Gee Whiz... It's Christmas

Helloooooooo there! Merry Christmas, how ya beeeeeeen?
It's been a long long time, and I have so much on my mind… I guess I should start to say, gee whiz. It's Christmas...

This has been a challenging couple of weeks. The semester was winding down for Weihnachten Pause, our Mid-Year Report was due and the need to have an Internship lined up before the end of January was and still is steadily riding my coattails…

Am Mittwoch 11.12.13

This day was bit extra saddening for me because it was the birthday of a close friend of mine from middle school and High school who was shot and killed last year just a few days before his birthday. Everything I was feeling and thinking that day was a bit overwhelming, I even put a pause to my internship search for a bit because I kept thinking of the funeral and how it was all so sudden. I don't remember leaving my room because it just reminded me that once I stepped foot out the door, I would no longer be in my little world. I would be back in the German speaking reality. I decided to hide from Deutschland and just sleep the day away. It was one of those days where you just needed a redo button. So I went to sleep and tried to start over.

Am Donnerstag 12.12.13

I took a super early train towards Stuttgart with Dawn and we went to König Cafe to meet with another PPP'er Andrew and our GIZ Bundesland representative. I finally met with my GIZ representative in person and discussed our first couple of months in the Uni-phase, how we have adjusted since arriving to der Hochschule-Reutlingen, she wanted to hear our German, and most importantly "HAVE YOU FOUND A PRAKTIKUM YET?" My German at that point was schlecht, I lost the drive to continue learning it as often as I should and I became a little depressed, but things have improved a bit since then. 

After getting a Glühwein on the GIZ's dime and seeing the Christmas market for a hot second, we said goodbye to our rep and ran to the train station. All of us had a pre-planned trip to Strasbourg, France and I couldn't wait to get there. It was so cold in France, it was like having an Icebox where my heart used to be. We saw as much of the city as we could without getting hypothermia. We saw the beautiful Le Petite France which looks just as spectacular at night than during the day.

We couldn't feel our toes.

Do we look like popsicles? Because we are.

playing some new game for iPhone where you compete with people answering historical and pop culture questions. It was fun, but all in German! Good Grief!

This should go on the CBYX website, I'm just saying (from left: Dawn Noyes, Me, Andrew Scheperle, & Andrew Thomas).

Disgusted look from missing our Umsteig (transfer) and having to seek shelter from the cold in an elevator.

Am Freitag 13.12.13

Earlier that morning both Dawn and I were in Tuebingen at the Deutsche Amerikanisch institut. The coordinator over the Rent An American program which we volunteer for established an exchange program for high school students in Tuebingen who would be venturing to the United States. Living and attending school there for two weeks! We volunteered our time to talk to the students about adjusting to life in the U.S. seeing that a lot of them would be going for the first time! The students will be spending two weeks attending a high school in a city that I believe is fairly close to Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Our job was to basically be "The Americans" and answer any questions they may have had about how things are in the U.S., any customs or cultures that are majorly different (New Mexico has a strong Native American culture) and of course get them to speak a bit more English. After introductions, an overview of where they would be going to school, and a small photo op for the local paper, we split into two groups and Dawn and I spent about an hour talking to the students about various things. My group was a bit larger than Dawn's and a bit more energetic. Our discussion ranged from things to do in New Mexico, dangers of wildlife, to favorite cartoons and music. Surprisingly we had a lot in common as far as tastes in Musik and shows. My goal was to let them get to know me more and make them more comfortable. If they didn't feel comfortable asking questions in English, then we would switch to German for a bit. Overall it was a great experience, and I can't wait to see those wonderful students again next month before they leave for the U.S. in February.

Later that afternoon, Ashley, Dawn, and I met with our Patin (which is basically our godmother/representative in the Bundestag German Parliament in Berlin). We were sent an invitation just a week before and really didn't know what to expect other than maybe a quick meeting, maybe just a "hi and bye" type of thing. Boy were we in for a treat.

