1 Month

I have been in Germany for one month. CRAZY! The time has gone so quickly and I have really grown in leaps and bounds (cheesy enough for you?). Tonight is my second night in my new apartment. I am in love! I am living in Eimsbüttel at the very southern tip, which means I am very central, but it is more residential and homey than where I was before. No skyscrapers here! My street is called Schäferstrasse, which means Shepherd Street in English. It is a narrow street lined with trees and old apartments with pretty balconies covered in plants. I share my apartment with a man and woman both in their mid-thirties and they are wonderful. My room is the perfect size and I have CURTAINS, which means I can actually sleep in on the weekends. On every corner of my block is a freaking adorable cafe and on my street there is a little classy bar. Oh, also, my flat-mate has a black cat named Panther who lives mostly outside, but comes in every so often to have a philosophical and passionate conversation with me.
In celebration of moving into my new apartment I had a lovely dinner party. With the help of a fellow Fulbrighter, I made homemade lasagna with homemade sauce. It was killer and my friends helped to make my new home feel very warm indeed. I need a ton of stuff from IKEA, but at least I have a comfy bed.

I have been neglecting my blog because I am so busy and still adjusting to living in a city. I have almost completely mastered public transit, which was a pretty incredible feat. I am discovering the cheapest places to buy food, the best open-air produce markets, and of course, the best places to go out.

This week I am heading to Munich for Oktoberfest and to visit family down south. Next week, me and two girls from the program are hopping up to Amsterdam for 3 days! I can barely wait!

Missing New England Fall and my family and friends... happy to be here in Germany though.

BEST WISHES

Reeperbahn

On Friday night, I joined some of the other American language assistants and their various interesting German flat-mates on the Reeperbahn: more commonly know as the Red Light District. Apparently things don't really get pumped up in the city on weekend nights until midnight, if not later. Now, it is important to clarify that the Red Light District where the prostitutes are is not actually accessible to women. I heard that if a woman were to walk on the street where men go to have a good time they would get urine thrown on them. Bizarre. Coming from Wellington (population 280 or so) this is quite a shock. That being said, Reeperbahn is still tawdry and sleazy. Neon lights cover every corner of the long wide street. Signs like "Gay Sex Kino" and "Sex Wunderland" line the side-walks. Sex shops are more numerous than Dunkin Donuts in New England.

We drank some local beer at this very funky bar, which was simultaneously someone's home. Then we walked around a bit, found a convenient store where the others bought beers to stroll with. As it were, open containers are very much legal on the Reeperbahn on weekends. I guess they aren't really legal in the rest of the city, but if you don't cause trouble then no one will bother you, probably. We found an empty stage in the middle of the square and parked it there for a while to people watch.

We eventually made it into a club called Molotov where it happened to be Gay Party Night. We danced for a couple of hours before all the Americans turned in, because we aren't used to the crazy late-night hours of the Hamburgers.

An interesting experience. A colorful city.

My first day in Hamburg. I am a bit tipsy from the delicious and absolutely perfect Riesling from Rheinland. After an intense, yet almost completely English orientation, I took the train from Cologne main station to Hamburg main station: 4 hours. My mentor and her friend picked me up and drove me to my apartment. They are young, vibrant, and incredibly nice. I was so thrilled and grateful to not have to take a taxi. After getting partially lost, we got to the apartment just before the office closed, which meant I could move in right away. I accidentally said, "Ich ziehe mich ein" when I should have said, "Ich ziehe ein" (I am moving in). My mistake was arbitrary, but had I said "Ich ziehe mich aus", then that would have meant "I am undressing". Anyway. It was funny.

My room is a single. Tiny kitchen and dining room. Itty-bitty bathroom and pretty spacious bedroom with a strange side room that has a sink, but no toilet. I am alone here in Hamburg. I have to say, it was wonderful to listen to Etta James, drink wine, and cook as wildly as I pleased without roommates. I don't mind solitude.

Before settling into my room I took a long stroll through St. Georg, which the part of the city that I am living in. I found an adaptor for my computer charger after three tries at various electronic marts. The third time was a charm and I was so happy that I told the cashier, "I am so happy that I finally found that thing!" Like most Germans, he smiled weakly and said "8 Euro 99, please". I know he thought it was funny though.

After discovering that three of the possibly million cell-phone stores in the city only offer contracts (when I want pre-paid), I went to "real", which is the cheap-ass supermarket/everything else you could possibly need store. I bought shit-loads of groceries and trucked them home.

For now, I am pleased. I feel incredibly fortunate. My meal was tremendous, the room is pleasant, I have a bed and kitchen wares. I am fortunate and I know that. I have never lived in a city, but I am prepared for all the excitement and over-stimulation. The only problem here is that I forgot to get sheets from the front desk. No Bettwäsche tonight. There are worse things.

The Way Homeward

Well folks.... Here it is. The last day. I am leaving Regensburg in about an hour, driving to the airport, and flying out of this place. My stomach is in knots, my heart is racing, I feel hungry but can't eat. I think a lot of this has to do with continent to continent flying, but I think a bit of it is because I am leaving this place that I have lived and called home. The truth is I never really connected myself to Regensburg. I love it. It is a wonderful city and I have enjoyed living here, but all that I hold dear here are people and people move and change. I will see them all again someday. I think it is so interesting how much our environments and lives change in such a short period of time. I feel like I have grown and changed so much in just 6 months. How can that be? Maybe it is because I am still young. I am worried though. I am worried because I feel like I can't stay in one place too long. Now that I am out of high school the world seems so vast and calls the traveler in me. I will always call Maine/Wellington my home. My roots are there. I just feel that wherever I am there is always more to see. The cultures are endless.
Here in Regensburg I befriended a girl from Taiwan. She studies in the U.S. and speaks exactly like an American. We really got along. She is so interesting. I learned so much about Taiwanese culture from her. I would ask question after question about her culture. I felt greedy for knowledge. This greed is what keeps me on my toes, always searching for culture in everything. I think I will see Asia. I think I want to bad enough that it will become truth. Eventually.
I guess I will finish the last bit of packing and then watch Desperate Housewives in German. It is much more entertaining in another language. I will be seeing everyone very soon.

