Chopping it off

I have a haircut appointment scheduled for tomorrow at 6:00pm EDT. In May, I'd cut my hair to just below my shoulders, and that was the shortest it had been in... who knows. A decade, maybe. Well, this time around, I've decided to be bold. The hair is going to be cut above the shoulders. I put my devastatingly good Microsoft Paint skillz to work to see what I'll probably look like.

Without further ado, I present to you:

Yes? No? You have 24 hours to chime in and potentially save me from myself. Otherwise, this is totally happening.

2011 Highlight Reel: Part II

Woah! You guys- it's already mid-January. I was so good about posting my 2011 review (Part One) a few days early, and then BOOM- 2012 is here and I got too busy to remember to post about the second half of last year. Goodness gracious. If 2012 keeps up at this pace, then it might as well already be next Halloween.

Anyway, to round out the past year, here is the latter half of my 2011 in highlight form. Then we can move along to catching up on 2012.


Ok, I left you at the part where I made it back to Wyoming to spend 3 weeks with my family before heading back to DC and taking off for my new German life. There is something about those wide open Western skies that simply make life look even better than it is. I got lots of time with my family to catch up about things, laugh, swim with my brother, see a couple friends, play with my dear ol' dog, and stress out to my mom about the upcoming move (she is the world's best listener, advice giver, and hugger). I spent my favorite holiday, the 4th of July, at Alcova Lake with Eli and then watched the big fireworks display in town that night. It was so refreshing to not be driving across I-80 in Nebraska like I was for July 4th, 2010!

My birthday isn't until the end of August, but my family gathered to celebrate me a month early. We played games on the mountain and ate cake and had general merriment. While out West, I also had the opportunity to accompany my aunt Heidi and my Omi to Rapid City, South Dakota. Travel within travel within travel? It was fun to have the time just with them-- very rare! In Casper, I woke up early one morning to go watch a hot air balloon launch alongside my mom and aunt Marilyn. Whenever life offers you an opportunity to see or do something unique, wake up early and go do it! It was a beautiful sight. I even had time to drive with my dog, Wrigley, down to Medicine Bow to meet Becca for a sparkling grape juice and dessert day! Listen, there aren't many places halfway between Laramie and Casper that serve as a nice meeting spot, so we got silly and created our own picnic out there in the boonies. It was wonderful time with a wonderful friend. Plus, the drive back afforded me the opportunity to snap a few photos of that wild land.

I headed back to DC towards the end of July to see all of my people one last time before I was up and away. Luckily for me, COWPIE- the annual Wyoming State Society extravaganza- was scheduled for my very last night in the States. That's a mechanical bull-riding, whiskey drinking, heck of a farewell! It didn't feel like enough time, but then adventure was calling. It's not ever easy to leave the people, but I know I met great people in DC, and I'll see them all again.


And then, and THEN, I got on an airplane and when I woke up, I was in a land far away from the Stars and Stripes. I could only read some of the signs (Germany has lots of signs in English), and I had jet lag like WOAH. I met 75 unique people- all wonderful- and we were shuttled off to places we'd probably never been.

I spent 2 months in Radolfzell on beautiful Lake Constance learning the language, learning about my new friends, learning the ins and outs of German life including things like having to be a rapid-fire grocery-bagger in order to prevent a stress-related heart attack everytime I went shopping, and how to have a diet that consisted primarily of pork products and cheese- with extra butter, of course. I lived with a host family who did not speak English (well, I think my host sister did, but she's good at pretending like she doesn't!) and so I couldn't really communicate with them for basically the entire first month. Consequently, my charades abilities improved ten-fold!

escargot!

While there, I was blessed to have the opportunity to explore outside of the town as well. I made trips to: the Reichenau for a wine fest where we got poured on (rain, not wine. though, probably wine, too) and where I met some stellar Germans, Zürich, the Seenachtsfest in Konstanz/Kreuzlingen for fireworks, Paris to ring in my 25th year of life, Lindau and Bregenz with Mickey for a great day, connected with Peter and Traudel- my family in Switzerland, attended the Altstadtfest in Radolfzell, journied through Liechtenstein with Joe, Mickey, and Tyco, toured the Fürstenberg Beer Brewery, Strassbourg, France, Oktoberfest (THE Oktoberfest), and Ulm to climb the world's tallest church steeple. My fellow Radolfzellers and I ran a charity 5-k and celebrated Thanksgiving together in September. I think we were all a bit sad to leave one another at the end of September, but the time had come to seperate and spread out over Germany to see how we could each stand on our own two feet. And I moved to...

