My Last Week in Heidelberg! (Already? Really?)

I have gotten a few (rightful) complaints from family and friends during the past few weeks about my lack of blogging. I think, perhaps, I freaked out a little bit and didn’t want to blog about the last few things I have been doing because that really meant the end. (NOTE: I will add pictures to this post, I just don’t want to waste my 30 minute time limit in the airport here on the uploading process.) 

These last few weeks have been very bittersweet. I am SO ready to go home and have the comfort of family, friends, Christmas, and Elon, but I also can’t believe I will be gone from Heidelberg for “forever!”

A few highlights from the past weeks:

• Weihnachtsmarkts! Since we were mostly done with classes, we took our time wandering through the Christmas market and enjoying the food (crepes, brats, hot chocolate, skinny food basically…). We also made sure to buy any last minute Christmas presents for our family. Despite the somewhat rainy weather, it was still fun to wander through and act like locals.
• Finishing Classes! I’ve been done with classes officially since Wednesday, but my exams were the week before and I had almost all papers done by Monday. It was a different feeling from normal college (where you basically hop in the car once you finish your last exam). I had the motivation to finish my assignments sooner so I could use the last few days here to pack, explore, and spend time with my friends.
• Out on the Town!  The last two weekends were SO much fun with friends. My closest friend group of 7 were all in town together, so we made sure to have fun and go to our last favorite bars and clubs one last time. We definitely got even closer in the end and made for a few teary moments (Cue: Lauren and us crying after a night of Karaoke and drinking, saying goodbye to her). We also had a big party for AJY and friends at Ben’s apartment on Thursday. It was nice to all be able to be together in a few rooms and hang out. It almost made me sadder, with this opportunity, to get to know others in the program even better so late in the trip!
• Full Circle! We noted a lot of things that happened to us at the beginning of the trip in the first few weeks, ended up happening during our last few weeks. Just small incidents and funny occurrences that aren’t exactly Internet appropriate. It became a catch phrase of ours at the end to note how things were wrapping up so well. It was a fast trip but SO many memories and countries and experiences happened. I made a PowerPoint of our friend group’s experiences and photos to show us at the end and being able to see how much we’ve accomplished and grown in just 115 days was amazing!
• Preparing for home! I could not be more excited to go home, even though I am really sad to leave. But being home means time with families and Christmas (Favorite. Holiday. Ever.). Plus so many things about home, most food! Examples: Chipotle, Corn Syrup Coke, English, Target… Luckily, we were all excited to go and all sad in the same ways to leave which made it easier. I definitely don’t think that I could have stayed a whole year, but I can’t imagine my life if I hadn’t taken up on this opportunity!

Get ready for a cheesy goodbye blog to come!

A Few Notes on “Denglisch”

Denglisch is a word that my friends and I here started to use to describe when we talk in both German and English combined in the same sentences (“I have to go Abmeldung,” “Can wir gehen to get something to eat”). I think a lot of our “komisch” combinations it came out of convenience and ease.

In the AJY center we were only supposed to speak German, but sometimes we just needed to communicate something. In general, there were just other words or phrases that came easier to us in German.

The structure of the German language also changed how we spoke (A fast lesson: The verb ALWAYS goes in the second position in the sentence. Always. Other verbs in “infinite” most always go at the very end of the sentence/phrase). We found our English sentences sometimes taking on this form. One quote from me: “We can here go.” Yup.

I’ve also found that I attempt to translate almost anything I say in my head, almost second nature, in case I ever needed to switch to German. At first I used it for practice for myself. It especially came in handy later when talking with storeowners and other customer service people.

Basically in the end our semester we spoke only German to strangers/people we didn’t know in attempt to fit in and immerse ourselves. We had enough trouble not speaking German to strangers when we visited non-German speaking countries (saying Es tut mir leid on the street, asking a question in German at customs, saying Kein Problem, as I just did in the airport) and so I am a bit worried about what will happen when I’m back in America. I know eventually I will transition and unfortunately my German will start to slip away. Don’t worry, Dr. Windham, Matt, Caitlin and I promised to have somewhat weekly dinners with each other and only speak German!

Three Groups in Heidelberg

I’ve been meaning to write and explain three specific groups here in Heidelberg, and seeing that I’ve just left and am sitting in Amsterdam right now, I figure I should go ahead and write it before it’s too late!

