Living it Up in Europe

When my housemates and friends reappeared in my life last week, everyone seemed to be in a tourist frenzy and living fun lives. I thought it would be nice to get on board and start the tourist part of my German summer. The result was an exciting weekend.

My house was abuzz with plans to visit a nearby city called Herzogenaurach, which is where the Addidas company has its headquarters and an outlet store (although everything in it is in fact manufactured in China, not Germany). Pratibha had already visited Herzogenaurach by car with a coworker. Sabastian doesn't have a bicycle, so he planned to travel to Herzogenaurach by bus. I do have a bicycle and thought the trip would make for a pleasant little tour of my region. On Friday I mentioned to Baraa my interest in bicycling to Herzogenaurach and he responded with an equal interest. So, we decided to head over that afternoon in the lovely sunny weather. Before our departure, he went to the Mosque for an hour and I played my flute on Erlangen's mainstreet for a half hour, during which time I earned 3 Euros! The route to Herzogenaurach passed through a few villages and some nice fields filled with wheat, horses, and streams. The sun was quite hot, but thankfully I had on a hat and had brought plenty of water. Considering we didn't quite know exactly where we were going, we first ended up at the Addidas headquarters building where the nice receptionist redirected us to the outlet store. I do want to mention as an interesting observation that the majority of employees who passed through the atrium in the Headquarters spoke English with one another. The Outlet Store was full of all sorts of sport and exercise products. Even with everything reduced in price by 25-30%, I still found the prices high, so I just wandered the store like it was a museum. Baraa purchased a military style baseball cap because he was going to Barcelona for the weekend and needed some sun protection for his eyes (and receding hairline). He convinced me that a cold, prepackaged ice cream would taste delicious on such a hot day, so I spent 90 cents of my earned 3 Euros on a savory Nestle chocolate and vanilla ice cream stick. While we were eating our ice creams a storm came blowing in. We thought we were doomed to ride in the rain, but it surprisingly only sprinkled a little before we made it back to his apartment. Our visit to his apartment was brief because he just needed to change clothes before his going shopping in town for some new summer pants (for Barcelona). I thought the apartment looked tidy and decent, but apparently, as Baraa told me yesterday, the apartment-mate was quite displeased that a "woman" had been in the apartment because the apartment was not in nice, proper viewing order. ?!?!? Sure, crazy man.

Friday evening I chatted with Sabastian in our kitchen and he told me of his plans to attend an opera the next evening in Nurnberg. I thought a visit to a real, live opera in Europe sounded like a splendid idea, so I decided to attend with him. Saturday morning I got up at a decent hour and took the train to Nurnberg for a day of being a tourist. I first walked across the old city from the train station to the Kaiserburg, passing by a variety of big, old giants along the way. The old city is quite lovely with narrow winding streets lined with tall buildings, the Pegnitz river running through the middle, and a thick wall enclosing it all. I found out that a ticket to the Germanisches National Museum would also get me a tour of the inside of the Kaiserburg, so I plan on going back some time to do that. A thunderstorm steadily approached Nurnberg and sent out warning sounds via thunder, but the streets remained full of people, even as the rain began to dampen us all. Considering the humidity of the day, I think we were all glad for a little drizzle. As it seems to happen these days, the rain didn't last long and the rest of the day remained sunny.

My next destination was the Documentation Center, which is a museum about WWII, with a specific emphasis on Nurnberg's role in the Nazi Party. Nurnberg is famous for the "Nurnberg Trials" after WWII, but the city was also home to large Nazi Party rallies. The building in which the museum is housed was intended to be a large meeting place for party members, sort of like a congressional hall. The museum was very well organized in a way that enabled me to learn everything they had prepared for me. I learned a lot in the museum and would highly recommend it to anyone who visits Nurnberg. After the museum I walked around some of the rest of the old party grounds and passed through Zeppelin Field, which is famous from photos of Hitler giving speeches there. As a sidenote, I passed the modern city stadium where Elton John was apparently giving a concert that night. No, I didn't see him wandering around outside by the buses. That would have been pretty nifty if I had though...

