Hello Friends,
Well, here it is folks: the last blog post. In my classic style, it’s pretty much the last possible minute (six weeks and three days after my arrival back to North America, and one day before I move to Vancouver and begin University) - but I salute and thank all of you who have valiantly continue to read. Although I am tempted to start writing about all my adventures since I got home, I will stick to a brief accounting of my last few weeks in Germany. Of course, my last bit of time in Germany was very bittersweet. It was hard coming in the first place and knowing that I was saying goodbye to my friends at home for a year, and certainly difficult on the way back, saying goodbye to all of my new friends for possibly the last time. It was also an exciting time though; I got a last bit of travelling in, and the last week of school was relaxed and fun in class as well as full of anticipation leading up to Friday - not only the last day of school, but also the arrival day of my “exchange sister” Emma. Because I had said that I wanted to see Aachen once more if possible (I had missed out on the Cathedral and some other sights when there for the Christmas Market), Manfred and Signe decided to take a weekend afternoon to see it. After a Rotary convention (at which I and an exchange friend from Mexico presented a speech that we had written to thank Rotary) and a good-bye party for my best exchange friend, I joined my host family once again for a trip down to the beautiful, vibrant University city and throne of power of the first Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. It was wild to see the town centre in the light of day, without the throngs of people and rows of market stalls. We took a city tour led by a student, who pointed out many interesting aspects of the city, including several wells and fountains with very creative sculptures (such as one with a collection of large metal puppets with moveable limbs and heads) and a hot spring that was much prized by Charlemagne for its supposed healing properties. To finish off, we finally gained entrance to the Cathedral, which was absolutely splendid. It was very different then any church I had visited in Europe, and I could easily have spent all day there. On the way back, Justus insisted in going into the Town Hall, or the “big house” as he called it. It’s sure neat to see the little ones taking an interest! The second last week of school, after having wrapped up the last exams, the french class went on the long-awaited field trip to Paris. What a crazy day! In order to make the trip affordable and simple, the school opted for a day-trip, skipping out on the need for a hotel. We met at the school at eleven at night, and headed off to Paris in a (thankfully quite comfortable) bus. It took until six in the morning to reach our destination, stopping once for a break in Belgium - where many of my female classmates changed into chic Paris-ready outfits, leaving me feeling a little bewildered and scruffy in my travel clothes. Upon arrival, we headed out into the city for a walking tour lead by our teachers; along the Seine, past the Eiffel tower, to the Notre Dame cathedral, and to the Louvre (where we stood in line and had forty minutes allotted to roam, which seemed insane (forty minutes in the Louvre????) but allowed me to appreciate two breathtaking Michelangelo sculptures and to practice my french a few times (with the Louvre staff, a rare type of Parisian happy to patiently wait for my bumbling french, and to answer in the same language) by pretending to be lost). By this time, the sun was high overhead and the sky a sharp blue, and emerging from the museum we were instantly sweltering. The next activity on the agenda was a boat tour, which brought us back along the Seine (the tour guide surely pointed out lots of points of interest, but I drowsed off almost instantly in the heat and awoke with difficulty close to the end). Then, we hiked up to the top of a lookout above the city, from which we could take charming pictures of the Eiffel tower and fend off hawkers waving the Eiffel tower shaped keychains sold by the hundreds at every street corner in Paris. From there, we took the metro down to the Arc de Triumph and were let loose in groups to wander the city, find lunch, and see what else we could get up to for the next five hours. My group of girls was fun to explore with - we found the most French looking café to dine at, did a bit of shopping on the Champs Elysées, strolled through some beautiful parks, and got ice cream three separate times. At eight o’clock, we met back up at the bus and headed off again, exhausted but relieved to be sitting down again. We arrived at three in the morning on Saturday, and I crawled into bed, not sleeping in as late as I had expected, since I had slept the whole drive, albeit with an awkwardly bent neck. That evening was the annual Straßenfest, which was fitting as I had attended the previous summer’s soon after my arrival, still jet-lagged. It was very nice and I was able to both chat with the adults and run around with the younger crowd, but I did retire relatively early. That Sunday was our last family trip - Manfred had found a neat play in an open-air theatre in a town above Düsseldorf, which was tiny and quaint, with beautiful old brick houses and shops and some lovely ice-cream parlours (yumm…). The play was Cinderella, and many of the actors were local children. All the costumes were home-made, and the atmosphere was lovely. I especially enjoyed it because it was quite fitting with the family tradition of watching the old “Sunday Fairytales” that ran on the Kika channel. Heading into my last week of school, I was determined to enjoy the little time remaining as a German high-school student. The Abitur (Graduation) class made the most of their last few days in the school by decorating according to their Abi theme (Abi-os Amigos), pulling pranks, and dressing up in different themed costumes every day. It was neat to watch their enthusiasm, and one day we were treated to a “fun day” run by the Abi students. The teachers were quite good sports when called up to participate in competitions, and the cardboard wall blocking off the “Mexican border” at the front of the school was met with great approval. I had two sleepovers with friends that week, as I was trying frantically to fit in enough time with everyone before I left. Because it was Marta’s last week home before she left to go camping, I also took her and a friend out to a Korean lunch in Düsseldorf, and we stuffed ourselves with delicious and exotic foods and explored the city a little before heading home. On Friday, after half day of school I finally met Emma, who had arrived while we were gone. It was wonderful to be part of welcoming her home, and it was such a treat to get to know her over the next few days. Saturday, I held a “goodbye Sylvia / welcome home Emma” party for my friends (mostly from school, as my exchange friends had almost all already gone home or were on holiday). We ate grilled meat, poutine and coleslaw with Newfoundland Molasses cake for dessert - my version of an authentic Canadian meal. Then, we played games and chatted until the wee hours. I received lots of presents and felt so blessed to have made so many good friends, who not only