Catching Up

So I have recently been called a slacker... and I do apologize for not writing more diligently.

I have been busy! But I also have had time to write, and for not doing so, I apologize.

Last week I had orientation in Berlin, took the 6 hour train ride into town, checked into the Myer's Hotel Berlin that Fulbright previously arranged, took a nap and met the 5 other Fulbright journalist and the head of the German Fulbright Kommission—Reiner Rohr—for dinner. Things went well—I got to learn about the other journalist's projects and hear where they were working. Some of them had arrived in Germany long before I did, and had already begun their positions as guest journalists for publication ranging from Die Welt to a magazine called The Ex Berliner.

But I wasn't the only one who hadn't begun quite yet. Another woman had just arrived in Berlin that day, as she was coming from her friend's wedding which was held in Santa Fe (which I enjoyed talking about), and another girl had come in on a train from the language course in Marburg. And a man lives in Berlin, so I did feel that he had quite the advantage.

But I have to admit I felt a little out of place. A lot of the people kept referring to the fact that I had been assigned to Munich (a city I absolutely love) and I almost felt an arrogance in the fact that 4 out of the 6 of us were assigned to work in Berlin. (One is living in Frankfurt.) And although Fulbright said I could move to another city if I so desired, I am excited to see what I will be able to learn from Munich and what role this city will play in my future. And I can't wait to show the other journalists what I get out of this experience.

But all in all, orientation was ok, but I felt as though it was a little unnecessary. A lot of the information they gave me I already knew about, and it is such a long trip out and back, but I did meet new and interesting people and made some contacts that I am sure will be helpful throughout this whole experience. And, it was wonderful to be back in Berlin again, and just the sites of where I was—even the Alexanderplatz U-Bahn station—brought memories of my trip there last year flooding back.

So. After orientation, my friend Katelyn from New Mexico flew in to see me. She will be here for three weeks, and her visit is awesome because it's nice to have a familiar face around while trying to get everything in line and settled, and her company provides a nice break on the side. I know it's early to have a friend visit, but when we planned her trip way back when I discovered I had received my Fulbright, we decided it would be better for her to come out at the beginning before I had delved too deep into my guest journalist position, and well, she is in between jobs right now too, so we both felt like it was the perfect time.

She arrived on Wednesday, and it's already been a pretty crazy week. We ventured out to the Augustiner Bräu the night she arrived, ate some Schnitzel and met some very nice Canadian couples—two older men whose wives were exhausted from Oktoberfest and back at the hotel and their very friendly and nice sister. We all talked about politics for a while, as well as the great contributions of Canada to the entertainment industry (one of the men tried to convince us that Arnold Schwarzenegger was Canadian... ha) and just had a lot of laughs and fun. It was a pretty good first night.

Thursday night we went out to dinner with my friend Hillary, who is moving to Pennsburg tomorrow, at a nice little Italian restaurant, the name of which, I am not kidding, was Al Pacino. Can't make this stuff up.

Then Friday, we braved the all mighty and insane Oktoberfest. Hillary was supposed to come with us but she got very sick all of the sudden, so Kate and I went by ourselves—both clad in our Dirndls. It was Wahnsinn, but we had the fun time we knew we would have, and we are going to go again, this time with Hillary too if we can swing it. (I will post pictures of this as soon as I can, but we took them with Kate's camera and she forgot her computer connector, so we will have to take my camera this next time.)

Today was lazy... we went food shopping at the local market but just missed out buying fresh bread from the bakery... for which now we'll have to wait until Monday to buy. But the weather here was very nice today, we actually saw some sun, and we took advantage by strolling in the Englischer Garten and stopping by the Chinesischer Turm Biergarten and sampling some Currywurst.

This week I have to concentrate on correctly matriculating at the Uni, which has been frustrating me for some time now, and further exploring the media outlet options I have here in Munich.

I will try and write more frequently! Bis dann!

A Dirndl-ie Day

So yesterday was one of the most eventful days I have had in Munich. I went Dirndl shopping with a friend I met at the U.S. Consulate General meeting, and did we make a day of it!

One can't be living in Munich during Oktoberfest and not own any Tracht. So I had to get one. And it is the cutest one ever. And the way I see it, I will have a Halloween costume for all the years to come!

So Hillary and I went to Wies'n Tracht & Mehr on Talstraße, spent about two hours inside with every other girl and woman in Munich, and left with our very own Dirndls in our bags—mine a blue one with white detail and a dark pink apron, Hillary with a black one with red detail and a red apron. Sooooo cute.

