Introduction:
First of all, I apologize for not keeping up with this. It's been kinda crazy-- I haven't even been watching Netflix on my own, that's how crazy it's been. At first, there was just nothing to write about, not enough had happened. But then... I got busy. I got busy with a lot of stuff and writing also just got hard. Even though I'm just writing in my voice and I have an abundance of stories, I kind of had writers block for a little. This writers block and constant activities have caused a lot to pile up. So may I present to you, another two part post. I would have tried to keep up by posting on Instagram but my travel account keeps failing for some reason and it doesn't let me post. I'll try again soon, so have no fear; there'll be more pictures soon.
This post will cover the rest of January, and my next post (which will come within a couple days) will cover everything in February. Including my birthday! That's right, ya girl's 17 now. Spending time with Latinas and fun Slovakian girls has really shaped me up to be a dancing queen. Since this isn't the birthday post, I'll just save you some worry and tell you that it was a good birthday. I'll write more about it soon. But for now, this post will be in the same format as the others I write. Different sections depending on what I did. You don't have to read the whole thing (Amelia. Yeah that's right, I'm calling you out), just read what sounds interesting to you. Of course it would be great if you read the whole thing, but I want you to enjoy this blog as much as possible, so you don't need to read the things that are boring for you. Now without further adieu, my blog.
Oldenburg + Bremen + Atticus:
For all of the exchange students that I know in northern Germany, Oldenburg is the best city to meet in. It's close enough to most of us so we're not traveling too far. On one of the Saturdays a while back, my friends and I went to meet with some other exchange students again. For Julia, that was her goodbye to all of them. She brought her Slovakian flag and we got some pictures together. There wasn't too much else that day, but this is just an explanation for the photo in the gallery. The day was kind of just us seeing friends and hanging out.
Right after school on the following Thursday, we hopped on a train and traveled to Bremen. One of our other friends was leaving in the next couple days to go back to his home country, Argentina, so he had a small get together to say goodbye to people. We went and hung out at this park that had a really fun statue. The naked lady (the statue) reminded me of the scene from the Titanic, hence my Instagram caption. My friends and I got some really great pictures with her. That was also one of the nights where I really wished for the ability to know Spanish or Portuguese. Some of the guys, including two of my good friends, started having a freestyle rap battle. Even though I didn't understand any of it, it was still really cool to see.
That weekend, I had no plans; nor did my dear friend Atticus. So he came over and we just hung out for a few hours. We played games, made cookie dough, and watched Silence of the Lambs. Now I'm not one for horror movies and I find the suspense in them absolutely terrible, so I wasn't the biggest far of this movie. I thought that yes, it was a good and well done movie, but it was just so disturbing and I didn't enjoy it too much. On the other hand, our cookie dough came out wonderful. I didn't think I'd need a recipe so Atticus being Atticus says "then don't use one." I'm not one to back down from a challenge so we didn't use a recipe. It wasn't working too well but we added some peanut butter and it was soooo good (not the right consistency for cookie dough, but it tasted like peanut butter cookie dough). I don't know the names of the games that we played but they were puzzle/mind games and those are my favorite and I do quite good. Overall, it was a good day. Far better than sitting aone in my room and doing nothing.
The going away party:
Technically, there were two going away parties for my friends. This was the first. You can read about the second one in my next post. But this party was one for all of our German classmates. The three that left all came from 3 different classes, so there were 3 classes invited to this party. Not everyone came, thank god, but it was a very fun party.
I can't give too much information of the party but I can leave it up to interpretation. I'll let you all make your own assumptions. I'm not confirming or denying anything, but I would like to throw out there that I always put my safety and the safety of my friends first. I don't get myself into dangerous situations because I have this magical thing called common sense. And if someone is in trouble and needs help, I do the best I can to help. Also, there were adults at the party, so have no fear.
The main thing that I learned at this party was that exchange students are the ones who know how to party in Germany. Most of the Germans were just sitting down but all of us exchange students were up and dancing and having fun together. There were a few Germans that got up with us and it was really awesome. Unfortunately, I don't have any good pictures from that night. But in my opinion, that's a good thing. I was living in the moment and focusing on not needing a photos, which is what I should be doing on exchange. It was a really awesome night and I have good and fun memories from that night now.
Felix Nussbaum Exhibit:
The next day was Saturday and happened to be one of my last weekends with the Feldts, so spent the day in Osnabrück together. We went to visit the family friend that Noelle and I had spent time with before, as well as go to the Felix Nussbaum exhibit. After the exhibit, we went out for food and and then walked around a little bit before going back home. For dinner after the exhibit, we went to an Italian place, so of course I got pizza. Despite being super tired from the party the night before, I had a really wonderful time. Now here's some information about the museum.
