Finally, I ACTUALLY made it to the Netherlands

Ya, last time that I said I was going to the Netherlands, clearly I was mistaken. However, this weekend, I really was there, all the way in the North. Click here to see a map (or paste into your browser):

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mapshells/europe/netherlands/netherlands.htm

I was just above the "H" in the word Netherlands, by a town called Akkrum. Note: Aachen is directly East of Maastricht.

So first impressions:

1) Damn man, there are a lot of languages in Europe. As soon as we crossed the border, everything was crazy talk. But everyone knows German (and a little English) so we got along fine, at least the other people I was with did. By the way, I went sailing with some people from my lab (pics on Wed). People love McDonalds up there (we ate there twice), which has a slightly different menu than the US version and is much more swank. The one we went to had four or five plasma tv screens showing tv and ads for McD's food. And just so my father knows, the Dutch call French fries "Franse Frjites" or French fries, not fried potatoes.

Also, what was quite cool was I realized with a little German and English, you can sort of understand Dutch. Plus, the cooler thing was that you could see how English evolved out of German and these other Nordic languages. Best example is "school book." In German that is "Schule Buch" and in Dutch "School B...k" (I don't remember book). Anyway, my point is "schule" has evolved to "school" (both of which are not pronounced the same as school in English), which eventually made its way to English. It feels like your seeing how cultures evolved thousands of years ago, only your seeing it in life, not in a book or tv. Maybe that's only cool to me (it sounds lame when I read what I just wrote).

2) There is no longer any doubt in my mind why the Dutch are such damn good sailors. There is water everywhere. First, the land is totally flat. Second, there are canals and lakes and ports, etc, all over the place. Everyone, where I was, owned a boat and many had their own docks. You paid a toll when you went under a drawbridge by placing the correct change into a clog (ya, the wooden shoe) that the coductor swung out to you with a long fishing pole. I think you could go miles and miles inland in the Netherlands with a boat; the canals connect cities and all roads that cross the canals have drawbridges. So I am not surprised that these people "found" Manhattan and the Northeast of America through the Brit Henry Hudson, nor am I surprised that they somehow, amazingly, had a continuous shipping route from Amsterdam to the East Indies.

3) I may have gotten my first taste of the German culture (more likely I am stereotyping). But the story is funny anyway. Short story, I've probably reinforced the stereotype that all Americans are cowboys, and he's subliminally reinforced in me that all Germans hate uncertainty.

Long story: (Probably better on the phone, so skim if you get bored)
First of all, everyone I went on the trip with is a native German, so I didn't understand much that was said, but I understood more than I thought, and learned a lot. So that was cool. Second, the boats we were sailing were slightly different than what I am used to. They were about 19 feet long, had a main (large) sail, and a smaller one in front. They were never taken out of the water and had a trolling motor at the back (used for docking and disembarking). Added bonus, we slept in them just like you would in a tent; after throwing a cover over the boom (a metal beam that holds the bottom of the sail parallel to the water surface), the sunken part of the boat that you normally sat in was easily large enough to fit two sleeping people. Camping on the water is quite nice, as long as you are docked in calm waters, which we were. Also , the boats required two people to operate them.

Third, the guy I was sailing with, I think, no offence Mattias (if you ever read this), is not the typical German. Germans, I am told, tend to be formal, meticulous, sort of anal (they always have "their papers in order," so to say), and risk adverse. Mattias, I think, was like that, plus he's an electrical engineer, so maybe more so. By the way, I keep saying I think because since I don't really understand what people are saying, it's hard to get of an idea of the personality of people, or German culture in general. On the other hand, I wouldn't say that I am exactly the average American. As most of you probably know, I have a tendency to sometimes not think about the risks enough and tend to be a little too "chill" about things that could go bad. So together, it made an interesting mix.

Anyway, I am totally not used to these boats (setting the sails, using a motor, making all these knots, rigging the boat, etc.) Mattias knows all this stuff, so I'm thinking, "He must be a pretty good sailor." Plus, I know he's taken this course on a big boat in Mallorca. So I leave the sailing to him. First day, the wind is a little strong, we get everything ready, he starts to sail. We are doing alright, I guess, he is sort of talking to himself "So, so, so..." and then he decides that we need to put down the sails. The wind is too strong, we are trying to go against it - we should use the motor. I try and do this, don't understand what he is saying (he's speaking German), don't understand how to put down the sails - we lose control of the boat and go into land. We are stuck there until some Dutch sammarians (excellent sailors) pull us out.

