Tschüss Deutschland

Tschüss to Johannisbeere, Hefeweizen, home-made lasagne, Neckarmüller, Bulgaria, Moscow, my DDR-styled dorm. Tschüss to Müsli in the morning with Yogurt, or a Plunderstück mit Püdding. Tschüss to Bauernbrot, perpetual drunkenness, Argentian chess players, pub crawling, Hausarbeit (Hausarbeit!), Klausuren, Eis from San Marco, Kellarbier, Herr Volker Schmidt. Tschüss to the American exchange student infestation sensation (and the American linguistic invasion). Tschüss to "Handys" and kitsch that redefines kitsch. Tschüss Räuber Hotzenplotz. Tschüss to umlauts and Konjunktiv eins und zwei. Tschüss tschüss tschüss.

Ego Trip

Wow. Yesterday was such a cool day! I'm getting all fuzzed up just thinking about it! Such awesome times! Amazing conversations! Things learned in class! People met! Drinks drunk! Drunks skunked!

How did it start? I'm not sure. God fuck I'm just getting very excited thinking about it. Not like using God's name in vain but just saying God, and then, "fuck! that was fun!" Well anyways I woke up again last morning with plans to do everything on my to-do list, as usual, which includes emailing professors, seeing doctors, applying for jobs, reading texts. I remember I read some of Wolf Schneider's Deutsch für Kenner. What a fun book!

Then I went to class. I made some comments und ich habe mich sehr genau ausgedruckt. So the docent has recognized that I am a Kenner. :) We both realized it when we looked into each other's eyes, staring at our reflections in the glassy pupils. Drilling into each other's skulls. A cerebral bore.

That class really is a cerebral bore. I mean, my brain is on sleep mode while I'm in there. So imagine what happens when I turn it on! Bam! Smack! Kick! In the throat punch!

Then I just hopped on a bus and rode around town for 2 hours. I saw an American guy on the bus carrying a frozen pizza from a Walmart-type supermarket. He didn't seem to see me, or didn't seem to want to see me. He didn't say anything to me. Am I a hostile to him? I would encounter him later in the evening....

Anyways, it was a fun bus trip. It inspired me to buy some groceries.

Then I went to get some groceries. I bought 5 Gala apples, 2 containers of yogurt, and some salmon spread (yum.). Then something totally strange happened....

As I was waiting in line to buy my groceries, there was a call to open another register. Cool, I thought, I won't have to leave the line to get to the other register before the person gets there (this always impresses people and mystifies them, but they can do it too!) I finally get to the line... and then I realized that the person at the front of the line was somehow... recognizable. Then she said it. "Isabell? Kann ich kurz eine Pause machen?"

"Ja klar."

Was it she? Could it be she? Be it she? It be! It was she! It was Isabell, the first student I ever met at Tübingen who, after stepping off the bus with me helped me with my luggage, just volunteering. An act of pure kindness. Pure diamondy Samaritanism. Brilliant. All her blackness and tattoos and rings and nail polish and piercings SPARKLED. I had thought of her that very day, how I would ever be able to repay her, and her she wasth, summoned before me. Mindblowingly conceived, as I, and here our destinies crossed. I finally would have the chance to thank her. To bow down to her. To kiss her shoes. To wash her feet.

But no. She looked up at me, scanned my items, and that was it. She didn't even recognize me. Or if she did, she made no indication that that was the case. Maybe she didn't want me to recognize her, clad in her bright striped collared shirt. Maybe not. Maybe whatever. It kind of blew me away. I didn't want to cause a scene. So I quietly left. I walked home and made myself a lunch of bread with salami, homemade marmelade, and salmon spread. Have I recovered?

Then I left to meet Kalli, a Greek wonderwoman radio operating queen and jester. We talked and then she set me up at the radio station to work my magic. It was good.

