Kind Strangers

Today I only had 8 minutes to change trains, and I couldn’t find the platform. There weren’t any official looking people around, and I had already asked two people who didn’t know where my platform was. 4 minutes before my train departed, all I could do was stand and look around. A kind stranger approached me; he must have noticed my panic stricken face, because he asked me where I was going. The stranger explained that my confusion was justified, and walked me to the platform. I was so grateful to him! I said thank you very much as I was running to the train but I regret that I forgot to wish him a “Good slide into the New Year.”

This stranger went above and beyond to walk me to my platform. It isn’t the first time this kind of beauty has been shown to me while I travel. Kind people remind me how wonderful life is. If it weren’t for this stranger, I would have missed my train. I’m sure I would have caught another one, but my day went a lot smoother because of the stranger. Just three minutes of his time made so much difference to me. I only hope when an opportunity arises that I will also be as giving.

Toungue Tied

After a little over a week in Germany, my German is nearly at the same level as it was when I was 18. I’d say I speak German and French at about the same level but I understand German considerably better than French. As an example, when I hear a German song, even if it is rap, I understand most of it. I only understand French songs it if it is slow and if the lyrics are louder than the instruments. German is buried deep in my soul. I’ve been interacting with German since I was 12, nearly half of my little life.

With some people I regularly speak both English and one of the foreign languages. When I reflect on conversations with someone I regularly speak two languages with I sometimes forget which language we used. In both German and French, I’m fluent in small talk. I can talk with someone about their day, their family, their interests, job, etc. Talking about politics, life philosophy, and other soul bending conversations in German or French are much harder but I think I’ll get their. I’ve had several good conversations with Patrizia’s dad, Klaus. It is extremely hard to express my ideas, but I feel sure I understand his. I know our conversations end sooner than they would if I were more fluent, but I appreciate them so much nevertheless.

Christmas

I spent Christmas with my good friend Patrizia, who I’ve known since I lived in Germany. It’s been four years since I’ve seen her and her family. I’ve really missed them, and I feel so lucky that they would share Christmas with me. I even got to decorate the tree with Patrizia!:)



Christmas in Germany is a three day affaire. Everything closes on noon of the 24th and reopens on the 27th. The 24th is called Holy Night and it is generally reserved for the immediate family. The 25th and 26th are the called the First and Second Christmas Day. Many families divide this time between the mom’s side of the family and the dad’s side of the family.

On Holy Night Patrizia’s big brother came over for diner. We started with a soup, and then those who weren’t cooking socialized. Then we had a fantastic diner where everyone ate slowly and chatted. After a longer break and gifts were exchanged, we ate desert and played a game. It was such a lovely night where everyone took time to genuinely be together. I really loved that the gift exchange was small and secondary to connecting with each other over good food.

On the First Christmas Day Patrizia’s little brothers girlfriend had a nice lunch with us and we played a game. On Second Christmas day Patrizia, her parents and I ate lunch together. In Germany I heard a little bit of Christmas music before Holy Night but not very much. I would walk into stores and think, why are we listening to the top 40? There was all kinds of Christmas music from the 24th-26th though. The attitude toward Christmas music was an interesting contrast to the States where it starts the day after Thanksgiving and grows in intensity right up until Christmas.

Trier

I had the opportunity to go to Trier with the German classes this week. We took the youngest in the school. They are all about 11 years old. 11 year olds are still cute. One of my favorite moments of the trip was when the girls in the photo used wax from their cheese to make a Rudolph nose.

Trier is the oldest City in Germany, founded by Constantine in 16 BCC. When the Roman Empire was divided into East and West this charming city was the capital of Western Rome. We took a tour of Trier in French, and I am happy to say that I understood a good 90 percent of it.

The tour of Trier brought out a cultural difference between the students and I. I had my camera out, and I took pictures of everything old and everything pretty. My students couldn’t be bothered with such typical things. Not many of the students brought cameras, and the ones who did mostly took pictures of friends.

When the tour was over, everyone was free to explore for a couple of hours. After I ate and found some gifts at the Christmas Market, I went to the birth house of the notorious Karl Marx. It was fantasticJ I was so excited! I toured the house in German and I understood a most of it. I was so afraid that I had forgotten German. When I met with the class to go back to France I couldn’t speak French for a while because I had spent time thinking in German.

That is the way it is with me when I try to move between German and French. I can always understand, but speaking is a whole different monster. I’m in Germany for winter break now, and on the train ride there, I heard German and French all over the place. As a result I couldn’t speak either language very well. I feel really lost when this happens and nobody understands me. I hope that one day I will achieve a level of German and French that permits me to move fluidly between them. I would really like to add Spanish to that mix as well.

Interesting Tid-Bit

It’s legal to marry your cousin in France. Needless to say it doesn’t happen very often, and it isn’t very socially acceptable. My friend explained it is a vestige of monarchy and the desire to keep money in the family.

I’ve been busy putting together an americorps application for next year. I head to Germany Thursday for a day trip and again Friday for vacation. I’m trying to get some stuff done before I go. I’m not really sure what happened to this last week, but I just didn’t have time to put together a more interesting post. Thanks to everyone who reads my blog:)

Residency Card

After many hours in the prefecture, my residency card has arrived! I’ve been showing my residency card to everyone with much enthusiasm. This little card represents my goal to be in France, my first two months here, and opportunity. A friend said if ever I need another French residency card I could obtain one in a week with little trouble. I feel just a little bit French now. All French people receive an identity card when they are born. At 18 they are required to carry it with them everywhere and the police can stop anyone at anytime to request their identity card. A friend saw someone taken off the train, because he didn’t have his residency card with him. People of color are asked for their residency card more often than white people.

Everything is going really well here. Now that my residency card has arrived, I’m waiting for my housing assistance and my health care to be validated. My French is progressing, and I‘ve had one dream in French. (another super exciting milestone.) I still have trouble placing impersonal pronouns such as it, he, she, them, those. In French these little words come before the verb, unless there is an infinitive then it comes between the verbs. If I am using a negation, the passé composé (past tense with two verbs), and an impersonal pronoun, my sentence becomes a messy jumble of words. It’s worse if I have to consider if the verb I’m working with is reflexive or conjugated with ‘to be’ instead of ‘have’.

I’m really lucky that I have excellent colleagues. I have friends that still don’t have a fixed schedule. My colleagues are really supportive, friendly, and professional. All of the assistants I know have had doubts about why they are here, and they haven’t always been happy. I miss my family and friends, but I am deliriously happy to be in France. I know why I’m here, I’ve worked really hard to be here, and time is flying by.