Teil III: Praktikum Phase

The studium-phase of my program has come and gone and this last week marked the first week of the praktikum-phase. Later, I will post an overview of major moments and events from the last four months at the university and try to give a reader's digest summary...but until then, here's an update on the most recent happenings.

After a few stressful months of searching and applying, I received an offer from a small company in Stuttgart called IBG-Workcamps (Internationale Begegnung in Gemeinschaftsdiensten e.V.). Our organization is housed under the larger Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organization. Basically, we organize volunteer Workcamps, in Germany and around the world, for young, international volunteers and students with an interest in participating in a more meaningful kind of summer camp.

My office consists of five other people at the moment- Lukas, Nanine, Laura, Christoph (my boss) and Sarah (the other praktikantin). Unfortunately, Sarah will be leaving at the end of this week to start another praktikum, but she's been a great help and we've had a lot of fun getting to know each other. Our afternoons have been spent writing descriptions of the camps in English, but we get to teach each other vocab in the other's language, which is the best way to learn. Any time we search for a synonym to spice up the description, we write it down on a piece of paper in English and German so that we can both learn it. Her English is, of course, far better than my German, but I can't think of a better way to learn the language than to teach and be taught in a context that is interesting and make sense, as well as in a stress-free environment. It's nice to have someone I can easily talk to and who can help me ease my way into the atmosphere of the office. Everyone is so friendly and patient with me and I knew I would like as soon as I walked in the first day and was greeted with a hug and a "Herzlich wilkommen!" (roughly translated: Sincere/heart-felt welcome!) 

As far as my tasks in the office, I will be doing a mix of in-the-office administrative work, preparing and attending seminars, data entry for camps and participants, and actually leading a few of the camps. Obviously, I am most looking forward to actually leading some camps! This last week I spent half my time filling boxes and envelopes with brochures and flyers for our org to send to universities around Germany, and the other half updating the descriptions of the camps for this year. Every camp sounds so awesome and the activities that the volunteers will be doing range from: building playgrounds, to assisting with preparation for environmental education camps, to hiking-trail maintenance, to castle renovations and reconstruction, to working with awareness of children's rights! I want to lead them all! 

I am beyond excited to see where this leads and the opportunities it opens up for me. It is exactly what I want to be doing and fulfills a few of my requirements for an ideal job:

1. Interaction with young people from all over the world

2. Working for a company with a cause and whose mission is to improve the world, even if it's starting with only a few small communities and individuals at a time

3. My work/work-environment is primarily in a foreign language

This is Sarah and I hard at work!

Other than dealing with a few of the normal stresses of being a grown-up (including managing a minimum of three hours of commute everyday), everything is going well here in Germany. I've had my ups and downs in the past few months but have made a few great friends to help me through it. 

A few of the ups: Christmas markets, holiday food, a visit from Pallavi (my roommate from Fort Collins last summer), Mid-year Seminar in Frankfurt, new hair-do (just because I could and my father is far enough away that he can't do too much about it ;) ), and my volunteer work (visiting 'highschool' classrooms to talk about America and volunteering at a bilingual Kindergarten). 

The lower moments obviously come from a mix of Heimweh (homesickness) and stress. Of course it is natural and expected to miss home, so I accept it as it comes and try to find ways to overcome it: exercise, cooking, hanging out with friends, sleeping, messaging people back home, and looking at pictures. 

I never regret my decision to come to Germany for a year and even a bit of homesickness couldn't blind me from seeing how amazing this opportunity is. I will always encourage others to travel and I stand by my belief that an experience outside of your comfort zone can only enrich your life. 

I know this is a short post but it's a start and I'll try to do better now that I don't have homework and tests to study for! 

Ciao,

Dawn

DeSaarLorBeNeLux

September was full of a lot of cooking, baking, celebrating, and traveling.

To celebrate my teacher's birthday, my class decided to buy her a cheesecake. I volunteered to buy the cake and decorate it since I live closest to the school. After looking in 3 different supermarkets for cheesecake, I finally found one and grabbed a few other ingredients to decorate it. Our class was always looking for a reason to eat delicious food and celebrate...and we did it so well!