After that, we wondered around the Ostbahnhof area, bought an OK Döner Kebab, (I have so had better), then went to Hillary's to take pictures in our newly acquired Wiesn Tracht. Then we changed and took the U-Bahn to Sendlinger Tor to meet up with some people I found through a group of English-speakers living in Germany. (I know it's not good to hang out with English speakers when you are in a foreign country, but at the beginning when you are so new and lonely, it's not a bad plan...)

So the rest of the night was spent talking to people from Ireland, the UK, Germany... Hillary and I were the only Americans. Ha.

It was a pretty good day.

Zu Ihrer information...

I've put up photos of the English Garden, some sights around the Marienplatz and also of my newly decorated bedroom (which feels so much like my own now,) on the slideshows to the right.

Bis später!

The Willow Tree

Wow I haven't written in a while. Sorry about that. I haven't been too busy, necessarily, I guess I just haven't felt inspired. But today I was.

Today I went on a two-hour jog in the Englischer Garten (not because I meant it to be this long, but because I got lost and accidently made a circle around the lake... which wasn't really a bad thing.) But by the time my trek had ended, I was back near the entrance to Prinzregentenstraße—the nearest garden entrance to where I live—and decided to sit down under a willow tree, dip my feet into the river, watch as the surfers rode the waves to my left... and I eventually got lost in the flow of the emerald water.

This is something I love more than many things—watching water. I was listening to the Celtic song, "Overture,"—a song I love so much it will be played at my funeral—and I watched as the rapid waves gathered up around my pale feet, seeming to be attracted to their warmth in the way that their splashes onto the side of the bank seemed to increase the moment my feet submerged into the frigid depths. But I didn't take my feet out. I let them flit to and fro with the current until they turned a deep red, and then I thought it time to let them feel the warmth of the fall air yet again.

What added to this moment though, was the way the air moved through the trees as I looked up at them. Gently swaying, back and forth, back and forth, as if to say I ought to have no cares in the world. Do you ever experience moments like that? Where it's like the time and place you are in is meant only for you and you alone?

That's what I felt today. That river and that willow tree were my sanctuary. Not necessarily a place in which I needed to seek solace, but I one I discovered with accidental intent, that left me with the impression that if I ever needed a place to escape, I had found it.

Einbißchen einsam

So I have already discovered one thing about myself. (I kind of already knew this about myself, but two days here and I am positively sure of it.)

I am a total social butterfly.

I hate not knowing anyone here my age, and I just wonder around the streets on my own. Yes I know I know, it is VERY early in the trip and I am sure I will meet people down the road, but it's so hard here now because I am comparing this trip to last year's trip to Vienna, where I had ten other students with me who were all in the same boat. And I LOVED that group of people.

But here, I am truly on my own. Which I knew was the condition. But still, it's tough when all you want to do is talk to people and have some friends. And I am not shy, I am outgoing, but it's tough to just go up to people on the street and start talking to them. Especially in another language.

Things will get better, I know. Right now it's just a point of frustration. And one that I hope goes away sooner than later...

Triftstrasse 9

I'm here!!!

And may I say that the trip was one of the best ever. Things couldn't have been more simple.

I woke up at the right time, got ready, we made it to the airport with an hour to spare, both my suitcases were underweight and I wasn't charged for anything, I said goodbye to my mom both sentimentally and sadly, my sister met me in Denver and we chatted—our last chat for who knows how long (*tear*)—my flight to Munich was calm and I actually got some sleep, and we were about a half an hour early into the airport.

The knot in my stomach was there throughout the whole thing, but the moment I saw the sun rising over Munich, bright and glittering in pinks and golds above the misty clouds, the excitement bubbled up through me, starting at the pit of my stomach and spreading up my body like fire until it brought tears to my eyes.

I love it here.

The red-capped houses are interspersed with dark greens of the trees and the rolling hills covered with grass. It was raining when I got off the train. Later my cab driver told me that I brought the rain with me, chuckling after he said this.

Getting my luggage was easy too—as I always fear they will lose my stuff and then where will I be—but no, they both came out before nearly everyone else's, one right after the other. The hardest part was lugging all of my stuff out of the airport, but even this wasn't so bad. A man asked "taxi?"
"Ja."
"Right out on the side."
His fellow cab drivers laughed as they corrected his English. "It's right outside!"
The only part of my trip that was out of sorts, and even this is a very nice way of saying it because I think it has scarred me for life a little bit, happened during my cab ride.

