Nov 29, 2007

EuroLife: Day 63

I'm home! I can't tell you how nice it is to be back in our little apartment. I was released this morning at around 10:30am. Michael and I walked home, stopping for an errand at the University, and walked to the Mensa for lunch at around noon. After all that fresh air and walking, I was totally wiped out and took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon. Freed from bed rest, and it's back to bed I go. I felt like one of those kids who wants to play "school" on the first day of summer vacation. (No offense, mom :) In my defense, they wake you up well before dawn in the hospital and that is something I am not used to! (Nor is it something I approve of it, or condone in any way. I am Irish, and we like to sleep.)

After 4 or 5 days of hospital German food, I was desperate for a change. The food wasn't bad; for hospital food it was actually pretty good. It's just that I was already getting a little tired of the local cuisine before I went in to the hospital, and in the hospital it was all German food all the time. I needed something a little more familiar; I needed comfort food. That is how landed at Cheers this evening.

That's right, Cheers--you know the song. Jena's own "American Sports Bar." After looking at some pictures on facebook from a friend's barbecue, I was desperate for a cheeseburger. Rumour had it that Cheers was the place to go.

When we first walked in I was so excited. It smelled like an American burger joint, which is to say it smelled like greasy goodness. We ordered a basket of onion rings and two cheeseburgers and did our best to ignore the exorbitant prices. Michael got a Becks and I had a Fanta--the one German touch to the meal. If you've never had an orange soda in Europe, you don't know what you're missing. It's the most delicious beverage, quite unlike orange soda at home. It has juice it in, and it's nowhere near as sweet as, say, Orange Crush. I'm a big fan. Still, we paid about as much for the Fanta as we did the Becks. I'm still not used to that

We had been told by several German friends that they serve fries and such in giant baskets. Our onion rings did come in a basket, but we have been spoiled by American decadence (or gluttony--hard to say). This would have been a small order back home. It was plenty, of course, especially since our burgers came with fries, but it was interesting to compare our notions of a "giant" basket of appetizers.

Then came the burgers! We were given two condiment containers when we sat down: one red and one yellow. This was the first time in Jena that we have been given unlimited ketchup, and I quite appreciated it. The "mustard", however, was another story. It was not mustard. It was either dill-flavored mayonaise or some kind of butter, we really couldn't tell which, but we left it alone. The burgers, as you can see, looked a lot like American burgers. Alas, they did not taste so much like American burgers. They were not bad, they were just very different; kind of like a meatloaf sandwich with some interesting extras thrown in. (The fries were good too, but they come with Paprika on them, so they are also not quite like what you'd get at home.)

All in all, we had a lovely evening. I am very happy to be out and about again, and extremely thankful for the baby's health. A weird cheeseburger was still a very nice change, and the onion rings made me feel like I was back home for a few minutes. And now, once again, it's back to bed I go :)

Nov 28, 2007

EuroLife: Day 62

Just a very quick note to say that all is well, and regular blog programming should return tomorrow! I had another ultrasound today and the baby looks great. In fact, today it looked much more like a baby than a gummy bear; it was very exciting.

One more funny hospital story: Yesterday I was permitted to walk around a bit inside the building. I walked up and down the (single) hallway some, and took the elevator to wander the hallway in the other 3 floors. It was very exciting. Today they told me that I could go outside, and I was actually very excited about that. It was a sunny and beautiful day, and the hospital is right downtown. Alas, when Michael came by and we set out for our walk, they told me (via Michael) that I couldn't leave the hospital grounds. It was pretty funny, we wandered around outside within the confines of the grounds. I felt a little tiny bit like a prisoner, looking over the wall down to the lovely trail that runs along a stream...

I'm mostly kidding, of course. I am bored beyond belief, but only because I feel so well. I am very thankful that things are going so well, and a little boredom is not the end of the world. And now, in about 15 hours, I get to go home!

Nov 26, 2007

EuroLife: Day 60

Hello again! Sorry that we abandoned the blog for a few days, things have been pretty crazy. The short version of the story is that everything seems to be OK, but I'm on bed-rest in the Frauenklinik for another couple of days or so. I had some bleeding, but they have been doing regular ultrasounds and the baby appears to be perfectly fine. The heart-rate is perfectly normal, and the size is exactly what it should be. (He/she also resembles a Gummy Bear, as the ultrasound tech pointed out to me this afternoon. I laughed out loud, she was exactly right! Well, except for the ears.) I also feel fine, apart from being tired and a bit bored. I've been tired for weeks, so that's nothing new, and the boredom was helped significantly when Michael brought me this laptop and a stack of DVDs with American TV shows.

I thought I would do a quick post on how different hospitals are here. I first suspected a difference a few weeks ago, when reading a brochure about giving birth in Germany. If you have the baby in the hospital, the first 7 nights are free. Yes, you read that correctly, 7 nights. After that, you have to pay 10 Euros a night. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's a bit more expensive at home :) My stay here shouldn't cost us anything at all. Here in the Frauenklinic, the atmosphere is incredibly laid-back. Michael comes and goes as he pleases, as does my roommate's husband. I imagine they would eventually kick them out, but there aren't any real visiting hours. When he first came to see me, he tried to check in and they said "yes, hello, she's in her room" and that was it.

There are upsides and downsides to my being in Germany right now. I would never be held overnight in the hospital for this in the States, certainly not for several days. It seems I would be told to rest, take it easy, and maybe told to stay in bed for a few days. Here, I am (so far) only allowed out of bed to go down the hall to the bathroom or (and I'm only mostly sure this is OK) to take a shower. They bring me my meals in bed. I think, starting tomorrow, I'll be allowed to walk around the hospital some. If all goes well, I hope to be able to home the next day. All of this can make my condition feel more serious than it actually is. There is one glorious upside though--they do ultrasounds here all the time. I had one the night I came in (Saturday) and one today. I think they will be daily during the week, and then I see my doctor on Friday (a visit we had already scheduled) and she will do one as well. Apparently, they do them routinely for the first 12 weeks. It is an incredible comfort to see that little baby with its tiny beating heart.

