Oh, I just spent the last hour writing a lovely last post, and was almost finished, but randomly the page closed, and I lost it all! =( That has happened a couple times before, and unfortunately I still have not learned to just write it in Word first. So, though I am sad to abandon my original wordings and descriptions of before, I have not the energy or will power to re-write the whole thing. My apologies!

So I am now back home in Ft. Myers—after a long itinerary that initially included layovers in Amsterdam, Newark (NJ), and Detroit but got derailed at an unplanned hotel stay in Newark (I missed my connection due to short international connection time and a ridiculously far gate change). It’s nice to be back home with my family and with the comforts I’m used to, namely, Internet access in my room and a washer and dryer that works consistently. However, I do miss many aspects of my life in Jülich, such as the delicious ice cream (for 50 cents!), the ubiquitous bakeries, the plentiful beer, the delicious falafel sandwiches, the currency (I do like the Euro quiet a bit), and all the friends I made there and in Berlin. During my 12 weeks in Berlin and Jülich, I learned to navigate the public transit system with confidence, use a bike as a mode of transportation, cook meals for myself, communicate (primitively) in German, open a beer bottle off a table or chair ledge, package a great deal of items, fully appreciate sheep, and write numbers in the “German” way. I have also learned a great deal about myself and the things that matter the most to me in life: music, chemistry, and people. Music represents all that is beautiful in a world filled with much hardship; chemistry stimulates the mind to elucidate the unknown while also providing a cathartic escape from other worries (at least in my opinion); and personal relationships warm the soul and provide the companionship that all humans crave. Undoubtedly, it was the people I spent my time with that made my RISE experience what it was—from my work in the Forschungszentrum to all my weekend trips to various cities. My summer had a great beginning with the friends I made in the language course in Berlin and continued during my stay in Jülich, where I met some other RISE interns with whom to share experiences and worked at a top-notch institution under a supervisor who was a good role model and source of inspiration in the field. Additionally, most of the others in my lab group were very helpful and uplifting, and I sincerely think that without their company, work at the Forschungszentrum would have quickly become very draining. Also, thanks to one of my co-workers, I successfully shipped my piano back to the States for a reasonable price—it arrived today (only one day after me!). What a great relief! Of course, thanks to everyone for all their input, and thanks to all the people I met for making my Germany experience what it was!

Over the course of the summer, I was fortunate enough to visit eleven cities: Berlin (still my overall favorite!), Leipzig (a treasure trove of music history), Düsseldorf (a very entertaining city that would be a great place to live), Jülich (my home, which I grew quite fond of despite my initial resentment), Köln (always to be remember for its amazing chocolate museum), Bonn (also a goldmine of musical significance), Aachen (the city of mountainous ice cream scoops), Heidelberg (the most picturesque city in my opinion), München (the winner of the “best-looking Rathaus” competition, held by me), Amsterdam (the most exciting city by far), and Venn (the Belgian city where our lap group had some precious bonding time during our retreat).

Despite the abundance of cities I got to see this summer, I would say that there is still plenty of incentive for me to return to Germany someday in the future, whether it be for work/study or vacation. Sadly, I never did get to see Hamburg or Frankfurt am Main, so there’s one reason to head back. Also, I would love to see Munich on a sunny day sometime, and one can never spend enough time in beautiful and interesting cities like Berlin and Bonn. Düsseldorf would be surprisingly easy to visit, since Air Berlin offers direct flights to and from my home city, Ft. Myers, and I would actually also love to spend a little more time in Jülich, as my last few days were so hurried. Additionally, the shopping opportunities are outrageous, especially in cities like Düsseldorf and Cologne.

Of course, being such a diehard food-lover, just thinking about the yummy food in Germany is enough to make me eager to re-visit. When I spent the night in Newark on my way home, I bought dinner using American dollars for the first time in 3 months, and it felt rather strange! (mainly, it was the addition of sales tax that was so conspicuously absent in Germany…) I was craving a falafel sandwich but instead ended up with a tunafish sandwich, which turned out to be decent. In my opinion, Germany is a food-lover’s paradise! Whether you’re in the mood for a Berliner donut, a traditional German meal with potatoes and cheese, an exotic but authentic Korean dinner served in golden bowls, fluffy gelato-like ice cream for 50 cents per scoop, a beer at one of the ubiquitous bars and biergartens, or a quick meal at a döner-kebap place, Germany’s got it all. If you really love food, like me, you can even see food in chemistry, too! Honestly, some of the reactions I ran truly looked just like refreshing beverages; I “made” carrot juice (think V8 Splash, Americans), chocolate milkshake (like a Wendy’s Frosty), red wine, white wine, apple juice, and grass jelly (a Chinese dessert drink). Sometimes it was horrifically tempting to take a swig, especially of the reaction mixtures stirring at 0 degrees Celsius on a hot summer day… Unfortunately for me, though, I won’t be enjoying any solid foods in the next couple of days because I just had my wisdom teeth removed yesterday. =( Though it was a bit traumatic (the only surgery I’ve had since I was an infant), at least this food restriction might be somewhat helpful in shedding the pounds I put on in Germany (totally worth it though!)—to look on the bright side.

Overall, I had a very enlightening and enjoyable experience in Germany, and I’m very fortunate to have had this opportunity to work with the DAAD. With this summer’s memories in hand, I am excited to start the new school year (beginning in another 2 weeks or so) and apply some of the new skills I’ve acquired. Thanks very much for reading this blog, and I wish everyone else the best of luck in future endeavors as well!

Kelly

About the pictures: my jam, cheese, and bread specialty that I developed in Berlin; an aerial view of the Ft. Myers/Naples area from the plane; my digital piano in Juelich–I am quite attached to it and glad it got home safely; the apple strudel and ice cream that my supervisor brought in on my last day in lab for my “goodbye” party; the first beer I bought in Germany–a girly but delicious grapefruit beer in a Berlin biergarten; the last beer I bought in Europe–in the Amsterdam airport during lunch; my favorite Berliner donut, from Backwerk, the best company!; the “red wine” I created in lab–doesn’t it look similar?; my first meal back in the States; me at my fume hood in the Forschungszentrum.

Hello, all. Sorry for writing a very short post this time, but it is my last week in Germany, and there’s a rather alarming amount of things to take care of. To be more specific, I am working on the report about my research for Wednesday and preparing for my presentation on Thursday. Additionally, it is now uncertain whether I will be going to Duesseldorf to stay on Thursday or Friday, as my flight is early Saturday morning. This means that I must be packed and ready to go before Thursday; so far, I haven’t begun clearing my apartment or anything! (That’s for tonight…) And, of course, I’m still trying to sort out the shipment of my piano back to the States; it’s a really big headache (though thanks for everyone’s help! I’m very appreciative!), but with the help of some people from my lab and everyone else’s suggestions, I think it may be possible. It’s just a lot to think about.

