So much going on

We have only been here five days and we have done so much already. We have walked miles, seen the Dom, been to the Neanderthal museam, had a lecture on German history, had two German lessons, one class discussion, welcome family dinner. It's just crazy, but completely fun.

The Dom was amazing. I saw it when I was eight so it was interesting to see what I remembered correctly and incorrectly. Dr. Wasser is right, it will always be impressive. It also houses the only bones claimed to be the 3 wise men, which is unusual for famous artifacts like splinters of the cross of which there are too many splinters to make just one cross. It was also fun to just go around Cologne and see interesting sights around town. There is much more 'arty' stuff here than in Texas. There were decorative squares and stones which was a piece of artwork but it actually was also a wade pool for little children. It was very cool. We also saw a Mikvah and it was nice to have Dr. Wasser there who is Jewish to explain what it all was.

It was also great that we could go up the Dom to places the general public cannot go. Although it was scary to go that high the view was great and seeing the inside from that height made it more amazing to me. The organ music and the light through the windows just made the view breath taking.

I also enjoy when we sit outside at cafes and get ice-cream or drinks. It feels very european to just sit in the shade outside of a cafe and hang out. I enjoy it very much. At one point there was a lady playing the accordian which just finished the stereotypical image of Europe. I believe we have some of that on video with the accordian which I hope comes out.

The lecture on German history was extremely interesting, like finding out the importance of November 9 in German history. In 1918 the treaty of Versaille was signed, in 1923 there was a failed coup in Munich by Hitler, in 1938 was the Night of Broken Glass, which by the way is not the name for it in German at all, but I digress. Then it was also the date in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. November 9 would have been a good day for a National Holiday with the wall falling, but all the history before made it impossible to celebrate. I thought that was incredibly interesting. It was also interesting to to hear about how the Germans feel guilty about the Holocost and to compare it to whites in South Africa after Apartheid. I am glad I spoke to the speaker quickly afterwards because he pointed out the big difference. In South Africa Mandela became President and the whites were able to be a part of the making up for the suffering. The same is true in the U.S. because the whites were able to be a part of "freeing the slaves". In the Holocost there was no way to even try to undo what they had done. You couldn't stop the political situation. There were just millions of people dead and no way to undo it. It was interesting how when trying to talk to Germans about that time they just get quiet and do not want to talk about it. People including my host mother did that. It was also interesting to hear the story from our German guest lecturer who had been raised to feel bad about it, as opposed to in America where it is just facts not taken personally. To add extra value to the experience was the presence of Dr. Wasser who lost distant relatives. There was a German and a Jewish American in the same room talking very civilly about the Holocost in a very educational way, but there was still something different because it still was very personal to both of them but in different ways.

Some of my favorite times have been out in town. Heather and I went around some stores in Cologne and looked at sunglasses. Heather wasn't around so I asked a complete stranger in German what she thought. I was so excited at the end because we had a little discussion about the topic in German and I am sure I only made one mistake at the very very end. In just five days I am soo much more comfortable with my German. It is wonderful to hear it everywhere around here and to be able to talk to people on the street. It is so encouraging to have successful conversations in a different language. It may not have been long but to know for sure I didn't make any other mistakes was wonderful.

This is also a very liberating trip because we can just go to the train station and buy tickets, or talk to Olaf and buy hotel rooms. 9 of us are actually off to Heidelberg tomorrow and we decided to go this morning. I like Europe.