My Second Anniversary

On July 14, 2012, Alexander and I eloped. Since that time, we started dreaming of our big white wedding, and, honestly, I don't think either one of us thought it was ever going to happen. After two years, three trans-world moves, and countless e-mails to reception venues, photographers, and churches, Alexander and I finally had our Blessing of Marriage. And it was simply perfect.

Planning a wedding/blessing from another country is quite a challenge, but we managed to do it. We decided to have our blessing in the church where Alexander was baptized. This made a great sentimental connection, although the location was a challenge for some of our friends and family. Regardless, we had friends and family come from all over the world. It was a great show of where we've been, but also a huge testament to the bonds we've created with people.

The night before the blessing, we had a joint bachelor/ette party. It was the World Cup final, so we reserved a pub where we could watch the final and cheer for Argentina (well, Alex was cheering for Deutschland). We learned the hard way why you shouldn't have these kinds of parties the night before your big day. My "Man of Honor" was almost incapable of getting out of bed the next day and I had to layer on the concealer to cover the bags under my eyes. There were a few other casualties of this night due to an American from Wisconsin who decided to take shots with half our party. It was still a lot of fun and I'm glad we got to do it.

The morning of the blessing, I was grateful that the ceremony wasn't until 4 o'clock. This gave plenty of time to sleep off the hangover and start to feel somewhat human (I even managed to keep down a light lunch). When the photographer arrived, I started doing my hair and make-up. I've never been much of a girly girl, so I was kind of nervous about doing these things myself, but I think I managed. Once I had the hair and make-up done, I had my brother and a friend help me into my dress. It was actually quite an event to get into it, and I was quite proud of them for being able to lace up the bodice. I was made-up, dressed-up and ready to go when I got a call from Alexander. He hadn't left for the church yet.

The plan was for him to get to the church first. The plan was for him to call when he was going to the church so he would get there first. The plan was for him to be there when I arrived. As they say, the best laid plans. When I arrived at the church Alex wasn't there yet. So I patiently waited...for quite some time. When he finally did arrive, we were able to have a few moments alone before the ceremony. It was a really special time for us. From the entire day, I think that was possible the only time we had for just the two of us. We then had the ceremony, which went beautifully, and after the ceremony was the reception dinner and, of course, the dancing. We had an amazing time, and I wouldn't change anything about the day.

Exactly two years after saying, "I do", we got to renew our vows before God with our loved ones. After two years of laughing, crying, traveling, arguing, being healthy, being sick, all the good and all the bad, I know I wouldn't want to share my life with any one else. And I fall more in love everyday.

I love you, Alexander.

Willkommen in Polska: A trip to Warsaw

Stop in Krzyż before Warsaw

Just after the new year, we hopped on a train and headed to Warsaw. Actually, it wasn't that easy. First, we had to buy the tickets. Back in Jakarta, this would have been a fairly simple matter. Although we are nowhere near fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, in the first two months we could communicate well enough to buy tickets at a train station. Yet here in Kostrzyn, buying tickets was truly an event.

At first, I apologized and explained I was American. I then asked if the lady could speak English or German. No. What about Spanish or French? Definitely not. I don't think I can properly put into words how infuriating it is for a couple with four fluent/nearly fluent languages to not be able to communicate.We somehow managed. I knew Piątek, the day we wanted to leave, and dwa, the number of days we wanted to go, and of course Warszawa, our destination. The rest of it was done with the calendar on our cell phone, lots of hand motions, and slow speaking on the end of the ticket office lady. About 15 minutes and 470 Złotych later we had our tickets to and from Warsaw.

I have had so many troubling experiences while travelling by train (getting on the wrong train, arriving late, getting locked in a toilet), that I was certain this trip would have complications. Surprisingly, it was incredibly drama-free. We arrived safely in Warsaw at the correct station, and the trip back was just as painless.

Warsaw is a very cosmopolitan city. Everyone from the hotel concierge to the kebab-shop employee could speak English. It was refreshing. We always started with a polite dzień dobry, but were able to transition to English and be understood. That being said, Warsaw still has some work to do in order to fully join the international order.

Although most of the people spoke English, there were signs in major tourist spots that only sported Polish.

No Foreign languages here!

In many other capital cities, you can find a range of languages. Washington, DC will almost always have Spanish and quite often there is German or French on tourist sites. In Berlin, it is relatively easy to find English and French. However, Warsaw seems to be lagging on the tourist front. Even the map from the tourist office was in Polish.

Part of Warsaw's sluggish inclusion into the international community seems to be its historical relationship with the former Soviet Union and its previous inclusion in the Eastern Bloc. This can be witnessed in the case of older sites, where Russian and German are more likely to be found than English. However, with the fall of the U.S.S.R., Poland seemed more than happy to welcome Capitalism. This should come as no surprise seeing as there was much resistance against the U.S.S.R. in Poland.

Warsaw shows an unnatural juxtaposition of East and West. It highlights the Capitalist dilemma within Communism. You can find a Coca-Cola sign (perhaps one of the most encompassing images of Capitalism)
situated directly on top of a building of obvious Communist architecture. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words, and I think this picture describes Warsaw in a way no words fully can.

Just as the country of which it is the capital, Warsaw is up-and-coming. It has a plethora of hot spots to offer and I think it's one of Europe's best kept secrets. Part of the reason the flood gates of tourists haven't opened into this vibrant city is because it is still struggling with assimilation into Western Europe. Half the battle is beating the stigmatization caused by political mouthpieces *cough* David Cameron *cough* Tory party *cough*cough*, but the other half is creating a city that accommodates non-Polish tourists.

I hope in the next decade Warsaw, and Poland, will reach its potential.

Travels 2013

This past year has been filled with lots of traveling and amazing adventures for me. Here's the list of places traveled in 2013:

Bali

Carita Beach (Indonesia)-January: We rang in the New Year at Carita Beach with lots of fireworks and a view of Krakatoa.

