my first day in Lamor-Plage,/Lorient, France

Pulling into the La Paix college campus brought on a massive wave of nervousness and excitement. Our coach rolled in just as classes were ending, so many students stared at us passing by, this large group of Americans. Our group is spending this week in Lorient, which is a large port/harbor town on the west coast of France. We are also spending the week in homestays, so all 28 of us are split up at night. We arrive in front of the office, and all of us give a great cheer. Through the window, we see the American flag hanging on the wall. This place instantly felt like home and that we were welcomed.

We pulled our bags off the coach and realized that we were being matched up with our families in the parking lot right away. They were waiting for us, and the French professor would call off our names and bring us to our family. It dawned on me that there was no briefing time. I felt the urge to say good bye to my friends. I know that I will see them tomorrow, but it was odd, just leaving them all of a sudden, pulling us all in different directions.

Now I’ve only spent about 2 or 3 hours learning French these past few weeks. Thankfully, I was matched with a family that all spoke English very well. Monsieur Salaun works as a teacher at the prison preparing inmates for going back in to society (especially workplace skills). Madame Salaun is actually from Dominica in the West Indies and is a private English tutor that works out of home. As we were driving back, Monsieur Salaun and I discussed the global economic crisis, unemployment and just generalities about their region and my background. It made me at ease that he was able to speak English so well. I do find myself pausing to ask myself, “is what I’m about to say going to make sense?” So I attempt to not use slang and make it easy to understand.

The family lives on a renovated farm that has been turned into a few residences. Before we went home, however, Mr. Salaun took me into the center of their small town to buy bread. Bread to the French, as far as I can understand it, is as important as water on the table. It is served at every meal and it is only served as a baguette. So, we walked into the bakery and he bought 2 baguettes – they were warm; fresh out of the oven. He gave me a quick tour around the town (opposite side of the harbor as Lorient) and told me used to be a large fishing port, but now relies on tourism in the summer months as it has good sailing and beaches. In fact, they actually have a small house that they rent out in the summer… which I found out, was where I would be spending my week!

Right now, I am sitting in the Salaun guest house and I feel like a king. It has a large great room with a TV, fireplace, dining table and kitchen all open. Then, up the stairs there are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. On this trip, we have run the gamut as far as accommodation is concerned. Some really beautiful hotels, some hole in the wall hostels, but mostly just basic, clean beds. But either way, they are shared with at least 1, sometimes 2 or 3 other people. I have a big room, a really big bed and my own bathroom all to myself. I have a place to kick up my feet and it feels just like home. I’m waiting for Madame Salaun to finish her English lessons, and then I’m going over to their house to eat dinner.

Right now, I couldn’t be more thrilled to spend this week learning and living with this family.

They have a son, Matthieu (goes by Matt, and we’re already Facebook friends) who is a year younger than me. He attends college nearby and is studying International Business. I’ve met him only briefly, but it sounds like he’s going to show me around some more tomorrow. Plus, Armistice Day is on the 11^th, (similar to our 4^th of July) so it is a big holiday and we’re all going to attend a military celebration.

The only bummer about this week is Registration. I have a lot of credits so technically I register with the Seniors. Unfortunately, that means today at 8:30 PM. That’s 3:30 AM here in France. It is a frustrating ordeal nonetheless to organize the classes you are going to take, but this is an added challenge. We did have the option of emailing our schedules in, but I just want to know that it is done and if something goes wrong, I want to be able to fix it or change my classes myself. My family has internet access, so it should work out brilliantly.

On a final note, today is the 20^th anniversary of the Berlin wall coming down. I am watching (in French) the celebrations going on in Berlin on TVv. Several of the presidents and prime ministers of the EU nations are in attendance. Angela Murkel of Germany and Gordon Brown from England were the ones I recognized (and at least understood somewhat)

Go up to the clerk at the gas station, the post office, the grocery store. Say hello and ask them politely for help. They oblige, because it is their job and they will help. You find what you need or are taken care of and you say thanks, have a good day or just goodbye. Say hello to your roommate at breakfast then say hey again in passing in the hallway after lunch. American greetings are simple, often obligatory and even empty. When we ask “how are you” , it’s often just out of routine to be nice to others.

In France, when I kept hearing ‘Bonjour’, I just assumed it was just another word for hello. What I learned was that ‘bonjour’ has a deeper meaning than that. The meaning of people when they say that word is, “I want to start a relationship with you today”. So, that is why, once you’ve “bonjoured” someone, you don’t need to say it again. The relationship has already started for the day. You do it the first time you see someone, even if it’s walking in to a store or a restaurant. You have to be prepared to receive or initiate the bonjour so that you can conduct business or continue the relationship. It seems to carry so much more meaning. I want to start my relationship with you today.

Our week here in France has been spent having all our regular business classes, but also learning about French culture, language and seeing historical sites here. We are literally 100 meters from the beach here, so it’s easy to run down to the ocean and try to see England across the channel. Also, we’re living in the Normandy region, which is where the famous battle for Normandy and D-Day took place during World War II. I had the opportunity to visit Omaha beach and several key battleground sites.

Walking into the museum of the American forces during the battle for Normandy was harrowing enough, listening to how the soldiers bravely fought for our country. But what was more sobering was going outside to visit the memorial cemetery. There are over 10,000 soldiers buried here; all the graves are pointed toward America. Walking along and reading the names and states where these brave men rest now made me realize how much I have to be thankful for. These people stood up against one of the greatest superpowers in the world to ensure that the free world stayed free.

