THIS!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Buhlin
Well hello internet!
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m really bad at keeping a blog. BUT, inspired by Becca’s amazing blogging skills, I am attempting to return to my blog.
Naturally, lots of things have been going on outside of blog-world since the last time I wrote. Namely, grad school has started and my internship has ended.
To date, I haven’t learned too much in the classroom (more on that later), but I’ve met a lot of really amazing people, and I’m confident these next two years in Erfurt will be rewarding.
I’m also waitressing at Koko Sushi, one of the 3 sushi bars in Erfurt. It’s been a lot of fun, and a great way to interact with the people of Erfurt on yet another level. It’s also a great way to get my rent paid, put food in my stomach, and pay tuition. ☺
I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Berlin (Buhlin*) with Becca, which was a ton of fun! I went once back in September to visit Liz, and this time around I was there touristing it up.
The first evening (after the 6.5 hours of train riding – thanks Deutsche Bahn!) we went to the Berlin philharmonic to see a baroque concert featuring some of Bach’s works. It was amazing!
The following day, we did a 4.5 hour walking tour seeing all the main sights of Berlin, from Hitler’s death site, to the Brandenburg Gate, to the hotel where Michael Jackson hung his baby over the balcony – all in 12º (yes, Fahrenheit) weather. COLD!
The hostel we stayed at in Berlin was really nice and we met two really nice French girls who we went out with later. We also ate at Vapiano – my favorite restaurant ever – and got to see several of the 200+ Christmas markets of Berlin.
Later that night we went out for A drink and stumbled in on a random company Christmas party. We each bought one drink, and the rest of the night we were included in the open bar tab and got free drinks the whole night. As we were packing up to leave the bar 5-6 free drinks later around 4:30am, we noticed Becca’s camera was gone! With all of her pictures from her trip too!!! So although it was a really great trip, that was a pretty big downside.
Now it’s time for my mini-Christmas break. This is the shortest Christmas break that I’ve EVER had, so I will do my best to enjoy it… well, as much as I can enjoy a break that consists of working, projects, papers, and internship applications.
Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and good night!
------------------------
*Buhlin: The way most Germans say "Berlin" when speaking English
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m really bad at keeping a blog. BUT, inspired by Becca’s amazing blogging skills, I am attempting to return to my blog.
Naturally, lots of things have been going on outside of blog-world since the last time I wrote. Namely, grad school has started and my internship has ended.
To date, I haven’t learned too much in the classroom (more on that later), but I’ve met a lot of really amazing people, and I’m confident these next two years in Erfurt will be rewarding.
I’m also waitressing at Koko Sushi, one of the 3 sushi bars in Erfurt. It’s been a lot of fun, and a great way to interact with the people of Erfurt on yet another level. It’s also a great way to get my rent paid, put food in my stomach, and pay tuition. ☺
I just got back from a whirlwind tour of Berlin (Buhlin*) with Becca, which was a ton of fun! I went once back in September to visit Liz, and this time around I was there touristing it up.
The first evening (after the 6.5 hours of train riding – thanks Deutsche Bahn!) we went to the Berlin philharmonic to see a baroque concert featuring some of Bach’s works. It was amazing!
The following day, we did a 4.5 hour walking tour seeing all the main sights of Berlin, from Hitler’s death site, to the Brandenburg Gate, to the hotel where Michael Jackson hung his baby over the balcony – all in 12º (yes, Fahrenheit) weather. COLD!
The hostel we stayed at in Berlin was really nice and we met two really nice French girls who we went out with later. We also ate at Vapiano – my favorite restaurant ever – and got to see several of the 200+ Christmas markets of Berlin.
Later that night we went out for A drink and stumbled in on a random company Christmas party. We each bought one drink, and the rest of the night we were included in the open bar tab and got free drinks the whole night. As we were packing up to leave the bar 5-6 free drinks later around 4:30am, we noticed Becca’s camera was gone! With all of her pictures from her trip too!!! So although it was a really great trip, that was a pretty big downside.
Now it’s time for my mini-Christmas break. This is the shortest Christmas break that I’ve EVER had, so I will do my best to enjoy it… well, as much as I can enjoy a break that consists of working, projects, papers, and internship applications.
Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and good night!