Bogor (Indonesia)-March: We saw the famed Botanical Gardens during Easter weekend.

Yogyakarta (Indonesia)-July: To celebrate our first year of marriage, we visited Java's famed cultural capital and also paid a visit to Borobudur and Prambanan.

Bali (Indonesia)-September: After a year in Indonesia we hopped on a flight to the amazing island and visited Legian, Kuta and Jimbaran beaches. We also managed a quick look at Ubud.

Narita (Japan)-September: Once we finished our contract in Jakarta, we headed to the US via Narita. We also had a splendid view of Mount Fuji.

Baltimore

Washington, DC (USA)- September: We spent nearly two weeks with family and friends in the area.

Baltimore, MD/Gettysburg, PA (USA)- September: We took a day trip to visit these sites.

Martha's Vineyard, MA (USA)- October: We stopped the night in New Bedford, MA and then continued the journey to the island to see my grandparents.

Reykjavik (Iceland)/Copenhagen (Denmark)/Berlin (Germany)/ Kostrzyn (Poland)- October: After spending time with family we took a trip with many layovers before finally arriving in our new home of Kostrzyn.

Berlin (Germany)- October, November, December: Being less than two hours from the Germany capital has allowed us to visit several times including once for Alexander's birthday.

Berlin 

Strasbourg (France)- November: We went to meet up with family at the halfway point of Strasbourg.

Freiburg (Germany)- November: I visited Freiburg several times when I was living in the area and this was the first time with my husband. It's still a beautiful city.

Nürnberg (Germany)- November: We stopped for a tasty lunch on our way back home from France.

Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany)- November, December: We regularly visit for church services and a very tasty Indian restaurant.

Duisburg (Germany)- December: We stayed the night here twice on our way going to and coming from England.

Calais (France)- December: We caught the ferry here on our way to and from England.

Dover (England)- December: I was able to see the breath-taking white cliffs of Dover going and coming. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very cooperative.

Hamburg

Redditch (England)- December: We celebrated Christmas with family for the first time in two years. It was pretty wonderful.

London (England)- December: We got to see even more family just after Christmas.

Kortemark (Belgium)- December: I had the chance to see the town where my grandfather grew up.

Hamburg (Germany)- December: We rang in the New Year with fireworks at the Rathaus.

2013 has been a very busy and eventful year. We started a new job, moved halfway across the world, and saw many unforgettable sights. I'm looking forward to 2014 and what it has in store. We already know we'll be starting the year with a trip to Warsaw and in July we'll finally have the blessing of our marriage. Who knows what else this new year will bring?

A trip to the other side of the world: Take two (Part 2)

Washington, D.C. was beautiful and much warmer than we had expected. After a year of 32°C (90°F), we were expecting to freeze in 22°C (72°F), but DC actually got pretty warm during the days while we were there.

Visiting DC, was actually a bit of a culture shock. As much as we love the friends we made in Jakarta, Jakarta wasn't the easiest place to live. The macet, banjir dan polusi, in Jakarta made for a love/hate relationship: I loved the people, but hated the city. So when we were walking around DC, Alexander and I made some interesting comments, such as "Wow, it's great to breath", "Look! We can walk on the sidewalk" and "Wait, where are the motorbikes?". Other people also noticed our culture shock when we were amazed at the selection in the grocery store and accidentally said terima kasih.

with Brandon

in Baltimore

Our first weekend in DC, we were visited by one of my best friends, Brandon, which was lucky, since he got to see DC before the government shutdown. We were able to stay with my grandma Annie at my brothers' Dwayne and Christopher's
apartment in DC. They have an amazing apartment with a great view. We were also able to go to Baltimore in Maryland and Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Our second, and last, weekend we got to see my grandparents, who live on Martha's Vineyard. My grandma Ethel is 90-years old and still kicking with the help of my grandpa Ralph. I also got to meet my brother R.J. for the first time ever, which was amazing. It was incredibly emotional and something I've dreamed of my whole life.

with RJ

After spending so much time with so much family it was hard to say goodbye, but after 13 short days, we had to say goodbye again and leave for our next destination: Poland (via Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Berlin).

Since the flights weren't as long as our original flights from Jakarta, we didn't get as tired, and generally everything went rather smoothly. We were only in Reykjavik for about an hour, and I was worried we would miss the connection (but we didn't). The Copenhagen airport was incredibly expensive. We had about 7 hours for our layover, so we bought some lunch and spent almost 50USD for two sandwiches and two drinks. It was about 9 p.m. when we got into Berlin and, luckily, our boss agreed to pick us up and take us to our new home. We got to Kostrzyn just before midnight and decided to unpack. We checked four bags at the airport and the TSA went through three of them. Apparently it's suspicious to fly from DC to Berlin with four checked bags.

Once we unpacked almost everything, we were finally able to sleep....and start to enjoy the honeymoon phase of life in Poland.

A trip to the other side of the world: Take two (Part 1)

Last year, Alexander and I took a trip to the other side of the world, which was from France to Jakarta, Indonesia. This year, we took our second trip to the other side of the world, from Jakarta to Poland. We now live in a little town on the Oder River called Kostrzyn nad Odra.

Our trip started several weeks ago, when we left from the Jakarta airport on our way to Washington, D.C., via Tokyo. We arrived in plenty of time, thanks to our friends Helen and Andy, and quickly made it through the lax security and baggage check. Once we got to immigration, we were told we had to fill out a landing card. It didn't matter that we had already lived in Jakarta for a year, we had to fill out a landing card like someone who was just visiting for a few weeks. After getting over my frustrations about that, things went smoothly through immigration. Once we passed immigration, we had planned to find our gate and then get something to eat. Our gate was on the other side of more security, where there was no place to eat and no bathrooms. So, we started the flight hungry, frustrated and tired, since it was nearly 10 pm. Nevertheless, we decided to take a picture at boarding...and the camera batteries died.