On the way out, I stopped to read the memorial wall of soldiers who were never found after the battle. The wall is considerably long, I believe with over 1,000 names just from the Normandy battle, lasting about 1,000 days. The wall says something like this: “Here are the names of the soldiers who lie in arms known only to God”

another 48 hours (part 3 and 4) - Bologna, Florence and an unplanned visit to Cinque Terre

MAMMA MIA!

Bologna is for livers, not for travelers. There is not much to see as the way of touristy things, but it is definitely a very relaxed city. People leisurely stroll along the sidewalks (which are underneath the buildings above, so they are always covered and cool, it’s neat) and sit and drink coffee at the many café/bar places. This is finally starting to feel like Italy. Our hotel is about a block from the largest piazza in Bologna, and today we took in 2 different street performances. One was from a man juggling on a unicycle, lots of fanfare and a drummer and pretty funny. The second was after our dinner (more about that below) and my favorite of all. It started with a woman walking in front of the fountain in the piazza and starting to twirl these sticks of fire. No announcement, no fanfare, just performance. She was so focused that pretty soon a crowd started to form. When her fire went out, a man came out and started twisting and twirling more fire sticks. Then a man ate some fire. It was insane but amazingly beautiful all at the same time. It was nerve wracking, yet relaxing. It was also the first time I gave some money for a street performance. It was so simple, yet it’s actually pretty dangerous and required lots of focus and skill.

Before that though, was the best Italian meal I have had yet. The food was good, but the experience was even better. This place (recommended by our hotel) was away from the city center and definitely a local establishment. It seemed that the grandfather was the owner, the dad was the manager and the daughters were the wait staff. It was a family run business. The grandfather was old, but still moved around, getting drinks and resetting tables. The dad, fluent in English, was able to greet us and seat us and schmooze all the other customers as well. We asked him about some things on the menu and he taught us a few things about what ingredients were in what. We each ordered some pasta, then we waved the dad over again. The following is the dialogue:

Dad: Do you guys want anything else?

Jesse: Well, we have a few questions about the second courses… (he points to the menu)

Dad: I can’t read that, I need my glasses. Damn, don’t you guys know how to read?

Jesse: What is porcini?

Dad: (shrugs) Mamma Mia… (after much explanation, says) How about a porkchop? Only 5 euros.

Jesse orders one.

Dad: (points to Waller) and how about you? Would you like one?

Waller: I’m thinking about it, I’m kind of full.

Dad: No, I don’t believe you. You could tell me you’re out of money, but you can’t tell me you’re full. I don’t believe you.

Waller: Alright, I’ll have one.

Dad: Where are you guys from?

Jesse: From Minnesota.

Dad: (pauses) that’s far away. (he walks away)

And so from the quiet piazzas and quaint streets of Bologna, we moved to the bustling and beautiful city of Firenze, (Florence) in the Tuscany region. It was like we stepped off a spaceship. There were tourists here from all over, crowded streets filled with English-speakers and markets packed with knockoff Louis Vuitton bags and cheap cashmere scarves. There’s good reason for the calamity: plenty of historical churches, art galleries, and the most important perhaps, Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. Completed just over 500 years ago, David is the David from the Bible, just after defeating Goliath. It represented, at that time, the most perfect proportion of a human sculpture, with relation to the hands, feet, head and torso. There are 2 copies located throughout the city, but the original is safely preserved within a museum with not much else to support it.

The only other cool thing about that museum was the sculptures leading to the David. They were all by Michelangelo, but none of them were completed. Each was in a various stage, then abandoned or never finished for some reason. Some have heads, others only torsos and feet, but you get an idea of how the finished sculpture does indeed come from a solid block of marble. As one woman put it standing next to me, “It’s like he is releasing them from their prison”.

Over the course of our two days here, we made several interesting ‘run ins’. The first, with our professor who happened to be at an internet café on the way to our hotel. Second, with several bethel students also travelling around Italy, one such encounter was in the middle of a busy market. Third, one of our old friends from the Freiburg Goethe Institut happened to walk across the lobby of the hostel our friends were staying in while we were waiting for them. We caught up for a few minutes. It made me realize how small of a world we actually live in. Plus, we made a day trip yesterday and several familiar faces reappeared today in Florence, one of whom actually approached us to ask about our study program.

Speaking of the day trip, I was intrigued that a few of our friends were going to five villages on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, a region called Cinque Terre. Each town is perched on the side of a cliff and the towns are connected by a railway and walking paths. Each also has its own specialty product, from wines to anchovies. We had a beautiful day to explore and even jumped in the Mediterranean for a swim. It was certainly cold (and there were few other brave souls but us Minnesotans) but refreshing to be in water again, and salt water at that!

We spent the last 15 minutes of the sunset (dang you, daylight savings time!) on the path between the 4^th and 5^th villages. Not only were we treated to amazing views of the sunset and the cliffs around us, we happened upon something really interesting. Apparently, the last leg of this walking path is called the “Lover’s Way” in Italian. All around the railings of the walk way (basically anything that is stationary and solid) are small padlocks clamped together. Some have inscriptions or initials, others are blank. All though, from what we understood, were left by couples who have made their commitment to one another. They lock the padlock on the way as a sign of this commitment and then toss the key in the ocean. Pretty cool and heartwarming to think about, since there were THOUSANDS of locks along the walkway. It really means that you are there forever, at least part of you is.

Tomorrow is the last segment of our Free Travel already: ROME. We have been anticipating this city for a while now and there is plenty to see. The Vatican, Pantheon, Travi Fountain, St. Peter’s, the Coliseum… I recommend you to see “Angels and Demons” if you want to get an idea of the sites we are going to see. We watched it a few weeks ago and it really pumped us all up, maybe we will solve a mystery while we are there? Who knows…

ps. I've been drinking more coffee in the past few days than I ever have... straight coffee or cappuccino. It is wonderfully tasty. and, rather inexpensive. No Starbucks or Caribou here. Just mom and pop type places. cappuccino? only 90 euro cents (about a $1.30)

48 hours (part 1 and 2)

It’s hard to get a taste for a city, let alone a culture, when you are only living in it for 48 hours.

