Some pictures from France:
Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! ¡Feliz navidad!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Journey home...then home sweet home
I've been home for about 3 weeks now. I left Munich and went to France for a few days where I stayed with a friend before flying home. He showed me around Paris and around his town. Since then I've been home a lot of the time and am enjoying time spent with my family before I head back to college at the beginning of January. As much as I love being home, I must say it has been an adjustment and there are things I miss about Germany and Peru.
Some pictures from France:
Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! ¡Feliz navidad!
Some pictures from France:
Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! ¡Feliz navidad!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Recent realizations...
...I've spent more time out of the States since my high school graduation than in the USA.
...By the time I get home, I will have traveled with all of my luggage 10 times! That's a lot of work, and 10 seems like a good place to stop.
...Over this year, I've lived in 4 different cities.
...By the time I get home, I will can say that I have visited 5 countries since I was last in the US.
...Weather here is even more unpredictable than at home.
...It isn't very long till I go home!
...By the time I get home, I will have traveled with all of my luggage 10 times! That's a lot of work, and 10 seems like a good place to stop.
...Over this year, I've lived in 4 different cities.
...By the time I get home, I will can say that I have visited 5 countries since I was last in the US.
...Weather here is even more unpredictable than at home.
...It isn't very long till I go home!
Monday, November 15, 2010
lately...
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken the time to update you on what I’ve been doing. Here’s a brief overview of my last month here in Munich. Besides for the everyday things like running, going to class, reading, and attempting to keep my room free from the fruit fly infestation (primarily in the kitchen, but throughout the apartment), I was able to do a number of cultural activities.
My fruitfly trap
Some of the museums that I visited include two technical and automotive museums, the Munich city museum, and 4 art museums. I’ve come to realize that most things can be interesting if approached in the right way. Art never really interested me before, but I found the museums here as well as the architecture of several buildings, especially churches fascinating. When combined with historical anecdotes and being able to see things first-hand, it all makes a lot more sense. I can now better appreciate the different art movements. One thing, that catches my attention each time that I hear or read it, is that the reason that Munich so much artwork has, even though 80% of the city was completely destroyed in WWII, is that they knew the bombs would come and because Hitler loved artwork, he saw to it that all most of the artwork was removed from the city and stored in safer places.
I visited Schloss Neuschwanstein (the castle that looks like the Disney castle) and Schloss Nymphenburg. The first of those two was neat to learn about and see, but had way to much decoration and ornamentation for my tastes. The surrounding landscape with the autumn leaves was gorgeous.
Many days were rainy and dreary, but there were a few days on which we had gorgeous weather, such as those this weekend. I took full advantage of the sunny days spending my entire time outdoors going for walks along the Starnberger See, in the Englischer Garten and in the garden belonging to Nymphenburg Palace.
This past Saturday, I spent attempting avoiding city center, yet having a difficult time getting around the city because of protests that were being held. A group of about 1000 neo-Nazis were demonstrating in the city’s center. Their actions were condemned by the mayor as well as numerous others here. An anti-protest was held by about 5000 people and police from several large cities in Germany were here to enforce safety and crowd control.
I also watched a theatrical production of a book by a Swiss author that I read a few years ago and got to see a ballet. Both were excellent.
Oh, and I’ve seen two shops with names about as close to mine as they come: “April April” and “Aprilia”
My fruitfly trapSome of the museums that I visited include two technical and automotive museums, the Munich city museum, and 4 art museums. I’ve come to realize that most things can be interesting if approached in the right way. Art never really interested me before, but I found the museums here as well as the architecture of several buildings, especially churches fascinating. When combined with historical anecdotes and being able to see things first-hand, it all makes a lot more sense. I can now better appreciate the different art movements. One thing, that catches my attention each time that I hear or read it, is that the reason that Munich so much artwork has, even though 80% of the city was completely destroyed in WWII, is that they knew the bombs would come and because Hitler loved artwork, he saw to it that all most of the artwork was removed from the city and stored in safer places.