My class :)

Check out those perfect chocolate-curls

The same week, I got together with Bri, Ryan, Shannon and Esther at her house to make a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cherry Torte) for the birthday of our tutor, Ruben. I was a bit sad that I missed Wednesday-night Stammtisch but we definitely all had a great time baking together, drinking wine, and discussing the woes of society...always an interesting topic. Ruben loved the torte and we were all quite proud of our work. Can't wait to try the real thing in Baden-Württemburg!

Ryan teaching us to open our "valetols"
or something like that

Ruben serving up some torte

...

On Friday, September 6th, I met Zack, Katherine and Nial for the start of what was one of the best traveling experiences of my life, so far. We decided to rent a car and do a little road-trip through a few countries: Belgium, Luxembourg and Southern Germany (The Netherlands and France were also briefly visited). Of course, bringing the American way of travel to Europe!

Superlatives- Nial: Most Likely to Win the Indy 500. Zack: Class Clown. Dawn: Most Likely to be the "Favorite Mom" in the PTA. Katherine: The "Je ne sais quoi" of the group.

Our first stop was Aachen, Germany for a short tour around the Cathedral.

Next we headed to die Drei Ecke (The Three Corners). Think "The Four Corners" except far more spectacular. (The folks back home better step up the game!) This is where Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands meet.

At the top of the tower
overlooking the three countries

Three countries at once!

We then made the spontaneous decision to drive to the English Channel instead of stopping in Antwerp. It only added another 45 minutes or so to the trip, and besides, it's the English Channel!We had so much fun chasing the waves, finding shells and sinking ourselves in the sand as the tide came in.

Love this girl!

Zack, Katherine, Nial and me

Next stop was Brugges, Belgium. I visited this cute little town last year when I was in Belgium visiting Becky but I loved it so much I felt it was worth a second visit. That was definitely a good decision because I discovered so much more of the town than before and developed a greater love for the city. There was almost no one on the streets so it was nice to enjoy the narrow streets without the hassle of dodging other travelers.

Brugges, Belgium

After a few hours of wandering about the alleys, gardens and canals, and a shared pot of mussels, we decided to head to Brussels to find some lodging for the night. For this trip we did minimal planning other than a few key destinations and sites to see. With a few failed attempts to find a hostel on the main street we were driving on, we then turned to the "navi" (GPS) to guide us. I recognized the French word for 'hostel' on the GPS screen and we quickly navigated to its location. When we arrived, I put my French skills to work to get us a room for the night...well we ended up with a private room altogether for the night but I was not impressed with my own French. German words rebelliously crept into every sentence.

Our hostel was only a 15 minute walk from the center of town and from the bar I had my heart set on visiting: The Delirium. As any traveler who has done a bit of research on Brussels knows, this is the world-famous bar with over 2,000 beers from around the world. We knew we had found it by the elbow-to-elbow crowd that was crammed into the small alleyway leading up to the entrance. The four of us grabbed one of the very long menus and made our choices. I went for the chocolate beer- I figured it was bound to be delicious if it combined Belgian Chocolate with Belgian Beer...and I was right! A table opened up so we took our places around it to enjoy our beverages and admire the thousands of brewery labels and plaques covering the ceiling. My second beer was equally as tasty but a bit more exotic...

Katherine got a very interesting sparkling wine beer...
tasty but strange. Mine is on the right.

So many choices!!

And for my second beverage: Coconut Beer!
Of course, served in a coconut shell!

Upon finishing our second beer, we set out on our second mission of the night: find the little peeing boy! After a scenic route through the Grand Palace and down a few random streets, Nial finally took the map and lead us in the right direction...I was only a block off and, in my defense, I was going off of memory from a year ago! I warned everyone that he was knee-high to a grasshopper and didn't have much to see...but I was hopeful that a few beers would somehow work in his favor. In fact, he was much more interesting this time because he was actually decorated and "functional" (interpret how you will). Katherine and I shared a good laugh over misunderstandings and our broken German but it was definitely not a disappointing night!

La Grand-Palace at night

Manneken Pis aka Little Peeing Boy

Saturday morning, we enjoyed a delicious, and quite extensive (for a hostel), breakfast before making our way around to a few other sites in Brussels. We visited the European Union Parliament building and the Belgian Arc de Triomphe.

