"Travelin' with just my thoughts and dreams..."

I really like The Saw Doctors. Like, really like. Really like, as in, I'm going to Ireland to see them live.

Did you catch that?

I'M GOING TO IRELAND TO SEE THE SAW DOCTORS LIVE!

In case you're still lagging behind the times, I'm very excited. Renate can't fathom that I'm interested in going to Ireland alone in December. Here's why I am excited to be going to Ireland, alone, in December.

1. The Saw Doctors are ridiculously good. Thank you, Dad, for finding them. The come from Ireland, and are very patriotic in a people-loving way, and very critical of the Church, can be of the government, etc. They're similar to Bruce Springsteen like that. And we all know that I really like Bruce Springsteen. Give him an Irish accent, and yummy. The same way seeing Bruce in Philly or NJ is special, so is seeing the Saw Docs in Ireland, especially west Ireland. The concert I'm going to is in Galway, at the Warwick Hotel, where the photo on the cover of The Saw Docs' first album was taken. Also, the guys in the picture are the dads of the band members. Or that's what the guy at the record shop in Galway told me. Anyways, it's a rather historic place for the band, and is bound to be a stunning show. The music is also simply beautiful at times. You hear a song and you are given this moment. It's a wonderful gift of a moment when you form a picture in your mind of a small island in Ireland, or what the night-time sky looks like, or the construction that is slowly destroying traditional culture, or you hear Gaelic lyrics and the language whirls around you and it's mystic and old and so very intangible.
   
2. My Irish Lit course was inspiring. Of course I didn't sign up for Irish Lit thinking, "Oh, yay! Irish literature! And reading James Joyce at the end my Senior year when I can't be bothered to think about anything challenging! Whoopee!" But I wanted a class (a real class, not Writing About Film) with Wendy, and Shakespeare didn't fit my schedule, and so Irish Lit it was. And I'm so glad I took it. The stuff we read was beautiful and thought-provoking, but what sticks with me most are the images. The images of a couple of birds or flowers which struck a bored monk hundreds of years ago as particularly noteworthy. Images of Ireland's fierce, craggy west coast and the vicious sea and wind. You read Synge's "Riders to the Sea" and you can feel the breeze burning your face and taste the salt air. And of course Joyce. What images don't appeare there? It's all imagery. The scene from Joyce that I remember best is from Dubliners' "The Dead," as they are riding in a carriage through the city and it's snowing and they come to a statue near Trinity College and there is snow on the statue. It sounds miserably, really, late at night, snow, marriage issues, carriage, snow. I doubt I will enjoy the weather in Ireland, but this image won't leave me alone. I really don't like winter. I especially don't like snow in winter. That said, part of me would be happy to see it snow, just so I can see these images in the flesh. To make them a bit more there.
3. I'm ready to do this alone. Although I am pretty much "on my own" this year, I'm by no means alone. Yeah, I get lonely sometimes, but I'm not alone. I have my family, both here in Germany and back in Philly, my fellow FSJlers, etc. I just have that feeling that I'm ready to do something alone. I'm an only child, not the most social person, and being alone doesn't bother me too much, as long as I know that when I come back, I won't still be alone.

My itinerary so far is:

Dec. 27 (Thursday): Fly from Berlin to Dublin. I'll be arriving in Dublin around 5pm, and taking either a train or a bus to Galway. A train would be nicer, prettier, but it will most likely already be dark, so it won't make much of a difference. Check in at the Inishmore Guesthouse
in Galway. Apparently they speak German there. *shrug* I made the reservations in English and she had an Irish accent. It is about a five minute walk from downtown Galway and five mins from the beach and near the concert hall.

Dec. 28 (Friday): Make my way into downtown Galway to pick up my ticket for the concert. The guy at the record store is really nice. I called today to make sure I could pick up the tickets the day of the concert, and he said, "Oh yeah, you're the lonely heart from Germany!" So, yeah, pick up my one single ticket to a concert I'm flying internationally to go to. Maybe I am a lonely heart? The concert is later this evening at the Warwick Hotel.

Dec. 29-31 (Sat - Mon): These are the other days I will be in Galway. There's a lot I want to do, numero uno being Soak Up The City. Just.... be there. Walk around a lot. Drink an Irish beer. Eat some mussels. Specifically, I would enjoy:

• Going to Claddagh, a small fishing village just outside of Galway, where the famed Claddagh ring has its origin.
• Visiting the Aran Islands, which lie off the west coast of Ireland. This could be problematic, as one must take a coach to a small village about an hour from Galway, then a ferry trip to the islands, and all that in reverse. What with it being just after Christmas, I'm not sure how often they will be traveling -- both due to the holiday and the weather.
• Going to the Market. There's supposed to be a big market every Saturday, and I'm hoping it happens despite winter.
• There is at least one Gaelic-language theater in Galway. I would very much like to go see a show there. Not that I would understand a word, but it would be very lovely, I'm sure.

