I'm going to Togo!

The time has finally arrived and I will be embarking this Wednesday on my journey to Togo as a Small Business Development Peace Corps Volunteer.

 

The first three months of my time in Togo, I will be located near the town of Kpalmé, which is located about 50 km northwest of the capital of Lom é.

 

At this point, I only know that my living situation will be with a host family. I'm sure they will be heart-warming people and very hospitable, especially according to previous volunteers and those who have previously traveled to Africa.

 

Whenever I have internet, I will try and post recent updates on this blog and hopefully some photos.

 

Next time I write, I will be in Togo!!

capital campaign underway

 
Tonight the University kicked off the Capital Campaign to raise a ridiculous amount of funds for the endowment. The evening even had a spectacular display of fireworks. Why doesn't UVA do this every semester?

Picture: This was one of my 250 or so photographs during the evening. More can be found on Flickr. 

rebuilding year....

 
I apologize to those who have complained that I canceled my blog, but actually it was just not online. This is my first entry since being at the World Cup in June. Now, I'm back at UVA and enjoying 4th year although its much harder and busier than life in Dortmund.

About the picture: I took this on the sideline of the UVA-Wyoming Game. I know its the band, but our football team doesn't deserve to be in the photo. UVa Football is officially having a rebuilding year now that we have seen two losses to less than mediocre teams. Hopefully they will show something good next week against UNC...

I will try to update this more often now that my internet connection is up to speed. 

after day 2 - big day for the CONCACAF

After the arrival of Greg, an old Winchester soccer teammate and friend, along with two of his college friends, we were able to truly enjoy the World Cup spirit. At the time of their arrival, the England match
against Paraguay had already begun, but we were able to catch the end of it downtown.

At Friedensplatz in downtown Dortmund, the World Cup Fan Fest has been set up with a very big TV for fans to view all games of the tournament. If time allows it, I will be trying to see as many as possible down
there. So far in the tournament, I have seen most of every single game too!

The three newcomers were thrown directly into the crowds of Swedish fans as they prepared for their Group B match against Trinidad and Tobago here in Dortmund. The yellow crowds greatly outnumbered any other group, although there were some Trinidad and Tobago fans later.

After eating ice cream dowtown, we headed to watch part of the match at Friendensplatz before going to the Stadium/Westfallenhallen to see the rest of the match. On the way, we met an anxious T/T fan, whose plane was delayed two hours. She asked for the score and we assured her that it was 0-0 at halftime. She was relieved a little before running off to the stadium.

The Sweeds were obviously dissapointed following a tie game. Heads down and their faces in their hands. The game was obviously dominated by the Swedish, but despite being a man down, the Trinidad and Tobago team showed a strong defence and a relentless effort to deny the Swedish strikers of a go-ahead goal. What a showing for the CONCACAF region!
With a strong T&T side, maybe a little more respect will comee from our North American division. I guess we'll have to see how Mexico performs
today against Iran and the United States tomorrow against the Czech Republic.

Before the Argentina-Ivory Coast match at Friedensplatz, the three American visitors were able to rightfully enjoy Germany with a Donor Kabap from Star Donor, only the best in Dortmund. Highly satisfied, we complemented our dinner with some gelato ice cream.

At halftime of Saturday's final match, the sleep was a bit too much for the newarrivees. We headed back to my apartment and settled in for the night, while watching the rest of the match on my TV.

Today we are heading to Cologne for another Fan Fest and to see the Portugal and Angolan fans partying around the world-class Cathedral.

ecuadorian guests and a german victory

Just after the first day of the World Cup here in Germany, the Germans are full of life wearing jerseys, facepaint, scarves, etc in a show of nationalistic pride that I had not further scene during my time here in Dortmund.

Last night, I got together with some local Germans and other international students at the university dining hall to see the game on the big screen.  Every goal was met with a great applause from both Germans and internationals alike.

Before the game, I remembered that I had a Costa Rican jersey at home, but I decided it wasn't the best idea to wear that around due to my lack of connections with the country. Although two goals were scored and some doubt was cast upon the team, we were able to celebrate the 3 points in the group late into the night at a local student summerfest party!

For the second game between Poland and Ecuador, my hopes were completely split. On one hand, I have been hanging out with Polish people here in Dortmund for quite some time and I have even traveled around the country a little bit.  However, on Thursday evening, I received couchsurfing visitors from England and Ecuador excited and ready to see Ecuador's chances in the cup and not really expecting too much into further rounds. I hung out with them most of Friday and I think the Ecuadorian spirit rubbed off on me a little bit because I found myself excited each time that Ecuador scored a goal.

