Final papers are done. A short essay and an annotated bibliography are all that is left for the next few days. In a week, I'll be in Jerusalem. It's hard to believe that so much has happened and so much time has gone by so fast.
This entire past year has been full of new experiences, realizations, ups and downs, and hard work. Just for fun, the year in brief:
January: I frantically finished the first (ever!) final papers I didn't get turned in on time and needed to request extensions. I was on the "moving forward and up" out of a pretty low point in life. Three weeks in Guyana for J-term, me and four guys. What an experience. Reverse culture shock left me dazed and confused for several weeks. The first morning back in my Dubuque bed I woke up going, "Why am I so #*@& cold?!" before I opened my eyes to the reality that it was below zero instead of cooling off to 85 at night.
February: Back to school. Back to work at Haywire. Trying to deal with the ups and downs and being somewhat more willing to talk about it with others. Making plans for a possible year in Germany while at the same time making sure I had everything in order in the event that Germany plans did not work out. Looking toward a summer of CPE.
March and April: School and work. Back into the routine. Spending lots and lots of time with Iga and loving it!
May: Finish up classes. Everything on time this semester. Relatively happy with grades, with the exception of Hebrew because I goofed around and had fun on an exam instead of taking it as seriously as I could have. It was worth it. Somewhere around the second week of the month, I took an unplanned dismount off a horse over a cross-country fence. Of course in typical Alyssa form, I ignored what hurt and kept pushing. I had a show coming up. Third weekend of May: Otter Creek Spring Horse Trials. Star went beautifully (with only a couple spins and bolts) to complete his first horse trail at beginner novice. Hurts to breathe.
June: Move out of Dubuque apartment to new apartment in Rockford. CPE begins. I start blogging. I throw myself into CPE determined to get to the bottom of what has been weighing me down for too long. It's not only painful emotionally, but it still hurts to breathe. Diagnosed with Costochondritis and given painkillers.
July: Storm flattens Grantsburg. Firetruck delivers water to our horses. I am beside myself being stuck in Rockford while there is chaos back home. A lesson on letting go of control when one doesn't have any in the first place. Painkillers don't work, switched to Prednisone which helps for a day...then the side effects take over. Fail. I begin to struggle with "church" and the discrepancy between what it is and what it could be. AC unit quits working, it's over 90 degrees inside at night.
August: I pull the doorknob off my CPE supervisor's office door. The core of my struggle comes to the surface and I have a few moments of relief before taking on the next leg of the journey: healing. CPE ends with being burned and ripping open some of the healing that had taken place. I move home, preach at Bethany, get in for one round of physical therapy...still hurts to breathe. Pack.
September: Fly to Germany, language course #1 in Bremen. Visit Neuengamme concentration camp and the "horse city" of Verden.
October: Move to Dresden for language course #2. I'm enamored with Dresden's Frauenkirche. Hike to the Bastei bridge in the sandstone mountains of Nationalpark Sächsische Schweiz. Move to Neuendettelsau.
November: Settling into my new room on the campus of Augustana Hochschule. This will be home for the next 9 months. Confused by Bavarian dialect. Start running again...hurts less to breathe. Make Christmas plans.
December: Loving Neuendettelsau and my new friends. Finish up papers for my independent study courses through Wartburg Seminary. Can follow the topic of most conversations but not all the details. Speaking is another can of worms.
Here I am today, the 4th Sunday of Advent. I feel better than I have felt for...as long as I can remember, both physically and emotionally. Though, of course I miss Madelaine and dream about her almost every night. Thursday I begin the journey for Christmas in Jerusalem with Elly and Strickerts. Then I meet Iga on December 30 for a week in Poland. With all of the fun coming up, I can't promise to write until I come back to Neuendettelsau. So, here it is:
Merry Christmas and Happy New year!
Pax. Schalom. Peace.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Just for Fun
In honor of my little sister, Chloe.
I haven't figured out what relative my zebra socks go with, unless there's someone I haven't heard about yet...
Chloe trying to make sense of my Lutheran Confessions final paper outline.
Sleeping in Grandma's lap at The Lake.
Helping Mom with her cross-stitch.
I sitz on ur sermon.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Third Sunday in Advent
"I used to be very fond of thinking up and buying presents, but now that we have nothing to give, the gift God gave us in the birth of Christ will seem all the more glorious."
This quote comes from a letter Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his fiancee. It is dated December 1, 1943, his 8th month in the Tegel military prison.
