Life Update: October 2020

What a year this has been, eh? To be perfectly honest neither M nor I have minded the 1,5-meter-Abstand (6-feet distance to others), the masks, washing our hands frequently (please tell me this is not new for you either), avoiding large gatherings, or not using public transportation. We're homebodies anyway, and when we choose to be near others it is because we've decided those people or that activity is important enough to us to be there. We haven't seen my Schwiegermutter since Easter, which is extremely unusual for us, but she's been up North with her daughter and grandsons as well as having spent some time in the hospital (non-Covid-related), where we weren't allowed to visit her due to Covid restrictions. We stay in contact by phone or email.

Cases are on the rise again in Germany but some of the restrictions have been eased or lifted since the early days. Masks are still required in all stores and shops Germany-wide as well as when entering public buildings and restaurants. We've been in the Bürgerbüro (citizens advice office) a few times lately, and we can only take off our masks at the desk of the person we've come to see if s/he has a plexiglass divider between us and him/her. No one goes anywhere anymore without a mask, and instead of decorative things hanging from people's rearview mirrors, there are masks.

In the big cities there have been demonstrations against all these measures intended to keep us healthy and out of hospitals, and I will never understand those people. Gives me yet another reason to be glad to have settled in a small community. Honestly, people!

I thought it was high time to write a life update and let my readers know I'm still around, so I'll get on with it.

Jagdschein, WBK und Keilernadel

After passing the third and final part of my Jägerprüfung, I applied for and received 5 weeks later my Jagdschein (hunting license)!! This was quite exciting, especially now that we're both Jungjäger.

With my Jagdschein in my hand I was able to apply for my WBK, or Waffenbesitzkarte (gun license). We already had two Flinten (shotguns), both of which are on M's WBK so they officially belong to him. My WBK was ready within two weeks, just in time to get my Büchse (rifle) properly registered in my name. Our Schießtrainer picked up our Büchsen when he drove to the Heym company in Thüringen with two other students, and we drove to his home that evening to retrieve them. 

Remember when I wrote that after I pass my test I will never shoot again? Yeah, well...that turned out to be untrue. We practice at a shooting range in Stuttgart once or twice a week, and we are seeing some improvement. This has become a skill we want to improve, and perhaps one day we really will go hunting. 

One of the days we were there our Schießtrainer said, "Ami, mach den Keilernadel jetzt." The Keilernadel is a small shooting test one needs to pass each year in order to be eligible to participate in a Drückjagd (driving hunt) as a hunter-shooter. You have to shoot 5 times at the standing boar and 5 times at the running boar both at 50 meters free-handed, and you need to get above a certain score. I passed it on my first try, as did M. Since then we have seen seasoned hunters have a go at the Keilernadel and not pass on their first try. That speaks to what we've heard quite a few times - that Jungjäger (new hunters) are sometimes better shots than seasoned hunters because we've recently had such intense training. 

So according to what's on paper, we are eligible to participate as shooters in a Drückjagd this year. As I've been told, you don't gain experience as a new driver by taking the bus while your car sits in the garage. 

Teaching

On Tuesday evenings I team-teach with a partner a German class called Deutsch Spezial, which is intended for native speakers and non-native speakers who struggle with reading and writing. There are no tests and there's no textbook - we just use our creativity and ask the students what they'd like help with. We sometimes split into two groups and other times we all work together. It's a small class, intended for no more than 10 participants so we can give them the individual attention they need.

I am still jumping in as a substitute at the local VHS when they need a replacement for the regular teachers, and although I sometimes have to be spontaneous and once last week had to go in blind only knowing which book they were using but not where they were in the book, I have enjoyed it every time. I must admit, I really do love teaching German and especially to adults. I think the students see that I enjoy teaching them, and they seem to enjoy it as well.

Cooking

On an absolute whim one day after seeing a commercial for the umpteenth time, I signed up for Hello Fresh, the meal ingredient delivery service. I wanted to be forced to try new recipes and I liked the idea of not having to go to the store except for bread and wine. The meals were...fine. I did it for two weeks, listening to M grumble the whole time though he helped me by always doing the meat. We never had that "Wow" feeling one should experience sometimes, and there is way too much plastic since everything they send is pre-measured and packaged separately.