enjoyed hanging out with me but were also sad to see me go. On Sunday, we dropped Marta off so she could take the bus with the other campers - a funny thing, to say goodbye to her in this way, waving her off on her journey instead of the other way around. The next few days included many more visits with friends, a presentation to the Rotary club about my time in Germany, a fun birthday party of one of my closest school friends, and packing. My last evening was spent staying up late with Manfred, Signe, Emma, and friends, looking at a slideshow of pictures from my year that Manfred had put together, and opening gifts, which were extremely thoughtful - including a beautiful bag sewn for me by Signe and books and games about Germany. I didn’t sleep that night, and at six the next morning we were off, heading to Düsseldorf to catch the plane. Another round of bitter-sweet goodbyes, and I was gone. I thought I would cry on the way home, but I felt like I was in an emotional vacuum, feeling simply numb. In the Amsterdam airport I chatted with a young girl who was curious about my Rotary blazer and wanted to know about exchange, which was neat. I was proud to rave to her about my year, and she sounded quite inspired by the concept of an exchange. Then, upon boarding the next flight, I suddenly became restless. I was flooded with the realization that I had left my parents for 11 whole months - how could I have done that?? I needed to see them right then and there! Needless to say, I was very agitated and impatient all the way home - thank goodness for in-flight movies. On arrival and after finally having made it across the insanity of the Seattle airport to where my parents were, I flung myself into their arms. It didn’t matter that I was still in the US, not yet having stepped foot on my native country - I was home. Since arriving in North America, I have been talking constantly about Germany. I loved being there, and to my delight I have also loved being home, and am looking forward to going to University. Life certainly continues after exchange, and although I will always cherish the memories of my year in Germany, moving on feels good and right. So thank you all once again for travelling vicariously with me through this blog. I hope that you enjoyed the journey as much as I did. Auf wiedersehen! Sylvia
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Hello everyone,
Once again, I have so much to write about. Our Rotary Adventure weekend, a trip to a Roman museum, a visit to Wuppertal, birthday parties, and of course, five days in beautiful Berlin! I know it's been a while since Kirchentag, but I'm still reeling from the experience. It's hard to imagine that I managed to see so many things, and that I was lucky enough to experience it with such a lovely group of people. So, Kirchentag. This is a national celebration that takes place in a different city every year. It alternates between Catholic and Lutheran Kirchentag, so this year was Lutheran and the next will be Catholic (I'd be very curious to compare the two). As this year's Kirchentag was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and hosted by Berlin (with closing mass held in Wittenberg, Luther's hometown), it was huge. Despite that, I was able to get up close to the stage at a Max Giesinger (a huge pop star and head of the charts here in Germany) concert and not-so-close but also not super far away from a really cool conversation between Barack Obama and Angela Merkel - and that was just the first day and a half! Both of those events, as well as most of the other big concerts, were held on a stage set up in front of the Brandenburg Gate, which was pretty magical. Included with our Kirchentag passes, we got a flexipass for public transportation, enabling us to get to stations and workshops all over Berlin. That, coupled with an ideal lodging location in a youth hostel close to the center of the action, made it possible to fit in a lot of events. Here is a list of activities, workshops, and talks that I attended: Music:
Politics:
Theatrical performances:
Miscellaneous:
As I mentioned, the group was great, and I enjoyed hanging out with the youth group girls and also spending time exploring Berlin and Kirchentag with Manfred, who was interested in seeing a lot of the same things as I was. I slept almost all five hours on the drive home Sunday, and upon arrival, went straight to bed. Just a few days later, I took the opportunity of a school holiday to travel to Wuppertal with a friend from school and ride the Schwebebahn, a hanging metro line that looks like a fair ride but serves as the public transport for the town. That had been on my Germany bucket list for a long time, so it was really neat to do, even if we didn't see any elephants (the Schwebebahn is known for a failed publicity stunt at the beginning of it's life, when the city put a baby circus elephant named Tuffi in for a ride to prove its safety - Tuffi didn't take kindly to this, decided to bail, and fell in the river, luckily surviving (and inspiring the name of the locally produced "Tuffi" milk products) ). I also attended Marta's birthday party where I got to meet some of her school friends (which was really nice), and went to a birthday party for two of my best friends from Rotaract. Then, I went to school for a bit - just to shake things up - before my Rotary adventure weekend from this past Friday to Sunday. This was just my thing - tenting, gorging on cake, rafting (i.e. an epic pirate ship battle, where my boat naturally decimated the others), making new friends (the German outbounds attended this time, and it was very interesting to meet them and hear all about where they're headed), and of course talking non-stop. It was kind of weird at the end, because many of the group are heading home in the next two weeks so we had to say our final good-byes then. I'm so happy I get to stay longer! After the weekend was officially over, I headed to a neighbouring town and met my host family at a Roman museum/archeological park in Xanten, the site of an important Roman trade city at the far reaches of the Roman empire in Germania. As well as the various replications of Roman buildings and a very well-organized and interesting museum, there were live exhibits, where toga-clad actors explained various aspects of daily Roman life. We got to chat with a master baker, learn about flour-processing and baking techniques of the ancient romans, and taste freshly baked bread made using the methods described at the "bakery". A little while later, we had the opportunity to learn about painting techniques and the composition of paint used in Roman art by an artist who creates very impressive paintings using these ancient ingredients and techniques. Unfortunately, we were too late to participate in the workshop, but at least we managed to avoid the crowds. For lunch, we dined on traditional Roman food (or at least in Marta's and my case, while the rest opted for "modern" food or coffee) in a Roman guesthouse. We didn't eat lying down - which was probably good as Justus ate ice cream and I had soup. Then, we headed home and I crashed. Again. Gee, all this fun is just exhausting! I take my German exam on Monday next week, and am dutifully studying (or at least planning to). Wish me luck :) Viele Grüße, Sylvia Hello all!