Jan. 1 (Tuesday): Check out of the hotel and travel back to Dublin, where I will check myself into the River House Hotel in the Temple Bar district of the city.

Jan. 2-3 (Wed - Thurs): These are my two main days in Dublin, along with whatever is left of the day on Jan 1st. I'm not sure what I want to do in Dublin. Soak Up The City is a good start. I'll be doing some more research over the next month, but some sightseeing, some wandering, some eating. It can't be all that bad.

Jan. 4 (Friday): Leave bright and early for my 11:40am flight back to Berlin.


Whoosh! When I write it out like that, it suddenly seems like a lot more time and details than I thought it was. Not to mention that, although I feel ready to do this trip alone, I am freaking out about the organizational tidbits. I am really nervous about missing planes, getting the wrong plane, making reservations correctly, etc. But it looks like everything is going to be alright. Now I just need to do it.

Home

Slowly, but surely, I'm transforming things here into something like home. It's both nice, and also very sad. I ordered a cookbook the other day, and had a moment of homesickness -- not I'm-so-far-from-home homesickness, but I'm-on-my-own-now homesickness. Of course I will always have my family, wonderful wonderful family, but I'm here now, and then college, and then... life. And that's all me, not us. I bought tupperware and ziploc baggies and jars and candlestick holders and extension cords. I have a bag in the freezer for veggie ends. I bought these things. I have them. Things that scream HOME to me, what I know a home needs. I need them.

This evening I made borscht and improvised a Shabbas ceremony. I lit candles and had some wine and ate a roll. I even found all the prayers online and muddled through the transliterations. Mom asked if I'm going all Jewish on her. Maybe. Possibly. Certainly a bit. But a lot of it is that "Jewish" is so very much the opposite of "German," at least how I associate the experiences. Of course I don't mean there is no German Jew or German Jewish culture or history. But for me, Germany is the place where people ask me to explain things about Judaism that I don't understand. Where I'm somehow the Jewish expert who explains what a menorah is when we visit the Jewish Museum. Where I'm the one who knows what Channuka is. And at home, Jewish is family. Shabbas candles are Passover dinner at Grandmom Rose's when she and Grandpa Jack lived in the apartment on Belmont Avenue. Shabbas is when I'm at Jeanne and CA's on Friday night and their beautiful challah cloth and backyard table. Borscht is my mom's kitchen and warmth and things we cook so much of that we freeze it for months before we've eaten it all.

So, yeah. Jewish. Homesick. It all comes together somehow.

*grumble*

It's snowing. Not nearly enough to stick, but still. Yuck.

See the little pufferbellies all in a row?

Morgens um sieben,
unten am Bahnhof,
stehen die Züge
alle in einer Reihe.
Kommt der Schaffner,
dreht am Rädchen,
und whooosh!
Alle sind vorbei.

Only not today. The train drivers (is there a real English word for that? Engineer, says LEO) are striking again. I live right next to the train tracks, and can hear the trains coming and going. Today I've heard two. Normally it's constant. I like it. It's like home and you're never lonely: I don't have a pet, so I get to think: "Ooooh there's my train! Good train!" (Shush... I miss my pooks. Now if only they would occasionally roll over off the tracks like Gordy, everything would be perfect.)

It's the biggest strike in the history of Die Deutsche Bahn, the German Railway, which has been around since 1994. And what's more, they've been striking on and off for the past month. It's intense. Regional and long-distance trains aren't running. Commercial and freight trains aren't running. It's bad, or great, depending on what side you look at it from. But what gets me is that France's transport unions are also striking, and it's all over the BBC and when you search for "train strike" on the NYT, you also come up with articles about France. The German strike is mentioned as little side story sometimes, within the articles. But no, let's not write about a strike that is just as intense, simply because it isn't inspired by the president's pension plans. Zum kotzen.


But in happy news: I moved! I have my own room! That I can keep until I leave! Can you tell I'm excited? I moved! And I can stay!

My room is...