Mainz! Mainz is Germany's wine capital. Um, hello! Here I come! Upon arrival, it didn't take me long to realize that I actually had no idea what was going on with anything. German University functions seemingly far differently from that of University in the States, and I was caught way off guard. Plus, I missed all of the orientation by not getting there until October, so I was like a chicken running around with my head cut off. So much English was being used around me in school, that I made the decision to join an organization called "Fremde werden Freunde"- strangers become friends (yep, I'm the stranger- it's quite apparent, too). I was hoping it would give me the opportunity to use my German more. I hit it off with my non-Fremde, Anja, and I'm so glad because she is a dear friend now!

The rest I really will give to you in highlight form, or else you really will be reading forever (if you haven't already given up!). I went to Köln for a Bon Iver concert with Mickey and spent the night homeless in the Frankfurt airport. I happened upon a Greek restaurant in the mountains when trying, unsuccessfully, to stay in the town of Wiesbaden on Allerheiligen. I explored the fall colors with Ginny in the little towns along the Rhein like Oberwesel and Bacharach, which we walked between, but turns out they're like 9 kilometers apart. 9 km is more than a couple minutes walk like I had told Ginny they were. Oops.

11/11 here is the start of Karneval, the fifth season of pure silliness, but in the US it's Veteran's Day, and I celebrated in my new life but was reflective upon my old life and, I am happy to declare, future life as an American.

EMMA came for Thanksgiving and her birthday! We put 1500km on a brand new rental car in 3 days and experienced the start of the Christmas season in Germany! That girls knows how to adventure, lemme tell ya. We pranced through the Alps, sampled Glühwein from everywhere, toured Neuschwanstein, chatted, caught up with life, and reconnected. It was a gift to me to have such a close friend here when I was struggling to feel success in my everyday life, and I am forever thankful that she had the time and motivation to be here for a whirlwind 5 days!

My next visitor came only a few short days after Emma left and was here for 2 weeks! Including the time we spent in Mainz, we managed to make it to Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and France as well as some of Germany's bigger cities. We were hosted by Geoff and his host family in Munich, and drank beers in the famed Hofbräuhaus!

Before I knew it, Christmas was here, though really the whole month of December felt like Christmas. The Germans really know how to put some Christmas spirit into the air. They just open Christmas markets- Weihnachtsmärkte- eeevverrryywheerreee and then they drink Glühwein all month long, even in the pouring rain, and everyone is jolly and cheery and a little buzzed and it's really magical. I was thrilled to accept an invitation to Christmas with Bettina and her family in Luckenwalde. We listened to her dad's favorite traditional German Christmas CD repeatedly, had coffee and cookies, opened presents, set up the tree, made Christmas stars with her aunt and Oma, and went for a long Christmas day swim! It was really special to have a family to spend the holiday with, and I felt at home with Bettina's.

On second Christmas, a day we should really have in the States, I traveled to the Erzgebirge to visit Anja and her family. The area is mountainous and populated with small towns. It is famous for its hand-carved wooden goods, mostly Christmas pieces. If you ever come across something wooden, Christmasy, and made in Germany, it probably came from here. I was made to feel at home not only by her family but by her boyfriend's family. I met her childhood friends and went for a walk around the town before I left, with Anja and Michael as tourguides. The best tour guides. It is somewhere I maybe otherwise would never have gone, and I am SO glad I went.


Two days later, Katie came to visit me! We took off nearly immediately after she had landed for Belgium. After meeting a few of Belgium's least-savory people on a series of train rides to Antwerp, we were ready to ring in the new year! There are few ways better to end one year and start the next than in a country famous for beer and chocolate and with such a dear friend.

So now we see what 2012 brings. Or perhaps, if we don't like what the year brings, we make our own luck this year. Mine will certainly once more be full of moves and uncertainty, but what fun is life if we don't allow it to change us a bit? 2011 assuredly changed me, but it also showed me that my life is full of steadfast friends and great adventure.

Best wishes to all of you throughout this year! 

What a day what a day!