Wow, do I have a lot to report on. This has certainly been a month of adventures - and there’s more to come, with my long-awaited Berlin trip coming up in two days. So before I have four action-packed days to write about, I thought I would get you caught up on my latest experiences… Springtime is Confirmation, or Konfi (short for Konfirmation) season, and this was Marta’s big year. In the Lutheran church, Konfi is a much-celebrated, highly significant rite - it is not only the initiation into the church community, but also seen as an important step into adulthood. Many guests are invited to take part in the celebrations, neighbours stop by with congratulatory gifts and cards, and the newly-confirmed youth are allowed to try their first sip of champagne. The weekend before Marta’s Konfi, we drove to Sophiental (near Braunschweig) to attend the Konfi of a daughter of family friends (the father and son had stayed with us in Denmark, so it was really nice to see them again and meet the rest of the family). It was festive and fun, complete with catering (including white asparagus soup, a seasonal delicacy), fireworks, and very smartly dressed guests (plus me). Next, it was Marta’s turn. Early in the week, the guests began to arrive - starting with the Latvian family and godparents. I found it very neat to sit and listen to the Latvian conversations, of which I understood a grand total of about three words, but was luckily also able to communicate with all of them except Opus (“Grandpa”, ie. Signe’s father) in English. They were very friendly and interesting to talk to, and I learned a lot about Latvian culture, adding yet another country to my list of “places to go and people to see”. On Saturday, the German guests arrived and we lunched together, trouped off to church at 2:30, and returned home to celebrate until the wee hours. It was another day full of people in party mode and delicious food, and the star of the show looked very elegant and grown-up in high heels and a black (according to tradition) confirmation dress. I also managed to squeeze in some local exploring and culture in the week of the Latvian visit - watching the semifinals and finals of the Eurovision Song Contest (the European “Olympics” of music) with the family and going to a Halde and lake with friends from my dance class. For those who don’t know what a Halde is (so probably everyone, right? I certainly didn’t before I went), it is translated as ‘heap’, and is essentially a pile of rubble from coal mines. They are strewn liberally across the landscape in this area of Germany, a testament to the coal-mining days, and mostly look like normal grassy/wooded hills, although some have yet to be “rehabilitated” and are dusty, black mounds of rock. Those that are open to the public often have well-maintained hiking trails and even roads leading to the top, where a viewing platform, sculpture, garden, playground, or other attraction brings people from far and wide. They are also often the sites of concerts, weddings, and festivals. I found this to be a very neat way to convert the ugly remnants of a forgone era into places to gather and celebrate nature and culture, while still respecting their historical significance. We hiked to the top of a Halde near Essen (passing an indoor ski hill along the way, which apparently supplies artificial snow (transported in refrigerated trucks) for cross-country skiing competitions as far away as Düsseldorf!) and stopped for a picnic before climbing the giant metal pyramid crowning the hill. From there, we had a 360 degree view across the landscape - Essen in one direction, Düsseldorf in the other, and in the distance, the familiar steeple of the Heiligenhaus catholic church visible over the trees. My friend indicated to the lushly forested landscape and told me to imagine all the green space as a black, rocky, dusty coal bed. It must have looked so bleak and depressing; I’m truly impressed by the change, and actually felt hopeful for the future (which is the normally the opposite affect of when I learn about environmental development). On the way back from the Halde, we stopped by a man-made lake (interestingly a big biker gathering place) - which I didn’t have high expectations of, but actually looked very natural and peaceful and reminded me strongly of home. There were swans and ducks along the shore and lots of people out enjoying the good weather in rowboats and canoes. Unfortunately, the water is not yet safe to swim in, but it certainly looked clean and inviting. This weekend was another adventure - this time, in the lovely city of Düsseldorf. I spent much of Saturday with friends along the Rhine Promenade, observing and taking part in the annual Japan Day festivities (and simultaneously celebrating the 20th birthday of one of my good friends from school). There were tents with activities (such as origami, calligraphy, and Japanese bouquet-arranging workshops), stands selling all things Japanese (food, art, fans, embroidered bags, and kimonos), and performances (including traditional dancing, singing, and percussion shows). It was jam-packed, and many of the people were dressed up in elaborate costumes based on Anime and Manga characters, sporting wild-coloured wigs, horns, wings, fangs, and unsettling red, white, yellow, or black contact lenses. A very interesting part of the festivities was the abundance of hugs. There were many people wearing signs saying “free hugs”, and lines that stretched along the walkway of people offering embraces to passers-by. The idea didn’t originally fill me with warm fuzzies (and seemed neither particularly Japanese nor German), but the atmosphere was so positive and welcoming that after half an hour I joined in the hug-happy crowd and worked my way along the lines, hugging and greeting perfect strangers like old friends. It was awesome, but surprisingly exhausting and dizzying. What a unique experience! The festival culminated at midnight with an impressive firework show over the Rhine, after which we joined the flood of people charging back to the central train station to head home. Two days of school remain before I travel to Berlin with the Lutheran youth group to take part in another festival - national Kirchentag (Church day). As it is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, it is going to be huge. The program is full of amazing-sounding workshops, concerts, lectures, and presentations, and I can’t wait to go! (I promise to say hello to Obama for you all.) Liebe Grüße, Sylvia Hello again,