Well, I suppose I'll watch another Law and Order. We will be our regular blogging-selves in a few days again! (Michael has very generously offered to let me keep the laptop, our only access to the internet, here with me. Otherwise, he would be writing!) In the meantime, we really appreciate all of the prayers that our friends and family have been offering for our tiny baby. I was really very moved yesterday while praying for our child; it occurred to me at once just how many people I knew to be praying for this unborn child and it was was a real comfort.

Ok, since we've never had a post without a photo before, it seems I should include one. Given the somewhat heavy nature of today's post, I have chosen my favorite picture from Girls Week 2007...I know Karen and Steph won't mind. We had just seen the most recent Harry Potter movie at an IMAX theater in 3d. It was extremely cool. The 3D glasses were not.

Nov 23, 2007

EuroLife: Day 58

Success! We had a lovely American Thanksgiving here in Jena. Laura, Michael and I arrived at about 3:30, and somehow dinner was on the table at about 7:10. Thanksgiving dinner is significantly less difficult when you have 3 additional people willing to chop, peel, or do whatever is necessary. It also helps to have somebody deliver a hot, cooked turkey.

We made an enormous vat of stuffing with sourdough bread from a local bakery, which you can see in the first picture. It was great, we didn't have quite enough onions and we needed some sage so our host, Waldene, ran out to the garden and grabbed some of each! I thought that was very cool.

We did hit one snag. The lovely pie crust that Michael had made last night somehow didn't make it into our backpack full of supplies. He quickly made another one, absent any recipe, and then wrestled with the lack-of-a-pie-pan problem. I guess they don't really make pies here. They make lovely tortes and cakes, but not pies like the ones we make. In the end, he pressed the crust into a springform pan. Walden set it on the steps in the entryway to cool, next to what look to be some apples from a tree in their yard. I thought that made for a nice scene.

When we sat down to eat, there was a great deal of murmuring about the sweet potatoes. I'm not sure if any of the German's had ever eaten sweet potatoes before! (Many said they had not, though I didn't exactly quiz everyone.) Let's just say the general attitude towards these so-called "sweet potatoes" ranged from politely tentative to deeply suspicious. To be fair, if you begin by imagining potatoes, and then imagine them as sweet, you can understand why these things might not sound so appetizing.

Well, before long, they were in high demand! We ran out very quickly; it was fun to see the looks of genuine surprise and delight on people's faces as they tried them.

There were 13 people at the dinner table, and we had a wonderful time. I would write more about the various guests and conversations, but it's now after midnight and I am full of turkey. (Good turkey, too! It was delivered hot, fresh, and not too dry!)

After dinner, we all went upstairs into the living room for a respite between dinner and desert. We played a super fun card game (Dutch Blitz--it's apparently an American game), and then Laura played the piano for us all. I played a few songs on the guitar, Rici (Walden and Thomas' daughter) sang a number of songs, and it was all really very nice!

Then we all went back to the table, which Robert (Waldene and Thomas' son) had cleaned and set for desert. I made some whipped cream and we served the pumpkin pie! (They were at least as suspicious of the pumpkin pie as they were the sweet potatoes, though I think we mostly won them over in the end :) The pie turned out pretty well! The crust was not very crispy, not really having been exposed to the heat directly, but on the whole I liked it very much. Robert took one bite and said "Oh! It tastes like Christmas!" They all agreed. I thought that was a great description.

Nov 22, 2007

EuroLife: Day 57

The Last Pumpkin in Jena


At least, I hope it's a pumpkin. It doesn't look like the "sugar pumpkin" that I was looking for, and it doesn't look like the kind of pumpkin used for Jack O'Lanterns, but surely it's some variety of pumpkin. I hope.

Tomorrow night, Michael and I (with the help of our friend Laura) will be cooking a traditional American Thanksgiving meal at the home of a family that we met through church. There will be about a dozen people there, and it is our host's birthday, so I'm a little bit nervous. We won't actually have to cook the turkey; due to time constraints, that was purchased pre-cooked from a nearby farm. We will be making mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and, for desert, a pumpkin pie.

I had just about given up on the pumpkin pie. A few weeks ago, I saw a big pile of pumpkins in the produce section of our grocery store. Excellent, I thought, I can get a pumpkin here for our pie come Thanksgiving. I have never actually made pumpkin pie from a fresh pumpkin, Libby has always taken care of that part of the process for me. Last year, however, I had my first taste of a pie made from fresh pumpkin, and I'm afraid there's no going back. So that was the plan: fresh, homemade pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, when we went shopping yesterday for tomorrow's meal, there were no pumpkins to be found. Word on the street (or, rather, in the aisle) is that the season is over here. Alright, no problem, I'll just get some canned pumpkin.

I couldn't find it yesterday, so I went to a few new shops today, to no avail. Then I went back to the first store, I'm not exactly sure why, and tried again. Finally I just asked a woman who worked in the store if they sold pumpkin puree. (You would have delayed this seemingly inevitable move, too, if you had to pose this question in German and you were a sleepy English speaker.) She looked at me as if I was crazy, and told me that they only sell them whole--and the season is over.

Truth be told, she was not quite right. I found two manifestations of pumpkin in that grocery store. First, there was cubed pumpkin--available in a jar floating in a sweet & sour mixture. I couldn't imagine making that work in a pie. Then, as I was leaving, I saw what sure looked to be pumpkin puree...in the baby food aisle. Still, puree is puree, right? I took a closer look. Sure enough, there was a pumpkin on the cover...but what was that next to the pumpkin? Aah, Chicken. Yes, well, that would work for the slightly-less-traditional pumpkin and chicken pie, but probably not what I had in mind.

