Emily's Adventures

Vrindavan, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal

2011-07-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

I'm on a blogging roll this week. The determination to catch up from the previous weekends before I head to Amritsar tonight is providing ample motivation. And I promise I will post photos soon as I'm sure you're all more interested in photos than all my babbling.

On my fifth weekend in India, I finally made the journey to the Taj Mahal. It was early on Saturday morning (3:30 am to be exact) when Akarsh (Akarsh leads tours with Delhi By Cycle, but he also owns his own tourist company called "I Am Adventure" and he turned out to be a wondeful guide!) picked me up in Noida and we set off to pick up 4 other LC students who would be joining in the trip. Despite the early hour, most of us did not sleep and instead we chatted away while we drove along the Indian highway. The road to Agra is part of the golden triangle, so it is in much better condition than the road to Ranthambore and given the early hour there was not as much traffic.

At about 7 am, we stopped in Vrindavan to visit a Hindu temple that is devoted to Lord Krishna. The temple in Vrindavan is given special significance because the city (and the nearby city of Mathura) is thought to be the actual location of Lord Krishna's transcendental abodes. When we first arrived, the temple was not open so we partook in some street food. The food was delicious and because it was piping hot and cooked right in front of us, we deemed it relatively safe. The food would have been more enjoyable if there were a few less flies swarming around - and I have a feeling that had the food cart not been parked directly over a pile of "holy shit" (ie. cow pies - cows are sacred here so their shit is as well) then there might have been a few less flies. After eating our breakfast, the temple opened so we went to enter. There we learned that we would need to remove our shoes. Removing your shoes is typically required at temples in India, but usually you are at least allowed on the premises where the ground is a bit cleaner. Here we were made to remove our shoes on the dirty road and walk a short distance before reaching the temple premises.

The temple was incredible, and because we were there as it opened we were able to witness the waking of the gods and the other early morning spiritual rituals. The sweet smell of incense permeated the air, the sound of chanting and drums enveloped the air within and occasionally we felt drops of water land on our skin as a man passed back and forth shaking holy water. Despite the number of people at the temple, it was relatively calm and serene. An ambience that fit well with the white marble facade and intricate carvings of peacocks and other designs. In one area of the temple, curtains would be moved aside revealing various carvings depicting Lord Krishna in various scenes.

After spending some time there, we got back in the car and travelled a little further down the road. Our goal was another temple. Because the other temple was down a series of narrow alleys, we were made to park the car and follow a guide through the streets. The guide warned Dustin, Nolan, and Matt (who all wear glasses) that they should remove their glasses or they would risk losing them to the kleptomaniac monkeys that we would pass. Nobody lost their glasses or other possessions.

At the end of a short walk, we reached the other temple. This temple was the polar opposite of the temple we visited earlier. The temple was unassuming and the entrance hidden among other buildings. Where the other temple had been peaceful, serene and white this one was loud, colorful, and crowded. Swastikas formed of "holy shit" were affixed to the door frame and people stopped to pour milk or kiss the door frame in a sign of religious servitude. We pushed our way inside (where we were not allowed to take photos) and were greeted with the sight of throngs of people pushing their way towards the front - trying to catch a glimpse of the idol. The priest would occasionally pull back the curtain revealing the idol and the crowd rejoiced. As we departed the temple, we were blessed and yellow bindi was painted on our foreheads.
It was still early morning when we left Vrindavan and headed to Fatehpur Sikri. Once in Fatehpur Sikri we climbed to the Jama Masjid and viewed both the mosque and the tomb of Salim Chisti. The mosque and the tomb were impressive, but the experience at the Fatehpur Sikri was disturbed by the numerous touts offering to be guides or to sell certain wares. Despite having our own guide, the men were relentless and would not offer you a moments peace. Had Akarsh not been there, I'm sure the experience would have been much worse as he was at least able to tell them that we were "cheap" foreigners who had not purchased anything despite his week-long persistance (lies, of course).

Once our viewing at Fatehpur Sikri was completed we headed to Agra. In Agra Akarsh was hassled by the police because he was driving a brand new car - they were trying to shake him down for a bribe and wanted to know why he was with 5 foreigners. Again he had to lie to say we all worked for British Airlines and that we were friends of his that he was showing around. His lies worked and we were allowed to pass and head for our hotel. The hotel provided us an opportunity to freshen up.

From there we headed to the Agra Fort. As much as I was unimpressed by the Red Fort in Delhi, the Agra Fort was a spectacular sight to behold. It was impressive, well cared for, and there was an audioguide available for rent. We all made our way through the grounds, listening to the history of the fort and the Mughal emperors. We finished our tour just in time - the rain started to pour. We hopped back in the car and found respite at a nearby coffeeshop.

We waited out the rain at the coffee shop and then headed back to the Agra Fort for the sound and light show. The sound and light show provided more interesting history, but it was not what I expected. I had anticipated images flashed on various portions of the building much like a movie. Instead, various portions of the Fort would light up while the narrator provided an account of the history of the emperors.

Dinner was chinese food at a nearby hotel and then, exhausted, we all crashed at the hotel.

Early on Sunday morning, we woke up and departed for the Taj Mahal. Like every other sight in India, tourists pay 25 times more to enter than Indians do. At the Taj at least you are given a bottle of water, a ride in an electric vehicle (the area surrounding the Taj prohibits vehicles in order to cut down on pollution), and you can use the toilets free of charge. These "perks" certainly do not add up to the difference in the admission fee. I also feel I should mention that the men at the ticket counter were most unhelpful and rude. It was first thing in the morning and they refused to accept our entrance fee unless we provided exact change! This made the start of the experience a bit difficult and left the group of us scrambling to come up with exact change among us.

Like the Agra Fort, the Taj Mahal offers audio guides and they are well worth it. The information they provide is wonderful and I'm certain it is much more accurate than the average guide you find at the Taj would provide.

The Taj is impeccable and viewing it makes you realize the enormity of the love that Shah Jahan had for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (he built it in memory of her after she died giving birth to their 14th child). There is a reason it is considered one of the seven wonders of the world.

Weekend #4: Delhi By Cycle, Embassy Independence Day Celebration, a Mango Festival and More

2011-07-21T05:16:00.000-07:00

After the rant against traffic in my previous post, you'll probably be thinking that my decision to go on a cycle tour of Delhi is evidence that I've lost my mind. Maybe I have. But as long as losing my mind leads to fun adventures like the cycle tour then I'll accept it.

Weekend # 4 was the weekend that the rest of the Lewis and Clark students who would be interning in Delhi arrived. Knowing that they would be arriving, I organized a group of us to participate in an early morning tour from Delhi By Cycle (http://www.delhibycycle.com/). I cannot remember exactly how I learned of Delhi By Cycle, but it sounded like a great way to see the sights of Old Delhi. The company is run by a Dutch man (how stereotypical...a Dutch expat operating a cycle tour company complete with orange bikes). It was relatively easy to sign up for the tour, but then I encountered the first logistical problem. Delhi By Cycle requires prepayment for the tour. While prepayment in general is not an issue, it is an issue when the only ways to prepay are to either go directly to the Delhi By Cycle office or to make a deposit into their acount by going to a branch of their bank. This requirement is a huge hassle and I'm sure it prevents many people from signing up for the tour. Going to the office or a branch of the bank in India is not convenient - things are hard to get to and the hours of operation are not convenient when you work from 9:30 - 7 Monday through Friday.

Early Saturday morning I departed from my place in Noida to Old Delhi to meet the group and our cycle tour leader. I had to take a car, because the metro did not start running early enough for me to reach the meetup sight by 6:30 am. Virtually our entire group (except for the two guides and one tour participant) was American. Four of us were from LC Law and one was a Harvard law student (Dustin's roommate, Ben). The other two Americans were random tourists from New York who were visiting India for a wedding (attending an Indian wedding is on my bucket list - but it probably won't happen during this trip). Our primary guide was Akarsh (and he later lead us on a trip by car to Agra and is taking us to Amritsar this weekend and Pushkar/Jaipur next weekend). There is another guide who brings up the tail of the tour to make sure nobody gets lost. An interesting fact about the "tail guide" is that he was a street kid. There is an NGO in Delhi called Salaam Baalak (http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/) that takes street kids off the street and gives them education and opportunities to earn money instead of resorting to begging. Delhi By Cycle employs some of the older Salaam Baalak participants and our "tail guide" was one of them.

After a slightly delayed start to the tour (courtesy of Dustin and Ben not arriving on time), we set off through the narrow Old Delhi streets. The first street we rode down was the "meat street" in Delhi. Since much of the population in India is Hindu and vegetarian, there are not many butchers. There is, however, also a significant Muslim population in India and within Delhi many reside within Old Delhi so there is an entire street of butchers. The meat street was not one of the most pleasant sights or smells early in the morning. Butchered animals were being carried through the streets by rickshaw and hand. The lack of general hygiene and the smell was enough to turn anyone off to meat indefinitely.

Akarsh adeptly helped us to navigate from the meat street through small narrow streets and other sights of Delhi. We passed havelis (mansions), religious temples, and more while we were dodging stray dogs, cows, motor cycles, and people that were out and about. We climbed through the spice market where our noses were treated to the smell of freshly made roti (Indian flatbread - sort of tortilla like), chai, and spices. While watching some of the laborers cook their roti, Ben climbed onto the roof (and almost fell through) to see the roti up close. The spices that permeated the air near the spice market were a bit much and I found myself sneezing frequently. Finally, after three hours we ended the tour with breakfast at Karim's - a famed restaurant which is tucked away in a narrow alley and serves delicious Mughal cuisine. Although Delhi never seems to me to be calm and peaceful, the early start time of this tour meant that there was not so much activity on the streets as to make the road inpassable.

That night, was the Independence Day celebration at the American Embassy. The celebration was hosted at an American sports complex on a baseball field and the entire area was decked in red, white, and blue. It gave us all the opportunity to sit on the lawn, eat burgers (yes, even after seeing the meat street earlier that day) and corn on the cob and have a few drinks. The celebration was lovely and it is probably one of the only times that I've felt truly comfortable and at ease while in India. There was no threat of being run over by traffic or fleeced by a tout - just the chance to kick back, relax, eat, drink, dance, watch fireworks and be merry.

On Sunday I went to the Mango Festival with Lorraine and Ben. Mangoes here are incredibly delicious. When I first arrived, my friend Mallika asked me if I could name anything that tasted better than a mango. At the time, having only been exposed to the underripe and not very flavorful varieties we can buy in the US, there were plenty of things I could name: peaches, berries, etc. But now, having tried different varieties of perfectly ripe and juicy mangoes, I can no longer say there is something quite as delicious. Mangoes will be one of the things that I will really miss when I leave India.

Anyway, back to the mango festival....

The mango festival was not at all what I expected. There really was not a lot of mango at the festival. Sure there were exhibit halls that you could wander through in order to view the prize-winning mangoes and there was an area where you could buy mangoes in bulk, but there was no area to sample different varieties of mangoes. Lorraine, Ben and I were thinking that the festival was a bit lame (and we were roasting in the heat) but we decided to stick it out to watch the mango eating festival. And the mango eating festival made our trip entirely worth it. Approximately thirty men stood up on stage and were given a 3kg bag of unpeeled and unpitted mangoes. They had just a few minutes to eat as much of the mangoes as they could before a winner could be declared. It was truly a sight to behold as energetic music was cued up and the participants began ripping the skin off mangoes and eating as much as they could. Some of the participants even danced to the music as they worked their way through all the mango pulp. It was much more energetic and exiciting than any other eating competition I've ever witnessed.

I departed the mango festival to head back to Noida. Dustin and I were invited for dinner at my first host's house. We arrived in Noida at around 8 p.m. and were served a delicious meal that had been prepared by Mallika. Then both Dustin and I headed to our respective homes and prepared ourselves for another week of interning.

That Monday night, I went with my friend Sneha and a few of her friends to see the movie Delhi Belly. This movie has caused quite a stir in India because it is much more provocative than most Bollywood films. I found the film to be hilarious and very well done. It is a bit over the top, but it does such a wonderful job of poking fun of Delhi and all its problems. This movie is definitely on my "to own" list.

***I'll post pictures of all the above adventures soon.

Akshardham Temple

2011-07-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yikes, I just realized I'm three weeks behind in my blogging. Unlike when I was in the Netherlands, this time the blame for my delay falls more on India and less on my being busy or lazy. There are frequent power outages here and when the power turns off so does the internet. There have been many nights when I've returned home set to blog about my weekend (or to call friends and family via skype) and I've been disappointed to find there is no internet service. I will do my best to catch up because there are many observations, stories, and other information that I desire to share.
My third weekend in India was fairly uneventful. During the work week my time consisted the daily commute. While a commute wouldn't normally be something worth writing about, the commute in India seems to be a bit more of an adventure. There are a few aspects of the commute that have become easier over time, but only a few. Each day I depart my accommodations and take a 5 - 10 minute walk to the metro. Although the distance is not far, I'm usually sweating because of the heat and the general complications of the commute. There are no sidewalks and there is only a narrow shoulder and a narrow patch of packed dirt on which to walk. Walking requires artfully dodging cycles, rickshaws, buses, cows, dogs, and whatever other obstacle may appear. Crossing the street is the most complicated. Because there are no traffic rules and not many traffic signals in Noida (especially at the intersections near my accommodation), intersections are a free for all. I've determined the private buses that are collecting passengers near the metro are one of the worst obstructers of traffic. They park right in the middle of the crosswalk and it is impossible to see around them or know when they might choose to move. The motorcycles are the other offender as they seem to be the most impatient and self-centered; they are the most willing to weave in and out of traffic or drive on the shoulder with no disregard for any pedestrians or animals.
After the walk I enter the metro where I am subjected to a pat down and my bag is x-rayed (as is everyone else). The metro is one of the few places in India where it is an advantage to be a female because there is hardly ever a line for women's security and there is a women only car at the front of each train which is hardly ever crowded (unlike the other cars which are typically jam packed). The metro is an anomaly in Delhi; it's clean, quiet, and air conditioned. The metro is also relatively new so it will be interesting to see how long it is maintained...
When I depart the metro near my office, I catch a cycle rickshaw to go to the office. If I were in the US, the distance would be walkable - probably about 15 to 20 minutes maximum. But in India, because of the heat, dust, chaos and lack of sidewalks (although I should note they are building sidewalks on the road from the metro to my office so things might be improving) a cycle rickshaw is better. Initially I had to find a rickshaw puller and haggle each day but now there is one rickshaw driver who I can always count on to be there in the morning to take me to the office. There is also now a rickshaw puller who waits for me outside the office in the evening in order to return me to the office. I think I'm paying about 10 rupees (approximately 20 cents US) more than Indians pay (I pay 30 each way and Indians pay 15 - 20), but I'm happy to pay it for the convenience of not having to haggle and explain the way to my office each day. One of the things about India is that those who have money will nickle and dime the poor (rickshaw pullers, maids, etc.) and many refuse to pay even a little extra for anything - even if the service is great. It's one of the reasons that the rich/poor divide just increases. The wealthy here continue to make money (it takes money to make money) but they refuse to tolerate an increase in prices for services even though the cost of living is increasing. And because the population is so large and there are so many poor and uneducated people there is always somebody who is willing to do the work for less. Seeing the situation here makes me appreciative of policies like the minimum wage in the US. Although minimum wage is dismal and could be better and although we have our share of problems and could be doing a lot better in terms of providing opportunities and equality (like funding better education and health care) we could also be doing a lot worse.
Ok, time to climb off my soapbox.
After I leave work at about 7 p.m. I complete the whole commute in reverse. Monday - Friday I don't generally go out in the evening and the few times that I have there was a lot of advanced planning involved. So most of my excitement and exploration time occurs on the weekends.
Weekend number three was fairly lowkey and I didn't see many sights. In fact on Sunday I spent the entire day at home reading and watching movies (great Indian films - Lagaan, Robot, and Like Stars on Earth). On Saturday, Dustin and I visited Akshardham temple in Delhi. Akshardham is a fairly new temple (built in 2006) but it is gigantic. There lifesize stone carved elephants that surround the base of the temple and the entire structure is ornately sculpted. Unfortunately cameras are not permitted on the grounds so I do not have any pictures. But you can look at pictures here http://www.akshardham.com/photogallery/mandir/index.htm
The ornate stone carvings were the extent of Akshardham's appeal. There is also a boat ride and a presentation in the hall of values but both of those things were a bit hokey. The hall of values was an animatronic / multimedia experience that chronicles the life of Swaminarayan, the founder of one particular sect of hinduism. And the boat tour chronicled some of India's history. While there was some interesting information presented, the whole thing just seemed like a religious Disneyland with the goal of inundating viewers with propoganda. There is also a light/music show at the fountain there, but after spending a few hours in the sun and partaking in the boat tour and hall of values, we were exhausted and ready to call it a night.

Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2011-07-02T01:36:00.000-07:00

Realizing that the monsoon season was fast approaching and that many of the national parks would be closed come July, I decided to make an effort to make it to at least one during. So my second weekend in India became the designated weekend for seeing Indian wildlife. Because the plans didn't come to fruition until a few days before the weekend, my friend Dustin and I ended up hiring a car (the trains that would work with our schedules were booked) to take us to Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan.
The driver arrived at my house about an hour earlier than we had anticipated. Luckily Dustin had planned on arriving a bit earlier so we were able to get an early start. We departed for our approximately 9 hour journey at around 9:30 p.m. If you were to look at Google Maps, it would suggest this drive would only take about 6 hours, but Google Maps is wrong! I don't think Google Maps takes into account the fact that this is India - a land where traffic is insane, you have to stop in random places and search for the government officials that you need to pay tolls or taxes to, and the road is not nice and paved for the whole journey. In fact, while I'm talking about traffic I should mention a little saying that the driver told us about driving in India. "For driving in India, you need four things: good brakes, a good horn, good luck and a good doctor!" A very wise and accurate saying indeed.
The car was comfortable and our driver was very reliable, friendly and helpful. Despite being comfortable with his safe driving, it was still hard to get much sleep on the journey (since the actual paved road often disappeared or random traffic would appear). He successfully navigated us from Delhi to Sawai Madhopur (the town nearest Ranthambore National Park). There he dropped us off at our hotel at 6:30 am. By that point, Dustin and I were exhausted and hungry. We had breakfast at our hotel (the Raj Palace - which was lovely) and then decided to sleep for a few hours. Our first safari into the park was scheduled for the afternoon and we wanted to be well rested.
Upon waking, we decided to go for a little stroll around Sawai Madhopur. This decision was a bit of a mistake. Our driver had sort of warned us about strolling down the streets of Sawai Madhopur, but the way he explained it we thought he meant that the shopkeepers would try to sell us overpriced junk. So we left the hotel and strolled down the road. There we were greeted with camels pulling carts of bricks and other materials and people carrying on their day to day lives. We visited a statue of the Maharaja and then headed down another street towards a temple. At this point we encountered young children begging for money. This is something you get used to when you are in India as certain young children will come up and follow you around, sometimes pinching your arm in an effort to get money. Although it is sometimes tempting to want to help the children (they are clearly impoverished) we've been warned frequently that this is a trick and that no money should be given because it only encourages begging instead of learning a craft, trade, or other profession.
The children's begging, while annoying, was nothing like what we were about to experience. As we continued walking along we suddenly found ourselves faced with three teenage boys. At first it seemed like the three boys just wanted to see foreigners up close, but then it became clear they were casing us and looking for a way to steal our money. Although neither Dustin nor I speaks much Hindi, it was apparent they were making lewd comments and trying to distract Dustin while they looked for a way to steal our belongings. It was an uncomfortable situation. We reached the temple and headed towards the entrance to see if we could lose them. They followed us inside the gates. Then we attempted to wait and try to return back towards the hotel while they were washing up. This plan worked to keep them away from us for a bit, but they followed us on the return. But eventually as we neared an intersection near the Maharaja statue (where there was a police officer stationed) they turned off and left us in peace. From that point forward we decided we'd stick to the hotel (there was a pool so plenty to keep us entertained).
After returning to the hotel, eating lunch and swimming it was time to head on our first wildlife safari. We were picked up by a jeep and went on the first tour with a nice Indian family. The first tour was a wild ride - the driver sped down the roads taking turns as quickly as possible. There were no seatbelts and I was glad for the bars on the back of the seats in front of us. I affixed a death grip as we were jostled and bumped along the road. In my head I distinctly remember thinking the line from Jarassic Park, "hold on to your butts!" The guide was knowledgeable and provided us with information about the park. The primary draw of the first safari was a tiger that had been spotted earlier on the trail we had been assigned (the park limits how many jeeps and trucks can enter during the morning and evening times and specifies which trail each is to use). The guide had the driver take us as quickly as possible past the ruins of Maharaja hunting lodges and "tiger supermarkets" (herds of deer) to the banks of a small lake where a tiger was resting. As we watched a tiger there (which was at a bit of a distance) the guides learned that another tiger had been spotted nearby so we sped off in that direction. Lucky for us, the tiger crossed the road right in front of our jeep! He was nonplussed by the gaggles of tourists looking at him and snapping photos and he was a majestic sight to behold. The tiger nonchalantly walked across the road and into the trees to the side of a herd of deer. The deer watched nervously. The did not run, but they moved swiftly away from the tiger's path and then cautiously creeped to the edge of the trees to watch for the tigers next move.
We weren't able to watch the tiger too long because at that point the storm clouds were fast approaching and our driver began to speed down the road towards the exit. Despite the swift speed of the jeep, we were unable to outrun the rains. The storm dumped rain on us as we continued to race for the exit. At the exit we tried to take shelter under the gates to wait out the storm. Eventually we had to give up and get in the jeep while we headed back to the hotel. Dinner, a shower and sleep were great ways to finish out the evening and prepare for our second safari on day two.
Safari number two began early in the morning. We left the hotel at 6 am and ventured into the park with a different driver, a different guide, and different group of tourists. We were assigned a different trail (and unfortunately we learned that there was a tigress waiting on a kill on one of the other trails) and were taken off to explore a new part of the park. The driver on day 2 drove slower and we were able to appreciate the scenery a bit more. That day (at least in the beginning) we were not as lucky with the animal spotting. We saw plenty of peacocks, other birds, and deer, but no tigers or leopards or jackals or hyenas. Then after driving around for a few hours we spotted a sloth bear. We watched the sloth bear amble about. Unlike the tigers, he was a bit more disturbed by our presence and seemed to try to get away from us as quickly as possible.
We were not fortunate enough to spot any other animals, but we did come close. As we were departing the park our guide noticed that a monkey was in a tree giving a warning call which signaled to the others there was either a tiger or a leopard approaching. We waited for a few minutes to try to spot what the monkey was warning about (or maybe the monkey was just messing with us) but were unsuccessful in spotting the predator. Our safari time had lapsed and it was time to return to the hotel for breakfast, a shower, and then a departure for our long drive back to Delhi.
Overall it was an incredible weekend. It was nice to get out of the hustle and bustle of Delhi and experience fresh air. And seeing two tigers during safari number one and a sloth bear during safari number was truly lucky!


Dustin waiting for safari number one in front of our hotel.


An old gate to the Ranthambore fort and the Ranthambore park.


The tiger's supermarket.


The various groups on the safari. Each jeep with a different guide.


The tiger closeup - let's call him Shere Khan!


Looking a bit like drowned rats after the rain began.


Seeking temporary shelter from the rain.


Safari number 2.


Me standing in front of the jeep on safari two.


The landscape of Ranthambore.


Sloth bear - perhaps named Baloo.


Peacock.

Namaste India

2011-06-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Gurdwara Shri Banla Sahib (Sikh temple).

I’m in India! Actually I’ve been here just under three weeks now. But because I didn’t have internet at my accommodations for the first two weeks I wasn’t able to blog or otherwise keep in touch with family and friends. So this blog post and a post about my overall impressions of the ICTY (to come at a later date) are long overdue.

India is….an interesting country. Generally I’m enjoying my time here and I’m definitely glad I came, but I find myself constantly oscillating between loving it and hating it. There are things here that are wonderful and things here that are terrible and difficult. I’ll highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly as I retell the tales of my first two weeks here.

I departed Amsterdam on Saturday morning, June 4^th. There was a brief layover at London Heathrow and then I was on my way to Delhi. When I boarded the flight to Delhi, I realized there was no seat cushion on my assigned seat. I turned to the flight attendant and he responded, “So you’ve noticed there is no seat cushion?”. My thought was, “How on earth could I not have noticed something like that?”. The flight attendant then explained that the seat cushions had been removed for cleaning and that he didn’t think they would make it back in time for take-off. Luckily, however, this meant that I got an upgrade to business class! I’m not sure how I’ll ever be able to go back to riding in coach on long international flights….

I arrived in Delhi at about 11 p.m. and by the time I made it through immigration and collected my bags it was almost midnight. The Dean at Lewis and Clark was kind enough to offer to pay for ground transportation from the airport to our hotel so there was a driver with a sign waiting to whisk me off to my hotel in Noida (a suburb of Delhi). When we walked outside, the first thing I noticed was how despite being nearly midnight it was HOT.


Me with Mrs. Saint and her mother, Nani G at the Sikh temple.

After a brief sleep and delightful breakfast, I was driven to my temporary accommodations. While I was in The Hague, I had the good fortune to become friends with a woman named Nimisha, from the UK. Nimisha is of Indian origin and she helpfully connected me with her cousin Sneha, who coincidentally is a lawyer in Noida. Sneha was on a European vacation so she kindly allowed me to sublet her PG (Paying Guest - which is usually a room or a studio type accommodation that is attached to a family's home). Having a place to stay was a huge relief and in my case it came with the added bonus of an incredible landlady and her wonderful family. The landlady, Mrs. Saint (which is a fitting name), and her son, Ankit, and daughter-in-law, Mallika, whisked me around to purchase a sim card for my phone and run other errands. We ended up ordering Dominos Pizza for lunch on that first day, and I was surprised to see that Dominos has incorporated Indian spices and paneer (an Indian cottage cheese) into their menu. The Saints were also gracious enough to invite me to dinner every night, show me some sights and help me figure out the easiest way to commute to and from work with the metro and rickshaws. Although I'd like to think I would have managed without their assistance, I'm quite certain that my first weeks here would not have been so easy and enjoyable. I truly value the friendship I've developed with them. I'm placing the hospitality and kindness in "the good" category.

After one day to settle in, it was time to begin work at Fox Mandal Little & Co. Mrs. Saint drove me there in the morning so that I would have one less thing to worry about. I arrived at about 9 am, which was much earlier than anybody else in the office. The security guards showed me in and I sat in the lobby until the office manager arrived. Then the office manager introduced me to the HR manager who showed me to my desk and introduced me to my supervising attorney. After that I was introduced to a few people and I began reviewing some documents related to a joint venture I will be working on. The first day was very different from the first day at the ICTY. The few attorneys I did meet were nice and I'm happy to know that I'll primarily be working with them. At the end of the day, one of my new colleagues assisted me in calling a taxi to transport me home. Unfortunately the taxi charged 475 Rupees (about $10) to drive me only a few kilometers. Upon arrival at home, Mrs. Saint asked the taxi how much he was charging me and proceeded to tell him that was too much. She then decided that I would need to find another, less expensive method of transport.


Thali - South Indian Cuisine

In order to try out a different form of transport, Mallika accompanied me via metro and rickshaw. The metro in the Delhi area is rightfully considered the "pride of Delhi" (and is another one of the things I would classify as "the good"). The metro is clean, comfortable (ie. air conditioned), quick (one runs at least every 5 minutes), and safe. Not only is there a security check when you enter the metro station (metal detectors and bag x-ray) but there is also a car on the metro reserved exclusively for women. When traveling alone, the women only car is a benefit because it is usually less crowded and I tend not to attract too many uncomfortable stares from India women. After departing the metro station close to my office, Mallika helped me arrange a rickshaw. Although the office is only a few kilometers from the metro station, the heat, lack of sidewalks, chaotic traffic, noise, and dirt make walking less than desirable. I would classify the noise, dirt, chaotic traffic (although there are lines painted on the roads, nobody uses them or adheres to any other type of traffic signal), and lack of sidewalks as both "the bad" and "the ugly". Both Mallika and Ankit had taught me a few Hindi phrases so I could explain where I was going and ask how much it would cost, but it was a relief not to have to deal with this on the first day. After riding in the rickshaw to the office, Mallika spoke with one of the security guards and arranged for him to flag a rickshaw for me at the end of the day (again, the security guard is one of the people who have been very kind and made my life easier).

The rest of the week I continued in the routine of going to work, working, coming home, and then eating with the Saints before either reading or walking (in a park, where it is safe from crazy traffic). I particularly enjoyed trying all the different Indian dishes between the meals served at work and the meals served by Mrs. Saint. In case your keeping score, Indian food goes in "the good" column.


Me standing in front of the Red Fort

The first weekend, I met up with a guy, Dustin, from Lewis and Clark who is also completing an internship in Delhi. Dustin and I had not met prior to arriving in India, but we did speak a few times via Skype. Luckily he arrived just a few days after me, so Saturday we arranged to meet up and explore. I rode the metro into Old Delhi and we ventured off to the Red Fort. The Red Fort was built by the Mughals and I think my Lonely Planet Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra (Regional Travel Guide) described it well: "The sandstone Red Fort once represented everything glorious about the peak of the Mughal empire; today, it seems a rather forlorn shadow of its former grand self." I couldn't agree more with that statement. First, the admission fee for foreigners is 25 times what it is for Indians (and this trend of fleecing foreigners appears at all tourist sights and is a common theme I encounter when dealing with locals - fleecing falls into "the bad" category). The only benefit for paying more and being a foreigner is that you get to skip ahead to the beginning of the security line. Once inside you are greeted with former chambers, a bath house, and mosque of the emperors. There are not many signs of explanation around so you are mostly left to wander (Note: there were people offering to be tour guides inside, however, once after being fleeced a few times we were reluctant to trust their offers). Dustin and I wandered around for a bit, toured the Indian War Memorial Museum, and were asked to take photos with numerous Indians (I felt like such a celebrity - I should start charging for the privilege of a photo with me).

Me in front of the Jama Masjid.

After tiring of the Red Fort, we headed back out of the fort and down the road where we stumbled upon the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. At the Jama Masjid I had to wear a giant smock over my clothes and remove my shoes. This made the whole adventure HOT (too many layers and hot ground).

The Cycle Rickshaw ride through a very congested street.

From the Jama Masjid, we caught a cycle rickshaw back to the metro station. I had agreed to help Dustin search for a place to live (with the assistance of Mallika's sister) and so we needed to move quickly. On our rickshaw ride, we encountered a very busy street. Good thing the rickshaw driver was adept at navigating through the congestion. Apartment hunting, or PG hunting, was not such a fun experience because, again, the greed/desire to fleece foreigners was apparent. The highlight of the housing search adventure was finding a sign that makes the threat of towing a car seem like child's play (see picture to the right).

On Sunday I went with the Saints to New Delhi. First we went to the Gurdwara Shri Bangla Sahib, which is a Sikh temple. The temple was packed because it was a Sunday morning and because it was a Sikh holiday of some sort. The temple was lovely and it was interesting to experience the Sikh religious customs (including eating holy food and dipping my feet in a holy pool). After the Sikh temple we drove to Connaught Place, which is a major shopping area in India. There we went to a South Indian restaurant where I tried a thali (a platter with small amounts of a variety of dishes) which was delicious but too much food. Ankit and Mrs. Saint pulled out coupon books for the meal. Apparently, in India, companies give their employees coupon books which are basically certificates that allow them to eat out or to buy groceries at certain places. This is done so that the employees do not have to pay taxes on that portion of their salary! After gorging ourselves on South Indian food, we headed to Cottage Emporium. Cottage Emporium is a place run by the government and geared towards tourists. You can find crafts from all across India at a steep price. We went just to look around so I would know what types of crafts look for at the cheaper markets. Next we headed across the street to Jhanpat (sp?) which is a cheaper market. There I purchased some harem pants for about 3 dollars. The harem pants are incredible to wear in the heat. Finally, Mallika and I were dropped off at the Great India Place (a mall) where Mallika helped me select some fabric so I could have my own Salwar Kamezs made (typical Indian clothing - I promise to post pictures once I take them).
There's so much more to write, but this has become quite a lengthy post. So I'll save the week 2 adventures for the next post (which will hopefully be completed soon so I don't get behind!).