------------------------
*Buhlin: The way most Germans say "Berlin" when speaking English
Friday, August 27, 2010
Pictures from the week
Mmm.... beer
Tallest building in Thüringen (Jena).
Also somewhere in Jena.
Somewhere in Jena.
Mushrooms cooked with onions, chives, parsley, tofu, salt and pepper. Mmm...
Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the mushrooms before they were sliced (they were really pretty). Here is a picture of all of them chopped up - there were probably 7-8 different types of mushrooms, most of which I had never tried before. Yum!!
Cooking mushrooms
Lamby's new lover
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Mushrooms
I got my residency permit/visa today. :) I am now a legal immigrant.
In other news:
On Sunday night I took the train to Erlau and spent the night at Martin's parents house. Monday morning, Tilo picked me up in Erlau (his office/house is in a neighboring town, Hildburghausen) and we drove to Zella to meet with party members from Hessen, Bavaria, Thüringen and the federal government to discuss the Biosphärenreservat Rhön (a nature preserve). There has been talk of building a highway through the nature preserve, but it would ruin the natural beauty of the nature preserve. After this meeting we went to Gerstungen where members of the federal government and the state parliements discussed alternative waste management options for K+S. After this meeting Katja, Tilo and I went to Katja's office in Eisenach and got a quick bite to eat. Then Katja and I, as well as some other Bundestag members, went to tour the Opel factory in Eisenach. It was really interesting - especially watching the assembly lines up close and seeing how quickly they can actually build a car from start to finish. The executives at Opel all have to know English too, so they kept asking me if they needed to translate anything - they wanted to use their English so bad... it was funny.
Today I went to Rohr to meet with a farmer's union with Tilo. The farmers are wanting/needing more subsidies to continue farming more than just corn and soy which will exhaust the land. After the meeting Tilo asked me if I wanted to go collect mushrooms in the forest... so very quaint and German. First we drove to Tilo's parents house to eat and I met his mom and dad and his two daughters. After we went into the woods, Tilo showed me all the different kinds of mushrooms and the ones that are edible or poisonous. He studied forestry back in the day so he was really knowledgeable about the mushrooms and I learned a lot.
So I came home from work today with a huge basket of mushrooms. Martin, Micha, Johanna and I cooked all the mushrooms up and ate them for dinner. And none of us are hallucinating, throwing up, or dying yet, so I'd say it's a success.
I'll post pictures later... off to bed. :)
In other news:
On Sunday night I took the train to Erlau and spent the night at Martin's parents house. Monday morning, Tilo picked me up in Erlau (his office/house is in a neighboring town, Hildburghausen) and we drove to Zella to meet with party members from Hessen, Bavaria, Thüringen and the federal government to discuss the Biosphärenreservat Rhön (a nature preserve). There has been talk of building a highway through the nature preserve, but it would ruin the natural beauty of the nature preserve. After this meeting we went to Gerstungen where members of the federal government and the state parliements discussed alternative waste management options for K+S. After this meeting Katja, Tilo and I went to Katja's office in Eisenach and got a quick bite to eat. Then Katja and I, as well as some other Bundestag members, went to tour the Opel factory in Eisenach. It was really interesting - especially watching the assembly lines up close and seeing how quickly they can actually build a car from start to finish. The executives at Opel all have to know English too, so they kept asking me if they needed to translate anything - they wanted to use their English so bad... it was funny.
Today I went to Rohr to meet with a farmer's union with Tilo. The farmers are wanting/needing more subsidies to continue farming more than just corn and soy which will exhaust the land. After the meeting Tilo asked me if I wanted to go collect mushrooms in the forest... so very quaint and German. First we drove to Tilo's parents house to eat and I met his mom and dad and his two daughters. After we went into the woods, Tilo showed me all the different kinds of mushrooms and the ones that are edible or poisonous. He studied forestry back in the day so he was really knowledgeable about the mushrooms and I learned a lot.
So I came home from work today with a huge basket of mushrooms. Martin, Micha, Johanna and I cooked all the mushrooms up and ate them for dinner. And none of us are hallucinating, throwing up, or dying yet, so I'd say it's a success.