EU Parliament Building

#tripodandtimer haha

Our next destination was a small brewery in southern Belgium that Nial wanted to visit. Along the way, we took a spontaneous pit-stop at the Euro Space Center which was a cool find. When we made it to the brewery, La Chouffe, we had a look around while we waited for a table to open up. The place was pretty packed but we awkwardly stared at people until they left and then swindled some people out of a few chairs and made ourselves cozy around a tiny table. Unfortunately, the service was a bit slow (not unusual in Europe, but highly irritating to a former server!) and it began to rain shortly after we got our beers. We waited it out for a few minutes until the fear of disturbing the perfect hops-to-water ratio became too real. Leaving our well-earned, tiny Tisch behind, we moved inside to appreciate the deliciousness of this quality brew surrounded by the warmth of a low-lit, lodge-like, conference room.

 Next stop: Luxembourg City! On our way out of Belgium we stopped at an awesome Memorial in Bastogne where Zack gave us a cool little history lesson about the battle here. The monument was definitely one of the coolest I've seen.

<3 Colorado

And of course, we couldn't leave Belgium without a tasty waffle!

We arrived in Luxembourg City late in the afternoon where it was a bit cold and had just rained- but we were determined to see as much as we could before the sun went down. It was immediately evident that this city had a lot to offer and it was going to be more than just a "short stop" on our trip. Because the city is build in a valley, it offers some awesome views and is completely unique! Wandering among the winding streets and along the old city wall provided us with a good tour of the what has now moved to the top 5 of my "Favorite European Cities" list.

Over a tasty beer we all decided that Luxembourg is definitely a hidden gem of Europe. I look forward to going back and visiting more of the country and spending a little more time in this city to see what else it has to offer.

So then it was back to Germany! We left Luxembourg City and headed to Saarbrücken, Germany to visit some fellow PPPers. We had an awesome time hanging out and dancing the night away at a Dub-Step night at a local bar. Jenny, our lovely hostess for the evening, shared her amazing host parents with us and we all enjoyed a delicious German breakfast together on Sunday morning.

It was the last day of our road trip but we made the most of it. Upon leaving Jenny's house, we headed across the border to France for a few more fun "Zack's Facts" about the trenches that are a reminder of poorly made military decisions on France's part- "reference to the Maginot Line is used to recall a strategy or object that people hope will prove effective but instead fails miserably."

 

He was a bit sad that he didn't find any more history in the trees...

Trier was the next pit-stop. This is a cute little town with a lot of history. It is the oldest city in Germany, the birth place of Karl Marx, has an interesting Roman history, home to another gorgeous cathedral, and conveniently located along the Mosel river- the Napa Valley of German wine country!

The final stop on our list was Nürburgring. This is a famous circuit for Formula One and Grand Prix races. Unfortunately, the track was closed when we arrived but the inside track for spectators was still open. We each bought a ticket to race smaller go-karts around a complicated circuit for 10 minutes and try for the best time. This was definitely one of the funnest things I've done! I regret to inform you all that I did not win our heat, but I still had a blast...and I got to keep this little gem of an accessory-

Our modeling skills are unglaublich!

Yeah, that's going to come in handy this winter...

After our adrenaline-fix, we drove around to the other side of the ring to try to see more of it. We couldn't see much but what we found was even better. As we came around the backside of the track, the trees opened up into a gorgeous valley lit up by the last thirty minutes of daylight and a slew of vibrant colors. Half an hour passed as we frolicked through the tall grass and watched the sky seamlessly meld from soft indigo and lavender to blinding tangerine outlined by wispy cotton-candy-pink fog settling on the distant trees on the other side of the valley. A perfectly cliché ending to an unforgettable trip.

This was a much needed break for all of us and it led into two more busy weeks of Deutsch lernen, Projekt machen und ein bisschen mehr reisen. (German learning, project work and a little more travel). I've been quit busy readjusting and trying to find a routine but I will get everyone caught up soon on my last month and a half here.

Next up: Oktoberfest, new city and road-trip #2!

Bis dann! Tschüsssss!

1 month down. 10.5 more to go!

