Fastnacht, Fußball und die Siezenfrage

Fastnacht, Karneval or Fasching is a crazy time here in Germany. It's hard even to begin to explain it, because the traditions are a little different everywhere and, over the few weeks in which it takes place, a lot of different things happen.

My personal favorite happenings are the Sitzungen. The word Sitzung means session or conference. However, in this context, it is a Fastnacht party where a Carneval club organizes musical and comedic performances to entertain the audience and celebrate. Everybody dresses up, comes to the Sitzung, laughs and drinks. If you are lucky, you live in a big city and are well-involved with the Carneval Club's activities. Then you'd get to go to the bigger parties and see celebrities and really hilarious comics.

Next best are the parades. In the larger cities, the carneval clubs try to make political statements or make jokes on the behalf of the politicians. Seeing a papier-mâché German Head of Government, Angela Merkel, naked on a float is no surprize here. People dress in costumes, drink lots and run around. For the teenagers, the parade is really a sideshow.

The season actually begins on the 11th of November. However, nothing really happens until the few weeks before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins and everything comes to a halt. The time is filled with old traditions, such as women cutting off the ties of their male collegues on Weiberfastnacht.



Last weekend I went to another soccer game. It was even better than the first one I went to back in August because I really love the area I live in and could take a little bit of pride in the win. It was exciting to learn all the songs and cheer the team on. The game itself was frustrating; both sides making stupid mistakes... the goal that Freiburg made shouldn't have happened... Anyhow, Eintracht Frankfurt quickly recovered and kept Freiburg on edge until the last minute of play, when they finally scored the winning goal, just as we all throught we were gonna get to see some overtime. My personal favorite cheer: "Wir sind aus Frankfurt. Wir sind aus Hessen,
und was wir scheißen müsst ihr fressen! Unsere Farben sind schwarz-weiß-rot, wir bleiben treu bis in den Tod!" "We come from Frankfurt. We come from Hessen and what we shit out you all have to eat! Our colors are black, white and red, and we'll stay true to them until we're dead!" Winners.

Soccer may be the favorite sport of Germans, but saying that the Germans, or Europeans in general, go to the stadium/watch it on TV for fun is incorrect. Soccer is serious. Don't screw around with it. Germans go to the stadium to scream at whichever eleven men are currently standing on the field and to curse at the guest team. Rather than being something they enjoy, it appears really to be something they need to do to keep sane.



The German language has something that English hasn't had for a few hundred years; namely a formal second-person personal pronoun (formal you). The word Sie is used when addressing people you don't know well or are trying to be respectful too. Most teachers use Sie when talking with their students and expect that the students use it with them. My host parents have been neighbors with the same couple for twenty years, however Sie is still used by both parties. Just as saying "please," "thank you," and "bless you" becomes instilled in English speakers as we grow up and learn to speak politely, using the word Sie comes as second-nature to Germans. They don't have to think about it. They know when they should use it and when it isn't necessary.

Foreigners don't have that advantage. While you may be forgiven for slipping once or twice, especially if an accent is detected in your speech, it is very impolite to knowingly use the wrong "you" with a stranger. However, you can also make an ass of yourself for using the formal pronoun with someone as young as you... or even younger. Germans look older than Americans. It is just a fact of life. Not only do they look older than they are on average, they are much more mature and carry themselves with more sophistication. (Again, this is a general observation... as is everything I write.) It happens way too often that I see someone who may just be a few months older than me in reality, but could easily be mistaken for a 25-year-old in the USA. I think in general, Germans are fully physically mature at 18 and then don't change again until they are about 30. An exaggeration, of course, but somehow German teens have this special sixth sense and can tell if someone is still young enough or close enough to their own age that they can use the informal "du" word. At work or around people in general, I have learned just to avoid using the word "you" at all, until I am 100% sure if I should keep saying "Sie" or if they want me to use "du." It's a never-ending battle. My host mom found this really funny but also weird. She said, "You have to be able to tell the difference between someone who is 18 and someone who's 30." I said, "Yes, of course." But, in my head, I was thinking, sometimes I really can't...

