Mainz Hotels
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My first two weeks . . .
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Hello all!
I left for Germany on June 10, and I'll try and sum up the last two weeks as best I can. Feel free to stop reading at any time-this will probably be boring and scattered, but I thought you might want to know what I've been up to.
I'm living in Mainz, Germany. Which, by train and bus, is about an hour southwest of Frankfurt. About 40 college students from across the country are in Germany this summer thanks to the USA-Interns program. On the first Monday I arrived we had an orientation and barbeque, but after that we all sort of spread out throughout the country for our respective internships.
USA-Interns has ties in both the U.S. and Germany, and I'm assuming the program uses these connections to apply for internships on our behalf. I know a girl interning in the field of economics; another kid who is working for General Motors; another who works at a bank; even another guy who is helping to plan a choral festival in the region.
For me, I landed an internship at ZDF, or Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen. I didn't know it until I arrived here, but ZDF is one of the two premier television stations in Germany. It broadcasts all sorts of programming, but over 50 % of its content is news-based. Its journalism sector, I'd say, is comparable to something like CNN in the states.
Anyhoo, the first week I was in Mainz was a tough one. I had a week before my internship actually started, and for all intents and purposes, I lived-and still live-alone. I'm renting out a small house in a quaint German town (still in Mainz but outside of the hustle and bustle of the city) and I live with some 28-year-old guy names Tobias. I have the bottom floor, and he has the top floor, and it works out I guess. He's nice enough, though I've only talked with him twice.
So I had a week to get settled, which was more than enough time. I got acclimated pretty quickly with the house: a cozy kitchen, a small bathroom where everything seems to work (barely), and a pretty sizable room. Comfortable, but lonely. I had no phone, television, or internet. And so I sort of just sat around, feeling sorry for myself and cooking pasta for dinner. The calling card I had was about a dollar a minute, even within Germany. So I didn't really feel like doing much of anything.
Slowly, things got better. I was absolutely fortunate to have spectacular neighbors. They're a married couple of about 65 or 70, and it's as if they've taken me in as a son. During that first week, as I was sleeping through one afternoon, the man (his name's Charlie) knocked on my window. Still pretty sleepy, I opened up the door to this guy and he came into my kitchen, speaking rapidly in a German that I could barely understand.
Over the course of the next few minutes, he told me I could use his extra TV since I was, after all, living alone in a foreign country with no access to the outside world. He led me into his house, where he showed me a spare TV in his upstairs study. I could have it, he told me, until I left in July. He threw out a cord from his window and put it through the pantry of my kitchen, and boom-I had free television and something with which to pass the time.
His thoughtfulness was a first step, a real sense of progress. It brightened my day, and it also led me to believe that, contrary to popular belief, Germans aren't a cold people! We're all humans, after all. That whole humanity thing seems to hold true across the board . . . at least I think so, anyway.
But it wasn't just the TV. Charlie drove me around the bus route I'd need to take to get to ZDF. His wife purchased my first bus tickets for me after I told her I had no idea how to operate the machine, seeing as everything's in German. (Yeah, I'm learning the language, but I'm sure the machine could have been in English and I would have been confused. I tend to not know what's going on most of the time . . .).
By Friday, I still wasn't so sure about this whole Germany thing. I mean, I had some pretty nice neighbors, but was that enough to get me through a month in Mainz? I used the remaining six minutes on my phone card (read: 6 dollars) to call one of the U.S. interns who's living in Frankfurt, and we made plans to go out that night. So I had something to do for the first time that week. Which was nice, if only I could navigate my way into Frankfurt.
I got there fine. Some guys were there to meet me. And I'll say this-the World Cup crowd in Frankfurt was worth the trip. We bounced around various bars (nothing alcoholic of course, since I'm still under 21 and would never disobey the laws of my home country) and met all sorts of characters: drunks with flags of just about every nation draped around their shoulders; old bearded men who insisted on buying us drinks (again, I think it was Sprite or Coke); even some girls . . .
It was my first "fun" night, I guess. And it made everything about the country better, at least in the days following. I know it sounds stupid, but it felt like I was finally starting to get something out of the trip, something tangibly good. For all the work and planning I had put in to a summer and fall abroad, I thought, it was about time.
More about those first few days, though: It was as if, without anybody knowing, I could have disappeared into the farthest corner of the earth. Looking back, that sort of isolation-no way for anybody to contact me and nothing pressing for me to do-feels like a rare if twisted sense of freedom. Liberation. Didn't quite feel like that when it was happening, though . . .
I told you I'd ramble.
So after a week of Germany under my belt, including a pretty solid weekend, I was feeling a bit better about life. I began to work at ZDF on Monday for a program called "Auslandsjournal," roughly translated as "foreign journal." Every Thursday night the show includes four 6-minute stories on issues from around the globe. If you feel like it, you can check out the website here:
http://www.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/17/0,1872,1020465,00.html
I've been researching for them, translating some German into English, and making some phone calls (in German) to find statistics and information. So far it's been a good learning experience, although I'm not quite sure how the next few weeks will play out.
Also, I randomly met this 20-year-old college student at the bus stop one day, and so I've been hanging out with him and his friends. Mainz is along the Rhein river, and last Thursday (June 22) we all sat on the grass by the river, had ourselves a little barbeque and chatted. Everyone's really nice, open, and curious. They all speak German to me, and so I feel as if my language skills will improve a lot if I can keep at it. On Friday I had dinner at the same kid's apartment, and we then took the bus into downtown Mainz for Johannesfest, which celebrates Johannes Gutenberg's life, I guess. Good times.
On Saturday I watched in downtown Mainz as Germany defeated Sweden 2-0. It was a public viewing on a large screen, and the Germans who attended were decked in their flag's colors-Schwarz, Rot, und Gold. It was a blast watching it amongst Germans, cheering alongside as their country qualified for the "Viertelfinale."
They chanted: "Berlin! Berlin! Wir fahren nach Berlin!" Roughly translated, it means "We're going to Berlin," where the World Cup final will take place in July. After the game was over, as flags waved and music filled the air, the guys I was with put their arms around me and we all sang together. It was a moment I won't forget.
Okay, so that's my update for now. The plan, as of now, is to leave Mainz on July 15 for a language and culture course in Dresden, which is south of Berlin and in former eastern Germany. After that, from about August 11 to sometime in December, I will be interning for Deutsche Welle, one of Germany's radio stations. I'm not quite sure about all the details, but I think I'll be working in their English division and so I might get the chance to do some cool stuff.
Thanks for reading, and send me an email if you have time-I'd love to hear from you all!
Mit Freunclichen Gruessen von Mainz,
Nick
Latest Comments (3)
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Hello From Home (reply)
Jul 20, 2006 13:38 EST by garyengen
Hi Nick,
I would expect by now you are in Dresden starting your class. We will tru calling tonight when I get home.
All is very well here. The weather has been hot (I spent all day outside staining the deck Saturday in close to 100 degree heat) but we got a little break and some rain yesterday.
Work is going well. I'll be in Davenport again next week. I had an interesting experience ... show all
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miss you (reply)
Jul 5, 2006 19:12 EST by maggieengen
Hey nick I think your blog is great. It's good to hear that you are doing well and making friends. Sounds like this trip is a wonderful experience for you. I can't wait to hear more. Write again soon. Take care of your self and have fun. Love Maggie
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garyengen (reply)
Jun 30, 2006 16:11 EST by garyengen
Hi Nick,
Great update. I'm glad you are making friends and obeying laws. We will call you this weekend.
Love,
Dad, Julie, Colin, Shannon, Maggie, and Ben
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