I'm in a German State of Mind

When you move to a new place, it can take some time to feel at home. I've moved to a lot of different places, and I often feel like a visitor for a while, even after I have unpacked and gotten into a routine. For the past seven weeks I have lived in Kassel, but I still felt like I was "new in town". But recently, I've started to feel like a resident and that's not just because I have an appointment to get my residence permit. Yesterday, on my way home from the library, I ran into someone I know on the street. This is kind of a big deal because a) Kassel has about 200,000 people living here, and b) I don't know very many people. But sure enough, Guillaume, a very sweet boy from my German class called out to me on the street. Guillaume and I had actually met only the day before in class, and we talked about France. He is from a small town in Brittany, in Northwestern France, called Lorient. Coincidentally, I'm going to Brittany next week for Thanksgiving, to the town of Pont Aven, about one hour from Lorient. The reason for my trip is to visit the campus of the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art. I worked for the school when I lived in Providence, and my boss invited me to visit. Guillaume was very familiar with Pont Aven, and told me some other areas in the region that I should visit. He is part of an international masters program, in which the students study in four different countries for six months each. (Part of me wishes I had know about that one...) Another coincidence is that the town where the group studied in France was the tiny town of Annecy, where I spent two weeks on vacation in 2004. Small world. Seeing him yesterday may have just been another Amy-Guillaume coincidence, but it was nice to run into someone unplanned on the street. That has always been my signal that I've arrived. I live here now, and I know people and I run into them out on the town. Perhaps that seems a little obvious, but it made me feel good.

Another sign that I'm a resident is that I am getting invited places by people other than the administrators of my program. Tonight I am joining a group of women who I have never met for a bachelorette party. My landlords, Maria and Knauffi, are getting married next week and tonight is the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Christine organized the bachelorette party so that's how I got the invite, but this will be a totally new experience for me. I don't know what German traditions there are for these kinds of things, but I'm excited to find out. All the e mails have been in German, but I know that we are going for a hike, and there will be several stops with clues for a treasure hunt, tasks for Maria to accomplish, and a big to-do at the end. I'll be sure to let you know what other surprises come up. It's going to be fun to spend time with Germans, and work on improving mein deutsch. It's been a sobering realization how much I don't know, but I won't get any better if I don't practice. And I've found that Bier helps me speak German more easily. Maybe I should start bringing beer to my German class...

It's a difficult language, and there's a saying that I find to be appropriate: Life is too short to learn German. There are just too many cases and rules and exceptions and endings... it's exhausting. I'm a little overwhelmed, but I'm not going to stop trying. I have a year to improve, and dangit, I'm going to improve. It is tough though, since my classes and readings are all in English. I have tried to practice with Christian and Christine, but my German is so limited that we would not be able to talk about very much. They are my friends and I want to talk to them for that reason, not just to practice deutsch. But, we have decided that we will try to speak in German for a little bit every time I see them, and since they are both teachers they can answer my questions as they arise. I've already learned a lot from them, although not all of it is fit for polite company.

I've also learned a lot about German baking, or rather, how it is completely different from baking in the US. Last Friday C&C and I attempted to make chocolate chip cookies. I had my mom's recipe (which is the best on the planet, by the way) and we set out to convert it to German. We converted the measurements and the temperature, bought the ingredients and went to town. During our three attempts, we made some cultural discoveries. 1) Germany does not sell brown sugar as it is known in the US. 2) Germans don't realize there is a difference between baking powder and baking soda. 3) German ovens are different from US ovens in more ways than just centigrade and fahrenheit. 4) Measurements in baking are exact; you can't add a tablespoon when the recipe calls for half a teaspoon.

I think we're getting closer, and we certainly aren't going to give up, but MAN, some of our cookies turned out... well, eww. Have a look:


















































There's not much more to say. It was a disaster, but also the most fun I've had in a long time.

Well, I'm going to start preparing myself for this party. Ahh, love. The best way to celebrate is to embarass the bride as much as possible.

Bis später!