Work has really slowed down. They are more or less slowly beginning to think about planning the next festival, and there really isn't a ton of stuff for me to work on. Yesterday I calculated the number of tickets that we had officially issued for all of our concerts for intellectual property fees. They charge per seat occupied at a given performance, and if you charge admission, you have to pay the fee. For some reason this didn't apply to the theater performances at the festival or to a performance such as the Spanische Hofreitschule. In total, there were around 12,000 tickets that we sold for musical performances alone. With the Spanische Hofreitschule and the few theater performances we have, that number is easily in the range of 20,000 tickets. It's kind of incredible how the number of tickets and admissions fees add up in the end. Needless to say, I have never seen so much money on a bank account statement before now...
On that note, I am having strange experiences everyday now language-wise. The weirdest thing is that sometimes somebody will say a word, and I will have absolutely no idea what this word is in English, but I understand what it is referring to in English. What reminded me of this in my last paragraph was going to the bank yesterday to get the Auszüge. As I was walking there, I realized I had no idea how I would translate Auszug into English, but I knew what I was going to get at the bank, regardless.
Pons.com says it means 'statement.' Whenever I think of this word, however, I will always think back to going to Sparkasse, putting the bank card in the machine, and then having a few dozen papers magically print out with all of the festival's transactions in black and white. Another note on banking - wire transfer is incredibly common here, dare I say more common than having a checkbook. This surprised me because I know that wire transfers are something that many US banks and credit unions will charge for. It's interesting how one method or idea becomes the dominant mode of doing business and then all of the infrastructure gets built up around it...checks in the US and wire transfers in Germany.
Back to work I go. I have to investigate the prices of shipping some things home at the post office today because I know that my suitcase will probably be too heavy otherwise. At 1:00 pm today, my last weekend in Saarbrücken officially begins! (We only work till 1 on Fridays)
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Harry Potter Success (SPOILERS)
Seeing Harry Potter tonight (all the way to the end) was as sweet as one of those chocolate frogs that leaps about the Hogwarts Express, but in some way also as bitter as that every flavor jelly bean that "tastes like bogeys." -- And not just in the sense that Harry, Ron and Hermoine had the inevitable end to their story, with all of the flashy, special effects that Hollywood could possibly contribute. That much was actually incredibly satisfying, from the inclusion of Harry's revealing dive into Snape's memory, to the ultimate showdown with You-Know-Who, and to that epilogue that JK Rowling included in a kind of motherly way to reassure us that, really, our heroes DID live happily ever after. Indeed, it is a fairy tale ending, but a well-deserved fairy tale ending, occurring after hundreds of pages (or countless film minutes) of beloved characters dying one after the other.
In some sense, I feel as if I have grown up being a part of that fairy tale. When the first movie came out in 2001, I was eleven years old, and I read the book as a way of giving myself permission to see the movie. Both Harry Potter and actor Daniel Radcliffe were right around my age then, too. I remember reading the fifth book a few years later, as soon as it came out: JK Rowling had taken her sweet time writing it, and it was particularly long and depressing. The end of that fourth book - and everything that comes after - is a kind of grand confrontation between these kid wizards and the big, bad world. I'm not sure why, but I didn't read the sixth and seventh novels until after my first year of college. Actually, I'm glad I waited; I felt as if I could better appreciate the complex story and downright amazing ideas that give us a warm, meaningful way to think about life, despite all of its dark corners.
Now, here I am, writing directly after seeing Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Grainger, all grown up, happy and with children. As ridiculous as it may sound, it was incredibly jolting to see Harry hugging his son and Hermoine exercising her motherly know-how with her own daughter. I felt - dare I say it? - old. Of course I am still very young, but it is strange to think that after next year, my friends and I will have our college degrees, and we will head off to do who-knows-what thereafter. Yes, we have grown up with these characters, in the sense that they have been in our lives for a long time and that people my age are at least somewhat chronologically in sync. Luckily we probably won't have to confront anybody quite as evil or as powerful as Voldemort.
The final realisation of Rowling's work in film is a kind of release, a letting go. It was a reminder, gently - albeit dazzlingly - saying, "You're not a kid anymore." Harry's final installment begs us to have the courage to make difficult choices that aren't necessarily personally convenient or popular. And, perhaps best of all, it gives us the permission to keep on imagining and striving for what could be...
In some sense, I feel as if I have grown up being a part of that fairy tale. When the first movie came out in 2001, I was eleven years old, and I read the book as a way of giving myself permission to see the movie. Both Harry Potter and actor Daniel Radcliffe were right around my age then, too. I remember reading the fifth book a few years later, as soon as it came out: JK Rowling had taken her sweet time writing it, and it was particularly long and depressing. The end of that fourth book - and everything that comes after - is a kind of grand confrontation between these kid wizards and the big, bad world. I'm not sure why, but I didn't read the sixth and seventh novels until after my first year of college. Actually, I'm glad I waited; I felt as if I could better appreciate the complex story and downright amazing ideas that give us a warm, meaningful way to think about life, despite all of its dark corners.
Now, here I am, writing directly after seeing Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Grainger, all grown up, happy and with children. As ridiculous as it may sound, it was incredibly jolting to see Harry hugging his son and Hermoine exercising her motherly know-how with her own daughter. I felt - dare I say it? - old. Of course I am still very young, but it is strange to think that after next year, my friends and I will have our college degrees, and we will head off to do who-knows-what thereafter. Yes, we have grown up with these characters, in the sense that they have been in our lives for a long time and that people my age are at least somewhat chronologically in sync. Luckily we probably won't have to confront anybody quite as evil or as powerful as Voldemort.
The final realisation of Rowling's work in film is a kind of release, a letting go. It was a reminder, gently - albeit dazzlingly - saying, "You're not a kid anymore." Harry's final installment begs us to have the courage to make difficult choices that aren't necessarily personally convenient or popular. And, perhaps best of all, it gives us the permission to keep on imagining and striving for what could be...
