Howdy folks,
Thank you everyone who's sent me mail. I really appreciate it. I've gotten through the first week, and I think that's the toughest. I appreciate the jokes, but it might be better to hold off til I get home. Earlier, I sent out some info on how to contact me. Unfortunately, I guess I wasn't too clear. So, with additional info I picked this weekend, this is how to get ahold of David aka BuddhaBear aka Keldred aka (you get the idea).
Snail-mail (at the dorm):
David Mohr
Allmandrig 10b 03
70569 Stuttgart
Germany
Email (you're reading it)!
Telephone (at the dorm):
(assuming your dialing from the US...)
011 49 711 683 613
A small pause between each set of numbers should be fine. In Germany, folks answer the phone "Hallo". Most of the folks who live in the dorm that I've met speak pretty good English. But, if you catch someone who doesn't, just ask for "David Mohr" in (spelled grammatically) "tsimmer dry" [Zimmer drei]. I'm usually home after 9:00pm and leave well before 8:00am. Don't forget there's a nine hour time difference (so I get home about noon in the States).
Telephone (at work):
(again, assuming you're dialing from the States)
011 49 7031 16 4489
It rings on my desk, so no fears. If you call me at work though, I'm gonna have to keep it short. My work hours are flexible but my "core time" is about 9:30am to 5:00pm.
As for an update, I'm doing fine. I'm settling into the rhythm around here pretty well. My German is improving although I often get stuck; I can't yet live without my dictionary. My dorm is kinda like a mini-UN; we've got folks from Europe, Asia and Africa (I'm the only American). Saturday night we had a big discussion about politics, government, social trends and private life in both the US and Europe. And it was really cool cuz it was mostly in German, with a few chunks in French and brief struggles in English (yeah, most of the other students here also speak French). The region is really cool with lots of greenery (hey, Cory, can we relocate the Adobe building to a greenbelt?). I take the train everywhere and really don't have too many complaints. My feet have gotten used to my orthotics (thanks Doc!) and I'm not having any back or knee pains...despite many miles each day!
So, have a good one and I'll write again in a week or so.
David
p.s. -- I'm not gonna be able to post images to my site like I thought. Sorry. 8-(
Howdy one and all,
Update from David, Wednesday, June 16th.
I'm continuing to settle into life here. Today I went to the police station to register myself. Unlike in the US, everyone living in Germany (and also France) must tell the civic authorities where they live, where they came from, where they work, etc. It's all very bureaucratical, although more well-run than I expected. When I told folks that in the 'States you can live wherever you want and don't have to register with the police, they were amazed. We talked a little about green cards and drivers licenses, but I explained other than that, there really isn't any record of where a body lives. All in all, it took about two hours to get it handled, although I need to go back a week before I leave to let them know (they won't let me tell them any earlier in advance, even through I've already got my return tickets).
Normally, I'm fairly busy during the day (hence, please, no jokes). But, since I've run into a problem with my coding, I get to take a break. 8-) Actually, Peter, my lead, isn't sure what's going on, so I need to wait for him to figure it out. Ah, the joys of modular code. As always, I'm quite good at finding different ways to break things. Everytime I use a piece of this code, I find something else wrong with it. I don't mind, but it is a little fraying on the nerves. Each time I use or examine something I think to myself "now what's gonna break?" If this is the current state of software engineering overhere, then it's no wonder everything is done at home. Documentation, what's that? Variables with meaningful names? Why? Variable23 is clear enough. Fault tolerant coding? We don't make mistakes...ha, ha. If this was a professional project, even one with interns, I'd have been fired by now. Actually, I suppose I would have been kept cuz I've been good at finding and repairing stuff, but the lady who originally wrote this would be hanging from the flagpole! At least my visual basic skills are getting a good work out.
Last weekend I visited my buddy, Nico, and his family and then later Madame Thonnart and her family all in Belgium. It was very cool. I got to see the Belgian elections first hand (they voted on Sunday morning while I was there) and we discussed some of the political processes there. Although I met Nico's daughter, Reine, 4 years ago, she and his son, Alexander, are now both old enough to play with and to remember me. It was really neat; while we played, they taught me a little Dutch. It seemed amazingly simple -- somewhere between Dutch and German, but without all the complex grammar rules. Who knows, maybe someday I'll pick it up...
Last night I did some laundry at the dorm, so I finally have clean clothes again. 8-) And last week I did a little grocery shopping too, so I have some food in the dorm. Although I found a really cool pool, the weather is a little harder to predict and not as nice as home, so I've joined a gym (they're hella expensive here), in an attempt to stay in shape. At this point, I'd say, I've got most everything I need and am settled in for the duration.