An English teacher... an English teacher... if only you'd been an English teacher...

(Bye Bye Birdie reference... duh.)

This week deserves a blog because it's been good to me. Here goes.

Guess what, kids. I am an English teacher. Kind of.

Starting next Thursday I am teaching a conversational English course at a local Gymnasium. It promises to be lots of fun. I'd be lying if I said I weren't nervous. However, getting to use a Smartboard makes me forget those worries.

I really am excited. My interview went well yesterday, but basically Christoph had everything already settled, he sent them my resumé and everything... so the interview turned into a when-can-you-start meeting. I came home yesterday and started preparing... a little early, I know... but that's me. Either I do something when I am excited about it, no matter how early, or I wait until the last minute. I'll keep you posted.

I also found out today that I will be working with Christoph's father's company, in the transport/shipping (Spedition in German) business, for two weeks. It seems to be right up my alley and I am anxious to begin there too.

As of Monday, I have another pupil who wishes for me to teach the ways of the English language. She is in the fifth grade, meaning she has really just begun with the language. This will really be a huge challenge, but I am excited. As an added bonus she lives really close to my house, which means I don't have to ride a bus or... wait 45 minutes for the bus after I am done...

This morning my host mom had a hair appointment in Darmstadt. I visited my old work place at the theater to deliver some things from Norway the guy I worked for there asked for and to say hi. Thereafter I ran into the shopping center of Darmstadt while my host mom finished up and bought two pullovers and a polo. I hope it stayes chilly so I can wear these new pullis. They look nice.

Right at this moment I am listening to music and making oboe reeds. I finally have nylon again, so I can make reeds and actually sound decent again! That should be exciting.

On the radio yesterday, I heard that Mamma Mia is running from now until the end of March. It is in English. I am there. Monica says it's good. I have heard it is amazing. Yet another thing to look forward to.

This Saturday is Fastnacht. It's like the beginning of the beginning of the end of the Karneval season. Karneval really lasts from November all the way until Ash Wednesday... however, no one does anything until the two weeks before Ash Wednesday. I am going to celebrate Rosenmontag and the weekend before in both Büttelborn and Mainz. According to my host brother, die Hölle wird los... (It will be crazy good.)

I think that's it for now. You can see why I am in a good mood. I leave you with a song of the now: Alexander Rybak was born in Russia but lives in Norway. He won the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with this song. He sings in English. His music is worth checking out I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilRttEYIfSw

"Berlin ist eine Stadt, verdammt dazu, ewig zu werden, niemals zu sein"

"Berlin is a city, condemned forever to become something and never just to be."

Last week, all of the participants of my program met in Berlin for a half-year informational seminar in the German capitol of Berlin. I can honestly say that the week has been a life-changing one, for several reasons.

The first being, that my dad's mom passed away this week after seventy-eight years of making the world a brighter place for everyone around her. Somehow, I managed to keep it all together, at least while I was with the group. Trying to enjoy once-in-a-life-time views, things my grandma never go to see, while mourning, was very hard. It really hasn't hit me and it isn't real yet. That's the hardest part, is just that I am the only person here who lost someone.

Enough about that though for now... Berlin was amazing!

We stayed in a hostel about three blocks from Checkpoint Charlie. The area the Berlin Wall once stood was visible from our room windows. We had a historian speak to us and give us necessary information for us to better understand why the Third Reich was able to come to power and why things happened the way they did after the war. Ronnie, our personal Brit/historical lecturer, was really quite good. Many were angered by his politically charged views and his ability to mix opinion with fact. I just took it for what it's worth. A lot of what he said is true. While he didn't need to demonize East Germany so much, many pictures do speak for themselves.

I really hope to take my experiences from Berlin and the loads of stories I learned in seminars and in museums and really fulfill the main goal of my program upon returning to the USA. There is so much that Americans fail to understand about German history and about Berlin in particular. Germans are cursed with a most unfortunate history and they need our help to help the outside world understand.