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Harry Potter FAIL
Well, I just saw Harry Potter. Half of it. First of all, they were 25 minutes late starting the stupid movie. And then halfway through, they decided to take an intermission. Well...30 minutes after the intermission started, we were kindly asked to take our money back and go home for the night. At least I got a refund. It is still quite disappointing. 8:30 pm tomorrow, I'll be back there. Or earlier. I have to coordinate with some friends who are coming this weekend to see whether they saw it in English or German and then pick the same for tomorrow so we can do the opposite this weekend. I think that's a good idea.
Another thought I just had...does Skype/GoogleVideo/iChat remind anyone else of that part of Fahrenheit 451 where Guy Montag's wife is talking to all the people in her TV room, and they're just rambling about absolutely nothing? It's really the horrifying image that I always associate with social media now... Just a thought.
Pictures from the Pfalz are coming! I promise.
Another thought I just had...does Skype/GoogleVideo/iChat remind anyone else of that part of Fahrenheit 451 where Guy Montag's wife is talking to all the people in her TV room, and they're just rambling about absolutely nothing? It's really the horrifying image that I always associate with social media now... Just a thought.
Pictures from the Pfalz are coming! I promise.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Another great weekend...
I feel as if I am really settled in here in Saarbrücken. I could be happy staying here longer than the end of this month, when I'll go home. It's incredible that I will be going home that soon! Where has the time gone?
Yesterday we had the Vereinigung Wiener Staatsopernballett to more or less close the performance season of the festival. They did a selection of several short (10-minute) pieces, alternating between solo, duo, and corps du ballet, with crowd favorites and more daring works in between. I actually didn't care for the first two numbers; but thereafter I thought everything was spectacular. They danced to Strauss's An der schönen blauen Donau at the end - everyone came out clad in a tux or evening gown; but instead of waltz dancing, the troupe performed a beautifully choreographed ballet number. And then for the bows and applause at the end, everyone clapped in unison to the Radetzky-Marsch - it was like being at the New Year's Concert in Vienna! (except we were in Saarbrücken watching a ballet with piped-in music)
Our actual last performance an Austrian Jazz musician in a few weeks who will be performing in a radio studio. I am really looking forward to that! We had a cellist coming in between now and then, but he hurt his shoulder - it was my job to call everybody who bought tickets to share the bad news. I feel as if I am either the bringer of good news (reduced tickets) or very bad news (concerts canceled or changed to a new program). It's definitely a good workout to handle the often extreme reactions of outspoken Germans on the phone.
Today I went over to the house of some folks who help out with the Musikfestspiele. They are older and have a daughter who was an exchange student in the US back in the 1990s. She is coming next weekend, though we talked on the phone after I ate a delicious dinner of risotto, veal picatta, salad, and this delicious cherry-mango cake. These people are really great - they invited me to go with them to their hometown in Rheinland-Pfalz this week, in order for me to experience Germany outside of Saarbrücken. I have actually been in Rheinland-Pfalz in the past; I think it is one of the most beautiful regions in Germany, particularly the vineyards that tower over the Rhein. Hopefully I'll have some beautiful pictures to share with all of you.
Yesterday we had the Vereinigung Wiener Staatsopernballett to more or less close the performance season of the festival. They did a selection of several short (10-minute) pieces, alternating between solo, duo, and corps du ballet, with crowd favorites and more daring works in between. I actually didn't care for the first two numbers; but thereafter I thought everything was spectacular. They danced to Strauss's An der schönen blauen Donau at the end - everyone came out clad in a tux or evening gown; but instead of waltz dancing, the troupe performed a beautifully choreographed ballet number. And then for the bows and applause at the end, everyone clapped in unison to the Radetzky-Marsch - it was like being at the New Year's Concert in Vienna! (except we were in Saarbrücken watching a ballet with piped-in music)
Our actual last performance an Austrian Jazz musician in a few weeks who will be performing in a radio studio. I am really looking forward to that! We had a cellist coming in between now and then, but he hurt his shoulder - it was my job to call everybody who bought tickets to share the bad news. I feel as if I am either the bringer of good news (reduced tickets) or very bad news (concerts canceled or changed to a new program). It's definitely a good workout to handle the often extreme reactions of outspoken Germans on the phone.
Today I went over to the house of some folks who help out with the Musikfestspiele. They are older and have a daughter who was an exchange student in the US back in the 1990s. She is coming next weekend, though we talked on the phone after I ate a delicious dinner of risotto, veal picatta, salad, and this delicious cherry-mango cake. These people are really great - they invited me to go with them to their hometown in Rheinland-Pfalz this week, in order for me to experience Germany outside of Saarbrücken. I have actually been in Rheinland-Pfalz in the past; I think it is one of the most beautiful regions in Germany, particularly the vineyards that tower over the Rhein. Hopefully I'll have some beautiful pictures to share with all of you.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Die Spanische Hofreitschule
If you're not familiar, check out their website - http://www.srs.at/en/
The horses are gorgeous, their skills are great, but I happen to be allergic to horses. Now usually it's only an issue with my eyes swelling up, but if I take an antihistamine pill and use eyedrops, it's not an issue. Well imagine my surprise after watching 25 minutes of the Spanische Hofreitschule when I started coughing and wheezing. It was not fun! I immediately left, and now I'm back in Saarbrücken.
Anyway, it's pretty cool that the Spanische Hofreitschule is in Saarland. They are touring to only four cities in Europe - Brussels, London, Paris, and St. Wendel. The population of St. Wendel is probably less than one of Paris's arrondissements, but the Spanische Hofreitschule is performing there anyway. I think it is a big treat for Saarland, and I'm really happy that the three shows have been more or less sold out - about 2000 people per show! Also, with the number of people who have been calling on the telephone for tickets over the past few days, it has become a lot easier to understand folks on the telephone. I've even started to understand names without needing them to be spelled letter-by-letter -- that's a big deal for me! For some reason, I'm noticing I'm having trouble understanding men a lot more than women on the telephone...maybe it's because their voices are lower and so things sound a bit slurred together. I'm not sure.
But I can't wait to see what another month of being here does for my German skills!...even if the Spanische Hofreitschule almost killed me. Okay, that's clearly an exaggeration.
Bis später...
