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.

Everbody is waiting for your entrance

I've note updated in a while and this is going to be a short one. I apologize for the lack of updates. My life just isn't interesting at the moment.

I hate North German winters. Its windy and cold in a way I've never felt before. I can't seem to get warm. There is no snow to comfort this. Just cold and wind oh and rain. Today it is going to be "warm" (40's) but windy. Bah.

My internet has been going in and out of connection since last week. I am a child of the internet generation and this is extremely bothersome since I use the internet more than I watch tv. I don't need to have the fastest internet connection just a solid connection that doesn't die every ten minutes and actually is fast enough so that I can watch my BBC News updates and things on youtube, of course.

I'm not happy in Aachen. More on this later.

Its just that simple

I decide that I would join the ranks of good, law-abiding Germans today and pay the controversial "TV, Radio and Other Random Forms of Media Entertainment" Tax. The common belief here is that public radio and tv should be well-funded and provide good, quality programming. And that is true here. The quality of TV and Radio is well enjoyed by the public and the quality seems to be good. You can, of course supplement your television needs with satellite and cable however that is not necessary. Just by plugging your tv in, you can get something like ten channels. The downside is that the German government, or rather its independent entity the (and I'm not making this up) "Gebühreneinzugszentrale" (I have no idea what this means, I just call it GEZ) collects a whopping €17,95 per tv and €5,00 per Radio and even computers that can download the webcasts! I mean, bah! Thats quite expensive. I guess they can do things like randomly check your house to see if you are lying on your little census like form. Somehow they got my name (my landlord no doubt, bah!) and have sent me two letters requesting that I send them the information. Even though my landlord owns the tv, I pay the tax on it. Tell me how this works.

I have become quite the pro at parallel parking. I have one of the company cars this week because half of the English department has left already. So I get to keep it and drive all over creation this week. Its nice. Tomorrow...laundry! The street that I live on is rather busy so parking is a pain but I have learned how to fit that little Twingo in to some seriously tight spots. Pretty soon you´ll see me whipping around in a mini. Ugh, I miss my Corolla!

I am going home in just a few days!

Me Talk Pretty One Day, too.

Although I had three years of university German as well as a summer semester learning the language in Dresden, sometimes I feel lost. I was talking to my friend Jacqueline who lives in Taiwan as an English teacher and she told me that my recent unhappiness is, culture shock. For a long time I figured that why I would be experiencing culture shock in some ways, that I'd be above any major problems. That turned out to not be true I guess. I've really begun to miss American traditions, holidays and just regular kindness as of late. I'm quite excited to be going home next weekend though. However, the language doesn't help. I understand the majority of conversations around me but sometimes I get quite nervous as I'm checking out at the grocery store or when I need to talk to someone at the pharmacy or something like this. David Sedaris in his book Me Talk Pretty One Day describes his life and language training while moving to France from New York. And so he writes:

My fear and discomfort crept beyond the borders of the classroom and accompanied me out onto the wide boulevards. Stopping for a coffee, asking directions, depositing money in my bank account: these things were out of the question, as they involved having to speak. Before beginning school, there'd been no shutting me up, but now I was convinced that everything I said was wrong. When the phone rang, I ignored it. If someone asked me a question, I pretended to be deaf. I knew my fear was getting the best of me when I started wondering why they don't sell cuts of meat in vending machines.

My only comfort was the knowledge that I was not alone. Huddled in the hallways and making the most of our pathetic French, my fellow students and I engaged in the sort of conversation commonly overheard in refugee camps.
"Sometime me cry alone at night."
"That be common for I, also but be more strong, you. Much work and someday you talk pretty. People start love you soon. Maybe tomorrow, okay."
Unlike the French class I had taken in New York, here there was no sense of competition. When the teacher poked a shy Korean in the eyelid with a freshly sharpened pencil, we took no comfort in the fact that, unlike Hyeyoon Cho, we all knew the irregular past tense of the verb to defeat. In all fairness, the teacher hadn't meant to stab the girl, but neither did she spend much time apologizing, saying only, "Well, you should have been kl;ja;dfkj more afkjakjf."

So I have more confidence than that, but I still couldn't tell you the irregular past tense of to defeat.