Home: Reflections on Reverse Culture Shock and Re-Integration

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” (G.K. Chesterton) Quite possibly exactly one year ago, this quotation was presented to us during orientation at JYM. Bright eyed and ready to begin what ended up being the most amazing consecutive ten months of my life, I was fascinated by this quotation – I was excited to see how I would change during the year and wondered just how foreign the US would seem to me after ten months. I did what I do with all quotations that resonate with me – I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget it – and hung it up on the still too bare wall of my little StuStadt apartment that by the end of the year was filled with souvenirs and postcards from loving friends and family. Once and a while it would catch my eye among all my other decorations, and I would feel a little rush of excitement in anticipation of that day that I would set foot back in my home country and see what it looked like, ten months later.

Fast forward to July 23, 2015 – the day that I had to pass through two security checkpoints and passport control to board the plane for Boston. Looking around as I lounged on one of Munich airport’s luxurious, insanely comfortable chairs at the gate, I felt that same rush of excitement wash over me. If all the security checkpoints weren’t signal enough that I was on my way home to the good ole US of A, then the sneaker-clad, yoga pants/gym shorts-wearing passengers certainly were. I couldn’t help but smile. After all, I was heading back to the land where I could wear yoga pants in public without falling victim to the stares of strangers – what could be better? The 8 hour long plane ride was surreal. I couldn’t comprehend that that plane was bringing me to the open arms of my family – some of which I had not seen in nearly seven months – and not to some other European country as the other planes I had recently been on had done.

I was so happy to be back home in Boston with the fam!

I can’t say that the past two months of re-integration have been easy. It’s been rough going through German bread, beer, and pretzel withdrawals. After seeing the Bavarian flag hanging in a bar in Boston, I asked the bar tender, filled with hope and excitement, if they had Bavarian beer. They didn’t, and thus lost major points in my book. If you are going to hang up a Bavarian flag in your bar, you better have Bavarian beer. When I’m out and about and hunger strikes, I crave fresh, salty Bavarian pretzels – I really miss having bakeries on every street corner where I can oder eine Breze, bitte! Pretzel thins from the coffee shop in the library just don’t cut it. (But hey, at least I can eat, drink, talk, and carry my backpack in the library now.)

Grocery stores have also been a struggle for me. The night I got home, after eating the mint and cookies Kimball’s ice cream I not-so-discreetly requested be on hand for my arrival, my mom asked if I wanted to go to the grocery store. I looked at the clock, and seeing it was already 8:15pm – and already dark! – I furrowed my brow in confusion. How could we possibly go to the grocery store at 8:15pm? Wasn’t it already closed? Then I remembered I was in the US again, where stores are, in fact, open until 9pm or even 10pm. When I did eventually walk into Market Basket for the first time in a year a few days later, I felt like Buddy in Elf when he walks into a non-North Pole bathroom for the first time and shouts to his neighbor in the stall next to him, “Hey! Have you seen the size of these toilets? They’re GINORMOUS!” I kind of felt like shouting the same thing about American grocery stores – “Hey, have you seen the size of these grocery stores? These are ginormous.” It’s really amazing how applicable that movie is to everyday life, don’t you think? But, because I was in state of shock, instead of quoting my favorite movie, I gripped my brother’s arm, fear in my eyes, like a child clings to their parent’s arm on the first day of preschool. The cheese section was one of the worst offenders, second only to the mile-long chip aisle. I stood in front of the pre-packaged shredded cheese display – there were probably about 30 varieties of shredded cheese – and gawked for a solid minute, pointing at it, nervously laughing at the ridiculousness of it, desperately trying to collect myself. Thank goodness for my supportive brother, who simply patiently smiled during the episode.

While all those semi-superficial struggles have made the adjustment to life back in the US a bit hard, I kid about them being the difficulties that have made the past two months what I would call not exactly a walk in the park. In fact, the past two months have been quite the opposite. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster – one that I think, and hope, is slowly, finally pulling back into loading dock so I can climb off, find my balance, and be grounded at UNH. See, coming home to Westford was for the most part fine – great, even! I was finally reunited with my family whom I dearly missed and went back to work at Kimball’s – the place I have been working at for years and is basically my second home in the summer. Everything was pretty hunky-dory, to quote my sixth grade English teacher. (How that word just popped up in my mind I don’t know. Thanks, brain, for finally helping me remember interesting English words.)

The adjustment at UNH, however, was another story. I hadn’t been on campus since May 2014, which meant that I hadn’t attended classes at UNH in over a year. My brain was fried from having just taken finals in Germany mid-July, and I felt I was at a serious disadvantage since my peers had just gotten back from three restful months of break. The school system is so different here too, and that was a shock. Suddenly, I was expected to attend classes two or three days a week instead of once a week like in Germany, do what felt like an exorbitant amount of reading for most of those classes, and write academic papers in English. That last one was particularly difficult – I have been struggling to find the right words and English sentence structures after having done all my academic work in German this past year. I felt completely durcheinander (flustered, confused, upside-down). The denglisch nature of this sentence perfectly portrays the state of utter confusion I was feeling in the initial weeks at UNH. I even completely missed a reading assignment for one class (when something like that happens, I know something is seriously wrong), and I was flying by the seat of my pants to complete the assignments I did remember to do, waking up at 6am a few times to complete assignments due by 11am.  There were multiple moments in these past few weeks when I wondered if I would ever fit in at UNH again and have it feel like home. After some encouraging words by a professor who had been through the same thing as an undergraduate though, I knew I would find my rhythm again. It’s amazing – as soon as I heard someone who had been through a similar experience say that it would get better, I felt better.

The roomies - senior year here we come!