Time was quickly passing and I had to get back to the opera house. Sabastian had convinced me to attend the opera by telling me that the music was beautiful and I would have to agree that the music was quite wonderful. The opera was called "Die Puritaner", by the Italian Bellicini. I'm told that it is an older opera from something like the 1800s. What I loved about the opera is how beautifully the sounds of the human voices and the orchestra accompanied one another. The opera was sung in Italian, but above the stage was a screen with translations in German. I found myself closing my eyes sometimes in order to focus on the sounds instead of thinking about what was being said. Our seats gave us a great view of the orchestra pit and I enjoyed dividing my visual time between the orchestra, the stage, and the text.

I initially thought that the plot of the opera was too simple and silly, but the more I've thought about it, the more I realize how real of a situation it is for some people. Simply stated with some details omitted, the story is about a woman who is about to be married to a man she really loves, but then he runs away with no explanation to her. She goes into a state of mourning and distress over his abandoning her. When he finally returns after 3 months he explains to her why he had to run away and she is delighted over his return. But, the story ends tragically with him being shot as punishment for the act of treason he had committed when he ran away. I had thought the story simple and silly because I didn't understand why the woman would carry on her sadness for months on end over his leaving her. But, I began to realize that she had really, really loved him. I am not well acquainted with such deep love, but I know a few people who are, and when I put my brain in their shoes, I can see how this story has more of a hint of complexity and seriousness.

I now possess the schedules for the operas, plays, and dance programs in Nurnberg, so I may have to visit one of these events again before the summer is over. Sabastian has highly recommended the opera house in Dresden, which is a city near to Cottbus. I intend to take his suggestion and enjoy another delightful evening at the opera.

Sunday was a hot and humid day which just begged me to go outside and enjoy it. I wanted to see if a nearby lake, the Dechsendorf Weiher, was swimmable, so I invited my landlord's son to join me in a bike ride and possible swim. Jan is 13 years old and doesn't have many friends, but I know he likes to bike ride, so I thought we could have some fun together. His parents warned us that the lake may be too full of algae to swim, so I wasn't too optimistic about swimming when we arrived and I saw that there was a lot of green globs of algae in the lake. But, as I said, it was hot and humid, and other people were swimming, so I thought "why not give it a try". Boy am I glad I did! The water was quite shallow for a long ways out and the temperature was great! I decided to not get my head wet because it didn't seem necessary under the algae conditions. We spent about an hour swimming, floating, and chatting. I had a great time and we both agreed that we were spending our time much better than we ordinarily would have been on a Sunday afternoon, which would be sitting alone at home in the yard reading. We both love reading, but swimming in a lake with company is so much better on a beautiful, hot day! The algae did have the one negative effect of accumulating in the snug areas between my body and clothing, but it was nothing a little showering and clothes washing couldn't fix.

In this recollection of my weekend, I can't eliminate Monday. I went to the lab for a few hours Monday morning and then headed over to hang out with Steve. We spent a pleasant afternoon together. I introduced him to the television show "Bones", he taught me the basics of Swing Dancing, we ate scrumptious Kraft Mac 'N Cheese for dinner, and viewed the film "K-PAX". I had four days in a row of good times. I was blessed.

German Generalizations

I will admit to two generalizations about Germany.

1) German males have a tendency to be tall and slim.

2) German dogs obey their masters really well.

The Upside to Friendship

I am cozied up in my bed as a beautiful thunderstorm delights the world with cracks of thunder, splashes of blue lightening, and rushing rain. I feel rapturous. I recall the time I was on the famous North Shore in Hawaii and I was riding the huge ocean swells. Those immense swells brought forth from my deepest parts laughs of utmost joy. It is times like these ones when I am brimming in all of my bodily parts with nearly numbing happiness.

This amazing extent of glee does not manifest itself in many of life's situations. But, there is one way of tasting this happiness without having to catch a thunderstorm at bedtime or take a trip to Hawaii, and that is through friendship.

