black mountain side/in the light
A bit less than 24 hours ago I returned to Germany and to Goettingen. In the two and a half weeks of my absence autumn came, bringing with it enough students to finally convince me that 30,000 people attend Georg August Universitaet. The trees have started down their road of deciduation (lets pretend that word exists), and stirring up those leaves are a lot more people than were here when I left.
The last day of our backpacking trip (it excites me that I can actually say that now) was incredibly long- mostly because we didn't sleep the night previous. We figured it would be too hard to go to sleep just to wake up in a couple of hours, so we stayed up in the living room in Scottie's flat in London. We spent almost all of Tuesday (the last day) traveling, the grand finale being the bike ride home from the Goettingen train station to the Siedlung. Imagine two travelworn girls, wearing as much clothing as would fit on their bodies so as to save space in their packs, those giant packs weighing down their backs, deliriously dodging the mass of students suddenly on the bike paths, all after a max of two hours sleep between three buses, one plane, and two trains.
I'm getting too specific. I am really having issues here about how I am going to write an entry about this trip, comprehensive enough so I don't look back this time next year and wonder what the heck I actually did, but lucid enough that it is readable... and perhaps more importantly, basic enough that I don't spend every day until school starts on Monday locked up in here debating word choice.
But before I get around to writing that, and believe me, it'll probably take some time, I'll summarize by saying: wow. Its not a wow!, or even a WOW, but simply wow... period. I didn't get arrested in Amsterdam, or do coke with strangers in Vienna, or lay a bunch of Parisians in Munich, like some people who have been telling their stories today, but that wasn't what this trip was about anyhow. The last two and a half weeks were so full and empty at the same time that I think I am going to have trouble writing about anything beyond the description of images in my mind. Brain snapshots, if you will. The small amount of journalling I did in my simple black travel log was not about gray old castles or unmapped countryside or rickety undergrounds, rather those pages contain the words that now make me realize a reason for why this trip was, in some ways, so hard. It was the clarity of emotion. I could go on and on about this, but I don't think its yet the time.
I came home yesterday and felt completly out of sorts until I woke up at 8:30 this morning. I knew it was sleep that I needed, and although this trip was taxing in a lot of unforseen ways, I just couldn't shake the terrible mood and was worried that this was something here to stay. Luckily through this morning I shook the feeling, and the anxiety, desolation and desperation of last night is replaced this afternoon with better things.
This morning we had an EAP meeting about, to be neccessarily basic, school. Instead of daunting me into the dark corner of fear that so commonly has been associated with the idea in my mind of Classes at a German University, I think I might actually be a little excited. Maybe excited is too emotional of a word, but at least I am not crying into my blanket. After the meeting I got back my Hausarbeit, and I am not sure whether the grade was for the paper or was my grade for all of ILP, but needless to say I was surprised... and pleased. The whole time I was out of Germany I groaned every time I was reminded of ILP and the grade for it that would be waiting for me- but apparently that apprehension was misplaced. Its yet to be seen, I guess. Ramble ramble.
I'm obviously still not making as much sense as I would like to be, so I am going to sign off, do the three loads of laundry that are waiting for me, and try to make my room less of a diaster area. Jumbling up my room that much more are the contents of a box that represents such a stark contrast to the feelings I was experiencing last night that I can't help but feel its good to be back in Germany. That box, which I picked up this afternoon, is a care package from Jen and Kim, containing numerous American foodstuffs and goods, each with an inside quote of ours taped to the outside. It may seem silly, but today it feels like one of the nicest things that anyone's ever done for me.
And soon- well, sometime in the future- expect a link to an online photo album. So far I am having a terrible time sorting through pictures, mostly because there are so many that I'd like to post, but it looks like its going to be a big job. On Jacky's camera there were 300 pictures from the past two and a half weeks, and on mine 800. I think its the best idea to wait a year (hah) and tell me to give you a slide show then, because I will undoubtably be one of those annoying people who has to include a five minute story with every picture I show... but until then, I'll try to get something up to help remind you what an amazing, beautiful world we live in.
