Jen's Travels: March 2009

Due to popular demand, here’s an update. ;)

Let’s see…what’s happened since the 9th of February?
-Vacation to Ireland
-Trip to Berlin for a Fulbright Conference
-Basketball season came to an end
-A new project advisor at work
-Spontaneous move to a new apartment
-Sent a letter confirming that I will attend Chapman in fall

Ok, a lot more has happened than this, but these are some of the highlights.

IRELAND was amazing! In September, Inga mentioned the possibility of going to Ireland to visit a friend of who is studying abroad there. Birgit (her friend) is studying there with her two children, ages 2.5 and 6. We had so much fun! She even let us use her car to get around. (Props to Inga for mastering the art of driving on the left side of the road. :) ) In a week and a half, we saw quite a bit. From playing soccer on the beach, hiking along the Cliffs of Moher, cruising along the Ring of Beara, kissing the Stone of Blarney, discovering Dublin, drinking in the Bishopstown Pub in Cork…there were lots of new experiences. The weather was also spring-like, which was wonderful. I felt like we were able to be so much more connected with nature, as it was still so cold…even snowing back home in Germany. (Weather is a very touchy topic with me at the moment. It snowed AGAIN earlier this week. I just want spring to get here already. The rumor is that it will get here Tuesday or Wednesday, but I’m not holding my breath.) Point about Ireland is, that it was beautiful and a much-needed break from my routine in Würzburg.

Then, about a week ago, I spent a week up in Berlin. Fulbright held a conference for all of the Fulbrighters here in Germany. They also invited people doing Fulbright all around Europe and German students who will be going to the States in the fall. I think there were over 600 participants. I definitely feel spoiled being a Fulbright. They put us up in this 4-Star hotel:
http://www.parkinn-berlin.de/

My room was on the 30th floor, with a view of the Fernsehturm and most of the major things to see in Berlin. My first reaction walking into the room (ok, second, after the view), however, was that the toilet and shower were not in a separate room. There was just a glass wall. And there was just one big bed. So I was a little curious how the roommate thing would work out. But it turned out, we all had our own rooms! Plus with buffet breakfasts and dinners and drinks, it was definitely a luxurious week. The meetings, panels, and workshops were held in various historical spots around the city.

The year 2009 is an important year for Berlin because it marks 20 years since the fall of the wall and 60 years since the reunification of Germany. Even though I do not remember the wall coming down, I am still able to connect it to my childhood. My uncle was in Germany at the time and brought pieces of the wall back home, so we have some at home. He also wrote our names on the wall, among the many others. It just so happened to be a portion of the wall that was photographed in an issue of Time Magazine. (I think I’ve got this right?) In elementary school, I think my mom once brought these to school for show and tell. Honestly, I had no idea what any of this meant. Unfortunately, I think it was not until I went to college to really deeply understand the meaning behind the wall and division of Germany. But as a kid, I knew I was “German” (which is quite different than how I identify here) and this somehow reflected part of the country my family came from. But back to Berlin…it was so much fun, talking to and meeting random new people and having adventures, like going up to the glass dome of the Reichstag (the parliament building, I believe) with new friends at night around 11. They even rented a club out the last night for us! It was a good time. :)

Basketball season came to an end…not a pretty one. We lost the very last game, which was crucial if we did not want to move down a league. There is still a chance we will not move down, but it was rough. On the bright side, eight friends of mine showed up to cheer us on. That was a HUGE surprise that all made it. Most of them play soccer and don’t quite understand basketball, but that’s exactly how I feel at their games. It made me feel so good to know I had people there to support me. Friends become your family when you are away from your home, whether they know it or not. The day before our last game was an away game. We had 7 girls against an undefeated team who pressed the WHOLE time. I don’t even want to talk about what the final score was. We tried to look at it in a positive note: it was like conditioning. Many of our girls are home for the semester break, and I’ve been gone the past couple of weeks. I will start back up again this week and continue practicing with the team until I leave, since the season doesn’t start up again until October. Maybe I can find something at or near Chapman??