I think it’s safe to say that I did really did set foot on my own country as a foreign land after spending ten months away, and that’s pretty cool. But it was sometimes cool in a non-fun way. Two months later, things really are looking up though and I think this is the perfect time to wrap up this blog and move on to the next chapter of life. I now live in a luxuriously large, homey apartment on campus with three supportive, sweet roommates (shout out to my roommate who works at Housing for getting us what is probably the best apartment in the building). I have the privilege of sharing my study abroad experience with other students and help them make their dreams of studying abroad a reality as a Global Ambassador for the Center for International Education at UNH. And, to top it all off, I also get to help an international student at UNH feel welcome here in the US as a buddy with the Buddies without Borders program. I hope I can make her experience here as wonderful as mine was in Munich thanks to my two awesome conversation partners there (shout out to Corinna and Florian). I truly believe, to quote one of my favorite transcendental authors Emerson, that “to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived… is to have succeeded” and that is what I hope to do for this student. I even finally feel on top of my schoolwork – at least as much as one can as a senior.

Two months ago I was in Munich and twelve months from now, who knows where I will be. But that’s okay. I’m back home at UNH for now and it’s time to focus on what’s ahead – not the year behind me. Munich will always hold a special place in my heart, but UNH does too. I'll end with lyrics from a song that always makes me think of UNH and seems fitting to life right now: 

"Hold on to me as we go

As we roll down this unfamiliar road

And although this wave (wave) is stringing us along

Just know you're not alone

'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home."

-Phillipp Phillipps Home 

UNH finally feels like home again and I am ready for an unforgettable senior year. Over and out! 

Events GaLAUR

Welp, here we are. It's the end of June, which means two things: (1.) this is blog post is on time (go ahead, you can applaud me now) and (2.) this is probably my last blog post before coming home. According to the countdown I have on my phone, I have just 24 days left here. But don't worry, I'll spare all the sappy stuff for the next post though - no need to get out the tissues yet.The past few weeks have been filled with cool events that have left me feeling like a very classy and cultured recently turned 21 year old, so I see it only fitting to report about some of them in this post.

While these sort of events are usually attended primarily by people a bit older than I am, I still like going to them and really enjoy learning outside of classroom (what a dork, I know). It's so much more fun to learn by "going to an event" than cracking open a textbook or my laptop. One event was  called "Deutschland Post-Migrantisch: Wer Gehört zum "deutschen Wir?"" (Germany post-migrant: Who belongs to the "German we?") where research results that answered that very question were presented. It was fascinating, albeit a bit discouraging as a foreigner. About 98% of the respondents believed that in order to be German, one should be able to speak German as well as have a German passport. Okay, fair enough. What I found to be really not okay and not fair at all though, was that 40.8% of the respondents believed that the ability to speak German without any accent was important to being German. If you ask me, that is a little unfair to demand in a country where many dialects (*cough* Bavarian *cough*) are spoken. The presentation really got me thinking... and a little worked up... but I think that was the goal: to point out some of the more shocking (yet real) results. At the same time though, the goal was to present reasons for hope for the future. In most cases, the younger generation was much more tolerant and welcoming to others - it's a sign that things already are changing and did leave me feeling a bit more optimistic. It was a very thought-provoking event to say the least. I left the presentation wondering who belongs to the American "we." I wonder if such a study has been done in the US...if not, I think it's time to do one.

The TTIP "Pro-Contra Discussion"

About a week later, I went to a pro and contra discussion about the proposed TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) between the European Union and the US. It's not very beloved by a lot of people here, and as an American, I thought it would be interesting to attend. It turned out to not be much of a discussion at all though, as I had expected it to be. Rather, it more closely resembled a kindergarten classroom: there were a lot of interruptions, "he said"-"she said" type things, and a lot of finger pointing (literally) from the adult audience members. It was a very interesting event - but not in the way I had expected it to be interesting.  I didn't learn a whole lot about the TTIP, but I did learn a few cultural lessons - mainly, about how political "discussions" can function here. I think I may have laughed more at all the antics that night more than I would laugh during any given I Love Lucy episode - and that's saying a lot. I'll summarize the highlights of this educational-turned-comedic evening for your enjoyment. First observation: people in the audience felt they had the need to respond to what members of the panel were saying throughout the entire evening. Here's an example: a favorite expression of the man representing the US and who was for the TTIP was "Ihr seid am Verhandlungstisch!" ("you are at the negotiating table, Germany!"). To this, a small yet very opinionated woman behind me exclaimed, "Ja, wo LIEGT der Tisch? Ich sehe keinen Tisch!" ("Oh yeah, well where's the table? I don't see a table!"). I found this hilarious. This, along with the bouts of applause that frequently followed contra-TTIP statements and the occasional "boo!" to some of the pro-TTIP statements (some well-balanced pro-contra discussion, eh? ), led me to question from time to time whether I was in an auditorium in Germany  or in a Baptist church somewhere in the deep south where every statement is warmly embraced with a jubilant "Hallelujah!" or an "Amen!"

The real show wasn't until the end though - the Q and A session. It was kind of like the bonus clips at the end of a funny movie - if you can stick it out to the end, you are awarded profusely. Anyways, some people were so desperate to have their opinions heard that they stood up when it came time to pick those who would get the chance to ask questions. One woman near me pointed desperately at the man in front of her, as if to say, "Pick him! Pick him!" I think that last time I saw such behavior was in elementary school. The same woman had the chance to ask a question of her own, too. She was passed the microphone while the panelists were still discussing the previous discussion though...which turned out to be a big mistake on the part of the moderators. The panelists said something that she disagreed with,  and I could see the discontent in her eyes as she tightened her grip on the microphone. She was like a pot of boiling water about to boil over, and I knew she was the one to keep my eye on - not the guys in the suits on stage. Sure enough, I was right to do so: she slowly, sheepishly  inspected the microphone to see if it was already on, discovered that yes, sure enough it was on, and realized that this was her real chance to shine. After a brief moment of hesitation, she gave herself the liberty of using the microphone to voice her discontent as the panelists discussed. I was in shock as struggled to suppress my laughter. Apparently, some people just can't handle the power of microphone.

