Ok just wanted to drop a quick post so you all know I'm still alive.
I'm actually integrating quite well. I'm talking up a storm in Dutch - it's coming back quickly and feels very natural. I've taken a few cautious steps into the undiscovered country of writing in Dutch, but I still have a long way to go there.
I am happily doing nice Dutch things like riding my bike into town, making coffee with a Senseo, hanging laundry on a wash line in the attic (like many Dutch people, we don't have a dryer).
My freedom of movement is somewhat paralyzed by my uncertainty about my next move. Visits to family and touristy stuff are on hold...but not for long. Watch this space.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
You know you're in Holland when...
Last night I was watching Dutch coverage of the Democratic National Convention. Their correspondent in Denver was interviewing a young female Fox News Commentator to get the Republican perspective.
He asked her this insightful question, "You're a beautiful young woman, why are you a Republican? Isn't that a party for old white men?"
wow.
That is almost as ignorant as the Berlin restaurant that turned chocolate cake into "Obama dessert." almost.
He asked her this insightful question, "You're a beautiful young woman, why are you a Republican? Isn't that a party for old white men?"
wow.
That is almost as ignorant as the Berlin restaurant that turned chocolate cake into "Obama dessert." almost.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Rest Is Still Unwritten
Hello readers, just want to update you that I've made the jump from Berlin to Holland. I dont have internet where I'm staying (I'm at a library right now) So we'll see how many updates I can manage.
The train trip on Monday went very smoothly. (Major thanks to my brother Nick for helping me with my bags on the Berlin subway!) I felt sad in the morning as I was leaving Berlin. It's a wonderful place, and I could definitely see myself living there permanently. It just didn't make sense to stay longer at this point in time.
But those feelings of sadness were forgotten as the train made it's way into the Dutch countryside. My heart rejoiced at the sight of all the green farmlands (they're this peculiarly deep color green that I have never seen in the US) populated with little cows and little sheep and the occassional low farmhouse with a thatched roof and red and white shutters.
There's no place like home.
In the absence of internet, I've been doing something very old fashioned: Reading! There's this very typically dutch genre that I'm not sure has an American counterpart: adventure novels set in historical times. There is no moral ambiguity. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. These types of books are characterized by sentimentality about the heros of Dutch history. Last night I stayed up way too late reading about a Burgundian mercenary and a Frieschian aristocratic lady in the time of Philip the Good (early 1400s). It's 500 pages long, and I'm not even half through. I dread to think of all the ways that the course of their love will not run smooth.
So yes, it's the start of another one of my legendary "indefinite stays" in Holland. Plans are underway for various activities. I'll keep you posted.
The train trip on Monday went very smoothly. (Major thanks to my brother Nick for helping me with my bags on the Berlin subway!) I felt sad in the morning as I was leaving Berlin. It's a wonderful place, and I could definitely see myself living there permanently. It just didn't make sense to stay longer at this point in time.
But those feelings of sadness were forgotten as the train made it's way into the Dutch countryside. My heart rejoiced at the sight of all the green farmlands (they're this peculiarly deep color green that I have never seen in the US) populated with little cows and little sheep and the occassional low farmhouse with a thatched roof and red and white shutters.
There's no place like home.
In the absence of internet, I've been doing something very old fashioned: Reading! There's this very typically dutch genre that I'm not sure has an American counterpart: adventure novels set in historical times. There is no moral ambiguity. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. These types of books are characterized by sentimentality about the heros of Dutch history. Last night I stayed up way too late reading about a Burgundian mercenary and a Frieschian aristocratic lady in the time of Philip the Good (early 1400s). It's 500 pages long, and I'm not even half through. I dread to think of all the ways that the course of their love will not run smooth.
So yes, it's the start of another one of my legendary "indefinite stays" in Holland. Plans are underway for various activities. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
It's a small world after all
It's a small world. We all know that. The evangelical christian world, however, is even smaller.