I'll post pictures later... off to bed. :)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Plenarsitzung
I got to sit in on a Plenarsitzung today, which is a monthly meeting of Congress. It was interesting to hear the debates, especially from the people I work with. :) Tomorrow and Friday are Sitzung days as well, so I'm excited for the next few days at work.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Erfurt Photo Tour
Cutest Daycare ever
Thomaskirche
"Poet District" of Erfurt
Gera River
Train Station
My Neighborhood
Friday, August 13, 2010
Life as a Thuringian
On Monday I worked a half day so that I could meet up with Martin's family in southern Thüringen to celebrate his grandpa's 80th birthday.
That's his grandpa. The rest of the pictures can be found on Facebook. :) I got there after the family had eaten lunch at this Gasthaus: Mönchhof
We stayed there for coffee and cake and then drove back to Martin's family's house to have a party in their garden. It was a lot of fun seeing Martin's entire family again - they're really nice and fun!
As far as work goes, this week was an eventful one. I got to meet the rest of the congressmen/women in the party this week, as well as the opportunity to go on some of my first "business trips."
On Tuesday I got to meet Katja Wolf, and I sat in on a budget committee meeting. Katja is very young and friendly, and she was also in charge of the meeting. There were about 15 people present, so it wasn't too bad, but Katja had me introduce myself to everyone at the meeting. Little did I know that was just preparation for the 40+ people I'd be introducing myself in front of the following day.
Later that evening I traveled to Eisenach. There was a committee meeting in Eisenach with Congressmen from the neighboring state of Hessen. The committee was discussing the problems with K+S - the potash mining company dumping their waste into the Werra river. I was excited to go to this meeting since the topic is what I've been working on for the past two weeks at the Landtag. Tilo and I traveled from Erfurt to Eisenach together with the ICE train (normally I use the cheaper regional trains, but I wasn't the one buying my ticket this time so it was nice to be in the fancier, faster train!). When we got there, Tilo and I had some extra time, so he invited me to dinner. We went to this really neat all organic restaurant in the city center - Tilo paid for everything too (the internship keeps getting better and better). ;) Later Tilo and I met up with Katja, and she gave me a quick tour of Eisenach. It's a really beautiful city, and Katja informed me that it wouldn't be the last time I would be there. The meeting was also really interesting; I learned a lot more about current issues going on (e.g. K+S's stance/claims about the pollutants), which made my research all the more interesting and relevant.
On Wednesday I sat in on a Fraktionsitzung, which is a meeting where the party discusses current debated issues and establishes their policy for the respective debates. I got to meet the party leader, which is somewhat comparable to the Speaker of the House in the US government. The meeting lasted for about 3 hours, and some points were harder for me to understand since I had no background information on some of the topics. Without the technical vocabulary, it's pretty easy to get lost in these meetings. This meeting was in preparation for the Landessitzung, or the Congress meeting next week. This upcoming meeting will be the first meeting of Congress since June - July was a vacation month.
Today I spent 8 hours traveling around Thüringen with several Congressmen from all of the five represented parties. Our first stop was this agricultural technical school in the city of Apolda. We listened to 4 hours of presentations about what the agricultural schools do for Thüringen and why they need government support.
Our next stop was a flower/plant seed company. The company has been family owned and based in Erfurt since its founding in the 1860s. We got to tour around the 10 acre property, got free flower seeds/herb seeds, and we got to learn about an organic energy source they are developing with the seeds from a certain flower. The company wanted subsidies to buy more property to cultivate this flower as a renewable energy resource. One acre of this flower is equal to about ten acres of corn as far as the energy yield. (I'll also be pictured with all the congressmen in the company's newsletter!) ;) This part of the day was definitely more interesting.
Because of all the running around today, no one had time to eat lunch, so as of 5:30pm today all I had eaten was a cup of yogurt at 7:30am. I went straight from work to the city to grab lunch - I had forgotten that I had used the last of my cash the day before and hadn't gone to the ATM since. I realized this as I was about to pay, but luckily Martin met me there and had just enough money to cover for me. Phewf.
This week has been fun, but it has been very busy. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to get my bike tuned up and ride around for a bit (hopefully). On Sunday I'm biking to a neighboring city, Weimar, with a friend of mine. :) I'm excited to get back on the bike again!