I'm not sorry I tried it, and my curiosity is satisfied. But we don't need to continue it.

Sober October

For the second year in a row M and I are participating in "Sober October." The idea is to give up drinking any alcohol and instead learn something new. We're cheating a bit on the "new" part of learning since what we're learning (see below) isn't exactly new for us. But since everything we didn't know before is certainly new, this works! Admittedly I enjoy a Gläschen Wein in the evenings while reading or watching TV, but I'm finding I'm going to sleep earlier without it. I think this will remain an October tradition for us.

Driving

We have a new car. It's a Jaguar I-Pace, and fully electric. They installed a charging station at M's company a few months ago, and since the office is within walking distance of our home, charging is pretty convenient. There are all kinds of pros and cons to electric cars which I'm not going to get into, but for the type of driving we typically do (rarely more than an hour from home and most often less than a 10-minute drive), an electric car works well. 

If you've been a long-time reader you know I have always hated driving here, at least driving more than 10 km from home. However, in the weeks leading up to my shooting test I needed to drive myself to Stuttgart and Esslingen for gun handling training and shooting practice. I was nervous at first, but I had no choice but to do it. Being forced to drive in whatever conditions the Stuttgart Autobahn threw at me turned out to be a good experience. I still don't drive willingly, but I know that I can handle it if I must. All of that driving was in our "old" Audi, but switching to the Jaguar has not been a problem. 

Falknerei

My whole reason for going for my Jagdschein was so that I could then take another class and test to become a Falknerin (falconer). That course begins later this year and lasts eight days, followed immediately by the test. M is doing the class and test with me, so with enough hard work and studying, we will both soon be Jungfalkner!

For several weeks I've been meeting once or twice a week with a Falkner who lives not far from us to study. He's been helping me so much to understand what lies ahead, what having a Beizvogel (hunting bird) entails, important laws to be familiar with, and much more. I've learned the Falknerknoten (falconer's knot, which is tied using only one hand), details about the relevant Greifvögel (birds of prey) and their prey, the latin names of the birds, the special Falknersprache (falconer's language) and Federkunde (feathers).

I need to know from which birds such feathers come,
where the feathers were on the bird, and label the parts of the feather.

People keep asking us what kind of falcon we'll get later, but we're not that far in our plans yet. It probably won't be a falcon at all, because they're not really beginner birds. Perhaps a Habicht (goshawk) or two Harris Hawks. I'd still love to have a Steinkauz or Waldkauz, but we'll see.

Current Events

Not much to say besides "God help us all!" At least not much that's printable. The shit show going on in the US is exhausting to follow. The "debate" was a national humiliation and I am left completely baffled that anyone can still support that insufferable manchild. But support him they do. He's the messiah of the GOP (Grand Ol' Party, or Republicans) and they support him with either their rapturous jubilation or their silent agreement. I'm disgusted. I may not be thrilled with Biden as the only other viable choice, but we need relief and Biden is a decent person who will surround himself with good people, not just loyal bootlickers. He believes in things like science and climate change and heeds the experts. And he will not selfishly endanger everyone around him to satisfy his indefatigable ego. The democrats want the kind of future I want to leave to my children.

I have printed out, completed and asked our Schießtrainer to witness my absentee ballot, and I sent it to Wisconsin - by mail. Now I have to wait and see if it arrives and gets processed. Here's hoping...

I have agreed to write a column for the local paper about US politics from an expat's point-of-view, which is both exciting and a bit scary. My first piece (about absentee voting) will appear in tomorrow's paper!

Miscellaneous

I've got a new alarm tone on my Handy (cell phone), which makes me smile rather than thinking "damn alarm!" (Not for children's ears!) Someone edited clips from Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying's podcast and turned it into this song, and I begged M to put it on my phone. Now this wakes me up from naps, reminds me it's time to start dinner, and gets me up early when I have to teach. I should probably set a different alarm tone when I'm out of the house! LOL

That's roughly it for now. I hope you are all weathering the pandemic and keeping healthy. Keep your wits about you, practice self-care, and we'll get through this. We've got a ways to go, but let's hang in there!

