Since I only have 5 weeks left in Germany, I figured I had better give you all another update before I leave! A lot has happened in the space between my last email and this one, so I am afraid that I must pick and choose my stories to tell or else this email could get ridiculously long. In continuing with the themes of blind cats, soccer, and work, I will give everyone a brief update.
I haven’t had much time (or patience) to stop by Ute and Mattias’ house lately, but I did haphazardly stumble upon them (again) one morning while on a run. While Ute was filling me in on the latest happenings of her life, including a new orangish-brownish-blondish hair color, I heard Mattias meow in the distance. He was attached to a retractable leash and I had figured that he meowed because he had circled 3 or 4 trees and could no longer move. Well, Ute thought differently proclaiming: “He has found another Pfifferling!” I thought she was talking about some little bug or something, but no- to my total shock, Mattias had found a chanterelle- an orange-fungus that smells kind of like apricots. In other words, that blind cat does find mushrooms! It was at that point that I began to question my own sanity…Blind. Cat. Finds. Mushrooms. For. Lady. With. Hair. Of. Tiger. Chanterelles are delicious, by the way.
As far as the soccer team goes, it now goes without me. I was kicked off in April because I am considered a semi-professional, having played for a division 3 soccer team in college. In my opinion, it probably doesn’t take a semi professional 3 full days to recover after a game, but none the less, I had to leave. I am now afraid to even go close to Zähringen, where my team club is located, because I single handedly caused my team to go immediately into last place. That’s right, as a fine- they had to forgo all points earned for every game I played in, (3 for a win, 1 for each goal). On the bright side, they would have probably finished 3rd to last anyways.
With the job, everything is starting to finish up. I still bring beans to work, and have now adopted the lunchtime name “Eliza the Mesoamerican.” My last day is in 3 weeks (woo hoo!) and then I’m free to roam about wherever I please. Nothing is set in stone, but I do have rollerblading to France on my mind right now. Oh, and rollerblading here is considered cool, just to let all of you haters out there know.
To fill in some of the gaps between now and waaay back in the last email…
-I have briefly travelled back to the states- where I settled a dispute between a homeless man and another man in the Philadelphia train station with the use of doughnut holes.
-I attended my program’s final seminar in Berlin, where we were graced by Angela Merkel’s appearance (Chancellor of Germany). I also met the US Ambassador to Germany and his lovely translator (said in a sarcastic tone because I believe the US Ambassador to Germany should speak German) .
-I stayed in an ancient wood cabin in the heart of the black forest for a weekend. The house is owned by the forestry department and can only be rented by foresters, so my roommate (forester) rented it out for his birthday. In attendance: Pig on a spit, 10 crates of beer, 25 foresters, about 6 Black Forest cakes, and maybe 40 sausages. The only thing somewhat healthy at the party was fruit, which was soaked in schnapps.
-I witnessed the biggest cultural event of my time in Germany: A traditional carpenter (Zimmermann) embarking on his 3 year wanderjahr. As tradition holds, before they go they must be outfitted with a single gold hoop earring. The piercing is made with a hammer and a nail! In his case, it was done on a wooden stump.
Oh, to conclude this email, I have a job when I get back to the states (woo hoo)! Just to quickly sum it up (because this email is getting really long)- I am the new Cranberry Isles Sustainability Fellow for Greater Cranberry and Little Cranberry Islands, located off the coast of Maine (combined population: 120). It is my job to make the islands “green.” To be quite honest, I am really scared and picture this job to be something along the lines of “Survivor” on CBS. Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well and I will be back in the states on July 17th!
Take Care,
-Deutcheliza
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Munchkinland
Hi Everyone,
In my next to last update, I addressed the topics of work, soccer and the cat lady. Sticking with these themes, I'll give you all an update.
I have met with Ute and her blind cat, Mattias, 5 times so far. Ute is 84 years old and Mattias is probably that old in cat-years. I have since learned that the both of them are CRAZY, something I should have figured out earlier (mushroom season is in the fall). Anyways, every meeting with the pair gets progressively weirder, and last Tuesday a cheery Ute answered he door with a new hairdo. Apparently, her hair had just returned from a trip to the fiery pits of hell, where it had caught fire and had not yet been extinguished. It was bright orange, like the color of Tang®. I don't know if all elderly German women go through an experimental hair color stage or if it is a simple confusion over which dye number to use (# 666 perhaps?), but from what I have witnessed so far in my time here, it is an epidemic of extreme proportions. Anyways, Ute and I usually sit at her kitchen table and talk about the weather, American politics, and to my utter horror, men (she is having relations with Herrn Müller, whomever that is). There is some comic relief to these sessions though, and it is probably the reason why I keep coming back. See, Ute likes to put Mattias up on the table while we are talking and the cat, for one reason or another (maybe because he is blind), consistently walks the plank. Whether Germany has made me evil, insensitive, or both- I am not sure, but watching that cat walk right off the edge of the table never gets old. He always walks away a little ticked off, until Ute picks him up...and the vicious cycle continues.