Dogs:

There are dogs EVERYWHERE. Some people on the trip are uneasy by these hounds, but they make me miss my dogs at home. Besides a few mangy looking ones, these pups are so cute and act like people. They walk down the Haupstrasse, go into stores, ride on the trains and buses, shop with their owners, and sit in restaurants. At first it kept taking my by surprise but I think that I will find it weird that they won’t be all over or accepted as such in the states. There were a few differences. These dogs did not need leashes all the time, they were very mellow and calm. They didn’t freak our or feel the need to greet all the other dogs they crossed. Obviously, this culture wouldn’t work too well back home (especially with my Jumpers of dogs, Emma and Foster). Writing this now is making me miss them too much though, so I’ll move onto another group.

The Homeless:

There is quite a large population of homeless people in Heidelberg and they are pretty unmistakable: lots of layers, lots of bags and totes, grungy looking, smelly. At first we were a bit scared and disgusted and weren’t sure what proper ettitquite was for acting around them (were we allowed to move without being rude?, did we have to give them change?, etc.). We figured it out as we went along and made a few “friends” along the way. I can count three of the most memorable homeless I’ve met:

• “Double Denim” always wore jeans and a jean jacket. Not matching of course. He would stand outside City Markt, a market near AJY, and talk. Usually not asking for change, he would converse or hang out. The market didn’t seem to mind. Appeal for his character was lost when the weather changed and he became “Single Denim” with his winter coat and we found out he spoke English.
• “The Clapping Man” is a guy that walks up and down Haupstrasse most days and just claps. He gets very excited when he gets you to clap back. When Cora was here, she clapped back and they both proceeded to have the biggest smiles. He’ll step into most stores and clap with the staff there, seemingly welcomed too, as he makes his trek. He is not seen as much and is more “Famous” of a sighting.
• “The Gnome.” By far my favorite. Anne Marie and I first saw him as we were going out and waiting at Bismarkplatz (transfer from S-Bahn to Bus). We heard a scream from a girl and looked over. I wish I could post this motion somehow but I will try to explain. The Gnome was “trapping” a group of girls on a bench. He meant only fun, going back and forth guarding that reminded me of drills from middle school basketball practices. They were screaming, we were laughing. We named him the gnome because he was short (under 5 feet I’d say) and was wearing a point hat with long white beard. Typical real life gnome if I can say for myself. We found humor in sharing our story over the next few weeks with our friends (ask my sometime for the motion of the gnome in person!) and dubbed him the “Gnome with No Home.” Just our luck, we were able to see him again on the way back from Karaoke with Yelena and Annie. This time, his hat was replaced with a pointy Santa hat and he even sang a song for us. I am so glad I was able to capture it and some pictures on my camera.

Babies and Children

At the first meeting at AJY, we were told to relax and know the difference between a “Problem” and a “Problemchen” (little problem). We were informed that to the program’s director, American parents seem like “Helicopter Parents,” always helping, and hovering over us to answer questions, solve problems, etc. German parents are not like that however. We learned this in our registration and trail/error to solve our culture shock at the beginning. Where we really saw this all the time was the kids who would wander through. Once their school started, we would see children on the S-Bahns and busses getting to and from school all on their own. A lot of time they were in big groups traveling to wherever, but without a parent, chaperone, nanny, or babysitter! We were shocked and nervous. We also noted the “harshness” I guess of parents. The most memorable was when we saw a kid FACEPLANT out of his stroller on Haupstrasse (cobblestone is not that giving too…). Instead of rushing to her kid, checking for scratches, and singing a lullaby, the mom kept pushing the stroller, no actually pushed it faster and yelled at the kid to catch up because she wasn’t stopping.  We didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry for the kid…Not sure if I’ll take this culture style for my own children (in 10+ years, don’t worry mom and dad) but it was very interesting to witness.

“I’m surprised we didn’t get kicked out…” and other adventures with Yelena and Annie!

This last week, I had two more special guests: Yelena and Annie! They were the two friends from home that I met in Athens and we planned a German weekend in Heidelberg for this weekend to keep up our ever growing Euro-swag. This weekend was honestly so much fun and I don’t ever think I’ve laughed as hard or as much (maybe it was the sugar highs from the XXL bag of M&Ms, thanks mom!).

