German Girl

Once you go black...

Today, Ina and the kids introduced me to 'Chocolate Kisses,' a recent name given to The Candy Formerly Known As 'Negro Kisses.'

But, that wasn't the best thing that happened today... I met friends!! I rode the UBahn like a disenchanted German to meet Agata and Tara in front of the Kröpke clock (the center point of Hannover) and grab a drink. Agata is from Poland, and pulls off this cool, quasi-disinterested persona as only as Eastern European can (she is actually really nice). I loooove Tara! She will be here until the end of July...just like me! I am so excited to have met her :-)

But... the best thing that happened today occurred while we were drinking beer in this bar in Hannover. Picture a German bar... The men across from us are sharing this mini-keg, I have a mug of beer... We are sitting at a 'handmade' wooden table with 'handmade' stools (they had that rough look to them). It is smoky. People are eating schnitzel and saurkraut. How much more German can it be?

What kind of music would you expect to be playing? Something polka-esque? Or just general background music? Ooohhh nooo... they had a singer! And what did he play?

Country Roads by that American master of folk/country music John Denver.

I laughed so hard I cried. The absurdity of hearing 'Almost Heaven... West Virginia' in this heavily accented English in the middle of Hannover.

I will never be able to listen to that song the same way again.

Mom, am I still a virgin?

You know how health class dittos always talked about the ways besides sex that a girl could break her hymen: horseback riding, riding a bike...

Well, today while biking, I braked and landed in such a way that if I were I guy I probably would not have walked awy from. Ouch. Honestly, it didn't hurt that much... good to know that pesky ol' hymen has to be out of the way though ;-)

Later, I biked to the lake again. This time I wore sneakers :) I am getting sooo much better! At the lake there were lots of old, hairy men in Speedos--lying around, reading newspapers, etc.~~and I thought speedos had gone out of fashion. (shudder) One thing I have noticed though. While I admit that there are a LOT more overweight Americans than Germans, the overweight Germans are waaaay more comfortable with their bodies...

After supper, I took the U-Bahn to town to meet some other au pairs. Although they ended up not being able to make it (we will try again tomorrow) and I just got some ice cream on my own and walked around and listened to this band playing, the U-Bahn ride gave me the opportunity to try two new things... (Ok, to get the full effect, you have to picture me wearing my cute cleavage-y green tank top and the black bra that I own that makes my boobs look really really good...)

I got to be German. The smelliest, nastiest, grossest guy got on the UB and sat RIGHT across from me even though there were like 23049809 empty seats. He was wearing a faded pink shirt--the kind that says, 'I tried to do my own laundry... and look what happened to my white t-shirt.' He also carried a small clock--like a little square alarm clock--I guess watches are 'out.' So... I gave looked at him in a hard, condescending way, then shifted in my seat to look out the windows across the aisle. Ahh yes, the German art of being unfriendly. Woohoo! Thanks various Hannover-ians for teaching me how to do it!

I got to make the first move. Ok, so after smelly guy left, this other guy came and sat diagonally across from me. We made eye contact, smiled at each other, and looked back our respective directions. Now, this guy was kind of pasty and nerdy even for me, but whatever... So, I keep looking up and trying to see what he was reading (it looked like English) and he kept looking up and looking at my chest. Hilarious. I have never really observed a guy doing that so obviously before... well, maybe most guys are more smooth or something... Finally, after chest-stare 77787435 I look at him and say, 'Is that English?' He tells me that it is English & German. We make small talk for awhile, until he says he has to get off... So, I grab his pen and write down my email.. he gives me his back, and I decide to hop off with him. We talk for a little bit more, part ways, and I hope back on the U-Bahn. His name is Sven (sorry, not Hans or Günther) and he is home on vacation from Uni. Do judging... I need all the friends I can get ;-)

My Gamma Phi Flip Flops.

I have owned my GphiB flip flops for probably 2.5-3 years. Yeah, I probably wouldn't smell them either... I love these puppies! They are awesome and have seen me through sooooo much!