My job is still great, however I have been on the receiving end of some food-harassment lately. It is company policy that everyone who brings a lunch to work eats together, so it's usually my boss and I that are the brown baggers while everyone else goes out to eat. Now I usually eat my leftovers for lunch, and one day I brought in a confetti of black beans, corn, tomato, cucumber and pepper. My boss looks at my lunch and says, "Eliza- your food is too colorful, maybe you should try eating more like a German." A few days later, over a salad containing black eyed peas, he asks- "Do all Americans eat as many beans as you do?" I tell him that I eat a lot of beans because they are cheap and nutrient packed, and we leave it at that. Then last week over a meal of chickpeas and rice, he tells me: "Eliza, I have been doing some calculating and I think we can afford to pay you more- so you don't have to eat beans everyday for lunch." Ha! This is great news, but little does he know- I am on a fiber crusade and beans are the answer. In the meantime, I am going to halt lunchtime bean eating until I get my paycheck.
On the soccer front, I am finally a card-carrying member of TSV Alemannia-Zäringen's women's soccer team. Playing with them is like walking into a high school time warp, where the image one projects on the soccer field is every bit as important as performance i.e. -they use ample amounts of hairspray. Despite my unwillingness to spray down my mass of hair, i'm generally accepted as team elder and have been invited to team events such as Alex's Fuhrerschein Party (Alex got her drivers license party. We had our first league game last weekend against the women of Haslach- a tiny team from a tiny town nestled in the Black Forest. Not a single player on that team was over 5 foot 2. Their heights, combined with knee high soccer socks and the occaisional grunt-and/or-giggle made me feel like I was Dorothy in Munchkinland. Despite all this, they proved to be a pretty good team and beat us 1-0.
Well, that is about all that is going on with me. My living situation is still great and I discovered that there is a wood oven bakery around the corner from my house- so I couldn't ask for anything more. I hope everyone is great!
-Deutscheliza
In my next to last update, I addressed the topics of work, soccer and the cat lady. Sticking with these themes, I'll give you all an update.
I have met with Ute and her blind cat, Mattias, 5 times so far. Ute is 84 years old and Mattias is probably that old in cat-years. I have since learned that the both of them are CRAZY, something I should have figured out earlier (mushroom season is in the fall). Anyways, every meeting with the pair gets progressively weirder, and last Tuesday a cheery Ute answered he door with a new hairdo. Apparently, her hair had just returned from a trip to the fiery pits of hell, where it had caught fire and had not yet been extinguished. It was bright orange, like the color of Tang®. I don't know if all elderly German women go through an experimental hair color stage or if it is a simple confusion over which dye number to use (# 666 perhaps?), but from what I have witnessed so far in my time here, it is an epidemic of extreme proportions. Anyways, Ute and I usually sit at her kitchen table and talk about the weather, American politics, and to my utter horror, men (she is having relations with Herrn Müller, whomever that is). There is some comic relief to these sessions though, and it is probably the reason why I keep coming back. See, Ute likes to put Mattias up on the table while we are talking and the cat, for one reason or another (maybe because he is blind), consistently walks the plank. Whether Germany has made me evil, insensitive, or both- I am not sure, but watching that cat walk right off the edge of the table never gets old. He always walks away a little ticked off, until Ute picks him up...and the vicious cycle continues.