• ...on Hasselbachplatz, the big yuppie bar/restaurant neighborhood. The bars and stuff don't matter too much to me, except in that there's a nice amount of street traffic noise, which makes it just like home. There are several trolley lines and Tobi nearby.
• ...close to the railway, so I hear trains all the time and get to lie awake at night wondering who in their right minds would be traveling so late at night, or if they're simply cargo trains, etc.
• ...12 sq. meters, or about 130 square feet.
• ...part of a 3-persom WG. The other two are students.
• ...in an Altbau on the top floor. There is no elevator, but we have access to the roof, which is kinda a trade off, if you squint funny and forget I don't like heights.

The room is a bit under the weather looking. It needs some love. So, I'm gonna love it. Lutz and Renate recently did a marathon painting of their house and have a lot of terracotta color left over, which looks absolutely beautiful in their kitchen. It's so warm and cozy, especially with their dark brown kitchen table next to it. Copycat time! We're going to be painting my walls terracotta and I'm going tomorrow to order a dark brown carpet.

Do you know how hard it is to find a dark brown carpet that is not industrial-office thin and hard and scratchy? A nice warm dark brown carpet that is a bit thicker and you can dig your toesies into? In Magdeburg, it's near impossible. Maybe it's the whole German brown-taboo thing, what with the Nazis having worn it as a uniform color and all. Maybe. But I really doubt it. Which makes me wonder why my dream carpet is almost nowhere to be found. I should be able to buy my dreams everywhere, right? I'm American, damn it. I demand my dreams in every store, world-wide.

PHOTOS

Yes, I actually have been taking (some) photos.

http://sookingermany.shutterfly.com/

If that doesn't work for some reason, let me know.

-Sarah

Seminars and Berlins and Apartments, oh my!

So much to share! Where to start? How about with...

...My First Seminar!
All the FSJlers (people who are doing this year-long thing) must complete five weeks of seminars, three of which are predetermined (intro, middle, and closing). The other two are chosen from a list of about eight assorted topics. Because I am in ORFIDE: Orientierungen Finden, Identitäten Entwickeln, a special project, I went with twelve other ORFIDElers to our Intro Seminar.

The seminar took place in Niederndodeleben, or Lower Dodeleben (and yes, there is a Dodeleben as well as a Higher Dodeleben), and I was not looking forward to spending a week with strangers in some village. Neither was anyone else, it turned out. But, WOW! It was amazing. We had a lot of fun, learned some stuff, and are currently arranging a time to all get together before our next joint seminar in Febuary. Here's a rundown of our week:

• Monday: This was our "get-to-know-eachother" day. We played a lot of games, learned a lot of names, etc. It was fun. Even the people who said they don't like those team-building activities enjoyed themselves.
• Tuesday: We had a whole day devoted to "Project Management," an important topic as we are all supposed to have a project. However, it was far too much information for one day, and we were all glad when it was over.
• Wednesday: Because ORFIDE has to do with discrimination and integration, our seminar wouldn't have been complete without a day given to this topic. Karamba lead the day-long seminar about diversity, focusing mostly on immigrants and our experiences with them, methods of intraveneing when someone is being racist, etc. Karamba comes from Senegal and has been in Germany for about 20 years. It was very interesting to hear his stories, both about his time in Germany as well as in Senegal.
• Thursday: A lot of us will need to use cameras and such to document out projects. That's why we went to Offener Kanal (public TV), where Tobi did his FSJ last year. Tobi had written a program for the day, but unfortunately couldn't be there himself due to Uni. I'm sure the program he wrote was brilliant, but we didn't use it and so the day was pretty unorganized and I don't think I learned too much. It was fun, though. My group went around the block interviewing immigrants about their experiences in Germany. Thursday evening we had a movie night. I had forgotten that popcorn in Germany is sweet. Ick. We started watching "Mein Fürher," a paradoy about Hitler. It could have been very good, but it wasn't. I went to bed halfway through.
• Friday: We had a very good and quick workshop on writing press releases in the morning, and then we did a short evaluation of the seminar. Then it was time to go home.

Some other important notes about the seminar:

• The food was terrific. We had rolls with butter, cold cuts, jam, etc. for breakfast along with eggs. Lunch was always warm - pizza, casserole, fish, etc - and dinner was bread with cold cuts, potato salad, or something else cold. We also got coffee & cake every day! Yummy.
• The cat was adorable. Still very young and kittenish. She didn't mind being held and goggled at by all of us. Once she drank some coffee... and was hyperactive for the entire morning...
  