We then walked back to the Brechtbau, where I went to read Infinite Jest for 2 hours before making my way to the bar to meet some Philipps.  Kalli gave me some brilliant advice. She's lived half her life in Greece and half in Germany. She's very laidback and schlau and just awesome overall. I told her I thought the Germans were too uptight. She said, I know these people, you have to shake them up a little, but they're actually very good. I've seen good, and I've seen bad, and I know that this is good, that you can be yourself here, du kannst du sein, you can be comfortable, and you can live. The Germans have learned tolerance, and you ought to learn to appreciate it.

Wow. Amazing. A whole new world opened! A whole new perspective ripped open. Awesome. Thank you Kalli.

Then I did my reading. Infinite Jest is 1000 pages chock full of insight. Brilliant, but it takes you an hour to plow through 20-30 pages. This is one tough book!

I then went to the bar. No one was there yet, but then friends showed up. I met Germans and Americans and was then invited to accompany new friends to Blaue Turm (Blue Tower), a disco! I haven't been to a German Diskothek in years! Tidal waves of nostalgia pounded against my body as I got drunk and people bought me drinks and I spread around my name and number like salmon spread on Farmer's Bread. Great reviews all around, great people, friendly creatures from all corners of the country. Familiar (and foreign) faces, drunken graces. Fun times.

I then took the bus home after I was invited to stay with some new friends. I got to walk home on my own, and then I went into the kitchen and ate some more salmon spread with bread. All the while listening to the new album from Passion Pit, Manners. Wow! Cool stuff!

Okay, that's enough from me. Goodbye for now, world. -M-

Beginnings of Studies at Tübingen

It's very strange over here. I feel very alone, but I know people are here. The halls are empty, things are pretty quiet. No one's in the kitchen when I walk in there generally. Like when I go to the bathroom, I realize that the water in the toilet is running, so someone was just there. When I took a shower today, someone knocked on the door to the showers. That person left after showering before I finished. I saw two people in the hall next to my room today, and they just sort of looked at me and we both said hello and then that was that. Sometimes I think this dorm is a very well maintained ruin in which people are pretty much hiding in their own little corners. It feels so empty, even though the semester has officially "started."

Speaking of which, I had a hell of a time figuring things out today. I heard 3 American girls chatting as Americanly as possible while I was walking around, so I asked them where I should go to find information on Language courses for foreigners. They pointed me in the right direction after we went through introductions. I found them kind of repulsive, but I'm also kind of desperate to make friends at this point. I just feel really really lonely for some reason. I've been alone before, but I kind of need some support right now. Well, I then walked around a bit more and did some exploring until I found the place where some British girls were chatting in English. I got signed up for an appointment, and I was told by the woman who helped me that my German was at a "pretty high" level. I just told her "if you say so" and then walked around town for a bit. After withdrawing some money from Deutsche Bank, I stopped in a stationary store and got 3 little Moleskine books that I can fit in my pocket and use to learn new words.

After that, I was kind of hungry so I decided to walk around town until I found a decent bakery where I could get bottomless coffee and a quick pastry. Instead, I found a bakery with a big sign offering "Arbeitsplätze." I walked in and asked for a chocolate croissant after looking at their wares for a bit. I told the woman behind the counter I wanted to apply for a job and she thought I was asking her for a napkin. Her colleague then came over and I explained that I wanted to fill out an application. She said I could simply speak with the boss, who would be finishing up a telephone conversation in a bit. I waited around until she showed up. Her eyebrows were chiseled down to fine black lines and it seemed like she visited the tanning salon pretty often. I shook her hand, told her where I was from, what I'm doing. She seemed interested and told me to come in on Friday once I had my classes and everything with school figured out. I shook her hand again. Seems like a done deal, but I want to see what other work I can find. Maybe as a tutor or translator? We will see.

