Just like September,
October seemed to vanish into thin air. Time was going by fast, but
we had a lot to show for it. My contract officially started
October 15, though I had already been working with some of the
classes since September. My most recent lesson in Katja’s class was
fun for a film buff like me because I had her 11th graders
create a deleted scene from a movie they watched called Outsourced.
They weren’t too keen on speaking German with me initially, but I
think the ice will break eventually. I was also with her 8th
grade class that Alex also joins once a week. The younger students
are much more eager to learn because they don’t seem as embarrassed
when they make grammatical errors. Their enthusiasm is appreciated on
my end, and I’m officially regretting all those moody teenage
moments I ever had in high school. To any victims of my teenage
angst, you’ll be happy to know that karma found me.
I’m going to start
my American Theater Group after fall break. It started on October 20
and actually lasts two weeks. Another benefit to a European
vacations. These kids have days off left and right. Alex and I are
really excited to have our future students perform a Christmas show!
As far as a set
schedule goes, Alex and I still don’t have one for after break.
We’ve just been going to classes with Silke, Katja, and the few
teachers who want us. Most teachers only invite us in their class for
one lesson and then can’t seem to think of another reason to have
us. It’s kind of embarrassing that we’re practically begging for
hours at this point… and our mentors aren’t much help. They just
tell us to keep asking. So, to further humiliate ourselves, we
handwrote a letter to every English teacher and put it in
their mailboxes offering our assistance. Hopefully that will do that
trick… or at least buy us a few more pity hours.
Germans don’t
celebrate Halloween like Americans do, that’s for sure. There were
no scary decorations up anywhere or places to buy costumes. Most
pumpkins we saw were Japanese pumpkins, and they weren’t good for
carving! We did uncover “normal” pumpkins, though, and we brought
them back to our apartment to celebrate Halloween the American way!
They rotted after two days, but it’s the thought that counts.
Our German bank
account at the Sparkasse is also looking better since Alex finally
got paid… nearly two months later. Better late than never, I
suppose. Since we were feeling wealthier and not relying on the 25
cent Pfand from our water bottles any longer, we took a two night
trip to Amsterdam from October 26-28. Everything was planned out
perfectly. The night before we left, we chose what attractions we
wanted to do through the Holland Pass since it offered such a great
deal. It was the first trip I ever planned so thoroughly without my
parents, and I’ll admit, the control freak inside of me felt
liberated to be in charge of exactly what we were going to do each
day. We also packed and prepared food to bring to cut down on our
spending… yes, we got paid, but we had to make the paycheck last
for the month. It was our third overnight trip, and I’m proud to
say that my packing skills are vastly improving upon each endeavor. I
only bring the essentials now instead of two weeks worth of
clothes for a weekend getaway.
On Friday, we went
to the train station with our mapped out train transfers, platforms
and all. All the excess planning we did went awry when we ended up
getting on the wrong train since we never switched platforms. We
travelled two hours in the wrong direction, making us four hours
behind schedule. The third person to check our ticket told us we were
on the wrong train… not the first or second… the third…
how attentive. So we took a five minute train back to Hannover, and
went to the help desk, who advised us to buy a 30 euro ticket back to
Bünde, and from there, our original ticket would be valid. Once we
were on the train and headed in the right direction, all was well in
vacation world. Everything we do in this country seems to take us
twice, maybe three times as long as a typical German. We’re bound
to get the hang of it, eventually…
By the time we
actually arrived in Amsterdam it was nearly 5pm, and we were quick to
purchase our Holland Passes at the train station… it was nice, and
somewhat bizarre, to speak English again and actually understand
conversations around me. I’m so used to being a feather in a
whirlwind and sticking out like a sore thumb that blending in was a
foreign feeling.
We walked for 40
minutes to our hostel, admiring all the glorious sights along the way
and breathing in the scent of Amsterdam tulips, among other familiar
scents. After we dropped our things off in the six bedroom hostel, we
went to a nearby bar where we met our new friend, Devon. He heard
Alex and I speaking in English, and was very blunt when he asked to
hang out with us. Naturally, we welcomed the company. Coincidentally,
he is also a part of Fulbright and is living in Turkey for his second
year. This is not the first time Alex and I have been stopped to
converse with someone because the two of us were speaking in English,
and I find it harmonious that language can be such a uniting factor.
After we parted ways
with our new friend, Alex and I attempted to explore Amsterdam more.
We even walked around the Red Light District. It was far cleaner and
safer than I had imagined it to be, and I’ll even go a step further
to add that the Atlantic City hookers don’t have a thing on
Amsterdam prostitutes. The women in their windows were actually
really pretty. Kudos to the girls that pretend to read books, brush
their hair, and talk on the phone… they’ve given me hope that
Pretty Woman may actually be a nonfiction film.
We certainly were
able to sightsee that night after getting turned around in all of the
canals. It all looked the same! Once we collected our bearings, it
was late and we were ready to call it a night.
The next day, we did
a “100 Highlights Canal Cruise” that lasted about an hour. There
was an audio guide that spoke in five different languages… as
annoying as it was to switch languages every other sentence, it was
surprisingly well timed out with every landmark we saw. We learned
about the houses with 15-40 rooms each, the gables, and the hooks on
top of the houses to lift things from outside to inside the rooms
since the staircases were designed to be too narrow to move things
through them.