After the Poland-Ecuador match, my Polish friends in Dortmund were obviously stunned, upset, and fearful of the next game against Germany. With their faces in their hands and their mouths open in awe, I couldn't help but feel their pain.

When I returned home to my apartment early Saturday morning, I discussed with Pablo (Ecuadorian couchsurfer) his experiences at the Ecuador-Poland game. He was still livid with excitement as he had seen friends and celebrities from Ecuador that he had not seen in about two years.

He said after the match, the Polish were great sportsmen and congratulated the Ecuador team and fans on the victory. He said he traded away his Ecuadorian scarf for a Polish hat and all the other fans were joining the fun during the exchange.

When I woke up this morning, I found an Ecuadorian welcome bag for me as a reminder of their visit and a small token of appreciate for letting them stay. In basically about one day of hanging out, I must say that Lucy and Pablo were great guests, warm people, and I hope to see them again!

Now its time for day two.... Greg, a friend from Winchester is arriving this afternoon with some other Americans and we have three games to see today!

eurotrip 2006

After 8 days of European traveling its good to relax back in my room, but it was one awesome time. Check out photos here.

The trip began last Friday (3.3.2006) when Tom and Mike arrived from the US here in Duesseldorf. They got back to Dortmund just in time for the German dining hall, which Tom says was his best meal of the trip - Potatoes, Beef, and Vegetables... This is making me hungry writing this!

That afternoon we managed to see Dortmund's privately owned castle (see past blog) before we enjoyed seeing VfL Bochum against Kickers Offenbach with a friend Pavil from Poland. Drinking beer in the trains and seeing crazy soccer fans was a good way to start experiencing German culture.

The next morning we met Bart in Cologne in front of the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. We checked out Cologne quickly and then set off to pick up Sarah from the airport. The only problem - Sarah never came out of customs... Where the heck was she?

We looked all around, but she was nowhere. Finally we got a call and she wouldn't be arriving until 11:00 pm that night, so we had to waste 9 hours. The rest of the day we came back to Dortmund, relaxed, ate some Dönor Kabab, checked out the city, hung out with some people at the bar and then brought an arrival crew on the hooligan ridden train to pick up Sarah.

Sunday morning we were off to Amsterdam. Just a quick 2.5 hour car ride with Bart and we made it. It must be one of the coolest cities I've seen with canals going all over the place.. Be careful not to fall in because it was COLD outside with the wind!

Monday we rode with Bart to Ghent, Belgium and we quickly walked through the city and grabed some dinner before heading off to a club of Barts. (www.carre.be) They were holding a 15 year anniversary so we enjoyed a modeling show and a newly renovated place. Bart dropped 400 euros on the night backing up his high rolling reputation!! Definitely one great birthday experience!

Tuesday we slept in late after the long night and then were able to check out the castle in Ghent and later the Monastery. It was a relaxing day and an early evening to catch up on some sleep. Wednesday morning, we would be heading to Paris and Bart would have to go to work.

After a few hours in the train from Ghent to Brussels and from Brussels to Paris, we met up with Gregor, a friend from Dortmund, and went to his house were we stayed for the night in Paris. That afternoon and evening we had the most efficient tour of Paris possible! I think we saw everything including the Louvre, Mona Lisa, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concord, Monmartre, le Sacre-Coeur, Notre Dame and the City Hall among others.

Thursday morning, Tom and I went to pick up our rental car, a VW Golf 5. The car was nice but the Parisian driving was awesome! Flying through the small streets and going around the traffic circles is what driving should always be about. After packing up the car, we headed to Versailles and checked out Louis XIV's palace before going to the Loire Valley in the afternoon. On the way, Tom decided to wake up from a nap and puke out the passenger window, covering the entire side of the car in his vomit - It was a horrendous site that I dont think can ever leave my memory.

For the record - Tom was not drunk, but he got sick because he didn't wear a warm enough clothes and we got wet in the rain. At first he blamed a Dönor Kabab, but that must be false because they taste so good. The poor guy ended up missing our time with Philippe in Chambord, but managed to nurse himself back to good enough health for castle day.

I must say that before visiting our host at Chateau Chambord, Tom Mike and Sarah were very skeptical of the couchsurfing.com idea, although now they can't complain anymore! Our host Philippe dined us with catered food and gave us free entry into the castle the next day along with a few hours of good chatting. His house is right next to the castle since he was appointed general manager two years ago by the French President!