It’s now the second week back at school, and the Easter break already seems long ago. So, enough procrastinating; time to write now before I forget any more details! The last few days in Denmark were just as interesting and relaxing as the first. We went on more walks, checked out the neighbouring town, and went on a day trip to the other side of the island to see the Møn cliffs. I had hoped to go since I saw a painting of them in the art gallery a few days previously, so it was really cool to be able to make that a reality. The stark white chalk that makes up the cliffs lends the water a tropical turquoise color, making for a stunning effect when the sun shines. Coupled with the fairy-forest of twisting beach trees and a carpet of green festooned with white flowers, this was a pretty magical place. The hiking trails and wooden steps down to the shore were well-kept and accessible, making it possible for the whole crowd, kiddos and all, to enjoy the day. Driving back to the ferry on our eighth day was a little sad, but also exciting, as I was curious to see what a German Easter would be like. As it turned out, the Easter weekend at Oma’s place was quite low-key but of course very pleasant. The evening before Easter, Manfred, Signe, and I braved the cold, dark walk to a nearby farm where a traditional “Easter fire” burned, and neighbours gathered for beer and a chance to catch up. The firefighting crew was there to keep an eye on the fire, but also to take part in the festivities and hand out the drinks… It was a very neat and typical “village” feel. The next morning, Manfred and I went to the church service in Beverstedt (“Beaver town” in the local dialect - in Hoch Deutsch (what I am learning) it would be called Bieberstadt - and yes, I felt very at home there!), then returned for the Easter egg hunt (on a smaller scale then at home, but all were very satisfied with the amount of chocolate and received gifts as well), and a festive roast duck lunch. We spent most of the rest of the day outside, taking advantage of the sunshine; meanwhile, it was snowing in Heiligenhaus! I also spent time with Oma making straw star ornaments, as I had been impressed by those hanging on her tree when we visited at Christmas - a random but fun activity to do on Easter day. On our last day there, we took a trip to Bremerhaven to do some shopping and visited a fish smoke-house in the old fishing port, where we bought the most amazing, dare I say heavenly, smoked fish I have ever tasted in my life. Finally, it was time to say our good-byes and drive home, and to grudgingly admit that the long-awaited vacation had come to an end. Luckily, we had a few more days to relax before school started again - which I put to good use by spending time with friends, making a trip to Düsseldorf with Marta to check out the “Japanese quarter”, and going to a very fancy Rotaract gala celebrating the Velbert Rotary Club’s first anniversary. However, going back to school on Monday certainly did not signal the end of my adventures; this past Friday, Marta and I left school early and headed to a town near Hamburg to visit “our” aunt (my “host aunt”?), Annette, for three days. Being a History teacher and one of those “cool relatives”, she was the ideal tour guide and hostess. We sampled about ten million types of tea for breakfast, spent a day sight-seeing in Hamburg (affording me a totally different view of the city then I had gained during my short visit there in the fall - highlights including a visit to the gruesome “Dungeon”, stopping by a spice shop with exotic flavours from around the world that celebrated Hamburg’s spice trading history, a tour of the impressive city hall, and a breakdance show by street performers), took a boat trip down the Elbe, saw the beautiful old port town of Stade (noteworthy were the intricately carved and brightly painted wooden doors, a sign of status and wealth, on many of the old houses), and enjoyed a purely “girls weekend”. And although the four-hour train ride each way wasn’t terribly exciting, it gave me a chance to read a very good book (the third book in German that I have read to date) and catch up on some sleep. All in all, it was yet another wonderful weekend. Well, that’s it for now - ‘till next time! Liebe Grüße, Sylvia “Hej” from Denmark!
I have spent the last six days here with my host family and two other families on Falster island. And what an adventure it has been! Our vacation house is quite spacious and lovely, and less then fifteen minutes from the beach. However, we haven’t been hanging around the house much, with the exception of today; we’ve been too busy enjoying the great outdoors, seeing the local sights, and on Tuesday, taking advantage of our proximity to Denmark’s capital by doing a day-trip to Copenhagen. That was especially neat - we started with a walking tour lead by an entertaining and engaging Australian bloke (the only language options for the tours were Spanish and English, so we opted for English) who punctuated his spiel by poking fun at the various nationalities represented in our tour group and bemoaning his tax rates. That gave us a great starting point to explore the city on our own and re-visit some of the sights recommended by our guide. Copenhagen is not a particularly old city, due to a series of fires that has, over the past centuries, systematically destroyed most of the buildings (often several times over). However, there are some charming buildings lining the port (bright colours sure make a difference in the look of a neighbourhood), the remnants of an ancient fortification system, and a very cool antique-looking amusement park in the middle of the city. Noticeable were the rainbow flags present throughout the city and the very low number of beggars on the streets - tributes to Denmark’s famed tolerance and good social system. Apparently you get paid to get an education here! Although it was quite windy and nippy while we were in Copenhagen, we were lucky with the weather - the sun shone almost the whole day. For the rest of the week, the weather has been very variable. On Sunday, it was beautiful; sunny and warm enough for a barbecue dinner, a barefoot walk on the beach, and the first sunburn of the season. The rest of the time, I have been alternating my winter jacket with my rain jacket - but the chilly temperatures have only given us a good excuse to visit an art gallery and local brewery and make use of our sauna and wood stove. Driving around, we have seen some very tiny towns (it is mostly farmland on our island, rimmed with vacation homes along the beaches), impressive manor houses, and distinctly built churches - one of which was an intense shade of mustard yellow that seems to be common in old buildings here. I’m curious about what else there is to discover! We will enjoy the next few days here in Denmark before heading back to Germany, stopping in Oldendorf to spend Easter with Oma and then continuing on to Heiligenhaus. Wishing you all a sunny April and a very happy Easter, Sylvia Hallo Ihr Lieben!