That's his grandpa. The rest of the pictures can be found on Facebook. :) I got there after the family had eaten lunch at this Gasthaus: Mönchhof
We stayed there for coffee and cake and then drove back to Martin's family's house to have a party in their garden. It was a lot of fun seeing Martin's entire family again - they're really nice and fun!
As far as work goes, this week was an eventful one. I got to meet the rest of the congressmen/women in the party this week, as well as the opportunity to go on some of my first "business trips."
On Tuesday I got to meet Katja Wolf, and I sat in on a budget committee meeting. Katja is very young and friendly, and she was also in charge of the meeting. There were about 15 people present, so it wasn't too bad, but Katja had me introduce myself to everyone at the meeting. Little did I know that was just preparation for the 40+ people I'd be introducing myself in front of the following day.
Later that evening I traveled to Eisenach. There was a committee meeting in Eisenach with Congressmen from the neighboring state of Hessen. The committee was discussing the problems with K+S - the potash mining company dumping their waste into the Werra river. I was excited to go to this meeting since the topic is what I've been working on for the past two weeks at the Landtag. Tilo and I traveled from Erfurt to Eisenach together with the ICE train (normally I use the cheaper regional trains, but I wasn't the one buying my ticket this time so it was nice to be in the fancier, faster train!). When we got there, Tilo and I had some extra time, so he invited me to dinner. We went to this really neat all organic restaurant in the city center - Tilo paid for everything too (the internship keeps getting better and better). ;) Later Tilo and I met up with Katja, and she gave me a quick tour of Eisenach. It's a really beautiful city, and Katja informed me that it wouldn't be the last time I would be there. The meeting was also really interesting; I learned a lot more about current issues going on (e.g. K+S's stance/claims about the pollutants), which made my research all the more interesting and relevant.
On Wednesday I sat in on a Fraktionsitzung, which is a meeting where the party discusses current debated issues and establishes their policy for the respective debates. I got to meet the party leader, which is somewhat comparable to the Speaker of the House in the US government. The meeting lasted for about 3 hours, and some points were harder for me to understand since I had no background information on some of the topics. Without the technical vocabulary, it's pretty easy to get lost in these meetings. This meeting was in preparation for the Landessitzung, or the Congress meeting next week. This upcoming meeting will be the first meeting of Congress since June - July was a vacation month.
Today I spent 8 hours traveling around Thüringen with several Congressmen from all of the five represented parties. Our first stop was this agricultural technical school in the city of Apolda. We listened to 4 hours of presentations about what the agricultural schools do for Thüringen and why they need government support.
Our next stop was a flower/plant seed company. The company has been family owned and based in Erfurt since its founding in the 1860s. We got to tour around the 10 acre property, got free flower seeds/herb seeds, and we got to learn about an organic energy source they are developing with the seeds from a certain flower. The company wanted subsidies to buy more property to cultivate this flower as a renewable energy resource. One acre of this flower is equal to about ten acres of corn as far as the energy yield. (I'll also be pictured with all the congressmen in the company's newsletter!) ;) This part of the day was definitely more interesting.
Because of all the running around today, no one had time to eat lunch, so as of 5:30pm today all I had eaten was a cup of yogurt at 7:30am. I went straight from work to the city to grab lunch - I had forgotten that I had used the last of my cash the day before and hadn't gone to the ATM since. I realized this as I was about to pay, but luckily Martin met me there and had just enough money to cover for me. Phewf.
This week has been fun, but it has been very busy. I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to get my bike tuned up and ride around for a bit (hopefully). On Sunday I'm biking to a neighboring city, Weimar, with a friend of mine. :) I'm excited to get back on the bike again!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Willkommen in Erfurt
I've been in Erfurt for a week now, but this past week has really flown by. I got to Erfurt last Friday evening, had the weekend to unpack and somewhat settle in, and then began my internship on Monday.
Let me start off with saying wow! I have no idea how I got chosen for this internship, but it is sooo cool. I'm loving my internship - it's only my 5th day at work, but I've gotten to do some really cool research about environmental issues here in Thüringen. I've had coffee with a few local politicians, and I got to sit in on a press conference. I'm working with Die Linke Fraktion in the Thüringer Landtag. Die Linke are "The Left" so that basically explains their political views. :) I've met several party representatives already - everyone has been very friendly and accommodating. I'm working directly for two representatives - Tilo Kummer and Katja Wolf - you can see who they are and what they look like here.