So I quit and decided to make apple pie. Not knowing which kind of apples to get, I left feeling pretty dejected. Halfway home I came upon the outdoor produce stands that often pop-up in the afternoons in Jena. I nearly walked right past it, then I did a double take and, I am embarrassed to admit, a very small dance. The pumpkin (I hope) shown above was sitting in a big box, next to another tiny pumpkin. I picked it up and the man said "Ah, the last one!" It turns out pumpkins are not cheap in Jena, but I found one!

You will no doubt have noticed by now that my pumpkin was not really the very last pumpkin in Jena; after all, I left the little tiny one in the box. Still, it was the last pumpkin of any real consequence, and "The Last Pumpkin of Any Real Consequence in Jena" would be a rather unwieldy title.

Nov 21, 2007

EuroLife: Day 56

Winter Light


The sun hugs the horizon these days, and my body never knows what time it is. Strangely, the feeling reminds me of late summer evenings in the far North, when the sun lingers for hours and it seems like time has stopped. Last night I walked home from a movie at eleven o'clock, but it felt like some unknown hour of the night.

There's a certain beauty to these days and this light. With the sun low and cotton clouds stretched the length of the sky, the light has a defuse, peaceful quality. Its not a brutal winter here, like in South Bend. The wind rarely blows hard or cold, and the temperature rises ten degrees above freezing most every day. The trees are bare, now, and we can see the contours and lines of the hills as walk along paths that wind up valleys and follow along ridges.

The leaves have turned the same orange-brown, no more yellows, lingering greens, or brilliant reds. They form a flattened mass stuck with mud to the ground, slowly turning to dirt.

The winter air is perfect for our afternoon walks. Cold and clear without burning the lungs. I often sweat a little as I climb the hills in a light T-shirt and unzipped sweatshirt. It's an hour to the Napoleon stone and back. Then its off the library for a long dark evening, where I read in the light of a desk lamp. Michael.


EuroLife: Day 56

The Newest Member of the Family

This is Clover, our woolly headed, warm hearted, mischievous friend. As should be the case with all things cute and small, his name is a pun, signifying both his cloven feet and the green clovers in the fields where his warm blooded cousins graze. (Regarding names as puns: we once had a Bichon named Chewy. This satisfied my little sisters, who thought we named him that because he chewed on things. It also satisfied my brothers, who took it to be short for Chewbacca the Wookie.)

Someday I plan to take Clover up to mountains to see his cousins. He doesn't believe me that some sheep live out doors, even when its raining.

Clover is not, however, the new member of the family, though as you can probably tell, he does bare the weight of a great deal of personification. About a month ago, we were walking downtown and Dolores saw Clover in the store. She was sure he wanted to come home with us. So she struck a deal: Will you buy him for me if we find out I'm pregnant, she asked. I agreed. The rest, as they say, is history.


So here is a picture of the newest member of the family. It's sort of an abstract or expressionist rendering. Or a computer generated image. Take your pick. We went to the doctor yesterday, and we saw its heart beating. I've told Dolores that when the baby is born she must give Clover to the baby. Then we can take a picture of them together. So now you all have something to look forward to -- a picture of Clover and our baby, together.









Nov 19, 2007

EuroLife: Day 55

Me again! Yesterday was Michael's turn, but I was so excited about skiing that he let me hijack his rightful post. Alas, now we have had a very long day and Michael has been speaking in, and listening to, German for hours and hours. So, here I am again :) But Michael will return again tomorrow, have no fear.

Germany is a dog-lover's dreamland. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for people who are afraid of dogs to live in Germany. Indeed, I can only suppose that nobody in Germany is afraid of dogs; it would be rather like being afraid of squirrels and living on Long Island. Here, we see dogs in the mall, dogs in the train station, dogs wandering through drug stores and sitting patiently in the bank while their owner uses the ATM. It is perfectly acceptable to bring your dog with you on all of your errands, inside or out. Most dogs are on leashes, but not all of them. Many are just very well behaved, and walk beside their owners as if they were on a leash.

Today's photo is meant to show what happens when you let your dog believe that she can go everywhere that you can. When she can't, she gets very, very sad. Now that I think about it, I don't believe I've ever seen a dog in our grocery store. It seems plausible that they would be excluded from this one little errand, given all of the food and all. The door that you see is the door to a small mall, and directly inside is a grocery store. My guess is that this dog's owner was just going into the grocery store, and so had the dog wait outside. I would also venture a guess that the dog has been allowed in the mall before, but I could be wrong. Whatever the reason, this dog sat outside of the automatic doors gazing wistfully inside in a most pathetic fashion. I know that we've all seen dogs waiting for their owners before, and I can't make you believe that this was different, but I can ask you to take my word for it. The poor dog looked downright devastated. I had to take a picture.

That's all for tonight! Ooh, except for one post-script to yesterday's entry. It turns out that Oberhof, where we were skiing, is quite famous. It's where the German Olympic cross country ski team practices! The trail that we were on goes for 104 miles, though I'm not sure how much of it is ski-able. It is, I just learned, a very popular hiking trail as well.

Nov 18, 2007

EuroLife: Day 54

Don't ever let anyone tell you that the Germans are not friendly to newcomers. I realize that my experience has been limited to Jena, but Michael and I have been amazed by the hospitality that we've been shown.

This morning after church, we went downstairs to get coffee and tea as we always do. The coffee hour is run by volunteers, and today the server was a man that we had not yet met. He introduced himself, his name is Bertold, and he and Michael spoke for a while about the usual--where are you from, how long will you be here, etc. Bertold was born in Jena, and Michael and I were talking about how much we like it. "Until the weather changed, we were doing a lot of walking", said Michael. (Only auf Deutsch :) "Yes, but now that it's cold you can ski!" said Bertold. I won't bore you with the dialog, but here's what unfolded: Bertold explained that we were only about an hour from excellent skiing, both cross country and downhill. He asked if we had a roadmap, we answered that we don't have a car. He said, "well we can go sometime. For example, what are you doing today?" One hour later, he picked us up outside of our apartment and off we went!