Why to Always Use Either UPS or FedEx

2011-05-26T22:26:00.001-07:00

This is a story about a passport. A passport may seem completely innocuous, but when it is missing or out of your personal control it is a destroyer of plans and can induce anxiety.
After learning that I would be heading to India for a two month internship, it became apparent that I would need to mail my passport from my current location, The Netherlands, to San Francisco, California. Unlike many other countries across the globe, India does not allow non-Dutch citizens to apply for the requisite visa via The Netherlands but instead requires you to apply via your country and even region of origin. The idea of sending my passport thousands of miles through the mail made me nervous, but because it was required in order to make my trip to India I acquiesced. Luckily I have been issued a Dutch ID card for the duration of my time here so I knew I would not be completely without ID and could still safely travel by train within the Schengen zone.
My passport departed The Netherlands at the end of March. I had sent it with the Dutch mail system TNT Post, but I paid the extra money to send it with tracking. Tracking with TNT Post is a joke. You are able to track a given package within The Netherlands, but as soon as it leaves The Netherlands the status on the website reads something like, "Your package has left The Netherlands and is in the destination country." The website never updates beyond this status and so you are left to wonder whether it is actually going to arrive. The package will also take much longer than the 3 - 5 business days that they promise you.
But despite not knowing where my passport was, my passport finally arrived at Travisa, the Indian Consulate's visa outsourcing service (yes, Indian Embassies and Consulates have outsourced their visa processing and this company happens to be American.). It was processed in about two weeks and mailed off to my parents (as a US address was required for the return). Travisa was smart enough to send the passport using FedEx. During the entire two days it was in transit from California to Montana I knew exactly where it was.
After its arrival to Montana, my Dad placed it in the mail. Unfortunately, despite my request that it be sent with tracking, it was sent via regular post. On the same day that my Dad sent the passport, he also placed a different package to me in the mail. One package arrived exactly one week after it was mailed, but it was not the package with the passport.
At that point I was still calm. The passport had only been in transit for one week and I knew that the different envelopes were probably sorted differently. Days passed. And more days passed. Each afternoon I would walk to the mailbox and each afternoon my heart would sink a bit at the realization that my passport was not there.
At exactly the three week point I broke down. At that point I felt the passport would never arrive. I was still willing to wait another week but I began to implement a contingency plan. I made an appointment at the American Consulate to obtain a replacement passport. I contacted the law firm in India that I will be interning for and asked to postpone my internship while I worked to obtain a replacement passport and a replacement visa. I also learned during this time that the only way to obtain a replacement visa would be to fly to San Francisco and have a new visa processed. Even though the visa had already been issued, the Indian Embassy in The Netherlands was not capable of contacting San Francisco and providing a replacement.
Things were looking a bit grim for about two days, but then I started to come to terms with the fact that I would be making a brief return to the US. The process of replacing the passport and visa was never appealing, but there were other things to look forward to. I could extend my internship at the ICTY while I waited for the new passport, I was offered an interview in the US (for a job to commence after I graduate in 2012) that I otherwise could not attend, and I would have the chance to see some friends that I have not seen for 5 months. It was a happy sad time. Flash forward to Thursday, May 26th. This is the date that I had set as a cutoff for when the passport could arrive (my appointment at the Consulate was scheduled for May 27th). At about 2:30 p.m. I ran home to check the mail. I wanted to be able to let my team of supervisors at the ICTY know whether I would be extending my internship or not. The mailbox was empty. I returned to the ICTY and committed to staying an additional week. Things were looking good. General Mladic (the most-wanted alleged war criminal from the Bosnian war) was captured and it appeared he may be making an initial appearance within the next few days (which translates to a lot of excitement at work as a new trial will be beginning).
I finished the day and headed home. I arrived home just after 6 p.m. and decided to head across the street to the police station to file a police report on my missing passport (it is recommended that you file a police report because of the risk of identity theft). Since I pass the mailboxes on the way out the door, I decided to look one more time. I opened the mailbox and what should appear but a small padded envelope with a passport inside. My passport had arrived! At the very last possible minute it arrived - better late than never I guess.
Although the passport finally arrived, I think the moral of this story is to use FedEx or UPS. The package or envelope stays in control of one entity the entire time, it arrives quickly, and it can be tracked!

Nearly Over

2011-05-21T01:45:00.000-07:00

It's May 21 and my time here in The Hague is nearly over. I'm supposed to finish work at the ICTY this coming Friday, May 27th and then head to Delhi, India for a two month internship on Monday, May 30th. I say "supposed to finish" because my plans might be changing ever so slightly. Due to some current passport troubles (for those of you who don't know, my passport with requisite visa for India is currently lost in the mail) I might end up spending a few more weeks in The Hague. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my passport arrives by Thursday!

While I've been dealing with my missing passport and saying goodbye to many of the good friends I've made (people have been leaving slowly - one-by-one) I have not updated my blog. So here is the long overdue report of my life over the past (gulp!) two months! This report will only be about my life outside of work as I plan on writing a reflection on my whole time at the ICTY upon completion of my internship.

Bike Trip to Leiden:
One Saturday I set off for an approximately 40 km round trip bike ride with two of my friends. We left The Hague and biked through the dunes (see picture below) to Leiden. Leiden is a cute little university town with picturesque canals and a windmill. It is also the sight of some of the best Dutch pancakes. After riding the nearly 25 km to Leiden, we rewarded ourselves with some delicious Dutch pancakes. There were 3 of us so we purchased three different pancakes and shared. The pancakes arrive on large Delft pottery platters and they did not disappoint. We ordered a veggie pancake, an apple/bacon/gouda pancake, and an "apple strudel" pancake.
After feasting on pancakes we toured around the city of Leiden and then biked home (although this time we took the shorter route and omitted the journey through the dunes.

Weekend Visit to Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln:
I wrote a lot about Duisburg, Düsseldorf, and Köln on this blog when I lived in the area in 2007 - 2008. So to avoid redundancy I won't write much more here. It was pleasant to go back and see the familiar places and spend time with my German family. Plus this time around I took my roommate, Becky, along.

Weekend Road Trip to Salzburg, Austria:
Over Easter Weekend I took a road trip with my friend Henry to Salzburg, Austria (where we had studied abroad in 2004 - 2005). Henry drove over from England in his mini cooper and the two of us headed off to Austria. We stopped briefly in Köln and in Herzogenerauch (where Adidas is headquartered). This was my first time back to Salzburg since leaving in May 2005 and it was as beautiful as I remember it. On Saturday, Henry and I hiked the Untersberg. It was basically a climb straight up the mountain...Austria apparently does not really believe in switchbacks. During the climb I was battling a bit of allergies and the change in altitude so it was a big challenge. Luckily I was not sore the next day. Henry hiked back up the Untersberg the next day with his sister, but I opted not to participate. Instead I finished reading a book and then went and toured the Stiegl Museum (Stiegl is an Austrian beer). By the time I finished with the museum, Henry had returned so we enjoyed some burgers at Stiegl. Then we headed back into the city for a visit to the Augustinerbrau and a walk around the city. Sadly my favorite apple strudel place is now closed, but we went to a different cafe and I was able to try rhubarb strudel.

Tulip-mania:
The Netherlands are famous for tulips. In fact the Dutch are responsible for 70% of the world's flower market. My friend Terra and I set off for a day adventure at the Keukenhof - a famous garden where you can see TONS of tulips. The Keukenhof is one of the most photographed places on earth and it is well-deserved because it is truly gorgeous. Each year they have a theme and this year the theme was "Germany" so many of the flower displays were made to honor Germany and there were random statues of German composers and blurbs about famous Germans. The downside to the Keukenhof is that it is incredibly touristy and quite busy. When you first enter the park you are greeted by a pipe organ playing unusual renditions of the "Macarena" and Queen songs. But despite the pipe organ and the crowds it is a truly wonderful sight to behold.

Queen's Day:
April 30th is the day that the Dutch take to the streets dressed in orange. The purpose is to celebrate their Queen. Queen's Day starts on the evening of the 29th and The Hague is the best place to be as there is an open air festival and music stages are interspersed throughout the city. On the 30th, the best places to be are either Amsterdam or the random town the Queen happens to be visiting that year. In Amsterdam, it seems that everyone is outside in the streets either listening to live music or selling stuff - the whole city becomes a giant flea market. A large group of us decided to properly celebrate Queen's Day so we went out in The Hague on the 29th and then headed to Amsterdam on the 30th.
Having celebrated Karneval in Germany, I was expecting Amsterdam (and the trains going there) to be mass chaos. Surprisingly it was not as bad as I had anticipated. We arrived in Amsterdam and immediately set off to wander the city - first stop Vondelpark and then some random neighborhoods. You are greeted by a sea of orange, people everywhere are dressed in the color. Wanting to blend in, I decided to purchase an orange hat and an orange boa. We spent an enjoyable day in the sunshine wandering around, listening to music, eating, drinking and being merry.

Delft in Pictures

2011-03-20T13:52:00.001-07:00

Ah, Delft. A small little town just south of The Hague with charming canals. It is home to the painter - Vermeer, the father of international law - Hugo Grotius, William Prince of Orange (who later became King William III of England and married Mary Stuart), and Delft pottery (which was a painting style that blended the styles painted on porcelain from China with European styles and became popular when the Chinese porcelain became unavailable after the death of Chinese emperor Wanli in the 17th Century).

The town is only 10 km from The Hague and makes for a great little day trip.

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"Istanbul Was Constantinople, Now It's Istanbul Not Constantinople"

2011-03-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

March has been a busy month! Life in The Hague has continued along at about the same pace. I've noticed that the biggest demand on my time here (aside from working M-F) is socializing. And I definitely do not regret all the socializing because I've met incredible people from all around the world and formed some great friendships.

Unfortunately, while I've been socializing I've been neglecting my blog updates. So this posting will be less detail and more summary of the month of March so far.

The first weekend in March my friend Rob and I took two days off from work at the Tribunal to head to Istanbul for an extended weekend. This was my second time visiting the city. I first visited the city with my friend Lena three years ago, while on my Fulbright. I was dazzled by the city and was anxious to go back. This second definitely did not disappoint and there were many improvements that I noticed (perhaps coinciding with Istanbul being named Europe's Culture Capital in 2010?!?!).

It was much different traveling with a guy than with another girl. We still experienced heckling, but instead of being leered at by Turkish men we were frequently met with greetings like "Nice couple, want a Turkish rug?" or "I can help you spend your money" or "Nice honeymoon couple, come inside for delicious dinner." Traveling with a guy also made it much easier to experience a flavor of the city's night life.

Over the course of four days we walked a lot, saw numerous sights, and ate a lot of delicious Turkish cuisine. I had seen some of the sights before, but the addition of new audio guide tours assisted me in learning much more than I had before. We visited the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, The Spice Market, Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, and Basillica Cistern to name a few (some pictures are posted above).

We also paid a visit to a Turkish Hamam (a Turkish bath) for some much needed relaxation. A Turkish bath is a much different than any other "spa" experience. The himam experience this time was also slightly different than my previous himam. Typically the baths are segregated. You are given a towel (which looks a bit more like a picnic blanket than a towel) and taken to a changing room. There you strip down to nothing but the towel and are led to a room with a hot stone slab in the middle. You lay on the hot stone slab for a spell. In this instance I was then directed to the sauna where I steamed for about 30 minutes before a bath attendant (read: large Turkish woman in a bikini) fetched me and guided me back to the stone slab. Once I was comfortably laying on the stone slab she sloughed my top layer of skin off and proceeded to give me an incredible soap massage. I had purchased the deluxe treatment so after being exfoliated, suds-ed and rinsed, a different attendant came over and gave me a massage with honey. I think the honey was probably mixed with some type of oil because it was not sticky. After the honey massage I was led to a water spigot so I could wash the honey off and from there I was taken to a cold pool where I was able to swim for awhile. Finally, after feeling properly relaxed and rejuvenated I was taken back to the changing room to put on my clothes and head out for a night on the town.

The week after returning from Turkey was crazy. My friend and roommate, Marion, had a birthday and so my other friend and roommate, Becky, and I decided to throw her a surprise party. Miraculously we managed to keep the whole event a surprise. There was one moment where I almost cracked and confessed the surprise to Marion because she was so sad. To her it seemed like nobody wanted to celebrate her birthday. Other plans had been made for the weekend and when she tried to invite everybody to meet her for drinks after work nobody RSVPd or showed up (because immediately after she sent an email invite we sent an email around reminding people of the surprise party). I feigned fatigue and passed on going to drinks saying that I needed to go home and nap but set the stage for luring her back to our apartment by explaining that maybe after my nap we could go to dinner. Becky bailed on drinks with an excuse that she had to work late. So while Marion was at our favorite after-work watering hole with just a few people, all of the rest of our friends were gathering at our place to prepare for the surprise. When Marion finally arrived and everyone yelled surprise, she was INCREDIBLY surprised and happy!

That same week was a sad week in that a few of the close friends I've made here left to return to their homes. My roommate and friend Anna Clara and my friends and office mates Rob and Rabea both completed their internships and headed back to Brazil, DC, and Germany respectively. It was sad to see them go and their presence will be deeply missed here in The Hague. In order to provide a proper sendoff, however, the week was filled with delicious dinners, after-work drinks and a Crazy Hat/Silly Hair party. In my opinion, you couldn't ask for a better sendoff.

Last week it was business as usual and life was a bit calmer. The weather is finally taking a turn for the better and it is enjoyable to bike in the sunshine on the way to work. I had one minor bike fiasco on Thursday when I was biking along and my pedal suddenly flew off my bike. Luckily it was an easy and fairly inexpensive (17.50 Euro) fix and I was enjoying my bike again by Saturday.

Saturday I biked to the train station and then Marion and I took the tram to Delft. Delft is a quaint town about 10 km south of The Hague. It is famous for its pottery and also was home to Vermeer (painter who painted "Girl With The Pearl Earring"), Hugo Grotius (father of International law), and William of Orange (Dutch Monarch). Marion and I spent the afternoon wandering through the tiny canal filled town. We took in the sights and sounds of the market and ultimately camped out at a table in the sun for a late lunch and some delicious Belgian beer. I'll post some pictures of Delft soon.

Today was another vitamin-D filled day. I biked around The Hague with Becky in order to run a few errands. Then when Becky and Marion headed to work (yes, on a Sunday) I ran a few more errands and then took a nice run in the sunshine. It was a wonderful start to Spring!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2011-02-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already February and that I've been here in The Netherlands a full month. Where does time go? At least I can report that the time has not been wasted and that there has hardly been a dull moment.

Work at the Tribunal continues to go well. It seems that almost every day I learn something new whether it is because of the work I'm doing, a conversation that I have with somebody at the Tribunal, or a presentation I attend. This past week I attended a talk by one of the Defense attorneys, Peter Robinson. Robinson is the Defense attorney for Radovan Karadzic and he spoke about the development of the right of self-representation....well I should say he spoke a little about the right of self-representation and then the rest of the time he spoke about himself, his "legal thriller," The Tribunal, and how great he thinks Karadzic is. Karadzic was the Bosnian Serb President during the Balkan war conflict and he is an accused war criminal currently on trial at the Tribunal. Peter Robinson gives the impression that he is the greatest man who ever walked this earth. I'm paraphrasing but here's the gist of what he said about Karadzic: "He's a psychiatrist and a poet. He's very intelligent and warm and charming and interesting to talk to. He's very grateful for all the defense interns and he cannot believe so many people will work for him for free." I must say I've never heard a criminal defense attorney sing the praises of a client to this extent.

The portion of the talk that was devoted to the development of the issue of self-representation was, however, interesting. Robinson contrasted the self-representation issues that have occurred in various cases including Slobodan Milosevic, Vojislav Seselj, and Radovan Karadzic. Milosevic's style of self-representation was to barely participate in the trial at all and ultimately standby counsel (basically an attorney who will step in and represent the individual and conduct cross-examination if the Accused is unable to) had to be appointed due to his health and the need to keep the trial progressing. Seselj, on the other hand, sought to be as disruptive to the proceedings as possible and when standby counsel was appointed he commenced a hunger strike in protest. Finally, Karadzic differs from the others in that he has legal counsel (Robinson) to assist him with all the legal pleadings but he conducts all of the cross-examination of witnesses himself.

The defense talks will apparently occur about once a month and will feature a different attorney. It will be interesting to see what topics the other speakers choose and to note whether they also think so highly of their client.

Enough about the law, here's what else has been going on here:

* I've done a bit more exploring around The Hague and have a good idea of where many things are. I took some more photos (posted below) of the city. Unfortunately, the weekend days have been overcast so the photos are not the greatest.