So, please pardon today’s brevity. It’s really too bad because I’d like to take more time to say “Goodbye” to Juelich and the people and places here, but I just feel so saturated with things to do that I know when it’s time to leave, I will feel that I wanted to sit and say more “goodbyes”, if that makes sense. Today, I closed my bank account at the Dresdner Bank, and it made me a bit sad. I must also remember to make time for souvenir shopping; I would really like to have things from Juelich when I return home. I am quite excited about going home, but, I am also sad about leaving Juelich. (Funny, it really did turn out that I like this place!) And a nice note: this morning on the way to work, I passed a whole huge pasture of sheep! It was adorable; the only sheep I usually see on the way are those three in someone’s backyard, but today was a massive field! =D

So, as my last post from Germany, I say “Goodbye.” I will write once more when I have returned to the States. Until then!

Although my original plan for last weekend was to visit Frankfurt am Main (Germany’s fifth largest city and the nation’s financial hub), train tickets ended up being so expensive that a more nearby city seemed a better choice. (That German Rail Pass was really such a valuable thing to have!) In the end, I think it turned out well, though, because I got to spend Saturday in Aachen, guided around by my own personal tour guide, aka my friend from the Berlin language course who works in Aachen.

When we first pulled into the Aachen Hauptbahnhof, my Jülich friend (who also works in the Forschungszentrum) and I immediately began to “place” the town—meaning, we compare its size/cityness with Jülich. (That seems to be our first task, like a reflex, each time we enter a new city). We decided that the Aachen Hauptbahnhof is somewhere between Düren and Köln in terms of size and appearance (probably a little closer to the Düren side though). When we got outside and met up with our Aachen friend, we discovered that Aachen is a beautiful, quaint town that resembles Bonn but is a bit smaller. While Bonn boasts its Beethoven legacy, Aachen’s claim to fame lies in its excellence in equestrian sports, being one of the only (or the only?) city in Germany to host an international equestrian competition/show. (I don’t know too much about it, but I thought that was neat).

As Germany’s most western city, Aachen offers the visitor an easy path into the Netherlands and even shares an airport with Maastricht, a Dutch city reachable by a short bus trip. Also, there is apparently a spot, called the Dreiländerpunkt, where you can stand on three countries’ soil (Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands) at one time. My parents visited this place when they came to visit me, but since my friends and I did not have a car and did not take the open bus tour that my parents did, I unfortunately did not get to see it. It’s still a cool idea though, and there were many other captivating sights in Aachen, like the Dom (a cathedral smaller than the massive Dom in Köln but more cosy-looking), the lovely Rathaus (one of the most beautiful I’ve seen, behind Munich’s), and the famous Universitätsklinikum Aachen (the absolutely most horrifyingly ugly hospital I’ve ever laid eyes on), and a whole bunch of adorable sheep in the “countryside” area of the city, on the way to the hospital. (Recently, inspired by the cute sheep I ride by every day to and from work, I have taken a great liking to sheep. They really are adorable, and actually do make that “maaa-aaaa-aaah” sound that is in all the cartoons and stuff. It’s really cute! And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real live sheep in the States, other than in a petting zoo, so every time I see a sheep here, I’m transfixed.)

For me, Aachen I will remember for its…food. Of course. For lunch we ate pasta, at a restaurant called “Pasta,” a small place near the Hauptbahnhof that serves freshly made pasta. I must say, that was the best lasagna (cheese & spinach) I’ve ever tasted! Not surprising I suppose, since the place was recommended by my friend’s Lonely Planet book (gotta trust Lonely Planet, right?) As an afternoon snack, I sampled Printen, the gingerbread-like cookie that Aachen is famous for. Every bakery (and that is a lot of bakeries) we passed sold Printen, advertised by large signs, and the way the windows were lit up with golden lights reminded me of the Christmas shops in Heidelberg. And then I got excited for Christmas again. =D For dinner, we again followed Lonely Planet’s suggestion and headed to Sausalitos, a Mexican restaurant. Though the food tasted good, I was quite amused by the flavoring; for the first time, I was eating Germanized Mexican food! It’s funny because we’re quite used to Americanized ethnic foods, but I found it quite entertaining how the enchiladas, tacos, and baked potatoes (my dish—are baked potatoes even Mexican?) on the table all seemed very…German…in terms of sauces and seasonings (potatoes in the enchiladas and tacos, I think). Even so, I enjoyed the meal, though it was rather heavy. And finally, my favorite part of my friend’s generous tour of Aachen: the best ice cream parlor ever!! Despite the slightly lengthy trek to find this place, when my friend said that this place “gives a lot,” he was under-exaggerating! (whatever the opposite of exaggerating is…) I have surely never seen “scoops” as large as the ones we had in Aachen. Yummmmmm….

We barely caught the last train from Düren back to Jülich at 10:20pm, and a very odd thing happened. On the way to Düren (en route to Aachen), on the Ruhrtal Bahn, my Jülich friend and I started talking to a couple (who took notice of us because of my friend’s Beatles T-shirt). When we scrambled onto the train to Düren from Aachen that evening, we were shocked to find as we entered the first car, that the same couple was sitting right there! And so we struck up another conversation and chatted for the duration of the ride to Düren (about 30 min). According to the woman, Frankfurt is not as pretty as Aachen, and there’s not much to see there (it probably looks similar it NYC, which is nice but can be seen in the States), so that made me feel better about missing out in Frankfurt. Then she posed a question to us that she said highly trained physicists could not answer satisfactorily. So I will write it here in case anyone reading this has a good idea: What is darkness made of? (and she would not accept “the absence of light” as an answer)

I spent most of Sunday relaxing and practicing my piano. It was unfortunate that I was slightly “crippled” for the day because I had (rather unwisely) worn flip-flops for the duration of my day in Aachen, and the combination of long walking distances, uneven cobblestoned streets, and a strange gait (to prevent blisters from forming on my feet) all contributed to a strain on one of the tendons in my feet (I think), which made my right foot swell up quite painfully. But after a day of rest and ice-treatment, it seems a bit better for work today, fortunately.

One last thing—if anyone has good ideas about shipping large items internationally, I’d greatly appreciate advice. I’m trying to send my digital piano back to the States for when I leave (in less than two weeks), and so far the Deutsche Post (DHL) won’t do it (it’s too big), and it’s been rather impossible to reach UPS and FedEx (either the numbers are wrong when I call, or they are busy). I’ve been surfing the Web trying to find rates, and it’s been something of a headache, but I will do the best I can.

