Spaß mit dem Band

Once again, sorry for the mega-long wait between blog posts!

My week in Austria with the band was fantastic! We left early Saturday morning and I slept most of the way during the 5-hour drive south. Upon arriving in Obertsdorf (a German city on the Austrian border) we did some exploring and grocery shopping before heading up into the mountains. Then it was up in the mountains to a little mountain cabin and the surrounding Alps - one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. When we arrived, it was crisp, autumn weather with wonderful fall colors.

But it wasn’t long before the snow crept down from the mountaintop. Within a few days our cabin and the entire surrounding area was covered in over a foot of snow. ‘What did you do for a week in Austria?’ you may ask… well a lot of time was spent simply making music. We would see who was bored, find some music, and go at it. Sometimes we would play outside, with our dulcet tunes echoing over the snow-covered valley – I have no qualms over describing it as ‘magical’ :) We also did a few field trips to the SeaLife exhibit in Konstanz, the Olympic ski jump in Obertsdorf, and a church service on the Walmendinger Horn mountain. During the service, it was foggy and hard to see any of the surrounding mountains. The coolest thing by far, however, was climbing up to the tippy-top of the mountain after the service when the clouds had cleared up and we could see for miles (kilometers, rather) in every direction; nothing but beautifully snow-covered mountains. Here's a nice picture of the whole band after the service.

This panoramic picture is from the top of the mountain

I am proud to announce that I bought a pair of lederhosen in Obertsdorf. I recently found myself a proper hat and socks & shoes; as soon as I find a traditional shirt my outfit will be complete!

Tiffany Woelfel and Quinn Bongers (friends from high school who are studying abroad) were nice enough to visit and explore Frankfurt with me for a day. We saw all sorts of things; the Goethe museum, the Römer town square, Sachsenhausen, a great view from the top of the ZeilGalleria, and Mass at the Liebfrauenkirche. We had a lot of fun and, believe it or not, Tiffany an Quinn got along great! :-p

Austin (a friend from Florida, also in my exchange program) visited recently as well. Austin, James and I had a great time exploring Frankfurt together too.

Lea (my younger host sister) had her State gymnastics tournament recently. She performed really well on ALL the apparatuses (since some of her teammates were sick) and her team won third place! Congrats Lea!

Christoph, a friend from the band, held an “Oktoberfest in November” party. It gave me good excuse to wear my lederhosen and we had lots of fun playing Nagel. The concept of Nagel is simple – plow your nail into the stump. But there’s a catch; the hammer is hollow, so you have to hit the nail with the narrow rim of the hammerhead. If I can get my hands on a stump you will definitely be able to play Nagel in my dorm room next year :)

For about a month now I’ve been interning at the local Red Cross. I started with a basic first-aid course and then took a weeklong introductory EMT course. Following the course I was able to ride along with the EMTs in ambulances, experiencing emergency situations as well as what they do during downtime at the station.

I was able to spend five days with the EMTs and then I accompanied Markus, who manages the Red Cross’ House Emergency system. Markus spends his days explaining and setting up emergency systems for elderly and ill patients who are often home alone. These patients wear an emergency button around their neck or wrist and Markus responds to situations where an ambulance is not necessary. He also took me to the 112 (Germany’s 911) center in Gelnhausen. I learned about their brilliant, integrated system in which fire and medical emergency response units are notified of 112 calls. This center is also receives the House Emergency calls as well as automatic notifications from smoke detectors in public buildings. My time with the Red Cross is coming to an end as Christmas break approaches and I feel that I have learned a lot about Germany’s emergency response system. I look forward to participating in an internship at a local hospital or private practice after the break.

This time of year Germany is plagued with a most glorious thing that you really can’t find in America - the Christmas market. Just about every town holds a Christmas market at least one weekend during Advent and the bigger towns have them every day. A vital aspect to the Christmas market scene are jolly Christmas tunes, which is where the band and I come in. A few times a week we have the chance to play for an hour or two at a Christmas market, which is followed by enjoying the festivities. Said festivities include delicious food and drink, shopping in stands with local handmade goods, and an atmosphere of holiday merriment. I just got back from the christmas market in Frankfurt with my host family; it was massive and really packed (on a Wednesday) but definitely lots of fun. I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without the joys of the Christmas market; and I’m sure gonna miss it when I head home!

All in all, things are still going remarkably well. I have a wonderful relationship with my host family and I’m learning lots and lots of German. Thanks for reading! Until next time – auf Wiedersehen!

p.s. This is my little neighbor buddy Jesse - he's fun to bake cookies with :-D