catchup

As we all knew would happen, I am back to the status quo of not being very good about updating my blog...sorry about that! Here is a quick recap of a few things I've been wanting to post on here:

20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to go to Berlin for this momentous milestone which caused the country and the world to step back and memorialize the wonder of a bloodless revolution. We had the opportunity to take a closer, more purposeful look at how far Germany and the world has come in the last 20 years, as well as how far we have to go, and I was blessed to be here to engage in dialogue and kultural observation. I did have the privilege of hearing a scholar from the University of Berlin speak on the subject. One of the things that he focused on, which I haven't read or heard much about, was the critical role of the church in organizing and supporting protesters in the DDR. Afterward, a woman from the former DDR affirmed the fact that she and the other protesters would meet in the church before demonstrating every Thursday, where the pastor would encourage them with a short sermon, emphasize the importance of non-violence, and then they would light candles and go out to demonstrate. I thought this was an interesting point that is often overlooked in histories of this time.

Alright, honestly, I can't think of the other things I wanted to post. There will be more to come as soon as I load pictures onto my computer. I have some great snow pictures as well as a little documentation of a fun day in Frankfurt! I miss you all ~love~

I love my hood

Graffiti sometimes cracks me up. I love my hood. So much that I am willing to deface public property to declare it. Thats dedication. This is sort of like the graffiti at the university of education in Karlsruhe, where I studied last year. That particular gem reads "love children". Amusing, I know.

In all seriousness, though. I do love my hood. Except for the cold. And the dark. But seriously, it's lovely here. I have a good balance of cultures in my life at the moment. My university is the oldest in Germany, so I get a good dose of history and culture (and tourists) at the university and in historic old Heidelberg. On the other hand, when I need a dose of just folks, I can go to Karlsruhe, where I don't run into American and Japanese tourists every 10 minutes, where every other building isn't a UNESCO cultural heritage site, and grocery shopping on a budget works.

In other news, I am in full school mode...reading, reading, giving presentations, reading more. This week I had the luxury of being assigned an article in English to read. That was pretty great. I can't believe how fast time seems to pass as soon as "school mode" kicks in. I actually think that it goes faster in Germany since classes are only held once a week. Anyway, classes are, with one exception, extremely interesting and univeristy life here never ceases to amuse and surprise me. (That is unfortunately the only article that I found on the subject that is in English...but yes, a Lecture hall has been taken over and is being occupied by students in a show of protest and solidarity with the university of Vienna) Don't worry, its not dangerous! But here are some pictures to help illustrate. Enjoy! ~love~

Hannah's House

While Hannah was here, she took to calling the castle in Karlsruhe her home. Well, a few weeks ago, I (finally!) visited the museum that is in the castle. First of all, this museum is HUGE. I think we spent at least 4 hours in there, and definitely skipped some stuff. It goes through a lot of history of the region as well as ancient through modern history of Europe. Mummies? got it. Roman armor and coins? check. Posters from the student movement in the 60s? yep. Paintings and church artifacts? you bet. Above is a picture of the queen's crown and gown from the time that Karlsruhe was an independent "dukedom" (or something similar...the German system was different than the British and I don't honestly know how everything translates) I thought it was cool to get to see the "crowned jewels" of Baden! Hope you enjoy the picture! (for the real life experience, just come on over!) ~love~