It is really surreal to go from point A to point B in the city and pass over the wall, maybe more than once. The length of the wall is commemorated by stones which run through the street. Every so often a plaque reminds you that the wall divided the city for more than twenty years. A comical, visual reminder are the cross walk traffic signals, which in East Berlin looked different than in the West. When you need to cross the street, but aren't sure where you are, you know at least whether you are in the former East or West, depending on the shape of the Ampelmann.

I saw so many places and things in those five days which most people only see in history books. It really blows my mind and I can't believe how fortunate I am.

I am fascinated by the Olympics (the 2010 Winter Games start soon!!!) and I am also fascinated by how such a beautiful, peaceful ceremony was bastardized by the Nazis. I was just blown away by the Olympic Stadium of Berlin. We built a snowman in front of it! We couldn't go it, because it is closed in the winter, due to ice and danger of falling; however, it is on my list for the summer.

It was BEYOND cold there. Granted, it was just as cold in Norway... but in Norway I had expected it... and I didn't spend so much time outside.

The only thing worse than finding out your grandmother has passed away, is finding that out, and then heading straight for the Holocaust Memorial. Needless to say, I was emotionally exhausted after that. The memorial is a beautiful commemoration for something so terrible and deserving. My favorite part about it, was the middle exhibit, where, one at a time, names of victims are displayed on the walls with projects. The room is bare, except for a few large flat prism benches. You can sit and listen to the victims' mini-biographies. The names just keep on coming... At the end you can search for victims. I found several people with my last name, Szczerba, while many were Russian (spelt Shcherba) and many others had Jewish first names, which makes the likelihood of relation unlikely. I did also find some Italians possibly related to my mom's mom (maiden name Gabriel). Again, I haven't researched it yet, but it is still amazing to see your last name on the screen about twenty times, representing twenty murdered. Above the exhibits, is a memorial patterned after a Jewish graveyard. The memorial itself is rather young, and is a silent, somber reminder. It is beautiful and forces you to reflect without being grotesque at all.

Berlin is overall exciting and an amazing place to visit. It holds true to German charm... even though it is the largest city in Germany, it still can be like a ghost town on Sundays. I made the most I could out of this visit; however I am looking forward to being there again.

I cannot believe I am over the hill. My days here are numbered and it is scaring me. I really need to make sure I don't regret not having done something next year. I haven't been wasting my time at all so far, but now isn't the time to start.

På vei til Norge...

This January, I traveled to visit very good friends in Norway. It felt amazing to be able to cross this goal off of my list; something I have wanted to do since I met these friends about eight years ago.

Norway is a beautiful country and, from what I understand, even better in spring and summer. I was really fortunate to have "moderate" temperatures while I was there. The lowest I experienced was about -15°C (about 5°F) which is very, very cold. However, a week before I got there, the temperature was below zero in Fahrenheit... which is... colder.

The landscapes are breathtaking. I didn't get to see a fjord this time, but the terrain I did see was snow covered and glistening. The picture I give as an example was taken before the sun was really up... so it is a bad example... but I hope you can get the gist.

I enjoyed several typical Norwegian holiday foods... the names of which I can't remember... but everything tasted very good. Even though I visited quite a bit after Christmas, we ate a typical dinner, consisting of mashed and spiced rutabaga and salted lamb ribs. Dinner was followed by aquavit (akvavit), a Norwegian liquor. You may be able to tell that the name comes from Latin, meaning "water of life." Akvavit has a LOT of life. It's very strong but it still tastes good. I personally wouldn't want to drink any more than two shots, but it is worth a try.