:) I met Tilo last week, and I'll meet Katja on Tuesday.
Everything with the party members is very relaxed and friendly. They use the informal 'you' with each other and address each other by first names. For many workplaces in Germany that is uncommon. Usually you must use the formal 'you' and address each other by Mr. or Mrs. _____.
This week was the last week of the vacation period at the Landtag, so I anticipate that there will be a lot more going on around the Landtag starting next week. Right now I'm currently working on a project involving the Weser and Werra rivers and saline run-off caused by K + S - a potash mining company. Just in the past few days I've made a lot of progress on the research for this issue, and it's pretty exciting doing research that actually affects politics directly.
When I met with Tilo last week, he told me that if I wanted, I could travel to different events around Germany. Next week we're going to sit down and take a look at his agenda and figure out where in Germany I'll be traveling. Basically, I'll be traveling to conferences that other party members can't make it to, then I'll do a report about them when I come back to Erfurt. They also told me I could write an article in their bi-weekly party newspaper.
I'm so lucky to have this opportunity here, and I can't wait to go back to work next week. :)
As for the rest of Erfurt, the weather has been beautiful, but the past few days have been cool - basically like Texas in the winter. I'm not complaining though - I'd take 50º over 100º any day.
Next Monday is Martin's grandfather's 80th birthday, and his family is having a big celebration for him. I'm taking the afternoon off of work and taking the train to south Thüringen (where his family is). I'm excited to see his family again - they are a lot of fun.
Along with working 7-8 hour days, I've managed to apply for my visa, register as a resident of Erfurt, and open a German bank account. Most of the bureaucratic things are taken care of now. (Yay!)
I've met up with friends on nights that I haven't been too exhausted from work. I love the biergartens and bars here in Erfurt. Most of them are in very old buildings, and the restrooms are usually in the basement. A lot of the basements are originally from the 1100s-1300s when Erfurt was in the center of the European link to the Silk Road. Being surrounded by medieval architecture never gets old - it's absolutely beautiful here (in a weird historic way).
I'll write again next week about my internship - there are always interesting things happening there!
Let me start off with saying wow! I have no idea how I got chosen for this internship, but it is sooo cool. I'm loving my internship - it's only my 5th day at work, but I've gotten to do some really cool research about environmental issues here in Thüringen. I've had coffee with a few local politicians, and I got to sit in on a press conference. I'm working with Die Linke Fraktion in the Thüringer Landtag. Die Linke are "The Left" so that basically explains their political views. :) I've met several party representatives already - everyone has been very friendly and accommodating. I'm working directly for two representatives - Tilo Kummer and Katja Wolf - you can see who they are and what they look like here.
:) I met Tilo last week, and I'll meet Katja on Tuesday.
Everything with the party members is very relaxed and friendly. They use the informal 'you' with each other and address each other by first names. For many workplaces in Germany that is uncommon. Usually you must use the formal 'you' and address each other by Mr. or Mrs. _____.
This week was the last week of the vacation period at the Landtag, so I anticipate that there will be a lot more going on around the Landtag starting next week. Right now I'm currently working on a project involving the Weser and Werra rivers and saline run-off caused by K + S - a potash mining company. Just in the past few days I've made a lot of progress on the research for this issue, and it's pretty exciting doing research that actually affects politics directly.
When I met with Tilo last week, he told me that if I wanted, I could travel to different events around Germany. Next week we're going to sit down and take a look at his agenda and figure out where in Germany I'll be traveling. Basically, I'll be traveling to conferences that other party members can't make it to, then I'll do a report about them when I come back to Erfurt. They also told me I could write an article in their bi-weekly party newspaper.
I'm so lucky to have this opportunity here, and I can't wait to go back to work next week. :)
As for the rest of Erfurt, the weather has been beautiful, but the past few days have been cool - basically like Texas in the winter. I'm not complaining though - I'd take 50º over 100º any day.
Next Monday is Martin's grandfather's 80th birthday, and his family is having a big celebration for him. I'm taking the afternoon off of work and taking the train to south Thüringen (where his family is). I'm excited to see his family again - they are a lot of fun.
