Leaving on a jet plane

In about six hours I'll be picked up by my friend Robert and driven to Frankfurt International Airport. A mere two hour drive from Aachen but we are not taking any chances come hell or high water, I'll be on that plane and flying towards the States.

I haven't been home in a year. Its time for a reunion with Mother America. Father Deutschland is fun and I enjoy it for the most part, but I miss the simplicity of life, suburbs and good mexican food. Okay, much more than that I miss my family and friends and cannot wait to celebrate the holidays with them. I can already imagine the food, the drinks and the good times we'll have. This year, my German friend Marcus will be joining me and my family for the holidays. It will be so nice to fly transatlantic with someone again. I hate flying alone on that flight because its ten hours long and I have to becareful where I fall asleep. With Marcus next to me, I can snore, drool and whatever all I want. Big plus.

My feelings about Germany haven't' changed much. I've come to grips with living here and have gotten used to it for the most part. I enjoy living here and I know there are many things I'll move when I move back to the States. If only Germany were closer.....

Where else can one listen to French, German, Spanish and English music on the radio within in the hour? That is one thing I know I'll miss. I haven't been to the States for a year. We'll see my feelings on international living when I return on the 4th day of the new year.

The dollar slid a bit this morning, thats good news for me. :)

A little Weihnachtsgedicht

For my Denglish speaking friends:



A little Weihnachtsgedicht



When the snow falls wunderbar
And the children happy are,
When the Glatteis on the street,
And we all a Glühwein need,
Then you know, es ist soweit:

She is here, the Weihnachtszeit
Every Parkhaus is besetzt,
Weil die people fahren jetzt
All to Kaufhof, Mediamarkt,
Kriegen nearly Herzinfarkt.
Shopping hirnverbrannte things
And the Christmasglocke rings.

Mother in the kitchen bakes
Schoko-, Nuss- and Mandelkeks
Daddy in the Nebenraum
Schmücks a Riesen-Weihnachtsbaum
He is hanging off the balls,
Then he from the Leiter falls...
Finally the Kinderlein
To the Zimmer kommen rein
And it sings the family
Schauerlich: "Oh, Chistmastree!"
And the jeder in the house
Is packing the Geschenke aus.

Mama finds unter the Tanne
Eine brandnew Teflon-Pfanne,
Papa gets a Schlips and Socken,
Everybody does frohlocken.
President speaks in TV,
All around is Harmonie,
Bis mother in the kitchen runs:
Im Ofen burns the Weihnachtsgans.
And so comes die Feuerwehr
With Tatü, tata daher,
And they bring a long, long Schlauch
And a long, long Leiter auch.
And they schrei - "Wasser
marsch!",
Christmas now is in the ...
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas,
Hear the music, see the lights,
Frohe Weihnacht, Frohe Weihnacht,
Merry Christmas allerseits...

I miss academia

Its amazing how much I miss academia, researching and having deep, fact driven conversations on global events, policy and how the history leading up to that point.

I've got to return to this. Soon.

Economics PSA

Dear Consumers

I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that economics is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Somebody says we're in a recession and magically...the numbers aren't looking so good anymore. Someone says we're in a period of economic growth...and magically we feel inclined to buy a new BMW.

The media isn't helping the situation with their sensationalistic style of reporting which over-dramatizes ever move the markets, the Fed and the Treasury make.

Ugh.

Dear Pechvogel

Dear Pechvogel-

Stop being lazy.

You've got lots to do. Sadly, there is only 24 hours in a day. Utilize your time wisely.

Love,

Yourself in 20 years

Schloss Burg

While my Mom and brother were in town, we decided we would go see a German castle 'in the flesh' so to speak. Because I live at least a five hour drive from that picture perfect Neuschwanstein Castle made famous by the Disney castle, we decided we'd look for something closer to Aachen.


In Solingen, about an hours drive from Aachen is a castle by the name of Schloss Burg. Schloss Burg is an aesthetically appeasing castle situated at the foot of the Wupper valley. First built in the 12th century the castle had an interesting history. In the 15th century Swedish soldiers lay siege to the castle destorying most of the infracstructre. However, it was rebuilt to achieve its glory today. Schloss Burg is the largest reconstructed castle in the State of North-Rhine Westphalia.

However, the Castle was quite a disappointment. Whoever is in charge of maintaing the integrity of the castle and its history has failed miserably. While the outside continues to stand in true historic fashion, the inside has become victim to what can only be described as venture capitalist. The weekend we were there (November 1) the Castle administrators thought it would be a good idea to host an arts, crafts and handmade goods. While there is nothing wrong with allowing local vendors to peddle their goods inside the castle lawn, it is not acceptable to allow them to market their products inside the actual castle! In addition to this travesty, vendors were hanging their goods off of 400 year old tapestry's, blocking the view of many beautiful works of art and more. I'm very disappointed in the historical associations failure to preserve the integrity of such a beautiful castle and an important facet of German/European history.

What is Foreign Policy?

The American Heritage dictionary defines foreign policy quite simply:

The diplomatic policy of a nation in its interactions with other nations.

Interaction with other nations. In my interpretation of this definition (and its just all about interpretation, isn't it?) leads me to believe that someone who has had personal interaction with other nations/states would be better prepared to offer an opinion on foreign policy.

If you don't have this personal experience, I suggest you get some. It's amazing what opening your eyes to the world can make you realize how much you love your home country.

The United States can teach so many countries so many things. However, we can also learn something too. There is more than one way to skin a cat, run a country, peel an orange or however you wish to express it.

Someone who doesn't have a passport shouldn't be responsible for representing us abroad.

Crazy

Life is crazy right now. I've got lots to blog about including my family's recent trip here to visit, my disappointment in Germany's failure to keep a castle in good condition, upcoming trips I've got planned, cultural observations as of late and naturally my apparently lefty political views.

However-I'm swamped with work and my social calendar is full these days. Today I taught ridiculous amounts of classes, went to the gym, customs office and spent at least an hour driving through various districts of Aachen doing all of this. And, still managed to sit with Faye and chat for about 20 minutes and pick up some grammar books.

Life is busy. People speak of recession but I've yet to see that. Work at school is overcrowding our schedules. Economics is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Someone says recession, well all believe it. Someone says growth, we believe it too. Amazing, really.

A Hail Mary?

So Obama won.

Thank You America for not being ridiculous. Thank You for voting who you think could steer a country to the top and not for the man you'd rather have a beer with.

I'm completely amazed at the amount of States Obama carried. Quite surprised. Very interesting that Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Ohio were blue this year. However, very, very disappointed in voters in Florida and California for voting for Obama and then voting to curtail certain fundamental rights of their fellow citizens. Shame.

IF you ever thought for one miniscule of a second that Sarah Palin would have made a great Vice President or (gasp) President-please WATCH THIS FOX NEWS (yes, I'm quoting FOX news here) report on her lack of knowledge about Africa being a continent and not a country.

Prepare yourself here.

Election 2008

Today, the eligible American public will head to the polls across the country to select in a democratic fashion the next leader of the Free World.

Our candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain have spent the last twenty months trying to convince the American public why they're the best choice to lead the United States for the next four years. Billions of dollars were spent on commercials, travel expenses, food and so much more between the two to get out the vote for them. The American electoral process is confusing to many people at home and abroad. No other country has such a prolonged campaign program.

And that all comes to an end today. We hope. I personally am so tired of the election that this day couldn't have come soon enough. The world is watching and hoping that Americans will join them in moving the world forward into the 21st century and away from our classic Cold War mentality, which isn't working.

An economic recession/crisis, out of control war in the Middle East, failing health care, energy costs and the reduction of freedom are all at stake here. Be sensible and vote for our future, not for our past.

Under Construction

As is symbolic of many things in my life, my apartment is constantly 'under construction.' I'm normally trying to find ways to improve it somehow.

I recently embarked on three goals for my apartment.
1. Plants. Vital to winter depression avoidance strategy
2. A window shade for my bedroom window. Help keep the cold out and for obvious additional privacy.
3. A shower curtain for a makeshift shower in my bath tub.

I've completed one out of three. I am hopeless when it comes to a drill. Instead of being able to get my shades installed, I only managed to drill three holes into the wall before giving up. Of course the holes already there (far left) are from the previous owner who didn't manage to leave his shades(el cheapo). Why didn't I inherit my father's technical sense? Any of it?

I present Exhibit A:What I managed to have much more success with was my selection of plants. Perhaps I inherited Dad's green thumb. One of the few stores open on a Sunday in Germany, I had a very enjoyable plant shopping experience. I also accepted the challenge of trying to raise an African Violet. They're temperamental and hard to grow. Otherwise, I am very happy with my plants. I hope they grow and that I don't kill them!

