return to the kellerwald

Oh hey, remember how I went to visit Gemma last month? Those were good times! Of course the best part was getting to reunite Gemily for 5 days, but it was also fun to hang out in my old Franken stomping-grounds. And that meant one thing, and one thing only - a return to the Kellerwald.

You remember the Kellerwald, right? My favorite place in all of Forchheim. Maybe on my list of favorite places ever - but that's another post for another day.

When Gemma and I went, there was no question which Keller we were going to - our favorite, Rappenkeller. What makes this Keller better than the rest? Well, honestly, all the beers and all the food at all the kellers are all fabulous, but what really sets this one apart for us is our favorite server (who I introduced in this post). And, sure enough, as soon as we got there she came right over and sat with us for a few minutes to catch up. She even gave us some free Jägermeister sunglasses. Classy, no?

All in all, it was the perfect Kellerwald reunion - if anything, too short. But really, isn't any visit to the Kellerwald too short?  Great company, beautiful weather, and delicious food (but more on that later) - I can't wait to go back! 

When I visit Gemma

The night starts with a plan.

I made sure to bring glasses that fit a half bottle of wine each.

then night ends like this.

I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas

When I last saw Gemma at the beginning of November, we decided our next rendezvous should be at a halfway point to enjoy a Christmas market together. And it turns out there is a pretty good half way point between our two cities - Frankfurt

On that Sunday morning not so long ago, I woke up at 5:30 am (something I'd only do for Gemma) to make the 3 hour journey down to Frankfurt. Of course, when one is relying on Deutsche Bahn to get your around, you have to prepared to stop randomly at any given place for over an hour and arrive at your final destination almost 2 hours late. But after that, minor hiccup, our visit to the Frankfurt Weihnachtsmarkt went smoothly. 


We got to enjoy each other's company... 

the festive scenery...

and the rain. 

That's right, it rained the entire day. But don't you worry, this did not dampen anyone's Christmas spirits. If you thought a little precipitation could keep the Christmas market enthusiasts away, you would be completely wrong. As we made our way back to the train station at the end of our day together, it was through a sea of umbrellas and an otherwise uninterrupted Christmas market atmosphere! 

this is what I'm thankful for

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think maybe because it's such a simple concept: here's day, let's cancel school and work, get families together and spend the day eating and drinking. Fabulous! There's no pressure of presents, no extreme decoration necessary, no other expectations than spending time with family and friends and enjoying good food and good company. 

This year marks my second Thanksgiving in a row and third one ever that I haven't been home to celebrate. But doing Thanksgiving abroad isn't as depressing as it sounds - I've found it can be quite great to celebrate with other displaced Americans and also with non-Americans who've never had a Thanksgiving before. 

And since I've had some pretty great Thanksgivings throughout my years, I thought I'd share my 5 favorite Thanksgiving memories

Cooking my First Turkey
Thanksgiving 2010 - Forchheim, Germany

Now this wasn't really me at my best, but last year, when Gemma and I hosted the ETA Thanksgiving potluck, we were in charge of the Turkey. And as I didn't actually have to work on Thanksgiving, I was responsible for prepping the bird. Yes, that meant pulling the neck and giblets out from the inside. Unfortunately, Gemma and I forgot to plan ahead and allow enough time for the turkey to thaw completely. So not only did I get stick my hand up a turkey, I had to fight with a turkey popsicle for about 30 min before successfully removing all the bits and pieces. So maybe this wasn't so much a favorite memory as much as just unavoidable memorable. And that turkey actually tasted pretty good!

Shahida's Thanksgiving Visit
Thanksgiving 2008 - Charleston, South Carolina

I loved having Shahida come experience my favorite holiday with my entire family! It was great to include her on the all the family games and traditions - including the annual day after Thanksgiving dinner at a mexican restaurant (and the ensuing margaritas). 


My First Franken Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving 2007 - Bamberg, Germany

What's that?! I was in Franken before I lived there?! Why yes, during my year in Switzerland I spent Thanksgiving up in Bamberg with Kristen who was doing her year abroad there (remember?). It was that Thanksgiving that I learned the magical powers Bamberg has to ensure every visit is amazingly fun. That Thanksgiving is always recalled with Kristen and I get together. 