Along with working 7-8 hour days, I've managed to apply for my visa, register as a resident of Erfurt, and open a German bank account. Most of the bureaucratic things are taken care of now. (Yay!)
I've met up with friends on nights that I haven't been too exhausted from work. I love the biergartens and bars here in Erfurt. Most of them are in very old buildings, and the restrooms are usually in the basement. A lot of the basements are originally from the 1100s-1300s when Erfurt was in the center of the European link to the Silk Road. Being surrounded by medieval architecture never gets old - it's absolutely beautiful here (in a weird historic way).
I'll write again next week about my internship - there are always interesting things happening there!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Au revoir, Austin!
Although I mentioned that I started packing early in my last blog entry, I seemed to have only packed one box that day and saved the rest for tonight (the night before I move out of my apartment in Austin). It’s 1:16am and I’ve been packing/cleaning/organizing since around 7:30pm. I just have a little bit left to do in the morning, but I can say that I’m pretty much done.
I can’t wait until I’m sitting on that plane to Germany and can just let out a huge sigh of relief – this past month has been a crazy one. Had it not been for great friends and a great job, it would have been a rough one. In the past month, I’ve sold every piece of furniture I own, have made 4 major trips (read: car jam-packed full of stuff) to Goodwill, and sold my car. I probably own about 20% of what I did a month ago. I have to say it feels pretty good. All that stuff just weighed me down; I feel much lighter and freer without it. However, some things were really hard to part with. I’m not a pack-rat by any means, but there have been some things I’ve been lugging around for a long time (e.g. since 6th grade). But now that they’re gone, I feel no different. Just like Martin tells me often, they’re just material things, and that’s not what life is about. I still have everything I need and then some.
This day has been weird. People have been stopping by all night to say their goodbyes – I’ve had a few friends even cry. It reminds me of a funeral wake. I’m sure it will hit me at some point, and maybe I’ll cry too, but I think life has funny ways of working things out. I’m positive if not certain that I will see each and every one of these people again at some point. And, as much as I get annoyed with Facebook, it makes staying in touch easy.
I have three more nights left in Texas, and then it’s off to Germany! I’m really excited for a fresh start there. I’m sad to be leaving Austin, but I’m leaving by choice, and I’m looking forward to what awaits me in Germany.
Knowing how often I update this, the next blog will probably be from Germany – maybe even about my first day working at the parliament! Until then, peace.
I can’t wait until I’m sitting on that plane to Germany and can just let out a huge sigh of relief – this past month has been a crazy one. Had it not been for great friends and a great job, it would have been a rough one. In the past month, I’ve sold every piece of furniture I own, have made 4 major trips (read: car jam-packed full of stuff) to Goodwill, and sold my car. I probably own about 20% of what I did a month ago. I have to say it feels pretty good. All that stuff just weighed me down; I feel much lighter and freer without it. However, some things were really hard to part with. I’m not a pack-rat by any means, but there have been some things I’ve been lugging around for a long time (e.g. since 6th grade). But now that they’re gone, I feel no different. Just like Martin tells me often, they’re just material things, and that’s not what life is about. I still have everything I need and then some.
This day has been weird. People have been stopping by all night to say their goodbyes – I’ve had a few friends even cry. It reminds me of a funeral wake. I’m sure it will hit me at some point, and maybe I’ll cry too, but I think life has funny ways of working things out. I’m positive if not certain that I will see each and every one of these people again at some point. And, as much as I get annoyed with Facebook, it makes staying in touch easy.
I have three more nights left in Texas, and then it’s off to Germany! I’m really excited for a fresh start there. I’m sad to be leaving Austin, but I’m leaving by choice, and I’m looking forward to what awaits me in Germany.
Knowing how often I update this, the next blog will probably be from Germany – maybe even about my first day working at the parliament! Until then, peace.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
It's official
Yesterday I found out the news: I'm accepted to the two-year master of public policy program in Erfurt, Germany. I couldn't be any happier (well, maybe if I had a magical packing device, then I could indeed be happier). I started packing tonight even though my flight is on July 29th, so I've got packing on the brain. I guess since I'm starting a month and a half early, maybe the process won't be too bad. I know I can already ship my winter stuff, as Texas will be 95º+ until I leave.
