One More Up Close and Personal

Angenin (I can’t spell in Turkish very well): He speaks a little English. We had several dictionary moments over coffee. Even tried a conversation on political matters. That was a real hand gesturing moment. He makes wonderful Yuftkas. Kind of like a large Turkish burrito with grilled, shaved meat and all the fixings. He also lets me create my own concoctions, like using the cheese and Yuftka bread wrap, and making a Turkish quesadilla. Or he makes me a Yuftka bread wrap, and I bring my own peanut butter and honey to fill it with.

I try my German pronunciation on his customers. I listen for the ones who speak more slowly, then I advance and ask the leading question “English?” Then I pull out my German conversation handbook, and start with the “How are you”, and “My name is Judith. What is your name?” and if all goes well, I go to the next stage of questions, like “Where are you from”, and “How long have you been here?”

I get so excited when they understand me, and even more so when I understand them. Now I just have to try to repeat my success without the cheat sheet.

Anetta: (the one on the left) She takes me through 2 hour walks in the vineyard, she comes for dinner, she’s the first person I run to see when I go church, She talks to me in English, corrects my German, when I make too much dinner for one, she comes and helps me eat it. She’s a kindergarten teacher. This last year she has been taking a break from teaching, and has been working several part-time jobs, which gives her a little more variety and a little less chaos.

Anetta has a warm and loving heart. She has taken me just as I am and been a good friend to me. When I am lonely, she is always there to share an evening meal and conversation with. If I am having a bad day, I don’t have to pretend with her.

VOCABULARY LESSON
Some people learn better by reading, some by experience. Some need both. I fall into that category.

My German reading skills are better today because of my experience yesterday. I learned a new word: einbahnstrasse . English translation…..One Way Street. Words cannot express adequately. Use your imagination.

The Day the Camera Died

Wow, I got a lot of response from the last email. That was wonderful. Love to hear from you. Only two more days left. I have to squeeze as much I can into this time. I’m good at that…as Freeman well knows. I have a floh market this morning, to find a bigger suitcase, packing to do, doctor this afternoon, an on-line book to finish, going away party tonight, train ride to Frieburg on Friday afternoon/evening, and leave Saturday morning. How did I do, Freeman? Ps. Bring a big luggage cart.

THE DAY THE CAMERA DIED….(battery, that is)
My friend Elke invited me to her parents family vineyard on Tuesday afternoon. That’s how I found myself in an a 1700 era stone farmhouse, sitting around a small kitchen table with Elke, her mom and dad, her mother-in-law and her sister. While the meal was being prepared, I was taken down into the wine cellar by way of a “stairway”. I would have called it a ladder with hand rails. The wine cellar was built in 1867. Below are pictures of the age OLD casks next to NEW modern stainless winemaking equipment. (camera died here. That is why there are no pictures of the wonderful family in the kitchen, sitting around the kitchen table, sharing their life with me. Word pictures will have to suffice.) They harvest their grapes for a local winery, and but keep the legal limit of grapes for their own private stock . I even tried some of their white Neu Susser or “New Wine”. It is the grape juice, freshly squeezed, before fermenting has begun. It is so sweet, but with a little twang.

They are a typical hospitable German farm family, who had prepared a light evening meal snack. One snack was a type of soft flat bread with onions, cheese, spices. The other was the same bread, but with almonds and honey. A fragrant red tea with orange spices was the perfect accompaniment. German stories and laughter filled the little kitchen…..and they drew me in to their family jokes and history. I had my own private translator that allowed me to interact verbally and share my own stories.

But I need to save some stories to share when I get home. If you’re interested in World War II stories, ask me about Elke’s grandfather who ran a POW camp in Germany, or her uncle who was a POW in California, or how her grandfather could both support Hitler and employ and train Jews in his factory.

Frau Judith Stone

LEAVE THEM WITH SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT

Okay guys, sit back and enjoy the read. Some people make a Grand Entrance…..others make an equally memorable Exit. I have inadvertently landed in the latter category.

ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO
It was Sunday morning, the sun and the sky were displaying California colors, yellow and blue. I had collected all my Sunday go-to-meeting items, purse, coat, phone, keys and proceeded out the door and down the stairs. My apartment door has a safety feature that causes the door to automatically lock when you close the door. I shut the door went down the stairs, and out the foyer door, into the courtyard. I reached for my keys to open the courtyard gate….and I realized that I had collected all the right items, but I had not brought them with me.

I turned to go back to get them…and the foyer door had automatically locked. I was trapped in the courtyard, with only a rock for sitting and a few leftover grapes for eating. I laughed a little at my predicament, took a few cute pictures, then the full magnitude of what I had done began to hit home.

· Even if I could get into the foyer, I had no keys to open my apartment with.
· My mobile telephone was in the apartment, so I could not call anyone.
· I was going to miss my last Sunday church meeting.
· All my friends’ phone numbers, as well as the landlord’s, were also “not currently available”.
· I could not remember the Landlord’s name and did not know where he lived.
· And the two cats were left in the house alone
· And MY MEDICINE!!

Here’s the nutshell version. If you want the longer version with all the extraordinary details, I will be happy to provide you with my two day saga.