Anyways, hope everyone had a great week!

About the pictures: the quaint-looking Aachen Hauptbahnhof; the gorgeous Dom; the dazzling Rathaus (city hall)–too bad I cut off the right spire–it’s so large it’s hard to get it all; a display of Printen in a shop window; my Sausalitos baked potato, swimming in sour cream, cheese, and spinach–it looks kinda like a rabbit face with the cabbage ears; my massive two scoops of ice cream–organge yogurt and caramel; a cutehorse waiter statue I found quite representative of Aachen’s good food and equestrian reputation; the ugly hospital–it looks like a factory or something; the adorable sheep lounging in the shaded grass.

Amsterdam is a beautiful and very interesting–at times also rather strange–city. Although I am sad to say that I missed out on Hamburg (my original destination for last weekend), I am also glad to have visited Amsterdam, as that was one of the cities I had hoped to see during my stay in Europe. Amsterdam, of course, is known as one of the biggest party cities in the world, famous for its extensive Red Light District and acceptance of soft drug use. However, Amsterdam is also a very old city with lots of history and some sort of sense and deeper meaning behind its seemingly contradictory atmosphere.

First, an overview of the city. The main train station, Amsterdam Centraal, is possibly one of the grandest central stations I have ever seen! It looks like a giant castle in the middle of the city. Only about a 5-minute walk from the station was the hostel my friends and I stayed at during the weekend; it was located conveniently in the heart of the city, close to the train station and amidst the Red Light district, which made for a very exciting atmosphere during the night hours. During the day, the city seems like any other beautiful European capital, with old buildings, serene canals, and numerous cafes, but at night time, the place becomes the epitome of liveliness and activity–it becomes Amsterdam. Buildings you didn’t even notice during the day are illuminated with neon lights, beckoning the visitor to watch a live sex show or spend some time with one of the many hookers dancing in the red-lighted windows. Turn down another street and take your pick of countless “coffee shops” offering various special products. And if you’re too tired or uninterested for any of it, there’s always the entertainment of just walking along the streets and taking in the beauty of Amsterdam’s canals and tiny alleyways illuminated by lights and doused in the smells emanating from the coffee shops.

Several times throughout the weekend, my friends and I (and later the tour guide, too!) commented on how strange of a city Amsterdam is. In the midst of the prostitution and drug use rampant in the Red Light district are police officers–probably more officers patrol that area than anywhere else. It seemed so strange to see prostitutes, cannabis product stores, and police officers side by side, without mass arrests or commotion. The liberality of the city was amazing! Near all the coffee shops you can find the Hemp, Marijuana, and Hash Museum, where the different uses of cannabis are explored (including non-drug ones, like commercial uses in car doors and other random things) beside the Cannabis College, where you study the cultivation of the crop. And aside from all the debauchery, Amsterdam also houses many cultural greats, like the Van Gogh Museum (which we visited on Saturday before a delicious dinner at an Indonesian restaurant–I have decided my favorite van Gogh painting is “Almond Blossoms,” painted in 1890 in Saint-Rémy, France) and the Concertgebouw, the concert hall of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. So, Amsterdam has an appreciation for not only wild nighttime adventures but also for highly cultured arts.

Everyone should be proud of me here: I went on a tour! (I usually hate tours and try not to go on them or end up not paying attention even if I do go) All my friends went on this tour on Saturday (I missed out because I was a bit ill) and recommended it highly. Plus, it was free, and I wanted to learn more about this strange city. So for 3 hours, I trekked around the city and saw many interesting landmarks, like the Alterkerk (old church) where the sailors used to go to buy indulgences for their sins in the Red Light district, the Anne Frank House where the Frank family hid behind a closet during the Nazi occupation of the city, the thinnest house in the city (a whopping 1.8 meters thick!), the cafe where interracial mingling was first observed in Europe, a secret Catholic church in a person’s house, and many more interesting sites.

Additionally, I gained a wealth of information about the city’s history as well as a great liking and respect for the place. Apparently, the Dutch are very enthusiastic about earning money and doing good business–hence, the thriving prostitution and cannabis businesses. Therefore, although there are laws in the Netherlands, according to our tour guide, most of those laws can be easily broken, as long as three “golden” rulse are followed. To successfully bend a law, you must 1) be discreet about it, 2) not hurt anyone in the process, and 3) be generating good business (earning lots of money) with it. These rules together comprise the “plausible deniability” that has laid the foundation for Amsterdam as a city throughout history. This is why so many “coffee shops” operate openly in the city, despite an official law banning drug use and why Catholicism persisted throughout history, even during times when Catholicism was “banned.” As our guide summarized, the Dutch are the masters at coming up with very weird agreements–something that I found rather amusing and a bit endearing. While this principle may sound bad, I actually think it is quite good, as the Dutch are very insistent that all three golden rules be upheld. For example, when the Netherlands were a super power during the Golden Age in history and were exploiting the Indonesian people, the government applied the Plausible Deniability principle and tricked the Dutch people into thinking that the Indonesians were also profiting from the contact. However, once it was exposed that the Dutch government was horribly abusing the Indonesians, the Dutch citizens became enraged because the 2nd rule (no hurting others) had been broken, even though the other two rules were intact.

The Dutch are also a very tolerant group of people, as demonstrated in their attitude toward prostitution, soft drug use, and homosexuality. This is also apparent in history, as the Amsterdamers were among the only people to rebel against the Nazis during WWII to protest the brutal treatment of the Jewish people in Amsterdam. As our tour guide emphasized, during that time, the Jewish people in Amsterdam were not seen as “the Jewish people” but as “Amsterdamers,” so when the Nazis began to oppress them, all the Amsterdamers were outraged because the second rule of not hurting anyone had been violated. Hearing the story of how the people of Amsterdam fought to protect their Jewish population was quite heart-warming and made me rather fond of the city. In summary, it seems that the Dutch, perhpas Amsterdam in particular, are most concerned with living well, enjoying life, and protecting the interests and safety of all. Since these ideals seem to line up rather closely to my own, I have taken an extra liking to the city.

However, the tour guide also said that since the Netherlands’ current government is quite conservative, many of the coffee shops and a good portion of the Red Light district has been closed down, and perhaps in another number of years, all of it will be gone and will only be a memory of years gone by. Hearing that made me sad because, even though I’m not exactly a very frequent coffee shop and hooker customer, it seems that the Red Light district and the numerous coffee shops are part of Amsterdam’s cultural identity; they make Amsterdam Amsterdam. So perhaps the conservative trend will indeed continue but perhaps not, but even if it does, and all the excitement of the Red Light district does fade into history, I feel fortunate to have seen the city as it was in all its famous glory.