The news came at a great time. I was just starting to map out my next plan if I weren't to hear back positive news about grad school. Now it's just a matter of sorting through everything, selling A LOT of stuff including my car, many trips to Goodwill, canceling various accounts, and working 40 hours a week.
Oh yeah, work. This week is the 2nd week of camp with campers actually present (before that it was 2 1/2 weeks of training for the counselors). Camp has been going really well. On top of finding out news about grad school yesterday, today I found out I'm counselor of the week, and my boss surprised me with flowers. And thanks to my wonderful co-counselors, we organized an epic game today involving a huge field, buckets of water, sponges, and capture the flag/dodgeball rules. Today was a great day. I'm thinking tomorrow will be pretty cool too - we're taking the kids rock climbing.
I'm feeling really thankful right now. Everything seems to be falling into place. And I don't even have to play the waiting game. I'm working at summer camp, moving to Germany, diving right into my internship, and the week my internship ends, grad school starts. Why is it that I never really leave myself any free time??
Hopefully the next time I write in here I'll have put a dent into the packing/organizing/selling of stuff. Until then, cheers!
The news came at a great time. I was just starting to map out my next plan if I weren't to hear back positive news about grad school. Now it's just a matter of sorting through everything, selling A LOT of stuff including my car, many trips to Goodwill, canceling various accounts, and working 40 hours a week.
Oh yeah, work. This week is the 2nd week of camp with campers actually present (before that it was 2 1/2 weeks of training for the counselors). Camp has been going really well. On top of finding out news about grad school yesterday, today I found out I'm counselor of the week, and my boss surprised me with flowers. And thanks to my wonderful co-counselors, we organized an epic game today involving a huge field, buckets of water, sponges, and capture the flag/dodgeball rules. Today was a great day. I'm thinking tomorrow will be pretty cool too - we're taking the kids rock climbing.
I'm feeling really thankful right now. Everything seems to be falling into place. And I don't even have to play the waiting game. I'm working at summer camp, moving to Germany, diving right into my internship, and the week my internship ends, grad school starts. Why is it that I never really leave myself any free time??
Hopefully the next time I write in here I'll have put a dent into the packing/organizing/selling of stuff. Until then, cheers!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Derek-sitting
Derek is the boy that I've been babysitting for about 2 years now. He's 11 years old now, and every day that I work with him, he never ceases to amuse, frighten, annoy, or impress me. His mom mentioned that I should write a book about my experiences with him, and although this is not a book, I figure a blog is a good place to at least 'publish' my thoughts and experiences.
Derek is a special boy, and I really have a connection with him. Sometimes he's like a little brother to me, sometimes he's one of my best friends, and sometimes he's my pseudo-son. Derek is one of the most intelligent children I have ever met, but homework with him is another story. Derek is definitely not a homework kid. He has a passion for learning, and he really likes school (for the most part), but his creativity and ingenuity outstretch the confines of the 8 x 11 worksheets that are sent home with him.
For example - today he had a reading assignment to pick out difficult vocabulary from the book he's reading and look up definitions in the dictionary. After an hour of story-telling, knock-knock jokes, and countless reminders from me to stay focused, all he had managed to define was one word with a 3 word definition. Oh, I forgot to mention he also managed to express himself artistically with a sharpie on several of the pages in the dictionary. Luckily, another one of his assignments was to draw pictures of scenes from the book, and that was a little more suited to his mood. Anyway, after 2 1/2 hours, and probably about 15 minutes of actual work, he had completed his homework for the day.
So after some homework, what better thing to do than to quiz me on my knowledge of Hamlet, right? He asked me if I knew the play; I said yes (not mentioning that the last time I read it was over 6 years ago in high school). He asked me if I had seen the play; I said no. He asked me if I had ever seen the movie; I asked which one. His quick, annoyed response was: "The Hamlet one!!!!" Having seen one of the filmed versions of Hamlet (also in high school), I said yes. I didn't know what I had gotten myself into. Then came the real doozies. "Who said, 'this above all: to thine own self be true.'?" No clue. Polonius, duh. Then I was informed that in their class production of Hamlet, Derek gets to be Hamlet now, instead of some less-interesting character whose name I have now forgotten. Cool. ...Why doesn't he have theatre homework again?