My job is still great, however I have been on the receiving end of some food-harassment lately. It is company policy that everyone who brings a lunch to work eats together, so it's usually my boss and I that are the brown baggers while everyone else goes out to eat. Now I usually eat my leftovers for lunch, and one day I brought in a confetti of black beans, corn, tomato, cucumber and pepper. My boss looks at my lunch and says, "Eliza- your food is too colorful, maybe you should try eating more like a German." A few days later, over a salad containing black eyed peas, he asks- "Do all Americans eat as many beans as you do?" I tell him that I eat a lot of beans because they are cheap and nutrient packed, and we leave it at that. Then last week over a meal of chickpeas and rice, he tells me: "Eliza, I have been doing some calculating and I think we can afford to pay you more- so you don't have to eat beans everyday for lunch." Ha! This is great news, but little does he know- I am on a fiber crusade and beans are the answer. In the meantime, I am going to halt lunchtime bean eating until I get my paycheck.
On the soccer front, I am finally a card-carrying member of TSV Alemannia-Zäringen's women's soccer team. Playing with them is like walking into a high school time warp, where the image one projects on the soccer field is every bit as important as performance i.e. -they use ample amounts of hairspray. Despite my unwillingness to spray down my mass of hair, i'm generally accepted as team elder and have been invited to team events such as Alex's Fuhrerschein Party (Alex got her drivers license party. We had our first league game last weekend against the women of Haslach- a tiny team from a tiny town nestled in the Black Forest. Not a single player on that team was over 5 foot 2. Their heights, combined with knee high soccer socks and the occaisional grunt-and/or-giggle made me feel like I was Dorothy in Munchkinland. Despite all this, they proved to be a pretty good team and beat us 1-0.
Well, that is about all that is going on with me. My living situation is still great and I discovered that there is a wood oven bakery around the corner from my house- so I couldn't ask for anything more. I hope everyone is great!
-Deutscheliza
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Sea of white
I've been meaning to post this for a while now...
In February, a German family invited me to go skiing with them in the Austrian Alps. They told me that I'd just have to pay for the room, all else was covered-so I jumped at the invitation. My family could never be described as mountain people... all of them inhabit one swamp or another, so I am relatively new to the ski/snowboard scene (I think I've snowboarded 3 times before). Anyhow, we get to the Tirol district of Austria, which is nestled in the alps, and you should have seeen the ski lift. The ride lasted 20 minutes and took me approximately 6 thousand feet up the mountain, where it then let me off. I was terrified. Here I was, hardly coordinated enough to stand up with a snowboard, let alone ride one down the whole freaking mountain. But I tried. I fell all the time. There was one particular fall where I went over a ledge, dropped 10 feet, LANDED it, and was so shocked that I was still standing that I fell. Getting up, I noticed that my snowboard was red, the pants the family found for me were red, my rain jacket, the only water proof thing that I brought to Germany=Red. If I were to have viewed the shot of me from above, a red fleck lying in a sea of white, I would have thought someone was filming a Kotex commercial.Haha, I guess my slogan would be..."If I had a pad with wings, I wouldn't be in this situation."
I took me 45 minutes to get down the mountain, and I tried it 4 more times until my quad muscles felt like they were going to snap in half. The next day= couldn't move. I am alive though, so that is really the only thing that matters!
In February, a German family invited me to go skiing with them in the Austrian Alps. They told me that I'd just have to pay for the room, all else was covered-so I jumped at the invitation. My family could never be described as mountain people... all of them inhabit one swamp or another, so I am relatively new to the ski/snowboard scene (I think I've snowboarded 3 times before). Anyhow, we get to the Tirol district of Austria, which is nestled in the alps, and you should have seeen the ski lift. The ride lasted 20 minutes and took me approximately 6 thousand feet up the mountain, where it then let me off. I was terrified. Here I was, hardly coordinated enough to stand up with a snowboard, let alone ride one down the whole freaking mountain. But I tried. I fell all the time. There was one particular fall where I went over a ledge, dropped 10 feet, LANDED it, and was so shocked that I was still standing that I fell. Getting up, I noticed that my snowboard was red, the pants the family found for me were red, my rain jacket, the only water proof thing that I brought to Germany=Red. If I were to have viewed the shot of me from above, a red fleck lying in a sea of white, I would have thought someone was filming a Kotex commercial.Haha, I guess my slogan would be..."If I had a pad with wings, I wouldn't be in this situation."
I took me 45 minutes to get down the mountain, and I tried it 4 more times until my quad muscles felt like they were going to snap in half. The next day= couldn't move. I am alive though, so that is really the only thing that matters!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Finally settled in Freiburg
Hi everyone, greetings from Freiburg!
