My Best Friend is a Rockstar: a musical gift from home

Today I wanted to share something amazing with y'all! Thanks to my awesome sister, this morning I got to listen to my best friend's performance at a fundraiser for Ole Miss Theater.  I was pretty upset to be missing it, but now I get to listen to it on repeat on my ipod and I get to share it with y'all!!!  I have no doubt in my mind that Courtney will be a huge deal pretty soon!!!

A Tasty Study Break!

So this weekend included a whole lot of reading and a whole lot of dictionaries... So I took some cooking breaks! Here are some pictures of my fun times in the kitchen!!!

Delicious salad for dinner:  Spinach, feta cheese, cucumbers, onions, olvies, lemon, olive oil and sea salt

Sauteing some onions and mushrooms boiling spinach!

Starting my own version of Bechamel sauce

Mixing in mushrooms and onions to the sauce

Grilling the salmon

Post crepe making!

Dessert Crepe with Nutella and strawberries

Laundry at a bar, and spontaneous parades

I have to start off by apologizing for the lack of posts this week, however, I have been both busy and lazy this week...  As a result, you get a super long post with all sorts of stuff! 

Monday was a fun packed day, but it started way too early! My 8 o'clock class on German Jews in the 19th Century was my only class on Monday, because my 2 o'clock class was cancelled for the week.  After class I rode the bus to Charlotten Bahnhof to find the Waschbar.  The other Ole Miss girl, Alexandra, had seen this cafe/bar, where one can go to wash/dry his/her clothes.  Since my building only has 1 old washer that is always taken, I needed to find a place to wash ALL of my clothes.  After 5 minutes of walking I found the place and decided I would go back to my apartment and grab my clothes.  I packed 6 kg worth of clothes into 2 huge IKEA bags and I headed to the Waschbar.  I was sooo self-conscious going in... I really though that I would be the only person actually washing clothes at this place, but luckily, I was wrong! There were other people with comforters, towels, sheets, and many IKEA bags!  After buying the tokens for the washers, I picked a booth and sad down for lunch and a quiet afternoon of reading.  It took me a million tokens to wash and dry all of my clothes, but thanks to their WIFI and my reading assignment for class, the afternoon flew by! 

Once back in my room, I hung the clothes that I had that were still a bit damp.  Since I still haven't found a drying rack, I had to improvise....

While things dried, I headed out for a quick run.  I can't explain how jealous I am of people that can run... I know it is something that you build up over time, but between my impatience and my tendency to get bored, I don't know if I'll ever be able to run a long distance (or a reasonable one).  Oh well... I guess I have to start somewhere. 

After running, I got to skype with Blake, who is living in Istanbul.  He has been following my blog and graciously offered to listen to my thesis rants and give me some advice! It was absolutely the best! He gave me lots of helpful tips that I will be putting to use, just as soon as I get done with a book for my class.  The conversation left me very inspired to organize my life and get to work! Oh side note, I met my roommate!!! Someone came by and knocked on the door.  She said that she heard one of the people living here had moved out, and I explained to her that I didn't know if someone was living here or not.  I explained to her that there were things left here (a few cups, cookies, a towel, etc), but I had never seen anyone.  She then told me that she will be my new roommate, as long as I am planning on moving out after the semester, because she wants to live somewhere where her boyfriend can move into next semester.  I assured her that I would be gone after this semester and she was glad to hear it!  She seems very sweet, is German, and studies English.  She has not moved in, because she still has a place in Berlin, but she will be moving in slowly in the coming weeks. 

Tuesday I woke up in time to head to campus, do my homework, and run to class.  After class, I headed straight to the main street in Potsdam to sit at the Starbucks and read.  Why Starbucks you ask?  Again, it is the only place (other than the laundromat/bar that has WIFI). My goal for Tuesday was to make a dent into the book that I have to read for my class on Wednesday.  This class is fully dedicated to two accounts of survivors from the concentration camp in Oranienburg.  The book I have to read is really two book, each one written by one of the survivors.  I have found one of the books in English, but the other one has never been translated.  It is great great practice, but goodness it is taking me soooo long to get through it!!!! For the first few pages I looked up each word I didn't know, but by the time I got to page 4 I realized I had wasted like 2 hours!!!!!!!!! After that I decided I would just read through the first section and then re-read and look up what wasn't clear.  I had to get through the first 10 pages before Wednesday, because these pages described the town where the Jewish man lived before being transported to the concentration camp. On Wednesday, our class was making a trip to this town and we were going to use his story to get to know the town.  After some long hours at Starbucks, I headed back to my apartment.  It was going to be the first of 4 late nights for me... This week I worked with the new RebelTHON exec team in Oxford to interview all the applicants for next year's board.  This meant that Tuesday night, between 12:30 and 2:30, I Skyped with Maia, Zach, Wil, and Claire in order to go through applications and set up times for interviews.   As you can imagine, Wednesday morning was no fun!