We arrived at her office around 4pm. Our Patin's office aide guided us to a room that had a nice little spread of Brezeln und klein küchen mit Apfel schorle. 

What started as a simple meet & greet turned into an actual interview (alles auf Deutsch) and I swear I never felt so nervous in my life. There were two interviewers, a man and a woman, but there there was a third person there with one of those gigantic studio video cameras recording our reactions and answers. I was starving during the entire interview process. I slowly devoured that Brezel and kept switching the side in which I was chewing my food so it wouldn't be on camera. If you want to read the article it is available here. Below you will find a photo that is also featured on our Patin's website.

Later that evening my friends Jenna and Jan came in from Radolfzell to visit me for the weekend. The Hochschule planned an outing that Saturday to Rothenburg ob der Tauber which is the historically beautiful Medieval town surrounded by a wall that you can in fact walk on almost the entire length of the city. We did a walking tour of the stadt, explored the Christmas market, and tried the local delicacy known as the "Schneeballen" which is a pastry made from shortcrust pastry. In English "schneeball" means snow ball, which is where the pastry gets it shape. 

Jenna & Jan with their warm delicious Glühwein!

A variety of Schneeballen flavors!

Am Montag 16.12.13

Monday involved waking up at 5am and heading down to the train station to take a 6am train towards Rottweil for a volunteer school visit. We went to talk to students about differences between American and German Christmas as well as bake Christmas cookies with them. I was in charge of organizing the group to make sugar cookies and decorate them. The other group had to make chocolate chip cookies. The age groups were between 13-15 years old so they could not really speak the best English which is fine by me, I was there to challenge them and have them ask me questions in English in order to make sure the recipes came out great (or at least edible).It was a lot of fun to watch the kids scramble around trying to do the measurements properly, mix the ingredients, and knead the dough while I supervised. The ingredients are a lot different here in Deutschland, so we had to make due with what we had. The end result was a variety different tasting cookies, all pretty good just prepared different ways. The important thing is no one burned anything and the kitchen wasn't catching fire, so I believe the odds were ever in our favor.

Am Dienstag 17.12.13

Dienstag war ein sehr lange tag für mich. I had to do another school visit, this time at the Wilhelm-Maybach Schule in Bad Canstatt which is in Stuttgart. I was asked to visit two classrooms and create a poster which detailed 

1. Which stereotypes do the German students have about Americans? 
2. Which stereotypes do you as an American have in mind about Germans?

I later had to explain and discuss where do these stereotypes come from and which are partly or mostly true. Also discussion on whether or not Stereotypes are dangerous. The presentations started at 7:45am and ended at 11:30 with a break in-between classes. Afterwards I got a tour of the school by some students and we went out for lunch. I even received a variety of Schwäbisch and Weihnachten beers as a gift from one of the classes.

Am Samstag 21.12.13

It's always remarkable how you are given 24 hours each day and you can either do SO much or SO little in that amount of time. Dawn, Nial, and I made the most of our time and got up at 6am to take our train to visit a very famous German city called Nürnberg. It's located in the German state of Bavaria (which to the residents of Bavaria is a country all on it's own).

We embarked on our journey at 6:45am and traveled for hours, arriving right at 11:30am. We met up with another PPP'er named Zack who had taken a night train and arrived in Nürnberg around 4am that morning (surprisingly he didn't pass out from exhaustion).

We saw the Christmas market and walked through the city and had a little Stammtisch with some of the PPP'ers that were placed in Saarbrucken for language school. That was interesting to say the least. Later we ventured to München and met up with a couple other PPP'ers. Saturday seemed to last forever. The next day we went to the this awesome winter festival called Tollwood and tried an authentic Feuerbowle. A feuerbowle is similar to Glühwein, except its placed a special mug where you can place a sugar cube on. The sugar cube is then doused in rum and set ablaze lighting the entire drink on fire. It's so delicious, but like everything else in München, pretty pricey. Later that evening I had to leave early to catch a train back to Radolfzell to visit my host family for the holidays. They had invited me the week or so before and it was such a treat to have the opportunity to see them again! They told me that we were spending the holidays with a friend of theirs in Algasterhausen, Baden-Württemberg which is not too far from Heidelberg (give or take 30 minutes).

