So begins my journey...

Today was the first of 11 straight days of traveling for me. Along with a bus full of other international students, I departed at 7 a.m. for Luxembourg (the capital city of the country Luxembourg). If you look on a map, it is the miniscule little country located between Germany and Belgium, just north of France, whose name is so long that it must be printed outside of it's tiny borders. At around 80 degrees the entire day, the weather provided the ideal environment in which to walk around this interesting city. Having woken up so early and ridden in the heat, however, I am a bit tired and still need to pack for my trip tomorrow. Therefore, I will delay writing about my travels until after I return from the rest of my travels. So, expect to hear back from me sometime after June 4th. Tomorrow night at around 11 p.m., I am heading with another large group of international students to northern Germany to visit the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg. Being so far north and lying off of the North Sea, these cities are typically cooler and receive lots of rain. And, looking at the weather report, I believe it's supposed to rain for the entirety of our trip. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to it. I'll be back sometime Tuesday morning, after which I must pack and prepare for my flight Wednesday morning to Barcelona! So, until I return...

A good ole' fashioned German Wedding

During the last week, I was fortunate enough to have experienced a part of German culture that most exchange students never do: a wedding. Last Saturday one of Charlotte’s closest friends married her long-time boyfriend. I had been looking forward to the wedding for quite some time because I was interested to see if and how it would contrast with the “typical” American wedding. However, despite a few minor variations, the ceremony was not so “foreign.” I will, nevertheless, still try to describe how it went.
This past Thursday, two days before the wedding, the families of the bride- and groom-to-be hosted a party called Polterabend. Although I am not sure if my source is accurate, I read that Polterabend dates back to around 1517. Whether or not this is precisely correct, it demonstrates how far back the tradition can be traced in Germany. If one looks at the composition of the word, Polterabend, an idea of what occurs during this celebration is easily formed. The German words “poltern” and “abend” mean to rumble/jangle and evening respectively. Therefore, one expects a night of loud noises. During this evening guests brought old dishes and pottery which they subsequently tossed to the ground.
To maintain some order, an area was designated for guests to throw their dishes. However, occasionally a guest or family member would break a dish outside of the area, after which either the bride or groom or both were presented with a broom to clean up the mess. While I suspect that this task of sweeping together is meant to invoke the cooperation that is needed throughout a marriage, this is only my guess for the tradition. As for the breaking of dishes, I believe that the tradition emerges from an old superstitious belief that the noise of the breaking pottery would scare away any evil spirits. There is even the saying, “Scherben bringen Glück” (hard to translate, but basically it means that the pieces of broken pottery bring luck). Unfortunately I did not have any old dishes to destroy, but it was still interesting to take part in this old tradition. And, in addition to the shattering of dishes, there was plenty of food, beer, and music to keep one entertained.
Saturday was the big day. Charlotte was one of the Brautjungfern (bridesmaids), all of whom wore pink dresses. Wanting to match I sported a light pink shirt with a white tie. Bold to say the least, but I like to think it turned out well. The entire ceremony lasted around an hour and wasn’t anything atypical. Except for the fact that the bride and groom sat in two chairs at the front of the church rather than standing, it was a normal wedding. There were several songs played, half of them in German and half in English (the father of the bride is American). The only thing that I found humorous in the wedding is that the songs that were played in English seemed to come from the movie Sister Act! But, they were still fitting and sounded very nice with the accompaniment of the organ.
After the ceremony everyone congratulated the new couple. That’s normal. Then came the German influences. First, a log of about a yard in length was brought to the couple. Taking the handsaw that was provided, they began sawing the piece of wood in half. Understandably, this took a few minutes and is not something that I’m used to witnessing at a wedding, but like the sweeping up of the broken dishes, I believe it is meant to symbolize the teamwork essential for a healthy marriage. Finally, a large piece of cloth was brought to the couple. In the center of the cloth was drawn an enormous heart with the names of the couple inside. They were given scissors to cut out the heart and when they had completed that task, the groom carried the bride through the center of heart-shaped whole left in the cloth. Not sure what this means, but I am guessing it is similar to the “carrying over the threshold” that we are familiar with.
Following the ceremony was a nice reception/party. Friends and family gathered, beer and Sekt were had, toasts were made. Actually, the dessert came first. Is it typical in American weddings to eat the wedding cake first? Please let me know because I honestly can’t remember. Dustin should know as he’s been to approximately 200 weddings in the past five years. The new couple had their first dance together, after which the bride danced with many of the male relatives. I even got to dance with her, albeit for a few seconds. And, while Charlotte and I had briefly practiced the Waltz, I somehow was unable to pull it off with perfection when alone with the bride in front of all the guests. She was merciful though and allowed me to return back to my seat rather quickly. Other than a few slide shows, games, and a hilarious skit by Charlotte and a the other bridesmaids, the remainder of the night was devoted to talking with friends and eating the delicious food. At around midnight most of the guests had begun to leave, and I too left my first German wedding. It was an interesting and fun experience. While I have been only to a few weddings back home and can’t speak with authority, the one thing that I noticed was how much time the friends and family spent together at the reception. We were there for around six or seven hours, even the old people! Maybe this is normal back home as well, but I really found it nice to see that the people devoted practically their whole day for celebrating with the couple. The German word for wedding is Hochzeit, which if broken into its component parts, literally means "high time." I think it's interesting to think about a wedding in that manner. And judging from the way the Germans celebrate weddings, it seems that they still think of it in such a way.