* Last weekend I traveled to Hamburg, Germany to attend the wedding of one of my best friends. The wedding was a lot of fun and I was happy that I was able to make it. The venue was incredible. It was an old building that used to be used for storing ice that was collected from the Elbe river and used for refrigeration in the days of old. All the brick work and the addition of candles and flowers made for a very romantic and cozy ambiance. While I was in Hamburg I also went to the Kunsthalle, which is an art museum. At the Kunsthalle there was a great exhibit which featured art that was made by cutting paper into shapes (ala Henri Matisse). It was a very unique exhibit. I've posted some pictures of the art exhibit and the wedding below.

* This weekend has been low key. I was going to go to Amsterdam with some friends but between the wind (30 mph with 54 mph gusts) and numerous people fighting colds and other ailments we decided to stay at home. It's probably a good thing that I've been home because I've been able to catch up on my "to-do" list. Scholarship applications are due at Lewis and Clark next Friday so I've been working on those, doing laundry, and making arrangements for my trip to India (for those of you that don't know: at the end of May, I'll be heading directly from The Hague to Delhi, India where I'll be interning for 2 months at an Indian law firm!).

Well, that's all for now....hopefully I'll have a chance to write more soon.
Stroopwaffels - these are delicious! I had discovered these before (and I think they sell them at supermarkets or Cost Plus World Market in the US) but the fresh warm ones are divine!

Some Dutch food. I am not sure what the names are of most items, but some are bitterballen which is a fried outside with an unidentified but delicious filling. They have both meat and vegetarian options.

The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis), which houses the International Court of Justice.
The Grotemaarkt. This is a little area of town and the site of numerous bars that we've visited for Thursday night drinks, 80s/90s dancing, etc.

The bride, Maya, and I at her wedding in Hamburg, Germany.

An example of the artwork at the Kunsthalle exhibit that was made entirely by cutting paper into shapes. I only took a few pictures as examples because there were so many neat cut paper / shadow exhibit.

This was not made of cut paper, but was an art exhibit in the lobby of the building. I liked the colors in contrast to the white walls and white flooring.

Whirlwind Week

2011-01-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a week it has been here in The Hague. I could probably have written a lengthy post each day this week with all of my experiences and impressions of the past week. But instead I'll try to post just some interesting highlights.

Last weekend I was in Germany, visiting my "German family" in Cologne. I returned to The Hague late on Saturday night and was greeted by a new roommate named Marion (who is from France). On Sunday, Marion and I ventured to Scheveningen (the beach in The Hague). We were incredibly lucky in that the weather was sunny and, while not exactly warm, it was warm for January. We walked around the beach a bit and then stopped off at one of the beach front restaurants for some fish and chips. The Dutch version of fish and chips is different than how we think of fish and chips in the states (not deep fried, and a bit bland). After relaxing at the restaurant for a bit we caught the tram back towards our apartment but made a quick stop at the ICTY so that we could make sure we knew where we had to go on Monday morning. I've included some pictures of the beach below.

Interning at the ICTY

Originally I was to begin at 9 am on Monday morning, however, I had received an email a few days prior to the start asking me to arrive at 8 am instead. There were 26 new interns that were scheduled to begin and apparently there were also numerous new interns for the Defense that also needed ID badges to be processed. We spent about the first hour handing in paperwork and getting a brief orientation and then we were taken to our individual placements. I was placed in Trial Chambers and have been assigned to work on a really interesting case. Before I attend the required security briefing I can't say much else about the case I'm working on or my assignments (other than to speak in general terms) because there is a high degree of confidentiality with everything I'm working on. I can, however, direct you to the ICTY website where you can read about the alleged war criminals that are currently on trial. Trials at the tribunal last quite awhile, but you have to remember that the amount of evidence that has to be combed through and presented is voluminous. There are also constantly new legal issues emerging and new challenges being made from everything to the jurisdiction of the tribunal to whether an accused should be limited in the time allowed for establishing the defense. You can read the indictment, the trial briefs, and many of the other legal documents (basically anything that is public record and not filed under seal) as well as watch the trial proceedings live here: http://www.icty.org/. The trial proceedings are available to be streamed except when there is a closed session because a witness has been afforded special protections or a matter that is being discussed is confidential.

There will be days when I will be in the courtroom because of certain tasks that I have to complete and it is possible that you would see me on the live feed (not speaking, but sitting at a desk). At some point in the next two weeks (and probably numerous times through the rest of my internship) you might be able to see me on the live video feed. Of course I will not be presenting, but I'll be observing and working on an assignment for the Chambers.

Anyway, I am enjoying the work and the atmosphere at the ICTY tremendously. I was immediately introduced to the legal team (of about 10 people, including myself) that I will be working with and they are all wonderful. They have all been incredibly welcoming and helpful in bringing me up to speed on what I need to know as well as any legal issues that are emerging may be of interest (even if it is not something we will be working on directly). They are also great about keeping me busy with a variety of challenging work but not overwhelming me with too many assignments and responsibilities. Once assignments have been completed they provide prompt positive feedback suggesting any necessary corrections.

The ICTY atmosphere is great in general. It's such an incredible experience to work with people around the world. I think that being in this environment is also unique in the sense that everybody is an expat so they are welcoming and interested in getting to know you and share their culture and learn about yours. I share office space with a bunch of other Chambers interns and it is fun to get to interact and work with people of similar age and with similar interests. Lunch is never boring because there are also people to go to the cafeteria and chat with. The ICTY interns are also a fun group to go out with and explore The Hague. The interns from the ICTY, the ICC (International Criminal Court), and the STL (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) get together for drinks and dancing or other events every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening. There are social coordinators at the various institution who are responsible for publishing a social newsletter each week that also announces various events of interest that will be occurring in The Hague.

Well, that's all I'll write for now. This weekend should be fun - tomorrow a few of the other interns and my roommates will be venturing to a market and to the city center for some shopping. I'm also going to look at an inexpensive bike that I might purchase and investigate joining a gym.

My Apartment in The Hague

2011-01-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ik ben aangekomen (I have arrived.)

2011-01-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Note: I wrote this post this morning but am only now getting a chance to post it.
After spending approximately 17 hours in a plane (24 hours if you count the time 9 hour time difference from Portland) I made it to The Netherlands. The flights were fairly uneventful except for some US Airways customer service problems. In Portland I was in boarding zone 5 which meant that I was one of the last people to board the plane. Because other passengers had brought so many carry on bags there was no space and I was forced to gate check my bag. The plane was at maximum weight capacity, and the ground crew in Portland ended up over-fueling the plane by about 100 lbs. so we sat on the tarmac for 20 minutes with the engines running in order to burn off the excess jet fuel. Over-fueling seems like quite an expensive mistake to make in terms of cost, environmental impact, and time loss. The delay on the Portland tarmac caused the plane to land in Phoenix at the exact time my connecting flight was beginning to board so I got in some cardio by having to sprint from one terminal to the next. Luckily I made it to the plane and the flight to Philadephia arrived on time and did not require sprinting.
I arrived in Amsterdam Schipol, made my way through passport control and customs and headed for the trains. Schipol is only about 35 minutes from The Hague by train. That is, of course, if you get on the correct train. There are multiple trains routes that run through The Hague and multiple train stops in The Hague, but not all of the routes stop at the Central Station. When looking at the train schedule I had just looked for The Hague and assumed that the train would stop at the Central Station. This was a big mistake. Luckily I figured the mistake out while I was at the last stop in The Hague (and only 3 minutes away from the Central Station) instead of when I had arrived in Rotterdam or some other city.
At the train station, Gerbrand, a friend and neighbor of my landlords (who are currently vacationing in Spain), picked me up and drove me to my new apartment. Gerbrand is a very nice older man who works in the library at the Peace Palace (where the International Court of Justice and the International Court of Arbitration are located – I’m hoping to arrange a tour through him as the building is closed to visitors). He also hosts a few interns in his apartment, which is located in the same apartment building where I’m living and we will all (the three other interns I live with, the two interns that live with Gerbrand) be getting together for coffee sometime in the next week.
My new apartment is quite small but it is cozy and in an ideal location. The building is located in the international section of The Hague (which is where all the embassies and international courts are located) across from the Peace Palace and the main police station. I believe I am only about a 30 minute walk or 10 minute tram ride away from where I will be working.
The apartment has 4 bedrooms, each of which is occupied by a law student from a different country. It also has a shared kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Two of my roommates are also interning at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Anna Clara (from Brazil) is in the Office of the Prosecutor and I’m not sure which section Marion (from France) is in, as she has not yet arrived. Lynnette, my third roommate (from Kenya / the U.K.) has actually already graduated law school and currently works at the International Criminal Court.
There is a supermarket close by the apartment and I was thrilled to learn that it is open 7 days a week and on Monday – Saturday it is open until 10 p.m.! While we are used to grocery stores being open 7 days a week and long hours of operation in the US, I was preparing for operating hours that were similar to those I experienced in Germany. In Germany the supermarkets were only open Monday – Friday and on Saturday until about noon. If a holiday backed up to a weekend, the supermarket would be closed for days (I learned this the hard way when I lived in Germany and returned from my EU seminar late the Thursday before Good Friday and had no food in my cupboards or refrigerator). Since the supermarket would be open on Sunday, I was able to purchase just what I would need for Wednesday night dinner and Thursday breakfast and lunch.
After the quick trip to the grocery store I took a short nap and went to work unpacking. It didn’t take too long to unpack and it felt nice to be situated. Anna Clara’s mother is currently visiting and she cooked a delicious dinner of bruschetta, seasoned beef, and potatoes for Anna Clara, Lynette and I. It was so nice of her to cook dinner for us and I have a feeling that we will be spoiled during the next two weeks she is here because she has already informed us she will be cooking a Brazilian rice and beans meal. Lynette has also offered to cook a Kenyan/British fusion dish at some point in the next two weeks. I would love to cook something as well, but need to figure out what a good “American food” dish would be. Suggestions for something to cook are more than welcome in the comments below.
Dinner was a nice way to spend the evening getting to know my roommates. I look forward to spending the next two months with them (Anna Clara is only in The Hague until the beginning of March and Lynnette will have to change to another apartment at the end of February). After dinner and some more chatting, I retired to my room to sleep.
Thursday morning I packed some clothes into a carry on bag and headed for the train station to catch a train to Cologne, Germany. I will be in Cologne visiting my German family until Saturday evening. It was a bit surreal being on the train and passing through Duisburg (where I lived in 2007 – 2008). It almost feels as though I never left. There is snow / ice on the ground here (from the big snowstorm a few weeks ago and the current rain) which is an unusual sight to behold. Romy, my “German mother,” told me that Thursday (yesterday) was the first day she was able to drive in over 3 weeks!
It’s time to bring this first post to a close and enjoy some German breakfast (which I’ve been looking forward to for days!). In Germany, for breakfast there are always brötchen (rolls) which can be topped with cheese or meat or nutella (tons of options) and lots of coffee. Breakfast is a truly relaxed and enjoyable experience – which is probably why they have a verb in German which means “breakfasting” (Frühstucken). So I’m off to breakfast.

EU/NATO Seminar

2008-03-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

This month I had the opportunity to participate in a week long seminar about the European Union, NATO, and their relations with the United States. Throughout the course of the week we were given the opportunity to speak with diplomatic officials and bureaucrats from both the U.S. and Europe. We were wined and (mostly by the Fulbright commission, although NATO did pay for one of our meals) - I am now afraid to step on a scale after our week of three course meals. There were 35 total Fulbright participants - of whom only about 10 or less had just completed their BA. Most of the participants were MA or PhD scholars. It was refreshing to speak with other Fulbrighters from different countries - many of them older and more experienced and wrack their brains about opportunities and possible paths to take in my future.
This seminar was possibly one of the most informative and interesting events that I have ever participated in in my life. I have a new motivation for my project and feel more engaged in learning and discussing issues - a part of me that I had sort of forgotten in the past few months of being a member in the German University system. I am now re inspired with regards to my research project and I discovered new angles to focus on and explore.

Below I will give a break down of the week and what I experienced and some of what I learned by day. This is very much abridged as my brain took in so much information over the course of the week and I don't have the energy to relate it all. At a date in the future I plan on reorganizing and typing my notes and will gladly make those available to anybody who is interested in learning more about these bodies.

Day 1 - Arrival, Departure to Luxembourg:
I arrived in Brussels (after an early morning of train travel) in order to meet other participants and catch the bus to Luxembourg. Originally we were scheduled to attend a dinner at the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg, but due to an untimely death our dinner was canceled and we ended up spending time in the hotel and getting to know one another instead. Dinner was still excellent - we just didn't have the opportunity to speak with the U.S. Ambassador.

Day 2 - Court of Justice, Lunch with the U.S. Deputy Ambassador, Court of Auditors:

We left the hotel in order to view a court session at the European Court of Justice. This court cooperates with the individual courts of all the EU nations and it takes action against countries for failure to act or meet EU obligations. It also reviews certain decisions of the EU and evaluates whether or not a Country's law or EU law should apply to certain situations. There are 27 Justices on the Court (one for each member country) and 9 advocates general who sit in on proceedings and make unbiased recommendations to the justices for a ruling. Only 1 advocate general sits per case and typically Justices sit in combinations of 3, 5, or 9 depending on how complex they believe the issue to be. When an issue concerns a particular country's law the Justice from that country typically is seated for the proceedings in order to answer the questions of the other Justices about that country's law. When the justices deliberate they meet in secret without any translators, staff members, or advocates general. Deliberations are conducted in French. The votes they cast are secret and there are no dissenting opinions that are issued (as is the case with the U.S. Supreme Court).
The case that we watched was a matter of Italian law v. EU law as it applied to debtors/creditors and the differences in collecting payment between private and public entities - not the most entertaining of cases that I think we could have witnessed and in fact it was difficult to follow without extensive background. One of the Justices actually fell asleep during the proceedings - interestingly enough we had been warned by the Court not to fall asleep as that would be considered rude. The most interesting part of the proceedings was the fact that at the beginning there was about 30 minutes spent reading the opinions of the court on other cases and those opinions were all read in different languages. When the case is concerning a particular country then the proceedings are conducted in the language of that country. Similarly it was interesting to watch all the translators in their window boxes as they interpreted the Italian proceedings into English, French, Slovak, and German.
After watching the proceedings, we headed to a delightful lunch in which the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Luxembourg was in attendance. He was - in his own words - our consolation prize for the missed dinner the night before. I was fortunate enough to be seated at his table and partake in his discussion about U.S. Politics - especially foreign policy, how he anticipates policies to change after the election (he does not expect much to change - other than other countries will at least for a short time be more excited to engage with us), and how to become a diplomatic official.
After lunch we were escorted to the Court of Auditors where we met with the British Court Auditor's Chief Aid, Peter Welch. The Court of Auditors reviews the budgetary spending of the EU and creates reports that explain whether or not the money is being spent as it was planned and whether or not objectives are being met. He explained that in the EU budget about 50% of the money goes to farm subsidies, 1/3 to Social Security policy, 1/6 to research, 1/6 to external aid, and 1/6 to administrative expenses.
I was expecting the Court of Auditors to be incredibly dull due to the fact that it is an institution of accountants, however, Mr. Welch's wit and speaking style were surprisingly entertaining and it made it enjoyable to learn about the subject and engage in a discussion on monetary issues.
Finally we loaded up the bus and headed back to Brussels where we would spend the remainder of our time.

Day 3 - European Commission Briefings:

On Friday, March 14, 2008 we spent the entire day in the European Commission (the executive branch) , speaking with various bureaucratic officials. We learned about the EuroZone -where countries are on the Euro and how the concept of the Euro Zone was created, the EU's potential enlargement (and the prospect of Turkey becoming a member), EU structural reforms, the European Neighborhood policy (in which the EU cooperates with neighboring countries and provides them with targeted aid and incentives in order to become more democratic), the EU security policy, and EU/US relations.
The speakers were very impressive and it amazed me at how frankly they spoke with us about various issues. I don't want to bog everyone down with the details, but if you have any questions you may feel free to e-mail and ask me as I took extensive notes and feel like I now know a lot.