That being said, I have spent (and will spend) about 48 hours in every city starting from Galway to Dublin, Ireland, then into Italy for free travel. Quite a lot of moving every 2 days!

Thankfully though, I got as good a taste as anyone ever could have with that short amount of time. I spent really the only full day I had in Galway, Ireland, by seeing as much of Ireland as I could. That meant hopping on a touristy bus trip throughout the countryside – always a gamble for worthiness. This one paid off. We had some of the best weather in months, according to the tour guide. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and you could see for miles. Our destination today was the Cliffs of Moher and the Barren region of Ireland; it was to be an all day affair.

Once we got to the cliffs and I could look all around for miles and see the ocean, the sheer faces of the edges of the green cliffs and the countryside around us, I knew I was in Ireland. Top it off with a bowl of Irish stew for lunch, then a huge full rainbow on the way home, and a visit to a pub later to make it a complete experience. What was so special about my pub visit was the people. My two friends from Bethel studying in Galway, Johan and Annie, picked me up at my hostel and took me to a local pub they had found a week ago with live music. Tonight though, it was all about a soccer match on the TV. After the game though, the giant TV was wheeled away, tables were cleared, and all of a sudden, the room is full of couples doing Irish jigs. Traditional music, courtesy of a live band, set everyone’s toes a tapping. We all sat for nearly an hour watching the athleticism and community shown by these Irish men and women. Dancing seemed to be such an integral part of their culture. It was a reason to get together and have fun.

The second 48 hour installment: Milan, Italy. This is the gateway city for our Free Travel week. Note: It is anything but “Free” as we actually have to pay for some of it on our own, but we received a little money to cover modest meals and hotels. Milan is also anything but modest. It is most definitely the fashion capital of the world. Nowhere else are you able to purchase items that literally come right off the runway and into a store. Not just Penney’s or Target, but the designers themselves. Gucci, Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabanna, just to name a few. These stores let you browse for free, but is a t-shirt really worth 300 Euros? (roughly $450 US) It wasn’t in my ballpark. But, we still had fun being astonished by prices and I ended up getting a pretty cool sweater and jacket.

I also saw the third largest cathedral in the world: The Duomo. It is visible for several blocks as it towers in the center of the city as a giant white stone structure. Inside is even more lavish, with giant canvas paintings hanging from the ceiling and marvelous stained glass windows depicting biblical stories. Google the Duomo in Milan to get an idea of its size and beauty. The rest of the day was spent wandering the city, before going out to get a taste at the American Embassy, aka McDonalds. McDonalds is great because 1) it’s cheap, in comparison to everything else, 2) it tastes the same everywhere and 3) you can get by with little or no local language skills because “Cheeseburger” is universal. We had burgers and fries and milkshakes for a little taste of home.

I have had a few brief—but friendly— encounters from the local Italians. First, our hotel manager is a saint. Not only did he personally come to our room and welcome us, he got us maps and showed us how to get around and he told us about daylight savings time (which we totally forgot). Second, I washed my clothes in a nearby self service Laundromat and there was an older Italian man there ( I assume he was the owner). A man was getting his load out of the dryer, mostly collared shirts and dress slacks. He began to hastily stuff and roll them into his small bag. The Italian owner came over, slapped his wrist away and began neatly and methodically folding the dress shirts and pants to prevent them from wrinkling. It was obvious that clothes were his work, his passion. He cared for them more than anything.

Almost forgot. I had heard from a friend I had met at the Goethe Institut from Italy that all the small bars and restaurants have this thing called “Apertivo”. Basically, during the early evening, massive and varied amounts of food are put on a buffet table for a fixed price. A buffet in Europe, unheard of! They sell it this way: You order one beverage at a fixed price (8 or 9 Euro) and then you may have unlimited trips to the buffet to take food. For us, this was a very inexpensive way to eat dinner, as the name ‘’apertivo” is semi deceiving. Last night, I sampled pasta, fresh mozzarella and tomato, bruscetta , pizza, meatballs and sausages, French fries, chicken and cucumber, and shish kabobs. We filled up and watched the soccer game for a while. No hidden service charge, no swindling and plenty of pretty good food. Definitely “on code” for us Americans.

Next installment: Part 3 will be from Bologna, Part 4 from Florence, and Part 5 from Rome (from our free travel week)

travel, travel, travel

It's been a whirlwind over these past couple days. London for 4. Edinburgh, Scotland for 4. Now going on to Dublin and Galway Ireland for 4. Then 4 cities in Italy for 10 days. It hardly leaves time for catching up with the world, let alone school work! I had my first test in Consumer Behavior on Friday. It's been hard to balance the demands of a full semester of schoolwork when you have a really cool city outside your door ready to be explored.

Highlights from Edinburgh:

Went down to the shore of the North Sea.

Saw my first semi-pro Rugby match. Edinburgh won! Rugby, if you have a chance to see it at any level, is a must. It is one of the most physical games out there. It is similar to American football, except it is a running clock, like soccer. That means that even if you're tackled, the play still continues and possession can change at any time. It makes for very exciting twists and turns.

Hearing the various bagpipers who play on the street. It's a step above the other amateur musicians on the street corners (guitars, etc.) They are in full traditional Scottish dress (KILTS!) and you can hear them from several hundred feet away, like it is beckoning you toward them.

