Wir schaffen was!

Judging from a few other blog posts I've read lately, we bloggers who started out a few years ago focusing on the interesting differences between life in Germany and life in the homeland are running out of material. What was at first surprising, shocking, perplexing, frustrating or downright maddening is now just normal. Take this post from nearly four years ago. There's nothing listed there that is even noteworthy to me today.

My musings these days are turning darker, I suppose.

One pointed difference on a significant topic is immigrants and borders. On September 4, 2015 Angela Merkel welcomed the throng of refugees stuck at the Hauptbahnhof in Budapest who were seeking asylum in Europe. She basically tossed the immigration rule book out the window and made a decision in favor of humanity. The road from there has not been easy for her, her government, or for the refugees who have come to Europe, including many of my former students who have become my friends.

Just days ago the president of my homeland had asylum-seekers at the US-Mexican border tear-gassed.

I understand there are no easy answers, but frankly, I prefer the humanitarian approach.


Merkel uttered her now-famous words "Wir schaffen das!" ("We can handle this!"). Where there's a will, there's a way. Thinking positively. How very un-German.

In Nagold this week there is an exhibit of posters sponsored by the Diakonieverband Nördlicher Schwarzwald entitled "Wir schaffen was" ("We are accomplishing something"), a play on Frau Merkel's words. The posters highlight refugees in the area who have made something of themselves, have learned German and found jobs and friends. A student and friend of mine, who was in the main station of Budapest on that September night in 2015, is featured on one of the posters. I am very proud of him!

Fotos: Fotografie © Birgit Betzelt
  used with permission


For a number of reasons, including selfish ones since I have made quite a few friends due to her action, I am glad for Frau Merkel's compassionate approach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I'm taking what might be my last shot at comparing life in the USA vs. in Germany, I thought I'd share some numbers I came across just today.

	USA	Germany
Population 2018	355,724,390	82,353,315
Refugees & Asylum seekers 2016	84,989	280,000
Refugees & Asylum seekers 2017	29,022	186,000
Refugees & Asylum seekers cap	45,000	not applicable

In terms of land area, Germany (357,386 km²) could fit into the USA (9,834,000 km²) 27.5 times. For an enormous country that was once seen as a land of immigrants ("Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."), the number of refugees and asylum seekers it is willing to accept today is pathetic and embarrassing.

Set aside the argument about illegal vs. legal immigration: How many human beings fleeing war, poverty, inhumane conditions, corruption, and persecution is the United States government willing to allow into this "great" country? 45,000. Since 1980 the limit has been established by the president each year, and #45 chose this historic low for 2018. For a country so rich and prosperous, is that not a bit sad and selfish?

"Charity begins at home. We should focus on our own." There are poor, hungry, and homeless people living in Germany as well, and still Germany accepts multiple times more refugees and asylum seekers than the US each year.

Be honest. The reason is likely more along the lines of "Who cares about them? They look different, they don't talk English so good [sic], and they have strange customs. What if they take the jobs none of us want? What if they move into our neighborhood?! What if they commit crimes? What if they breed? Then there will be more of them, and...OMG...those children will be US citizens!"

America, I'm not impressed.


But tomorrow evening I will feel more positive. I am going with Mohammad to the opening of the exhibit "Wir schaffen was" where we will listen to a few speeches, meet the photographer and the person in charge of the project, and see the rest of the posters that have been displayed around Nagold. The exhibit will then go on tour, beginning in Stuttgart.

For more information, see this article (in German only).

From the opening on Thursday evening:

Mohammad's friend Kais also
participated in this project

Summer Reading

Several of the bloggers I follow post now and then what they're reading or have read, and I always enjoy those. I've been binge reading for the past six weeks in one particular and new genre, which is one reason I haven't posted much lately.

It all started with Erzähl mir von Deutschland, Soumar, and I wish I could remember how I heard of that book. I really liked it, written as almost a conversation between the author and his friend, a Syrian refugee who'd fled to Germany. I contacted the author, Florian Schmitz, to ask if there were any plans to have it translated into English, but a publisher has to be interested first, apparently. He told me they are planning a reading of the book for sometime in the fall in Stuttgart, and I just found out today when it will take place (Oct. 26 at 20:00 in a bookstore in Vaihingen).

Ich komm auf Deutschland zu

Soumar and his story reminded me of many of my students and friends from Syria, and I found myself wanting to read more books like his. Amazon suggested I have a look at Ich komm auf Deutschland zu. The writer, Firas Alshater, is a comedian and a Youtube star - I have no idea how I missed that, but I've watched some of his videos and really like them! He usually gives advice to other foreigners about making their way in Germany, and his tips do not only apply to refugees. In his book Firas writes about his life in Syria before the war and during the revolution, his decision to leave Syria after being arrested, jailed, and tortured for filming what he saw happening around him, his journey to Germany, and his life since arriving here. That he can tell his story with a sense of humor speaks to his character and will probably appeal to many readers.

Both of these books go a long way to shattering - or at least challenging - assumptions and prejudices readers might have about Syrians, Muslims, and refugees.

Nujeen: Flucht in die Freiheit

The next book that crossed my radar while I was reading Firas' book was Nujeen: Flucht in die Freiheit. When I mentioned the book to my daughter, she said the late night talk show host John Oliver had talked about her. Nujeen has been unable to walk since birth and is confined to a wheelchair. She is from Kobani, Syria, and she and her sister fled to Turkey, across the sea in a flimsy boat to Greece, and over the Balkan route to Germany. At one point a BBC reporter saw her and interviewed her - which is what we see in the clip from John Oliver. She tells the reporter she would like to be an astronaut, and in the book we learn why. Despite the many obstacles made even more complicated by Nujeen's disability, their dream of living and learning in a country not torn apart by war spurred them on. Nujeen's sister pushed her most of the way, and at especially critical times others came to their aid and carried her.

