For the last month there has been an item on my Aufgabenliste (to-do list), that just never seemed to get done. This blog has been sitting on the back burner for too long, and if you are someone that has even taken notice, thank you, and now will catch you up to speed. So much has happened while gleichzeitig life has been very steady. Routine is a way of life that passes time with little reflection; this has my last month: teaching, tutoring, studying and naturally enjoying time with friends. Contemplating a documentation of my thoughts and experiences, I return back to the notion that the world is full of possibilities. This year is a wonderful experience in itself, but also a transition point in which I have the time to think about what steps to take next. Everyone makes plans and goals for the future, but I feel especially fortunate and have the freedom in my life to choose a suitable route amongst the numerous directions available. Deciding this path is made a lot easier by a close circle of friends; so this Thanksgiving I felt eminently dankbar für the love and support of friends and family, and the excitement of having a Freundeskreis here in Germany.
Okay, so what have I done? Here are some highlights:
Wells Reunion in Germany! This world seems so small when a current Wells student lives only 15 minutes away from me by train. Bryant Sanders, a current Junior is studying abroad in Marburg, a quaint small city north of Gießen that was not bombed during WWII. We met up, and Bryant showed me around through the cobblestone streets lined with unique shops and cafes. We walked to the Schloss (castleWe conversed about Wells, the future, and life in German... all in German (I was impressed by his improvement!) A week or so later he came to Gießen to see the not as beautiful but still very comfortable city.
More recently I went back to Marburg with the Gießen gang to enjoy the new Harry Potter film in original-meaning not dubbed. Hearing Harry auf Deutsch just wouldn't be the same.
Another highlight was our Kollegen Ausflug (excursion) to Point Alpha. Most of the teachers and administration were able to come on the overnight stay. First we congregated at the former US Army Standort (Garrison) along the Hessen/Thüringen border during the DDR. Lying in the Fulda Gap, the incredible landscape still carries the unbelievable history of this division. I knew elements of this history from Germans personal accounts of the DDR period, and from visiting Check Point Charlie in Berlin. The Grenzmuseum was fabulously displayed the story through multi-faceted methods, but the entire tour is shivered me to know these tragic years are in the memories of many today. History has a way of repeating itself; so it is very upsetting to me when current news reports deaths along manmade physical borders such as between Mexico/US and Israel-Palestine. Such reminders fuel my passion to work towards a life embodying peace. After a heavy history lesson, my colleagues and I had lightened up the night with naturally German food and drink. Talking, dancing, and eventually singing with colleagues that I don't get a chance to work with, was especially rewarding.
Unfortunately, as many of you know, I often get swept away with life at hand and forget to take pictures. So although I did many other things including visiting my sister for a weekend, dinner parties and dancing nights, I have little to show but memories. I'll leave you with one last picture this time of some Halloween fun. Can you guess who I am? Alright, I'll give you a few clues, because they're needed. I should be wearing a red wig, I'm one of my favorite German movie characters, this movie was ground-breaking with its inclusion of animation along with live-action filming. Anyone? If you guessed Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) you are my new favorite person. There have been two holidays that occurred since my last blog post-Halloween and Thanksgiving. Although were not as highly appreciated here as they would have been in the states, I celebrated then with special recognition that bringing my holdiay enthusiasm warms the chilling weather. With that... it brings me to a new post.
Take care!
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