Trivialities
Living abroad has a way of highlighting day-to-day cultural differences that vacations simply cannot. It is at once a curse and blessing (typically in that order): cursed for the
inconvenience of
deciphering the
Rosetta stone of local life but blessed when you do and learn to appreciate that there is more than one way to pour a beer.
Allow me to call out a few trivialities I've been hating/loving since returning to Europe:
- Love: Groups pay separately at restaurants/bars as default
- Hate: There's no one at the grocery store to bag your groceries (fear the day you fumble around in front of a Bavarian checkout lady with a long line)
- Love/Hate: Tipping means rounding up, which is much easier than the States but less amazing than tip-less Australia
- Hate: Missing a bill by a day means instant disconnection (pray you do not mess up your electricity bill in winter)
- Love: Trains. Period.
- Hate: Those cleaners who sit outside bathrooms in public places, demanding a euro for you to use the toilet that they are paid to clean but are clearly not cleaning because they are sitting around asking for money
- Love: That it's light until 10pm at night in the summer.
- Hate: The impossibility of using anything but small bills, much less plastic (woe to you the day the cash machine only spits out 100Euro notes and all you need is a wurst)
- Love: German conscientiousness (the world would be a better place with a spoonful of this medicine)
- Hate: German unwillingness to change plans or demonstrate general flexibility ("Can I bring John Doe to dinner tomorrow too?" "No." "Why not? You have space and we can bring some extra food." "No, we only planned for 4. He can come next time.")
- Love: Group public singing, be it on the street or in a beer garden
- Hate: Not knowing if I should address co-workers formally ("Sie") or informally ("du")
- Love: Drinking beer on the street. Drinking beer on the bus. Drinking beer on the train. Drinking beer everywhere, legally.
And
that's just scratching the surface...
P.S.
Nurnberg photos are up: http://brightside.smugmug.com
Labels: Bar, Beer, Cafe, Daily Life, Europe, Germany, Hate, Love, Train, Travel, Trivialities
3 Weeks
Today is the first day of my fourth week in
Friedrichsdorf. Tomorrow I move to
Bad Homburg.
"I've been around the world a couple of times or maybe more/
I've seen the sights, I've had delights on every foreign shore..."
John Williamson's lyrics from the classic Aussie tune "Home among the Gum Trees" always strike a chord. But despite having been around the block a few times myself, none of my previous escapades have been as amazingly
ridiculous as this.
I've worked long hours on consulting projects before and once hit 6 countries (11 cities) in 30 days, but never have I combined the two. Until now, of course. Three of three weekends have found me on trips (
Regesnburg,
Nurnberg, & Burg
Eltz - too bad I'm not off to Hamburg next week...) and rather than coming 'home' to my hotel in the '
dorf and relaxing, I'm pulling mad hours in the office and spending nights on the town in Frankfurt.
And I'm loving every minute.
Off the Map
I started this blog as a way to stay in touch with family and friends during my epic year studying business abroad in Germany in 2004-2005. I later used it to reflect on my transition from academic to corporate life. Today marks the first post in what will become a 12 month chronicle of my latest adventure...
6 days time will find me on the grueling 25 hour route from Brisbane to Frankfurt, where I will be sponsored by my business consultancy to join a pro bono publico project working with a global NGO (non-governmental organisation). Over the coming year I will live and travel all over the world, rolling out a donor management programme to a wave of country head offices.
This is my third international move in the last 5 years and while I'm reaping the benefits of that experience, I know enough to know that I've no idea what lies in store. Moving abroad brings a certain rush - much like the rush you felt when looking ahead at the possibility of your life as a high school kid. Back then, you could be anybody or anything. Changing global lanes gives the old dog a swift motivational kick to learn that new trick. All you need to decide is whether you'd rather learn to sit, high-five, or roll-over & play dead.
"Why do we feel sorry for people who can't travel? Because, unable to expand externally, they are not able to expand internally either, they can't multiply and so they are deprived of the possibility of undertaking expansive excursions in themselves and discovering who and what else they could have become."
- Pascal Mercier, "Night Train to Lisbon"
Down Under in Darwin
Darwin couldn't be farther from Adelaide if it were in Russia. That is perhaps a bit exaggerated, but the contrasts are undeniably stark. Darwin is a small town (less than 100,000), but the biggest town for about 1000 square miles. That kind of isolation adds weight to what in the states would be another comfortable community. This manifests itself physically in the glorious government buildings. Think 19th century colonial India's big, white, sprawling British architecture. Its just what you want to see in a tropical capital.
Dignified colonial buildings aside, Darwin is essentially a resort town. I've heard that a lot of 'unconventional' locals live in Darwin, but I've yet to see anyone on the streets other than backpackers and pensioners. Highrise resorts abound. In that sense I'm a touch disappointed. I was lead to believe Darwin was a rough and tumble frontier town. From my admittedly short experience, its more of a provincial Sunshine Coast. That said, its beautiful. Within my first 30 min in town I ran across a 2ft goanna (an Aussie lizard) and by my first evening I had seen a stunning sunset followed by a night sky flush with Flying Foxes (look 'em up if you don't know). I also found Baramundi fish and chips at a hole in the wall joint hidden amidst fishing warehouses on an industrial pier. It was unquestioningly the best battered amphibian I've ever feasted upon.
Give me a home among the Gum Trees
Its good to be back. Real good. But the past four years have left my Australian memorybank in tatters. Uni was utterly consuming, not to mention that year in Europe, both subsequently leaving precious little room for thoughts of Oz. My first week back has served as a painful reminder how un-Aussie I am, despite having lived and visited the country periodically my entire life. Causes aside, I've got my work cut out for me.
For the moment, that work involves getting to know Adelaide. So far, I'm impressed. The city isn't much to look at. In fact, its almost outstanding in its lack of engaging architecture. Interestingly though, it doesn't bother like one might imagine. This is partly a result of the city's clean planning. Downtown, central Adelaide is on a very rigid grid system, with wide roads and clear signage - of all the cities I've ever visited, this is by far the easiest to navigate. Excellent bus system, I might add.
Adelaide's real treasure lies underneath its boring facade. Thriving markets, culturally mishmashed shops, a vibrant student scene, great food, and a remarkably affable populace, even for Australians. My first night in took me to an excellent Greek joint (try the deep sea prawns in a feta/tomato sauce!) where I had a good hour of conversation with the staff. Later that same evening at a Gouger St. Pub the bartenders, along two Australian actors from Aussie arthouse films, and I all spent a few hours trading yarns. This is not to mention the wonderful staff at my hotel, the girls smiling at me on the street, and bus drivers who actually look like they want you on their bus. Remarkable!
Roadtrip Iowa/Chicago: Midwest
After graduation's madness had subsided, my roomates and I cut for the midwest. A relaxing homestay in Marshaltown preceded two wild days in Chicago. Check the photo shoot at
http://brightside.smugmug.com
Graduation
Its over. I graduated with honors from the Leeds School of Business this past Friday. I've a week of midwest travels to Iowa and Chicago planned, followed by a 3 week romp back home in Australia. I hope to make a few observations on my travels. Until then, photos from the madness that was graduation are available online, @
http://brightside.smugmug.com
