Call off the Search Party!

Don't worry guys, I'm still alive.  You can call off the search party--I might have a few scarring memories, but I survived my weekend in Munich at Oktoberfest.


Little did I know (though many Germans do), that the second weekend of Oktoberfest is infamously known as "Italian Weekend".  The name and notoriety of "Italian Weekend" come from the (I kid you not) thousands of Italian guys who drive their RVs over for a long-weekend and do nothing but grope/harass non-Italian girls.  They also rip off American songs and turn them into soccer/national songs which they constantly sing at the top of their lungs.  Well, the ripping off of American songs is actually, from what I've experienced, a staple of Oktoberfest not matter the nationality.  Did I mention that a German Oompah band played "Take Me Home, Country Road" and also "Hey! Baby" in the Hofbräuhaus tent?  Very strange.  Also, Italians need to learn better dental hygiene.




So for a more detailed recap, read at your own risk mom, I grabbed my train from Hannover to Munich on Friday morning (which I almost missed), and I arrived in Munich right at 1:00 pm.  I was meeting another Fulbrighter named Patrick (it made introductions throughout the weekend quite easy), and we put our bags in lockers at the train station and went straight to the Wiesn (abbreviation of die Theresienwiese which is the part of Munich that is the site of Oktoberfest). Long story short, got really drunk, fell asleep on the S-Bahn to our hotel, ended up in the Boonies, got on wrong train, got on right train, found hotel, crashed.  Then went out to find food and ended up ordering the spiciest Indian food I've ever had (I had it coming though when I enthusiastically said yes when asked if I wanted it spicy).

Day 1 American Friends

On Saturday I had serious doubts as to whether I could actually drink liters of beer all day (or even start since I felt like crap)--turns out I can.  Ended up meeting a lot of cool people including many Brits, Aussies and Swedes (avoided lots of Italians).  Managed to stay out drinking way later than I expected, but I got döner with extra feta cheese (think of a gyro but better) on the way home so definitely worth it.

Day 2 (Random) German Girls

We ended up making Sunday a half-day since we both had trains to catch, but of course we made it back to the tents for a few more beers and made a few more friends with some Americans and Aussies.  Back at the train station I decided I would cut it close to my train's departure and grab some food, and I ended up missing my train (had to wait an hour for the next one).  I guess I was once again foiled by my choosing food over other things.

Day 3 Aussie Friend

[Mom, this is where you can pretend you skipped to]  All in all it was a good time.  I think we managed to speak to as few Italians as possible, and I only remember meeting about three actual Germans at Oktoberfest.  Also, class at 8:00 am on Monday was not fun.

Hofbräuhaus Tent--and to think this is only one of many

*Edit: Feel free to leave comments, it gives me ideas of what to write and let's me know that at least someone is reading.

I said I would deliver!

I'm officially done with my second full week classes, and I would say it definitely went a lot better than the first.  It was nice to actually have more responsibilities in the classes, not to mention my completely solo chemistry lesson on carbohydrates with accompanying experiment!  The hardest thing to learn about lesson plans is that the more you put into them the better the lesson will normally go, but you really can't ever have a complete grasp on how fast/slow the class will progress (probably an incentive to start planning more in advance instead of hastily finishing creating a worksheet the night before class!).


On a much more exciting front, however, I'll be heading down south to Munich this weekend for some good old fashioned Oktoberfest revelry.  If you don't hear from me next week, you now know where to start the search.


And as promised, pictures from my first few weeks here in Hannover!

Me at the Großer Garten (one of the largest Baroque gardens in Europe--part of the Herrenhäuser Gärten)

More pictures after the jump!

Things to Know, Part I

So even though I promised pictures, it was a false promise. You're just going to have to wait a few more days, but I'll try to make it worth your while!


In order to appease you, I've decided to start sharing a list I've been working on of things you should know before venturing over the Atlantic Ocean to Germany (this is Part 1).