I heard today that lots of friends of family are reading these updates, and they want to hear the rest of the story! So I will work on sending something from every country/city I visit. The next time you hear from me will be in Ireland.

All the best,

Spencer

mind the gap.

I have wanted to visit London since I was in 8^th grade. There was something about this being in a foreign culture, that is totally unique on its own, but still having the common ground of English language. The history, museums, shows are all something that I thought would make a great trip. I suggested it for family vacations during the summer a few different occasions. And now, I am writing this after seeing London for the very first time. In fact, I spent my whole day taking in as many different parts of London as I could.

The first thing many of us were looking forward to was church services in English again. Some of the girls found directions online to the London Hillsong church, which was only a few blocks from our hotel. We packed into the auditorium (basically a Broadway-esque theater rented out on Sundays for church) and it was like nothing I’d experienced. There was a guest speaker that day and although charismatically had a few good points, I personally failed to connect with his message. He seemed to overemphasize money and how God can give us that kind of success if we ask Him for it. Aside from that though, the worship and music was spectacular. It was like Vespers on steroids. 7 Singers, full band, lights, fog, video screens, light beams—it was set up like a rock concert. Very cool.

After church, I realized how small of a world we live in. All of a sudden, I see Megan H. and Casey K. from Bethel, who are studying abroad in Spain for the fall and traveled to London for their fall break. We caught up for a bit and headed off as a big group to Camden Town—home of a large street market. It was uber-crowded there, almost to the point of uncomfortable. After browsing for a bit, we found a great food market and had chicken fajitas by Regents Canal.

Pretty soon, I realized what I really wanted. I really wanted to go explore London by myself. For a day, I didn’t want to be with 20 other Americans. I just wanted to be me and blend in. It was the most relaxing and rewarding time I’ve spent recently. I said goodbye to my friends until 7 PM that night, and began my London adventure.

I headed back to the Underground (subway) tube station and took it south, heading back toward the river Thames and Westminster Abbey. I chose to get off at Charing Cross station, and start walking around a bit. I stopped at the fountains and statues in Trafalgar Square and people watched for a while. My sense of direction—usually pretty spot on—seemed to throw me and I ended up walking east when I thought I was walking north. Life is not as simple when you don’t have your iPhone with Google GPS. But, getting lost was half the fun. If I didn’t head in the wrong direction, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon this movie shoot. I literally was asked to wait a moment as they were shooting a scene crossing the street (in front of the House of Justice on the Strand, I Think…) I didn’t recognize any stars, but I’ll have to get on IMDB to see if I can pinpoint which one it might be. And just as the scene finished, it started to mist. I looked at a map and realized I had been walking east at this point and that a different line of the Tube was just 2 blocks away. I walked and found myself right on the banks of the Thames.

I’d heard that Kensington was a cool neighborhood and I knew Harrod’s (the giant department store) was close, in Knightsbridge. But my eyes drifted up to Notting Hill (I have seen the movie) and I’d remembered reading about a bakery there that was supposed to have the best desserts in London. So, off I went.

Notting Hill area (specifically Portobello Road) is a completely different place than downtown London. Each house is a pastel color with a bold door (blues, grays, reds) to match. Shops adorn the left side of the street with antiques, specialty boutiques and eateries. I got to the bakery (Hummingbird, 133 Portobello Road) and the line literally stretched down the street. No dessert is good for waiting that long, and my time was limited. I walked briskly back to the station and worked my way to Knightsbridge.

I recognized several name brand stores, but you know they only set up shop on the street because of Harrod’s. This is a behemoth. They sell EVERYTHING: appliances, TV’s, clothes, perfume, FOOD (like groceries even) and I wandered around for an hour or two before realizing that the only thing I could likely afford was some specialty tea.

One of the great things about being in London is to hear English on the street again. Walking down the street in Freiburg, or even Austria, you could only understand bits and pieces of conversations, so my brain just naturally tuned it all out. Now though, it’s great to just hear how people talk on the street. I had an interesting observation on the Tube on the way home. I was standing right by the door and on my left were a group of 4 college guys from Britain and a group of 3 younger teenaged Britains got on. They were dressed in a lot of name brands (Quiksilver, New Era caps, bright colors) and looked like typical gangster or snowboarder type guys. The interesting thing was a comment made quietly by one of the college guys: “Why do so many Europeans want to look like Americans?”

I think that comment is especially interesting because a few of us Americans actually strive to look “European” be it clothes, hats, whatever. It’s like both cultures are striving to have what the other has. Maybe it’s because it rocks the traditional norms, but it is fascinating to watch how others behave.

It’s been a full day and I’m absolutely dead tired. The one thing about being in a new city is there is always so much to see and do. But, you do a lot of walking, and that has worn me right out. That’s all for now, the rest of the week I am off to see shows and explore more of this city.

living in a castle

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself how beautiful your surroundings are? I know that at home I enjoy the fall colors, the beautiful blue waters of the lake. I have never lived in a place where I can not only see mountains, but I am surrounded by them. I am living in a valley of the Austrian Alps in a castle over 1,000 years old. We just finished our first class of the week and I trek through the hallways and up and down stairs until I come to my favorite place of all – the East Wing. Here there is a large community room with big leather couches and a massive fireplace – perfect for homework and talking with others after dinner. Then we step on a balcony and on the other side is a small glassed in cottage. There is glass on all four sides and from each one, you are looking at mountains. Even writing this now I can see for miles the tall peaks and forest covered mountainsides that seem to stretch forever along the sides of the valley we are living in.