Item: today when I slid into my pew at church, I noticed a vaguely familiar face in the row just ahead of me. My mind went back over the years - it couldn't be that guy I went to Bible camp in Pennsylvania with when I was 12, could it?
I introduced myself after the service and, oh yes, it was.
In the working world, they say, "The people you meet on your way up are the same people you meet on your way down."
There has to be some kind of church analogue for that expression. Something that captures the essence of "Be sure to be nice to that guy at your Bible camp in Pennsylvania when you're 12, because you may find yourself sitting behind him in church in Berlin when you're 25. " If anyone has suggestions, please email me.
Item: today when I slid into my pew at church, I noticed a vaguely familiar face in the row just ahead of me. My mind went back over the years - it couldn't be that guy I went to Bible camp in Pennsylvania with when I was 12, could it?
I introduced myself after the service and, oh yes, it was.
In the working world, they say, "The people you meet on your way up are the same people you meet on your way down."
There has to be some kind of church analogue for that expression. Something that captures the essence of "Be sure to be nice to that guy at your Bible camp in Pennsylvania when you're 12, because you may find yourself sitting behind him in church in Berlin when you're 25. " If anyone has suggestions, please email me.
a walk under the lime trees
So this afternoon I took a farewell stroll down Unter Den Linden – the grand boulevard at the centre of Berlin. It was originally intended by German Emperors to be Berlin’s answer to the Champs Elysee, but war and bombs kinda put a damper on that.
UDL is a bit confusing because it does not have a cohesive theme. There’s a smattering of cafes, a lot of souvenir shops, some embassies, a few high end car dealerships with elaborate show rooms. Champs Elysee has a lot more atmosphere because it’s all cafes with terraces and then a few luxury goods stores like Louis Vuitton. The people on the Champs Elysee are also a bit different:) (sorry, that’s an in joke.)
On one end of UDL is the Fernsehturn. It's a hideously ugly TV tower put up by the Communists (though actually designed by Swedes - obviously not ones who worked at Ikea).
UDL is a bit confusing because it does not have a cohesive theme. There’s a smattering of cafes, a lot of souvenir shops, some embassies, a few high end car dealerships with elaborate show rooms. Champs Elysee has a lot more atmosphere because it’s all cafes with terraces and then a few luxury goods stores like Louis Vuitton. The people on the Champs Elysee are also a bit different:) (sorry, that’s an in joke.)
On one end of UDL is the Fernsehturn. It's a hideously ugly TV tower put up by the Communists (though actually designed by Swedes - obviously not ones who worked at Ikea).
On the other end of UDL is the legendary Brandenburg Gate. The statue on top is called the Quadriga. Napoleon took it to Paris when he defeated the Germans. They reclaimed the Quadriga after Waterloo and named the square next to the gate “Pariser Platz” to rub French noses in it.
To demonstrate that we’ve moved on and there are no hard feelings, the French have located their embassy on Pariser Platz. This gracious gesture is somewhat mooted by the ridiculously fortified American embassy across the way. The sight of all those armed guards reminded me of Robespierre’s words, “Terror is therefore an emination of virtue.”
And then just 3 buildings down from the embassy I came to the most important sight in all of Berlin: Hotel Adlon! This is the hotel out of the window of which Michael Jackson dangled that baby. That was in Berlin. I know. You're all green with envy right now.
I'm a lucky girl.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Why I became an editor (an occasional series on real life sentences that I've edited)
Lest any of you get the impression that my life in Berlin is all museums and boat parties:
"In order to appropriate effectively the principles of soul care and spiritual direction for equipping and discipling women, the auspices of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding to assist to understand the universality of pain."
Is there even a verb in here?
I just deleted this 'sentence.' It was a repetition of something that was said earlier in the paragraph. I think.
"In order to appropriate effectively the principles of soul care and spiritual direction for equipping and discipling women, the auspices of sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding to assist to understand the universality of pain."
