Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!

Yes, that's right, I just wished myself happy bday auf Deutsch on my own blog. I can't help it! I am just so excited because not only does today mark my 22nd year on the planet, but it is also my last day of work! Also, tomorrow I jet off to Rome to meet up with fellow ICPer Shane where we will adventure around for a few days before heading to Venice for a couple more days. It's my last big trip before I head back to the states - which is in 8 days by the way. Incredible how fast five months fly by! Ahh!

So birthdays in Germany are a little different than they are in the USA. Parties aren't thrown by friends for the birthday girl/boy... the birthday girl/boy throws the party for their friends. I'm not having a party, but I did bake a cake last night (carrot cake of course, and I hope it tastes as good as it smelled) and carried it all the way to work. At work people just come into my office and wish me well and eat some of my cake and are on their merry way. No fanfare, no fuss, just good efficient happy birthday wishing. It's the German way.

I've turned into the quiet girl

I've always been a talkative person. I like to have conversations, I don't like to argue. I'm the kind of person that can have a nice chat with almost anyone. Heck, I was voted "Most Outgoing" by my peers in high school.

But here in Germany, I've turned into the quiet girl. I blame this on the fact that I am currently at the frustrating point in language learning where I can understand the gist of what people are saying, but I just can't think of a gramatically correct response quick enough. Rather than speaking incorrectly, I usually just don't speak at all. I usually just nod along, peppering in a ja genau here and there.

This frustrates me. I want people to get to know me but I don't know how to do this without talking to people. I feel like my co-workers think that I'm an anti-social mute, which, if you know me, could not be further from the truth. I also like to think that I have a pretty good sense of humor, but I have no clue how to show it to people over here. My German skills aren't strong enough to tell jokes or use sarcasm (do Germans even use sarcasm?). I feel like it's been months and no one over here really knows the real me because well, I've turned into the quiet girl.

Today is August 1st which means that I've got a mere 3 weeks left in Germany. I can't believe that 5 months is almost up! I am really REALLY bummed that my ICP year got shafted with the semester conversion, thus cutting our time abroad short.  Not only do I feel like I'm not going to have my German speaking breakthrough, but I'm also missing Oktoberfest. I mean c'mon that's just cruel.

As you can tell, I'm feeling very frustrated today. RAWR. However I'm also really excited because this weekend Michelle and I are meeting up in Copenhagen! Also, I finally bought tickets for my final travels. Shane (another ICP guy) and I are going to travel to Rome and Venice before finally heading back to the states. Prepare for the fastest 3 weeks ever! Bis später!

So I've been meaning to get around to a post like this...

A couple days ago, Michelle posted a link on her blog.  I found this link highly entertaining and very spot on, and since I had been meaning to made a list of cultural observations on my own... well this one is just so all encompassing and contained so many things that I was planning on saying I'm just going to pick out my favorites my favorites and adapt them to my experiences.  Deal? Deal.

My spin on the 'What I Know About Germans' list...

6) Their babies are particularly beautiful - And their babies all speak better German than me. Very frustrating. 

13) They speak English better than most English people I know - Especially my roomie Franzi, she is an English Lit major and has better English grammar than I do.

21) Germans simply do not understand thongs/flip flops/jandals as viable footwear. Even when it’s warm and sunny. And a boot is impractical, or too warm for the feet to be comfortable. They will stare, bewildered, at thonged feet and quietly wonder if the wearer is mad - I wear sandals to work a lot.  I like my feet to breathe.  Almost every day someone makes a comment about my Sandalen. I think this is especially bizarre because Germany is home to Birkenstocks, the mother of all sandals!  But apparently Birkenstocks are just "house shoes".  When I told people how much Birkenstocks sell for in the USA they laughed! They're only about 40 euros here!

24) Germans are always prepared for the rain - This is no joke. It rains ALL THE TIME here. Sadly I lost my rain jacket so I've been really soggy lately.

27) German clubs routinely remind the world of the universality of 90s pop - And not just 90's pop, but all sorts of the most random music imaginable.  Some of my favorite randoms include "You're the One That I Want", weird techno mixes of "Country Roads", and about every N*SYNC and BSB song imaginable. It's wonderful!

32) Germans don’t tend to jay-walk. And they judge those who do - I really struggle with this one. Especially if it's raining and I'm standing rainjacketless in the rain.

52) Germans seem to really enjoy How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men and crime fiction - This is so true and just cracks me uppp!

53) They love their dogs. Often their dogs catch the bus with them and sometimes their dogs even dine with them in restaurants - Speaking of German dogs... I'm not allowed to pet them and it makes me really sad. Germans are very particular about their pets and according to Franzi they don't even like it when you make googly-eyes at their dogs, let alone touch them!

67) Germany loves a public holiday. Bavaria in particular - Thank goodness for this because it has afforded me lots of opportunities to travel! Wheeee!