Ok, second try that day, he sails, it's a little easier, we are going alright, and I notice that he is totally uncomfortable. I realize, that although he knows all these knots and stuff, and has sailed on large boats (maybe 50 feet), he doesn't know how to really sail or actually control a boat. In fact, he hasn't really sailed too much at all. Shit, I'm thinking, if I knew that I would have taken the boat earlier - let him do all the knots and rigging, and I'll control the boat. I know how to sail a boat like the one we were in pretty well. So I take the reins, do some normal stuff, get the boat leaning a little, nice and fun....then I'm saying lets make the sail bigger, go faster, attack the wind. He's not liking it. Alright, we go back.

Skip ahead, skip ahead...we're docking (I'm not exactly used to this by now). I am controlling the motor, he jumps out to tie the boat down - I'm thinking, "Not too bad. Good shit." Basking in my success, I forget to jump out myself and tie the back of the boat to the dock. So the boat is slowly drifting towards another, docked boat. He starts yelling at me, "Spence, you're going to hit another boat!!!! Tie down the back!!!! Hurry!!!" I jump up, look at the boat we're approaching at like 0.5 mph, think, alright no big deal, I'll just push us off the other boat when the time is right. This is no good, "Spence, what are you doing!!!!! Go to the other side and tie down the boat!!!!!" I'm looking at him, as I am untangling the rope I ultimately need to use, like "What is the emergency? Nothing's gonna happen. Plus, I have to untangle this mess." Anyway, I got the rope untied, and tossed it to someone who tied the boat down. Pretty anticlimatic story but it kinda exemplifies the difference in personality, and maybe, but I think I am stretching it, the difference between American and German culture. Either way, I've probably reinforced the stereotype that all Americans are cowboys, and he's subliminally reinforced in me that all Germans hate uncertainty.

4) Last thing. I've also, I seriously think, propogated my first real stereotype about Americans. I am pretty sure that one of my labmates is convinced that all Americans have bad eating habits and eat with their mouths open. Thanks Mom (sarcasm) and sorry Nate (sans sarcasm).

Again, pics Wed. spaeter

The Latest

So I now have a telephone, still no voicemail, but a telephone. So you can still try my cell phone if you like at 01149 1773336472

or you can call me at my apartment at 01149 2411693247

There's a 6 hour time difference between here and the east cost (I am ahead), so keep that in mind if you try to call. Anyway, since it is probably expensive for you, I don't expect many attempts, but if you are itching to hear my voice, send me an email.

Oh and by the way, it rains here everyday. Just so you know.

Good to Hear From You

I appreciate it. Soon I should have a land line set up (why are things so annoying here sometimes) and then I can give you a call sometime. It's really cheap for me to call the states, albeit the time difference is slightly annoying (I'm 6 hours ahead).

Not too much to report this time. No huge trips or anything too new. I guess that means that I am started to get settled in here. At the same time, I hate routines so I will probably have something new for you soon. Meeting new friends is slow going as my German still sucks (it's getting better) and I work most of the day. But I have a new roomate coming soon and I'll soon try meeting some people that live around me (now I live in a student dorm).

Let's see. I got a haircut finally. Last week supposedly I never was in the Netherlands, still Germany. It was fun, did some rowing and relaxing and met some people. This weekend I will be going sailing from Friday to Sunday, for sure in the Netherlands this time. All this travelling is getting expensive, maybe next weekend I'll take it easy and just go drinking. :) Nate, I don't think it is a French, Aussie or Dutch thing, more like a non-American thing. In Germany also, I am always the one to go home first - say 4:30 am. People are still out, dancing, speaking German, friday and sat and maybe Thursday too. Not that I have a whole lot to do the next day, it just gets boring after say 6 hours. Beer is damn good though.

So, that;s really about it for now. If you have any specific Q's, let me know.

later (spaeter)

Is anyone reading this crap??????

If not, it's still a good way for me to keep a journal. So I think the last time "we spoke" I was headed to France. This is not as easy as people have said. My friend that I know in Paris, Noemie, had made some reservations for me on a train, since I didn't know what I was doing or what the best way to go was. She did this in France. I liked one of them, confirmed it and paid for it. I get a confirmation number, all that crap, even print it out, and am told to go pick the actual ticket up at the train station. Okay, easy.

I get to the train station and ask for my ticket. The guy looks at me like I'm crazy.
"That's not a ticket," he says, pointing at my confirmation page.
"Ya, I know, I was told to pick up my ticket here, at the train station."
"I can't do that. You bought the ticket in France on a French website. You can pick it up in France."
"I need to use this train to GET to France. Anyway, this is an international train. My ticket is the same wherever I bought it from."
"I cannot call up your reservation and process your ticket. You will have to buy another one." Mind you the first one cost me 120 Euros.
"Can't you just give me an equivalent one from Germany?"
"No. "
"Can I cancell my original ticket? Then I can buy a new one from you."
"I can't cancel it either."
"So I have to buy another seat for the train that I already have a ticket for!!!"
"Yes."