• The group coordinator was pretty okay in the end. We had all been a bit worried that Pascal didn't care about us, was unorganized, etc. This wasn't the case at all, and we're all sad now that he is only there for another month or so. :-( But Janett is very nice and I'm looking forward to working with her.

Berlin
I met Emalyn and her host family in Berlin last Saturday. It was such a strange feeling, standing there with her. Us! Together! In Berlin!! Not so very long ago, people risked their lives on journies by ship in order to get anywhere. Now, we press a few buttons, wait in a few lines, and poof! We're across the ocean. Crazy.


My Living Situation
So, I'm currently living in the absolutely beautiful room that belongs to Susanna, a friend of Johanna's. The problemo is, it's only available until Febuary, and the big rush for new rooms isn't until March. I got a phone call a few days ago from an apartment I had looked at. They originally decided to take in a stray Bulgarian because he couldn't speak any German, and I had this room availble if I needed it. Well, things didn't work out with the Bulgarian, and so they want me! Yay!! Sorta. I'm working on the guilt issues of moving out of Susanna's room so soon after I moved in. The other place isn't nearly as beautiful, but the people there are very cool and I can see myself enjoying nine months with them. The down side: it's on the top floor, and the builing has no elevator.


The School
The school moved while I was gone for my seminar. I'm so very lucky not to have been there for that week. Yeesh. But now that we're all moved, there's plenty to do with unpacking, reconstructing shelves, etc. Julia (another FSJler) and I spent two days repotting plants. I hate plants now. I'm thinking about going vegetarian again just to get some revenge. As for my duties, and if they'll change, I am hopeful. I told Uta, the director, that I needed to speak with her about it, and she said she also needed to address it because it shouldn't be like it is now. So, next week when she's back we'll have a little chat.

Updates

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't updated lately, but gosh - I had no idea I'd be this exhausted from working! My respect for lower school teachers and kitchen staff is climbing exponentially.

Speaking of respect, a good deal of the kids here don't have any. Because the school is a "freie Schule" (literally, a "free school"), the concept of boundries is rather blurred. The kids have many responsibilities and liberties, and on the whole manage well. The teachers, however, are split on what being a "teacher" here means. Does it mean that one needs to teach, actively, at a chalkboard? Does it mean one needs to set an adult example, or can one blend in with the kids? Does it mean one is an authority figure, or rather is one there to guide the children, without imposing oneself as an authority?

No one really seems to know. Or, rather, they all know, but no one agrees. That results in kids not having any set boundries - they are different for every teacher, and there is no one standard to fall back to and say, "Okay, you're right; that was out of line." The kids are often very fresh and speak to the teachers in ways I would never imagine being tollerated back home, or even in other schools here. As an intern, I (along with all the other interns) get the brunt of this, but the regular classroom teachers deal with it also. They also do not show respect towards each other, or towards the building and supplies/etc. It's unbelievable.

Today I was with the Einsteine (a group of 3rd/4th graders), and we start the period off with circle, and the teacher, Doreen, spoke for a good ten minutes about respect, and how lately the kids have displayed a distinct lack thereof. She mentioned that in the new building (we're moving!), there will be accomodations for students with physical handicaps, as currently the school only has 'normal' kids as well as those who have ADHD , ADD, or other assorted learning differences. This raised the question of, "How does one behave around those who are handicapped, whether it is physical or cognitive, or otherwise?" They had a good discussion about it, with all students asking questions and answering them, sharing experiences, etc., and then I went off to do English with five of them. We were reading a story aloud, and it became Leon S.'s turn. Leon has a very difficult time with reading and speaking, let alone in another language. I convinced him to give it a go, and he did. Of course he couldn't do it very well, and the other kids knew this full well. What did they do? Break out laughing. FIFTEEN MINUTES AFTER THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS EXACT TOPIC.


Yes, I really am grateful for my 14 years of Quaker education.

School

Monday was my first day at work (strange thinking of "at school" as "at work"), and I'm settling in well, or as well as one can after two days. Ramona is in charge of the kitchen, and she is wonderful with helping me figure things out. Kitchen work here is very easy; as most of the food is delivered, there is little in the way of culinary preparation.

Duties include:

• Dish washing -- there is a super cool dishwasher: takes four minutes to wash, and heats up to 85ºC, and so when the dishes are taken out, they dry themselves.
• Setting tables for lunch
• Keeping on top of tea, water, juice, and milk
• Making sure kids at least try lunch; they do not need to finish it, but they must at least taste
• Preparing and overseeing afternoon snack

There are several other interns at the school, and all are very nice. Anne is studying to be a social worker, and Angelina is finishing up her training as a lower school teacher. We all seem to have more time on our hands than one would think, especially when working at a school. Not that we're complaining, mind.

