So much has happened that requires digestion. We went to a farm and saw animals, a reproductive research facility, and a cow ultrasound. We cruised down the Rhein and toured a castle. We went wine tasting. We went to a history museum and this all just in the last 2 days.
On Wednesday we cruised the Rhein. The area was beautiful. My favorite part was seeing the Lorelei. We had to memorize the poem by Heinrich-Heine in my High School German class so actually seeing the cliff was very moving for me. It is a poem about a Siren who sits at the top of the cliff and sailors would crash into the bottom because they were distracted by her. It is like the Sirens in the Odessy.
We then toured the Marksburg which was a fort. It had 12 gates before one got to the actual fort so it was never successfully attacked. They did everything for defense. They made their spiral stair cases rotate clockwise going up so that attackers could not ascend because their swords would hit the wall, but defenders could come down (this is assuming you are right handed). They made the windows smaller after a few centuries to protect themselves more. They also kept the door open when they went to the bathroom incase someone attacked from underneath, but closed the door when the bathroom was empty so that if a person did come up to the bathroom they could not enter the main area. These people were paranoid but I guess it worked.
After that we went for a wine tasting. It was a lovely experience. We were in a cellar and had wine glasses. We tried 6 types of wine. I discovered I prefer sweeter wines. Heather and I bought a bottle for our host mother. It was a very pleasant evening.
Thursday we went to a farm and I am even more sure that I do not want to become a vet. We saw pigs and one was the size of a pony!! It was HUGE. I have never seen a pig that big. We also saw piglets, calves, cows grazing, sheep and chickens. We then saw a research facility that deals with reproduction experiments. I had seen pictures of a sperm and egg, but actually looking through the microscope and seeing the egg and watching the screen of the slide for the sperm was an amazing experience. I never knew that a few drops of liquid can contain 20 million sperm. He had to dilute it about 150:1 to get it thin enough to see on screen and then 150:1 again to see the sperm individually on the screen. It was truely amazing. We saw a cow having an ultra sound and I am glad I am doing human medicine. That will be an experience I will never forget.
We went to the House of History museum which is the history of Germany from after WWII to the present. It was the first time I had SERIOUS trouble understanding what was going on so we all tried to stay near Olaf to hear what he had to say.
We are off to Paris this weekend and I am very excited. I think it will be a lovely trip.
Friday, July 22, 2005
James Doohan, the Canadian actor made famous by his portrayal of “Scotty”, the chief engineer of the (original) starship, Enterprise, died yesterday at the age of 85. As an original “Trekkie” from way back (we’re talking the 1960s here!) I mourn his loss as I did that of Deforest Kelly (“Dr. McCoy”) several years ago.
“Star Trek” has become an icon of American popular culture and an industry, spawning spin-off shows (ST the NG, ST Deep Space Nine, ST Voyager, and finally Enterprise, the prequel series) and a pile of movies that ran (in my opinion) from laughably terrible (the ones directed by William Shatner) to quite good. My favorite with the original cast, “Save the Whales”, actually titled, “Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home”, directed by Leonard Nimoy (“Mr. Spock”). Classic lines from this film include Kirk, after having landed their spaceship in Golden Gate Park, reminding the crew to “…remember where we parked.” Or Scotty, after “beaming” the two humpback whales onto the ship exclaiming “Admiral, there be whales here!”.
But of course, Scotty’s own contribution to American English was spoken to him and not by him, “Beam me up, Scotty!”. Nerd Trekkies will rush to tell you that these lines as written are never spoken by anyone in ST the OS or the movies, but so what! They now belong to the ages, as does James Doohan aka Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott!
I’ll leave you with these lyrics from the Tom Rush song, “Beam me up Scotty”:
“Beam me up Scotty! Beam me aboard.
I’m just a poor old Trekkie, in a world he can’t afford.
All my life supports have failed,
All the other ships have sailed.
So,
Beam me up Scotty! Beam me up!”
“Star Trek” has become an icon of American popular culture and an industry, spawning spin-off shows (ST the NG, ST Deep Space Nine, ST Voyager, and finally Enterprise, the prequel series) and a pile of movies that ran (in my opinion) from laughably terrible (the ones directed by William Shatner) to quite good. My favorite with the original cast, “Save the Whales”, actually titled, “Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home”, directed by Leonard Nimoy (“Mr. Spock”). Classic lines from this film include Kirk, after having landed their spaceship in Golden Gate Park, reminding the crew to “…remember where we parked.” Or Scotty, after “beaming” the two humpback whales onto the ship exclaiming “Admiral, there be whales here!”.
But of course, Scotty’s own contribution to American English was spoken to him and not by him, “Beam me up, Scotty!”. Nerd Trekkies will rush to tell you that these lines as written are never spoken by anyone in ST the OS or the movies, but so what! They now belong to the ages, as does James Doohan aka Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott!
I’ll leave you with these lyrics from the Tom Rush song, “Beam me up Scotty”:
“Beam me up Scotty! Beam me aboard.
I’m just a poor old Trekkie, in a world he can’t afford.
All my life supports have failed,
All the other ships have sailed.
So,
Beam me up Scotty! Beam me up!”
Smiling...
So according to almost everyone, smiling at a German is bad. First we get told that making eye contact for too long with a stranger is considered a come-on. A smile in Germany is the same as a wink in America-forward and an invitation to flirt. A wink is an even higher level of an invitation. Which is obvious. Anyway, my point is smiling at strangers is bad.
In Texas we consider smiling to be friendly. You smile at everyone-people you know, people you don't know, people who open doors for you, people you pass on the street. Especially at A&M, where smiling and saying "Howdy" is why we're considered a very welcoming campus.
According to Frau Pillartz, if she sees someone smiling at her she thinks they're ridiculous and fake. In the morning at least. She said that in that case a smile is just a cover over a normal attitude, like you're trying too hard. I don't know if this has anything to do with what we've heard about Germans being traditionally pessimistic while Americans are traditionally optimistic, but I personally don't think that a grumpy attitude is normal. It definitely isn't for me at least. Unless I'm really hungry, I'm usually generally optimistic and in good spirits. Yes, even in the mornings. And if I'm not having a good day, laughing and smiling usually makes me feel better. As most of you have figured out, I'm only grumpy when I'm hungry. I do my best "mean German" face when I'm hungry. So I guess by Frau Pillartz's standards I'm only 'normal' and not 'fake' when I'm hungry. That's weird.
I'm practicing my "bored European" face so I won't stick out so badly as a smiling, optimistic American. But I do have to say, one thing I miss about Texas is being able to smile at people without thinking about it.
In Texas we consider smiling to be friendly. You smile at everyone-people you know, people you don't know, people who open doors for you, people you pass on the street. Especially at A&M, where smiling and saying "Howdy" is why we're considered a very welcoming campus.
According to Frau Pillartz, if she sees someone smiling at her she thinks they're ridiculous and fake. In the morning at least. She said that in that case a smile is just a cover over a normal attitude, like you're trying too hard. I don't know if this has anything to do with what we've heard about Germans being traditionally pessimistic while Americans are traditionally optimistic, but I personally don't think that a grumpy attitude is normal. It definitely isn't for me at least. Unless I'm really hungry, I'm usually generally optimistic and in good spirits. Yes, even in the mornings. And if I'm not having a good day, laughing and smiling usually makes me feel better. As most of you have figured out, I'm only grumpy when I'm hungry. I do my best "mean German" face when I'm hungry. So I guess by Frau Pillartz's standards I'm only 'normal' and not 'fake' when I'm hungry. That's weird.
I'm practicing my "bored European" face so I won't stick out so badly as a smiling, optimistic American. But I do have to say, one thing I miss about Texas is being able to smile at people without thinking about it.
surgery excitement
Today’s visit to the hospital was quite an experience for me! On the way there I was amused by some of my fellow Aggies, as they came straggling into the train station looking a little worse for wear 8-).
It was so great to be able wear the scrubs, and the mask, and the hair net, and those special green clogs. I was a little nervous about going in the operating room, to be honest. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t get queasy, because, how would that look if an aspiring surgeon couldn’t handle blood and guts? Luckily, I surprised myself by being really enthusiastic in the operating room! I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the procedure, and I hope that my steady stream of questions wasn’t distracting for the anesthesiologist. I don’t thnk I’ll ever be able to forget that pivotal moment in the operating room when I realized I was staring at a living, pumping human heart.
In trading off prime viewing spots with Lindsay, I got a chance to speak with the anesthesiologist about his experience as a doctor here in germany. After a few minutes of conversation, I found out that he had actually practiced in several other places, including Houston, Texas! When I asked him about the primary differences between the US and Germany he immediately listed respect and cooperation between anesthesiologists and surgeons. He actually said he felt he was more respected here in Germany, and he like dbeing able to be in control of his working hours, instead of being at the disposal of the surgeons (as he put it). When I brought up the subject of malpractice insurance in the States, he repeated what Dr. Penner had said, which was that malpractice suits in Germany are far less common, and that he felt is was much more expensive in the states to be insured.
One interesting thing I noticed about my time at the hospital in Bonn was the lack of female doctors, at least in the three operating rooms we were observing. I wonder if the medical field here (specifically the surgical specialties) is even more male-dominated that it is in the US….?
It was so great to be able wear the scrubs, and the mask, and the hair net, and those special green clogs. I was a little nervous about going in the operating room, to be honest. I was really hoping that I wouldn’t get queasy, because, how would that look if an aspiring surgeon couldn’t handle blood and guts? Luckily, I surprised myself by being really enthusiastic in the operating room! I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the procedure, and I hope that my steady stream of questions wasn’t distracting for the anesthesiologist. I don’t thnk I’ll ever be able to forget that pivotal moment in the operating room when I realized I was staring at a living, pumping human heart.
In trading off prime viewing spots with Lindsay, I got a chance to speak with the anesthesiologist about his experience as a doctor here in germany. After a few minutes of conversation, I found out that he had actually practiced in several other places, including Houston, Texas! When I asked him about the primary differences between the US and Germany he immediately listed respect and cooperation between anesthesiologists and surgeons. He actually said he felt he was more respected here in Germany, and he like dbeing able to be in control of his working hours, instead of being at the disposal of the surgeons (as he put it). When I brought up the subject of malpractice insurance in the States, he repeated what Dr. Penner had said, which was that malpractice suits in Germany are far less common, and that he felt is was much more expensive in the states to be insured.
One interesting thing I noticed about my time at the hospital in Bonn was the lack of female doctors, at least in the three operating rooms we were observing. I wonder if the medical field here (specifically the surgical specialties) is even more male-dominated that it is in the US….?
Can We Sleep Now?
What an exciting week! We did everything from cow rears to river cruises. I can't say we have slept very much but we have seen more than I could have even hoped for. The Experimental Farm was one of the best things I think we did this week. I never knew pigs could get so huge! Also, the chickens were so clean. The chicken coops I have seen before have always been really dirty and stinky so I was very surprised that this one was so immaculate. The farm did make me want to not eat meat anymore. I thought it was sad that the animals were in cages their whole lives and weren't allowed to go outside or even move around that much. The farm didn't push me over the edge to being a vegetarian but it did really make me think.
I also really enjoyed the Marksberg Castle. I love looking at old, huge castles so this was just my thing. The hike to the top was hilarious and definately a memory that I won't forget. Hiking through the trees and mud up a hill - not exactly the easiest task we have ever had. Poor Lindsey - she fell in the mud and had dirt all over (and in!) her pants. Overall, it was a great experience!
This week has been so much fun and I can't wait for Paris. Go Lance!
I also really enjoyed the Marksberg Castle. I love looking at old, huge castles so this was just my thing. The hike to the top was hilarious and definately a memory that I won't forget. Hiking through the trees and mud up a hill - not exactly the easiest task we have ever had. Poor Lindsey - she fell in the mud and had dirt all over (and in!) her pants. Overall, it was a great experience!
This week has been so much fun and I can't wait for Paris. Go Lance!
Great Second Week
Well, this week was really great. I liked this week because it was a GO, GO, GO week! We went a lot of different places and I can actually say that I enjoyed them all. I have already writted about my favorite which was the heart surgery but the experimental farm was pretty cool too. I can say that I will NEVER look at Rebecca the same way after seeing her stick her hand down the cows rear end. And I will also never forget the look on Heather's face as Rebecca did it. We also went on a boat ride down the Rhine River. It was so beautiful!!! Then we HIKED up a mountain to see a castle. The castle was great, but it was a really long walk to get there. Then we had a wine tasting which was REALLY funny!!! Overall we had a really good week. Now I am leaving to get on the train to go to Paris!!! It is going to be an exciting weekend!
Finally...
Ok, so we finally figured out how to get me on the blog! Wow, it has been a crazy two weeks. First, I ended up in a house by myself instead of rooming with Jean, so I am staying with a lady named Helga. She is super sweet. I have the whole upstairs to myself, and she stocks my refrigerator up there with pudding and yogurt and chocolate (I think she has a sweet tooth like I do!). She makes breakfast every morning (with coffee - an absolute necessity!) and sends me off with snacks every time we have a weekend trip or an excursion. She doesn't speak fluent English, but we have been understanding each other beautifully overall - with the help of some hand motions! And I have learned some German from her, which is fun. She also likes to make pancakes for dinner. Of the two dinners she has cooked for me herself, both have been pancakes! Or, actually, a pancake. Singular. These things are as big as a dinner plate! The first one was an apple pancake that she made because her grandchild said it's her favorite thing Grandma makes. I think there was an entire apple in it! Last night was a different kind of pancake, something she said was an Austrian specialty. It had raisins in it, and that's all I recognized, but it was good. So I am enjoying staying with Helga, although this morning I discovered a bad side of living alone - there's no one to wake you up when you sleep through your alarm!!! (Sorry guys!)