I visited Schloss Neuschwanstein (the castle that looks like the Disney castle) and Schloss Nymphenburg. The first of those two was neat to learn about and see, but had way to much decoration and ornamentation for my tastes. The surrounding landscape with the autumn leaves was gorgeous.
Many days were rainy and dreary, but there were a few days on which we had gorgeous weather, such as those this weekend. I took full advantage of the sunny days spending my entire time outdoors going for walks along the Starnberger See, in the Englischer Garten and in the garden belonging to Nymphenburg Palace.
This past Saturday, I spent attempting avoiding city center, yet having a difficult time getting around the city because of protests that were being held. A group of about 1000 neo-Nazis were demonstrating in the city’s center. Their actions were condemned by the mayor as well as numerous others here. An anti-protest was held by about 5000 people and police from several large cities in Germany were here to enforce safety and crowd control.
I also watched a theatrical production of a book by a Swiss author that I read a few years ago and got to see a ballet. Both were excellent.
Oh, and I’ve seen two shops with names about as close to mine as they come: “April April” and “Aprilia”
Monday, November 8, 2010
Being American...
Being American…
As my time abroad draws to an end I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about personal growth…who I was, who I’ve become and who I want to become.
Of course our personal image of ourselves is influenced by comments from others and by the way in which they interact with us, but we see ourselves in a different light. It may be similar. It may not be.
For example, I never considered myself to have blond hair before I went to Peru, but there I was always described as having “pelo rubio.” I thought of myself as average in stature, but in Peru I was tall. Here in Germany I am short.
I asked myself with which categories I would identify myself.
The first first things that came to my mind were: Christian, young, Bodlak, and grew up on a farm.
-Christian because my faith in Christ as my savior is important to me.
-young because statistically speaking, I still have a lot of life to live and am always thinking about all my opportunities for the future.
-Bodlak because my family is a huge part of my life and the person I am.
-Grew up on a farm because the more I encounter people who have only lived in a city, the more I realize I tend to have different values than them, and the more time I spend living in cities, the more I realize how much I need the chance to escape to calm, quiet, wide-open, green spaces.
I would say that the number one category I’ve been placed into throughout this year is the category “American.” When I think about this, thoughts rush through my head, so quickly that I cannot even begin to write them all down—random thoughts, silly things, serious topics, misconceptions, and blessings. Sometimes I’m thankful to be an American; other times I hate it.
I am blessed that English is my first language. What others study for and try to master, I simply know and don’t have to work at. But on the other side of things, it how can I be proud of that? It wasn’t by my choice that I was born in the United States, that I would grow up speaking a language with many irregularities that others must struggle to learn. Sometimes it is frustration when I want to learn another language, because everyone around me speaks English and sometimes it would be easier to just speak English with them. Sometimes I can’t understand them. Sometimes I get frustrated, because they have mastered two or more languages and speaking English is practice for them, but for me it is not.
I am blessed. At home, I can expect warm water to flow out of the faucet when I turn it on. Even though I don’t like going outside by myself at night, I can do that safely. I don’t need to live in fear. I can trust my neighbors. I can trust the officials. Bars are not necessary on the doors and windows of my home. I am respected and treated as another human being regardless of my hair, skin, or eye color. I’m so blessed to have been born in the United States, a land truly full of opportunities. Opportunities on some level for everyone, not just for the elite. I could go to and complete elementary and high school. I have the chance to be a part of that tiny percentage of the world’s population who get continue their beyond the high school level. I admittedly forget that sometimes when I have a lot of homework or have to study for an exam and just feel like complaining. But I am blessed. I do not have to worry about where food or water will come from. Quality medical attention is available. I have clothes for every season of the year. I am blessed. I’ve had the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of cultures and values- an opportunity not available everywhere.