I’ve been in Freiburg for nearly a month now, and I have to say that West German life is pretty great. It’s actually completely opposite from East German life, specifically: People don’t stare at me nearly as much, it’s sunny and warm most of the time, people are mostly kind and helpful, and the whole communist DDR theme isn’t really here. I live in a house with 4 other people (Italian, Swiss, and 2 German foresters) on the outskirts of town and the Black Forest is a 10-minute walk from my front door. I really like my job, and so I’ll start off with that.
The name of my firm is Unique Forestry, and I have decided that they are not named Unique because of their ways of handling business, they call themselves that because they are so Un-German. Not a single one of them is blonde, they eat spicy exotic foods from areas like Sri Lanka, and they have a FREE coffee/cappuccino/espresso machine. The last one is actually unbelievable since NOTHING is free in Germany. Since I’m not a coffee drinker, they granted me unlimited access to the “Tee Schrank,” which is a cabinet in the kitchen stocked with all sorts of exotic teas from far away lands. Now I love tea more than most people and drink it in large quantities, but what they have in that cabinet is not tea- it is crack in leaf form. I made the mistake of drinking a cup of it on my first day of work and not only did I feel like jumping out of my own skin, but the magical way in which caffeine gets things moving made my first few hours at the office a living hell. I didn’t know where the bathroom was and I certainly didn’t want to be known as the destroyer. So I’ll stop there, and just say that I am forever in debt to the little French bakery on the corner. Anyways, besides the fact that the company doesn’t operate without caffeine, everyone is really laid back. It’s not uncommon for my coworkers to show up to work wearing the exact same thing as the day before. This is probably due to the fact that all of their clean clothes are still line drying, but it’s great news for me since my current wardrobe consists of 3 pairs of pants and 3 sweaters. They have me doing random fun projects that so far have ranged from a carbon footprint to shea butter marketing, but I sit at a desk every day from 9 to 5, and that is extremely difficult for me.
Umm, let me see here. I was on a hike last week and I saw an old woman standing in the woods holding a leash with a cat on the other end. I couldn't resist asking her what she was doing, so I did- and she told me that her cat was blind and really good at finding mushrooms. I could not think of any comments for that, so we parted ways. Turns out, that woman is my across the street neighbor! I saw her walking her cat on Monday and I went to introduce myself. She asked me if I spoke english, I said yes, then she asked if we could be tandem language partners. I agreed, so we'll see how it goes with a possibly crazy lady and her blind, mushroom finding cat.
The only other major thing going on with me at the moment is that I have joined a women’s soccer team. I was worried that I had lost all of my soccer skills since it has been 3.5 years since I last played, but alas- it’s like riding a bike (the bike just has a flat tire at the moment). At my ripe old age of 24, I am the oldest person on the team by at least 5 years… there are girls on my team who were born in 1991! Despite the fact that I rarely know what is coming out of my teammates mouths (mostly slang, damn teenagers!), I seem to be fitting in all right and I can’t wait to start playing in games.
Ok, so that is my update for the past month or so. In no particular order, this is why all of you should come visit me: Wine, bikes, black forest, beer, France, Switzerland, fresh markets, 70 degree weather, and did I mention that my room is a loft room with a SWING!
Take care everyone,
-Eliza
Here is my new Address:
E. Greenman
Johannisbergstr. 15
79102 Freiburg-Waldsee
Deutschland
I’ve been in Freiburg for nearly a month now, and I have to say that West German life is pretty great. It’s actually completely opposite from East German life, specifically: People don’t stare at me nearly as much, it’s sunny and warm most of the time, people are mostly kind and helpful, and the whole communist DDR theme isn’t really here. I live in a house with 4 other people (Italian, Swiss, and 2 German foresters) on the outskirts of town and the Black Forest is a 10-minute walk from my front door. I really like my job, and so I’ll start off with that.
