General Update

It's already Thanksgiving. Wow! how time flies. Just about five months ago I left home to come to here, but it doesn't feel like half that much. Time slows down, i suppose, when we are in a routine and there is not so much new and exciting stuff happening. Routine, well yeah, i do have a pretty set routine, but living in a foreign country and with three sibling around my age, there is also plenty of chaos to go around. Generally, i wake up around 6:30 or 6:45. i eat breakfast, drink a coffee, empty the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, make my bed, brush my teeth, and then wait (starting about 7:40) for the sister, with whom i go to school, to wake up and prepare herself for school. first hour starts at 8:00, and i almost always ride my bike (two times with the car, as it was raining heavily) the five or so minutes to school. Each day of the week is different as for what classes and how many hours i have. Monday is usually 8 hours, comprised of four, two-class-period-long classes. Sometimes you get a surprise, like this past monday. I should of had sport, art, german, and philosophy. Instead, i had two hours of art. Some days in the week i have only five, six, or seven classes. Overall, school is pretty easy. I actually forgot what i was going to write about in this post after having trailed off on school, so the next post will probably be me remembering what i intended to write in this post. Oh, and by the way, i'm doing well for those of you who had asked me.

Sankt Martins Tag

(Sankt) Martins Tag is a holiday in Germany, traditionally celebrated on the eleventh day of November. This holiday is celebrated throughout the German speaking countries and the Netherlands that i know of, and probably also Denmark. I'll explain a little bit about St. Martins Tag and about how it was celebrated in my community**.

First off, St. Martin was a Roman cavalry officer (if i'm not mistaken), and one day whilst riding his horse in some lousy weather, he came across a cold and hungry beggar. St. Martin, being a good Christian, took his cloak and then cut in half, giving one half to the beggar. How is this act of sharing commemorated? Why with a parade, songs, lanterns, a reenactment, fire, warm beverages, and "trick or treating." The kindergarten aged kids all make paper lanterns, hang it on a stick/pole*, and put either a candle or a lamp in it. Next, all the kids gather behind a man dressed like a Roman soldier on a horse with their lanterns and there is also a band who march along. the parents are with the kids and volunteers block off the streets. the parade moves along, kids try to sing, overall cute. the parade makes a stop in the festival grounds, where a large fire is burning. here, a reenactment of the st. martin story takes place. following that, most of the people without children, but some with, move to the school (the Catholic and Protestant kindergarten are right next to each other) for refreshments. This includes kinderpunch, glühwein***, and heissekakoa. there are also little men made out of dough and with little raisin eyes and a pipe for sale (weckmänner i believe). following the parade, the children are allowed to go "trick or treating," with the difference being that instead of saying, "trick or treat," they sing a lovely tune. Overall, i think it's a wonderful little tradition. a goose is also the traditional meal for st. martins tag

**celebrated in my community, and probably all over, by Protestants, Catholics, and i'm pretty sure i saw a few non-Christians too

*interesting but irrelevant, the kids at the Catholic kindergarten all had lanterns on the end of the stick, whilst the Protestant kindergarten children had the lantern handing down on the end of the stick

***basically, it's warm, spiced red wine.

not the best video, but you get the idea

The Fall of the Wall

Although i managed to write very little in October, that doesn't mean i didn't do anything. i'll get around to writing about it, but i think there's more important stuff at the moment to write about.

Today, the 9th of November, twenty years ago, the border separating the DDR (East Germany) and West Germany was opened (perhaps the passive "was opened" is even too active, as the opening was rather spontaneous). For many, this event may have no meaning and lack any significance, however, i can assure you of its importance. As one tv commentator said this evening (my translation), "the real miracle of the wall's collapse, is that a regime built with violence fell peacefully, without bloodshed." Now, i think "without bloodshed" refers to the actual end of the DDR, because to say that the peaceful freedom movement in the DDR was without victims is not accurate. And regardless of who claims to be responsible for the Mauerfall (Reagan, Hasslehof, etc), the real driving force behind the Mauerfall came from the people themselves (rhetorical question: can a people who don't want freedom be freed?). Twenty years ago an era came to an end. An oppressed people had the chance for a life in a democracy, as one man interviewed put it (my translation), "i was free; free to travel and free to think." I will leave the judgement call on whether or not it is a better life up to you, because there are arguments on both sides, but it does make you think, what value do i give my freedom (freedom; to think, to choose, to participate, or to not participate, to not think, to not choose). Essentially, the Mauerfall was the end of the Cold War, opening democracy to a larger part of the world. My final comment on this day-- the broad experience of a nation dealing with the past (war, starvation, holocaust, communism, etc) has learned something about the human condition. The past is the past. The past will remain the past. what is important, is how we continue with the lessons learned from the past. Angela Merkel spoke about this to the US Congress in the last week or so (i'm curious, was there any coverage of that in the US?) and reiterated it today. In general, what she has been saying (and will continue to do so), is that WE (yes, the USA is included) as humanity must continue to demolish "walls" in our world (such as intolerance*, hate*, climate change, injustice*, war, hunger, oppression*, you know, the bad stuff that we know still exists even if it isn't every day in the news) and that just because one wall fell, doesn't mean our work is finished. I think the significance of the Mauerfall is greater than I will ever be able to grasp. quite overwhelming stuff to ponder, but i would like to recapitulate on what i feel is the most important element:

• the Mauerfall (a goal, in the most reduced form) was achieved through a peaceful movement of people cooperating together (redundant, i know, but for the sake of emphasis, i believe a writer/blogger can do whatever he or she wants, but i digress...)

*it should be noted that November 9th was also a very bad day in German history (Kristallnacht) and that this element was not ignored in Germany, but put into context. By that I mean, mentioned, not dwelt upon, and the lesson therefrom incorporated into the what-we-as-humanity-need-to-do part.