Being American. Sometimes it is nice to be able to see or hear things in English, to see stores and restaurants from back home, to be able to say things like “ok” because it has become a globally recognized and accepted word. Sometimes people think it’s cool. Sometimes people want to know if I’ve been to Hollywood and New York City.
Being American. Sometimes it’s super frustrating. Everyone knows something about my country. Many think they know it all. Being American. Am I that? I don’t know everything about the United States. I haven’t seen that much of it myself. I grew up in Nebraska and study there. Why does that have to make me "American?" I feel like even though I don’t know everything about the USA, I do know more than most people who have never lived there. Can I be both American and Nebraskan? I think so, but here, only the American part of me can be recognized by the people who I meet. Most have never even heard of Nebraska. So…as an “American,” I must face the questions and the statements; whether truth or misconceptions.
Sometimes when someone approaches me to talk about my country, the American in me asks:
Why does my government always get involved in other nations’ business? Are we heroes or are we villains? Do we even have a culture? Well, certainly we do. But how can I explain it? All Americans are not superficial, in fact most aren’t. We just have different values and different ways of expressing ourselves. Yes, on the whole we are very wasteful and we don’t recognize the many blessings that we have.
The American in me cries out:
All Americans are not ignorant. The entire United States is not just like everything that one sees in the movies and on shows. No, just because I come from the United States does not mean that I should be familiar with every single movie, show, singer, and song that comes from or is produced in the United States.
We need a new name for ourselves…why do we call ourselves “Americans” when the inhabitants of an entire 2 continents are really “Americans?”
Other things I have found funny:
-Do American kids really ride big yellow buses to school? Can I drive? And the question while talking to an 11th grade class about the United States and after asking which part of the US I lived in, one kid asked, “Since you live so far away from civilization, do you have TV’s?” Or one thing that I have experienced a few times and find really humorous, when someone wants to hold my jacket and help me put it on, and I kindly tell them, thanks but that it is not necessary and I can do it for myself. All the while, thoughts like this are running through my head, “Haha. Ok, that was kind of nice, but strange. I am a capable human being. Yes, I am a woman, but I can put on my own jacket.” Other such instances, where I felt like my independence was being restricted although, that was by no means the intent, have included the offer to carry super light things for me, to help me step out of a train, and to bring me a chair to sit, even though everyone else was standing! Oh, and the German idea of Line Dancing and their fascination with cowboys and the “Wild West.”
This past year I’ve seen and experienced many things that I had not expected. I have learned many things about others, academically, and about myself. But I can also confirm the statement, that the more you know, the more you know, you know, you don’t know.
As my time abroad draws to an end I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about personal growth…who I was, who I’ve become and who I want to become.
Of course our personal image of ourselves is influenced by comments from others and by the way in which they interact with us, but we see ourselves in a different light. It may be similar. It may not be.
For example, I never considered myself to have blond hair before I went to Peru, but there I was always described as having “pelo rubio.” I thought of myself as average in stature, but in Peru I was tall. Here in Germany I am short.
I asked myself with which categories I would identify myself.
The first first things that came to my mind were: Christian, young, Bodlak, and grew up on a farm.
-Christian because my faith in Christ as my savior is important to me.
-young because statistically speaking, I still have a lot of life to live and am always thinking about all my opportunities for the future.
-Bodlak because my family is a huge part of my life and the person I am.
-Grew up on a farm because the more I encounter people who have only lived in a city, the more I realize I tend to have different values than them, and the more time I spend living in cities, the more I realize how much I need the chance to escape to calm, quiet, wide-open, green spaces.
I would say that the number one category I’ve been placed into throughout this year is the category “American.” When I think about this, thoughts rush through my head, so quickly that I cannot even begin to write them all down—random thoughts, silly things, serious topics, misconceptions, and blessings. Sometimes I’m thankful to be an American; other times I hate it.
