Stairs Are A Bit Difficult Right Now and Living At The Heart Of History.

Well first of all reader I really need to tell you that the back of my legs are so sore that I can barely walk up or down the stairs. This is a little problematic because my room is downstairs and to get out of the house or to eat something I need to walk up the stairs. Then once I'm up there if I want to sleep or I need something from my room I have to make the painful descent. So I bet your wondering what I've done. Me too! Well I know how it happened, but I don't understand why it's the back of my leg's that are the part that are hurting! I'll pick this subject up later, but I mentioned it now, because I just went downstairs to get something, came back up, and realized I forgot something else and I made the other trip again. (The computer is also upstairs.) Hahhaa so you can see how this is a little problematic!

On Friday night I went to Theresa's birthday party. My host mother wasn't able to take me so I organized a ride with another girl who was going. (She was on the Drama trip.) So I had to be brave and I was and it turned out well. She asked if I would wait on my street corner, because she knew the area I lived, but not the street. I said that would be no problem. So on my way out the door, my host father said that he would go out there and stand with me. He said that it wasn't dangerous, but he wanted to just to make sure I was OK. It was really sweet of him and to be completely honest I felt better that he was there with me too.

The girl who drove me to the party also picked up another group of people and one of those girls I know a little bit from school. She said that she lived in Rotenburg and if I wanted I could drive home with her. Katrin said she could pick me up, but I knew she had a really early morning, so I told the girl that it would be great if she could drive me home. I called Eberhard, so he could tell Katrin and he said if the party for some reason turned out bad, that all I needed to do was call and they would come and get it. I really appreciated that.

OH I almost forgot. When we picked up one of the girl's, she got into the car and immediately started saying how angry she was that we were late. I was thinking WOW...I was surprised the mother driving didn't throw her out of the car. Sooo that was one situation where I found that the German people can be quite blunt. Katrin and I were talking one evening and that topic was brought up. I told her that at times I do find the German's to be blunt. She said that the people who live in this German province, Hessen are much less blunt than in other places. Oh man...there have been other situations like this which have just stunned me and if they are directed towards me I have no idea what to say.

So the party didn't turn out bad. Most of the people there were from my Grade and some from many of my classes. There was lots of food and one thing that I've found to be a common party food here is potatoe salad. Go figure...and I usually really don't like potatoe salad, but for some reason I have really liked it here, so when I come home I'll have to try it again. Maybe the German's do it better, or maybe my tastes have just changed.

The begining of the party was a little brutal because people didn't really talk to me, but as the night wore on it got better. A guy who I know through Theresa turned to me while we were eating and asked me about the Drama trip, because he knew I was part of the Theatre Group. I answered him and then it was quiet again. After about 5 minutes I managed to find some courage to ask him a question and we ended up having a small conversation. Through out the night he talked a bit to me and included me in conversations with some of the people he was hanging out with. He also dealt me in when he started playing cards with some people at our table. I really appreciated it.

I think what I find hardest about making friends or even just having conversations with people over here, is that I can't just jump into a conversation. I understand less at school than I do at home or out and about in Rotenburg. I think that's because the students talk fast and use a lot of slang. So it's pretty hard for me to speak at school because I don't know what they are talking about and they don't include me. So if I do start up a small conversation with someone I need to start the conversation and it can only be about fairly basic things. So the students don't really know me and since they don't know me they aren't really interested in me.

Anyways, by the end of the evening one of the girls he was a good friend with talked to me a bit more and we had a bit of a conversation. So it's getting better, but I have to be brave. I got home pretty late and I left my jacket out to make sure that my host parent's knew I was home.

I woke up later on Saturday and Katrin asked if I would be interested in making something Canadian. Of course I said yes and I really wanted to make Nanimo Bars. My pride really suffered after I screwed them up for the Wildenhayn's so I really had to make them. I love Nanimo Bars and they are typically Canadian so I knew it would please them and maybe salvage some of my pride!

I went grocery shopping with Eberhard and Katrin and while we were there I ran into a girl from school. She said hi and gave me a hug. Needless to say I was stunned, but pleased. She had also written me a message on facebook asking me a few questions and we've kept up a little corespondance for the last few days over facebook. This is encouraging.

That day was also Martin's Day which is a religious festival. There are all sorts of little traditions. For instance all of the young kids make these special paper laterns at school and some of the older kids walk through town with torches (with fireman OF COURSE) and then they light this huge bonfire. There was also a marching band and cheerleaders. There was also a little market which had a lot of food, but some little trinkets. I didn't see anything that grabbed me, so I am saving my money for the crazy awesome Christmas markets!!!! I am so excited!!!

