Mass transit

Now that I'm getting settled back here in Seattle I've been asked a lot if/when I plan on buying a car. I loved my little Saturn, which still gets 40 miles to the gallon with its new owner, even though the car is almost 10 years old. But instead of immediately buying a car and all the expenses that go with it, I'd like to try and see how alternative transportation solutions can work for me. (Note: of course, it does help tremendously that Joe has a lovely car that he's willing to share with me when I *really* need it.)

Yesterday I took the bus downtown to meet Joe after work. We ended up taking a taxi to a bar to sing karaoke (and, my friends, that's a whole other post in itself) and then took a taxi home later that night. All these were fairly small, straightforward trips and were accomplished quite easily with public transportation. But tomorrow I'm heading 60 miles south to Olympia for a haircut and some much-needed family time, and I have a handful options for getting there:

1) The bus.
For $3.75, three transfers and about three hours out of my day, I can go from Kirkland to downtown Olympia the cheapest. And once I'm there, I can hop on a free shuttle to my Mom's office and hitch a ride home with her.

2) The train.
I'd have to take the bus to the downtown train station ($2.25 and one hour) and then take the 1 1/2 hour train ride to rural Olympia for $23.00. The train is cool, but it would take nearly as much as the bus and costs WAY more. And someone would have to drive to the station to fetch me.

3) Friendly carpool.
A girlfriend of mine suggested taking the bus ($2.25 and nearly two hours) down to Federal Way and we could carpool down to Olympia together.

4) Um, Dad?
Always at the ready, my Dad would pick me up on the moon if I asked him to. But it just happens that he might have a meeting up north tomorrow, meaning that I could take the bus to the airport ($2.25 and about 1 1/2 hours) to meet him and we could head back down to Olympia together.

Look at this, people! There are lots of options for getting from one place to another without having a car! I know three hours seems like a LONG time, but yesterday it took me 80 minutes to go from Kirkland to downtown Seattle, which is a whopping six miles. So I think the bus to Olympia is not a bad option. Especially because I won't be driving and can pass the time by knitting.

Once I fetch my bike from Olympia, I'm also going to see how using my bicycle as an alternative source of transportation will work for me. Of course, Joe's rooting for a Vespa, which gets something like 70 miles to the gallon and is really easy to park. But I think I'll stick with the bus for now. :)

It's just not the same

A blog is a strange venue for communication. On one side it can be a great tool to reach out to and communicate with a wide range of people, including family, friends, beloved lurkers, and even strangers. When I was living in Germany, it was also fun to give people the chance to catch up on what I was up to without subjecting them to those mass e-mails that sometimes read "Hey everyone! Look at what a super exciting life I have!"

On the other side, a blog can lull one into thinking that by writing entries and posting pictures, it is comparable to cultivating real-life relaltionships. That is just not true. If someone asks me how I'm doing, I would never answer, "Oh, I'm good. Actually, there's a lot more, but you should just look it up on my blog."

Since moving back to Seattle I've heard from several people that they would like to continue to hear about my crazy life escapades on my blog, and I'm excited to continue to post and improve my writing skills. But I am really looking forward to reconnecting with my family and friends on American soil, and that means that my posts might not be as frequent as they were in Germany. Since the purpose of my blog in the first place was to stay in touch with family and friends, I'd rather let them know what I'm up to over a cup of coffee than by having them check back here.

I am having a ton of fun here (in Seattle AND on my blog!) and I'll post photos and stories soon. I hope you all have a great day and hopefully I will talk to and see a lot of you soon!

Reverse culture shock: the good stuff

I've been back in the U.S. for almost exactly 48 hours and have been really enjoying my "reverse culture shock." It's no secret that I love my country and think Seattle is a fantastic city, but I had forgotten about a few cultural differences between Germany and America in the last couple years.

1) Women in the U.S. are athletes
Today I spent the day up in Bellingham watching Joe play in a soccer tournament. He plays on a coed team and the tournament itself involved about 60 different teams from around the area. As I sat and watched the players on the field, it dawned on me that I had never seen women playing soccer in Germany. For that matter, I never really saw girls or women playing sports of any kind. It was such a strange realization, but team sports for women at the rec or club level either don't exist in the areas where I lived, or they were very well-hidden. And although I don't consider myself to be an athlete, I played a variety of sports growing up and have even completed two sprint triathlons. German girls and women just don't seem to be into that, which I think it kind of sad.

2) Americans are so American
Last night we went out to dinner with another couple (to a Mexican restaurant, something you also don't really see in Germany) and it was a great opportunity for people watching. It is funny to observe the mannerisms, carriage and general attitude of Americans (more specifically, western Washingtonians). In general I think that Americans portray an image of being more animated, self-confident, and open than the Germans, who I find to be fairly reserved and almost stoic. Naturally, this does not mean that Germans aren't a ton of fun, but they do tend to act more reserved when out in public. In the last couple days I've seen so many smiling faces, people shaking hands and open body language from the people around me and it was a great feeling to be back among folk that I can really identify with.

3) English may be my native language...
...but that doesn't mean I always understand it!
It is so shocking to realize that over the course of a day, there will be times in a casual conversation when I won't understand someone. Who is speaking English. Which is my native language. I have stressed and concentrated and sprouted grey hairs over the last two years because I struggled to understand all the German being spoken to me and around me in Coburg. I used to think to myself, "if I were at home, I'd be able to understand everything!" Well apparently, that's not the case. Sometimes people muddle words together or the ambient noise in the room just makes it hard to understand someone. But the shock also brought some relief to the fact that I would sometimes have to ask Germans to repeat something they would say to me in German.