I meet all sorts of people every day as I make my way through grocery stores, gas stations, neighborhoods, city streets, and the work place, but only a handful of these strangers will become friends. There must be some common ground which brings us together and then a repetition of meeting opportunities, preferably incidental meetings. An unforced friendship is a beautiful thing. Extensive similarities of personality and interests are not necessary so long as each person respects and loves the individuality of the other. Neither party intends to find a friend, but over time bonds are formed through shared experiences and confidentialities. The friend becomes someone who's thoughts, presence, and actions in my life cause me nearly numbing ecstasy.

It is because friends bring so much sweetness to my life that it is so bitter when friendship related disappointments occur. Oh, this "Bittersweet Symphony called Life."

Die Puritaner

"O gebt mir meine Hoffnung zuruck,
oder lasst mich sterben."

Elvira, Die Puritaner, Opera by Bellini

Translation:

"Oh give me my hope back,
or let me die."

I went to the opera in Nürnberg on Saturday with my housemate Sabastian. The orchestra music and singing were beautiful and wonderful. This is a line from the opera which I found poignant. We all need hope in our lives.

Moments Like This

"Moments like this will bring you down.
Moments like this will bring you round.
Moments like this will make you strong."

Raemonn, "Moments Like this"

Sandstone in Nürnberg

The bedrock sandstone in Nürnberg is called Burg Sandstone because it was first identified in the location where the Burg was built. This photo shows how water once flowed by this sandstone for an extended period, carving it out. What I find interesting is that this indentation is part of the support rock for the Burg wall.

Photos from Nürnberg

I love these crazy Nürnberg statues. The painting on the fortress(Burg) door is pretty cool looking.

New Photos from Erlangen

Check out Flickr for more...

Roommate Update

I suppose I should update you on my housemates again. Pratibha is still here and keeping me good company. She leaves on July 30th and that will be a sad, sad day. A molecular biology doctorate student named Sabastian is living in the room next to me. He is here in Erlangen only for a short while to perform tests on rats in the neurology lab at the university. His university in Koln (Cologne) where he has completed all of the tests leading up to the live animal tests does not have rats, so he had to come to the university here. Sabastian is very friendly and a lot of fun to chat with in both German and English. Living in the room next to Pratibha is Louis, who if you can't tell by the name, is French. Louis is working at an internship at Areva, which is a company related to Siemens. Louis is a decently friendly guy, but his English isn't very good and he doesn't know hardly any German, so it is a pain in the brain to talk with him. He is actually here in Germany to learn English, which I find funny. He was going to live in this house for 6 months, but due to recent developments in his financial situation (he found out that certain taxes were being removed from his paychecks), he is most likely going to be moving into a cheaper, less desirable abode. He will be missed a little, but I'm hoping someone I can actually converse with will move in to replace him. That covers it for the human inhabitants...

Now for the animals...A bird tried to move in to my room a few days ago by flying through my window. It didn't work. He died on impact. Felix the cat has been adventuring into the entry hallway of the house in recent days. With him he brings ticks who like to burrow into his thick hair or crawl onto human hands who pick him up. Yup, not picking up the adorable little kitty any more this summer. The indoor spiders have been behaving themselves and sticking to their respectable corners, for the most part. One thick guy tried climbing along the wall next to my bed, but I attempted to squash him and either succeeded or disabled him enough that he fell to the floor in a handicapped state. Now I think that covers it for an update on my housemates.

Struggling with the Fundamentals of Humanity

Friendship and love are really disappointing fundamentals of humanity. They don't set out to be, but they always end up so.

As people age their numbers of close friends tend to decrease. When you are a person who has difficulty making friends, then the number of close friends decreases immensely with age. And the few friends one does end up finding along the way rarely have time for you or you time for them. According to Anneli Rufus, the author of Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto, loners are quite happy being alone and do not find separation from loved ones to be lonely.