Last weekend, Shannon and Adriane and I took a trip to Vienna. I have to admit, I wasn't sure it was going to be worth the time (an overnight train, about 12 hours!) and money. I had been to Vienna before and loved it, but I still wasn't sure. I got to the train station early Friday morning, packed for Vienna just in case but not even sure I could get a train there. Luckily I did, but on a different train from Shannon and Adriane going over. Like Adriane said, I ended up in a sleeper car, which was quite nice and meant that I definitely got more sleep than they did, poor things! So I thought everything was taken care of, and then I realized later during class that I didn't have Austria on my Eurail pass, and I had forgotten to ask about arranging for that! It ended up ok, I just bought a ticket from the border of Germany to Vienna and back. As far as Vienna itself, we three enjoyed it immensely. It's an absolutely beautiful city with huge decorated buildings. I enjoyed just walking the streets and looking around us. We saw St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Opera House (which is AMAZING), and the outside of a few museums, the Parliament building, and the City Hall. And I found ice water at a Starbucks in Europe!!! (Those of you who have never been here have NO idea how hard that is, nor how exciting. Leave it to Starbucks to have ice water. And leave it to me to be at a Starbucks even when I'm in a foreign country!) We spent the evening in a hostel that only cost us 15 euros each for the night, and it was clean and provided towels and everything. The next day (Sunday), we went to Schonbrunn Palace, which is absolutely amazing as well. The rooms are so decorated in Rococo style that by the end you're kind of tired of gold. But the rooms decorated in Chinese style were beautiful, the dance hall with its chandeliers was amazing (I need to find a new word), and the room done in all blue and white to look like the walls were decorated porcelain was intriguing. We took the overnight train back to Duesseldorf, showing up at the AIB in the morning tired and dirty and desperately trying to clean ourselves up in the bathroom before the others arrived! It was worth it though, and Shannon and Adriane, you guys are a lot of fun! Thanks for letting me come with you! :)
That's probably far more than anyone wants to read right now, so I'll hopefully post again Tuesday, after our trip to Paris this weekend. Here's hoping I won't get run over by Lance Armstrong on his victory lap. ;)
Last weekend, Shannon and Adriane and I took a trip to Vienna. I have to admit, I wasn't sure it was going to be worth the time (an overnight train, about 12 hours!) and money. I had been to Vienna before and loved it, but I still wasn't sure. I got to the train station early Friday morning, packed for Vienna just in case but not even sure I could get a train there. Luckily I did, but on a different train from Shannon and Adriane going over. Like Adriane said, I ended up in a sleeper car, which was quite nice and meant that I definitely got more sleep than they did, poor things! So I thought everything was taken care of, and then I realized later during class that I didn't have Austria on my Eurail pass, and I had forgotten to ask about arranging for that! It ended up ok, I just bought a ticket from the border of Germany to Vienna and back. As far as Vienna itself, we three enjoyed it immensely. It's an absolutely beautiful city with huge decorated buildings. I enjoyed just walking the streets and looking around us. We saw St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Opera House (which is AMAZING), and the outside of a few museums, the Parliament building, and the City Hall. And I found ice water at a Starbucks in Europe!!! (Those of you who have never been here have NO idea how hard that is, nor how exciting. Leave it to Starbucks to have ice water. And leave it to me to be at a Starbucks even when I'm in a foreign country!) We spent the evening in a hostel that only cost us 15 euros each for the night, and it was clean and provided towels and everything. The next day (Sunday), we went to Schonbrunn Palace, which is absolutely amazing as well. The rooms are so decorated in Rococo style that by the end you're kind of tired of gold. But the rooms decorated in Chinese style were beautiful, the dance hall with its chandeliers was amazing (I need to find a new word), and the room done in all blue and white to look like the walls were decorated porcelain was intriguing. We took the overnight train back to Duesseldorf, showing up at the AIB in the morning tired and dirty and desperately trying to clean ourselves up in the bathroom before the others arrived! It was worth it though, and Shannon and Adriane, you guys are a lot of fun! Thanks for letting me come with you! :)
That's probably far more than anyone wants to read right now, so I'll hopefully post again Tuesday, after our trip to Paris this weekend. Here's hoping I won't get run over by Lance Armstrong on his victory lap. ;)
Pre Paris departure
This week was even better than the last in my opinion, because we actually got to do alot more stuff related to medicine. The cruise down the Rhine was extremely cool, and I loved the scenery, I'm a sucker for the green hills and forests. Lunch at the small restaurant was really good, and also my first opportunity to taste schnitzel (however it is spelled) and it was really good, mainly because it just tasted like a pork chop. After lunch and going on an awesome tour of the Marksburg castle which I extremely enjoyed we went on my little wine tasting trip. I had a great time at the castle, because I love any kind of medieval sort of thing with a passion. I do have to say the greatest part of the Rhine cruise was watching Olaf climb onto one of those wobbly horse toys you find in playgrounds for children under 5. The wine tasting was really good, and I think everyone enjoyed it, what made it even more hilarious was watching some of the people afterward we had all had some wine to drink, I dont think I have to say much more on that subject than that. The next day we went to go to the university hospital and take a small tour of the ICU as well as watch open heart surgery in the operation room. I had seen open heart surgery as well as a few other types of "serious surgery" before, so it wasnt something extremely new to me, but I love watching it regardless. Eric and I also got a little lesson of anatomy/anesthesiology from the anesthesiologist in the room as he used Adrianne as a prop. The only thing more fun than watching surgeries is doing it yourself, which personally I really enjoy though it can be a bit nerve racking at times. Yesterday we went to the research farm which was really cool as well, mainly because that's more my field of focus at the moment, though I'm leaning more towards small animals and/or exotics or possibly specializing in some field of canine medicine. The only "typical" animal I would want to work with would be horses, so I'll more than likely stick with small animals.
Well that about sums it up for the week, and we will be heading to Paris in a few hours, so I'm extremely hyped and ready to get on the road.
Well that about sums it up for the week, and we will be heading to Paris in a few hours, so I'm extremely hyped and ready to get on the road.
Animal Farm...
On Thursday, we took an excursion to Frankenforst Research Farm to learn about the types of animal research that they do there. Upon arrival, we were given an overview of how the farm-half of the farm operates. We got to visit the cattle barns, the sheep pens, the chickens, and to Olaf's great delight, the pigs! Everyone was amazed by the size of the pigs in Germany. We asked about the use of growth hormones in Germany, but apparently they are outlawed in most of Europe! Olaf wanted to hold one of the piglets, and keep it as a pet, but unfortunately it didn't work out. We learned all about the breeding systems that they used at Frankenforst, and the progeny tests that they conduct. It was reall cool!
After learning about the animal side of the operations, we went to the research facilities and talked to the veterinarians and researchers that work there. We were able to talk to one of the veterinarians there about reproduction cycles in cows. To demonstrate, he brought out a plate full of ovaries that had follicles in different stages of development on them. We got to touch them, and even got to witness instant ovulation when he squished one! It was sort of disgusting, but he got his point across! We aso were abe to witness frozen sperm "coming back to life" under the microscope, which was fascinating! He even took us out to one of the barns to use sonograms to test if the cow were pregnant. Rebecca gets a special award for palpating a cow...
Overall, it was a great learning experience and I think that all the students got a lot out of it, even the human medicine people! Although, I think they were a little grossed out by a lot of what went on during the day. I loved Frankenforst, and I definitely recommend that it be included on next year's trip to Germany!
After learning about the animal side of the operations, we went to the research facilities and talked to the veterinarians and researchers that work there. We were able to talk to one of the veterinarians there about reproduction cycles in cows. To demonstrate, he brought out a plate full of ovaries that had follicles in different stages of development on them. We got to touch them, and even got to witness instant ovulation when he squished one! It was sort of disgusting, but he got his point across! We aso were abe to witness frozen sperm "coming back to life" under the microscope, which was fascinating! He even took us out to one of the barns to use sonograms to test if the cow were pregnant. Rebecca gets a special award for palpating a cow...
Overall, it was a great learning experience and I think that all the students got a lot out of it, even the human medicine people! Although, I think they were a little grossed out by a lot of what went on during the day. I loved Frankenforst, and I definitely recommend that it be included on next year's trip to Germany!
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Today's Discussion
Today's discusion with Frau Pilartz was very interesting. A few points I idn't know were how the schools are not very good in Germany because the children are not taught respect so none is given to the teachers and the classrooms are very loud and unproductive. Also, in the US a school teacher's salary is not so hot, but here it is the opposite. As a result of WWII the culture tries to get away from the authoritarian mentality, so the children call the parents by their first names to avoid their parents as sounding like the authoritative figure.
Passport Problems and Wine Tasting
So when I woke up on Tuesday morning I was getting my wallet out of my bag and I realized that my passport was not in my bag. After comming home from Bonn I went on a desparate search for it with no avail. I was so afraid that I wasn't going to be able to go to Paris with everyone or worse yet that I would not be able to get back into the US. Lucky for me though when I went into the US Consulate this morning they had it. Apparently some one found it and the German police turned it into the Consulate.
Yesturday we went on a Rhine cruise and wine tasting. We started out in Baccarach and we boarded a boat and set out on the river. At first we were all sitting on the top deck of the boat watching the castles and small towns pass by. These towns were what I thought of when I thought about what Germany would look like before I got here. We eventually got to the stop for the Marksburg castle and we had a really great lunch at this small German restuarant. Luckily we toured the city for awhile before we hiked up this huge hill to Marksburg castle. We took a nice castle tour and afterwards we went to the wine cellar of this nice German family. When we went into the cellar there were nice tables all set out for us and we had the chance to taste five different wines. After the wine everyone was feeling pretty good and Dr. Wassser even sang to us. We loaded up on cases of wine to bring back to our families and went home because we were so exhausted.
Yesturday we went on a Rhine cruise and wine tasting. We started out in Baccarach and we boarded a boat and set out on the river. At first we were all sitting on the top deck of the boat watching the castles and small towns pass by. These towns were what I thought of when I thought about what Germany would look like before I got here. We eventually got to the stop for the Marksburg castle and we had a really great lunch at this small German restuarant. Luckily we toured the city for awhile before we hiked up this huge hill to Marksburg castle. We took a nice castle tour and afterwards we went to the wine cellar of this nice German family. When we went into the cellar there were nice tables all set out for us and we had the chance to taste five different wines. After the wine everyone was feeling pretty good and Dr. Wassser even sang to us. We loaded up on cases of wine to bring back to our families and went home because we were so exhausted.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
What a cool group!!
Hey guys! I just wanted to post these pictures from our Rhine trip today. The first one is in Bacharach right before we got on the Lorelei. Luckily it didn't smell as bad down by the Rhine as it did in the town. The second one is everyone at the Rheintal restaurant for lunch. I think Dr. Wasser was setting up his computer to play the opera music to set the mood. The last one is all of us in front of the old, random door in Braubach on the way around the town before the climbed up to the Marksburg. Its been really fun to hang out with everyone and get to know each other! The first week and a half have absolutely flown by-we'd better make the rest of them count!!!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Heart Surgery
Today was one of the days I was looking forward to the most. We were able to go into the surgery room and watch open heart surgery. The patient I saw was 77 and having her aortic valve replaced. It was fascinating seeing the old valve which was calcified and the new valve which was actually a pig valve. Each flap comes from a different pig. Our anesthesiologist was extremely friendly and spoke to us in excellent English. I was amazed that he knew all the technical terms in both English and German. He explained what he was doing as he was doing it. I really like watching surgery. I saw a knee scoping while in high school and that was great. Now being able to see the heart beating in the patient was very powerful. It was also fun putting on scrubs. I'm glad I got a picture in them. I hope it is a flash into the future :-).
We then went to the ICU and saw some patients there. They were all elderly and had had complications with their cardiac surgery. The most amazing and yet difficult thing for me to see was one lady in the ICU who had a zip in her chest so she could be opened up very quickly. It was a REAL zipper, like you have on your pants. It was extremely strange to see. It made her almost look like a doll because it was hard to fathom that there was a real person with a zip on her chest.
I really liked Bonn, or the parts we saw of it. We had a nice lunch and it was funny having lunch with half the table enjoying a beer. We met some students from A&M who were here for the Engineering program and I must say I am glad I am on this program. The engineering program was very regimented with tests and quizzes and lecture time. I am glad we are able to go out and learn first hand instead of learning in a classroom which we could do for cheaper in Texas.
Yesterday was not so fun because I went to the airport to talk to Lufthansa about my damaged luggage. We had faxed them but we were just having trouble talking to people who knew what I wa ssuppsoed to do. I missed what sounds like an interesting night at a bar, but I'll get over it. I am just glad my luggage is finally getting assessed and hopefully I will find out soon what is going to happen. I really have had bad luck with luggage. My main suitcase was broken on the plane and then my small backpack for day trips broke while we were in Heidelberg. Hopefully I no more problems because I am running out of bags.