Tomorrow our friends Garrie and Maggiee are flying in from L.A. for a few days and I've already heard a couple stories of Maggiee's reverse culture shock. But shocking or not, I have to say that there is no place like home and it feels SO good to be back on American soil. :)

I just flew in from Germany...

...and boy are my arms tired!

No seriously. My carry-on luggage was beastly heavy.

Just for the record, I don't recommend international moves. Unless you are a true nomad and not a diva with 20 pairs of shoes and lots of clothing.

Sometimes I am confounded by the perpetual optimist in me. When I wrote my last posting I was feeling very positive about the day's events. Like fitting everything into two suitcases? Um, that didn't happen. I took another 20 kilogram box to the post office about an hour after writing that. I even feel a bit of poignancy towards that Pollyana-esque creature who even thought that after an entire day of carrying furniture, boxes, suitcases, garbage, recycle, and any and every other item from my apartment, she would have the time and energy to then find a swimsuit, towel, and sunscreen and go swimming.

Yeah, so the swimming never happened.

And please don't get me started on my internet contract with Vodafone. Anything but that. I can deal with heavy carry-on luggage and security searches at the airport and not getting to go swimming on my last day in Coburg. But at this point I still cannot deal with how horrible the customer service is at Vodafone, and how unbelievably much money I will end up paying for an unused internet contract in Germany until December of this year. It actually pains me to think about it. Breathe in. Breathe out. No-one said moving was cheap. Okay, I feel much better now.

But I'm back in Seattle safe and sound! I read somewhere that jetlag makes you so tired because your soul can't travel as fast as your body, meaning it takes a few extra days of travel for it to catch up to you. Although it's a teeny bit creepy, that person may have a point. My computer is still set on Germany time and I'm trying not to look at it, for fear that it might frighten my soul into taking a detour before it arrives back in my body. It's only 10 a.m., but I think I need a nap.

Goodbye Germany!

Today is my last full day in Germany and I've been awake since about 5:30 this morning, meaning it will be a long last day. :) The man from the electric company is coming any minute to settle my account, and then my friend Christine is coming at 10 to take away all of my apartment items that I didn't manage to sell or give away. Then some movers are coming this afternoon to take away the rest of my furniture, leaving me with my cleaning supplies and an empty apartment. I'll be spending the night at my friend Verena's house tonight and then we're headed to Frankfurt tomorrow morning. Whew.

As you can probably tell, my mind might be a little preoccupied with the activities of the day. Hence the 5:30 wake-up call from my brain.

The weather forecast for the day looks fairly promising and I'm hoping that the sun will decide to make an appearance today. After I'm out of my apartment and my suitcases are down at Verena's place (she only lives about 75 yards down the road), I'm hoping it will be suitable weather for swimming. I can't think of a better way to say goodbye to Coburg than by lazing around poolside at the local Aquaria.

This is the Olympic-sized lap pool outside, as well as a view of the diving boards and the indoor water slide. Seriously, this place is awesome.


























Oh right, and since I'm a theater employee, we get a membership to the pool and daily admission only costs one Euro. No joke. It's awesome.




















Straight ahead is the inside area, which also has a 25-meter lap pool, a kiddie pool, and a "wellness" pool, which is just a fancy way of saying really warm water.




















In the other direction is a huge lawn (it's at least five times bigger than what you see in this photo) and this wave pool. On a busy day they turn on the wave machine once every 30 minutes. In this photo they've already closed it for the day, but when it's on it creates really big waves. And really big fun.




















Don't let these photos fool you into thinking no-one comes to the Aquaria. On the day when I took pictures it was after a fairly nasty rainstorm and very late in the day on a weekday. On a normal day and time there are several hundred people here and the people watching is second-to-none.

Well folks, that's all she wrote! Wish me luck with my monstrously heavy suitcases and I'll check back in when I'm stateside! :)

PS The man from the electricity company just left and let me tell you, I think the people who work there are just the nicest people in Coburg. I have never received such wonderful customer service.

PPS It's a little later this afternoon. Electricity guy - check! Christine - check! Furniture liquidation - check! Verena's coming over in two hours to pick up the suitcases and then I'll be ready for the pool! There is a sweet echo in my living room now!

PPPS I just got my mail for the last time in Coburg and guess what I received? My U.S. Economic Stimulus check. $300.00 baby! :) I think it's a sign, don't you?

Jaywalker

I finished my first Jaywalker sock last night! Don't you just love the cool stripes and color combinations of the yarn?




















The pattern was written by Grumperina and has been sweeping the sock-knitting scene for years. I'm pretty slow on the uptake, but now that I've knit my first one I realize why people go crazy for this sock. The zig-zag pattern is made by a row of alternating increases and decreases within a simple stockinette stitch. In non-knitting jargon, the pattern looks way harder to knit than it is. And that zig-zag effect really hugs to my calf, meaning I don't have to worry about my socks slouching down.

























I'm still getting the hang of knitting custom-fit socks and these fit better than any of the socks I've knit before this. However, before I knit the second sock to this pair, I started another pair of Jaywalkers in a different yarn:




















I was eager to see how the stripes were going to knit out from this ball, and they are turning out to be very uniform. Really, one of my life's pleasures is to knit with verigated yarn and watch stripes develop. I am easily pleased. :)

Foggy

I have started writing three different blog posts today, but my thoughts don't seem to have any rhyme or reason. My head just feels a little foggy. I think I'll save those other post ideas for another day and share a few random photos instead.