My Gamma Phi Flip Flops can:
*Travel all over Europe
*Climb the tallest hill in Corfu, Greece
*Survive wine tastings, Mug Night, frat parties (haha... no letters... right, I was a senior)
*See me through tons of sorority & fraternity philanthropies
*Keep me toasty in winter and cool in summer
*Complement any formal outfit (Gphi, King & Queens, etc)
*Brighten up my graduation pics! (yes, I wore them for graduation... you should, too!)
*Help me quit my job
*Land perfectly anywhere in the WRC when I kicked them off during thesis-stress

My Gamma Phi Flip Flops cannot:
*Ride a bike

I looked soooo drunk. It is amazing what the loss of a few inches will do... and the fear of scraping the sh** out of your feet. I almost fell 2x! Luckily, there were no kiddies on the back of my bike... it was just me in my JLo Bathing suit and WM-skirt riding to the lake to lay out in the sun. It was nice :)

When I got back, I went over to the neighbors for their son's bday BBQ. That was fun, too. Generally, people make the effort to talk to me in English, which I really really appreciate... but (as of now) I don't mind if they don't! The people next door are soooooooooo sweet. They are Stefan (dad), Branke (mom), Donna (age 7) and Milan (bday boy! age 4). I really like Branke because she is not German--that sounds wrong, huh? Well, she is from Southern Europe (Serbia) and is soooo friendly. She always waves and says HI to me! It is great... because (as I have mentioned) the Germans don't really do that (at least not in this 'city' atmosphere). So... when you don't feel like making small-talk with your neighbors, just think of poor little 'hello'-starved Heather over in Deutscheland and say HELLO! :)

There were a few moments of melancholy today--just settling into the routine... and some rough patches (if you know me really well, you know what that means, but I am a-OK). I just have to let life find its rhythm! Oh... I 'met' another American today! Actually, I emailed the U of Hannover's American Studies dept to see if I could audit their classes... and maybe TA. The prof told me to send in my Curriculum Vitae (which I am working on now) and maybe I could even teach or something... in the spring, maybe! WHOA!! And, she gave me the email of another American who had e-mailed her the same day... YAY! So, Whitney and I have emailed each other and *hopefully* we will get together and get along! :) That would be nice...

Leave some love... and maybe some stories about YOUR Gphi FlipFlops (if you own 'em)!

wow. i road a bus & the u-bahn all by myself :)

So, I checked out the English-speaking church. Hmmm... I think it is a leetle too hardcore for me. Eh... we will see. It was a bring-and-share dinner, which was cool, since most of the people at this church aren't from the US or UK but Africa and Asia... DELICIOUS food! :-) maybe I will go once per month for the dinner;-) I could bring good ol' American PBJ! :) The best thing about it was getting around Hannover myself... Ina dropped me off but I got home all by myself via bus, u-bahn (which is like the T in boston... a subway that turns into a tram) and walking! It isn't that big of a deal if you think that I travelled around the UK & Europe for almost 2 mos last year, but still... it's good to be happy over the 'little things.'

It was *another* full day! We went to the old city today, which is supposed to have an amazing Xmas market in the wintertime! Can't wait for that :) Then we went to this children's 'safety' fair for back to school. Kathi got to ride a 'PowerWheels' (remember those?!) around a little course... It was for back-to-school safety, since soooo many kids bike to school. The police were there, but police officers in Germany have uniforms that look like Boy Scout leaders, although, Ina informs me that soon the uniforms will be standardized across Europe (all blue).

After that we went to these gorgeous gardens to see the Wilhelm Busch museum. Wilhelm Busch wrote these stories called 'Max and Moritz' about these bad little boys who play tricks on townspeople. Now, if this book were by an American person, the townspeople would have sat Max and Moritz down and talked to them until they learned their lesson! In Germany, Max & Moritz are ground up into seed and then eaten by ducks... *shudder*

We were sooo lucky that we happened to be at this garden during the once per year Open Air Festival!! It was gorgeous... We ate ice cream and sat in the sun listening to Chopin. The orchestra was PHENOMENAL! I loved it :) I had this green ice cream that is very popular in Germany... I had no idea what it was (even after I ate it!) but wanted to try something 'German.' It was good :)

ooohh... yesterday and today we used the autobahn to get around! They brought the car up to 120mph! It was awesome. They have a BMW and that thing can FLY--and the car is as smooth at 120mph as it is at 20mph. Now, my first car, 'The Little Redmobile' shimmied at 20mph... The saturn does better, but when I do my usual Interstate95 70-75mph, I can tell. Oooohh... the autobahn is another great thing about Germany!