My driver was driving fast, as they always do, and not really talking to me, so I was busying myself by looking out at the window at what will become my familiar surroundings. We had entered a highway lined with trees that overlooked a park, and all of the sudden I decide to look out of the windshield to the road before us.

A black dog was bounding happily toward the car, not showing any sign of vearing out of the way. The driver hesitated, tried to avoid it, but there was a car on our left. I gasp. Thud. "Oh nein," I say as I cover my eyes and then my ears. I began to feel sick to my stomach, and not in a good way. I have never hit so much as a squirrel with my car. My cab driver sputters "ich könnte nichts machen," and I very sadly say "ich weiss..." It's hard not to cry over this. And I really really wish it hadn't happened.

That was horrible. And so sad! And I hope it wasn't an omen or something. Poor pup. But when we reach our destination, Triftstrasse 9—my new home—the driver acts as if nothing has happened and bids me farewell after I pay for my 57-Euro cab ride.

I ring the bell. Twice. Three times. Oh no, she isn't home. Then I figured out I had to hold down the button and speak. "Hallo? Lisa?"

And my journey to my new home was over. My suitcases barely fit inside the elevator, but alles klappt und jetzt bin ich in München.

I unpacked, and was happy to see that I still had tons of space... very happy.

Then I slept for about 7 hours, which I don't think was very smart... but I couldn't help it. It was even a feat because every few seconds a Strassenbahn drives by, the German ambulance sounds or cars honk below. And one can hear the continuous ringing of the bells of the nearby Catholic church.

But in no way am I complaining. I can't get enough of it.

Now I am gazing out my window, to the man holding his baby on his balcony outside... what should I do tomorrow... walk around and take in this wondrous place.

But first I think I should try to get some sleep, just to get me on German time if nothing else. Gute nacht.

'Twas The Night Before Leaving And All Through The House...

There are grumpy moods, anxious stomachs and mutterings of "it's gonna be fine," "you're gonna be great," amongst the disarray.

I will be fine. Hopefully I will be great.

It is all so surreal to me, it still doesn't even feel like this is my last night in America. For a very long time. But there is excitement there, buried under the anxiety. Excitement that I know will burst out of me the moment I step off of the plane, if not before.

A friend told me to write down what I am feeling at this moment, not to be sentimental, but so that I have a good gauge of where I came from and where I am at the moment. This way, I can see how much I grow.

So I will try and encapsulate my feelings at this moment, if that is indeed what she was meaning for me to do.

I am nervous. There is a feeling in my stomach that squeezes tightly whenever I think of leaving. It's definitely not to say that I am not looking forward to going—that is not the case whatsoever—it's just such a big change, and I will be away from everyone who cares about me and loves me for such a long time. But this feeling is also a feeling of knowing that my life is going to change forever, and I am sure it will be an experience that will be like none other, and that will give me an invaluable part of my life that I won't be able to live again.

So I must keep in mind to absolutely cherish every second and not take anything for granted.

As for what I want to accomplish: I think I still have to ponder this deeper. Other grantees have their ideas set out before them in the form of projects or theses, but this is not something I have an absolute desire to do. What do I want to do? I don't know. I want to travel, I want to talk to people, I want do as much as I possibly can. But this is problematic. I still need to find a way to narrow it down. Working for Reuters or CNN would be cool, but hard news isn't my favorite and I don't just want to be another face in the crowd. But everyone has to start somewhere, hey?

I am hoping my mind will clear up once I am settled in, and everyone keeps telling me it will.

Until that happens, I hope that my journey there goes as well as it possibly can.

Please oh please.

Eagerly but nervously preparing

It's Tuesday.I leave for Munich on Saturday morning.The most horrendous task of all still awaits me. Packing. And not packing my entire life. Which is very hard for me.

So I am procrastinating. The best way to avoid doing anything. I am super excited, but I also can't shake the feeling that I have messed something up, will forget something or that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing.

But I must be doing something right, or I wouldn't have been given this opportunity. Ten months in my favorite country isn't even really that long... hopefully it will be enough to accomplish everything I want to. Which is everything. I have been trying to pinpoint exactly what I want out of this experience, but it's too hard for me to define.

I want to see everything, talk to everyone, take pictures of everything and write about all of it. Too broad? Yep, I know.

I figure things will sort themselves out once I am over there—drinking a Maß in one of the biergartens, strolling around the Englischer Garten or trekking around the Marienplatz.

But right now I am trying to take in the last of what New Mexico has to offer—the sunsets, the rain and relaxation (even though my time for relaxation should be over).

Four more days and the time will come to say goodbye... but a grand new adventure awaits.