July 1-8

So as I sat and started writing about this week in preparing to post a blog at the end of the week, I realized-I never posted about last week! I apologize, this blog writing is a lot harder to keep up with than you think it is. This past week, I have learned a little history, seen how hunting dogs are trained here, done laundry, gone to festivals and a castle.

So this past week has been a little different. Some mornings I have to myself, others Anna and I are just chilling, and other days I go for walks through the woods. I don’t mind having the mornings to myself as it gives me a little bit of time on my own to. Mainly to catch up on journaling and to go on walks-which I enjoy here as well. I have really grown accustomed to walking through the woods and seeing the various lighting aspects from the sun’s rays through the trees. After walking or about 11:30am, I go see what I can do to help with lunch. Some days there is a lot for me to help with, other days nothing. Either way is fine. In the afternoons, I am usually helping in the garden, at the turkey gardens, or some days I am hanging out with Anna and Lina. It really just depends on what needs to be done that day. Anna and I also started watching Harry Potter towards the end of the week. We watch in English with German subtitles-which is so nice of her to do for me so I can understand the movie. It also actually is helping me with understanding German as I will hear what they say and read the bottom of the screen in German too. I am still struggling to speak German, in fact it is way too easy to speak in English, but I am trying.

Last Montag we went Wurttenburg, and I got to learn a little bit more about the history of the walled in city. During the 30 year war, the pillars located around the wall were used to house soldiers and the soldiers would stand at very small windows to attack. There were two levels that they would attack from. They also had cannons, and there was one still sitting to view. They would often use wagons to transport supplies and it still amazes me at how the animals made it up the steep slopes whether here or when we were in Israel. There was also two gates leading into the city. The first gate they would allow the enemy to enter in through while the second gate was locked shut. They could then attack from above and surprise their enemies. Very smart.

On Donnerstag we went to the Residenz Castle in Wurzberg! It was a very large castle with 360 rooms (I think). We went on a tour, and I had the choice of going on an English or German tour. I stayed with the family instead of going on the English tour because I didn’t really have time to make a thought out decision-meaning I didn’t know how I would meet up with my family after the tour was done-but I later realized we could have met in the store. Oh well, I enjoyed looking and seeing everything more and can look up more history later. The main ceiling was painted by Michelangelo and it is the biggest painting in the entire world. It shows history of every country. Several rooms were created by only one or two people. One of which was a man named Weber. The reason I remember this is because there is a music composer named Weber (one of my favorite clarinet composers) and I wonder if they were somehow related. They both were living around the same time. Anyway-many parts of the castle were destroyed during WWII-it was destroyed by bombs from the USA. That was a sad portion of pictures to see, but they have been able to reconstruct the rooms and designs of the castle, including the Mirror room-which is only open to tours. We went to the garden which was just beautiful and incredibly large. It was fun to walk around and take cool pictures with Anna.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed about Germany-you go out and socialize with people every day of the weekend  (or maybe those my age do at least), and I participated in that this weekend. By the end of it, I was tired and questioning how people do this every week! Back home we might go out once over the course of the weekend, but that is usually only every couple weeks even then. Not like here-although I enjoy it here because you are going to festivals and meeting people, listening to music, dancing, singing, and having a great time. In Southern Germany, there are festivals every weekend-they move from town to town. Samstag was probably my favorite festival to go to though so far. Anna, Katja (a friend of ours) and I went to the MusikFesival in Oestheim to see the band, dorfRocker. Anna and Katja are huge fans of the group. It was so much fun. At festivals there are tables and benches that everyone sits at. We got there early enough to find a table, which was filled in with another group of people that we became friends with and hung out with for the remainder of the evening. They were even willing to speak English with me! Actually I later learned, that they thought I was Katja’s cousin and a German until they learned that I could speak very little German. I asked whether I looked or acted like a tourist at all-to which they said no, and in turn asked if I wanted to be a tourist, to which I said of course not! But regardless, it was cool to hear that I looked like I fit in with the people here. The band was very good, although I knew none of the songs (they are all German) I was able to learn and sing with the chorus of the traditional German songs that are sung at the festivals. During which, everyone is standing on the benches or tables, singing and dancing! So different, but so much fun!

Ok-time for some more cultural differences:

·         People here tend to just drop by and visit. Phone calls and plans are unneeded, people are welcome to just stop by. Coffee and cakes are always offered to the guests. I think this is really neat, and so nice that people can just drop by. That would rarely happen in the USA as we are such a go-go-go culture. Germans are somewhat that way as well, but I think the USA is over the top. It also reminds me of the stories you read from the 1700-1800s of women visiting one another to keep themselves busy. Although it is different now as to anyone can visit, it seems as though this tradition as continued in a way.

·         American Pop music is all over the radio in Germany. I think I hear more American songs than German songs. Although it has been nice for me at times to have music that I know (especially when we don’t have wireless so radio is all I have), I feel bad that American music is dominating everything else. There are good German bands and songs (I may not know what they say but they sound good). I think I am also beginning to tire of hearing the same select pop songs from America-it is getting repetitive and old.

·         Laundry-very different than in the USA. Instead of setting the washer to permanent press or regular, it is set to the temperature you want your clothes washed at. Laundry is then typically dried outside on the line or drying rack as much as possible.

·         Energy in Germany is very expensive. Many homes have solar panels on the sides of the house or on the barns in order to save money on electricity.

·         Hard-boiled eggs are only eaten at breakfast.

·         Generally in good weather-Germans seem to eat their meals outside-I want to continue this at home, granted this is not as easy to do in the summer when the heat gets really high.

·         Wandering through the streets of Wurttenburg-Anna, LIna, and I heard some boys say they needed to fix their hair! (btw-their hair looked perfectly styled and hair sprayed) We laughed and laughed at this that the boys cared so much about their hair-this is typically girls.