Museumsuferfest

This past weekend was the annual Museumsuferfest in Frankfurt. From Friday to Sunday you pay 7 Euros to receive a button that allows you to get into all the museums. So if you're smart and really spend time planning you could potentially go into around 20 museums for only 7 Euros.  Apparently 2 million people attend this event.

This is the second time I've been to this festival. The last time was a very hot day in August as well. From my past experience I knew it can get really crowded. However, I didn't apply this logic to this situation. Instead of going early Friday, when it was in the 60s and most people are at work, I decided to on Saturday afternoon. When it was close to, if not in the 90s. Remember that Germany, like many European countries, does't have air conditioning, so it was very hot. 

But the time I got to the Historisches Museum Frankfurt I was already hot and tired. Luckily since this museum was in part of the old city wall/tower it was pretty cool inside. I got a great view from the tower windows of the Main river outside. And all the people. 

I also was able to go through the museum pretty quickly because everything was in English and German. Not only did I get to learn about the city life and how it's changed over the years, there was very interesting special exhibit on the top floor. It was one of those exhibits where I always think "this person gets paid for this and is famous for this?" Karsten Bott has collected and categorized different boxes, wrappers, and everyday items for many years and has created an exhibit out of these artifacts. To me, it looks as if he's gone into someone's basement and taken junk out and called it art.  

There was also an Indonesian event going on the first floor of the museum. You could hear the drums being played from all over the museum. I only watched part of the dance from the doorway. Partly because I didn't pay the entrance fees but also because there were so many people in the room I figured it must be really hot in there.  They were also selling Indonesian food and drinks in the foyer of one of the halls when you came in. 

After visiting the Historisches Museum Frankfurt I went to the Archaelogisches Museum. This museum had a really great interactive center for those who had little kids with them. The rest of the museum contained artifacts from all different time periods. By this point I didn't read all the signs throughout the museum only ones periodically because it was all in German. It's incredible to see  how heavily the Greeks and Romans influenced other cultures. While this museum also was lacking air conditioning it was in a church so it wasn't hot.  The whole day reminded me of when I was in Salzburg a few years ago and ended up going into 10 churches the weekend I was there because it was so freaking hot out yet very cool in the churches.

After the two museums it was 8ish and I decided to get food. Since this event is built around the museums which line the Main, all different types of stands are set-up along the riverbank. You can get any type of food you'd like, beers to wash down the food, and enjoy music as you eat. There is traditional German foods such as brats, and my favorite Flammkuchen, or you can get Chinese, African, or even cupcakes. Basically whatever strikes your fancy. Sometimes you can also buy a beverage at the same stand you get your food at, and if not, not to worry about every 30 yards is another beer stand. Of course, the beer at the event is about 2 Euros more than a typical beer from the grocery store, so many will just bring their own beverages.Germany doesn't have any open container policies so it's very typical to see people walking around drinking their beer. There were many people walking around with 6 packs and full bottles of wine which they were enjoying.

I spent probably 2 hours walking along the banks of the Main. What I can't stress enough is how many people there were. After a while it wasn't any fun because you couldn't move until the person upfront started moving. You were just stuck in the crowd. I just kept hoping no one would get injured or faint. If that would have happened the police and emergency people probably wouldn't be able to get through the crowds to that person for at least 10 minutes.  Luckily that didn't happen while I was there.

Volkshochschule

Today I spent 6 HOURS at the Volkshochschule. I arrived at 12:20 and filled out the forms and just waited around until my number was called. I There were people form all over there. There were people form Syria and Serbia and then some who could speak German but couldn't write it because they didn't know the alphabet. I felt so bad for the man who was working there. I had seen him on the previous two days I had come by, and he was so patient despite having to say the same thing over and over again. 

I finally went to speak with someone at 2:30 (thank god I went and bought a newspaper to help me pass the time) and told him that I had previously taken the C1 exam and that I thought maybe I should start at that level since I only passed with a 71. He then had me take a test. I had to write a complaint letter to which he pointed out that I made some elementary mistakes in my German (I had to use a variety of sentence structure and made my common mistake of not using the correct article and forgetting to conjugate the verb). On that part I only got a 9 out of 15. Then I had to take another part which was very similar to the B2 test. I was given 3 passages and had to fill in the blanks. The first passage I had a choice of which words. The second I had to change verbs (into different tenses and conjugation). The third I had to fill in the blanks myself. Although I didn't find it tough, I only did okay. Overall I got 24.5 out of 30. 