It's incredibly disappointing that we didn't have a camera on the trip from Jakarta to Tokyo, because we were able to see Mount Fuji from the plane, so imagine that this picture was taken on a plane, by me:






Once we got to Tokyo, or Narita International airport, we were incredibly jet-lagged because I had the brilliant idea of not sleeping until our second flight from Tokyo to DC. The plan kind of worked, except for the fact that we had the most painful four hours of a layover. On the bright side, we got to eat Ramen in Tokyo and get a few (thousand) yen.

The flight from Tokyo to DC was about 13 hours, of which I slept about 6 hours. Needless to say, by the time we got to Dulles International Airport, I did not want to wait in line with Alexander, my non-American husband, for over an hour when I could have been out in less than half that time. But I waited with him, like a dutiful wife.

After we collected our luggage of two checked bags we decided to rent a car to get to our final destination in DC. Once there, we resisted the temptation to immediately sleep after our 24-hour trip and made some delicious burritos instead. Then we slept.

Continue to part two.

Jacque in Jakarta: A Trip to Yogyakarta

Last weekend my husband and I went to Yogyakarta to celebrate our first year of marriage. It was the first time we've really had a vacation since New Year, so it was much needed and much enjoyed. I only wish we could have stayed a few more days!

Yogyakarta (pronounced "Jogjakarta") is considered the cultural capital of Java, also spelled Jawa. Java is the world's most populous island, with 135 million people, and is home to sixty percent of the Indonesian population. In addition to Yogyakarta, called Jogja for short, Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya are all cities located on the island of Java.

Mask at Kraton

While Jakarta has a population of over 10 million, Jogja is much smaller with just under 400,000 people. This was noticeable for us, since for the first time in nearly 10 months we didn't have to wear a mask while walking the streets. The main attraction of Jogja is the plethora of stores selling Batik, a special clothing design for Java. Javanese culture is apparent in Jogja, not only in the Batik, but also on the street signs, where the traditional Javanese script can be seen. We really only had one day to explore the shopping street of Marlioboro, named for Lord Marlborough, and see the exquisite Kraton, sultan's palace, but I think we were able to see enough to appreciate the uniqueness of Javanese culture.

Alexander is much taller than the Javanese people

At Kraton

Sun shining through

After exploring the streets of Jogja on the Saturday, we explored the surrounding area on the Sunday. Jogja is within striking distance to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The first one we saw was Borobudur. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world and was build over a thousand years ago. It has survived natural disasters and terrorist attacks. It's remarkably beautiful and serene, though the very steep climb can be dangerous. There was a forty percent chance of rain, but, luckily, the sun was shining on us on top of Borobudur temple.

At Borobudur Temple

                                                                                                                                 

Merapi Volcano ruins

Prambanan Temple

Once we left Borobudur, we stopped at Mendut temple, which has a statue of the Buddha sitting Western style with both feet on the ground. It was pretty impressive to see, but I didn't feel right taking pictures of it. Then we took a jeep ride through the ashes of Merapi volcano. Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and it last erupted on November 5, 2010. The lava flow was so hot that the ashes are still smoking three years later.





We ended our tour with a visit to Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Southeast Asia and second UNESCO site that day. Prambanan was built around the same time as Borobudur and was heavily affected by an earthquake a few years ago. However, as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, a lot of money is going into renovating the once magnificent temple. Even with the damage, it's a pretty awesome sight.

The trip was a truly awesome experience and I recommend Jogja to anyone wanting to travel to this area of the world. It's much more relaxing than Jakarta and you can experience a much more authentic culture. That being said, don't take a taxi from the airport. They will try their best to rip you off, especially if you look Western. Stick to the Transjogja bus system. It's only 0.30 USD and it will get you to most places you want to go. As for travel to the other sites, I can thoroughly recommend jogjajayatrans.com. Pak Wisnu is very friendly and has a high ability of English. You'll pay extra for getting into the sites and if you want a guided tour, but the cost of the driver is relatively inexpensive and the service is very good.

On a closing note, language is always important when travelling. Although English is a global language and most people have some level of English in touristy areas, it is always better to speak the native language. By speaking the language of the people you are dealing with, you will not only receive a further cultural understanding, but you will also receive a great amount of respect...you might even receive a discount.

Jacque in Jakarta: A Trip to Bogor

On Good Friday after church, Alexander and I took a trip to a town called Bogor. We needed a break from the city (Jakarta can be quite overwhelming at times) and Bogor seemed to be a very quick escape (only an hour away), so we decided to hop on a train and spend a night in a "cooler" and "smaller" place. Oh the surprise we had at expectations versus reality.

To start off, we did research on the internet and decided that a train would be the easiest way to get to Bogor. As per our information, a train left from Gambir station quite often. That worked perfectly for us, seeing as Gambir is less than a 10 minute walk from our church and it's quite a nice station. So we brought our bag with us to church and headed over to the station after the service. Once we arrived, we tried to determine which line we had to get in to purchase the ticket for the "nicer" train to Bogor. Much to our astonishment, there wasn't actually a train from Gambir to Bogor. The man at the ticket counter informed us that instead we had to go to Juanda station. Luckily for us, Juanda was only a ten minute taxi ride. Unluckily for us, the station was less than desireable for Westerners who appeared to have money. We were harrassed by a beggar and Alex was actually physically assaulted. Fortunately, we were able to jump out of that fire....and into a frying pan, or so it seemed. We were packed on the train like sardines and the "AC" was actually just oscillating fans. We had to stand for the entirity of our journey to Bogor.

Once we got to Bogor, we discovered that "cooler" for an Indonesian, doesn't quite mean the same thing as it does for a Westerner. A normal temperature here in Jakarta is about 30 Celsius and Bogor was probably a mere 28 Celsius. So, we didn't get a break from the heat, but we did get a wonderful, relaxing bathtub:

Besides the bathtub, the hotel we stayed at was quite nice and quite close to the famous botanical gardens, or Kebun Raya. So, after having two baths on Friday evening, we spent Saturday exploring the gardens. It was nice to smell grass and fresh air. But, there was still plenty of litter....and not the best use of English.