We then went to the ICU and saw some patients there. They were all elderly and had had complications with their cardiac surgery. The most amazing and yet difficult thing for me to see was one lady in the ICU who had a zip in her chest so she could be opened up very quickly. It was a REAL zipper, like you have on your pants. It was extremely strange to see. It made her almost look like a doll because it was hard to fathom that there was a real person with a zip on her chest.
I really liked Bonn, or the parts we saw of it. We had a nice lunch and it was funny having lunch with half the table enjoying a beer. We met some students from A&M who were here for the Engineering program and I must say I am glad I am on this program. The engineering program was very regimented with tests and quizzes and lecture time. I am glad we are able to go out and learn first hand instead of learning in a classroom which we could do for cheaper in Texas.
Yesterday was not so fun because I went to the airport to talk to Lufthansa about my damaged luggage. We had faxed them but we were just having trouble talking to people who knew what I wa ssuppsoed to do. I missed what sounds like an interesting night at a bar, but I'll get over it. I am just glad my luggage is finally getting assessed and hopefully I will find out soon what is going to happen. I really have had bad luck with luggage. My main suitcase was broken on the plane and then my small backpack for day trips broke while we were in Heidelberg. Hopefully I no more problems because I am running out of bags.
Good Times
Let's say that the Heidelberg trip was interesting. After the grueling 6 hour train ride and the treacherous 300 plus steps up to the castle, a sense of accomplishment came over me. The castle was ok, but my favorite part of the trip was having a good, silly time with my fellow travellers. We had a lot of fun on the way to the castle and also coming back even though we didn't get back to Duesseldorf until 1:00am.
Trip to Bonn
Well, today we went to Bonn. It started out as an early morning, so I was not too excited. As we got closer and closer to arriving at Bonn I started to get anxious. Medicine has always been a dream for me, and today was almost like a test. I knew that if I could go into the surgery and stand there the whole time without getting queasy and then leave and eat lunch with no problem, I could survive being a physician. Well ladies and gentlemen, I passed my test with flying colors!!!!! I thought that it was so cool that we got to "dress up" to go into the surgery. We got to put on the blue scrubs, the clogg shoes, the hat, and the mask. Even though we looked like the epitome of Nerds I know that deep down inside we all loved it. We even took pictures in the dressing room. Michelle, Jean, and I all went into a room together and we lucked out because one of the doctors was super cool. He sat and explained tons of stuff to us. He even drew a picture on his pants to help us understand a process.
The trip on the way home was also pretty fun. We got on the wrong train to come home. No, I did not get lost again, We just got on a train that our tickets did not work on. Fortunately I did not get checked. On the flip side, Josh did get checked and had to pay 10 euros. I guess that it is good that only one out of eight got checked. Sorry Josh!
The trip on the way home was also pretty fun. We got on the wrong train to come home. No, I did not get lost again, We just got on a train that our tickets did not work on. Fortunately I did not get checked. On the flip side, Josh did get checked and had to pay 10 euros. I guess that it is good that only one out of eight got checked. Sorry Josh!
Monday, July 18, 2005
Germans are so fit!
This past weekend Beth, Jean and I went on a bike "adventure" with our host families. It was really fun and pretty since we went all over Duesseldorf, as well as along the river. We rode all the way to Kaiserwerth and saw the ruins of an old castle that the Nazis had used. It was weird to be standing in the places where I know the Nazis once stood. We also went to the Duesseldorf parade, which was fun but different from parades in the U.S. There was a "flower holder" from each village who walked in front and carried a huge bouquet of flowers over his head. Also, everyone was dressed in typical "old German" clothing. It was cool to see. We all learned a valuable lesson from our bike ride - Germans are MUCH fitter than Americans. Margo, Jean's host mother, almost killed us after our 8 hour trip (at least 4 of it was actually on the bikes). Plus, I don't think she was tired at all when we finally got home! Beth, Jean and I went to bed early that night, weary that she might want to go on a "night ride" too!
The People you Meet
This weekend we took a train adventure to Heidelberg. Seven of us took a train that left at 6:45am and we had to change trains four times, but we eventually got there. On the way there we were kept awake by the Boy Scouts of Holland who where going on a camping trip through France. We met up with Beth and Ashley who had taken the direct train and we had an interesting time trying to find the Heidelberg castle. Luckily we had Michelle with us who spoke German. We ended up taking a bus up to the castle followed by some 303 steps up to the castle. We took both the audio and live tours which were very educational. The best part of this trip was the train ride home after we met up with an American exchange student going home from her semester abroad. She was extremely happy to be with Americans and she even trusted us with her luggage while she got something to eat. We also had a nice conversation with a German nephrologist who gave us his feeling on the German Healthcare system. Over all he had a very negative, pessimistic view of the healthcare system, especially the large drug company, Bayer Pharmaceuticals. It was interesting though learning the German perspective first hand.
Biking Adventure...
Yesterday Ashley, Jean and I went on a biking adventure all around Duesseldorf with Margot. Margot is Jean's host mom and mine and Ashley's host mom's mom. She is a 67 year old woman who is in great shape. She put us all to shame on the bike trip. Granted, she bikes around everywhere and has a bike with speeds and a padded seat. We haven't ridden bikes in awhile, and we got the old, extra, hand-me-down bikes. Mine was the "Lady Rose"-a really tall, bright pink bike that was made in the 70s and squeaked something awful. The height was good for my bad knees, but bad for when we were stopped. I could barely skim my toes on the ground, and I have long legs! My bike's wheel span was about 3 times Jean's wheel span. Jean was on the Hercules, which I think was a child's bike, borrowed from Helga. Neither of our bikes had speeds, which was interesting. Ashley had the most normal bike of all-the Torpedo which had 3 speeds. However, after hours of riding around town, all of us were hurting badly. The morning was very pleasant and nice. Helga came along in the morning when we rode up the Rhine to Kaiserswerth, where pretty much everyone in the family was born. We went through castle ruins and went
into a pretty 900 year old church, saw a hospital and an old-folks home. The scenery to and from and around Kaiserswerth was very pretty, and Margot made sure to point out a good pub that we could take the U-Bahn to and meet friends. For good food of course. After being gone for 4 hours in the morning, we had about an hour long break before biking again into the city for Dusseldorf parade. We got there right when it started at 4:30 and stood across the parade route in the park from the important people-the Lord Mayor and some other dressed up people, and 3 women wearing tiaras. There were so many flowers and flags and funny costumes. Some were modern and some were very very old school, like from the 1600s. As far
as we could figure out, each new group was a little "village" and they were dressed in the style of the time they were founded. It was pretty cool. All the music and festivities reminded us of march-in before Aggie football games. Random things that remind us of home are the best. Our biking adventure was exhausting, but fun, great exercise, and it made the host mom happy, which is always a good thing!
into a pretty 900 year old church, saw a hospital and an old-folks home. The scenery to and from and around Kaiserswerth was very pretty, and Margot made sure to point out a good pub that we could take the U-Bahn to and meet friends. For good food of course. After being gone for 4 hours in the morning, we had about an hour long break before biking again into the city for Dusseldorf parade. We got there right when it started at 4:30 and stood across the parade route in the park from the important people-the Lord Mayor and some other dressed up people, and 3 women wearing tiaras. There were so many flowers and flags and funny costumes. Some were modern and some were very very old school, like from the 1600s. As far
as we could figure out, each new group was a little "village" and they were dressed in the style of the time they were founded. It was pretty cool. All the music and festivities reminded us of march-in before Aggie football games. Random things that remind us of home are the best. Our biking adventure was exhausting, but fun, great exercise, and it made the host mom happy, which is always a good thing!
Vienna
Adriane, Catherine, and I went to Vienna this weekend. It was everything you would expect it to be, gorgeous. The first day we toured around the ring of the city and took a few tours, and I got a proposal of marriage for a green card. Interesting! The next day we went to Schonbrunn Place. Our hostel was really nice and we met a lot of interesting people on our journey. I think that that is the best thing about Europe is meeting all different people and a lot of it has to do with the public transportation. It is so easy to meet different people or people watch on the train or bus.
Vienna!
Hi! I finally got on the Blog! Whoop! So I thought I would just give a small summary of our trip to Vienna this past weekend. Shannon, Catherine, and I set off on our adventure on Friday evening. While Catherine had a sleeper car, Shannon and I had seats. Let's just say that Catherine got a LOT more sleep than we did... haha! After we got to Vienna after a 10 hour train ride, we walked around the inner "ring" of the city. We toured the opera house, which was amazing... and basically made ourselves really tired. We went back to our hostel to take a nap and shower after all of our touring. The hostel that we stayed in was an excellent choice (thanks Catherine's mom!). We got to stay in a three bunk room, which felt very safe. It was within walking distance of everything in Vienna too, which was wonderful. Shannon and I went out to the local film festival that night and enjoyed sausage and drinks with the locals and tourists alike. The setup was beautiful, with a symphony playing in the background. We met some hilarious guys from hungary, who wanted to pump us on their bikes to the river... we politely declined. Hahahaha
The next day, we went to Schonbrunn, the Palace in Vienna. It was beautiful! We spent hours just walking through the gardens and touring the palace itself. We even look a nap in one of the gardens like homeless people. It was really funny. We made our way back to the train station shortly afterward, and took our train home to Dusseldorf, after a few mishaps with our tickets... opps. It was a great trip overall, and I highly recommend Vienna to everyone else! Until later.... bye!
The next day, we went to Schonbrunn, the Palace in Vienna. It was beautiful! We spent hours just walking through the gardens and touring the palace itself. We even look a nap in one of the gardens like homeless people. It was really funny. We made our way back to the train station shortly afterward, and took our train home to Dusseldorf, after a few mishaps with our tickets... opps. It was a great trip overall, and I highly recommend Vienna to everyone else! Until later.... bye!
Refreshing weekend
Well the first week is completely over now, and everyone still seems to be doing fine except for Lindsey is a little under the weather from which I just recovered myself. I think everyone else, but maybe 2 or 3 people went traveling this weekend, but the only thing I did was lay in bed and relax, which was incredibly nice to be able to do. After two days of pure laziness I finally started feeling better and am hopefully about to be back to 100% again. I'm not quite sure what's going on tonight, but I think Raphael, my host sister's boyfriend and I are going to work out at this fancy fitness club he's a personal trainer at, and then Erica, me, and some of the girls are going to "Chill Out," so hopefully that will prove to be a fun evening. I definitely want to go do something after doing absolutely nothing for about 3 days straight.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Sleep...mmmm, lecker!
Ah sleep is goooooooood. After our (all day and no joking) trip to Heidelberg, which I actually enjoyed immensely, I got home shortly after 2am. I then proceeded to sleep until 3pm >8^) My host-dad has finally come home (he was giving artist workshops to art teachers in the Lincoln Center in New York all this week.) So I have finally met the entire family and I like them a lot. My host-brother, Djamil, is a little (well, a lot) computer crazy. This is actually good because he doesn’t speak English, but lots of German computer lingo was borrowed from English so I can still understand much of what he is saying (since all he talks about is computers.)
Regarding the program, I understand why we started out learning about German culture and history and while I think that it’s interesting, I can’t wait to get to the medicine part of the course. The open heart surgery is the highlight of this week and I, personally, can’t wait to see the horse breeding farm and the veterinary clinic in the following weeks.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regarding the program, I understand why we started out learning about German culture and history and while I think that it’s interesting, I can’t wait to get to the medicine part of the course. The open heart surgery is the highlight of this week and I, personally, can’t wait to see the horse breeding farm and the veterinary clinic in the following weeks.
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLAF!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I visited Amsterdam this past weekend, the first time I’ve been there other than in passage through the airport. It is customary (my German language edition of the Amsterdam Baedeker says “required”) to visit the Anne Frank House at Prinzengracht 263, the site of her father, Otto Frank’s business, and where the Frank family and four other Jews hid from the Nazis for two years in “het Achterhuis”, the house behind or as it has come to be called in English, “the secret Annex”.
I walked from Central Station to the Prinzengracht house arriving there about 11:00 on a Sunday morning. The line to get in stretched around the corner but the wait was only about a half hour and that didn’t seem to long to me to gain access to where an icon of Holocaust history and literature, Anne’s diary was written.
The “museum” is principally the house itself with some video documentation (for example, an interview with Miep Gies), some photographs, a few original, historical documents, and of course, the original three, bound notebooks of Anne’s diary, including the famous, first volume in its red and white checked cover. The false bookcase built to conceal the stairway to the hidden annex is there, partially ajar, and one passes through it to mount the stairs as the Franks and the others did.
I was moved as I always am by my present-day encounters with the Holocaust. I was particularly affected by passing the bookcase and climbing the stairs to the secret Annex. However, and this is the major point of this Blog post, I was relatively, or perhaps I should say comparatively unmoved by the overall experience. I should say that, besides the bookcase and the initial stepping into the hiding place, I was most affected by two things:
(1) a video of Otto Frank, in one of the last rooms of the exhibit. As the only survivor of those hiding in Prinzengracht, Otto Frank on his return from Auschwitz, tried to learn the fates of his two daughters. He had already learned that his wife had not survived. In this video, made I believe sometime in the 1970s, Frank discusses what the tragedy of the loss of his daughters meant to him. Also in this room are several letters he wrote to relatives in the period immediately after the war while he searched for information on Margot and Anne. They describe his growing and then confirmed knowledge that they had, in fact, died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; and
(2) a quote on the wall of this final room, from the chemist and writer, Primo Levi, himself a survivor of Auschwitz. Levi comments on the importance of Anne Frank and her diary in making the Holocaust real and immediate to those who did not experience it personally. He also points out that the reality of this one girl’s fate, tragic as it was, was mirrored by the fates of at least one million other Jewish children and many non-Jews and, Levi says, to try and understand or come to terms with that catastrophe is an impossible task leading only to despair and an inability to continue to live on. Levi himself, ultimately found it impossible to live with the reality of the Holocaust, and killed himself.