School in Norway is a magical, ruleless place. It is really another dimension in comparison with American or even German schools. Firstly, you don't wear shoes. This is because the school I visited is pretty new and they want to keep it clean... so you either buy house shoes just for school, or go with socks. Students call teachers by their first name. Already this establishes a less serious relationship between student and teacher; perhaps even more so than in the US, something almost unheard of in Germany. Norwegians like to run around during their break and have fun. Lessons are really like discussions: students are raised with the belief that their opinion really does matter and they should express it whenever they deem fit. The students are also incapable of waiting in line. My Norwegian friends say this applies to everywhere and to adults, unless it is somewhere like a bank or the supermarket register, where you have no choice. All that being said, the students and teachers alike are very warm and friendly. Norwegians study English from an early age and in general speak better English than the average German. This sounds like a shot to Germany's English-speaking pride, but there is a reason for it. Norway has less than five million citizens. Learning to speak English is much more important when such a small percent of the world speaks your native tongue. Germans have it a little easier within Europe.

I have always wanted to visit the famous Frognerparken sculpture park in Oslo. I finally was there and, despite the cold, sunless weather, it was beautiful. The sculptures are all naked and were all sculpted by the same man, Gustav Vigeland. The park was finished before the Second World War and has been here ever since. The open spaces are filled with grass in the summer and people visiting Oslo, as well as the locals, spend hours here.

I had a wonderful time in Norway. It really was everything I had hoped for. However, I don't think I will be planning another winter trip there anytime soon. The only way it could have been better, is if it had been thawed out... and I plan on making my next trip there a little less frozen.

O Tannenbaum... O Tannenbaum...

Christmas time is here! Hessen (my state) is unusually cold this December. I was told several times that we wouldn't see snow before Christmas. SURPRISE! I believe the Hessen-natives when they say that it shouldn't've snowed... but it was an awesome experience. With some luck, we'll have a White Christmas... but I am not counting on it. The percent stands at only 50%. Today, it warmed up from -11° (12) over the weekend to 4° (39°) during the day. Everywhere you go there is a slushy, wet mess. If it gets colder, there will be ice all over the place.

So... what has been up the past month I haven't written...

I am still working at the Staatstheater. It is still a really good time and I love attending rehearsals. I am only staying until the middle/end of January. Although I would love to remain there, I really need to experience a few other things, like I promised myself I would, so that next year I can really make a more informed decision when it comes to a college major.

College applications are due soon.

I have started giving English tutoring to a kid I went to school with. With some luck others will see him doing amazing and ask me to help them too. It's a good time, I like it, and I earn a little pocket money. Win-win situation. My lesson plans involve fixing sentences with mistakes with grammar, or more importantly word choice/word order, learning slang, and improving pronunciation.

Being in Germany for so long has made me realize how happy I am to have English as my native language. I love that I can perfectly and effortlessly pronounce "th" and know the difference between the "th" in "the" and in "theater." While many study English all over the world and most, especially in Germany, have a very good grasp and understanding of it, it really is a language that gives the non-native speakers away VERY quickly. In Germany I can get away for a few minutes and have people think I actually am German... when I have to say three or four sentences as an answer to a question is when they realize that I am not. English learners really have a harder time in my opinion. Granted, German grammar will NEVER make sense to you unless you are German. You can study it all you want, and with study and, with lots of LUCK, get it right, which I manage to do probably 50% of the time, but I don't think it actually just comes natural to anyone but a German.


WEIHNACHTSMARKT!!!


The Christmas Markets in Germany are wonderful. They are such a good time and in December they are the place to be. People set up little shops selling candies, food and knick-knacks. While most are garbage, similar to what you could buy at a fair in America, there are some stands which sell things you really only see once a year. I love potato pancakes (Reibekuchen). I ate so many big, fatty Reibekuchen... be still my heart... literally. I went to the Market in Frankfurt. Tons of people, music, food, candy, and Glühwein... oh, also it was -12°!!!!!

Glühwein is the favorite drink at a Weihnachtsmarkt. Basically, it is a spiced, heated wine. If you are lucky, you get a little piece of orange slice in it. Ok, I need to be honest, the first time I drank it... I was like... "What is this shit? This doesn't taste good." The steam coming out of the mug is concentrated alcohol. Sometimes I cough while trying to drink because I can't breathe. However, when you drink it 4 or 5 times, the flavor grows on you. I enjoyed the third through fifth mugs.