What have you been up to lately?

Let me know in the comments or share a link to your blog!

Life Lately

Ahh....Summer! Even if the Rhododendron and Azaleas are just a memory and the Vergissmeinnicht are finished as well, our garden is still blooming with all kinds of other pretty flowers I don't know the names of. We've got some Hortensie (German spelling), Gänseblümchen (daisies), and roses, and of course it's been Furztrocken (dry as a fart) in our village for a long while, so we have to water most evenings. Everyone else seems to grumble about rainy days, but I do not!

It was beautifully cool the last week or so, which I find I like better than stifling heat - to me that's anything above 27°C (I'm a bit of a wimp). The heat will start to pick up now, and I'll be yearning for fall before long.

I thought I would write a general post about what I've been getting up to lately, just because. So here is what I have been...

making

homemade deodorant! I saw this on our noon show, ARD-Buffet, and I decided to give it a try. I don't like the fact that most anti-perspirants have aluminum salts in them (that's what turns your shirt armpits off-color, and smearing a metal on our skin every morning can't be good for us), and this is a simple recipe! I used 100 ml Hamameliswasser (witch hazel) and 3 ml Odex. The first day I used it I wasn't sure, but by the second day I was pleased with the result. It's very neutral, and I'm assuming mild and good for the skin. I'll have to see how well it works when the temps rise above 25°C, but the woman who showed how to make it said she has used in all her travels, including in Africa.

writing

birthday cards and postcards to my children. They both live in Pennsylvania now, though they are still 6 hours apart by car! Their birthdays are 3 days apart in July.

re-reading

the Razor's Edge, by W. Somerset Maugham. It's an old favorite, and it's possible this is my second time re-reading it.

sending

two exchange students home three weeks early due to...let's just say misdeeds.

re-thinking

the value of the exchange program. I just don't know if it's worth it to take a chance we'll get more kids who pull what those kids did. Apart from that, one in particular was a huge pain in my neck and shockingly immature. This is volunteer work for me; I should not have to put up with that crap.

eating

lamb chops - the taste of Scotland

Lachsburger und Pommes

When my salmon burger came, I asked the waitress for some ketchup before trying the curry-mustard dip that came with it. I could have saved her the trouble, the curry dip was so delicious! And I don't even really like curry.

growing

cherry tomatoes! I love tomatoes, M hates them, but luckily for me he likes growing vegetables. We've got some peppers growing in the same Hochbeet and Kopfsalat in another one, but the tomatoes are what make me happy. My snack yesterday afternoon was a few too many Tomaten-Mozzarella-Basilikum Spieße.

feeling guilty about

the amount of sleeping I do! I swear, I nap as much as a useless cat. We're pretty sure I was a cat in a former life, which keeps us wondering what on earth I did to get down-graded to human in this one.

daydreaming about

SCOTLAND!!!! Our next trip to Mull is happening in September, and we're both looking forward to it. I've done my share of gallivanting this year, but it's M's only time away from the office. 

Isle of Mull looking north over the sea

Highland coos on Mull

Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness

What have you been up to?

No Fear, No Apologies

Over the last several years I have read and heard many comments from people railing against refugees, immigrants, and foreigners both in Germany and in the U.S.. Whenever something bad happens - there's shooting, a stabbing, a nutball drives a truck into a crowd of people, something got stolen out of someone's back yard, school kids report having seen a dark-skinned man with a gun near a school...online commenters throw accusations at refugees and foreigners as if crime is always committed by minorities.

If you're not a first-time reader you know that I teach integration courses to foreigners in Germany, and many of my students and former students are refugees. Former students have become friends, and I care about every one of them.

I also taught German and English in a private Catholic high school in Wisconsin for 14 and 16 years respectively. You can read about one of my former Wisconsin students here, though I don't recommend it. The title should suffice, and my former student is the perpetrator in that hideous and gruesome crime, which is described in agonizing detail in the article. He is now serving two life sentences plus 98 years in prison.