I would like to conclude by noting that in the people around me today visiting the Secret Annex were two, young, German girls, perhaps in their mid teens and an Israeli family. What they thought and felt I do not know, but they were there.
I walked from Central Station to the Prinzengracht house arriving there about 11:00 on a Sunday morning. The line to get in stretched around the corner but the wait was only about a half hour and that didn’t seem to long to me to gain access to where an icon of Holocaust history and literature, Anne’s diary was written.
The “museum” is principally the house itself with some video documentation (for example, an interview with Miep Gies), some photographs, a few original, historical documents, and of course, the original three, bound notebooks of Anne’s diary, including the famous, first volume in its red and white checked cover. The false bookcase built to conceal the stairway to the hidden annex is there, partially ajar, and one passes through it to mount the stairs as the Franks and the others did.
I was moved as I always am by my present-day encounters with the Holocaust. I was particularly affected by passing the bookcase and climbing the stairs to the secret Annex. However, and this is the major point of this Blog post, I was relatively, or perhaps I should say comparatively unmoved by the overall experience. I should say that, besides the bookcase and the initial stepping into the hiding place, I was most affected by two things:
(1) a video of Otto Frank, in one of the last rooms of the exhibit. As the only survivor of those hiding in Prinzengracht, Otto Frank on his return from Auschwitz, tried to learn the fates of his two daughters. He had already learned that his wife had not survived. In this video, made I believe sometime in the 1970s, Frank discusses what the tragedy of the loss of his daughters meant to him. Also in this room are several letters he wrote to relatives in the period immediately after the war while he searched for information on Margot and Anne. They describe his growing and then confirmed knowledge that they had, in fact, died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; and
(2) a quote on the wall of this final room, from the chemist and writer, Primo Levi, himself a survivor of Auschwitz. Levi comments on the importance of Anne Frank and her diary in making the Holocaust real and immediate to those who did not experience it personally. He also points out that the reality of this one girl’s fate, tragic as it was, was mirrored by the fates of at least one million other Jewish children and many non-Jews and, Levi says, to try and understand or come to terms with that catastrophe is an impossible task leading only to despair and an inability to continue to live on. Levi himself, ultimately found it impossible to live with the reality of the Holocaust, and killed himself.
I would like to conclude by noting that in the people around me today visiting the Secret Annex were two, young, German girls, perhaps in their mid teens and an Israeli family. What they thought and felt I do not know, but they were there.
Just Breathe...
So, it's Sunday night at 11:42- week 1 is almost over and I am still alive! Whoop! Germany has been amazing so far. As most of you know, at least those of you that braved the trip to Heildelberg, I'm sick and can't breathe so well right now so walking long distances (or walking up 303 steps) has been quite difficult. But I'm determined not to miss anything. Jean, thank you for being so peppy and pushing us along :) Heildelberg was beautiful and although I thought I was going to die going up those steps I'm so glad I went because traveling by ourseleves was an experience in itself. Traveling across a counry we pretty much know nothing about with no shaperons (I'm warning y'all right now, I'm the worst speller in the world so there may be lots of mistakes in here) with only one person who can speak the native language is a huge accomplishment. I'm very proud of ourselves!
I'm off to bed now. I'll write a longer blog later when I can actually concentrate for longer than two minutes without coughing. Right now I'm just concentrating on breathing and getting more than 3 hours of sleep!
I'm off to bed now. I'll write a longer blog later when I can actually concentrate for longer than two minutes without coughing. Right now I'm just concentrating on breathing and getting more than 3 hours of sleep!
Friday, July 15, 2005
What a first week!
This past week has been truly amazing. Germany has exceeded my expectations in so many ways, and that's fantastic, considering I had extremely high expectations for this trip in the first place.
Getting to know the rest of the students, Dr. Wasser, and the rest of the AIB staff has been fun. I'm looking forward to spending the next few weeks with you guys. Although....I STILL can't tell when Olaf is being scarcastic and when he's not. 8-)
My host mother, Heidi, has helped to introduce us to German culture. She's been cooking for us, sharing intersting facts, and helping us find our way around the city since the moment we arrived. I will admit to being a bit frightened at first, since one of the things she said to me the first night I arrived was, "Soon, we will speak ONLY German in this house. You will learn better that way." I'm quite sure that my eyes got very wide, until i realized she was only joking. (or was she.....?)
Although our excursions have been fascinating, I find that I am really enjoying other things as well. Watching people on the tram and in the city is one of my favorite things to do. I also love listening to our whole group hack and gag over German pronunciations! On a more serious note, I will never forget the feeling of sitting in class and having the opportunity to listen to a German explain the details of WW II and the Holocaust. It was an extremely emotional moment for me.
So far this trip, I've really surprised myself with how comfortable I feel in Europe. Apart from not knowing the language, the culture and general attitude of the Germans has made me feel completely comfortable.
Getting to know the rest of the students, Dr. Wasser, and the rest of the AIB staff has been fun. I'm looking forward to spending the next few weeks with you guys. Although....I STILL can't tell when Olaf is being scarcastic and when he's not. 8-)
My host mother, Heidi, has helped to introduce us to German culture. She's been cooking for us, sharing intersting facts, and helping us find our way around the city since the moment we arrived. I will admit to being a bit frightened at first, since one of the things she said to me the first night I arrived was, "Soon, we will speak ONLY German in this house. You will learn better that way." I'm quite sure that my eyes got very wide, until i realized she was only joking. (or was she.....?)
Although our excursions have been fascinating, I find that I am really enjoying other things as well. Watching people on the tram and in the city is one of my favorite things to do. I also love listening to our whole group hack and gag over German pronunciations! On a more serious note, I will never forget the feeling of sitting in class and having the opportunity to listen to a German explain the details of WW II and the Holocaust. It was an extremely emotional moment for me.
So far this trip, I've really surprised myself with how comfortable I feel in Europe. Apart from not knowing the language, the culture and general attitude of the Germans has made me feel completely comfortable.
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.
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.
Train tickets
By now everyone has heard this story, but I'm going to post it for documentation anyway. On Wednesday afternoon Ashley, Jean, Catherine and I stopped by the ticket office in the Hauptbahnhof to buy/reserve train 12 train tickets for the weekend to Paris. Keep in mind that this was after another day of walking all around Dusseldorf in the heat for the scavenger hunt, and we were already hot, tired, and slightly cranky. Oh, and Kirsten was expecting me and Ashley home for dinner at 6:00. So we stood in the long line for about 15 minutes, then spent at least 45 minutes at the counter working things out. The woman who was originally helping us spoke pretty good English and was even nice enough to find a 'youth' deal that would bump 6 people up to 1st class for a very reduced price. The five of us with Eurail passes had to settle for reserving seats in 2nd class which we were completely fine with. Everything looked good until she hit the "reserve" button and got an error message. Then our original person had a break and switched in the middle of the transaction with a woman who was harder to communicate with. The error message had to do with the seat reservations for Eurail passes. Evidently the train companies only set aside a few seats per train that can be reserved by someone with a Eurail pass, since the reservation is 10 Euro, and the ticket is like 70 Euro. So at the time it looked like the 5 of us were not going to be able to make it to Paris, while everyone else got to ride in first class. Every time we would ask the woman at the counter a question she would respond by shaking her head and saying "one moment please". She either wouldn't or couldn't give us occasional progress reports or updates. So the four of us stood at the counter forever, shuffling our feet and talking amongst ourselves as she clicked and typed and clicked some more. I'm not sure if it was because of a language problem in that she didn't have the best English ever, or if it was a culture barrier. Back home usually people booking tickets or helping you out try to give progress reports or put you at ease or give you alternate options and ask what you prefer. Not so with this lady in the Duesseldorf Hauptbahnhof. It was a very frustrating experience. As you know, eventually it worked out where we all have seats too and from Paris. Granted, its bad timing and we have to take two different trains to get there, but its better than getting left behind. We have a lot to squeeze into two days, but I'm planning on sleeping very little. Hopefully it will all work out.
Queen of Getting Lost!!
Well, I have only been in Europe for one week, and I have managed to get lost NUMEROUS times! My first experience with being lost in a foreign country was last Saturday. Adriane and I were in London and had problems with finding the London Eye (only one of the tallest things in the city). After asking several sets of police men for directions, we finally made our way to it. The second experience was not as easy. Wednesday morning Adriane and I got on the bus and we did not arrive at the AIB until one hour later. Throughout the day we discovered that we were taking a bus that was out of the way. So, that evening we decided to take a different route home. Our first blunder was that we got lost in the Haufbaunhauf. Next, we went and sat at a stop that was going the wrong way. Fortunately there were some boys that spoke English that were able to point us in the right direction. Finally we heard the name of the road that we live on announced. We proceded to get off the bus and watch it drive away. Little did we know that we had no clue as to where we were. After walking around for a while we finally stumbled upon our house. We were laughing very hard because we were frustrated and Dirk (our host father) thought that we were drunk. My next experience with being lost was today. I was going home with Lindsey and we got on a train that went in the wrong direction. We did not realize this until we got to the very end of the route and were made to get off the train. We talked to a French man who informed us that the train did not go any further. then we found a man who spoke better English and he told us that we had gone the wrong way. So, we got back on the train and rode to our stop which took a very long time!! I am just happy to be here now. This weekend several of us are going to Heidelberg and we have to switch train 3 times. Lets just hope that the "Queen" does not get lost again!
Trouble at the Bahn Hof
Catherine and I had our first adventure with the Bahn Hof last night. After seeing the Dom in Koln, we decided to stay for a while and see the city. We went shopping and also went to a service at the Dom. It was really neat and I'm so glad we got to experience that (even though neither of us are Catholic!). When it was time to go home, we got on a train that said it was going to Dusseldorf; however, we soon realized that all the seats said "Reserved." We asked the conductor if we could ride this train and were asked to get off the train because we didn't have the right ticket. We knew a train left Koln at 21 minutes past the hour so we ran to get another train before it left. We jumped on just in time for our second train; however, we had now learned to just ask and lucky we did because, this too was not the right train. Finally, we just went to the information desk and got them to help us. We made it home but it was about 1 1/2 hours later than planned. Don't let Catherine or I take you around the Bahn Hof - we obviously haven't figured out the system yet!
Need sleep
Somehow I got dragged along to go to Heidelburg that leaves at 6:58am on a SATURDAY morning and is a 6 hour ride. All I have to say is that this castle better be good. I will let you know if it is.
First week almost gone
Well the first week in Germany is coming to a close, and it's beyond me to put it into words how it has been so far. The flight wasnt bad at all for being my first one, but when I got to Germany I started getting a little anxious as to how my host family was going to be, because I didnt know anything about them because for some reason, unlike Eric I didnt get their email about their family so I had no idea what to expect. After meeting all of them and being offered my first German beer no more than 5 minutes after arriving at my host family's home, I was extremely pleased with my whole situation. All of the family is extremely nice and laid back and going extremely out of their way to make us feel comfortable. I'm not used to being spoiled so badly, so it is definitely a shift. The first day here my host sister took me to a little Italian restaurant for the best pizza I have ever had, and then the entire family took me out bowling, which I love to do. After Eric showed up the next day the guys took us out to play pool, even though I am no good at billiards it was still fun.
Yesterday we went on the tour of Köln and the cathedral which was fantastic, even though I was dead tired by the end of the day. Along with the wonderful tour, I had two gothic girls chase me down to argue whether or not my eyes are brown or green. This came out of absolutely nowhere and seemed to make everyone else laugh, so I took it as a compliment...I guess. Other than the unexpected event, it was a really good day for everyone.
Yesterday we went on the tour of Köln and the cathedral which was fantastic, even though I was dead tired by the end of the day. Along with the wonderful tour, I had two gothic girls chase me down to argue whether or not my eyes are brown or green. This came out of absolutely nowhere and seemed to make everyone else laugh, so I took it as a compliment...I guess. Other than the unexpected event, it was a really good day for everyone.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Woah, heavy stuff
Wow, that lecture on German history was incredible. I would be interested to survey and ask other Germans (of all ages) how they feel personally because I find it amazing that an entire country could feel so despondent about their history and their nationality. Yes, the holocaust was aweful, but other countries have done similar things in their pasts and yet I don't know of another people gorup who gets down on themselves so much for their country's/people's past.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Duesseldorf Digest
Hi. Arriving in Germany is great and being able to speak the language is even better. I have helped people order food and it helped us on the Scavanger hunt today. We have done a lot of walking so far, even more than we were supposed to do. Yesterday we were supposed to take a bus tour around the city but the bus company made a mistake so we just walked around the City with Dr. Wasser and Olaf telling us what they knew. On the way we had ice-cream and I had mango and apricot flavored. It was extremely good. Knowing German was helpful on the Scavanger hunt today because we could ask questions in German so we got answers even if the people could not speak English. We also got 32 bags from expensive stores which was quite a trip. One store wanted 5 Euro for a bag. We obviously didn't get a bag there. My host mom Heidi is really sweet. I have my own room on the second floor and Heather is in the other room. the houses here are extremely small in area but often 3 stories high because land is so expensive. The steps are also extremely steep. There is a park across the street with birds and rabbits. They are very cute. We have to take the tram from our host home to the AIB which stands for Akadamie fuer Internationale Bildung which means Acadamy for International Education. They teach students to make short documentary films here during the semesters. They have students each semester from California.