After reading that book, I have decided that I may have "loner qualities", as she likes to call it, but I am really an outcast nonloner. This is not to say that I have ever been purposely shunned from the nonloner mob. Rather, an outcast is someone who wants to be part of the nonloner mob but isn't due to personal inability to fit in or is being kept out on part of the mob. I know that I am a nonloner because I like the self-affirmation I feel in communities and sharing the mundane details of my life with friends, which Anneli Rufus identifies as nonloner characteristics. Before reading this book I thought that I might be a loner because I enjoy working alone, don't mind completing any assortment of tasks alone, and often enjoy entertainment and activities alone. But, there are explanations for why this list of seemingly "loner" qualities fails.

"I enjoy working alone." Just like many other people, I concentrate best when alone and feel confident to do go about my work however I please because no one is observing me. But, when there are people I really like present in places such as the lab, I love to have their company. When my college roommate Kathy was actually home once or twice a week and did her work in our bedroom next to me, I loved it! Being in the presence of others does not mean that words or glances need to be exchanged. I just like knowing someone is there with whom I could share a thought or experience if I so have the urge.

"Don't mind completing any assortment of tasks alone." Anneli Rufus mentions at one point in the book that nonloners like having company to do simple tasks like grocery shopping. I don't mind going about my daily errands alone because then I can take as long as I want in each place looking for exactly what I want and dreaming up ways to use products. But, I think that it can be nice to have someone else along so that the pros and cons of certain products can be discussed and new ideas for product applications can be brainstormed together.

"Often enjoy entertainment and activities alone." This is a tricky one to explain. When I was young and my brother Paul still lived at home, he and I would watch cartoons together after school. That was lots of fun. I even watched movies with him which I didn't necessarily like because I enjoyed sharing the experience with him. One must be wary though of sharing experiences with certain people who can mar the whole thing with disagreeable criticisms and negativity. When these people are the only option around, then it is better to be alone. When I participate in activities, I tend to not go for team sports, but I do enjoy the camaraderie involved activities like dancing and bowling. I find bicycling and swimming alone to be very lonely. When I am alone with no particular task to concentrate on, my head fills with thoughts of things I want and need to get done, I replay conversations I've had or overheard, I replay scenes and stories from tv, movies, and books, or I dream up my own fictional stories. All of this thinking gets just as or more exhausting than actually conversing with real people. With real people I can be entertained for a while with their thoughts and stories. I like that.

Now, what do I have against friendship and love if I am a nonloner who wants the companionship of people? Well, as previously mentioned, the availability of both members of the companionship team is often in question due to work, physical distance, or other commitments. Another problem is that even friends and loved ones do not always behave how you would desire them to. In a conversation with myself, a story I create, or a replay of another form of entertainment, the characters always give the proper responses and reactions. Not so with real people. Some people might call this one of the greatest delights of interpersonal relationships, but I call it disappointing. I wonder how an argumentative person feels about this aspect of human interaction because it seems to me that argumentative people plow their ways through this "problem" by arguing things out until the topic of the response or reaction has been exhausted. I still wonder if at the end of all the arguing the issue feels settled and at rest in the arguer. I suppose it depends on the person and the topic.

I tend to keep quiet about anything that is special and important to me because I don't want to risk not getting a desired reaction from my audience. A lot of artists do this. They keep their paintings, stories, and books all to themselves until someone finally persuades them to share, or they die, and all their works become super-duper famous.

Most personalities cannot be placed in any specific category because people are just too complex for such constraints. And any particular traits that can be labeled in a positive light according to one person may be labeled in a negative light by another. This is definitely the case when it comes to varying cultures and individual histories. I feel like I am constantly redefining myself according to the labeling rules of each new person I meet. Sometimes I don't like the way certain people label me and this can make me very sour towards them. I can also become sour towards people if they present themselves to me in ways that cause me to make labels for them which aren't very appealing. What can be really difficult though is when I love someone simply for who they are without any labels and someone else comes along and starts labeling my loved one with negative words. The new, negative labels may be stated with no ill intent, but the fact still remains that my emotional feeling of love has now been spliced with narrowly defined words.

Friendship and love are such bittersweet fundamentals of humanity. Bittersweet: pleasant but marked by elements of suffering. What a perfect word to describe so much of earthly existence.