Work…is moving at the quickest pace it has since I’ve been here! I have a new advisor who is very goal-oriented, which is something I need! I need small steps to work through, or else I will not accomplish anything. In the past week, he secured me my own room to run through my project, as carrying everything around is taking SO much time. Monday (tomorrow), I am hoping to get some subjects in.

I moved out of my old apartment, which had somehow become a nightmare. I was so incredibly unhappy there. Everything worked out so perfectly. I had looked at apartments awhile ago but then changed my mind because of some minor things. I had finally had it and decided I would search for something. If I found something, it was meant to me. If not, I would stick it out. It wouldn’t be forever. The following day I looked at an apartment, and the next day I had a phone call saying they would like me as their roommate. My room is about 3 times as big, I have the biggest bed of my life, can see the castle from my window, live on the same street as one of my closest friends here, have an outdoor track, soccer field, and basketball court outside my window, the swimming pool is on the corner, we have a kitchen (even with a sofa), and I could not be happier with my roommates. They are friendly, and I feel like we actually have things in common. And as it turns out, one of my roommates trains with the soccer club most of my friends play for, so they know each other! Würzburg is so small...everybody is connected. Although I guess that goes for the world, huh?

I kind of went into hibernation mode during winter. Basketball kept me active, but I prefer to be more active. I miss the luxury of 24 Hour Fitness or the campus gym. I jog a few times a week, which will hopefully be more as (when) the weather gets better. We had our time change today, so it will be nice to have the sun up longer. I’m hoping my schedule allows for the beginner’s crew class…rowing on the river. A friend and I want to try it out. Plus, I feel like I need to take advantage that I live a quarter of a mile from a river.

I am taking a written German proficiency test (equivalent of the TOEFL for the English language) one day this week, with an oral exam the following week. I did not study as much as I should have. I guess I will “cram” by doing practice tests the next few days. It is not something I have to have, but it would be nice to see where (and if) I place among the three levels.

The next semester starts in a few weeks, and I’ve got my schedule somewhat together. (For most courses, you don’t register, but rather go the first couple weeks and try out different courses, to decide what you want to take.) I found a German-English translation course offered from the English Studies department which sounds cool, Spanish, German grammar (maybe…it’s computer-based every other week, so it could be an easy couple of credits?), and 2 lectures from the medical department: sports medicine & orthopedics and rehabilitation & natural remedies. I’m always excited to start new courses…it’s refreshing in a way.

And…it’s almost Easter! The plan is to drive up to Brussels (Belgium) and spend Easter with my friend Anja and her family. I’ll see her tomorrow, so we can start to plan details, as it is coming up REALLY soon! As I’ve never been to France, we will also drive a day to Paris (1.5 hours from Brussels). I’m looking forward to seeing some new countries and having yet another adventure.

The weekend is coming to an end, and I have been working through lists of to-do’s the whole time. I am normally out with friends here, but I put myself on lockdown, since I have been out and about the past few weeks. I have made some really amazing friends, some of whom I have known 2 years now. The hardest part about going back to the States is going to be leaving the people in my life here and not knowing when I will be back. I feel so lucky that I’ve found friends who have my back here. This past week, I had a meeting with my former landlord, and one of my friends offered to go with. They watch out for me. But I am sure we will see each other again…and I’m sure they would be more than happy to visit me in California, of all places! I am excited to come back to California and be able to spend time with my family and friends there, and not to mention, enjoy the beautiful weather and coast. My goal was to live somewhere I can wear shorts and flip flops the whole year round, but somehow I am only getting further and further from that. Haha. Southern California will be getting back in that direction. I feel as if I have a double-life though. I was back in the States a year, before resuming my life here. Grad school is going to be a 3-year commitment, but despite loans and the economy, I know it is the next step. I think it may even be nice to live in one place for more than 10 months..? Every time I read my program’s description, it makes me excited to think about learning everything I will. Plus, with a doctorate degree, I believe I could instruct courses at a college, which would only open more doors. So that’s that. But I am really enjoying life here, and the fact that I am excited about my “next step” does not mean I don’t like it here. Too bad I can’t just be everywhere at
once, huh? ;)

That’s the end of my post. I know it's scattered, but I just started writing and kept going. I need to get back to my list. Here’s some pics from the past couple of months:

IRELAND