Derek also knows how to make me laugh. From his own original jokes (Q: Why was Piglet looking in the toilet? A: He was looking for Pooh.) to his constant inquiries about how to say different words in German, he keeps me laughing - no matter how terrible of a 'homework day' we've had.
Derek will also tell it to you like it is. There's no beating around the bush with him. If you're doing something stupid, he will let you know. If he's getting frustrated, he will definitely let you know. That also means that when Derek tells me, "I love you", I know that it's from the heart and the honest truth.
This is just the start of me writing my experiences with Derek - I may have more things to share later, but for now I just wanted to briefly explain what I do on many week-day afternoons. This has been one of the most rewarding jobs I've had to date, and it's really opened my eyes to what parenting will be like. It has also made me realize that I definitely want to wait a long while before having kids of my own, but it also has me looking forward to the day that I can have the honor of calling myself a mother.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Introduction
Hello, internet!
Today I've been inspired by several things to start a new blog. Earlier I was reading a blog that I kept from junior high through freshman year of college, and it was really nice to go back and read old posts. I would have continued writing in that blog, except that I can't remember the user name, password, or email that I used to create that account. Alas, I am starting anew. A second reason is that I'm going through some pretty major changes in life right now, and it would be nice to write things down in a place that I can go back and look at later when my life is possibly a little more boring. A third reason relates to the aforementioned life changes - I'm moving overseas. During the first go-round of living in Germany, it didn't occur to me to keep a journal or a blog, so since I am doing it again, I will try to keep track of my adventures. Also, I just wanted to start blogging again.
So, a quick summary of things going right now and in the near future. I finish my last undergraduate final in exactly 5 days from now. I graduate from college in 10 days. Like any graduating senior who only has a vague outline of what she wants from life, I'm very anxious. I've got plenty of goals, I just am a little intimidated about the ways to go about reaching these goals. I could always settle with something - I'm not worried about finding a way to get by - but I expect more from myself.
I'm actually pretty bummed to be done with school. UT probably wasn't the perfect match for me school-wise, but I've met a lot of amazing people here, and I have learned a lot about the world and myself - inside and outside of the classroom. In retrospect, I would have preferred majoring in Political Science and German and French, but I'm not disappointed with my History degree. I'm really regretting not starting French earlier, because I'm loving it. Plus multilingual people are always in demand in almost every sector and job market around the world. One of my best decisions of my college career was to major in German because: firstly, I am passionate about the language, and secondly, I've received my internship opportunity as well as many other job opportunities and scholarship money as a direct result of studying German.
Anyway, I'm moving to Germany on July 28th. I'll be working at the Thüringer Landtag in Erfurt, and I'm very excited about the experiences I will have there. I think I will grow professionally and it will definitely be a step in the right direction as far as preparing me for a career in the public sector. I'll be working with a politician from Die Linke directly. No matter what happens, I know this will be a very good experience. (For those of you who don't know what the Landtag is - the best comparison would be a U.S. state government, but with more involvement in the federal government).
I have also applied to the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy to get a Master in Public Policy. I'm still waiting to hear back from this program. As I sent my application in on April 30th, I'll probably hear back within the next 2 months or so (hopefully sooner!). I'm anxiously awaiting to see if I've gotten accepted into the program or not. If I do get in, this will put me in Erfurt, Germany until August 2012. The program will also connect me with various internship opportunities in the Middle East, EU parliament, and Germany's federal government. If I don't get in, I will probably be coming back to the states in October, look for a job state-side, and apply to the Fulbright teach abroad program for 2011 as well as the Peace Corps.
Until July 28th I'll be working at the Austin Nature and Science Center summer adventure camp again! I'm very excited for camp. I've worked there for the past 2 summers, and although it's a lot of work and responsibility it's also a lot of fun. Getting to work 9 hour days outside in beautiful Austin definitely beats sitting in an office.
All in all, these past four years at UT have been very good to me. I've been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to study here, to meet the wonderful people I have met, and to be successful in my ventures thus far. I'm very excited to see what the summer brings, and what awaits for me in Germany. I plan to update this blog sporadically throughout the summer but more regularly once beginning my internship on August 2nd.
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