I'm proud to announce I've prevailed over jet lag.
Last morning I woke up at 7:00 and was happy to see Johanna and Luise graduate from high school in a ceremony called Abitur. They told me ahead of time that Abitur wasn't nearly as elaborate as a U.S. graduation, but everyone still looked elated and accomplished when the principal called his or her name and he or she received a diploma and a rose. Families and graduates made a toast afterwards with sparkling wine, a German custom after special events. A committee of students handed out yearbooks to those who had tickets, and students gawked at and laughed about the individual student profile pages and the lists of senior superlatives.
Abitur in Germany is also interesting in that it happens a considerable time after students finish school and take their final exams. And final exams, also known as Abitur, come considerably after students finish school. Johanna finished classes in the beginning of May but didn't take her oral final exams until early June. Imagine the stress, even when you're supposedly out of school! But on the flip side, German students in other grades are still in school; at least the seniors finish months earlier. Actually, classes were in session at the school during the Abitur graduation ceremony.
I met more of Johanna's classmates and friends and practiced whatever I could say in my limited German. Somehow they were impressed. I have no idea. I can get about as far as "Schön dich kennenzulernen" ("Nice to meet you") and then talk about what I ate last night or want for lunch, but past that I can't carry on a conversation. It's true I'm getting better, though! Next I want to learn to order at restaurants and cafes. I'm motivated by anything that has to do with food.
After Abitur, Johanna and I visited her father's private practice, where we met up with Johanna's mother. Lutz told stories about his father's distaste for everything American. His father had been a soldier in World War II, and Lutz had been born four years after the war had ended. If Lutz and his siblings brought home the candies and soda that American soldiers passed out while they lingered in his wine town on the Rhine, they would get a quick slap from their father. All these bad feelings, though unfortunate, are understandable to me. Luckily, German people have mended their relationship with Americans over the years and have become allies.
Johanna gave me a tour of the office, and then Christiane, Johanna and I drove home to change clothes and pick up Jasper (the Gruhls's dog) before we went to lunch at Baguettski, the cafe where Johanna works. We ordered salads, which were fresh, reasonably portioned and reasonably priced. Sehr gut!
From there we drove to the base of the trails leading up to Herkules, an iconic castle that overlooks the city of Kassel. We walked Jasper as we made our way to Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Devil's Bridge, Herkules, and Lowenburg. The views and architecture were amazing. Every Wednesday, Sunday, and public holiday in the summertime the fountain comes on at the summit in front of Herkules, and cascades of water come thundering down in streams and waterfalls. The water pressure from the cascades triggers the Grand Fountain at the base. In the wintertime when there's enough snow, people can go sledding down a pitch near the base and go ice skating on the frozen pond. But thankfully for this Californian weather wimp, the weather was perfect today for a warm, sunny summer hike.
After we returned to the car, Johanna, Christiane and I drove to a cafe called Seegert on Wilhelmshöher Alle. I asked Christiane why German people even had any use for coffee shops, since their coffee is already so sublime at home. She told me that the roasts at cafes were even better. So I knew I had to try this coffee. I ordered a latte macchiato and decided that if we had just one of these cafes in Healdsburg, all the other coffee shops would go out of business. I was in heaven.
Christiane went home at 6:00 to get ready for her friend's birthday party, and Johanna led me through one of the oldest and prettiest neighborhoods in Kassel. As I admired buildings that had survived the war, we passed by cute clothes shops, bakeries, and studios. What a bummer that all of Kassel didn't survive! War sucks.
We made another pit stop at home and returned to town for dinner with Luise at Shinyu Sushi House, the Gruhls's favorite sushi restaurant. Service was rather slow, but the food was definitely worth it, and it was easy to wait while watching chefs roll fresh sushi in front of us while practicing my German skills and talking to Johanna and Luise. Luise told me stories about her year abroad in Texas, including the time a boy asked her to Homecoming two days after she arrived, and she straight-up burst out laughing because she didn't understand the question. Poor guy, but it's a good story!
We turned in for the night early to get a good night's sleep in preparation for Friday night's senior dinner dance and afterparty. I'm excited!
Abitur in Germany is also interesting in that it happens a considerable time after students finish school and take their final exams. And final exams, also known as Abitur, come considerably after students finish school. Johanna finished classes in the beginning of May but didn't take her oral final exams until early June. Imagine the stress, even when you're supposedly out of school! But on the flip side, German students in other grades are still in school; at least the seniors finish months earlier. Actually, classes were in session at the school during the Abitur graduation ceremony.
I met more of Johanna's classmates and friends and practiced whatever I could say in my limited German. Somehow they were impressed. I have no idea. I can get about as far as "Schön dich kennenzulernen" ("Nice to meet you") and then talk about what I ate last night or want for lunch, but past that I can't carry on a conversation. It's true I'm getting better, though! Next I want to learn to order at restaurants and cafes. I'm motivated by anything that has to do with food.
After Abitur, Johanna and I visited her father's private practice, where we met up with Johanna's mother. Lutz told stories about his father's distaste for everything American. His father had been a soldier in World War II, and Lutz had been born four years after the war had ended. If Lutz and his siblings brought home the candies and soda that American soldiers passed out while they lingered in his wine town on the Rhine, they would get a quick slap from their father. All these bad feelings, though unfortunate, are understandable to me. Luckily, German people have mended their relationship with Americans over the years and have become allies.
Johanna gave me a tour of the office, and then Christiane, Johanna and I drove home to change clothes and pick up Jasper (the Gruhls's dog) before we went to lunch at Baguettski, the cafe where Johanna works. We ordered salads, which were fresh, reasonably portioned and reasonably priced. Sehr gut!
From there we drove to the base of the trails leading up to Herkules, an iconic castle that overlooks the city of Kassel. We walked Jasper as we made our way to Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Devil's Bridge, Herkules, and Lowenburg. The views and architecture were amazing. Every Wednesday, Sunday, and public holiday in the summertime the fountain comes on at the summit in front of Herkules, and cascades of water come thundering down in streams and waterfalls. The water pressure from the cascades triggers the Grand Fountain at the base. In the wintertime when there's enough snow, people can go sledding down a pitch near the base and go ice skating on the frozen pond. But thankfully for this Californian weather wimp, the weather was perfect today for a warm, sunny summer hike.
After we returned to the car, Johanna, Christiane and I drove to a cafe called Seegert on Wilhelmshöher Alle. I asked Christiane why German people even had any use for coffee shops, since their coffee is already so sublime at home. She told me that the roasts at cafes were even better. So I knew I had to try this coffee. I ordered a latte macchiato and decided that if we had just one of these cafes in Healdsburg, all the other coffee shops would go out of business. I was in heaven.
Christiane went home at 6:00 to get ready for her friend's birthday party, and Johanna led me through one of the oldest and prettiest neighborhoods in Kassel. As I admired buildings that had survived the war, we passed by cute clothes shops, bakeries, and studios. What a bummer that all of Kassel didn't survive! War sucks.
We made another pit stop at home and returned to town for dinner with Luise at Shinyu Sushi House, the Gruhls's favorite sushi restaurant. Service was rather slow, but the food was definitely worth it, and it was easy to wait while watching chefs roll fresh sushi in front of us while practicing my German skills and talking to Johanna and Luise. Luise told me stories about her year abroad in Texas, including the time a boy asked her to Homecoming two days after she arrived, and she straight-up burst out laughing because she didn't understand the question. Poor guy, but it's a good story!
We turned in for the night early to get a good night's sleep in preparation for Friday night's senior dinner dance and afterparty. I'm excited!