The horses are gorgeous, their skills are great, but I happen to be allergic to horses. Now usually it's only an issue with my eyes swelling up, but if I take an antihistamine pill and use eyedrops, it's not an issue. Well imagine my surprise after watching 25 minutes of the Spanische Hofreitschule when I started coughing and wheezing. It was not fun! I immediately left, and now I'm back in Saarbrücken.
Anyway, it's pretty cool that the Spanische Hofreitschule is in Saarland. They are touring to only four cities in Europe - Brussels, London, Paris, and St. Wendel. The population of St. Wendel is probably less than one of Paris's arrondissements, but the Spanische Hofreitschule is performing there anyway. I think it is a big treat for Saarland, and I'm really happy that the three shows have been more or less sold out - about 2000 people per show! Also, with the number of people who have been calling on the telephone for tickets over the past few days, it has become a lot easier to understand folks on the telephone. I've even started to understand names without needing them to be spelled letter-by-letter -- that's a big deal for me! For some reason, I'm noticing I'm having trouble understanding men a lot more than women on the telephone...maybe it's because their voices are lower and so things sound a bit slurred together. I'm not sure.
But I can't wait to see what another month of being here does for my German skills!...even if the Spanische Hofreitschule almost killed me. Okay, that's clearly an exaggeration.
Bis später...
Sunday, June 26, 2011
5 random thoughts and experiences over the last few days...
It's a holiday, but of course McDonald's is still open.
There's a bee's nest outside my window! No wonder that I killed 3 of them in 10 minutes when I had my window open the other day...
"Take an umbrella so it doesn't rain." Seriously, though...
Learning about power and privilege dynamics at universities in the UK from some students at Exeter who finished their law degrees at Uni-Saarland this past week.
"Scheiße! Ich habe den Bürgermeister geduzt!" (Oh crap... I used the "informal you" with the mayor!)
...the last one's not as bad as it sounds - he laughed as soon as I told him I was an American. And in my defense, I had just finished helping another customer on the phone in French!
There's a bee's nest outside my window! No wonder that I killed 3 of them in 10 minutes when I had my window open the other day...
"Take an umbrella so it doesn't rain." Seriously, though...
Learning about power and privilege dynamics at universities in the UK from some students at Exeter who finished their law degrees at Uni-Saarland this past week.
"Scheiße! Ich habe den Bürgermeister geduzt!" (Oh crap... I used the "informal you" with the mayor!)
...the last one's not as bad as it sounds - he laughed as soon as I told him I was an American. And in my defense, I had just finished helping another customer on the phone in French!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
My accent has migrated East...
...to France! I mean my accent in German. Yesterday I was asked twice on the phone whether I was French, and then someone came into the office and asked me the same thing. I'm not sure whether I should take this as a compliment because the reputation for French folks learning foreign languages in Germany is not very good. Then again, the American reputation can't be any better! At least my accent is more "European" ? I don't know what to think...
I also learned some fun new words! "pennen" is a familiar form of "to sleep" ... so I have determined (perhaps incorrectly) that when people say "Ich gehe pennen" they mean "I'm gonna hi the sack" or "I'm turning in." Also, a very specifically Saarlandischer word: "der Dauerschreiber" meaning "pen." But the usual word in German is "der Kugelschreiber"
I saw a performance of the Wiener Burgtheater this evening. It was weird because I knew the acting was quite good even though I really couldn't understand a lot of the Austrian accents. But I still understood a lot of what they were trying to communicate from what they were doing body-language-wise. Apparently some of the actors are quite well-known in the German speaking world from TV and whatnot. Afterward I went out for a beer with the coworker and friends with whom I spent the holiday a few weeks ago. One of the friends gave me his card in case I "run into any trouble." It was really kind of him. I am constantly overwhelmed by the kindness of people that I meet; it makes it quite difficult for me to be cynical, and it only adds to my idealism for what we can accomplish as one big, happy world! With that, it's quite late, we have a performance every night this week, so I'm off to bed. Gute Nacht!
I also learned some fun new words! "pennen" is a familiar form of "to sleep" ... so I have determined (perhaps incorrectly) that when people say "Ich gehe pennen" they mean "I'm gonna hi the sack" or "I'm turning in." Also, a very specifically Saarlandischer word: "der Dauerschreiber" meaning "pen." But the usual word in German is "der Kugelschreiber"
I saw a performance of the Wiener Burgtheater this evening. It was weird because I knew the acting was quite good even though I really couldn't understand a lot of the Austrian accents. But I still understood a lot of what they were trying to communicate from what they were doing body-language-wise. Apparently some of the actors are quite well-known in the German speaking world from TV and whatnot. Afterward I went out for a beer with the coworker and friends with whom I spent the holiday a few weeks ago. One of the friends gave me his card in case I "run into any trouble." It was really kind of him. I am constantly overwhelmed by the kindness of people that I meet; it makes it quite difficult for me to be cynical, and it only adds to my idealism for what we can accomplish as one big, happy world! With that, it's quite late, we have a performance every night this week, so I'm off to bed. Gute Nacht!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The generosity of folks...
...always amazes me! A friend of the people whose upstairs I'm renting was cleaning out their rain gutters yesterday, and today he was back and offered to take me to the Altstadtfest in Saarbrücken. We had Kuchen und Kaffee at the Catholic Church, Basilika Sankt Johann, and then we walked along the Saar where he was telling me all of the names of the trees. I wish I would have had a notebook and camera with me! Anyway it was kind of funny because right now in my hometown they have the Strawberry Festival going on and the churches usually have their little tents set up where you can buy strawberry shortcake and other good treats. Today was very much like being at home, except I fortunately didn't have to deal with all of the little middle school kids pushing their way through the crowds to get to the carnival rides.
Another little thing I discovered was that if you order a package in Germany and you're not at home to get it, they will leave it at the neighbor's house! I've never had that happen in the USA - we would always have to drive out to FedEx or UPS at the airport or to the post office in our town to pick up a missed delivery. Nothing too exciting in the packages - just a couple of German books for my thesis work and a GRE test prep book. I just made myself sound like the most boring person in the world; to counter that, I present... photos from Paris! Disclaimer: I am not and I do not claim to be a photographer; furthermore, I am discovering that my camera is not a fan of situations where there isn't a great deal of light. Please enjoy the pictures despite these two factors, and know that I have great memories of Paris beyond these photos.