We are living in a castle called Schloss Mitersill – which over the years has turned into a Christian supported retreat center for travelers or groups. It feels more like a very large house with so many rooms and places to sit and relax. But where you can tell it is the castle is from where I am sitting. I see the exposed rock and stone on the balcony. The inside is full of wood and sitting in class makes you feel like you are still in college somewhere. But outside, with the mountains, the castle makes you feel like you are living hundreds of years prior.

The other night, we found a stairway to the top of the castle and a large deck. There was a ladder going up to a small platform on the roof and we just gazed at the stars. Myself, Waller, Jesse, Stefanie and Erik tried to find some constellations, saw shooting stars and had many laughs.

We had our own church service in the Schloss on Sunday morning. Dan and I played and sang a few songs and Jake introduced an audio sermon we all listened to. Later that day, we took a 45 minute bus ride to nearby Krimml, home of the tallest waterfall in Europe. The falls are in stages, so you can’t really see the grandiose scale of it, but there was a beautiful trail that led up to the different stages. We stopped along the rocky shores of the river to eat, between the upper and lower parts of the falls. I dunked my head in the cold water and we sat out on the big boulders in the middle of the river.

The IT Crowd (information technology) is a show on BBC that Ben Waller turned us onto. We watched 2 episodes last night and I have never laughed out loud as hard at a show. It reminds me of The Office, but a little more zanier.

So the Schloss is up a few hundred feet from the town, which makes going into town quite the adventure. It takes a good 15-20 minutes depending on your speed and going up is fairly strenuous. We are talking about going down the hill today to get some more snacks and to explore a bit, but that climb sort of forces us to stay and relax here at the castle. That is totally fine by me, as this place truly is amazing.

This coming weekend, we are heading into Slovenia, a former communist country. I’ll write about Slovenia when I get back home next week.

Catch me I'm falling.

9 AM. Wide awake. Can’t sleep. I’ve got butterflies already for our first adventure in Interlaken, Switzerland. I’m going skydiving for the first time ever with a few of my Bethel friends (Jake, Annika and Laura). 11:45 rolls around and we say our goodbyes to our friends, including the usual banter of “I was the last person to see you alive!” and “Hope to see you back in one piece!” These conversations didn’t really do anything for the nerves for me, but at the same time, I actually contemplated what would happen if I died on this stunt. I actually thought about writing out a will/goodbye letter and sticking it in my pocket as a goodbye to my family and friends back in the states.

They call our names and we climb aboard with some other adventure seekers: 4 Australian tourists and a auto-parts supplier from Detroit named Josh. I hit up a conversation with him about business and told him we were studying international business while we are here abroad. After a beautiful 20 minute ride to the airfield we met our Tandem masters. Mine was from Australia (named Mick, how perfect) and began suiting me up and told me that we were going to be jumping in the 3^rd group. The following was our initial exchange:

Mick: so Spencer, this is your first jump? Are you nervous?

Me: Yeah, a little.

Mick: You should be, you’re jumping with me!

Me: How long have you been doing this?

Mick: Well, I started last week. (brief pause, laughter) No, I’ve been doing this for 11 years.

After this came the wait. The wait for your group to go up was just adding to the anticipation. It was pretty encouraging to see everyone landing and just having a blast from the adrenaline rush. We saw the first group go up, jump and then land in front of us and then the 2^nd went and came down and all of a sudden the plane is at the end of the runway and Mick is calling me over. The way we sat down in the plane was the reverse order we jumped out. Mick and I hopped in last. Guess that makes me the guinea pig aka the first to jump. The taxi ride and initial flight took only 15 minutes and we were above the clouds, peaks of the Swiss Alps breaking out around us. Mick motioned to the pilot, the engine was cut and the door slid open.

We had covered what was going to happen several times up until this point, but it sort of went out of my mind because I was jumping out of an airplane. Mick told me to tilt my head back, smile and after five seconds, to spread my hands out and he would take care of the rest. In order to get out of the plane and to not smack our heads on the wing, we stood on a small step, did a 180 degree turn while stepping off and then did a back flip into the open sky. The freefall from 14,000 feet lasted only 45 seconds but we reached speeds of 120 mph. It was hard to even get breaths or hear anything but the rushing of the wind around us. Mick reached his hands out in front of me and gave the thumbs up and pointed at my harness. This was the second part of the instruction, the chute deployment. Mick would pull our chute as soon as we broke through the cloud ceiling. I literally was face to face with the thick puffy white clouds you usually only see from airplane windows. I reached my hands out to touch them, and just like that, whoosh. Silence. I could hear myself cursing just from the adrenaline rush. Mick had the controls of the hangliding chute open and we were about 4,000 feet above the ground. He steered us around toward the landing strip and dipped us around. I told him he had a pretty amazing job. He replied: “It’s just another day at the office.” After about 4 minutes of some amazing views of the mountains and lakes of Interlaken, we lined up at the landing strip and slid in safely, right alongside our friends.

The day before, when we were travelling from Freiburg, I had my iPod on shuffle with some new music I loaded on for this trip. I found myself listening to this song called “Catch me from Falling”, a song from the new Broadway musical ‘Next to Normal’, recommended by my accompanist, Emily. As I was listening, I couldn’t help but resonate with these lyrics:

Catch me I’m falling / Flying headfirst into fate.

Face what you fear / soon it comes clear,

Catch me I’m falling / Catch me before it’s too late.

The strange thing was, even though I was nervous/really excited to skydive, I found the most comfort in those lyrics as I was standing on the platform outside of the plane at 14,000 feet. I sang that verse, and let my ‘fate’ up in the hands of God (and Mick) and stepped out of a perfectly good airplane.