Katrin and I are starting to work on my Grammar. She is amazed at my vocabulary, but that makes sense because I do know a lot of words. My Grammar is my weak point, so when we are drinking tea together (we do this a lot), are in the Kitchen together, or other places we work on my Grammar. So she'll ask me to explain something in German and then she'll correct me. It's great, because she'll tell me why it's wrong. That day we also read a children's book together. Well I read, she corrected my pronounciation. It was really great! I did a pretty good job!

That evening I showed Katrin and Johannes a few pictures of my family and friends on my I-pod. I'll show them my presentation later, when Eberhard is also home. I also got to see baby pictures of Johannes, Marie, and Katrin. It was quite fun!

That day I went for a run and did some yoga exercises. The yoga exercises were not for my legs, but my legs are just a mess right now. That was 2 nights ago! Man oh man. Stairs are BRUTAL. Well no pain no gain. haha..ha...ha...

The next day was the 70th Anniversary of Krystalnacht. On November 9th 70 years ago German people ransacked Jewish houses, burned down the Synagogues, and imprisoned the Jewish people. Katrin, Eberhard, and I talked a lot about this, which I found completely facinating.

We went to a presentation by a retired History teacher from the school which I am currently attending. Anyways, he did a presentation about Krystalnacht, but IN Rotenburg. Increidbly fancianting. There were 2 policemen there which I found really interesting. They were there to make sure nothing happened. Apprarently this is the case with any sort of thing that has a Jewish theme. Katrin and Eberhard explained it would look really bad for Germany if something happened at a Jewish themed event, talk, or something like that IN Germany. Well ya...the world wouldn't look on that too kindly. Of course that's crazy. It was 70 years ago, like HELLO people wake up. Yes it's good to remember, but honestly how fair is it to blame the Germans generations after generations later.

Rotenburg has 10 000 inhabitants in the city and another 4 000 people in villages and towns around it. Out of all of those people only 35 came to this presentaion. I found that very interesting. Katrin and Eberhard told me that there are some old families in Rotenburg who had relatives that were Nazi's and they get very touchy when this subject is brought up. It's a bit different for outsiders, because people in the towns don't know their family history. Also, it was explained to me that there were Jewish people who sold their shops so they could flee to other countries. The German people who bought their shops gave them next to nothing for them. So shop owners who have had their shop passed down in the family are also a bit touchy, because their shop was basically stolen from Jewish people.

Also, people in Germany are not able to access the names of the former Nazi's. A group of students from a town near here were doing a project on their town's history and they wanted to look at a list of these names. A church had been giving these records by an old Nazi secretary so the church owned them. The bishop refused to let the students see this list.

We had a long discussion about this, because there are good arguements for both sides. If you release these names, especially in a small town, people may not be mature enough to handle it. It could cause a lot of problems. On the other hand, people are often thinking that it wasn't there family that it was always someone elses. It makes it a little more real.

Also, the city I am living in now and another small city near were the first cities/towns in ALL of Germany to ransack the Jewish homes, businesses, and to imprison the German people. This was the Nazi's testing ground to see how the ordinary German people would respond. Obviously, the response was what they hoped for and the next day Synagogues all over Germany burned and the Jewish people's lives changed over night.

So I'm here at the heart of history and wow....it is really facinating, of course it is also incredibly sad. I went to a speical church service that evening at a Luthern Church (which just happened to be on Martin Luther Street, incredibly fitting). When we came home we all sat down for a pot of tea. My head hurt from all the German and all of the information. A lot of the vocabulary was too specialized for me to understand so I was always straining to understand.

Then I called my parents. The daughter of my host parents here in Germany have a daughter who is an exchange student through Rotary in Calgary. She was down in Lethbridge for the weekend and stayed with my parents. Way cool! Soo I talked with her a bit and our parent's got to talk a bit. It was really cool.

Today I was back to school. School was alright, but I did leave the school feeling a bit down. It's hard being brave all the time. I walked home. My house is 30 minutes from my school and it was just what I needed. I was able to clear my head, get some exercise, and just connect with myself again.

When I got home Johannes (my host brother) came to greet me. I think my jaw almost hit the floor. He talked to me a bit about his day because he got back a really good test mark and he asked if I was hungry. I told him I wasn't hungry, but I wouldn't mind sharing a pot of tea. (Often I will have a pot of tea after school with someone.) So it was just the two of us because Katrin and Eberhard weren't home, but it was really nice. We had little conversations in German, played with the dog Mira, and my day went from being a bit discouraging to being good again. So I took this opportunity and I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did.

Now I'm on the computer and in the near future I will be eating supper. Take care and goodbye from soon to be stormy Rotenburg. (The wind has really picked up and the sky was pretty dark today!) This is a real storm nothing metaphorical. Hahaha