It's worth noting that there is absolutely no snow in Jena right now. In fact, there was scarcely and snow anywhere for most of the drive! Gradually, we began to see some, then a bit more. Finally, we drove through a very long tunnel--nearly 9km, or 5.6 miles. (Michael just told me that it is the longest in Germany. Who knew?) On the other side of the tunnel it was a Winter Wonderland.




The day was practically perfect. The conditions were great, and it was fun to see so many families out together--parents pulling babies in covered sleds that looked like mobile cradles, kids with sleds, and tons of fellow cross country skiers. It was active, but not crowded, and there were great tracks which made the skiing a bit easier.

Easier--but not easy. We started off with great gusto. I, especially, was hauling away as quickly as I could, leading the pack and just loving the winter air. Suffice it to say I failed to consider just how much work 2 1/2 hours of cross-country skiing is. As I write this, I am happy to be able to move my fingers. My arms and legs are feeling a lot less fortunate. But I am happy! I have been doing an awful lot of sitting around lately, and it felt so good to be outside and in the snow. It helped, of course, that he scenery was beyond beautiful. At one point, the sun even came out! It was a fleeting view, but a lovely one.

In this picture, you can see Bertold. We had a blast with him! He's absolutely hysterical. He is also a man of strong opinions, and he and Michael had some heated discussions in the car. Not hostile, just animated. It turns out that he was not permitted to study in the University. He disagreed with the worldview of the Communist party, and he was honest (indeed forthright) about this, so he was not allowed to enroll. (I believe he told them outright that he disagreed with their fundamental conception of human nature.)

All told, we covered roughly ten miles on skis. It really was cross-country skiing, too; sometimes we would go uphill for what seemed like an eternity, then we would coast (ideally) or flail (often) down gradual, but lengthy declines. The weather was perfect. The activity kept us more than warm enough in our light jackets and sweaters. (Our real winter weather gear is in Atlanta, not having made the cut for our first trip.)

Once we stopped moving, we got pretty cold. In fact, after the hour-long drive home in fairly wet clothing, we ran shivering into our apartment to get changed and crank up the heat. I looked in the mirror, and my lips were blue. Actually blue! I don't know if this has ever really happened to me before. It made me laugh.

Now for the truly great news. This astonishingly beautiful area is just over an hour away from our apartment. Much of that was driven on the autobahn, so there's no telling how far it actually is from here, but whatever distance it is can be covered in about 70 minutes. So, for those of you who are considering a winter visit, let this be your motivation!

PS-If you would like to see more photos from today, I posted them on my Facebook site. You don't have to have a Facebook account to see them, just copy and paste the following link into your browser
http://nd.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2121294&l=8f63e&id=5622074

Nov 17, 2007

EuroLife: Day 53

You have all no doubt heard of the Seven Wonders of the World but are you familiar with the Seven Wonders of Jena? I'm going to go ahead and assume that you are not; this seems to be the safe bet.

Michael and I began to hear about these Seven Wonders shortly after our arrival in Jena. I thought that it was a cute local joke, something thought-up by the local tourism board. I was wrong! My (relatively) reliable internet sources tell me that a Latin verse concerning the Seven Wonders of Jena can be traced back to the 16th Century. It was "expanded and revised", and by 1685 the version which is now taught had been written.

Apparently, most students memorize this Latin verse, which goes as follows: "Ara, caput, draco, mons, pons, vulpecula turris, Weigeliana domus, septem miracula Jenae. " Translated: Altar, head, dragon, the mountain, the bridge, the Fox Tower, the Weigels house, the seven wonders of Jena.

I set out this afternoon to find the Altar, the first of the wonders. I did find it, but it's currently in the middle of a construction site, so that one will have to wait. By some great stroke of fortune, I accidentally found the Head! I was in the city exploring a bit, and I heard a clock begin to chime. I looked up, and there it was:

The "head" refers to the head in the center, just above the clock face. To his right (on our left) is a man with a gold ball on a stick. As the clock chimes the hour, the man brings the ball towards the head, which leans forward and tries to get the ball with his mouth. It does this once for every chime; I watched this happen just before taking the picture. (Maybe one day I'll be fast enough, and adequately prepared, to take a picture while it's happening.)

Even without a story, this is very cool to see. It reminded me of watching the eagle flap its wings in Stony Brook; I still get excited when I'm around to see that. With the story, this first wonder is fantastic.

First, the gold ball: apparently, it's supposed to represent a local delicacy--it's a potato-based ball, I'm not sure exactly what it's called. Still, I find that very amusing. The poor head is just trying to grab a bite to eat.

However, it is in everybody's self-interest that this head never get that little gold ball. If he does, the world will end. That is, if the legend is to be believed. This is a very impressive legend, far reaching in its scope. It's not merely that the church and its clock-tower will collapse, or that the city will come to great peril; the world will end. We can only hope that whoever designed this was very, very precise in implementing his plans. Anything else would be downright irresponsible.

So that's the first of the seven wonders, though really it's the second. The first, as I said, is under construction and will need to wait.




Nov 16, 2007

EuroLife: Day 52


Cultural Imperialism the American Way:
Effortless, Unintentional,
and with a Hint of Self-Loathing

I find it interesting how many Americans -- myself included -- feel somewhat uncomfortable about the worldwide hegemony of American culture. By contrast, the French and the Germans spread their culture with much intentional effort and shameless self-promotion. The German government funds the Goethe Institute, which describes itself as the "the Federal Republic of Germany’s cultural institution operational worldwide." Sounds nefarious, doesn't it? And the French are so interested in spreading their language that they provide free French lessons to ministers of the EU.