I am blessed that English is my first language. What others study for and try to master, I simply know and don’t have to work at. But on the other side of things, it how can I be proud of that? It wasn’t by my choice that I was born in the United States, that I would grow up speaking a language with many irregularities that others must struggle to learn. Sometimes it is frustration when I want to learn another language, because everyone around me speaks English and sometimes it would be easier to just speak English with them. Sometimes I can’t understand them. Sometimes I get frustrated, because they have mastered two or more languages and speaking English is practice for them, but for me it is not.
I am blessed. At home, I can expect warm water to flow out of the faucet when I turn it on. Even though I don’t like going outside by myself at night, I can do that safely. I don’t need to live in fear. I can trust my neighbors. I can trust the officials. Bars are not necessary on the doors and windows of my home. I am respected and treated as another human being regardless of my hair, skin, or eye color. I’m so blessed to have been born in the United States, a land truly full of opportunities. Opportunities on some level for everyone, not just for the elite. I could go to and complete elementary and high school. I have the chance to be a part of that tiny percentage of the world’s population who get continue their beyond the high school level. I admittedly forget that sometimes when I have a lot of homework or have to study for an exam and just feel like complaining. But I am blessed. I do not have to worry about where food or water will come from. Quality medical attention is available. I have clothes for every season of the year. I am blessed. I’ve had the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of cultures and values- an opportunity not available everywhere.
Being American. Sometimes it is nice to be able to see or hear things in English, to see stores and restaurants from back home, to be able to say things like “ok” because it has become a globally recognized and accepted word. Sometimes people think it’s cool. Sometimes people want to know if I’ve been to Hollywood and New York City.
Being American. Sometimes it’s super frustrating. Everyone knows something about my country. Many think they know it all. Being American. Am I that? I don’t know everything about the United States. I haven’t seen that much of it myself. I grew up in Nebraska and study there. Why does that have to make me "American?" I feel like even though I don’t know everything about the USA, I do know more than most people who have never lived there. Can I be both American and Nebraskan? I think so, but here, only the American part of me can be recognized by the people who I meet. Most have never even heard of Nebraska. So…as an “American,” I must face the questions and the statements; whether truth or misconceptions.
Sometimes when someone approaches me to talk about my country, the American in me asks:
Why does my government always get involved in other nations’ business? Are we heroes or are we villains? Do we even have a culture? Well, certainly we do. But how can I explain it? All Americans are not superficial, in fact most aren’t. We just have different values and different ways of expressing ourselves. Yes, on the whole we are very wasteful and we don’t recognize the many blessings that we have.
The American in me cries out:
All Americans are not ignorant. The entire United States is not just like everything that one sees in the movies and on shows. No, just because I come from the United States does not mean that I should be familiar with every single movie, show, singer, and song that comes from or is produced in the United States.
We need a new name for ourselves…why do we call ourselves “Americans” when the inhabitants of an entire 2 continents are really “Americans?”
Other things I have found funny:
-Do American kids really ride big yellow buses to school? Can I drive? And the question while talking to an 11th grade class about the United States and after asking which part of the US I lived in, one kid asked, “Since you live so far away from civilization, do you have TV’s?” Or one thing that I have experienced a few times and find really humorous, when someone wants to hold my jacket and help me put it on, and I kindly tell them, thanks but that it is not necessary and I can do it for myself. All the while, thoughts like this are running through my head, “Haha. Ok, that was kind of nice, but strange. I am a capable human being. Yes, I am a woman, but I can put on my own jacket.” Other such instances, where I felt like my independence was being restricted although, that was by no means the intent, have included the offer to carry super light things for me, to help me step out of a train, and to bring me a chair to sit, even though everyone else was standing! Oh, and the German idea of Line Dancing and their fascination with cowboys and the “Wild West.”
This past year I’ve seen and experienced many things that I had not expected. I have learned many things about others, academically, and about myself. But I can also confirm the statement, that the more you know, the more you know, you know, you don’t know.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
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Should people visit Dachau?
