I installed iTunes onto my desktop here in Hannover today, and of course it automatically registered as German; so I was checking out the top albums, and at #4 is a band called The Baseballs, with their album, “Strike!” I clicked. Here’s what I found.
I can’t find a YouTube for ”Don’t Cha,” but it is particularly innovative, I think. Sadly, one doesn’t exist for my favorite, “Love In This Club,” either.
But I guess you get the idea. German dudes who sing top 40 songs in rockabilly style. And apparently Germany, with just a hint (but no more) of irony, can’t get enough of The Baseballs. Despite my incredulous head shake, I have to say…I love this country.
(have I not used this video on the blog yet? I adore these boys…)
Today I got an email informing me that a boy on whom I had one of those from-afar crushes in college (you know, college-boy cute, deeply intellectual, older than me, comfortable with himself, well-dressed…someone whom I had no chance of getting to know) is following me on Twitter. Yep. Me. Wow, I had no idea he knew me from Adam (or Eve, I guess? What’s the female equivalent of this phrase? I want to use it too often). I then checked his Twitter page, and realized that he is now a reporter in DC, and I guess is using Twitter to get his name out there (as he is following almost 3,000 people). I suppose I don’t have any commentary to make on this situation.
(I’VE GOT IT TOOOOOOOO)
I’ve gotten to a place in life where I’ve decided: I need a vacation. I’m now in a position of having to start from scratch for the second time in four months…new city (which, in Germany, means more than it does in America…remember, they haven’t even been unified for all that long), new family, new church (which I have yet to find), new friends (ditto, clearly)…new blessings, new challenges. This is gonna be good, I think. For now, though, I’m on overload. I need a vaca. Thank the Lord it’s coming soon: Cinque Terre!
where I'll be next week...
I’ll meet my mama in Berlin (one of my favorite cities EVER…and she likes it too, which is nice ), and we’ll spend the better part of the day there; the next morning, we fly to Italy for about a week. Fair Cinque Terre where we will lay our scene, but we’ll spend some time in Florence, too. I CAN’T WAIT. We both need it, I think.
OK, now I can’t resist…
And, finally, here’s…this.
I’ve added two new friends to my list-o-friends on the side there…and one is the person who directed the above video. I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the old friend whose wedding I was in last summer. (Clearly.) I know it’s super disturbing, but I still can’t stop laughing at it. The first line gets me every time.
(title from the very cheesy film, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, which I used to watch in my childhood…for whatever reason, this particular song, sung by my childhood crush, Gordon McRae, came to mind: 7:12 here)
I moved yesterday. All my worldly possessions — all the ones I need, anyway, give or take a few books. I managed to fit everything into the bags I brought here, and I was proud of myself. Taking them on the train wasn’t even too bad! I had help on both sides – it’s always good, I’ve found, to have a strong central European man around.
No, the hard part was being at Hannover Hauptbahnhof, as it turned out. The night before I left, Joerg informed Karla and me that 1 May (Erste Mai – a national holiday here, like May Day), and there would be lots of neo-Nazis out in the city, and burning cars, and policemen. “And Hannover will be worse,” he said. Karla’s been here 11 years, and she didn’t know; she thought he was joking.
Sure enough, as Joerg and Karla and Leah and Luke and I pulled into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof yesterday morning, we glimpsed a line of about fifteen Polizei cars. Police were milling about everywhere, and I felt a little uneasy. I got on the train just fine, though, thanks to the help of the sweet Meiers, whom I was sad to leave.
I got to Hannover in about an hour and fifteen minutes – the usual. Once I finally got out of the train with my two rolling bags, big backpack, overnight bag, and purse (thanks to the help of one kind German man), I headed for the horse statue where I was to meet the Meeks’ neighbors.
imagine me standing at the base of this with all my bags...
I was facing the direction from which this photo was taken. But imagine that, instead of wearing autumn attire, the folks milling about me were dressed in black…all of them. And to the left and the right of the statue were rows of polizei, standing there, arms folded. Loud techno music blasting from some loudspeaker, with someone yelling provoking-sounding German things every once in a while.
I was a bit nervous for a while there. I think I waited about 10-12 minutes, searching the crowd…until I finally saw Citi! I smiled largely at her, she smiled at me, we said “hey,” and she grabbed my bag and said “let’s get out of here.” Music to my ears.
I got here, and I have to tell you…it’s heaven. This house is gorgeous. It has three floors, as usual, including the basement…but it is bigger than any house I’ve seen in Germany. It has 10 rooms. Five bedrooms. I don’t even live in the basement. My room has HUGE windows that face the stables next door. There’s a room upstairs with a big screen and a projector. There’s a room downstairs that’s empty except for a tv with the Wii in the corner. This is a family of six and they don’t have enough stuff to fill this house with. That’s astounding for Germany.
There’s a church, literally down the street, that I found a picture of:
And the backyard of this house is a huuuuge field, with canola as far as the eye can see and hills in the background…I’ll upload pictures later but this is the basic idea:
imagine more hills in the background...and no words eclipsing the image.