Coming back to Germany was funny because I felt like I was “going home.” For example, when other people in my tour group said they were from Germany, I felt like saying, “I’m from Germany, too!” It’s funny how Germany has started to feel somewhat more like home, especially when being out of the country like last weekend in the Netherlands. When the train crossed the border and the Dutch words became German words again, it seemed so familiar. (Although, the Dutch language does seem like a cross between English and German, and many Dutch words were close enough to German words that I could understand a good deal of it. Also, in Amsterdam, everyone spoke very good English, probably because the Dutch are used to people not learning Dutch and so they just speak English. So that was a relief to not have to have the language problem and worry about learning Dutch!) I thought that was rather interesting, how Germany is seeming more like “home” now. Although, that is not to say that I am not excited to return to the States. In less than 3 weeks now, I will fly back to Florida! It’s surprising how quickly the summer passed by, and I am glad to say that I have enjoyed most of it and have made the most of my experience here. Well, more of that later, when the time to leave really comes.

And of course, no Kelly post would be complete without some discussion of food! =P French Fries served in cone-shaped paper containers seemed to be the favored snack; of course, it was delicious! All week long before my trip to Amsterdam, I had been looking forward to buying and eating the legendary “Stroopwafels,” or syrup waffels. They are a delicious snack that consists of thing wafer-like waffles sandwiching a layer of caramel or syrup or sometimes honey. A little difficult to explain but very easy to enjoy! Though they are sold here in Germany, the price is quite high (about 3€ per package), but in Amsterdam, they are cheaper (about 1.30 € per pack) since they are a Dutch food. Additionally, one of my lab members had told me about “Vla” (pronounced “flah”), a sweet custard drink. Of course, I tried that too, and it was delicious! There were also many bakeries in Amsterdam (though not quite as plentiful as in Germany, and certainly in a very small concentration compared to the “coffee shops”), and it seemed that the Dutch bakery items tended to be more dessert-like in nature–more tarts and heavy cakey-foods than the more bread-based, food-food bakery items of Germany. A subtle difference, but of course, the Dutch bakery items looked delicious as well!

So, here ends my long interpretation of Amsterdam (whose name comes from “dam on the Amstel River” btw). It is a darling city inhabited by a group of good people who watch out for each other while having a good time. And, of course, the food there is delicious. I am fortunate that it is only a 2.5-hr train ride from Cologne (which is about an hour away from Jülich), so not very far at all. If you have a chance, go visit Amsterdam!

About the pictures: side view of the grand Amsterdam Centraal, with the tourist information center in front; one of the many canal bridges illuminated at night; a napkin form of my new favorite van Gogh painting, Almond Blossoms–the beautiful blue-green coloring in the real painting is stunning, and I thought these napkins captured the hue most closely; one of the curious open-air urinals for men scattered throughout the city–very strange; one of the abundant “coffee shops,” this one was quite plentiful throughout the Red Light district–Bulldog pride!!; a display of various hemp baked goods in a convenience store; the central station from the front, unfortunately somewhat blocked by construction walls; some buildings built right onto the canals, which I found both beautiful and interesting; various hemp products (“bio-friendly” ones) sold in a store–hemp spaghetti, muesli (cereal), and flour–interesting!!; karamelstroopwafels and vla–my dinner on the train ride back; a snapshot of some Dutch bakery items; the city center hall–looks like a castle!

It is amazing how much influence the weather has on one’s day. For example, on a sunny day, I almost always feel more energetic and optimistic, but on a rainy day, unless I am at home curled up with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book or movie, I am most likely sluggish and tired. I think it is the same for many people as well! While this correlation between weather and mood/activity seems rather obvious or un-breathtaking, sometimes I think of how the weather changes arbitrarily, independent of human plans and designs—and then it’s funny to think of how our mood and activities are therefore dependent on whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at us on a given day.

Of course, moods are oftentimes independent of the weather, as it is very possible to be sad on a sunny day or cheerful on a cloudy one. But some activities are certainly dependent on the weather. Last weekend, I traveled to Munich (München) (about 6 hours of train time from Jüich, but more with the connections) and explored the city with a friend. I had heard so many great things about Munich; in the words of one of my friends from home, “You haven’t been to Germany until you’ve been to Munich!” Well, of course I had to validate my three months in Germany, so a trip to Munich was a must!

I was excited for Munich because I thought it would be something like Berlin, being a big city and all (although one of the guys in my lab, who had studied in Munich for several years, declared Munich and Berlin to be very different cities). From the pictures I saw online and in my travel book, I could tell that Munich should be a gorgeous city under a blue sky and a shining sun. Unfortunately for us, Mother Nature fancied giving the city a thorough wash, as it rained on and off all weekend long, mainly on Saturday—our main touring day! =( The saddest part was that most of the places I wanted to visit (like the Nymphenburg Palace, Viktualienmarkt (Food Market), Olympic Park, English Garden, and other parks) were outdoors. Although my friend and I valiantly trekked out to both Nymphenburg and the English Garden (both of which were lovely but quite soggy!), we were not able to see very much because of the great sogginess of our clothes and the discomfort of wet shoes.

Still, despite having much of our plans thwarted by the rain, I think we managed to see a decent amount of the great city. To escape the rain, we, along with large masses of other tourists, took refuge in the museums. The Deutsches Museum, the most highly acclaimed science museum in the world, was fascinating. Of course, my favorite exhibits were the musical instrument exhibit and the chemistry exhibit. Unfortunately, the majority of the music exhibit was closed off due to construction, but we did get to hear a brief organ concert and witnessed a demonstration on a clavichord (a small keyboard instrument played during the Medieval to Classical periods). There was also a splendid selection of keyboard instruments and an array of models of hammer mechanisms. I thought it was neat how at the end of the row, next to all the old harpsichords and cembalos, was a sleek, black Steinway & Sons concert grand from Hamburg. Very lovely!

The chemistry exhibit was especially fascinating because it was like being transported back to Freshman Orgo class first semester of college; I saw reconstructions of Lavoisier’s lab and Liebig’s lab and marveled at the progression of medieval alchemy into what we now know as chemistry (the best science, of course!). I found it quite amazing how even way back in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, when Lavoisier and Liebig were just establishing the foundations of organic chemistry by conducting their elemental analysis combustion experiments, they were aware of the importance of an inert atmosphere for the success of the reaction and thus devised primitive but apparently effective ways of rigorously excluding air moisture from the reaction flasks. I guess I find this especially interesting now that I am working in such a modern lab as the one in the Forschungszentrum—the stuff I do in my high-tech lab today is what the chemists of history did back then, just with different equipment!

