Shout Out to the Girls

I just wanted to wish a safe, happy, and fun filled Girl's Weekend to everyone who is heading to Chicago for the next few days. I wish I was there with you! I cannot wait to hear all about it and to see pictures. Love you alway. Emma

A Picture of Me

If anyone is interested, they can see a picture of me on the website of the school I am working at. The link is http://cms.sn.schule.de/heg. Then just scroll down a little and there I am! The caption reads "We heartfully welcome our English teaching assistant Emma Blandford from Ohio."

Since I last wrote

Hello loved ones! I hope everyone is happy and that life is treating you well. Other than missing my family terribly, I love living in Dresden. Last weekend my fellow Dresden Fulbrighters and I went out for a Döner, like a Gyro but better, and then hung out for a while. On Sunday, I stood in line for a half hour in the rain to see the Semperoper, the historic opera house in the Altstadt, during its open house. I did not expect so many people to be there, but it was packed. It was totally worth the wait as the theater is gorgeous and breathtaking. 

I am continuing to work at my school for about three hours a day and then I have the rest of the day free. I don’t want to go home and sit in my room, so I usually go into the Altstadt and walk around. Last night I went to a play. It was One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. It was wonderful. I was familiar with the name, but had never read the book or seen the movie. It was even better because it was in English! I know what you are thinking, but although I know enough German to live and get around in Germany, I still have more to learn and would have understand a lot less if the play was in German. The actors were amazing. They were all from the British Isles and yet their American accents were so believable that I would never have guest that they were not Americans.

Today, I am officially a student at the Technische Universität Dresden. I am really excited! I cannot wait to take some German classes so that I can be more confident in my German. I am also really excited about a history class that I am going to sit in. It covers German history from 1933 to 1939. Then next semester, there will be a class on German history from 1939 to 1945. I think this class will be really interesting and I believe it will give me a new perspective on the time period. The class is obviously going to be in German, so I am a little nervous that I will not understand a whole lot, but that won’t stop me from taking the class.

Who knows what I will be doing this weekend, but Monday begins Saxony’s Fall Break and I am taking advantage of it. I will divide seven days between Florence and Rome. Four years ago, when I was in Salzburg, I visited Venice and Tuscany with my Uncle Brian and Aunt Jeri. I will miss not having them there with me, but every time I see a roundabout, I will be thinking of you! LOL! Sorry, that is an inside joke that we will have to tell later. As a history buff, I have wanted to go to Rome for years and see all the ancient sites. Florence, on the other hand, was chosen because my sister Clare study there for a summer and my family visited there without me four years ago. I have also heard great things about it and love the movie A Room with a View. So come back in two weeks for some great pictures and a detailed account of my adventure!

I Love German Food!

Last Saturday I was invited to the home of the English department chair from the school I am working at. When I arrived, she was finishing lunch and oh my goodness was lunch amazing. We each had a thin slice of roast beef that was spread with veggies and then rolled and baked. Along with this we had potatoes with graving and additional steamed veggies. If that was not enough, for dessert we had plum Knudel covered with cinnamon hot from the oven. It was amazing!!! After lunch, we rode our bikes into town through the Grosser Garten, a big park in Dresden, through the Altstadt to the Zwinger. The Zwinger is the palace in Dresden and today it is the location of the major art museum in Dresden. After touring the museum for two hours, we walked to the Neustadt in hopes of climbing a church bell tower to see the view of Dresden. But when we arrived at the church, it was closing, so we could not go up. But I was not disappointed. The walk to and from the Neustadt offered some great opportunities to take pictures of Dresden. Since we could not go up to the tower of the church, we went to the Rathaus, or city hall, instead and went up in its tower and had a great view of the city. I have posted some of my pictures below. It was another great day in Dresden, largely due to the kindness of the teachers I am working with.

Dresden Altstadt

Me at the Rathaus with the Altstadt behind me.

The Altstadt along the Elbe River.

View of the Altstadt from the tower of the Rathaus.

Dresden, part II

I know that I have been a horrible blogger, but life has been a little crazy. However, I left you hanging and have a lot to catch you up on, so I will start where I left off. I could only freak out for so long on Saturday, because I had plans in the afternoon. First I met up with the other Fulbright Scholars in Dresden in the Alstadt and toured the Frauenkirche. Afterwards, we had ice cream and then I had to leave to meet one of the English teachers I will be working with named Franca. Together we went to the Dresden Hauptbahnhof and got no further, and then we went to the Neustadt. The Neustadt lies across the river from the Altstadt and is the new hip place to live and be seen. She took me around the main streets and showed of the unique diverse community. We stopped at the Dresden Molkerei, a dairy shop that has been in existant for a very long time and has a beautiful store completely covered with tiles, to have cake and milk. Afterwards, we further explored the town and she explained that many of the stereotypical-looking communist style apartment buildings in the Neustadt are empty because either no one knows who really owns the property or it is too expensive to remodel the building.  I find Dresden so interesting when I think that 20+ years ago it was under communism and how different it must have been to live here. Throughout Dresden, there are many reminders of the past decades. After exploring the Neustadt for more than two and  a half hours, we walked back to the Altstadt and I caught a bus home. It was a wonderful afternoon and helped take my mind of the current situation, i.e. no wallet, no money, thousands of miles from home. When I got back to the apartment, I continued to try to call Munich until they closed at 8pm and then tried to relax and go to bed because Sunday was booked.