The red thing isn't a rock...

Who knew that plants needed to work on progress?

Once we had our fill of the gardens, we returned home to Jakarta. The trip home wasn't much better than the trip there, so the mini-vacation turned out to be more of a stressful experience as opposed to a relaxing get-away. However, we discovered that we could have taken a train that has overflow passengers on the roof!

Even though it was nice to get out of Jakarta for a bit, we decided that next time we will leave it to the professionals. Better to pay extra than to have faulty information about non-existant trains.

Jacque in Jakarta: My fifteen minutes of fame...sort of

View of Krakatoa

This past week Alexander and I traveled to a quaint little place called Carita beach. It was quite refreshing to escape the madness of the city for a few days, though a bit disheartening that it rained everyday we were there. All in all though, it was lovely to go for a dip in the sea and exciting to see the infamous Krakatoa volcano on the horizon.

Living in Jakarta, I've grown accustomed to people staring and calling out 'mister', 'miss', or 'bule', but while in Carita, we experience something a bit more intense.  Of course there were plenty of people selling unnecessary baubles who assumed we had lots of money to blow, so they swarmed us. However, we got very good at saying 'tidak' firmly enough to scare them away. But, the sellers weren't the most surprising reaction. Since Carita is such a small town, the local people rarely see Westerners in person, so they were quite excited to witness two of them on their beach.

As the saying goes, "take a picture, it will last longer". Well, that's exactly what the locals did. They didn't just stare at us, they took pictures. Lots of pictures. There were pictures of us at dinner taken by people who worked at the hotel. There were pictures of us walking on a trail taken by a group of children staying at the hotel. There were pictures of us kissing in the pool taken by other guests in the hotel. I had a bit of an idea for what celebrities must feel, and I can honestly say I did not enjoy it. At first, I took no real issue and didn't mind if they asked for a picture with us, but after four days of the same it grew quite exhausting and a bit invasive. Not only did they ask for pictures, they invaded pictures that we were trying to take. And when we tried to have a private moment and ignore the camera, they called for us to have a kiss for the camera.

In the end, it was nice to breathe some fresh air for a change. Though next time I'd go for an abandoned island....or at least one with people thoroughly adjusted to the sight of Westerners.

Planes, trains and automobiles: A trip to the other side of the world

It's been a week since Alexander and I started our journey from the West to the East. We left L'Isle Jourdain last Saturday and drove to Poiters with his parents, where they dropped us off at the train station. We then took a train to Paris Montparnasse, from there we took a metro to Gare St. Lazare and then took the RER to Marly le Roi where Alexander's Aunt Veronique picked us up in her car to stay the night with her. We had a lovely night enjoying wine, which we knew would be hard to come by once we arrived in Indonesia, and cheese, which is abundant in France, but not so much in Indonesia.

On the flight to Colombo

Sunday morning, I enjoyed breakfast with a bowl of Earl Grey tea, drinking from a bowl is a French custom that I thoroughly approve of, and then we loaded up into the car again and Aunt Veronique drove us to Charles de Gaulle airport. We flew with Sri Lanka airlines, so after nearly ten hours we arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka from Paris on Monday morning. The Colombo airport supplied me with my first jolt of culture shock. When we arrived, there were no customs officers to ask us twenty questions, there were no immigration officers to stamp our passport, we literally just walked right into the airport and on to the gate to wait for our next flight. We had to wait for the gate to open, during which time I needed to use the toilet....and I wished I had used it on the airplane. The floor was covered in liquid that I hope was water, but assume was urine. There were no trash cans in the stalls (for the men reading, women need trash cans in stalls to take care of female issues). Next to the toilet there was a kind of hose used to wash your unmentionables, which I didn't utilize. To top it off, I heard another woman use the toilet and not wash her hands, but that unfortunately happens in every country.

View of Singapore gardens

Once our gate opened, we went through a security check, but we didn't have to take off our shoes. We then waited for a bus to take us to board our plane. The flight from Colombo to Singapore was actually much more comfortable than the first flight, but it was only three and a half hours. Arriving in Singapore's Changi International Airport was kind of like arriving to a tropical resort. It was hands down the most beautiful airport I've ever been to. We then took a taxi to get to our hotel. The taxi driver was incredibly friendly, and basically gave us a free tour of the "Garden City". We arrived at the hotel late Monday afternoon, and tried to explore a bit, even though we were completely exhausted. It was really amazing that we had traveled to the other side of the world, but we were surrounded by the English language and Western stores. It was an illustration of globalization at its finest.

All day Tuesday we continued to explore Singapore. Of course we had to have lunch at an English pub. However, the traditional fish and chips would have been to heavy, so we opted for the neo-traditional dish of Chicken Tikka Masala. Once we explored the majority of the city, we took the very modern Metro/Subway/Underground to pick up our luggage and then took a taxi back to the airport. Our flight to Jakarta was just over an hour. Once we arrived in Jakarta, I was worried about the bottle of wine I had in my bag. However, security and customs were once again not nearly as strict as Western standards. From the airport we were picked up and brought to our new apartment.

So after four days of planes, trains and automobiles, we finally arrived to our new home in Jakarta. It's hot, polluted and a tad small, but it's a place of our own. There's a vast array of cultural differences, but I will save those for later posts. For now, I'm happy to be settled...at least for the next year.

Parlez-Vous Anglais? A holiday in France

We left the U.K. a week ago today and arrived at the maison of my beau-parents, which is located in a tiny village called L'Isle Jourdain, between Poitiers and Limoges. Since my mari and beau-parents are basically fluent in French, I decided I should try to make an effort to really try to learn la langue français. 

