A piece of heart left behind

Deustchland, a country that I can claim heritage to... a nation that I called home for the past 359 days. It is a bittersweet emotion that wells up within me as I say goodbye. As I sit on a train bound for Frankfurt, I stare out the window at the countryside rushing past... just as the past year seemed to rush past in my mind. The brown and green squared fields, trimmed with impossibly perfect forests. Perfect blue skies dotted, their white fluffy clouds casting small shadows onto the red-tiled roofs of German villages that barely have names. A scene that I have grown accustomed to, or perhaps I should say a scene I have become so very fond of.

3 asians and a white guy

The Brandenburger Tor

Late in the month of April, Mariko's dad and sister were able to fly out and spend some time with us.  Of course as it was also their first time in Europe we wanted to show them as much as we could during that time. They were only going to be here for 10 days and travel restrictions were slightly limited, so we spent all of our time in Germany.

Karnival > Halloween

The Germans have recently (the last 10 years or so) the American holiday of Halloween. From what I've seen it is more of a amusement )or reason to have a party) to them than an actual holiday. At first I was surprised that they didn't enjoy it more, it feels like it would be something they would like. But I have recently learned why. Because they have something better... they have Karnival!

Extreme Cold!

It is cold, I mean really COLD, currently in Germany. And I don't want to hear anything about "oh you just aren't used to it"... I lived in Colorado for over 15 yrs and rarely wore things like gloves and snow boots and all those other things that keep you warm. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not an Eskimo or one of those crazies wearing shorts during a blizzard, but I can handle some reasonable amount of cold.

However right now both Mariko and I are freezing our              off.... feel free to insert what ever word you feel fits the best and I'm sure it's been frozen. We've had the pleasure of standing in the cold waiting for buses and trains, we walk to groceries stores and work in this unholiest of weather.

And to prove that it isn't just us being pansies: CNN: Situation 'tragic' as winter weather blankets Europe . That's right even CNN has reported about this winter. I can summarize most of the article for everyone though. Europe is experiencing its coldest winter in 25 years! Snow and ice abound across the continent (luckily no major snow here), causing cities to shut down with the severity of it.

There are even reports of some German towns recording record lows!! I mean how cold does it have to be in GERMANY for the weather men to look at the temperature and say "Oh Shit!! Never heard of it being that cold!"

So for those of you in warm places, you know who you are, just be happy and lucky that your feet aren't small little blocks of ice in your shoes.

The Bielefeld Conspiracy

Bielefeld, Germany has a population of 323,000 and it located in the most populated German state, Nordrhein-Westfallen.....and a large number of Germans believe the town does not actually exist. The leading questions to this cause are:

1. Do you know anybody from Bielefeld?
2. Have you ever been to Bielefeld?
3. Do you know anybody who has ever been to Bielefeld?

3 Cities- 1 Day

Dec 31st is more commonly referred to as New Years Eve, the last day of the old year where friends and family celebrate and bring in the new. For Mariko and I its usually more of a night of relaxing and one of the few times that we go to bed before midnight.... not sure why, we just usually do. This year was different for us. We had just finished our Christmas trip to Sweden plus the extension to Baden-Baden and we we now on our way to bring in the new year with some of our Fulbright friends.

Germany in a week!

Fun Berlin Graffiti

As most of you know my dad was able to visit Mariko and I while we are here in Germany. And since it was his first visit to Europe he wanted to see as much as possible. Sadly our trips were all situated in Germany, as we only had one week and were coming and going from Braunschweig. But of course there is plenty to see in Germany, so I had planned as much as I could for him.... this is how our week went:

Double or nothing

GO GO GO!! Stop!! Relax.... repeat!! That is what it feels like the German way of life is. Being in Germany for two months now, I've come to realize that Germans have two modes...

1. Moving. When they are moving Germans are moving fast, you either need to go or get out of the way.... they will run you over. This is also evident by their stop lights.... it goes green->yellow->red (like the US also) but then it goes red->red+yellow->green (they want you to know its time to move!
2.  Relaxing. When they are not going, Germans are usually relaxing and relaxing just as intense as they move. It is customary when eating at a restaurant here to take 2+ hours to eat.  When walking behind a German who is relaxing be prepared for sudden long stops (and the easiest way to tell if they are relaxing is if you are walking faster than them-> they are relaxing)

The two modes of Germans are interesting in the fact that they are intense about both methods. When they are moving, nothing better get in their way and woe to the person who does. When they are relaxing it doesn't matter how long something takes, they just enjoy it. All or nothing, it just happens to be the extreme ends of the spectrum.