I have been so happy here (so far) it scares me... I am afraid of the inverse emotions. Send happy vibes my way. Tomorrow I will have been in Hannover for one week :)

Feuerwerken (fireworks).

We just went down to the Royal Gardens in the city to watch fireworks. They were GORGEOUS!!! There is this international competition held piece by piece in Hannover during the beginning and end of the summer. Tonight was Argentina's turn... WOW!! They set the fireworks to music, and it is just awesome. My favorite part was a slower song... they had these special fireworks I have never seen before that twinkled forever in the sky! I was so impressed... there are two more fuerwerken dates this fall... then we have to wait until May :(

The royal gardens are a big deal in Hannover. There used to be a castle here until it was destroyed at the end of WWII. Now, maybe some of you military history buffs out there knew this, but tonight the Baumanns taught me that at the end of WWII the allies waged a war on civilian morale. In one night, firebombs *destroyed* the city of Hannover! They didn't drop explosives, just bombs that burned up buildings. People were spared because they were hidden in basements and bomb shelters; the death rate was about 200... but still. I didn't know that 'we' did that... and I was shocked and a little appalled. Ina said she thought the Germans deserved it, and she *is* German, so...

Anyway, there is still a prince in Hannover. Alas, he is in his 40's and apparently married. *sob* AND... the royal lineage in Hannover has close ties to British royalty... that is kind of cool :)

Ina and I were discussing some of the differences between Americans and Germans. One thing I noticed is that Germans are waaaaay more comfortable with nudity. There is a poster at Kathi's kindergarten with all kinds of pictures from this picnic... and all the little boys in the picture are naked... running through sprinklers, down slip'n'slides... all these little penii are hanging out. (I can't remember if the girls were naked, too... I will look on Monday...) I told Ina that that would not fly in the US... can't you see some preschool getting sued!? She said that that is a big joke among Germans... How prude Americans can be. Europeans are shocked by the amount of violence we have in our movies, but how scared we are of s-e-x.

I told her that Americans joke about how comfortable Europeans are with their bodies, and that a particular stereotype is the biiiiiig, hairy European man in the teeny-weeny speedo... According to Ina speedos aren't worn as much anymore, but to my sensitive American eyes they are still worn allllll toooooo often!

So what do you think Americans: being prudes or dealing with fat hairy men in speedoes.

I will keep my clothes on, thank you.*


*Actually, I plan to go to a nude beach--and there are a couple of nude lakes nearby--but still! :)

'we don't deserve you...'~Ina

Today Ina said that to me! She said, 'You are so good with kids and so smart... I feel like you should be somewhere else.' I feel like I am sooo blessed to be with this family and I hope that I am this happy for the entire year! They are such lovely people... so kind to me, always making me coffee or inviting me to do things. Last night, Lars came down to my room to ask if I wanted to go shopping... he took me to this big American-like grocery store and bought different wines that he thought I would like to try... sooo nice :)

Today, I got up, had muesli and some coffee and then biked to the VMarkt to buy groceries for lunch. My new fave thing about Germany is the basket on my bike. It clicks on and off! When I get to the market, I click the basket off and bring it inside. I filled it with my broccoli, paprika, und soup and came home to make Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole. For fun, I made a little smiley face on the kids' (and Ina's and my) plates... Two gurken (cucumber) slices for eyes and rodt paprika (red pepper... although it could be paprika rodt, I can't remember) for nose, mouth, and spiky hair. After lunch we went to the shoe store and then came home and hung out... Ina and I drank coffee, chatted, played with Kathi... Henrik took me by bike to show me a nearby playground. It was nice.

Oh... if you want to see how the Europeans bike, check this out:
http://www.awfulgood.com/doa-archives/000185.php
(it's about the Netherlands, but I assure you that Germany is similar).