Am Dienstag 24.12.13

Christmas Eve in America is Christmas Day here. Germans celebrate Christmas a day earlier because they're pretty awesome like that, so season's greetings and Frohe Weihnachten from me and my host family!

drinking Irish Kaffee. Frohe Weihnachten und a Gutes Neue Jahr!

Bis nächste Jahr (until next year)!

Schwieriger, Besser, Schneller, Stärker.

 It's reached that part of the program where everything seems just a bit harder for everyone. It's freezing cold and snowing every couple of days here, which makes leaving my room THAT much harder. The days have came and went so fast! Christmas is only a couple weeks away and loneliness is settling in for some of us who don't have host families to spend it with. We're 4 months into the program now. This is the phase when people are truly tested and have to stay strong and find a way to make it through the holidays. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm missing being around my friends back home and seeing that this dorm is going to be a ghost town in about 10 days, I don't know what to do or where to go. For the first time since being in Deutschland, I have nothing planned.

Nearly all of my friends at AAMU are graduating THIS Friday (Dec. 13th) and I can't be there to celebrate with them. It kind of brings me down a bit but I know they're going off into some successful futures and I will see them again soon. 

In other news... The semester here at Hochschule-Reutlingen is coming to a close for the holiday break, but to me it only means one thing: avoiding the cold. It snowed last week and I can honestly say I just wanted to call it quits, crawl up in the fetal position, and not leave my room for at least 6 months. OH BUT WAIT, this is only the beginning! A Southern boy such as myself isn't accustomed to such freezing temperatures, hell it was just 70°F (21°C) in Birmingham, AL over the weekend! I could totally go for that right now. 

The last two weeks were challenging, stressful, and a little fun. 

Am Montag (25.11.13)

The Einführung in die Informatik Kurs I take from 8am - 1pm was canceled and I couldn't have been happier. Unfortunately I found this out on my way to the class in -2°C weather while it was snowing. As Alison (an American girl in my German language class) so eloquently put "Germany has a special type of cold that reaches deep down into your soul and makes you hate life." 

 

After unthawing my frozen fingers in my room, I went back to bed.   

Later that evening I went to the gym McFit to workout with Dawn. I changed into my workout clothes and after about 15 minutes of cardio I decided to head back to the Umkleide Herren (changing room for men) to refill my water bottle and check my phone for messages. I searched my locker to realize that my jeans were missing! The Polish worker there tried to help me find them but with no such luck, (guess Germans fancy American Eagle). Then the worker asked if we could meet at the gym (when he's working) and basically be his tandem partner because he needs help improving his Englisch and I obviously have been slacking on my German. I don't know how that even happened. oh yeah, being anti-social. Nonetheless, I still left the gym with my jeans nowhere to be found.

Am Mittwoch (26.11.13)

I spent the entire day planning, sleeping, and finishing up my PowerPoint presentation I had to do that Friday for my very first Volunteer school visit!

Am Donnerstag (27.11.13)

Thursday was Thanksgiving and mannnn did I hate having to see all the home-cooked meals being posted on every INCH of social media. My original plans to spend Thanksgiving at one of my tandem partner's place kind of fell through, so instead I spent it at the Hochschule. The university setup this big dinner for the international students, they provided the turkeys and everyone made a dish and brought it. Kind of like a potluck. Since my plans were canceled at such short notice I didn't have time to prepare anything. That still didn't stop me from sneaking in and grabbing a helping of the delicious spread. It didn't taste like what I would call a traditional Thanksgiving, but still pretty good. I have a big animation project due in mid-January and I had to submit the storyboard which felt like such a headache. With only a month to do texturing, rendering, creating characters that can interact with the environment, I'm not sure how we're going to get this done in time. Especially since I have never used the 3DSmax software before. Luckily my partner Joe has so I'm hoping to get a good chunk of it done before or during the Christmas break.