I've attempted to learn French off and on since I was about 15 years old. The most seriously I took learning it was when I lived about 30 minutes from the French border town of Strasbourg, at which point I actually bought two textbooks for Elementary French 1 and 2. Generally though, I would simply ask my handful of French amis how to say a handful of basic sentences, just so I could say things like 'je ne comprends pas' (I don't understand), je parle français un petit peu (I speak a little bit of French), j'ai soif (I'm thirsty), or j'ai faim (I'm hungry).

When it comes to reading and writing French, I've been able to pick it up quite quickly due to my Spanish background. Not only is the grammar similar, there are also several cognates like facil and dificil. I've also been informed that nearly thirty percent of the English language comes from French, so cognates like intelligent and stupid come easily as well. However, the production skills of listening and speaking are a whole other can of vers.

When it comes to pronunciation, it seems there are so many exceptions to rules, that the only real rule is that there are exceptions. It's frustrating for me because I feel as if regardless of how well I can read or write in French, it will always be obvious that I'm not a native as soon as I open my mouth.

Of course, I guess I can't complain too much. Compared to English, French is a proverbial walk in the jardin as far as exceptions are concerned. I learned in my TEFL certification course how many exceptions there are in English and came to understand regardless of a rule, there will always be an exception.

In the end, I suppose I should get an 'A' for effort. At least I can actually kind of speak in some form of broken French, unlike my favorite interpreter.

Week #41 in Germany (Our Berlin Adventure, Part 3)

(Continued from part 2) In the morning, we were able to use the bathroom, and leave our room on time. We had to wait about 10 minutes for the office to open so we could check-out, but we were still on time. We had to buy a new ticket to get to the train station, and we accidentally bought the wrong one. Luckily, we didn't get stopped by any controllers, and everything was okay. We had to switch trains at Alexanderplatz, so I bought the ticket for the entire journey back to Offenburg there. I used my debit card for the transaction, and I gave Mehmet the ticket. I didn't think about where I put my receipt, because I didn't think I would need it. We got to the train station, and everything was on time. At one of the stops we picked up someone from mitfahrgelegenheit, and we traveled until Leipzig with him. In Leipzig, we met with 2 other people, their baby, and their dog. We had bought a 5-person ticket since the dog counts as 1 person. Everything was going smoothly until Frankfurt.

In Frankfurt, we had about 30 minutes until the next train, so we went to get something to eat. We also bought some chocolate for the journey. Then, we waited on platform 18 for the train from Frankfurt to Mannheim. About 2 minutes before departure, we saw that it had changed to platform 17, so we had to run to catch it. Luckily, the people we were traveling with had already boarded. After a few minutes, the ticket controller came through for the ticket. Mehmet reached in his pocket. The pocket with his wallet and the ticket, but at that point, his pocket only had his wallet...the ticket had been lost. At this point, we start freaking out, going through all our things. He must have dropped the ticket in Frankfurt when he pulled out his wallet to pay for something. I had paid with my debit card, so there was verification through my account. The controllers asked for the receipt, but I couldn't find it. Since I couldn't find the receipt, they wrote us all tickets. The controllers said I could print off my bank transactions, then we could all go to the travel center in Mannheim and explain the situation. Two minutes later, I found the receipt, but we still had to fix things in Mannheim.


Once we arrived to Mannheim, we had 29 minutes before our next train. The controller had explained that we could have our fine forgiven and make the rest of our journey once we talked to the travel center agent. The travel center agent wasn't on the same page. He said that we had to have the ticket. Since we lost the ticket, we had to contest the fine in writing with the appropriate authorities. Since I had my receipt, they would be able to look up the transaction number, but the agent in Mannheim couldn't. That also meant we had to buy another ticket from Mannheim to Offenburg. The agent was annoyed with us because we were told something else by the controller. He was also slow enough that he made us miss our train by 1 minute. So, instead of getting to Offenburg at 11:13pm, we didn't get there until 12:40am. 


And that was my Berlin experience....please, don't ask if I had fun.

Week #41 in Germany (Our Berlin Adventure, Part 2)

(Continued from part 1) It was nearly 3am when we got to our hostel, so I pretty much just set the alarm for an hour later than what I had originally planned and went to sleep. Even though we were about 4 hours later, I didn't want to start too late the next morning, since it was our only day to see Berlin. In the morning, I wanted to get up to take a shower, then check-in, then go explore. However, I had to wait about 30 minutes to take a shower, because someone else had already gotten to it. Even though we had a private bedroom, we had to share the bathroom. So, by the time I got ready we were about one hour behind schedule. Then, we went to reception so we could check-in. The people there were not in a hurry. They finished there 10 minute conversation before helping us. Then, they decided to give us a little tour. By the time we got to the U-Bahn we were about 1.5 hours behind schedule. We finally got to our starting point (the Berlin Wall Memorial), and it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was interesting, but I was in a bad mood from lack of sleep and so many delays. So, it may have been absolutely fascinating, but at that point I really needed fireworks. Then, we walked to the Reichstag (Congress). After that, we went to the Brandenburg Gate. I had to get a picture there, since that's where President Reagan gave his memorable "Tear down this wall" speech. After that, we walked down the street Unter den Linden until Alexanderplatz. We saw Museum island, the Rotes Rathaus, the TV tower, Marienkirche, and a lot of other important buildings. There was also a lot of construction though, which kind of ruined some of it. Then we went to lunch at Brauhaus Lemke. They had an all-you-can-eat buffet for under €7, so by the time we left we were over 2 hours behind schedule.

After lunch, we headed over to Potsdamerplatz. I had to see the Film Museum because I love film and I especially love German film. We didn't spend a lot of time there since we were so far behind schedule, but it was still nice. We then headed over to Checkpoint Charlie, so I could get a picture of the well-known sign. I was annoyed by the fake soldiers. They wanted €2 for a picture with them wearing wrinkled uniforms and holding dirty American flags. I kind of wanted to pay the €2 just to smack them. After that, we headed to the Olympic Stadium. That was where American athlete Jesse Owens won 4 Gold medals during the 1936 Summer Olympics, something of which I'm very proud. I really wanted a picture there, but everything was locked up. So, we headed back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. 