The First Thanksgiving Re-enactment 
Thanksgiving 2010 - Forchheim, Germany

Another memory from last year. What can I say, it was just that good! Since it was Gemma's first Thanksgiving, I decided we should really make sure that she understood the meaning behind this most American of holidays. And as she was a British settler and I was a native of America, the roles were already set. Our rendition of the First Thanksgiving is on it's way to becoming a holiday classic. And the original Mayflower used in the video is still up for viewing at Hotel Baptistella. 

The Turkey Trot
Thanksgiving 2006 - Charleston, South Carolina

This is not only - hands down - my favorite Thanksgiving memory, but probably the one I'm most proud of! It all started when our family signed up to run the Charleston Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving morning. Well, if there are two things that don't sit well with my family, it's getting up early for a race and running races at all. The night before Thanksgiving we discovered some pretty great Halloween costumes at my aunt's house. So AJ and I pulled out the most ridiculous two we could find and decided add a little excitement to the Turkey Trot. Even though we showed up about 20 minutes after the race started and cheated with short cuts the whole way through, AJ and I were honored during the award ceremony for Best Costumes (a category I'm pretty sure was created just for us about 5 minutes before we won) and even made it into the local paper the next day. 


I hope every one celebrating has an amazing Thanksgiving! 

Climbing on Statues with Wagner

Before you start to believe that Gemma and I spent my entire 5 day trip to Forchheim in our PJs (I'm sure I don't know what would give you that idea), let me confirm that we did not! We spent one day visiting the city of Bayreuth.

Bayreuth is most well-known for being the home of Richard Wagner back in the day and the current location of the annual Bayreuther Festspiele, a summer festival where only Wagner operas are performed. I therefore referred to Bayreuth as Wagner-land for the entire day.

And we did get to visit all the Wagner highlights. We saw the Festspielhaus (where the operas are preformed during the festival).

We saw his bust in the Wagner park. 

But we did miss visiting his grave because we were too busy taking this picture...

You have to admit, it was kind of worth it. In fact, aside from Wagner sight-seeing, we spent most of our day staking out spots (usually involving climbing on statues) for a good photo op or two. I'd say we were pretty successful. 

The Great Return

For the second week of our two week fall break, I decided to return to my German roots: Forchheim. 

 

The two months I had been in Dortmund marked the longest I had ever been away from Forchheim since moving there in September 2010. So going back was a greatly-anticipated treat!  My return to Forchheim also saw the greatest reunion of Gemily since the Christmas 2010 split. 

Although the week went by all too quickly, I got to get in a little bit of all my favorite Forchheim things. I got to spend plenty of quality time back at Hotel Baptistella, playing cards with Gemma, visit friends in the city, enjoying some delightful (and appropriately-sized) Kellerbier, visit new places in Franken, and spend a day in my PJs watching TV (Bones...) and being completely lazy all day with Gemma. 

Our first order of business, actually, was to stock up on sustenance to get us through our ritual lazy day without ever having to leave the apartment (and yes, those are mini pizzas and mini breaded cheese bits in there. We like to keep it classy). 

If the excitement of it all wasn't enough, my week was topped off when my new winter jacket and purse were delivered on my last day. My excitement is clearly discernible here in my happy dance (hey, you'd be excited too if you got a 60€ Jacket and 15€ purse for a grand total of 28€, thank you internet sales!)

It was fantastic to be back and to get to see everyone, and I'm hoping it won't be too long before I get to go back again! 

That time I actually went dancing

If you know me very well, you know my response to "hey let's go out dancing!" is usually some variation of "uuuuggggghhhhhhh"

Of course, if you know me even better, I usually always have a really good time dancing if I ever actually go.  (I don't get it either...)
 
So a few weeks ago when Gemma told me about  90's night at a club in Erlangen, I was less than enthused. But I knew Gemma wanted to go and I knew I hadn't been doing too much in the way of having fun or being social, so I decided a night out could be a good choice. Besides, 90's themes are always a good start!