Day 4 - College of Europe, Brugge Tour:

On Saturday, we headed to Brugge in order to have a lighter day and tour the city of Brugge (which is called the Venice of the North). Brugge is a preserved Medieval City - the street pattern has never changed, largely because of the earlier poverty of the city. It was the original large trading post between the North and the South and as a result was prosperous until the trade routes were moved to Antwerp and then to Amsterdam.
Our first objective in going to Brugge was to attend a sales pitch at the College of Europe. The sales pitch itself was not that interesting, but we were also given a lecture on the politics of European monetary policy. The lecture on monetary policy was informative. According to the policy, much of the expansion within the EU is in order to preserve growth. The Eastern European countries have room for their economies to expand and they have labor resources that the aging Western European countries need.
After our lecture and lunch we were given a tour of Brugge. It is a lovely city and provided the breath of fresh air in a quaint village that was needed after 1/2 a week of intense seminars in a large city. The city is now overpopulated with tourists, but it was an enjoyable day filled with walking around, learning about the city history, and sampling chocolate.
The fact that Belgium is so small and that you can easily make it from Brussels to another city within about an hour adds to the livable atmosphere of Brussels. We returned that evening to Brussels and later that evening we met up as a group at the bar Delirium which hosts the Guiness World Record for the most beers on the menu - 2,004!

Day 5 - Unscheduled (Sunday) visit to an open-air market, the Town Hall, and Horta Museum:

Sunday was a free -day and so I went with a small group of other Fulbrighters to a large open-air exotic market. The market was mostly run by an immigrant population and was complete with fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods, other food items, and of course junk. I was delighted to find some fresh strawberries and fresh nuts that made for a delicious (lighter than the rest of our meals - which was needed) lunch. After the market we began our stroll towards the Brussels castle, however, after misreading our map (5 Fulbright fellows - go figure) and receiving 3 sets of incorrect directions, we never made it there. We ended up by the Town Hall (Hotel deVille) after a lot of wandering around and sat on the steps in order to eat our impromptu picnic lunch. Then we wandered further, first to a cafe for some coffee and a bathroom and then to the Horta museum. The Horta museum is the old house/office from Victor Horta - a art nouveau architect. His house was spectacular - elegantly designed and decorated in the art nouveau style (pictured at right).
Our group split into two after the Horta museum - half returned to the hotel and the other half (which I was a part of) headed off towards the center of Brussels to explore the famous chocolate shops and look over the entire city. It was an enjoyable stroll and I took a lot of great pictures. I did not buy any chocolate at this point - primarily because the chocolates at places like Pierre Marcolini (the most famous of the shops) was incredibly expensive and I wasn't convinced that it was worth that price when there are other nice chocolate shops around in which the chocolate is not cheap but it is not that expensive.

Day 6 - Council of Ministers, U.S. Mission to the EU, and the European Parliament:

The day started out with a visit to the Council of Ministers where we were briefed about the outcome of the European summit that had finished up the previous Friday. The council set legislation for issues like climate change, external relations, immigration, and security. The decisions by the council are political intentions, but as it is only a political intention it has no legal weight and cannot be challenged if nothing comes about from it. Our speaker, Wolfgang Ploch, was well versed in the workings of the council but primarily in issues related to climate change. He commented on how the EU has gained astonishing importance even in just the past 15 years and that although it has a ways to go in gaining authority on some issues it has made leaps and bounds.
After the Council and another delicious lunch we headed to a briefing by the U.S. Mission to the European Union. At the beginning we met with a public affairs officer who explained a bit about the mission but after a short introduction from him we had the opportunity to speak with - or should I say be tongue-lashed by Special Envoy Gray. It should be noted that Special Envoy Gray was a Bush recess appointment as he would likely not have been confirmed by the Senate. He is a staunch Republican and immediately came out swinging at our group after somebody asked a question about climate change and the U.S. failure to sign Kyoto. He immediately became sort of agitated and made the claim that nobody would ever give credit to a Republican for passing something environmentally favorable (to which our group responded by naming Schwarzenegger and the first Bush among others). He also called our group un-American (and it should be noted one of our group members is a member of the Armed Forces), overly critical of our government, and biased by the liberal media (again it should be noted that about 5 group members are journalists). It was shocking to have a diplomatic official address individuals in such a manner and I certainly hope that he does not conduct diplomacy in such a manner as that certainly will not help the U.S. image abroad. Our program director was of the opinion that he was seeking to challenge us and engage in a rousing debate, however, I think that it could have been done with a little more tact and respect. Special Envoy Gray did make a few comments with which I have to agree. He noted that this election - with both Hillary, Obama, and McCain running is historical (a woman, an African American, and the oldest candidate) and that it demonstrates to Europe our ability to integrate - not perfectly but certainly better than Europe itself is able to integrate with various minorities. He also noted that a good reason to be ashamed of America and the government would be the subprime Mortgage crisis and again I must agree. Although there are numerous other problems within our country that is one that has large implications for both our domestic and foreign situation and it really should not have occurred in the first place.
Finally, after an intense emotionally stirring experience we finished off our day with a speaker, Michael Shackleton (who is the author of a book on the subject), on the European Parliament. Like the other British speakers I was impressed with his ability to speak candidly, convey a great deal of information and utilize humor so as to keep it entertaining. Mr. Shackelton pointed out, that like in the U.S., there is a great deal of ignorance and apathy within the EU citizens when it comes to elections and that often the greatest voting turnout occurs when the EU elections coincide with the National elections.

Day 7 - NATO Headquarters:

Tuesday, a day immediately after NATO forces in Kosovo had been active due to a Serbian attack along the border, our group headed to NATO in order to learn about what the organization does. Once again our speakers were excellent and I learned an incredible amount about the inner-workings of NATO and the 21st Century Challenges it is facing.
Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Chad were the primary topics in terms of current missions but it was interesting to learn that NATO conducts both civilian and military operations in those countries. There are of course numerous other operations that NATO has conducted in the past and that they are conducting at present. It was interesting for me to learn about the successes the organization has seen and also the partnerships that it forges with other countries on certain projects. Russia, for example, has actually cooperated significantly with NATO on Operation Endeavor in the Middle East and shows interest in further cooperation. In addition to learning about the organization itself we also spent some time discussing the relationship between the EU and NATO and the US and NATO. The EU actually has structured their defense policy around being able to utilize NATO in order to round up forces (which all are actually member government forces - NATO has no army or weapons of its own and relies solely on members to provide resources when needed) and respond to crises.

Day 8 - SHAPE Headquarters:

SHAPE is the command center where all allied military operations worldwide are conducted. We had been informed in advance that SHAPE would not really tell us a whole lot of information or answer questions - and with our first speaker that appeared to be the case. The powerpoint that he shared contained interesting information but his monotone voice and speaking style made it less interesting. Unlike the other institutions and speakers, I think that most information that was shared with us was actually information that is available on the website.
Our second speaker was surprisingly interesting - he was another British gentleman who again blended wit with information. He detailed the process of the EU utilizing the NATO system in order to provide their own defense and run their own operations should the need arise. He was much more willing to answer questions and speak in a manner that was not limited to information from the website.
Finally we finished our day with a panel discussion between the two previous speakers and an American Lieutenant. This panel consisted solely of our group asking questions and hearing the perspective from three different individuals representing three different countries and three different divisions within SHAPE. It was interesting to hear how the Armed Forces get along and to hear anecdotal stories of how the groups play sports in their free time but usually as a unit and not as a country in order to promote cultural cooperation and understanding since they are all working towards the same goals.
That night we had our closing dinner - conducted our final discussions as a group and then headed one last time to the bar Delirium in order to celebrate the conclusion of a great week.

Day 9 - Exploration of a Few Parks in Brussels, Chocolate Factory, and a Return to Germany:

On the final day in Brussels a few of us decided to explore a few of Brussels parks and walk around a bit enjoying the general aesthetics. It was enjoyable to stretch our legs and enjoy the fresh air after a week of mostly sedentary existence and overeating. Brussels also has an Arc d' Triomphe, like Paris and it is contained in a large park. The park also contained a monument that was erected to celebrate Belgium's colonial past - which struck me as being unusual in that you don't often find countries to have monuments celebrating their imperialism.
After walking for a bit we headed to the "best fries" in Brussels. It was at first hard to stomach the idea of greasy food after having ingested so much over the previous week, however, I think we were all of the idea that we should live it up and experience it while you can. The fries were quite delicious - a nice texture and a good flavor, however, I am not sure what qualifies them as the "best" in Brussels. Having finished our fries we then boarded the metro in order to head to the Neuhaus chocolate factory where people can buy the deluxe pralines for a price more reasonable than the store they have downtown. The only downside was that they had to be purchased in large quantities (3 kg!!) but we were luckily a group of 4 and were able to purchase that much and divide the spoils amongst ourselves. It is still a large amount of chocolate but luckily pralines are not something that spoils quickly and it makes for nice gifts.
After our venture into the boonies seeking chocolate I headed to the train station and boarded my train back to Germany. The train ride was mostly uneventful until I reached Dusseldorf where the train was boarded by a large group of unruly teenagers (who did not have school today due to Good Friday) who were drinking and then had the audacity to begin smoking on the train (although it is not allowed). Despite the fact that there were numerous adults on the train who were annoyed by the smoking and the loud nature of the group I was surprised that NOBODY said anything to them. It is interesting how afraid the Germans are of asserting authority and how they allow their high school aged children to run around as they please - something that has been attributed to their difficulty in coming to terms with their Nazi past. Luckily I only had to tolerate this action for about 10 minutes when I was finally back in Duisburg and able to get off the train.
Another thing that caught me by surprise being back in Germany was the fact that everything (grocery stores!!) was closed today due to the fact that it was Good Friday. I was happy that I purchased an Apple and some crackers yesterday in Brussels and that some food stands were open because without those items I would have had to subsist today off my large store of chocolate. Germany seems to make life incredibly difficult at certain points.

Stockholm: Experiencing Global Warming, Meatballs, Pippi Longstockings and More

2008-02-21T01:48:00.000-08:00

On Friday evening, my friend Lena and I left for the Weeze airport so that we could catch our flight to Stockholm. The Weeze airport is situated near the Holland border in the middle of farmland. It takes 45 minutes to get to the airport and due to its inconvenient nature it is also the airport where one can expect to find all Ryanair flights - a very inexpensive airline. Since the airport is small and relatively far away from everything, one would not expect to encounter any problems when departing or arriving to the airport, however, Lena and I arrived to find all the check-in counters barricaded off with police tape and were told that there was a "Security Problem" so we had to check in for our flight at a car rental counter. We also heard an airport employee nonchalantly say "Oh, the bomb squad is here now". It was a strange experience to encounter at such a small unpopulated airport but as the employees and police officers that were there seemed un-alarmed so were we.
We obtained our boarding passes, went through security, and took our 1.5 hour flight to Stockholm. Interestingly enough the airport that Ryanair uses in Stockholm is about 1.5 hours away from the city. When all was said and done we spent more time getting too and from the airport than we did on our flight - the price you pay for cheap airline tickets. Luckily both of our flights were in the evening/night so we did not miss out on precious day time hours.
When we arrived in Stockholm we headed immediately for our "boutique" hotel where we were meeting Lena's friend Masha. Masha is an HR Consultant who is currently working in Europe on a project for Shell Oil. As Shell is required to pay for a hotel for her 7 days a week (the working days of which are spent in London) it makes no difference if she travels elsewhere on the weekends - Shell still foots the bill. This worked wonderfully to our advantage as we were able to stay for free at the Hotel Rival which was founded by one of the band members from ABBA. The hotel featured a pillow menu (so that you could choose what type of pillow you would like to sleep on), a dvd/cd player and cds (of course many of which were ABBA) and dvds that you could use free of charge, a flat screen tv, Egyptian cotton sheets, and a general comfortable atmosphere (pictured above right). The hotel also houses a cafe, restaurant, bar, and movie theater. Lena and I spent our last night in a hostel, as Masha had to return to work, and although we were afraid that it would be horribly disappointing after such posh accommodations we actually ended up enjoying it tremendously - more on that below.
On Saturday morning we awoke to sunlight streaming in through the windows. The weather the whole weekend was absolutely wonderful - at times a bit cold (when the sun went down) but overall fairly warm, sunny, and pleasant. Stockholm apparently used to ice over (the ocean and lakes) and get quite a bit of snow, but due to Global Warming that seems to be a phenomenon that no longer occurs. Alas the only image of Stockholm iced over and needing ice breaking boats comes from postcards that were created at an earlier date. Who knows perhaps someday those postcards will be collectors items.
Saturday we spent the day walking around, enjoying the general atmosphere and aesthetics of the city (in addition to beautiful architecture Stockholm also hosts many gorgeous people in the downtown/ posh districts - an observation that was also confirmed later by our hostel tour guide), taking advantage of the sales, and trying typical Swedish fare like meatballs made from Reindeer (pictured at right), Semlas (wheat buns with whipped cream and marmalade type filling - pictured in pastry case at right), and of course herring. During our walking we saw the castle (which the King and Queen do not really occupy and they use mostly for state affairs - the castle they live in is actually on an island outside of Stockholm), the Stockholm city hall and Grand Hotel where Nobel prizes are handed out (although we did not pay a visit to the museum), the Opera, and of course churches. Saturday night we checked out the night life in Stockholm and noticed that people mostly stuck with their groups of friends and didn't really mingle (this fact was also confirmed by our Swedish tour guide who told us that a lot of Swedish people are shy but after you make the initial move they are incredibly friendly).
Sunday we again had a leisurely morning and then wandered around looking for a place to eat some brunch. On our way wandering towards brunch we happened upon the Changing of the Guard at the castle (pictured at left). We then ate an enjoyable traditional Swedish lunch - I had the herring platter which consisted of herring marinated in different ways, salad, and bread.
After our delightful brunch we headed towards the ferries in order to take a ferry tour of Stockholm and get a small taste of the Archipelago (24,000 islands that lay just outside of Stockholm - at least 50 square meters - 30,000 islands if you count the smaller ones). On our ferry tour we sat on Reindeer pelts and covered ourselves with polar fleece blankets while viewing Stockholm by boat. The tour guide shared with us many interesting facts about Stockholm and the sights that we were seeing. For example she explained that the reason the Nobel Peace Prize is handed out in Oslo and all the others in Stockholm is that Alfred Nobel thought the Norwegians to be more peaceful than Swedes.
After our boat tour, Masha had to head to the airport to catch her plane and Lena and I headed to check in at the City Backpackers hostel. The City Backpackers hostel was incredibly cozy, friendly, and full of activity. We immediately signed up for a Monday tour that would take us through the less touristy parts of Stockholm and show us the home of Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Lonstockings) as well as some of the locations that inspired her stories. The hostel had free pasta (you just needed your own sauce), coffee, and tea. It also had free ice skating rentals, movie nights, and activities going virtually every day. Unfortunately we were not able to partake in the Swedish Sauna tour, Meatball making class, Semla making class, or other events as they were held on the days after our departure. Those activities will best be saved for another adventure. Although it had been nice to stay in our posh hotel, staying at the hostel reaffirmed for me the fact that having a lot of fun and experiencing really neat things does not have to cost a lot of money - and in fact it is a lot of the less expensive, non-trendy areas in a city that give you the best feel for how people actually live and the most authentic experience.
Monday Lena and I walked around a bit more, stopped off at a grocery store to buy some food for that day (and wound up with a delicious meatball sandwich, ostkaka, pepparkakor, and drinks - coincidentally items that I know from my family's Swedish heritage that were tasty and also the least expensive of all our meals), and then headed on our guided tour. The tour was hosted by one of the hostel employees and she shared with us a lot of the locations of cool, typical Swedish restaraunts and cafes. If only we had been able to attend the tour at the beginning of the trip - but it was only offered on Monday's and we hadn't stayed at the hostel first. She also pointed out the home of Astrid Lindgren and explained how the idea for Pippi Longstockings came from her ill daughter Karin who was begging her mom to tell her stories and came up with the name Pippi Longstockings. Apparently Astrid Lindgren was also responsible for changing the way Swedes view childhood and child rearing.
After the tour we raced off to the Ice Bar - the first year round bar that is made entirely out of ice - very touristy but an overall cool experience being able to drink out of glasses made from ice, wear large parkas, and sit on Reindeer pelt covered ice stools. Finally it was time for us to say goodbye to Stockholm - a city that ranks among my favorites and a location that I will definitely be returning to one day.