Refrigeration tends to be used much less frequently in Germany than back in the States. One example of this I'm uneasy about is that a lot of drinks, like apple juice or orange juice, are not refrigerated even after opening. I mean, yeah it says drink within two to three days of opening, but I would imagine apple juice is basically like the growth medium you grow bacteria on in laboratories. Even worse is the orange juice situation because at least with apple juice you can see if it has turned cloudy or not. Speaking of which, I think my orange juice tasted funny yesterday morning.


European Bathrooms tend to be the most confusing aspect of life in Germany and this is for multiple reasons:

1. Toilets: German toilets typically have a flush button and a stop button. This means not only do you have to press once to flush, but you have to remember to press the stop button. Don't forget either, or a German will surely chastise you for wasting water and being a wasteful American.
2. Toilet Paper: Yeah, it might be double-ply but it still feels like computer paper. Paul, make sure you bring a four-pack of Charmin before heading over here.
3. Washer: Most Germans keep their washing machines in the bathroom (though sometimes it's in the kitchen). This isn't really that confusing, just weird. Also, don't expect to find a dryer anywhere, it's all natural air-drying over here.

Showers, while part of the bathroom experience, really deserve their own section. I think showers (the act of showering not the fixture) can really be divided into two types: American showers and German showers.

• American showers are normally the most relaxing part of the day and mine tend to last between 8-12 minutes.

• German showers are normally one of the most stressful parts of the day and tend to last between 4-6 minutes, including the time when you actually turn the shower off to shampoo your hair/soap up your body. Better hope it's not too cold in your bathroom.

I'm not sure how normal this is--it definitely seems to be followed less strictly in western Germany than it was in the eastern part, money and living standards I suppose, but it takes some getting used to. It goes without saying that every once in a while if all of my roommates are gone, I try to sneak in an American shower (don't judge me).




The Trash system in Germany is notoriously confusing. There are normally at least four kinds of trash in any one German home. There is the trash for most packaging (like food packaging or other product packaging). There is the paper bin with newspaper, paper bags and other paper products. Then there is the trash for composting like leftover food and/or scraps or some paper products. Bottles are completely confusing because some bottles have a Pfand (deposit) so you need to take them back to the store while others get thrown away either separately or with another trash section. Last but not least there is the anything else trash--if it doesn't fit into any of the other categories chuck it in here.

Settling In

After a few moderately stressful periods of what has felt like constant upheaval, I feel like I'm (very) slowly starting to settle in to a cozy life in Hannover. This Monday was my first real day of school, which turned out to be pretty uneventful since I mostly just introduced myself and then observed in the back and served as a "living" dictionary. On Mondays I have one class with my host teacher (13. grade) and then one class with a different teacher (12. grade) who happens to be a first-year teacher (and sometimes looks as confused as me). Everyone at the school has been exceptionally nice so far, but I'm looking forward to teaching my own lessons and taking a more active role.


Since my classes were cancelled today (all the upperclass students went to the Uni. Hannover) all I had was a staff meeting (Gesamtkonferenz) which thankfully only lasted for two hours instead of the three for which it was scheduled. So excluding classes on Monday and this Gesamtkonferenz, all I've done in Hannover this week is explore the city some (pictures should be appearing shortly) and go to open house viewings/meetings at various shared flats (basically, apartments that rent by the room). Speaking of wandering around the city--my host teacher graciously gave me a bike to use to get around Hannover, which is very bike friendly by the way, but needless to say it's been quite a while since I've ridden a bike extensively. Monday, I made the mistake of riding bike entirely further than I originally planned on (basically around this giant lake in the southern part of Hannover) and then got turned around and went to far north before finding my way home (all of which, I'm proud to say, I did without getting my map out from my bookbag). My butt has been sore for two days, but at least the blister on the ball of my foot is slowly going away.