A big hello from Heiligenhaus. Spring has sprung, the Easter break is fast approaching (only 1 week left!), and I have a lot to catch you all up on! For the past few months, I have been busy with school, juggling all my new extracurriculars, and finding more opportunities to fill my spare time with fun. As well as attending several birthday parties, celebrating Karnaval in proper Düsseldorf style, dancing as much as possible, taking a tour of Düsseldorf and going to a really neat “Nature” exhibition with my host family in Duisburg, I just recently did a half-hour presentation for my French class about French Canadian Cultures (Acadian, Metis, and Quebecois). That was really fun - I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to bake Pouding Chômeur (a Quebecois dessert) managing not to set the house on fire, and my classmates were a very appreciative audience. I probably could have spent more time rehearsing out loud though - I find now that when I try to speak French under pressure, I forget whether I’m speaking French or German and that can result in some pretty mixed-up sentences (and a lot of “wait…what language did I just say that in?”) :) Last weekend was also pretty wild - I slept over at a friend’s house, went to an “international cultures” exhibition at the International school, went to a party at a cool farm (about 8km from the border with Holland) where another exchange friend lives, and went out to a movie for the first time in Germany (Beauty and the Beast - in German, of course). Not bad, for two days! On Tuesday, we had a special visit to the school - the local party leaders who are preparing for the upcoming election. They had a panel discussion lead for the first block by the teachers, and then the floor was opened to students to pose their questions. It was a very animated discussion and quite intense at times, as there were pointed questions asked about current issues and topics, and strong opinions shared, inciting small debates. But back to Karneval. For those who have never heard about Karneval, it is a pre-lent celebration, Germany’s version of Mardi Gras in Louisiana or Carnival in Brazil. It’s not just an excuse to dress up and throw a party (although that’s a big part of it); instead, Karneval weekend is an opportunity to freely engage in political satire and general ridicule of authority. Strangely enough (or at least, strange for those of us living in the Commonwealth), Karneval officially begins at 11:11 on November 11th. Quite a contrast to November 11th in Canada! However, I didn’t know about this at the time, because the beginning of Karneval is not hugely celebrated around here. The “5-Tag (day) Partymarathon” that culminates with the Rosenmontag Parade begins with Altweiber (old women’s day), the Thursday before the Karneval weekend. The Altweiber tradition is a gleefully celebrated tradition where women gather in the town square at 11:11 and storm the town hall, taking the key away from the Mayor and cutting the ties of any men in the way. From this point on, politics are forbidden for the remainder of Karneval, and the first of many parties rages in the town hall itself and in pubs across the town. Unfortunately, I was still in school for the Altweiber wild-women tradition, but I heard of many good parties afterwards. The next day was a school holiday, so I was able to enjoy my typical (aka. typical of Hallowe’en) last-minute costume-making without stress. I already had an idea, so in the morning I set off into town to see what I could find. To my delight, Heiligenhaus has about as many well-stocked Thrift stores as Summerland, so I was able to find what I was looking for for quite a good price. Can you hear my satisfaction? That evening, I went to a party at a local pub with friends, and enjoyed pretending to sing along to Karneval songs - loud, catchy, and mostly non-sensical. The next day, I had the morning to recover and pack, and headed off in the afternoon to Düsseldorf for the much-awaited Rotary Karneval weekend. It was lovely to meet all our “newbies” (new arrivals, who have school in summer and break in winter - so mostly Australians and Brazilians) and catch up with everyone else. I won the costume competition and was crowned queen of our group (like the traditional Karneval queen and king pair, who reign over the parades dressed in Medieval finery). The highlight of the weekend was the Rosenmontag parade on Monday, where we all dressed up and went right to the town centre to join the action. The crowds jostled, everyone competing for a spot near the front and shouting “Helau!” so people in the floats would throw candy in their direction. The floats themselves were mostly dedicated to poking fun at politicians and cultures, so Mr. Trump and Mr. Erdogan were definitely the stars of the show. I found this originally kind of shocking (I’ve decided not to include pictures of the floats but you can easily find the most provocative ones on the web) but after a bit of observation concluded that the atmosphere was very positive - the whole city uniting to celebrate their tolerance of freedom of expression and opinion (and ability to accept and embrace criticism) - even if there were some things that we would certainly never say in Canada. The weekend was wonderful, but there was one unfortunate part; we didn’t do a city tour as I had hoped. Therefore, I was very happy a few weeks later when our district Rotary organizer told us that he had arranged a city tour of Düsseldorf for those of us living nearby. When the weekend arrived, it was very rainy but we still had a wonderful and informative tour. Our guide showed us the Düssel, a surprisingly tiny river (about the size of Trout Creek) for which the city is named, the one remaining tower of the Düsseldorf palace, art exhibits throughout the city, favourite pubs and famous churches. I really look forward to taking the time to explore Düsseldorf more intimately, now that I know about all the amazing museums and festivals. Time is ticking though - I have many adventures planned, and the weekends are running out! Before I wrap up today’s post, I want to put this in the record. For any of those still not convinced by my pictures and descriptions so far, Germany is BEAUTIFUL. This really hit me today, driving with my host family back from Maintal (a village near Frankfurt where we spent the weekend visiting a lovely family and attending a 50th birthday party). I have seen so many magical, fairy-tale places (from charming woods where forest-kindergarten children play to narrow half-timbered houses built into crumbling city walls) that are everyday here, not pretentious and artificial (although those exist too, of course). As well, spring is in full glory now, and the countryside is fresh and green, gardens splashed with colour, and trees bedecked with lacy blossoms. I saw many people riding through the fields and forest paths on bicycles because of the warm Sunday weather, and realized that I certainly don’t have time to see nearly enough of Germany. If anyone is considering a trip to this corner of the world… this country is absolutely a must-see. Okay, enough for now. I’m very sorry it took me so long to get to this. The next post will definitely be soon though (and therefore hopefully not so long); in a week, I will have a trip to Denmark to report on! Bis Bald, Sylvia Hello all,