So far all the books were in German, although I later found out that Nujeen's book was originally published in English, under the title Nujeen: One Girl's Incredible Journey.

I read reviews on Amazon of several of the books, and as usual I was more interested in the non-five-star reviews than the five-stars. I'm always curious what people with some criticism have to say. I was disappointed in some comments that said the writing was dull or cheesy, the story "lost interest toward the end," etc. These are real stories of real people who went through more suffering than anyone should. I love good literature, but writing style is not important here; the details and the journey are important. Of course, that's just how I feel.

A Hope More Powerful than the Sea

My fourth book was in English, but it is also available in German. The beautifully titled book, a Hope More Powerful than the Sea, was written by Melissa Fleming about the life of Doaa Al Zamel, a young woman who hadn't really intended on leaving her home to go to Europe. During the Arab Spring Doaa got involved in demonstrations in Daraa, their home town, which of course was risky. After it became clear that the opposition would not succeed and people identified as participating in the revolution were being arrested and killed, her family left Syria and settled as refugees in Egypt. While in Egypt Doaa met Basaam, who was at first unsuccessful at attracting her interest. Her family adored him, and eventually she warmed to him. Basaam wanted a better life for them than just living as refugees, and his dream was to go to Europe where they could make something of themselves. They were both hard workers and fighters, and he knew they could pursue the life they dreamed of. But first they had to make it across the sea - and Doaa was terrified of the water.

Good thing I was never a librarian. I'm no good at making displays.

Another thing that ties these books together is the information provided about Syria before the war, during the Arab Spring, and during the war. Still, the focus is on their personal stories more than history and politics. Enough background is provided to give readers an idea of why the questions some have voiced are not so easily answered. "Why didn't they just stay and fight for their country?"  "Why didn't they just flee to a Muslim country closer to their home?"  "How could so many men just leave their wives and families behind while they fled for Europe?"  (I hate the word "just," in case that wasn't obvious.) These writers don't preach, but they do explain pretty clearly what life has been like in Syria.

Unter einem Dach

After Doaa's heart-wrenching story I read one that had been in my Amazon shopping cart for months - Unter einem Dach ("Under One Roof"), by Henning Sußebach and Amir Baitar. Henning and his family hosted Amir, a Syrian Muslim, in their home near Hamburg for about a year. Each chapter or section of the book is written by one or the other of them, as they address all kinds of topics from food to religion to clothing to German culture and traditions. Amir, for example, is taken aback by couples openly and enthusiatically expressing their affection for each other in public. That just didn't happen in Syria. (Incidentally, I wanted to tap him on the shoulder and tell him I find that odd, too!) He doesn't understand why Henning doesn't change clothes when he comes home from work, but rather wears his work clothes (trousers and a shirt or sweater) until bedtime - as I sit here typing in the clothes I taught in this morning. I really enjoyed comparing his observations to my own - what do I find normal that he finds odd, and vice versa? Both Henning and Amir learned from each other and changed in little ways throughout the year because they had open minds and were willing to see the world through someone else's eyes. There were many things they didn't agree on, but they respected each other and gave each other space.

As with Erzähl mir von Deutschland, Soumar, I liked learning how the writers (the German and the Syrian) think and what goes on in their minds. I have spent a fair bit of time with my Syrian friends, but I still have so many questions and there is much I want to know. I know they'd be willing to answer my questions, but I haven't taken the step yet of asking them. One thing is certain - just like with Americans, Germans, Christians, and whomever else, each individual is his or her own person, and there is no way one can or should lump people together and make gross generalizations about them with any certainty. If you find someone saying to you, "Syrians are..." or "Muslims are..." you can stop them right there, because they are wrong. Of this I am sure.

Ich habe einen Traum

The last of the books I have read and currently know of in this genre (stories of refugees from Syria) is Ich habe einen Traum ("I have a Dream"), by Reem Sahwil. Reem is not actually from Syria, but rather Lebanon. If I understand correctly, ever since 1947, when her great-grandmother was forced to leave her home in Haifa (Israel), the family had been living in a refugee camp in Lebanon (Baalbek). That means for generations they have known nothing but a basically hand-made container village with dirty streets, but somehow with a life of its own including small family businesses like bakeries and repair shops. Reem was born prematurely, and the medical facilities are nothing to speak of there. She was therefore unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair for the most part. Her father worked hard and borrowed money to pay for two expensive operations in Europe, and upon her third trip to Europe her father made her, her young brother, and her mother promise to apply for asylum on the grounds of medical need. Reem's father would follow later on the arduous Balkan route. Reem became famous for a while because of this encounter with Angela Merkel, who was blasted as a result for being stiff and cold-hearted. Near the end of the book Reem writes about that meeting in her school in Rostock and the aftermath, as well as her feelings toward Chancellor Merkel (which were and are far more positive than those of some of the media and many internet commenters).

Of course I am interested in these stories because so many details are similar to those I've heard from my Syrian friends and former students. The places, situations, fears, and uncertainties are familiar to me by now, and with every story I hear or read I am more amazed by the resilience of these people and what they were willing to go through to get where they are today. And they keep pushing forward despite the many frustrations of dealing with German bureaucracy and administrators, the German language, and a stiff and sometimes cold country with inflexible rules about what is allowed and what is not.

I do recommend each of these books and wish they were all available in English. I don't feel like I did them justice with my summaries, but I would read every one of them again.

Book Review: Erzähl mir von Deutschland, Soumar

"Beschreib mal Zuhause. Was ist das?"

"Da, wo man sich sicher fühlt. Dahin kommt man, wenn man müde ist oder allein sein will. Dann kann man nach Hause. Man kann tun, was man will. Man kann sich entspannen. Und alles gehört dir. Dein Bett, dein Sofa, dein Tisch, deine Bücher."