I present Exhibit B:

Oh, and this so happens to be my 100th post. Yay me!

Sleepless in Aachen

I'm convinced that sleep deprivation is honestly one of the worst things that a human can experience. Ever. I just tried for six straight hours to sleep to absolutely no avail.

Even after working an exhausting ten hours and stressing all day about my rental car situation, I still wasn't able to drift into the sweet lullabies of slumber. I hate that. Now, I have to drive an 90 minutes to the airport to pick up my family. I'm so excited to see them but my lack of sleep isn't helping my mood.

Oh, and Sarah Palin...really $150,000 on clothes? What 'hockey mom' has that much ice to throw around? Doesn't she take pride at shopping at that devil of a store Wal-Mart? Sigh.

I hate politics.

SNL

I may not like Sarah Palin, but I have to give her credit, she went on Saturday Night Live. That is never an easy thing to do for anyone, but she was clever enough to keep up with the satirical scenes that I saw anyway.

You can watch the "Palin Rap" and other SNL sketches with Tina Fey (my new hero) here.

Traveling Enough....

I'm not traveling enough. That would require money, time and an idea where to go.

I of course want to see the large cities of the world, dive head first into awkward but promising cultural lessons. However, I have a strong desire to go see the fine points of nature around the world. I've never been to the Grand Canyon, never really been on top of a mountain, things like this. I want to go to New Zealand and watch the sun set on the farthest outpost of the world. I want to eat food from a Taiwanese street vendor and climb down from the hills of Dubrovnik and descend into the city perched on the Aegean Sea.

So much to do, so little time and money. I need a job with lots of vacation time. Better yet, be paid to travel the world then write a book or articles about the experiences. Keep dreaming, Christopher.

The Morning Dew

It is obvious that the cold, crisp and painfully beautiful sunrises of autumn have begun their daily ascent. Like a brick in the face, a chill has settled into my apartment only chased out by the comfortable warmth of my wall radiator. However, to keep my gas bills low and keep more money out of Putin's pockets (something ridiculous like 60% of Germany's natural gas comes from Russia, ugh) I don't keep my heat on in the evening. That means the polar bears need to wear their ice skates for the first 25 minutes or so. Afterwards, it at least becomes reasonable.

The leaves of the trees that line my street have been raining down in a colorful array of gold, brown, green, maroon and other beautiful autumn hues. It is a delight to watch them flutter to the earth but not a delight to try to walk on the sidewalks or pick out leaves from my car every morning. I fear that in three weeks all of the leaves will be gone leaving me with a barren wasteland of dead trees to look out at from my window on a daily basis. This Sunday I am going indoor plant shopping. This is an important facet of my 'fight winter depression' strategy this year. He or She will sit lovingly in a warm, sunlight prone corner of my apartment and I will do my best to care for my green friend. It is suggested that you should talk to your plants. I don't believe this will be a problem for me as I talk to myself already. Might as well seem like I'm doing it in the name of plant growth.

The impending visit of my family from the States to Germany is now in death mode. Think flight of the bumble bee. So much to be done in so little time. Friday is schedule day so we will see how much work I have to accomplish before Thursday morning. Next Saturday we head out west to London via the Chunnel (Eurostar). We have arrangement and a general idea of the sort of thing we'd like to do in London. I still have no idea what we will do the following week. A trip down to the Mosel is always enjoyable. I really don't want to spend so much time in Aachen. At the same time, this is also my vacation time. I figure we'll see different cities. Rental cars are already ordered, must figure out this weekend what to do.

TO DO

1. Install final window shades, shower curtain.
   
2. Sweep, Mop final touches (Tuesday/Wednesday)
3. Finishing touches on London trip. Prepare for after London Germany trip.
4. Inform gym of two week break.
   
5. There should be something here, but it's eight in the morning.

Gotta run. The Germans want to learn English and I shall answer their call.

And thus I declare my 2008 political dedication...

It's not like I'm some crazy BO fan or anything like that. I have my reservations regarding the aforementioned candidate for the 2008 US Presidency but I also believe that his competition is about as competent as a limp noodle. My candidates foreign policy could use some fine polishing but until I run for office 2020, there really isn't much I can do about that. Besides, the thought of Sarah Palin (aka COW) being a heartbeat away from the Presidency makes me want to vomit, profusely. Eight years of piss poor leadership, out of control government spending and international embarrassment have done nothing for us. I'm not interested in another four. Therefore.....

See latest stories on Yahoo! News

I'll probably piss off some people, but hey, it's my blog, my vote and my very educated opinion.

Patriotic duty for 2008....check

In what can only be described as ridiculous, I've paid eight euros in total to exercise my right to vote. Four euros to send the postcard to request the absentee ballot and four euros to post that baby back to the States. Either way, my patriotic duty is complete. I protected democracy by voting in the 2008 Presidential Election and other races for the Great State of Ohio. To the credit of Dayton area election officials, I received my ballot in less than ten days after sending the request form. Amazing really.

I did my research before simply voting. I researched the platform of every presidential candidate, state senator and city councilmen to the best of my ability. I even researched the platforms for Green, Socialist and the 'Constitution' parties. Honestly, there are some freaks out there (read: Constitution Party). Either way, my vote was cast today as I sent back my ballot (it weighed 80 grams!!!). I'm a good citizen.

Dresden was amazing. I love that city. The Altstadt, Neustadt and crossing the Elbe to go back and forth. It helps that I have many friends still there as well. It was tough coming back to Aachen. I'm going to try and make it out to Dresden more often. Its totally worth it. However, first, certain people from Dresden have to come here. Work is busy busy busy. I've got 44 hours of teaching time this week, not including Saturday (thank God). Next week I'm not accepting so many hours, escpecially if they're going to make me teach on Saturday.

I have so many thoughts on the election, economy and world news that I'd like to write about but I simply do not have the time. I need to be preparing for classes this week, the GRE, the Foreign Service Exam (pushing back till February...again!) and the German certificate exam that I want to take. I need to clean as a dirty bomb was set off in my apartment. There is crap everywhere.

In other news, I began reading The Art of Travel by Allain de Botton, a British author. The book was a birthday gfit from my Mom and I'm loving it so far. I need to write some book reviews on some of the other books I've read recently.

I want to start my own library.

Dresden!

In Dresden through Sunday baby!

I love that city. So excited to see so many great people and I need the break from Aachen.

Florence on the Elbe, here I come!

Power Cut

Several newspapers, periodicals and other scholarly journals publish the results of The Fund for Peace's annual Failed (or Failing) State Index. The FSI is the best indicator of how a country stands realistically. Ignoring numbers like GDP/GNP and looking deeper into the core of what makes a country so great like access to health care, education, media information, adequate infrastructure as well as looking at things like violent crime and sustainability.

Surprisingly enough, several European and North American (yes, that includes you US) states have been listed in the 'moderate' failing category. The top failing state is Somalia (#1) where as Norway (#177) takes the top position. Out of the 177 countries evaluated, the United States comes in at number 161 and Germany at 155. Not too shabby.

I noticed however that the FSI doesn't measure decline in international influence as a measuring factor. I think that if that was measured by the FSI, the United States would most certainly be in the top five in sudden loss of power.

If you care to read the report you may do so here.

Fear

I fear for the first time today that I might actually have to stay in Germany past my contract next summer.

I'm afraid that the US economy will be in such bad shambles (unemployment at least 9% -12%) that I won't simply be able to find a job in the States. I might actually have to stay in Germany and keep teaching English. The thought of staying in Germany isn't too bad, it's the thought of staying in my current job which kills me.

This economic bailout of the markets (whatever happened to the invisible hand? free markets? capitalism without risk?) is costing the US taxpayer billions upon billions of dollars in which we just don't have to spend. It's not there. Why? If the world financial system was so dependent on the US government saving the banks, then where exactly is support from central banks around the world?

Oil prices shot up $25 today.

We've allowed our own country to internally combust while doing nothing. I received over the weekend my application for absentee ballot. Not that an absentee ballot really counts anyway. Its just a farce. But Ohio is a swing state and I've got to do what I can to uphold democracy, so to speak.

Can't have your cake and eat it too.

Airway Robbery

Can someone please explain the airline pricing process to me. Maybe I'm dense, but I don't understand it.

1. A round-trip ticket from Frankfurt, Germany to Cincinnati, Ohio (both major Delta hubs) will run you $1,300 this year.
2. A multi-city trip including Frankfurt to Ohio, Ohio to the Washington, D.C. area then from Washington back to Frankfurt will cost a mere $1,084 when purchased through Delta.

I don't get it. How is it that the more I fly...the less I pay? The less I fly, the more I pay? I hate the airline industry.

I'm hoping that prices drop below the $1,000 mark. And when they do, I'm pouncing on my ticket home for the holidays.

