Left: The Cologne Cathedral (Cologne). The University (Bonn).
Now that I'm getting over the jet lag and not waking up at odd hours, the days are becoming more distinct. The first two days or so were terribly long, having arrived in Frankfurt in the morning. Bonn has been a nice place to begin our program, being rather small yet a friendly German town to get us over some of the culture shock. The people are willing to switch to English, so nothing has been too much of a disaster yet, although one night we acquired some pizzas with unexpected toppings. I wish I felt less silly for speaking in German, but it always seems that their English is much better and an easier road.
There was a joke made about Texans and Germans, in which Texans thought 100 years was a long time, and Germans thought 100 miles was a long way, and for the most part I think it's true. College Station is a bit less than 100 miles from my house, and despite not having public transit to get me there, I think it's really close...and I think that things from the 1800s are old. I suppose that hasn't changed much, although in Cologne today the cathedral seemed brand new given that it took more than half a millenium to build.
In museums that focus on the country's history, it is interesting to see how the Nazi era has affected German life and culture. One of the things I noticed is that it gave formerly unimportant places an infamous reputation, like Dachau, and it's tainted parts of the language forever - some phrases will now be taboo for a long time now that there are certain associated implications. Even what I conceive as "Anti-Semitic" wasn't totally right because I'd always heard it used in association with the Nazis. "Looking forward to" feels like the wrong phrase to use when I'm trying to describe how I feel about going to tour a concentration camp, but I know it will have a certain impact that I will never forget. Already, there are little things that have deepened my sympathy and grief for the Holocaust and all those who were lost. One was the smell of the cautery in the surgery that Gus, Evan, and I watched. It happened to follow a lecture about Nazi medicine, in which it was mentioned that the smell of burning flesh is quite distinctive. I'm not sure (and don't want to know) how similar the two are, but it has increased the pain that goes with thinking that humans could treat each other so unjustly, on such little basis.
On a lighter note, a new year is quickly approaching! Tomorrow we travel to Berlin; hopefully it won't be too freezing for us to stand outside. I'm really looking forward to it. Some things are truly cross-cultural, and one is joy, so here's to wishing we all ring in 2011 "warmly".
There was a joke made about Texans and Germans, in which Texans thought 100 years was a long time, and Germans thought 100 miles was a long way, and for the most part I think it's true. College Station is a bit less than 100 miles from my house, and despite not having public transit to get me there, I think it's really close...and I think that things from the 1800s are old. I suppose that hasn't changed much, although in Cologne today the cathedral seemed brand new given that it took more than half a millenium to build.
In museums that focus on the country's history, it is interesting to see how the Nazi era has affected German life and culture. One of the things I noticed is that it gave formerly unimportant places an infamous reputation, like Dachau, and it's tainted parts of the language forever - some phrases will now be taboo for a long time now that there are certain associated implications. Even what I conceive as "Anti-Semitic" wasn't totally right because I'd always heard it used in association with the Nazis. "Looking forward to" feels like the wrong phrase to use when I'm trying to describe how I feel about going to tour a concentration camp, but I know it will have a certain impact that I will never forget. Already, there are little things that have deepened my sympathy and grief for the Holocaust and all those who were lost. One was the smell of the cautery in the surgery that Gus, Evan, and I watched. It happened to follow a lecture about Nazi medicine, in which it was mentioned that the smell of burning flesh is quite distinctive. I'm not sure (and don't want to know) how similar the two are, but it has increased the pain that goes with thinking that humans could treat each other so unjustly, on such little basis.
On a lighter note, a new year is quickly approaching! Tomorrow we travel to Berlin; hopefully it won't be too freezing for us to stand outside. I'm really looking forward to it. Some things are truly cross-cultural, and one is joy, so here's to wishing we all ring in 2011 "warmly".
"A whole new world (Don't you dare close your eyes)
A hundred thousand things to see (Hold your breath; it gets better)..."
- "A whole new world", Aladdin
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