Oooohh... this morning before lunch, I was doing some pilates when the phone rang... Ina got it, but it was 'for me.' It was Lars, inviting me to come running and go to the movies tonight! We were supposed to go see SIN CITY in English, but they got the times mixed up and it was actually in Deutsch tonight... Ah well. We still went running around the Maschsee.


The Maschsee has been called (by this travel guide I was reading... maybe 'Let's GO'!?) the 'only good thing the Nazis ever did.' It is this manmade lake that was used to help the Old City of Hannover drain when the river overflowed. The Nazi party used it to gain popularity following WWI when unemployment rates were high. They hired ppl to make this lake. (Hmmm.... very similar to FDR's policies during the Great Depression, which helps to convey why Hitler could command the love of his people, no?) It was about 3.8 miles and Lars and I ran with his friend Christian. As I am still in 'SummerSlothShape' I did need one break... but in 2 weeks I won't need ANY breaks! Right!?!

The best thing about this (and if you know me... hey Gamma Phi's & WRCers...) is that Lars is so considerate. He asked me if I wanted to shower at his friend's house after we ran because I might be uncomfortable sitting in the car in my running clothes.

HAHAHAHAHA....

:) Me? Uncomfortable sitting around in gross sweaty clothes? Uncomfortable sitting in the WRC working on my thesis for HOURS after I taught kickboxing?

Which brings up another point... You can tell I am American by:
1)the way I dress. I biked to the store today in a t-shirt and workout pants... No respectable German would *ever* do that.
2) the fact that I sing along to the music in the grocery store. They play AMERICAN MUSIC!! Today I heard Paula Abdul's 'Straight Up' and my personal theme song, 'Just My Imagination'--I couldn't help it :-)
3) I am a leeeetle too friendly. Yes, at the moment my German is limited to items found in a kitchen and things like 'Hello' and 'Good morning.' When I bike or walk around I say 'Guten Tag' und 'Guten Morgen' to people. The other day this old man looked like he was going to sh** himself when I said, 'Guten Morgen.' He smiled, and kind of shaking his head in a puzzled way said, 'Morgen' back... hehe

One last thing:
When I was little, my dad used to take me to the grocery store and teach me the names of fruit & veg. 'What is this Heather?' 'Tomato' Now in the store I walk around and repeat words to myself, 'Tomaten, tomaten, tomaten' etc. Today, I wound up in the International section and repeated the word 'sake' to myself no less than 4 times before I realized:
1--I know what Sake is, and have know for a long time.
2--That word isn't even German.....

Oh boy! Leave some love :)

goodbye summer sloth.

I think I am the *only* person who gains weight in the summer. I am always my thinnest in January... prolly cause I was so hardcore at school and am soooo lazy at home... and that I have a penchant for PB & fluff eaten straight from their respective jars and a tendency to eat cereal by the box.

Anyway, the great thing about being here is that it seems every meal is an event. We all sit down together and enjoy :) [Well, today they had an early supper which I missed because of my run... so after this update I am going to go chow.] Also, German is such a bread-heavy country, which I adore... I am no Atkins-girl! oh heeellll no ;-)

Also, I don't really work out at home as much as I do (did) at school. WM had so many places to go... the woods, CW, around campus, even the roads... sure I got harrassed by sketchballs, but in NJ people try to mow you down. I am not kidding. But Germany is greaaaat! They have RULES about not killing pedestrians and bikers... Lars told me that if you hit a biker you have to pay a huge fine... not entirely comforting, but much better than the good ol' USA, where if you hit a biker you have helped everyone in the vicinity improve their commute time by 30 seconds. Speaking of... Lars commutes to work by riding his bike to the canal and then RUNNING to the office where he showers... it's like 10 total running miles per day, which is IMPRESSIVE.