As the slogan of the Outdoor Interlaken adventures company reads: Get started living. I like to think I said “Yes” to life on my adventure here in Interlaken.

Going forward, looking back.

The sun is a fiery orange and the sky is purple and pink with the small villages of southwestern Germany as the photogenic backdrop. The Black Forest is barely visible in the distance and its dark mountains stretch forever, unyielding along the right side of the train. The countryside is whizzing past me. I already have said how wonderful the train system is here in Germany and throughout most of Europe. Since I’m not yet a train riding master, I am still fascinated by the configuration of seats. They all don’t face the same way, and since sometimes the trains change direction when they leave the station, you aren’t necessarily guaranteed a forward-facing seat. You can guess how I ended up sitting on my trip to Interlaken, Switzerland this weekend. Going forward, looking back.

The first few minutes I kept peering out my window and trying to get some semblance of where we were headed. After a while, that quickly became foolish so I resorted to just relaxing into my comfortable seat on the express train and seeing what our train was passing. It’s difficult to sit still sometimes, but even more difficult when you can’t see what’s ahead of you. We are a very forward thinking culture. For example, during the day, most often my American friends and I ask each other “What are we going to do tonight?” We need to know what our options are, decide what the best one is and look forward to the next decision and figure that out. My friends from other countries here at the Goethe always ask me what we did: How was your weekend, did you go out to eat last night? They want to know what we have done and what we are doing, instead of what we are going to do. I’m going to start working on changing that around. I want to spend more time living in the moment, instead of always basing my decision on what I am going to do.

"You should speak German here..."

Ever imagine what the Tower of Babel was like? Let me introduce you to the Goethe-Institut, my university for the next 3 weeks here in Freiburg. Students from all over the world come to this school to study the German language and culture. Today I met/heard only a select few people speaking English. Just sitting at my desk at the window I could hear at least 5 different languages. Others in our group met students from Uganda, Michigan, Chile and I’ve seen several Asian and Indian students as well. From about 7PM on, there was a massive social event. It was someone’s birthday (the only reason I knew was the off key singing of happy birthday, in English mind you) and there was music and loud talking for several hours. Then like clockwork, at 10PM, quiet hours started and it has been oddly still ever since.

I’m sitting in my own dorm room at the “Guest House” of Goethe-Institut. I’m on the first floor in a corner room. We each have our own bathroom and fridge, but since I’m on the corner I am close to the wireless internet, a perk! It was so nice to completely unpack my bag and store it in a CLOSET! Pretty basic furnishings but a desk and a bed are pretty much all I need. I’m feeling pretty comfortable with all the mod IKEA accessories and lamps.

We travelled to and arrived in Freiburg as a small group of 7 without the aid of our professor, who is attending each of the groups individually over the next couple weeks. We asked for directions and began a short, but tiring walk with our belongings on our back to the Institut, about 5 minutes away. It is rather hot here, going to be 84 tomorrow, but will cool off through the rest of the week, down to the low 60’s, perfect sweatshirt weather. At the Institut, we were placed into our classes and got our room keys and were settled in. By this time it was 4PM and we were all very hungry as we didn’t eat anything after Breakfast. So we explored an area our taxi driver from the Institut to the “Guest House” called ‘Food Paradise’. We found a pizza place and woofed down some food quick. We stopped in to buy groceries for breakfast food (milk, frosted flakes, juice, bananas, cookies J) and basically settled into our rooms. We were all a little exhausted from our 4 hour train trek today, plus about 2 hours of orientation and first day stuff at the Institut. We zoned out by getting on the internet, facebook, email and blogging. I started to look at some options for free travel coming up in a few weeks. It was just nice to read the small town newspaper online for a change and get reconnected to the world.

Tomorrow is the first day of class for our German Intensive program. We have class Monday-Friday 1:30-6 with a few breaks. Otherwise, it’s all German. I’m excited to sleep in and have mornings free, but by 6 tomorrow I’m sure I’ll be wiped out and hungry. We’re on our own for food for the next 3 weeks (we can spend as little or as much as we want, it’s coming out of our own pocket, not budgeted by the trip) so we’re looking up some low cost options. We’ve also eyed an interesting spot. There is an Afghani restaurant literally 5 feet from the door to the Guesthouse, and peeking in the windows it looks like a pretty sweet place.

My friend that fell is in good spirits. She had surgery yesterday and is recovering. She should be out of the hospital on Saturday and fully recovered in 3-4 weeks.

Yesterday, we had a tour of the city from some of the ‘Zivis’ (basically an RA/TA) from Goethe. They showed us some of the important sites, including several historic city gates, the giant Munster church (funded completely by citizens) and took us on a brief hike up the mountain to where an old castle stood. Here, there are breathtaking views of the city, the Black Forest, and one can even see the French border in the distance.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

I have now had about 18 hours of German Instruction. It is amazing the progress we are able to make by only taking this one course. The professor speaks only in German (the occasional English to explain something we are clearly not getting) so it forces your brain to figure out what he is saying in some fashion. We are conjugating verbs now and writing full paragraphs in German. I never thought I would be taking a German course, and here I am learning and speaking it in Germany. I think that is one of the advantages to studying here: there is a big opportunity to practice right outside your school. Ordering food, talking with people, reading signs and papers, etc.

This weekend we talked about travelling to France, but I think we are just going to explore our own city a little more. We have planned to go next weekend into Switzerland and meet up with some other Bethel people and have some fun there. Thanks for all your comments and emails, It’s been just a week and a half and it feels as if I’ve been here for ages now.