Interview with a German Newspaper

2008-02-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

Most people might be surprised to learn how important U.S. politics are to people in Germany. It is a common experience for me to be questioned about politics here and I'm always shocked to realize that many German's know more than the typical American citizen. As part of this fascination with American politics, my friend Lena and I were interviewed by a German newspaper about what it is like to experience the election from abroad. The article can be found at this link (although it is in German): http://www.derwesten.de/nachrichten//staedte/essen/2008/2/4/news-21090089/detail.html

Interestingly enough, the journalist asked us to meet him at a Starbucks and then the photographer bought an "American Newspaper" - that was in German for us to hold in order to take the photo you see. So despite our best efforts I guess some stereotypical views of Americans still hold true. Clearly it wouldn't have been fitting for us to be in a typical German coffee shop or holding a German newspaper. :)

Karneval - A Tale of Celebrations in Two Cities

2008-02-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

Karneval is a yearly celebration that begins on November 11 and lasts until the beginning of lent on Ash Wednesday. It is celebrated around the world (in Venice, Brazil, Louisiana - as Mardi Gras, etc.), but the primary celebration in Germany takes place right here in the Northrhein Westfalia area - the two primary cities of celebration being Cologne and Duesseldorf. Although Karneval lasts for a few months, the biggest celebration days are the Thursday before Ash Wednesday which is known as "Weibefastnacht" or "Women's Karneval" and "Rosenmontag" or "Rose Monday" .

On Weibefastnacht women (and men) don their costumes and go out for a night (and day) on the town filled with drinking, dancing, eating, and merriment. Wearing costumes and being merry tends to be the general theme of Karneval celebrations, but the difference is that traditionally this day also involves the take-over of town hall by all the women. Women also traditionally cut off the ties and shoelaces of men as a sign of usurping power. Typically when a woman cuts off a mans tie or shoelaces she is then supposed to give the man a kiss on the cheek. I decided that I would prefer to watch people cut off ties rather than attempt to do so myself - being as this was my first Karneval I thought it best not to anger someone. Sadly, the only tie cutting I witnessed, however, was later in the evening when my friend Karin cut off the tie of Tim another Fulbright TA who had joined us for the evening - it was a tame reenactment (pictured above).
For Weibefastnacht, my friends and I headed to Duesseldorf (which is only about 20 minutes away). The sight was one of complete and utter chaos - broken glass and garbage all over the ground and thousands of people dressed up and roaming around the old downtown. We spent some time outside enjoying some beers (no open container laws in Germany) and some french fries, but due to the cold decided we should attempt to make it in to a bar. We made it in to one bar and spent some time dancing there before we decided to try to find something new. Finally, we had a stroke of luck and ended up at a typical German brewery where the Karneval royalty/jury was celebrating. Every year a Karneval prince and princess are elected and we were fortunate enough to meet a nice old German man (pictured in the first picture on the right) who was the brother of the prince and who also owned a bakery. This nice man allowed us to share the table with the rest of the jury/royalty and he explained the traditions to us, gave us delicious baked goods, and overall made the night quite enjoyable and filled with more typical German culture. We were also invited to stop by the bakery in Duesseldorf whenever we want to and I'm sure we will be venturing there at some point or another. Overall this Weibefastnacht experience in Duesseldorf was an excellent beginning for Karneval celebrating.
Not wanting to overdo it, we decided to lay low the rest of the weekend and save up energy for the Rosenmontag celebration in Cologne on Monday. On Monday we left bright and early to take the train to Cologne. The trains were packed with people in costumes (despite the addition of other trains to the schedule) and beers in hands (yes even before 10 a.m.). I had been warned by family friends that live in Cologne that I would need to arrive early if I wanted to have any chance of seeing the Zug (parade). So my friend Lena and I (dressed as bees - same as we were on Thursday) and Karin (dressed as Bob Marley) headed to the parade route to find a place to see. It was pouring rain, but with all the excitement in the air that didn't bother us. We were incredibly lucky to find spots near the Dom (cathedral) where we could see and enjoy the parade. Although it was a few hours before the parade was to start, we decided it would be best to hold onto our spots. While we were waiting for the parade, we were able to admire the costumes of people - both those in large groups and individuals. There was also Karneval music playing that we were able to sing along with as we drank our beers. Virtually everybody dresses up for Karneval and they get into the spirit with incredibly elaborate costumes. Most people we saw were wearing face paint as well as full body costumes - it made our yellow and black layered shirts, yellow shoes, and bee antennae seem pathetic (probably not aided by the fact that as the antennae got wetter and wetter from the rain they began to droop).
Finally the parade began, and it was an amazing spectacle. Much different than most parades you see in the U.S. First of all, the Karneval parade lasted over 4 hours and involved continuous streams of elaborately dressed up people as well as very entertaining floats. Every group that came buy - whether walking or on floats or trucks had flowers and candy in hand. And by candy in hand I must clarify that I don't mean just little tootsie rolls or lollipops but rather full boxes of truffles, toblerone bars, gummi bears, etc. These goodies are chucked into the crowd without any restraint - which could be incredibly dangerous if you weren't paying attention. Despite the thousands of people that were present we still all managed to take home lots of candy and some flowers. Its interesting to think that a lot of the people will give up things like sweets for lent which means they probably either had to scarf down tons of candy in two days (by Wednesday) or save it for Easter. The flowers are not simply thrown, but often men in the parade will walk up to ladies in the crowd hand them a flower and then turn their head to receive a kiss on the cheek.
We had originally planned on celebrating into the night, however, after standing out in the rainy cold we decided that the parade alone was enough celebrating. Overall it was an amazing adventure and I think I will miss Karneval tremendously when I am back in the states. Enjoy the photos!

Ringing in the New Year German Style, Location: Faaborg, Denmark

2008-01-10T01:54:00.000-08:00

Yes my title might sound a bit contradictory - celebrating like a German without being in Germany, however, the Danish coast is a popular destination for German's to spend a holiday. In order to get the authentic experience of a German New Years I thought I should celebrate with some Germans - and Denmark happened to be the location of choice. I was invited to spend a few days in a rented house on the coast (pictured) with my friend Maya, her boyfriend Thorsten, and 11 other Germans (either friends of Thorsten's or friends of friends).
We departed from Braunschweig, Germany on the Saturday before New Years. Two red VW vans, one car, 14 people, and loads of luggage, and food set off for a 5 hour drive (including 1 hour on a ferry) to Faaborg, Denmark. Maya, Thorsten, Thorsten's friend Maike and I were in the car. The time passed quickly - all of us chatting (in German), singing along to music, and car dancing. We arrived in Faaborg, picked up the key to our lovely little house (pictured below), unloaded the cars, and then Maya, Thorsten and I set about making dinner.
One of Thorsten's friends - Henning - is a master organizer/planner and he had planned everything from the traveling to the cost to the shopping list. One of his ingenious ideas was to break us into cooking groups and each group be responsible for one night of cooking. The first night ended up being my groups turn - which worked out well as we made pizza (only with Fladenbrot, a Turkish flat bread so as not to have to mess with pizza dough).
After dinner we all sat around chatting and playing games. This was in fact how we spent most of our time in Denmark; eating, chatting, playing games, a little bit of tv watching, and during the day in order to enjoy the sunshine and the warmish weather we walked along the beach, and hit some golf balls. Overall it was very relaxing and a good way for me to improve my German language skills - total immersion.
In terms of the games we played, there were the typical card games like speed, Egyptian rat screw, BS, and poker. Then we played some German favorites like set (where you compete against people to make sets of cards based on rules), phase 10 which is sort of like Rummy only the requirements change each round, Cranium (which exists in the U.S. - this was incredibly difficult for me though. Difficult in English as it is advanced vocabulary and imitating celebrities, etc. but in German I'm afraid I was no help at all to my team), and then my personal favorite: Werewolf. I have found an explanation of the game at this website: http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html and feel that it is a better explanation than my own would be.

So since the activities were mostly the same for the 3 days I was there, I feel that I can move on and describe our wonderful New Years celebration. Our celebration was traditionally German. The night before New Years we gathered around the Feuerzangbowle (pictured above). The Feuerzangbowle is basically a bowl of Gluehwein but then a metal tray is placed across the bowl and a solid cone of sugar is laid atop the metal tray, doused in rum, and then lit on fire. The fiery sugar melts and deposits itself in the bowl of Gluehwein - delicious! Most Germans celebrate the holiday with Feuerzangbowle and there is actually even a famous movie that is called "The Feuerzangbowle".

On New Years eve we had Raclette (pictured directly above) for dinner. For Raclette everyone gathers around grill objects and gets their own personal pan. Chopped vegetables, cold cuts, eggs, cheese, and whatever else one desires is all laid on the table and everyone then goes about creating their own little pans of food that are then cooked on the grill and eaten. It was a truly delicious item - but as with so many other holiday dishes it did encourage overeating. For dessert we had chocolate fondue. It seemed to compliment the Raclette well - both items containing primarily chopped produce that one makes less healthy by adding cheese (to the veggies) or chocolate (to the fruit).

After gorging ourselves - we settled around the TV to watch a British film (that is apparently loved in Germany on New Years - or Sylvester which is the German word). It is called "Dinner for One" and it lasts about 15 minutes. The movie is about a 90 year old woman who is celebrating her birthday. All of her friends have been deceased for at least 20 years, and so her butler assumes the role of all her friends for this special birthday dinner. Of course that means that he needs to drink for all 4 friends and offer a toast each time a new drink is poured. What follows is that the butler then becomes incredibly intoxicated and does some silly things like continuously trip over a rug, etc. It was entertaining to say the least.

When "Dinner for One" was over it was nearly midnight. We all headed outside to countdown the New Year. After counting down we popped open some champagne, lit sparklers, and wished each other a Happy New Year. Then we went down to the beach and lit off more fireworks. The entire night sky in Denmark was lit up with fireworks . It seemed that nearly every person in this small town was lighting off fireworks in celebration.

Once the fireworks were finished we headed back inside. There we participated in Bleigiessen (The tradition of melting lead over a candle and then dumping it quickly into cold water. The resulting object is supposed to be a "fortune" for the upcoming year) and my object looked like nothing that could be described - who knows what that means in terms of my next year. Once the Bleigiessen was finished we turned our attention back to playing games - all good fun.

Overall it was a New Years to remember. Now of course I am in need of returning to a normal healthy normal diet.

Happy 2008 everyone!

The End of Christmas Market Magic

2008-01-10T01:31:00.000-08:00

Once again it has been awhile since my last blog posting. With all the time I have on my hands one would think that I would be better about posting, but alas I seem to constantly be procrastinating when I have so much time.
The Christmas Market season is now behind me - taking with it all the festive lights, craft/food booths, and cheery decorations that made the winter season a little less bleak here in Duisburg (and elsewhere). Gone are the days when one could stroll downtown and warm up in the middle of the afternoon with a piping hot mug of Gluehwein (sort of like mulled wine - a favorite here. I am posting a recipe below so that you may try if you wish) and some other tasty treat. There are of course other beverage options at Christmas markets but some of them I recommend steering clear of. For example Eierlikor or Eierpunsch (Egg liquor or Egg punch) cause you to think of egg nog, however, it is quite disgusting in that it tastes quite literally like eggs mixed with vodka or some other type of alcohol. If you are ever in Germany I recommend staying away from the Eierlikor and instead trying the Gluehwein (Glow wine is the literal translation).
During Christmas market season I did have the chance to explore many different culinary treats - both from Germany and abroad. Of course there were the classics that I have already tried like curry wurst (sausage cut into slices and doused in a curry ketchup sauce), Dutch style french fries (served in a paper cone with your choice of sauce), fish and chips (although not deep fried fish like one would expect - a twist on an old classic), and then various assortments of Chinese cuisine. One spectacular treat that I was introduced to was the Peruvian Stuffed Potato. It was found at the Essen (great name for a city with good food considering the word "essen" means food/eat in German) Christmas market and was absolutely amazing. I have since searched the web in order to find a recipe that roughly equates so that those interested (and I myself) may eat them whenever the mood strikes. Here is the recipe:

The recipe for Peruvian Stuffed Potatoes (Papa Rellena)

1/2 pound of hot, cooked, mashed potatoes
1/4 pound of ground beef (or other meat/filling item - at the market they had a mixture of rice, corn, cheese, and ham)
2 diced onions (small cubes about .5 cm thick)
Minced Garlic
Hard boiled eggs - as many as you would like to add to the filling (optional)

Knead potatoes until there are no lumps. Add salt (it didn't specify how much so I'm guessing just a bit to taste).

Heat oil and sautee garlic and onion. Control the heat and add meat (or other filling item). You can also add raisins and/or sliced olives to taste. When meat is cooked remove from heat. Allow the filling to cool.

Divide potatoes into servings (a good sized ball) and flatten with your hands. The potato patty should be about 1/4 inch thick. Potato should be cool. Place filling and optional sliced hard boiled egg into the potato patty. Roll the potato closed and pinch on the ends (I would say make it close to a runza/potato shape). Roll the "potato" in flour. Dip in a beaten egg. Fry the potato in abundant hot oil (my guess is that a fry daddy type item would work the best). When golden brown remove from oil with a slotted turner and place on a paper towel.

Top with a tomato sauce or lemon juice, a drizzle of oil, salt and diced parsley.

Gluehwein (there are of course other variations - feel free to experiment on your own)
1 bottle of dry red wine
1 lemon
1 orange
Cinammon Sticks (2-3)
Whole cloves (a tbsp.)
3 tbsp. of sugar
Cardamom or Ginger (optional and only use in small quantities to taste)

Heat the red wine in a pot (don't boil). Cut the lemon and orange into slices, squeeze slightly over the pot and then add the entirety to the wine. Add the cinnamon, cloves, sugar and a little cardamom (to taste). Heat everything on low and let stand for an hour (or a little longer). DO NOT BOIL!! Before serving strain out the fruit slices and spices and serve in mugs.

These items may have been served at Christmas markets, however, I believe that they go well with any winter day. A little warmth to brighten up the long dark nights. Cheers - or should I say Prost!

Pilgrimage to Wittenberg

2007-12-07T02:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I made a pilgrimage with my friend Trevor and another Fulbright teaching assistant, Tim, to Wittenberg - the city where the Lutheran religion (and protestantism in general) began. I use the term pilgrimage in a very light sense of the word as we rode for 6.5 hours comfortably on a train and also as I am not a religious fanatic. Wittenberg is a picturesque little city and if it wasn't so far away from where I live it would have likely made a better day trip than a complete weekend. We arrived Friday night at dinner time and immediately set out to find our hostel.
Our hostel was located right next to the Schlosskirche (where Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses) and it ended up being one of the nicest hostels that I had ever stayed in. The building was new, the rooms and furniture were all clean and nice, the mattresses, pillows, and comforters were all plush and comfortable, and the breakfast that was included every morning was a wonderful German breakfast spread.
After depositing our items in our hostel room (which we had to ourselves), we headed out in search of some dinner. We ended up at a restaurant called the Kartoffelhaus (Potato House). Every single item on the menu contained potatoes. I guess that isn't really surprising when you eat at a restaurant that is called the "Potato House". I ended up having the potato lasagna, in which potatoes took the place of noodles. It was delicious but I definitely filled my potato eating quota for the next month.
On Saturday morning we set out to explore the city. Our first stop was of course the Schlosskirche (pictured at left). As noted above, the Schlosskirche was where Luther posted the 95 Theses. The original doors were destroyed during an onslaught by the French in the 7 Years War in 1760. In 1858 the doors were replaced with Bronze Doors that bear the latin inscription of all the 95 Theses as well as a picture of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchton (pictured right Tim and I trying unsuccessfully to act out the picture on the top of the doors - unsuccessful because it was pouring rain). Inside, the church bears little resemblance to its original form (due to the destruction), however, there lie the tombs of both Luther and Melanchton.
After exploring both the interior and exterior of the Schlosskirche we headed to the Stadtkirche, which is the church where Luther actually conducted the first sermons in German instead of in Latin. The Stadtkirche was also altered due to destruction by the 30 Years War. In fact the two towers on the top (the Stadtkirche is pictured on the top left) had been removed in order to provide a platform for canons during the fighting. The towers that were built to replace the originals do not bear any resemblance to the originals and they seem unfitting with the architectural style. Inside the church, many of the original artwork has been preserved. This artwork includes a famous double-sided triptych painted by Lucas Cranach the Younger (a famous medieval artist who also lived in Wittenberg) as well as numerous other religious paintings. It was interesting to note the differences in various paintings representations of religious scenes from both before and after the beginning of the reformation.
After viewing two churches it was time to view something a little more modern and secular, so we headed to the Hundertwasser Schule (a school designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser). The school was built in 1999, one year before Hundertwasser's death (it is pictured at right). Considering that Wittenberg lay in the former East Germany, it would have been unrealistic for something so creative and unusual to have been built before German reunification. It is interesting how Hundertwasser incorporated elements of nature along with his creative designs and use of color. You will note how there is a tree planted above the entrance to the school (and there were many other trees sticking out of other parts of the building).
On our walk back into the downtown area from the Hundertwasser Schule, we realized just how serious Wittenberg takes its tradition of Lutheranism (or perhaps a better explanation would be just how much they cater to tourists). We noted that even the pedestrian signals were little versions of Luther. They are pictured at right and you will note that the green is Luther carrying the Theses and the red is Luther with his arms spread out in a "stopping" fashion. The rest of the day we spent by watching a German kids movie at the cinema, eating dinner, exploring the Christmas Market, and playing some cards.
Sunday morning we decided to attend a church service. At first we had trouble deciding whether or not we should attend church where the Theses were posted or where Luther preached but due to our morning lollygagging we ended up at the Schlosskirche since it was right next door. It was definitely a cool experience to attend church where Luther was buried and I must say that the pastor was one of the best orators I have heard in a church setting. After the church service we headed to the Lutherhaus which is a museum that has been created from Luther's old living quarters. The Lutherhaus was probably one of my favorite parts of Wittenberg as it was very informative and it contained artifacts from Luther's life as well as artifacts from the time period. Wandering through Luther's life and teachings really caused me to think about how the world would be different if Luther had never been born. He not only championed reforms within the religion of Christianity but was fundamental in bringing education to everyone (including women) and in making the church a charitable organization that created social programs to better society. Without Luther our lives today would be much, much different. I encourage you to visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther. Although it is not as comprehensive as the museum was it does provide some insight into the contributions that Luther made to society. Granted, not all of his beliefs were positive - he was anti-Muslim and also anti-Semitic and he also made statements about women's place being in the home - all of which I do not agree with. But I think it is important to remember the time period in which he lived, overall he did make many contributions despite some of his beliefs that we today would find to be flawed.
Finally I wish to leave you with some Luther quotes that I enjoy. Some are funny and others are inspirational (for me anyway).