For me one mark of a good book is that I am genuinely sorry to finish it. Erzähl mir von Deutschland, Soumar, by  Florian Schmitz was such a book for me.

There was so much in this book I could relate to, and it was probably good for me to see Germany through a German writer’s critical eye. I see my own passport country through a similar eye, and I get the feeling I come across as unpatriotic to other Americans. I even lost a friend once, who, just before signing off, wrote something about me hating America. I love and value my American friends very much, but I do not have a positive impression of Americans in general, nor do I consider the U.S. the "greatest country in the world" as so many do. It’s a strange reverse-xenophobia. 

Florian Schmitz is a German who, after his studies with a degree in Literary Studies and Spanish, got the message from Germany (the Job Center advisors, for instance) that “We don’t need you.” He had the wrong skill set (at least on paper) after graduation to be valued by German employers, so he left the country and moved to Greece. Throughout the book Schmitz compares life, culture, and people in Greece to those in Germany, and through Soumar, his Syrian friend, we hear comparisons between Syria, Germany and Greece. What I find so interesting is that Soumar sees Germany in a more positive light than Schmitz does, although Schmitz comes across to me as realistic, not negative.

Soumar was on his journey/flight from Syria to Germany in 2016 when he and Schmitz met through Schmitz’s people-magnet dog, Nondas, on a Greek ship. They stayed in contact, and this book describes Soumar’s journey in four parts, their friendship, and their conversations about topics like religion (they are both atheists), war, humanity, integration, food, football (soccer), weather… The book allows readers to eavesdrop on conversations between two people I would enjoy spending time with. They ask each other deep and difficult questions, and the answers are equally deep. 

My book is all marked up with notes and underlined quotes, such as:

A southern European’s advice to Germans: 

“Zieht euch endlich den Stock aus dem Arsch und macht eure eigenen Regeln.”

 ["Get that stick out of your butt and make your own rules!"]

At the same time, German punctuality and organization is good! 

Soumar: “Es ist gut, dass man sich auf Leute verlassen kann.”

  ["It's good that you can rely on people here."]

Soumar on religious strife:

„Wenn jemand denkt, dass ein anderer dumm ist, weil er eine andere Religion hat, dann hat er diese Dummheit selbst in sich.“

  ["When someone thinks that someone else is dumb for practicing a different religion, then the stupidity lies in him."]

Schmitz on AfD and PEGIDA supporters:

„Ich glaube, dass die meisten schlichtweg an einfachen Lösungen interessiert sind…Und dabei sind sie an eine Partei geraten, die so tut, als könne sie die Grenzen dicht machen und dann ist Deutschland sicher. Das ist natürlich Schwachsinn.“ 

  ["I think most of them are simply interested in easy solutions. And they found a party that says closing the borders will make Germany safe. That's ridiculous, of course."] 

  I would add potus fans to Schmitz' description as well.

Life in a refugee camp: 
“For a few days it’s ok, but for years it’s terrible…Can you imagine? It can’t be compared to a concentration camp like Bergen-Belsen, because the people can come and go, have enough water and a warm meal. But to be constantly surrounded by people is not good. One never has peace and quiet or any real privacy, and everyone has to share the kitchen and bathroom. When people are forced to live like that, no matter where, eventually there will be problems.”*

[*Some people in both Germany and the US have said refugees living in camps should be happy they’re out of the war zone. They should feel lucky to be where they are. Ok, but I wonder how long the people saying that would be able to stand conditions in a refugee camp. One day, perhaps?]

And one of my favorite exchanges (the one at the top of this post):

Schmitz: „Describe home. What is that?“

Soumar: „A place where you feel safe. You go there when you're tired or want to be alone. Then you can go home and do what you want. You can relax. And everything belongs to you - your bed, your sofa, your table, your TV, your books.“

Soumar tells the story of his three-week odyssey from Damaskus to Bremen in his own words, and it is much like the stories several of my former students have shared with me. It’s becoming very familiar to me – the fear, the uncertainty, the smugglers and traffickers, the police, the maltreatment by police and officials in Hungary, the boat motors that konk out in the middle of the sea, the exhaustion, the relief upon reaching a Greek island, the hunger and thirst, lack of showers, the understandable mistrust, the connections made with other refugees and information shared via Facebook of where to go and whom to look out for, crossing borders under the cover of darkness…and the “Alter, du hast es geschafft!” upon finally reaching Germany.

I think this is a very important book and I wish it were available in English. Anyone who wants to lump all Arabs/Syrians/refugees together into one pot and label them should meet Soumar in this book. I recommend it to expats, travelers, immigrants, wanderers, those living in multicultural families and communities, and anyone wondering what struggles refugees, immigrants, and expats face from day to day.

On Goodreads I gave this book five stars, which for me is rare. But if I don't like the beginning of the next book I have lined up, I might just start this one from the beginning again.

Highs and Lows August 2016

Today, August 31st, is the one-year anniversary of Angela Merkel's now-famous statement at the beginning of the peak of the refugee crisis - "Wir schaffen das" ("We will handle this"). Germany opened its arms to help the people fleeing from war, mainly from Syria but also Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, and we welcomed around a million refugees by the end of the year.

She has faced lots of criticism, some of it justified, and I won't pretend to know more than I do. However, I am glad to be here in a country where people in need have been able to come for help. I am personally grateful for the open borders that allowed people to find safety here, because as a result I have met some truly warm and wonderful people.