Those are my feet on the dock of lake Coeur d' alene in Idaho. It is my favorite place in the world.

I took this picture at the Mr. Rogers exhibit at the Seattle Children's Museum in 2006. It was the best museum exhibit I've ever seen. I cried when I saw old videos of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. Sometimes people pronounce my name with two syllables and it sounds like "tree-suh." I don't really like that.

This bird thought my roommate's ashtray was a nest and looked like he wanted to stay awhile. I actually called my Dad in the U.S. (the photo was taken in my hotel in Coburg) to ask him how to get the bird to go away.

I took this picture on the morning of my very first audition in Germany. That was my hotel room in Munich and I was very nervous.

This is my parents' backyard, two very sweet (and one very drooly) dogs, and me and Joe. In just a few days I'll get to hold Joe's hand again.

Lesson learned

This morning a woman called me and asked if she could come by this afternoon to see my apartment. I told her I would be out and about until the afternoon and asked her to come by between five and six (that's 17:00 and 18:00). She said closer to six would be better and then said if she was coming earlier that she'd call.

I got home at about 3:30 this afternoon and had a late lunch. By the time I was done eating it was a little after 4. I did quite a bit of packing and cleaning up last night, but my bedroom still wasn't up to my visitor standard, so I organized everything and cleaned all the floors. I just finished at 17:00 when the doorbell rang. Yep, the lady (with her family in tow) was already here to see the apartment, although they said they'd be coming at six.

Looks like I learned my lesson from yesterday. Whew!

Okay, enough with my packing and moving neuroses.


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When I showed you pictures of my costumes that were taken in the dressing room, they were all taken under horrible flourescent lighting, usually making my makeup (and sometimes even costumes) look pretty freakish. But once those stage lights hit, a lot of things change. For instance, check out this picture of my Kit Kat persona in the dressing room:

























It's not a horrible picture, but I do kind of look like the clown version of a Kit Kat girl. But check out this picture I got from one of my choir colleagues. He sat in the audience during the dress rehearsal and snapped some photos of the Kit Kats:






















Lights, camera, action! Suddenly that clownish makeup and yellow wig give the right bit of sass to help me sparkle onstage as a Kit Kat Girl. This is one of my favorite pictures from my time at the Landestheater.

Quarter two

The Germans have an interesting way of telling time, and after nearly two years here I still haven't managed to wrap my head around their system.

The basics are pretty clear. The Germans generally use a 24-hour time system, what we would call "military time" in America. This is most common in the written form of the language, but in the spoken form when the time of day is pretty apparent, then they also use a 12-hour system.

But then it gets a little hairy. Half past the hour (let's use 8:30 as an example) can be said the normal way (i.e. "it's eight thirty") or the German/European way ("it's half nine"). I learned that in order to get ahold of this concept, I needed to think to myself "it's half(way to) nine." Because if I didn't, I'd end up understanding "half (past) nine" and show up one hour late to a meeting.

Then come the quarter hour designations, and the beginning of my downward spiral. The normal way for us Americans to say 2:15 is "it's quarter past two," or for 6:45 "it's quarter to seven." But the Germans don't say that. For 2:15, they say "quarter three" and for 6:45 they say "three quarters seven." And don't even get me started on the people who call 1:25 "five before half two" or 9:40 "five before three quarters ten." Argh!!!

And today this cultural difference reared its ugly head, when my landlady called me this morning and asked to come by earlier than her scheduled 2:00 p.m. appointment. Mind you, I'm generally in a bit of a fog right now, so when she said "quarter two," I didn't actually understand 1:15, but rather 1:45 ("quarter to two"). So when she showed up on my doorstep at 1:15, I had a small heart attack, because I'm in the middle of packing, and my bedroom looks like a bomb exploded in it:

I'm not a slob by any means, but an international move and packing my apartment into two suitcases takes a good bit of organization, so I thought that by spreading it all out so I could look at it (trust me, the mess extends way past the frame of that photo) would help me get it all packed into the suitcases most efficiently.

But oh my goodness, I'm still wallowing in shame. No-one was actually supposed to SEE that gosh-darn-awful mess!!! Thank God my landlady is an extremely nice woman, and told me not to worry my little head about the mess, because she's going through a move right now as well and understands. That's all well and good, but I'm still embarassed. And to make matters worse, I had JUST finished eating lunch before she arrived and probably had dragon breath from my pasta salad with tuna, onions and peppers. Seriously folks, good oral hygiene is as far up on my list as a tidy home when visitors come to call.

So you think the story is over, right? Wrong. I was so mortified after my landlady left that I sat right down at my computer to write this blog post, and just as I was finishing, my doorbell rang again. I just assumed my landlady forgot to tell me something, but when I answered the door it was a stranger. Carrying a clip board. It was the meter reader. The meter reader who was coming at 2:00. The meter reader who was coming at 2:00 who I totally forgot about, because I was busy wallowing in embarassment that my landlady saw my apartment in such a state AND he probably also got a whiff of my dragon breath.

So not only was the meter reader there, but he had to read every single heating unit in my apartment. Including the one in my bedroom. And he looked a little shocked when he went in there. Even after I was given a 30 second warning to carve him a path to the radiator. Oh my goodness, I'm wilting from the shame of it all. I hope he didn't smell my dragon breath. I bet Germans think all Americans are slobs. Oy veh.