Although, for the sake of cultural sensitivity, I will not comment on the style of dancing here, (suffice it to say I like it, because I fit right in... if that's any clue), I did find out that the 90's were, at least musically, apparently much different in Germany than they were in the US. I only recognized about half (or less) of the songs and the ones I did know would probably not be the ones chosen for a 90's night at home (not saying they were bad, just not same ones we would probably play). 

They didn't even play Spice Girls! That one really upset me.

However, the inappropriately middle-aged creepers seemed to be having a good time dancing by themselves. That was definitely a hilarious source of entertainment.

The Final Countdown: Lucky #7

Things I've learned during my Fulbright year:
#10 - a lot about the English language
#9 - there is such a thing as too much free time
#8 - riding a bike in the snow is dangerous
#7 - missing your last train isn't always a bad thing

Ok, so this one really might be a euphemism for something more profound. But I'll let you be the judge of that...

It was the middle of January and Gemmani decided to face the cold and get out of the apartment one night during the final days of the winter break. We thought we'd head up to Bamberg since we hadn't been there much before Christmas. It was meant to be a simple night out - get dinner, have a drink or two, then head home probably by 11. 

But as luck would have it, that was the night we discovered the Irish Pub. The pub that reconnected Gemma with her roots (or you know, another island geographically close and often mistakenly related to her roots). We ended up having such a great time, we decided to aim for the last train, which left around 12:30am. Since Bamberg's station is a bit outside the city center, and we hadn't been there much before, we decided to leave a little early just in case. So at midnight we gathered our things, paid our tab and started the trek back to the station. 

We arrived at the station at 12:15 am. But it was surprisingly quiet. When we checked the departure board, we saw that the last train back was actually at 12:13, not 12:30 (oops...). But instead of getting upset, or taking a 40€ taxi ride home, we jumped in the little play helicopter, considered our options, then headed back into town to party the night away till the first morning train in 4 short hours.

Even though it was a cold Thursday night in the middle of January, no students were in town, and most the bars were closed by the time we got back from the station, we managed to find one sketchy little underground dance club and dance the night away! Despite the misunderstandings, unexpected delays and frigid weather, we didn't let any of it get us down and ended up having one of our best nights in Germany! 

the royal we

Let me set the scene for this post: 

There are 7 ETAs in Franken (remember, that's the area of Bavaria I live in. Keep up, people!). Two in Nürnberg, two in Erlangen, one in Bamberg and two in Forchheim. The 7 of us get together pretty regularly (if not all of us, at least different combinations of us). And, as you might have guessed, the two in Forchheim are Gemma and I (omg! Who saw that one coming?!). Out of the 7, we are the only two that live in the same apartment. Also, Gemma is the only British assistant. Which means she moved in about 2 weeks after the first six of us. She also (maybe unwillingly) got thrown into this group of Americans because we lived together and therefore did things together, which inevitably were also together with the other ETAs. 

So since we have the same main circle of friends, everyone figured out after a while, that when they needed both of us, they only had to call one of us. Our one friend even dubbed us "Gemily" to save time when talking about us or addressing us. When I talk about us (e.g. inviting friends over to our place) I like to go with the 1st person version of our collective name: "Gemmani" (Gemma and I... get it?).

Over the past nine months, Gemmani have accepted our role as a collective. When one of us is invited out, the other is almost always automatically included. When one of us goes to the store, we both usually walk down together. When one of us emails the group to set up plans, it both approved and co-signed by the other. When we have a lesson to plan or a decision to make, we always discuss it with the other. 

Why am I telling you this? Well, besides Gemma being my other half and an integral part of my Fulbright year, I realized the other day that it has now become difficult to refer to myself in the singular. 

In the beginning, we always joked about responding as a collective "We think that would be fun!" "Do you want to come out with us?" "We 

like that idea!" But as time progressed, it became less of a joke and more of the norm. In a weird kind of way. "Can we call you back?" "We're done with school at 1pm." "We thought it would be best to go ahead and book the flight to the US."  It finally reached the point that I had to give it pause last week on the phone to one of our friends from Erlangen. She called my phone to tell me a story while Gemmani had made a brief stop on our way home from school. This is pretty much how the conversation went:

J: Hey! I have to tell you this story about something that happened today!