There are problems that still need solving. This has been and will continue to be an expensive venture. These refugees, who have already faced more horror than a person should have to face, now need to learn German grammar - which brings on a whole different type of exhaustion. They need health care, they need housing, they need job and/or language training, they want to work. While Americans argue about whether an athlete should or should not have stood during the national anthem before a football game, Germans are struggling with how best to handle and help the refugees who are here, reunite families, and help them integrate into our society and way of life.*

*Disclaimer: I realize many Americans are also dealing with serious life issues, and there are Germans who fuss about athletes and celebrities as well.

Fittingly, most of my August highs have to do with foreigners in Germany.

So here we go for August.

HIGHS

• my last week teaching at the Hermann-Hesse-Kolleg language school. This wasn't a high because it was my last week, but rather because I enjoyed the week! My students were once again a really nice group of motivated learners. It was my last week because a group of American college students arrived for a 6-week intensive course, and I had opted out of teaching my Landsleute. My last group of students were dispersed into groups with the Americans, and I had two weeks off before starting to teach at the VHS (community college).

students from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Argentina, Italy, and Russia

• meeting with a woman who works for the city of Horb about a project I have started - interviewing our local refugees about their stories and eventually publishing their stories in German in book form and online. She likes the idea and is willing to help me make this a reality.


• meeting several of my former Syrian & Eritrean students for Kaffee und Kuchen at a local café and chatting for hours. They are such special people!


• receiving my accreditation from the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) in Würzburg, which means I am officially qualified to teach at the VHS (Volkshochschule). When the director of the language program at the VHS sent in my documents, he requested a rush because the class I was to take over started in two weeks! I received it just in time, after a little prodding from the secretary of the VHS.


• starting with a new class (they've been together a while, but I'm their new teacher because their former teacher is on family leave) at the VHS. The first week went well enough, and the students gave me helpful feedback on Friday to help me plan better for the next several weeks. The best part is that two of my former students are in the class as well as several others I know from the HHK and the Sprachcafé. It's nice to see familiar faces, and I feel privileged to be their teacher!


• having one of my former Syrian students over to our house for an afternoon because he wasn't available when our group met at the café. I had planned on going to a nearby Biergarten, but it was way too damn hot to walk there - especially since there's little shade along the way. So we hung out here instead. He talked a mile a minute the whole time, and I am so impressed with his German! He has worked so hard, has made lots of contacts with Germans, and is very motivated. He has been in Germany for almost a year and has been learning German for nine months. I wouldn't be able to say with confidence that my German is better than his. I am so proud of him!
  
  He is from Aleppo, and his family is still there. One of the things he told me was that the destroyed buildings in Syria can be rebuilt. What worries him is the hundreds of thousands of children who cannot go to school. The children still in Syria can't go to school because the war is all around them and it's not safe. There are many, many other children who are living in refugee camps who also don't have schools to attend. This 19-year-old recognizes that without education, children have little hope for a decent future.


• reading that the U.S. accepted its 10,000th Syrian refugee on Monday. Now, while I would give the U.S. the Golden Eyedropper Award for this achievement while they pat themselves on the back for it, it is at least something. 

LOW

• seeing the picture of Omran, the little boy in Aleppo who was pulled from his bombed house and put in an ambulence. Despite the media moving on because there was an earthquake in Italy, I will not forget Omran's face. That dear little boy.

LINKS to share

this article comparing Americans' attitudes toward Jewish refugees during the 1930s and today's Syrian refugees. History is repeating itself, folks, and this time we can't claim we didn't know what we were doing.

this article by the same writer, who questions whether we care more about puppies than human refugees

That's August, folks. Bring on autumn!!

The Truth I See

During the last few weeks I have come across various memos, notes, articles, and comments written mainly by Americans living in America about what is going on in Germany and Europe as a whole in connection with refugees and Muslims.

A month or so ago there was an article on an American online news source about "Germany" offering "women-only" cars on trains due to the sexual assault and harassment incidents in Köln on New Year's Eve. I'll get at the truth about that in a minute, but the most shocking part of that article was the comments section. The ignorance, enmity, and hostility the readers and commenters displayed exemplified the worst of humanity. I won't provide a link to the article because I do not want to make it easy for anyone to access those hateful and embarrassing comments. There were comments on there that would have been deleted in Germany because of Volksverhetzung (hate speech), and in fact the law probably would have gone after some of those writers. Germany's Grundgesetz allows for free speech, but there are reasonable lines that may not be crossed.

In this post I would like to respond to what I have seen and heard from some of my Landsleute (most or all of whom have not been here within the last 12 months though they claim to know more than they do) about what's going on in Germany.

source

Germany is now offering "women-only" train cars so they can feel safe from refugee/Muslim men while traveling by train.

One private train company in eastern Germany decided to start offering a car only for women on one stretch of track between the cities of Leipzig and Chemnitz. The German articles about this decision mentioned nothing about refugees or the events of New Year's Eve in Köln; that was the American news source's twist on the story. From there the commenters screamed about Germany "segregating" women on trains.

For many years we have had "women only" parking spaces in public parking garages, which are nearest to the exits. Is this segregation? Look up the word, people. Women are not forced to use these parking spaces or the "women only" car. They are available for women who choose to use them. In my world, if I choose to use something marked "for women only," I am not being segregated.

German women are afraid to leave their homes because groups of refugee men are attacking them at parks and pools.

I cannot speak for all German women, but I do not know of any who are afraid to leave their homes. Women of all ages living in Germany are still going regularly to grocery stores, train stations, swimming pools and shopping malls, walk their dogs, go to work, ride public transportation, and go about their daily business. The extremist right-wing AfD party wants women and children to be very afraid of foreigners, but so far I have not met any women who say they stay inside their homes out of fear.

A year from now all German women will be wearing burkas.