Tapping like a pro

After my evening spent back in Kindergarten, I went out for a much-needed beer with Christy and Flo (my other conversation partner here), who also attended the event, at a place called StammBar where you have to tap your own beer. I say "have to" like it was a chore - really, it was quite the opposite. I had a grand old time. You know how at frozen yogurt shops you get to pick your favorite flavor and dispense it yourself? Maybe even mix a few if you're feeling adventurous? Well that's exactly what you do here, except it's beer:  you pick what type of beer you want and tap it yourself. It was so fun for me - I'm definitely a DIY kind of gal. (Not sure if DIY can apply to tapping beer like it applies to doing arts and crafts and home improvement projects, but I'm taking the liberty of using it here - just like the woman with the microphone.) 




I also recently had my birthday here! Turning 21 in Germany was exactly as uneventful as I was expecting it to be when I imagined it back in the US last year. I have been able to legally purchase alcohol this whole year, so basically the only thing that changed with the coming and going of June 23rd is that I now have an expired driver's license that I will need to renew once back in the US. Tack that one onto the high-pri to-do list for when I am back home.

Classy and Cultured  at the Philharmonic 

Usually, I am at home for my birthday and am reminded of the special day by waking up to loving family members verbally wishing me a happy birthday. This time though, I knew I would be waking up in my little StuStadt room and wanted to make sure I fully acknowledged the special day for myself. So what did I do? I put up sticky notes around my room the night before wishing myself a happy birthday: "Happy Birthday!," "Your'e finally 21!," and "Smile, it's your birthday!" It felt a little lame and partially pathetic - kind of like playing a board game with yourself because no one is around (for the record I have not done that...yet) - but I am so glad I did, because it made me start off the day with a smile (albeit because I was laughing at myself for putting up the sticky notes in the first place, but it started off the day right, which was the goal). If I have gotten nothing else out of this year of living alone, it's that I am responsible for my own happiness, and if I want to do something that I think will make me happy, no matter how crazy or strange it might be viewed as by others, there's absolutely no reason not to do it. And it worked! Starting the day like that set the tone for the truly wonderful birthday I had: I met Corinna for breakfast (I LOVE going out for breakfast, have I mentioned that yet?), attended two classes that I really like, treated myself to a little shopping, and went to the Munich Philharmonic with Christy that evening.

Munich Philharmonic

Workin' it at the Silent Disco

I also went to a silent disco this past weekend to celebrate. I wasn't sure what to expect at all, but it ended up being weird, funny, and fun, and thus basically the perfect thing for me. Everyone got a pair of wireless headphones that had two channels of music and a volume control. You could decide which music you wanted to listen to and how loud you wanted it to be. And of course, you could take off the headphones at any time, observe everyone else, and just laugh out loud about how silly everyone looked dancing "without music."  I think this idea could start trending at colleges in the US - seems like a great way to throw a party without running the risk of any noise complaints!









Other recent highlights include: hiking Jochberg and swimming in the frigid, crystal-clear waters of Walchensee afterwards, going strawberry picking with some colleagues from the RCC which was of course followed by the consumption of the German equivalent to strawberry shortcake, and seeing films that are playing right now as part of the Munich Film Festival.

Above: View from the summit of Jochberg
Below: Swimming in Walchensee (I'm the second from the right)

Strawberry Picking 

Kaffee und Kuchen done right

I think it's pretty clear that it's been a great, action-filled past couple of weeks. I am now gearing up for the heat wave we are about to get, and I'm ready. Equipped with every trick in the book for staying cool and a new fan, of which I am a big fan, and I think I will survive and be able to push through studying for final exams writing a term paper. It's the home stretch!

Days and Days of Holidays / Feelin' Hot Hot Hot / "Scottisch"

Recently I’ve been feeling like I have fewer and fewer funny stories to share on the blog. While this slightly disappointing, as I personally live for the awkward moments in life, I think it might be a sign that I’m pretty darn well adjusted to life here. The cultural mishaps are few and far between (knock on wood), and awkward situations just don’t fluster me anymore (in fact, they’re to be expected). 

This past month was a busy one for traveling, as I visited two countries I’ve never been to before: Switzerland and Scotland. The trips to those two countries were the last two outside of Germany I had planned, and I plan to spend the rest of my remaining time here (less than two months!) in Germany.

My Dad came to visit at the beginning of May, and it was great to show him all the sights in Munich that were much less attractive at the end of December when the whole family came to visit. Some highlights were: having dinner and then ice cream together with Ana and Christy; finding the zipline near Alte Heide and each taking a few rides on it (it was the perfect time, according to Dad: “after the kids are in bed and before the gangs come out.” Not sure how many gangs come out in a small neighborhood near Alte Heide in Munich, but hey, better safe than sorry I guess); meeting Corinna for breakfast at Café Rischart overlooking Viktualienmarkt, me attempting to give my presentation on the Frauenkirche in English for my Dad (it’s such a struggle to talk about something in English when you only know the vocab words in German); checking out some of the more well-known churches in Munich; having a beer and pretzel at the Chinesischer Turm beer garden; lots and lots of walking; and of course our weekend trip to Switzerland.