The family is out of town, by the way, so I have some time to settle in. They’re fellow Texans, so I was immediately able to find all the ingredients to make tortillas, and, consequently, a refried-bean-and-cheese quesadilla. A couple of Dexter episodes later (I told myself I wouldn’t get hooked, and here we are), and I’m relaxed.
I miss Geesthacht already. I miss the Meiers, and Carina and Mareike, and Thiago and Andrea, and everyone and everything I was just getting to know. But, as Karla says, I got comfortable, and it seems like God likes to move us when we get to that place. I’m a little weary already thinking of starting over, trying to strike up conversation, getting to know the way things work in this family, learning the kids’ strengths and weaknesses and forms of communication, figuring out how to get places, learning more German…but I know it’s for my own good. I want to know Him more. I hope this happens. Here goes.
I’m packing to leave this place, and I think all my emotions are currently being channeled into (a) packing everything into my two rolling bags, one backpack, and one duffel bag, and (b) my INTENSE CRAVING for a Chick-Fil-A kids’ meal. 6 chicken nuggets, waffle fries. I can live without the lemonade (although why would you want to?), but I really really want that kids’ meal.
Which begs the question: does anyone have a good idea for a substitute? I guess I can do chicken and fries at some point (not now; I don’t want to take the bus anywhere at this point in the day)…but it’s not the same. You understand.
In other news, this is very overdue, but I have finally loved a Jeff Buckley song.
LATER EDIT: I just want you to know that M.I.A.’s “Bird Flu” is playing on my Shuffle feature on my iPod. I had to share that with someone.
I do realize that it’s been forever and a half since I last blogged.
(To start you off with a soundtrack, here’s a German classic. I saw it sung, horribly, on Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar. Here’s the original.)
Let’s see if I can free-write some things that have been going on…
…I’ve been to Amsterdam, Berlin, and around Ireland; I saw friends and sites and even a play.
…I did make that party, in case you were wondering.
…I’ve purchased two items of polyester clothing at H&M. In the same trip. I don’t regret it.
…In my glorious time in Ireland (a week and a half), I watched the entire first season of Pushing Daisies, helped make about 10 different kinds of baked goods for a flea market, passed on kissing the Blarney Stone (it’s scary! you don’t even know!), drank some Guinness, met some lovely people, saw the aforementioned play (starring Len Cariou, the original Sweeney Todd on Broadway), celebrated Good Friday and Easter, ate a lot of chicken and fries and baked goods, saw some art, looked at the Book of Kells, had a long conversation with a drunk Welshman, purchased something beautiful at this boutique, and went to six pubs in three days. I think that about covers it, eh, Peri?
…I celebrated a stuffed lion’s birthday. We ate barbecue and we fashioned presents out of paper for him.
…I had a slumber party with two sixteen year olds and an eighteen year old. I’m an unofficial youth intern at church (well, that’s what I’m calling it, anyway; since Karla runs the youth group, I end up hanging out a lot), and thus was invited to the event. We ate oreos & peanut butter (MY FAVE – Mareike knows me well now!), gummi bears, barbecue chips, and ice cream for dinner, and watched Step Up (in English with German subtitles) and Music & Lyrics (in German with English subtitles).
…I attended a birthday party for an acquaintance, and spoke about three words the whole time (two being “Tom Cruise” — I was aiding in a discussion about Scientology); however, I understood some of what was being said, and I ate delicious erdbeer cake, and the birthday girl’s brothers made me miss my own. (Also, they have a hamster named Eddie Murphy.)
…I’ve grown to love tv programs like 9 Live (the puzzle channel, basically — here’s what that looks like, HAHAHA) and Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar (German American Idol).
I know you’re sick of that Gitte song now, so here’s another song to keep you goin’:
Many other things happened, of course; but here’s the big news: as most of you know, the Meiers had some changes in their family situation, so I’m set to leave here on May 1st. This is hard for me, as I adore them. You would too if you knew them — it’s like a self-evident truth.
But here’s the biggest of the big: I’m going to be nannying for a family in Hannover this summer, and it’s a sort of open-ended thing. It’s a long story, and you might be able to get it out of me at some point; but it’s very new now, and just know that God is good and is making a way for me to stay here in Germany.
So, here’s my schedule so far.
Now – May 1st: Stay in Geesthacht, wrap things up, take care of the kiddos as usual.
May 1: Head to Hannover to stay for a couple of weeks (not work, just stay).
May 19th: Train to Berlin, where I will meet up with my mom and then fly together to Milan. Italy for a week.
May ___ (I lose track of numbers): Fly to London to meet up with my two brothers. London for a week.
May 30: Fly to Atlanta. Hopefully Columbus for a day or two (I miss those Carters). Then on to Chattanooga for AMY’S WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 7th: Fly to Hannover. Start work.
Somewhere in June as well, I have two or three weeks off; and then in July, I will come home for two weeks, and then fly BACK to Hannover to work again.
Can you say “jet lag”?
I was hoping for an adventure…it appears that God decided to grant me one. I’m grateful.