I'll be going to Tübingen this Saturday with a group of international students, then hanging out and doing some more local exploration on Sunday. My German continues to improve, although more slowly now as I think I've hit a plateau (working with English [all programming languages are still basically English] during the day doesn't help much 8-( ). But I found a few bars to frequent and I think tonight will be one to hanging out and chat with the locals. As for my French, I do get to use it here periodically. And my accent hasn't suffered too much; I've gotten several "so, where exactly do you come from?"s.
I'll probably be going to Italy at some point in the next couple of weeks. Then, before my trip ends, I'm gonna head either for Berlin or Munich. I'll probably hook up with my French family while I'm waiting for my flight during the first week of August.
Howdy folks,
Well, I'm back from Venice and it was totally cool. Talk about a city with some history; this place is flooded with it. Layers and layers of human experience, exploration and discovery. To me, the single city of Venice make our whole country look pretty wimpy and minor in comparison. An 1100 year settlement with a nearly 900 year long republic. I think only Rome surpasses Venice with its feeling of continuity with the past. And nothing in all my travels really prepared me from what the city was physically going to be like. Venice is one place that really needs to be experienced to be appreciated; comparisons to Amsterdam or Brugge just don't do the place justice. There are no cars because there are no streets. The city is composed of literally 100 islands connected by alleys and bridges running every which way. The average building is about five stories tall and the maze these passage ways make! I know what mice feel like now. Let's just say I'm inspired to write an adventure from this. I understand what inspired fantasy writers to talk about city "mazes". Even Paris seems very straightforward in comparison while San Francisco is pathetically easy with its streets that run straight and usually even at right angles!
A quick heads up. I'm gonna be shuffled around a few times in the next week and a half. Until Friday the 9th of July I'm in a new office. My new phone number is (from the US, after dialing 00 for an international line) 49-07031-16-3827. I'm usually in by 8:30am and leave around 5:00pm, although sometimes I need to flex that (like this Friday, when I'll be about an hour later on both ends).
Sorry if it seems I've fallen behind answering my email. My system has been having connectivity problems for a while. I'm actually writing this using a word processor and will paste it into my email later. Since you're reading this, my problem must have been solved, so I'll try and get back to you as work permits.
Howdy Everyone,
"Good Morning, America. How are you?" Well, actually, if I was to choose a theme-song for this last weekend, it would have to be "Mambo #5". Long story...8-)
Well, I'm back from Cologne/Köln and it was totally cool! I drove up with my friend, Andreas, and we arrived in the early evening after a four hour trip on the autobahn (Mr Chittum, you'd be in heaven). We hooked up with Andreas' buddy, Herwig, who lives in a nearby suburb and headed into the pre-party madness. You see, Cologne is the San Francisco of Europe and Sunday was CSD (Christopher Street Day aka Gay Pride). I'd really wanting to see Pride in Europe and I couldn't have chosen a better place!
Saturday evening, we started off with dinner in a Russian restaurant. That was particularly interesting because during dinner we were playing the "how do you say that" language game. For instance, sure I speak French, but I've got no idea what an "aubergine" is. And there are plenty of terms that aren't in my pocket dictionary. Since the menu was in Russian and German...8-) But it was really yummy, especially the soup! We topped it off afterwards with a McFlurry.
Afterwards we made our way through the crowds (700,000 people that weekend!) and took in the sites. BTW, the Dom is even more picturesque at night than by day. The bar we finally got to was like a sauna. And the scene was alot more mixed that at home. But very cool and loads of fun. Remind me to tell you about the clumsy stripper when I get home...8-)
We got home late and talked even later into the night. The next morning we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Herwig's and Andreas and I went to see the parade (poor Herwig had to study and we certainly weren't any help).
How do I describe it? A blast? Let's see...
The parade route was through much narrower streets than SF's or even SJ's. We're talking spectators on either side, a single truck/float in the middle and about 6 inches of clearance between the two. There are no police rails or barriers. Despite this, the density of the crowd was about the same as at home. And the parade (the four hours we saw of it) was just as long! True the Dykes on Bikes didn't obscure the horizon with an ocean of harleys nor were there the seas of people walking, but the parade had a very intimate quality that the other Prides I've seen lacked. It was more like a high school ralley, in that sense.
Allow me to explain. Sunday was hot. We're talking cooking. I was sweating like a roasting pig. And being in the sun didn't help much either. By about 2:00pm we'd take off our shirts in the vain attempt to cool off. On either side rose four or five stories of buildings with people hanging out of most of the windows. As the day continued to warm up, squirt guns and then supersoakers appeared. The building inhabitants were cooling off both the parade folks and the onlookers with streams of water. Of course, water fights ensued, with some floats whipping out guns bigger than my 2000 at home! I just asked Andreas how to say "shoot me" in German; although, I must say that by the end of the day (when I got the hose turned on me! 8-) I was soaking wet! But it was worth it! That kind of rough-housing and tom-foolery just doesn't happen back at home. In addition, because the audience is so much nearer to the folks in the floats, there is a LOT of eye-to-eye exchanges to be had. It's more like Procession at Faire or like seeing a concert in Boswell's instead of Shoreline.