Is there even a verb in here?
I just deleted this 'sentence.' It was a repetition of something that was said earlier in the paragraph. I think.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Back from Babylon
Today I visited the Pergamon Museum. It is named on every single “top 5 sights in Berlin” list out there – and it showed i.e. it was unbelievably crowded. At one point, I was in a group of 10 people examining a glass case with a tiny statue of the goddess Ishtar. It was also very hot. So, as museum visits go, this was a fairly unpleasant one for me.
But I must admit that, yes, the Pergamon museum deserves to be on all those “top 5” list. If you come to Berlin, you will simply have to tough it out and go. Their collection of ancient near eastern artifacts is spectacular. Apparently, the Pergamon, the British Museum, and the Louvre house the best collections of such artifacts outside the near east.
The museum has many smaller statues etc, but it is most famous for three massive ancient structures that were brought to Berlin and reassembled inside the museum. 1. The blue gate of Ishtar. It's incredible that you can see something so gigantic in almost the exact same way that ancient Babylonians would have seen it. The gate’s purplish-blue color is also extremely beautiful.
It’s strange to think that the Pergamon– like most of the musea in Berlin – was in the Eastern part of the city. So 20 years ago it would still have been off-limits to me.
I read on the internet that some important parts of the Pergamon museum's collection were taken by the Russians – who have for years now been defying court orders to return them. That cracked me up. I suspect that is what the ancient Babylonians would have done too. Some things never change.
But I must admit that, yes, the Pergamon museum deserves to be on all those “top 5” list. If you come to Berlin, you will simply have to tough it out and go. Their collection of ancient near eastern artifacts is spectacular. Apparently, the Pergamon, the British Museum, and the Louvre house the best collections of such artifacts outside the near east.
The museum has many smaller statues etc, but it is most famous for three massive ancient structures that were brought to Berlin and reassembled inside the museum. 1. The blue gate of Ishtar. It's incredible that you can see something so gigantic in almost the exact same way that ancient Babylonians would have seen it. The gate’s purplish-blue color is also extremely beautiful.
2. The Market Gate of Miletus – I’m sure its spectacular, but it’s currently under renovation. Sigh.
3. The Pergamon Altar – Pergamon was a city in ancient Greece. The “altar” is actually a massive structure of the sort that most of us would call a “temple.” You can sit on the huge staircase that led into the inner courtyard of the altar/temple. Large parts of the friezes that decorated the courtyard are reconstructed, and the audio guide tells you the stories that they depict so you can follow along. It’s very cool.
It’s strange to think that the Pergamon– like most of the musea in Berlin – was in the Eastern part of the city. So 20 years ago it would still have been off-limits to me.
I read on the internet that some important parts of the Pergamon museum's collection were taken by the Russians – who have for years now been defying court orders to return them. That cracked me up. I suspect that is what the ancient Babylonians would have done too. Some things never change.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Why I became an editor...(real life sentences that I've edited)
"The cycle of abuse becomes cyclical."
Millais, Keats
SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease;
For Summer has o'erbrimm'd their clammy cells
Friday, August 15, 2008
another article by me
Published in the American Spectator...
Three earnest Obama volunteers sit at a folding table stacked high with voter registration forms. People walk by and smile when they see the "Change We Can Believe In" signs. Most of them cannot register to vote, however, as they are not American citizens. This bustling main street is in Berlin, Germany.
International Voter Registration has caught on in a big way among Obama supporters, with good reason. There are an estimated 6 million registered Democrats living outside the United States. In 2004 only 1 million Americans total requested international absentee ballots.
The rest of my article
Three earnest Obama volunteers sit at a folding table stacked high with voter registration forms. People walk by and smile when they see the "Change We Can Believe In" signs. Most of them cannot register to vote, however, as they are not American citizens. This bustling main street is in Berlin, Germany.
