Happy Thanksgiving, liebe Americans! I love you and miss you! :)
I'll be spending my Turkey weekend in Brussels and Amsterdam, but will be thinking of krumkaka and Leon's ham gravy.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thanksgiving
Well, the first Thanksgiving dinner I ever hosted, yesterday, (yes, I know Thanksgiving isn't until next week, but it's very difficult to roast a turkey while you're on a train to Brussels) went beautifully. I spent much of last week planning, preparing, and shopping, made up some side dishes on Thursday night, then cooked from noon to 5 pm on Friday with three other Americans. :) 14 of the 16 people I invited showed up, I didn't burn the turkey or set anything on fire, I was able to make a good resemblance of scalloped corn without creamed corn or corn muffins and by just using my ingenuity, and I got a lot of compliments and thank yous from everyone. It was a really fun night, just sitting around, eating dinner with all the close friends I've made here in Germany, conversing and drinking wine, and really feeling thankful for where I am in life right now.
That said, sitting through a Thanksgiving dinner and just reflecting on last night also makes me a little homesick - Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I feel very weird not being around my family during this time.
It was also a very magical moment right around 8 pm, as we were eating, when we realized it was snowing outside - the first snow of the season in Trier. I bitched and moaned, like any good Minnesotan, but it was actually very beautiful; everything was pitch black, and you could only see the snow as it passed through the halo around each light and as it landed on your coat. Late after dinner, I and two friends wandered around the city and through the Christmas market that is being set up and just watched the snow fall.
This morning, when I woke up, upon opening my curtains, I was greeted by a landscape change; enough snow fell last night to almost cover the grass, only leaving small patches to poke through, and the trees, even at noon, are all laden with wet snow. It is really quite beautiful.
(On Yahoo! News, the main headlines are "Mittens and gloves out: the first snowfall over the weekend will stick around" and "Traffic crises due to the snow" - the spot with the most snow in Deutschland, in the Alps, was about six inches. How strange to actually live somewhere where people do not know how to deal with snow!)
This also honestly makes me a bit homesick, seeing Trier looking so much like home (even though this a view of home I would've had back in late September/early October). On the flip side, I'm certainly glad that I haven't been dealing with this white stuff for a month already... I've realized that the long winters really do affect my mood, and not in the most positive of ways.
Thus, Minnesota has come to Germany for the weekend. It remains to be seen if it will stick around, but I think, if anything, I will just feel a nice reminder of home every once in awhile. :)
That said, sitting through a Thanksgiving dinner and just reflecting on last night also makes me a little homesick - Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and I feel very weird not being around my family during this time.
It was also a very magical moment right around 8 pm, as we were eating, when we realized it was snowing outside - the first snow of the season in Trier. I bitched and moaned, like any good Minnesotan, but it was actually very beautiful; everything was pitch black, and you could only see the snow as it passed through the halo around each light and as it landed on your coat. Late after dinner, I and two friends wandered around the city and through the Christmas market that is being set up and just watched the snow fall.
This morning, when I woke up, upon opening my curtains, I was greeted by a landscape change; enough snow fell last night to almost cover the grass, only leaving small patches to poke through, and the trees, even at noon, are all laden with wet snow. It is really quite beautiful.
(On Yahoo! News, the main headlines are "Mittens and gloves out: the first snowfall over the weekend will stick around" and "Traffic crises due to the snow" - the spot with the most snow in Deutschland, in the Alps, was about six inches. How strange to actually live somewhere where people do not know how to deal with snow!)
This also honestly makes me a bit homesick, seeing Trier looking so much like home (even though this a view of home I would've had back in late September/early October). On the flip side, I'm certainly glad that I haven't been dealing with this white stuff for a month already... I've realized that the long winters really do affect my mood, and not in the most positive of ways.
Thus, Minnesota has come to Germany for the weekend. It remains to be seen if it will stick around, but I think, if anything, I will just feel a nice reminder of home every once in awhile. :)
Monday, November 17, 2008
+ France!
Holy crap!
Add to the list of awesome traveling I'll be doing within the next month the destination of Lyon, France, the third largest city in France. As previously stated, my friend, Romain, is coming to Trier for a week and is taking me to Die Toten Hosen concert. He invited me long ago to accompany him back to Lyon at the end of the week for the Fête des Lumières, the Festival of Lights.