Lake Zurich  Complete with  Rainbow

We were in Switzerland for no more than 36 hours, and I think we really made the most of it. We took the ferry out onto Lake Zurich in the evening on Saturday and enjoyed the beautiful sunset from the boat. The weather was very unpredictable that evening, but the mix of rain and sun made for some beautiful pictures – we were even treated to a rainbow at one point! Dad enjoyed checking off each and every stop the ferry made (there were a lot) and tracked out progress the whole way with his four-color pen. Perhaps one of my favorite things about traveling with Dad though was getting to be so silly and touristy together – I can’t really open up an arm span-width map in Munich anymore without feeling sheepish, but it was perfectly acceptable to be doing that in Zurich. On Sunday morning, we had breakfast in a Café near the hotel where I ordered a Kaffee Crème (a black coffee that comes with cream on the side). The small, brown container that the cream was different than what I am used to though – I’m used to getting a small, thin-walled plastic container, usually with a peel-off lid. This container though, seemed to have a thicker brown wall holding the cream in, and was served without a lid. Being the curious, touch-sense-oriented person that I am (I always have to run my hands over all the interestingly textured pieces of clothing in stores as I pass by), and guessing (incorrectly, as I would soon find out) that the cream container was made out of a bendy rubber material, I gave it a pinch to test my theory. Bad idea. All of a sudden, cream flew in every direction possible – it spewed onto my black sweatshirt (the cow look is in, right?), got on my legs, in my hair, on my face, and on the floor.  Pretty impressive it got to so many places on or around me, considering there really wasn’t that much cream in the cream container that was, well, made out of CHOCOLATE. Dad quickly passed me all the napkins available as I silently shouted, Bridemaids-style, “Look away!” and managed to get it all cleaned up fairly quickly  before anyone saw. I felt rather dumb, but I guess if splashed creamer is the worst thing that happens to you traveling internationally, you’re not doing too badly for yourself. The rest of the day went smoothly, and after checking out Rhein Falls (apparently the biggest falls in Europe, although Niagara Falls really puts them to shame), we did a hike through some vineyards in the nearby towns. We nearly got lost multiple times, but we made it back in plenty of time to catch the bus back to Munich. It was so peaceful hiking through the open fields and vineyards of Switzerland, probably especially so because it was a Sunday, and we could even see the Alps in the distance as we hiked – very picturesque, indeed.

Lake Zurich

May (and early June) have been filled with holidays. I had off pretty much every Catholic holiday because Bavaria is very Catholic: I had off two separate Thursdays (and thus ended up with two four-day weekends, since I never have classes on Fridays) and also had one five-day weekend due to Pentecost and the days off we were granted for that. A five-day weekend - funny concept, right? Even funnier though, is that it made for a two-day week immediately following it. :D

 Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle Of Skye

Anyways,  knowing that the long Pentecost weekend would be my last chance to do a long trip somewhere in Europe, I booked a trip to Scotland. Many people have asked me, “Why Scotland?” and I guess it’s a fair question - usually I have very concrete reasons for most things I do in my life. But this time, I really can’t say why exactly I went to Scotland - somehow, I was just drawn to it. Perhaps it was because of my childhood, spent watching the movie Brigadoon instead of the Disney classics. The movie is about a magical town in Scotland that only wakes up every one hundred years and is made up of lots of singing, dancing, kilts, etc. – can you see how that could enchant five year old me? Or maybe I felt drawn to it because I have a little Scottish blood in me. Who knows - I think it’s probably a mixture of both. Regardless, the country was all I expected it to be and more. It was magical, just like in the movie (gotta love it when reality mimics fiction). After staying in Edinburgh one night, I went on a three day guided bus tour into the Highlands to see Loch Ness and the Isle of Skye. The tour was designed for young people, ages 18-30, and was led our tour guide/bus driver Tim who wore a kilt and played Scottish music on the bus’s speakers as we rolled through Scotland's hilly landscape. We saw far more sights than I would have ever seen had I planned a trip like that on my own, and I learned so much. I especially loved learning about all the symbolism in the jewelry, textiles, etc, and by people watching, I determined that it's probably fair to say that the Scottish kilt/tartans can be compared to Bavarian Tracht (Lederhosen, Dirndl, etc.): some people wear their traditional outfits on the streets just for fun, some don't, and both are fairly normal occurrences.

World Peace Tartan (Photo:
 http://princeofscots.com/news/wp-content/uploads/
2013/10/World-Peace-Tartan-Ad.png)

After the trip ended, I stayed in Edinburgh one more night before I had to fly back to Munich, which gave me the chance to check out the textile mill near my hostel.
I got to learn a little more about the tartans and see the weaving machines at work, and learned that there is something called the world peace tartan, which "was created to promote a global message of peace." Here's the explanation as to what the colors represent: "the striking light blue in the design is representative of the presence, hope and potential of the United Nations. Scotland is represented at the heart of this enterprise through the purple and green of the Scottish thistle. The red and black in the design represent and remind us of the realities of war and violence and the great need for a new living culture of nonviolence with the white running through the pattern proving a counterbalance in being symbolic of peace and light"(http://www.heritageofscotland.com/world_peace_tartan).  I think it's a really beautiful idea, as well as a beautiful tartan.

Edinburgh at Sunset (which was around 10 pm,  due it being located so far north!)

The stage in front of my building, Orange House,
 for StuStaCulum. I live on the other side, luckily!

Last but not least, this past weekend was StuStaCulum (StudentenStadtSpektaculem),  which took place over a four-day weekend that ended up being filled with unending sun, lots of humidity, and a severe lack of AC (or airflow in my room in general, for that matter).The long weekend's beautiful weather was fun for a while, don't get me wrong: I spent time reading in the English Garden, listening to live bands perform right in my apartment complex, dancing to the music of an great a Capella group, and swimming in the Eisbach. (The Eisbach is what I would call Mother Nature's hop on/hop off lazy river located in the English Garden, aka my backyard: you float/paddle down the river with the help of its very strong current and then hop out at a good stopping point, walk back to where you started, and do it again. Sound like fun? It is!