"Even if I knew tomorrow that the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree today."

"Men should praise women, even if it is undeserved."

"Whoever drinks a lot of beer, sleeps well. Whoever sleeps well, doesn't sin. Whoever doesn't sin, goes to heaven." - and the addition that I also liked but is not from Luther - "But in heaven there is no beer, therefore we must drink it here."

"Justice is a temporary thing that must come to an end; but the conscience is eternal and will never die."

"Peace if possible, truth at all costs."

"Peace is more important than all justice; and peace was not made for the sake of justice, but justice for the sake of peace."

"War is the greatest plague that can effect humanity; it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it."

"Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your god."

"When schools flourish, all flourishes."

"You are not only responsible for what you do say, but also for what you do not say."

"A wicked tyrant is better than a wicked war."

"The prosperity of a country depends, not on the abundance of its revenues, nor on the strength of its fortifications, nor on the beauty of its public buildings; but it consists in the number of its cultivated citizens, in its men of education, enlightenment and character."

The Quest for the "Gift of the Gab": My Thanksgiving Weekend Trip to Ireland

2007-11-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

Cork, Ireland is where one of my good friend Kait and her husband Markus are currently living. Kait and her boss (who owns a coffee shop and is also an American) were planning a large Thanksgiving extravaganza and so Kait invited me over to Ireland for a long weekend. I left early on Thursday morning from Duesseldorf and flew first into Dublin. In Dublin I was required to switch airlines (because Aer Lingus does not fly to Cork from Dublin and Ryan Air does not fly to Duesseldorf) and so I had to exit through pass control. The Non-EU passport control line was ridiculously long and they only had 2 windows open and for about 20 minutes the pass control people were dealing with the same foreigners. As I nervously waited, worrying that I wouldn't be through pass control in time to check in for my next flight, I watched as numerous EU citizens would come in waves and breeze through pass control. Finally after about 40 minutes of waiting I had a little Irish luck and they opened up so additional lines and I was able to make it in time to check in for my flight.
At the Cork airport I was picked up by my friend Kait and her boss Ella. We then spent the afternoon frantically running around in order to procure the final ingredients for the Thanksgiving feast which, I learned, would be for 30 people (a combination of Americans and Irishmen). Once the errands were finished, Ella took us back to her house where we met up with Julie (another friend whom I had studied abroad with in Salzburg). This is where the frantic cooking began. The turkeys were already cooked as they had been put in early that morning, but cooking for 30 people requires a great amount of work. Amazingly Kait, Julie, and I (Ella didn't do any of the cooking but instead spent the time "staging" and creating atmosphere) pulled it off and were ready to serve by eight o'clock. Of course Ella was still not finished with her staging as a guest had arrived who does professional lighting for parties and such. We ended up not eating until 11 p.m. (probably about the same time that most of you in the U.S. were sitting down for dinner). The atmosphere was quite impressive - complete with about 5 disco balls and numerous colored lights. It was not exactly what I would expect for Thanksgiving but it turned out to be quite enjoyable and we received many compliments on the food.
The next morning, after some peaceful sleep, Kait, Julie, and I began to clean up from the chaos of the night before. It actually didn't end up being too terrible. Then Ella drove us from her house (pictured in the top left corner and top center) in the country back to town to Kaits house.
On Saturday morning I ventured off on my own so that I could actually see some of Cork and not just the inside of people's houses. Kait had already seen all the tourist attractions and so she opted not to join in as they also cost a bit of money. Cork is not a particularly large town, however, it is incredibly easy to get lost as the streets are poorly marked. I was always heading in the right general direction but would often overshoot a turn that I was supposed to make. Downtown Cork is a cute little city. I explored the glorious Penneys which is an inexpensive department store. After some shopping at Penneys, I meandered throught the English Market (pictured at right) which is sort of a permanent farmers market that is all enclosed.
After wandering through the town I began to head towards the City Gaol (Jail), however, once again I became lost. This time I ended up on a lovely little nature walk along the river Lee. I enjoyed the serene nature setting for awhile and then headed back the direction I had come in order to climb the hill and end up at the jail. Finally I reached the jail, which turned out to be interesting and informative. The two ladies that worked there (that day anyway) were very friendly and they gave me a new bag to put my shopping purchases in, as mine had ripped on the journey. The old jail chronicled the history of both the general prisoners and those who were imprisoned due to political affiliation. One quote on the audio tour that I found to be especially representative was, "The only real crime many of these people committed was the crime of being born poor." The jail seems to have been a revolving door (as it is now in the U.S.) and often times people were continuously being relocked up. Once a person had served time in the jail it was almost impossible for them to find employment and so they were destined to lives of beggary and thievery. The jail is also supposedly haunted - one passageway in particular depicts an optical illusion that is "ghost-like". Kait informed me, however, that people in Cork really do believe the jail to be haunted, even though the "ghost-like" figure is clearly fraudulent.
Kait and Julie ended up having to work that night so I ended up hanging out with Markus and Pa (short for Patrick), who was a friend of Kait and Markus. Pa is a typical Irish character who liked to drink and have good crack (Irish for good conversation and fun). He nicknamed me "Blondie Bear" partially because of my hair color and partially because he has a horrible memory and could not remember my name. After having a couple beers with Markus and Pa we met up with their friend Nora, who was also incredibly nice and fun to hang out with. We first headed to Lennox's to have some famous chips and cheese and garlic. The Chips and Cheese and Garlic were deliciously greasy and satisfying - I have never had anything quite like it before in my life as normal fries and cheese really do not compare. Then we headed to Nancy Spains for a pint and to meet up with Kait and Julie.
Sunday morning, Markus cooked us scrumptious omelettes. After savoring every bite, I headed off to the bus station in order to head to the Blarney castle. The Blarney castle (pictured at left) once belonged to Cormack McCarthy and it is also the site of the Blarney stone which is supposed to bestow upon those who kiss it the "gift of the gab". Although I am not usually hurting for words, I decided to kiss the stone in order to ensure eloquence - I also hope that perhaps some of my eloquence would transfer over to my German language abilities.
The castle grounds were beautiful and serene. It provided for a relaxing afternoon filled with Irish lore. On the grounds there is a witches stone (pictured at right) in which a witch is believed to be trapped until nightfall. The witch has a kitchen and there are steps that lead down to a river that are said to be wishing steps. As repayment for using wood for her fire the witch must grant the wishes of anyone who walks up and down the steps with their eyes closed (of course I participated in the activity).
On Monday morning I ate a traditional breakfast roll (a baguette with scrambled eggs, a few types of sausage, cheese, butter, and brown sauce - basically a delicious heart attack waiting to happen), said my goodbyes, and headed to the airport. My first flight was just to Dublin and this time I had a 6 hour layover. Not wanting to spend the whole time in the airport, I caught the bus into town. In Dublin I walked along Henry Street (which is the main shopping district), Temple Bar (a funky pub ditrict), and strolled through Trinity College. Due to the short amount of time I was really only able to whet my appetite for returning to Dublin and not able to really explore properly. All in all Ireland was a wonderful trip and I will definitely be returning for more exploration.

Frankfurt (sadly without pictures)

2007-11-14T00:12:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: As noted above, I do not have any Frankfurt pictures because my camera batteries died the moment that I arrived and I did not have time to procure replacements. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to return to Frankfurt and then I can share some photos.

This weekend I traveled by slow train (because I am not lacking for time and it is much cheaper than the fast trains) to Frankfurt in order to attend the German Fulbright Alumni Association's Welcome Meeting. This meeting was a good opportunity to meet Germans who had received a Fulbright to study in the U.S. and an opportunity to meet up with some of the people I had met during my first week in Goettingen. Surprisingly there were not many of us from the American delegation to Germany at this meeting, primarily those individuals who I have kept in contact with.
The weekend kicked off with a "meet and greet" which ended up not being the sort of mingling that you would expect from an American meet and greet but rather our group of Americans sitting together at a table and then the Germans all sitting at their own tables. Despite the lack of mixing it was quite fun. Those of us from the American delegation were able to reunite, share stories, and bond over shared experiences.
Saturday began with some welcome speeches. We heard a speech from a U.S. Consulate officer, the Frankfurt mayor's office, and a famous German journalist. The journalist (unfortunately I did not have his name written down anywhere) was the keynote speaker and he gave a talk on the transformation of Europe and specifically the changes within the EU. This particular journalist was a prominent German figurehead as he had been on the Tagesschau (I would compare it to the national nightly news) and had been a foreign correspondent in France. I would probably liken him to Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather. His talk was interesting and information and he was able to give first hand accounts for many things as he had met and interviewed important figureheads like Charles De Gaulle.
After the keynote address we had some lunch and mingled a little (more so than at the "meet and greet") before heading to workshops. We were allowed to choose which workshop we wanted to attend. I had originally chosen to go to the "How to Survive Germany" workshop - thinking that there would be some amazing new information from a German perspective. Sadly the workshop was run by an American Fulbright Teaching Assistant. In a way it was nice to commiserate and share stories, however, in retrospect I wish that I had attended the "Global Challenges" workshop.
On Saturday evening we attended a dinner party at the zoo - well the building was at the zoo but we did not actually get to see any animals from where we were. This was where the true mingling began. There was a delicious buffet and flowing beer, wine, and champagne. For the first part of the evening everybody sat at tables enjoying their dinner and then later the dancing began. The evening celebration can probably be equated with a wedding reception. Of course there was no bride and groom and all of the traditions that come with the pair but the dinner and dancing was much like what you would find at a wedding reception. We ended up dancing the night away and were out until the subway resumed operation at 4:15 a.m.
Sunday commenced with a lazy brunch. After the delicious brunch we had the option of attending a city-tour, which I was looking forward to as I had not had the opportunity to explore much of Frankfurt. The tour turned out to be a disappointment, however. Our tour guide was a little old man who walked extremely slow and so we were not able to see a lot of the city and it was surprisingly exhausting to have to walk that slowly.
Overall the weekend was excellent and I am looking forward to the next opportunity to gather with people from the organization.

Marburg - Fairy Tale Land (Literally)

2007-11-07T00:32:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend a relaxing weekend visiting one of my oldest friend's, Maya. Coincidentally, Maya is studying abroad in Marburg, Germany this semester. Marburg is about 4 hours (by slow aka. cheap train).
The city of Marburg is a picturesque University City complete with a castle that sits atop a small mountain. One immediately gets the feeling that they are in the setting for a fairy tale as the styles of buildings and the castle itself create an atmosphere of make believe. The Brothers Grimm actually lived in Marburg and much of their inspiration for various tales is drawn from the surrounding area.
Aside from visiting the castle and just walking around and taking in the atmosphere, I did not partake in many other "tourist activities". Apparently there is a fairy tale road, the tower where Rapunzel let down her hair, and other sights, however, I mostly just enjoyed being in the city and spending time with my friend.
Every day Maya gets together with a group of American students and they make dinner together. This gathering proved to be a lot of fun and I was able to learn how to make sushi -which is something that I have wanted to learn how to do for quite some time.
Karaoke (which is one of my favorite activities in the States) was on the agenda for one of my nights in Marburg. Interestingly enough, Karaoke songs are mostly in English. I don't know why this surprised me since the majority of the popular music here is American, however, I guess I was expecting people to be more interested in singing German music even if they do not necessarily listen to it. The whole karaoke atmosphere was different than my experiences with Karaoke in the States. Everybody was sitting at tables just listening to the singers - in the U.S. it has been my experience that people are usually dancing and singing along. The DJ got a kick out of the fact that we were Americans who understood German and so he continuously decided to use us as a theme for the evening.
In addition to Karaoke, I attended a German University party, ate at a traditional German restaurant, and did some shopping. All in all it was a fun and relaxing weekend.

Rally for Human Rights in China

2007-11-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

"Ohne Menschenrecht, kein Olympischen Spiel" (German for "Without Human Rights, No Olympics in China"). This was the rally/protest that I visited in Duesseldorf last weekend (October 27). The campaign is a worldwide campaign and I believe that it deserves some attention on my blog even though it is not strictly a German/European experience. You can read more at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/02/china16560.htm or http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-9-1/59285.html or http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/no-human-rights-no-olympic-games-in-china-speech-by-david-matas/ . The Chinese government has been using the Olympic games as an excuse to persecute protesters and those who defend Human Rights in China. They are using the games as an excuse to imprison practitioners of the Falun Gong religion. Prisoners are then required to work from 5 a.m. until midnight in sweat shop conditions. They are fed little and are only allowed 2-3 trips to the bathroom a day. A modern day work/concentration camp is a good way to describe the conditions. Doctors are also removing organs from the prisoners in order to sell them on the black market to people who need new organs....the stories of camp survivors are truly horrifying and the whole operation runs contrary to what the Olympic spirit is all about. The protest is not against the athletes, the games, or the Chinese people themselves, rather it is requesting that people stand up to the Chinese government and stop turning a blind eye to this atrocious human rights abuse.
As part of both my concern for Human Rights and my hope to be involved in International Human Rights law in the future this is a cause that I care deeply about.

Assorted photos from Duisburg - The Landschaftspark...where Old Industrial meets Nature

2007-11-04T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Duisburg Landschaftspark is a creative use of an old industrial site. Nature has been allowed to regrow and portions of old buildings are used for rock climbing, children's play equipment, a skate park, etc. It is a recreational area and was an enjoyable place for my friends and I to spend an afternoon.