Now, there were a few down sides, like the fact that the place was TOTALLY trashed each night, but since I'm not a sanitation work, who cares? It was a ripping good time.
We met up with Herwig and a bunch more of Andreas' friends for dinner at Joe Champs. Yeah, it sounds like an American restaurant cuz it is one. I hesitated a little, but (I think it was) Herwig pointed out that how often do they get an American visiting on the 4th of July. Good point! And, other than the lack of water service it really was just like at home (think TGIFridays or PJMulligans). Yum! Then we went back to the post-parade party for a little bit and then headed home.
On the way south to Stuttgart, we got went through a tremendous thunderstorm. It was impressive. I can probably count all the ones I've seen on both hands, so it was yet another newish experience. And some of the weather cells were like flash floods. But 2:30am finally saw us safe and sound on the other side of the storm in Stuttgart.
That's the highlights; I'll write the book when I get home 8-) This weekend I'm gonna see Munich and Neuschwanstein (the inspiration for the Disney castle -- the one you see on all the "come to Germany" posters).
Have a good one! Until my next update...
David
p.s. -- Steph or Kari, can one or both of you forward this on to AndyElf for me? My Yahoo account is blocked. Thanks!
Howdy folks,
Well, I just a cool little experience that I really wanna write down. And since I don't have my journal at the office, well, then I might as well make a letter out of it and add it to my journal later. So, here's your copy -- delete it if you're not interested.
Everyday, pretty much everyone from the department goes down to lunch together. During the half hour or so we're there, there's usually two or three conversations going. Since my German still isn't very fast or fluent, I usually just listen and only respond to direct queries. Once in a while I jump in, but usually I get lost somewhere along the way. It's frustrating, but getting better.
Well, today I noticed I was keeping up better than most days. And suddenly the topic turned to my co-worker, Petra. It seems she's wrapping up a French class she's taking here in Böblingen. So, naturally, I did the classic "alors, tu parles francais?" She kinda gave me a look like "hunh", more cuz she's used to hearing me clunk around in German than anything else. So we started talking about learning other languages, the absolute American arrogance of everything needing to be in English, the easy time romance-language speakers have learning another romance language and then we moved onto Chinese and Japanese.
I mentioned that Japanese isn't just hard cuz of the characters, but also because of grammar. So then we started discussing the finer points of Japanese grammar and the strengths and weaknesses of the Kanji system as well as the Chinese writing system. That was cool mostly just cuz I was able to keep up and actually give some valid input (it seems neither Japanese nor Chinese is commonly learned around here -- unlike the JCs at home).
Anyway, the really cool part was when we came back to French and the other European languages. As the resident foreigner, they asked me how long I took German and why and all that. Then someone addressed me in French. So, naturally, I answered back in French. Hence began an interesting conversation which not only made me feel good about my language skills (my morale has been taking a beating of late), but also raised their opinion of this "dumb" American a notch or two. The guy I was mostly talking with and Petra were amazed. They're really used to me butchering their language, so I guess it came as a shock. Robert even remarked that I didn't really have an accent (unlike in German 8-( ) and that I spoke quicker in French but was easier to understand than most of the French people he's dealt with. I was feeling good cuz I was in a language I could really express myself at a reasonable speed and without thinking about what I needed to say, how it was conjugated, what declension I was using, etc. 8-) The tables were TURNED!
I pointed this out and everyone got a good laugh. I was one of those moments -- to steal from Heinlein -- that you just "grok" what you're supposed to do and things come out great! 8-) When I switched back into German (I'm finding I do that now too -- I hit a word or concept that I really know well in German and suddenly I'm speaking it), it came up a little bit fluider and I was able to really appreciate the progress I've made this last five weeks.
And then, to top it all off, I had a really nice chat continuing this theme with my current office mate, Viola (I move again on Friday). I didn't have to use my dictionary once! Yeah, there were a few words I didn't know, but with a bit of struggling I got through them fine. Not once did we even shift into English! Yeah! Now if I can just do this on a regular basis, I'll be all set.
I've already resolved myself to the fact that in order to reach my goal of true fluency I'll have to come back again. First though, I wanna put another year or two of grammar and VOCABULARY under my belt. I'm thinking maybe a short vacation trip as a status check and to show Paul what life here is like. Maybe after that. Hey, I'm due for my official Adobe sabatical in about two and half years...8-)
Well, I better get back to coding. Now, if only Lotus' version of Visual Basic was so logical...
Howdy folks!
Well, I'm back from another really fun weekend. 8-) This time, it was Munich and Neuschwanstein!