Click Here for Pictures!
(Link to copy and paste: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64017522@N03/sets/72157626831203145/with/5829976457/ )
Another little thing I discovered was that if you order a package in Germany and you're not at home to get it, they will leave it at the neighbor's house! I've never had that happen in the USA - we would always have to drive out to FedEx or UPS at the airport or to the post office in our town to pick up a missed delivery. Nothing too exciting in the packages - just a couple of German books for my thesis work and a GRE test prep book. I just made myself sound like the most boring person in the world; to counter that, I present... photos from Paris! Disclaimer: I am not and I do not claim to be a photographer; furthermore, I am discovering that my camera is not a fan of situations where there isn't a great deal of light. Please enjoy the pictures despite these two factors, and know that I have great memories of Paris beyond these photos.
Click Here for Pictures!
(Link to copy and paste: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64017522@N03/sets/72157626831203145/with/5829976457/ )
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
These definitely aren't Blue Bus drivers...
One thing that always makes me smile on UM's campus is how nice the Blue Bus drivers are. I have literally been able to run across South University waving into the bus driver's mirror as they are parked in front of the UMMA and have them wait for me. Perhaps this is why it takes forever to get anywhere on UM's campus with the bus. Still, you can imagine my surprise yesterday when, after arriving only seconds after the SaarVV bus doors had closed, the bus driver shook his head at me, refusing any late entry. Even better was this morning when another young person had the EXACT same experience. Are they trying to teach us some kind of lesson about being on time? With all due respect to the SaarVV, I think that this particular government agency could use a lesson in its ability to keep a consistent schedule. The buses with the mean drivers were 2 minutes early, last week the bus that departs from right outside my work didn't even show up, and in general the last bus that should theoretically bring me to work on time never does because it's always 5+ minutes behind. AHHH! In general, though, the transport system here is very convenient and far superior to what Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County have. Then again, it's not a fair comparison due to tax structures, public priorities, etc.
In other news, I just wrote a letter in French! If I've experienced anything on this trip, it is realizing how much my 7ish years of studying French has really paid off. German is still a work in progress... I hope that the last 7 or so weeks here will yield even better results. One thing that I've noticed is that once I realize someone speaks English better than I speak German, it's hard to coax my mind into speaking German again. I'm not sure what that is - some kind of personal problem about them judging my German negatively? It's very silly, to be sure. I'm understanding almost everything now, though the local dialect is still sometimes challenging.
Now it's back to printing off tickets. This week we have Mahler's Symphony No. 3, with a second performance at the Arsenal in Metz. According to my French friend, the Arsenal was inaugurated with the help of Dmitri Shostakovich and the acoustics are quite good. But I think that I am going to stay in Saarbrücken this weekend and have a quiet weekend here.
Pictures from Paris are coming, I promise! I'm just struggling a bit with how to organize/arrange the album on Flickr. Bis später, alle!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A weekend in Metz!
These photos are from a couple of weekends ago. SNCF had a "Pass Pompidou" special where I was able to get train tickets for €1 each way - a great deal! A professor I met on the plane, Laetitia, gave a tour to me and Alexandra, another UM intern who is currently living in Stuttgart but came up to Saarbrücken for the weekend. She is a great travel buddy!
I also went to Paris this past weekend! But I am planning to upload photos from that trip to Flickr or another photo-sharing website that is more user-friendly than Blogger...
And to think that they built this place in the 13th century... they're restoring the clocher right now.
Andd here we get to where the Germans came in during the 19th century and started changing things around, namely with the huge, medieval style doors, only remember that they were added in the 19th century.
Yeah, it's a huge cathedral...
There is something unique about this representation of Jesus being condemned to death... If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Laetitia said that Adam was the figure on the right helping to punish Jesus, which is still quite unique.
Stained glass windows from a very long time ago... some of them were actually blown up during the war, so Marc Chagall came and designed new ones. You can't really go wrong - medieval windows that have been there forever or great art from Chagall! At another site in Metz, there is a church with windows from Jean Cocteau, strangely enough (he directed La Belle et La Bête, a surrealist film version of The Beauty and the Beast).
View from the other side of the cathedral - the sun had a weird effect on my camera, but it looks kind of cool.
I also went to Paris this past weekend! But I am planning to upload photos from that trip to Flickr or another photo-sharing website that is more user-friendly than Blogger...
A view from the garden of a café where we stopped to grab something to drink that morning. It was actually a very slow-paced day, which was nice!
There is a story for this... I am pretty sure it has to do with a knight coming in and killing the dragon. And the dragon has a name like.. Graouilly or something! See, if I would have uploaded these that day, then I'd still remember.
Metz Cathedral...note the flying buttresses, a dead give away of the Gothic style...
And to think that they built this place in the 13th century... they're restoring the clocher right now.
Andd here we get to where the Germans came in during the 19th century and started changing things around, namely with the huge, medieval style doors, only remember that they were added in the 19th century.
Yeah, it's a huge cathedral...
There is something unique about this representation of Jesus being condemned to death... If I'm not mistaken, I believe that Laetitia said that Adam was the figure on the right helping to punish Jesus, which is still quite unique.
Stained glass windows from a very long time ago... some of them were actually blown up during the war, so Marc Chagall came and designed new ones. You can't really go wrong - medieval windows that have been there forever or great art from Chagall! At another site in Metz, there is a church with windows from Jean Cocteau, strangely enough (he directed La Belle et La Bête, a surrealist film version of The Beauty and the Beast).
View from the other side of the cathedral - the sun had a weird effect on my camera, but it looks kind of cool.
Temple Neuf de Metz (built by the Germans)
Side tributary of the Moselle
Metz theater / opera
A cool view from under a bridge along the river
Statue of Paul Verlaine - I also saw an original manuscript of "Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit" in the church where he was baptized! Amazing.
Park near L'Arsenal, where the festival is having a concert this week
Four periods of architecture in one place!
A sun dial, whose story Laetitia didn't really know...