One repeating them I've noticed over the past two weeks (have I really been here for two weeks?) is how encouraging everyone has been with my German. They never cut me off when I'm thinking of how to answer, rush me when I'm having problems or laugh at my many mistakes (well, only once but it was pretty funny in hindsight). Whenever I express uncertainty or apologize for my language skills (or lack thereof) they always refute me and compliment me on my German. I think I just needed that adjustment period where I absorbed all of the language I could before I began to get back into the "German" flow of things. Hopefully now I can shake off this whole "Woe is me" language barrier excuse and bust out with my blossoming German skills!

A Minor American Clarification

As of now I have moved out of Bernhard and Dagmar's house in Garbsen (I'm going to miss the fresh fruit/vegetables out of the garden), and I'm living in my second temporary home in Hannover. While I was searching for a free room in a WG (shared flat/apartment), I was getting discouraged by the lack of positive responses to my enquiries (or responses at all). Then I exchanged a few emails with a guy named Mathias who had a free room in his WG in Linden-Nord (a very cool neighborhood in Hannover practically right next to the middle of the city). Over a long and drawn out process of missed phone calls and meeting him and his roommate Daniel, it turned out they couldn't offer me the room...they gave it to someone else. However, they felt so bad about the situation that they offered me a place to stay for a month or so until I found my own place (Daniel has two small rooms and offered one to me for the time being).


The point of the story being--last night I was hanging out with Mathias and his girlfriend when his girlfriend brought up the song "Sweet Home Alabama" by Kid Rock. I quickly informed her that to be a true [US] Southerner, she has to know that "Sweet Home Alabama" is by Lynyrd Skynyrd. She disagreed with me and we research it online until I realized that she was thinking of "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock which sounds like and references "Sweet Home Alabama". Apparently she likes this song, and I was hesitant to tell her that I really don't care for Kid Rock and that this song was used in a crappy string of KFC commercials. Anyways, one thing I always find difficult about being an ambassador from the US is how you have to represent every aspect of American life/culture--even the things that you yourself hate or don't understand.


Did I mention that when I was leaving Bernhard/Dagmar's house on Friday, Dagmar gave me a sheet of coupons she had found to Burger King. I don't know if this was prompted by her trying to help me save money on my small budget or because I must love Burger King because I'm American, but it was still nice (I suppose). I didn't have the heart to tell her that I don't care for Burger King, so I took them graciously and threw them away later.


It's always weird to go against someone's stereotypes. So far I've been told that Americans like Kid Rock, only eat fast food, only drink cola and drive everywhere. So the last one is pretty true, but I mean...America is a big country!

A Few Days Full of Surprises

I have survived my first few days in Germany. Not that there was any real doubt whether I would survive or not, but it was definitely a trying period. The odd thing about a transatlantic travel day is how that one day stretches out into a grueling 36-hour fight against jet lag and fatigue. When I met my host teacher Martina in the Hannover Hauptbahnhof, she surprised me with the news that I had to go straight to the school with her since she was in the middle of a class. Most of the day seemed a bit surreal including the two classes I sat in (after introducing myself, of course) and my meeting with the Schulleiter. I finally made it to my temporary home in Berenbostel (a suburb of Hannover) where I would be staying with another teacher at the Otto Brenner Schule named Bernhard and his "Partner" (not to be confused with wife) Dagmar.


I'm still trying to get into the German language mindset--right now I feel so sluggish and out of practice. I'm staying in a hostel in Köln right now, before orientation, and I woke up this morning to someone getting ready at about 6:00 am. When I turned in bed and squinted my eyes to see what the commotion was all about there was an old German dude putting on his biking pants for the Kölner Triathlon and a loud greeting of "Morgen!" that was on a level of enthusiam too high for me to deal with that early in the morning. I grunted, turned over and went back to bed--how's that for rude American tourists?


All in all I think it's going to be an interesting year. I'm already starting to see how uncomfortable I can be sometimes in such an isolating situation, and I think the key for me to have a great year instead of only a good one is to overcome that barrier. Well see how that goes.


-Hankins in Hannover