Germany 101: Yin and Yang

Germany has its' dichotomys. Very extreme people, they are...
Example #1 - They have a separate radiator in every room so that you don't waste any energy if you aren't in there. They turn off every light that they don't use. They even have two buttons on the toilet so that you don't use more water than you need. And then there's this thing called Oktoberfest... ever heard of it? Right... 3 straight weeks of lights, music, whirly death machines, and debauchery. Maybe it's opposite week?

Example #2 - If you get tired and want to put your feet up whilst on the public trains, think again. These seats are sacred. And the Germans aren't afraid to tell you, either. Then you have people peeing in bushes, barfing all over the place at the biergartens and littering up the whole city... hmmm....

Example #3 - They smoke like chimneys while shopping at the whole foods market. They are very conscious of preservatives and added sugars, but appear to turn a blind eye to the layers of black tar lining the walls of their lungs...

Example #4 - The Autobahn. One minute you will have absolutely no speed limit, the next you could be down to 60 km/hour, which roughly translates to 35/40 miles and hour. Plus the speed limit in town is either 30 or 50 km/hour (18 or 30 m/hr.)! It kills me! The Autobahn is great and all, but any other place is a turtle's pace...

Germany 101: Street Musicians

one of the things i most enjoy about this place is the abundance and the talent of the street musicians here. i often am walking about in the city, when i come across music that i technically should be paying big bucks for. these people are amazing. they come with pianos, accordions, violins, cellos, bass(i) - plural for bass???, and more. how they get these things on the trains i'll never know. regardless, the other day i heard a four piece string ensemble entertaining the masses all for pennies. they captivated the crowds. i think i stood there about a half an hour. wow, how magically music can change your outlook and lift your spirits. you can't stand there and not smile or move. and how intriguing to watch my stoic german friends relax and interact with the performers. music breaks down our walls and lets us escape the ho-hum of now. i love it!!!
my other favorite evening i heard the accordion playing from far away and i followed the sounds to this man playing his heart out - rockin that thing. it reverberated off the walls of the plaza. he was so vulnerable. some people danced, some smiled, some sat and closed their eyes, some laughed and mocked, but there he was giving us everything he had. beautiful. beautiful. beautiful. i dig that guy. he transformed my evening.
another day while walking through our englischer garten (bigger than central park) another accordion player sweetly played classical while couples danced under the shell-decorated rotunda. i'm in a movie...

my first traditional bavarian breakfast

the other day i had my very first traditional bavarian weisswurst fruestueck. two boiled white sausages, pretzels, and a beer. guten apetit!
i was not even hungry for another 6 hours or so!! it will be a while before i do that again.

Germany 101: Sport

the germans love the outdoors. i cannot underestimate how many sports and activities i see daily. they are out there swimming in the freezing alpine runoff first thing in the morning, running, biking, canoeing, sailing, rafting, unicycling (seriously), hangliding, hiking, windsurfing, toboganning, boating, hot air ballooning, and then the winter ones; skiing, sledding, ice skating, snowboarding, snow shoeing, etc. when my sister came, she was blown away by the incredible numbers of bikers, it is uncanny. it is so refreshing to get out and enjoy nature here. everyone is out, taking in their vitamin D and smiling. if you want a sport, we seem to have it. perhaps my favorite is surfing. that's right, here in the middle of the continent in a big city, some die hards found that perfect spot for catching waves. you can see videos ">here.
then of course they have just about every game you could imagine: tennis, golf, volleyball, soccer, american football, rugby, australian footy, ultimate frisbee, and then there is badminton... you will see just about anything i tell you. they just want to be out there.

name that produce

is time for one of my favorite games, called "name that produce". fun game to play while at the market, grocery store, or out to dinner. curious...

MIS Back to School BBQ

our school, Munich International School, had its annual Back to School BBQ last weekend. this was such a great way to meet new parents and students as well as reconnect with old students i haven't seen all summer. the international expat community is a travelin' bunch, so in the summer, families migrate elsewhere and come back just in time for school to begin. we start our weekly meetings with high school and middle school kiddos friday, sept. 8 and from then on we are in full swing with weekly meetings, monthly acvitities, sporting events, spending time with kids, weekly Bible studies, and more. I had a great summer of refocusing and remembering the greater vision. please pray for our hearts and minds and bodies, that we will overflow with God's big big love and grace. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that.
"What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagent generosity of God." Acts 20:24

my bizarro site

so i have a seinfeldian bizarro blog site: www.tarynglidewell.blogpsot.com. weird-o. this is not me. i don't even know what all they say on this site, but i wonder if people have gone there accidentally and thought i wrote it... what are the odds?

"A mega-site of Bible, Christian and religious information and studies; including, audio and written KJV Bible, churches, doctrine, links, news, prayer, prophecy, sermons, spiritual warfare, statistics & tracts. Features Chronological 4 Gospels, Prayer Book, Prophecy Bible, and a photo
tour of Israel. By God's mercy, one of the largest Bible-centered sites on the web (app. 6000 pgs). If it's in the Bible, it should be on this site."