E: OMG, sounds exciting, but we're in Aldi [Gemma was outside] can we call you back when we got home? Or you can call us?

J: Yeah sure

E: Actually we'll probably be on skype when we get back. 

I had an entire conversation that was directed at just me using only plural pronouns and Gemma wasn't even with me at the time. That's when I knew this Royal We situation was getting serious. 

But I'm already dreading the de-pluralization of my pronouns. That sad day when the "we" becomes "me". The end of the Gemily era. And it's getting frighteningly closer everyday. 

A game a day: Uncle Stuart's Game

This game is a Hotel Baptistella staple. It's one of the many versions of rummy (perhaps you'll recognize it by a different name), and is a family game brought down to the mainland by my island friend Gemma from England. As for the etymology of the name, it is called so because the game was introduced to Gemma's family by none other than Uncle Stuart (who, I am excited to say, I will get to meet in a couple short weeks - shake the hand of the genius who has provided hours, days and weeks of entertainment for Gemma and I).


Uncle Stuart's Game (for 2 or 3 players)
What you need: a single deck of cards, no jokers (a for real 52 card deck, 2-10 Jack Queen King Ace, in case you come from a country *ahemgermanyahem* where strange and unusual decks of cards are used).
Objective: Be the first player to reach 500 (for a shorter version play to 300, or for a never-ending version - like the one Gemma and I play - play to 1,000,000) 
Scoring: Cards 2 - 9 are five points each; 10s, Jacks, Queens, and Kings are 10 points each; Aces are 15 points each.  
How to deal: 7 cards are dealt to each player. Note that the dealer should start the deal with him/herself and is also the first player to take a turn. The dealer also deals him/herself an extra card in place of drawing a card for the first turn
Taking a turn: Each turn is started by drawing a card from the deck or discard pile, or scooping and ended by discarding into the pile*. During your turn you may lay down new sets/runs or play on other's sets/runs. 

 *the discard pile should be organized as shown in 

the picture below, with each card showing and the

 earliest card discarded on the bottom and the last 

card discarded on top. 

Getting points: All cards in your hand are negative points, while the cards laid out in sets/runs in front of you are positive points. To be able to lay your cards out, they must be either in sets of at least 3 of a kind or runs (in the same suite) of at least three. No player is allowed to lay down any cards during the first round. On a players first time laying cards out he or she may only lay out one run/set (the number of cards used, as long as at least 3, does not matter) but can not lay down a 2nd run/set or play on another players set/run until the next turn. After this players may lay down as many cards, sets or runs as they have during any turn. 
Drawing from the discard pile: there are two ways to draw cards from the discard pile: either by picking the last card or scooping. Both options take the place of drawing a card from the deck to begin a turn.  A player may pick up the last card in the discard at any point during the game, the player does not have to use this card immediately. A player may only choose to scoop from any point in the discard pile if he or she already has at least one set or run laid out. If the player scoops, he/she must immediately use farthest card to which he/she scooped. For example, if scooping from the discard pile in the picture, if the player scoops to the 3 of hearts, he/she must immediately play the 3 either in a run, a set, or on another players run/set. The player may then choose to use any/as many other cards from the scoop in the same turn. 

*the player can use any number of cards from 

the scoop to make a run/set. For example, in 

the picture, if a player has one 5 in his/her 

hand, he/she may scoop all the way to the 

first 5, gaining two 5s to make a set of 3. 

Playing on another player's set/run: You may only play cards on another player's sets/runs when you have at least one set/run laid out. There is no minimum number of cards required to play on another player's hand. When you do play on another player's hand lay the card(s) out in your own pile (you get the points for any cards you play) and specify which set/run your card now belongs to. Once assigned to a set/run, a card cannot be changed. 
Ending a deal: each deal ends immediately when a player has no more cards in his/her hand. At this point, the players count all the points left in their hands and subtract that from all the points they have played on the table. Any sets/runs left in the hand when the first player goes out, must be counted as negative. (Negative scores are possible)


It is slightly more complicated than yesterday's game, but relies a lot more on strategy. Gemma and I have been playing our "never-ending game" since November (she's kicking my ass), and can still sit and play it for hours on end! 