Laetitia and I in front of the Centre Pompidou - Metz
Me, Alexandra (another UM intern), and Laetitia
"Échos" The mirror installation by Daniel Buren - looking out at the actual city of Metz
Reflection (the "echo") of Metz
Looking down from the third floor into the Centre Pompidou Metz
Me, Alexandra (another UM intern), and Laetitia
"Échos" The mirror installation by Daniel Buren - looking out at the actual city of Metz
Reflection (the "echo") of Metz
Looking down from the third floor into the Centre Pompidou Metz
Friday, June 3, 2011
Christihimmelfahrt and other experiences in Germany
Yesterday was a holiday in Germany, Christihimmelfahrt, which I think is equivalent to the Day of Jesus's Ascension to Heaven. One of my coworkers took me to a barbecue at her friend's house. It was really, really fun, there was great food, funny and intelligent people -- I just really felt at home and welcomed. A bit of Saarländischer fun, there is this word 'schwenken' or 'Schwenker' in noun form. And 'Schwenker' can have three meanings (hopefully I don't screw this up!) -- the person who is doing the grilling, the grill itself, or the meat that is being grilled. I also noticed a really interesting feature of the fast conversation yesterday, which was that people stopped talking in complete sentences and started saying things like, 'mir verstehen das nicht.' I can't even translate what that would be in English because the actual sentence in German would be more like 'Ich verstehe das nicht' which means 'I don't understand that.' (Again, someone let me know if I'm wrong on this point) But this didn't just happen once, it happened over and over again. They also told me at this barbecue that in Saarland, until a woman is 70 years old, she is 'es Dagmar' or 'es Kathrin' and after she turns 70 she becomes 'die Dagmar' or 'die Kathrin' -- 'es' is a netuer 3rd-person pronoun ('it') while 'die' is a feminine definite article ('the'). I don't know whether or not they were serious, but it was funny and interesting nonetheless...
And then yesterday evening, I went to schwenken with some students that I have met through an American friend at the Universität des Saarlandes (University of Saarland). It was really great - the conversation kept drifting freely between English, French, and German, depending on whom I was talking with. It's really weird because I'm finding that once I know someone in a particular language, I prefer to stick with that language. For example, there was a French gal, but we were talking mostly in German at first, and then when I found out she was French, we started speaking French a bit, but then it just felt forced... I can't describe WHY exactly. Anyway, there were like 30 people at this schwenken / schwenker / whatever, and I may go with some of them to the pool later today if the weather gets nicer.
Currently, I don't have much to do at work so I'm just posting this quick update from here. I'm going to Metz with one of the other UM interns this weekend, and a prof I met on the plane from Rome to Frankfurt is going to give us a little walking tour of the city. It should be pretty wonderful - I was only there for the Centre Pompidou before, but I saw Metz through one of the enormous windows at the end of the exhibition wings, and it's a gorgeous city. There are actually €2 roundtrip tickets from anywhere in Lorraine (right over the border from Saarland) to Metz using the TER regional train system, so we'll definitely be taking advantage of that! I also booked some cheap TGV tickets for next week that were on special, and I'm going to talk with some of the students I met last night at the Uni to see if they have any pointers on where to stay...or hopefully someone has a friend there!
And then yesterday evening, I went to schwenken with some students that I have met through an American friend at the Universität des Saarlandes (University of Saarland). It was really great - the conversation kept drifting freely between English, French, and German, depending on whom I was talking with. It's really weird because I'm finding that once I know someone in a particular language, I prefer to stick with that language. For example, there was a French gal, but we were talking mostly in German at first, and then when I found out she was French, we started speaking French a bit, but then it just felt forced... I can't describe WHY exactly. Anyway, there were like 30 people at this schwenken / schwenker / whatever, and I may go with some of them to the pool later today if the weather gets nicer.
Currently, I don't have much to do at work so I'm just posting this quick update from here. I'm going to Metz with one of the other UM interns this weekend, and a prof I met on the plane from Rome to Frankfurt is going to give us a little walking tour of the city. It should be pretty wonderful - I was only there for the Centre Pompidou before, but I saw Metz through one of the enormous windows at the end of the exhibition wings, and it's a gorgeous city. There are actually €2 roundtrip tickets from anywhere in Lorraine (right over the border from Saarland) to Metz using the TER regional train system, so we'll definitely be taking advantage of that! I also booked some cheap TGV tickets for next week that were on special, and I'm going to talk with some of the students I met last night at the Uni to see if they have any pointers on where to stay...or hopefully someone has a friend there!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Coke tastes so much better in Europe
because it contains real sugar. No corn syrup. If you're in the United States, you can experience the difference in flavor by trying coke bottled at one of Coke's plants in Southeastern Pennsylvania (I think that's where it is, at least). Another great thing that I discovered... you pay like € 0,49 for a can of coke AT THE GROCERY STORE here, but then you get €0,15 of it back. That means that you only pay €0,34 which converts to about $0.50. That's not a bad deal - it tastes better AND it's cheaper, as long as you take your cans and bottles back. So remember future travelers to Germany that between €0,08 and €0,50 of whatever you're paying for beverage is a deposit that you should redeem by being kind to the Earth and taking your bottles back!
My friend, Maggie, posted really cool pictures from Saarbrücken, specifically our trip to the Völklinger Hütte and in particular our visit to the street art exhibit that is being housed there. It was a great time, and you can check it out at this link: http://mcease.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/saarbrucken/ -- Imagine seeing THIS going up around you near the end of the 19th century...wow!
This is a brief and somewhat pointless update (except for the pictures), but I need to get to bed now. Good night!
My friend, Maggie, posted really cool pictures from Saarbrücken, specifically our trip to the Völklinger Hütte and in particular our visit to the street art exhibit that is being housed there. It was a great time, and you can check it out at this link: http://mcease.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/saarbrucken/ -- Imagine seeing THIS going up around you near the end of the 19th century...wow!
This is a brief and somewhat pointless update (except for the pictures), but I need to get to bed now. Good night!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wow...
Well my day was filled with a lot of stress about preparing for the Vienna Philharmonic's first concert as well as a swanky Galadiner with celebrity chef Johann Lafer. Well, apparently he's a celebrity TV chef here. And then I came home with this really nice person that I've met while here - he's an older guy, with a daughter who ended up studying in Texas when she did an exchange in the USA. But he also happens to know a few different people in Michigan, and so we've been talking about Michigan and he has been telling me everything I need to know about Deutschland. After grabbing a Döner Kebap (delicious) and throwing on my suit, I went downstairs to ride with the family who owns the house where I'm renting.