So today I finally strapped on my special mileage watch and went for a run... first mile was OK speed (under 8:30) but the others got progressively slower... eh, in 2 weeks I will be banging 'em out. This was my Hannover equivalent to my WM 'Welcome Back' run, which was 4 miles. I just ran 2 miles 1 way, then retraced my steps... good times :) I don't know if I will repeat this route as it was pretty haphazard... but soooo nice to be running again :-)

As I was running, I read the names of different streets out loud to myself... undoubtedly pronouncing everything wrong. can't wait for German schule to start! My vocab is sooo lame:

the cucumber: die gurke
the bread: das brot

But Ina is sooo sweet... She put labels all over the kitchen with the words in German! So, as I am cleaning or cooking I can learn! Awww... she also hung up a picture of WM in my room for me. She had been there years ago when she worked at a German camp in VA Beach! It's this old brochure that says: 'WM: A Place of Possibilities.' It's fun to look at the older stuff... and see their similar strategies, 'Hmmm... let's put a picture of the happy-looking black girl on the Getting In page and talk about how WM strives for diversity.' uhhh... ok.

Hmmm.... something 'German' that happened today... during the day I have sooo many moments where I'm like, 'Ohh... i have to write about this.' and now... nothing.

Oh, so yesterday I wrote about how Germans dispose of their waste: paper, 'packaging materials' (plastic/metal), organic, and 'residual waste' (everthing else). As I was cleaning up from lunch, I thought, 'Ohh... rice, that's organic, and so is meat.' I am putting other things away when I notice the brochure Ina left for me... 'Do not put anything that has been cooked in the organic waste.' So, yes, I got to shove my hand into authentic German organic waste and transfer the lunch leftovers. yum. :-P

I guess that is it for now. lotsa love.

It's a small world...

I think that my world here is going to be vast but very small. Every day there is something new to learn--of course, the language, but also the way Germans do things. Today I learned how to throw out garbage. We have an 'organic waste,' 'paper,' 'plastic & metal,' 'glass,' and 'residual waste' (everything else). Ina gave me a brochure on the German gov't because there are elections coming up in a month. I don't get to vote, of course, but I would like to know what is going on and why!

My world is small in that every day is pretty much going to be the same. Well, my school (schule) doesn't start until October, but Henrik & Ina (a teacher) start tomorrow. I will pick up Kathi in kindergarten, get Henrik, come home and prepare lunch, take care of the kids in the afternoon. I will pretty much have evenings off... and weekends, too, unless Lars (the dad) is on a business trip. I will be biking everywhere. Now, in America of course we have the saying 'it's just like riding a bike'--you never forget. Well, you may not forget but you CAN get rusty. Lars took me out biking last night. The bike is 'sized correctly' which means that I can just touch the ground from the seat...not used to that. I was soooo wobbly, and we had to keep making the seat lower (I guess I am a bit shorter than all the other au pairs!). I could tell he was thinking, 'This girl is going to be biking my CHILD around.' Well, I am already getting better! However, having a child on the back makes things tricky. I'm sure by the end of my time here I will be Zipping around and laughing at the girl who came and couldn't do anything. Lars took me for ice cream after our bike tour--he had spaghetti ice cream! Doesn't that sound gross... actually, it is just vanilla ice cream shaped like spaghetti w/strawberry sauce and white chocolate in parmesan-shaped flakes. sooo funny :) I had a fruity sundae... mmmm......

I can't tell if I am homesick. I think I am just still tired/jetlagged. It's funny because I did get homesick at camp (in connecticut)--well, and I just didn't like it. I think *that* homesickness came from knowing that I was leaving for Germany and wanting to spend time with family before I left. Well, I did that, no regrets--had a great time :) I am glad I did. I feel like I can talk more logically to myself. 'I miss my family.' 'Well, that's nice, but you DID get to spend time with them this summer and you will see them again soon.' Plus, the internet is great because it keeps us sooo connected :) It was fun to 'watch' all the WMers start school today. I honestly don't really miss that. Of course, I LOVED college and DO miss my friends... but that time of my life is done. I have mixed feelings about that, of course, but I think 'seeing' all the other 05-ers start new lives is helpful. So many ppl are 'real adults,' with their own apartments, jobs, etc. DIFFERENT people are living at Bryan Corner, I no longer have 'my' computer at the WRC, someone else will teach Kickboxing at the rec--and I am excited for those people :). Plus, I have so many friendly faces staring at me from all my pictures!