Again, this is what the AfD party wants us to believe, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I do not believe that in a year or ever, all women in Germany will be required to wear burkas, hijabs, shaylas, or khimars. I realized I've just lost everyone who thinks that all head coverings are burkas, but tough. This idea is just sensationalism, and I feel sorry for those who believe such nonsense (that all women living in Germany will be forced to cover themselves if they do not wish to do so).

German girls are told to dress more modestly at public pools so they don't get attacked.

I haven't been to a public pool since last summer, but I would guess there has been no change in what German girls wear while swimming - that is, mainly, string bikinis. I have heard white American men well over the age of 40 make lude comments about scantily clad teenage girls and have read about girls being sexually harassed and/or assaulted by any number of different types of males - classmates, older men, foreigners, non-foreigners, strangers, acquaintances, family members... At a wedding not long ago I saw the photographer repeatedly eye up the backsides of teenage girls wearing very short skirts. People seem to think it's much worse for a refugee to harass a girl or woman than for "one of our own" to do it - at any rate people react with more outrage when they hear about a refugee or foreigner harassing or assaulting someone even though harassment and sexual assault happens every day (in fact, at least in America, every 107 seconds). It's wrong no matter who's doing it.

Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with encouraging girls to dress and act modestly. I realize I'm old-fashioned beyond my years, so I'll just leave it at that.

There has been an increase in sexual assaults in Germany since the refugees arrived.

Has there? Which refugees are you speaking of, since Germany has been accepting refugees for many, many years? If you mean the refugees who applied for asylum in 2015, sexual assault statistics don't appear that fast, and so the statement you presented as fact is baseless and unverifiable. The most recent statistics I have found are from 2013.

The refugees aren't assimilating to the German rules and culture. Germany is changing to assimilate to the refugees.

I prefer the term and concept of integrating rather than assimilating, so I'll use that. 100% of the refugees I have met from Syria, Eritrea, and Iraq have been working on learning German (with varied degrees of determination) and doing what they can to integrate and adapt to life in Germany. I'm not talking large numbers here (50 or so, with whom I am acquainted), but I'm hoping that number will grow. How many refugees have you met in Germany who are not integrating?

In big cities, you hardly hear any German any more.

I first heard this statement about three years ago, and the person who said it was not talking about refugees. I've been to Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, and Vienna, Austria since then. I hear plenty of German being spoken, and many other languages as well - because these are Weltstädte (World Cities). Germany is multicultural, in part because it's basically the center of Europe. I hear American English, British English, Russian, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, French, Japanese, Dutch... and I don't understand what is wrong with that. The "speek [sic] English or get out of are [sic] country" mentality of many Americans vexes me. How about embracing languages, learning about different cultures and religions, and celebrating humanity?

How do you know these refugees Germany has let in are not terrorists?

I guess in the same way I know you're not a pedophile, a rapist, or a white supremacist. In truth I don't know, but that's not going to be my first assumption about you.

The once-great German nation has been ruined by Angela Merkel.

What's with this obsession with "great", "once-great", and "great again"? Define great. Is it when white Christians are ruling and dominating? Is it when foreigners, immigrants, and non-citizens are being run out or at least persecuted? Is it when we build walls to keep people in or out? I don't know of any Germans who go around proclaiming what a great country Germany is, was, or has been. Germany is Germany. It has a rich and lengthy history, beautiful traditions, a fabulous public transportation system that allows everyone to get anywhere they need to go without having to use a car, an impressive national football/soccer team, a confusing collection of dialects, and citizens and guests of all walks of life and backgrounds. 

I love living in Germany, but I don't call it a great country. I am also one of apparently few Americans who don't call America great either. America is America, faults and all. 

There are plenty of Germans who don't like Merkel's policies, but Germany has not been ruined by her or anyone else.

Perhaps my main message here is that you should not be too quick to believe what you hear or read (including here on my blog). And it's best to be even slower at repeating something you heard or read to someone else without first verifying its truth.

I write based on my experiences and what I observe. I hear and read about neo-nazi groups and the hateful things they say and do, but I have not witnessed any of that myself. I have met good German people who are getting involved and helping the refugees in our area, welcoming newcomers, and not living in fear.

This is the Germany I know.

My Mom's Visit

This month's Highs and Lows post is being supplanted by the following because 1.) I didn't have any lows this month - seriously, not one! - and 2.) most of my highs had to do with my mom's visit from the U.S..

While my dad is trekking and sight-seeing in the Himalayas, my mom popped over for a visit with us for almost two weeks. She arrived a week ago today, and one of the nicest things about her visit is that nothing is rushed. She has no "official" reason for being here - no cruise or other European vacation, no official exchange business, no parties to attend.

What this means is that my mom has spent some days seeing my life and what I do from day to day. This often includes hours of "down time" - she's taking a nap as I write this. We've been relaxing to the point of being dull some days, but everything we have done has been really enjoyable so far! There's more to come next week, but here's what we've done in the last week.

Good Meals

M and I have enjoyed cooking together for her.

Maultaschen in Brühe

Rouladen in the making

Rouladen mit Nudeln
(This is an older picture with Spätzle, but for my mom we made homemade noodles with our pasta press)

Spargel Überbacken
White asparagus with ham & cheese in a white wine-butter sauce

Züricher Geschnetzeltes und Rösti - one of our favorites

Forewarning if you ever plan to visit us: this is not a low-fat household and we don't know what to do for vegetarians. We cook everything from scratch, though, and buy as much from local farmers as possible. But it's all about the meat.

Bounty from Wisconsin

My mom brought a whole bunch of things I'd asked for, plus one surprise - a Marguerite Henry book I fondly remember from my youth, Five O'Clock Charlie! This was a gift from the son and daughter-in-law of my grandmother's sister. I associate this book with memories of my mom's Aunt June, because I always found it on her shelf and read it cover to cover when I visited.