The wife and I began walking down the street because there was a mass earlier this evening, and her husband is the cantor at the church. Then, I see a really cool car pull up -- it's the husband. And it wasn't just any cool car; oh no, it was a Ferrari! Needless to say, it was a very quick ride to the concert hall...
Before the concert, I worked the ticket booth for a bit, which was fun. I really love the customer service aspect of the job, though the language barrier is often challenging. It's definitely getting better, though. Another part of this job that I love is getting to do awesome things like...walk on stage and give Daniele Gatti (director of the French National Orchestra) a present from the music festival for his work with the Vienna Philharmonic. And that's totally disregarding the fact that I did that after sitting through an amazing (free!) performance of the Vienna Philharmonic playing Mahler's 9th symphony.
Wow! That's were the title of this blog post comes in. I will not soon forget this evening and I was very conscious of the great opportunity that I have right now all throughout the concert. I think sometimes during the difficult moments, such as the stressful preparations earlier today, it's easy to take great things for granted. But then sometimes we have these little realizations of how great something really is and it brings us back into the moment to appreciate, remember, and reflect. I hope I keep having those moments during my time here.
The wife and I began walking down the street because there was a mass earlier this evening, and her husband is the cantor at the church. Then, I see a really cool car pull up -- it's the husband. And it wasn't just any cool car; oh no, it was a Ferrari! Needless to say, it was a very quick ride to the concert hall...
Before the concert, I worked the ticket booth for a bit, which was fun. I really love the customer service aspect of the job, though the language barrier is often challenging. It's definitely getting better, though. Another part of this job that I love is getting to do awesome things like...walk on stage and give Daniele Gatti (director of the French National Orchestra) a present from the music festival for his work with the Vienna Philharmonic. And that's totally disregarding the fact that I did that after sitting through an amazing (free!) performance of the Vienna Philharmonic playing Mahler's 9th symphony.
Wow! That's were the title of this blog post comes in. I will not soon forget this evening and I was very conscious of the great opportunity that I have right now all throughout the concert. I think sometimes during the difficult moments, such as the stressful preparations earlier today, it's easy to take great things for granted. But then sometimes we have these little realizations of how great something really is and it brings us back into the moment to appreciate, remember, and reflect. I hope I keep having those moments during my time here.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Centre Pompidou - Metz (and other updates)
Yesterday after other plans to travel to Düsseldorf/Köln (Cologne) fell through, I decided that I needed to do SOMETHING exciting this weekend. My solution was that I would go to the new Centre Pompidou in Metz, France, which is literally an hour away by train (which seemed to go a lot faster than the LIRR or MetroNorth in NY). Well, first I had to take a 20-min bus ride to France, and then a 40-minute train ride to Metz. It was really enjoyable, though, and it ended up being €7,50 less than I thought it would be, which was a big plus! Also, the Centre Pompidou had free admission for folks under 26. I was very happy about that, and the fact that I literally could walk 5 minutes from the train station directly to the Centre Pompidou. This was particularly important because I slept in until about 11 am today before realizing that I needed to put clothes away, do dishes, do a little grocery shopping - blah blah blah. I was worried because I arrived at the museum at 3:30 pm and I was afraid that 4.5 hours wouldn't be enough (the museum closed at 8), but I finished at about 7 pm. The exhibition was called "Masterpieces?" and it toyed with the notion of what it means to have a masterpiece as well as various examples of "masterpieces" of modern art. Represented were some of the very well-known names - Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Duchamp, Dali - and the not-as-widely-but-also-impressive folks - Delaunay, Tinguely, de Staël. The works all made me think a lot about the usual things I've been interested in with art...separation/integration of art from/with society; what we can consider to be "art" in the first place ("tout est art"?); ideas of originality, "high" versus "low"... I realize these are all very broad questions, but my notebook is a better place for the more specific musings than here on the blog. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera! This seems to be a common them, so I will just start keeping it in my backpack as a habit. I DID take pictures on my Blackberry, but now I have to figure out how to get those from my Blackberry onto my Mac (two things that usually don't go together).
Before I forget, some excitement on the bus ride back from France - this girl was cussing out some guys who were harassing her. They were all drunk (they were drinking beers on the bus, which I guess isn't a crime here or at least not as big of a deal as in the USA because people drink EVERYWHERE!) and every French cuss word that I've ever learned and then some came out of her mouth. It freaked me out enough that my RA instincts kicked in and I dialed the police line...but maybe they saw me because they calmed right down mid-call. The police strolled up in a van after we arrived and one of the drunk girls promptly went over and talked to them.
For the rest of the night, I'm probably going to send some e-mails, read, and then go to bed...yes, I'm boring, but I do eventually have to go back to my life in the USA, so I need to accomplish some things on that front. Gute Nacht!
Before I forget, some excitement on the bus ride back from France - this girl was cussing out some guys who were harassing her. They were all drunk (they were drinking beers on the bus, which I guess isn't a crime here or at least not as big of a deal as in the USA because people drink EVERYWHERE!) and every French cuss word that I've ever learned and then some came out of her mouth. It freaked me out enough that my RA instincts kicked in and I dialed the police line...but maybe they saw me because they calmed right down mid-call. The police strolled up in a van after we arrived and one of the drunk girls promptly went over and talked to them.
For the rest of the night, I'm probably going to send some e-mails, read, and then go to bed...yes, I'm boring, but I do eventually have to go back to my life in the USA, so I need to accomplish some things on that front. Gute Nacht!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Concerts, Visitors, and More
It has been a very busy week. My friend, Maggie, came to visit, and she's somehow the perfect combination of "flexible" and "a blast" in terms of sightseeing, exploring, etc. We went to a factory that was turned into a museum / performance space, under the guise of a UNESCO world heritage site. More info: http://www.voelklinger-huette.org/en/welcome/ We also went to a concert, hosted by the festival where I'm working, of German percussion star Martin Grübinger. The show was really entertaining, but we didn't get back till about 11:30 or 12 last night. I also went to/helped at a concert on Sunday. It was Haydn's "The Seasons" performed by an orchestra from Bavaria, with Baron Enoch zu Guttenberg as the director. I gave the soloists and the director host presents afterward, but I got confused as to who exactly the director was because he came out separately from the soloists. It was an awkward moment, but it just elicited a little laugh from the crowd giving a standing ovation. What else... I might get to go home early today to hang out with Maggie, but we'll see...it's okay if not. It is a job, after all. The German communication barrier is feeling better this week, and I think it will get even better next week. I feel myself on a steady upward path of improvement with the language. I just need to get over to France now and practice a bit there!