International Voter Registration has caught on in a big way among Obama supporters, with good reason. There are an estimated 6 million registered Democrats living outside the United States. In 2004 only 1 million Americans total requested international absentee ballots.
The rest of my article
Thursday, August 14, 2008
We Are The World
So last night I went to the international party on the good ship "Eastern Comfort" again. It was a lot of fun. As soon as I arrived, I made my way to the bar with the intent of ordering something inconspicuous. I asked for a "Berliner Weisse" off the menu. (I thought this would be some kind of basic blond beer.) It turned out to be a fizzy alcoholic drink mixed with red syrup served in a low, wide glass with two bright yellow straws. So much for inconspicuous, but, man, was it good!
I met an Irish guy named Barney who used to drive car service in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn. wow. small world.
I met a German named Jacob who told me that the Russians are right to invade Georgia.
I met a French guy named Chibo (sp?) who asked me what Americans think about French people. I tried to explain the expression "cheese-eating surrender monkey," but his English was pretty bad so I dont think he understood.
When I said I was from Washington, he told me he had a friend who lived near there in "Sahn-truh-viel." I took me a second to realize that he meant Centreville (Sehn-tuhr-vill) in Virginia. I know Centreville pretty well. It's a boring, redneck-ish backwood, but, in his French accent, it suddenly sounded very chic.
I also chatted with my old friend Miriam. (I have now seen her at 4 separate social occassions in Berlin, that definitely qualifies her as an old friend). She's American, and we discussed the upcoming election.
Yes. Yes. Another night in the city.
I met an Irish guy named Barney who used to drive car service in my old neighborhood in Brooklyn. wow. small world.
I met a German named Jacob who told me that the Russians are right to invade Georgia.
I met a French guy named Chibo (sp?) who asked me what Americans think about French people. I tried to explain the expression "cheese-eating surrender monkey," but his English was pretty bad so I dont think he understood.
When I said I was from Washington, he told me he had a friend who lived near there in "Sahn-truh-viel." I took me a second to realize that he meant Centreville (Sehn-tuhr-vill) in Virginia. I know Centreville pretty well. It's a boring, redneck-ish backwood, but, in his French accent, it suddenly sounded very chic.
I also chatted with my old friend Miriam. (I have now seen her at 4 separate social occassions in Berlin, that definitely qualifies her as an old friend). She's American, and we discussed the upcoming election.
Yes. Yes. Another night in the city.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Quote of the day
"Some people say it's dangerous to keep weapons in your home. I say it's better to be hurt by someone you know accidentally than by a stranger on purpose." -Dwight Schrute
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Quote of the day
"Salute me, for I am the throes of becoming a genius." - Balzac to his sister
(Editorial comment: If she was a sister like me, I can just imagine how she responded to that)
(Editorial comment: If she was a sister like me, I can just imagine how she responded to that)
Thursday, August 07, 2008
How the Other Half Lives
Sorry I haven’t blogged for a bit. I’ve been superbusy with activities related to “Project Keep Emma in Berlin.” No actual news to report right now, but watch this space for updates in a week or two.
Tuesday night I went to a Democrats Abroad meeting (for my work, of course). As a lifelong conservative and sometime Republican, I was excited about observing Democrats in their native habitat for the first time.
What are Democratic party activists really like? Well, turns out they’re just like Republican party activists – self-involved, self-satisfied, and long-winded - except they have more tattoos and body piercings and some of them are gay.
Michael, the head of the organization, proposed an agenda which featured six items – the very last one being the big voter registration drive that they are sponsoring this Saturday. One very sensible lady proposed a parliamentary motion to move up discussion of the voter registration drive and make it the first item on the agenda. Michael took exception to anyone amending the agenda that he had put together. So there was lots of discussion and various parliamentary motions and after fifteen minutes a compromise was reached: the voter registration drive was placed third on the agenda.
Wow.