Friday was Castle Day. We started with Chambord and then went to Cheverny, Chenenceau, and Amboise. On the way back, we stopped at Chartres to see the Cathedral although Tom, Mike, and Sarah had had enough so they stayed in the car. We then drove back to Paris to Charles de Gaulle and got ready for our plane ride back to Cologne on Saturday morning. All travel home went smoothly and now its back to the daily routine of Dortmund...

a good super bowl sunday

Now that its Monday and by looking back, I can say that it was a pretty good weekend. Nothing too special I must say, but some nice gatherings of friends here in Dortmund and a nice day excursion to Sauerland. It all so happens that everything was crammed into Sunday, since Friday and Saturday were overall pretty quiet except for a Football match in Bochum.

Sunday morning, I left with Miguel, Carlos, and Higinia to Sauerland for a day trip to hike and hopefully catch a glimpse of the Ski Jumping World Cup in Willingen. We arrived about midday and realized quickly that the tickets were just too expensive, so we walked though some trails in the woods and hiked for sometime before finding a view of the Skijump. It turns out there was a little crowd assembled along a trail at a break in the trees to watch the competition. It was pretty interesting especially because it was the first professional winter sporting event any of us had seen. As you can imagine coming from somebody from the south and three from Spain.

Later we were able to enter after the Competition was moslty over so we caught a few jumps up close and were able to see the finish. I believe Norway ended up winning, but a skijumper from Czech Republic was the best with a 146 M leap. Most of these jumpers should be in Torino next week.


Afterwards, we returned to Dortmund and got ready for Ljuba's (Russia) and Helene's (France) joint birthday party. All the guys ended up wearing shirts and ties as a surprise suggestion by Darius (Lithuania). The ladies were quite impressed, but we were more impressed by the wonderful French breads and the Russian salads. Mmmm.

By this time it was about midnight, but the night was obviously not over because it was Super Bowl Sunday. The game would kick off at 12:30 AM in Europe and it would have to be watched, so we had a group of about seven watch the game on Alaskan Andrew's TV. We even had some French supporters who knew surprisingly more about the game than I would have thought. The night finally came to a close after the Pittsburgh victory by going to bed around 5:00 AM. Good thing I didn't have class until 2:15 PM today!

Bundesligua #2 - VfL Bochum

At first I thought I would stay home on Sunday and get some work done and maybe watch a movie in German before listening to the AFC Championship. This was before I heard that you can go to see VfL Bochum for only €7.50 and buy the tickets on the spot. Plus, Bochum is a neighboring city to Dortmund, just 15 minutes by train from the university.

Now it may be true that VfL Bochum is in the Second Division of the Bundesligua, but you really can't go wrong for €7.50. They were also playing against Saarbrücken, which happens to be ranked 16th of 18 teams in the division.

With this in mind, we saw a great match for the money. We really couldn't have asked for more. 3 Goals, 4 Yellow Cards, 1 Red Card and a victory by the home team, which meant taking co-leadership of the Second Division Bundesligua. If they keep this up, they will be promoted for the next season. Result: (VfL Bochum 3 - 0 Saarbrücken)

In typical German, and European, fashion, the crowd sang the entire time and kept the game quite entertaining. It didn't seem at all that the 35,000 fan Ruhrstadion was only filled to 16,000. When Tom, Mike, and Sarah arrive in March, they will also get to experience some action!

Kindersprache

I think we all can agree that children all around the world have a tendency to say exactly what's on their mind and that is one of the best things about being around children. Since they are young and still developing opinions and experiences, they see the world with an open-mind and have an appreciation and curiosity that adults can only dream to have.

What I have come to find, enjoy, and love about studying abroad and learning a new language through immersion are the reactions and the statements that I have heard from children. Ever since I have studied a foreign language, the children have been the hardest for me to understand, but lately they've been more comprehensable. Maybe because they are just speaking more clearly, but maybe my German is actually getting a little better. After the "Creme Seife" incident, its been hard to congratulate myself for any new achievement this week...(see below)

The first memorable experience I had hearing a child in Dortmund was before Christmas. It was definitely the cutuest and the most remarkable of any Kindersprache that I've heard so far...

A few weeks before I would return home for Christmas, Susan and I were browsing the Christmas Market stands for the best bratwurst to chow down on for some dinner. We had once seen advertisements for a one meter wurst and had also heard its stories of gloriousness so we decided it was time.