Sigh. But what's done is done, my walk-through AND meter reading are now over. And I even got my deposit back in CASH (that's another German thing--cash culture, baby!) And take a looksie at this beautiful girl:




















I always knew purple was my favorite color for a good reason. :)

So now I'm off to brush my teeth, shovel my bedroom clean and get myself to the bank before that deposit burns a hole clean through my pants pocket! And if the doorbell rings again before I've brushed and shoveled, I don't think I'll answer it. I don't think I can take much more shame today.

Exodus

(I promise there is also non-moving content in this post! Keep reading!!)

I feel kind of sorry for my neighbors. For the last several days there has been a steady stream of people coming through my apartment to look at the things I'm selling and take stuff away.

Remember the corner of my living room that turned into my "for sale" corner?



















Well, this is what it looks like now. Actually, a few of those things are even sold and the new owner just hasn't come to pick them up yet.



















For you observant readers, yes, even my rubber tree is gone. I'm going to miss him, but his new owner is a very nice lady who works for the theater. And when she came to pick it up she had her adorable little daughter with her. I had just finished baking banana bread and her daughter said, "Mama, this apartment smells GOOD!" :) What a charming young lady!

My friend Verena also collected some apartment goodies, including my big Ikea closet, which we hauled back to her place yesterday afternoon. And I even managed (with the help of Garrie and Maggiee) to get two big boxes to the post office to ship to the United States. Dad? I'm sending you the tracking numbers this afternoon.
























The exodus continues tonight when my red lounger chair will be taken away. Ah, my delicious red microfiber chair of relaxation, how I will miss you. Have fun living it up in Frankfurt with your new owner!

I am glad all of this selling, packing and removing is happening at a decent pace and spaced over the period of several days, because juggling this kind of insanity with the end of our season at the theater so I could fly home a week earlier would have been disastrous.

Okay, are you sick of hearing about my move? I'm assuming most of you hate moving as much as I do, so if you're a sympathetic soul (which I know you are), then you're probably cringing from all this moving blab day after day on my blog. How about a new subject??

Tuesday night was my last performance at the Landestheater. It was a great show and the audience was terrific. And after the show our Intendant came onstage to say goodbye to the ensemble members who are leaving. This has happened quite often over the last month as various shows have reached the end of their run, so I knew it was coming. What I didn't expect was to have the Intendant call ME forward! Although I have done a few solos this season, I am primarily a chorister and didn't think I would be given a formal farewell. But he said some very nice things, wished me the best for the future, and handed me a lovely bouquet. It was very touching.

But what was even more touching was my friend Verena standing in the wings. After the curtain closed for the last time, she gave me those gorgeous red dahlias you see in the vase. She remembered a conversation we had many months ago about flowers and how I told her dahlias are my favorite. Apparently she searched all over Coburg to find me my favorite flowers for my last show.


























And that's not it! A lovely colleague in the choir gave me this beautiful print of historic Coburg. She is a fellow knitter and I have admired her hand-knit sweaters the entire time I've worked in Coburg. So it seemed fitting that the shepherd in this painting is knitting among his flock in the field. (You can click the photo to make it bigger if you want. Actually, any photo for that matter.)




















And the vivacious choir ladies also gave me a small going-away gift. It did not escape their attention that I have an unnatural love of gummy bears, so they gifted me a "fan box" of gummy treats with our choir's photo taped on the top.




















There were a lot of tears shed on Tuesday night and I am going to miss the choir and those ladies and that gorgeous theater. But now I've dried my tears and have my eyes set on Seattle. And this sock. Isn't it super??

The power of three

Moving is hard. And I'm not a huge fan. Okay, I actually hate it. Which is a little surprising, since I do enjoy making to-do lists and organizing and the great opportunity to sort and recycle and declutter. I think the stress and anticipation of the moving process is actually what I don't like. And since my upcoming move back to the U.S. is creeping closer every day, I've found myself seeking refuge in three places.

1) Knitting
For those of you who have been reading this blog for more than a few minutes, you pretty much already know about my knitting vice. I've been eyeing this sock yarn for MONTHS now and after a fairly stressful meeting yesterday I finally broke down and bought it. It was on clearance (yaay!) and will make a really cute pair of Jaywalker socks. I just couldn't stand the fact that my cable tank project (aka the tortoise) was hyping me up almost as much as the move itself. But this sock? It's a sanctuary.



















I actually knit most of that last night when my friend Maggiee and I were having a mini "stitch and bitch." She's staying with me for a couple days and I just can't resist showing you her FIRST knitting project! Look at those lovely, uniform stitches! She's a total natural, don't you think?



















2) Practicing
The ironic thing about being a singer is that the act of singing is a very private, emotional experience, but we are asked to share that with others. And although a good performance with positive energy from an audience is a great feeling, my favorite place to sing is still in a practice room. Alone. When I am in a quiet room with just a piano, the entire world slips away. And when I sing, it's just me. I think a practice room is one of the only places where I can be completely exposed and really dig down into my soul. And I have really enjoyed practicing in anticipation of this move, because I know no matter where I go, I can always find a quiet place and sing.

3) Writing to you!
"Who, me??" Yes, you! It has been so much fun keeping a blog for the last couple years, and even though I don't know some of you personally, it's a nice feeling to know that my bizarre life and crazy antics are appreciated by you. And recently my daily blog entries have been a way for me to collect my thoughts and find my focus to keep trudging through my to-do lists. So thank you! And I'll talk to you soon!

Ripples

My bike was stolen on Saturday night. When I got back from the Samba festival on Saturday evening I locked it to a post on the sidewalk just like I have done for the last several months. And when I went to unlock it on Sunday afternoon it was gone.