Yelena got in late Thursday night and Annie got in on Friday. We spent the day introducing them to the Old City and touring through the Christmas Markets. Still so magical. For dinner, we got together with a bunch of other friends from my program to go out to a typical German restaurant. After ordering liters of beer (yes, each), my friends did a pretty good job ordering their meals in German, admist the giggling. I’d say we had the most typical meal: with Schnitzel, Spaetzel, Kartoffelpuffer, and Wurst featured on the plates on the table. While we were all tired and feeling the beer a little, it was only about 7 so we headed home to go out for the night.

That night was:

• My most fun night in Heidelberg.
• My most embarrassing night in Heidelberg.

This is because we thought it would be a great idea to go to a KARAOKE bar. Yes, my dad’s side of the family is laughing now after we got boo’d off the lake for singing karaoke on the fourth back in 2007. But we went, and we sang. It’s also too embarrassing to share pictures (not that I could because WordPress still isn’t uploading) and especially none of the videos can hit the internet. Honestly, so much fun though even though I have learned I can’t even carry the tune of Jingle Bell Rock (though I can do the whole rap of Crazy in Love by Jay Z…).

Saturday morning we rolled around the apartment (these girls were still on Spain time) and then got ready to go to the Castle! Despite the cloudy and stormy weather, we trekked up and were glad to find ANOTHER Christmas Market up at the top. With lots of photo shoots, warm apple cider, and standing by firepits we were all happy German campers before our trek home. We had a relaxing night in on Saturday full of watching some of the worst YouTube videos we could find (email me for the top 10) and with much laughing/crying. We did manage to get out of the house to walk to Mandy’s (fast food nearby) to grab some milkshakes and fries for cheap!

On Sundays, as you know already, not much happens. Luckily, the Christmas markets are still open! We wandered downtown one final time before Yelena’s flight (which didn’t work out and her and Annie ended up leaving early Monday morning, but more time together yay!) and mosied through for final tourism shopping for them. Of course Yelena had to indulge in her fourth she claims third and final bratwurst

Sunday night/Monday morning, their shuttle to the airport was at 2:30 am so we decided to stay up…Well the Spanish abroaders did and I played along We ended up going to a bar/bowling alley and enjoying drinks until it closed. It was so nice to sit and have a final catch up before we don’t see each other for a long time (Yelena won’t be back stateside for Christmas, Annie is going abroad again the spring, I start school right after NYE again) but we’ve always been good at keeping in touch! We counted and realized we’ve seen each other more in Europe during a semester than we normally would at home. And that, my friends, is another one of my numerous #Studyabroadproblems

American Thanksgiving in Germany

I’m sorry I’m so far behind on my posts! I’ve had so many visitors (yay!) and now it’s crunch time with finishing work, papers, and exams. I’m going to try to catch up during study and writing breaks! Same posts but finally got the pictures to work!

Two weeks ago, I picked up some very special people from the train station: My mom, my sister Cora, and my step-dad Bob. They had overnight-planed it here to make it for Thanksgiving and the weekend. It was nice to have them and see a face from home after being gone for 3 months and I was so surprised with how big Cora has gotten.

Sisterly Fun

I had planned a weekend of activities for us to do in order to show them the German culture and my lifestyle here. We did the castle, the Christmas markets (crepes on crepes on crepes), a trip to Schwetzingen, and climbed the Philosophenweg. It was the first week that the Christmas markets were open and it was so magical, especially for a little kid.

Fun on the Merrigoround!

Our center also put on a Thanksgiving dinner for us a restaurant (with turkey, and all the other goods!). It was nice to introduce my family to all my friends and the staff of AJY at this meal. I will say that the seasoning and cooking style of the food wasn’t 100% traditional American ways, but I already got my family to agree to let ME cook Christmas dinner so I’ll get my chance to shine and do things “right.”

It was so nice to see my family and it gave me a final push to enjoy my last few weeks in Heidelberg but look forward to coming back to the states too! It was also nice to have a change of pace, hanging out in the hotel and going out to eat a lot!

Thanksgiving dinner with AJY

The Magical Heidelberg Weihnachtsmarkts

Lights Down Haupstrasse!