After paying and recieving my "hot dog" big enough for Ghengus Khan himself, I layered it with mustard and ketchup and ate pleasurably next to the stand. At this instant, while I was taking my 4th of 20 bites, a small child appeared. He had the same bratwurst as me, but he was probably a sixth of my size. He was snug in his puffy winter coat and stood next to his father by the stand. I was already enjoying the situation until he said:

"Das ist das bestes Bratwurst meines Lebens!" - "This is the best bratwurst of my entire life."

Now, it won't have the effect as it did that day, but try to picture a little kid with a hot dog longer than his torso and then making this statement! It was so clear and outspoken that I can never forget it.


The second occurance I had hearing a child was more direct, but not quite as high on the cute scale, although close...

Like many ficticiously ambitious people, I decided to go for a run and get some exercise on New Years Day. (I hate to say that the rate of occurence of this running has dwindled...) At the end of my run, while struggling to make it the last 1/4 mile, I noticed a family walking toward me on the sidewalk. Embarassed that I likely looked like a fool for being so out of breath, I sped my pace a little bit.

While passing the family, a little girl (likely daughter) yells, "Frohes neues Jahr!" or "Happy New Year!".

I quickly replied, short of breath: "Danke, du auch!".

This probably wouldn't have been so cute if I heard it in English or if I was walking home from class, but it was what I needed at the right time. From this point until the steps of my apartment building, I ran proudly and swiftly, embracing the girl's greeting.


The third encounter and the cause for this blog happened just last night, Tuesday January 17th, while returning from Dortmund-Wickede where I help a high school student with his English. This one happened so quickly I wasn't able to embrace the situation and create a good conversation out of it...

Sitting at my seat and looking out the window, I was just merely reflecting on the day and my session with Marinos, the high school student. Not long after the train began moving, a boy with red, curly hair appeared out of nowhere from the first class section and asked:

"Welche Uhr ist es?" - "What time is it?"

Quickly I responded saying these words only, "Zwölf nach Sieben." - "12 after seven".

"Huh," replied the boy.

"Zwölf nach Sieben," I replied again with what I thought was very clear well-pronounced German.

"Kommst du aus Sachsen?" - "Do you come from Sachsen?" (A region in central Germany where they tell kids the people talk funny)

"Nein."

"Kommst du aus Bayern?" - "Do you come from Bayern?" (Another region of Germany where the people really do talk funny and impossible to understand sometimes)

"Nein."

At this moment, the boy left quickly, before I was able to say where I come from or have any further conversation at all. I was puzzled. Did I really speak so differently by saying merely "Zwölf nach Sieben"? Apparently I did, but I actually felt pretty good about it...the boy could have thought I was an American from my accent, which most adults pinpoint within 30 seconds.

But what I was actually upset about was that I didn't have any further conversation with him. I was on the train and he was on the train, the perfect place to have a conversation. I had never really had a conversation with a kid, just a few sentences here and there, but nothing really substantial. I've had numerous long conversations with adults, but they were mainly the same thing... about where I come from, if I like Germany, and why I'm here.

The goal is to find out what the kids think: how they view Germany, the United States, and even if they differ from the older generation. Since kids are so willing to say exactly what they think and their opinions are less developed, I might be able to get a more clear and simple answer to cultural situations in Germany.

Either way, I didn't get what I was looking for, but it did make me reflect on my situation in Germany a little more. I have been here for nearly five months and had basically no discourse with children, the people who might be the most interesting to talk to...

I would have to open myself up to more situations and hope that one will stumble into a conversation, even if its only a few more sentences. Maybe they will just ask me about McDonalds or famous people like some older people, but I'm sure it will be interesting.

When bored, go see a castle...

If I haven't said already in my previous posts, Sundays can get pretty boring in Germany because nothing is open and students at the University use it as a day to get their work done (no different from home of course).

I was going to spend today just fiddling around on my computer, listening to the NFL Playoffs, and getting some mild work done in between, but last night I found out that there was a castle in the Dortmund area! Why weren't we ever told about this?

It turns out, the castle is not marketed to the public because it is still a private residence. Schloß Bodelschwingh is located northwest of Dortmund-Mitte and definitely off the beaten path. Although I guess everything around Dortmund is well off the beaten path.

The property has been in family ownership since 1302, although the main part of the castle was not built until 1618. Since the family still resides in the house, no tourists may enter. They are only permitted to walk up the driveway and to the gate nearby the castle and its surrounding buildings. I took this photo this afternoon while the sun protruded a nice light from the sunset. It looks warm, but its actually really cold!

Well now I'm back from my quick excursion, which took only 20 Minutes by Train followed by 15 Minutes walking, and now I'm back to procrastination. When the weather warms up, I'll try to find some more interesting places around the area.