These are some pretty powerful challenges to us. I am forever confronted by the craziness of the Christmas season. What Bonhoeffer throws in our faces is the fact that we lose our appreciation of Christmas and God's gift to us because we are so focused on buying stuff, losing stuff, finding stuff, wrapping stuff, delivering stuff...that we get CRANKY as can be. We forget the real gift. And, not only are we forgetting the real gift, we generally are not giving real gifts. We spend too much time being frantic and grumpy to
give of our time
to worship
to love.
We spend money and energy in buying something, often just for the sake of something, to give someone.
The clip from Advent Conspiracy challenges us to
give a gift as real as Jesus.
What if we gave life to others?
This Third Sunday of Advent, may you be challenged to be still and at peace through the expectant waiting for God's gift to us. May you stop and take a breath when you find yourself so caught up in buying, wrapping, cleaning, cooking that you become irritated by everyone who asks for your attention. May this message make you uncomfortable.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Second Sunday of Advent
Today we enter the second week of waiting and watching, the second week of Advent.
The following is part of a poem in "From Advent's Alleluia to Easter's Morning Light" by Presbyterian elder, Ann Weems:
The Word of God
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... All things were made through the Word, and without the Word was not anything made that was made.
In a wave of wonder,
in an extravaganza of imagination,
in a roar of deafening waters,
in a drum roll of thunder,
God said let there be Light!
and the dazzling sun of Day made her entrance,
singing her song of Life.
Then in a stunning display of fireworks,
lightning leaping in bolts,
stars hurling through ink black sky,
moon floating above,
the Light of Night took her bow.
The stage was set.
Right from the beginning
the Word was there,
with God.
The Word was God.
And without the Word not anything
was made that was made.
Day and Night,
darkness and light,
waters and land,
trees and living plants,
animals and birds,
and people,
all created by God.
Right from the beginning
the Word of God
was spoken in miracles.
Right from the beginning,
in the light of God's love,
the people of God
were created for
covenant keeping.
I will be your God
and you will be my people.
Right from the beginning
The Word was Love
and the Word was Light
and the Word was Life.
Right from the beginning
God's people were invited
to walk in the way of the Word.
God saw that it was good.
It was very good.
Until, that is, somebody
left the door open in paradise,
and Death walked on stage
and turned off the light.
Somebody or somebodies thought
they didn't have to listen to God,
thought they didn't need
to keep covenant.
Call them by whatever names you like:
Adam, Eve, the neighborhood snake;
it's all the same.
God's people had been entrusted
with earth and stars
and all living things,
and yet it wasn't enough.
Something gnawed away
at the souls of God's people
and they broke covenant...
right there in the beginning...
and again...
and again...
and again.
Somebody or somebodies
wanted to be in charge.
Somebody or somebodies
wanted to be God.
Somebody or somebodies
didn't like the diversity.
They wanted everybody
to be like they were.
Killing was born
and hatred
and greed
and deception
and suspicion
and hard-heartedness
and mean-spiritedness
and distrust
and power grabbing
and jealousy
and prejudice.
The people of God
had chosen Death
instead of Life.
God was grieved to the heart.
Return to me, God said.
Over and over and over again
Return to me.
God sent prophets
to tell the people
to return to God,
but just as Cain hated Abel,
the people in the world
hated each other
and wars began
and God's people
still would not return,
return to covenant living
return to the way of life
that God had offered.
God asked for justice
and mercy and
humbleness,
but the people of the world
wanted justice for themselves
and mercy for themselves
and anything but humbleness.
God had promised not
to send another flood.
Besides God loved the people still
even though they walked in darkness,
so God sent a great Light,
the Word of God Incarnate.
God is coming to us. We wait and watch for the coming of the incarnate Word of God...in a manger.
Pax.
On Friday, I wore my relatively worn-out Carhartt jeans. When I walked into a store, the lady took one look at me and said, "Suchen Sie Hose?" It made me laugh.
 |
| "Does this stable make my butt look big?" |
The following is part of a poem in "From Advent's Alleluia to Easter's Morning Light" by Presbyterian elder, Ann Weems:
The Word of God
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... All things were made through the Word, and without the Word was not anything made that was made.
In a wave of wonder,
in an extravaganza of imagination,
in a roar of deafening waters,
in a drum roll of thunder,
God said let there be Light!
and the dazzling sun of Day made her entrance,
singing her song of Life.
