i heard the bells

The church down the street from my brother's flat in Bath has an open bell ringing night every Monday. I have been sitting in the living room the past hour very much enjoying the sound. I can't help but think of the poem (and hymn) "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The words were written at a time of war and despair, Longfellow had recently lost his wife and had received news that his son had been wounded in battle. He found himself in a moment without hope, unable to see the good in the world. In that moment of loss, the bells on Christmas Day remind him of the good that is still there "the wrong shall fail, the right prevail with Peace on earth, good will to men".

I often find myself dwelling on the negative aspects of my life. There is always something I wish I was doing instead, something I wish I had done differently and aspirations that I hope to achieve. I allow myself to get caught up in the cynical and apathetic world, dismissing the good that I know is all around me. I know I am not the only one to have these moments of self-doubt. For myself I hope to remember the sound of the church bells as they remind me that the wrong will fail and the peace will prevail.

there are alway going to be changes

I have recently been putting a lot of thought into what I want to do when I come back to the States. I have talked to a lot of people about this and everyone has their own opinion of what they think I should do next. While some people would hate to be told by someone else what the next step should be, I don't mind it. It really gives me a chance to talk everything out and bounce ideas around with people who know me really well.

I have recently decided to change some of my long term plans. I was planning on returning home to Oregon and staying in Salem to attend Willamette. After some persuading by my sister in law I have now decided to move to New York in March to attend Columbia University (if i get in, fingers crossed). I will still be in Salem for about 6 weeks but then I will move back East in an attempt to make something of my life.

It is a big step, attending graduate school and moving to a city like New York but it will be an adventure and that's what life is all about.

a train ride...

...to Stuttgart. About a month ago I arranged a trip to the town of Stuttgart in southern Germany, with an old friend currently living in Hamburg, Germany. That trip took place last week. I had previously arranged a train to and from Stuttgart without giving a second thought to the fact that if there was a problem I would be S.O.L. as I speak no German. As the trip date grew closer and closer, I realized I was going to have to have a back-up plan of sorts in case anything did happen. So I found a German-English dictionary and learned how to say "sprechen Sie Englisch?" (Do you speak English?). Traveling there wasn't a problem. I was able to catch an earlier train out of Basel so I had plenty of time to change trains in Karlsruhe. I even had time to get dinner (German Subway is good although I was slightly thrown off when cream cheese was offered as one of my cheese options).

Stuttgart itself is a really cool town. There is a great mixture of old and new architecture, the Mercedes-Benz museum (my friend's main purpose for picking Stuttgart) and some really yummy food. I had my first hostel experience and it was actually pretty good. We had four roommates, two Canadians and two Germans. The Germans came back late each night and left really earlier each morning but did so quietly. The Canadians were nice even when they were comparing red light districts across Europe.

So Sunday I get to the train station about 45 minutes prior to my train. I noticed that there was another train leaving for Karlsruhe in a few minutes, so I figured I could do the same thing that I did on my way there so I hopped on the train leaving earlier. (What I didn't realize was that the train I caught was a commuter train of sorts, stopping in almost every town and village between Stuttgart and Karlsurhe. So instead of arriving earlier than my scheduled train I arrived at the same time. I vaguely remembered the four towns we stopped in going to Stuttgart and when we started stopping in other towns I started getting worried. I was pretty sure I had caught the wrong train and I was headed to Munich. I decided I would get up and investigate so I grabbed my handbag and left my backpack on my seat. I eventually found a map that had all the train routes on it. As I traced our path out of Stuttgart I noticed we were headed north. That is when I really started to freak out. After I calmed myself down a bit I looked at the map again and noticed that Karlsurhe was actually northwest of Stuttgart and the route we were taking in fact ended up in Karlsurhe. So I went back to my seat and enjoyed the rest of the train ride.

It was a fabulous weekend away. It was great to see an old friend and spend time in a new place.

we now return...

...to our original programing. After a month with no internet a person starts giving up that it will ever actually return. No matter how many phone calls are made the answer is always the same, "We're working on it." All I have to say is that no matter the country you live in the internet companies are all the same. They have their own agenda and all you can do is wait. Now that it is back on I have some catching up to do.

The month without internet was practically uneventful. We moved into our new house in Hegenheim which is the next village over from Hesingue. It is right on the border with Switzerland so we have quite a few German speaking neighbors. The new house is nice. It is smaller and older than the other house but it has charm and a fireplace which is oh so nice now that it has become colder.

Now that I am back in touch with the rest of the world expect more updates and a few personal observations.

for those of you with doubts...

...I am still alive. We have had some serious issues with the internet connection at the new house. Basically we have no internet and FranceTelecom isn't rushing to get it up and running.

I have a new adventure coming up. I am going to Stuttgart this weekend. An old friend of mine lives in Hamburg and we are meeting halfway. I am pretty excited about the weekend away. For some reason I only gave myself about 10 minutes to change trains in some random town in Germany so I'm hoping I don't miss my connection.

If all goes well I should have internet by next week so I'll be able to blog about my adventure.

trying something new

There are a few things that I do with little inhibition or reserve. Cutting my hair is one of those things. It may seem trivial but it is my philosophy that experimenting with your hair is easy and if something is messed up it always grows back. My hair style is the one style I have control over. When I was in London my sister and I both got our hair cut for free at the Toni&Guy Salon Academy. We were basically final projects for the students. It was nice to get a free hair cut and I was in need of one so it worked out. As that style grew out, though, I liked it less and less. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was time for a change, something very new and very different. When I was in France the first time (6 years ago) I really wanted to get my hair cut here. It never worked out then but today I was finally able to fulfill that dream.

If there is anything the French do really well it's luxury. Usually you see this need for satisfaction in food and clothes but I learned today that that same desire for luxury is seen at the coiffeurs. When I first came in they took my coat and instead of a shapeless cape they gave me more of a dressing gown to put on over my clothes. I was offered "un café ou un thé" which I gracefully declined. They then washed my hair. I have to admit that getting my hair washed is one of my favorite parts of the hair cutting experience. This particular wash was fantastic. The chair I was sitting in was actually a massage chair and instead of just a quick wash the guy massaged the conditioner into my scalp. If I ever become really rich I think I may pay to have someone wash my hair. Any who, the actual cutting was very standard although she used a razor for most of the cut but I think that was mostly because of the style I requested. Over all it was a fantastic experience. I should note that I did end up cutting off a lot of hair. I hope you all like it!

give me five...up high...

...down low. That's right, I would like to dedicate this post to the universal High Five. Everyday when I pick Jack up from school he says goodbye to his friends. On almost every occasion the farewell consists of a high five. I love to watch these little 8 year old boys as they clumsily give each other a high five. I always tend to remember all my failed attempts at giving high fives. I've decided that high fives are something that everyone fails at at one point or another. There is something about the coordination of two hands making contact mid air that has the tendency to go awry. There are also those moments when you over do a high five and you end up with a hand that feels like it is going to fall off. Most elusive of all is the moment of a perfect high five. Those moments are never easily reproduced but they are always remembered.