20 interesting things about Germany

1. Drinking in public is absolutely ok.

2. Putting feet on the opposite seat in the trains is strictly prohibited.

3. The countryside from a train window is breathtaking.

4. You have to pay to use a public toilet, but said public toilets are luxurious and spotless.

5. The food is hearty and delicious; bread, meat and cheese are served even at breakfast.

6. Waiters are paid very well and their tip is figured into the price of the food already (Value Added Tax) so a tip of about 5% is customary. 10% is considered extremely generous.

7. The price of a beer is cheaper than the price of a Coke.

8. Most Germany youth speak English and love hip hop music, McDonald’s and American clothes.

9. There is a giant church in every city. Guaranteed.

10. In a grocery store, there are two prices for bottled drinks. The first price is for the price of the liquid, and then there is an additional price for the bottle. You get that money back when you bring the bottle back.

11. No ice is served in drinks at restaurants. Ever.

12. If you ask for water at a restaurant, it is sparkling mineral water. You have to ask for it “still”.

13. You can bring your dog anywhere, anytime, even in a building.

14. Every car is tiny. I haven’t seen anything bigger than a station wagon. It is a parallel parking dream.

15. Men do their hair. Euro-hawks and Mullets abound.

16. Everybody smokes.

17. The bread is hard. Like rock hard.

18. Did I mention the countryside is beautiful?

19. Carts at the grocery store cost 1 euro. Suddenly your arms seem able to do the job.

20. Every kebab is different.

I am now located in Freiburg for 3 weeks. I will be taking intensive German courses for about 4 hours Monday through Friday. Class starts tomorrow!

"work sets you free"

The sky is clear blue with enough thick gray clouds to make everything seem dark. It is unusually cool, a brisk breeze cutting across the open land. The ground, littered with rocks all shades of gray, crunches uncomfortably under my feet. People are all around, but thick silence makes it hard to breathe. Green trees try to bring forgetfulness, yet the longer I walk, the more difficult it is to ignore my grief. Empty rooms, once filled with prisoners under SS control, are cold reminders of the horrors of the Nazi concentration ‘work’ camps.

I knew that this would be a powerful experience, having read several accounts of the Holocaust in school and watching plays and movies. Nothing compares to actually walking the grounds where the prisoners walked every day. Dachau was the model for all future concentration camps, and was used for the holding of political opponents. These people stood against the Nazi party and were shipped here, instead of most of the Jewish residents who were sent to be literally ‘exterrminated’. Dachau’s prisoners were not sent to die, they were sent to suffer. Extreme rules were enforced, such as a spotless bed and ceramic drinking cup in order to avoid being hung at the stake for an hour. People died more from exhaustion here than from mass extermination. Only two barracks that housed prisoners remain, however, they stretched for almost a mile down and a half mile wide across the camp. All that is left is a cement footing where the structure was set upon.

There is a large building in the very back corner of the walls of Dachau that seems harmless, almost like a small school. There are several windows and glass doors leading inside. Once inside however, one would never see sunlight. Although no other camp matches the efficiency attained by Auschwitz (which could easily exterminate several thousand a day), it is estimated 30,000 people died by gas chamber at Dachau. I walked through each room in the creamatorium, starting with the holding rooms where prisoners would wait until it was their group’s turn to enter the ‘showers’. Inside, a 6.5 foot ceiling contained multiple shower heads, disguising the room’s true use, several vents of gas that would be released. It took 20 minutes for the gas to work, and the room would be vented before the bodies could be hauled into the next room. 4 furnaces still stand with large iron stretchers where bodies would be burned one at a time. If there was overflow, bodies would be stored in the next room over until the SS could catch up. The ashes were dumped outside in 3 shallow pits, where memorials currently stand. Walking past the ash graves, one sees a large cement wall with barbed wire and vines growing over most of it. A sign says “firing range” where some prisoners were lined up and shot by firing squad. No wonder no one was able to speak. It took all of my strength to force myself to keep looking, to keep experiencing and to ultimately break down from sadness.

I walked through a room where people innocently thought they were going to have the luxury of a clean shower. I stood where they stood, saw the last light they saw and past where their bodies were stored and burned. I saw where their ashes were piled, where prisoners were executed and how their blood ran down a ditch into the woods. All I could do was pray, then cry. So many lies and so much anger.

The pain of the Holocaust lives. That’s why the German government doesn’t charge admission to the camp memorial sites. It is why German military are required to walk through the camp before they are enlisted, so they understand the fair trial and treatment of prisoners. It is why every world leader, every person in power, every human who has ever hated so much based on religion or sexual orientation or color should see where hate has gotten us. The pain of the Holocaust lives, and I don’t think that pain should ever be fully healed. We should experience the pain so we can say “never again”.

Gelnhausen - a Nazi free zone

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000168 EndHTML:0000007554 StartFragment:0000000471 EndFragment:0000007537

Sleeping on a plane is not one of my most favorite activities. But either way, 8 hours to Amsterdam comes soon enough, even though a screaming child decided to have his or her way for about an hour in the middle of the night. After arriving in Amsterdam with little sleep we trekked across the airport for our connecting flight to Frankfurt. Once in Frankfurt, we collected our bags from the oddly quiet airport (akin to library silence) and transferred on a tram to the bahnhoff in downtown Frankfurt. This glass-walled hanger-like structure had several tracks on which various local and regional trains depart from. Europe's rail system is further advanced than the U.S., with massive regional lines connecting much of the continent.

A roughly one hour train ride landed us in the small town of Gelnhausen. Set against the backdrop of wooded mountains, it makes for quite the postcard photograph.

pictures will be coming in the next few days! Look for them!