The name of my firm is Unique Forestry, and I have decided that they are not named Unique because of their ways of handling business, they call themselves that because they are so Un-German. Not a single one of them is blonde, they eat spicy exotic foods from areas like Sri Lanka, and they have a FREE coffee/cappuccino/espresso machine. The last one is actually unbelievable since NOTHING is free in Germany. Since I’m not a coffee drinker, they granted me unlimited access to the “Tee Schrank,” which is a cabinet in the kitchen stocked with all sorts of exotic teas from far away lands. Now I love tea more than most people and drink it in large quantities, but what they have in that cabinet is not tea- it is crack in leaf form. I made the mistake of drinking a cup of it on my first day of work and not only did I feel like jumping out of my own skin, but the magical way in which caffeine gets things moving made my first few hours at the office a living hell. I didn’t know where the bathroom was and I certainly didn’t want to be known as the destroyer. So I’ll stop there, and just say that I am forever in debt to the little French bakery on the corner. Anyways, besides the fact that the company doesn’t operate without caffeine, everyone is really laid back. It’s not uncommon for my coworkers to show up to work wearing the exact same thing as the day before. This is probably due to the fact that all of their clean clothes are still line drying, but it’s great news for me since my current wardrobe consists of 3 pairs of pants and 3 sweaters. They have me doing random fun projects that so far have ranged from a carbon footprint to shea butter marketing, but I sit at a desk every day from 9 to 5, and that is extremely difficult for me.
Umm, let me see here. I was on a hike last week and I saw an old woman standing in the woods holding a leash with a cat on the other end. I couldn't resist asking her what she was doing, so I did- and she told me that her cat was blind and really good at finding mushrooms. I could not think of any comments for that, so we parted ways. Turns out, that woman is my across the street neighbor! I saw her walking her cat on Monday and I went to introduce myself. She asked me if I spoke english, I said yes, then she asked if we could be tandem language partners. I agreed, so we'll see how it goes with a possibly crazy lady and her blind, mushroom finding cat.
The only other major thing going on with me at the moment is that I have joined a women’s soccer team. I was worried that I had lost all of my soccer skills since it has been 3.5 years since I last played, but alas- it’s like riding a bike (the bike just has a flat tire at the moment). At my ripe old age of 24, I am the oldest person on the team by at least 5 years… there are girls on my team who were born in 1991! Despite the fact that I rarely know what is coming out of my teammates mouths (mostly slang, damn teenagers!), I seem to be fitting in all right and I can’t wait to start playing in games.
Ok, so that is my update for the past month or so. In no particular order, this is why all of you should come visit me: Wine, bikes, black forest, beer, France, Switzerland, fresh markets, 70 degree weather, and did I mention that my room is a loft room with a SWING!
Take care everyone,
-Eliza
Here is my new Address:
E. Greenman
Johannisbergstr. 15
79102 Freiburg-Waldsee
Deutschland
Friday, January 25, 2008
Vagabonding
Hi Everyone, happy 2008!
It's been a while since I last updated, and I apologize for not responding to emails that have been sent to me in the time between. A lot has been going on, and frankly- it's hectic being a bum…
Ok, so to quickly sum up the holiday season- I spent Christmas playing charades with 2 Russian girls, a Japanese guy, an Indonesian girl, and a guy from Bangladesh…all of whom I had never met before. Due to the language barrier, it was probably the most difficult cultural situation I have encountered since my arrival in Germany. If anyone knows how to act out Goethe, a kiwi, or the color green, let me know. My official BUM status began shortly after Christmas, when I moved out of my apartment and decided to rove throughout Germany/countries bordering Germany. Fellow Sewanee pal, K-Kaiser, joined me on the first leg of my adventure, where we narrowly escaped being one of the 273 injured people in Prague due to the New Years Eve fireworks. It was a madhouse! We then sped through Vienna, hiked through Salzburg, toured in Munich, and parted ways- in better shape than when we started due to the fact that we probably walked 80 miles.
I get from place to place using a glorified hitchhiking site called Mitfahrgelegenheit (5 euros/100km), I either stay with complete strangers using www.couchsurfing.com or other Americans in the program, and I live off of müsli, apples, bread, beans, and gummi bears. Yeah, I probably just scared my Mother. Anyways, I've learned a lot on these travels…Like the only thing separating me from a bunch of prostitutes in Hamburg is a fanny pack. Oh, and moral values (of course). It was crazy how plainly dressed they were, like if I was waiting on the sidewalk for someone and just so happened to be wearing a fanny pack- I might get approached for business. By the way, Chuck Norris doesn't wear a fanny pack, he wears a hip mounted tactical assault bag.
I officially start work on Feb. 11th with Unique Forestry and move into my totally awesome loft apartment on the 15th. My job title is Carbon Finance Intern, which makes me pretty excited and scared at the same time, considering that I have absolutely no experience with carbon finance. I'll mainly be working on an emissions reductions project for a coffee plantation in Uganda. It sounds pretty great, we'll just have to see if it is!