What a day I have had! The connotations of that statement all depend on the inflections and intonations of one's voice while saying it. Version #1 of this phrase, when I say it out loud, emphasizes the "day", and "what a" are in a lower pitch than the rest of the sentence. One can hear the smile and joy in my voice exclaiming it's thrill and unbelievably rockin' day I've had! On the other hand, Version #2 of this phrase emphasizes "what" and "day" and "had" and is almost proclaimed as such: What. a Day. i have HAD! and it's meaning is more along the lines of, "You will never even begin to guess how flippin' unbelievably, ridiculously wrong my day has gone". Well, right now I'm straddling the fence on which Version fits my yesterday. I'm leaning toward #1, but there is just a bit of Version #2 that I must vent about first. I just can't shake it, and the frustration has been building since... well, since I got to Germany. Normally I try not to complain on here, and I certainly try to approach my German life with "it's not good, it's not bad, it's just different" as my motto, but here goes. And to make up for it, I'll put in extra good things about Germany afterward.

Traffic flow. Come on, Germany. It really doesn't have to be so completely, infuriatingly "every man for himself". This first starting getting to me in the aisles of grocery stores. Hello, fellow shopper. Do you even see me here? Can we move through the aisles in a manner that shows we acknowledge each other's presence and respectfully share the space? No? You would rather just not even see that anyone is here except for you? Ok. Sounds nitpicky and like something that couldn't even really in real life exist to be any kind of problem, but I promise you, the traffic flow in grocery stores took some getting used to for me. Speaking of walking alongside people, don't even get me started about pedestrian traffic flow on sidewalks. Seriously, don't, because I'll never be able to stop, and this rant I'm on is already unbecoming.

Well, turns out, traffic flow is also a major problem in swimming pools. In swimming pools for lap swimming, where when you are sharing a lane with fellow humans, you swim like you would drive (unless your British or South African) and you go down on the right side of the lane, back on the left- always swimming on the "right side of the road". Pass on the left, but make sure the oncoming lane is clear before you attempt to do so. Signal your pass with a slight tap of the foot if you need to. If someone is really tailgating you for a long time, pull over and let them pass. Rules of the road. Common courtesy. Extreme challenge, too, apparently. Does this stem from driving on the Autobahn? The further left your lane is, the faster you're going, correct? Traditionally right hand lanes are for slower traffic. Do drivers on the Autobahn take their Trabis in front of Porsches? COME ON. If a driver did that, I'm willing to bet that the Porsche driver, going heavenknowshowfast, would be so pissed. And guess what, when you swim like that (not calling myself the Porsche of swimmers here) I get pissed. So please please please, for the betterment of lap swimming across this otherwise really nice country, organize yourself. Be aware of your surroundings and follow the rules of the road.

Oh goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I feel so much better. Thanks for letting me put that out loud. Enough whining. Really. Here are some things that made my day more like Version #1, and for all of them I'm so thankful:

• In the afternoon as the ominous clouds loomed over Mainz, Ginny and I met for a walk around the Altstadt with no particular agenda. We happened upon a toy store where I found a fun gift for a friend (oh yeah, glows in the dark!) and (though I didn't buy it because it was 50 Euro) MONOPOLY Mainz edition. Not even kidding. If I could even begin to explain what role the game of Monopoly has played in my life... it's like I found my childhood and my current life packaged into the best box ever.
• We also happened upon a sporting goods store, which I've been looking for because, for whatever reason, I didn't pack most of my swim gear like paddles and stuff. Don't worry... paddles acquired.
• I felt better in the water more so than the day before (is this what progress feels like? I'd forgotten.)
• Bread with butter. Lots of it.
• I rented and watched the movie Restrepo. Have you seen it? It is a documentary that is powerful, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. I give it all the stars and highly recommend checking it out.
• I applied to be a volunteer! Cross your fingers, because this would be such a fun gig!
• I got off my duff and finally got cards to send to 3 newly wed couples. Easy peezy but took me a month to do it. What the heck.
• With help from Betti, my Washington, DC friend who is a German native, a Masters swim team in the area has been found (could these be the circle swimming people of my German dreams?)
• I totally got ice cream after my swim and walked home in the cold eating it. I was bundled up and must have looked a little kooky, but it was 100% delightful. In other news... I might be getting sick.
• My plans for New Years are starting to look very phenomenal. VERY.