Am Freitag (29.11.13)

Friday was probably one of the longest days in history. I had a 3hr train ride ahead of me to visit and speak with the students at Robert-Gerwig-Schule Singen (just 10 minutes north of Radolfzell where I studied for Language School). I woke up at 7am, got dressed and headed to the train station. I arrived at the station and was greeted by the teacher, and she pretty much gave me a quick run-down of how things were going to go that day with her class. The class had been working on brochures about living, working, going to school, and being an Au Pair in America. It was so awkward walking into the classroom... The chairs were all setup in a huge circle and for a second I thought I was going to be placed dead center and be bombarded with questions.

 

Instead I was greeted with awkward looks by 27 smiling faces and then was directed to the front of the room where there was a Käsekuchen (cheesecake), muffins, and freshly baked cookies made by students and were all for me! Now THAT'S what I call hospitality! We began promptly at 11:30 that morning with introductions from students who told me a little bit about the Vocational school and what they generally study/learn on the daily, all in Englisch might I add! German kids are taught English in 5th grade (I think the starting age/grade was just pushed back to 1st grade) and do not get to utilize their English speaking skills much outside of the classroom so it was great for them to have a native speaker there to help them hear how Americans speak in person.

Overall the presentation went well. We discussed high school life in the U.S., the concept of uniforms, college life and everything that encompasses it such as expenses, education, the difference between American/German institutions, and of course PARTIES! The most interesting part had to be the discussion on American Stereotypes. I got the general questions that I've been asked every week by Germans since stepping into this country which include: 

1. Is it true that all Americans eat McDonalds everyday?
2. Do you own a gun?
3. What do you think of Obamacare?
4. What do you think of the NSA Scandal?

I felt obligated to briefly explain why Americans love fast food so much. It's inexpensive, cheap, and very accessible. Cost plays a major role in it as well. It's cheaper to order a greasy burger and fries, get full, and pay under $5 rather than spending $6.99 for a healthy salad/meal. When asked about if I owned a gun, I told the kids I owned 4 guns that I keep for protection. All a LIE of course, but it was still funny. Americans aren't all obsessed with guns. Don't let the media and Call of Duty fanatics mislead you. Forty-five minutes into the discussion and we had a short break. REALLY SHORT. There was a second group that joined the class because we had reached the part of the discussion about Deutsche-Amerikanisch Stereotypes.

By far the best part of the American Stereotypes conversation was when I was asked a few personal questions about being a African-American. The Q&A went something like this.... 

Me:"Anymore stereotypes you have about Americans or African Americans that I can resolve?"
Student#1: "Can you play basketball?" (stereotype: all black people are good at basketball)
Me: "Uhh... no not really... I'm bad at sports. I rarely play sports at all".
Student#2: "So what are your hobbies?"
Me: "Reading, traveling, watching movies, exercising, etc."
Student#3: "What kind of exercising?!?"
Me:"Um... running, weight-lifting, cardio, whatevs."
*Girls in the back of the room*: "ahhhhhh..."

(Apparently there's a stereotype floating around that black guys have really nice bodies obtained from lots of exercise I suppose....)

Student#4:"Is it true all black people can dance?"

Me: *answers without hesitation* "YES! next question?"

 

                                    

   

Student #5:"Can you dance for us?..." *she says as she slowly pulls out iPhone*
Me: "NOPE! You're not posting this on the internet haha".