By contrast, we don't do anything, or at least we don't do anything to intentionally spread our language. Somehow, though, it shows up all over the place. It showed up today, for instance, in the doctors office. (I had to go and get a checkup to make sure I was fit for the job. We talked about the hazards of my occupation which can include, but are not limited to, watery eyes from too much reading and computer time, sore back from too much spent hunched over reading, tight shoulders, etc. Its a dangerous job, but someone has to do it.) The doctors office had a lot of free literature about the dangers of smoking. Although the pamphlets were in German, their titles were in English. What about the Germans who don't read English? Doesn't anyone want them to quit smoking?

The second pamphlet tells girls not to smoke. It shows happy smiling girls. Why are they happy? Because they don't smoke and have white teeth? Because they're at a party and everyone likes to smoke at a party? Or because girls just want to have fun?

Apparently, the advertising wizards who came up with this campaign thought the literature should be gender specific. There was another pamphlet with a cover that read: "Stop Smoking -- Boys," though I thought, "Stop smoking, boy," would be more effective.

Nov 15, 2007

EuroLife: Day 51

First Snow!

We had our first snow yesterday, and it snowed throughout most of today. There wasn't much accumulation (if any) in the city but the hills looked beautiful. As is always the case with these things, it's difficult to capture in a photograph, but the picture above was taken yesterday afternoon on our street. The difference between the hills and the city is striking. Michael and I have decided that the heat from the city must keep the snow from accumulating; it's can't simply be the difference in altitude. Our little Jena hills are not very big, and the snow starts to stick as soon as you get away from the city streets.

We did get a tiny bit of accumulation this afternoon, and it was nice to see the way our backyard (well, I call it our backyard) was transformed. I suppose what was really nice, given how minimal this transformation was, was imagining how it will all look when we get some real snow. This is a view from the door to our apartment; the vine-covered wall shown in our very first post is off to the left of this scene. There wasn't much snow at the time, but it was still nice to see the bushes and the swing capped with snow.

From what the weatherman tells us, Jena is scheduled to see the sun again sometime on Monday. This should be very exciting. We almost saw it today; we could definitely tell where it was, and it was trying its best to break through the clouds. Alas, its best was not enough. The snow brightens things up a bit, though, so hopefully that will continue. In the meantime, we have taken to using Michael's sunlamp for some extra lighting around the house from time to time. The sun, or what we see of it, sets at about 4:25 in the afternoon. This is not ideal.

The last picture is of a path that Michael and I sometimes take to and from the Mensa. I just like it; I think it's a lovely way to get from place to place. The building in the background belongs to the University, and it quite old and historic. We have not yet successfully determined exactly what it is, but we will find out one of these days and let you know. I realize how difficult the wait will be, and I apologize :)

I'm sorry I don't have more to say today. I have been taken out by a mighty cold, a cold like no other, and I have been rather lazy. It's hard to share exciting stories without first experiencing said exciting stories, so here we are. Surely my wild & crazy Jena exploring ways will soon return! Until then, there's always the weather.

Nov 14, 2007

EuroLife: Day 50

English: The Language of Management,
Convenience, and Sex-Appeal


For some time now I've intended to do a post on the presence of the English language in Germany. It's not that most people here speak English well. They don't. Of course the professors and the advanced students at the university all speak or at least understand English quite well. When I was preparing for my presentation before the SFB last week, I was told I could give the presentation in English if I wanted to. If I had done so, I've no doubt most people would have understood me quite well.


What strikes me more than the number of people who speak or at least understand English, however, is the omnipresence of English words and phrases in advertising and other venues of everyday life. Until I set out to take the pictures you see in this post, I had no idea just how common English actually was. I took all these pictures in a ten minute walk. It only took me ten minutes because I stopped to take all these pictures. I took all of these pictures -- and about seven more that I'm not including in the post -- within the space of about two blocks. So, with the occasional comments, here they are.















This is why I'm hot? What is why? And a bear that needs to get well soon. Strange, very strange.

Software, last minute travel opportunities, and uh...the local gentleman's club. I hear its quite authentic, just like back home.

Yes, Italy's favorite coffee. But why not tell us in Italian? What's wrong with Italian? Not chic anymore?
We'll there are plenty more pictures, but you get the idea.




Nov 13, 2007

EuroLife: Day 49

Today will be the first installment of my German Playground Expose. Well, more like my German Playground Exhibit, or some other not-so-risquee equivalent, but here goes.

On our many walks, Michael and I have seen quite the variety of playgrounds and, I have to tell you, they are very cool. Some have mini climbing walls, complete with child-size holds for little hands and feet. As I said, they are very cool. Today I will share some pictures from the playground that we walk past nearly every day on our way to the Mensa.

The first picture captures roughly half of the playground, maybe a bit more. Note the cool rope bridge off to the right, and the flags tauntingly placed at the top of an enormous, almost-climbable wooden pole. Some friends of ours tell us that this is the favorite playground of their children. They also tell us that the kids "catch air" at the hitch in the slide, so they always stand nearby in case the kids go flying off. They are Americans as well; this came up when we were comparing the apparent difference in safety standards between American and German playgrounds.

Here's a close-up of the slide: I have to tell you, I think it's pretty cool. Were I sending a child down it, I would probably also stand right next to the crazy bend, but I still think it looks like a lot of fun.

The next picture shows the other half of the playground. I realize that, at first glance, this side looks a lot less cool. However, if you look closely (or just look at the close-up in the last picture) you will see a very neat little contraption.

Two button-seats hang on poles from a single beam, which itself is supported by ropes in the larger structure. It's kind of like a swing/seesaw combination. I imagine it's intended for two children, but when I've seen it in use it's been on parent bouncing a kid all over the place. It looks awesome. I would have lived on this thing as a child.

