Day 15 in Magdeburg

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I'm finally back and ready to start "blogging" for real. I finished -- or at least am in the editing stages of -- my human rights paper and now have time to focus on my Fullbright application, reading German newspapers, acquiring German friends and...updating this blog, of course!

Where do I begin? So much happened since I lasted updated. First, my internship is wonderful, and my directors are still more accomodating than necessary. They let me pick what I want to do every day -- by implication, I choose to tag along with representatives to small German village almost every day. My travel bug gets the best of me every time!

On Monday, I accompanied Frau Bull to Stendal, a medium-sized village in northern Sachsen-Anhalt, where we met with two women's rights NGOs and one NGO for the disabled. Initially, it was difficult for me to keep up with the conversation, but as the day continued, I was able to understand -- generally -- the points being made. I can't believe how much more difficult speaking German to a real German is than speaking German to my Nebraska-born professor. They're incommensurable.

Still, my German is improving quite a bit. I need to starting speaking "outside of the box," if that makes sense. I rely on a specific group of words and phrases too much. Kevin suggested that I started reading German newspapers each day, and I think that's a great idea. I'll get a daily dose of news AND vocab. Ney, ein perfkectisches Idee! The biggest problem is my accent. Especially in restaurants and stores, I think that Germans assume you're using a phrase from a travel book. I usually cope by responding in German over and over (and over) again.

Back to my internship, I really enjoyed the day with Frau Bull. More than anybody I've met at the Landtag, she was patient with me, insofar as she waited for me when I was trying to think of a word, rather than immediately trying to speak English. I'll actually be working on a project, in which I compare women's rights in Germany and the United States, with her during my internship. She'll be a great contact for my Fullbright application, if only I could narrow in on a topic.

On Wednesday, I accompanied the "boss" of Die Linke in Sachsen-Anhalt to six different villages. During that day (Wednesday), one organization was particularly interesting. Their village is small, and for that reason, faces very high unemployment. The problem in eastern Germany is not unskilled workers facing unemployment but over-qualified workers facing unemployment, i.e. most of the unemployed are people with engineering degrees and the like. So, the organization wants to renovate a GDR-era school into inexpensive apartments for the unemployed. We visited the GDR-era school -- talk about spooky. It was the most condemned-y buildings of all the condemned buildings I've ever seen. I'm rooting for the organization, though, in that the idea is innovative. They told us that the NDP (Nazi Party) is becoming popular, as the unemployed are becoming restless. I, for one, would prefer not to re-live the 1930s, thank you very much.

For whatever reason, we also visited Wulf's hometown, where he took me on a very detailed tour of the city church. I can't remember the name of the church or the village (which is really too bad), but I appreciated how much effort he put into enumerating the details. We also drove through Bismark's hometown and the former town of the "King" of Germany. All in a day's work!

Germans shake hands for EVERYTHING. They are the most formal, punctual people in the world, I'm sure. I think that's why I like it here so much -- I'm very anal about being on time. Mario took pictures of Wulf everywhere we went, most of which involved us shaking hands. He even took a picture of us shaking hands in a 15th century church. I don't understand, nor do I care to understand. All I know is that I want that picture. What a gem.

Today, I went on a short day-trip to Leipzig. I absolutely loved the city. It's big on music, in that composers like Bach and Mendelsohn worked there. I always forget how much I enjoy classical music and playing the violin until I'm (somehow) immersed into the culture again.

While there, I mainly walked through churches -- i.e. the church in which the GDR peace movement was initiated, as well as Bach's primary church. Absolutely breath-taking, as always. Most of the other "sites" weren't open, in that this weekend is another national holiday. For what, I have no idea. I noticed in Leipzig but not in Magdeburg that there were a ton of people wearing "gothic" clothing. And by "gothic," I mean "Marilyn Manson." As the day went on, I saw more and more people. Then, I heard one of "them" (not sure what to call them) speaking North American English. What gives? I was tempted to ask.

Well, it's currently pouring in Magdeburg, so I probably won't do anything except finish up my human rights paper tonight. I'm in the process of acquiring my group of German friends. More on that later. My roommates are boring -- verifiably. They stay in their rooms with their doors shut allllllll day!

Before I go, I should mention that Alicia is visiting me in 2 weeks! I'm excited beyond words! She was my roommate when I studied abroad in Italy. I haven't seen her since we left -- more than 2.5 years ago. I'm counting down the days!

Bis spaeter!
Christine

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