Starting the ride down the Eisbach

The problem with the sunny weather is that my room bakes in the sun from approximately 4 pm to 10 pm, making it hard to function and, more specifically, breathe. Luckily, it rained this morning, clearing out the air a bit, but I am certainly doing the rain dance and not the sun one. I have to admit, I really miss the brutally cold air conditioning of the U.S. 

I suppose it won't be long now though 'til I open the garage door into a freezing cold American house, my house. I just calculated it - I only have six more weekends here, and then I'll be home. It's going to be bittersweet, that's for sure, and the adjustment perhaps a wee bit harder than I initially thought: I realized while writing this that I don't know how to spell "Scottish" in English anymore (I kept typing it as "Scottisch," because I am so used to the "sh" sound being spelled as "sch"). I also discovered that I don't know the English names of everyday kitchen utensils anymore - while making a list of things that I want to sell to incoming JYMers, I had no choice but to google image search "everyday kitchen utensils" (complete with labels of course), because I, try as I might, could not think of the word for "spatula"(a super advanced word, I know, I know).

So maybe there's hope for the awkward, cultural struggle stories that I miss so much. I think they'll be back in a month or two - in English in the U.S. Do have patience with me, if so.

Ciao Ciao for now!

Blog Post Written for the RCC's Blog "Seeing the Woods"

As part of my work at the RCC, I had the chance to write a blog post that related to the environment and society, and it was recently published on the RCC's blog "Seeing the Woods."
It's not written in my usual style, since I wrote it for a more academic, professional blog and it was edited by one of my co-workers, but I encourage you to check it out here!

And, not to a worry, a new post for this blog should be up soon - I realize it is long overdue!

I’ve got my toes in the Mediterannean water…

…toes in the sand, not a worry in the world, nothing cold in my hand, life was good that day.



    
 

A few teaser pics from Crete. Proof that my toes really were in the Mediterranean
water (taken Saturday evening) and proof that life really was good that day (taken Sunday morning by Ana).



Yet again I find myself wondering how another month has gone by so fast. I know I sound like broken record, but it’s true that things just keep going by more and more quickly, and it’s scary. My life is like one of those defect Toyota cars that kept going even when the driver tried to put on the brakes—it's happening so quickly, and I just can’t seem to slow it down. But it’s a good kind of out-of-control. I don’t ever want this year to be recalled.

 

This month I traveled to the Greek island of Crete where I spent five blissful days being unerreichbar (unreachable) with my good friend Ana. Summer semester began the day after our return to Munich, and after a few chaotic weeks of finalizing my schedule here while simultaneously picking out and registering for classes at UNH in the fall, I finally feel like everything is in order. I went to Frühlingsfest twice, hiked at Tegernsee, and have been simply been enjoying the lovely weather we've had recently.

 

The trip to Crete was a bit different than expected. We had checked out the weather report in advance and knew it might be not-so-nice the first few days. What we weren't expecting though, was that the weather would the strangest weather that a member of the hotel staff had ever seen in the 20-30 years that he had been working there. There was basically a huge storm that lasted for about three days: the wind was powerful, the waves were huge and thus swimming was prohibited on the beach, and it rained and  there was thunder. Saturday the sun came out for good though and we enjoyed the sun until we had to leave to go home.

 

The journey there was slightly stressful, but went well overall. We had a layover in Athens, home to what is probably the most poorly designed airport I have ever been in, and we had to go through security there for a second time. I'm still not sure if this was supposed to happen--Maybe we followed the signs of the labyrinth-like airport and ended up in the wrong place somehow. Or maybe it was just that we really did have to go through a second time. Regardless, it was stressful and annoying. I had to chug the one Liter of Munich water I had so thoughtfully filled up in the Munich airport, knowing the water in Greece might not be good. Perhaps the greater loss though was this: I had to throw away the unopened  juice box I had received on  the previous flight, since it was over 100mL. Somehow, I managed to avoid throwing a temper tantrum. Getting to the hotel after arriving at the airport in Iraklion using Greek public transportation was a little tricky, and I was on edge (literally on the edge of my seat) the whole bus ride to our hotel—I didn’t really relish the idea of missing our stop and ending up in some remote corner of the island of Crete. Yet again, my worries were umsonst (for nothing), and as it turns out, the bus driver had  correctly understood what stop we wanted when we got on, and stopped at our stop, and signaled us to get off.



Our humble abode in Crete

When we got to the hotel to check in, we were informed that the hotel had given us a free upgrade from the double room we had booked to one of their bungalows. Perks of traveling on the off-season, I suppose. We also were given codes for the Wi-Fi, but pretended we didn’t have them the whole time. Why, your ask? Well, the number one goal of the trip was complete relaxation and Erholung (recovery), and I think we all know it’s nearly impossible to achieve such goals when one is bombarded with a steady stream of emails and Facebook notifications. (Okay, okay, I don’t get that many Facebook notifications. But still.)
 So, what did we do to occupy ourselves without internet, you might ask? Here’s what the days generally consisted of: eating creamy Greek yogurt, banana chips, honey for breakfast while enjoying for the first time, in a long time, cups of non-instant coffee; attempting to read a book (though my short attention span prohibited me from getting very far--I was in Crete, how could I possibly stare at words on a page!?); journaling in front of the huge window overlooking the ocean; hunting down places to eat lunch outside of the hotel; napping (I'm usually bad at napping, but it sure was easy to do in Crete); watching “silly” German TV shows on a channel similar to the US’s TLC (think wedding shows, etc., in German); eating Greek salads with lots of Feta cheese and Greek olives at the hotel for dinner; and often, going to bed before 10pm. Yep, it was bliss. We did venture out into the city of Iraklion on one of the days to curb the cabin fever, where I got a Gyro sandwich, made friends with a stray dog (well, Ana did—I’m not much of an animal person, especially when I’m eating), and got sprayed by crazy, powerful waves at the harbor where we checked out the Venetian fortress. When we were waiting for the bus to go back to the hotel, I thought I heard gun shots, and of course ducked for cover. Good thing Ana is a bit more logical than I am and told me not to worry—if something really were wrong, everyone else would be running. Touché, Ana, Touché. It turns out that cars backfire a lot there, so those explosions we heard were just cars. I still jumped every time I heard the noise after that though, despite the explanation.