Other items pictured: cutting boards in the shape of Wisconsin, refrigerator magnets and tea towels of Wisconsin and Sheboygan, Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate chips, a scarf my dad bought me in Argentina, a silicone pot scrubber, and Baker's string cheese (there are no words for how much I love this string cheese, bought fresh from the factory near my hometown (and then frozen for the overseas journey). The Wisconsin-themed items are for when I have occasion to give a gift and want to give something from the homeland.

Esslingen

On Monday we drove to Esslingen (I drove!!) to have a lunch meeting with friends who are in charge of the Esslingen-Sheboygan exchange and then met for ice cream and a chat with the Sheboygan, Wisconsin exchange students who are spending five months in Esslingen.

Kaffee und Kuchen

On Tuesday we drove to the Spargelhof in Bondorf where I always buy our asparagus - picked that morning - and in the afternoon we met six of my (former) students from Syria and Eritrea at a café in Horb for coffee. I was definitely looking forward to introducing them to my mom, and we had a lovely afternoon!

Moms Geburtstag!

Wednesday was my mom's 74th birthday, and she was treated to a lazy morning while I went to M's office for the English lesson. In the afternoon we picked up my Schwiegermutter from the Bahnhof, and in the evening we all four had a wonderful dinner at Straub's Krone.

 P.S. No, that is not a missing apostrophe in "Moms Geburtstag". In German possessives do not take apostrophes.  

our mums
friends since 1987, 19 years before their kids got married!

creme brulee with a birthday candle

American vs. British English

My mom and Schwiegermutter came with me to my Englisch-AG (where I teach conversational English at a school for students with mild learning disabilities), and we did several activities focusing on the differences between American and "proper" English, as I often call the two languages. It often seems true that Americans and Brits are "separated by a common language" (George Bernard Shaw)!

Ancestors' House in Nöttingen

On Thursday I drove my mom and Schwiegermutter to Nöttingen, where we met the couple living in the house my great-great-great-great grandfather built in 1797. They are such warm and gracious people! They had prepared for us delicious homemade cakes as well as a CD full of information about the village and the house - including details about the renovations they've done. The house is under Denkmalschutz, and when they gave us a tour they pointed out the parts of the structure that are original. They helped us visualize what the house and rooms looked like when Jacob Jung lived there.

a painting of the house done by a relative of the current owners

Damenreitstunde

My ladies' riding lesson is on Friday mornings, and my mom was kind enough to come along and snap a few photos despite it being a bit cold. This was nice for me because I could finally have some pictures of me with Mallory, the little horse I ride most often.

Syrisches Essen

On Friday afternoon we were invited to the home where several of my Syrian students live, and they cooked for us several Syrian dishes: Taboule, Freekeh, and a dessert. The food was delicious, and the Deurabisch (Deutsch-English-Arabisch) conversation was very interesting! We talked about religion, customs in Germany, Syria, and the US, their journeys from Syria to Germany, and their hometowns. They showed us on Google Maps where they used to live (much of which has been destroyed by the war). Several of these men lived in villages outside of Damascus just a few kilometers from each other, but they first met when they arrived in this tiny German village back in September 2015.

Pre-Mom's-Visit Highs

The following highs happened before my mom arrived...

• meeting one of my students twice for several hours so that he could tell me his story - of his life in Syria before the war and his journey from Syria through the Balkan route to Germany. His complete story is too long for a blog post, and since I will be talking listening to my other students and some of their friends as well, this may well be the start of a new project!


• our sixth Kochkurs at Straub's Krone, this time focusing on Spargel, Wildkräuter, and Rhabarber.

That's it for April! I hope you had a good month as well!

March Highs and Lows 2016

March is a pretty blah month, but April brings the promise of spring, and this post means April is about to begin. From the weather reports, today is supposed to be the warmest, nicest day so far, and in the near future.

HIGHS

• every day teaching my students at the Hermann-Hesse-Kolleg continues to be a high!


• two riding lessons on the darling Mallory, who has moved into a new flat (stall) with an outside view. Apparently not everyone likes to ride her because she's SO fast - she's often "auf der Flucht" (fleeing), as the instructor says. But I feel like I know her pretty well by now, and I do really enjoy riding her.


• our Denglisch Kochkurs at Straub's Krone with two other Stuttgart expat bloggers, Traveling Hopefully and Kaffee und Kuchen. I think we learned even more this time than usual, and definitely prepared more dishes that we can and will do ourselves at home. In fact, we've already done a few of them! 


• trying (and succeeding at) these two dishes we learned about at the Kochkurs:

Kässpätzle (with bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin)

Apfelküchle mit Hausgemachter Vanillesoße

• making a beef roast (cooked for 3 hours in a bath of wine and broth) on Sunday because we needed some meat to accompany our leftover Spätzle - fried the second day in a pan with butter.

• attending a Lenten church service because I learned that one of my students would be singing and then speaking to the congregation. He had asked me for help writing out what he wanted to say to them, and I wanted to go to support him. (ähm...I haven't been to church in quite a while...) He sang two hymns in Arabic - a capella - and he has a beautiful voice! The songs were very mystical and melodious. I could have listened for hours. The worshippers applauded him warmly for his words of thanks to the community at the end of the service, and one of the woman invited him to come to choir practice! On Easter Monday he and another of my students sang with the choir during a service.


• trying my grandmother's coffee cake recipe a second time (see "lows" for the first attempt) with M's help on a weekend and not completely failing.


• attending a Lichtstubenabend in our neighboring town to learn about the various Denkmäler such as Feldkreuze and other monuments in and around the town.


• making Maultaschen with M - and succeeding! We made everything from scratch, including the pasta dough, which we rolled out with our new pasta press.

The pasta needs to be thin enough so one can read a newspaper through it.