Germany 101: Holidays

funny thing about germany, it completely shuts down in august. i was on my way into the city the other day and was doing some planning. i called my chiropractor to find out he was on vacation until september. then i called my haircutter, and guess what? also on vacation or "urlaub". germans are serious about their vacations. they automatically get 6 weeks a year - 6! this doesn't even count the many holidays sprinkled generously throughout the year. once school gets out in july, these people take their families on month-long excursions anywhere but germany. that's why they're everywhere. can i repeat, 6 weeks?! many companies simply do not operate in august. when my friend, tara, ordered her funiture from IKEA they told her it would be 2 months before she would get her furniture because it was august and there was no one to deliver it. crazy.
this all makes shopping a whole different experience. all shops are closed on sundays - period. quite a few shops close early on saturday. and all shops are definitely closed on holidays. the twist here is that, seeing as how i am not german, these holidays creep up on you and you don't even know it's a holiday and you are stuck at home with nothing. shopping must be a planned event. do not expect to drop by the price chopper for your dinner that night. and don't expect to do anything last minute because all stores will be closed by 8pm for sure, if not earlier; no 24 hour anything... you have to plan ahead so that you can go to the 3 or 4 different grocery stores that will have that one thing that no other store has in order to make your master creation. or some weeks we have speciality foods at the store so you have to capitalize that week on "asian foods" or "grilling". you may not see these items for another year. no pressure...
i will have to say, however, that germans know how to vacation. they are off. they are not so concerned with having everything so accesible or that the world will stop spinning if they don't go to work. it is okay to put it aside and breathe. ahh...

these boots weren't made for walkin...

so, feet and their appropriate coverings differ depending on where you reside. if you live in hawaii your standard flipflops will suffice, in russia a good pair of boots is a smart investment, and out to a club for a few hours cute heels will do... perhaps you might assume that we walk a lot here in europe, none of this straight from automobile to building business. and i was already a shoe weakling back home. i enjoy being comfortable. i couldn't do heels for very long before i wanted to throw them across the room. here, you could easily be out all day and comfort is key, thereby rendering many of my cute shoes useless... apparantly i do not have said appropriate coverings. case in point: i went to a street fair a few weeks ago and bore a few holes into my heels from the shoes i was wearing. awesome. these weren't your usual, "oh, poor baby" blisters. literally, holes and my heels are just now healing about one month later. so i walked around with bloody heels all over munich because i wore straight through several "plasters" as the brits refer to them (better known as bandaids). here is the culprit and the proof: (keeping in mind that this does not even look bad, i am slightly upset that you aren't getting the whole picture here)



second case in point: you take your shoes off when you go to someone's house here, so i forget and love to wear my favorite all-occasion shoes which stink to high heaven - it is embarrasing people - and i have to ask the host/ess if i can wash my feet in their tub everywhere i go when i arrive at their house. it's either that or evacuate the room... maybe one day i will remember that they don't do things the way we do them in the states...

Munich is mucho expensivo!

"It's official. Munich is the most expensive German city to live in. Frankfurt is the second most expensive city to live in. According to the UBS 2006 "Prices and Earnings" Study , Munich ranks top of Germany and on position 18 globally. The study took the price of a basket of 122 goods and services European consumers would favour as a base for their index. The figures do not include rent. If rent were included, Munich would probably be on position 10 or something. According to the study, Oslo is the most expensive city to live in. "

yummy!

ok, i give up, give me the sugar. give me the preservatives. i shall not tell a lie, i like american food. is that so wrong? being as that it is the 4th of july tomorrow, some of the grocery stores here have decided to import "american foods" and yes, the quotation marks are there for a reason. anyone ever heard of blueberry juice, or hot dogs in a jar, or red relish? according to the packaging, these folks would believe that we americans would snag these up in a second. silly germans. enough with the poo poo-ing, i am thrilled to have honey mustard, ranch, marshmallows, and bagels, and in their very own "american" packaging no less... he he. it's the little things...
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, AMERICA!

back to school...

today was my first day of school all over again. my mom always took a picture of my sister and i on our first day, so here it is - aren't i cute? i finally started german classes. whahoo! and now i know, "hallo, mein name ist taryn glidewell. ich komme aus den usa, und ich wohne in starnberg. ich bin neun und zwanzig jahre alt." or somethin like that... the teacher even said i was, and i quote, "advanced". yes. so, i am well on my way to vocalisin' with the locals. it's crazy how international it is here, there are 2 girls from kenya, 1 from poland, 1 from the ukraine, and 1 from bolivia in my class. i can't underestimate how blessed i am to have english as my first language, german is so similar in structure and most people speak it (english) over here.
i think i will have to do quite a bit of studying on my own however as this is only a short summer class and then next semester i will not have time to take another. perhaps i will in the spring - hopefully. it's slow going and i don't want to lose what i (will) have already learned. the best part of all is that it started completely pouring down rain afterwards and i had to ride my bike home in the lightning storm. i looked like a drowned rat.