On the last morning, the day the weather was the best of the whole trip, we sat on the beach and I swam in the Mediterranean! At first, I was only going to dip my toes in. Then it was just my hair. But who was I kidding—I love the water. I skipped back to our bungalow (really though, it was an awkward walk/jog similar to the one I often did so frequently on my way to the bus stop in high school when I feared I would miss the bus), I changed into my bathing suit, and once one the beach, ran into the water. It was so refreshing, and now I can say with pride: "I swam in the Mediterranean!" There was still a red flag up, which meant no swimming, but the water was calm, and I think they had just forgotten to change it. I still felt like a rebel.

The whole trip was very memorable. Here are a few pictures to help paint a picture of it:


Ana and I at the harbor in Iraklion. Those huge waves are not normal, just for the record.

 

Descriptive English translation on menu:
"big white beans." It was a delicious
hearty soup, perfect for the rainy weather.
 

Greek-style pizza on Saturday.
Yum.

Gyro in Iraklion. I gave our
 little doggie friend a bite at the end.



View from the beach, pre-storm (Thursday).
This should be pictured in the dictionary next to the word "foreboding."

View from the beach, post-storm (Sunday morning). I think I like this one better.




Christy and I both got (each other) the little gingerbread
hearts. Hers says Kuß mich, mine says Schatzi

This weekend is the final weekend of Frühlingsfest, another three-week beer festival in Munich. It's basically a slightly disappointing smaller version of Oktoberfest that happens in the Spring. There are only two beer tents, as compared to the fourteen at Oktoberfest, but hey, there’s still a good atmosphere, Maßes of beer to be had, and live music in the tents to dance on the benches to, so I can't complain. And of course, I can never pass up an opportunity to wear my dirndl. I went on weeknights rather than on the weekends, since it's much less touristy and there is actually room to sit down in the tents. The first Tuesday I went, FC Bayern-München was playing, so the soccer game was being projected on a big screen in the front of the tent, and this past Tuesday, I went  with my program for Bavarian-American friendship day. We had a table reserved for us and also got free pretzels (if that doesn’t say friendship, I don’t know what does). 

Last Saturday, I went to Tegernsee for a hike with some people from my program. We were planning to eat at the restaurant at the top of the mountain—my only motivation—when we got up there, but it was closed. I was not amused. In fact, I was crushed. It was a feeling similar to when I had to throw away my unopened juice box at airport security in Athens.  Luckily, I had snacks with me, and perhaps it worked out for the best that is was closed. Once we were back in town, we found the Tegernsee Bräustuberl, a restaurant that had recently been added to my “must do before leaving Munich” list, where we had traditional Bavarian food for lunch and, appropriately, Tegernsee beer. Tegernsee is easily my favorite beer here, so drinking a Tegernsee next to the Tegernsee after seeing it from above was pretty special. After getting some ice cream, we hopped on the train and made our way back to Munich. The journey back to Munich was long (3 hours!), but parts of it were filled with delirious, exhaustion-induced laughter, so the time passed relatively quickly. Good people, good views, good food, and good laughs: it was a good day.

 

Katie, Christy, and I at the top. In the background: Tegernsee
(What do you call an apple when you eat it in the Alps? An ALPple!)

It says Tegernsee Hell (Tegernsee Light) at the
bottom of the glass—so cool! 



It’s all fun and games here, right? Often, but not always. The academics are still present, I promise. This semester I am taking four classes: a lecture at LMU called Umweltmanagement (Environmental Management); a seminar at LMU called Neue Weltliteratur oder Literatur der Globalisierung? Mehr- und transkulturelle Literatur in Deutschland (New World-Literature or Literature of Globalization? Pluricultural and Transcultural Literature in Germany); a German language course at JYM; and an Art History/Art in Munich course at JYM.

 

All my classes are going well for the most part, though I’m still too scared to participate in the seminar class, because I’m intimidated by the German students and self-conscious of my non-native German. I was dying to say something last class—I felt like a bubble ready to burst—but was too shy. I’m determined to participate next class though, and I know I can do it. But I also know my heart will be racing the moment I raise my hand in the air. It already is, just thinking about it.

 

I already gave a presentation in the art history course about Munich’s Frauenkirche, a church that has been in Munich since the 1400s. I gave the presentation right outside of the church—not a bad backdrop. It's so cool to be in a city with so much history that goes so far back. As an American, I’m used to things being dated from the 1800s on. Here though, that is definitely not the case. What better place is there to learn about art history than a place where there is so much of it? Anyways, I'm really looking forward to learning more about art history in the context of Munich in that class over the next few months.  

Naja. I think that about covers the month of April. Remember that lovely weather I mentioned before? Well, it's raining today, and it's supposed to rain for the next many days. But I'm okay with it, because I get a lot more work done when it's not sunny. Also, all the stores are closed today, since it's May 1st (Tag der Arbeit). I think it's fair to say (*read in the raspy, overly cheery voice of Elmo*), this blog post is brought to you by rainy weather and the all-too-frequent German holidays! Bye-Bye!