Thus, if all works out, I'm going to Lyon for December 5/6 through 8/9 to see the city and the festival and of course spend time with Romain!
Oh, how I love being in Europe.
"Yeah, I think I might head down to France for the weekend..."
:D
Add to the list of awesome traveling I'll be doing within the next month the destination of Lyon, France, the third largest city in France. As previously stated, my friend, Romain, is coming to Trier for a week and is taking me to Die Toten Hosen concert. He invited me long ago to accompany him back to Lyon at the end of the week for the Fête des Lumières, the Festival of Lights.
Thus, if all works out, I'm going to Lyon for December 5/6 through 8/9 to see the city and the festival and of course spend time with Romain!
Oh, how I love being in Europe.
"Yeah, I think I might head down to France for the weekend..."
:D
Friday, November 14, 2008
The holidays are always so busy...
So, there has been some cool stuff happening, and there is soon even more to come!
1) US-Wahlparty
The US-Wahlparty was a pretty super cool event. In a building that is made to hold only 200 people, at one point, there were more than 330 in attendance and more waiting to get in. The audience/crowd was made up of all sorts of characters, from professors to German students to American ex-pats to international students... it was a blast! After some technical malfunctioning (we dealt with microphone feedback all night and some delay in linking up with CNN to display it via projector), the night went really smoothly. A series of interviews and short, interesting lectures were given, with me being the only person onstage more than once besides my boss, the head of the Trier Center for American Studies and the guy in charge of the whole event, and the emcees.
To begin with, I interviewed a master's student, Milena, about her research into American and German media portrayals of both candidates and how this affected their campaign strategies. It was kind of a bummer to meet with her the afternoon of the event and find a really interesting person who is super nice and fun to talk to... only to have her leave for the U.S. six days later. She is currently working on her master's research, which involves linguistic references to terrorism post-9/11 in Bush's speeches and in the media. So cool... she's studying something VERY similar to what I'm looking at! But, we agreed to try to meet up sometime when I return to America and before she comes back to Germany; there is a short overlap period possible, in which she will likely be in Chicago with her American boyfriend. :)
For my second appearance on stage, I was interviewed by my boss about my forecasts and perceptions about the election from a U.S. citizen and Minnesotan's view. After the ending activities, we sat around and watched CNN until I couldn't stay awake anymore, as I had been sick for about three weeks (don't worry, the cough is finally gone, and I am perfectly healthy again!). I went to bed around 1:30 am here, only 6:30 pm Central, not knowing what was going to happen, but having a pretty good idea, only to wake up at 5:30 am Germany time, only an hour after Obama had been declared winner. I unfortunately missed all the speeches, as I have no television and only very limited Internet access, which streaming video quickly eats. It's ok, though; it's very interesting living in a wholly different environment with a completely different way of staying in touch with the world.
Next installment in the "catching-up game": My day in Heidelberg.
Upcoming excitement:
- Amanda and I are planning a huge traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our international friends to show them how Americans celebrate, though it will be in actuality the day after T-Day, as we still have to attend classes all week here.
- Official opening of Trier's Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) on November 27, which will run all the way through Christmas! They've started really setting up for it today, and I am so excited!
- 2 nights in Brussels and 2 nights in Amsterdam from November 27 to December 1.
- In return for letting him crash on my floor for a few nights, my friend Romain from Lyon, France, bought me a ticket to accompany him to Die Toten Hosen concert here in Trier on December 2. Die Toten Hosen (The Dead Pants) are a well-known German rock/punk group.
- I will spend December 12-14 on an excursion in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) with a group of about 60, on a trip organized by the International Center here on the university. Cost: only 99 Euros. Itinerary: a day in Strassburg at the Weihnachtsmarkt (said to be one of the most beautiful in Germany), nightlife in Freiburg, tours of Freiburg and the Schwarzwald, and a visit to Europapark, Germany's biggest amusement park.
- From December 15-17, my former high school teacher and good friend, Nadine, will be visiting me. She is currently teaching in Kuwait and is spending her Christmas holidays around Europe.
- I and a friend are flying to Berlin December 26-29, where we will explore the city and take a side trip to the former concentration camp, Sachsenhausen.