To start off today’s post, I’d like to say a big thank-you to those of you back in Summerland who sent me such a nice Canadian care package yesterday - although I must admit that it’s weird to receive a snowfall now, just when it was starting to feel like spring ;) One day of snow wasn’t quite long enough for me to source some maple syrup and make tirée d’érable though. Do you have any more to spare? I’ve been back to school for a week now, and already my practicum seems so long ago. I’m happy to report that it was a very enjoyable three weeks of volunteering at the Food Bank! I was lucky enough to work in many different capacities - as a passenger in the food-collecting vans, an office worker, and one of the crew giving out groceries at the Food Bank “Standort”s. This made for a varied and interesting schedule, and allowed me to gain a good understanding of how the Food Bank system as a whole works here. Here’s a quick overview of what each of the roles involved, for those interested in a few more details: Van passenger: At 8:00, we met at the warehouse and loaded the vans with crates. Then, off we drove to pick up food at grocery stores and bakeries. Depending on what the places donated, we needed to sort through the food, throwing out anything with old best-before dates and other questionable goods. Then, we loaded up the van and drove to the next place, ending our route at the Standort of the day, where we unloaded all the crates of food. As this ended early mid-day, I would then stay and help out at the Standort. Office worker: Because it was the beginning of the new year, I was kept very busy in the office making new cards for the customers - which basically consisted of transferring old information to an excel chart on the computer, adding any new information, verifying that they were still eligible to receive cards based on the documents they provided, and printing off and laminating the aforementioned cards. It was a very good exercise in communication and gave me a chance to occasionally put my French and English to use, as many of the customers were relatively new German speakers. Standort crew member: Probably my favourite job, although that’s hard to say. The days at the Standorts were short but fairly intense for a few hours. Every day of the week, the food bank was in a different place, and I got to work in each of them at least once. Each of these places (mostly in churches) had a kitchen, a dining area, and a space for the grocery dispensing. We would meet at 9:30ish, make sure everything was tidy, start to prepare the food (depending on the place, either made there or donated by hotels/schools/etc. and heated up) and set up the tables. As the vans came with groceries, we would help unload the crates, sort everything and lay it out on tables in the hall, and then take a break to breakfast and drink coffee together. After this, the work would begin in earnest. As the customers began to arrive, they would present their cards and pay (2 euros per family for groceries, or 0.50 euros per person for a hot meal), then pick a number from a hat and line up accordingly to wait. Depending on the place, there would be 60-120 customers in total. As those buying groceries came through, we either walked through the grocery hall with them or received them at stations. They would tell us which goods they wanted and we would portion them out according to how many people were there, how much food we had that day, and how many people they were shopping for. Although a few of the customers were occasionally unsatisfied with the amount they received, the vast majority were extremely respectful, friendly, and understanding when there was little of a certain product. When I expressed this to one of the other volunteers, he said “Yes; when you smile, people smile back”. From that point, I made it my mission to be as pleasant as possible - and it was amazing how the warmth I tried to express was given back tenfold. After one and a half or two hours, everyone was through and we cleaned up and loaded any leftover groceries back into the vans to be taken to the warehouse for the night. All in all, my experience was very eye-opening and I feel privileged to have been able to learn about and contribute a little to such an important program, as well as to have met so many wonderful volunteers who do this work on a regular basis. Now, I am in the process of writing my practicum report for school - which I will happily send to anyone interested in testing out their German / doing some editing ;) Since I last wrote, it hasn’t just been “work, work, work”. I’ve also been doing some sightseeing (including visiting the Neanderthal museum in Mettmann (where the first neanderthal remains were found) with Manfred, going for another family cheese-buying expedition to Holland, and visiting the Chocolate museum in Cologne with friends) and attended some interesting events (a dance open house in Dusseldorf where I participated in several free lessons (my favourite being the Afro-Brazilian Dance lesson), a balloon-animal making tutorial at a friend’s house, and a Peruvian food festival in Cologne, to name a few). As well, my schedule is totally new - I switched several classes at school and now tutor english four times a week and have a Standard/Latin dance class in Velbert twice a week, as well as lots of other activities once a week (Youth Group meetings, Rotary/Roteract meetings, German lessons, a tango class in Dusseldorf, and a Zumba class in Heiligenhaus). Also worthy of mention is my awesome “Newbie” (new exchange student) - Francisco, a Brazilian boy who now goes to Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium with me! It’s very neat to have another exchange student at my school, although unfortunately we have no classes together. As you can see, “never a dull moment” is certainly an accurate description of my life right now. I’m excited to see what adventures are coming next! Liebe Grüße from sunny Heiligenhaus, Sylvia Hello, and a warm welcome back for the new year! As I haven't yet reported on my Christmas vacation, I'll take this opportunity to look back at the previous two weeks before I start afresh with 2017 news. To begin, we need to travel back in time to Christmas Eve....