Everything is lit up nice and pretty. You are tempted to buy lots of things that no one really needs but would make someone happy to open and thereafter place directly into storage. Some people have really stupid ideas for stands. For example... a wallet stand. "Thank Baby Jesus! I waited all year so I could buy some faux-leather wallets at the Weihnachtsmarkt for 10€! Here they are! Give me 20!" No one does that. There is also always a small merry-go-round of some sort for children. It sounds like a fair, but it really is a little different. You have to experience it for yourself.

I am excited to celebrate a German Christmas! Tomorrow we are putting up our Christmas Tree. The Germans do it late and leave it up until Three Kings' Day (Jan. 6th, which my family has also always done at home anyway) First comes Dec. 24th, in German: Heiligabend. Family gets together and the kids get their presents on this evening. Then the 25th and 26th are called First and Second Christmas Days. Basically, you spend the days at home or visiting family or very close friends. The goal is to gain a few kilograms.

That's it for now! I will put pictures up on Facebook soon, or if you check back, a few will be here on the blog as well!

He was in the habit of taking things for granted (granted... there wasn't much for him to take...)

I can't believe I graduated high school. Every so often it hits me. I keep realizing that I am never going back there as a student. It is really a scary feeling, but I like it.

Anyhow, despite my promises, I haven't blogged since October. Maybe I'll post more often (being serious now) if I see that the interest is there. :-)

So much has happened. I went to my last day of school here in Germany. It was bittersweet. I didn't like going to school... because it was school all over again. High school graduates are way too grown-up for that stuff. Duh. However, the kids were all really nice and I had a good time with them.

I haven't hung out with kids my age in a while. It's a problem. I am working on fixing it. It's difficult; much harder than it sounds. Say a prayer for me when you get the chance.

I started my internship at the Staatstheater in a city not far from me called Darmstadt. It receives loads of money from the local state government; about 80% of the overall budget. Some state-funded theaters receive a little more or a little less, depending on how many tickets they can sell, their needs and the quality. I intern in the music dramaturgy department. The main idea here is to research the opera, musical theater, and orchestral works that will be performed. This information is presented to the public, is used in deciding what will actually be put on and which arrangements will be bought. The department is also responsible for several publications, namely the Theater's montly newspaper pages, performance programs, the season booklet, and the so called "leporelli" which are a monthly look at what is happening. The actors, opera singers, chorus members, dancers and instrumentalists are all employees of the theater. The huge building stores the sets needed for the several operas, plays and other pieces that are performed periodically throughout the season. The "Big House" is used for operas, musicals, and large orchestra concerts, while the "Small House" is usually for dance and smaller theater works. An actor will most likely be in several running shows; for example, some of the actors in Die Fledermaus, which premiered on Saturday, performed on Friday night in Turandot. Same stage, some of the same actors, different sets.

It isn't the Met or anything, but the actors I've seen so far are all very, very good. Visiting their rehearsals several times a week is the next best thing to being on stage and performing. I really feel like I am learning so much, even if I don't decide to study theater at all and remain amateur forever.

I have decided that my first semester at whatever college I go to will be as a major away from the performance realm. Not being in the U.S. and not returning until June means that I couldn't audition anyway... and a recorded audition would be ridiculous. I will then audition for the Spring semester, against the colleges' advice. To top it all off, I will then double major, running my brain into the ground... or coming out on top successfully, with ALL of the career possibilities I've always wanted, both performance and business/marketing/multi-lingual fun.

The weather here is cold. We had a little warm up this week, but the high never got about 60° I would assume.

I am going to visit Felix and the other Germans in Mönchengladbach in about two weeks. A weekend with friends will do me really good. The train company here offered a special deal, 20 Euro to travel anywhere in Germany, as long as you travel between now and the end of November. If you miss the train, you're shit out of luck. Ryan and I jumped on that, and we'll be visiting our old exchange students. It promises to be a very good time.