St. Mary's Springs High School (2009)

photo credit: M

Pilot: another former student of mine

I remember him. He was a really nice and funny kid. He had lots of friends and a great sense of humor. He came from a good Catholic family. He got good grades and spoke decent German. He was one of 17 students I brought to Germany the summer after my first year teaching at that school, and while I had trouble with some of those students, "Andreas" was well-behaved, cooperative, and had a positive attitude even when many of the others were complaining. I lost track of him after he graduated, but according to the article he studied at Marquette University and then went into the military and law school. He was a military lawyer.

Extreme (and even not so extreme) right-wingers seem to want us all to be afraid of refugees, foreigners, and immigrants. They blame refugees for anything bad, and when someone with dark skin commits a crime in Germany, they jump to the conclusion that he must be a refugee. Then they blame Merkel for ruining Germany (Germany is far from ruined, I assure you) and for her "Dumpfbackenaktion" (idiot decision) from 2015 in opening the borders to people fleeing from their war-torn homes. They say Islam is not a peaceful religion and they say all Muslims hate us (us = white Westerners, I guess). They get incensed when authorities declare too soon for their taste that a crime was not terrorist-related, but it is perfectly acceptable to declare immediately and before there's any reliable evidence that it was terrorism. They don't want facts; they want confirmation of their beliefs - that Arabs, Muslims, refugees, and immigrants are dangerous and just waiting for an opportunity to destroy our lives and our way of life. (I'm not sure why I write "our lives" - I'm an immigrant, too.)

When I can read a story like the one about my former student nearly every day - some heinous crime committed by a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter, an American, a German, etc. - why should I specifically fear refugees, Muslims, or Arabs? I truly do not know the answer to this question. It's people we should probably fear. It's not a religion, it's not a skin color, and it's not a presence or lack of facial hair. How many Christians commit awful crimes every day? If all Muslims hate us and want us dead (yes, this is a common comment on online Fox News articles in the U.S.), then why am I still alive? I've spent a lot of time with Muslims chatting about the German language, the weather, and their plans for the future. 

I once had an acquaintance tell me my impression and opinion of Muslims and refugees was not worth much because it was only "based on a sample of twelve" (my first class of students, who thoroughly impressed me with their dedication to learning German). I am quite certain this person has never met or spoken with a single refugee, but his fear-filled conclusion was more valid than mine in his mind because I only personally knew twelve.

Some of my friends and former students...

It seems for many that a religion is to blame if it's a religion they disapprove of. When a Christian (like my former student) commits a crime it's got nothing to do with religion and the criminal does not represent all Christians. If a Muslim commits a crime, it's because Islam is a religion of hatred. I don't buy that. There are twisted people practicing every religion out there, and no religion at all. It's the people who are the problem, not their religion and not the country in which they were born.

The man who sexually abused me when I was nine or ten was a pasty white American working at the tennis club I was at that day. Why should I fear refugees more than pasty white men? My former student in the story above was a Midwestern Catholic. Why should I fear Muslims more than Catholics?

A few days ago in Immenstadt a 24-year-old guy on a motorcycle who was driving too fast decided to also try a wheelie - lost control and slammed into a mother and her two teenage children, killing them all. They were walking down the sidewalk on their way to heaven knows where. Why should I fear terrorists?

And then there's Charlottesville. Several hundred individuals banned together to march with (confederate and) Nazi flags, salutes, symbols, and chants to champion white supremacy. From what I read, there were even more counter-protesters, and of course the scene got ugly. As if throwing rocks and punches at each other weren't bad enough, a 20-year-old boy from Ohio drove his car into the crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and seriously injuring at least 17 others. 

And I should fear refugees?

I wish I could have this conversation with someone, but I do not know if I know any reasonable right-wingers who would be willing to explain their viewpoint without attacking me, dismissing my point-of-view, and/or calling me a "bleeding-heart liberal," a "Gutmensch," an "f-ing liberal" or a "libtard."  < Their use of that last word speaks volumes to me about what kind of people they are.

I choose not to be consumed with fear (except while driving on the Autobahn - then I am terrified). I choose not to feel disdain toward others because they are different from me in some way. I choose not to speak against and make assumptions about people who practice a religion I don't practice. 



And I am not going to apologize for that.