It would have been nice to stay much longer in the museum (I think a whole day could definitely be passed at that museum), as I think we only saw about 20% of the whole place, if not less! But we could not stay because we were starving and began on our pilgrimage to the Hofbräuhaus, or the main brewery of the city. It was such a relief to step into the warm, cheerful brewery where there was jovial music and friendly waitresses. Even though it was 3 o’clock, in between mealtimes, the place was so crowded that I was pleasantly surprised that we managed to find a seat. Though I usually do not eat much meat, I am glad that I tried the Bavarian specialty called Weisswurst, two white sausages served with a sweet mustard sauce and pretzels. That, along with the legendary Hofbräu beer and a warm Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce afterwards, filled our stomachs up soundly.

After a quick second visit to the palace the next day, we headed back home. Despite the dreary weather, I think I liked Munich and would gladly visit again in the future (hopefully on a sunny day, when the parks would be more enjoyable). The people in Munich seemed the friendliest out of all the cities I’ve been to so far. This must be part of the Bavarian Gastfreundschaft (hospitality) proudly professed in the cookbook I bought from the Hofbräuhaus. (That word for “hospitality” is different in the Bavarian dialect, and it’s driving me nuts that I can’t remember it! –I will post it later) For example, despite the booming business in the Hofbräuhaus, all the waiters and waitresses we dealt with were friendly and polite (very different from many other restaurant services I’ve experienced so far in Germany!), and in the Italian restaurant we visited for dinner, we enjoyed free champagne and antipasta appetizer dishes from the barmaster and chef of the restaurant while we waited for a table to free up. Even outside the food/service business, the locals were also very hospitable, as a couple generously offered us directions when it looked like we didn’t know where to go. Though Berlin is still my favorite city, I would say that Munich is beautiful as well—even in the rain.

About the pictures: The impressive new Rathaus (city hall); the picturesque Karlstor Gate in Marienplatz; a showcase of numerous hammer mechanisms in keyboard instruments throughout the ages in the Deutsches Museum; the beautiful Hamburg Steinway in the organ room–under great protection, of course!; a recreation of Liebig’s laboratory; our meal at the Hofbräuhaus; the massive Schloss Nymphenburg; a friendly swan on the lake in front of the palace who took a special interest in the visitors; the splendid Rathaus at nighttime (sorry for the blurriness!)

This past weekend (Thurs. to Sat.) was the meeting of RISE interns in Heidelberg–so much fun!! After arriving at the Youth Hostel (Jugendherberge) on Thursday, we visited the Universität Heidelberg, where we listened to several welcome speeches from the directors of the RISE program and attended discussions about graduate programs in Germany. The next day were the company visits, during which we were divided into groups visiting different scientific companies nearby, depending on our area of research. On the last day, there was a brief concluding speech and a guided tour of the city, ending around midday. Some people (including myself) opted to stay an extra night while others headed off to other places like Munich, Switzerland or Austria.

Heidelberg is a very old city with much historical significance, embodied most prominently in its castle and university. The university was in operation several hundred years before the U.S. came into being and is one of the oldest universities in Europe. It was quite exciting to visit the university because Heidelberg was mentioned numerous times in my Freshman Orgo class, which spent a sizeable amount of time studying the history and evolution of organic chemistry in the hands of many German chemists like Liebig, Wohler, and lots of others whose names are slipping my mind right now.

The castle is built up on one of the many luscious green hills and was inhabited when the area belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, long before Germany existed as a nation. According to Saturday’s tour guide, the castle housed the vice-prince elector of the region and was glorious during its time, but King Louis XIV of France destroyed much of it during a war. (The tour guide seemed to like emphasizing the fact that it was the French that destroyed the castle, not the Americans. Rather amusing! Apparently, Heidelberg was spared by American bombs during WWII because it was so pretty that the Americans wanted to live there.) Because of powerful influences from the Romantic era, the castle was never reconstructed; instead, the remaining ruins are maintained and proudly displayed to the public. A cool factoid about the castle: it has the largest wine barrel ever, holding more than 50,000 gallons of wine!

From what I saw of Heidelberg, the most distinguishing features are the massive, green hills (and all the houses on them) surrounding the Neckar River and the plentiful Christmas shops. (I really liked seeing all the Christmas trees, toys, decorations, ornaments, etc. in July–that is truly “Christmas in July”! Definitely exciting for a Christmas-nut like me) Heidelberg is such an idyllic sort of place that I don’t think I would want to work there–I would always feel like I should be on vacation! Interestingly, after seeing how the beauty of Heidelberg differs from that of Bonn or Berlin, I have decided that each city in Germany (at least the ones I’ve seen–Berlin, Düsseldorf, Jülich, Cologne, Bonn, Heidelberg) has its own very distinct flair so that they really cannot be exactly compared. Perhaps I am just more sensitive here in Germany because I am consciously visiting new cities in a foreign land, but now I wonder if the cities in the U.S. are as unique from each other as here.

Though Heidelberg is a beautiful city with lots to see, I think my favorite part of the weekend was meeting up with all my friends from the Berlin language course, most of whom I hadn’t seen since the beginning of June. Between sitting through administrative speeches, wandering around the picturesque Altstadt, and enjoying the lively bars and clubs, we had a great time exchanging stories about our cities and making new memories. (at least in my opinion!) Most of us chose to stay the extra night on Saturday, so we got to see fireworks on the river in the evening and enjoyed one more night out in the Altstadt. While it was also fun to meet other RISE interns (there were around 300-some interns there, so plenty of new people to meet!), I felt very glad to have a group of people I already knew and liked with whom to explore the city. Additionally, I now have even more travel buddies for any future visits to other cities!

And of course, such an exciting weekend would not be complete without a zesty ending. Sunday morning after I turned in my room key and ate breakfast, I almost lost my luggage, which contained LOTS of personal belongings, including most of my clothes and toilettries (I’m a heavy packer), all my souvenirs from Heidelberg, and my laptop!! I had left my suitcase in the lobby with some other people’s suitcases (thinking they were other RISE interns’) while I ate breakfast, and when I returned a half hour later, all the bags were gone! I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life, as I really had no idea where my bag would be, since it seemed that the people who took it probably did so by accident, thinking it was theirs. To condense this rather traumatic experience, after about 2 hours of frantic searching and help-seeking, one of my friends suggested looking in a van that had been parked outside the hostel for a while. Though I did not actually think it would be there (I had looked everywhere and asked so many people already), I thought, “might as well,” and asked the driver of the van, which was full of people and looked completely ready to leave. Glancing halfheartedly into the back of the van, I saw my suitcase, which still had a Southwest Airlines tag on it with my mother’s name and contact info–the bag I had been desperately searching for in the past 2 hours!! I was so elated that the driver and the others were quite amused, and thinking about it, it really is quite amusing: that van, which had been parked there for a couple hours probably, was just about to leave for Sweden! This was definitely the most fortunate and unfortuante experience I’ve had so far–losing lots of personal belongings and luckily retrieving them seconds before they disappear to another country!