So I then took a different route home and walked past this huge grassy hill. I can't wait to climb up there with a good book and some apples and water and just chill out for a few hours. The path hugged a little river and wound past some gardens and a toolshed. It really was pretty scenic. I eventually crossed a bridge and walked through a village and then climbed uphill some more until I got to a forest path that led me to a grocery store/shopping center where I bought cream cheese, bread, butter, shrimp salad, gouda, würst, cereal, bananas, and yogurt. Pretty standard stuff. I got home and had a lunch of bread with cheese and shrimp salad and mango/apple juice that I left in the fridge before I started traveling. The juice was marvelous. Actually I want some more right now. :)

I then tooled around on the computer for a bit, looking through courses and this and that. I took the recommended speaking test at the Goethe Institute where I was judged as C2, the 2nd best level. C1 is considered "perfect fluency," so by the time I leave Tübingen, I should be there. I actually decided that I would take a course today that would give me a test for a little diploma. Then I will finally have proof, confirmation, and assurance that I speak German completely perfectly. :) More confidence in my speaking ability than I will ever have had! I also plan on taking Introduction to International Relations, Advanced Preparation for German Speaking Diploma, Subject Speaking in Economy and Law, Germany/EU in International Politics, and something else probably. I'm still figuring it out. I asked an American friend I met before I started traveling about everything, and he helped me out with registration. That being said, he said I should try and find out at the lecture hall where this one class is.

I wanted to go to this class called "German, EU, and International Law" today at 6:00 pm, but I couldn't find it. I emailed the professor before I left. I walked back along the same route, but this time I followed the river past a homeless person's little hut/garden and under a bridge. I ended up in the village again but changed routes again and after a bit of wandering I still found my way home. I was exhausted, and after I killed some time on the computer I ate a banana and some bread and hopped into bed to do some reading. After, I got some cheese from the kitchen and ate some with the bread. Then I went back to my reading and now here I am again.

I should get some sleep. -M-

Pictures

Outside the Louvre

Tower of Belem

A Moorish Castle

The Monastery at Belem

An Aqueduct that wasn't Destroyed in the Earthquake of 1755

I Like Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is fun. I have met some really cool people and had some really neat experiences thanks to couchsurfing. 

For those of you unsavvy, unrighteous dudes who haven't heard about couchsurfing, it's a website where you sign up to live with some strangers and then stay with them for a certain amount of time in exchange for good company. Doesn't cost you a dime, and you make friends all over the world this way. Brilliant.

In Madrid, I went to a botellon, an (illegal!) event in which everyone brings some food or drink and people meet in a public place and chat and drink and eat. I met a Spanish Spanish teacher, who teaches to immigrant youths to get them ready for high school in Spain. Her stories about Germans (whom she finds to be very amusing people) and her take on Spanish healthcare and the university system (and changes and protests) were rather enlightening, assisting me in reflecting back on my perspective on welfare/governmental social involvement.

I also met a Dutch-English freelance translator who travels the world and translates. All she needs to work are a computer and internet, and she can work anywhere she wants. She is an avid fan of couchsurfing, writing novels, reading, exploring, etc. What a neat way to live!

I also met a German guy living in Spain who once lived in the Israeli desert for 6 months while escaping the German police, who were trying to catch him so he could serve his mandatory duty in the Bundeswehr. He taught me about WWOOFF and ryanair.com and all the other interesting places he's been and interesting people he's met, including a witch who later became a bible addict.

In Lisbon, I've spent some good time with a group of touring electronica musicians, BASKETBALL, who are currently traveling all over Europe. Really friendly guys! Interesting hearing their stories about Vancouver and about their awesome show at an underground parking lot turned into a mega-club in Lisbon.

I've also met a pot-smoking high school math teacher who is a true young spirit. He's a connoisseur of all sorts of music, and studied percussion. He's one of the most curious people I've met, interested in architecture and all sorts of cultures.

I've also met a computer programmer with sizable dreadlocks who's turned his house into a youth hostel - when I first arrived, he had 3 tents in the backyard and about 10 people sleeping inside. I helped him break up the concrete patio in the backyard, which he hopes to turn into a grassy lawn.

