I could always become a bartender

I’ve done so many things this past week, that I will need several posts to catch up. It’s a good thing today is a holiday in Germany and I have the day off to write; though I do plan on going out on the town a bit too. Some near-future posts will therefore include what it means to join a sports team while studying abroad, the most recent VDAC seminar to Kassel, preparing a presentation or essay for German university courses, discovering sections of Hamburg anew, and transportation options in the city.

This post, however, I’m dedicating to a short blurb about the things I’ve done from my role as VDAC exchange student.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am here through the Federation of German-American Clubs, and the particular club that makes my stay in Hamburg possible is the German-American Women’s Club of Hamburg. They arranged my participation at the Uni Hamburg, my stay in a beautiful dorm not far from Uni campus, and various events for me to participate in, as well as a good amount of other things and all the details they pay attention to blows my mind.

The most recent event was a sort of charity/donation event for German-American Friendship Day at the U.S. Consulate in Hamburg, right on the Alster. If you don’t know Hamburg, let me explain that the Alster is a lake type thing that comes off the Elbe, and anyone knowing something about real estate can imagine what it means to be directly on this beautiful piece of water. Of course, the US Consulate had a spot there.

The exterior of the consulate is impressive, with a mixture of classical and more modern architecture that I’m sure engineer students could tell me a things or two about. The interior reminded me of the pictures I had seen of the White House: stately furniture, deep red and blue rugs with golden edging. It was really neat to be invited into the building, even if the security was a bit extreme. This picture does not show the five meters of no-man’s land and the two security buildings one has to pass to get to the front door. Still, it was a treat just to go in.

Of course, nothing is for free 😉 My fellow US exchange student and I were asked to help serve drinks at the night’s event. At first, I had no idea about walking around with trays in my hand and I was nervous about offering people something. But then, I ended up behind the counter of the bar, and I was surprised at how fun it was to sere people drinks, receive the orders from the other students helping that night, chat a few times with the guests (a surprising amount of people liked the rhubarb/water Schorle), and generally have a quick moving, but non-stress pastime. I figure that if the academic career doesn’t pan out for me, I’ll just become a bartender.

What was even more neat was working behind the scenes of this building. I was able to go into the kitchen and allowed to use the industrial dishwashing machine. Three minutes! It only takes three minutes for 40 glasses to get cleaned with one of those boxes. Why can’t my family borrow one around Thanksgiving or Christmas back home?

Several speeches were given that got me thinking about contemporary German-American relations, and the event had been very well organized by the club ladies. It was nice to see a few of them again, some of whom I hadn’t seen since the Charity Bazaar in November. My time is winding down while here though. It sounds strange, but I will be sad to lose some of these opportunities to take part in these events.

A touch of Hamburg on a spring day

I scored my first goal for my soccer team today! It was a swooping sensation that I’ve been feeling sporadically throughout the past weeks since being back in Hamburg. I can’t say whether it’s only because I am relieved of thesis stress, but I’m convinced that it’s also part of being in a space that I’m slowly turning into a home.

Sure, people can say that six and a half interrupted months are not nearly enough to claim identity, but if I feel like the person I am now is because of being here, then why can’t I say that it’s become part of my identity? And if I’m at home with myself, then I am home here.

Quite possibly I could not be more honored if others were to agree with me.

There are moments here that speak to me in ways that I guess are not as unique as I originally thought. I was surprised to see my thoughts written on the walls of Hamburg Airport with other names ascribed to them.

The other day, I had to head towards the hub-hub surrounding the main train station and was struck by the straight edges of the buildings juxtaposed against the softer lines of s-bahn trains crawling into the station like caterpillars.

My intention was to receive a refund for the public transportation ticket I had to buy before receiving my official student pass in the mail. After the short exchange with the Beamtin who happily told me her name was the same as mine, I spent a contented hour wandering around the library, much more connected to the city than the university library. The building had two sculptures in front whose meaning I still haven’t figured out.

That was Wednesday and in the meantime, I’ve been to Portugal and back (I seem like such the world traveler, but I’m not… it was the first trip I took outside of Germany since being here) and now I’m siting in my room, watching the sun enjoy one last glorious hour to end a rather perfect day. I was intoxicated by the sun today, as I think the rest of Hamburg was. Despite the intense soccer game this morning (did I mention, I scored a goal?) and reading I still need to do, I went for a bike ride along the dry streets and paths of south west Hamburg, enjoying the sight of families and couples who had come out into the sun to play games and enjoy time together. I think if there’s anything endearing about the Germans, it’s their urge to enjoy the sun and let it dance on their skin when the weather is good.

Small sprays of spring blossoms floated into my room through the open window, bringing their pastel colors and promise of trees with heady crowns (don’t get me wrong, they can still be a nuisance to clean up. I’m glad I don’t have a garden here).

I have good things planned for this week. I’m skipping soccer practice tomorrow to go to a slam poetry event some of the soccer gals told me about, visiting courses Tuesday through Thursday, visiting a race expo on Friday, and running a marathon on Sunday. If I feel tired this week, who knows what I’ll feel like in 172 hours. But I’m sure if the trend continues, I’ll be just as happy then as I am right now, maybe even more so.

Hope you’re having a good weekend, letting the sun dance on your skin, and finding moments to reflect and be grateful.