That's about all I have to say for the past month or so. I'm staying with a friend in Dresden for the week and just had to rescue 10 pairs of my underwear that blew all over the street due to a strong gust of wind in my window sill. Let me tell you, I cannot wait to come back to the states and use a dryer. The thought of having all your clothes dry in 60 minutes is mind blowing!
I hope everyone out there is great, and I'll try and return some of those emails!
It's been a while since I last updated, and I apologize for not responding to emails that have been sent to me in the time between. A lot has been going on, and frankly- it's hectic being a bum…
Ok, so to quickly sum up the holiday season- I spent Christmas playing charades with 2 Russian girls, a Japanese guy, an Indonesian girl, and a guy from Bangladesh…all of whom I had never met before. Due to the language barrier, it was probably the most difficult cultural situation I have encountered since my arrival in Germany. If anyone knows how to act out Goethe, a kiwi, or the color green, let me know. My official BUM status began shortly after Christmas, when I moved out of my apartment and decided to rove throughout Germany/countries bordering Germany. Fellow Sewanee pal, K-Kaiser, joined me on the first leg of my adventure, where we narrowly escaped being one of the 273 injured people in Prague due to the New Years Eve fireworks. It was a madhouse! We then sped through Vienna, hiked through Salzburg, toured in Munich, and parted ways- in better shape than when we started due to the fact that we probably walked 80 miles.
I get from place to place using a glorified hitchhiking site called Mitfahrgelegenheit (5 euros/100km), I either stay with complete strangers using www.couchsurfing.com or other Americans in the program, and I live off of müsli, apples, bread, beans, and gummi bears. Yeah, I probably just scared my Mother. Anyways, I've learned a lot on these travels…Like the only thing separating me from a bunch of prostitutes in Hamburg is a fanny pack. Oh, and moral values (of course). It was crazy how plainly dressed they were, like if I was waiting on the sidewalk for someone and just so happened to be wearing a fanny pack- I might get approached for business. By the way, Chuck Norris doesn't wear a fanny pack, he wears a hip mounted tactical assault bag.
I officially start work on Feb. 11th with Unique Forestry and move into my totally awesome loft apartment on the 15th. My job title is Carbon Finance Intern, which makes me pretty excited and scared at the same time, considering that I have absolutely no experience with carbon finance. I'll mainly be working on an emissions reductions project for a coffee plantation in Uganda. It sounds pretty great, we'll just have to see if it is!
That's about all I have to say for the past month or so. I'm staying with a friend in Dresden for the week and just had to rescue 10 pairs of my underwear that blew all over the street due to a strong gust of wind in my window sill. Let me tell you, I cannot wait to come back to the states and use a dryer. The thought of having all your clothes dry in 60 minutes is mind blowing!
I hope everyone out there is great, and I'll try and return some of those emails!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Powerpoint
I want the few of you who read this blog to look at this powerpoint slide above, taken last week during a seminar class. When I was in college, I had to take a class called Junior Presentations- where all of the natural resources majors were taught how to give a successful powerpoint presentation. As a result, I have become a total powerpoint snob and the fact that I took this picture during class is total proof.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Swingin' Hammers and Leather Pants
Greetings Everyone!
A lot has happened since I last updated, so I'll quickly summarize the lesser events. Glücklischer Luke Padgett (Old Sewanee Pal) and myself successfully hosted a very edible Thanksgiving for 2 Mexicans, 2 Germans and a Portuguese. We ended up cooking 2 chickens after learning that it is impossible to thaw a turkey in 2 hours. The following day, mostly due to my sketchiness and partially due to Luke's Czechiness (his having a full beard and long hair), the German-Czech border police detained Luke in their office above the train station until I could prove his American citizenship. That wasn't the only run in with the law that I encountered… I was arrested a week later by the Leipzig Tram Police (glorified Rent-a-Cops) for riding the tram with an invalid ticket (an honest mistake) and not having my passport. They let me go with a 40 Euro fine, which is just about the equivalent of 1000000 US dollars. The other events will be elaborated below:
I'll start with my personal tour of the Münden Forest District, guided by none other than Frau SCHWINGENHAMMER. Putting aside the fact that her last name is SCHWINGENHAMMER, which should always be written in all capital letters, the woman is proof that Paul Bunyan lived, and bred. You know, I'm not easily intimidated- but the fact that this woman was 6'2," carried an ax on her belt loop, was wearing a leather vest (no doubt from a wooly mammoth), and had the build of an Olympic shot-putter put me on my best behavior. For the better part of the morning, I followed (ran) through the ridiculously groomed woods as she marked timber for a future sale. We stopped midday for lunch, and sat on two downed logs to eat. I had brought a deliciously inappropriate bean sprout, red pepper and hummus wrap (which I made, Hummus does not exist here) while she whipped out a thick slab of Leberkäse situated between two large slices of hearty dark bread and a beer. Leberkäse, for those of you wondering, is basically a hotdog taking the shape of a loaf of bread and then cut into slices. We ate in silence for a little while until Frau SCHWINGENHAMMER threw me a curve ball. "Do zey call you Little Leeeza Jane in zee USA?" I began to laugh uncontrollably and laughed so hard that I started to cry and fell off the spruce log I was sitting on. Given the contagious properties of laughter, SCHWINGENHAMMER joined in the hysterics and we quickly became the most ridiculous sight any man or animal has ever seen in those woods. The day ended with a tour of the sawmill and then a few beers with SCHWINGENHAMMER and some of the mill workers. What an experience! I regretfully forgot to bring my camera to this forest tour, but I've been invited to visit whenever, so I'll definitely document any future encounters.