PS - I'll post pictures asap
PS - I'll post pictures asap
Saturday, May 14, 2011
An eventful past few days
They let me drive at work.
And I got to drive a Mercedes...
Just to the car wash. No expeditions on the Autobahn. Yet. Also, I got to drive three different cars, which was kind of fun.
A view of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Saarland. I'm pretty sure this is similar to Social Security in the USA, except they have a huge surplus here that they don't borrow from to pay for two immoral and unnecessary wars. On a less political note, this is where I catch the bus in the morning to go to work!
A view from Egon-Reinert-Straße of the house where I live. It's the dark maroon one on the right, and I live on the top floor.
Further down Egon-Reinert-Straße
The "S-Bahn" - Saarbrücken's street tram line. It actually goes over to Sarreguemines, France (hopefully I'll have a chance to do that sometime this week, if not today)
The parking lot of Edeka, where I go grocery shopping. I felt like a creep taking a picture of a supermarket for some reason, so I snapped this one really quickly.
My little kitchen
Little living room
My little sleeping area, complete with that classically European duvet and pillow.I know this is a really quick update, but I want to go sit outside and read a little bit before I go out to explore the city and maybe head up to IKEA in Saarlouis...it's an adventure, right? Also, I just found out that there are 29-euro special tickets to Paris, so I'll have to check that out. There is also this carpooling website that past UM interns told me about called Mitfahrgelegenheit, so that's always an option, too.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Of grocery stores and other kleinigkeiten...
I have figured out that I am basically going to have to grocery shop every two days, at least, because the food that I like goes bad very quickly. This is probably actually a good thing because it means that the food I'm buying isn't packed full of preservatives. It also means that I'll be spending about an hour after work taking the bus home, walking to Edeka, and then coming back with my Lebensmittel (this is a great moment to pause and admire Edeka's slogan: "Wir lieben Lebensmittel!" I can't translate how adorable this is into English) Food is also seemingly cheaper, though that could just be the illusion of using a currency with more purchasing power. It's also too early to tell because I've had to purchase larger items to keep my food fresh, longer-lasting items such as cereal and confiture, and so forth...
Something else I'm beginning to notice is how much English has intruded into the German lexicon since the last time that I was here in 2007...or maybe I just wasn't in a setting to notice it. But imagine my surprise at seeing "ein warmes Catering" or "ein Sponsoring" in documents at the music festival. Does the intrusion of the English (aka coming-from-the-USA) word also mean that it is the intrusion of an American concept? Did guest musicians ever ask for "ein warmes Catering" before the culture of fame and consumption was perfected in the USA?? Such rhetorical questions interest me, but I don't know where to begin to try to answer them, and there probably isn't a definite answer. Like similar questions, it's just an open space of searching and thinking that provides us with some semblance of what we might otherwise call an "answer."
A couple other language things of note... I have had trouble adjusting my "huh?" response. By that I mean the response of saying "What?" or "Huh?" when I don't understand or hear something perfectly well. I think the correct way for me to pose this would be, "Wie, bitte?" so I've been correcting myself when I bust out with the strange-sounding, "Was?" which is a direct translation of "What?" Another thing has been my personal amusement at being called "Herr Brown" in the office. It might seem incredibly strange to an American, but at least in the German office where I'm working, almost nobody refers to one another by his or her first name. It's "Herr X" or "Frau Y." It sort of reminds me of how in Young Frankenstein, the horse neighs every time someone says "Frau Blucher" (neeeiggghhh)... Honestly, though, it's not weird, it's just a difference that I'm noting and enjoying.
Something else I'm beginning to notice is how much English has intruded into the German lexicon since the last time that I was here in 2007...or maybe I just wasn't in a setting to notice it. But imagine my surprise at seeing "ein warmes Catering" or "ein Sponsoring" in documents at the music festival. Does the intrusion of the English (aka coming-from-the-USA) word also mean that it is the intrusion of an American concept? Did guest musicians ever ask for "ein warmes Catering" before the culture of fame and consumption was perfected in the USA?? Such rhetorical questions interest me, but I don't know where to begin to try to answer them, and there probably isn't a definite answer. Like similar questions, it's just an open space of searching and thinking that provides us with some semblance of what we might otherwise call an "answer."
A couple other language things of note... I have had trouble adjusting my "huh?" response. By that I mean the response of saying "What?" or "Huh?" when I don't understand or hear something perfectly well. I think the correct way for me to pose this would be, "Wie, bitte?" so I've been correcting myself when I bust out with the strange-sounding, "Was?" which is a direct translation of "What?" Another thing has been my personal amusement at being called "Herr Brown" in the office. It might seem incredibly strange to an American, but at least in the German office where I'm working, almost nobody refers to one another by his or her first name. It's "Herr X" or "Frau Y." It sort of reminds me of how in Young Frankenstein, the horse neighs every time someone says "Frau Blucher" (neeeiggghhh)... Honestly, though, it's not weird, it's just a difference that I'm noting and enjoying.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
First days of work...