Shite

The world is in shambles. My country is in shambles.
I have got to stop reading the news. Otherwise, I won't make it out of this election cycle.

Things I like:

1. Renewable energies
2. Deficits less than $5 Trillion
3. Keeping Russia in check
4. Non-laughable health care system

Things I don't like:

1. pit bulls with or without lipstick
   
2. drilling for oil off our coast or in our wildlife refuges. (It won't even effect oil production for another ten years, idiot).
   
3. continued deficit spending
4. tearing the constitution to shreds (see quote from Ben Franklin).
   

The Short List

This is the short list I'm compiling of potential schools where I will be applying for graduate admissions into an International Relations/Affairs/Diplomacy program. No particular order so far.

1. The Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University. Boston, Mass.
2. The Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Washington, D.C.
3. American University
4. Technical University of Dresden. Dresden, Germany.
5. Freie University. Berlin, Germany.
6. The London School of Economics. London, UK
7. The Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. Vienna, Austria.
8. The Edmund A. Walsch School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. Washington, D.C.
9. The School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.

Should any of the above fail to accept me I would accept a position at the College of Social Sciences at Florida State University, Tallahassee (my alma mater) but only with substantial financial aid.

I love the smell of failed policy in the morning.

So I like to think of myself as an educated, fair and open person. That includes not throwing out any particular candidate in the election process until I've read the facts. And I'd like to spread that goodness to you.

As you know, I'm a Foreign Policy geek. Which includes a subscription to Foreign Policy magazine, (I used to subscribe to Foreign Affairs, but even that is too dry for me) spending hours perusing various news sources and worrying about the future. However, FP online has published ten policies of both McCain and Obama's that might be problematic for the US. Not just foreign in nature but also some domestic policies. I encourage you to take a look at the magazine and read both of the dossiers composed.

The List: McCain's 10 Worst Ideas can be found here.

The List: Obama's 10 Worst Ideas can be found here.

An open letter to the Aachener Stadtbetrieb

Dear Aachener Stadtbetrieb,

Hello there. Since you are the office responsible for keeping the streets of this former imperial city clean, I thought I'd extend you a little thank you. Not only do you keep the streets of Aachen in true 'natural' conditions (just like the Middle Ages!) you also trim the bushes and trees in front of my tree-lined street.

In fact, so good at your job at the second task you are, that you have decided to begin cutting back trees and bushes at 6:45 IN THE MORNING. Excellent. Now in addition to waking up to the sounds of horns honking, traffic being blocked and garbage trucks, I can also be blessed with the sultry sounds of weed whackers and lawn mowers early in the morning. Whew! Thank you! I was afraid that I'd actually have to wake up 'in peace,' whatever that means.

I'm not actually sure what inspired you and your office of talented workers to pursue such a strategy of gardening at seven am (height of morning traffic!) but its a real nice touch. In a country where noise is strictly controlled (no moving, mowing grass or other loud noises on Sundays or between 1-3pm daily in some parts) you really stick out. Thank you for being a leader in the 'stick it to the man' industry.

I love how you are effectively using my 19% sales tax and 41% income tax to keep the streets clean. I like to think of the excessive amount of dog excrement as a challenge and practice for my future jogs in the landmine field that is the demilitarized zone between N. and S. Korea.

So, until you find another way to make life yet more pleasurable, I bid you adieu.

With best regards,
Christopher

T-minus Two years to QLC

Today I celebrate my 23rd birthday. Which means in two years I can celebrate my 'quarter life crisis.' I think the term QLC is actually misleading. What percentage of the population actually lives until 100. I think its rather possible for my generation (all things being equal, pollutants, nuclear fall out, etc) to average in the high 90's or early 100's as medical technology continues to progress and we learn of the best way to manage our human vessels. My Great-grandfather celebrated in April his 95th birthday. Man is quite fit and I'm hoping to celebrate his 100th with him. Still drives, paints his house, mows his grass and cooks his own food. When you stop living, you start dying. I admire him.

No big plans today. I have to work until nine o'clock tonight, so plans to celebrate where promptly executed. Thursday however will be dinner with some colleagues. The real festivities are this weekend when a friend of mine is coming to visit. A year ago I celebrated my 22nd in Ohio with my family. My Mother had a cake made with a German flag on it that said "I hope your dreams come true." At the time, it was a dream to live in Germany. A week after my birthday, I got the call for the job in Aachen. Hard to believe its been a year. When I think of the past year, I'm defintley a bit wiser I think. I'm more adept at life in general. Knowing how to do things. I realized that I can be independent and am proud of myself for functioning independently in a foreign country. No, its not Thailand or Rwanda or something but it is difficult sometimes. Sadly, I'm not a year richer. Maybe next year.

I think for my QLC I'll buy a BMW, date four women at once and vow to avoid marriage for another ten years (but probably only last five). Or maybe the opposite. Buy a house in the burbs, mail-order a bride and buy a mini-van. Time, my friends, can only tell.

WANTED: My Summer back (alive)

Its cold. This entire summer we had only about two days where it could be considered to be a real 'summer.' What about days at the lake or the coast? Running around in shorts and short-sleeves and not worrying about getting chilled once the sun sets? What about days of sunshine and not rain?

Now I've accepted Aachen weather for what it is, but I really do need a couple days of warm weather. I woke up to 52 degrees this morning, shivering. It looks beautiful outside right now but I've been promised by weather.com that this is surely temporary and the 60% chance of rain is still way too valid. I wish it would stay nice, the Aachen Weinfest (Wine Festival) is taking place this weekend and its hard to sample fine wines if you have to hold an umbrella in one hand and your glass in the other.

Außer Betrieb (just for the weekend)

After my three o'clock class today, I'm heading to visit my dear friend Holly who lives in Osnabrück which is near Münster. I can't wait to spend the weekend hanging out, catching up and exploring a new German city.

Plus, I have to vent. I saw in my bank account today, the German government happily took their €50 from my account to pay for the next three months of the TV and Radio tax. The greatest travesty, ever.

Dear Western Powers

Dear Western Powers,

Wow. I want to take this opportunity to really hand it to you. You've taken the last twenty years of development and in just under a year have managed to throw it down the drain.

Never before has Western society been in such a predicament like we are today. Georgia is being invaded by a Putin (read: KGB) led Russia, oil prices are still high and any response by Europe will result in Putin turning off the gas valves this winter.

Great.

Then recently European investors have invested billions of Euros in Russia. I want to know who thought this was a good idea. How many Bulga Caviar farms do we need? You can trust the Russians about as much as you can trust the Big Bad Wolf. We've done it to ourselves. We've outsourced our economies, we've allowed Russia to take stock in our natural gas reserves and now our economies are under threat of recession and inflation.

So EU, NATO and US...what are you going to do? Tell Russia no?

Waiting for your reply,
Every concerned citizen, everywhere.

Silly Russians

The Russians are going to roll their tanks right into Europe.

I can see it now. Putin is what we refer to as a 'strongman" His considerable deft in International Relations is no mistake. Not to mention, he's just ballsy.Vlad is using the timing perfectly, with a US engaged in military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and needing support from Russian on the Iran Nuclear issue, there is no global police ready to spring board to the Georgian's safety. Unfortunately for the Georgian's they are going to have to figure this one out for themselves.

I'm not surprised that Putin rolled his troops into Georgia. Georgia is one of the few former Soviet Bloc countries that had the wherewithal to be a leader in economics and democratic change after the fall of the Wall. Not to mention its pro-Western (read: American) government has been a huge supporter of the US in its Middle East efforts. As an reward, Georgia received military training and arms from the US. Let's hope they put some of them to use now.

Putin is a crazy sob.

The Viennese Diaries

I've got to get better about updating. I've been lazy lately and not had much interest in updating. Although I've got so many things I'd like to write about, I just need to sit down and put them into coherent sentences.

Vienna was nice. The short 90 minute flight to Vienna was a good sign of things to come as the lovely Lufthansa stewardess served me a chilled wine on my flight. Thats the way to start a flight in my opinion. Arriving slightly delayed in Vienna I started my stay there with a view of Vienna at night from a hilltop wine cafe. Seriously, this place was ridiculously hard to find but once we found it in the hills and bushes of Austria, the view was fantastic. The clear night skies afforded a view of the entire city below. The St. Jakob's Church and various other Vienna monuments stuck out into the night air. It was really great.
<--(Kunst Haus Wien)
The next morning Ines had to visit her Oma in her hometown from three hours away. I was given the house key and told to have fun. That I did. I spent hours pursuing the artistic genius of The Albertina and Hundertwasser's Kunst Haus Wien. I learned some interesting facts about class European painters like Monet and was further educated on the Russian impressionist movement. The Albertina had several Monet's on display, I wasn't aware of that until I accidentally stumbled into their impressionist wing. I was also exposed to much of Klee's work, something I had never studied before. Kunst Haus Wien was an alternative to keep me from feeling stuffy in Vienna. Alternative modern art and design was really quite interesting. The floor of KHW is not flat. Several pitches in the floor offer a cascading effect of about six inches. Walking the floor is an experience in and of itself.