Now it's Wednesday and I'm exhausted. Normally, I'm used to two options for Wednesdays:

1. Summer/Holidays: my own schedule, relaxed, generally not many responsibilities
2. School Year: Meeting for Worship during school day.

Now that I'm working, which is comparable to being in school (set schedule, responsibilities, lots of loud children), I'm noticing that the enforced pause of MFW is really very important. Even if the time is not used for reflection or spirituality, but rather napping or mentally reviewing statistic formulas, it is still 40mins of necessariy quiet and physical calm.


There is a monthly meeting here in Magdeburg, which roughly 10 of Germany's 500 Quakers attend. Although I enjoy the meeting, it's difficult for me to settle there; something about a room full of 200 diverse, spirited teenagers all sitting still is very powerful and moving in a way that a cozy, genuinely religious gathering is not. I still remember clearly Meeting during Pre-K. Because we were too young to go to the Meeting House, Tr. Jean led our own mini-MFW in the classroom. We sat in a circle, and in the middle she placed a jar filled with sand, glitter, rocks, and shells, which she had shaken up. We watched the contents settle and, as they did, so did we.

Visit to the School

Today I went to meet with Frau Uta Riecke, the director of the Freie Schule Magdeburg. She is a very nice person, and introduced me to the rest of the staff, who are all equally kind. I'm looking forward to working with them for the year, though am a bit surprised at my duties.


The Job: When I was asked by FSM if wished to spend my year there, I was given the distinct impression that I was to be teaching English. I will be, but not very often. Deciphering my schedule is tricky, but it looks like I will only be teaching English twice a week. Most of my time during the normal school day will be spent in the kitchen. Which would be fine -- if that's what I had signed up for. Though I won't be alone bemoaning my fate: Tom is an 18/19yr old guy doing an FSJ just like I am. I'm not sure if he is going through the same agency as I am (Landesvereinigung kulturelle Kinder- und Jugendbildung, or LKJ), but be that as it may, he is also spending the majority of his time in the kitchen. My afternoon will be spent watching the kids while the play, etc.

Uta (everyone uses the informal du at FSM) asked me to teach a course once a week, on pretty much anything. This was rather upsetting for me, as thinking about it made me realize that I don't have many marketable skills of the sort you teach to a group of kids aged 6-10. Somehow they just wouldn't appreciate the talent it takes to make a perfect espresso or scan Latin poetry on sight. I am considering the following topics:

• American culture - But where to start? I only know about a tiny sliver of American culture.
• Conflict resolution - It's been a long time since I had conflict resolution way back in 4th grade, but I remember the basics, and can brush up on more.

...and that's it. So, if you think of anything I could teach, then please let me know.

My Hours:

• Monday: 11:00-4:30pm
• Tuesday: 10:30-5:00pm
• Wednesday: 10:00-5:00pm
• Thursday: 10:00-4:30pm
• Friday: 10:00-5:00pm

The First Week (plus some)

Hello!

Because I can't promise to be online, or to email everyone with every update, I shall do my very best to update this blog as needed.

I arrived in Germany a little over a week ago, and have been fairly busy since. Here's a rundown of the important stuff:

Saturday, 18 August: I finally got to Germany, landing in Berlin at 10:00am. I left Philly on Friday, flying from Philadelphia to Boston, and then to Dublin, and from there to Berlin. Two nights ago I woke up around 2am, panicked that I hadn't gotten my passport stamped in Berlin. I remembered clearly going through customs in Dublin, but in Berlin? Nope. I got off the plane, walked down a bunch of stairs, got my bags, and then went to leave. I didn't go through customs because there was a sign directing people in one direction if they had anything to declare, and in another direction if they didn't. I didn't, so I simply left. No guard, nada. So, I didn't get my passport stamped. Right? Well, no. I did get it stamped, which I know because I have a nice stamp from Berlin Schönefeld in my passport. But I don't remember it.

Anyhow, Tobi and Luise (host brother and current roommate, respectively) picked me up in Berlin, and we promptly headed for IKEA, where I became the proud owner of two fluffy orange towels and a black fleece blanket. Then, from IKEA to Magdeburg, an hour and a half drive. Once here I got settled into my room. I will have pictures up once I get the cable for my camera.