I bet it must be interesting coming here and not understanding German. I will find out what it is like when we go to Paris. Apparently we will be there the weekend the Tour de France ends there. I hope it is not too crazy. I am glad we are in Germany most of the time so I can just practice my German. Frau Pilatz is teaching everyone basic German and it is impressive how fast everyone is picking it up. Since I already know the information she's teaching she is bringing in books for me to read. I told her that the newspaper was a little to difficult for me even now. I tried in Frankfurt and could understand some things but it was incredibly difficult. I do like being in the room though because I did learn one thing today that I had a wrong. I figure I will continue learning.
I think that's all for now. Let's see if this posting works.
I bet it must be interesting coming here and not understanding German. I will find out what it is like when we go to Paris. Apparently we will be there the weekend the Tour de France ends there. I hope it is not too crazy. I am glad we are in Germany most of the time so I can just practice my German. Frau Pilatz is teaching everyone basic German and it is impressive how fast everyone is picking it up. Since I already know the information she's teaching she is bringing in books for me to read. I told her that the newspaper was a little to difficult for me even now. I tried in Frankfurt and could understand some things but it was incredibly difficult. I do like being in the room though because I did learn one thing today that I had a wrong. I figure I will continue learning.
I think that's all for now. Let's see if this posting works.
Into the darkness
As Josh and I were travelling back from haveing a few drinks with the girls last night, we found ourselves wondering around trying to find our correct train station. After passing the same five drunken hooligans sitting on the curb twice we really did not want to go back by. Our other option was keep on walking the same direction that we knew where our house was and we figured it wouldn't be too far of a walk. After walking for say . . . 3 minutes, we found ourselves entering an extremely dark alley way. We were faced with a decision, should we proceed into the darkness or should we face certain embarrassment by walking by the drunks a third time. After discussing many ideas and strategies, we decided to leave the darkness and take our chances with the hooligans. But as if some kind of miracle, we found our bus stop before we actually reached them and patiently waited for the 712. A strong emotion of relief came over us as we entered the train and we embraced each other . . . wait, no, that last sentence isn't true. But the rest is. It was sceary!
Korschenbroich
Well, I've arrived safely in Düsseldorf- no mishaps on the flight over. I too was surprised that everything was in English and that it was surprisingly easy to get around the airports. I was very thankful for that.
I'm living with the March family in Kaarst which is about 15 or so miles from Düsseldorf. Kerstin is from England and Max speaks perfect English so I'm thrilled that I am able to communicate easily with them. They have two sons Phillipe (5 yrs) and Alexander (3 ys). They are very sweet but do not speak English.
To get to Kaarst I'm supposed to take this trolley car to Haam and then take the S28 Bahn to Kaarst. The stop for their house is easy enough to remember- its the end of the line for the train. Well, today, after I left AIB I was going home to have dinner with my host family at 6. I got to Haam and was waiting on the train and when it came I got on. It went through five stops that looked familiar and then about 20 minutes later I realized I was on the wrong train. I ended up in a lovely little town called Korschenbroich. I got off and took the train in the opposite direction back to the Nuess Hbf and was finally able to make my way home to Kaarst about 40 minutes later.
I'm living with the March family in Kaarst which is about 15 or so miles from Düsseldorf. Kerstin is from England and Max speaks perfect English so I'm thrilled that I am able to communicate easily with them. They have two sons Phillipe (5 yrs) and Alexander (3 ys). They are very sweet but do not speak English.
To get to Kaarst I'm supposed to take this trolley car to Haam and then take the S28 Bahn to Kaarst. The stop for their house is easy enough to remember- its the end of the line for the train. Well, today, after I left AIB I was going home to have dinner with my host family at 6. I got to Haam and was waiting on the train and when it came I got on. It went through five stops that looked familiar and then about 20 minutes later I realized I was on the wrong train. I ended up in a lovely little town called Korschenbroich. I got off and took the train in the opposite direction back to the Nuess Hbf and was finally able to make my way home to Kaarst about 40 minutes later.
First Impressions
Well I made it to Duesseldorf with out any problems. I was surprized that everything was in English, which made it much easier to travel than I thought it would be. My host family is wonderful even though they don't speak much English. We have a big yellow lab named Toby and the first German words that I have learned are sit, laydown, and rollover. I feel more comfortable speaking German to the dog because he only understands about as much German as I do. I also had my first experience with German punctualitly as well. The second day that I was here I was supposed to have breakfast at 7:40am and I was ready about a minute late and Margot was already knocking on my door. I am tired from walking around the city two days in a row, so that is all I have for now.
Triumph des Willens
The other night I watched the DVD of the German-made documentary on Leni Riefenstahl, “Die Macht der Bilder”. I had seen the English version, entitled “The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl”, some years ago on TV and recalled having found it to be fascinating and repellant. This time was no different. Made in 1993 when Riefenstahl was 90 years old its an extraordinary look into the inner workings of this complicated film maker, most famous (infamous) for directing what is generally considered to be the greatest propaganda film ever made, “Triumph des Willens”, (“Triumph of the Will”). “Triumph des Willens” is the official “documentary” record of the 1934 NSDAP Reichsparteitag assembly in Nuremberg and Hitler specifically requested Riefenstahl to make this film. She had shot some footage at the 1933 Reichsparteitag as well but, as the makers of “Die Macht der Bilder” point out, at that point in time Riefenstahl had not figured out exactly how to make this kind of picture and the Nazis had not yet learned how to “march like Nazis”. By September, 1934, both had learned how to get their respective jobs done.
The evening before I had watched the DVD of “Triumph des Willens” start to finish for the first time, although I have seen clips of it on TV and at the documenation center in Nuremberg. It is really something to see although the lengthy footage of marching columns of Nazi groups (SA, SS, Deutsche Arbeitsfront, Hitlerjugend, etc.) becomes numbing and brutal after a bit. One aspect that was new for me this time was that I could, for the most part, understand the speeches being given by Hitler, Hess, Goebbels and the other Nazi bigwigs. My comprehension of their German varied quite a bit but I found, for example, that in the beginning of a Hitler speech, I could understand almost everything he said. Then as he built the level of excitement and began to speak faster and louder, more and more of the words dropped out for me. I also think my difficulty with his accent increased as he became more agitated at the climax of his speeches. I was very creeped out by being able to understand the Führer in his Muttersprache. I had heard parts of these speeches in documentaries before with either English subtitles or dubbing but it was worse to hear and comprehend the German. As Riefenstahl points out in “Macht der Bilder”, Hitler (and the other speakers) at the 1934 Nuremberg rally do not say much (or anything) about Nazi anti-Semitic and racial ideologies and do, in fact, as Riefenstahl claims, speak mostly about jobs for German workers and peace (albeit peace through strength, unity, and obedience to the party). Knowing what we know about Nazis, however, what one sees and hears at Nuremberg is horrible enough. Hess shouting that “Hitler is the party, the party is Hitler, Hitler is Germany!” and so on.
One other thing about the Riefenstahl documentary I would like to comment on. The director shot many scenes and conducted interviews with Riefenstahl at the editing table she used to edit “Triumph des Willens”. Riefenstahl would show clips of her film and comment, mostly on the technical aspects of film making, her “Kunst”, not on her or Nazi ideology or politics. In one very telling moment, she shows a scene she particularly loved, tells us to watch, and her eyes light up with what can only be described as maniacal glee, joy, triumph. It was totally creepy. Riefenstahl (who died I believe in about 2002 or 2003 at the age of 102) would say, I think, that she was delighted with the technical achievement evidenced in that scene, but it looked to me and, I suspect to the director of “Macht…” that there was more to it than that. Riefenstahl insists throughout “Macht…” that she was not a Nazi, never a Party member, hated and was hated by Goebbels (his now published diaries suggest otherwise) and in the very last scene, comments that she never hated Jews and that no anti-Semitic comment had ever passed her lips.
Riefenstahl was not permitted to work after the war, the Allied authorities considered her a Nazi fellow-traveler, but after about 20 years she embarked on film-making again in Africa, where she lived and worked with the Nuba tribe. In her last film projects, which she conducted in her nineties, Riefenstahl learned to scuba dive and filmed documentaries of undersea life. A Nazi Jacques Costeau? Hard to say and now we will probably never really know.
The evening before I had watched the DVD of “Triumph des Willens” start to finish for the first time, although I have seen clips of it on TV and at the documenation center in Nuremberg. It is really something to see although the lengthy footage of marching columns of Nazi groups (SA, SS, Deutsche Arbeitsfront, Hitlerjugend, etc.) becomes numbing and brutal after a bit. One aspect that was new for me this time was that I could, for the most part, understand the speeches being given by Hitler, Hess, Goebbels and the other Nazi bigwigs. My comprehension of their German varied quite a bit but I found, for example, that in the beginning of a Hitler speech, I could understand almost everything he said. Then as he built the level of excitement and began to speak faster and louder, more and more of the words dropped out for me. I also think my difficulty with his accent increased as he became more agitated at the climax of his speeches. I was very creeped out by being able to understand the Führer in his Muttersprache. I had heard parts of these speeches in documentaries before with either English subtitles or dubbing but it was worse to hear and comprehend the German. As Riefenstahl points out in “Macht der Bilder”, Hitler (and the other speakers) at the 1934 Nuremberg rally do not say much (or anything) about Nazi anti-Semitic and racial ideologies and do, in fact, as Riefenstahl claims, speak mostly about jobs for German workers and peace (albeit peace through strength, unity, and obedience to the party). Knowing what we know about Nazis, however, what one sees and hears at Nuremberg is horrible enough. Hess shouting that “Hitler is the party, the party is Hitler, Hitler is Germany!” and so on.
One other thing about the Riefenstahl documentary I would like to comment on. The director shot many scenes and conducted interviews with Riefenstahl at the editing table she used to edit “Triumph des Willens”. Riefenstahl would show clips of her film and comment, mostly on the technical aspects of film making, her “Kunst”, not on her or Nazi ideology or politics. In one very telling moment, she shows a scene she particularly loved, tells us to watch, and her eyes light up with what can only be described as maniacal glee, joy, triumph. It was totally creepy. Riefenstahl (who died I believe in about 2002 or 2003 at the age of 102) would say, I think, that she was delighted with the technical achievement evidenced in that scene, but it looked to me and, I suspect to the director of “Macht…” that there was more to it than that. Riefenstahl insists throughout “Macht…” that she was not a Nazi, never a Party member, hated and was hated by Goebbels (his now published diaries suggest otherwise) and in the very last scene, comments that she never hated Jews and that no anti-Semitic comment had ever passed her lips.
Riefenstahl was not permitted to work after the war, the Allied authorities considered her a Nazi fellow-traveler, but after about 20 years she embarked on film-making again in Africa, where she lived and worked with the Nuba tribe. In her last film projects, which she conducted in her nineties, Riefenstahl learned to scuba dive and filmed documentaries of undersea life. A Nazi Jacques Costeau? Hard to say and now we will probably never really know.
We're here!
We are finally all in Germany and have settled in with our host families. I live with Kirsten and Kristoffer Opdenberg. They are really nice and speak very good English. Our neighborhood is nice because both Jean and Catherine live right down the street from us so we all travel and sometimes eat together. This afternoon at lunch we had our first real German food experience. Nine of us went to lunch down the corner from the AIB. Only one girl at the restaurant spoke any English. The food was different than what we expected. We still aren't sure what Erik ate! It was an experience though. Maybe we will just go for the soup bar tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Host Family
I met my host family last night. I was surprised at how well they spoke english. They were really hospitable and very excited to have me there. My host sister's friends kept calling to see if she had met me yet. They weren't interested in the fact that I couldn't speak german but wanted to learn more english from me. We only speak english in my host family's house. At least I feel comfortable.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Meeting Our Host Family
Today was a really big day! We finally got to meet our host family! Ursula, our host mother, and Dirk, her son-in-law, came to pick us up at the AIB after our plane arrived. It was kind of overwhelming, because we were getting into the car with strange people, who weren't even native English speakers! The ride home was a little awkward, just because Dirk kept asking us weird questions about America and Texas. He also wanted to know what we knew about Germany... sadly, Kristen and I could only tell him a few facts about World War II and the Holocaust. I felt really bad.
Once at the house, things got better. Their house is adorable! Dirk, Steffi, and Saskia (their daughter) live in one half of the house. Uschi (as she wants us to call her) lives in the other half. Our bedroom is on Uschi's side, and is really spacious and cute! We have two twin beds with pink comforters. After touring the house, Uschi set about cooking dinner. They were going to barbeque!
Dinner was really great. We had grilled pork and turkey, sausages, fried potatoes, and bread. Conversation was a little strained, but we expected that. We gave them the gifts that we brought from Texas, and they loved them! We were sad that Saskia wasn't there though. She will be at church camp for the next two weeks! Sad! We had ice cream for dessert, and then helped with the dishes. It was a slightly stessful day, but as Dr. Wasser says, "It's all part of the experience!"
Once at the house, things got better. Their house is adorable! Dirk, Steffi, and Saskia (their daughter) live in one half of the house. Uschi (as she wants us to call her) lives in the other half. Our bedroom is on Uschi's side, and is really spacious and cute! We have two twin beds with pink comforters. After touring the house, Uschi set about cooking dinner. They were going to barbeque!
