day trips

Auntie Femie and I decided to visit Würzburg yesterday and St. Goar today. We followed her tour book of main cities in Germany. It does rather well for a book leading us through the highlights and revealing the best and peculiar stories. As we travel, we learn about what was damaged by World War II and what survived or was saved. I notice a trend in Germany that is well represented at St. Kilian’s Cathedral in Würzburg.

Three Irish monks, St. Kilian included, went to Würzburg with hopes of Christianizing the barbarians of Germany. In A.D. 686 they were beheaded. They are now considered martyrs and their skulls remain in a box on the high altar of St. Kilian’s Cathedral. Above this altar is a crucified Jesus. Further back is the resurrected Jesus welcoming people to a future full of hope.

The beheading of St. Kilian and his two companions is one story among Germany’s dark history that we remember, but the country is a lovely place that continues to progress. Throughout Germany you see what was destroyed in World War II that has been since restored or rebuilt to be as good, or better, than it was. This is a theme for Germany, if not the whole world: we must not forget the past but there is a bright future ahead.

the first few days

Finally! I arrived with my Auntie Femie in Frankfurt, Germany on Friday. I have about a week before I move into my room and the study abroad program starts. After planning this for at least a year, the reality of it all is starting to sink in. In effort to beat the jet lag, my aunt and I began exploring the city right away. To our pleasant surprise, there was a festival going on.

Museumsuferfest celebrates Frankfurt's many diverse museums by allowing admission to all museums throughout the weekend for only €4. Two and a half days was not enough time to visit them all, especially when both sides of the Main River are lined with live music, food, dancing, and booths. It was lively event which made it easy to talk to people. I’m not sure which language I spoke more: English, German or Spanish. It felt like entering the dance floor and already knowing the steps.

When I first started dancing, half a minute into a song was all one needed to figure out that I was a beginner. Once I open my mouth here, my accent gives it away that I am American. Like anything else, it'll take time before I can speak fluently. Till then, just being here with every reason to utilize what I have studied is encouraging. That is the point of studying abroad and exactly what I hoped for. Now that I have arrived, I can really get excited!

La Cage Aux Folles

My aunt and I are in towering New York City for a few days before my flight to Germany. We found inexpensive tickets to the broadway show, La Cage Aux Folles with Kelsey Grammar, aka Frasier, and an amazing costar, Douglas Hodge. The story is rather cliché about a couple from two extremes whose parents would not approve of their marriage, so they try to be something they are not. The son’s parents are both homosexual males, while his fiancée is the daughter of a conservative politician.

The son’s transvestite mother sings an inspiring song at the end of the first act. She defends her lifestyle by saying,

“It is my world that I want to have a little pride in
My world and it is not a place I have to hide in
Life is not worth a damn till you can say
I am what I am”

The message could not be more convincing, especially coming from a transvestite.

I have always admired those people who know who they are, what they want, and most importantly are not afraid to show it. Just like she says, one should not want pity or praise, nor need excuses to be what they are. I look up to people who have figured themselves out like I look up at the skyscrapers of New York City. Each one is unique, but still belonging to the bigger picture.

rain

What started as a 60% chance of rain turned into a flood for parts of upstate New York. LA gets on average 15 inches in a year, and just yesterday there was 7.5 inches of rain. The gravel driveway up to my aunt and uncle’s house has been washed down and needs to be pushed back up: work my uncle compares to Sisyphus who must roll a boulder uphill for eternity in the underworld. The road to the house is closed on both sides. One side is too deep and you may to get your car stuck in the mud or a cornfield, that is, if you think it is safe to pass the wooden bridge with water flooding over. The other side has been partially washed away by the overflowing creek. Less fortunate neighbors have flooded cellars and businesses. Further down the creek in Fort Plain 60 homes had to be evacuated and it has been declared an emergency zone.

If the road had closed a couple hours earlier, the relatives that visited for the weekend would have been stuck with us until it is safe to cross. The internet failed when the rain started and it is impossible to get cell reception already, but we still have electricity, water and the house phone works. There is even a wood stove to cook on if things get real desperate. Despite the fact that we couldn’t be stranded in a better place during a disaster, I know at least one person who would not enjoy the inescapable isolation.

I think situations like this help us remember what is necessary in life. Technology is a luxury that we are lucky to have, but we cannot depend on it. Things are known to break, get lost, or be unreliable and leave us helpless. Nor is technology more important than the people around you. Today may have been worrisome, but it makes one realize the simplicity of just living. After all, who needs the weather report when you can just take a look outside?

Eerie Canal and Moss Island

My uncle and I went for a bike ride today in upstate New York. We followed the Eerie Canal trail from Fort Plain to Little Falls for lunch. Along the trail there are multiple locks where boats travel up and down the canal. The locks were built in the mid 1800s and are still in operation, unlike the old mills in Little Falls. The original buildings remain, although they have been converted into antique stores. On our way back, we stopped to explore a place called Moss Island that was once underwater. Now, the Eerie Canal is on one side and the river on the other.



Apparently, when Moss Island was underwater, its falls were greater than the Niagara Falls, and judging by the “potholes” the water carved into the rock, they very well could have been. It reminds me in particular of my visit to the coliseum in Rome that has been stripped of marble and crumbled from earthquakes. Although we cannot see how grand it once was, we can use what we know and what remains for us to see in order to imagine and appreciate it in all its glory. These are just a couple of the places that still amaze with their history.

visiting home

This was the first summer I have spent at home in a very long time. It was ambitious considering the list of things I wanted to do before leaving to Europe for a year to study abroad. We played Ultimate Frisbee on Sundays then there was the annual rafting trip, camping, beach, and many other fun things. Although there were mishaps throughout, most plans were successful. It all came to a close with my going away party last Saturday and random visits with friends leading up to the eve of my flight. I left Tuesday for New York without ever really saying “goodbye.”

I suppose friends from home have this expectation that you’ll be back and, just like when I first arrived this year, everything will pick up again right where it left off. Home will be just as “boring” as we remember it in high school, but at least now the parents spoil us. Together we make it fun and survive the summer. Having to visit taught me to appreciate home and to make the most of all it has to offer during my limited stay.

Most people say the same about the towns they grew up in, that there was never anything to do...which is why travel is so great. An unfamiliar place is intriguing and often people do not stay long enough to grow comfortable. With time one might gain a sense of home as what was once new and exciting becomes just another part of life. I really look forward to living in Germany and hope that it stays extraordinary, and the appeal of home will always bring me back to California. At least for a visit :)