I've also met a jazz singing vagabond who goes from show to show, staying with friends. It's the life she's chosen, as she says, and she gave me her take on the music business - from agents to managers, from product to club owners. Quite a fascinating creature (who once lived in Long Beach and DJed with the Jazz Radio in LA!) with a lovely voice.

Of course, I've met other characters as well, from a couple of minimum wage-working, pot-smoking Canadians (with whom I hitchhiked to the Westernmost point of Europe), a German marathon runner, a Scottish student studying in Spain, a Lithuanian math graduate student, some Polish students ditching school for a month... the list goes on. What a brilliant adventure couchsurfing has facilitated.

As for my current adventuring, I went to a Moorish castle, the most fascinating palace I have ever seen, complete with navigable grottos, caves, wells... stunning. We also explored an abandoned mine shaft and went to the municipal palace in Sintra. We then walked over to Cabo da Roca, and later had some beer in town until the sun set. Exhausted, we returned home and savagely ate a meal of soup, chicken, rice, bread, and french fries. Completely satisfying. Then my host treated me to a couple of glasses of port and we had a good talk. I will put up some pictures when I feel like it. Today, I was supposed to go to the beach, but my Uncle-like host warned me that it was supposed to rain today, so I decided I would sleep in instead. The weather is beautiful today, and I have been staying outside, relaxing with the Canadian musicians. We all plan to cook a big meal today with incoming Koreans and others, so the food should be delicious. I'm making apple crisp. :)

What a magical experience. I leave tomorrow for Paris, where I will be staying with a collective of artists. -M-

More of Madrid and a Little of Lisboa

Lisbon Street

Main Square entrance

I'm in Lisbon right now, but I thought it would be good to put up some pictures of Madrid while I still have the chance. I'm currently camping out of a little cafe run by some Brazilians inside a shopping center that has WiFi. :) Then on to a bus tour, then meeting up my couchsurfing host tonight, if he/they are around.

Some famous gate or something in Madrid.

Max, my German couchsurfing host. Saved my ass at the last minute. He insisted we climb up this tower of ropes to get a good view of the outskirts of Madrid.

An albino peacock! He was doing his mating dance. Seemed pretty frustrated.

Churros con chocolate! Yum!

These pics are of Lisboa... reminds me of a gritty San Tropez + Veracruz. I think I almost got mugged in the bathroom of the train station... some guy said something to me and sort of grabbed at me with his drunken bud. Poor guys, they must've been pretty bored and are now suffering from massive hangovers.

The city is beautiful, but dirty and sprayed with graffiti. I got there at 8AM and the city was still waking up. Some clubs still had their doors open and music blasting. I now know some basic Portuguese... My tip is to ask around every chance you get, people will be happy that you're trying to learn the language.

It's really hard to get around because the city is smushed between so many streets. It's kind of crazy. Plus my first impressions were weird - a potential assault, and a waiting room full of sleepy old colored men and pigeons missing toes. An indoor waiting room. And a midget serving me coffee. But then the guy who helped me get my ticket and the tourist staff were super nice and helpful.

Sorry that I'm not updating this elegantly or regularly, but it's not like I have the chance - I'm so busy, I'm lucky to get this much in. Will update when I have the chance again.

By the way, everyone I've spoken with has remarked about how little I've packed. I want to do an inventory, but don't really have time/energy. I basically have 4 shirts/pairs of underwear,  camera, toiletries, book, Moleskine, jacket, sweater, coat, scarf, socks, pens, notes, computer, camera, cell phone, wallet, passports. That's about it really.

That's all for now. Adeus, as the Portuguese say. -M-

Madrid

Is unassumingly beautiful. The city doesn't try to be anything more than it is - it just is. It's breathtaking, really.

El Prado

Inside

Inside the Royal Botanical Gardens

Outside of the Metro

Classical Guitar