My friend Verena lives on the same street as me and noticed when she came home late Saturday night that my bike was gone. She just assumed I left it at the theater, but told me this morning that the street was in quite a state of disarray on Saturday night. There were overturned trashcans, broken glass, and the other bikes parked on the street were pushed over, thrown into gardens, or in my case, just gone.

What the thief didn't realize when he/she decided to steal my bike, is that his/her action would cause a ripple effect--much like dropping a stone in water--and that action is now affecting more people than just him/herself.

I am inconvenienced because I no longer have a bicycle. Coburg is small enough that I can get most places on foot, but it takes much longer to get anywhere. For instance, walking to the theater this morning took 15 minutes instead of 5. And getting to the finance office to file my income taxes this week will be about 40 minutes each way by my estimation. Carrying my groceries will also be heavy and slow-going without my bicycle.

Being inconvenienced is annoying, but in the grand scheme of things it's not that big of a deal because I am only in Coburg for a handful of days anyway. However, the ripple widens because I had already sold my bicycle to a dancer who is coming here next season. She paid me for the bike a few weeks ago and is now back in Japan for the summer. So now I have to contact her, explain what happened, and return her money. And now the dancer doesn't have a bike and will need to buy a different (and most likely more expensive) bicycle when she returns to Coburg in the fall.

I'd like to assume that the person who stole my bicycle really needed it, and wasn't just on a drunken vandalism streak on Saturday night. But if that was the case, I hope some wicked karma comes and bites them in the bum sometime very soon.

What makes a house a home?

For me, it's the small stuff that makes a home. And now that I've had my own home in Germany for almost two years, I have to either ship said stuff back to the U.S., sell it, or give it away. My furniture is either gone or spoken for, but there's still quite a bit of stuff left over that won't be making the trip back to America. I've actually arranged some of it in a corner of my living room for a little photo shoot:

























And it goes along with this advertisement. If you German readers out there want any of this stuff, send me a message! And yes, there are probably spelling mistakes, but I'm sure you can get my drift.

ICH ZIEHE NACH AMERIKA UND ALLES MUSS RAUS!!!

KUECHE:
7 Teller – Kostenlos
4 Suppenschüssel - Kostenlos
2 Cerealschüssel -Kostenlos
Glas Obstschüssel mit 4 kleine Schüssel - € 1
Plastic Mixing Bowls - Kostenlos
Toaster (dunkel blau) - € 2
Wasser Kocher (beige) - € 2
Tupperware - Kostenlos
Kochset = 4 Kochtöpfe mit Deckel (verschiedene Größe) + 2 Teflon Pfannen - € 25
Edelstahl Besteck (für 8 Personen) - € 5
Kochutensilien (versch.) - kostenlos
6 Handtücher - € 3
Mülleimer (rot, klein, mit Deckel) - € 1
Mülleimer/Gelbersack Eimer (gelb, gross, mit Deckel) - € 2
Mixer (mit Garantie von Weka) - € 4

SCHLAFZIMMER:
Bettbezüge (140x200) (2 sets) – je € 4
Kopfkissen 40x80 (2) - € 4
Couchdecke (hellblau/lila) - € 4
4 Jahreszeitdecke - € 6

BADEZIMMER:
Badematte (dunkelblau) - € 3
2 Badetücher + 1 Handtuch (hellblau) - € 3
Fön (mit Garantie von Weka) - € 5
Mülleimer (klein, silber/Schwarz mit Deckel) - € 1

WOHNZIMMER/SONSTIGES:
Franzenteppich (weiss, 140x200, wolle) - € 30
Ventilator (mit Garantie von Weka) - € 5
Bodenteppich (braun, rund, wolle) - € 5
Staubsauger - € 10
Bilderrahmen (verschiedene klein) – je € 0,50
Lampe (Schwarz, braucht neue Glühbirne) – kostenlos
Bilderrahmen (mittel) - € 1
Bilderrahmen (gross) - € 2
Posterrahmen (Glas) mit Feminist Posters (2) – je € 5
2 Beilagtische (weiss) - € 5
Computer/Bürotisch - € 25
Kaffeetisch (naturholz) - € 5
4 Naturkörbchen - € 4
2 Weisskörbchen - € 2
Gummibaum - € 8
Zimmerpflanze (kleinere) - € 3
Bügelbrett - € 4
Bügeleisen (mit Garantie von Weka) - € 5
Blumenvase (2) - kostenlos
Kleiderstand (holz) - € 2

Most of this stuff I'm not going to miss. I feel a little poignant that my first grown-up set of cookware is staying here, but it's not cost-effective to ship it back to the U.S. And these two posters were a gift from my sister way back in high school:


























They definitely added a needed touch of Americana in my apartment, but it's now time for them to find a new owner.

I am shipping two boxes back to Olympia on Tuesday, and after that whatever will fit in my two suitcases and carry-on without going over the weight restrictions at the airport comes with me. It's not really a physically exhausting process, but I do feel emotionally drained right now. And I'm really looking forward to being back on American soil, for no other reason than this international move will then be behind me. :)

Samba Fest

Coburg hosts a large samba festival every July and for three days the downtown area is turned into a crazy carnival of Brazilian beats. The core of the city is blocked off and in order to see the mainstage shows you have to buy an arm band for about 15 Euros. I bought an arm band last year and got my fill of samba, so this year I decided to stick to the outskirts of town.

























My friend Verena plays in a samba group, like many people from Coburg. The amateur groups are given a schedule just like the pros and perform at various points around the city all weekend.




