Then in a stunning display of fireworks,
lightning leaping in bolts,
stars hurling through ink black sky,
moon floating above,
the Light of Night took her bow.
The stage was set.
Right from the beginning
the Word was there,
with God.
The Word was God.
And without the Word not anything
was made that was made.
Day and Night,
darkness and light,
waters and land,
trees and living plants,
animals and birds,
and people,
all created by God.
Right from the beginning
the Word of God
was spoken in miracles.
Right from the beginning,
in the light of God's love,
the people of God
were created for
covenant keeping.
I will be your God
and you will be my people.
Right from the beginning
The Word was Love
and the Word was Light
and the Word was Life.
Right from the beginning
God's people were invited
to walk in the way of the Word.
God saw that it was good.
It was very good.
Until, that is, somebody
left the door open in paradise,
and Death walked on stage
and turned off the light.
Somebody or somebodies thought
they didn't have to listen to God,
thought they didn't need
to keep covenant.
Call them by whatever names you like:
Adam, Eve, the neighborhood snake;
it's all the same.
God's people had been entrusted
with earth and stars
and all living things,
and yet it wasn't enough.
Something gnawed away
at the souls of God's people
and they broke covenant...
right there in the beginning...
and again...
and again...
and again.
Somebody or somebodies
wanted to be in charge.
Somebody or somebodies
wanted to be God.
Somebody or somebodies
didn't like the diversity.
They wanted everybody
to be like they were.
Killing was born
and hatred
and greed
and deception
and suspicion
and hard-heartedness
and mean-spiritedness
and distrust
and power grabbing
and jealousy
and prejudice.
The people of God
had chosen Death
instead of Life.
God was grieved to the heart.
Return to me, God said.
Over and over and over again
Return to me.
God sent prophets
to tell the people
to return to God,
but just as Cain hated Abel,
the people in the world
hated each other
and wars began
and God's people
still would not return,
return to covenant living
return to the way of life
that God had offered.
God asked for justice
and mercy and
humbleness,
but the people of the world
wanted justice for themselves
and mercy for themselves
and anything but humbleness.
God had promised not
to send another flood.
Besides God loved the people still
even though they walked in darkness,
so God sent a great Light,
the Word of God Incarnate.
God is coming to us. We wait and watch for the coming of the incarnate Word of God...in a manger.
Pax.
On Friday, I wore my relatively worn-out Carhartt jeans. When I walked into a store, the lady took one look at me and said, "Suchen Sie Hose?" It made me laugh.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
First Sunday of Advent: Calendars
One of my memories of Advent is the excitement of opening a new door on my Advent calendar each day. I'm not sure I comprehended the waiting concept of Advent, but the calendar took me through the month of December as a sort of "countdown" to Christmas. It both built the excitement of a little girl for Christmas as well as forced me to wait... "You mean there's STILL 22 days till Christmas?!?" It seemed like forever! Wait.
The tradition of Advent calendars is debated. What is most common among sources is that the tradition comes from 19th Century Protestant Germany (some specifically say Lutheran). The "calendar" began as a countdown to Christmas with a chalk mark on the door, lighting a candle for each day (similar to today's Advent wreath), or hanging a picture on the wall each of the 24 days. The earliest known handmade calendar was from 1856. As the tradition spread, these calendars developed into pieces of cardboard with 24 candies attached or a blank calendar to which one would attach a picture to each day. Production of printed calendars with a door to open every day began in the early 20th Century. According to the Richard Sellmer-Verlag (publishing house) (http://www.sellmer-verlag.de/) it was at this time when the calendars became religious "with Bible verses instead of pictures behind the doors."
During WWII the production of cardboard Advent calendars came to a halt, as cardboard was rationed and printing pictured calendars was forbidden. Richard Sellmer-Verlag was founded in Stuttgart and with permission granted by American authorities on 9 December, 1946 began printing calendars. By the 1950s, Sellmer-Verlag had become known as the "Home of the Advent Calendar". Sellmer-Verlag continues to be family-run, now run by Richard Sellmer's grandsons and is the only publishing house in Germany to print only Advent calendars.
Everywhere I look around here there are Advent calendars. Similar to the US, Christmas "stuff" was out well before Thanksgiving, though Germany doesn't pay attention to when Thanksgiving is! There are many, many of the tag board calendars of every size with various pictures and themes from the overly-religiousy ones to the rather crude ones which I will leave to your imagination to describe, and everything in between. Then, there are the more traditional German Advent calendars. They are wooden frames, somewhat like a shadowbox, with a small package in each day's space. Or sometimes a fabric wall-hanging to which one can attach a button or picture.
