called Roemerburg, which we walked around in. We should be able to post pictures of that soon. It was a little touristy, so Brent and I wandered around a little bit. I think we walked more than 5 miles yesterday. It felt great after such a long plane ride.
I use the term "wandering" loosely. In reality, we were on a mission to find something of immediate need: a hair dryer. I insisted that I couldn't survive a day without one. After looking in several stores which looked promising but turned up dry, we found a small appliance store where I purchased my all-important hair dryer. I actually had the opportunity to use German at the store, and was doing very well until the lady behind the counter asked if I wanted a bag. She used a word for bag that I had never heard before, but I didn't figure it out until she got out the bag and just gave it to me. Oh well. Brent and I found out yesterday that stores which sell food, sell edible items and little else. Whereas in America, you can buy toys, movies, and small appliances at a Kroger's or CVS, most German food stores have only food and some cosmetic items. To get toys, you have to go to a toy store, music will be found at a music stores, etc.
Oh, and little kids speaking German are just about the cutest thing I've ever heard! German became alive to me as soon as we stepped on the plane yesterday. All of the stewardess and captain's updates were in German and English. It's one thing to go to class for 3 hours a day and practice German. But it's so cool to be surrounded by people speaking it all the time. I love it, and I'm looking forward to having more in-depth conversations with Germans that asking for a hair dryer. :) |
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