cousins in paris

our first night in paris, our cousin alain had us all over. my parents, my brother and his family and i met 7 cousins. the next day, alain and his girlfriend betty took us for a little sightseeing to the sacre coeur, the holocaust museum and the jewish section where you can get everything from dreidels to kosher sushi.

i've always knew that france rolled over like toy poodles to the nazis. but i never realized just how active they were in turning over the jews to the nazis.

our cousin's alain and serge's mother was taken and killed by the nazis. the holocaust museum has a wall with all the names of people in france who were killed. alain is pointing to his mother's name here:

their father wasn't home at the time and was able to go into into hiding. alain was about 7 and was sent to catholic children's home. serge was about 2 and ended up with a family. after the war, their father found them both.

there are many stories about children not being found, or having no one left to look for them and grew up never knowing that they were born jewish. there was an article in the nytimes recently that talked about people finding this out in thier 60's. surprize! you're jewish!

betty's whole family was taken. i don't know the specifics, but they were all killed.

this picture is of alain (pointing out the eiffel tower to my dad), betty and my parents at the sacre coeur:

here's a happier pic of my newphew joey with the eiffel tower.

my parents, brother and his family:

house pics

here are some more pictures of the house. i should have included pictures of the guest bedroom with the king size bed... hint, hint.

here is a picture of the stream behind my house.


this is a view from the backyard.

another view from the backyard.

from the window by the stairs.

bad blogger!

i've been a bad blogger. <<< forgive me father for i have sinned... my last blog was early november. >>>

i've been working my ass off since then trying to get my life together. holy crap moving is very hard work. it's been kind of fun putting the house together. i've been working hard to get it done so i can enjoy my winter break. i'll also be having company stay over, and i want to be the host with the most you know. (really- i'm not gay.)

the 'rents come tomorrow. on 21 dec, we leave for paris to meet a whole bunch of family we've never meet. three generations of cousins living just outside the city. my brother and his family will join us. the last time i was in paris i was with just my bro, this time it will all of us. pretty cool.

after that we're going back to his house in holland. after my parents leave, it looks like my bro's family will come visit me in germany and see the house.

overall, it should be a pretty mellow vacation. and i won't have to fly overseas like usual. instead, i'll be spending the time in my car driving to paris, holland, and back home.

i'll post pics soon.

Be afraid, Mr. Bush. Be very afraid.

JUST HEARD ON CNN THAT DONALD RUMSFELD HAS RESIGNED!

what an awesome election yesterday. i got to participate via fax. not so crazy about crist as governor. he's creepy.

it is a glimmer of hope and some proof to the rest of the world that we haven't completely lost our minds. i've been needing some evidence while i've been single-handedly defending us to the entire european community.

ice and pumpkins

the snow from that first night was gone in a couple of days, and it has gotten much more mild. one morning my windshield was iced over in a pattern that looked like feathers:



some overdue pumpkin pics:



i take residence in my new house on friday when my furniture comes. still no kitchen, that should be put in by next week.

how they see us

i was ordering a pizza online from a chain called joey's. i saw this and almost lost my appetite. how about a pizza with mini hotdogs, ketchup, and pickles?




yes, this is the "american diner" (or dinner?).

and no, i didn't order it.

in more appetizing news, i signed my lease today!

my home in litzendorf pt 1

i finally found a house that i want and can afford with the housing allowance i get. the contract isn't signed yet, but there's a good chance i'll be ready to move in nov 1. my furniture doesn't come until around nov 9.

it has a 2 car garage (this is very rare), another 1 car garage (because the other one was built on), a nice backyard with apple and plum trees, a tiny brook at the back of the yard, 3 or 4 bedrooms (depending on how i use the rooms), 2 full bathrooms, a huge room i can use as a photo studio, and even a kitchen! in germany, rentals don't ususally include kitchens. the tennants own them and take them with them when they move, like their couch.

so here are some pics:

the front.

looking down the driveway at my prospective landlord and car.

both garages and a little of the backyard.

my home in litzendorf pt2

from the back yard.

the smaller bathroom. you must be skinny to use the shower, or just dont wash your hair or attempt to bend over for the soap.

comments? questions?

i promise that your keyboard will not eat your fingers if you post a comment here on my blog. c'mon peeps, work through the fear...

welcome to my life.

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there's a skeeter on me, peter

THESE PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE IN SCREENS. i've looked at about 10 places -- apartments, houses in the city and houses near farms -- and including the nice modern place i'm in now, there are NO SCREENS ON THEIR WINDOWS. and oh yeah, they're very eco-concious, so they're very strict about harmful chemicals. every evening, i have to kill up to 5 mosquitoes in my little efficiency. it doesn't help that they're mutant super-skeeters: we've been below freezing 2 nights already and still they live! if i was in a beach hut in thailand in the summer, i'd take it in stride.

i'm going to talk to my german friend (my landlord) about this. we've had many conversations about our respective cultures. i've freely admitted the foibles of mine, let's see what she'll have to say about this. yes, we elected W, but they have more skeeters than a louisiana swamp house!

from the berg to the 'burg

my car comes tomorrow! i miss it.