So, we wait. We wait for the coming of Jesus. "Christ is coming, of his own will, by his own strength, and out of his own love."[1] Today we light the first candle, the candle of Hope.
And we wait.
Pax.
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics.
The tradition of Advent calendars is debated. What is most common among sources is that the tradition comes from 19th Century Protestant Germany (some specifically say Lutheran). The "calendar" began as a countdown to Christmas with a chalk mark on the door, lighting a candle for each day (similar to today's Advent wreath), or hanging a picture on the wall each of the 24 days. The earliest known handmade calendar was from 1856. As the tradition spread, these calendars developed into pieces of cardboard with 24 candies attached or a blank calendar to which one would attach a picture to each day. Production of printed calendars with a door to open every day began in the early 20th Century. According to the Richard Sellmer-Verlag (publishing house) (http://www.sellmer-verlag.de/) it was at this time when the calendars became religious "with Bible verses instead of pictures behind the doors."
 |
| "The Little Town" Richard Sellmer-Verlag's first printed Advent calendar, 1946 |
Everywhere I look around here there are Advent calendars. Similar to the US, Christmas "stuff" was out well before Thanksgiving, though Germany doesn't pay attention to when Thanksgiving is! There are many, many of the tag board calendars of every size with various pictures and themes from the overly-religiousy ones to the rather crude ones which I will leave to your imagination to describe, and everything in between. Then, there are the more traditional German Advent calendars. They are wooden frames, somewhat like a shadowbox, with a small package in each day's space. Or sometimes a fabric wall-hanging to which one can attach a button or picture.
So, we wait. We wait for the coming of Jesus. "Christ is coming, of his own will, by his own strength, and out of his own love."[1] Today we light the first candle, the candle of Hope.
And we wait.
Pax.
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Free.
Well, it's official. I'm off to Jerusalem for Christmas. I have my ticket booked, and now I must figure out how to get to the München airport by 4:00 am on the 23 December. I am so excited to see Wartburg grad, Elly and my college Greek professor who are both currently serving in Jerusalem. Then, after a week in Jerusalem, Iga is coming! Iga is planning our ski trip in Poland for the first week of January. Lots to look forward to. I also submitted my updated internship paperwork for next year (I submitted it all and interviewed last year so I wouldn't have so much to worry about here in Germany, or if Germany fell through, I wouldn't be behind). I am excited to see what internship year brings!
In order to sleep at night, I have had to start wearing off more of my energy. Two weeks ago I started running again, and this time my body wasn't hating me for it. That week I averaged 4 mile runs and by Sunday, bumped it up to about 5. Shoulder is still achy from all this rib business that started back in March, but this time running hasn't made it worse. Progress...until Monday, a week ago yesterday, when I got tight in the chest and by evening had a killer sore throat. Thursday bowled me over with a fever. As crappy as this is, it's also progress: I've behaved myself quite well, not pushing myself harder through illness but taking it easy and allowing my body the time to recover. When I woke up Thursday morning, I realized how I never fully appreciated the days when feeling like that meant I stayed home from school. The days of curling up with the dogs (who were so happy to have someone stay home) and blankets on the couch in front of the fireplace to read "The Saddle Club" books all day. Growing up is most overrated!
Even though settling in at Augustana Divinity School has been the most difficult transition of coming to Germany, I never had a doubt that Neuendettelsau would become home. Yesterday Lisa took me to Ansbach (I'd have never made it by myself!) to continue the process of getting my Visa finalized. Of course official US passport photos aren't up to German standards and there was a royal fuss before they finally said, "Well, we'll let it go, but if any of your information changes, you have to re-do your pictures." Hopefully one more trip to Ansbach in a few weeks and all will be complete. As long as nothing changes. There go my plans for getting married in Germany!
I am continually amazed by you all, both here and at home, family and friends. Prayers. Notes. Emails. Invitations. And some rockin' games of Tischtennis! I cannot thank you enough.
My room is getting cozier with my violet, cross, bunny, a couple candles, and most importantly, a candy dish. So far I've even had enough discipline to not munch out of it constantly. In my reading, I came across an appropriate quote by Bradshaw: "By being in your mind and constantly thinking about eating or not eating, you can distract yourself from your feelings." Yup. And I like it that way. Chocolate is much more pleasant than feelings. Fortunately, physical activity is my other choice of avoidance.