Last week I became the proud owner of a used pair of leather pants, otherwise known as Lederhosen. Even though these pants enable me to live la Vida loca, they are in no way Ricky Martin fans. In fact, these pants eat Ricky Martin's leather pants for breakfast and their bad-ass stature makes them the subject of desire for many a Hell's Angel. (For the older crowd reading this email- Ricky Martin is a former member of Menudo that made it big in the late 90's with hit songs such as "Livin la Vida loca" and "Shake Your Bon Bon.)" I have a chainsaw class this Monday, where I plan on wearing the "pants that can stand-up by themselves."
To conclude this email, I got a job! From Feb.1-June. 30 I'll be working for "Unique Forestry Consultants" in Freiburg, Germany. Freiburg is in Southern Germany, bordering France and Switzerland, and is known as the warmest city in Germany (Score!). It is a small company that also has offices in Africa and South America. I've been hired as the girl who helps anyone who needs help. This will be cool, I can't wait!
Ok, well I hope all is well with everyone!
Bis dann!
A lot has happened since I last updated, so I'll quickly summarize the lesser events. Glücklischer Luke Padgett (Old Sewanee Pal) and myself successfully hosted a very edible Thanksgiving for 2 Mexicans, 2 Germans and a Portuguese. We ended up cooking 2 chickens after learning that it is impossible to thaw a turkey in 2 hours. The following day, mostly due to my sketchiness and partially due to Luke's Czechiness (his having a full beard and long hair), the German-Czech border police detained Luke in their office above the train station until I could prove his American citizenship. That wasn't the only run in with the law that I encountered… I was arrested a week later by the Leipzig Tram Police (glorified Rent-a-Cops) for riding the tram with an invalid ticket (an honest mistake) and not having my passport. They let me go with a 40 Euro fine, which is just about the equivalent of 1000000 US dollars. The other events will be elaborated below:
I'll start with my personal tour of the Münden Forest District, guided by none other than Frau SCHWINGENHAMMER. Putting aside the fact that her last name is SCHWINGENHAMMER, which should always be written in all capital letters, the woman is proof that Paul Bunyan lived, and bred. You know, I'm not easily intimidated- but the fact that this woman was 6'2," carried an ax on her belt loop, was wearing a leather vest (no doubt from a wooly mammoth), and had the build of an Olympic shot-putter put me on my best behavior. For the better part of the morning, I followed (ran) through the ridiculously groomed woods as she marked timber for a future sale. We stopped midday for lunch, and sat on two downed logs to eat. I had brought a deliciously inappropriate bean sprout, red pepper and hummus wrap (which I made, Hummus does not exist here) while she whipped out a thick slab of Leberkäse situated between two large slices of hearty dark bread and a beer. Leberkäse, for those of you wondering, is basically a hotdog taking the shape of a loaf of bread and then cut into slices. We ate in silence for a little while until Frau SCHWINGENHAMMER threw me a curve ball. "Do zey call you Little Leeeza Jane in zee USA?" I began to laugh uncontrollably and laughed so hard that I started to cry and fell off the spruce log I was sitting on. Given the contagious properties of laughter, SCHWINGENHAMMER joined in the hysterics and we quickly became the most ridiculous sight any man or animal has ever seen in those woods. The day ended with a tour of the sawmill and then a few beers with SCHWINGENHAMMER and some of the mill workers. What an experience! I regretfully forgot to bring my camera to this forest tour, but I've been invited to visit whenever, so I'll definitely document any future encounters.