Here's a bit of video of her samba group:



This is also something you see a LOT of during samba weekend. Beaded thongs, headpieces and lots of skin always accompany the drumming groups. It's a little shocking, but the fairly conservative people of Coburg seem to take it all in stride.

























Was that too shocking? Have I scared you?? Sorry. Here, have a look at this beautiful view of the Moritz cathedral here in town. The light was absolutely amazing this evening and just made the church glow.




















Do you still have beaded thongs burned into your brain? Okay, here's a picture of Coburg's oldest high school, which was newly renovated since I've lived here.

























Samba fest is a big deal in Coburg, but it's just one of a multitude of activities here in the spring and summer. Personally, I am excited for next weekend's sheep festival in Ahorn, a small town right outside of Coburg. :)

Auf Deutsch

Today I showed my apartment to a prospective renter, baked 6 dozen peanut butter cookies, did my German income taxes for 2006 and 2007 with a colleague from the choir, and attended the theater's end-of-the-season party. I just got home and am totally exhausted. It never ceases to amaze me how much energy it takes to speak German all day. Okay, so baking peanut butter cookies isn't really German. Or strenuous. But explaining peanut butter cookies to clueless Germans can be. Seriously, peanut butter is so under-appreciated here.

On an average day I listen to German at work for between 6 and 8 hours, but I normally only actively participate in conversations for 2-3. I also hear German around me when I run errands and am out and about in the city, but that's usually white noise that I can tune out if I want to. And when I hang out with my friends, I only speak German if the people around me are also German. But the rest of my day is pretty much still in English, from talking on the phone with people back home to listening to the radio or reading blogs online. And now that I'm done with rehearsals at the theater, I've noticed a drastic reduction in the amount of German I hear on a daily basis.

But today was a heavy German day, where I was actively participating in one-on-one conversations for about seven hours. And although it's fun and great that my German has developed enough to make that even possible, it's still exhausting and saps my energy. Heck, seven hours of that much gabbing would even be strenouous in English! So I thought I'd pop online to say hello and get my English fix for the day before falling into bed. Tomorrow I'm going to explore the Samba festival in Coburg and I'll post some pictures of the cacophony downtown. :)

Schnitzel in Sesslach

On Tuesday Simone and I went to Sesslach with some friends for lunch. Sesslach is a very cute village about 13 kilometers from Coburg. It is enclosed within an old city wall, which really does give you the feeling that the teeny little village has been preserved after so many centuries.

But the city itself wasn't really high on the agenda. We were there for lunch, more specifically the infamous schnitzel from one of the local restaurants:




















Oh my goodness. It's like a heart attack on a plate. I really (really) tried my best to finish, but there was no way all that food was going into my stomach. Seriously, these portions must be intended for local farmers who are essentially exercising all day, because packing up leftovers to take home is really not done here.




















After lunch we walked around the city to help settle our stomachs, and we went into the Sesslach church. Maggiee pointed out to me that the designers came up with an interesting space solution when expanding the church in a renovation. The dome and altar were not lined up with the congregation area, so to distract the eye from the asymmetry, a "curtain" has been painted on the wall that looks like it's being pulled back to reveal the altar. It is a very creative solution to the space issue and really gives the church character.




















Speaking of character, Sesslach has that coming out its ears. Everywhere you turn it seems like a cute old building is looking back at you. Although it's possible to walk completely around the village in just a few minutes, it is definitely worth a return trip.

Bamberg

On Monday Simone and I took the train to Bamberg, which was voted by my Germany guide as one of the 35 *must-see* things in Germany.

Bamberg is indeed a very nice city, and has some beautiful buildings like this one. It sits right in the middle of a river just as pretty and proud as can be.

























I've been to Bamberg before, but first noticed this little cherub on Monday. Look at how sassy he is, sticking his leg and scroll out of the fresco as if he wanted to take a swim in the river!




















The rest of the building is also really pretty. And from this picture you would even think that the weather was hot and gorgeous while we were there! It was fairly sunny, but very windy and sometimes also rainy. The weather has been so strange lately.




















Bamberg has many little hills and it seems that there is a church, castle, convent, or some other beautiful old building sitting atop each of them. This is an old catholic cathedral, which also happened to be overrun with tourists while we were there. I'm not kidding, either. We're talking hoards of confused-looking Americans and tour guides holding large sticks with numbers on top. Oy.

























Across the street from the church is a castle. Take a look at this huge door-knocker! I convinced Simone to stick her head through it so people could see how huge it is! Don't I have a nice and accommodating friend? :)


























Instead of taking a tour of the castle, we headed to the castle rose garden for a coffee. The terrace had a nice view of the city and was a nice resting spot for us.




















After heading back down the hill from the castle and cathedral, we poked into some of the cute shops downtown. The buildings in the old city are adorable, and a lot of them house antique shops and other trinket stores for tourists.




















Bamberg is also called the Venice of Bavaria, or something to that effect. The rivers running through the old part of the city are beautiful, especially paired with statues and buildings like this that you can see from the bridge.




















Seeing a lively little river like this makes me excited to get back to Seattle and the water. My Mom is fairly convinced that I came out as tall as I am because I spent so much time in the water and sunshine as a kid. And I have to admit living in Coburg for two years has sometimes made me feel like a fish out of water. :)





















This is a convent and cathedral atop another hill in Bamberg. It was a bit more of a hike than we wanted to take, so Simone and I just enjoyed it from afar.




















