My visit with Andrew (2/6-2/8/09):

I write to you today from a somewhat unusual location from US standards, but a
Completely normal part of European life: the train. I am on my way back from Cologne, where I meet my long lost Cousin Andrew for a weekend of German fun. (Not exactly the stereotypical German beer, Vienershnitzle and Lederhosen-but exciting enough.) I was lucky enough to snag a second-class seat, and decided to attempt to catch up on my blog.

After boarding a train to Bassel, realizing that wasn’t correct and getting off, about 4 trains and 4 hours, I finally arrived in Köln. It is strange, although I live about 10 minutes form the German boarder, it is a completely different world. Andrew said it well “You expect to get lost when you are preparing to go to Europe from the U.S. It is a whole new continent. But here, it catches you by surprise, you think, “why should I get lost and disoriented when I’m traveling two hours away?”” It is entirely true; I all of a sudden realized how valuable being familiar with the language is. All of a sudden you can’t comprehend any of the announcements, read any of the signs, or understand any of the conversation going on around you.

I met Andrew on the platform, and he lead me to a regional train, to go into the suburbs of Köln. Andrew’s program was a little over a year long, and began with two months of language school, then the students would disperse into the world of work in Germany. He and his host mom had really hit it off, and her house has been a welcoming home for Andrew and his occasional guests.

We arrived around 8 o’clock and immediately greeted by the German “la bise”, which instead of a kiss on each cheek, is a sort of double-hug on each side from Andrew’s host mom. After that we were greeted excitedly by “kiche” the little white dog. Andrew’s host mom didn’t speak much English, but she was very sweet and accommodating. I was able to eat without a problem, and felt at home despite the language barrier. Andrew and I settled in while she finished dinner, and continued to catch up on about 10 years of our lives.

In a lot of ways he hasn’t changed a bit, I can still see that little kid who played the “smooshed apple game” with me when I was 7 or so. He reminds me a lot of my aunt Betsy (his mom), but I can also see some of his dad’s gregariousness in him.

We sat down to eat our frankfurters, potatoes and vegetables, but not without Spanish red wine. One of her sons is working in Spain as a doctor, and knowing her love of red wine sent her 30 bottles. Andrew warned me that at least one would be opened at dinner. The dinner itself was a mix of Andrew translating and some broken English, but it was delightful. After dinner, both of us were quite fatigued, so we turned in.

I slept wonderfully, the mattress was made of comfortable foam, and we arose leisurely. We had a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, German proscutto, and fruit. After breakfast, we went back to the commuter train into Köln to meet a few of Andrew’s friends.

After meeting the first few in the train station, and buying a few postcards, the first stop was the cathedral or “dome”. It was magnificent, and is an architectural wonder that Cologne is known for. We took some pictures outside, and walked around the inside, looking at the stained glass and interior architecture. Valentina, another friend of Andrews from the program, then joined us as we made our way down the city’s center.

Although everyone spoke at least a little English, the primary form of communication was German. It was humbling to see other students around my age fully master another (or more) foreign language. Many people I met were multi lingual, for example Andrew’s host mom speaks Polish, German and a little English, and Abdalla (one of Andrew’s friends) spoke Arabic, German and English. Being surrounded by multilingualism really makes you appreciate the value of communication. Many of us in the US really take for granted that we can communicate with someone a couple hundred miles away. Although it isn’t obligatory to learn a new language in the US, I think it is grossly undervalued and underemphasized.

We explored the busy downtown, and then headed to the old quarter. There are still remains of some of the buildings bombed during WWII, that are sectioned off. The rest of the area, which lies right along the Rhine, is picturesque and beautiful. After exploring the old quarter, the dreary weather was starting to chill us so we went to a little German coffee shop filled with hot drinks and sweets. Following Valentina’s recommendation, I had a hot lemon drink, quite sour but warm and refreshing. It was fun to warm up, and hear some of the stories and experiences of their time in Germany.

After drinks, the group split and Abdalla, Andrew, Sergey and I went to the “student quarter” to eat. We ate a late lunch at one of Andrew’s favorite Italian places (ironically enough). However, about 10 minutes into the meal, Sergey got up and abruptly left, leaving a 10 Euro bill for his tea he had ordered. Apparently he had an appointment with his host family, and just realized he was late. He was definitely a character, he is originally from Russia, but met the group in Germany. He speaks English well, but didn’t say too much the entire day. His expression was also pretty stoic, but Andrew and Abdalla assured me that this was perfectly normal and very “Sergey like”.

After lunch (which was mostly in English!) we decided to wander back to Andrew’s host mom’s house for dinner. Andrew and I had plans to meet his host mom and her best friend for wine and dinner. Since she misses her kids and loves having people in the house, Andrew invited Abdalla back with us. The dinner was lovely, consisting of fish, potatoes, vegetables, and her Spanish wine. After awhile the German (most likely due to the wine) sounded like soft gibberish and I was happily drifting in and out of my thoughts. Andrew would translate when there was a pause, and I would them chime in. The conversation went from politics to Wagner and back, and was sophisticated yet, pleasantly reserved.

After dinner, Andrew and I escorted Abdalla back to Cologne, had a drink, then parted ways. Andrew and I sleepily made our way back to the suburb, had some more wine, and chatted with his host mom. She was watching TV, which can be quite entertaining on a good amount of wine and not knowing German. She then offered me a shot of some licorice liquor, and seeing Andrew shake his head, I declined and had water. She turns to me and asks, “Do you vant to read English book?” before I could groggily answer, she reached for a book off of her shelf which she had purchased during a trip to Alaska, titled “Alaska”. She said she bought it in hopes of improving her English, and being able to read it.

We both again slept soundly, and awoke slowly. A nice breakfast, coffee, and a warm shower were nice ways to wake up to Sunday. After breakfast, Andrew used his height to help his host mom put up new curtains. We then, said goodbye and headed into Köln, to meet Valentina. As usual, Valentina was running late. Since it was Sunday, nothing was open, so Andrew and I sat on a bench and talked.

I learned that he ideally would live, work and raise a family in Germany. He much prefers the lifestyle; he has a 35-hour contract, instead of having to slave a 70-hour week that some high-powered jobs in the US require. He said, “That’s not living.” He also appreciates the benefits-the healthcare, the school system, etc. “They just seem to take care of you better here, I don’t know exactly what it is.”

Valentina eventually met up with us, and we walked to the one café that was open in our general proximity. Andrew indulged in a few German pastries; I had some tea and Valentina some espresso. We chatted about their internship program, and the differences of the German working world.

After our Sunday morning coffee, Andrew and I went to the train station, where helped me purchase my ticket back to Strasbourg. Valentina is a little bit forgetful, and since she forgot a book in which he needed. This book was the book of all German employers, and since Andrew works for GM of Germany, (and they are cutting instead of hiring) he has deemed it a high priority to intensify his search if he wants to stay in Germany after his internship ends. We said goodbye in the train station, and I wandered around a bit to kill some time before my departure.

Four trains, and five hours later, I arrived back in Strasbourg. It had been another complete and exciting weekend of new European experiences and adventures.