Let's see...the original plan had been to grab the 6:00am train from Stuttgart to Munich, but Friday's laundry session proved problematic (I hate walking around naked and my clothes refused to dry), so I didn't get to bed til nearly midnight. I'd had a fun-but-sleep-poor week, so my body insisted I stay in bed til after 8:00am. I finally woke up, crawled into the shower, rose from the dead, and dashed for the S-bahn, arriving at the main station in time for the 9:00am train. We got in a little late into Munich (11:25) so it didn't leave me much time to do some quick sites before my rendez-vous with Herwig's cousin (yes, I will explain).
So, I quickly took in all the sites between the Bahnhof and Frauenkirche, including the tomb of Ludwig the II (we'll hear more about him later). I then dashed (okay crowd-surfed) back to the station because I was supposed to meet Marlena and Jochim there.
Jochim is Herwig's cousin (see my Köln/Cologne email) and Marlena is Jochim's wife -- although she is originally from LA. We hit it off immediately and had a great time. And, we were good, we spoke 95% German! We saw the Glyptomuseum (greek and roman sculpture) which was really cool. It turns out that Jochim is studying/working to be an engraver and is totally into this stuff too. Meanwhile, Marlena and I were able to compare notes about life here. Afterwards, we grabbed a bite at this really huge, crowded, noisy, rowdy, lively, local-feeling, kinda-old-fashioned-in-a-European-way restaurant/brewery. And of course I had to try out the beers (c'mon, this WAS Munich!). We even, uh, met, some very uh, drunk -er- friendly guy who kept trying to talk to us "Americans" (Ralph with a PH!).
Afterward, we did a quick tour of Marienplatz, then Peterskirche and then later Frauenkirche. Frauenkirche reminds me alot of le Cathedral de Saint Pierre in Nantes (near my old stomping ground in France) -- they both have that unbelieveably high-ceilinged, white walled, airy, bright look. Finally, we headed off to Nymphburgerschloß to hook up with Andreas. That place is on the same scale as Versaille.
Andreas was early (he set a new record using his "deep flying" driving style 8-) and we actually ran into him on our walk around the grounds. Andreas and I then proceeded to his colleagues house, where we were going to spend the night. Elke is a co-worker and lives with her husband, Claus, and their very cute 22 month old daughter, Felicity. She kinda looks like a toy doll come to life -- she loved the attention from Andreas and myself. We left our stuff at Elke's and then went to THE Hofbräu house, the one that you always hear about. Again, quite a rowdy, lively scene -- an excellent people-watching opporutnity. And talk about a mug of beer! I'm guessing that it was at least a liter, but I'm not sure (remember, I'd already had two half-liters earlier!). We stayed til nearly closing (an early midnight), watching people dance on the tables and generally raise a ruckus. Very fun. Then we strolled around the pricey shopping street and ended up in a quiter, littler bistro were I tried yet another beer. I slept like a rock.
In the morning, we (Elke, Claus, Felicity, Andreas and myself) went to a typical biergarten. Actually, Elke says it was too nice to be a typical one, but it was neat! We had white wurst with white beer and pretzels -- a very traditional, if rich, breakfast. Around noon, Andreas and I took off for Neuschwanstein, the fairy-tale looking castle which inspired Disney.
At this point, I must say I goofed. According to my guide book, the castle was a day-trip from Munich. Well, it was actually a two hour drive! Doh! But it worked out quite well, all the same. We got there around 3:30 and joined in with an American tour. This place is awesome. The vistas of the nearby mountains, lakes and countryside are incredible. The schloß itself seems more like a work of art than a palace. I definitely have a new favorite castle. It looks more like what you would expect to see at an amusement park -- with very realistic, detailed and well-rendered paintings EVERYWHERE. Not quite the oppulescence of Chambourg or Versaille, but definitely very inspiring. No wonder why Ludwig's relatives had him commited and then offed him! This castle is now on my "must see" list for Europe (along with Edinburgh, Venice, Paris and Rome).
When we finished the tour, it was raining, so our hike down to the car was a bit soggy. We were both quite tired by this point, so after we left the tourist zone we pulled over and took a cat nap. Andreas woke up and drove on to Augsburg, while I stored up a bit of "sleep time" for the drive later. In Augsburg, we grabbed a bite (maultaschen!) at a local food booth (there was weekend faire there -- very common in Germany in the summer) and took in the city center very briefly. Andreas got us onto the autobahn and then I took over.
Hmmm...how to describe this? I was both anxious to and about driving. It was a new experience, but also potentially dangerous. It was raining and I've heard stories about the autobahn since I was a kid. True, I've driven all over Scotland, but I was still intimidated. I'm sure Andreas noticed this, cuz he started me out doing a loop of McDonald's drive-thru. 8-P But, after a short time, I was quite comfortable with my 140 kph (about 85 mph) cruising speed. And of course I "had" to go faster to pass...