Haha, I am still afraid (?) to do some things though. I won't listen to my NickelCreek CD yet, because I don't want 'When You Come Back Down' to make me cry. Oh... I almost bawled when my parents and I hung out on my last day and listened to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The song 'Teach Your Children' just CHOKED ME UP!
You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good-bye.
Teach your children well,
Their father's hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh and know they love you. (awww...)

There are some things I really love about Hannover. I like going to the market daily to buy ingredients for lunch. I like biking. I like the public transportation. I am enjoying the German meal-system: muesli for breakfast, BIG lunch, evening meal of breads and cheeses. I really enjoy this family... I feel at home already. I'm sure at some point I will actually be homesick... maybe once I get to know German better and can't understand, unlike now where I listen but don't try to comprehend...

Anyway, lotsa love to you all! :-) Keep in touch, drop me an IM, email, or a real letter!?!?!?!
<3<3<3

Sooo... a full day already. We went to the 'Immigration Office' this morning because I am an aüschlandischer (foreigner) and need to get my papers together. I am learning German words a little at a time... today at lunch I learned some vegetable names and the name of 'spoon,' 'fork,' and 'knife.' They are a family. Fork is the Mom--die gabel (feminine noun). Spoon is the dad--der löffel (masculine noun). Knife is the baby--das messer (neutral). Ooohh... I am just sooo German :-).

I also learned today that all the important sorority-girl vocab is the same.
Beer= bier
And a cover of a magazine taught be this today: 'der blowjob.'

Haha... at least I've got that covered.

So, more sorority girl vocab. The little boy Henrik was teaching me to count earlier... We had a little trouble with the word "six." In German, it is 'sechs'---prounounced "zex." It is hard to understand exactly what he is saying, so I thought he said, 'sex.'

Henrik starts laughing wildly, 'No no, not "sex" but "zex."' "Sex is," he looks around and then whispers, "Fuck."

Ohmygoodness....

craaaaaaaaaaaaaazy jetlag, so just a quick message.

I love it here :) As I was struggling to stay awake on the train from Frankfurt to Hannover I had one of those "Heathrow" moments. I liken it to the way I felt when I first landed in London to study abroad. It was raining and I thought, "There is NO way..." But, the second I got to Hannover those feelings disappeared!

As I was struggling with my bags through the rail station, I see a blonde woman running toward me. Ina (the mom) and I have been talking for 8 months, so I feel like we're already friends. She runs towards me, gives me a huge hug and helps me get my bags. She takes me toward her family--Kathi (age 3, pronounced Cat-i) and Henrik (8, Henn-rick) are holding a sign that says "Welkommen Heather" and they each have a rose for me. We put my bags in the car and go have coffee. After that we dash over to the mall so I can pick out a shower curtain for my bathroom. I picked one that is bright yellow called "Sunshine."

They take me home and show me the house and my room! I LOVE my room. It has a little area with a bed that has a curtain I can pull closed. There is a nice sized "living room" area where I am right now. I am typing at mz computer, there is a CD player, a huge bookshelf, another table (maybe a "work table"), a couch with coffee table and chair. The couch folds down into a bed---perfect for visitors!! I also have my VERY OWN wee bathroom. It is so charming. It has a teeny shower, a toilet, and sink. I love it.

We retreated to their porch for "Kaffee und kuchen" (coffee and cake--very German). AHHH! They even have a milk steamer so we can make lattes AND they have all the syrups like a coffee shop!! AHHHH!! soooo happy. We chatted and I played with the kids.
After that we went to the "rathaus"--the City Hall. We went up in the tower to look at Hannover---I LOVE this City! It is SOO the German Boston :-). I will definitely be ready for Harvard next year (cross your fingers!!). To get to the tower you take an elevator that is one of only two diagonal elevators in Europe--the other is in the Eiffel tower. It felt like Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory.

We had sushi for dinner at this place that puts sushi in little boats that float around the bar. You just go pick your choice from the boat and bring it to your table. Now I am back in my room and sooooo tired. It's 7:30pm here (19.30 to be precise) and I am going to crash.

I know this year will have lots of changes and ups and downs... but this family is awesome. I will tell you more about them later.

I leave for Germany in 5 days!! Keep track of me here :)