• Easter dinner! M and I were alone this year because my Schwiegermutter went up North to spend the week with M's sister and family, but we M still made a delicious meal. Lammkeule (leg of lamb), roast potatoes, and Kohlrabi französisch. This is why we don't go out to eat a lot (other than to Straub's Krone) - because the meals we make at home are our favorites and we enjoy cooking together!

LOWS

• In the Landtagswahl for Baden-Württemberg, the third most popular party (of the 10-12 viable parties) was the AfD. This is not quite the nazi party (NPD), but they are extreme right-wingers who, if living in the U.S., would probably be voting for Trump. It makes me extremely sad that even in our little village of 2200 residents - where I feel happy, comfortable and safe - the third most voted-for party was the AfD, who are vehemently anti-refugee and anti-foreigner. Actually they're probably not against all foreigners - just those who look and sound like foreigners.


• trying my grandmother's coffee cake recipe for the first time and failing miserably. The dough went into the trash instead of into the oven.


• Donald  Trump, and everything about him, especially the people who are cheering for and following him.


• reading about the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act passed this month in the House Judiciary Committee. "Despicable and cowardly" one politician against the act called it. I agree. If this passes and becomes law, I will be ashamed. The "home of the brave" will then be a complete farce.


• saying "auf Wiedersehen" to my Syrian and Eritrean students, as their class ended today. Even if I teach again when the next round of classes starts again, I am sure I will never have another group of students like this one. They made such an impression on me, I learned so much from them (even if I still cannot confidently say "the United States of America" in Arabic despite their repeated attempts to teach me!), and I will miss them immensely. I do have a way to contact them each through email or Facebook, and I hope we can meet occasionally.

I wish you all a happy start to April!!

das Sprachcafe

Once a week I go to the community center in Horb where volunteers have organized a Sprachcafe, Everyone is invited, and the focus is to bring community members and Flüchtlinge (refugees) together for Kaffee, Kuchen, und Konversation. It is really well-attended, and sometimes so crowded it's hard to hear each other! It's a lively and friendly group, and each week there are new guests. The volunteers do a lovely job of providing refreshments, organizing the room, and cleaning up afterwards! Conversation tends to be in German, Arabic, English, Denglisch, and Deurabisch (Deutsch-Arabisch).

Forgive the quality of the photo - I forgot my camera,
so I could only use my Handy!

This is an article with photo about this Sprachcafe, and the reason I'm sharing that is because of the grinning chap in the front of the photo. His name is Omran, and he is as friendly as he looks.

Last Friday in our local paper I saw a letter to the editor written by him. I am so happy I saw this letter, because moments earlier I had read an article that surely gave any of its readers misgivings. That article reminded me that I don't really know my students or their pasts (though the same was true of my teenage students in the U.S.). Omran's letter reminded me to trust my gut and the good souls I see in front of me.

Here is his letter in German, followed by my English translation.

Liebe Deutsche,

Ich bin ein syrischer Flüchtling. Meine Worte und Gedanken - wie ich mich manchmal fühle - sind: Wir fühlen uns, als kämen wir von einem anderen Stern. Denn oft, zum Beispiel im Zug, blicken die Deutschen auf uns von oben herab und sind sehr distanziert zu uns. Wir haben im Krieg sehr viel gelitten, viel Schlimmes erlebt und durchgemacht. Wir sind nicht freiwillig hierher gekommen, sondern aus Not. Denn es ist so: Wenn wir in Syrien geblieben wären, hätten wir nur die Wahl gehabt, getötet zu werden oder selber zu töten. Was mich persönlich betrifft: Ich bin genau aus diesem Grund aus Syrien weggegangen.

Einige Leute in Horb haben uns sehr geholfen und haben uns die Sorgen ein wenig vergessen lassen. Obwohl Deutschland ein freies, friedliches und sicheres Land ist, fühlen wir uns hier nicht glücklich, weil wir fern von unseren Familien und von denen, die uns nah stehen, sind.

Nicht alle Syrer sind schlecht! Ein einziger, der sich schlecht verhält, genügt, um den Ruf aller zu schädigen. Dazu kommt noch, dass viele von sich behaupten, aus Syrien zu stammen oder mit einem gefälschten Pass, den man sich leicht besorgen kann, als angebliche Syrer unterwegs sind. Wir alle bemühen uns, hier in Deutschland alles richtig zu machen. Wir lernen fleißig Deutsch und können unterwegs und auf den Ämtern nicht immer, aber meistens ganz gut zurecht kommen.

Wir wurden ein Volk, das seine Träume verloren hat und wir wurden zu einem Volk, das nur noch einen Traum hat: die Rückkehr, nach Kriegsende.

Wir danken dem deutschen Volk und Frau Merkel.

Omran, Horb

*************

Dear German People,

I am a Syrian refugee. My words and thoughts - how I feel sometimes - are: We feel like we've come from another planet. Often, for instance on the train, Germans look down on us and keep their distance from us. We have suffered a lot, experienced and been through terrible things. We didn't come here by choice, but rather by necessity. The truth is, if we had stayed in Syria we would have been forced to kill or been killed ourselves. Personally for me: this is precisely the reason I left Syria.

Some people in Horb have helped us a lot and have allowed us to forget our concerns just a bit. Although Germany is a free, peaceful, and safe country, we do not feel happy here because we are far from our families and those who are dear to us.

Not all Syrians are bad! A single one who behaves badly is enough to damage the reputation of everyone. In addition to that, many claim to come from Syria or travel with a fake Syrian passport, which is easy to get. We are all trying to do everything right here in Germany. We are working hard to learn German and can manage in town and at public offices - not always, but usually.

We became a people who lost their dreams and we have become a people with only one dream left: to return home, after the war.

We thank the German people and Mrs. Merkel.