About an hour later put us in Stuttgart (it seemed almost too short -- I was having fun, the music was cool and the view was neat). I got to bed early and then here I am (despite missing my second train -- but that wasn't my fault).
Sunday night I decided, in the ten seconds between going to bed and falling asleep, to bite the bullet and see Berlin this weekend. Hey, as they say in France, profitez au maximum! I'll probably leave Thursday night and get back Sunday morning (yea! for night trains!) in time for the local fair.
That's about it. See you in August!
David
p.s. -- as I finish this note, the rain here is falling so hard it's nearly obscuring the forest beyond and definitely louder than the office noises. Just a quick mental snapshot of life here!
Howdy Folks,
Well, this has been a rather full last couple of days, so put on your seatbelts and keep your thoughts inside the email at all times...
It all started Thursday when I moved offices. That was, to be mild and blunt, a real bummer. There was quite a bit of confusion and several hours where I really should have just gone home. I'm now in my new location, but alas, bereft of a telephone. It appeared for a while, however, that I was gonna be bereft of 'net access as well. To say the least, I was NOT a happy camper! 8-(
As you can see, however, I did get things worked out (finally). If you need to phone me, it's still possible, just keep in mind I'm sharing the line with my lead and the phone is on his desk (hence it's best to call me EARLY in the morning before he gets in, otherwise I'm kinda in his way). My phone number is: 011 49 07031 16 2075. Or you can still call me at the dorm at 011 49 0711 683 613 (although I've been hearing that the Chinese students have a habit of "forgetting" about callers 8-( ). Also, I've been having some trouble with Yahoo so if I don't seem to be responding to an email, try sending me a second copy at my new backup account: buddha@bear.net (thanks, Dale!).
On Thursday night with everything going on, I left work quite frustrated. I took out alot of my agressions on the equipment in the gym and then did some laundry so I'd have something clean to wear in Berlin. Thursday morning I had had some trouble making my reservation for my couchette (overnight car), but was pleased to find out that for my troubles I wound up with an actual sleeping car all to myself. That was cool and I got a full night's rest without a family of fellow travelers (which I can deal with, but this was like having my own hotel room 8-). Stories about the mental failures of Bahnhof service people available when I get home...>8-(
I arrived in Berlin early and quickly got my affairs in order. I scored my hotel room (nice, very big, great location with good rail access, not too expensive and with a great breakfast buffet on Saturday morning!) and I made my reservations for my return before I left the station. I took a quick peak at Kaiser Wilhelm's Gedächtnis/Memorial and the Info center. Then, on a whim, I decided to see Poland cuz it wasn't so far away. So, a little more than an hour later, I was in Frankfurt an der Oder (the OTHER Frankfurt, in the former DDR). Not much to see (even the churches were closed!), but that was okay, cuz my plan had been mainly to cross the bridge over the Oder and walk into Poland. That went as planned, if somewhat boring. Turns out there isn't much to see in Eastern Germany and even less in Poland. I had heard there were neat shops there, but other than cheap cigarettes, all I saw was poverty. It reminded me of a cross between poorer sections of Mexico and Yugoslavia before the war.
Disappointed, I headed back to Germany and the train station. I couldn't even get my passport stamped at the border. I missed my train back to Berlin by two minutes, so I grabbed the next one. Well, regional trains in the East are NOT what they are in the West (the line "no train in Germany is really that slow" does NOT apply here!). I think West Germany has found a difficult pill to swallow in the form of Reunification with their-once-and-future brethern to the East. The work ethic seems different (very "union" but only in the bad ways) and there really seems little to draw people's interest. Things are in general disrepair and no one cares...apathy anyone? Even the train schedule was very laxidasical and almost random (I almost got stuck in some nameless backwater when the train almost quit working) -- quite a departure from what I've grown accustomed to with my previous trips around the rest of Europe.
Back in Berlin, I made up for lost time. I saw the Egyptian Museum (the one with Nefertiti's head 8-) and then did a quick tour of the city, including Charlotte's palace, the Großer Stern (the angel figure in the Zoological garden), the newly refitted Reichstag (with it's cool glass ceiling) and Unter den Linden (Germany's answer to Rodeo Drive). I also took a peak around the former East Berlin (although Checkpoint Charlie is gone and where the Wall was is now a construction zone). Exhausted I fell into bed.