Dinner was really great. We had grilled pork and turkey, sausages, fried potatoes, and bread. Conversation was a little strained, but we expected that. We gave them the gifts that we brought from Texas, and they loved them! We were sad that Saskia wasn't there though. She will be at church camp for the next two weeks! Sad! We had ice cream for dessert, and then helped with the dishes. It was a slightly stessful day, but as Dr. Wasser says, "It's all part of the experience!"
Sunday, July 10, 2005
We got us a convoy!
“Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June
In a Kenworth pullin' logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin' hogs
We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh
'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"And I'm about to put the hammer down."
These immortal lines from that now classic piece of pop music Americana from the mid-1970s, “Convoy”, by C.W. McCall, B. Fried, and C. Davis. The song played into, or helped start and fuel the CB radio craze and the mania for just regular old drivers like you and me, chattering back and forth on CBs as we “dropped the hammer” and sped down the highways of America sporting funky CB handles (nicknames) and warning one another of upcoming highway patrol speed traps (“Smokey with ears at the 141, come back!”—translation: there’s a police car with radar parked on the side of the highway at mile marker 141, please acknowledge; appropriate trucker response, “Thanks for the weather report. That’s a big 10-4 good buddy!” There was even a “Convoy” feature film made in 1978 Starring Kris Kristofferson and Allie MacGraw and directed by Sam Peckinpah (although I don’t recall any slow-motion ultra-violence).
What possible relevance, you might ask, does this bit of American pop cultural history have to do with Germany, Düsseldorf, veterinary medicine or any of the other topics more typically addressed in this Blog? Well, get your ears on good buddy and I’ll be happy to send a weather report out your way, 10-4!
I was walking home last night from catching Puccini’s La Bohème at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. I believe this may have been the last performance of the opera season at the Deutsche Oper and the hall was supposedly sold out. In fact, as I only bought my ticket yesterday morning, I had to purchase what the teller claimed was the last seat in the house—a great seat it was too—and for €50.20, I was glad of that! It was a fine performance, however, really excellent singing from the Rodolfo, nice clear lyric tenor with an easy top. Mimi also had a stunning voice but I thought maybe a little over-powering for the role. I think they amplify in that house (although I’m not sure) and sometimes she sounded miked and her voice just cut like a knife. I was thinking she occasionally sounded like something half-way between Puccini’s consumptive Bohemian and Wagner’s Valkyrie, Brünhilde, an appropriate enough chimaera for a German opera house! I‘m always somewhat struck when seeing Bohème when the TB-ridden lungs of the dying Mimi put out this torrent of beautiful and often loud sound—but that is opera after all! But really, especially in the second half of the opera, Mimi and the rest sang beautifully (Marcello and Musetta also were excellent) and I was close to tears at the end when Mimi finally kicks off.
OK—enough about opera, what about the convoy! So I’m walking home about 11:00 along das Rheinufer, the walk and bikeway built along the bank of the Rhine running from the Medienhafn northwards to the Altstadt. I was up on the higher level of the road, above the path closest to the Rhine. There were a lot of folks out enjoying the summer weather and then, up ahead, down on the lower level, close to the ground are small, somethings, all lit up with white and yellow and red lights and these things (UFOs?) are slowly moving along in a northerly direction. On closer inspection I see that there are about four of these things and they are being closely followed by people. It turns out that the UFOs were four, incredibly detailed, radio-controlled, semi-trailer trucks, each maybe half a meter or so in length. They would drive a bit, then pull over, re-group as a convoy, and set out again closely monitored by their “drivers”. And while they weren’t exactly putting the “pedal to the metal”, the trucks were making realistic truck sounds as they motored along. The drivers, by the way, were not adolescent boys but, as near as I could tell, two middle-aged and very German looking men and two women (their wives?). I didn’t have either my camera or the camcorder with me but perhaps the convoy will roll through Düsseldorf again next Saturday?
I may have had the strains of the Puccini opera running through my head but when I saw the truckers down there on the Rheinufer, all I could think of was:
Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey shore
And prepared to cross the line
I could see the bridge was lined with bears
But I didn't have a dog-goned dime.
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."
So we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight
I says "Let them truckers roll, 10-4."
'Cause we got a mighty convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a mighty convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.(or somewhere!)
Convoy!”
In a Kenworth pullin' logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin' hogs
We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh
'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"And I'm about to put the hammer down."
These immortal lines from that now classic piece of pop music Americana from the mid-1970s, “Convoy”, by C.W. McCall, B. Fried, and C. Davis. The song played into, or helped start and fuel the CB radio craze and the mania for just regular old drivers like you and me, chattering back and forth on CBs as we “dropped the hammer” and sped down the highways of America sporting funky CB handles (nicknames) and warning one another of upcoming highway patrol speed traps (“Smokey with ears at the 141, come back!”—translation: there’s a police car with radar parked on the side of the highway at mile marker 141, please acknowledge; appropriate trucker response, “Thanks for the weather report. That’s a big 10-4 good buddy!” There was even a “Convoy” feature film made in 1978 Starring Kris Kristofferson and Allie MacGraw and directed by Sam Peckinpah (although I don’t recall any slow-motion ultra-violence).
What possible relevance, you might ask, does this bit of American pop cultural history have to do with Germany, Düsseldorf, veterinary medicine or any of the other topics more typically addressed in this Blog? Well, get your ears on good buddy and I’ll be happy to send a weather report out your way, 10-4!
I was walking home last night from catching Puccini’s La Bohème at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. I believe this may have been the last performance of the opera season at the Deutsche Oper and the hall was supposedly sold out. In fact, as I only bought my ticket yesterday morning, I had to purchase what the teller claimed was the last seat in the house—a great seat it was too—and for €50.20, I was glad of that! It was a fine performance, however, really excellent singing from the Rodolfo, nice clear lyric tenor with an easy top. Mimi also had a stunning voice but I thought maybe a little over-powering for the role. I think they amplify in that house (although I’m not sure) and sometimes she sounded miked and her voice just cut like a knife. I was thinking she occasionally sounded like something half-way between Puccini’s consumptive Bohemian and Wagner’s Valkyrie, Brünhilde, an appropriate enough chimaera for a German opera house! I‘m always somewhat struck when seeing Bohème when the TB-ridden lungs of the dying Mimi put out this torrent of beautiful and often loud sound—but that is opera after all! But really, especially in the second half of the opera, Mimi and the rest sang beautifully (Marcello and Musetta also were excellent) and I was close to tears at the end when Mimi finally kicks off.
OK—enough about opera, what about the convoy! So I’m walking home about 11:00 along das Rheinufer, the walk and bikeway built along the bank of the Rhine running from the Medienhafn northwards to the Altstadt. I was up on the higher level of the road, above the path closest to the Rhine. There were a lot of folks out enjoying the summer weather and then, up ahead, down on the lower level, close to the ground are small, somethings, all lit up with white and yellow and red lights and these things (UFOs?) are slowly moving along in a northerly direction. On closer inspection I see that there are about four of these things and they are being closely followed by people. It turns out that the UFOs were four, incredibly detailed, radio-controlled, semi-trailer trucks, each maybe half a meter or so in length. They would drive a bit, then pull over, re-group as a convoy, and set out again closely monitored by their “drivers”. And while they weren’t exactly putting the “pedal to the metal”, the trucks were making realistic truck sounds as they motored along. The drivers, by the way, were not adolescent boys but, as near as I could tell, two middle-aged and very German looking men and two women (their wives?). I didn’t have either my camera or the camcorder with me but perhaps the convoy will roll through Düsseldorf again next Saturday?
I may have had the strains of the Puccini opera running through my head but when I saw the truckers down there on the Rheinufer, all I could think of was:
Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey shore
And prepared to cross the line
I could see the bridge was lined with bears
But I didn't have a dog-goned dime.
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."
So we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight
I says "Let them truckers roll, 10-4."
'Cause we got a mighty convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a mighty convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.(or somewhere!)
Convoy!”
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Bericht aus Düsseldorf
Well, here’s my first post from in-country! I left Houston’s Intercontinental Airport in the evening of June 23 on a Continental Airlines flight that was absolutely packed with people—in fact, the airline overbooked the flight and was scrambling for volunteers to take a later flight for a $500.00 coupon! In spite of the crowd I had a fairly comfortable flight, got a little sleep and felt pretty good by the time we arrived at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. I should add, however, that the food on Lufthansa is much better!
I had a tight connection in Schipol and at the gate for the city hopper flight to Düsseldorf was informed that my bags would not be coming with me but would follow at some unknown later time! I got to Düsseldorf and, just in case, hung around the baggage claim for a while and, magically, my bags appeared! So—clearly a lesson to be learned—give yourself enough time to make your connecting flights and check for your bags, just in case! Willem Spanninga (AIB, Düsseldorf’s Geschäftsführer) kindly picked me up and brought me to Hotel Lindenhof where I spent my first four nights in town. Quite nice and close to the Goethe Institut where I was to begin my Sprachkurs on Monday, June 27 (more on this in a subsequent post).
Das Wetter in Deutschland: it’s been mostly sunny and quite warm (by European standards) with daytime temperatures in the 80’s Fahrenheit. Really quite beautiful weather and I think those of you accustomed to Texas in July will be pleased. Remember, however, fewer places here are air-conditioned (mit Klimaanlage) so, while indoors, you may be warmer than you are used to. Late last night we had a storm roll through with thunder and lightening (Donner und Blitzen) and some rain into the morning hours. Then the sun returned and we had a warm, humid day. The forecast for North-Rhine Westphalia calls for some clouds, maybe some more rain, temperatures in the 70’s to low 80’s and then sunny and warmer over the weekend. I’ll get you’all an update closer to your departure time.
I had a tight connection in Schipol and at the gate for the city hopper flight to Düsseldorf was informed that my bags would not be coming with me but would follow at some unknown later time! I got to Düsseldorf and, just in case, hung around the baggage claim for a while and, magically, my bags appeared! So—clearly a lesson to be learned—give yourself enough time to make your connecting flights and check for your bags, just in case! Willem Spanninga (AIB, Düsseldorf’s Geschäftsführer) kindly picked me up and brought me to Hotel Lindenhof where I spent my first four nights in town. Quite nice and close to the Goethe Institut where I was to begin my Sprachkurs on Monday, June 27 (more on this in a subsequent post).
Das Wetter in Deutschland: it’s been mostly sunny and quite warm (by European standards) with daytime temperatures in the 80’s Fahrenheit. Really quite beautiful weather and I think those of you accustomed to Texas in July will be pleased. Remember, however, fewer places here are air-conditioned (mit Klimaanlage) so, while indoors, you may be warmer than you are used to. Late last night we had a storm roll through with thunder and lightening (Donner und Blitzen) and some rain into the morning hours. Then the sun returned and we had a warm, humid day. The forecast for North-Rhine Westphalia calls for some clouds, maybe some more rain, temperatures in the 70’s to low 80’s and then sunny and warmer over the weekend. I’ll get you’all an update closer to your departure time.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
You think you have angst! Munch Museum reopens in Oslo
Also this past week the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway reopened to the public after a 10-month long security overhaul. This was necessitated by last August’s daring daylight robbery in which art thieves entered the museum and in front of museum visitors ripped two of Munch’s most famous works off the wall and ran out. The thieves and Munch’s “The Scream” and “Madonna” remain missing (although several people are in custody in Norway in association with this robbery). If you now wish to see the remaining masterpieces of existential angst in the Munch Museum you have to first go through post-9/11 airport levels of security and the pictures themselves are behind glass and bolted to the walls! In its online version, the Oslo newspaper, Aftenposten, is calling the reopened museum, "Fortress Munch."
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is Norway’s most famous artist and a prime mover in the development of Expressionism. He also had a major influence on many artists in Germany during the years of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) and is viewed by art historians as a key player in the development of German existentialism in art. The influence of non-Germans on German cultural movements is interesting and pervasive. Another example that springs to mind is that of the writer, Franz Kafka, who although German speaking and resident (for a time) in Berlin, was Czech.
Some of Munch’s other works include such existentially-titled paintings as “Angst”, “Self-Portrait in Hell” and a portrait of Friedrich Nietsche, the German philosopher who famously wrote that God was dead.
Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is Norway’s most famous artist and a prime mover in the development of Expressionism. He also had a major influence on many artists in Germany during the years of the Weimar Republic (1918-1933) and is viewed by art historians as a key player in the development of German existentialism in art. The influence of non-Germans on German cultural movements is interesting and pervasive. Another example that springs to mind is that of the writer, Franz Kafka, who although German speaking and resident (for a time) in Berlin, was Czech.
Some of Munch’s other works include such existentially-titled paintings as “Angst”, “Self-Portrait in Hell” and a portrait of Friedrich Nietsche, the German philosopher who famously wrote that God was dead.
EU budget crisis-more trouble ahead!