This exhibit is home to the largest collection of works by Felix Nussbaum. He was a Jewish painter born in Osnabrück in 1904. In the 1920's he spent some time in Berlin where he studied painting. Then in 1932, he went to Rome as an exchange student; unfortunately, he never went back to his home in Germany. He spent years in Italy and Belgium, where he was found, arrested, and brought to St. Cyprien camp (an internment camp in France). Somehow he escaped, went into hiding in Brussels again, and was eventually found on June 20th, 1944. He was murdered in Auschwitz shortly after.
The museum divided his work into 12 sections; Contemporary room, Homeland, Devastation, Walls, Loneliness, Expulsion, Melancholy, Humor, Captivity, Resistance. The prologue of the exhibit is one of his earliest self portraits, "The two Jews" (1926). It shows him as a young man with another Jew who is supposed to represent the older generation, together in a synagogue. The main sections work through his emotions, feelings, and reactions to the events around him. As the Holocaust progressed and the crimes against Jews came to higher levels, he painted things he saw. And if he did not see them, he painted heartbreaking scenes that beautifully conveyed his emotions on the issues. One of my favorite pieces, "The Wandering Jew," had a special connection to me; my mom always called my family the wandering Jews because we haven't ever stayed in one place for too long. In section 6, Expulsion, he had a piece called "The Storm." Something I love about his work is that the individual aspects have a story of their own. They all contribute to the bigger picture and overall story. But "The Storm" had an individual detail that I fell in love with. It was the image of an old man with no shoes and ragged clothing blowing on a dandelion. If you know me personally, you know that I have an affinity for picking dandelions, blowing on them, and making a wish. So seeing this in a painting from such a dark time was remarkable to me. The way I saw it, it was this message of beauty and hope for things to be better; it was proving that there were still small bits of happiness despite all the pain and suffering.
"Triumph of Death," his final piece, was my overall favorite. This huge and magnificent artwork had so many features that pulled from his other works as well. I stood there for a good 10 minutes just looking at and examining all the small details that he incorporated into this one last piece. I don't know what words I could use to describe this work, or any of his art for that matter. I believe that the closest phrase I would ever be able to find would be "hauntingly beautiful" because that's exactly what it is. There will be some photos in the gallery below but I don't have the names of all of them. To see more photos with the titles, click that link << https://depthofreality.livejournal.com/94405.html >> to this Russian website; you have to scroll through some Russian but it has a whole bunch of photos with the titles. Or you have the option to go to my main instaram, look at my story highlights, and click the one that says Felix Nussbaum. I put some pictures of the works that I loved and the parts of some of those paintings that I found captivating. If you ever find yourself in Germany or the Netherlands, Osnabrück isn't too far. It's one of my favorite cities and I highly reccommend this exhibit. Not only is the artwork incredible, the building itself is a work of art. The use of corners and bare concrete give it a certain mood and conveys an energy appropriate to the museum.
That's a wrap on part 1:
I plan on having another post out by this Sunday or Monday. It will cover the events so far this February: my move to my new family, my birthday, and saying a final goodbye to my friends. The post will probably be released on Monday because I have a busy weekend ahead of me and writing takes time. I will attempt posting on my travel account with more pictures from all of this.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading and that you continue to come back for more. Again, I'm sorry this hasn't been updated in a while, but I'm back in it now. If you made it this far, thank you so so so much for reading and staying updated on my travels. Seeing and hearing that people actually read this makes my heart soar. I should also mention that if you have attempted to text me to my number, it will not work. iMessage is connected to my German number. The best way to reach me is through email, instagram, or download whatsapp (i use my american number for that).
I also want to take a moment to thank some people again. Everyone in Rotary, (the Littleton club, Rocky Mountain district, Papenburg club, and District 1850), thankyou so much for everything. Without all of you, I wouldn't be where I am now. I have been so thankful for this exchange year, it's been such an amazing experience so far and I'm eager to see what these next 5 months hold. My parents who have supported me my entire life and continue to be amazing from over 4500 miles away. The Feltds, my first host family, who were some of the most amazing people I have ever met and did everything they could to make sure I was okay and adjusting well. My current host family, the Jansens, who are so kind and encouraging. My friends, the ones that I made here and the few people from back home that still take the time to text or call me; you are all amazing and I love you guys with my whole heart. To everyone else, thank you for reading. Having you keep up with this blog is support enough. Seeing that people read gives me the motivation to continue writing. <3
Gallery:
Like last time, they're in chronological order. I included some pictures from the Nussbaum exhibit at the end but you can find more on google, my Instagram, or that Russian page. The last two photos are The Storm and Triumph of Death.
