Strength and Resilience

From DC/NYC/Camp 2008

Pride and Remembrance

From DC/NYC/Camp 2008

Its Raining, Its Pouring

I haven’t seen this much summer rain in Bavaria yet! At least it keeps the temperatures down…which is a plus with no air conditioning anywhere!

Lessons

 

Lessons I learned this week in Germany…

Lesson 1: Turning 21 in Germany Just Means You Are Getting Older

Even though I am American through and through, turning 21 in a country in which the typical “21 advantages” happen at 16 and 18 made for a fairly run of the mill birthday. Americans look forward to becoming a true adult on their 21^st birthday. Living abroad since I was 18, I have already legally had these advantages (drinking, gambling, clubs, etc.) for years. Overall, it was just an average birthday- nothing special, and not one that will stick in my mind for years to come.

Lesson 2: A Rubber Boot to the Face Hurts

Rubber Boot throwing is a real sport, but when people try it for the first time with the hope of winning an IPod, the boots went flying every which way. Unfortunately, one boot found my face at full speed. The sport of rubber boot throwing originates from Finland, but my friends decided to bring it to lower Bavaria as their project for International Project Management. It was a fun day aside from the boot to the face, and although I didn’t win, I am proud to say that I at least flung it past the “water hazard” and kept it in-bounds! Oh- and by the way, I was not the only one that was hit with a flying boot…insurance probably would have been a good idea for the boys.

Lesson 3: One Shared Umbrella Ends in Two Soaked People

This weekend in Deggendorf was Bürgerfest. On Saturday, I decided to confront the ominous clouds and watch the Flamenco dancers. When I got to the Altstadtviertel, it of course began to rain heavily. The dancing was punctuated with bursts of thunder, and most of the visitors were huddled under any form of rain cover. Luckily, I brought my umbrella, but a friend did not think to check the weather report. That resulted in half of each of us getting fairly soaked.

Later, I once again braved the rain- this time to watch a Latin music band called Los Chiccos. The sun came out- as did all of my friends- late into the performance. Bürgerfest ended up being a blast, and Sunday the weather was beautiful. Perfect timing for another round of cultural indulgence. Scottish and Irish music, Los Chiccos once more, a 25 meter cake representing each European country, and even the German interpretation of American line dancing. Needless to say, Deggendorfers stepped out of their Bavarian traditions and became culturally attentive for the weekend.

Lesson 4: Germans are fanatical when “Deutschland schießt ein tor”

The European Championship has started. It is blatantly obvious. German flags are hung from windows, cars become blaring sirens of German nationalism, and people flock to every locale that has a screen larger than theirs to cheer on their fellow Germans in a sea of painted faces and expensive Germany-branded consumer goods. Although the European Championship is not as well-known as the World Cup, the Europeans get no less excited. The bars, streets, and just about every other place you could imagine becomes a rock concert when Germany scores a goal, and a graveyard when they are scored against. The atmosphere is exciting, tense and pure fun.

What is Foreign?

 

It is incredible to me that something so foreign can become so familiar. My first time in Deggendorf, I was overwhelmed with feelings ranging from utter happiness to uncertain fear. Even after five weeks, I hadn’t touched the surface of truly knowing Deggendorf. I knew the drive from my host family to Comenius and the walk to the center. Everything else was just a blur. I knew how to take the train, but I never knew which direction it was going. To put it simply, I knew what I was explicitly shown and nothing more.

Tonight, as I was driving with friends from a BBQ, I realized that the amazement and joy I used to feel every time I drove in and out of Deggendorf had disappeared. It was as if I was driving up to my driveway in Colorado. Everything has become familiar, customary, normal. I no longer feel that I am in a foreign country.

To tell you the truth, I miss that excitement. The best feeling in the world to me is walking off of an airplane in a new country, and the fact that the place I first experienced this feeling in has become “un-foreign” is heartbreaking. I will always remember how I felt my first time in Deggendorf; but the memories (and familiarity that accompany them) will forever cast a shadow over my first impressions. I want Deggendorf to be the place that I first experienced the excitement of traveling. The excitement of experiencing new cultures. The excitement of independence.