(A game where the guests had to sing with these Catholic-like communion wafers stuck to our lips)

Hechtsheim

Let me introduce my new home, Hechtsheim. I have moved numerous times in the past four years (approximately 11 times!), but this is by far not the worse place in which I have lived. Unlike in Memphis the dorms here are not in the direct vicinity to one another or the campus. Rather, they are scattered throughout the city. That means I no longer have that tedious 4 minute walk to class that I enjoyed in Memphis. Getting to class on time now requires managing a 15 minute tram ride to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and catching a 5 minute bus ride to campus. But it keeps me healthy :) And, now for some pictures...

This is the view from my bedroom window. Of course I live on the top floor, so I have the best view, but also the longest trip. I like to think it's worth it though...

Pretty self-explanatory...

Though this picture doesn't clearly show it, this is without a doubt the largest desk I've ever had...at a time when I finally get a small computer. Great timing...

Another view of the room. In the left corner, situated between the desk and shelve, you see a bag. Well, it was full of plastic bottles (35 to be exact). In America you'd throw them away and help kill the environment, but here you take them to the grocery store, recycle them, and get .25 per bottle. I was pleasantly surprised to walk away with Euro 8.75 last Saturday...

In the common area, just outside of the bedrooms, are our closests. Mine is to the right. And, while I admit that I brought too many clothes, it's not hard to see why my roommate would run out of underwear...

So, that's my new home. It's larger than any dorm room that I had in Memphis and at Euro 245 per month, cheaper as well. Besides the eclectic roommate and the annoying pigeon that wakes me up every morning, it's not such a bad place to live.

No more Morocco...maybe

Thanks to the numerous smaller airlines throughout Europe and the relative proximity of countries, it is unbelievably simple and inexpensive to travel to neighboring nations. To better understand the compactness of Europe, a contrast of its land area with that of the U.S. will certainly help to shed some light. The United States currently possesses a total land area of 9,161,923 km2, while the European Union, with its 27 member nations, boasts an area of 4,324,782 km2. So much diversity in such a small vicinity is certainly a blessing for those interested in travel and foreign cultures. With such a surplus of travel opportunities from which to choose, it becomes difficult to make a decision. Recently, I began searching some of the websites offering cheap flights around Europe and to surrounding areas. One that particularly caught my attention was a flight to Morocco, the most northwestern African nation. Separated from Spain only by the narrow Strait of Gibraltar (a distance of around 8 miles), an excursion there would take no longer than a flight from Memphis to Chicago. Becoming excited by the prospect of a relatively cheap trip to Africa with all of its exotic appeal, I began to research requirements for American entry into the nation. Though I was pleased to hear that American tourists wishing to enter Morocco needed no vias, immediately after opening the State Department’s website on Morocco, I found the following:

>>>In March and April 2007, a series of terrorist bombings occurred in Casablanca, two of which simultaneously occurred outside the U.S. Consulate General and the private American Language Center. In 2003, a series of similar attacks in Casablanca targeted hotels and restaurants. The potential for terrorist violence against American interests and citizens remains high in Morocco. Moroccan authorities continue to disrupt groups seeking to attack U.S.- or Western-affiliated and Moroccan government targets, arresting numerous individuals associated with international terrorist groups. With indications that such groups still seek to carry out attacks in Morocco, it is important for American citizens to be keenly aware of their surroundings and adhere to prudent security practices such as avoiding predictable travel patterns and maintaining a low profile. Establishments that are readily identifiable with the United States are potential targets for attacks. These may include facilities where US citizens and other foreigners congregate, including clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, movie theaters and other public areas. Such targets may also include establishments where activities occur that may offend religious sensitivities, such as casinos or places where alcoholic beverages are sold or consumed. All U.S. citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and be vigilant regarding their personal security and report any suspicious incidents or problems immediately to Moroccan authorities and the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.<<<

A bit dismayed by the news, I began thinking about the American psyche with regards to the notion of freedom. The abstract concepts of liberty and freedom provide the framework upon which our country and other democracies were founded. So ubiquitous are the freedoms we take for granted that it is at first challenging to actually identify them. As Americans we rarely consider our power to vote, our ability to express our opinions, or the ease in which we may freely travel within the United States as freedoms at all. Rather, because we have always enjoyed these luxuries, we deem them merely as natural and expected components of our daily lives. Unfortunately, the preciousness of those freedoms is typically only remembered once it becomes threatened. I am lucky to have even been allowed to come to Europe. There are areas of the world where people are unable to afford such trips, and there are other areas in which governments deny their citizens the right to exit their homelands. While technically I still am able to travel to Morocco, the dangers are so current that I probably will postpone that trip. Nevertheless, the experience has made me both more cognizant of and grateful for the simple, though important, freedoms I enjoy. Hopefully one day the dangers will diminish so that I may travel to any place that interests me.