Tomorrow's Game: Tick 

Vlog time!

OMG! It's here!


Emily's Vlog #8


British English Edition!

Ein gutes neues

Happy new year, internet people!

I'd like to start this by thanking everyone who didn't say anything about me coming home for Christmas! I've never gotten to pull off such a big surprise before, and despite the 24 hours of traveling, the 3 different planes, and the sleep deprivation, it was very exciting and totally worth it! Don't worry, there is a video of the actual surprise on youtube.

I was nervous about going home for Christmas. During the first four months I felt like I had really settled in well, and I was afraid going home, even for a week, would reset that and cause me to have to resettle all over again. But really, it hasn't. I had a great week at home, being able to see my family and visit my friends. In some ways I wished I had had more time, in other ways I was glad to be headed back to Germany.

Luckily, Gemma got back the same day I did. Which meant I didn't have to sit around and be bored and lonely for a week. We had one more week after our return to Germany before school started back, so we really made the most of it. Oh, that's right - we played cards. Let me explain, Gemma and I have a running card game that we started back in the week of our fall break when we still hadn't been payed. We've been keeping a running score since that fateful week in November. Before Christmas we had just reached 10,000. That's two months worth of playing. Last night after one week of card playing, we just broke 20,000. We enjoyed our week. We did get out a few times: shopping in Erlangen, movie and drinks in Bamberg, trips to the grocery store so we didn't starve, things like that...

Finally yesterday it was back to the grind. Of course, averaging about one class a day so far, it hasn't been too taxing yet. Yesterday I got to pull out a sort of old faithful lesson plan: the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King and today I just did the whole "interview the foreign girl" thing

Side note: I have mixed feelings about the whole "pretend you don't speak German" thing that teachers ask you to do. Not because I'm against it pedagogically, I do see the point in it. But it just goes against every nature of my being. For the past 4 months, my biggest pet peeve is going out and people assuming you don't speak German or would rather speak English. Now, I recognize that 7th graders who are trying to learn English aren't making assumptions about my language abilities. Obviously. But then I also hate when they ask "do you know any other languages?" When I have to lie and say "no" I feel like I'm just feeding that stereotype that English speakers don't ever learn foreign languages, they feel like their language is superior and therefore the only one worth knowing, or what have you. I actually take a little pride in thinking I'm helping to change that stereotype. Then, of course, when they ask how you ended up in Germany, things just get awkward "uh... I was just really interested in Germany. It seemed cool, ja?" Like I said, from a teaching standpoint it makes total sense that I would pretend not to know German. When students know you understand their native language, they tend to just give up on the new language whenever they feel like it. I guarantee if they knew I spoke German at all, half of those interviews would have just ended up with questions like "have you got any... uh... hmm... uh... Geschwister?" But instead, they would work just a little harder to come up with "brothers and sisters". But from a language student standpoint, it is difficult to just sit there and say "no, I do not know German. The only language I know is Engish." It's just strange!

Things look like they're going to be pretty low key for the next few weeks. I have my first band concert coming up this Saturday, but other than that, no big plans. We have our first break of the new year in March (the same week that UGA has spring break, actually) and I just booked my flights to Edinburgh to visit Shahida again! I'm really excited to get back up there to see her, and we're trying to gather more of the old Zurich crew as well too.

I'll try to be good about keeping you posted on all the exciting happenings here in Forchheim (I'll let you know when we hit 30,000 in our cards). And, imaginary internet people, I hope you have a wonderful 2011!

Oh, and while I've got you here, new pics have been posted!

Fulbright - 2011 and I'll be Home for Chrismas

Schulfrei

Last night around 6pm school was canceled for today due to an expected "enormous snowfall". At first it felt a little reminiscent of Georgia (you know, the "OMG it might rain AND be below freezing tonight - which is how snow is made. I think. Maybe... but we should cancel school anyway, just in case!" usually ending with a beautiful sunny winter day with highs in the 50's). But as Gemma and I left Bamberg around 12:30 last night, the previously clear streets were already buried under several inches of snow.