Last week I became the proud owner of a used pair of leather pants, otherwise known as Lederhosen. Even though these pants enable me to live la Vida loca, they are in no way Ricky Martin fans. In fact, these pants eat Ricky Martin's leather pants for breakfast and their bad-ass stature makes them the subject of desire for many a Hell's Angel. (For the older crowd reading this email- Ricky Martin is a former member of Menudo that made it big in the late 90's with hit songs such as "Livin la Vida loca" and "Shake Your Bon Bon.)" I have a chainsaw class this Monday, where I plan on wearing the "pants that can stand-up by themselves."
To conclude this email, I got a job! From Feb.1-June. 30 I'll be working for "Unique Forestry Consultants" in Freiburg, Germany. Freiburg is in Southern Germany, bordering France and Switzerland, and is known as the warmest city in Germany (Score!). It is a small company that also has offices in Africa and South America. I've been hired as the girl who helps anyone who needs help. This will be cool, I can't wait!
Ok, well I hope all is well with everyone!
Bis dann!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Photosynthesis
After what seemed like a lifetime of overcast skies and general dreariness, THE SUN FINALLY CAME OUT IN DRESDEN!!! Because my cells are mainly composed of cellulose, I decided to photosynthesize a bit and go on a hike. Let me tell you, I was a new person! So I hiked up some valley and saw a field in the distance. Beyond the field was a windmill (one of those big industrial sorts). I decided that it would be a good idea to walk across the field so I could get a better view of the windmill and have a good photo opportunity. I got halfway across the field when I saw a large red tractor high tailing it in my direction. It hadn't dawned on me that this could be private property and I was, in fact, trespassing. I decided to bolt for it and started running back towards the forest, only to notice that the tractor was gaining on me. In the end, it was my choice in wardrobe that saved me. You see, I had made it into a little patch of trees and the old man driving the tractor must have been a little hard of seeing, because he could not distinguish me (wearing dark brown pants and a dark green fleece) from the other spruce trees I was standing with. He gave up the search because the next step in the hunt was for him to get off his tractor, and I don't think he was up for that. So, I made it out of there...safe and sound! I then hiked about for another hour and went home when the sun started to set at 3:25.
Here are some pictures from the event...farmer excluded.
This is the windmill in the distance
Another glimpse at what I was hightailing it across
My refuge that saved me
Another field I came across...but didn't cross.
Here are some pictures from the event...farmer excluded.
This is the windmill in the distance
Another glimpse at what I was hightailing it across
My refuge that saved me
Another field I came across...but didn't cross.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
More Pictures...
This is a picture taken on Thursday from my forestry campus in Tharandt.
Once again, Tharandt. The church on the hill is still functioning as a place of worship. There is an old castle ruin hidden in this picture as well.
This is the view from my new apartment. This is typically what it looks like...gray, wet and cold.
This is an example of how the Germans have succeeded in getting kids excited about going into the forest. There are tons of these spread all about. Things like this give me a refreshed view of what I can do when I return to the states.
Once again, Tharandt. The church on the hill is still functioning as a place of worship. There is an old castle ruin hidden in this picture as well.
This is the view from my new apartment. This is typically what it looks like...gray, wet and cold.
This is an example of how the Germans have succeeded in getting kids excited about going into the forest. There are tons of these spread all about. Things like this give me a refreshed view of what I can do when I return to the states.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Email responses to below letter...
I enjoyed this response from a former professor of mine so much that I've decided to post it.
Hey Eliza,
It's early in the morning and I am sitting in a cafe in southern New Mexico that somehow has internet access. I was just biting into a rather good looking ham/cheese/croissant thing when I read your story about the farting tuba. Much grosser than the caterpillar. I had a vision of very large and hairy buttocks flapping in a fart hurricane and had to put my sandwich down for a bit. Thanks.
Hey Eliza,
It's early in the morning and I am sitting in a cafe in southern New Mexico that somehow has internet access. I was just biting into a rather good looking ham/cheese/croissant thing when I read your story about the farting tuba. Much grosser than the caterpillar. I had a vision of very large and hairy buttocks flapping in a fart hurricane and had to put my sandwich down for a bit. Thanks.
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