Dec. 24th: Heilig Abend, the Big Day in Germany (and our first day of winter holidays). Having been invited to help alter serve at the midnight mass at the Catholic Church by my friend Kea, I spent part of the morning at a practive for the servers. While parceling the duties out among 15 servers made light work for us all, it took a bit of coordination to figure out how to fit us (plus the choir) on and around such a small alter. I there recieved an early Christmas present - a book with a collection of German Christmas songs compiled by Kea. How thoughtful! When I returned home, the tree was set up and decorated (most notably with real wax candles in metal brackets), forming a cheery presence in the livingroom. Gifts slowly began to pile up underneath the boughs - it seems I wasn't the only one doing some last-minute wrapping. At 3:00 we headed off to the Anglican church for the youth Christmas mass, where Marta performed a skit with other members of her Confirmation class. After coming home, we had little time to wait; as the sun went down, the children were sent upstairs to our rooms so the Christkind (not Santa Claus (Der Weihnachtsmann) or Sankt Nikolaus) could come. Justus was very anxious to go back downstairs, so Emils and I barricaded him in my room and attempted to entertain him until we were called down. In the dark living room, the warm smell of melting candles filled the air and the tree glowed with dozens of tiny flames. The small pile of presents had significantly grown and been sorted into piles according to the person they were addressed to. We gathered around and took turns choosing presents for the others to open. I was suprised and touched to recieve presents from the Latvian grandparents and Signe's sister in America, as well as very generous and sweet gifts from Signe, Manfred, Marta, and Emils. It was a magical evening - Justus' huge enthusiasm for each new Playmobile set (which he insisted on opening and had to be reminded to keep opening new presents instead of setting them up on the spot) was a delight to witness. For supper, we had Raclettes - a very fun meal where each person assembles their own combination of veggies, meat, and cheese in a tiny pan and grills their creations on a special Raclette grill. The late evening was spent skyping with Signe's family and Emma - sending our Christmas wishes around the globe. Eventually, I headed off into the night to attend the church service and despite the heaviness of the candles, managed not to drop mine, trip over my robes, or otherwise mess up the service. The songs, incence, and community spirit was very peaceful and I felt truly wrapped in Christmas spirit. After arriving home, I hurried to bed - as you're soon to read, the next day was an early one. Dec. 25th: The first day of Christmas started at 6:15 for Manfred, Marta and I. We groggily headed out, braving the dark early morning streets to make it to the 7:00 mass at the Anglican church. The service was short but festive, and the lightness of the sky when we emerged from the church was a friendly welcome to begin the day. We spent a wonderful, lazy day at home, making use of our presents - ie. reading, watching movies, and playing board games. I suppose that I should speak for myself when I use the word "lazy", as Signe was busy all morning preparing a delicious Christmas feast. It consisted of German and Latvian specialties: a roasted duck (even tastier then the goose, in my humble opinion) with apple stuffing and potatoes (Deutsch), as well as latvian red beet salad and special black peas that resembled roasted haselnuts (and tasted creamy and nutty), accompanied by kefir, a sour yogurt drink. In the evening, we got everything packed and ready for our trip up north the next day. Dec. 26th: The second day of Christmas (and also the last, unfortunately). We spent this day driving first to Bremerhaven to meet Manfred's mother, sister, and uncle for Christmas lunch (aboard a ship-turned-restaurant docked in the harbour) and from there to Manfred's mother's house in Oldendorf. After coffee and cake at Oma's, we had the second round of gift-unwrapping, and Marta was very pleased to finally recieve a much-wished-for punching bag for her Tai Kwon Do practice. After a late evening catching up and playing more games, we split up - Manfred, Signe, Justus and I heading to the cottage where we would be staying while the others overnighted at Oma's. Dec. 27th-29th: With Christmas officially over, we took the opportunity to do some exploring around Northern Germany. One day was spent touring Bremen and seeing the sights - including a bronze statue of the Bremen State Musicians (a group of animals from a popular fairy tale who had great plans to go to the free state of Bremen (in order to escape the common fate of run-down farm animals) and live as sought-after state musicians, but never actually made it there), the funky, upscale artist's quarter, and the Schnoor Viertel, a medieval quarter with impossible narrow streets and charming, colorful buildings. The next day trip was made to Bremerhaven, to visit the Emigration/Immigration Museum (at my request - I had read about it in my history textbook at school and was so happy to be able to go (it did not disappoint! We spent four hours there and could have stayed longer)) and sample fresh, crispy battered fish at a fried-fish canteen/restaurant with huge portions, tacky vinyl tablecloths, and nautical decorations in every nook and cranny (basically a must-do in any port city, regardless of the country). Then, we had one more day to spend with Oma and Aunt Annette in Oldendorf before we drove back home - I believe I slept the majority of the way back! Dec. 31st: Silvester! The much-awaited Rutsch (slip) into the new year, and the last of the mysterious seasonal German holidays that I had been waiting to experience. The celebration began in the early evening, as guests began to arrive at our house laden with potluck dishes and crates of fireworks. The other