Lost and Found: I was homeless, medicine-less, phoneless from 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning until 6:00 pm Monday night. Somehow,

· I found a way out of the courtyard,
· found out it would cost 180 euros for a locksmith which gave me additional incentive to find the landlord,
· found some friends at home
· they found me pajamas, bed, toothbrush and fed me
· found the Landlord (in the hospital),
· found his granddaughter,
· who found her father
· who found the key, and finally at 6:00 pm Monday evening
· I found myself in my home once more, with crying kitties, and
· found a few presents they had left me (yuck)
· found my keys,
· and I found out I never want to do that again.

As Always,

Frau Judith Stone

THE LAST DAYS

I’m Living in the “Last Days” of my European Experience

Thought you might be wondering what was on my mind during my last week here. If not, skip over the next few paragraphs. I am still trying to finish my on-line course. I’m getting much closer. There have been so many setbacks, with the internet being down, and this last week the internet has been very sporadic. Just when I get ready to save my changes…..the internet connection times out with the server. I’ve lost several hours worth of work. You can pray for my connection to stay up long enough for me to finish this course.

I’ve been reflecting on all the people I will leave, things I will no longer be able to enjoy,

as well as things I will be relieved to leave behind. So, Master List Maker that I am, here they are.

THINGS I WILL MISS THE MOST:

1. Fresh bread, especially KurbisKern (pumpkin and sunflower seed)

2. Walking in the Vineyards

3. Cheap fresh produce and groceries

4. Dinners with the “Walton Family”

5. Walking to Sunday Morning Church

6. Singing worship songs in German

7. The CHEESE!!! I am SO going to need fruit when I come home.

8. Going to France for lunch

9. Chocolate Spaghetti Ice with strawberry sauce

10. Making dinner for Anetta

11. Practicing German on Angenin’s customers

12. Walking down the street and everyone I meet smiling, nodding and saying Guten Tag, good day

13. Walking past the local shops and waving at the shop clerks I’ve talked to…and they wave back.

14. Sleeping with Smudge and Oreo. Actually that could go on BOTH lists.

15. Driving courtesy.

16. Going to a restaurant and never being rushed to finish. It is my table until I choose to leave.

17. Tipping …. No 20 percent on top of the bill here!!!

18. Seeing people smile as I try to put German words together. Really makes me wonder what I said.

19. Pastries, Apple Strudel, nut tortes, cream tortes with berries….. goes on BOTH LISTS!!!

20. Friends, that says it all.

THINGS I AM GLAD TO GIVE BACK AND LEAVE BEHIND:

1. Separating out garbage into 5 or 6 piles

2. The compost container on my kitchen counter
3. Litter boxes
4. TAKING out the garbage myself
5. Doing laundry …. And Hanging up to dry
6. Short showers
7. Unplugging electronic appliances not in use
8. Shopping for food almost every day
9. They can keep their salad dressings
10. Water conservation, it’s really expensive here.
11. Gas prices at appx 8-9 dollars a gallon
12. SNOW! (last minute addition)

First things First: what I will do when I get back home:

1. Go to my favorite Mexican Restaurant
2. Take a long hot shower until all the hot water is gone, maybe twice.
3. Watch Freeman take out the garbage.
4. Fill up my tank with $4 or $5 a gallon gas just to get a bargain RUSH.
5. Go grocery shopping for at least a weeks worth of groceries.
6. Wash my clothes and put them in the dryer until they are ALL DRY.
7. Have a salad with Ranch dressing!!

Up Close and Personal

I wanted you to get a little more acquainted with my friends here.

Here’s Elke #1: the Hairdresser

She has been a beautician for 30 years, has had her own shop for 8 years. She has always lived in this area, but loves to travel. She will come to visit me in 2010. How’s that for planning your future! She and her husband are both “Craft Masters”. She in hair design and her husband in auto mechanics. She loves to take hiking holidays. Hike during the day, hotel at night. That’s my kind of outdoor life.

We have many things in common, from the colors we like, to the fact that we both snore. As Elke says (her words) she snores like a wild pig. Also, we discovered we had both torn apart calendars with language phrases on them, to carry around in our purses. Hers were in English, mine in German. Our conversations are frequently interrupted by dictionary searches, but we truly enjoy each others company and a long standing friendship has begun.

Here’s Elke #2: “Mom of the Waltons” and her husband Samuel

She is my translator at church, a midwife, and she is the mother of the “Walton Family”, as I call them. On Sunday their home is teeming with young people, who come to eat at her table. I’ve been invited many times as well, even though I am not young. She is an amazing woman. She can go from “zero to “bon appétit”, quicker than anyone I’ve ever seen. She has a generous gift of hospitality and a great cook as well. She has made me REAL german food like sauerbraten with potato gnudels, red cabbage and quark pudding for dessert. Every meal with her family is a real adventure in food and conversation. If it is a quiet Sunday afternoon you want, her house is not the place to go. She has 4 boys, ages from 10-20’s, as well as one 3 year old foster boy, Lucas. They all bring as many friends as their mom has food, and at times they test her pantry limits. I feel so fortunate that she has included me in her family gatherings, they treat me like family. Her oldest son Simon, is translating into German, an English course being given at the church. “How to meet the needs of your neighbors and neighborhood”. I have two more Friday nights classes I get to attend. Will give you all a summary of what I learn. This is a family I will dearly miss and think of often.

THE SNOWMAN COMETH

That is not Frost on those trees….Frosty the Snowman himself has arrived. He came with his whole entourage of wind, rain and sleet and snow. So far, he is content to remain on the hillside, but we can sure feel the icy blast of his presence. He has definitely issued a weather forecast warning.