New Apartment, Independent Living, and the Beginning of the University Classes

2007-10-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

Admittedly it has been a while since my last blog posting and that is due in part to the fact that I have not had internet access in my new apartment and in part because I have not had a lot to report. I finished my home stay last Wednesday. The rest of the stay was enjoyable and relaxing although not filled with any adventured. I am looking forward to having continued contact with my host mom Wilma and her friends, however.
I moved into my own Studenten Wohnheim (literal translation is "Student Hostel" pictured at left) and it is definitely an interesting experience. It is an upgrade from an American style dormitory but not quite as nice as having a full fledged apartment. I lucked out though in that I only share my kitchen and bathroom with one other person and not an entire floor like some Wohnheim's require. My roommate (whom I share just the bathroom and kitchen with) is Chinese. She is incredibly nice, incredibly quiet, and she speaks only broken English and no German at all.Everyday (even when I have no scheduled activities or events) I make it a point to leave my Wohnheim for a few hours in order to avoid going crazy from boredom.
The first few days on my own were slightly boring. I had anticipated having a large amount of time occupied by running errands and getting things set up, however, everything took surprisingly less time than I had anticipated. I attended the orientation that the university offered for international students. The orientation was helpful and I met a few people, however, it can sometimes be a challenge to meet international students as they tend to travel together in groups from their home country and tend to speak together primarily in their native language.
On last Friday evening I met up with two of my American friends Lena (who went to UP and is a teaching assistant with Fulbright) and Karin (who is also a Fulbright teaching assistant) and we attended a modern version of Swan Lake in Essen. This rendition was.....interesting. The dancing was phenomenal and the music was wonderful (of course) but the costumes, backdrop, choreography, and the concept in general was bizarre. The ballet took place on the modern party scene and so the dancers all wore dark purples, blacks, and greys (many of the men in leather pants). As swans the costumes were tutus alone with no leotards underneath. The dancers (both male and female swans) were forced to hold up a portion of the tutu in the front in order to avoid exposing their chests. This costuming only allowed them the use of 1 arm at a time while dancing, however, most of the dancing was done with only elbow/arm movements (ie. a similar fashion to the way somebody would imitate a chicken). I suppose this positioning made their movements much more swan like, however, it was unusual for a rendition of Swan Lake.
After viewing the ballet we headed to the Mexican restaurant that we had found on our previous excursion in Essen. It was delicious. We all had a homemade beer which is part beer from the tap, part ginger ale, part tequila, and part lime. Then we all headed to the train station in order to go our separate ways. At the train station we ended up having to wait an hour because the German train conductors were again striking this Friday (as well as other days during the week).
On Saturday and Sunday I was alone. I was able to do some shopping and wander around in the sunshine on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and I have determined that I do like Duisburg. It is definitely the most amazing European (or even German city) but it is pretty and it has its quirks. It is much different than what I had expected based on people's reactions when they heard I would be going to Duisburg. The pictures on this post are from Duisburg.
On Sunday the weather was again beautiful. I had planned on going to a museum but the weather changed my mind (best to save a museum for a rainy day when I have nothing else to do). I decided to wander around the Innenhafen (Inner harbor - biggest inland port in all of Europe) in order to take some pictures and enjoy the weather. I ended up stumbling upon a festival that was being hosted by a German TV station that had just opened a new studio on the harbor. As part of the festival there were Soap stars from the show "Verbotene Liebe" (Forbidden Love) as well as cartoon characters and live music. The musicians were singing American songs (with some minor pronunciation problems) and at one point the lead singer tried to get the crowd to wave their arms to the music. Of course this is Germany and so only a few audience members caught on to the idea while the rest just stood there with their beer in one hand and either a wurst or a cigarette in the other (it seems stereotypical but it is indeed a true observation from this particular event).
Class began on Monday (a building at the University is pictured at right) and I had my first lecture in a lecture hall of 200 people. The German students were all in cliques making it virtually impossible to approach any of them and make new friends. It also made it a little difficult to hear as they would talk with their neighbors throughout the majority of the 1st lecture despite the Professors request that people not talk. This is much different than any experience I have ever had in the U.S. In the U.S. it seems a few whispered words or comments at certain moments are permissible but no Professor would tolerate this amount of noise and students would likely be called out. I have learned that I will be needing to sit front and center in order to be able to pay attention to what is going on.
The class I will take on Tuesday did not begin this week so I did not have class again until Wednesday. My classes on Wednesday (and Tuesday) are part of the Masters level program so they are much smaller and in fact my first class on Wednesday was a seminar and not a lecture. When waiting in the hall for class to begin it seemed as if all the students already knew each other - again making it difficult for me to approach anybody. The class had 21 students and at the beginning the Professor made us all go around and say our names and where we had completed our B.A. Normally this would not make me the least bit nervous, however, knowing that I now had to speak in German (which I know well enough to complete the task) in front of native German speakers, I was terrified. My heart was pounding, hands sweating and shaking. Of course my introduction of myself went fine but it was terrifying nonetheless. The Professor then began to go over the syllabus and I learned that we were going to be required to give a 20 minute presentation with a partner and a 10 minute commentary on somebody else's presentation during the course of the semester. Once again I was an internal nervous wreck - not only about the presentation but also about finding a partner. Luckily the girl next to me (Nadine) quickly asked me to be her partner and we picked a topic in which more than half of the reading assignments were in English. It is lucky that many of the reading assignments are in English (the nature of Political Science literature) but it also can make it difficult for me in terms of explaining my ideas in German since the German vocabulary is not readily available in the article.
After class Nadine asked me and some of the other class members if they would like to go get coffee. It seems that they did not all know each other they had just all had one class together the previous day. This made me extremely happy because I now have the same opportunity of making new friends in the Masters program that all of the other students do. At coffee we all learned each others names and chatted about our lives (where we were from, hobbies, where we studied, internships, politics, etc.) Everyone was extremely nice and friendly and I feel much more comfortable with the idea of presenting in front of them now. A group of us also went to lunch together later that day and it was nice to finally be eating with a group and not by myself in the MENSA (cafeteria). I have a few other classes with these students and I am looking forward to getting to know them better and to finally have some German friends.
Last night I attended an International Cafe with Lena, Jason (another Fulbright TA who lives in my Wohnheim), and Steve (another American poli sci student that I had met at the international student orientation). The theme of the cafe was Tunisia meets China and there were presentations on both of the countries as well as food to try. It was interesting to interact with such a diverse group of people.
This weekend I am attending a big University party for the Social Science students with Nadine, Lena, and a few others. Then on Saturday I am going to Duesseldorf with Lena and Karin in order to view a Museum exhibit titled "Bonjour Russia". It contains French and Russian masterpieces that are available for viewing in the West for the first time ever. It will be fun to check out the city of Duesseldorf as well. It is only about 15-30 minutes away and I am able to travel there for free with my Student ID.

Essen, Germany

2007-10-07T03:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday I was in Essen, Germany in order to spend some time with a few of my friends from the University of Portland who are working with Fulbright as English teaching assistants in German schools. Essen is about 40 minutes from Moers by train, but will only be about 10 minutes away once I am living in Duisburg. It was exciting to spend some time with familiar faces and to meet one of their teaching assistant friends.
We spent the first part of the day walking around the downtown area and perusing the selection at numerous bookstores. Trevor, Lena, and Karin had all learned that Essen had a few Mexican restaurants and so we decided to venture there for lunch. Upon venturing to the restaurants we learned that they did not open until 3 or 4 p.m. We decided, however, to wait for our lunch because we were all craving Mexican food and there is no German substitute.
While waiting, we wandered around a bit longer and Lena, Karin, and I bought tickets for Swan Lake next Friday. Little did we know that this is a modern version of the ballet that takes place in the modern "party scene". Needless to say it should be interesting. I will post a blurb about the ballet after I attend.
Finally it was 3 p.m. so we headed to the Mexican restaurant which was surprisingly delicious (You never know what you can expect from Mexican food in Germany)!
After lunch, Karin had to head back to the town where she is living, Kamen, so we walked her back to the train station. Trevor, Lena, and I then headed to Gruva Park. This park is possibly one of the most beautiful and interesting city parks that I have ever been to. In addition to numerous flowers, trees, green grass, and ponds, there is a Hundertwasser Haus (a famous architect who did not believe in straight lines - pictured above) that is used as a Ronald McDonald Foundation Children's Hospital, a bath house, a swimming pool, numerous children's play areas, and lots of birdlife (thanks in part to a large aviary that houses Owls, Hawks, Eagles, Parrots, Herons, Storks, etc.). It was a peaceful place where I would love to spend more time. I have posted pictures of the park for your viewing pleasure.
After our adventure in the park, we walked through an area that everybody had told Lena is a wonderful part of the city. It was pretty, but not anything incredibly special. We stopped off at a grocery store in order to purchase some water (it is so easy to become dehydrated in Germany because you constantly drink coffee and water is not as readily available since the Europeans do not believe in drinking water out of the tap). I mention this stop at the grocery store only because the cashier stopped the woman in front of us for a "backpack" check as she suspected the woman of stealing. There were indeed items of food in the woman's backpack and a manager was called to the front. We, however, did not stick around long enough to find out if she was indeed stealing or if the items were from a different store.
Finally we walked past the Aalto Theater (where we will see the ballet next week) and the Philharmonie and headed back to the train station. I had just missed one train back to Moers, so we ended up waiting for an hour at the train station. I then hopped on my train back to Moers, however, due to the train strikes in Germany on Friday I ended up having to wait an additional hour in Duisburg for the next train to Moers. It is interesting how the train strike worked and it is likely one of the most organized and least inconvenient strikes I have ever witnessed. The train engineers who were striking were only allowed to stop certain regional trains in areas where passengers would be able to catch a faster train (which would normally be more expensive, but during the strike was allowed in order to accomodate passengers). There were frequent announcements of which particular train passengers could catch if the train they were originally scheduled for was cancelled due to the strike. I guess one could say it was more a strike in principal than an actual strike that caused severe disruptions to the lives of Germans.

Venlo, Holland

2007-10-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in Venlo, Holland with my host mother and her friend Gudrun. It took us less than 20 minutes to drive to Venlo. Once we arrived we spent some time walking around looking at various shops and admiring the architecture. We also stopped for a cappucino as "kaffee pause" (coffee break) is an important part of every German's day at around 3:30 in the afternoon.
Most of the shops in Venlo are surpisingly unique. There was one shop in particular that sold unique decorations and furnishings for the home. I found a table and chair set that I love, but it is likely impractical to ship such a large item back to the U.S. and so I might end up having to put my own creativity to the test in order to see if I can duplicate such an item.
The weather was not the nicest, so I was unable to sit in the numerous thrones or jester's chairs (pictured at right) as I was unwilling to get my pants wet for a picture. I can probably return to Venlo at some point since it is so incredibly close.

The German Bureaucracy

2007-09-28T03:17:00.000-07:00

In order to stay here in Germany and study at the University of Duisburg-Essen, there are certain administrative tasks that I must take care of. On Tuesday, Martin (the son of my host mom) took me around the city in order to take care of said tasks. First we started at the University where I needed to enroll and obtain a student I.D. card. This process in the U.S. usually seems fairly simple, however, in Germany this was not the case.
We arrived and I filled out the required forms, including one for a foreign student orientation (thinking that will be helpful). I was then told that I needed to have the AOK (public health insurance) man sign off on the fact that I had private insurance and would not be enrolling in the public insurance. Then when I went to turn in all the required forms I was told that I would have to return at 2:30 p.m. because there was only one lady who could complete my enrollment (since I was there with the Fulbright program) and she was out for the morning.
Martin and I then ventured to the Aliens Office so that I could register as a resident and obtain the necessary permits, etc. At the particular Aliens Office we went to, I was told that they could not help me and that I would need to call a different office and make an appointment for the next week. The lady at this particular office was unhelpful and did not know anything about what I would need to bring with me or anything else. Later in visiting with Martin I learned that this is very typical of bureaucratic employees in Germany - they are guaranteed their jobs for life regardless of how much or how little work they do. Normally we as Americans think of Germany as being the model of efficiency, order, and punctuality but when a matter concerns the government this does not seem to be the case. Everything moves incredibly slowly within the bureaucracy - a stark contrast to the transportation system.
After the failed attempt at submitting my residence application, I ventured to the bank. There everything moved quickly and efficiently and it was painless for me to open a German bank account. The differences between the public and private sectors have never before been so apparent to me.

Jetzt bin ich im Deutschland!

2007-09-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

I arrived safely in Frankfurt on Monday morning and immediately made my way to the train station. It was rather difficult moving around with all my luggage (something I did not really think about since before I had only traveled by train with a backpack). Luckily the people in Germany are incredibly friendly and so they alway offered to help when I was getting on and off the train.
From Frankfurt I took the train to Göttingen (pictured in the photos at left), where our orientation was. I arrived about an hour before the shuttle to our hotel began and so spent some time hanging out on a park bench. Immediately I met another Fulbrighter. It was not difficult to distinguish who was a Fulbrighter because of all the luggage that we all had packed. It was fun to meet everyone and all of us students had a great time getting to know one another. We also made tentative plans for traveling during our large breaks by Christmas and in the spring. I am positive that we will be spending a great deal of time traveling to the various cities where everyone is living. During orientation we took a small city tour and were able to see what Göttingen has to offer. It is a small university town. It looks like a typical German town. We encountered some students from the University who were undergoing orientation themselves (and also a bit of hazing by the older students - pictured in the large photo above). In the middle of the town they were having to run around and complete certain challenges, one of which was to remove their clothing (except undergarments) and then line their clothing up on the ground. It was all comical and made it difficult to concentrate on what our tour guide was saying about the town history. The rest of the orientation consisted of discussing the next year and getting to know one another. A big group of us ventured out to the pubs every night in order to explore the city and get to know each other better.
After our 2.5 day orientation was complete I caught a train from Göttingen to Moers (a small city close to Duisburg). The train ride itself was not very eventful but unfortunately I missed a connecting train in Hannover and had to wait there for an hour before I could catch the next train. Finally I arrived in Moers and my host mother, Wilma, met me at the train station.
Wilma is an incredibly nice and energetic woman. She is in her early sixties and has been a school teacher at a Grundschule (elementary school) but had to take a leave due to the death of her parents. She lives alone in a large house (which is nice because it provides me with my own apartment - pictured at right). She has two children, both of whom are grown. Martin (her son) lives with his girlfriend Britta in Duisburg. They are both teachers at a Gymnasium (like a high school). I met them both on the first night. Martin and Britta took me out to dinner because Wilma was attending a symphony concert that had been sold out and she could not buy a ticket for me. Wilma also has a daughter who is a teacher in Hamburg. Her daughter, Melanie, is married and has a 1.5 year old son.
So far everybody has been incredibly nice and they are allowing me to practice my German because they are very interested in talking to me. They can all speak English, but they understand that I need to prepare myself for the beginning of classes at the University in Duisburg and so they are happy to oblige me. My ability to speak German is much better than I thought. I think it helps to be surrounded by the language and I found that it is much easier to think in German here than it was at the Fulbright orientation (where we spoke only English).
I have also been pleasantly surprised at the food here. It is different than in Austria and southern Germany (healthier and reasonable portion sizes). Every day I eat with Wilma. First we have breakfast which consists of bread, cheese, and coldcuts as well as coffee and fruit. Lunch is always the biggest meal and it is always warm. Today we had Nürnberger sausages, potatoes, and vegetables but tomorrow I believe we are having scrambled eggs with spinach and then mashed potatoes. After lunch we have dessert which consists of Quark (I do not know what to compare it to in the U.S.), Yogurt, or Fruit. At around 5 p.m. we have coffee and cake (the cake is like coffee cake only with various fruits) or cookies. Then around 7 p.m. we have dinner which is similar to breakfast. I do not feel as though the food here is too much to take in and always feel satisfied and not overly full.
In the past two days I have had the opportunity to explore the city. Yesterday Wilma and I walked around the city center and then in the afternoon took a bike ride around the outskirts. There is a castle here that used to be occupied by a count. I will try to post some pictures soon. Moers is about 20 minutes from Duisburg (which is where I will live the rest of the year) and about 20 minutes from Holland. Next week I will be going with Wilma and a friend of hers to visit Holland.
More to come later. Tschuss.

In Transit

2007-09-16T03:31:00.000-07:00

After what could have been a rocky beginning to my journey (with Horizon grounding numerous Q400 flights), traveling has been pleasant. I flew to Portland in order to get one final hair cut, visit friends, and catch my flight to Germany. After a delightful Sushi dinner with friends at SushiLand, Nicole took me to the airport. At the airport I encountered perhaps the nicest, most thoughtful ticketing agent that I have ever encountered.
It should be noted that my luggage was about 5 pounds overweight (yes the weight allowance has been decreased from 70 lbs. on International Flights to 50 lbs.), and whereas I was charged on my Horizon flight earlier in the day, this ticketing agent decided to be nice and pretend not to notice that my luggage was 5 lbs. overweight. Her rationale was that it was only 5 lbs. and that the airline is starting to charge for too many extras and she is getting tired of nickel and diming people.
The ticketing agent, however, did not stop at simply this act of kindness. Noticing that only one of my heavy bags had wheels and that I was in for a long journey once I arrived in Frankfurt, she quickly grabbed a collapsible luggage cart that a previous passenger had left behind. So now I have an additional piece of carry-on equipment but it will likely make my journey to the train station and then on to Goettingen much simpler.
The flight to Chicago was uneventful. Luckily I was able to sleep for the entire duration. Now the task at hand is to occupy myself for about 10 hours in the O'Hare airport....where to begin?

Housing

2007-09-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

After many months of not knowing where I would be sleeping, I finally received notification that an apartment in Student Housing is available for me. I will be residing at:

Kammerstrasse 206
# 05-04, 47057 Duisburg - Neudorf
Deutschland

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Please feel free to send me lots of mail. I will be moving in on October 1, 2007, so please do not send any mail before that time.