I go to the train, which is sitting on the platform, and ask the conductor and he tells me the same crap. I go back to the sales desk, which now has a huge line, intending to buy another ticket. I end up buying another ticket, 10 min before the train is scheduled to leave. Run to the train, get one, it doesn't leave until 20 min later. Bastards.

Besides that, France was spectacular. Paris is really beautiful. It has so many amazing buildings and the layout of the city makes them seem even more stunning. I saw the Arc de Triumph, the Champs Elysees, the Invalides (Napolean is buried there), the Lourve, the opera house, the Eifel tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre, and more. I also went to a beach in the English Channel in a town called Trouville (really pretty, and topless of course). Noemie was a terrific host (thanks), showing me all these places and making sure I got some really great food (cheeses, fondue, foie gras, confit de canard, wine, crepes, this pudding that is amazing). I also saw Versailles, which was nice, but I couldn't go in because of a bomb scare. Went through the gardens though. I posted my pics like before, you can find them in the links section.

Didn't find any French attitude, but that is probably becuase I was with a native. There was some attitude with her and others though. Saw some guy hitting and kicking his daughter in the subway station. That was shocking for both Noemie and I. We said something to him, and he accosted her, but she struck him down by saying "we don't treat our children like that here." Still very sad, especially since the mother, who was holding her daughter's hand the whole time, didn't do a thing, so I'm sure she has gotten her fair share at home. Some other bitchy people, but not many, and none of them bothered me since I don't speak french. By the way, there are tons of americans in paris. I guess that shouldn't be too surprising, but compared to Germany there are a lot more in France, and with the current anti-French attitude, I expected to see less americans. Everywhere I went I heard american.

By the way, I realized that some of you may still not know what I am doing here in Germany. I am doing research under a professor at Aachen University (see my lab in the links section). My research is centered around designing, building and testing a electrical valve that will be used to drain excess brain-spinal fluid (CSF) into other parts of the body (probably the stomach cavity), where it is reabsorbed into the blood stream. Some people are not capable of regulating their CSF properly, because of a congenital disorder, old age or a tumor, and so they need one of these things to do it for them. It's really interesting. Besides the fact that the application is cool, I am learning all these medical things that are totally new and separate from engineering. This might be what I will decide to do for good, but we'll see. I need to look around more and see what opps are available.

okay, it's Mitternacht here (you should know what that means) and I "need" to do some other stuff before going to bed. tschuess (check out the pics!!!!)

One Week Down

But plently left to go. I'm definitely in full swing here, already doing enough to keep me more busy than I should be. Between work, getting a visa AFTER starting work (Nate, how's that for lack of communication), learning German, emailing people, organizing pics, ...... I think I have to enact a policy to work no more than 40 hours and never take work home. I hope MIT didn't screw me up and make me a workaholic. That's another goal of mine here, to get into the relaxed lifestyle. For example, nothing except resaraunts are open on Sunday. Absolutely nothing. Kind of like a legally enforced Shabbat (for those non-Jews, that mean day of rest).

Before I go further, I got some questions about signing up for the blog. I;m not sure if I said that, and I'm not sure if you have to. All I ask is to write me here and there by adding a comment to a post. If you can do that without signing up for anything, than forget I ever mentioned signing up.

Okay, now where was I. Ya somehow I manage to always stress myself out, for absolutely no reason. I think it's slightly hereditary :) But that should be fixed by my recently planned vacation to Paris starting tomorrow night. Starting in style and spending the weekend visiting a friend. Of course, I'll let you know how it goes.

Not sure what else to say. Work is very interesting, still learning the basics of the project (lit. review) but it seems like it will good stuff. Very serious operation. The first shunt was invented like in the 50s and there are countless versions now (something like 2000 companies make them). I'll be working on the first electronic one (read expensive) and I think my prof. has good reason to investigate it. Plus it's more fun.

Socially, I went to some grill last night for international students. I will be meeting up with a friend every week to have dinner and practice german. Really though until my german improves I will continue to have problems fitting in. Slang and sarcasm is totally lost on me, and the fun of socializing (at least for native germans) is lost too. But in a few weeks we shall see.