Saturday I got up relatively early and headed out of town again, this time for a half day trip to the concentration camp as Sachsenhausen. I can't really describe it well, so I will suffice to say that it was a powerful experience I'm still sorting through (this is my third attempt to write this paragraph). The camp showed a far grimmer picture than the House of Anne Frank or even than the various documentaries I've seen at home. I'm not speaking of the treatment of those unfortunates held there (Auschwitz by these accounts was worse), but rather the depravity of the human soul to commit some of these senseless acts of violence and cruelty. I'm honestly troubled by it. It chills me a little to think about what went on and how, but at the same time I'm glad that I went so that I can be part of the chain to make sure this story will never be repeated. What is the line? "It is the fate of those who don't learn about history to repeat it?" I really hope this is an experience that we humans can get through our collective heads and hearts.
Yeah, I kind of feel like just talking a pause right there.
In the evening, I returned to Berlin and finally saw the famous Pergamon Museum, with the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and Temple facade from the Greek City-State of Pergamon. I spent so much time in the antiquities section, I never had a chance to see the Islamic art. Afterward, I checked out the local flea market (mostly stuff from before the Wall fell). The public transit bus 100 loops through all the major sites, so I hopped a ride and saw the rest of the city, including the Schloß bridge and Berliner Dom (from the outside).
Around 8:00pm, I was back at the Zoo Garden train station; hungry, tired and still digesting the morning's trip. I treated myself to some Chinese food in a nice restaurant and walked though the Ku'damm district. Then back to the train station where I caught my sleeper train at 10:45pm.
This is where things get a little more crazy and fun. It seems that again the Deutsche Bahn folks had made a mistake -- they'd forgotten to reserve my spot. Luckily reciepts are worth gold in Europe, so all was okay. Now I was sharing a sleeping wagon with four guys from Russia. That was cool and we talked a little in German (they were trying to figure out what my nationality was, which is a game I LOVE to play 8-). The trouble was they were getting off at the first stop (4:00am) and had planned on partying all night til then. 8-( Fate smiled down upon me when the conductor came by and mentioned that the restaurant car would be open til 1:00am and it had BEER. I thought I could even see a golden halo and a ray of light shining down as he spoke. Exhausted, I layed claim to the top bunk and slept. When the guys came back in, I'm sure they got the hint (c'mon this was a sleeper car and the whole rest of the wagon was asleep!) and everything was cool.
Sunday morning in Stuttgart was warm and sunny. Call me a spoiled Californian, but I miss my skin cancer! So, this was my opportunity to go SWIMMING! Yeee-ha! The pool was great! Honestly, the community center at Vaihingen has got to be one of the best I've ever been to. In between sets, I relaxed in the sun and soaked up some rays on the massive lawn. I cranked out 2.5 km in decent time and thoroughly enjoyed myself. 8-)
Around 3:00pm, I hooked up with Andreas to check out one of the local weekend fairs in Stuttgart. As I think I've pointed out in previous emails, Europeans in general and Germans in particular have this really cool tradition of having town makets/fairs/partys at the drop of a hat when the weather is nice. And when in Rome... We ran into a few of my friends there and generally enjoyed the scene. It was nice, cuz it gave ME a chance to play tour guide (I know downtown and the rail-system fairly well). At dinner, we ran into yet more friends of Andreas' (this boy knows everyone) and had a nice chat. My German certainly got a work out...
So, that's about it for my travels. I've exhausted my Europass (and my feet), so I'll be staying fairly close to home for the next two weeks. My friend Dale, from Texas, gets in later this week, so that should be fun. Hopefully, we'll get a day or two to see some of the local stuff (sights, castles, towns, maybe Zürich). This weekend are a pair of parties (Happy 30th BDay, Andreas!), so that should keep me in/out of trouble. And the following weekend I'm going to have to be somewhere else as my hovel -er- dorm room lease will be up. If all goes as planned, I should see my French parents in Houppach and then I'm off to Paris for my flight home.
So, have fun, stay in/out of the sun and/or trouble, and generally enjoy yourselves. I'll probably crank out one more of these emails next Monday, although I expect things to be a bit chaotic my last week. After that, no more 'net access til I'm home.
...please remain seated until this message has come to a complete stop...
David
Howdy folks,
Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. Honest. Three parties! 8-)
It started off Friday evening. A whole bunch of departments
at IBM were having their summer party. The theme was life around
the world so we had German, Philipino and American food (plus
Italy represented by ice cream!). It was all yummy, espcially
the ice cream, although I must say that Thomas out did me in devouring
it! My favorite part, though, was when a bunch of us went outside
and played frisbee. Yeah, I'm a kid; guilty as charged. It was
a little wild (from 3-5 people throwing 2-4 frisbess
and a ball in a random order), but hey, that's what makes life
interesting! Naturally, it's only fun til someone get hurt --
we snuck inside once the innocent by-standard stopped crying.