Already one month since I arrived here in Köln- time is going so fast! My daily life consists of: getting used to subtle differences like taking public transportation, gradually understanding more of the daily conversation going on outside my window, thinking in German, and dreaming in broken, not always understandable, German...or rather, having nightmares about German grammar rules (no lie)!  

Learning the Language:
I can tell that my German is still improving rapidly which is awesome, but we are definitely getting into the more complex components of the language (silly adjective endings and agreements -couldn't escape them in French, can't escape them in German!) The most common advice I get is to speak as much as possible, so I have found two tandem partners who I can practice with. A tandem partner is basically someone who wants to trade language skills, for instance: with my partners I speak only German the first time and then we speak English the next time we meet, and alternate each time. I highly recommend this for anyone learning a new language. Not only do I get to practice German, but I also have two new contacts who have shown me around and can help me with things like my German CV. I've also purchased a few supplemental resources to help me improve listening comprehension and reading comprehension. I bought Alice im Wunderland and it conveniently has the English translation on the left page and German on the right. This is so great for my vocabulary and reinforcing grammar rules. I also found a great 4-CD audiobook for 1€ at Kaufhof and couldn't pass it up. I listen to it while I run as a good way to forget about the steep hills and focus on understanding the story.

 Dativ & Akkusativ: this is what 'fun' looks like!

Freetime and Fun:
We had another International Party last Friday at our school. Instead of food this time, they had Kölsch and Sangria for 1€ each. It's always fun seeing the lobby transformed from it's usual 'study' area to a dance floor complete with lights and an assortment of music from around the world. After a few hours, a group of us headed out to continue our dance party in a club down town. Köln has a reputable LGBT scene so we checked out one of the popular streets with several gay bars/clubs. We had such an awesome time and I don't even feel bad when I say that Americans pretty much dominate any dance floor they step onto! It's just fact. 

Hanging out with my friend Andrew at the International Party

Other interesting evenings have included a trip to the oldest jazz bar in Germany and an evening watching a political duel between two candidates for the German elections this month. I am excited to see this part of the culture. I was in France for the election last year and now I get to experience how an election is carried out here. Interesting stuff! Also part of the educational aspect of my year here.

Papa Joe's Jazz club

I also made friends with an adorable little German girl who is the daughter of my host-sister's friend. We spent several hours one Sunday playing in rain puddles, eating ice cream and coloring. Made me miss my niece and nephews!

Travel:
These last two weeks have been rather calm with relatively little traveling. A few weekends ago, I took a day trip to Düsseldorf with a small group of friends. Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed but perhaps I can't make a fair judgement because we were only there for a few hours and it was rainy. I did, however, have my first try of Bubble Tea which was fantastic. I had a delicious coconut blend with lychee flavored 'pearls'. It was a great mid-day treat but definitely not something I could drink very often due to the exorbitant amounts of sugar. We saw a few cathedrals and went to the top of the Rheinturm (Rhine Tower) to get a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

 
I also took a small excursion with my class to a UNESCO World Heritage Site 45 minutes away in the small town of Brühl. We took a tour of the Augustusburg Schloss where I heard a lot about the history of the palace and the meaning of the frescoes and architecture...however, I decided to go all out and skip the English audio-guide and just listen to the live German version from the woman giving the tour, which meant I didn't exactly understand much of the technical history lingo. Upside: I saved 1€ and learned some new vocab!

Mostly, I've done a lot of low-key, solo exploring lately. I've tried a few different markets for grocery shopping, done homework in a newly discovered park, and started running again to try to work off some of that Brot und Bier! There is an awesome, and quite hilly, forested area about 10 minutes away that is awesome to run in. It's nice to get away from the city for a bit. I love Köln but this Colorado girl needs a regular dose of nature to keep her sane!

I am certainly enjoying getting to know Köln and all of it's unique culture. However, that insatiable wanderlust keeps whispering in my ear and showing up in my dreams in the form of higher, unexplored mountains; secret, cobblestone alleyways; and picturesque views from atop another magnificent cathedral's bell tower. I've been saving up a bit for Oktoberfest because I know it will be an expensive weekend well worth the money. I also have a very exciting trip coming up this weekend that I know is going to result in some of the best memories I'll make this year...but I'm saving that surprise for my next post ;)!

...

So what's news from your side of the world?

Tschüss!