However, Vienna is a city of lush green parks and plenty of monuments to their imperial past. It is said that if aliens landed in Vienna, they would think that it is the capital of the world. I can imagine that. My favorite part of Vienna is the Museum Quartier. This hip, alternative section of Vienna is located in the middle of all of the Museums in Vienna. Many cafe's and plenty of sitting area offers a great view of modern architecture and fountains offer the sound of rushing water to slow you down. My trip to Vienna wouldn't have been complete without a visit to The Leopold and the Vienna Museum of Modern Arts. Sadly, I wasn't as impressed with MOMUK (Modern Arts) as I was hoping to be. They did have a nice exhibit on 1970's US university culture (demonstrations, etc).
<---part of Museum Quartier

The Leopold is the home of the largest collection of Scheile paintings. His turn of the century paintings were some of the first examples of modernist art. Much of his early work was denounced as being too provocative and sexual in nature. I can understand why. He was also quite narcissistic. I counted at least five self-portraits, many of them nude. I didn't know that he died at the age of 28 from the Spanish Influenza outbreak.
I enjoyed traditional Wiener Schnitzel and Sacher Torte as well. The cake really is quite good as well as the schnitzel. I had the chance to experience some of Vienna's night life too. I was pleasantly surprised to see Austrian's dancing in a disco. Something the Germans tend to shy away from. Not happy about the insane price of a drink though. Vienna is a pleasant city, one in which I could reside in if necessary. To be quite honest though, Vienna reminds me of so many other major German cities. I think they tend to take after one another. Vienna has its own special flavor to it, but I definitely spotted the similarities between the two countries. I could write so much more about the efficient underground system or their abundance of parks and good weather, however, I don't have the energy to pen it out. So, I leave you with a few pictures of Vienna in its glory.
I was sad though not to see a young Julie Andrews singing in the streets. Hmm, next time.

^Volksgarten Vienna

Lufthansa Strike

If the Germans would demonstrate against ridiculously high taxes the way they strike with their Labor Unions, a lot more would get done in this country.

The Beauty of That Day

Yesterday my Dutch colleague and friend David and I went to the American Cemetery at Margraten, The Netherlands. The cemetery is the final resting place of some 8,302 American Soldiers who died advancing into Nazi Germany to defeat Hitler's Military Machine.

The 65.5 acre site is located a mere twenty minutes from my home in Aachen. The scenery around the cemetery is absolutely beautiful, full of lush green trees, rolling hills and an ever changing landscape. My visit to Margraten doesn't have any particular significance to me other than my common heritage as an American. The single member of my family that I am aware of that fought in World War II served in Normandy and survived the war only to die in his 80's before I had the chance to meet him. The cemetery is very well taken care of and is a moving monument to the sacrifice given by so many. I had to think about what it must have been to be young American during the Second World War, fighting in a land far away from home. I was proud to be a member of a generation made secure because of their efforts. What was extremely moving was seeing how many Dutch families were at the cemetery. I saw several graves with fresh flowers placed on top. Young Dutch children were explained the history of World War II by their parents as they read the information on the walls. The weather was appropriately windy, cold and ever changing.

I'm extremely dissapointed in the fact that although I remembered to bring my camera, I had not remembered to grab the memory card out of my laptop. Of course, I am the Pechvogel after all. I plan to return to take pictures. Afterwards we discovered some of the Dutch countryside. It was absolutely gorgeous.

I really enjoy Limburg, the province of The Netherlands which borders Aachen. The landscape really is breathtaking, the people friendly, the drinks cheap and the mood is somehow different. I wish I was able to spend more time over there. Of course, the moment you cross the border, the language barrier becomes quite heinous. Thankfully, almost all Dutch people speak either English or German.

The weather here is awful. Today the hi was 14 degrees Celsius (58 degrees Fahrenheit) and it rained the entire day. I miss summer. I think tonight my heater might need to be turned on. I hope not. I'm leaving for Vienna on Friday and I'm quite excited about it. I need the time away from Aachen. This time I wont forget my memory card.

Literary Revival

I've decided to incorporate more poetry and classical literature into my literary diet. I figure it is vital to my existence as an alleged member of the educated and cultured classes. I've always been fond of late 19th century and early 20th century American literature and poetry. I have a particular affection for Romanticism but it has been so long since I've actively engaged myself in such literature.

Any suggestions? When I am home for Christmas, I plan on dusting off my Anthology of American Authors collection (a book set consisting of four mini-anthologies, the particular authors except Poe and Frost escape me at the moment) and bringing them back with me to Germany.

You won't feel better alone

Wow.

It's pretty amazing when you think about the changes in peoples lives that have taken place over the past year. People are getting married, divorced, starting new jobs, moving abroad, finishing school. The list goes on.

I turned on my American cell phone today to get a few phone numbers and I realized how about 25% of those phone numbers were no loner up to date. How several of my friends now lived in completely different areas from where I knew them. Almost none of my friends live in Tallahassee anymore. A good percentage live in DC, various parts of Florida or Germany. Its crazy really.

I don't know if its the distance of living abroad or just that we move on in our lives, but I don't talk on a regular basis with half of the people I consider my friends. And that is disappointing.

Vienna in nine days.

This is a problem...

I thought the United State's had the best health care in the world. It's disturbing and disgusting.

Woman dies ignored on hospital floor.

Thats ridiculous.

Two more years

So Germany performed poorly in their shot at the European Championship. Spain was clearly the better team this year and I'm glad they won. Some English footballer once said that "Football is the game where you play for 90 minutes and Germany always wins." Perhaps this will open up their eyes and they'll be better prepared for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. One can only hope.

Enough football, well for two years anyway. Life in Aachen is busy busy busy. Today was pay day (woot!) and the weather has been great lately. At the end of the month I'm going to Vienna to visit my friend Ines and the time is creeping up on me faster than expected. A trip to Switzerland may be in order as well. A student of mine whose wife lives in Zürich has invited me to go with him sometime in the next few months. It looks as though Mom and my brother are going to come and visit in October/November during my little brothers fall break time. They want to go to London. I want to convince them to go somewhere else. Just not Paris. Twice in the past two years is enough for now. However, I don't think she's going to budge away from London.

Tomorrow, Christine is coming from Dresden until Sunday and that is also great. I'm looking forward to spending time with her.

I'm currently reading Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue. I've read several of Bryson's books and I'm always pleased by his wit and humor and the way he manages to pinpoint the traveler and culture vultures woes. Mother Tongue is not a travel related book however, but rather the story of the English language and languages all together. I'm only on the second chapter but I'm enjoying it so far. This is part of my plan to improve my English teaching skills. I figure if I know where the language I speak develops from, I'll be a better instructor. Did you know the human anatomy is capable of producing at least 700,00 'distinct elementary gestures'? Thankfully, I've picked up reading for pleasure again. I've discovered a few new authors and I'm glad to return to literary bliss. This in part to a book club we've started at work. Its great to throw a paperback in my backpack and read a couple pages while I'm waiting for a class to start or what not.

I've been busy and a lot has happened lately but I just don't have the time to update right now. I'm going to bed.

Deutschland noch ein Tor!

This evening, Germany advanced to the final stage of the 2008 European Cup. The Turkish played very well but the Germans came through with three amazing goals!

I'm very excited to see Germany going to the European Cup this Sunday against Spain or Russia.

Los gehts Deutschland!

As of right now, 30 minutes after the game, cars are honking their horns and people screaming in the streets. I don't even live in the middle of Aachen. Crazy.

Football Frenzy

In Deutschland everyone has soccer fever. Germany has advanced to the semi-finals for the Europe Cup in Soccer for this year. I am reminded of a familiar sensation from 2006 when Germany took home 3rd place in the World Cup. The Germans have been out in full force to support their national team. Germany is normally a country where national pride is not something to be expressed with such gusto. However, when the national soccer team advances to the finals, the Germans come out with their t-shirts, flags, hats and so much more.

I for one am glad to see the Germans unified on such a front. This country of 83 million suffers from a general malaise when it comes to self-perception. If winning a football game and advancing unites them and gives them a bit of national pride, I'm all for it. It's been more than sixty years since the Second World War and many Germans, including those of my generation, continue to carry the burden of the Holocaust and two world wars. The German born in 1985 has no responsibility for the events of the 30's and 40's and therefore shouldn't be forced to carry this cross. Naturally, I support continued education on the subject and a sense of awareness but its time that Germany recognizes its role as the center of politics and more on the European stage.