So there you have it. With a slide that threatens to eject kids a good 6 feet above the ground (and over some rickety wooden stairs), and a contraption for launching children left and right, it's possible that this playground is a bit less safe than the average playground back home. Then again, it seems like most of the fun parts are disappearing from the playgrounds back home--things like seesaws and tall, slick slides. (Perhaps this is just an urban legend, I don't know for sure.)

That's it for today. Someday soon, or maybe not so soon, I'll post some pictures of some of the other cool playgrounds around Jena. For now, I'm going to bed.

Nov 12, 2007

EuroLife: Day 48


Welcome to our humble home. This our foyer, our entryway, our vestibule, our antechamber, our lobby. This is where we hang our coats. This is where we put our shoes.

I realize we never told the story of how we found this place, so I thought I'd give it a try. Before coming to Jena, we spent hours looking at apartments online. There were over a hundred to choose from, so we spent time learning about the different parts of town where they were located, considering what price would realistically fit into our budget, and making hard choices between the apartment with the bathtub and the apartment with a larger kitchen. After much discussion, we found the perfect apartment. Below you can see one of the pictures that finally swayed us. We liked all the windows, and we liked the location. We sent an email to the person who was offering the apartment. Just to be safe, we also sent an email to four or five other people about the apartments they had listed. We weren't that worried though, since the apartment we really wanted had been on the market since July.

class=vis

On our second day in town we searched for an internet cafe to see if we had heard back about our dream apartment. Strangely enough, we hadn't received any emails. So we wrote down the numbers for four or five apartments, and headed for a pay phone.

Many phone calls and coins later, we hadn't reached anyone. We'd only reached answering machines. Since we didn't have a local number, we couldn't leave messages. We went to buy a pay-as-you go cell phone. At first they wouldn't let us buy one without a local address. Finally, they accepted the address of our pension as our local address. We made more calls, and left messages.

I should say that at this point we where anxious to find an apartment as soon as possible. Most of the pensions were full, and we were staying at a relatively expensive one outside of town. Eating meals out and traveling back and forth by from our pension to town by bus, we were going through money pretty quickly.

Finally, we got in touch with a few people, all of whom told us the apartment they had advertised was already rented. Finally, we talked to the people renting our dream apartment, and it, too, had already been rented "for a long time now," as I was told on the phone. (Incidentally, it is still being advertised on the sight now, where I found the picture for this post.)

The next day, we were at the "Mail Boxes Etc," the only place in town where we could check email and use the internet for about $8 dollars an hour. We found an apartment that had been listed one hour before we saw it. The list had pictures which looked good. Excited, we called the people and made an appointment for that afternoon. As we walked to the apartment, we felt that we should take it as long as it was decent. Dolores didn't love the part of town. It was near the west train station, and as Dolores said later, it felt like East Germany. The buildings were somewhat drab, and many where covered with graffiti. Still, I tried to put a positive face on it. The pictures had been beautiful -- big windows, light rooms.

We looked at the apartment and we liked it. But then, as we were talking with the owners, someone else came to the door to look at the apartment. Apparently, six people had already called to look at the apartment in the four hours since they had posted the ad. About the same time we learned that we would have to buy a kitchen. We were starting to panic. We put down our information on a form, and they said they a would make a decision about who to rent the apartment to and get back to us.

It was then that we got the email that saved our life. One of the people, to whom we sent an email while still in the states, wrote to tell us that while she had already rented the apartment I had inquired about, she did have another one open that she hadn't listed yet. She hadn't listed it yet! No auditions to get the apartment! We made plans to see it the next day. Well, the rest is history, love at first sight. With its long hallways of wasted space, its oh so built in kitchen, and its Ikia furniture, we knew it would be our home.

We moved the next day on a Friday night, three days before the first of the month. If our landlady hadn't let us move in early, we might have had to sleep in the train station or take the train to another town with vacancies. After a wet, gray, cold day we might our landlady at dusk. She let us in, and we collapsed onto the bare bed. We sat in the chairs in front of our ten inch television set and watched TV like kings. And we said a prayer of thanksgiving. One of many.












Nov 11, 2007

EuroLife: Day 47

As I write today's post, I am munching on a delicious mini Ritter Sport chocolate bar. This one is dark chocolate with some sort of dark chocolate mousse in the middle. It's delicious, but I'm only eating it in honor of my most recent post. After all, I really do need to figure out which one of these bars is my favorite, and that's going to take some time!

In response to my mother's comment, they did discuss Kristallnacht at small group in addition to the fall of the wall (Mauerfall). Actually, this comment prompted the following conversation:

M: Don't you remember? We talked about it for a few minutes.
D: And by "we", presumably, you mean those of you who speak German?
M: Aah, yes. Sorry.

It also came up in church this morning. Our church follows a church calender, and these next three weeks (the last three before Advent) are supposed to include reflection on prayer, peace and grace. For this purpose, we had a series of moments of silence. One of these moments was preceded by a reminder of both Mauerfall and Kristallnacht, the former as a sign of unity and the latter of deep disunity. Just before initiating the silence, the speaker said something about needing a "safe place. "(Again, I often only get the basics). During this time of reflection , I found myself praying the words to the song "You are my hiding place." (Psalm 32) The next thing I know, the piano began to play and we all sang the song, in German, together. It was very powerful.

I have done a bit of research, and it looks as if it really is just a coincidence that Mauerfall and Kristallnacht share an anniversary. That's a pretty incredible coincidence. The actual reunification of Germany is not celebrated on November 9th, but on October 3rd. This, it seems, is when political unity was acheived--the October following Mauerfall.

On a much lighter and totally unrelated note, the Goethe Gallery has been taken over my model trains. There are no less than half a dozen different displays, each incredibly intricate and expansive.


















I've tried to piece together the photos above to give you a sense of how long some of the tracks are. That one is actually not the largest; one stretched out for at least 40 feet, making a loop of about 100 feet. These trains are set-up throughout the first floor of the mall, with one giant one on the ground floor. You can look down upon it from the promenade.