Psalm 23

God, my shepherd!
I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word, you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through
Death Valley
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.

taryn in action

this is what i do - a brief glimpse into mein welt here. this weekend i am helping out with the high musical doing hair and makeup. scary thought, i know. but it is so fun to have kids see you and yell out your name in exitement and fight over who gets to have me do their hair. but that is not the point, i am here to yell out their name and cheer them on. i want them to know they are supported and someone can't wait to talk with them and see them. at young life, we think kids are great. i spend my time trying to get into their world and walk through life with them. what a joy!

"soccer is our life"

need i say more? this is a store window all soccered out. a turf living room complete with tv screen so all good germans can catch up on the latest scores.
along with the influx of new foreigners here in munich, i have also noticed even more soccer paraphanelia: soccer toilet paper, soccer diamond jewelry, soccer chapstick, soccer soap, soccer shaving kits, aaaaahhhhhh!
i am hoping we can take some of the high schoolers down to the old olympic arena where they have a gigantor screen set up to watch the game friday.
am i nuts?!

dogs dogs dogs!

can i get a health inspector over here? completely normal that a massive saint bernard is helping out in the kitchen, right? i tell ya, these people LOVE their dogs. it's obsessive. you can take them a-n-y-w-h-e-r-e, for real. i will say that they are a lot better behaved than our american wild willy-nilly pups. so do not be surprised when you come here that there just might be a dog under your feet inside the restaurant.

church retreat in mittersil, austria

after it snowed on us on the drive there and i almost packed my bags and went home, the weekend was so refreshing and inviting. our pastor does a great job creating community when the congregation is so transient and in flux. we had a speaker from the states remind us of the bigger picture of god's grace and power (and he reminded me of my uncle who is a pastor and his wife, so i lived vicariously for a minute). it is so good to get to know these people i see every week at church so it feels like home and i think i am officially no longer a visitor. yes. every night we hung out in the "cellar" and talked and prayed into the wee hours of the night over a beer. not to mention the castle we stayed in has a crazy history of witch hunts in the 1500's and nazi experiments in the 1940's to name a couple. it is so very good to be in the company of others who are also aliens in this world with a shared goal in life. not that we are all the same, no sir. that's what makes it even more flavorful - this community is from the whole world, accents are flying, laughter is bubbling, and hearts are uniting. praise the lord.

German 101: Theft

luckily, i have no horrible story of theft to share with you, in fact, quite the opposite - it almost doesn't exist here. for real. these are people of their word and germany, especially munich, doesn't have a theft problem. case in point: 1 - small kids take the train to school or the city all by themselves 2 - when you leave something behind, germans will simply hang it up so that when you are looking for it, it's right there. i have seen jackets hanging on these lion's hands, a bike lock on a street sign, this shoe, and more 3 - you don't have the newspaper stands where you put the money in and the door unlocks, it's always open and just put your money in the slot on a trust basis 4 - when my boss' car was stolen the german insurance company didn't even have papers for that, so they had to fill out an accident report. in the 20 something years their agent worked there, she had never heard of a stolen car (by the way it happened in prague)!!!
crazy, huh?

world cup fever

no, i don't have it. sorry. but the germans do. the other night myself and my fellow passenger were assaulted by about 12 german inebriated teenagers running around the train chanting "auf die knee" and proceeding to hang like monkeys from the train handles and yell through their bullhorn. there is still much construction yet to be finished before millions of people crowd in here, but that isn't stopping all of the advertising: we have soccer grills, soccer shower heads, soccer sausages - you've gotta see these!, bedspreads, couches, placemats, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. i will try to post some pics of these amusements.
the first game in munich is june 9, germany v. costa rica. go deutschland!
by the way, did anyone notice that budweiser was the official beer of the world cup? is anyone else confused by this?

Romania service project

ever seen the movie children of the corn? that is how to best understand how many kids were running around at all hours of the day, doing whatever they dang well please in romania. crazy, man. no adults would tell them they should stop harrassing the girls, quit asking for money or food, clawing at us for any sort of attention they could get. this country has been wrecked by communism like no other i have seen. these people are poor with no hope of that ever changing. if something is broke, it stays broken, if a lightbulb goes out, they just plain don't have one, if you litter, it doesn't get picked up. i don't think we can comprehend this world that many romanians live in every day. they believe the only way to get ahead in life is to steal, cheat, and lie even when it comes to family members. doctors lie to pregnant mothers telling them that their baby will die unless they perform a certain surgery just to get more money. there is blood on the hospital walls, kids pee and spit on their school hallways, you have to carry toilet paper with you because if you leave it, it will be stolen - toilet paper! that's why dana and brandi bates moved there 7 years ago with Young Life to try to begin rebuilding hope and trust in the local community of Lupeni. it has taken years for the people there to even begin to trust them, in fact many businesses there have cheated and stolen from the bates. that is why we come - to help wherever we can and build trust. this year we built a ditch, taught english classes, put together playgrounds, and loved on kids. we were on the news, the mayor and many residents were very grateful, and young life romania shared Christ in service and deed.