The next stop on my pre-move tour of Bavaria is Sesslach, home of the largest schnitzel I've ever eaten! See you tomorrow!

Cabaret premiere

Sunday night was the premiere of Cabaret, my first and last time performing that show for the Coburg public, and my final premiere at the Landestheater.

My costumes in this piece are a little more provocative than my other costumes, so consider yourself warned.

I played Texas, one of the Kit Kat girls, and this was my favorite costume of the show. I really like the roaring 20s look and this dress was not only comfortable, but also light and airy and helped cool me down after the fast costume changes from the first part of the musical.


























And here she is, folks. Let me tell you, the first time I went in for a costume fitting I almost passed out. I knew from the staging rehearsals that I was going to look like a prostitute, considering my role IS that of a prostitute, but I'm still definitely not used to showing this much skin for hundreds of strangers. The good thing is, with a wig and lots of make-up, it's actually hard to tell who I am.


























And let me tell you, singers really do have to know how to act. Because a lot of the time onstage instead of feeling like the sassy American dominatrix that I was supposed to be, inside I felt like doing this and running for my bathrobe.

























And here comes the mother of all shocking costumes. Never, ever, in one million years, did I ever think I would be asked to wear a costume like this. Oh my goodness. It's like the 1920s version of Brittney Spears. Yikes.

























This costume actually leads me to the closest call in my costume change history, and possibly my most embarassing moment at the theater. I wore this costume under a nun costume for a musical number called "Don't tell Mama." At the beginning the kit-kat girls are dressed as nuns, but run to the side stage, strip off the nun costumes, and re-emerge in these schoolgirl costumes for the remainder of the number. The costume change is not only fast, but is also in the middle of about five fast costume changes at the beginning of the musical. Since I missed the two first dress rehearsals from being sick, I had only practiced the costume changes once and was feeling pretty jumpy.

So, when the nun portion of the song was over, I ran backstage and stripped off my nun costume. And in my confusion and stress, I also took off most of my schoolgirl costume. All at once I realized I was standing backstage with only a bra and skirt on and didn't really know why. Thankfully one of the costume ladies was backstage with us and noticed what I was doing. She freaked out and helped me get my blouse pretty much back on in approximately 1 second before I had to run onstage for my next entrance. The sparkly tie had to be left out, though, because in my stress and confusion I had broken the clasp. It's actually amazing that I managed to finish the number without anyone realizing just a few seconds before I was standing backstage, half-naked and confused about my next entrance.

I think it's safe to say that I invested more time and energy for that one performance of Cabaret than any other show in Coburg. But I survived, the show is getting rave reviews, and now I only have three performances of Wildschuetz left before the end of the season! Woo hoo!

Today Simone and I are headed to Sesslach with Garrie and Maggiee for some tasty schnitzel and a little shopping. I'll post pictures of our trip to Bamberg in my next entry.

Open air concert

My friend Simone is in town this week and we're having a great time. On Saturday evening we went to an open-air concert in Coburg's rose garden.

The stage was set up at one end of the garden...



















...and Simone and I made ourselves comfortable on a blanket to enjoy the show.



















As night fell the stage became more and more beautiful, with the stage lights reflecting on the white curtains.




















I'd say there were around 5,000 people at the concert, and there were stands selling bratwurst, beer, wine, and other snacks. I tell ya, that's my kind of classical music concert!

At the end of the evening there were sparklers passed around to be lit during one of the encores. The effect was really beautiful in the darkness of the rose garden.




















I really like the fact that Coburg has so many wonderful, free activities for its residents. There was such a relaxed atmosphere and Simone and I had a great time.




















I'm blogging on the fly this morning, because Simone and I are heading to Bamberg soon. I'll post about last night's Cabaret premiere soon, with scandalous pictures and all!

The tortoise project

Usually when I cast on for a knitting project I get tunnel vision and work exclusively on that one project until it is done. And normally I work at a pretty fast pace, as if the end of my yarn was on fire.

That has not been the case for my Catriona Tank project, which I started back in March. Here's a photographic timeline of what I've accomplished so far:

April 3rd:



















May 9th:




















May 25th:

























July 5th:

























Yep, that's nearly four months of progress on a tank top, which for me is a shockingly long time. In my own defense, this is the most challenging cable project I have knit so far, and sometimes just looking at the twists and turns makes knitting on it seem like too much work, which makes me turn to another project instead. However, after I finished my last cardigan I realized that this project has been on the needles long enough and it is time to finish it. Besides, I already have the yarn for the tank and I really (really) don't have room for another fluffy yarn project in my suitcases when I move away in a couple weeks. So, I'm slowly churning out the front side of my project. It's coming along, though, and I might get it done before I leave Coburg. If that's the case, I think I might have room in my carry-on luggage for some sock yarn...

I love Seattle

After the final dress rehearsal for Cabaret I was standing on the back stairs of the theater and chatting with a woman from our human resources department. She was asking me about my upcoming move and asked where specifically in the U.S. I would be going. I told her Seattle, and I expected the reaction I get 99% of the time when I talk about Seattle: "Oh really? Doesn't it rain a lot there? It looks like a nice place." Apparently Sleepless in Seattle has made quite an impression on the rest of the world.

Anyway, her reaction was completely different. She simply said, "Oh. I've been there and I don't like it."

I love the way many Germans are this straightforward, because I also know that when a German criticizes my home town, it doesn't mean they are criticizing me. Which is kind of a slippery slope in the United States, since our culture isn't really straightforward.