The End

Well. Here it is. The end is in sight. Today is exactly 2 weeks until I leave Regensburg, fly out of Europe, and back into the States. 2 weeks from today I will see my mom. I can't believe it is so close. Can it be that today is also the 6 month mark? I have been living in another country for half a year. How have I changed?  Do I look different? Do I talk different? Do I still have the same opinions? Nothing is the same, but then again I am still Lucy. This time away has made me see life from a distance. I don't always think about the little tiny things that will hurt or annoy, instead I have begun to see all things that happen and will happen in the terms of my entire life so far and what is to come.
I have hope for humanity even if it looks bad right now. I hope people will understand the importance of each other and having human connection as well as our connection to the natural world. I hope greed and waste don't overpower love and hope. When we have those two things, eventually the other things will come too. I don't want to give up on humanity. If I do, that means someone else will. I will not. Even when our species is dead and gone and the world is run by insects, I will still believe in humanity.
This entry has drifted away from its original destination. I have to work now. Like in the book "The Road" by Cormac McCarthey, don't forget "we are carrying the fire".

España: The Land of Picasso, Bull-fighting, Tapas, Flamenco and perfect weather: Final Installment

The next day I was on my own again. I went to the real Alcazar, which is this wonderful extravagant palace with gardens 10 times the actual size of the palace. Great stone arches lead into a paradise that I imagine the Garden of Eden would have looked like. The call of a bird I had never heard rang through the tall eucalyptus and palm trees. It was a peacock or should I say many peacocks. I got to see the male impress the females with his enormous bouquet of beautiful shiny blue, green and brown tail feathers. I walked past orange trees heavily laden with decorative fruit, oriental plants, jungle flowers, beautiful stone fountains, pools and other fantastical flora. That night I went to one of my hostess's Flamenco dance classes. I thought I might dance, but that wasn't happening. You need high heels and more experience. I got to watch some of the foot work though and that prepared me for what I would see in an actual performance later. The Flamenco class took place in my hostess's tiny studio. There were 8 people other than myself. The dancers stomp so hard on the wooden floor that it sounds like hundreds of gun shots going off at once. It was so loud!
The next day I bought a croissant from the only German bakery I could find in the city. It was heavenly. It was so soft I had to be careful not to squish it in the bag on my way home. I parked myself on the roof terrace and prepared for what I knew would be an incredible food experience. The buttery warm pastry flaked off easily in my hands. As I sunk my teeth into that light feathery fresh delight I got a lovely crunch from the perfectly browned outside and was pleasantly surprised by a silky smooth and soft inside. I ate it in a million ways. I couldn't figure out how to handle such a treat. I flaked pieces off with my fingers, I broke chunks off and popped them in my mouth and I just bit right into that pastry. I made it last as long as possible. When I was done eating it I could still taste the buttery goodness in my mouth.
That night I went to see a real flamenco show. It felt like a dream. First we were introduced to the singer and guitar player. The singer was out of this world sensational. He was so into the music and I couldn't help but get goose-bumps. The guitar player was this tall skinny man with long fingers that flew across the strings. The female dancer was beautiful and the male dancer was too. Their faces were so intense and their feet moved at lightning speed. It was almost inhuman. The interesting thing about Flamenco is that it seems like every single muscle in the dancer's body is contracted. Everything is tight, sharp and clean. It almost looks like it hurts. The tradition is still incredibly alive in Spain and I could see that everywhere I went.

España: The Land of Picasso, Bull-fighting, Tapas, Flamenco and perfect weather: Part 4

The next day I finally got to have adventures with my hostess. We put up a few posters for her Flamenco class and then went to a traditional restaurant to eat some tapas. When I say tapas I mean TAPAS! They were incredible. We both started with wine. Then came the thick toasted white bread with gespatcho on top and juicy chunks of Spain's famous cured ham. Then, part way through that came the whiskey marinated pork fillet with whiskey marinated roasted garlic cloves (there must have been 2 whole heads of garlic on our plate) and fried potatoes, all of which was completely smothered in delicious green Spanish olive oil. Part way through that dish came the stuffed eggplant filled with veggies and tender baby shrimp all of which was covered in a lovely layer of melted cheese. When we were almost finished a waiter brought us a plate and said what was on it was a secret and smiled. To our delight it was tender chicken covered in a sweet almond sauce on top of more fried potatoes and drizzled with more olive oil. As you can imagine we were both in food comas after that. After a siesta we took to bicycles. We wove our way in and out of tight alleys, dodging people, baby carriages and motorized vehicles. It was really incredible to experience the city like someone who lived there. We went to a Teteria, which is a place to drink tea on pretty cushions on the floor or behind lacy curtains and smoke Shisha (water pipe), something that is really popular in Europe. I love it and can even blow smoke rings! I met some of my hostess's friends, one of which was an arabic dancer in that very Teteria. She worked there by dancing throughout the restaurant and entertaining the customers. It was not meant to be sexual in the least and it didn't appear that way. However, she was incredibly beautiful and sexy and a really excellent arabic dancer. Once a late hour of the night had dawned my hostess and I took back to the streets on our bikes. It was pitch black, but the many lights of the city lit our way. It was exhilarating. We put up some more posters and called it a day.