We had an amazing dinner at an African restaurant called Massai. Anyone who visits Berlin MUST visit Massai for dinner. And be sure to get a banana beer. It tastes like bananas, a.k.a. deliciousness! After dinner, it started raining, so we headed for the U-Bahn. Unfortunately, the U-Bahn closed at 10pm for construction, and it was about 10:15. So, we walked to the next station, because we had read about a cool bar in that area. But we checked the train times first. Basically, we had an hour to find the bar, have a drink, and get back to the station. We looked for about 15 minutes, couldn't find it, and decided to head back to the hostel. When we went to the station, we realized that station was also closed for construction. So, we had to take a bus to the next station. The bus came on time, we went in the right direction, we made it to the right station, and we finally ended up at the hostel. It looked like our luck was changing for the better. (Part 3)

Week #41 in Germany (Our Berlin Adventure, Part 1)

"The best laid schemes of mice and men/ Go often askew" ("To a Mouse" by Robert Burns)

This past week Mehmet and I went to Berlin. The plan was to spend Wednesday traveling to Berlin, then have one entire day there on Thursday, and leave Friday to get back home Friday night. This was the cheapest way, and I also thought it wouldn't be too difficult to do Berlin in a day since I've done so many other cities in a day (Munich, Madrid, New York City, D.C., etc.). I'm not much of a museum-goer, so that saves a lot of time. 


So, Wednesday morning we started on our journey. Everything seemed to be going rather smoothly. We met with other travelers with mitfahrgelegenheit, and they were all very nice. Then, in Stuttgart we experienced our first little glitch. Mehmet was walking ahead of me and the other girl we had met. He was walking fast, because we only had about 5 minutes to catch our train, carrying a backpack, which was his overnight bag, and wearing camouflage shorts, his favorite pair. All of a sudden, I saw two police officers quickly approach him. They asked for his ID. Me and the other girl caught up with him and started standing there with him. I was trying to figure out what had happened and why the officers stopped him. The officers asked us if we were all together, and when we responded "yes", there seemed to be a slight hesitation. The officer knew at that point there was no problem, but he had already asked for Mehmet's ID, so he also asked for ours. At this point, I was getting a phone call from the other 2 girls from mitfahrgelegenheit who were waiting for us and I had to inform the officers that our train was leaving in about 2 minutes. They started walking us to the platform, and we were luckily able to make the train. Looking back on the situation, Mehmet and I are sure that it was racial profiling (he's Turkish), but there wasn't a lot we could do about it. At least we made our train.


We made it to the next stop, and the train we took from there was 5-10 minutes late....and we only had 5 minutes to get to the next train. Luckily, the next train was also delayed, so we were able to make it. The next train was also delayed, but we wanted to check to see if there was another direct train we could take, to avoid being rushed or missing later trains. We decided to take the original train, but after we boarded, we were told the part of the train we had boarded was disconnected from the main train that was going to our next stop. When we got off, the other part of the train had already started leaving. So, we had to take a later train. That train was on time, and gave us some time to eat (we hadn't had anything since 9am and it was about 5pm). Then, we had to take a train from Leipzig to Berlin, which had one stop of about 5 minutes in between. However, the train from Leipzig was about 10 minutes late....and it was the LAST train to Berlin until the morning. So, we rushed over to information and explained our situation. Three of us were girls, so if all else failed, I figured we could put on the waterworks. Luckily, they were very understanding, and they said they would hold the train for us. So, we were finally able to make it to Berlin at about midnight. Well, we made it to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof at about midnight, and we still had to get to our hostel. 


The information I read had said that our hostel was on a U-Bahn line that went directly from the main train station to our stop. However, that information was wrong. So, we found the U-Bahn, then we had to figure out all the connections to get to our hostel. Everything was okay, or so we thought. Turns out we went in the wrong direction on the last line....and we didn't realize it for several stops. Finally, when we realized it we thought we could just hop off and go in the other direction. We didn't know, however, that there was construction in the other direction. So, we decided to get on an S-Bahn line that should have taken us directly there. The only problem was it was already about 1:15am, and so the S-Bahn line we were on didn't run anymore. We tried asking someone who worked for the train for directions and he basically blew us off. That was when I started crying. It's amazing how much men hate to see a woman cry....he managed to give us specific details of when and where we needed to go by making a simple call. So, by 2am we thought we were on a bus going to where we needed to be. We thought there was only one bus, but apparently there was another, because once again we were going in the wrong direction. So, we got off the bus. It was after 2am, and we were completely lost on the outskirts of Berlin. We started walking, then Mehmet pulled me aside because we saw three people that were most likely doing drugs. We both had wallets full of cash, so it was a situation we didn't want to cross. Then we saw a police car. We ran to them asking for help, Mehmet started speaking to them in English and tried to tell them about the people doing drugs, but I don't think they understood. Finally they told us to just get a taxi. We did. Twenty-five minutes and €25 later we had arrived to our hostel. (Part 2)

Week #37 and #38 in Germany

In a paddle boat on Lake Constance

The past two weeks have been a lot of fun. I am now entering my final month in Germany, so I decided to utilize my weekends for traveling to nearby cities. Two Saturdays ago, I visited Karlsruhe, and yesterday I visited Constance. Both cities were nice, but I found Constance to be more beautiful, because there was too much construction in Karlsruhe, Constance has a lovely lake, and you can see Switzerland from Constance. 

Time at school has been fun too. This past week in one of my classes I talked about German traditions and influences in the U.S. I showed a few pictures from towns that were settled by Germans, or created to look German, and the students guessed that the pictures were really from Germany. They were quite surprised to learn they were actually viewing American towns. I then had them break into groups to make their own "German American settlements" and it was neat to hear the different ideas they came up with. 