With that being said, I'm rooting for Germany. Wednesday is the next game against Turkey. I have my Germany t-shirt out and will be wearing it on Wednesday. This however poses so many cultural problems for this country. In Germany, some 7 million immigrants of Turkish descent live and work in The Fatherland, many of which were born in German hospitals, attended German schools and universities and speak the language fluently. This question of cultural identity perplexes many who feel at home in Germany but also embrace their cultural heritage. I've seen many cars with both German and Turkish flags, however, I suppose one will be forced to make a decision on Wednesday. I'm hoping that Germany will avoid clashes after the game. Its unclear why (and I don't understand) but European soccer stir such strong emotions that fans often fight with other fans in the streets. Riots, beatings and more are not uncommon scenarios in cities around the country after a game. In Vienna after the Turkey-Croatia game, one person was killed and several injured after a fight broke out. I hope this doesn't happen here.

Its quite apparent in Aachen how many immigrant communities exist in Germany. After each game, I hear cars in the streets honking their horns or people shouting their national songs. This was most certainly the case when Russia beat The Netherlands in overtime last night and after the Turkey-Croatia game (won in double overtime). And Spain just won an amazing 11 meter shoot-out 4-2 over Italy. The Italian team (2006 World Cup Champions-and a team I despise) should have been out long ago they've played horribly during the entire event.

To prove Germany's love for the sport, I present to you some raw video footage I captured after Germany beat Portugal in an impressive display last Thursday. I only got two short clips (this is the better of the two). I felt like a journalist during a riot taking the footage. My video card was almost full which is why it is such a short video.




Some pictures from the streets:
Silly Germans celebrating in the streets blocking traffic. Gotta love it.

"If you start to take Vienna-take Vienna"

Napolean Bonaparte spoke such famous words.

I, thankfully, will have the pleasure of experiencing Austria for the first time at the end of next month. I booked a Friday afternoon flight from Düsseldorf to Vienna returning the following Monday evening. I'll be spending with the weekend with my friend Ines who is from Vienna. Ines and I met when she was an exchange student in Tallahassee and have stayed in contact since.

I'm quite excited for my mini vacation and it will be quite nice to see Ines again.

Imbalances of Power

In a recent post to the editorial page of the New York Times renown political scientist, Thomas L. Friedman writes about one of the largest and most unknown problems the United States faces with the election of the new administration.

Friedman, author of several books on globalization, economics and US foreign policy makes very salient points and may be onto something. His thesis: the United States is going into the next four years with one arm tied behind our backs. Our biggest foreign policy failure isn't Iraq, but our failure to adapt legitimate self-relying energy policies.

I recommend that you read the article available online at the New York Times online newspaper.

FYI

Some Assembly Required

I'm rather proud of myself. Yesterday I purchased a fan for my bedroom. Seeing as I have no air conditioning and humid and warm German summers aren't conducive to sleeping, this is a small requirement. Yesterday for only €17,95 I purchased, what is no doubt a Chinese produced fan. This requires a substantial amount of self-assembly. Today I proudly spent the better part of 45 minutes assembling my fan (complete with German instructions). Now I shall sleep in comfort.

I went to the gym today after not having been for a week. My ridiculous schedule coupled with a recent lack of energy has kept me from the fitness centre. Tara, my gym partner, and I went to the back and stomach class again. I swear, those trainers are out for blood. All of the energy has been drained from my body even my hands feel tired while typing.

Yesterday the Europe Cup (soccer) started. Today Germany plays Poland. This reminds me of 2006 when I was a student in Dresden watching the World Cup games. Sadly, I've got to work tomorrow morning nice and early at nine so I won't be going anywhere to watch the game except for my apartment. I'm wearing my FSU German club shirt as my Deutsche Manschaft t-shirt is probably in the wash. While watching the game, I hope to clean up my apartment. I'm expecting several guests this summer.

Los gehts Deutschland! Noch ein Tor!!!

Obama/Clinton 2008? WTF, mate?

The hotly contested Democratic Primary race has finally reached its final destination (well, sort of, its not really over until the washed out has been sings).

Now people are talking about the "power ticket" of Obama and Clinton. Now, I don't know about you, but this slightly scares me. First of all, I'd be afraid that once elected, Clinton would do her best to undermine Barack's security so that she can 'arise' to the calling originally put out for her. Vice-presidential succession and all. I don't know how I feel about this. Hillary has done nothing but spend the last six months convincing us that Obama was NOT the man to run for the White House and now all of a sudden she's going to be his running mate?

To quote the famous internet cartoon about the world blowing up: WTF, mate?

I hate politicians. Is she that desperate to get to the White House? Is HE that desperate? Surely there are better options that the Senator from Illinois should consider. I'm also interested in seeing who McCain's running mate will be. Either way, we can really only go up, can't we?

Today while driving back to the city from one of the suburbs I teach at, I got a hold of the US Army's 5th Signal Command Armed Forces Radio Network 89.2 FM. Apparently they broadcast from the NATO base out of Brunnsum, Netherlands. I had no idea. What was a shock was hearing Rush Limbaugh. What? Yes, you read correctly. So ecstatic to hear native English on the radio I listened anyway. He took some shots at both political parties regarding courting the 'base' voters. However, I'm not that desperate enough to start listening on a regular basis just yet. It was fun though to listen to Armed Forces Network radio commercials. Do you have what it takes to be an Army Chaplin?

Apparently not.

If it makes you happy, then why the hell are you so sad?

I feel this way sometimes.

Happy to be living abroad, experiencing things many never have the chance to, but yet so sad? My little brother called me last night just to talk. This kind of broke my heart because I miss Patrick. I haven't seen him since December and its now June. Thats the longest I've gone without seeing my family. I'm beginning to be really burned out from work recently as well so thats not happening.

I can't leave yet though. I feel as though if I were to pack up my bags and go home, I'd be a failure. So much left undone, unsaid and untraveled. Problem is, I feel like I"ll never be able to really accomplish any of my 'goals' because maybe they're unrealistic. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I accepted my job in Aachen (decent money after taxes, thanks Germany!, time to travel?!?) Still torn between my desire to be here and my desire to go back home and start my career or go to graduate school. I have good friends in Germany but I've good good ones back home too. Bah, I hate this feeling.

Ideally I'll find another job, stay in Germany another year and this time next year I'll be apartment hunting in the DC area. I've always thought I'd go to grad school full-time and finish in three or for semesters but it seems as though I'm going to probably have to work full-time and go to school part-time. Hmm. I should probably stop listening to NPR because its not helping my home sicknesses as of late.

NPR

I miss NPR. I used to listen to it all the time and am glad that I've recently rediscovered npr.org.

I love how all of their programs are online! I'm such a dork.

Dear American Voter

While doing my nightly recap of the news across the world, I came across a website called Dear American Voter. Apparently it is a website dedicated to people the world over who'd like to send messages to their American counterparts regarding this years election. Might be interesting to see what others outside of the US think about the election. Its really interesting to see how interested non-Americans are in the election.

Just passing on the link.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day in the US and for the first day since, forever, I am working. Memorial Day in the US signifies the beginning of Summer and all of the great things that come with the end of May. Growing up in N. Florida, that meant BBQ's, a trip to the beach , perhaps even a boat ride with friends. Summer 2004 I did nothing but spend time at the beach, wave running and having a great summer. Needless to say, there'll be no wave running in Germany. Overcast skies and humid temperatures just don't seem like home.

Its also an important day because I'm from a military family. Remembering those lost years before and not so long ago. The American Cemetery in the Netherlands is only about 25 minutes away, I'm thinking about visiting sometime in the next few weeks. Where I live in Germany was the site of the first Allied invasion into Germany. The city was completely destroyed as well as the area surrounding.

This morning while searching for an article of the use of conversation in practice/social settings (e.g. The Art of Conversation) I came across a spot on American Public Media's show Weekend America. The show featured a segment on Reviving the Art of Conversation. It makes me miss American Public Radio. I used to listen to NPR all the time in the car and at home, its just so good. It also made me miss the States because I don't think any of the Germans are going to be putting up free conversation tents anytime soon. Sigh.

A tad bit late for this, isn't it?

Sometimes I think I should have studied design or architecture.

I just love the way buildings are designed in the modern sense to express political and cultural references.

Whats four more years of school?

I'm such a dork.

Spring Leaves

Every time that I am not at my computer or am too busy to write something, I always have the best topics to write about. Of course, now I have no idea what I should be writing about other than the fact that I should just update.

