(Note: first of several blog updates. I am working in reverse, so that the blog retains a sense of chronology.) My friend Kim from Trinity came to visit me at the end of her study abroad experience in Seville, Spain. She came just at the culmination of StuStaCulum, which is basically a four-day festival held out in the quad, with different bands playing each night, LOTS, and I mean, LOTS of beer being sold, tents and shops and food set up throughout the entire StuSta area. It was quite interesting. Many bushes were violated due to lack of public toilets---I'm not really sure why they didn't set up any port-a-potties. Another cultural oddity, it seems.
I showed Kim the sights and quite wore her out--we went to Marienplatz, Odeonsplatz, Hofgarten, etc. It was very interesting to hear Kim's experiences in Spain, and especially to hear how Spain compared to Germany. She was quite shocked when I took her to Münchner Freiheit right after she got in on a Thursday night around 11:30 and the place was as dark as time primordial--in Spain, they're just getting out. Or, as Kim said, "Even old people are out at this time in Spain!" (We ended up eating at McDonald's, open until a Spanish- American-friendly 2 a..m.) Kim took to Germany, though, and was surprised how well everyone spoke English, "practically with American accents," she said. Also she liked the cleanliness of Munich and the notable absence of street beggars and homeless people. I took her to get ice cream at Cafe Münchner Freiheit, which has the best ice cream ever.
However, for some reason, we just ran into a lot of negative Germans that day. The lady at the ice cream shop thought I didn't pay for my ice cream, when I did, and gave me a suspicious sidelong glance when I told her I had already paid. We rented a paddle boat in the Englischer Garten (tons of fun! And 5 euros for 30 minutes), and when we pulled back up to the pier, with Kim screaming, "I'm so bad at parallel parking!" we had one of the men working there take our photo of us in the boat, who did it without so much as twitching a facial muscle. Then, we were walking back into the entrance for StuSta (and also StuStaCulum, which required a 4 euro Eintritt), and I walked by (since I was going to my dorm, where I lived, and not headed toward the StuStaCulum festival at all) and this girl got up and accosted me, saying, "Hey, you, are you buying a ticket?" And I said, "I'm going to Blaues Haus." Point to blue house. "I live there. Do you need to see my student I.D. or my key?" She ignored this and looked at Kim. "And you?" I said, "She's visiting me." The girl just walked back to her post without a single apology. The entire encounter was very gruff and abrasive. I miss American openess (I won't say "friendliness," because that varies from region to region, but I mean a tendency to be a lot less suspicious of people.) a lot and get the feeling the Germans just aren't my people. Actually, I know they aren't.
However, for some reason, we just ran into a lot of negative Germans that day. The lady at the ice cream shop thought I didn't pay for my ice cream, when I did, and gave me a suspicious sidelong glance when I told her I had already paid. We rented a paddle boat in the Englischer Garten (tons of fun! And 5 euros for 30 minutes), and when we pulled back up to the pier, with Kim screaming, "I'm so bad at parallel parking!" we had one of the men working there take our photo of us in the boat, who did it without so much as twitching a facial muscle. Then, we were walking back into the entrance for StuSta (and also StuStaCulum, which required a 4 euro Eintritt), and I walked by (since I was going to my dorm, where I lived, and not headed toward the StuStaCulum festival at all) and this girl got up and accosted me, saying, "Hey, you, are you buying a ticket?" And I said, "I'm going to Blaues Haus." Point to blue house. "I live there. Do you need to see my student I.D. or my key?" She ignored this and looked at Kim. "And you?" I said, "She's visiting me." The girl just walked back to her post without a single apology. The entire encounter was very gruff and abrasive. I miss American openess (I won't say "friendliness," because that varies from region to region, but I mean a tendency to be a lot less suspicious of people.) a lot and get the feeling the Germans just aren't my people. Actually, I know they aren't.
We went to Hofbräuhaus the last night we were together, where we ran into a huge group of American students studying abroad in Florence who were sitting next to us. They were very drunk, but, due to this, were quite friendly, more than usual. I will give props to our dirndl-clad waitress: I gave her the payment for our meal while Kim was in the restroom, and this guy was eyeing my table and the waitress just looked up at him and barked, "Sie bleibt doch!" (She's staying there!) I caught her eye and I felt a wave of womanly simpatico between us.
Kim and I had a great time, though. I took her down to Starnberg Lake for the mountains-and-lake experience, and we got to hang out and swap stories of being abroad in Europe. All the friends I've encountered abroad, I can see how it's changed them for the good--made them stronger people, because I know we've all run into the same sorts of issues and been forced to resolve them ourselves. I'm glad study abroad has become de rigeur in America, especially at schools like Trinity, where a good portion of the students do study abroad.
Photo: Fire dancers at the last night of StuStaCulum.
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