There was also some new, I'd say rather ironic, posters put up on the front doors of the school. Students from the lower grades made anti-smoking posters. The ironic thing for me is to see a mass of upper-level students standing right outside the same doors smoking. In Germany, the smoking age is 16, and there are no strict laws preventing the use of tobacco on school grounds. Students can no longer smoke in the play area at my school, but they still smoke in full view of the school. 

This is something a bit shocking for my American sensibilities. In the U.S., where the smoking age is 18, smoking is banned on American high school campuses, and even on some university campuses. Even teachers, who are legally permitted to smoke, can't smoke within 100 yards of a school campus, including after school hours. There's also no smoking in restaurants or clubs, and in New York City there's also a ban on smoking in the park.  

The fact that smoking is so prevalent in Germany (1 in 3 adults smoke), makes it surprising for me that there are more cigarette deaths every year in the the U.S. than in Germany. Maybe there should be less government intervention for our health. But then again, I am looking forward to breathing fresh air when I go for a run back home, as opposed to the typical inhalation of cigarette smoke from a passing stranger. 


**update** A friend brought to my attention that since 2007 the legal age to smoke in public in Germany is 18, and by law it is supposed to be strictly enforced. Although it may be enforced in some places, it's not enforced where I am. Additionally, I have colleagues who have told me the age is 16, so I guess the 2007 law isn't widely known.

Week #34, #35 and #36 in Germany

I've been pretty busy with school and my second job, so it's been hard to find time to update my blog. Since the last time I wrote, I went to Stuttgart for a spring festival, school started again after Easter vacation and I ran in a 7.5K. I've been trying to make my last few weeks in Germany as exciting as possible, so I don't have to think about leaving. I'm starting to get a bit homesick, but at the same time I feel like I still have so much to do here.


The "Frühlingsfest" in Stuttgart was fun. It was like a county fair back home, except here instead of livestock there was beer. The rides seemed to be more expensive, so I only went on three of them. It was interesting for me to see that there were hardly any lines for the rides. Instead, the beer gardens were full. Of course, if we could drink in public back home, it would probably look the same.


School has been keeping me busy. In one of my classes we started talking about the American South. I never realize what a Southerner I really am until the Civil War comes up. Invariably I demonize those damn Yankees for invading us. It doesn't really make sense for me to feel this way, seeing as my dad is from Massachusetts, my mom is from California, and I was born in Northwest Arkansas, which had two battles, but was overall unaffected by the war. I guess it's just one of those things, if you're born in the South, then it's in your blood. I'm also the only member of my family capable of speaking with a Southern accent (my brother being born in California never really had the Southern spirit infect him). 


The 7.5K was a great stepping stone for me. One of these days I want to run a marathon, and I've gotta start somewhere. It was the first time I ever finished a race. I wasn't used to running in the heat on cobblestone, and my time wasn't as good as I wanted it to be, but I was still proud of myself for running the whole way and finishing. 


In the final stretch of the 7.5K, I ran at my top speed. In the final stretch of my time in Germany, I'm wanting to put on the breaks. Of course a part of me is looking forward to seeing friends and family back home, moving to D.C. and starting a new job, but another part of me wants to stay close to my friends here, not have the stress of moving and keep the luxuries of my job here (i.e. only working 15 hours a week). I know it's out of my control though. I just have to enjoy the final lap.

Week #26 and #27 in Germany

The past few weeks have been quite exciting and eventful. I had 10 days of vacation for the "Fastnachtsferien" and since it was the same time as my brother's Spring Break, he was able to come visit. We spent 10 days in 7 different cities. It was intense but so much fun. He flew into Frankfurt, then we went to Duesseldorf for the "Rosenmontag" parade. After that we went to Cologne to celebrate "Karneval". Then we came to Offenburg so he could see where I've been living. We spent a day in Strasbourg and the next day we moved on to Freiburg. Finally, Dwayne had to fly out of Stuttgart, so that was our final destination. It was great to travel around Germany, since I haven't really had the chance to do so since I got here.

The most exciting part for me was witnessing Karneval. Everyone in costumes, singing and dancing in the streets, drinking publicly...it was almost a cultural overload. Back home we usually just dress up for Halloween. Even then, it's not really something in which everyone participates. As for singing and dancing in the street, I've only seen it among individuals or small groups, and it's usually induced by alcohol. When that's the case, people can get arrested for public intoxication. And drinking in the streets is definitely unheard of back home. Not only are there the previously mentioned public intoxication laws, there are also open container laws and public indecency laws (regarding public urination, which seems to occur often at events like Karneval).


Overall, it was really great to have my brother here. It's nice to see a little piece of home after being away for so long. And even though I felt a little bit of homesickness after I dropped him off at the airport, I also felt a kind of motivation. Only three and a half months left in Germany, and my how the time will fly by.

Week #24 and #25 in Germany

These past few weeks have been quite a lot of fun, at least on the weekends. Two weeks ago was the Narrentag (Day of the Jester) here in Offenburg. It's all part of the Karneval season which ends on Ash Wednesday. There were people packed on the streets dressed as jesters, witches, donkeys, and various things that I couldn't begin to describe. There was a full day of festivities, ending with a large parade. This past weekend I went to Freiburg to visit a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, the weather was quite bad, but I still enjoyed seeing the city. Some of the buildings date back to the 14th century, which is something quite fascinating for me considering my own country isn't even that old. The time flew by so quickly and I was sad to have to start the work week again. Luckily, there's only 3 days this week and then I start vacation and I'll finally get to see my brother! I'm really excited about all the traveling we will be doing during his short stay.


The Narrentag here gave me two points of cultural observation to discuss. First, the drinking culture in exceptionally different from back home. Second, the idea of personal space is also culturally dependent. The first makes me very happy and relaxed here in Deutschland, while the second can be a bit unnerving at times.


When I arrived downtown to watch all the happenings, there were several tents set up selling food and drinks. Among the drinks were beer and champagne. Of course we drink mimosas quite early back home, but generally beer is something we don't drink until the evening or at the earliest after noon. Here, they were already drinking at 10 a.m. and it was perfectly acceptable. Of course I didn't complain. Instead, I joined.