Even though Deggendorf has entered a new phase of existence in my mind, I will always remember how it felt that first time.

Frühlingsfest

 

Bavarians love their drinking festivals! Since 2004 I have experienced 2 Deggendorfer Volksfests, 2 Deggendorfer Frühlingsfests, 2 Oktoberfests in Munich, and various other festivals or events such as the World Cup 2006 and Lanshuterhochzeit.

The festivals always bring out the dormant Bavarian nature in the Germans. Dirndls and Lederhosen abound, and the town bustles with activity and people getting ready. By the end of the first night, everyone has had their fair share of Weißbier, Maß biers, table dancing, bad imitation bands (singing American classics with a Bavarian accent), German oompah bands, mandeln (sweet roasted almonds), and carnival rides. But that doesn’t stop everyone from filling the tents night after night for the full two weeks of Frülingsfest.

After living here for two years, I figured that it was about time I buy a dirndl and fully join my Bavarian (and not so Bavarian) peers. Shopping for one was fun…I loved them all and ended up choosing strictly on price.

I felt incredibly Bavarian in that dirndl…everything from the dancing on tables to the food seemed more traditional when I was dressed properly! I am happy to say that, although this was my last Deggendorfer Frühlingsfest as a student at the FH, I will proudly wear my dirndl to my last Oktoberfest this fall.

International Groups

 

Until this semester, I had clung to my first group-mates for dear life. I never ventured outside of my circle, and found myself doing much more work than the others. Therefore, when I returned this semester, I felt that a change in my group attitude was needed. I had already changed my work and social habits, and had devoted myself to changing my image in the minds of the professors. In order to do this, I decided, I needed a change of group atmosphere. Was it possible to find a group that didn’t procrastinate, and didn’t leave all of the work to me?

So came about my change of heart. Unfortunately, my change of groups did not bring about the results I expected. In all of the projects, our teams are international (it would be impossible for me to be in a non-international group, seeing as I am the only American). I am finding that the exchange students are just there to have fun, and do not care much for the class work or projects. They would much rather sleep off their hangover than attend the lectures. That presents a problem for those of us that are full-time students, since we are forced to integrate them into the group and catch them up on all of the material taught in class. This is a huge waste of precious time that I do not have much of this semester. As for the Germans…well, Germans will be Germans I guess. They want to work a lot (but not very efficiently) and have every little detail planned out. But the real problem that they present is that they are so stuck on being perfect that if one little detail isn’t ideal, then the whole project is inadequate. For example, in one project right now, my German group mates have decided that our project in general is not good enough, and they would like to find a new (and perfect) project to take its place. This brings up several issues- we have already cleared the current project with the professor which makes it, in principle, set in stone; and changing the project now would waste even more time when we are on a tight deadline.

My supposition to international group work is as follows: You Can’t Win.

Group work is a waste of time if the cultures that make up the group are disparate in their thinking and work ethic. As an American working with Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Bavarians, and various other cultures, I have encountered many problems related to cultural differences. But the differences between Germans and less perfectionist cultures (such as the US) is that the Germans refuse to give up an ounce of quality for the preservation of the relationship within the group. My German group members have made the atmosphere of our group tense and inconducive to a successful project. We now have four conflicting ideas of what the perfect project would look like. My attempts to find a new group this semester have left me even less satisfied than my trusty old procrastinating group mates had.

(The photo is of 3/4 of our Crocs EU Marketing Project group in 3rd semester)

Party Low?

When I was first introduced to the “German Uni culture,” I quickly realized that parties and social events were a major part of networking and overall social wellness in Germany- and especially Bavaria. For the first three semesters of my studies at the FH, I was a frequently contributing member in the Deggendorfer “club network.” Meaning that I partied a bit too much for my own good. I am confident to say that I can finally admit my wrongdoings from my first semesters in this drinking culture. I am not proud in confessing this, but in order to finally move on in my quest for an (on time) degree from the International Management program here, it is the first step in fulfilling my goals.