8-(
Saturday morning I finished my laundry early. Once I had clean clothes, I went to the gym for a quiet weight session. It was nice having the place to myself for a change. Afterward, it was such a beautiful, sunny day, I cut through the woods from Schönaich to Böblingen for a really mellow walk/hike. The path was gently shaded and dappled with sunlight and the air wasn't too hot yet. Afterward, I decided to head back to Vaihingen for some laps and suntime at the community pool. I've gotta say, they've got one of the nicest facilities I've ever been to. The water is barely chlorinated and completely refreshed each hour. It's a bit cool by American standards, but then I'm a polar bear. I thought it was quite refreshing! Because the water is constantly replaced and the walls of the pool are stainless steel, the water is really bright and clear. It's 50m long, so it's great for "long" laps. And the place has three other pools for goofing around in, plus the entire area is surrounded by grass to layout on and a volleyball area for additional fun. Sehr toll.
In the afternoon, Andreas picked me up from the dorm for a
second party. Herwig (from Cologne/Köln) was there, as was
Dale, my buddy from Dallas. Although we've been friends
for some time, Dale and I have never met in person, so being able
to actually give him a hug was nice. We finally could talk without
having to worry about long distance rate! 8-) I'm really glad
our trips to Deutschland happened to coincide like this (now if
I can just get in a short trip to Dallas before he moves here!
8-). The party we went to was really fun. As the designated driver
(the ride back from München cured me of my fear of the Autobahn),
I stopped after a beer and a "Radler", which gave me
an opportunity to watch everyone else. I'd forgotten how interresting
that can be...8-)
Here I must stop and pay tribute to "Floppy". First, a bit of background: as usual here in Germany, I try to speak as much Germany as possible. Sometimes folks will play a game with me where they speak in English while I talk in German. Then we can correct one another and still learn without TOO much trouble. Anyway, Floppy is a friend of Herwig's who speaks really good English. When I told him I wanted to practice my German, he said he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to talk with a native speaker. "Sure, just correct me when I make a mistake," was my typical response. Jokingly he added, "We're gonna get drunk til I can't speak my native language anymore." Ok.
So, as the night progressed, any time Floppy responded to me
when I was speaking German, I would remind him to drink (yup,
like a college drinking game -- although as the night progressed
I limited it to only when he answered in German). To make a long
story short (and less embarrassing), Dale and I got to exchange
with the folks we were talking to the various colorful metaphors
in English and German for "calling on the Great White Telephone"
and "throwing a technicolor yawn". We talked all night
with
folks from all over Germany and it was alot of fun. We discussed
social issues, cultural mentalities, some of the finer points
of German dialects (yes, the best German is from Hannover) and
various other topics. Around midnight, Andreas even got a serenade
from his co-workers for his birthday. I wish I got that on tape.
8-) In the wee hours of the morning, we drove back for some sleep.
Let's just say that when we finally turned the light off, it didn't
make much of a difference in the ambient light in the room. Doh!
Sunday morning (I guess I should say pre-afternoon) arrived
with a jolting phone call from Andreas' folks. We needed to get
up for his birthday party! Poor Floppy (and Herwig who took care
of him). Dale happened to have a perfect greeting card with him,
so we all signed it and gave it to the poor boy. Then we drove
to Tübingen where we had a really yummy Swabish meal in a
cozy, typical restaurant.
We chatted for a while, although at points my German failed me.
Later, Dale, Andreas and I went on to a beer garden for another
round and more talkin'. It was great. Sunday night I crawled into
bed and I think I had about 5 seconds between pillow and oblivion.
So, that brings y'all up-to-date. This will be my last broadcast email I'm afraid. Wednesday, Dale and I are gonna do some sight-seeing in the area, so I won't be in the office and Friday I'm taking off so I can get ready for the trip home (un-register with the police, get my dorm deposit back, etc). That means Thursday will be my last day at IBM Deutschland and therefore any email after Thursday morning won't be read at least til I'm back at Adobe, a week and a half later (so send it NOW! 8-)
Saturday morning I'm headed to Houppach (in Alsace) to visit my French exchange family. I'll stay with them Saturday and Sunday night and then grab a train to Paris where I'm planning to spend all day Monday in the Louvre. Tuesday is my flight back to Oakland.
So, see you soon and have fun. I'm hoping to have a party when I get back, hopefully on Saturday the 21st of August. I'll send more details as things firm up.
David
Howdy Folks!
Greetings and salutations! After ten weeks in Europe, I'm home. Many of you have been getting my weekly email updates with their serialized narrative, but either way I've got a zillion stories. Many of them I've touched on in other email messages, but the written word is ever a poor substitute for the expressive power of human conversation. And some of them just need to be told in person.
With luck, I'd like to see as many of you as possible soon. I'm hoping to have a party on Saturday the 21st of August. The final plans aren't yet set, but the idea is a BBQ starting around noon and running well into the night. If folks could bring a dish to share, a bag of chips or a bottle of soda, that would be great. I'll send more email as Paul and I work out the details.