As if the crisis over the failure of France and The Netherlands to ratify the new EU Constitution wasn’t serious enough, European leaders meeting in Brussels for an EU summit are freaking out completely over the proposed EU budget for 2007-2013. There are two main points of contention. First, the so-called “rebate” negotiated for the UK by Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1984. This arrangement reduces the UK contribution to the overall EU budget by almost 5 billion euros annually and was agreed to by the (then 10) EU nations in recognition of Britain’s position at the bottom of the EU economic food chain. At that time the UK had the lowest per capita GDP, significantly lower than either France or Germany. The argument coming from the rest of the EU, is that since the tides have turned and the UK now sits at the economic summit of Western Europe, the raison d’être for the rebate is gone and Britain should cough up the 5 billion euros. The money is acutely needed as the overall economic situation in Western Europe is poor and the newer EU additions from Eastern Europe have particularly weak economies and need assistance. Needless to say, Tony Blair has told his colleagues to stuff themselves, he’s keeping the rebate!
To be fair to Blair, he did agree to discuss further reductions in the rebate (it was reduced somewhat at an earlier EU summit) if the French would consider drastically reducing their enormous EU farm subsidies which total over 13 billion euros a year. French president Jacques Chirac said “Non” (quelle surprise!). Current EU president, Jean-Claude Juncker, had this to say yesterday, "My enthusiasm for Europe has suffered a profound shock…. People will tell you that Europe is not in crisis. It is in a deep crisis." Juncker is the prime minister of Luxembourg which currently holds the rotating EU presidency. Next up as EU president beginning in July, Tony Blair!
Pretty gloomy stuff. However, I did hear an analyst on ITV (a British news service) point out that as far as the Constitution went, the EU does have treaties in place (the most recent being the Treaty of Nice) that are arguably working reasonably well in lieu of a formal constitution and that the budget being discussed at the summit is not to take effect until 2007, so there is some time to get these messes straightened out!
To be fair to Blair, he did agree to discuss further reductions in the rebate (it was reduced somewhat at an earlier EU summit) if the French would consider drastically reducing their enormous EU farm subsidies which total over 13 billion euros a year. French president Jacques Chirac said “Non” (quelle surprise!). Current EU president, Jean-Claude Juncker, had this to say yesterday, "My enthusiasm for Europe has suffered a profound shock…. People will tell you that Europe is not in crisis. It is in a deep crisis." Juncker is the prime minister of Luxembourg which currently holds the rotating EU presidency. Next up as EU president beginning in July, Tony Blair!
Pretty gloomy stuff. However, I did hear an analyst on ITV (a British news service) point out that as far as the Constitution went, the EU does have treaties in place (the most recent being the Treaty of Nice) that are arguably working reasonably well in lieu of a formal constitution and that the budget being discussed at the summit is not to take effect until 2007, so there is some time to get these messes straightened out!
Friday, June 03, 2005
EU Consitution on life-support as Dutch say NO!
Well as expected the results of the Dutch referendum on the new EU constitution was a resounding NO. In fact, something like 65% of Dutch voters rejected the document, an even higher percentage than voted NO in France last weekend. The pattern that is starting to emerge is that, while EU country parliaments (i.e. governments) are in favor of the document and vote YES, when the issue is presented to the people themselves, they say NO WAY!
Again as was the case in France, analysts are saying that the weakening European economic situation (rising cost of living, unemployment) was a factor in the Dutch vote. Some Dutch citizens have expressed unhappiness with the Euro and feel that the guilder was undervalued when Holland joined the Eurozone and switched to the common currency and this has driven prices up.
EU integration is nothing if not complicated. Interestingly, among the reasons given by some in Holland for the NO vote was concern that, an increase in governmental/legal control ceded to the EU parliament in Brussels might result in a rollback of Holland’s liberal policies on drugs, reproductive rights, and physician assisted euthanasia (legal under carefully controlled conditions in the Netherlands, illegal, for example, in Germany).
Fallout from the double NO includes an almost certain decision by Tony Blair’s government in the UK not to put the EU Constitution before the British people in a referendum vote. I should mention also that the German YES for die Verfassung für Europa was a parliamentary vote by the Bundestag, not a referendum put before the German people. Among the other concerns being expressed by the Dutch is a sense that EU expansion to 25 countries has happened too quickly and, particularly, expansion into eastern Europe has created sociological and economic problems for the countries of “old Europe”. There is also quite a bit of concern in Germany about Turkey’s desire to join the EU and, in fact, Angela Merkel and the CDU are on record as opposing Turkey’s application for EU membership.
On a purely selfish, Americanocentric level, the Euro hasn’t been this weak against the US dollar in a long time and was running at about 1.226 USD to the Euro last night. Incredible as it may seem, there is even some speculation in Europe and beyond on the fate of the Eurozone (as distinct from the EU as a political entity). Will the Eurozone countries switch back to their native currencies? Can they do this? Will we once again have to deal with German marks, French francs, Dutch guilders, Austrian schillings, Danish kroner and so on? Will the steadfast refusal of the Brits to abandon their beloved pound sterling and switch to the common currency turn out to have been prescient? Having lived in Europe before the Euro I can tell you that, while it was fun to collect all this exotic looking cool currency from all the countries I visited, it was also a major pain in the butt! I vote for the Euro! Quo vadis Europa--only time will tell!
Again as was the case in France, analysts are saying that the weakening European economic situation (rising cost of living, unemployment) was a factor in the Dutch vote. Some Dutch citizens have expressed unhappiness with the Euro and feel that the guilder was undervalued when Holland joined the Eurozone and switched to the common currency and this has driven prices up.
EU integration is nothing if not complicated. Interestingly, among the reasons given by some in Holland for the NO vote was concern that, an increase in governmental/legal control ceded to the EU parliament in Brussels might result in a rollback of Holland’s liberal policies on drugs, reproductive rights, and physician assisted euthanasia (legal under carefully controlled conditions in the Netherlands, illegal, for example, in Germany).
Fallout from the double NO includes an almost certain decision by Tony Blair’s government in the UK not to put the EU Constitution before the British people in a referendum vote. I should mention also that the German YES for die Verfassung für Europa was a parliamentary vote by the Bundestag, not a referendum put before the German people. Among the other concerns being expressed by the Dutch is a sense that EU expansion to 25 countries has happened too quickly and, particularly, expansion into eastern Europe has created sociological and economic problems for the countries of “old Europe”. There is also quite a bit of concern in Germany about Turkey’s desire to join the EU and, in fact, Angela Merkel and the CDU are on record as opposing Turkey’s application for EU membership.
On a purely selfish, Americanocentric level, the Euro hasn’t been this weak against the US dollar in a long time and was running at about 1.226 USD to the Euro last night. Incredible as it may seem, there is even some speculation in Europe and beyond on the fate of the Eurozone (as distinct from the EU as a political entity). Will the Eurozone countries switch back to their native currencies? Can they do this? Will we once again have to deal with German marks, French francs, Dutch guilders, Austrian schillings, Danish kroner and so on? Will the steadfast refusal of the Brits to abandon their beloved pound sterling and switch to the common currency turn out to have been prescient? Having lived in Europe before the Euro I can tell you that, while it was fun to collect all this exotic looking cool currency from all the countries I visited, it was also a major pain in the butt! I vote for the Euro! Quo vadis Europa--only time will tell!
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Dear Vet Med Group,
First of all, sorry for not having stopped by here in a while. I was very busy preparing for our first Texas A&M group. Also, my boss, Willem Spanninga, was on vacation in Greece, and so that left me even busier and with more stuff to take care of.
But everything went fine and all students of our summer session 1 program on architectural history and photography arrived in pretty good shape here on Monday. As we speak, they are out in town exploring Düsseldorf and some aspects of the city's history and traditions. Last night, we had a first get-together here in our facilities with all host families and participants to have dinner together and chat with each other. The weather has been sunny for the most part and not too hot. After a short interlude of unusually hot weather last weekend, everything seems to be back to normal, which means temperatures in the mid 70s F. (It should be warming up some more until you get here.)
The things we have planned for you are also firming up quite well. Yesterday I was able to secure a guided tour of a very old and yet successful horse-breeding farm in the vicinity of Cologne. I think some of you might like this kind of field trip; there should be some horse-lovers in this group and I bet there is at least one among the 11 female students coming over here. . .
Well, instead of talking and talking all the time, I thought I'd post a picture today and see if I can find some more to post sometime soon. (I have more on my computer at home and I need to bring them in for you to see.)
What you see on those pictures is a) a very rare animal - me - because I am very picture shy (the one in the middle with no manners:-) and b) a scenic view taken from the banks of the river Rhine, where the first photo was taken also, and c) the little old house me and some more friends like to go to on the weekend.
Hopefully more will be coming up soon! Stay cool in hot Texas, and see you soon!
CJ
First of all, sorry for not having stopped by here in a while. I was very busy preparing for our first Texas A&M group. Also, my boss, Willem Spanninga, was on vacation in Greece, and so that left me even busier and with more stuff to take care of.
But everything went fine and all students of our summer session 1 program on architectural history and photography arrived in pretty good shape here on Monday. As we speak, they are out in town exploring Düsseldorf and some aspects of the city's history and traditions. Last night, we had a first get-together here in our facilities with all host families and participants to have dinner together and chat with each other. The weather has been sunny for the most part and not too hot. After a short interlude of unusually hot weather last weekend, everything seems to be back to normal, which means temperatures in the mid 70s F. (It should be warming up some more until you get here.)
The things we have planned for you are also firming up quite well. Yesterday I was able to secure a guided tour of a very old and yet successful horse-breeding farm in the vicinity of Cologne. I think some of you might like this kind of field trip; there should be some horse-lovers in this group and I bet there is at least one among the 11 female students coming over here. . .
Well, instead of talking and talking all the time, I thought I'd post a picture today and see if I can find some more to post sometime soon. (I have more on my computer at home and I need to bring them in for you to see.)
What you see on those pictures is a) a very rare animal - me - because I am very picture shy (the one in the middle with no manners:-) and b) a scenic view taken from the banks of the river Rhine, where the first photo was taken also, and c) the little old house me and some more friends like to go to on the weekend.
Hopefully more will be coming up soon! Stay cool in hot Texas, and see you soon!
CJ
Monday, May 30, 2005
La France dit NON!
Yesterday the course of European unification took a major hit as the French, in a nation-wide referendum, voted NON to adopting the new European Union constitution. EU regulations require that all 25 countries in the expanded Union ratify the constitution and thus far nine (including Germany and Italy) have done so. France, in spite of being one of the founding nations of the EU and (up till now) a powerful force for European integration, failed to ratify as 56% of French voters said NON and about 46% OUI.
The government of French President Jacques Chirac lobbied strongly for the YES vote but succumbed to growing attacks on the Constitution from both the right and the left of France’s complex political landscape. Counted among the anti-EU forces was the ultra-right wing nationalist (and racist) National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen. His unlikely allies included the French Communist Party (yes there are still communists in France—practically nowhere else in the world—but still in France!).
As was the case in the North-Rhine Westphalia elections in Germany a week ago, economic factors seem to have predominated in the French electorate’s decision making process. There seems to have been considerable anxiety that the new EU rules under the constitution document would make it easier for cheap eastern European labor to flood into France and out compete the better compensated French laborers and tradesmen. The bulk of the newbies granted EU membership recently have been eastern European nations that were former members of the Soviet empire. An additional concern expressed by NON voters was a perceived loss of French sovereignty and power should the EU Constitution as currently written take effect. It is worth remembering that it was France, alone among western European nations that insisted post-WWII on having its own, independent nuclear deterrent. The French don’t seem comfortable with Brussels calling the shots!
Among the casualties caught in the overkill of the NO vote may be Turkey which has recently begun seeking EU membership (the negotiations to join the EU are known as accession talks). Turkey is hoping to become the first, predominantly Muslim nation, to fulfill entrance requirements for EU membership and to join the club. The NO vote on the Constitutional referendum in France raises serious issues of whether the EU will be able to develop as a unified economic and political counterweight to the current dominance of the United States and the growing economic power of China. On Wednesday of this week, the Dutch will be going to the polls to vote on ratification and current polling data suggest they may very well also reject the Constitution document.
The government of French President Jacques Chirac lobbied strongly for the YES vote but succumbed to growing attacks on the Constitution from both the right and the left of France’s complex political landscape. Counted among the anti-EU forces was the ultra-right wing nationalist (and racist) National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen. His unlikely allies included the French Communist Party (yes there are still communists in France—practically nowhere else in the world—but still in France!).
As was the case in the North-Rhine Westphalia elections in Germany a week ago, economic factors seem to have predominated in the French electorate’s decision making process. There seems to have been considerable anxiety that the new EU rules under the constitution document would make it easier for cheap eastern European labor to flood into France and out compete the better compensated French laborers and tradesmen. The bulk of the newbies granted EU membership recently have been eastern European nations that were former members of the Soviet empire. An additional concern expressed by NON voters was a perceived loss of French sovereignty and power should the EU Constitution as currently written take effect. It is worth remembering that it was France, alone among western European nations that insisted post-WWII on having its own, independent nuclear deterrent. The French don’t seem comfortable with Brussels calling the shots!
Among the casualties caught in the overkill of the NO vote may be Turkey which has recently begun seeking EU membership (the negotiations to join the EU are known as accession talks). Turkey is hoping to become the first, predominantly Muslim nation, to fulfill entrance requirements for EU membership and to join the club. The NO vote on the Constitutional referendum in France raises serious issues of whether the EU will be able to develop as a unified economic and political counterweight to the current dominance of the United States and the growing economic power of China. On Wednesday of this week, the Dutch will be going to the polls to vote on ratification and current polling data suggest they may very well also reject the Constitution document.
Rot-Gruen geht unter!
This past week saw two important elections in Europe (well, one election and one referendum) the results of which will loom large for Germans, all Europeans and essentially everybody else!