On Wednesday I had to meet my class at the train station at 8:30, which meant I had to leave my dorm at 8:00... Clearly I was not happy to be up that early, but I was really excited to go to Rathenow, the town I had read about.   Once at the train station I met my professor and the class and got on the first of 2 trains headed to Rathenow.  The ride was 2 hours, and it was about the most awkward 2 hours in my 2 months here.  I hadn't really met anyone and I ended up sitting next to my professor both times, so I just read... Soooo awkward.  Once at Rathenow we met our guide, who is a historian that has worked with our professor on the survivor's history.  She gave us a tour of the routes that the man describes in his story.  After that, we headed to the culture center, where our professor and the historian handed out letter to us.  The letters were written by many different "witnesses" of the night that our main character was arrested.  He was a Rabi in Rathenow (there was a very small Jewish community), who reported a Nazi official who beat him up.  The official was sent to jail, and our main character was extremely hated by all of the Nazi officials in the town.  On the night of his arrest, he tells that a man attacked him, and since he though he was drunk he just ran home.  Once he reached his home, however, another man attacked him.  At that point, our main character decided to fight back and stabbed him with his keys.  The man turned out to be a Nazi officer and he made sure that our main character was arrested and sent to the concentration camp. The letters that we read provided different stories that were reported about the event, but all of them were from people who clearly wanted our main character arrested.  This exercise was extremely interesting, because it helped me see how one uses letters in order to reconstruct a historical event.  After our exercise we went downstairs to eat.  Only 3 students, the professor, and the historian decided to eat at the culture center, so I got to talk and bond with them over lunch.  It was actually both really interesting and relaxing.  The professor made me tell the historian about my research and they both seemed very impressed.  After lunch we continued the tour around town and went to a school, which was the empty high school that was used to keep prisoners in before transporting them to the concentration camp in 1933.  The visit there was unreal.  First the woman guided us to the gym, which looked exactly like the picture in our book.  There we found a class playing volleyball...



Then the lady took us upstairs and showed us a timeline that was posted on the wall that showed the school's history.  Our professor quickly pointed out a mistake and told the woman about the book they had published (the one we are reading).  She could not believe that the school didn't know anything about the book... I wasn't that surprised for some reason. The lady then took us to a classroom.  None of us were sure why!!!! It was soooo awkward!!! Even our professor was confused.  The kids stood up when we entered, until the lady told them to sit... I was so confused and so were the rest of my classmates.   The lady introduced us as a class from Potsdam and then we left.  Legitimately the most awkward and pointless thing. 

After the tour we headed back to the station.  I really liked the town and I loved getting to know the people in my class! It was a wonderful experience.  On the way back I got to talk with the professor and two other students about my research. The professor thought that I was doing this research for my dissertation and when I told her it was for my bachelors and I had to be done by December, she didn't know what to say... guess what, I don't either!!! She gave me a few good suggestions on libraries to go to and also recommended a registry of rabbis that might have my grandmother's grandfather's information. I will try to go find it next week! I am sooo glad that we were able to talk a bit so that she can continue to give me helpful pointers throughout the semester.

After getting home I went on a quick run through the park.  I ran the longest I have since I got here and loved the awesome weather.

Runs in the park

I was sooo exhausted when I got home, but I had a message from one of my classmates from March reminding me that there was a get together in the outskirts of Berlin.  Since I have been missing out on a lot of outings due to my foot, I really wanted to go.  The trip took about an hour, but the place was amazing!!! The houses were precious and it was literally in the middle of nowhere! Soooo cute! I was glad to see a lot of people that I hadn't seen in weeks, and we had a blast sharing our crazy class stories and planning trips in the months to come.  At around 11:00 a group of us headed home.  I would have stayed longer, but I had to be home in time to start interviews for RebelTHON!!! My Wednesday did not end until 4:00 am when we interviewed the last person, but it was soooo worth it! We had such amazing applicants and I was thrilled to get to listen in on the interviews! (technology is an amazing thing!)

As expected, Thursday started off pretty late! I went to class, and then I headed to the paper store.  My goal was to get all the necessary things to organize my life.  This week I realized that with the amount of reading, writing, and learning that I have to do before July 31st, I better get on it fast!!!

Finally starting to get organized

Anyways, after that I returned home and rested a bit before interviews!  Thursday was another late night Skyping home... And Friday was another late morning followed by reading for class and then some more Skype interviews!!!