That one had fairly large trains; they stood about 8 inches tall.

Each of these stations represents a different model-train club in Jena. (Did I mention that there were at least half a dozen stations?)
All of this prompted Michael to ask: "What do these men do, that they can be here with these trains on a weekday afternoon? My first response: "Well, we're here on a weekday afternoon...what do we do?" My second response: "Mandatory Retirement."

It is true that Germany has some form of mandatory retirement, though I have not been able to get clear on all of the details. It looks as if many (or all) family owned businesses, including BMW, have mandatory requirement at the age of 60. This is not true universally, but Germans are eligible for pensions at around 67 regardless of their position. In addition to this, there are a number of financial incentives offered to older workers who are willing to retire early.

This system, it seems, may prove problematic; the number of retirees is growing and the number of young workers diminishing.








In the meantime, there does seem to be at least one upside to mandatory (or strongly encouraged) early retirement. I don't believe I've ever lived anywhere with quite so many model train clubs.

Nov 10, 2007

EuroLife: Day 46

Destiny grants us our wishes, but in its own way, in order to give us something beyond our wishes.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Well, if Goethe wished to have a lasting impact on the lives of the average citizens of Jena almost two hundred years after his death, then he got what he wished for, though most certainly not in the way he wished for it.

This is the sign outside the entrance to our local mall, which the citizens of Jena, with a deference towards the weight of German classical culture and an enthusiasm for the limitless possibilities of modern consumerism, have named the Goethe Gallery. In the Goethe Gallery, you can buy cell phones, teas from China, shampoo, beer, lingerie, and many other marvelous things. Goethe shouldn't feel too bad, though, for his is one of the prettiest malls I've ever seen. As with in the university library, the designers of this building have used glass to good effect, so that main promenade almost feels like an avenue. The many tables from the mall's coffee shops and cafes add to this effect.

In any case, Goethe has faired much better than Schiller, whose shopping center, called the Schiller Passage, has three or four stores, most of which look like run down K-marts.

The Germans like to fill their everyday world with reminders of their rich intellectual culture. Jena boasts a Thomas Mann street, a Karl Marx way, a Nietzsche street, a Frege road, a Reinhold way, a Luther square, a Goethe street, a Fichte square, a Schiller street, and a Holderlin way. It should be noted that most of these people spent a fair amount of time in Jena. Nietzsche spent the last years of his life in an insane asylum here. Holderlin lived here in the house that is now the institute for philosophy. He didn't go insane here. He did that elsewhere. Reinhold and Ficthe both served as professors here, and Luther occasionally passed through, sleeping at the Schwarze Bar, the hotel where we spent our first night. Thomas Mann never spent time here, but he did receive an honorary degree from the university of Jena. Marx never spent any time here, but he still has some fans in the local Lutheran church, which among other things, organizes a weekly Brecht reading group. Ah the sweet truth of the gospel.

It should also be noted that, although Hegel wrote his most famous book here, there is no Hegel street. Even Melanchthon, who as far as I know (which isn't far at all) never set foot in Jena, has a street, but not Hegel. I plan do address the city council on this matter. I think the difficulties may stem from Hegel's later fame as servant of the Prussian state.

I should also note that Dolores and I will soon make a pilgrimage to Frege's house, assuming it still stands. We're also petitioning the Lutheran church to start a Frege reading group. We feel that the Begriffschrift would greatly encourage the congregants in their spiritual lives.

Nov 9, 2007

EuroLife: Day 45

Today was the big day: the day that Michael and I joined a House Battle. Really it was a "house circle", or a small-group, but ever since my little mishap we've stuck with House Battle. We had a great time. It was at the pastor's house, which we had not known ahead of time, and it was a fairly small group, 8 of us total. There was lots of singing, a Bible study, prayer, and plenty of delicious snacks. (Germans are crazy about gummy candies. I really had no idea about this before we came here. I'm not such a big fan, but they put our measly gummy-bear offerings to shame. More on this in another post.) We had not really met any of the group members before, so it was a great opportunity to meet some new people. All in all, it was really very nice. So nice, in fact, that we stayed for three hours. And now I am very sleepy.

A funny thing happened to me, not on the way to the theater but in the middle of this gathering. I had been listening intently, doing my very best to understand what I could and fairing pretty well. Then my brain quit on me. It simply seized up, and announced that it would no longer be translating German for me, thank you very much. I found myself looking at everyone, happily chatting away, and thinking "Really? This isn't hard work for you? You just understand these noises? You think in this language?" I realize that it sounds ridiculous, but it's exactly how I felt. Michael says he felt something similar when he first came to Germany and heard small children speaking German. You work so hard to be able to get the basics down, and then here are these people for whom the whole process is effortless. It's a bit disorienting, but fascinating. In any event, my brain kicked in again after a while, but it was grumpy.

Today is the 18th anniversary of the tearing-down of the Berlin Wall. This came up in small group. It's really incredible to think that many of the people we know were living in East Germany before reunification. We recently met a man, about our age, who lived in an apartment in a church in those days. Nobody wanted the apartment because the phones were bugged, but his father felt that their family could be a good example of Christianity to those running the surveillance. After reunification, when the records were made public, they were able to read all that was written about them. (The father was right; the records were all positive.) To look at this man and his wife, you would never guess how radically different his life has been from that of Michael or myself.

It's also interesting to note that, despite Jena's many shopping malls, there remains a contingent who oppose capitalism. (I imagine they are a small minority, but it's still interesting.) Today, there was a van in the city-center broadcasting a recording through a tall speaker. Next to the speaker was a sign that said (translated here) "Make Capitalism History." The funny thing is, I'm pretty sure it was sponsored by the Lutheran (State) Church. I'm not sure that all of what was broadcasted was against capitalism, it's possible that a variety of viewpoints were put forth. (Understanding German through a muffled speaker on a windy day is beyond my capabilities.) The sign was clear, though; even I could understand it. There is also a sticker posted on a lamppost on our block. It is a picture of a stick figure standing with a gun to the head of another stick figure. Underneath is the caption "Capitalism." I tried to take a picture of this sticker today but, alas, someone had scratched out the gun. It's been there since we moved in, but of course the day I want to take a picture...Anyway, it's very interesting. It's one thing to oppose globalization, or "big business", but active opposition to capitalism itself is not something I've ever really witnessed before.