This Month on the Amazing Race

My ten week long vacation between the semesters is nearing its end and I’m not really sure how it went by so quickly. While I am sad it is almost over, I am so excited for the next four months of warmer weather, new courses, and even more traveling. And of course, more time with friends—I’ve missed my traveling friends during the break!

The end of March brought the end of my internship at the Rachel Carson center, but since I will be staying on as an editing assistant for the remainder of my time here, there’s not too much of a transition to make. I’m excited to have been offered the opportunity to stay on, and I will be working six hours each week—very ideal, I think. I’ll still have to time to focus on my classes and more importantly, have enough time to enjoy Munich as the weather gets nicer and nicer. I foresee many a picnic in the English Garden in my future!

The clouds on the right were not so friendly. 

The weather hasn’t really been behaving lately. Some days have been warm and sunny and made me want to stay outside all day and do some “Sonne tanken” (roughly translates to soaking up some sun so you have it all stored up for cloudy days) I like the image that expression creates in my mind of me filling up my sun tank with energy. Other days though, have not been so lovely—the weather we’ve had past few days has left me feeling just plain confused. In the course of three days I think I saw every sort of weather pattern imaginable: light rain, downpours, hail, snow, and thunder and lightning, and, thank goodness, a little bits of sun here and there that managed to restore my faith in Mother Nature. That’s what the first few days of April looked like at least, and when I asked the old woman I visit if that was normal, she, a longtime Munich resident, replied with a twinkle in her eye, “April ist gefährlich” (April is dangerous). Here’s hoping I make it through this month in one piece. Armed with an umbrella and jacket, I think I’ll make it.

On St. Patrick’s Day, while tons of people across the ocean in Ireland drank the day away, I took the DSH (Deutsch für Hochschulzugang) Prüfung, a German language exam for entrance to universities. I spent five hours of a gorgeous sunny day in a dim lecture hall that reeked of body odor. Sound like fun? It gets better. We only had two ten-minute breaks between the three sections. I often use the phrase “I’m just gonna run to the bathroom real quick,” when in fact I am actually going to walk to the bathroom at a leisurely pace. It doesn’t translate so well, and on one occasion I said “ich gehe schnell aufs Klo,” to a German, to which they replied, “lass dir ruhig Zeit” (take your time). It was a little awkward, and needless to say, I’ve taken to not using that expression in Germany anymore. However, during this exam, the expression couldn’t have been more fitting. Never have I ever “run to the bathroom real quick” like I did during one of the breaks. I literally sprinted down the down the three flights of stairs in LMU’s main building to the bathroom.  And back up afterwards. I did make it, with plenty of time to spare, and panting, wiping the sweat from my brow (okay, that part may be a bit exaggerated), I was ready for the last part of the exam. I got the results for the written exam one suspense-filled week later and then was given my appointment for the oral exam—I had to go in for the exam on the day that I called for the appointment. I just love surprises! (Not in this case). I took the oral exam, which wasn’t too bad, and then got my final results a few days later. I’m pleased to announce that I passed the exam with the highest level. Hooray! I’m so happy that it is over and done with. I am now the proud owner of a sheet of paper certifying that my German skills are at a C1.2 level, and it is valid for life and will allow me to enroll at German universities in the future, should I decide I want to do that. It’s definitely something I might consider for a master’s degree, but I don’t want to think about that right now… too much planning for the future is scary.

Majestic Mountains

A definite highlight of this month was my trip to Italy in mid-March to visit Alanna. During the flight I flew right over the Alps, and it was certainly the most beautiful view out of a plane window I have ever had. Upon arriving in Pisa, I had to make my way to the PisaMover (get it? it sounds like people mover)—I was nervous at first, having just arrived in a country where I don’t speak the language at all, but I channeled my Amazing Race energy, and, playing the show’s exciting theme song in my head, overcame my fears, rushed to the ticket counter, got my ticket, and made my way to the next stop in my race around the world: the Pisa Train Station. I never realized that watching the Amazing Race would help me in my own travels, but it really does. As soon as that song starts running through my head in a stressful travel situation, I feel like I can do anything. Alanna came to meet me a half hour later than expected, which at first caused me to panic. I didn’t have any way to contact her, since my cell phone wouldn’t work there. So I just kind of paced around, trying not to look too much like a vulnerable female American tourist at the Pisa train station. I’m sure I failed. Luckily, I was able to reassure myself that she was probably just on the next train from Florence, and sure enough she was, we hugged, and lived happily ever after. Glad I didn’t get let my worries get the better of me.

We made our way to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and we were sure to get the obligatory “Make it look like I’m touching the Leaning Tower of Pisa” pictures.  It was quite humorous—if you were to stand with your back to the Tower without knowing it was there, you might think you had just stumbled upon an outdoor Tai Chi class. We went back to Florence later on in the afternoon, where I spent the rest of the weekend with Alanna. In the less than 48 hours I was there, I had the best cannoli of my life (I had so much fun watching the guy fill up the cannoli shell with that cannoli cream), ate an amazing pizza paired with plenty of house wine, managed to consume a huge panini, enjoyed the most delicious dark chocolate gelato I’ve ever had, had some lasagna, ate tiramisu for dessert, got a piping hot Nutella croissant from the secret bakery at 1:30am, and had biscotti and coffee on my last day. If it sounds like a lot of food for such a short amount of time, well, it was. Gold star for the weekend goes to my stomach for helping me enjoy all the delicious food that Italy has to offer. The trip was really memorable—it was so nice to spend time with Alanna and so cool that I could just hop on a plane to Italy for the weekend. That’s Europe for you, I guess. Here are a few pics:

Tai Chi class, or posing for a pic with the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

I'm sure I looked just as ridiculous as all
the tourists did though... 