kids and I played a variety of games (including several rounds of tag outside at 10:00 - chilly and dark, but exhilarating) until 11:20, when the boys insisted we go back outside to set off the Kinder fireworks (yes, such things exist!). These little fire-spewing/exploding/spinning/popping delights occupied us until shortly before 12:00, when the serious fireworks began to be set off throughout the neightbourhood. By midnight, when our group of adults came outside with sparkling wine, hugs, and good wishes for the new year, the night had come alive, exploding with color and sound. We soon added our collection of fireworks to the rest, and I watched, captivated, as the columns of fire shot upwards from driveways all around us, smoke drifted through the air, and sparks rained down from the sky. It was like another dimension had been added to the night - a little frightening (the power of the fireworks was impressive and I fervently hoped that they would all shoot out in the right direction) but also magical. After the explosions began to subside and our fingers grew too stiff to hold our wine glasses, we headed back inside for hot soup and dessert. I went to bed earlier then the rest (around 2:00), and spent my first morning of 2017 absolutely dead to the world. The last week of the holidays was not spent dutifully studying German/math, as I had imagined (thank goodness ;) ). Instead, I was busy each day, taking advantage of the one day of snow to make snowmen and shovel the driveway (the funny things you miss from home!), traveling to Düsseldorf, Dorsten, and Cologne to meet with exchange friends, going to a birthday party with school friends, going swimming, and having a Canadian pancake breakfast with Kea. Another fun-filled week! Part of yesterday was spent in Wuppertal watching Emils' handball tournament, which was also lovely. After a week of school, I begin my three week practicum in the Velbert soup kitchen. I'm very excited about this opportunity to learn about a different aspect of German society and the social support system. So, all caught up! I hope that you all had wonderful holidays and I congratulate you for making it this far in my extremely long post. Wishing you good health and happiness in the new year :) Liebe Grüße, Sylvia Seasons Greetings from Germany! Yes, as Christmas approaches, we are full swing into the holiday spirit. In fact, it seems like the entire month has been spent preparing for Christmas - as it should be, of course. This has provided me plenty of opportunity to discover new traditions as well as German variations on familiar and well-loved holiday activities.
Advent Calendars: On the first of December, Signe and Manfred surprised me with a lovely Ferrero Rocher Calendar, which I have since been enjoying immensely. Here, Advent calendar are very popular, and come in many more variations then in Canada. Emils and Marta each got one with a different part every day to build remote-controlled helicopters, Manfred got a Christmas joke calendar, Signe got one that consists of small boxes of material which come by post every few days, and Justus got two - one with chocolate, and one with a piece of lego every day to form an entire set. Apparently you can get calendars with cheese, salami, tea, make-up... and basically anything else you can dream up. Christmas Baking: I have now spent many a happy afternoon baking and decorating cookies with Marta and Manfred, often with the help of a flour-covered Justus. Schoko-Crossies (chocolate-cornflake clusters) are one of my favourite cookies so far. St. Nikolaus day: On December 5th, I joined Marta and Emils in schue-putzen (shoe-cleaning). It seems a strange tradition, but is very important - who wants to receive chocolates and sweets in a dirty boot? I guess we did a sufficient job, because St. Nikolaus deemed it fit to fill our boots during the night. Thank you, jolly old St. Nick! Christmas (okay, pre-Christmas) parties: The cocoon has split open and revealed a social butterfly! Or perhaps something more like a moth, but close enough. I have been hopping from party to party over the last few weeks - from extremely fancy (a Rotary club roasted goose feast) to casual but festive (such as a lovely Straßefest with our neighbours). Christmas Markets: At the center of every German town, city, and village, stands a cheerful collection of wooden stalls festooned with lights and greenery. It is a gathering place for neighbours and out-of-town friends to meet, drink mulled wine, and shop for the perfect christmas gift - not to mention eat! (For more details on the food, please read further - it deserves an entire category of its own.) I’ve been sure to hit up as many Christmas Markets as possible, near and far: in Dusseldorf, Velbert, Heiligenhaus, Aachen, Munster, and Ratingen. The biggest ones are impressive, jam-packed, and full of millions of exotic and traditional options for souvenir shoppers and snack seekers alike. On the other hand, the smaller ones are cozy and often feature school choirs and other local musical talent. A fun place to wander with friends! The Food: I have to include a list of new and exciting foods, and here it is:
Of course, this is only the beginning - I will report on my very first German Christmas and Sylvester (New Years) in a week or so. Until then, I wish you all the best of the season! Liebe Grüße, Sylvia Hello readers! It has come to my attention that while you have heard lots about my weekend adventures, I have left you woefully misinformed about my everyday after school adventures and activities. Here is a list of my extracurriculars:
Monday: 1.5 hrs. German lessons 2 hrs. Rotary/Roteract meeting Tuesday: 1.5 hrs. School Band practice 1 hour Latin/Standard dance lessons (new as of last week) Wednesday: 1.5 hrs. German lessons 1.5 hrs. Bellydance Thursday: 0.5 hrs. English tutoring 1 hour Step-Aerobic Class Friday: Sleep! As you can see, I really don't have much time for homework (especially on Fridays). How tragic ;) |