And speaking of capitalism, without it we could never have what I am about to show you. I have oft written of the chocolate here in German. It is cheap, delicious, and bountiful. Now I am going to show you exactly what I mean by bountiful. What follows is a series of pictures of the varieties of chocolate bars available in the grocery store.


On the left you will find the available varieties of Ritter's Sport brand chocolate bars.



On the right, Milka brand (the light purple) and several other brands. The chocolate bars fill all but the very bottom shelf, all the way to the far corner in this picture.




And finally, around the corner, plenty of other chocolate bars to choose from.


Now here's the really interesting part. I set-out to take a picture of all of the varieties of chocolate which are available in our grocery store. I immediately realized that this task could not be completed. There are Advent Calenders filled with all manner of fancy chocolates, ranging in price from .50 to 30 Euros. There are chocolate's filled with Marzipan, whole racks filled with boxes of truffles, chocolate covered cakes, cherries, cookies...In short, there are aisles and aisles devoted to chocolate. In the end, I limited myself to chocolate in bar-form, and that's what you see in these pictures. So, score one for capitalism I guess.

Now you see why Michael and I always have chocolate in the house. Even with three years, we have nowhere near enough time to try them all and find a favorite!

Nov 8, 2007

EuroLife: Day 44

Michael's Travels:
Promoting Cultural Misunderstandings
Through Gross Caricatures Since 1998
(The Date of the Famous Essay on European Toilets)


What comes to the minds of most Americans when they think of Germany? When I ask myself this question, I quickly become enmeshed in two levels of stereotypes. First there are the stereotypes that I think Americans have of Germans, but then there are also the stereotypes I have of my fellow Americans, the stereotypes I use to make sense of what the "average" American thinks of Germans. As Americans -- at least as Americans with a certain level of education and a certain socio-economic status -- we are profoundly uncomfortable with stereotypes. Come to think of it, that last statement is a stereotype. Or is it just a correct generalization? What is the difference? Is a stereotype simply a false or hastily formed generalization? Can a true generalization still be a stereotype?

Of course it isn't just a matter of stereotypes. Our relation to other cultures consists in a host of associations and images that are as inevitably simplistic as they are unavoidable. We have no way to relate to other cultures except in terms of generalizations, a few paradigmatic images, phrases, events, etc. So these associations are inevitable, but they are also ridiculous and simplistic. In the last six weeks I've been amazed to discover how many of the generalizations I'd formed in Germany eight years ago were really just generalizations about Munich. I remember all the students at the University there wrote with pens that cost hundreds of dollars. There were stores selling nothing but pens worth one hundred, two hundred, and even three hundred dollars. The student classroom attire was similarly... schicky micky...was the word that seemed to be used. (I never heard a local use this word, but lots of "in-the-know" expats used this word to describe the way the locals thought about themselves. I've heard both positive and a negative connotations ascribed to this word. I've also heard that it means "Mickey Mouse Chic," though I can't confirm the truth of this.)

Anyway, since coming to Jena, I've seen a different side of Germany -- no expensive pens, more counter-culture, lots of interest in otherwise defunct 80s metal bands, and much less talk of the clubs where Boris Becker hangs out.

So back to the original question: What comes to most Americans ' minds when they think of Germany? I would venture to say that most of our friends at grad school associate Germany with the singular strength of the country's Green party, with a relatively successful blend of capitalism and socialism, with a happy place where everyone recycles and is, in just about every way, very continental. The "average" American probably has a less favorable set of associations, ranging from the Nazi's to the Nihilists of Big Lebowski fame.

(Following in this slightly more ironic pop-cultural vein, the Simpsons provide some pretty good stereotypes about the Germans. In one episode, the Simpsons turn their house into a youth hostel frequented by German Eurotrash (another vague but potent word -- does it apply to Americans who backpack Europe or to European jetsetters?). At one point you see a German youth talking to Marge. You hear: "Reason number 112 that American sucks -- no universal health care.")

Back to our stereotypes about the Germans: (a) tourists that wear black socks with shorts; (b) people who have rules for everything and always follow them; (c) "This is the time on Sprockets when we dance;" (d) all black clothes; (e) leather pants; (f) beer; etc., etc.

Now we come to the more interesting topic: German's image of Americans (beside the no universal health care part). Germans are completely obsessed with two things about American -- New York and the open spaces of the West.

The fascination with New York is understandable, I guess. It comes from watching all the movies filmed there and assuming that everyone in New York lives like the people in the movies, as though characters from Woody Allen films are constantly bumping into Sarah Jessica Parker, Seinfeld, and Andy Warhol. There is also the fact that New York presents a kind of mutli-ethnic cosmopolitanism that doesn't exist in Europe (except maybe London). Also, for the most part, European cities don't have skyscrapers. Frankfurt has a few. Paris has some, but they are all outside the city proper in La Defense. Most European cities were built before elevators and cars. They have a human scale. They simply don't have the impressive/oppressive quality of the New York city skyline.

Almost every time people find that out Dolores is from New York, they look at here like she is a celebrity. They get a big smile. Their eyes widen. They take a step back.

The card board cowboy has been placed in our Mensa for the last few days. People gave us strange looks when we took his picture, but it was worth it.

The German fascination with the West and with Cowboys is more perplexing to me, since in so many ways the Cowboy stands for what they don't like about us -- our guns, our rugged and unrefined ways, our president. And yet despite all this, the cowboy is still loved.