It ended up being determined that I should go into the B2.2 class. Which is annoying because that's where I started 5 years ago. But at the same time I haven't written much German in the last 5 years, and especially not with the proper grammar function. The bad part of this is that the only B2.2 classes are offered during the day in Hoechst and the only night classes are at the main   Volkshochschule in Frankfurt.  The class is Montag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag at 6 pm. So I would basically have to leave right after school to get there in time. The cost is 320 Euros plus book fees. There were only two sections one starts the first week of school, while the other starts  end of September. Both of them are 25 hours in total. Th second section was filled up but I put myself on the waiting list because I want to first see how the school year is before I sign up for anything.  If I did the second section it would end late November and then there's no classes until February because they're redoing their computer systems.

I don't know if I should be annoyed that my German level is where it was when I arrived here 6 years ago(when I began as an aupair), or if I should be impressed that I have not regressed further. At the same time, this test validates what I have said before, my ability has reached a proficiency level which is very hard to advance from. Unless I talk and read, and think in German I'm not able to progress further. 

Third time is NOT always a charm

One of the goals I have for my time in Germany is to perfect my German.  Despite having studied German on and off for the majority of my life, I'm still not well versed enough to be able to use the cases correctly. As the saying goes, Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache. (German language, hard language.)

Therefore, I decided to get myself registered at the Volkshochschule (local adult school)for German as a foreign language classes. Easier said than done.

First, I learned that I cannot simply register for a class, I need to do a test so they can see what my ability is. That makes sense.

So on Monday I call up the
school and ask when they're open and what time I should come by. They tell me noon. I hop on the bus and take it to the center of town and follow the directions that my relatives have given me and find the building. However, when I go in, there's no one around. I finally interrupt a class to ask where the office is and am directed to the front office. While the sign says closed for school vacation, I ignore it since I've already called and spoke with someone, and am advised by a person in the front office to come back at one because everyone is at lunch. Although I find that strange, I follow those directions and go back at one. At which time there is no absolutely no one in the building.  I then take out the pamphlet where the phone number is and call. The phone is picked up right away and when I ask if they're open today, the woman responses with of course, and then tells me there are already a lot of people there. At this time it dawns on me that there are other locations around the city of Frankfurt. I then specify where I am and it then becomes clear that, as I've found out, my location is closed for the summer, but the main one is open and where I have to go to take the test.

Needless to say, I was super annoyed about this. While I was standing there debating what to do with the rest of my day, two people walked by obviously looking for the testing location as well. It ended up being a good thing I was there because I was able to explain to them, first in German, than in English where they needed to go to take the test. I then decided to go into downtown Frankfurt for the first time and try to find the location of the Volkshochschule. I did manage to navigate around the city pretty well, but I failed at finding the building.

Once I got off the bus I had to read this map which only details the subway and streetcar lines. I had to travel from Bockenheimerwarte to Frankfurtost. 

Wednesday I decided I would go back into the city and find the building. This time I wrote down the directions (my smart phone hasn't come yet and I didn't feel like walking around with my tablet this time) and left with a little over an hour to spare. That didn't matter since it took me an hour to get into the city and across to the other side where the building is located. From that point according to google maps it was only suppose to be an 8 minute walk. For those of you who know me, you know that I have a very poor sense of direction, and have a habit of going in exactly the wrong direction. That is what I feared happened when I was walking and didn't pass the store I had noted. So I turned around and walked back to the hotel I passed. Using my best german possible I asked if they could first help me find the street where the Volkshochschule was. Neither person at the hotel desk knew where it was. They also couldn't direct me to the store. Now I get not knowing where a specific building is, but when you work at a hotel and this street is suppose to be within a 10 minute radius, and also has a grocery store on it, wouldn't you think they should know where it is?

The two men working there then directed me to use the computer and look it up. Of course, the computer didn't work. Luckily one of the female staff members appeared and knew right away which direction I needed to head in. Following her directions, and stopping once more just to double check, I made it to the Volkshochschule in a few minutes. However there were about 100 people standing around waiting to take the test. Since they only test about 50 people a day, I was told to come back.
Bummer, but at least I found the building this time!

Today they had "early" hours, so I needed to get there at 9:30.  Those who know me well, know I love to hit snooze, today was no exception. When I finally got up and left, it was 9 am. So despite having perfected my ability to get across the downtown Frankfurt area, as well as find the building, I still got there too late. However, this time the staffer I spoke with (the same one as from Wednesday) felt really bad, and gave me a pass so next time I come even if there is a wait, they'll test me.  All I can say is I hope that on Monday when I go I will get there ON TIME and not have to wait for this stupid test to take place.

Apartment

It has to be said, I've really lucked out with my apartment. It's beautiful!

bedroom entrance

living room entrance looking onto the farm

My favorite location is the balcony. It's quite large for a german balcony and has two entrances one from the bedroom and the other from living room. Every morning, I open the doors onto the balcony, and depending on the weather, sit on it and enjoy my coffee. It's especially nice to sit outside at night and watch the sunset. In this part of Germany that means you can be outside in the summer until around 9 pm. It's so peaceful and relaxing.

taken from the hallway in the living room

The rest of the apartment still feels very big. I don't have much in the way of furniture. I was so incredibly lucky that I know individuals who were able to place some items in the apartment before I moved in. Hence there being an outdoor seating set with an umbrella in the living room. Since this picture, the umbrella has been relocated outside. I've also placed a few plants on my deck, maybe next summer I'll turn into more of a gardener.