My continued work on "CPE issues" and life is proving to be worth all the pain and struggle. Life brings so much more enjoyment, and I can laugh again. For real. Really laugh, not just smile. I still surprise myself when I do, but it's a wonderful surprise! A whole new level of energy...hence my need to run! A weight is gone off my shoulders. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but this new freedom is allowing me to...be me. I am beginning to gain a sense of who I am instead of the person I've created based on my perception of the world's expectations. John 8.32 continues to stick with me.
Pax.
In order to sleep at night, I have had to start wearing off more of my energy. Two weeks ago I started running again, and this time my body wasn't hating me for it. That week I averaged 4 mile runs and by Sunday, bumped it up to about 5. Shoulder is still achy from all this rib business that started back in March, but this time running hasn't made it worse. Progress...until Monday, a week ago yesterday, when I got tight in the chest and by evening had a killer sore throat. Thursday bowled me over with a fever. As crappy as this is, it's also progress: I've behaved myself quite well, not pushing myself harder through illness but taking it easy and allowing my body the time to recover. When I woke up Thursday morning, I realized how I never fully appreciated the days when feeling like that meant I stayed home from school. The days of curling up with the dogs (who were so happy to have someone stay home) and blankets on the couch in front of the fireplace to read "The Saddle Club" books all day. Growing up is most overrated!
Even though settling in at Augustana Divinity School has been the most difficult transition of coming to Germany, I never had a doubt that Neuendettelsau would become home. Yesterday Lisa took me to Ansbach (I'd have never made it by myself!) to continue the process of getting my Visa finalized. Of course official US passport photos aren't up to German standards and there was a royal fuss before they finally said, "Well, we'll let it go, but if any of your information changes, you have to re-do your pictures." Hopefully one more trip to Ansbach in a few weeks and all will be complete. As long as nothing changes. There go my plans for getting married in Germany!
I am continually amazed by you all, both here and at home, family and friends. Prayers. Notes. Emails. Invitations. And some rockin' games of Tischtennis! I cannot thank you enough.
My room is getting cozier with my violet, cross, bunny, a couple candles, and most importantly, a candy dish. So far I've even had enough discipline to not munch out of it constantly. In my reading, I came across an appropriate quote by Bradshaw: "By being in your mind and constantly thinking about eating or not eating, you can distract yourself from your feelings." Yup. And I like it that way. Chocolate is much more pleasant than feelings. Fortunately, physical activity is my other choice of avoidance.
My continued work on "CPE issues" and life is proving to be worth all the pain and struggle. Life brings so much more enjoyment, and I can laugh again. For real. Really laugh, not just smile. I still surprise myself when I do, but it's a wonderful surprise! A whole new level of energy...hence my need to run! A weight is gone off my shoulders. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but this new freedom is allowing me to...be me. I am beginning to gain a sense of who I am instead of the person I've created based on my perception of the world's expectations. John 8.32 continues to stick with me.
"And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (NRSV)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Buß- und Bettag
Today, 16 November, 2011, the Wednesday before the last Sunday of the church year, is Buß- und Bettag, or Day of Prayer and Repentance. The day as a national German holiday was established in 1532 and eliminated in 1995 for financial reasons--in order to add another day of work without increasing pay. Bishop Hans Christian Knuth, of Schleswig, said of the day, "The deletion of the Day of Prayer and Repentance has injured our identity, our values and our religious life. We are about to worship the golden calf." Both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany and the Catholic Church resisted, claiming the government must protect the vulnerable and focus on social peace. Though no longer a non-working holiday in most of Germany, the state of Saxony refused to go along with the financial plan. It also remains a school holiday in Bavaria. For Protestants, this day is set aside for reflection. Reflection on the Christian and societal responsibilities. Reflection on how one can live the Gospel's call. Reflection on one's own shortcomings. Confession. Eucharist. Hope. Reconciliation.
Pax.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Life in Neuendettelsau
Tap, tap, tap. Tap. Tap. 6:30 this morning, I opened my eyes to see a chickadee sitting on my windowsill. What a fun wake-up call!
This first week in Neuendettelsau has been full. Not necessarily full of doing things, but full of adjusting and figuring things out. This has been the most difficult transition since leaving the USA, but perhaps the best one. I know where the food is. I located the churches, the yarn store, and several grocery stores. The walking/running/biking paths are becoming more familiar. There are other things that will take some adjustment. I've almost started to think about being comfortable in co-ed bathrooms/showers.