The drinking, as I said, was something very enjoyable for me. Or at least the drinking without judgement. However, there were also a few times that I found it a bit more difficult to enjoy. As I mentioned, there were people dressed as witches. One of the witches actually chased me down and grabbed me. There was another time that a witch beat me with a broom. As entertaining as it may be for an onlooker, it was a bit distressing for me. I really wasn't sure how to react. However, when I reflected on the past few months, I realized that people touch here a lot more often. There are people back home who are touchy, but here it seems more normal. I find this pretty interesting, seeing as the stereotypes would preach the opposite. 


Yet, once again, the stereotypes seem quite wrong...and they did not prepare me for witches.

Week #22 and #23 in Germany

Yesterday I went up to see Baden-Baden with a friend. It was really nice to get out of town for a few hours. I have only left Offenburg two other times since my arrival. Once to Strasbourg in November and once to Munich for the New Year. I also saw the Weihnachtsmarkt in Gengenbach, but that was only a few minutes away. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see many of the touristy sites, but I still had a lot of fun hiking up to see the old castle ruins from the 13th century. The view of the city was beautiful.


Over the past few weeks, I've noticed how trusting the people here are. The other day I was walking downtown, and I passed through an elementary school playground. Back home, I know the playground would be fenced off, and any adult walking through would look suspicious. Perhaps a kid would even yell out "stranger danger!" But here, the kids were out playing and didn't even notice me. Another interesting trust point is that most of the stores put some of their goods outside on the street. The idea is that people will see what the store has to offer, and then come in to purchase more. The American in me wonders how many thieves have gotten off with special sale goods. The last overly trusting thing that irritates me at times is the train system. Of course there are "Schwarzfahrer", people who don't purchase a train ticket, but overall, people, such as myself, are quite honest and purchase a ticket for their journey. Of the last 7 train trips I have taken, not once was there a ticket inspector to ensure everyone had paid for their travel. It always makes me feel like I wasted my money, which brings up an interesting morality argument: If nobody was there to make sure you obey the rules, would you still obey them?


For me, the mere threat of the possibility that an inspector will come along is good enough reason for me to still buy a ticket every time. But what prevents anyone else from breaking the rules? If there was nobody watching, would you pay for a ticket or the goods that are left unattended on the street? What's to stop someone from taking a child from that open playground? Are Americans really so much more corrupt than Germans that we have to constantly police everything? What I really want to know is how can we create a culture of honesty and, more importantly, does it really work?

Week #17 in Germany

This past week we went to Munich to celebrate the New Year. This was the third year I've rung in the New Year in a foreign country, and by far the most beautiful. I've never seen so many fireworks in my life. I felt like a kid in a candy shop, watching the spectacle with a huge smile stretching from ear to ear. I couldn't think of a better way to say, "Happy 2011!"


I am now entering my fourth month in Germany. The last time I spent this long in a foreign country, I was entering my final days. After four months in Graz, I was regretting that I couldn't stay a few more months. Of course I missed driving my car, holding my puppy, eating Mexican food and doing a thousand other things I could only do back home. But I was sad to leave Graz after only five months, because by the fourth month I could see progress. After four months in Graz, I was beginning to understand conversations on the bus and I was starting to feel fairly confident while speaking with a stranger in German. I knew if I could stay only a few more months, I would be able to perfect my German even more. And I knew that if I left after only five months, I would lose most of my progress. But I had to go home. And, as predicted, I lost most of my speaking skills. Having classes in German isn't the same as constantly being exposed to the language. When you live in a foreign country, you learn the language even when you're not trying.


Once again, I am starting to feel the way I did in Graz. I am able to understand the majority of the conversations on the bus (even with the Badisch dialect) and I am able to communicate more freely. As much as I miss home, I'm excited that I don't have to go back yet. I've only just begun to explore how far I can stretch my German abilities. I can't wait to see my progress in the next few months!

Week #16 in Germany

This was the last week of school before the Christmas break. We had our last official classes on Tuesday, then on Wednesday there was an Advent mass followed by classroom parties and then the teacher's party. The teachers had a bit of a feast, with all sorts of finger food, desserts, beer and wine. Afterward, a large group of us went to the Christmas market and after that I went to Gengenbach with Mehmet to see the beautiful Christmas market there. Thursday we enjoyed the last day of the Offenburger Weihnachtsmarkt and did shopping for Christmas lunch and Friday we finished up the shopping in the snow. I had forgot Mehmet's gift at my home, so I hiked about 5 miles in the snow, just to make sure he had a gift to open the night of Christmas Eve. If that ain't love then I don't know what love is :).


I was so excited to make Christmas lunch. Unfortunately, I couldn't find everything I wanted. For one, I couldn't find any sweet potatoes. I've been craving sweet potatoes since Thanksgiving, so I was really excited about making some, and really disappointed that I couldn't find any. Another very important thing was shortening. I needed shortening for the crust of my famous apple pie. The German translation is Backfett, but when I asked the supermarket employee where I could find some, she looked at me like I was an alien, and pointed me to the aisle where all the baking ingredients were. I couldn't find any, and instead I used regular cooking oil. The good news is, the crust turned out really good. It was soft and tasty. Thus, this misadventure taught me a little lesson: Improvisation creates progress (sometimes). 


Overall, I had a good Christmas. I was able to watch "A Christmas Story", which brought some normalcy and tradition to my day. I was also very excited to get to talk to some family back home. The joys of Skype :). However, there was also news from home that put a damper on the evening. A friend of mine and her husband were tragically killed in a car accident on Christmas Eve. When you receive such sad news, it reminds you of the importance of friends and family, love and hope, and the message of the holiday season. 


I hope all my friends and family who are reading this are feeling full of love, happiness, peace, comfort and joy. Be safe and enjoy the rest of 2010. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!