After almost 2hrs of talking my butt off and answering questions, the bell had rung and class was over for the day. I grabbed some more käsekuchen and talked to some of the students afterwards and they got my contact information. I met this student who had lived in Dallas, Texas for 4 years, just got back from the U.S. and was really missing being there. I myself lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for about 8 months last year so we had a lot to talk about haha. We took group photos and then the teacher drove me to the train station. I decided to visit my old friends at the Carl Duisburg Center in Radolfzell while I was in the area. My friends Jenna and Jan (pronounced yawn) work there and we had planned a trip to Barcelona, Spain for that Saturday.

Am Samstag (30.11.13)

The plan was to leave from Radolfzell as a trio to Stuttgart airport, but I left my passport back in Reutlingen and that's a definite no-no, so I told them I'd just meet them at the airport later. Fast forward to 2am and I'm just arriving at the airport exhausted but hyper! When we arrived in Spain we were completely Zombified and freezing! 
                                  
I didn't expect it to be so frickin' cold! We grabbed our 10-ride passes and headed towards the apartment I found on Airbnb. The place we were staying at was in the Gothic Quarter which is BEAUTIFUL! Right next door was this really cool vintage Vinyl record shop. Walking into this place gave off one of the illest vibes I've ever felt. You could tell the owner was really living his dream, he was a much older guy who sat up at the register with an electric guitar hooked up to the speakers as one of the records played throughout the store.

I even snagged a few classic records for myself! They were really reasonable in price and from some of my favorite artists so I couldn't resist.

Top Left: Hits & Soul 4 (including Aretha franklin, Otis Redding, Arthur Conley, Rufus Thomas, and more. Top Right: Gloria Gaynor "Never Can Say Goodbye". Bottom Left: Louis Armstrong. Bottom Right: Chuck Berry greatest hits including my fave "No Particular Place To Go" and "Maybellene".

We started our Zombie morning by stopping in this bakery around the corner from our rented apartment and trying something called a "Tortell" that was so unbelievably delicious.

posing with our delectable Tortell. It's a Catalonian treat that was very flaky, drizzled with what had to be honey , topped with pralines and Puderzucker (powdered sugar). It also had a tasty filling that I couldn't distinct the flavor, I'm told it may have been marzipan, but who knows... We  didn't find another Tortell after that day.

Running off only 3 hours of sleep (in the form of brief naps), and our sugar rush from the Tortell coming to an end, the 3 of us ventured through the streets of Barcelona in a grumpy cat kind of mood.

Grumpisaurus Rex

Grumpisauraus finds a friend

We found a cool flea market before reaching the famous, tourist-filled La Ramblas street, but not before I could make this awesome pose.

 

Or before I could mount and ride this lion.

Even on a freezing Saturday morning the streets were still filled with swarms of tourists venturing to the various markets and shops that were open that day. As we walked down La Ramblas we stopped and saw a sign that had this cool deal on Tapas and a Paella for only 8,50€! Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers found in Spanish cuisine and Paella is this huge rice dish served with either seafood, mixed vegetables or mixed meat. There was a waiter standing right near the menu and saw us reading it and told us it was "an incredible deal!".... and we went for it.

So this is how we got played.

He guided us into the direction of the restaurant and when we reached the door I noticed that the same deal we had just seen only a couple minutes ago was priced at 11,50€ so I made a notion to both Jenna and Jan that something was up. He sat us at a nice table near the window and I noticed the sun was finally starting to pierce through the cloudy with a chance of meatballs type of day we were having. The guy who sat us immediately left and went back outside to hustle more chumps. He was replaced by a new waiter who was ready to take our orders. We asked him why was there a change in prices from the 20 seconds it took us to walk from the original 8,50€ deal on the street to the 11,50€ one posted right at the door. 

He explained that it was 8,50€ to sit OUTSIDE and eat (in the cold) but to eat inside the restaurant was an extra 3€. We contemplated leaving right then and there but we were starving and they seemed to offer a somewhat good deal. Well in all honesty Jenna was too annoyed and hungry to put up too much of a fuss. Plus I wanted to try a "Paella".