So happy about those canollis

Alanna and I at Piazza de Michelangelo.
Florence is in the background

---

Well, it looks like March was more productive than I thought it was. Sometimes it takes these blog posts to remind me just how much I am doing. And now, because I am such a sap, I want to end this blog post with a story that I hope leaves you with a smile:

Last weekend I went to Nordbad on my own to relax a little. I was lounging in the outdoor pool, reclining, looking up at the sky as the moon came out and day turned to night, waiting for the jets to come on. I began eavesdropping on a conversation happening next to me: an older German woman was talking with two younger men about the upcoming Easter holiday. The men, who I later found out were Muslims, were asking the woman what the story of Jesus on Easter is, according to her religion. These strangers were comparing notes about their religions’ views of Jesus. Wrapping up the conversation, the woman said, roughly translated, “well, I don’t think it really matters what exactly it was that happened to Jesus on Easter. Jesus is Jesus, no matter what religion.” The men, like me, thought that response was really nice, and they replied “Sie sind wirklich nett!”(You are really nice!). I couldn’t help but smile—what the woman said was so beautiful and simply put. I believe that respecting people’s varying beliefs and acknowledging the good in everyone is so important, and I gained a lot of faith in humanity that night in the Schwimmbad—I’m telling you, magical things happen there. May there be peace on Earth! 

The Blink of an Eye

Blink once. Very good. That went fast didn’t it? Now you know just about how fast this entire month, albeit only 28 days, has seemed to go by for me.  

I’m starting to get the sinking feeling that my return date of July 23^rd is going to sneak up on me in a similar fashion to how my ornery, yet loveable, brother August sneaks up on me at home. I always know he is there…somewhere…when all of a sudden—“AHH!” *jumps out of chair, or off of ground if already standing*—there he is! Hopefully my date of departure will not be as shocking to me as August’s sneak attacks are, but July 23^rd, I am keeping an eye on you!

This month, I started my internship at the Rachel Carson Center; had the pleasure of a visit from my dear, old friend Alanna and saw Bryan too; spent a wonderful Galentine’s Day with my gal Christy, plenty of chocolate, and some nice German red wine; and even got to see Kira, my fellow German major from UNH!

The internship at the Rachel Carson Center is great so far. I am part of the editing team, and thus I would like to direct your attention the nicely placed em dashes I used above, which I have learned about while familiarizing myself with the Chicago Style Guide (no, this is not some fashion magazine about what’s hot and what’s not in Chicago—it’s essentially a guide for how everything in the English language is supposed to be written and how sources are to be cited). I’ve learned the difference between a hyphen (-), an en dash (–), and an em dash (—), and the perfectionist in me is seriously loving knowing how to use these correctly.

At the internship, I have the privilege of working with inspiring, interesting, and intelligent people, as well as the privilege (yes, it is a privilege) of access to free coffee (no, not just any coffee—I’m talking latte macchiatos, cappuccinos, espressos, etc.) all day long. I’ve been able to limit myself to no more than two caffeinated coffee beverages a day, and given the glutton in me, I think I’m doing pretty well for myself. I’m getting to proofread articles about the environment and sustainability, help international fellows with their works in progress by editing for language issues, and even try my hand at translating a few smaller projects. Though the working language at the Center is English, I’m still getting opportunities to use my German, which makes me very happy! Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly to me, and I am so lucky to be getting such great work experience while here in Munich.

Since pictures are worth a thousand words, here are a few smile-filled photos from the past month:

Bryan, Alanna, and I at the TUM Cafe in Munich
So lucky to still be friends with these amazing people :)

Notice the opposite matching going on
 (Christy's maroon shirt, my maroon sweats;
my black shirt, her black pants).
It was unintentional, I promise.

Happy Galentine's Day to us!

Kira, my UNH German major buddy, and I at Viktualienmarkt. A rainy Sunday, but lovely nonetheless!

I will close this blog post with a Laurianne in Awkward Situations tale, of which there has been no shortage this year. This one is hot off the press:

I went to the library today to study for the DSH Prüfung (German language test) I am taking in March. I was feeling pretty good about my trip to the library—I had found a free table and caught myself smirking when people talking in what I was pretty sure was a no-talking zone were shushed by the “library police” (that’s how I like to refer to the black suit-wearing, grumpy old men who enforce such trivial rules in the library here). I felt even smugger when the library police told the guy sitting next to me he had to put his water bottle on the floor, while mine was already on the floor—I’m so good, I thought. My water must have been good too though, because later, when I glanced sideways at the guy sitting next to me as he took a dramatic, final swig of his water bottle, I realized it was not his water bottle he was finishing off, but mine, which, unfortunately for him, I have been refilling for about a week or two and probably was pretty gross. He placed it back down on the floor between me and him, and not knowing what to do, I packed up my things (except the newly nearly empty water bottle) and left. I was ready to go anyways, right? I was not so keen on the possibility of having to explain to him in a no-talking zone of the library that he had drunken out of my water bottle, so this seemed like the best solution. I left my (now his) water bottle where it was, and walked all the way to the U-Bahn station smiling, just imagining the look on his face when he realizes he drank a water bottle belonging to a stranger who probably knew what he did and left it there for him to realize.

Could this perhaps be an example of Schadenfreude, a German word meaning something along the lines of taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortunes? I think so. I suppose some things never change about a person; there’s definitely still a little bit of ornery in me, just like my sneaky younger brother, and I don’t think I ever want that to ever go away. I guess it's fair to say: “there’s a little bit of devil in [those] angel eyes.” ;)

(^Because no blog post should leave you without a catchy song in your head. Thanks Love and Theft—I think—for this catchy country tune.)