This thought crossed my mind while visiting the Dachau Conentration Camp, when our guide told us that it is mandatory for a students in Bavaria to visit the camp. Dachau was one of the first concentration camps and at some level had every form of prisoner and method of torture. Pastors and priest who spoke out against the National Socialist German Worker's Party were held here. Jews, physically handicapped, mentally handicapped, Roma and Sinti were held here. Political protestors including Georg Elser, the man with the most ingenious and earliest assasination attempt on the Führer, was also held here. Tens of thousands of people died in Dachau because of it's conditions, yet it was not an extermination/death camp. It's primary goal was to make the lives of it's captives miserable, but to get work out of them.
The land on which the camp was located is now a site for historical learning and remembrance. Stories of individuals who were tortured in Dachau can be heard and read there. A few of the original buildings that housed the prisoners still stand. The others no longer stand, but their foundations can still be seen. The cells where the victims were tortured, the crematoriums, the gas chamber (which was primarily used for experimental purposes) the door claiming "Arbeit Macht Frei" and the gloominess of the place remain. Besides for a blue sky and the colorful leaves of the trees outside of Dachau's enfenced area, nearly everything was colorless- grey, white, light shades of brown.
Learning about the past is important, but events such as those that occured at Dachau are overwhelming. Seeing this enormous concentration camp, learning about the lives of individuals who suffered there as well as those who carried out the deeds, was truly overwhelming, but I am glad I was there. It allows me to better understand the reality of the situation and put it into a more acurate perspective. With basic background knowledge of the history of this camp, I think it is a good thing for students and others to visit the camp.
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The land on which the camp was located is now a site for historical learning and remembrance. Stories of individuals who were tortured in Dachau can be heard and read there. A few of the original buildings that housed the prisoners still stand. The others no longer stand, but their foundations can still be seen. The cells where the victims were tortured, the crematoriums, the gas chamber (which was primarily used for experimental purposes) the door claiming "Arbeit Macht Frei" and the gloominess of the place remain. Besides for a blue sky and the colorful leaves of the trees outside of Dachau's enfenced area, nearly everything was colorless- grey, white, light shades of brown.
Learning about the past is important, but events such as those that occured at Dachau are overwhelming. Seeing this enormous concentration camp, learning about the lives of individuals who suffered there as well as those who carried out the deeds, was truly overwhelming, but I am glad I was there. It allows me to better understand the reality of the situation and put it into a more acurate perspective. With basic background knowledge of the history of this camp, I think it is a good thing for students and others to visit the camp.
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Bureaucracy...
According to Webster's Dictionary, the third definition under "bureaucracy" is "a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape, and proliferation."
Officialism: Paper. Request. Paper. Wait. Take a number. Wait. New room. Paper. Photo. Paper. Wait. Take a number. Wait. New room. Interrogation. Paper review. Please come back another time. ... Wait. Take a number. Wait. Paper. Paper. Paper.
Red Tape: The papers appear to be correct and ready. Oh wait! You've been here before. You are in the system. Wait. Wait. Pay. Come back another day.
Proliferation: Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Repeat. Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Repeat. Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Repeat. Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Please come back again.
I am most certainly not a fan, especially when all I want is a visa for an extra month.
Officialism: Paper. Request. Paper. Wait. Take a number. Wait. New room. Paper. Photo. Paper. Wait. Take a number. Wait. New room. Interrogation. Paper review. Please come back another time. ... Wait. Take a number. Wait. Paper. Paper. Paper.
Red Tape: The papers appear to be correct and ready. Oh wait! You've been here before. You are in the system. Wait. Wait. Pay. Come back another day.
Proliferation: Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Repeat. Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Repeat. Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Repeat. Stand in line. Take a number. Wait in a lounge. Sit in an office. Have papers examined. Fill out more papers. Please come back again.
I am most certainly not a fan, especially when all I want is a visa for an extra month.
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