First, in the German Land (state) of North-Rhine Westphalia (capital-Düsseldorf) the SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) and their coalition partner die Grüne (the Greens) were soundly defeated by the more conservative, CDU (Christlich-Demokratische Union). The SPD has ruled in this, the most populous and most heavily industrialized of the German Länder since 1966 and their defeat here does not bode well for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his SPD- Grüne coalition that is currently running the country in Berlin. Der Bundeskanzler has, in fact, called for an early national election for this September 18 (a year earlier than originally planned) in the hope of retaining a majority in the Bundestag against his main foes the CDU led by Angela Merkel and their Bavarian sister party, the CSU (Christlich-Soziale Union). In spite of their names, the CDU and CSU are not religious parties but are somewhat analogous to our Republican party in the USA while the SPD corresponds to the Democrats (these are rough analogies).
The principal reasons for der Untergang (downfall) of the SPD in North-Rhine Westphalia seem to stem mainly from voter discontent and anxiety over the German economy which, after decades of increasingly powerful performance (the so-called post-World War Two Wirtschaftswunder [economic miracle]) has recently been taking a serious beating. Economic growth is Germany is the slowest in all of the EU countries and unemployment in Germany as a whole is up to around 12% (something over 5 million arbeitslose [unemployed]). This is the highest it has been since 1945 and in some parts of the former DDR (East Germany) it is higher still. At least a portion of this economic distress is due to the extremely high cost of German reunification. Beginning immediately after die Einheit, the government of then Chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) and all subsequent governments in Berlin poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the crumbling infrastructure of the former Communist East Germany. Schröder and the SPD have been pushing two sets of economic reforms, Hartz IV and Agenda 2010 and there is considerable public unhappiness with what these plans would involve. Changes would be instituted in the incredibly potent social safety net in Germany—unemployment, health care, education and other social benefits that Germans have become accustomed to as the payback from their government for their (by American standards) incredibly high income tax rates would be cut. This summer, you will definitely be hearing from your German friends and hosts about their feelings on Hartz IV, the German economic slowdown, and what the fall election may bring.
First, in the German Land (state) of North-Rhine Westphalia (capital-Düsseldorf) the SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) and their coalition partner die Grüne (the Greens) were soundly defeated by the more conservative, CDU (Christlich-Demokratische Union). The SPD has ruled in this, the most populous and most heavily industrialized of the German Länder since 1966 and their defeat here does not bode well for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his SPD- Grüne coalition that is currently running the country in Berlin. Der Bundeskanzler has, in fact, called for an early national election for this September 18 (a year earlier than originally planned) in the hope of retaining a majority in the Bundestag against his main foes the CDU led by Angela Merkel and their Bavarian sister party, the CSU (Christlich-Soziale Union). In spite of their names, the CDU and CSU are not religious parties but are somewhat analogous to our Republican party in the USA while the SPD corresponds to the Democrats (these are rough analogies).
The principal reasons for der Untergang (downfall) of the SPD in North-Rhine Westphalia seem to stem mainly from voter discontent and anxiety over the German economy which, after decades of increasingly powerful performance (the so-called post-World War Two Wirtschaftswunder [economic miracle]) has recently been taking a serious beating. Economic growth is Germany is the slowest in all of the EU countries and unemployment in Germany as a whole is up to around 12% (something over 5 million arbeitslose [unemployed]). This is the highest it has been since 1945 and in some parts of the former DDR (East Germany) it is higher still. At least a portion of this economic distress is due to the extremely high cost of German reunification. Beginning immediately after die Einheit, the government of then Chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) and all subsequent governments in Berlin poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the crumbling infrastructure of the former Communist East Germany. Schröder and the SPD have been pushing two sets of economic reforms, Hartz IV and Agenda 2010 and there is considerable public unhappiness with what these plans would involve. Changes would be instituted in the incredibly potent social safety net in Germany—unemployment, health care, education and other social benefits that Germans have become accustomed to as the payback from their government for their (by American standards) incredibly high income tax rates would be cut. This summer, you will definitely be hearing from your German friends and hosts about their feelings on Hartz IV, the German economic slowdown, and what the fall election may bring.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Hey guys!!!
Guten Tag! I was just making sure that this worked. I can't wait until July, we are going to have so much fun!!!!
Monday, May 02, 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Sunday, April 24, 2005
VVMSAPG--Veterans of the Veterinary Medicine Study Abroad Program in Germany
At this coming Tuesday (April 26)'s final pre-trip orientation, our new crop of students will have the opportunity to meet and chat with some of last year's veterans. You (our newbies!) have all heard me go on at considerable length about this program and about Germany, but here will be an opportunity to get the straight dope from the horse's mouth, so to speak! The student perspective on study abroad in general and our program in particular is unique and is most relevant to what you can expect to see, feel, do, and experience this summer in Europe. I'd like to thank our students from 2004 who are coming on Tuesday evening for taking the time to share their experiences with the class of 2005.
You'all have been good at responding to your Blog invitations and a number of you have already posted your hello responses. Ausgezeichnet (excellent)! I'd say we've got ourselves an up and running group Blog!
You'all have been good at responding to your Blog invitations and a number of you have already posted your hello responses. Ausgezeichnet (excellent)! I'd say we've got ourselves an up and running group Blog!
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Howdy
This blogging thing is new to me, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. I hope this posting works. I know I'm getting excited Lindsey.
CJ in the house
A hearty "HOWDY" to y'all out there!
Hi, this is CJ from AIB Düsseldorf. This is my first time ever on a blog, so y'all have to work up some patience for me here. I hope you don't mind me using your Texan vernacular. I've actually been around that for an entire year of my life!
As a start I thought I'd give you just a little bit of background information on myself: After finishing my German "Abitur" (qualifying us for university after 13 years of regular schooling), I've decided to go *really* far away so I could *really* improve my English. That idea had me end up in Coppell, Texas, a growing suburb of Dallas near Dallas Int. Airport where I lived with a family as their "Au Pair" and watched over their first child who was only a tiny little infant when I first got there. My host Dad and Mom had both just graduated with an MBA from UT, so I better stop telling you any more about them... (They are wonderful people, no matter what, and influenced the further course of my life.) So I ended up studying American History and Political Science with a European comparative aspect afterwards in a small, specialized program at Bonn University.
AIB, meaning something like "Academy for International Education" only in German, has its headquarter office in Bonn, so that's how I've first made contact to my current employer. After holding a small student worker position there for a while, I was offered the opportunity to change to AIB's new Düsseldorf branch and work more hours after finishing my Master's degree in what is called "Regional Sciences North America" at Bonn University.
So that's where I am right now, and I do like it a whole lot! As you will see in the near future, we're only a small team here in Düsseldorf but nevertheless put a lot of effort into our work. My boss is Willem Spanninga, a big and usually quiet guy and a very, very nice person who is originally from the Netherlands. Then we also have a few more student workers you will also meet this summer. What we all have in common, I think, is that we like the fact that you have this wish to come over here and see places you've never been to. We'd like to make this a pleasant experience for you, even though some degree of cultural shock should be considered within the normal range of reactions. So don't worry if you feel a little bit displaced upon your arrival. That feeling will pass away quickly. At least you'll have some buddies you can talk to in your own language; I wasn't awarded such a luxury in Texas. I went back during my graduate studies to go to school in Saint Louis for a year. I never really picked Dallas or Saint Louis but ended up feeling very much at home in both these cities. Hopefully you'll be able to say the same about Düsseldorf, even if your stay will be terribly short!
I don't have the slightest clue as to how this whole blog will continue from here. I guess we'll all just check in every once in a while and see what's going on? Maybe I'll post some pictures if I can find some adequate ones :-) I am very picture-shy, and we don't want to scare you away, right? I also can't make any promises as to how regularly I will be able to check in here and answer some of your questions. Jeremy should be a good first source if you have a lot of things to ask. He knows Germany very well and his German is getting better and better! (He knows so much more about German cantorial singing than all of us at AIB combined!)
As a next step for the program preparations, I am awaiting the arrival of your housing forms. Let me just stress again that a simple, one page letter to your potential host family helps us a lot for matchmaking. The more we know about your personality, likes and dislikes, the better chances we have of finding the right host family for you.
With the ongoing semester it will probably be a while before y'all start thinking more about this trip. The best of luck to you for all those finals yet to come, best wishes and "Auf Wiedersehen in Düsseldorf",
CJ
Hi, this is CJ from AIB Düsseldorf. This is my first time ever on a blog, so y'all have to work up some patience for me here. I hope you don't mind me using your Texan vernacular. I've actually been around that for an entire year of my life!
As a start I thought I'd give you just a little bit of background information on myself: After finishing my German "Abitur" (qualifying us for university after 13 years of regular schooling), I've decided to go *really* far away so I could *really* improve my English. That idea had me end up in Coppell, Texas, a growing suburb of Dallas near Dallas Int. Airport where I lived with a family as their "Au Pair" and watched over their first child who was only a tiny little infant when I first got there. My host Dad and Mom had both just graduated with an MBA from UT, so I better stop telling you any more about them... (They are wonderful people, no matter what, and influenced the further course of my life.) So I ended up studying American History and Political Science with a European comparative aspect afterwards in a small, specialized program at Bonn University.
AIB, meaning something like "Academy for International Education" only in German, has its headquarter office in Bonn, so that's how I've first made contact to my current employer. After holding a small student worker position there for a while, I was offered the opportunity to change to AIB's new Düsseldorf branch and work more hours after finishing my Master's degree in what is called "Regional Sciences North America" at Bonn University.
So that's where I am right now, and I do like it a whole lot! As you will see in the near future, we're only a small team here in Düsseldorf but nevertheless put a lot of effort into our work. My boss is Willem Spanninga, a big and usually quiet guy and a very, very nice person who is originally from the Netherlands. Then we also have a few more student workers you will also meet this summer. What we all have in common, I think, is that we like the fact that you have this wish to come over here and see places you've never been to. We'd like to make this a pleasant experience for you, even though some degree of cultural shock should be considered within the normal range of reactions. So don't worry if you feel a little bit displaced upon your arrival. That feeling will pass away quickly. At least you'll have some buddies you can talk to in your own language; I wasn't awarded such a luxury in Texas. I went back during my graduate studies to go to school in Saint Louis for a year. I never really picked Dallas or Saint Louis but ended up feeling very much at home in both these cities. Hopefully you'll be able to say the same about Düsseldorf, even if your stay will be terribly short!
I don't have the slightest clue as to how this whole blog will continue from here. I guess we'll all just check in every once in a while and see what's going on? Maybe I'll post some pictures if I can find some adequate ones :-) I am very picture-shy, and we don't want to scare you away, right? I also can't make any promises as to how regularly I will be able to check in here and answer some of your questions. Jeremy should be a good first source if you have a lot of things to ask. He knows Germany very well and his German is getting better and better! (He knows so much more about German cantorial singing than all of us at AIB combined!)
As a next step for the program preparations, I am awaiting the arrival of your housing forms. Let me just stress again that a simple, one page letter to your potential host family helps us a lot for matchmaking. The more we know about your personality, likes and dislikes, the better chances we have of finding the right host family for you.
With the ongoing semester it will probably be a while before y'all start thinking more about this trip. The best of luck to you for all those finals yet to come, best wishes and "Auf Wiedersehen in Düsseldorf",
CJ
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
German audio resource?
All signed up and ready to be on a plane. Anyone have any ideas on where to get (free) audio for learning some basic German? I've found precious few good websites that also have audio clips. I was going to try Evans...but I fear that most of what they will have will be in EDMS, which means frequent trips to the library. Anyway...see you next week. --R
Welcome and update!
Hello and welcome to our new Blog members! I sent out the invitations today to all 13 of the students who are planning on coming with us this summer as well as Drs. Musser and Herman Jennie Barr (TAMU Study Abroad) and Willem Spanninga and Caro Janda (AIB, Duesseldorf). I've already gotten a couple of confirmatory postings (thank you!) so the system seems to be working as promised by Blogger. We've had the occasional glitch in which an invitee has been unable to sign up but it looks like we can get this all worked out before the summer.
Next Tuesday will be our final student pre-trip orientation (among other things I'll be handing out the camcorders!) and then we chill out until July 10 or so and meet in Duesseldorf on July 11 for the start of the program. Caro (CJ) and I have been corresponding by e-mail working out the final itinerary and she's already formalized arrangements for some of the very best things we wish to retain from last summer. For example, we'll be touring Nuremberg with our Stadtfuehrerin from last summer, Frau Schmitz-Pikulicki. Frau Dr. med. Zarmina Penner will be lecturing to us again on German and EU health care systems and Herr Professor Ralf Zinnikus will be lecturing on modern German history during week one of our program. It looks like Herr Marc Stegherr will be available to guide us through Dachau and he did a superb job last year. CJ has also arranged for us to visit the animal health division at Bayer--which was not so easy to arrange--and this is excellent. Thank you CJ! Many other things, of course, are planned and we're now working on finalizing the plan for our trip to Berlin. I have passed along our students' housing/roomate requests and Frau Evi Pilartz of the AIB is taking care of this for us (herzlichen Dank!).
That's it for now. I await the rest of the confirmatory postings from our students and I trust the overall level of pre-trip excitement is on the rise!
Initial Posts
I was just doing as you had asked us to and post on here to make sure that it works beforehand.
-Josh
-Josh
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