I think the most interesting part about any new work experience is that I always have this idealized vision of what it's going to be like as I'm about to begin, and the job turns out to be completely different. So far, my internship is not an exception to this pattern that I've observed in my life experiences. The Musikfestspiele is located on the lowest floor of a Professor's home a short drive from the city center of Saarbrücken. I'm basically doing everything that I did as an Honors RA this year, only on a much larger scale. For example, yesterday (my first day, mind you!), I wrote up an itinerary for a choir that is visiting at the end of June to send to charter bus companies and then worked on updating a checklist for the Vienna Philharmonic concert at the end of this month. Today, I had to write an e-mail to all of the Musikvereine in Saarland - the problem is that a lot of the Musikvereine do not have e-mails listed on Saarland's Musikvereine infopage and a bunch of them are outdated. So tomorrow I will be (bravely) calling up many of these organizations on the phone to offer them discounted tickets to the Vienna Philharmonic's second concert at the end of May. Everyone around me is speaking German at a seemingly ridiculously fast pace, but I'm sure it's just normal conversational speed. I'm hoping the comprehension aspect will click soon - in my past experiences (in France), it takes a week or so and then everything magically "clicks." I can't explain it other than in those terms. Hoping the "click" will come soon in this Saarlandischer Dialekt.
A side note - I'll try to post pictures - of my apartment and of some of Saarbrücken - tomorrow or the next day. I know it is boring without pictures. As the noble Rick Snyder said at UM's commencement ceremony, we are an increasingly "ADD society." Such well chosen words for such a well spoken man...
A side note - I'll try to post pictures - of my apartment and of some of Saarbrücken - tomorrow or the next day. I know it is boring without pictures. As the noble Rick Snyder said at UM's commencement ceremony, we are an increasingly "ADD society." Such well chosen words for such a well spoken man...
Monday, May 9, 2011
Arrival in Germany
(Written around 8:00 am this morning)
Getting to Saarbrücken was a lot less frustrating than getting to Rome….except for check-in at Rome Ciampino, where I stood in line for an hour, only to find out that I had been in the wrong line. Once I got through security, my flight was boarding. I took Ryanair, which is basically like taking a flying bus that constantly wants to sell you stuff. But it got me very close to Saarbrücken for a lot cheaper than if I had flown in somewhere else. I took a bus from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Trier, and then I took a train from there to Saarbrücken. The trains here are so quiet! They are all electric, but they are even quieter than lines such as the Long Island Railroad in New York or NJ-Transit train in New Jersey.
Herr Leonardy, the guy whose apartment (Actually top floor of his house) I'm renting, picked me up in a little blue convertible, the trunk of which wasn't large enough to hold my suitcase. So we rode through Saarbrücken with a huge suitcase in the back of his little blue convertible - what a spectacle! But it was a fun ride. I unpacked everything in my apartment, which is basically the entire top floor of his house. It's pretty cool! I fell asleep around 6 pm and didn't wake up until 7 am this morning - oops. But it felt really great, and I'll definitely be on track to wake up on a normal schedule this week and beyond. This was kind of a boring update, but I'm about to go buy some food and other vital supplies.
Bis später!
-- wait one other cool thing that I forgot when I wrote this earlier: I met a prof on the plane from Rome to Frankfurt who lives in France. We talked a lot about modern philosophy, art, music, and literature. Hopefully I'll be going to her place in France on Saturday for a little meal. That would be so cool - I'm glad I started a conversation with her because I was a bit apprehensive at first. She also gave me a copy of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. Very cool, right??
Getting to Saarbrücken was a lot less frustrating than getting to Rome….except for check-in at Rome Ciampino, where I stood in line for an hour, only to find out that I had been in the wrong line. Once I got through security, my flight was boarding. I took Ryanair, which is basically like taking a flying bus that constantly wants to sell you stuff. But it got me very close to Saarbrücken for a lot cheaper than if I had flown in somewhere else. I took a bus from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Trier, and then I took a train from there to Saarbrücken. The trains here are so quiet! They are all electric, but they are even quieter than lines such as the Long Island Railroad in New York or NJ-Transit train in New Jersey.
Herr Leonardy, the guy whose apartment (Actually top floor of his house) I'm renting, picked me up in a little blue convertible, the trunk of which wasn't large enough to hold my suitcase. So we rode through Saarbrücken with a huge suitcase in the back of his little blue convertible - what a spectacle! But it was a fun ride. I unpacked everything in my apartment, which is basically the entire top floor of his house. It's pretty cool! I fell asleep around 6 pm and didn't wake up until 7 am this morning - oops. But it felt really great, and I'll definitely be on track to wake up on a normal schedule this week and beyond. This was kind of a boring update, but I'm about to go buy some food and other vital supplies.
Bis später!
-- wait one other cool thing that I forgot when I wrote this earlier: I met a prof on the plane from Rome to Frankfurt who lives in France. We talked a lot about modern philosophy, art, music, and literature. Hopefully I'll be going to her place in France on Saturday for a little meal. That would be so cool - I'm glad I started a conversation with her because I was a bit apprehensive at first. She also gave me a copy of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. Very cool, right??
Pictures from Rome
The Original B&B (where the guy made me find another place)
My hotel room on the far outskirts of Rome...but it's pretty darn nice.
Flavia and I standing on the balcony of the hotel in the outskirts of Rome. Bright sunshine!
These didn't upload in the right order, but oh well... this is the altar inside St. Peter's basilica, looking up into the lantern of the dome. Note the Dove of the Holy Spirit and the wood-in-bronze tapestry-like decoration. Exquisite, no?
Looking from the entryway of St. Peter's Basilica
Pope John Paul II (After his beatification)
St. Peter's Basilica
Me standing down the street from St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's set up from Easter Mass and the beatification
Fountain in the Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
View of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna from Villa Borghese
View of a train exhibit set up on the edge of the Villa Borghese from the Galleria Nazionale
Statue of Goethe in Villa Borghese
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
Dove of the Holy Spirit in S. Croce
"Line C" - aka Line Construction
The Colosseum...wow.
In front of the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Piazza Venezia
Flavia in front of two of her favorite places: Zara and McDonald's*!
Flavia and I in a place that she simply referred to as, "Pincio"
American Embassy - I got in trouble from Flavia for taking this because I apparently wasn't taking enough pictures, and I decided to take a picture of this as we passed by. Oops!
Colosseum at dusk! Gorgeous - if only I had been able to get a picture of it at night while on the moto (see below for my failed attempt)
Molly, John, and I shoved against the wall at the cool little pizza place where we ate for my last night in Rome
Fail (trying to photograph the Colosseum at night - we were stopped at a traffic light)*Not actually one of Flavia's favorite places
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