Monday I spent 7 hours doing paperwork and orientation, Visa application, bank account, insurance, seminary registration...oh what fun! However, the important things I've done here include finding and purchasing the cross I've been waiting for since I first saw it (here in Neuendettelsau) in 2007. I lost my discipline somewhere on the walk and the cross came with a bunny, also hand-made at Diakonie Neuendettelsau. Diakonie Neuendettelsau is what originally drew me back to Neuendettelsau. It is an institution committed to serving the needs of all people: the elderly, the sick, the young, those with disabilities, in the mission “To testify the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in word and deed by living a Christian life, working professionally, and making responsible use of economic resources.” [1]
Diakonie Neuendettelsau was founded by Wilhelm Löhe in 1864. Löhe, at the age of 29 and newly married, was placed as pastor in Neuendettelsau. He had not impressed the church government and so this was a tiny town meant to take away any influence he might have on the church. He despised the town saying, "I would not even want my dog to be buried here."[2] However, he was very influential (to the church's dismay!) and remained in Neuendettelsau until he died in 1872 at the age of 64.
Löhe's theology had 5 main foci: pietism (which focused a person on serving others), confessionalism (holding to Lutheran confessions as the true Christian teachings), liturgy (where people encounter God as God works through the liturgy), diaconia (the living out of the Christian life), and mission.[3] Löhe writes, “Mission is the life of the catholic church. Where it stops, blood and breath stop; where it dies, the love which unites heaven and earth also dies.” [4]
Courses I'm looking at "taking" are:
"Feminism in Film"
[4] Wilhelm Loehe, Three Books about the Church, ed., trans. and intro. James L. Schaaf (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969), 59.
This first week in Neuendettelsau has been full. Not necessarily full of doing things, but full of adjusting and figuring things out. This has been the most difficult transition since leaving the USA, but perhaps the best one. I know where the food is. I located the churches, the yarn store, and several grocery stores. The walking/running/biking paths are becoming more familiar. There are other things that will take some adjustment. I've almost started to think about being comfortable in co-ed bathrooms/showers.
 |
| Pastor Wilhelm Löhe and Fall Colors |
Löhe's theology had 5 main foci: pietism (which focused a person on serving others), confessionalism (holding to Lutheran confessions as the true Christian teachings), liturgy (where people encounter God as God works through the liturgy), diaconia (the living out of the Christian life), and mission.[3] Löhe writes, “Mission is the life of the catholic church. Where it stops, blood and breath stop; where it dies, the love which unites heaven and earth also dies.” [4]
Löhe also had great influence on Lutheranism in the United States. He found himself responsible for sending missionaries to the States to fill the great need for pastors among the German immigrants. He assisted in the founding of the LCMS, but after a theological disagreement moved his focus to beginning the Iowa Synod where there was little connection to the LCMS. Here, he helped establish a "teacher's school" which for financial reasons was eventually split into two locations which are now known as Wartburg College in Waverly, IA and Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, IA.[5] Small world, huh?
Two days of class have provided plenty of opportunities to laugh. I missed my first class all together yesterday, being mixed up as to what day it was. Not Monday, apparently. By the time I got to my remaining class yesterday, my brain was so fried (freid?) I couldn't even tell the professors what my name is. These are the moments I need to keep learning to laugh instead of panic. I'm getting better, but still have a way to go! Today went much better and I was in the right places at the right times. People keep telling me I need to have patience and that the language will come along. "Ich habe keine Geduld." means "I have no patience." and I know how to say that!
Courses I'm looking at "taking" are: "Feminism in Film"
"Letter to the Galatians"
"Ecumenism and Mission"
"Jesus of Nazareth"
"Introduction to Islam"
"Laity as Protagonists of the Reformation"
I don't have to decide for a couple weeks which ones I want to be official, as long as it adds up to 8 semester hours.
"Ecumenism and Mission"
"Jesus of Nazareth"
"Introduction to Islam"
"Laity as Protagonists of the Reformation"
I don't have to decide for a couple weeks which ones I want to be official, as long as it adds up to 8 semester hours.
Pax.
[4] Wilhelm Loehe, Three Books about the Church, ed., trans. and intro. James L. Schaaf (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1969), 59.