1) US-Wahlparty
The US-Wahlparty was a pretty super cool event. In a building that is made to hold only 200 people, at one point, there were more than 330 in attendance and more waiting to get in. The audience/crowd was made up of all sorts of characters, from professors to German students to American ex-pats to international students... it was a blast! After some technical malfunctioning (we dealt with microphone feedback all night and some delay in linking up with CNN to display it via projector), the night went really smoothly. A series of interviews and short, interesting lectures were given, with me being the only person onstage more than once besides my boss, the head of the Trier Center for American Studies and the guy in charge of the whole event, and the emcees.
To begin with, I interviewed a master's student, Milena, about her research into American and German media portrayals of both candidates and how this affected their campaign strategies. It was kind of a bummer to meet with her the afternoon of the event and find a really interesting person who is super nice and fun to talk to... only to have her leave for the U.S. six days later. She is currently working on her master's research, which involves linguistic references to terrorism post-9/11 in Bush's speeches and in the media. So cool... she's studying something VERY similar to what I'm looking at! But, we agreed to try to meet up sometime when I return to America and before she comes back to Germany; there is a short overlap period possible, in which she will likely be in Chicago with her American boyfriend. :)
For my second appearance on stage, I was interviewed by my boss about my forecasts and perceptions about the election from a U.S. citizen and Minnesotan's view. After the ending activities, we sat around and watched CNN until I couldn't stay awake anymore, as I had been sick for about three weeks (don't worry, the cough is finally gone, and I am perfectly healthy again!). I went to bed around 1:30 am here, only 6:30 pm Central, not knowing what was going to happen, but having a pretty good idea, only to wake up at 5:30 am Germany time, only an hour after Obama had been declared winner. I unfortunately missed all the speeches, as I have no television and only very limited Internet access, which streaming video quickly eats. It's ok, though; it's very interesting living in a wholly different environment with a completely different way of staying in touch with the world.
Next installment in the "catching-up game": My day in Heidelberg.
Upcoming excitement:
- Amanda and I are planning a huge traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our international friends to show them how Americans celebrate, though it will be in actuality the day after T-Day, as we still have to attend classes all week here.
- Official opening of Trier's Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) on November 27, which will run all the way through Christmas! They've started really setting up for it today, and I am so excited!
- 2 nights in Brussels and 2 nights in Amsterdam from November 27 to December 1.
- In return for letting him crash on my floor for a few nights, my friend Romain from Lyon, France, bought me a ticket to accompany him to Die Toten Hosen concert here in Trier on December 2. Die Toten Hosen (The Dead Pants) are a well-known German rock/punk group.
- I will spend December 12-14 on an excursion in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) with a group of about 60, on a trip organized by the International Center here on the university. Cost: only 99 Euros. Itinerary: a day in Strassburg at the Weihnachtsmarkt (said to be one of the most beautiful in Germany), nightlife in Freiburg, tours of Freiburg and the Schwarzwald, and a visit to Europapark, Germany's biggest amusement park.
- From December 15-17, my former high school teacher and good friend, Nadine, will be visiting me. She is currently teaching in Kuwait and is spending her Christmas holidays around Europe.
- I and a friend are flying to Berlin December 26-29, where we will explore the city and take a side trip to the former concentration camp, Sachsenhausen.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Back to work
If you're interested, I'm also blogging for Hamline now (with a biweekly paycheck involved!).
You can read my administration-friendly version here: PiperBlogs.
DISCLAIMER: I am not the one posting the final versions of my blogs (and especially not the person attaching the photos to each blog), so the weird words and strange incohesion (is that a word?) that don't sound like me probably aren't.
You can read my administration-friendly version here: PiperBlogs.
DISCLAIMER: I am not the one posting the final versions of my blogs (and especially not the person attaching the photos to each blog), so the weird words and strange incohesion (is that a word?) that don't sound like me probably aren't.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Proud to be young.
What a strange experience it was to watch the U.S. elections from half a world away.
More than anything, though, I was so glad to see and hear how involved the youth are, both in America and around the entire world. I don't know if this is new or if it has always been this way, and I've just never realized it, but I am proud of my generation.
More on this later. :)
More than anything, though, I was so glad to see and hear how involved the youth are, both in America and around the entire world. I don't know if this is new or if it has always been this way, and I've just never realized it, but I am proud of my generation.
More on this later. :)
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