87) Germans can’t queue. Full stop, the end. They don’t know how, they have no interest in trying. This is the one time Germans embrace a lack of system and what happens when a queue is called for is the unfortunate culmination of Germanic forcefulness and uncertainty in the face of a system-less world. Take, for example, what happens in a supermarket when another check out line opens. Instead of calmly indicating the person at the top of the queue, yet to unload their basket onto the conveyor belt, should head up the new checkout line, there is this mad dash like a scattered flock of sheep, and your standing in the original queue becomes completely irrelevant. If you are fast enough, you can theoretically come from well behind and end up getting served before the person five people in front of you, who has been patiently waiting for 10 minutes. And no one thinks anything of it - This is THE MOST frustrating thing. Ever.

88) Germans can open a beer bottle with anything. The couch, a coffee mug, a banana. Body parts. It’s like they all secretly take a class at school when they’re eleven, in preparation for a life time of beer consumption. Next time you are with a German, hide the bottle opener and casually hand them your beer. They will flick off the top using a toothpick as if it is the most normal thing in the world - This is THE COOLEST thing. Ever. I'm trying to learn but the one time I tried with a lighter I cut my finger. Oww.

96) Germans love Spargel. They love Spargel and anything to do with Spargel, like Spargel peelers and Spargel steamers and Spargel platters. Forget Christmas or Easter or any other notable markers, the German year revolves around Spargelsaison - Sadly, I'm not a fan of the creepy whitish asparagus.

So there you have it, my take on the 'What I Know About Germans' list!  Look forward to a couple more culture posts like this before I leave.  Less than a month here in Germany - I can't believe it!

Hamburg

This past weekend I made my first foray into Northern Germany and visited my friend Michelle.  Michelle has been living and working in the burg of Hams for about a month now, and I have been wanting to visit, so this past weekend I made it happen.  I got to Hamburg using a good ol' Mitfahrgelegenheit for 22€ each way, can't beat it!  I was a little nervous since my last experience with ride sharing left me stranded in Berlin, but I'm pleased to report this time was much better.  I didn't get into the city until a bit after 10 on Friday evening and upon arrival I was greeted by Michelle at the train station.  Together we headed to a 'Sex, drugs, and rock & roll' themed party at her place of work.  Germans are crazy, designers are crazy, so you can only imagine how crazy a party thrown be German designers was.  Plus there was an open bar.  I'm just going to skim over the rest of the evening...

Fast forward many libations and a few hours and Michelle and I were waking up with große Kater (look it up).  Luckily Michelle lives around the corner from an American style breakfast all day diner called Mamalicious.  It basically saved my life on Saturday.

Thank goodness for Mamalicious. (Note my coffee mug)

After we mustered up some strength, we headed to the Miniatur-Wunderland, home of the world's largest model train!  The walk there was through Hamburg's Speicherstadt - a little island full of old warehouses.  Hamburg is a harbor city with tons of bridges and canals.  Even more canals than Amsterdam and Venice says tourguide Michelle.

Bridge and harbor action

Building the crazy Hamburg symphonie building

Me and a canal running through the Speicherstadt

So this Miniatur-Wunderland.  I'm going to go ahead and say it was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in my live.  The scale, the modeling, the figurines, the DETAIL.  I just couldn't believe it.  Every scene was so intricate, so involved, so well schemed.  There were mini versions of cities in Germany, Switzerland, Scandanavia, and the good old USA.  There was a mini airport with mini planes that would take off, and a mini terminal with mini parking garages filled with mini cars and mini people.  The people were just barely bigger than a Polly Pocket, to give you an idea for scale.  Not only were the trains and the tracks super cool on their own, but the scenes that they weaved throughout were just absolutely insane!  For example:

A couple fornicating in the bushes

A mini music festival

The grand canyon and some pueblos

Mini Hamburg

We were so exhausted after the Mini-Wunderland (and still not feeling our best) so we headed back to Michelle's places for a nap.  After a sufficiently long snooze we made some delicious guacamole and watched Harry Potter movies into the wee hours of the night.  We needed a night in after the craziness that was Friday.  Sunday we woke up feeling very well rested and set off to see more of the city.  We walked around Michelle's neighborhood as well as the Altstadt downtown before eventually heading to the infamous Reeperbahn and red light district.  Conclusion: Hamburg is rad.

A shanty town near where Michelle lives! Safe!

Cool German squalor

Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, one of my favorite train stations yet!

Rathaus aka town hall

Super old partially destroyed church whose name escapes me...

Lofty claims on the Reeperbahn...

The harbor. So cool!

Heidelberg

Es tut mir leid for the lack of posts on here lately.  I promise I have been doing exciting things I just have been too preoccupied to blog about them.  I'm realizing that my time here is quickly winding down - I can't believe that I only have a little over a month here in Germany!  I've been continuing to try and take advantage of travelling as much as possible.

This past weekend I met up with Ian in lovely little Heidelberg, Germany.  I confess, I have this horrible habit of falling asleep within 7 minutes of a train ride.  Most of the time, it's not a horrible habit, but more of a useful skill.  However when your train ride is a 3 hour jaunt along the Rhine river passing picturesque cities and medieval castles you kinda want to stay awake for it!  Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any good pictures from my train, but tust me, it was breathtaking.

