49 Strangers

The common chemistry of 50 people, mostly strangers, brought together to dine can only be described as electric. Perhaps that is why Jim Haynes hosts his Sunday Salons. Haynes, 73, an American expatriate who has lived in Paris since the early 70's invites The World to his home for dinner every Sunday.

Jim Haynes is the type of character you meet in documentaries and certain New York Times articles. His charisma billows through a room and into the garden of his Parisian atelier the way fog does on a cool summers night. Those interested in reading his biography should be seriously committed to the finer, personal details of ones life as many (including private) details are included. Perhaps this is one of the reasons he is so cherished. Among many things, Jim is a 'purveyor of the arts" and has laid the groundwork for many theaters, underground newspapers and has written several books. Haynes is also one of the leaders of the 60/70's sexual liberation movement. In the late 1970's, Jim along with two friends started the Sunday Salon, an institution that carries on today. Suffice to say, Jim is an interesting person who always has a story to share.

A Parisian tradition which has carried on for over 30 years, The Sunday Salon is hosted every Sunday except for a few weeks a year, normally when Haynes is off at various book or arts festivals. People can call, email or write a letter requesting a spot at one of these dinners. A small €25 donation is asked to pay for the food and profits go off to food charities in Eastern Europe.

Its amazing the type of people who show up to break bread with a fellow stranger. Retired teachers traveling through France, a young Polish girl who lives in Paris, a Tasmanian making his way through Europe and of course many Americans. His audience is global. After hearing about Jim's dinners on NPR's This I Believe series, I decided it was now or never. Aachen is only four hours away from Paris by car so I convinced four friends of mine (another American, a German, an Australian and an Austrian) to join me and we embarked on a weekend to Paris with the grand finale set for Sunday evening.

Many Parisian artists call the 14th arrondissement home and it also serves as the venue for the Sunday Salon which is held rain or shine. Upon entering the garden, you meet others waiting to meet and greet this underground icon. His appearance is oddly misleading, looking more like a southern grandfather than a writer of books previously deemed "obscene." Grab a cup of wine and meet someone new. Jim tries to memorize the names and basic info of each participant and if you haven't met by the time he comes around, you will when he's finished. The Salon is conducted precisely between 20:00 and 23:00 and at the closing hour, people pair off, exchange contact information and carry the party on somewhere else.

I would fully recommend joining one of Jim Hayne's Sunday Salons or a similar event somewhere else. The chance to connect with 49 strangers in a way that you wouldn't normally do is invigorating, exciting and certainly makes for a great story.

Dear Germany

Dear Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland),

I don't know what I'm going to do without you.

Our time together (for now) is coming to an end in August. My heart aches already. I find myself longing for your bad weather and stingy bakery ladies already. No country replicates bureaucracy and stamps the way you do.

You've taught me more about myself , Europe and the world than I ever could have imagined. Its almost as I don't want this learning process to end. This evening I spoke with four fellow speakers of Germany effortlessly for two hours. It was fantastic....einfach toll.

You are expensive and old-fashioned (but yet more modern). You insist on tradition but break it all the time. You are in the middle of Europe and are more multi-cultural (multi-kulti) than you care to admit. And while life isn't perfect, its good.

Oh, brötchen, coffee, €3,50 cocktails-to-go and good music...what will I do without you.

Do I really have to go back?

Love,
Globalnole

Suisse, Switzerland, Schweiz

Five weeks ago I booked a spontaneous vacation to the cultural capital of Swtizerland, Zürich.

Germanwings offers a type of mystery flight. You select your departure airport (Köln in my case...also happens to be their hub), the date you can fly and a theme. Themes vary from shopping, beach, skiing, cultural, eastern Europe, etc. A list of ten or so cities will be presented and you can mark four or so cities where you do not want to fly. A €5 surcharge for each city exed out is excised but I think its fair. Thus increasing the chances of your dream city.

I did just that. I booked a ticket not knowing where I would go. I paid €85 for a round trip flight from Cologne to Zürich. It was completelz worth it. I loved the Germanwins idea of not knowing where you are going until you book the ticket. After I was told I was off to Zürich, I had my doubts. Although I had alwazs wanted to visit the city, I was afriad of bad weather, cost and not seeing something new.

That, however, turned out to not be the case. Switzerland was everything that I wanted it to be. The people were overwhelmingly friendly and helpful even if our language barrier (their Swiss German in its spoken form is almost inconceivable to the rest of the German speaking community) sometimes got in the way. After a pleasant smile and a a short description in high German of what I needed, they much obliged and provided the service in a friendly manner. Instead of the typical "danke schön" used in the rest of the German speaking area, one uses the French "merci." I like it. I have the luck of having a former student of mine currently living in Zürich. Felix and his wife were helpful and introduced the city to me.