Life in Aachen continues. Thursday is the third and finally holiday in Germany (there are three in one month and then NONE until October...RIDICULOUS). I wish I could say that I had interesting plans to go out and about and do something fun but most likely not. Today I worked eight hours with a one hour break in between. Although by the time I got to my last class I was tired, I prefer this schedule. I was home by 1600 and had time to go to the gym, cook dinner like a normal person and do things that normal human beings do. Tomorrow I'm teaching ten hours. Yay.

I'm beginning to believe that my family isn't going to come and visit me this summer/autumn. As much as I want them to, I keep hearing different excuses. I've got two weeks of vacation ttheime to use this summer and if they're not going to come, I need to look at some other alternatives. I know that for sure I want to go to Croatia sometime this year but I'll probably also just spend sometime hanging out in different parts of Germany and Dresden to visit the amigos.

I'm feeling a bit inadequate as of late. I mean, I know people who are traveling around the African horn region during research, volunteering and what not. I mean, my time in Aachen is important for my future in International Relations but honestly, wouldn't a summer stay in Africa be more influential? I still want to go to Rwanda and do some research there. I've also go this travel bug as of late. My friend Jacqueline and I plan on traveling SE Asia in a couple of years. But what am I supposed to do if I start a career? There is only so much time for someone to do something like that, you know? Yesterday I talked to this guy from FSU who is traveling around 20 something countries in 215 days. I want to do that! Crap like that requires money though. And that is something that I am trying to hold on to when I can.

This summer I am going to be taking some classes at the Volkshochschule (kind of like a community college for people who want to learn different things). I want to learn, I mean really learn how to use Excel, take a wine/cheese class and perhaps a cooking class. I think on their website I saw a politics class too. That could be fun. I just have to talk to my boss and see if they can give me the time off once a week to go to the class. I need to feel like I'm doing something besides working, sleeping and going to the gym. I think it'd be a great way to meet some other people too. Apparently, our schedules slow down a bit too in the summer, summer is quickly upon us. I think if I get something to do and start feeling like an actual citizen and not just existing and start living (like I feel now) then maybe things will look differently.

I'm also Frau shopping, so that can't hurt. Ha.

I just close my eyes

My weekend in Würzburg was absolutely amazing. I haven't had such a good time since my friends from the States came to visit me. Dancing, BBQing, hanging out and walking around the city has never been so fun before. I'll post some photos in flickr soon. For those with access to facebook you can access the photos there. However at left we have the first official photo of the FSU Colony in Germany. Behind us is Festung Marienberg (Marienberg Fortress) with wine fields in front of it! It was an amazing time.


I was reminded why I love Germany so much this weekend. Germany in the Spring is glorious. Great weather, ice cream, hiking, grilling, it all works out to be einfach wunderbar! Even on the train ride home today I was constantly enamored by it all. The twists and turns of the mountains and the rivers were fantastic. It definitely makes me want to stay here longer.
I finally am beginning to understand why so many people like coming out here and just having a low key vacation or what not. I could get used to that life of traveling every weekend.

The combination weather and energizing with friends from home gave me a sense of renewed hope for my time in Germany and further renewed my desire to improve my German skills. I bought three German magazines this weekend and am impressed by how much I understand. :)

What it doesn't take to get a drink in this place

I am plagued with the fact that all of my motivation to do work comes at the wee hours of the night. I've been more productive in the last two hours than I was the entire day. I hate this. Why do my best ideas come to me at 12:30 am. I should be in bed counting sheep, but no, I'm rather researching marketing principles to go along with Unit six of my classes textbook on new product development. Sigh.

In other terrible news, I received a letter from my dream job informing me that they hired someone else. Of course they did. I'm probably too young for the job. Germans are amazed that I'm only 22 and teaching, much less have a university degree. They think for some dumb reason one should spend the better part of seven years pursuing a university degree. Um, nein danke. So, too bad for that, however, the hunt continues. Other applications have been sent out.

Going to the German city of Würzburg this weekend to meet with the FSU Colony in Deutschland. I'm very excited to spend time with my friends from back home. I need some time to just relax. We plan on seeing a lot of old German stuff, eating great food, drinking great beer and going to Vineyards! The area around Würzburg in Franconia is known for its wine producing capabilities. I'm thinking bike tour through a vineyard.

Should be fun. I need this.

Oh, you're a machine.

It was an unbelievably boring weekend. With the majority of my friends busy/out of town, etc I embarked on a self-imposed exile to my apartment with only brief periods of recess permitted.

However, Friday evening did begin with an amazing dinner cooked by yours truly. "Wildpilz Risotto" or better known to the non-Germans as Wild Mushroom Risotto was on the menu Friday evening at Cafe Pechvogel. My guest, my colleague Petra, throughly enjoyed the meal and it was a success. I used the recipe from a Tuscan cookbook I picked up at the bookstore here months ago (in German). I did have some difficulty with units of measurement as I am not a native Metric user. It must have been rather interesting to watch me say "oh, that looks about right." But the best cooks never use measurements exactly. :) The risotto was a huge success (and led to me discovering new cheeses!!!) and I was glad to have the time with Petra.

Saturday was gym and shopping day. I purchased new clothes for myself as spring is here and summer will be just around the corner no doubt. Many sales going on with 20-30% discounts so I was quite encouraged! This is exciting in and of itself because clothes shopping is ridiculously overpriced here in Germany. The average pair of jeans will set you back €100 easily. I was able to find several shirts, socks and a new rain jacket for a respectable price. The exile continued well in Sunday pausing only for a walk with my friend Isabella and her friend. We enjoyed ice cream at Aachen's best ice cream parlor (alleged) and then a stroll through the Westpark, it was quite enjoyable. Home early enough though so that I could prepare for the week. Inevitably, its me looking at my schedule forgetting what I did the week before with the class or not sure what to do with them this week.

I had another conclusion today. I don't think I'll ever be 100% with where I live. Maybe I am just in this strange period of my life but whether I'm in the United States or in Europe there will always be something missing. I remember when I was living in Florida, I couldn't WAIT to get back to Germany. Anything negative about Germany I simply put aside. Now that I've been living here seven months I want to go back to Florida. Okay, I don't really want to go back to Florida but I do miss things from the States that I didn't think I would. When in the States, I miss the sweeping market places and cafes and general attitude of the Europeans. When in Europe, I miss the simplicity of life, ease of shopping among other things. I don't know that I'll ever be happy wherever I am. This bothers me.

This weekend I'm meeting with member of the FSU colony in Würzbrug! It'll be amazing, I'm looking for some time away with great friends of mine, some of which I haven't seen in almost a year. I'm looking forward to time away from Aachen, period. I hope the weather stays as nice as it has been the past few days.

German Toilets

For those who've had the joyful experience of the German toilet, I present to you an hilarious account regarding the German "shelf" toilet.

For those of you who haven't been blessed with the experience, you might learn something new.

"Mein Gott, Zwei Kilogram!"

What are you trying to do to me?

Today was great. I experienced a change in perspective on how I view the city I've called home the last seven months. The weather was extremely cooperative and provided for mild temperatures, abundant sunshine and blue skies. I met in the evening with my German colleague Ulrike. Originally, several of us were supposed to meet however we couldn't at the last minute because of illness and getting ready for the week etc so it was left to Ulrike and I.

We had a great time. Started off with tapas at Besitos followed by SALSA dancing at the Elisenbrunnen. Although I was wearing sandals, we danced for the better part of 15 minutes. Its seemingly awkward because Ulrike is married and somewhat older than me, but we laughed and had a great time anyway. Then, we went for a walk to different parts of Aachen that I had not discovered. For instance, I learned where Aachen's big park was (a Lake Ella of sorts for my Tallahassee crowd) which I had never discovered before. Not having a vehicle or a bike (although, plan in the works to buy one next month!) or time for that matter has prohibited the development of my knowledge of Aix-la-Chapelle. However, it was a great day.

Yesterday my German/Dutch colleague David and Canadian colleague Tara and I transversed three countries to go to the movies in Belgium. There, they place the movies in English with Dutch/French subtitles (the area we were in is the Dutch speaking part of Belgium). It was cool driving through three countries just to see the movies. Afterwards, we went to Heerlen, NL for drinks and conversation. Around 12:30 we drove back to Aachen. I had spent the entire day on the go and was quite tired. Class at 9am, shopping for the week, laundry, gym (once again with the back and abs course...ugh!) and then going to the movies so I was pretty tired by 12:30. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

If the weather keeps up like this and the flowers and trees continue to bloom and grow leaves, I might actually like this city. I'm excited about my bike, as soon as I procure one, photos are sure to follow. Spring cleaning is soon to follow. I have a four day weekend approaching. I'm interested in going to Scotland but since I have to purchase new clothes and a bike in May, I don't know if Scotland can work out. Still trying to get the FSU colony together but thats looking a bit difficult too.

As always, time will tell.