Today, Saturday, I finally slept in and then got up to head to town.  There I found a band playing on the pedestrian street.  It was really unexpected, and sadly.... really out of tune! Hahaha, I started my walk toward Starbucks (my reading nook) and got a Bratwurst for lunch on the way!  Once settled in with my coffee a parade started right in front of my eyes... It was the strangest thing.  Noone was watching, but for an hours groups of bands and people paraded in really strange and varied costumes.  I still haven't figured out what it was, but here are a few pictures:

That is it for now... I am lacking inspiration to write today, so excuse my poor writing...

Dresden's Bathtub: a review

So as I mentioned in my last entry, this weekend Colby and I conquered the immense task of finding a bathtub.  Since this journey also included getting to visit a beautiful city that was bombed to pieces (hope that's the right one Maia :) ) in the last bit of WWII in February of 1945, we were pretty excited! Friday was a quiet day at home in preparation for my first trip while abroad!!! However, this quiet day turned out to provide some pretty great accomplishments! First, I made a trip to Kaufland (a new one) where I finally found nail polish and nail polish remover!!! HUGE!!! If I didn't find some soon, it would be a close-toed shoes summer for me! Secondly, I had a Skype interview for the position of director for RebelTHON next year! And.... I am officially the co-director for next year!!!! I am soooo excited to get started working on this!!!! After a quiet evening, I went to sleep looking forward to the adventures that Saturday would bring!!!

Saturday started at around 6... I took a shower and headed to the train station at Park Sansoussi...But before I checked my bag to make sure I was not forgetting the most important things: Ibuprofen and the BATH SALTS (or whatever the medicine I was prescribed is called).  The walk to the station was amazing! The weather has been perfect (a little cool, but not too cold) and the birds were out chirping around.

Walk to the station

From the station I took a train that took me directly to the main station in Berlin (only took 35 minutes!). There, I bought a chocolate Croissant and a coffee for Colby and I.  Two minutes later, he met me and we found the train that would take us to Dresden.  We found tickets for this train by searching on a website called ltour.com that provides cheap prices for last minute trips!!! Because of the price we found, we were able to take the EC train, which is waaaaay quicker and goes straight to Dresden.  The crowd was primarily Czech and included a large group of 35ish year old men who were having a bachelor party. VERY entertaining! After about 2 hours, which involved talking, sleeping, and minimal reading for class, we arrived in Dresden.

First impression: grey.
Second impression: more cobble stones.

I am a firm believer that weather can make or break ones experiences in a new city.  I remember introducing my friends Drew and Courtney to the neighborhood in Montevideo where I grew up, and all I remember saying was "y'all.... you would love it so much more if it wasn't so cloudy and ugly!!!!" In the case of Dresden, I quickly started worrying that this would also be our case!!!

After walking for about 30 or 45 minutes through the old part of the city, we decided to see if our hotel would let us check in early.  The grey, the cobblestones, and the hunger were not giving us a good first impression... so we thought depositing our bags and recharging at the hotel might do the trick!!! Our hotel was located in the middle of the historic section of the city.  Legitimately 30 steps away from the Frauenkirche, the church that was bombed to pieces in 1945.  This entire area is a block from the Elbe river and all of the museums, exhibits, theaters, and opera houses.

That's our hotel with the red roof... Don't be fooled by the blue skies... this was Sunday

Once at the hotel, we did not have any trouble checking in! 

View of "the busy street" from our room

View of the Frauenkirche from our room

The first thing we did when going into the room...  CHECKED THE BATHROOM!!!!! Thank goodness!!! There was a bathtub!!!

The reason for our weekend trip!

I really thought I would turn into Elpheba

 So before doing anything else, I tested my new medicine, took the 30 minute bath, and rested with my foot raised for the assigned 30-45 minutes.  Y'all... the medicine was green!!! Soooooo green that my towel and everything else got stained... Too funny.  

Foot bathed!

By the time I was done... the hunger was unavoidable! We quickly looked through the restaurants on the busy street (just 2 blocks) and settled for an Asian restaurant that looked over the street.  There, we were serenaded by a man that was playing below us... what was he playing??? But Johnny Cash of course!!! What was he wearing on his hat?? A confederate flag! Hilarious and definitely German. People loved him and crowds would form during every song as people stared in admiration, awkwardly bopped to the beat, and even sang along.   The next thing we enjoyed admiring were the birds... maybe we didn't admire them... maybe they just annoyed us... It is soooo clear that they are constantly fed, because they legitimately we coming up to our plate trying to get food!!!!!!

You can see the man playing on the bottom left corner! 

Asian... Again

Colby and his bird... 

After lunch we continued to walk the grey city.... We started by crossing the bridge and the Elbe towards the newer part of the city.  We figured that would be an easy way to walk all of the "touristy" spots.  We found some flowers and cool buildings on the other side, but we both agreed that the grey was prettier of the other side of the Elbe.  After discovering a really cool market type deal.... we headed back across the river.  