Tonight I think that I grew up in more ways than any twenty-year-old American possibly can. I realized that the more crowded the club, the less fun it is. And also the less you can converse and network. The hindrance that a crowded bar has on the human ability to communicate says a lot about the maturity level of the people that frequent the establishment. For me, I realized tonight that it is much more enjoyable and even beneficial to my education to find the parties that attract the smaller minority of students. There is room to breath and maybe even talk or play a friendly game of darts!

 Last year, I would have traded an empty First Floor for an overcrowded P3 or Alcedo any night. But now a stuffed bar is just cause for confusion, unnecessary drunkenness, and a lack of interpersonal connection. At the so called “Relax” bar tonight, all I felt was an overcrowded, avoidable situation in which I couldn’t even carry on a conversation without interruption from rude nudges, congested shoves, and deafening small talk noise.

I realize that I am on the opposite edge of most Americans my age. I was immersed in the drinking culture of Bavarians- and especially college students- at a much earlier age than the average American student (legally, that is…and without expensive fake IDs). Even now, I am too young to gain admittance to one club in Deggendorf, but the fact that I have been there before and done that diffuses the urge that accompanies the inability to even enter such an establishment. I believe that Americans wouldn’t have such a fascination and over-eagerness to drink if they were allowed, like Germans, to drink at a younger age. It disseminates the exclusive and illegal aspects of drinking that tempt younger college- and even high school- students in the United States to drink.

I am incredibly grateful to have gained my drinking experience in Germany. I am in no context “proud” that I went through that phase, but I realize that just about every person does go through that period. What I am grateful for is that I am through the novelty of drinking, and it has become an event for special occasions, and not for everyday entertainment. I am now much more focused on good grades and a superior bachelor’s thesis that will lead me directly into a lucrative masters program in the United States and can end in incredible job opportunities in the near future, than drinking and dancing the night away without regards to the repercussions that may arise in the morning. I am heads above my peers based on age and maturity. I am forever in the debt of my German experience, and would never in my life give up what I have for an “American” college experience. I now understand the difference between Germany and the United States…maturity. And that simple characteristic can make all the difference in one’s professional life. 

P.s. The picture was from my first semester one night at a party in P3.

Health and Sickness

It’s about time my German health insurance that I have been paying for since 2005 and never used became useful…

I have been sick with a bad cold for about a week now. That is a long time for me since I am used to taking medicine at the onset of a cold to prevent it from getting bad like this. However, I am not in the States. Finding over the counter medicine to take for colds, etc. is nearly impossible. It would be much more worth your time to sleep it off than to attempt a search mission for something similar to Drixoral or some of the other medicines I now will never travel without.

After suffering with a runny nose, cough, headache and my ear being plugged and bothersome for several days, I gave in and went to a doctor…yes, I went to a doctor for a common cold. And I have to admit that it was quite the experience- and nothing at all like the States.

I’ll start from the beginning. With German health insurance, you can go to any doctor- specialist or otherwise- and each time you go to a new doctor it is 10 euros. But that 10 euros is basically a fee for changing or choosing a doctor, after the first payment, you don’t pay each time you go in. I found this much better than in the States, where you pay EVERY time you go in…even if it is just a short check-up.

I handed the lady my insurance chip-card (that had never been used) and she handed me a short patient survey to fill in. After that, I sat in the small (maybe 10 person) waiting room- which is way too big for the office, which consists of just one doctor. I am used to the huge offices of Kaiser, where you have to ask on what floor your appointment takes place in order to find your correct department. Here, you go to the first doctor- a general practitioner- and then, if they see the need, they transfer you… and so on… until you are given a diagnosis (lucky for me, the doctor found nothing wrong with me).