The theater's orchestra office has lent me a temporary replacement oboe until I come up with a more permanent solution to the fact that one is missing in my life. It could be a lot worse... but it could be a lot better as well. Part of it is that my lips are just bent out of shape. It'll take the rest of this month, practicing a few hours everyday until I am back where I was in May. Thereafter, I can finally advance.

The only thing about Thanksgiving I will miss is family. Don't cry for me Argentina. I hate turkey, stuffing, the cranberry jello-esque lumps, sweet potatoes and pie (especially pumpkin pie *shudder*). 'My God! How can you not like any of those things?!' is usually the question I hear from anyone to whom I tell this fact. I don't know. All of those foods bore me.

I am reading HP3. It is good. I used to hate it when I was little. I am realizing it is at par with the awesomeness of the other HP literature.

I think that's it for now. Comment if the spirit moves you. The time has come to watch more crazy German television.

Switzerland: Magical Nation of Cows, Mountains, Snow, Chocolate and Near-death Experiences

Switzerland is easily the prettiest place in the world. Having only been to a few countries in Europe, I am of course assuming and exaggerating. It is really and truly beautiful and breathtaking anyway. My host family owns a one room apartment (kind of like a really nice hotel room) in southern Switzerland. Thankfully, the people in this region speak German and not French. However, unless you have magic powers, or were born in Switzerland, you can't understand Swiss German. It sounds like the people are constantly singing and speaking at the same time. It's a song to which no one really knows all the words.

Driving in the mountains is not something I would ever do alone. I spent most of the time in the car being afraid of falling off of cliffs. I fell asleep in the car on the way there, on the ground, where it's safe. I woke up to a very dimly-lit Swiss town and the car was driving along a bridge. My host dad said, "Good, you're up! We're about to drive up." Before I knew it, we were weaving up a mountain at what felt like a hundred miles an hour. The road only has room for one car. If you encounter a car driving in the opposite direction, you have to play a little game of "Maneuver Your Car Carefully So No One Dies." Sometimes there is a guard rail. Sometimes there isn't. Even when there is one though... I get the feeling it wouldn't stop a bicyclist from going over the edge.

The view from my host parents' apartment is beyond amazing. If you're a religious person, it is one of those views that really settles your thoughts and you can't help thinking, "God really does exist and really is this great." Just as cool as the views is the amount of cows that live in Switzerland. Sure, you can see cows grazing on the side of Highway 50 on the way into Orlando... but they are boring. Why are they boring? They don't climb mountains, wear giant bells, or beat the crap out of each other in organized town events. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see one of these epic cow battles, which occur naturally, as the cows always want to establish Alpha Females. We are going back in March to see some cow-fights.

I haven't seen snow since I was seven. I got to in Switzerland. It was awesome. We wanted to actually go hiking in the mountains, but the snow blocked the path. We drove the car until it couldn't pass through the snow on the road. My host dad wanted to push it though. The car really did swerve, but he never lost control. I, however, don't trust the Mercedes Station Wagon built sometimes in the 80s as much as he does. I got out. I never realized it before, but I guess I am afraid of being in a car as it drives off of a mountain. Imagine that...

The air feels cleaner in Switzerland. It is, of course. It is refreshing. You can drink from the tap with no worries. It is a beautiful place. I wouldn't live there. I hate driving on mountains. It takes FOREVER.

Check out the rest of my pictures on Facebook if you're interested! I highly recommend Switzerland as a vacation spot to EVERYONE!

I just got finished watching the craziest TV show. It is called "Bauer Sucht Frau" or "Farmer Seeks Wife." Rather than American TV dating shows, like the Bachelor, this show features people who are less than ideal looking, but still want someone to marry. And, yes, the contestants are all actually real farmers. Also, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" is still popular here (Wer wird Millionär?). It is just as exciting as it was in the late 90s/early 00s. I wish it were still on Primetime in the USA.

I only have one more week of school. Then I will have a two month long internship with the Staatstheater Darmstadt! I am so excited!