As for the end of my trip, here it is in a nutshell...
My last week of work at IBM Deutschland was fairly breezy. I'd finished up my programming assignments, so I was mostly proofing other peoples' documentation, go over the comments for my own code and doing some minor translations. Very mellow. I took off Wednesday and Friday, so it was a short week as well. I got a last long walk through the wonderful forests around Böblingen, a few more laps at the neat steel-bottomed pool in Vaihingen, a final stroll down the pedestrian Königsstraße in Stuttgart. I also did a bit more sightseeing and shopping, and generally got my affairs in order. Thursday was a bit sad, leaving IBM and the friends I'd made there. Friday was sad too, as I left the hovel -er- dorm I'd gotten used to and all the other students I'd met at the university. A few of the German students were graduating, so I at least had my chance to see everyone together one last time.
Friday night I spent at my friend, Andreas', house. Saturday morning was another round of goodbyes, this time to Andreas and to Dale. As I boarded the S-Bahn for the main train station in Stuttgart, I was a little crestfallen. But ahead was my trip to Alsace and my French family. And this is where things began to get strange...
As most of you know, I've taken two years of German here in the States. But, I took eight years of French in high school and college. More importantly, I spent a wonderful summer in Alsace in high school, another summer in Brussels, Belgium and half a school year in Nantes, France. Suffice to say, my French is far stronger than my German. And my train ride proved this.
I'd grown accustomed to thinking in German. When I hit a word or concept I couldn't express, out came the dictionary (and the guys at the party have the pictures to prove it! 8-). Suddenly, I understood everything again (or at least enough that I didn't need a reference!). Crossing back into France at Strasbourg was like coming home. I actually got a little choked up when I saw the steeple of the Cathedral. And at the same time I already was feeling homesick for Stuttgart. Yeah, imagine that -- what can I say, I'm a puzzlebox.
I reached Mulhouse without any problem. I pulled on my (exceedingly over-stuffed) framepack and trucked it and my two handbags out of the train station to meet my French dad. After about 15 minutes I started to wonder if he'd gone inside to see if he could find me on the platform. After a half hour, I began to wonder if I should call Maman, to see if there was a problem. I turned and headed back into the gare, just in time to notice Papa walking toward me. He hadn't seen me at first and looked a bit concerned. It turned out that I had left through the "in" door and was waiting in the wrong spot. Good thing I saw him!
I had a wonderful visit with my French family over the next few days. Maman spoiled me (and fattened me up!) with her incredible, home-made cooking. She just "threw together" a huge crock of delicious Coq au Vin. Papa and I talked about politics and society in Europe and the US as always. We just shared what had happened in our lives in the last four years (since my last visit) and it was very special. I got a chance to take their (new, non-American-eatting) dog, Houri, for a walk through the forests around the house and even snap a couple of shots of the area. Sunday, we drove back up to Strasbourg to meet with Camille (my exchange brother) and his girl-friend, Corine. He's doing really well and they're getting ready to move into a new flat together. Who would have through 15 years ago that we'd become such good friends? Life hasn't changed either of us too much though, despite the fact that he's expecting his first son in November. Now, if I can just get them to come visit me soon...
It was odd, because after nine weeks of trying to focus on my German, here I was speaking only in French. At points I would say a word in German (my whole family speaks it fluently) because I'd forgotten how to say it in French. A couple of times I came out with an odd mish-mash of words and grammar, but an hour or two cleared that all up. By the time I left though, it was like German had been kicking outta my head and all I could think in was French. Kinda weird. I think that's part of why I was so disoriented when I got home -- too many languages in my head (jet lag was no problem).
Monday morning was another round of goodbyes when I left for Paris. I arrived in the early afternoon and spent more than five hours in the Louvre, focusing on the antiquities section (duh!). Then I strolled through the Latin Quarter. I was already missing döner kebaps (a turkish dish I've become addicted to in Germany), so I tried the offerings there. It took three scoops of ice cream to "wash" it down. 8-> I checked out the night life and then tried to get some sleep.
Tuesday morning proved that despite all my travels, I can still be a complete novice. My last trip to Paris, I flew outta Charles de Gaul and, despite that I intellectually knew I was leaving outta Orly, I headed to Gare de Nord to pick up the RER. Once I arrived, I pulled my head out and realized my mistake. But, it was good in the long run because I not only helped out a lost fellow American, but by the time I reached Orly, there was very little of a line at check-in. I got my seat assignment, boarded the plane and flew home.
More stories? Well, sure. Two nights in Monterey. Disorientation in the middle of the night. English sentences with German or French grammatical structures. Seeing Kimba. Cravings for Greek and Turkish food. Answering the phone in German. Driving on US highways. And alot more. But, those'll have to wait til I can tell 'em in person...
Have fun and hope to hear from y'all soon,
David
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