To end on a good note, I also discovered during the meeting that people actually do read my blog, which is really nice! I got to meet Ms. Steuer, the blog coordinator with whom I have been corresponding with regards to this blog, and she is very nice also in person. Coincidentially, one of my roommates at the Youth Hostel knew me from reading this blog, and I must say it was rather warming to realize that others who didn’t know me before are reading my posts. Thank you to everybody who is taking the time to read this blog!! =D I hope the posts are interesting, and I will try to keep them lively!

About the pictures: a view of Heidelberg from the castle; the castle (not such a great shot of it)–you can see some maintenance work being done on one side; a decorated tree in one of the lovely Christmas shops in the Altstadt; Bananeweizen beer–one of my favorites!!–that I recommended to my friends on our first night out in Heidelberg; the interior of the sleek ICE train I took from Cologne to Mannheim (then to Heidelberg); a dense sea of bikes parked outside the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof; me, bundled up in a blanket where we sat outside the biergarten Thursday night–I thought it was so cool that the bar provided blankets–the first I’ve seen! =P

This last week has been so busy, but SO much fun!!! To start off, from Monday to Wednesday, I was on a retreat with my lab group in Belgium, not far from the German border. The house we stayed in, called the Vennhouse, was equipped with a game room that included fußball, ping-pong, darts, and billiards; additionally, some people brought card games and board games, so we all had plenty of entertainment (outside of watching chemistry presentations!). I learned a few new games and got to sharpen (show off?) my fußball skills–it seems all those years of training with my brother paid off! Also, after hanging out with the other lab members during the retreat, I feel a lot more comfortable chatting with them and asking questions in lab. Yay!

As soon as I returned from the retreat, I met my parents, who had just flown in from the States to visit me. I am very lucky and grateful that they came all the way to visit, as I had a great time showing them around and got to see and do lots of things I wouldn’t have if they hadn’t come. Wednesday, I took them around Jülich a little; Thursday I went to work, and they visited me at the Forschungszentrum and tried the yummy cafeteria food; Friday I got the day off from work so we went to Düsseldorf; Saturday we went to Bonn and Köln (Cologne); and on Sunday they flew back to the States.

Though I’ve already been to Düsseldorf a couple of times, I definitely enjoyed showing my parents the places in the Altstadt that my friends and I frequent, and I also got to see the Heinrich-Heine museum as well as the Goethe museum. Both museums were riveting, as both German poets were very influential in classical music as well, and I also sharpened my German skills by trying to read and understand the texts in the museums. (Throughout the entire weekend, I practiced my German, and I think I have improved even more since Berlin! Also, since my dad brought me his and my brother’s German textbooks, I think I will be able to learn even more before the end of summer). In the evening, we were fortunately able to avoid a massive thunderstorm, as we stepped into a Korean restaurant (“Shilla”) just as the rain started coming down. The food there was delicious! And the interior was decorated beautifully. I must say, that was some of the best Korean food I’ve had!

Bonn is by far my favorite city, next to Berlin. As soon as we emerged from the parking garage, I knew this to be true. Bonn is a gorgeous city, though in a different way from Berlin. Bonn seems more like a town than a city, as all the buildings are picturesque and old-looking, although still nicely kept-up, and most streets are cobble-stoned. (It also helped that the weather on Saturday was much nicer than Friday!) Mainly, there is lots of musical history in Bonn, as Beethoven was born and grew up there before moving to Vienna–a fact that the residents of Bonn are rightfully proud of, as Beethoven’s face and image are ubiquitous in the city. We ate lunch at Em Höttche, the restaurant/pub where Beethoven frequented during his years in Bonn. The food was delicious! (Just as good German food as the Korean food we had had the night before, in my opinion) Afterwards, we headed to the Beethoven-Haus, the house in which Beethoven was born. Of course, I felt like I could have spent the whole day there, but we were only able to stay a couple of hours because the day’s agenda included Cologne in the afternoon. Since Bonn is such a wonderful city with so much musical background and shopping, I think I will return once more before I leave Germany.

Juxtaposing Köln with Bonn seems to accentuate the contrast between a city and a town, I think. Though Bonn isn’t super small like Jülich, it certainly has a different feel from Köln. Köln is more city-like, I think (after all, it is the fourth largest city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich); it reminds me the most of Berlin, although a bit dirtier and not quite as pretty or picturesque. Since we didn’t arrive in Köln until mid afternoon, we had a rather brief view of the city, only seeing the Dom, the city hall (Rathaus), the shopping street, and the Rhine. It is unfortunate that my parents did not get to visit the chocolate museum because I think they would have loved it. =( Maybe another time?? Gladly, we got to make use of the nice weather to have dinner outside, near the Rhine, before heading home.

It was such a lovely weekend and week that it seems wrong to describe it like this in a few brief paragraphs. But I am rather tired, so I’m afraid this is the best I can do. =P Hopefully the pictures will help bring the sights to life! (although most are of food–so yummy!)

About the pictures: “Kaffee, Kuchen, & Eis”–my three favorite words here, meaning “Coffee, Cake, and Ice Cream” (yeah, I have a sweet tooth!); a piece of my beloved Donauwelle cake that I described in an earlier post; my dish at the Korean restaurant–a cold noodle soup Neng Myun (probably not spelled right) served in (the best part) a golden bowl!!; a statue of Beethoven in front of a pretty yellow building in Bonn; my dish at Em Höttche–Spinatpfanne, Spinach Pan–that was absolutely delicious!!; the front of the Beethoven-Haus.

Cologne is a beautiful city. We took a day trip there on Saturday, and the highlights were seeing and climbing to the top of the famous Dom (the tallest cathedral in Germany, and one of the grandest in Europe), exploring the chocolate museum (Schokoladen Museum)—my favorite!—and wandering down the extensive shopping avenue.  