When I entered the actual examination room, it felt like I was in a law office or maybe a professor’s study. In the States, a typical doctor’s office consists of, what, a sterile room with an examination bed, all of the medical instruments, etc… In Germany, that is not the case. There was a nice desk, a bookshelf, a small sink with a select few medical instruments (the only indication of what type of office I was in), and of course pictures of the doctor’s family. When the doctor came in, he asked a few questions, checked out my ears, listened to my breathing, and then concluded that there was nothing wrong with me. I am pretty sure that, at a minimum, he could have said it was just a bad cold, but no. There is NOTHING wrong with me. I beg to differ.

So he wrote me a prescription… for Ibuprofen. It is the first time that I have been prescribed straight Ibuprofen for a cold. I don’t quite understand how that alone could help me…I mean, runny nose, cough… Oh well. We thanked him, left, and then had to find a pharmacy. Unlike many doctor’s offices in the States where the pharmacy is built in, they are a separate entity here in Germany. Surprisingly, the pharmacy was much more crowded than the doctor’s office.

I was told today that Americans are always looking for something to be wrong with them- like we go to the doctor just to get a prescription so that we can say that there is something wrong with us. I don’t know about you, but I think I am much more likely to go to the doctor here in Germany than back in the States, just based on the cost! But if you want good medicine (especially over-the-counter) and a thorough check-up, then the US is the place to be. Being sick isn’t fun in any country, and anyone that thinks that Americans just make any illness we might have sound worse just to get medicine is just plain stupid. I’m sorry, but I am accustomed to taking medicine to cure illness- not letting it just pass on its own (or with the help of loads of herbs…). If you can’t understand this, then catch a cold in the States sometime. Then tell me if you even consider going to the doctor, or if you just run down to the closest store and buy some medicine.

Wieder Zurück

Well, after one year away I am finally back in good old Deggendorf. Right now it is quiet, peaceful, and stress free. I know that will change in the coming weeks, but it is nice to enjoy the beauty and culture of the city I love so much. I still can’t quite fathom why I have such a bond to Deggendorf. Most students here are bored of the same routine and same small city after just a few weeks. But for me, that boredom never sets in. There are always new things to learn and experience here, and if Deggendorf does start to seem too tiny, then Munich and other cities are just a train ride away.

A few days ago,  I sat in the hallway of our beloved “A” building at the FH, looking out over the empty common area that, within a week’s time, will be bustling with activity, excitement, and the happiness of reuniting with old friends over a cold beer, hot cappuccino, or fattening Leberkasesemmel. The last time I saw the campus this empty, I was dropping by to speak with Professor Bausersachs about the International Management program shortly before applicants were chosen for the class of 2009- back in the summer of 2005. Wow, that sounds so weird to say…class of 2009. It is less than one year until my graduation!!! Well, I shouldn’t digress…back to Deggendorf…

I moved in to my new apartment within two hours of my landing in Munich. The building is gray and a bright salmon color. I really don’t quite understand the reasoning behind these colors, as they dont really mesh with the rest of the city. The location is amazing though. The town center and FH are only 5 minutes away! I think the room is a bit bigger than my last, although this one didn’t come with a microwave. What kind of student housing comes furnished, but without a college student’s best friend?!?! All of the washers and dryers work (a very nice change from the Schachinger Wohnheim…), and the landlord is a GAPP exchange alumni like me. My room is at the end of a quiet (for now) hall. However, I get plenty of noise from sirens blaring, buses stopping at the bus station next door, and traffic on the major road right across the park. So much for the peaceful I mentioned before…

I also got myself a job which, in the best case scenario, will keep me on task and focused on school. Kind of weird, right? But unless I am very busy, I will sit around watching TV or go out with friends too often. The job is doing something I was born to do…be a native English speaker. Really, I am just proofreading documents before they are sent to the European Commission for errors and wording. But I have become the target of envy from my friends, who find that my wage is much more than they can make as a German. I guess sometimes life just isn’t fair

By tomorrow evening, many of my friends will have begun to arrive. The town that is so peaceful and quiet during semester breaks will once again become a student town- and the International Management students in my class will kick off our last year in this Bavarian town I so dearly love.