It'll beeee no problem

In the past week I've discovered three bees in my apartment. Now, at first I thought this was a very unfortunate consequence of living in non air-conditioned land where windows must be opened. I fear that they may have burrowed a hole into side of my apartment. There is a very, very small hole near the floor on the wall facing the street. I think I remember back in the Fall seeing a bee crawl in/out of the hole. As it is Sunday I've put a rather heavy blanket over the general area in hopes that this will undermine any attempts from any four legged flying creature from entering my abode. Bees piss me off and bees in my apartment are a no good. This means I'll have to clean my apartment in the next few days to have my landlord have someone come and spray for bugs. Ugh.

The sun is out today and it is warm! It's about 17 degrees outside and I'm loving it. It was actually almost a bit too warm with the sweater I had on today. I met with Faye at Starbucks to grade papers and have a Sunday chat. The exams have been graded and now I ust have to turn in the grades after their oral exam next Tuesday.

In the world of job applications I sent off the job application for the last job I posted about. Tomorrow I'll call them and harass them until they give in. However, I've also discovered another (albeit not as cool) job in Dresden doing something similar minus the international exchange program. So, I'll be applying for that job tomorrow as well.

Appointment with my fitness trainer tonight. Should be fun.

Its in the post

I woke up this morning ten minutes before my alarm. Even though today I don't have to be at work until 10am, I find myself waking up at my usual 7:30ish before my alarm, no matter how tired I am.

I hate that I've trained my body to wake up, apparently, without external alarm apparatuses. This morning I don't think I made my coffee strong enough, it tastes a little weak. Boooo weak coffee.

Work sucks, so I've decided to be proactive. I've discovered a job in Dresden, teaching full-time for this private high-school for students who want to learn business skills and brush up on their liberal arts. It's part-time teaching, part-time organizing an INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM (whoooooooooooot!!!!). I want to do this so badly. They are looking for a native English speaker (check), someone young and motivated (check), experience living abroad (um, I got this one too), someone with experience teaching English (okay, still new to the game but check minus), must speak the deutsch (once again) and I don't know what else, but I wrote the most amazing cover letter, in German, yesterday and in a few minutes I'll be off to the post to send it.

I might beg or plead for the job. Just need out, thats all. I've decided that I am not happy in Aachen and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

Anyway, cross your finger, press your thumbs, sacrifice small rodents, whatever you have to do to send some good luck my way.

Other than that, I'm hoping to take a few days off in May and hang out at some German lakeside area with friends from FSU to paddle boat, drink beer, go hiking and other random German-like activities. Should be fun. Now if I can just get all of us organized enough to do it. Thats a task in and of itself.

I've decided to be more pro-active in my life. Because of the weather and my job, I've been feeling a) depressed b) sorry for myself. This must stop. So, list-o-crap to do:
a) Study for the Foreign Service Exam. Even if I don't take it for another year or so, I still want to be fresh. Besides, can't hurt to know the stuff anyway.
b) study my German book for two hours a week. Learn new vocabulary, memorize cases, improve my adjective endings, etc
c) Clean my apartment. The dust bunnies are formulating an attack plan.
d) Continue on my health track (I've lost seven kilos since February!). I've never felt/looked so good. :)
e) attempt to be more positive. I think that sounds good, I've already started to work on this and while nothing really changes, my heart doesn't feel like its going to explode.
f) Update my blog some more.

Ole!

Wanted to write a post about the decline of the US dollar and the indications that its free-fall is coming to a close (finally!) but I just don't have the energy really.

I realized that its been several weeks since my last blog and so much has happened. I had guests from the States come for their spring break and it was amazing. Matt, Kalin and I ventured to Paris for three nights and had a great time. I love those two! I'll be posting photos soon on my photo website.

At the end of their visit, I apparently contracted the flu, not fun. What is worse is that I was going to Spain four days later. Ugh. However, Malaga did not disapoint (okay, just a smidge, but who's counting, really). Abundant sunshine and a care-free environment was just what I needed. Although too cool to go swimming, I was able to tan! So i'm a much darker Christopher for the time being. Work resumed today and I was actually glad to be returning to the normal swing of things.

Trying to make it to Scotland in May. That'll be great. Other than that, lots of visiting of friends in Germany need to take place. I need to start looking at my plan for the next year. What am I going to do this time next year? Graduate school? Foreign Service? Stay in Germany?

From Politics to Pretzels

I was talking to my Mom tonight and we had an interesting conversation on politics. Of course my Mother's ADD means that she only listened to about 35% of what I said but thats okay. I love her anyway. :)

The predicament that the United States has found itself in is not all that different from the end of the 1960's. An expensive war (read: "Military Engagement"), a faltering economy coupled with out of control oil prices and a disenfranchised public have all contributed to pessimistic feelings about the United States.

I join the ranks of disenfranchised citizens. I think this upcoming election is quite important and I refuse to let my vote go to someone on the basis of one issue or the core of a few issues. Let's remind ourselves that no matter who is elected, they are still politicians. Politicians never follow through with that they say. Even if they want to, they still have to ask Congress for the means to do so. Sadly, the majority of American's are not informed about the American political system so all of our potential ends up going to waste.

Without flat out supporting any candidate, I'm going to outline what I see as the major pros and cons of each candidate. It really doesn't matter who wins anyway, we can only go up from what we currently have.

I'll begin with the Republicans. John McCain is going to win the nomination but for the sake of argument I'll throw Mike Huckabee up there too.

McCain is a great man, great cut-through-the-crap Senator and War Hero. What can you say bad about a man who spent six years eating gruel in Vietnam. McCain has a reputation for saying what he means and then doing it, and I like that. I think his experience in Foreign Relations would help revive the American image if he learns to court our allies instead of distancing them like GWB. However, he has been a part of the Washington establishment for too long and look where that has gotten us. I see McCain serving as Secretary of Defense or State. I would gladly be in the Foreign Service with Secretary McCain at the helm.


Huckabee is a newbie to politics and could perhaps foster the change necessary. However, no guitar playing Baptist minister has any business serving as President. I think he would focus too much on the "moral issues" (whatever that is) that are facing America and not the actual issues at hand (ie. education, defense, Iraq, budget crisis, etc). He caters to a certain group of people that I don't play well with and so for that reason, I'm biased. I do say, however, props to him for loosing 110lbs. I like the idea of a Huckaburger (lean ground beef/turkey with organic vegetables on a whole wheat bun). I say Mike should be the Secretary of Agriculture, fix those school lunch programs! Or even the director of the National Fitness Initiative. Besides, he's from Arkansas.

The Dems

Barack Obama is not a Muslim, in fact he's a member of the Church of Christ (shudder). His father is from Kenya, not Saudi Arabia. I've heard it one time too many (about six times) that he's a muslim and would turn America into an Allah loving country. Get over yourself. Obama is new to the establishment and that brings both pro's and con's. I see in him though similar traits to former presidents Lincoln and Kennedy (both later assassinated, lets hope the Secret Service doesn't bungle this one up too). He's not been in office so long as to have his butt imprinted into the Senate Chambers, once again a good thing. If the United States is going to bring itself out of this hole we've found our self in then we need change. However, Barack will have to surround himself with advisers from both sides of the aisle to bring together this divided country. We'll need Republican economic advisers dueling it out with Democratic education advisers. His lack of experience doesn't necessary signify a weakness on his part but it does make me cringe when he talks about invading Pakistan to get Al-Qaeda.

Oh, Clinton. I'm not going to lie, I don't like her. She's a cow...always has been always will be. She grazes on other people because she is a true politician right down to it. People voting for Hillary often think that things will be happy and nice again just like the good ol day's of Bill. I'm sorry to tell you but this isn't 1996 again and its not coming back anytime soon. Although I feel her policies on health care and education are good ones for America, I think she's also just interested in selling her product (herself). I can't vote for someone who once served on the board of Wal-Mart. However, all things aside, she's probably pretty good with a calculator and could be perhaps balance a budget (if she doesn't tax the hell out of us first) and I have no doubt that she's ballsy enough to go after terrorists but let's not forget, she's also from Arkansas.

The Dumbing of America

Todays editorial in The Washington Post, my internet homepage, featured an article by American author, thinker and philosopher Susan Jacoby. Her piece, entitled The Dumbing of America takes a painful look at the fall of intellectualism among average American's in the last fifty years.

Now, call me an elitist but I've always had the same sentiments as the author. The majority of Americans, suffice to say, are dumb. Whether its their own laziness that is the root cause of their lack of basic world knowledge or if its a question of cultural identity is unknown. Often I've wondered how some of my peers at Florida State were admitted to the university (or any tier of higher education for that manner) and going back farther to high school how many of the students were planning on attending top tier universities. Still to this day I'm surprised when I hear people's lack of basic geography, history or even what the most important issues are in the world. There are always on the internet those videos of people who can't name the President of the United States (now, how much of that I believe is up for debate but the song remains the same).