I was quite lucky to find accomodations in Zürich using the Hotel Reservation Service. For four nights in a nice hotel I paid only €200....bargain basement. This included a room with a balcony view of the mountains around Zürich. I can certainly recommend Hotel Leoneck. Don't be put off by the Craz Cow mantra they have going on. It is said that Zurich is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I'd probably agree with that. Food is terribly expensive there and one could expect to pay at minimum of 25 Euros per meal per person even for the most basic of meals. However, it was worth it.

Warm weather and sunny blessed my time in Switzerland. From the Zurich lakefront one can see the snow covered Alps and really enjoy the view of the city. Lake Zurich is beautiful and you must take a trip on the lake by boat when there. Unlike cities in neighboring countries, Zurich is almost completely intact. Switzerlands strict neutral policy has benefited the country like none other. You can tell that the city is in good condition and will most likely stay this way another 100 years.

Zurich is surrounded by plenty of small cities, mountains and other natural areas. I took a day trip on Easter Sunday to some of the surrounding mountains and went hiking. I really enjoyed myself and the views of the city and the lake which were offered up to me. I had the opportunity to meet some locals who expressed their views of their country, Europe and their place in the world. Globalization hasn't escaped Switzerland either and there is some growing pressure for greater integration into the European community. The Swiss pride themselves on their independence and I hope they contniue to embrace their independent streak.

Zurich is not a city which stresses you. The trams run like clockwork on time and with amazing efficency. The city is clean and orderly, maybe even too orderly and clean. If you find yourself stressed in Switzerland its unlikely to be because of your urban environment.

Eurovision + more

Its a Saturday evening and I'm watching on German television the 54th annual Eurovision contest. For those who are not familiar with EV, think of it as a glorified, four hour long American Idol in horrendous outfits and choreography designed by your Aunt Gertrude. Not to mention the linguistic variety. Sadly, Germany is only fourth from the bottom. At the first though of spending my Saturday evening watching EV, I laughed. However, as it turns out, I'm having eye problems this evening and I'm wearing my five year old glasses so going out wasn't much of an option. As I'm eating dinner and watching Eurovision, I couldn't help but begin to enjoy the kitch and campiness of it all. The music wasn't all bad even though the themes are (love, pain, tonight is the night) redundant. My favourite part of the evening still goes to American singer, Oscar Loya, representing Germany and his choice for pants. My retinas are still burning. I can't find a picture but the shiny pants certainly got my vote. The Norwegian star who is my age and sings about "when I was young...." is certainly going to win...but he was the favourite to begin with. Eurovision cracks me up. Where else can you get so much kitsch? My next job will be teaching English to the Eurovision hosts and contestants.

You can watch the Norway song here.

My time in Aachen is most likely coming t a close. My special foreigners tax status will be ending at the end of July and although I've ben offered a slight raise and contract extension, I'll probably move on. Where to is still in the air, but time will tell. I'm hoping to stay in Germany but that might not be possible.

As a worker in Germany May and June are perhaps my favourite months. Not only is the weather much more enjoyable as the Spring begins to set in, there are also four public holidays in six weeks. FOUR! May 1st-"Tag der Arbeit" their version of Labour Day (May Day), May 21st "Christi Himmelfahrt" which I think is something to do with Ascension Day, June 1st is "Pfingsten" is Pentecost and June 11th (only in North-Rhein Westfalen) is "Fröh Leichnam" which the best I can come up with is "Happy cadaver day." Sadly, no more holidays until October (Day of German unity) and if it lands on a Saturday (which it does) too bad...no holidays for you. I'm doing a bit of traveling during this time, of course. I'm off to France and perhaps to visit some friends in Dresden in June. If thery'e not available, I'll go somewhere else.

If I can't stay in Germany, I'm going to be quite sad. I enjoy the finer German things in life. Good bread, good healthcare, good coffee and speaking/listening to German. My next job will have to do something with German(y) for sure.

Travel the distance

I love living in Europe.

Nothing is too far away. Drive in any direction and in two hours you are someplace different, new, exciting. Perhaps you are in a different country, different language, culture, etc. In my case, I only drive 10 minutes and I am in The Netherlands or 15 minutes to Belgium.

May is the month of France. Bensacon, Strasbourg and Paris.

I'm driving to all three. Three hours to Paris. Four to Bensacon.

Love it.

Joooooooooob hunting

Dear Jobs in German-American foreign policy and Transatlantic studies,

Please make yourself known, immediately.

I prefer that you need me in Berlin but would also accept jobs in Vienna, Zürich and maybe Washington. Really anywhere in Germany I'd accept.

Come out come out wherever you are!

Love,
Christopher

ps-Don't require a masters degree. I don't have one...yet...but tis on the way

Life was more than an event

I'm well aware of my lack of updates lately.

Topics due to be written about:
-My trip to Switzerland
-Upcoming trip to France
-Swine Flu?

Perhaps I'll be inspired by something soon. We'll see.