Then, we headed over
to the Heineken Experience where we were schooled on the many wonders
of beer. We received a quick history on Heineken and the family, and
it made me appreciate the brand much more than I ever did. Great
marketing. Not only did we see how much effort went into brewing
beer, but we tasted it without the hops, too, and that is just all in
all an unpleasant experience. There was even a virtual ride, which
made me slightly nauseous. The free beers we were given at the end
didn’t do much for my stomach, but I somehow choked it down.
It was getting
darker, and with that, colder, so we put warmer clothes on at the
hostel and headed to the Pancake Bakery. This was somehow the only
food we managed to buy on this trip. I’m thinking that German Megan
is turning into quite the survivor. Anyways, the restaurant was
absolutely packed and we waited for at least 30 minutes, but it was
well worth it. We both had one pancake the size of our plates. My
pancake had banana, nutella, and a scoop of chocolate ice cream. I’ve
always been a dessert kind of girl, but I wish I got a ham and cheese
pancake because it was too rich. The pancake was really light and
omelette like, so I think I could have gotten something of that
nature and have been happy. Alex ordered a delicious pancake with
apple, bacon, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I had the worst case
of food envy. The Holland Passes we bought paid off yet again because
we even got a glass of free apple cider.
We capped off the
night with drinks at a bar themed like The Doors. Alex turned me onto
their music and the movie, so it was a good time had by all.
Sunday, we woke up
early and refreshed since it was daylight savings and headed to the
train station. Since we didn’t buy our return ticket in advance in
Germany, we had to go to the information desk in order to use our
Bahn50 cards. We had to go to the booking agency and wait 20 minutes
to get our ticket from an agent. Again, simple processes like these
probably take far less time for your average German, but we’re
clearly still new to everything. Thus, the simplest situation will
be complicated
Once business was
taken care of, we rushed to the Anne Frank Huis to make use of our
last day in the Netherlands. I was looking forward to this leg of the
journey for a while! Before we left Melle, we both read her diary in
preparation for the museum. The eagerness and pure excitement washed
away the minute we saw how long the line was… it wrapped around the
corner for hours. It was like seeing a wait for Splash Mountain in
Disney World in 100 degree heat.
Disappointed, but
resolute on cramming in as many activities as possible, we didn’t
waste any time and entered the Amsterdam Dungeon. This is a place I
shouldn’t go in 50 years if I have a weak heart, or I’ll probably
end up in the emergency room. Lucky me, I was selected for audience
participation in one of the scenes. I blame my parents for this
because I think it’s the red hair that makes me stand out, and
thus, I am more likely to draw unwanted attention to myself. I was
dubbed a witch in one of the acts and had to knock on a door three
times. To my dismay, the door opened and I was instructed to enter
the room by myself where a ghostly character was waiting to frighten
me… yes, it worked. His frightening demeanor disappeared abruptly
when he noticed I was just about hyperventilating. Then he told me to
sit, and said, “Sorry love for scaring you. Who are you here with?”
Before I could even mumble some kind of English, he jumped up and got
ready for the rest of the crowd who was finally rejoining me. There
was even a fun 15 second ride at the end, comparable to Skull
Mountain at Six Flags.
After that, we went
to the Amsterdam Museum. My favorite room included celebrity photos
taken by a man from Amsterdam that captured a unique essence of each
person that I could appreciate, but my mind was still on the Anne
Frank Huis.
When we went back to
Anne’s, the line was still too long and along came the unwanted
icky feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even though the idea was
abandoned, we took pictures of the outside of the house. On the
bright side, we were up 40 euros.
Daylight was burning
rather quickly, but we managed to visit the Houseboat Museum in all
of 12 minutes to see and admire the entire thing. It was adorable,
and if I wasn’t moving back to an apartment in Jersey next year, I
just may have opted for one of these. However, I have a tendency to
get seasick, so I’d probably OD on Dramamine after the first week.
Pressed for time,
Alex and I dashed to the train station. There was a minor and very
necessary pit stop along the way though… one of the shop windows
displayed the most popular, the most delicious, and the most
addicting candy ever… Reese’s! No, blog followers… not
marijuana, candy. And we are deprived of anything peanut butter in
Germany, so we had to take advantage of the situation. After those
last minute purchases, we were forced to literally sprint our way to
the train.
Once the train
pulled into Germany, the police asked to see our passports and asked
if we were vacationing, standard customs check. It was our first time
showing off our brand new residence permits, which was way better to
show than our passports in this scenario to prove that we were living
in Europe. Of course, they had to comment on Alex’s last name,
“Firsichbaum,” which means “peach tree” in German. They
always ask him if he knows what it means, and then have a good
chuckle to themselves about it, as if they were the first to ask this
American boy with a German last name this question. If we had a euro
for every time a German commented on his last name, we wouldn’t
have to worry about getting paid anymore, I can say that much.
Amsterdam was a fantastic trip, but it is on my bucket list to go
back and see Anne Frank’s Huis.
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