It even sells on Amazon.de (where I found this picture)

So you can see, the good always outweighs the frustrating over here. And that was the good stuff just from my yesterday-- I could make a huge list of things that I adore about Germany. What is your today like? Version #1 or Version #2 of "What a day!"? (I dare you to make it a Version #1)

Getch'ur Ice Cream here!

A few weeks ago, friends Mickey and Kate and I decided to go to the movies. Ah, the movies! In acknowledgment to our current surroundings, we chose a German made film as opposed to seeing an American film dubbed over or with subtitles. The film was listed as starting at 6:30pm. We arrived by train to the town of Singen by ten after and went to the theater. I couldn't understand how the tickets were priced because it's a different price for different days and different times and different viewer groups... I still don't actually understand how it's priced. I paid some price that wasn't even up on the list of ticket prices so whatever. Anyway, in German you are assigned a seat in the theater in which you are expected to sit for the film. I was glad Kate was there to work out the seating arrangement with the guy at the ticket booth. Kate's German is so significantly better than mine that it's almost not fair to make comparisons. It ends up being kind of funny if you're not used to having an assigned movie theater seat, because you walk in and see so many seating possibilities, but you're only allowed to sit in one place and everyone else in the theater is kind of all lumped together in the same area. Anyway, we went to the concessions line, and after Mickey determined that he did not want to eat the popcorn there, Kate and I tried to figure out how to ask if they had ice cubes (most places don't, and I now know from a later experience that ice cube is "Eis Würfel") for the Cokes that we were ordering. They did not. You literally get a movie cup full of only Coke. Truly getting what you pay for, eh? It's not good, it's not bad... it's just different.

We took our room-temperature Cokes and sat in our assigned seats as the lights dimmed. 6:30. At 6:50pm, the lights came back on because we had just finished 20 minutes of previews. TWENTY MINUTES OF PREVIEWS. I was giggling about this when out comes a theater employee who begins to vend Ben and Jerry's pints. It was like, 20 minutes of previews followed essentially by "Ice cream! Getch'ur ice cream here!". What?! So hilarious. What the heck was going on? I was laughing so hard that I began to cry. Maybe I just needed a good laugh, and this silliness put me overboard, I don't know. To make it even better, the lights then went back down and MORE previews came on. There were so many previews to be shown that they literally had paused to see if you needed ice cream to sustain you through the experience. After about 27 minutes total of previews and ice cream vending, the movie finally began.

Too bad after all of that the movie wasn't even very good. Ah, such an experience though. I wonder if this is typical? I'm going to have to go for Round 2 to see if this happens all the time, but I don't know if I can make it through that many movie trailers again.

Gebrunching

There are so many funny things happening in my life right now. The thing is, they're not really funny things like roll-on-the-floor-and-die-laughing funny but more like "what the WHAT is going on right now" funny. My program here has a saying: "It's not good, it's not bad, it's just different." Yeah. Hit the nail on the head with that one. I like to sit and think of it's-not-good-it's-not-bad's. Like, it's not good, it's not bad, it's just that the lack of time given to a shopper to pack up their food at the grocery store after a purchase before the next person's food starts getting shmooshed into yours... is just different. For me, it gives me a heart attack. I have not yet aquired German efficiency with things like paying for and packing up my groceries.

One of my funnies is some new vocab from my language class. I hope particularly that this appeals to my DC people because that city is particularly fond of having brunch. In German, you have "der Brunch". This is a noun. Ok. However, this is also a verb. "ich brunche" is the act of presently brunching. "I'm brunching", bascially. You can also have already brunched, past tense. "ich habe gebruncht". Gebruncht? Did you gebrunch today? I didn't gebrunch today. I might brunch tomorrow. I don't know why this entertains me so, but it really, really does.

I'm finding that I learn best when laughing or singing. I think this is not a widely accepted way to learn in Germany. When I'm being really serious and trying really hard all day long to improve, it seems like I learn 2 words and then immediately lose one I had already known. COME ON ALREADY. Can't I just skip straight to the fluency part? I'm going to start throwing up articles, prepositions, and pronouns here soon, probably.

The bees here are really aggressive. Like, REALLY aggressive. It's disconcerting at best. I think they could be like Hitchcock's "The Birds" if they really wanted to. Don't tell them though because with their level of aggression and their German bee efficiency, I think we'd be conquered quickly over here.

That is all. Have a wunderschoen weekend!