Thankfully though, we are not alone. I always had this preconception that Europeans with their border-free zones must be far superior in ways of a intellectual pursuits. That has also turned out to be not be true. I've met several Europeans who've surprised me with their lack of general knowledge of the World and Europe. ("Wait, you mean to tell me that they drive on the left side of the road in Australia?" From a British soldier I met in Berlin).

I must agree with Jacoby, western culture as a whole has seen a great decline in basic intellectual pursuits. Americans must go back to teaching our school children the basics of education and not focusing on raising standardized testing scores. In most cases, standardized testing only measures how well you can take a test. Teaching geography, history and sciences is a skill that will stay with our youth the rest of their lives. Foreign language training in American is a joke that we shouldn't be laughing at. If the United States wants to continue its role as a world leader, its time we step up to the plate intellectually. Students today should be fluent in at least one second language, have knowledge of the World and the basic history that it entails, should have one favorite classical author and not dismiss intellectualism as something that only geeks enjoy. Our ignorance as a country hasn't been working for us lately. Faced with a failing economy and potential recession, unsolvable problems in the Middle East and a declining dollar, the United States doesn't look as though it will maintain its role as a Global Leader much longer.

Its time for Americans to step out of their comfort bubble and get back to the basics of intellectualism and once again be top contenders on a global scale.

Wow

Well, thats it.

Germany has disappointed me. I'm watching on TV the opening of a German "Hooters" bar.

Thats pretty much the end of it all.

Next stop: Unknown

I last wrote you from Germany's capital city, Berlin. From there Marcus and I used "mitfahrgelegenheit" or organized hitchhiking from Berlin to Dresden. Albeit somewhat strange, it was a successful experience which left me with both of my kidneys. The drivers, Gregor & Hannah were a bit strange although nice. We got to Dresden for 10 euros in under two hours. Something I'd never be able to do with the train.

I love Dresden. The city, atmosphere, the size and the abundance of my friends doesn't help me at all. I'm trying to remain positive about my time here in Aachen but it doesn't help when I have such amazing experiences in Dresden. Last Monday I went to Leipzig and that was great, just a day trip and that was exactly what I needed. I like Dresden more though, although I saw the important things one sees in Leipzig.

Tuesday I flew from Dresden to Cologne-Bonn and then took the "hour long-train" from Cologne to Aachen. Twenty minutes into my trip from the main train station, the train comes to a screeching halt. You could even smell the brakes. I wasn't sure what had happened but we stayed in that position for almost two hours. I got to Aachen three hours later at 1:30 in the morning. Not nice. Turns out, somebody had jumped in front of our train. This, apparently, happens about once a week towards winter and summers end. It bothers me that people would throw themselves in front of a train like that. That goes against our instincts, doesn't it? It was needless to say, disturbing. There were police outside the train and I couldn't figure out what had happened until later because the words the driver used weren't ones associated with suicide. He said "we've had a slight accident." When I asked my German friends what that meant, they informed me it was a nice way of saying suicide. The bad weather causes depression rates to skyrocket here about this time of year and it doesn't help that Valentines Day this week. I'm not taking the train until March.

I only had to work three days last week and my schedule for this week is very light, surprisingly light with only one class on Friday. The weather has been amazing the past five days. Absolutely stellar actually, blue skies, no clouds, mild temperatures, if only it could be like this every day. In less than a month I'll be having guests!

I went to Cologne this weekend with a friend of mine and enjoyed the city. I'm looking forward to going again next month with Matt and Kalin. I did some pre-research on the city for our trip then. Should be fun. This weekend, I'll be having a visitor, a friend of my Dad's from the Air Force. I haven't seen Craig since I was about 15 or so. Maybe younger. Yesterday I cleaned like a madman my apartment which includes cleaning my windows, sweeping and scrubbing my floors and getting out all of the dust. Its absolutely unbelievable how much dust is in my apartment. Never in my life have I seen so much dust or hair accumulate in one place. I got my hair cut on Friday so I'm helping that'll help with the dust for a while.

Well, off to work for me.

Berlin! Berlin! Wir fahren nach Belrin!

This past Thursday the Bundesland that I live in, Nord-Rhein Westphalia started the Carnival celebrations. Craziness ensued. The majority of my classes were cancelled Thursday and Friday and those that took place had only a few students in attendance. I am not a person for crowds and parades do nothing for me. Therefore, I became a refugee and fled the city. I spent Friday night, Saturday and so far half of Sunday in Germany's capital, Berlin.

My last time in Berlin was in 2005 when I spent a week here after my Beyond Borders exchange time in Dresden. I fell in love with the city then and it continues to captivate a type of charm that only a city like Berlin can deliver. The city is different from most German cities. Divided for the better part of 40 years, Berlin is an ecclectic mix of new and old, punk and preppy. The history alone in Belrin is enough to make a World War II / Cold War / European History buff like myself drool all over the place for days. Not to mention many fantastic scenes from fantastic movies take place in Berin. Yesterday I went the DDR Museum as well as the Stasi Museum. It was interesting to explore the place where many lives were crushed by the totalitarianistic government of East Germany.

I am with my friend Marcus now and we are going to explore Berlin a little bit more before hitch-hiking our way to Dresden. Okay, so its the modern day version of that, where you book online with someone who is going to the same city as you, help pay with petrol and thats that. Should be a good experience for the American.

I love East Germany.

I am thinking about applying for jobs that require me to write. Maybe one of my favorite magazines, Monocole are hiring. That would be fantastic.

Today I joined the ranks of healthy Germans everywhere by shelling out tons of money to become a member of a local fitness club. A hefty €14 Euros a week will be deducted from my account in the name of health and fitness. As a member of Team WOF (World of Fitness) I will enjoy access to a solarium, sauna, free training session with a trainer and of course the normal fitness machines. My biggest complaint is their lack of an actual pool and running track (not that I run). I need this. Now that I'm paying for a gym (first time in my life, ever that I've paid to work out) I will be sure to go. They are open until 2300 every night so that will be an added bonus.

I have to be fit and better looking for my trip to Spain in March. Well, I need to be healthier in my life generally and I feel better when I've been working out of course.

I did some more research on our travel destination. We'll actually be staying in Torremelinos, Spain which is about five km from Malagas. I plan on spending time on the beach and then going into the town to see some of the sights. We had considered taking the ferry to Africa but I don't know if that is going to work out or not for us since we'll only be there just short of a week.

I'm back

Today I ordered (finally) a hard-DSL and home phone line. I've been using at home since October a WirelessLAN system. It was working for me for a little while, but now I'm over it. The connection is awful and only sometimes works. Right now, my WLAN modem is sitting outside my window to get the best reception (shotty at best). Should have my real DSL connection (and home phone!) set up within 16 working days although he said its more likely that they'll get it done faster. This means that I'll be able to update more often. I find often that my most witty comments and stories come to me when I have no way of making them public on the WWW.

In addition to having a "festnetz" or land line and a real DSL connection, I also get a SIM card for my cell phone that acts like on a festnetz connection on the weekends! Crazy! People will be able to call my phone with this little gem and I'll be able to use it anywhere in Germany just like I was sitting in my kitchen, but I could be in Munich or Stuttgart or someplace crazy like that. Only on the weekends though. To understand why this is such a big deal, you have to realize that German cell phones charge you extra for calling other cell phones while calling a land line is typically part of your place (ergo, no extra cost). As of right now, I have to call of my friends (that have a land line) because its part of my plan but too expensive for them to call me.

In other exciting news, I've planned my Easter Holidays! On March 20th, I'm flying from Holland to Malaga, Spain for five days of laying on the beach and exploring the Spanish Andalusian area. We are staying in a Four Star Hotel, on the beach, including breakfast and dinner and the flight only cost us 455 Euros each! Unbelievable.

The weather has been nice the past two days. I saw the Sun today and I wasn't sure how to react. I had to wear my sunglasses. Tomorrow I'm going to a local gym and joining. Now that I'm going to the beach with some colleagues, I need to trim down about 23423 pounds before we go. I need to be on the lookout for my future wife.

Another Saturday night at 10:45 and I'm already in my pajamas. I've already watched one movie. Next month I have to buy a DVD player that is regional-code free so i can buy some more here in Germany. I've decided to stay in my apartment that I'm in for now. Its easier because my landlord is permitting me to use her guest apartment that is located just next to mine. This makes it a bit easier. Still having issues with my lack of washing machine and no shower (only a bath tub). She wants to negotiate a new contract with me this upcoming week. I'm going to see if she can probably put in a few curtains for my room (as I have none in the bedroom). Next month, i'm also buying a bike. It'll be cute.