The snow continued all night and is still going strong right now (I've conveniently set up shop in the kitchen where I can face out the window as I type - watching snow fall hasn't gotten old for me yet). Gemma and I planned our snow day out last night on the way home from the train station - one mile, in the snow, uphill... no seriously - and it includes braving the winter storm to stock up on wine and camp out inside playing cards all day! I am very lucky to have been placed with someone who appreciates card playing just as much as me.

I've made a cup of my new tea - an "advent blend", a gift from a teacher - but it's actual tea leaves and this is my first time using a tea strainer, so I'm working on figuring out just how much to put in. Right now it's a little weak, but I have all day to tea test! I can easily say that watching the snow fall, drinking delicious tea, and the Sufjan Stevens Christmas CD make for a fantastic morning.

Short, but sweet. Trying to cater to the all the attention deficits roaming the internet.

Life below the poverty line

"We strongly recommend bringing enough money to last 4 - 6 weeks (1,000-1,500€) when you first arrive." A wise suggestion from the PAD (long story, I know I'm here with Fulbright, but the PAD is really the organization in charge of everything, including pay).

Well, here we are 10 weeks since I started here in Germany and the only money my account has seen was travel reimbursement from Fulbright. Most of my Fulbright friends were paid within the first 2 weeks of October, but I wasn't worried, because I still knew people getting paid in the 3rd week. Well, as the last week of the month arrived, with our week long fall break on it's heels (this past week), I started to worry. I approached my teachers with my concerns and they reciprocated, so on Friday they called the powers that be inquiring about our payment. We were then told to give it to the end of the this week and if, by Friday, we hadn't received anything, to call back.

Monday: Nothing, turns out it's a bank holiday down here for all saints day

Tuesday: Nothing, no excuse.

Wednesday: Still nothing

Thursday: Nada - starting to question the need for an "if" clause when told to wait till Friday

Friday: ....Of course not.

But this post is not to tell you about the angry (and by angry I mean they included a lot of "please" and "thank yous"...) emails I've sent to Fulbright and the PAD. I wanted to give you a little glimpse into surviving a week vacation with no money.

On Friday last week I pulled out 100€ from my ever-dwindling American account to last me till we got paid (which I now consider the same as saying "to last me for the foreseeable future"). This 100€ would be my only funding for the week, for necessities, fun, travel, whatever I wanted/needed all had to fit with in my 100€.

So what do you do on 100€ for a week with all the free time in the world? Well at the beginning of the week, Gemma (who still hasn't been paid either) and I were pretty active. On Friday night we went out in Forchheim for the first time. Luckily, as beer is cheaper than water, a night out doesn't run the bill up too much. On Sunday we went out to the Franconian Switzerland region (Fränkische Schweiz in German) and spent the day hiking, splurged a little for lunch. On Monday and Tuesday we spent time with some teachers with Gemma's teachers hiking and visiting a "wild animal park" (basically a zoo with mostly animals you can actually find in the area) However, as the week progressed and we grew more skeptical of ever receiving our payment, we toned down the excitement a little and have spent the last couple days in the apartment.

I decided to compile a little list of some activities that can be done for free or relatively cheap over here in Forchheim.

1. hiking
2. visiting castle ruins
3. hiking
4. visiting castles still in use
5. hiking
6. playing cards
7. reading
8. sleeping
9. watching an entire season of Grey's anatomy
10. drinking
11. hiking
12. websudoku
13. pacing
14. doodling
15. facebook
16. writing blog posts filled with unnecessary links

from my original 100€, I still have almost 40€, but I'm very wary about spending any since I still don't know when I'll be getting paid for sure. But Gemma and I decided this recent poverty we've encountered, if nothing else, has been very character building. (and my Sudoku skills are much improved too)

Monetary donations can be sent to the address listed in the About Me section.**

**just kidding. Please don't actually send money. I mean, unless you really want to. But not really.