For all of those who know me, know that I absolutely LOVE Christmas season. Back home, I start blaring the Christmas tunes and watching Love Actually on repeat starting on Black Friday. I become dictatorial in being the only one who gets to decorate the tree and house. I love it not for the gifts, but for spending time with family and how happy it makes so many people across the world.

Well folks, my love has grown. Here in Germany Christmas is HUGE. Most of our traditions and old time views of Christmas come from Germany and here abroad they still celebrate it. Making me even more of a lucky girl, the decorations and setting of up the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) begun BEFORE Thanksgiving and overloading of turkey and stuffing even hit the states. It officially opened November 23rd and I’d like to blame it (oh and the overload of end of semester papers and projects) on the fact that I haven’t blogged much.

All of our main street is decorated with wreaths and lights and Santa’s and we have not one or two, but FIVE Christmas Markets placed on difference squares throughout the city and they are opened every day until 9 or 10 pm!

So far, we have enjoyed “window” shopping at the little stands, ate way too many crepes (cinnamon and sugar, nutella and banana, cinnamon sugar and nutella…) to admit, drank “Gluhwein” which is basically a mulled wine in the CUTEST little mugs ever, listened to Carolers, and stood their sparkly eyed not wanting to go to class. I still have to go outdoor Ice Skating at Karlmarkt and indulge in some of the brat stands.

For some reason, pictures aren’t working on wordpress right now for uploading so I will try to add some soon! In the meantime, google “Weihnachtsmarkt” to get an idea of this winter wonderland I’m living in

Markets at Uni Platz

“No, danke” and showing friends my Germany

This past weekend was another “stay in Heidelberg” weekend but was even more exciting than normal because I had two friends from Elon visit: Shannon and Emily! They are both sisters and I used to room with Emily in the house and now will live with Shannon off campus. While I had seen Shannon in Dublin and while all of us have stayed in surprisingly such close contact while being abroad, it was still SO great to see them!

Shannon got in late Wednesday night and we filled Thursday with walking around the Alt-Stadt and getting her used to the city. My friends and I also introduced Shannon to Free Champagne night at the Mohr on Thursdays and that was a great success! While somehow Shannon and I have NO pictures together from the weekend, she did manage to snap a picture of Anja, my ringstrasse roommate, and me:

Ringstrasse 41 enjoying free champagne

Friday we attempted to climb Philosophenweg, but really only made it 2/3 of the way to the great look out before calling it a day and going to the Mensa and grabbing a late lunch. Once we showered, my friends and I all went to Lowenbrau for a typical German meal. I had schnitzel about the size of my head with a huge pile of fries and a liter of their original brew (flashbacks to Oktoberfest!).

Later that night Emily arrived at the train station (props to her for figuring it all out!) and we got dressed and ready to go out. With our group of friends, we ended up going back to the Mohr and enjoying drinking and singing along. One of the biggest surprise of the night, someone bought shots for Shannon and I! They literally came out of nowhere and we’ve always, always joked that German boys won’t buy drinks or really barely even talk to you at a bar! This time, they just kind of pushed them in our faces. Rarity!

On Saturday we ventured out to the Castle. After filling up on too many pretzels (how can you resist 3 for 1 Euro…each…) we trekked to the Berg-Bahn to climb/ride the mountain up to the Schloss. Luckily, it was a beautiful day out and the girls got a great view of the city from above. We eventually went back down and moseyed down Haupstrasse before hunkering for a little afternoon rest.

Emily and me at the Altbrücke

 

Friends in Heidelberg!

On Saturday night, we all had a bit too much fun with the friend group when we went out for a night on the town on Untere Strasse. I’ll spare you the pictures, but I did get (MORE) free drinks and handcuffed to a groom within a Bachelors party all while practicing my German (so it was educational right?? and hey, no home-wrecking damage done, so don’t judge too much.). Going out with these girls made me miss Elon and my friends at home a lot, but I just realized it’s only about a month until my return! SCARY!

It was so nice having them and catching up, but also being able to show people Heidelberg and the German culture. Neither of them really planned ahead to come to Germany but I figured for them it would be best to do it when you have a free floor to sleep on and your own translator along with. I’m excited now because this week my family comes and the week after Yelena and Annie, so I get to be quite the host and now I’ve got a great weekend of places and eats down pact.