here's some of what i've been looking at:

exterior of the famed 'monster truck.' the running board is almost knee-high. oh, the times we've had! like that time we got lost. or that other time, when we got lost. and let's not forget all the times german drivers have flashed their brights at me for not getting out of their way quickly enough. dna from my sweat is in on that steering wheel.

across the road from kevin and jenny's house: looking down at bamberg from one of the many bergs. [berg means hill or mountain, not to be confused with burg in the name of my "other home," which means fortress. groovy.]

fall is flinging. cool vines. i consider it a pretty significant event that i changed my desktop picture from the skyway photo to this one. it's like i'm moving to bamberg or something.

the skyway photo i took this summer. if you click on the pic it will get bigger and you'll actually be able to see the skyway.

here i am

shortly after i arrived here i said, "i can't believe tha this is all going to become familiar to me soon."

today i was running some errands on post. i checked my mailbox, bought a couple of things at the px and stopped by the office where i'll register my car to make sure i'm good to go. then, i drove back to my temporary home. it may not seem like a huge accomplishment, but just a few weeks ago i was freaking out; afraid i would take a wrong turn and end up in poland.

if i moved to springfield

the latest

the house in the woods is a no-go. the deal kept getting worse and worse. i’m still looking around. i saw a nice house yesterday that is the perfect balance between living downtown and having a house. it’s only a couple blocks from downtown, and yet it’s a very quiet residential street. this could work.

my dodds sponsor lent me his car: a huge toyota 4-runner with huge tires on it. i feel a little out of place driving it around town. on base, i blend in fine. but it has been extremely helpful to have transportation. i’m starting to learn my way around a little.

it is a typical german day- cold (46F) and gray. makes me want to stay in and watch tv all day. but out of the 12 channels i have, only 1 ½ are in english: cnn world and mtv. interesting thing, this mtv- it actually shows MUSIC VIDEOS! they still have some other shows. i like the one where a guy goes on dates with 3 moms and has to pick a daughter based on what he learns from the mom.

i’m starting to settle in at work. i was freakin because i started teaching the first monday i was here with no lesson plans, no knowledge of the materials in my room and very little knowledge of k-2 curriculum. so i’ve been pulling it out my ass. the cool thing is that kids this age are so easy to fool. i’ve had high schoolers who would call me on that. these kids are so CUTE! i’m more used to the thug and psycho variety. these kiddos smile and wave at me in hallway and fight to hold my hand. now if i get them all to count to 10…

Tschüß!
(pronounced “chews,” an informal good-bye in Bavaria)

drivin the "monster truck."

"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do." - John Ruskin



"An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea." - Buddha

dom platz

this is the roman catholic church left over from when the roman empire included what is now germany. the only pope not buried in rome is buried here.

visit from mjrj (mattjodierileyjoey)

introduction to bamberg, part 2

karolinastrasse: the view from my first temporary apartment

my brother's idea, my camera.

it's a treegina!

looks like cake to me

first bamberg pics

river under the rathause bridge

apotheke (pharmacy) "Since 1437." what the hell did they sell in 1437? where they even using slugs back then?

looking toward the rathause bridge, the center of bamberg

"jew street"

guten tag!

guten tag!

here's how cool bamberg is: GERMANS, as well as other europeans, visit here by the HOARDS. i'm talking tour buses here. they'll mostly go away as it gets colder, but the last few days have been beautiful.

the school nurse had me set up for appointments to see apartments the same day i landed! i wasn't very happy about that at first, but it was good to do something to stay awake to get over the jetlag. i saw some very cool apartments in buildings as old as 400 years! we were looking in the 'old town,' where all the restaurants, cafes, and cool shops are, as well as all the tourists. i'm not sure about all the noise and stairs and parking 4 blocks away.

then she showed me a house in the forest! only 5-10 minutes from the center of the town, and 15 minute drive to base, is this woodland area that people use for hiking. it's called broderwalde which means "brother forest." someone had a brief lapse of judgment in the 60's and allowed 3 houses to be built. they are in the same area, but from "my" house you can't see them. only woods. here's how amazing it is: the woman i am renting my temporary apartment from was born and raised in bamberg, and her family on both sides goes back to the 1600's. SHE WAS AMAZED when i took her out there! she said that would be the dream of any bamberger. i said it's also the dream of a st. petersburger!!! literally something to write home about.

jonathan in bamberg

rocket

miles and seconds
i rocket forward
i feel the strings that tie me there
stretch
tighter
as though they will break

but they don’t –
they stretch infinitely

this changes everything

on 8/8/06 i got a call from department of defense education activity offering me a job in bamberg, in the bavarian region of germany. i plotzed. after a 20 minute dizzy spell, it hit: I'M MOVING TO GERMANY!!!

i originally applied in 02. last year my brother, who lives in holland and teaches in a NATO school, tried to help me get a job in his school, but it didn't work out. now i will be about a 5 hour drive from him and his family. dig it.

i'll be teaching elementary special ed. i will be a civilian contractor. you know: like haliburton -- but for much less money, and i'll be held accountable for the work i do. it is a 2 year contract. after that, who knows. doug is convinced this is the end of my US residency. i can't think that far ahead. either way, i'll be back in the summers for a month or so.

auf wiedersehen!