Slowly my apartment is filling up with furniture. Yesterday I got a chest from family members to use for my assorted materials. When I was first told about it they said it was green. Which prompted me to ask where is it green? Placed in the light you can see it's more of a mint green. I'm glad I got it because it is now holding a lot of my stuff.  I spend a good amount of time yesterday cleaning it and organizing all my materials, which makes me feel so much better.


Early this morning I got my sleeper sofa and I have to admit I am so glad I paid to have it assembled. The two men who were here took about 45 minutes to put all the pieces together whereas I would have spent 3 hours putting it together and would have probably given up at least 4 times in the process. I love having somewhere to sit and put my legs up! Especially since I spent so much of today walking around. I went black so I can jazz it up with some pillows and an eventually a carpet. As you can see I have the longer part sticking out. I intentionally had it mounted that way so I can lie on it and watch the tv (whenever I actually get a tv) and so it will act as a divider between the living room and the dinning room area. As they say in Property Brothers and all those other HGTV shows I love to watch, it's important to have clearly identified spaces.

List

How do you prepare yourself and pack for two years away from what you know? 

I don't know if you can truly prepare yourself for any life altering change such as the one I recently made.  At first I didn't tell anyone, I was scared to jinx the good news of not only having a job, but having it in one of my favorite places. However, as time slowly marched on I realized I needed to prepare myself and others for this separation. Calls were made, texts were send, and e-mails were written.  Then came the farewell dinners and lunches, along with hugs and promises of keeping in touch.  There were friends who I didn't get to see, or say a proper goodbye to and I hope they understand. It doesn't mean I won't miss them, because I do and will. My good friends have changed me, and hopefully will continue to impact my life for the better.

Just the thought of packing made me groan (and still does). I am not someone who packs ahead of time. For one, I'm not good at planning what I want to wear in advance. Additionally, I had to contend with the issue of weight and space. For me it resulted in 3 suitcases, a carry-on, and a very heavy backpack. While I spent a lot of time deciding what not to pack I realistically spent about 2 days packing. In the end this is what I decided to bring:

View 1 of items to be packed

Kitchen supplies: 
measuring cups
measuring spoons
2 cork screws, 2 bottle openers
3 paring knifes
1 chef knife
pie slice lifter (can't think of it's real name)
cooking spoons 5 (for pasta and the like)
1 plastic bowl
2 plastic plates
1 lunch box filled with salad tongs and 2 of my 4 white coffee mugs
1 travel coffee mug
1 gigantic coffee mug
2 plastic cups
2 magnets

Clothing:
6 pairs of long pants
2 pairs of dress pants
2 pairs of leggings
4 pairs of capris
2 pairs of board shorts
2 pairs of short shorts
7 pairs of dress socks
19 pairs of socks (black, white and ski socks)
6 bras (plus 2 sports bras)
21 pairs of undergarments
1 bikini

View 2 of items to be packed

16 tanks
27 t-shirts
13 long sleeve shirts
4 heavy sweaters
7 dresses
15 dress/dressy shirts
6 cardigans
3 pj bottoms
2 tennis skirts (also brought my racket)
6 workout pants (of various lengths)
9 pairs of shoes (2 sneakers, 2 sandals, 4 dress shoes, 1 slippers)
2 pairs of boots
4 jackets (1 fleece, 1 dress, one ski, and 1 blazer)
6 purses
2 umbrellas
5 reusable bags for shopping

Bathroom:
2 towels
a brush and a comb
8 nail polishes
make-up (22 items) and brushes (8)
2 pairs of glasses
3 contact lenses
1 perfume
1 tooth brush
2 lotions
1 deodorant
2 flosses
medicine (4 items total)

Misc:
2 framed pictures
10 pictures of my favorite people
4 Planners (1 big calendar, 1 mini calendar, one daily planner, and one teachers planner)
electronics (phone, ipod, computer, tablet, 2 flash drives, 2 external drives)
Stationary ( 5 pads, 4 post-its, birthday cards)
2 containers with desk supplies (rubber bands, erasers, pens, pencils, colored pens)
1 pack of crayola markers
1 pack of razor point liquid pens
clarinet music (clarinet didn't make it this trip :( )


Amazingly enough none, everything I packed made it on board with me. In total I had about 3 kilograms of space I didn't fill, which is about 6 pounds.

View from my seat of Newark Liberty 

Now the trick is to see how many more items I'll buy in the next two years!