My room: I have a room in a Wohnheitsgemeinschaft, or WG for short. A WG is a "residence community" - suite style living: everyone has his or her own room, with a shared bathroom and kitchen. The WG I am living in belongs to Johanna (host sister), Luise, Jan, and Markus. Because Markus is away until October, I have his room until then. Its a nice-sized room, maybe 15 square meters (*shrug* I'm bad at estimating this stuff), white walls, wood floor, big window, and a desk that I think Markus built himself. I now have some shelves for clothes, but other than that the room is pretty empty. I'm not buying anything for a room until I figure out arrangements for after Markus comes back - why buy a bookcase when the room I rent already has one?


The Great Room Search: WGs are very common in Germany; most students live either in a dorm or in a WG. University's fall term begins soon, and so there's a lot of moving about and people looking for rooms and rooms being offered etc. I have been to two WGs so far. The first was icky icky icky. The kitchen was dark: painted deep red and black. Instead of mineral water bottles in the corner, there were bottles of Jägermeister. And they smoke in the kitchen! In the kitchen! I understand smoking being allowed on the balcony, but in the kitchen? Where food is kept and prepared and eaten? Oh, ick.

The second WG was the opposite: bright greens, oranges, and yellows. I met with two of the people there, one who will be staying and the one whose room I'm hoping to take. Both were wonderful, open and charming. Two of the girls who live there study Sport und Technik, which is what Johanna studies, so they know one another. The man who will be staying is already working, doing something involving energy. The room here is smaller, about 12 square meters. It comes with a loft bed and a wardrobe. The rent (including utilities, internet, and landline) is 180 euros/month, less than I was expecting to pay. In short, it is perfect for me. I will find out soon whether or not I can have the room. In the mean time, I'm still looking.


The school: This year I will be working at the Freie Schule Magdeburg, a Montessori-inspired independent school, thirty minutes, walking, away from my current room. In Montessori education, kids are in classrooms of mixed ages. The children I will be working with are between six and ten years old. The school itself is in a very interesting part of the city. Encircling the school are many Plattenbauhäuser, of which perhaps a third are deserted. There are open, vacant lots, etc. In the middle of this, there is a children's recreation center, where they have a brick oven, in which they make fresh bread every Friday. There's some junglegym stuff, and a little zoo with geese, chickens, and bunnies. Next to this is a Barfußpfad, or Barefoot park, that I can't wait to try out when it opens after summer holidays are over. There's also a bicycle repair shop, which I don't plan on visitng. :-) That said, if you come outside of these vacant lots and Plattenbauhäuser, you are in a very well-to-do neighborhood. So, it will be interesting to work there and see how the two communities intereact, if at all. Tomorrow I am meeting with the head of school, and will hopefully get more details about my actual duties, etc.


Frazzled: In preparation for this year, I made a very miserable trip to NYC and the German Consulate, where I attempted to apply for a residence permit. I was told to wait until I got to Germany and simply apply in Magdeburg, and was given a list of what I needed to have for my application:

• Application forms (2)
• Pictures (2)
• Valid passport and copies (2)
• Proof of employment (2)
• Proof of sufficient funds to cover expenses
• Certificate of Good Conduct (2)
• Proof of health insurance (2)
• Proof of living accommodation (2)
• Registration as a resident of Magdeburg
  

Okay. That's fine. I got as much as possible together in Philly before leaving, and that was relatively painless, if not a little mind-boggling: The Philadelphia police, due to security concerns, cannot fingerprint applicants for the Certificate of Good Conduct. One must fingerprint oneself. Huh.

In Germany, I got a letter from Jan saying that I have a room here, and I registered myself as a resident. I also had to get biometric photos, since our normal US Passport photos aren't good enough. At last, at last, at last, I had everything. I had copies, although they were not notarized, and originals, and so I set out to the Bürgerbüro to apply. The line moved quickly and soon I was called.

Everything went fine. So fine, in fact, that they didn't need the copies. They didn't need the Certificate of Good Conduct, didn't even ask about it. They didn't need two pictures, or two copies of the application form. Yee gads. They didn't even keep anything! The woman just read over some of my papers, and gave them back. The only thing they kept was the application form itself. *grumbles* My residence permit is only valid until the end of July, because I arrived in August and she could only grant it for one year. So, I'll need to leave Germany, and then come back in, get my passport stamped and be here as a tourist for August 2008. Yeah...


That's all for now, and I'm off to read more of Tintenblut, the second book in Cornelia Funke's Tinten trilogy (in English: Inkheart and Inkspell, on Amazon). Visiting another WG tonight.