We walked for 10 minutes through the small streets and up a small hill to the Hotel Grimmelshausen, our home for 3 nights here. Further up the hill is the untermarkt or the lower square, with restaurants, shopping, cafes and a huge cathedral. A sudden downpour on the way to dinner in the untermarkt had us scrambling for rain jackets and umbrellas but it quickly subsided, leaving a thick humidity and warm, yet tolerable evening exploring this city. Much of the buildings here are very old, and each one is unique. The neighborhoods wind around narrow cobblestone streets and the church bells ring every fifteen minutes. After getting some euros out of the ATM (took a few tries) we crashed early, getting adjusted to the 7 hour time difference.

Breakfast in Germany was as I had heard: hard breads, jams and spreads, room temperature milk and juice – but I did find fresh fruit and cereal, some kind of cocoa corn flakes. A friend had introduced me to Nutella in America and they had some here, which is amazing. Nutella is a kind of hazelnut/chocolate peanut butter and it is super tasty. We had our first class of the day today as well for business writing. We talked about a few assignments that will be due in addition to getting to know each other and our next few days. Our first assignment was to go to restaurants in Gelnhausen to ask what was on the menu and to ask if they accepted credit cards. While we were exploring for about an hour we took lots of pictures and saw children on their way to the first day of school. Lunch was from a Kabob stand (basically a pita sandwich with lamb or pork) and it was delicious. According to our professor, water isn't really ordered as a drink at restaurants as it is in America, because Europeans don't drink nearly the amount of water that we do. But after 2 days without more than a glassful, I purchased a liter and a half of bottled “still” water (non mineral) from Norma, kind of like a mini supermarket. I also had a German chocolate bar and thought it would have melted after being in my bag, but surprisingly held together perfectly. A few of us went exploring into a huge grassy area next to a river after Norma, took some pictures and ended up climbing this steep stairway that connected two streets together to bring us back toward the big church in the untermarkt.

The doors were finally open so we peeked inside and ended up tagging behind this Japanese tour group. We climbed up this steep circular stairwell to the top of the organ pipes and saw the towering spires from the inside. The organ was playing while we were checking everything out.

So far, I can tell Europe is built for walking or biking. The streets are horribly tiny, but there are sidewalks and pedestrian only areas for bikes and walkers all over. Plus, the town is so compact that we can get pretty much anywhere I described above in about 15 minutes or less.

Our second day in Gelnhausen was the first class – Business Writing. We climbed up to a medieval castle wall that overlooked the entire city. Pretty sweet way to start the semester! We traveled today to Russelheim, about an hour and a half from Gelnhausen. This city is home to the giant European car maker Opel. We toured the Opel factory and saw how parts were pressed and fitted into place, entirely by robot. The factory buildings were enormous, some stretching for more than a mile in length. All over Europe are Kebab stands that sell Doner sandwiches – kind of like a gyro. I had 2 of them and every stand sells a different We traveled a little bit further after our site visit down to the next town, Mainz. We got to split up in smaller groups and visited some old churches (including the church Gutenburg was baptized in) and walked down to the Rhine river. We had Italian food and sat out on the sidewalk. Our waiter spoke in Italian, we ordered in English, and he confirmed with some of our German speakers in German. It was an early night as we got back about 10 PM.

There is beginning to be a resurgence of the Nazi party in some parts of Germany. In Gelnhausen, there are posters and signs to promote the Nazi party, but there are also posters that declare Gelnhausen a “Nazi-free zone” as local residents and shop owners are hanging them in their windows.

Our last day in Gelnhausen started with a quick class and a little shopping and time killing. Unfortunately one of my friends tripped on the last few stairs coming down in the hotel and she hurt her foot. We helped her on the bus and started the 2.5 hour journey to Nuremburg and she was definitely in pain. While we were getting settled and exploring, we found out our friend has to get surgery for her broken foot. She will be not be able to put any weight on it for 2 weeks so pray for her and a quick and healthy recovery.

That's all for right now. I will have internet almost daily now as we are going to places that have it for free or ridiculously cheap so I'll try to update at least a couple times a week, or whenever we move to a new city.

I'm going away for a while...

In 48 hours, I'll be on a plane headed halfway around the world. We'll arrive in Amsterdam and transfer onto another plane into Germany, which is the gateway to my study abroad trip. I'll be studying business and consumer behavior in several European countries. Honestly, I'm a little nervous, a lot excited but most of all, not even packed yet. I have everything laid out in my room on the floor, it's just a matter of fitting it into my hiking backpack!

My goal for this blog is 2-fold. One, I want to have a time of reflection set aside about once or twice a week so that I can remember funny events and all the amazing places I'm about to visit. Two, this is for family and friends to see what I'm up to at their own pace, making it easier for them to stay connected to what I'm doing. I'm hoping to put up pictures with each post with a glimpse to what life is like wherever I am.

Oh, and the name. Yeah, it seems random. But it actually has a deeper meaning. As a sojourner, I'm going to be getting a glimpse of what several different cultures offer as I move from country to country. I want to discover more about them, and the goal for myself is to be as open and as inquisitive as possible (a sleuth). I want to also investigate what it means to be me, without the filters and the comfort of a culture and a life that I've lived exclusively here in America. Besides the psychological meaning behind "SLEUTH" it also doubles as a clever acronym: Spencer-Lian's-European-Union-Trip-Headquarters. I totally figured that out after the fact though ;)

I'd appreciate your prayers and your emails as I start this journey. I am looking forward to seeing how my relationship with God, my friends and those that I encounter on my sojourn will play out. I'm also interested in seeing how my spirituality develops, because of the fact that spiritual life is so much more available at school. It's going to be a challenge to make time to pray, but I'm hoping those around me will want to embrace that challenge together.

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

-J.R.R. Tolkien"