[5]Nessan, Loehe and the Iowa Synod.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Neuendettelsau
This being the third new place in 2 months in which I showed up not knowing a single person, I arrived in Neuendettelsau tired, a little on the cranky side, and for the first time since arriving in Germany, had a brief “Why on earth am I doing this?!?” moment, but it did not last long as I was greeted by Judith at the Neuendettelsau station. The students are happy (at least they pretend well!) to speak slowly for me, repeat, and try alternative ways of saying what they’re attempting to tell me.
Neuendettelsau is gorgeous right now with the trees at their prime fall colors. I am so relieved to be out of the city…makes it all the more beautiful here! I can open my window and smell “cow” or walk down the path just a short way and be among the fields or in a patch of forest. There is no sound of traffic, no smell of exhaust, very few sirens blaring. Peace. Something I all too often take for granted. I forget how stir-crazy I get when I cannot escape city life. I finally have a room with enough shelves for all my books. Only, I don’t have my books! I’ve spread what I have out as much as I can to make it cozy and homey, but I still have 8 cupboards, 8 shelves, 1 drawer, and the giant box under the bed completely empty. Oh how much fun I could have organizing here! There is no question that I will accumulate more things, but hopefully not enough to fill my space! Filling it with cookies would be okay.
Saturday I spent a lot of time reading. I’m beginning to realize I have A LOT of work to do on my Wartburg classes before Christmas! Five and a half books down, 6 or 7 to go and some papers to write. This is on top of learning Deutsch and I’m sure that any work I will need to do for classes here will take me longer than ever to complete. But, I must remember to have fun. This isn’t about being a scholar. This is about living in another culture, learning a new language, and understanding the world in a new way.
Sunday morning I went with a couple new friends for worship at die St. Laurentiuskirche. Apparently the state of being lost and confused in services is not just an ELCA seminarian thing. I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t figure out what page we were on! I’m not sure whether to be more amused or more troubled by this. When the seminarians can’t figure it out, how do we expect everyone else to follow, much less visitors?!? What does this mean for church leadership?
In the afternoon I decided to go for a walk around town. As I was walking, I noticed a nun behind me, happily singing down the road. I stopped at a cemetery gate and waited. She walked right up and started talking to me. Sister Sofie gave me a tour of the cemetery and we managed to communicate most things but I have to work so hard at understanding the current words that I forget everything else we’ve said. I can only focus on one word at a time! I wandered through the rest of Diakonie Neuendettelsau and down the street to watch horses being brought in for the night under a beautiful sunset before making my way back to campus in the dark.
And, FINALLY, an address:
Alyssa Augustson
Waldstraße 15a/ 75
91564 Neuendettelsau
Germany
Waldstraße 15a/ 75
91564 Neuendettelsau
Germany
Pax.
The Last Week in Dresden
So, for an update on my last days in Dresden…a long list of what I did and saw:
Climbed to the die Frauenkirche’s dome.
Alte Meister Galerie (Old Master’s Gallery)
Here I saw Raffael’s Sistine Madonna among hundreds of other paintings. I still haven’t figured out why the most famous paintings are famous. Why is the Mona Lisa so much more famous than Giuseppe’s work? Or Wenzel Lorenz Reiner? Or Johann Georg de Hamilton? Good thing nobody asked me!
Galerie Neue Meister (New Master’s Gallery in the Albertinum)
LOTS of paintings from the past 200 years.
LOTS of paintings from the past 200 years.
Skulpturensammlung (Scupture Collection in the Albertinum)
Some very strange modern sculptures, such as a very large pile of 3-ring binders, boards, foam, metal things that looked like smashed up bed springs (you get the idea)…all stacked very squarely in a cube.
Some very strange modern sculptures, such as a very large pile of 3-ring binders, boards, foam, metal things that looked like smashed up bed springs (you get the idea)…all stacked very squarely in a cube.
Städtische Galerie Dresden – Kunstsammlungen (Municipal Gallery and Art Collection)
Art ranging from the 16th Century to the present contemporary art.
Art ranging from the 16th Century to the present contemporary art.
Rüstkammer (Prince’s Armoury Collection)
Wish I’d have had this as a resource for my History of Christianity Crusade Horse project!!! Described as “one of the world’s most outstanding collections of parade arms, armour and costumes” from the 16th-18th Centuries including various weapons (lots of cool knives and swords), various suits of armor for both knight and steed, and jousting equipment.
Wish I’d have had this as a resource for my History of Christianity Crusade Horse project!!! Described as “one of the world’s most outstanding collections of parade arms, armour and costumes” from the 16th-18th Centuries including various weapons (lots of cool knives and swords), various suits of armor for both knight and steed, and jousting equipment.