The Dom tower was definitely a taxing climb, although I do not think it was as long or as claustrophobic  as the climb up the temple in Leipzig during my days in Berlin. However, it was quite scary that there was two-way traffic in the spiraling staircase! Of course, the view from the top was gorgeous, and according to one of my friends, you can even see the Düsseldorf TV tower on a clear day.  

The highlight of the trip for me was the chocolate museum—I love chocolate! In the museum, I learned about how the cocoa bean is grown and harvested, and then how the chocolate is processed and turned into the delicious bars I love so much. Definitely one of the most riveting parts of the display was seeing the actual machines at work producing and wrapping each bar with such precision. And of course, the chocolate fountain with the yummy chocolate-on-wafer free sample! An interesting fact about chocolate history I learned: apparently, when hot chocolate first appeared in social settings in the late 17^th century, it was very much an elite sort of drink, and in Germany, it was drunk in only private settings. On display were numerous intricate little porcelain and china serving cups on saucers—all for hot chocolate! I just think it’s rather funny how hot chocolate has evolved from such a delicacy into a sort of “kids’” drink today, drunk out of Styrofoam cups or really anything around Christmas time and usually just prepared from a powdered package or something!  

The café at the end of the museum had an extremely enticing array of chocolate (and non-chocolate) treats. I indulged and had a slice of rich Schokolade duo-torte cake—a three-layered (?) chocolate cake with a fluffy chocolate mousse layering between each layer of cake. Absolutely delicious, though I still cannot decide whether that cake was better, or the Donauwelle from the bakery in Jülich was better! (Of course, that’s not even counting the authentic, puffy, white Berliner donuts from Berlin…) The gift shop was also an incredible place. So many things made out of chocolate! Keyboards, computer mice, Kölsch beer bottles (Kölsch is the special beer drunk in Cologne, like Düsseldorf’s Altbier), soccer balls, cats, horses, fish—you name it, it was there, in chocolate form! Amongst all the goodies, I selected a white chocolate bar with raspberry yogurt filling, a 70% cacao dark chocolate bar, and a bottle of chocolate liqueur. Not surprisingly, all are delicious!! =D

 The shopping opportunities in Cologne were also immense, although I was too tired to really take advantage of the countless sales in all the stores we passed by. We did stop in a Lego-Land, and I can definitely see why a Legos fan would love that place!  

Sorry this post is a bit brief, but I am going on a sort of retreat with my lab group from Monday to Wednesday somewhere in Belgium (mountains, I think?) for some chemistry presentations and overall lab bonding time. I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun, so I’m rather excited. But I don’t think there will be Internet, so I’m trying to post ahead, and once I return to Germany, my parents will be here visiting me, so not much time then. I’m very excited for their visit, as I can do a decent job, I think, showing them around, now that I’ve settled more into Jülich and gotten more comfortable communicating in German. 

So, until next time! (and hopefully I will have pictures from Bonn, which my parents and I will be seeing on Saturday!)  

About the Pictures: the impressive Dom; a panoramic view of Cologne from atop the Dom tower (too bad it was such a cloudy day!); an array of truffles on sale in the Schokoladen Museum; the chocolate fountain!!

I’m happy to report that since my last post, things have really gotten better for me here in Jülich. Maybe it’s also because I’ve actively been concentrating on only the good things, or just that I’m getting used to countryside living, but either way, it’s awesome. =D

A summary of all the nice things that have happened to me in the last week: One of my co-workers showed me a different path to get to lab. I like this path much much better than the other one; not only is it shorter, but it also goes entirely through residential areas and foresty places, so I don’t have to bike along the main road anymore (which is quite scary I must say because the sidewalk next to the road is quite narrow). This path is very lovely–a wide path where lots of bikers go to and from work, pretty much leading straight from the Forschungszentrum. I think ever since I started taking this path to and from lab, I started liking Jülich much more because I now get to experience the prettiest parts of this countryside town. Now, instead of dodging pedestrians and craning my neck to check intersections, I can enjoy the scenery–sheep, chickens, plots of cabbage crops, farmhouses, a nuclear power plant–from the comfort of a wide, nicely paved path covered by a thick shade from the surrounding trees. Now that I’ve also gotten more comfortable on my bike (although I still have problems getting on now and then), I have taken some pictures while riding home, in an attempt to portray here the serenity of the Jülich countryside.

This morning, I thought of something: to describe my lab, I can say that I work in a “secret” high-tech lab, hidden somewhere in the heart of a dark German forest, like in some sort of sci-fi film. =P Although it’s not all that secret or anything, I still think it’s rather amusing that I do work in a very well-equipped research center built in a tiny town and situated in the depths of a forest in Germany. (Apparently some other people have encountered wild boars in the path through the forest!) It sounds rather Romantic, like from a novel about a hidden lab.

Another good thing: today I biked quickly to the bank where I’d set up my bank account for the summer, and my stipend has finally arrived! It is really such a relief because I am to pay rent on Wednesday. I’m also glad to report that I have reached a decent system concerning the laundry. So, with the reception of my living stipend and the truce with the washing machines, I think I have officially settled in here! =D

This past weekend was very fun and relaxing. Friday, after work, I watched some of my labmates play a friendly soccer match against another institute here at the Forschungszentrum. I think it’s really neat how there is a huge space cleared out of the thick forest–all for the purpose of this soccer field. Again, like the Forschungszentrum, it’s as though this field is this obscure little thing hidden in the middle of this dark forest. Makes it kind of quaint I think, although every time the ball was kicked out of bounds, I wondered if it would be so deep into the forest that they wouldn’t find it! It was entertaining to see my co-workers out on the field as soccer players, and in the end their efforts paid off because we won 4-2!! I heard that our team is doing much better than last year, so perhaps this victory will be a hint of more to come!

On Saturday, some friends and I went into the town square, where there was a special flea market going on, in addition to the usual morning market. There were all kinds of hand-made crafts, and I ended up buying some delicious, extra-fine strawberry jam (for only 2 €!) and an adorable hand-crafted mug with a little froggy peeking out. (I would have taking a picture for here, but my camera ran out of batteries that day). And, of course, we got more ice cream--at 0,50 € per scoop! So far, the flavors I have tried are hazelnut (nuss), “cookies,” Amarena (a sort of pink licorice-cream type flavor I think), white chocolate (weiße schokolade) in Berlin, whiskey cream in Leipzig, and one other one that I cannot remember right now! But of course, all of the flavors have been delectable, and I’m hoping to try all the flavors from those two 0,50 € per scoop shops in Jülich!