Anyway, I had a lot of fun. Met some cool people. One lady invited me to her “anti-war social club.” Well, that’s what I’m calling it. Apparently, it’s a group of Americans who formed an anti-war organization in Berlin about 6 years ago. They now do little more than go out for drinks once a month.
I am actually just back from there. It was held at Barcomi’s – a very hip café here. The weather was wonderful, and we sat out in the courtyard surrounded by high buildings. I drank a café au lait, met some interesting people, and got invited to a party. All in all, not a bad night’s work.
I can go to sleep feeling satisfied.
Tuesday night I went to a Democrats Abroad meeting (for my work, of course). As a lifelong conservative and sometime Republican, I was excited about observing Democrats in their native habitat for the first time.
What are Democratic party activists really like? Well, turns out they’re just like Republican party activists – self-involved, self-satisfied, and long-winded - except they have more tattoos and body piercings and some of them are gay.
Michael, the head of the organization, proposed an agenda which featured six items – the very last one being the big voter registration drive that they are sponsoring this Saturday. One very sensible lady proposed a parliamentary motion to move up discussion of the voter registration drive and make it the first item on the agenda. Michael took exception to anyone amending the agenda that he had put together. So there was lots of discussion and various parliamentary motions and after fifteen minutes a compromise was reached: the voter registration drive was placed third on the agenda.
Wow.
Anyway, I had a lot of fun. Met some cool people. One lady invited me to her “anti-war social club.” Well, that’s what I’m calling it. Apparently, it’s a group of Americans who formed an anti-war organization in Berlin about 6 years ago. They now do little more than go out for drinks once a month.
I am actually just back from there. It was held at Barcomi’s – a very hip café here. The weather was wonderful, and we sat out in the courtyard surrounded by high buildings. I drank a café au lait, met some interesting people, and got invited to a party. All in all, not a bad night’s work.
I can go to sleep feeling satisfied.
Quote of the day
"Red Bull Gives You Wings." - the makers of Red Bull
(editorial comment: this statement is absolutely true.)
(editorial comment: this statement is absolutely true.)
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Sonntag in Berlin
This morning I paid my second visit to the Lukas Gemeinde. It reminds me of my church back in Maryland. Unfortunately, unlike last week, there was no English translation for some reason. This was not a problem for the music. I knew the English versions of each song.
You see, I attended Patrick Henry College where we had mandatory chapel every morning. As a result, I now know every single Christian song that has ever been written by heart. Considering how much I travel and how often I attend non-English church services, this may actually prove to be the most useful part of my college education.
I didn’t have a lot of success with the sermon, though. I know it was on the martyrdom of Steven, and at a certain point the pastor mentioned Auschwitz and then DVD players. That’s about as much as I got.
Later in the day I returned for the evening service. It was…exactly the same as the morning service. I had not grasped that you’re only supposed to attend one of them. Oh well. On the bright side, I understood a lot more of the sermon the second time around.
The pastor said that when our consciences are sore it’s like we have a DVD player in our minds that replays our sins over and over again and we feel guilty. When we are trusting in Christ, we know that He has washed away our sins.
I still don’t know why he mentioned Auschwitz, though.
You see, I attended Patrick Henry College where we had mandatory chapel every morning. As a result, I now know every single Christian song that has ever been written by heart. Considering how much I travel and how often I attend non-English church services, this may actually prove to be the most useful part of my college education.
I didn’t have a lot of success with the sermon, though. I know it was on the martyrdom of Steven, and at a certain point the pastor mentioned Auschwitz and then DVD players. That’s about as much as I got.
Later in the day I returned for the evening service. It was…exactly the same as the morning service. I had not grasped that you’re only supposed to attend one of them. Oh well. On the bright side, I understood a lot more of the sermon the second time around.
The pastor said that when our consciences are sore it’s like we have a DVD player in our minds that replays our sins over and over again and we feel guilty. When we are trusting in Christ, we know that He has washed away our sins.
I still don’t know why he mentioned Auschwitz, though.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
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