If there is anything you are particularly interested in knowing, MAKE A COMMENT. Really can't stress that enough. If you are curious about the reaction germans have to an American given the current political situation in the world, I can give you my first impressions. I haven't had a single like attack or sense of aggression. Once someone asked who I voted for, "Bush or the other guy." It took him a while to remember the other guy's name. Which is really not surprising, a prize for whomever can guess the projected future chancellor of germany. Anyway, I would characterize the response so far by curiosity or apathy. Most people are just happy to meet an American and maybe practice their English. I haven't met any other Americans who are LIVING here (plenty of tourists), and there are more visitors from Cameroon, Turkey, Asia, other parts of Europe. If things do get political, they usually have so little information about american politics, that things don't progress very far. A very weird thing was I went to this bar last weekend that was decked out in american crap (flag hanging from the wall, license plates, posters of american rock bands, american ads, etc.). One of the guys I met there, who was very nice and taught me how to play a very old German drinking game, said that the owner didn't like America (in a way that sort of made me feel he didn't either), but that the owner had never been there. So therefore, there's all this stuff from America but no real sense what it symbolizes. I'm still sort of confused about that one. But in general, so far no trouble being an american at all. I'll let you know more when I learn german! Oh and one last thing, for everyone who's first language is english, be very thankful - it is so useful. When struggling with german, more than once another foreigner has asked if I spoke English (not realizing I am American). More than once I have said a little, but not much. :)

Ok. Now for the fun stuff. If you look under my links section, you will find a link to my first set of pics. They are from my trip with my parents and my time here so far. You will be brought to a site that asks you to View Spencer's Photos. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SIGN IT. In very small print, under "Forgot your password" you can see my pics without signing in. So enjoy!

To Those Who Wait

Quick Plug: Check out my friend's blog who will be working on an oil rig in Ecuador for about a year. You can find it in my links section.


So I have finally gotten myself almost sorted out here in Aachen. There's all those little things people typically like to call life that have taken up all my time recently, so I haven't really gotten a chance to get to the internet. BUT I SHOULD BE REGULARLY UPDATED MY BLOG, SO BE SURE TO SIGN UP AND CHECK OUT HOW I AM DOING. For now I will say that I will write on the blog about once a week, every wednesday. So please come back to it her and now, and post! I know it's not private, but some things don't have to be Mom, Beno, Sam, ......

As far as how things are going, everything is pretty good. The German is TOUGH. I am learning a lot, but it is a constant battle and so discouraging because it always feels liker there is so much more to learn. But I am slowly getting there. Other general impressions so far I guess are also normal. I go through days where I hate being here to times where it is fun. Every day is crushing with both the mental strain, and embarrassment of sounding like a four year old. I haven’t even started my real work yet and I am pooped. Also, all this has made me homesick. The first parts of the culture shock have started in a serious way. I really just want some friends that I am already comfortable with here, and to speak English, and know where to buy things. God, places like Target are a great American invention.

But those times pass, and things are great. I've met dozens of really nice and interesting people, gone drinking many times, cooked dinner with a lab mate and watched a german movie with no subtitles (ya that was not very helpful), been to several parties, learned that it is far easier to speak german after a couple drinks than when sober, had my first "defence" of american affairs and politics in the world, played a key role in a soccer tournament within the electrical engineering department here, and dressed up as Donna Summers while performing "Hot Stuff" on stage with some labmates. Yes, pics are soon to come, but you'll have to stay tuned! :)

It is quite interesting to see what it feels like to be a foreigner. It's strange too, because it always made sence why foreigners in the US found companionship with other foreigners, but you never REALLY understand why until you are one. Regarldless of which country they are from (I haven't met anyone from the US), the other foreigners here, from Indonesia, El Salvador, etc. are of course more understanding of the difficulty of being in a strange land speaking a difficult language, and are hence more patient. Plus, there's a slight, but meaningful difference between the way they behave. This same difference exists with the Germans who have lived abroad, compared with the ones, I think, who have not. It's more a feeling than anything else, so it's hard to fix into words, but there's a greater level of responsiveness when communicating. They seem more interested and are more interactive, even though the thing you might have said is inconsequential (with my level of german i can't make any profound statements). And so, you of course become more attracted to being with them.

Still, the native germans that may have not lived some where else have been great, especially in my lab. They have all been very very kind and inclusive of me. And I hope to be able to have more natural conversations, and therefore closer relationships, with them as my german improves. So, sorry for the long post, but I figured I would make up for my previous lack. Soon, Ill have the pics up from all my travels and from some things here in Aachen.

Also, here is my address and phone number if you are interested.

Kastanienweg 35, Apt. 1012
52074 Aachen
Germany

(011 49) 1773336472 (stuff in parentheses is for calling germany from the US)

Finally, after the tallying the meager votes, the short hair pic is the winner.

Bis Bald! (Til' Soon)