I have also gotten more adventurous with cooking in my apartment–meaning, now I am quite adept at making cheese omelettes! Sunday, I also cooked spaghetti with a tofu bolognese sauce and tried some of the famous German breads. Too bad I forgot what it was called, but it’s a dark bread, round in loaf shape, and has a chewy sort of consistency and a very distinct but undescribable taste; tastes very good with strawberry jam… =D Perhaps next time I will take a picture and post it!

This next weekend, I think I may take a day trip to Köln on Saturday, so I should have some nice pictures to share next time I post! So far, I’ve heard about Köln’s enormous cathedral (visible from the Hauptbahnhof) and immense shopping opportunities. This will be fun!

About the pictures: an open expanse of fields with a glimpse of rolling hills on my new route home; the lovely, wide bike bath home from work; the other IBOC members hard at work on the pitch; a close-up of our team’s pretty blue soccer jerseys; a coat on display at Saturday’s flea market–it sort of looks like it’s made of recycled paper, doesn’t it?

For some reason, I thought I would be living/working in Düsseldorf. Apparantly not. Apparently, Jülich and Düsseldorf are two very distinct locations. As in, a 30-min drive or a 2-hr train ride. I have been living in Jülich now for a little over a week, and I must say I definitely still miss Berlin! Compared to Berlin, even Düsseldorf, a relatively big city (the capital of the North-Rhine Westphalia German “state”), doesn’t look like much of a city. And then Jülich, is…well, not really a city at all but rather a town. According to my dad, Jülich is the oldest town in Germany; that’s pretty neat, I guess.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot to do in Jülich. (I have noticed there are a lot of slugs and snails here, though!) I oftentimes find myself comparing Jülich to Berlin–which is probably the reason why I have had difficulty adjusting. In Berlin, I had the S-Bahn and U-Bahn system pretty much figured out and felt confident riding the trains to school, to home, and to other places. Here in Jülich, I ride my bike to work and to go grocery shopping. The first few days, I really hated biking to work; I am not much used to biking for transportational purposes—at home I bike for fun and exercise. But once I got the hang of riding with my backpack on, and once I got a [temporary] bike that wasn’t too tall for me (thanks to my friend here!), I have found that the biking isn’t as bad as it was initially.

I think one of the main annoyances is that to get to I Düsseldorf, the closest thing to a city, it is a hasslesome 2-hr train trip. Even though you can drive between Jülich and Düsseldorf in about a half hour, because the train lines run in a rather inefficient path, the connections expand the journey out to 2 hours. =( I went to Düsseldorf this past weekend, and it was so much fun—almost like Berlin—but it was also quite exhausting with the traveling and “excursion”-like feel of the whole trip. Just walking around the city and seeing the bakeries and shops like in Berlin made me happier. I never realized before coming to Germany, but I think I am more of a city person than not! I’d like to go into Düsseldorf more often, but I’m starting to think I may not go as often as I’d like, as it really is rather taxing in terms of both effort and money.

It was a nice weekend in Düsseldorf, with it being “Japan-Tag” (Japan Day) on Saturday and all. The majority of the day was dedicated to displaying the Japanese culture through various performances and costumes—both traditional kimono-style (some really beautiful ones) and the more pop-culture anime characters. (It reminded me of when we went to Leipzig earlier during the language course, and it happened to be Gothic Day, so we saw scores of Leipzigers dressed in smoking black Gothic attire.) At the end of the day, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra performed a short program (which was amazing!), and then there were magnificent fireworks to close off the festival. Overall, it was definitely a more exciting and enjoyable weekend than it would have been in Jülich!

I miss Berlin and city living a lot and have found the transition rather difficult, but I have decided to try focusing on the good things (even if scarce sometimes) that I notice each day, instead of dwelling on the complaints (which is what I have been doing for the past week or so). I enjoy my work in the lab; it feels good to be back doing lab work after taking a whole semester away from lab courses in school. The Jülich Forschungszentrum is top notch, and all the equipment is very new, as the whole building is relatively recent. The group I work in, the Institute for Bioorganic Chemistry (IBOC), does some really cool research, and the PI is a genuinely nice guy. Although my first week in lab (last week) was a bit slow because I had to become acquainted with the IBOC’s system of doing things, I think things are starting to pick up now. I’ve learned some new procedures and enhanced my understanding of other ones that I’ve learned in class. Today, I ran my first actual column! =D My project is quite inspiring, as it is a synthesis of a natural product that targets and destroys cancer cells. Synthesis projects are cool–which is why I chose this one! 

As in Berlin, I wish I knew more German before coming here. Though people in the lab are nice, they usually prefer to speak amongst themselves in German, and if there is not another RISE student nearby, I usually just sit quietly because I find it too intimidating to practice my fledgling German skills in front of so many natives. I feel somewhat rude just speaking to them in English, so I often end up just not talking to anyone. It’s a rather sad feeling, and I know it’s sort of my problem for being too intimidated or shy, but it’s also difficult. I think now I can identify more with new immigrants to the U.S. who may speak very broken or accented English and who may be less talkative because they worry their accent will be made fun of. So many times here in Germany, I have overheard natives breeze into a shop and ask their questions to store owners and receive their answers with ease, and I always wish so much that I could do the same. I think they are so lucky to be able to speak German and make themselves understood here because I usually either get lucky (i.e. an easy question and understandable answer) or have to just forego asking something because it’s too complicated for me to construct, and I want to avoid the struggle of hassling someone else’s day with my primitive German. And then I wonder if that’s what it feels like to the new immigrants to the States as well. Maybe.

Though there are many things I miss about Berlin and its rich cultural environment, I will try to think of at least one good thing that happens each day in Jülich. Today, I went to the cafeteria for lunch. The food, as usual, was delicious, but in addition, there was a bakery sale of a huge variety of lovely-looking German pasteries! (apparently, this only happens once a month or so there) Although the Berliner donut I bought today could not compare to the one in Berlin, it was still a delicious treat (I also got an Apfel Berliner–Apple Berliner–and a Donauwelle, a chocolate & vanilla cake with cherries, topped with a layer of German buttercream and chocolate lining–possibly the most delicious cake I have ever tasted!!).

On a random note, I will just say, Americans, please appreciate your washers and dryers, and make sure to give each one a hug or pat on the back each day!!

Anyways, hopefully by the next time I write, I will have more positive things to say about life in Jülich (there is a quaint little market square in the mornings that I may check out on Saturday if I do not end up going to Düsseldorf), and I am quite curious: by the time I write my last post on this site, will I be lamenting the end of my stay in this small town? Maybe! We shall see!

About the Pictures: A comparison between a Bahnhof (trains station) in Berlin and in Jülich; one of the nicer costumes I saw at the Japan festival; a sign at the entrance to my lab.