And now, to close, here’s a ridiculous YouTube video that dear Carina showed me. It’s a big deal here in Germany. Drunk people at parties enjoy imitating it, and now you, friend, will have the pleasure of having it stuck in your head. (“It’s evil,” Karla says. I think she might be right.)
I just watched Magnolia for the first time — and it is weighing on my heart a bit. If you haven’t seen it, watch it; Paul Thomas Anderson is an auteur in the best sense of the word, and the performances ring so true to me. (Especially Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, and Jason Robards.)
What hit me especially was, watching it, I almost said aloud: whoever wrote this movie has experienced cancer, up close and personal. It’s one of those things you know if you’ve been there. Sure enough, Wikipedia informs me that Anderson watched his own father die of cancer. (Also, he walked out of Fight Club and criticized that director for joking about cancer; later he wrote a letter of apology, saying he’s lost his sense of humor about that particular subject.) I want to hug him.
If you haven’t seen the film, do me a favor and don’t watch this clip; it’s one of my favorite things about the movie and should be seen in context.
OK, so I joined Twitter this past week. Not entirely proud of it, but there you go.
Actually, I think it may serve me well in the grand scheme of things; sometimes it takes a lot of gumption to sit down and write a cohesive, thorough post that captures my moments here. Sometimes it’s way easier to be confined to 140 characters, and when I get home maybe I’ll have better recollections from those 140-character posts than from my long posts here.
Anyway, today is a sad day: I was supposed to go to Thiago and Andrea’s (my friends from Brazil) apartment, as they’re having a party tomorrow and they wanted me to come for pre-party fun / food preparation / movie-watching / grown-up sleepover sorts of things. (More Brazilian people were coming, too — lots of Brazilian people around here!)
I have to let you know, too, that I’m fighting a battle against depression right now. Part of this fight is making sure I’m intentionally seeking out friendships. And the Kirsts are so wonderful in helping me with this…they are the kind of couple who invite you in, not shut you out.
So all day today I was excited about going to their apartment, packing my bag, taking a nap (it was my day off!), curling my hair (which takes forever, I’ll have you know), doing lots of laundry…it was a day of preparation. And then, a few madcap things happened this afternoon, and I was all set to take the bus tonight.
Well, I kind of missed my bus.
SO frustrating. I haven’t felt this level of frustrating in a while. It was just because I was looking at the wrong clock! I ran to the bus stop, even, but I missed it. I had to call Thiago and Andrea and say I’d come tomorrow morning (which will be fun, too, but I was counting on tonight!).
I think missing the last bus of the evening and thus missing the pre-party is the worst feeling. Hair curled and nowhere to go.35 minutes agofrom web
Now, it’s important to note that sometimes when you choose to “follow” a famous person or organization on Twitter, they choose to “follow” you back — in some cases, I can see why (Barack Obama is supposedly following me on Twitter), while in others it’s less apparent (Flashlight Books? Chattanooga’s own Hunter Museum?).
I went back to my Twitter homepage after a few minutes, to find this:
(ok, this video has little to do with this post, but we listened to this song in the car on the way to church yesterday morning and now I can’t get it out of my head. Also, ignore the weird graphics.)
Both of the following incidents happened within the course of about two hours on Saturday evening.
(1) Hannah picks up a flat of apfelschorle to bring inside the church, where we were about to practice the music for Sunday morning.
Karla: Oh, let me carry that with you! It’s too heavy; I want you to protect your uterus.
(2) Whilst inside the church, Hannah is handed a baby.
Karla [looking knowingly]: Ohhh, I bet that’s making you ovulate! [then, thinking about it:] No, I guess you’re too young. Well, it makes me ovulate.
More general medical advice happens here on a regular basis, too. Last week, for more than 24 hours I had a weird twitch in my knee – it was like I could pinpoint with my thumb where the throbbing was, and it was keeping me awake at night. Karla immediately went, “You’re low on potassium!” and started searching the kitchen for a remedy. I took an all-purpose vitamin with which she provided me, and I slept well that night. Between her, Micha, and Jeanette, I feel pretty well taken care of, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I have to re-enter the world of soliciting medical advice outside of the walls of this house in Geesthacht.
Austin downloaded some tracks from Kanye West’s latest, 808s and Heartbreak, but I hadn’t heard this song until just now, when I watched the video.
(By the way, your computer screen isn’t screwed up; the video is just super stylized.)
Maybe it’s that I’d thought “Heartless” would be the one tune on the album that I’d enjoy. Maybe it’s the place where I am in life right now — out living my “adventurous” life, which I wouldn’t trade for anything, but that doesn’t change that I’m a 22 year old single woman trying to figure out her future. Maybe it’s that Kanye is showing some…dare I say it?…vulnerability. I just know that it kind of punched me in the gut.
He really made this album in 3 weeks?! That’s just crazy talk.
), and we’ll spend the better part of the day there; the next morning, we fly to Italy for about a week. Fair Cinque Terre where we will lay our scene, but we’ll spend some time in Florence, too. I CAN’T WAIT. We both need it, I think.