Cool market

We spent our afternoon walking along the river and walking through the historical buildings that surrounded us on every corner.  It is really a gorgeous city!!!! 

After many miles, we headed towards the theater to see if there were still tickets for the Philharmonic's concert that evening.  Sadly the ticket office was closed until 6:30... the concert started at 7:30... Therefore, we decided to sit down at a nearby Starbucks and use its wifi to find an alternate way to buy tickets.  We didn't find it, but we did enjoy a great cup of coffee and a lot of funny "snap chat" conversations with people back home.  A little before 6:30, we headed towards the theater.  As we started seeing people come, we began to panic... Are we wayyyyy too underdressed???? People were showing up in suits and floor length dresses. Yikes!! Should we even try?? In my mind I could hear my mom saying "don't worry, it is a city of tourists, there will be people wearing all sorts of clothes!!"  So we decided to give it a shot! Our plan if we got tickets was to rush to the supermarket get wine, cheese, and olives to eat by the river after the concert and to run to the dorm to try to come up with something dressier to wear!!!!! 

There were tickets!!! They were in the back row, but they were tickets!!!!! Yaaaayyy!!! So we rushed to REWE to get the food... got to the check out line and realized it was toooo long! We wouldn't make it!!!! So we had to put everything down and run back to the hotel (not really run... remember, there are cobble stones and my foot would have hated me!!!) Once at the hotel I made a switch into my less tacky converses and tried to fix my outfit with some make up... Colby, as usual, was a little more prepared and looked more philharmonic ready.  Fifteen minutes later we were two different people hurrying back to the theater.   

And then we saw it.... the crowd.... the average age was 65 or higher... there were suits, there were floor length dresses, and for those who were playing it casual.... they left their suit coats at home (but ties were seen throughout).  YIKES!!! We were really underdressed, but that is exactly the time when a back row seat seems perfect!!!  

I was sooo excited to hear the orchestra! Going to concerts always reminds me of my childhood, when we frequently went to watch my mom and/or dad play with the national symphony in Uruguay. I love it!!! 

Very excited for the concert!!! 

And this was one of the most incredible things i've ever heard!!!! 

The program included: 

Richard Wagner's: the prelude to "Das Rheingold"

Bernd Franke's: The way down in the way up (II)

Peter Tschaikowsky's Symphony 4 in F Minor op. 36

The Tschaikowsky was unbelievable.  I didn't realize I knew it, but as soon as each movement started I recognized the melodies immediately.  I couldn't take my eyes off of the oboe player!  I am NOT a big oboe fan, but this woman could play like I've never heard before!!! Clearly the director thought the same thing, because at the end he gave her his flowers! It is unreal watching all of these people soooo together! The speed, the dynamics, the sound, the emotion.. I  just can't explain it!  I teared up, I got goose pumps, and I smiled A LOT. I find watching this like this sooo incredible.  When you watch a performance whether it be theater, orchestra, dance, or whatever.... you know that everyone on this stage LOVES what they are doing.  Who would choose to go into a profession that is soooo hard to succeed in if you don't love it! Even natural talent doesn't justify the hours of practice.... so watching this group really gave me chills! 

Here is a link to the Tschaikowsky (not played by the Dresden Philharmonic, but still) to share the incredibleness! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhoYauWJh54

After recomposing myself after the amazingness, we realized that everything was closed... We hadn't been able to buy our snacks earlier... So we had to resort to McDonalds... legitimately the only thing other than bars that was open.  With our junk food in hand, we walked to the banks of the Elbe and had dinner.  It was lovely so we also walked a bit before turning in for the night (and for a bath!).

The Elbe

 We decided to sleep in a bit on Sunday, but got up in time to walk some more! The clouds had cleared up some, so it was nice to enjoy the city without the grey!!! It really set in how incredible it really is!!! We had an amazing lunch by the Frauenkirche and then waited for it to open at 13:00.  

  

The inside was incredible!!!! So many colors, such grandeur!!! Absolutely beautiful!

Frauenkirche

After our visit, we headed back to the main station to take a train back. Since our website didn't have cheap tickets, we bought a Schönewochenende ticket that allows up to 5 people to travel on weekends without limit for 27 hours using the regional trains. Using the regional trips added about 1.5 hours to our trip!!!! 

 BUT!!!!!! It also let us enjoy a lot of different landscapes and it forced me to read for class! 

 At around 6 o'clock I arrived to my apartment in Potsdam! Thanks to the baths/ibuprofen my foot felt great!! So I went out for a run (the longest one since I've been here!) and did an arm workout! By the end of the day I was beat!!!!