Turns out I am a pretty good mime. German is a toughie. Today was the round the town tour. Frau Merchant came and picked me up at 10 and we wandered the town. She’s pretty cool. She really loves Germany, its history, and it beauty.
Most Americans think of Germany in the light of World War II. Here, its as life has moved on. The mindset of some towards slavery in the states is probably the same sentiment as Germans have about World War II. It is history. It happened. All we can do now is learn from it and move on. I was a little shocked at how much of the history of Germany I didn’t know and we barely touched on it today. It is a very very rich and interesting history. One of, if not the first King of the Germanic tribes was crowned here in Quedlinburg. Charlemagne ruled here. The buildings here are older than the United States. It’s incredible. I have been to two very old countries on my trip.
This place is exactly what I picture in my head when I envision a German village. All the houses are packed in close together and they are all different colors. The trims are mostly high contrast with the home. The architecture is Northern Romanesque to Gothic to Baroque. It’s beautiful. The roads are 90% cobblestone…literally cobblestone. the ones around the town hall are the original stones from hundreds of years ago. When they settle or rise, they are re-set, but the stones are never changed out. We walked by a house today that was built in the 15th century.
Its really cool here. A lot of the houses are date-stamped and the name of the family that first lived there is also stamped on it. On a steep hill there is the “castle” palace of the kings who ruled from here and it is incredible. There was a learning convent here at that same time. Young women went thee to learn. No vows were taken it wasn’t that kind of convent. It was to rear up the your noble women so they would be good co-rulers and good wives. The Abbesses that taught were women of power which was rare. They could even vote.
I will be the first to say I never even considered Germany as a location for Study Abroad. Mostly because I wanted to go somewhere different than everyone else, but also because I wanted to learn a language not many people knew, I didn’t think it would be pretty here. I didn’t want to freeze. I will say now though that I am glad I got to be here. I really enjoy talking with Frau Merchant (I have to call her that especially around other students,) she is Wanda otherwise. She and I talked today for hours about religion, history, architecture. She is very excited to have me here because I am not like the kids here who don’t really want to learn.
I miss Cairo and it really hard to get Arabic out of my head. I didn’t take it long, but I was SO intent on learning it and mastering it that I had been practicing it nightly;. Now I need to put it away and focus that same energy on German. I am determined to learn it.
Klaus is awesome. He performs in a touring theatre group where he sings and acts. He and Jutta sing in a weekly chorus too nad I have been invited to join them.
Jutta is the sweetest woman. She knocked on my door to wake me for breakfast (I was already up, but still) and she says “good morning my Darling” she is so happy to have me here. I guess their last student was kind of a pain. She didn’t like the katzen(Katza=1 cat Katzen=2 or more cats,) she wouldn’t listen and flushed things that damaged the plumbing to the tune of 1500 Euro ($2047.00,) and she was messy as well. I am a breath of fresh air to them. They are both so helpful. Any words that are difficult they help and I help them as well. Klaus took English in high school. (much the same way we take German) So he knows a little.
Jutta and Klaus are pretty amazing. Jutta was born with a hip problem and spent many years of her youth in a hospital. Not fun. She is 56 and you would NEVER know it. My jaw almost hit the floor when she said that. Ten years ago she had both her hips replaced. in her forties and getting her hips replaced…that is incredibly young. She left today to go to a clinic with a hot spring. She goes once a year and it helps ease her pain. I think they also do muscle massage and physical therapy. Klaus says she is WAY better now than she was.
Klaus turns 58 (?) on the 17th of this month and he blows me away. He is up a 5:30 everyday and today, he took care of his grandbaby, Rikka, for a bit, cleaned house, read, and then just as I was getting home, he was taking off for a 30 minute run. Tomorrow night he is starting a five day fast. Between the walking and the company, I am either going to get fat-er or I am going to lose weight.
which brings me to food. It tastes better here. There aren’t a lot of preservatives in the food. Frau Merchant calls it real food. She says every time she goes back to the states (She is an American citizen who learned German. She is not German)she gains weight and her digestion goes wonky. I don’t know about all that, but EVERYTHING tastes better here. Today, Frau Merchant and I went to a Greek restaurant and the gyros I had was amazing. There was a lot of food too. I ordered off the “small hunger” menu and it was a lot. Generally speaking, it is hard to overeat here; people converse over food and over coffee.
Drinking isn’t a big issue because even that is done in extreme moderation. People do get drunk don’t get me wrong. Its just different. Both nights I have been here, one with Jutta and one with Klaus, they have shared a beer with me, one to one and a half glasses full. It was a casual thing just after a meal (or as yesterday before bed) it doesn’t seem uncommon to have a glass of beer. The drinking age here is 14. That in and of itself blew me away.
I think I will enjoy this town and this trip. I am still having difficulty letting go of home and things at home, but time and removal of stressors (rioting and curfews and no internet) will help me with that.
I will say one thing for sure; all the walking makes for one tired Dar. I’m off to bed. Tomorrow starts the schooling!
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