On Sunday, I woke up early and went to church with Franca. Her church was located in the Neustadt, near where we were the previous day. The church she attends does not hold mass in the actual church, but in a room in a nearby building because the church was never reconstructed after being partily destroyed by bombs during WWII. As such a history enthusiast, I find it so interesting to see the reminants of WWII and the Cold War in Dresden. After church we went to Franca's house for lunch and a game with the family. It was then decided that we would go on a bike ride. After choosing bikes we headed out. This was no leasurely bike ride, like I thought it was going to be. We did more then 6 km of mostly rough terrain  along the Elbe River to the town of Radebeul where we had drinks and desert. Then we rode the more than 6 km of rough terrain back. That was the second time in four years that I rode a bike! Nevertheless, it was beautiful along the river and there were tons of people riding their bikes with us. I was exhausted, but had a good time. When I returned home, my roomates, Julian and his sister Isobel , and their girlfriend and boyfriend were having a cookout in the backyard. They invited me to dine with them and we ate grilled chicken kabobs with onions and peaches and different salads. We also laughed a lot. That night when I sat down at my computer for the first time that day, I had a email from a fellow Fulbrighter in Munich that said that they would go to the train station and seek my wallet. Long story short, she found it and sent it too me. By last Wednesday, I had the money my parents wired to me and then on Thursday I got my wallet. So in the end, the week without a wallet was stressful, but not bad at all. I learned a valuable lesson - divide up you credit cards and cash- and I feel that if I could make it through not having any money in Europe, I can live through almost anything. Although, I only made it because the teachers I am working with were so understanding and helpful. I will also be in awe of their kindness and have great respect for them. So what did I do this past weekend? Shopped! And had another adventure, this time with food.

Dresden

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to post. I have had quiet a week. On Monday June 6, I took a train to Cologne and was picked up by the Fulbright Commission. From the city we drove an hour to Altenberg, a church and monastery that is used as a christian camp. The church was beautiful, thought simple, and the monastery was comfortable, although I was not a huge fan of the food and it lacked internet and phone access. After three days of seminars and lots of information, I left for Dresden.

Now here is where it gets interesting. On the train from Cologne to Frankfurt I accidently left my wallet. I did not realize this until I was on my second train from Frankfurt to Dresden. I immediately talked to a conductor and he called the last train where it was found. It was a relief to know that someone found it and that it would be returned. I was told to call Munich, the last stop on the first train, to get it back.

I did not worry much about my wallet because I was distracted by getting closer and closer to meeting the teacher I was going to work with. After five hours on the trains, I arrived at the main train station and Dresden and was welcomed by two of the teacher I will be working with. They very kindly assisted me with my very heavy luggage and then took me to where I was going to stay. I am living in a middle class residental area called Striesen. It is close to the botanical garden and lots of stores. I met my roomate, Julian, and showed my bedroom. It is long and narrow with a very high ceilling. My window looks out to the backyard that has lots of trees. It is quiet nice. I unpacked and got settled in and then went to bed early.

Then on Friday, I went to the school where I will be working, had breakfast with all the English teachers and had a tour. I explained my situation and they were very helpful giving me pass to ride the public transportation and some money. On Friday, I called Munich main train station but always got a busy signal. For the next eight hours I tried with no luck to talk to somebody about getting my wallet back. Only after I could not reach anyone in Munich on Saturday did I start to freak out....

Pictures of Altenberg



The first picture is of the Altenberg Cathedral. Next, is the enterence to the monastery and the final picture shows the side of the cathedral with the sun in the back.

Germany!!!

After a long flight with no sleep, I arrived very early in Frankfurt, Germany.  After walking what seemed miles through the airport, getting my passport checked, picking up my luggage, and going through customs, I took a cab to the hotel.  So what did I do on my first day? Sleep! I caught up on the sleep I missed and then too lazy and cheap to take a shuttle and train into Frankfurt, I relaxed in my hotel room and got organized for tomorrow. I was not too disappointed in missing the opportunity to see Frankfurt, since I visited it five years ago when I was in Germany for a month as a PSO student.

Tomorrow I will take a train to Cologne and see a little bit of the city before beginning my Fulbright orientation. The orientation is taking place at a hostel in Altenberg, Germany. The hostel was once a monastery. Although the website is in German, there are some great pictures. If interested, the website is http://www.haus-altenberg.de/. While there, I will not have any internet access, so the next time I post, either Thursday or Friday, I will be in Dresden! Happy Labor Day and I hope everyone has a safe and happy week.

Departure

I am leaving for the airport in less than an hour! The last two days have been filled with final preparations and farewell dinners. Thank you for all the well wishes. I love you all very much and and hope your year is successful and happy. Best wishes!