Tapas: some funky tuna salad, fried Eggplant (which was DELICIOUS), fries with ketchup and hot peppers, some fried meat mush thingys, and Calamari...

trying Calamari for the first time, it was so terrible.

Jenna and her vegetarian Paella

That was our one splurge meal since we were on a traveler's budget. We continued down Las Ramblas and found this huge market that had some really delicious looking fruit!

photo credits: Jenna Gwilliam

Later that evening we went throughout the city being the best tourists we could be and discovered one of Antoni Gaudí's famous buildings smack dab in the middle of the city!

Casa Batllo facade of Gaudi in Paseo de Gracia. Photo credits: Jenna Gwilliam

Eventually we ended up here at St. Montjuïc for the light and music show!
 

Am Sonntag (1.12.13)

Sunday was surprisingly warm. The sun was shining and it felt great to get out and enjoy the city without worrying about frostbite. This guy we were sharing the apartment with told us of this park just a few minutes walk from where we stayed that had this magnificent fountain.

Arc du Triomf! I seem to find one all over Europe.

 We found the fountain!

La Cascada Parc de Citadela

Next up was....

La Sagrada Familia

Creepy figures, Michael Jackson and Elvis looks terrifying

Barcelona Olympic Stadium, home to the 1992 Olympics

Right outside the stadium were footprints left by athletes from the 1992 Olympics. Me and MJ wear nearly the same size shoe!

That night we planned on hitting up a Harlem Jazz club, but found out it was closed when we got there. That seemed a little odd since the night life in Barcelona is always on and poppin' after 10pm and the website said it'd be open til 3am. Instead we went to a nearby bar. Jan and I grabbed a beer while the 3 of us all talked about the crazy ex-Mormons also living in our apartment who were on a self-discovery journey through Europe (long story). Apparently we had gotten to the bar like 10 minutes before closing because not soon after we sat down, the workers started cleaning up, and the guy came and took our beers and poured them into plastic to-go cups. I guess that was the extra push we needed to get the hell up out of there.

Am Montag (2.12.13)

Monday we were still in Barcelona (yes this trip lasted from Saturday until Tuesday morning) so we did more exploring of the Gothic Quarter and did some careless shopping. (Sidenote: Jan dropped our one and only map in a KFC public restroom, forgot it, then ran back to grab it. I'm sure it still has the faint smells of Spaniard pee on it)

The Gothic Quarter, purrty ain't it?

Tuesday morning we flew back to Germany and back to the cold gloominess. It felt good to get a break from my responsibilities for a bit. I said goodbye to both Jenna and Jan and headed home to Reutlingen. Back in my dorm I continued my internship search. By the end of January all of the CBYX/PPP participants need to have a Praktikum lined up and 40 volunteer hours completed. The application process in Germany is a lot more thorough than what I'm used to. They want each and every detail in documented form so my application packets have been pretty thick. The pressure is really on to get everything done within the deadline. Even now the Mid-Year report is looming over my head as well as preparing for more class visits in the upcoming week.

have to send these off by Thursday knowing German postage it'll arrive on New Years Eve.

Currently writing up Christmas cards to send with Milka bars back home to my supportive loved ones. It's been a rough month or so and I have people that have been rooting for me back home.

I'm meeting with both my GIZ Bundesland representative and my "Patin" (which apparently means Godmother in German) this week. I also have an exam in my Deutsch language class and need to prepare a poster for my class visit next Monday on American/German stereotypes. I will be talking to about 50 students (split into two groups). Oh and of course there's "What do the lonely do at Christmas?" playing in the back of my head.There's so much on my plate this week and I don't dare ask for seconds. In the meantime, I'm going to be productive today and get a jumpstart on this report, study for my test, and head to the gym. Let's see if I can get a workout in without losing another pair of pants.

Tschüss.