Omran, Horb

*************

I had sat with him for a bit at last week's cafe, and I had my notebook with me as usual. He took the notebook and wrote a few lines in German and asked me if they were correct. From what he wrote I know he is sad because his life is not here in Germany. He studied four years in Damaskus to be a math teacher - and I'll bet he will make a good one. A math teacher needs to smile a lot, I think, and he does - despite his sadness. He has a large family, including eight siblings, and he misses them.

I hope the war will end someday and Omran will be able to return to his home and his family. I hope until then he will be able to keep his spirits up and have more contact with helpful and open people than the other kind.

My Students

It's been ten days since I last wrote about my class of delightful students, and in the mean time I have asked for and received permission from them to write about them publicly. When I last wrote, it was after just two days of class. I was enthusiastic, I was enjoying it, and I couldn't have had any idea how much I would continue to love this experience.

I can hardly keep up with them - I teach them how to construct a sentence with Modalverben (helping verbs), and they want to know about Modalverben with trennbare Verben (separable prefix verbs). Ok, we do that next. Then in a reading exercise practicing trennbare Verben they see an example of comparatives and want to know how to do those. I think the thing I say most often is, "We'll learn that in the next few days!" or "That's on my plan for this afternoon!" They seem eager to learn everything. They have even requested homework.

I wish you could meet them. Ayman is the 19-year-old who is frustrated because he hasn't mastered the language in 7 weeks, although he's made so much progress! Danyal, who I did not realize was not German when I first met him, helps his neighbor, Hadi, who is working hard at German pronunciation. Ahmad, whose name I have been practicing pronouncing because the H is like an exhale, is eager to volunteer and has a very solid grasp of grammar. Eyad understands most of my explanations (also about cultural things - most recently the Catholic Kreuzweg, or "Way of the Cross" situated on a hill in Horb) and is always ready to translate for the rest into Arabic. Amanuel is from Eritrea and has the best grasp of grammar of the four Eritreans, so he helps the others as needed. Adhanom struggles at times, but when he is confident with an answer he's giving, I see it in his eyes and face. Talal gets my jokes and has a charming smile, and Mohammed Asaad is earnest and friendly, and doesn't want to waste any time. He never leaves the room during our 30-minute break - rather he stays in the room and studies. There are always students during the break who ask me questions about how to say various things rather than going upstairs to play Tischkicker or ping-pong, and I'm glad to help them. Basel has a jolly personality and good ideas of what he thinks they should learn (for instance 10 new verbs each day), and I'm taking his suggestions whenever possible. Yonas and Abraham are soft-spoken and I don't always hear their responses very well because they sit near the far end of the table, but I know the others near them are helping. Omar doesn't always come to my class, preferring one of the morning classes - but he's clearly learning a lot there because he participates unhesitatingly when he's with us.

These are some of my students with their former teacher -
the one who gave them such a strong foundation in the German language
that my job is easy!

I enjoy class so much because of them. When one of them fehlt (is missing), something in general fehlt from the class. They work straight up until the minute it's officially time to quit, and the three hours fly by. Last Friday I said to them that they had worked hard with heavy grammar almost all afternoon, and we could either quit 10 minutes early (as some of the other classes had) or practice our conversation questions until 5:00pm. They chose to practice the questions. They want to use every minute and learn as much as they can. This is every teacher's dream.

Each one of these men has a story of what his life was like back home in Syria or Eritrea and his passage to Germany. Most, if not all, of them have faced hardships my family and I will never experience. And yet they are so eager to laugh, smile easily, and appreciate the opportunities available to them here. They are in the midst of navigating through German bureaucracy - something that makes Western expats quake and tear their hair out in frustration - the intricacies of the German language (their third language after Arabic/Tigrinya and English), and piles of snow and freezing temperatures. But for these three hours of German class, they have a safe and warm place to learn, and classmates who gladly help them.

Although I'm not a fan of superlatives, I do feel like the luckiest teacher alive.

The Hermann-Hesse-Kolleg is in this building - das Steinhaus.
It was built in the 14th century and once served as a storage building
for the Kloster Reichenbach as well as the town's Kelter (winepress).

My friend and Sprachpartnerin visited our class on Friday and was impressed with the students. They welcomed her warmly and then interviewed her with the conversation questions we've been practicing. She helped out with some questions that stumped me - there are always some of those. One of the questions I have not been able to answer is why the H in many German words is pronounced, but it's silent in others. My Sprachpartnerin gave us the answer:

When a consonant follows the H, then the H is silent. If a vowel follows the H, then it's pronounced.
Examples: die Wohnung, das Geheimnis, fahren, Haushalt, ohne

There may be some exceptions, but this rule works for us!!

I wish I had time to share with you each of the fascinating questions and conversations we've had in and after class - about language (German, English, Arabic, and Tigrinya), culture, customs, and religion. One student told me he is Muslim because he was "born that way" - as in, his parents are Muslim. I guess that's the same reason I'm Christian. Another asked me about what Germans say before they eat ("Guten Appetit") and what it means ("Enjoy your meal"). He said in Syria many say "Gott/Allah sei dank" (God be praised - as in thanking God/Allah for the meal.). I told him it is common in American Christian families to pray in thanks for the food and to the cook before the main meal, and although I don't know any Germans who do this, I'm sure there are some.

There is much need here for volunteers willing to help the refugees learn German. For those of my readers who live in Germany, all you need to do is search for the "Freundeskreis Asyl" for your area, and you can find dozens of ways to get involved or the name of someone to contact. If you have only one spare hour a week, there is something you can do. Getting involved is one way to get to know these people that you only otherwise hear about on the news.

I will always believe that when people of different cultures come together face-to-face and get to know each other, barriers, misunderstandings, and prejudices fade away into the wind.