You’d never know by looking at the Brühl Terrace that it sits upon the remains of the royal residence of Saxony! Inside, one can see the last remaining city gate and the oldest stone bridge of the city. There are also some pretty neat stone spiral staircases, guard rooms, battlements, military chambers…
Pax.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
On to NEUENDETTELSAU!!!
Today was the last day of German language class #2. Success. I have much to write, some of it already written, however not to my satisfaction. I must give my internet back shortly as I head for Neuendettelsau in the morning...so a detailed update will come soon after I arrive and get internet sorted out. Hopefully early next week.
Pax.
Pax.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
ä, ö, ü, and painful grammar...
Well, it is once again Sunday night and I was planning to write a good update on this very full past week. But, after 7 hours of studying yesterday and another 3 hours tonight, I'm tired and frustrated and it's 11:30...waaaay past bedtime!
However, as offensive as it may be to some, I must share the ridiculous conversation I had with my auntie this afternoon about my attempt at German. I guess it can't be offensive if it is about my attempt at German and not German itself??? No, only to my cous' who doesn't like the "V" word--beware Jessie!
It went something like this:
Pax.
However, as offensive as it may be to some, I must share the ridiculous conversation I had with my auntie this afternoon about my attempt at German. I guess it can't be offensive if it is about my attempt at German and not German itself??? No, only to my cous' who doesn't like the "V" word--beware Jessie!
It went something like this:
Auntie: "I probably can't even MAKE some of the sounds!"That about sums up my current frame of mind, so I'm going to bed.
Me: "It's hard to make serious vomit noises. Then combine them with the right mouth shape."
Auntie: "You even have to have the right mouth shape??????"
Me: "To get the right vomit accent."
Pax.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Nationalpark Sächsische Schweiz
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| Königstein Fortress from Königstein |
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| Little orange "spot"? That's a rock climber. |
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| Bastei Bridge among the sandstone mountains. |
This was a needed trip and was very refreshing. In Dresden, I am beginning to go a little stir-crazy like I tend to do in cities. What a perfect day to be out exploring the beauty of Saxony. Class continues to be enjoyable and some days are easier than others. So soon this course will end and I will move on to Neuendettelsau...about the time I get things figured out in Dresden! By the way, I managed to buy the right milk after class today. I'm sure my friends were wondering about my sanity as I had a refrigerator full of cheese and a carton of lactose-free milk. Oh, and my latest plan...I'm picking up glass bottles along the side of the road as I walk. I'm learning which ones I can turn in for money. Thanks to Richard, I'm up to €1.36!
Pax
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
People watching...
What amazing things one has the opportunity to see when one takes the time to just sit and watch.
Pax.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Tag der Deutschen Einheit und Die Frauenkirche
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| Looking across the Elbe toward Dresden's Altstadt. Bottom left corner is the Aussie boy that bought me a beer. We sat on the hill and watched the sun set. |
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| Typical "East German" architecture in Dresden's Altstadt. |
3 Oktober, 2011 marked the 21st anniversary of German unity, Tag der Deutschen Einheit. This day is the celebration of West and East Germany uniting, following a series of events that began early in 1989 with openings in the Iron Curtain into Hungary. The fall of 1989 saw the non-violent demonstrations of the Friedliche Revolution (Friendly Revolution), the fall of the Berlin Wall in November, and in March of 1990, the GDR's free elections. The Unification Treaty and the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany led to the official unity of Germany on 3 Oktober, 1990. Here in Dresden there was much celebrating, loud music, tents with crafts and of course, food.
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| die Frauenkirche Check out the "History", "Reconstruction", and especially the "Peace and Reconciliation" links! |
Die Frauenkirche was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in February, 1945. It was left a pile of rubble, as a memorial, until 1985 when the process of restoring the church began. It was not until 2005 that it opened. You can see in the picture a few black bricks. Those are the original bricks usable after the bombing. Inside die Frauenkirche, the old spire cross is now displayed in its blackened and bent form...as it was left when the building collapsed. What draws me to die Frauenkirche is the restoration of the old--with many of the same materials--into a new creation; new beauty while still bearing the scars of its painful past.
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| http://www.frauenkirche-dresden.de/turmkreuz+M5d637b1e38d.html Link to pictures of the old and new spire crosses and their stories. |
Pax.
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