The last day of our backpacking trip (it excites me that I can actually say that now) was incredibly long- mostly because we didn't sleep the night previous. We figured it would be too hard to go to sleep just to wake up in a couple of hours, so we stayed up in the living room in Scottie's flat in London. We spent almost all of Tuesday (the last day) traveling, the grand finale being the bike ride home from the Goettingen train station to the Siedlung. Imagine two travelworn girls, wearing as much clothing as would fit on their bodies so as to save space in their packs, those giant packs weighing down their backs, deliriously dodging the mass of students suddenly on the bike paths, all after a max of two hours sleep between three buses, one plane, and two trains.
I'm getting too specific. I am really having issues here about how I am going to write an entry about this trip, comprehensive enough so I don't look back this time next year and wonder what the heck I actually did, but lucid enough that it is readable... and perhaps more importantly, basic enough that I don't spend every day until school starts on Monday locked up in here debating word choice.
But before I get around to writing that, and believe me, it'll probably take some time, I'll summarize by saying: wow. Its not a wow!, or even a WOW, but simply wow... period. I didn't get arrested in Amsterdam, or do coke with strangers in Vienna, or lay a bunch of Parisians in Munich, like some people who have been telling their stories today, but that wasn't what this trip was about anyhow. The last two and a half weeks were so full and empty at the same time that I think I am going to have trouble writing about anything beyond the description of images in my mind. Brain snapshots, if you will. The small amount of journalling I did in my simple black travel log was not about gray old castles or unmapped countryside or rickety undergrounds, rather those pages contain the words that now make me realize a reason for why this trip was, in some ways, so hard. It was the clarity of emotion. I could go on and on about this, but I don't think its yet the time.
I came home yesterday and felt completly out of sorts until I woke up at 8:30 this morning. I knew it was sleep that I needed, and although this trip was taxing in a lot of unforseen ways, I just couldn't shake the terrible mood and was worried that this was something here to stay. Luckily through this morning I shook the feeling, and the anxiety, desolation and desperation of last night is replaced this afternoon with better things.
This morning we had an EAP meeting about, to be neccessarily basic, school. Instead of daunting me into the dark corner of fear that so commonly has been associated with the idea in my mind of Classes at a German University, I think I might actually be a little excited. Maybe excited is too emotional of a word, but at least I am not crying into my blanket. After the meeting I got back my Hausarbeit, and I am not sure whether the grade was for the paper or was my grade for all of ILP, but needless to say I was surprised... and pleased. The whole time I was out of Germany I groaned every time I was reminded of ILP and the grade for it that would be waiting for me- but apparently that apprehension was misplaced. Its yet to be seen, I guess. Ramble ramble.
I'm obviously still not making as much sense as I would like to be, so I am going to sign off, do the three loads of laundry that are waiting for me, and try to make my room less of a diaster area. Jumbling up my room that much more are the contents of a box that represents such a stark contrast to the feelings I was experiencing last night that I can't help but feel its good to be back in Germany. That box, which I picked up this afternoon, is a care package from Jen and Kim, containing numerous American foodstuffs and goods, each with an inside quote of ours taped to the outside. It may seem silly, but today it feels like one of the nicest things that anyone's ever done for me.
And soon- well, sometime in the future- expect a link to an online photo album. So far I am having a terrible time sorting through pictures, mostly because there are so many that I'd like to post, but it looks like its going to be a big job. On Jacky's camera there were 300 pictures from the past two and a half weeks, and on mine 800. I think its the best idea to wait a year (hah) and tell me to give you a slide show then, because I will undoubtably be one of those annoying people who has to include a five minute story with every picture I show... but until then, I'll try to get something up to help remind you what an amazing, beautiful world we live in.
posted by Meredesu at 3:38 PM
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