But it gave me pause, because I had honestly never thought that someone would dislike Seattle. And so, since it is July 4th, America's Independence Day, I thought I'd dedicate my post to a great American city, Seattle, a place I love and miss and can't wait to see again.

I love Seattle because:

The water is always near, and you can take your pick of fresh water or salt water.



















The mountains are a short car ride away and on clear days, visible in the east and the west.

There is a cafe completely dedicated to selling cupcakes.

The downtown area is changing and evolving every year into a more liveable, beautiful place.



















The neighborhoods have distinct personalities and there are enough of them for everyone to find a place to fit in.

Thrift store shopping is just as chic as boutique shopping.

The U.W. campus is majestic, beautiful, and filled with talented people.

The cherry blossoms in March make the dreary winter worth it.
















If you get caught in gridlock, it might just be on a bridge with gorgeous lake views.

The city exposes itself in layers and all you need to do is keep peeling.

You never have to walk more than 50 yards to find a coffee shop.

There is a vibrant music scene and arts of all kinds are supported.

The public library system is amazing, and the downtown branch is the crown jewel.

I hope all of you with a favorite American city take the time on this Independence Day to look around and appreciate it. Absence doesn't always need to be there to make the heart grow fonder. :)

Brainstorming

My countdown ticker is informing me that in just three weeks I will no longer be a "Chorister (and more!) in Coburg." This made me realize that, although I enjoy blogging and will continue to post after I return to Seattle, the name of my blog will soon be obsolete.

Blogger has made it possible for users to register a custom domain name, eliminating the ".blogspot" portion of a web address. I think it would be fun to have a personal website, but I'm having a hard time thinking of a domain name. "Cougardiva" is a standard username that I have used for almost 10 years. My Mom thought of the name when I needed to get a new e-mail address in college and it has stuck over the years. However, the domain name "cougardiva.com" has already been taken.

So, I'm turning to you to help me think of a new domain name for my blog. Should I try and use some form of cougardiva? Maybe "thecougardiva" or "cougardivaslife?" Or should I break the ties to my old username once and for all? Ideas, suggestions? As usual, I am open to suggestions via blog comment, e-mail, telepone, smoke signal, or mental telepathy. Yes, you wonderful lurkers, that includes you, too. :)

Finally, thank you for the response regarding my difficulties at the theater yesterday. I know I haven't written about the theater much lately, and it might be my desire to slowly distance myself from my work here so my transition back to the U.S. is easier. But I would like to say that the vast majority of my colleagues at the Landestheater are wonderful, loving, caring people who I will miss very much and this experience is not representative of the majority. And I met with the choir representative last night and we will be formally addressing how I was treated in a meeting next week.

The show must go on

I got food poisoning that hit very early Monday morning, making it impossible for me to leave my apartment to go to work. It was the first time I had ever called in sick since working at the Landestheater, and it was my understanding that I had the right to call in sick for three days before I needed an official note from the doctor.

That's why it surprised me so much that when I called in this morning to say I needed to stay home this morning so I would be up to singing a Wildschutz performance tonight, the theater called me back to say that was unacceptable. The rehearsal I missed yesterday morning was the first dress rehearsal for Cabaret, and the rehearsal this morning is the second dress rehearsal for Cabaret, and apparently the director was extremely vocal about his displeasure at people missing a dress rehearsal on Monday. I was told by the intendant on the telephone that I needed to come to the theater and talk to someone about the fact that I was sick, which seemed a little strange. He was also very short with me and when he decided the conversation was over, abruptly hung up on me. So even though I still felt pretty weak, I was angry enough to go the theater to show whoever needed to see that I was too sick to perform.

When I arrived at the theater, the director for Cabaret wasn't there and the rest of the theater administrators were in a meeting and could not be disturbed. I had to wait for 45 minutes until the director arrived at the theater. When I spoke with him, he told me he never said that I would be forced to come to work sick, he was just worried about his show and how bad it looked for him when people were missing from the stage. And when the intendant was finished with his meeting, he refused to speak with me, telling his secretary he had nothing further to say to me. The Chef Disponent, another administrator, also refused to talk to me, saying I should talk to the intendant.

I went back to the intendant's office to speak with his secretary and ask her what I should do. I told her that I was under the assumption that it was my right to call in sick for up to three days before I had to get a doctor's note, and then she corrected me by saying that was not the case. Apparently if the theater decides the activities at the theater are important enough (like a dress rehearsal), then the perfomer has to present a doctor's note on the first day of being sick. Which no-one had told me. The intendant did not tell me that, the Chef Disponent did not tell me that, my co-workers did not tell me that. So, I went to the doctor, got a sick note that also went retroactive to include Monday's dress rehearsal, and went back to the theater to drop it off.

When I dropped off the note the Intendant was talking to the Chef Disponent and his secretary, but he shut his door when I came in so he wouldn't have to talk to me. I told the Chef Disponent and the secretary that I felt mistreated and said someone should have told me from the beginning that I needed to get a doctor's note. And I told them it was also upsetting that the intendant told me to come to the theater to tell the director I was sick, when that actually wasn't the correct protocol at all. The two just told me that dress rehearsals were very important and since they are being photographed, all the performers should make every effort possible to be there.

What I learned from this whole experiece is that there are many people in the theater business who do not treat their performers as people. So as a performer, I have to look out for myself and protect my right to stay home when I am sick by immediately going to the doctor and getting a doctor's note saying I am not able to come to work. I falsely assumed that since this was the first time I had ever called in sick that the theater would automatically understand that it must be something serious.

The way I was treated at the theater today made me feel almost as bad as the food poisoning itself.