The breathtaking views continued on throughout the whole weekend in Heidelberg.  The most marvelous part of Heidelberg is of course the ruins of the old castle.  The earliest castle structures were built around 1214 AD.  1214 AD I say!  The age of some things in Europe still blows my mind.  Some of the castle was destroyed, some still stands, but all of it is beautiful.  Not only is the red stone castle a gorgeous sight, but the views over the quaint city nestled in the river valley are best from the castle grounds.

It was windy up there!

Castle ruins

View over Heidelberg and the Neckar river

Part of the castle chunked off...

I mean seriously Germany, stop being so freaking beautiful.

Heidelberg is also famous for it's old university, Universität Heidelberg.  Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany.  I'm telling you, the age of some of the stuff over here!  It's incredible!  My favorite part of the old university was the Studentenkarzer or "student prison".  It's basically a place for the establishment to lock up unruly students for their bad behavior, i.e. getting really drunk and setting some hogs loose.  I think Wikipedia describes it best: "While Karzer arrest originally would have been a severe punishment, the respect for these punishment diminished with time, particularly in the 19th century, as it came a matter of honour to have been incarcerated at least once during one's time at university. At the end of 19th century, as the students in the cell became responsible for their own food and drink and receiving of visitors became permitted, the "punishment" would often turn into a social occasion with excessive consumption of alcohol." Oh Germany, you are awesome.

Enter if you dare...

Apparently silhouettes were the thing to do?

A typical confinement room. 

I fear the day that Cincinnati embraces it's German heritage and institutes a Karzer... 

So awesome.

Hello beautiful.

This weekend I'm headed to Hamburg to meet up with Michelle! More German adventures to come!

Morgen Morgen!

I'm trying something new.  I'm going to try and write short, frequent posts about culture and other German randomness.  We'll see how long this lasts...

For as long as I can remember, my name has been kinda weird.  Typically, people spell MorgAn with an A, but my mother decided to be different and spell my name MorgEn.  I've become quite accustomed to people misspelling my name, it happens all the time!  In my younger years I thought my parents were just trying to be different when they named me Morgen, but then I learned the story behind my name.

My mother is named Dawn and German was her minor in college.  For those of you that know even the teeniest bit of German, you most likely know that Guten Morgen means good morning.  See the connection?  My momma named me after herself in German!  She's so clever and tricksy.  After I learned the meaning behind my weird spelling, I was always happy to tell people the reason my name is spelled the way it is.  I think it's pretty cool!

Now that I'm in Germany, I still think my name is cool, but now it's also kinda hilarious and very confusing!  You see, Germans greet each other in the morning by simply saying "morgen!" to one another.  I've got people I don't even know saying my own name to me every morning!  And not only does morgen mean morning, but it is also the word for tomorrow.  My name happens to be an extremely common word in the German language.  Half the time I'm listening to Germans talking, I don't know whether they're talking about me, the morning, or tomorrow (or tomorrow morning!).  It can get reaaallly confusing sometimes!  But despite the daily confusion, I'm really glad that I have a bit of a quirky name.  It gives me something to talk about right when I meet people.  I've got my little prepared spiel: "Hi, I'm Morgen. Yes, like 'guten morgen'. I know it's a little confusing.  My mom is named Dawn, so she named me after herself in German!".  Boom.  Right off the bat I have something I feel confident saying in German, and sometimes I get a little laugh out of whoever I'm talking to. 

So thanks for the goofy name Mim :)

p.s. I LEAVE FOR LONDON TODAY AHHHHH!

Welcome to my blog!

Hello! Hallo! Guten Tag!

Welcome to my blog! Or, auf Deutsch, Herzlich Willkommen auf meiner Blog... I think? I'm a 4th year Civil & Environmental Engineering student at the University of Cincinnati, and I'm participating in the International Co-op Program. I will be co-oping for a German engineering company (in Germany) from March-August. I am excited and terrified all at the same time.

"Why Germany?" you ask. Well, Germany is known as an engineering powerhouse, so what better place for an aspiring engineer to go learn? Also, Germany (and Europe in general) is a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to environmental and sustainability issues, so I figure I can learn a few things in that department as well. And finally, I come from German heritage and have always been interested in learning more about the German culture.

"But Morgen, you don't speak German!" you say. Well... up until this past August I didn't know German. (Still kind of kicking myself for not taking German in high school...). Over the summer I participated in the International Co-op Program's Intensive German Language course. This was a course that met everyday, from 9-4, for 6 weeks that essentially pounded the German language into my brain. I am still taking follow up German language classes up until the time that I leave. So, you're right, I don't really know German that well yet... but I hope to be fluent by the time I come back to the states.

So, in conclusion, yes I am a little crazy for taking on this challenge. I will probably get insanely homesick and will definitely get very frustrated. However, I know this will be a life changing experience that I NEED to have. I can't wait for the friends I will make and the places I will visit. I'm trying to get into the habit of blogging about my experiences now so that I can document as much as possible!

Welcome again! And, wish me luck?

More info on UC's ICP: http://www.uc.edu/propractice/uccoop/employers/employer_icp/icp_types.html