Red Riding Goods

I have just returned to Toronto from Rochester in upstate New York. I was very happy to learn during my trip that Rob Ford, the Toronto mayor, was forced to resign because of the conflict-of-interest court case. For those unfamiliar with the case, Ford solicited money for his football foundation using city letterhead. Afterward, he voted with the rest of council to pardon himself, which is not allowed under provincial legislation. Ford still has 2 weeks to appeal the ruling, but it is quite unlikely his appeal would be successful. For those of us who cycle in Toronto, we are all very happy. The Ford mayoralty has been horrible for cyclists - we have seen the recent death of the Jarvis bike lanes, deaths of cyclists due to streetcar tracks that aren't even in use anymore, and many other catastrophes. Hopefully, council will now get on track with the Bike Plan and we will see a renaissance of cycling yet again in this city. We also have lots of other transportation related issues to deal with such as TTC funding, proposals for road tolls, the crumbling Gardiner Expressway, and the building of the LRT network known as Transit City.

For me, this issue is both personal and professional. I have been cycling in Toronto for many years and I've cycled quite a bit in London, Tokyo, and in a few places in Germany. I even delivered sandwiches by bike in London and I currently work for Red Riding Goods in Toronto. We deliver food and coffee beans by cargo bike. Toronto has a lot of bicycle couriers and there is a growing demand for and interest in bike delivery. Many businesses are excited about the work we're doing and we've had great reception thus far. The only thing we lack is sufficient cycling infrastructure such as bike lanes. I sincerely hope that Toronto will get its act together on the transportation issue. There are many people who would like to cycle, but are concerned about safety issues. If we had more of a cycling culture in this city, it would be easier to get new people on bikes. A lot of people ask me if I cycle in the winter and I say, yes because the cold is not an issue when you're moving. Last winter, because of the mild weather, I was able to cycle for most of January, February, and March. I even cycled in the winter of 2004 when we had a few days of -20. Such is life when you want to stay active...

Happy cycling everyone!    

Travel in Japan

I`ve been in Japan for almost 2 years and I`ve been lucky to have enough free time in order to explore this wonderful country. I have never been to a place in Japan that I didn`t like. Each place has something special to offer. Here are my top 10 places:

1) Tokyo: I live in Tokyo, which is a huge city teeming with people and buildings. A friend of mine said that Tokyo is just a place to shop and eat. There are tons of good restaurants, actually. The areas in Tokyo I like the most are Shimokitazawa and Asakusa. Shimokitazawa has lots of second hand clothes and some nice restaurants. It is famous because there are many places to watch live shows. Lots of young people go there on weekends to shop and listen to music. To get to Shimokitazawa, go to Shinjuku station and take the Odakyu line or go to Shibuya and take the Keio Inokashira line. Near the Odakyu line, there`s a bar where beer costs 180 yen! I definitely recommend it.
Asakusa is one of the oldest areas in Tokyo. It has a very old temple called Sensoji. Asakusa is also famous for monjayaki, which is one of the few foods that actually comes from Tokyo. Some people say it looks like vomit, but it tastes really good. It`s made using cabbage, flour and water plus different toppings such as chicken or vegetables. If you go to a monjayaki restaurant, you have to cook it yourself. Near Asakusa, there`s a street called Kappabashi where restaurant owners go for cooking supplies and for the plastic food which is displayed outside most restaurants.
2) Kyoto: Kyoto is the traditional heart of Japan. Japanese people often tell me it`s their favourite place because of the myriad number of temples. There are several temples I recommend. The most famous temple in Kyoto is Kiyomizudera. The suffix -dera means temple and Kiyomizu means pure water. There is a very large fountain at the temple which is lucky to drink from. The 3 temples I like the most are Ryoanji, Kodaiji and Tenryuji. Ryoanji is famous for its rock garden. Kodaiji is quite close to Kiyomizudera. Tenryuji also has a beautiful garden. Tenryuji is located in Arashiyama, on the western side of Kyoto. Arashiyama is famous for its monkey park, though I was told it`s not that impressive, so I didn`t go in.
3)Osaka: Osaka is the second largest city in Japan after Tokyo, so there is a certain amount of rivalry. A Japanese friend of mine said that Osaka is not a place for tourists - it`s a place you go to for the people and the food. Osaka is famous as the birthplace of many Japanese comedians, so it`s considered a funny city. People are usually more friendly compared to Tokyo. It`s also one of the few places in Japan where people J-walk. I do like the aquarium in Osaka, which is called Kaiyukan. Osaka has the Japanese Universal Studios, but I haven`t had the chance to visit. The most famous food in Osaka is okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Okonomiyaki is a cross between an omelette, pancake and pizza. This is my favourite Japanese food. It`s cooked with cabbage, eggs, flour and a type of potato called yamaimo (literally, mountain potato). It`s like a pizza because the "toppings" are first grilled and then the okonomiyaki batter is poured on top.
4)Kanazawa: Kanazawa means, golden marshes. It`s also known as a small Kyoto, but it`s much less crowded with tourists. Kanazawa is about 3 hours north of Kyoto by train. Kanazawa is famous for Kenrokuen garden. The suffix -en means garden. According to the Chinese tradition, it is the garden of 6 sublimities (roku means 6). The legend states that the perfect garden has 6 aspects: spaciousness, water, manmade structures, seclusion, broad views, and antiquity. I went there in autumn and the sight of the leaves changing colour was spectacular. Many people go there in winter because the trees in the garden have special structures that hold snow and it`s quite impressive. Kanazawa also has many temples and 2 small geisha districts with old style buildings.
5)Kobe: Kobe is close to Osaka and it`s famous as a port city. Migrants have been coming to Kobe for over 100 years. As a result, there are many European style buildings and ethnic restaurants. I visited an excellent Thai restaurant in Kitano, which is the area with the European style buildings. It`s the perfect city just to go and relax in. The main attractions are Kitano, which are located in the north of the city, and Kobe Port Tower. If you visit City Hall, you can go up to the 25th floor for free and get a view of the city. Kobe is known for its night view, as some lights can be seen in the mountains and the tower lights up as well.
6)Hokkaido: Hokkaido is the northernmost island of Japan. It used to be home to the Ainu, who were the native Japanese people, but very few Ainu live there now. The capital of Hokkaido is Sapporo. Hokkaido is one of the few places in Japan that opened to foreign countries before 1867, so Sapporo has a few European style buildings. In the summer, many people visit the beer garden in Odori Park. In February, Odori park is home to the snow festival. Sapporo also has a beer brewery and beer museum. In the southwest of Hokkaido, Niseko ski resort is famous for its powder snow. Niseko is close to to Yotei Mountain, which has a similar shape to Mt. Fuji. In the summer, many Japanese university students ride motorcyles all over Hokkaido, as Hokkaido is much less humid than the mainland.
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7th and 8th journal entries

May 24

It is now Tuesday and on Sunday evening, I came back from Munich. The ride there was fine. We actually passed through Switzerland, Austria and then came back into Germany. In Switzerland, there were a lot of roundabouts and Marinus, the driver, drove around them pretty fast - I was feeling a little bit sick, but it was okay in the end. There were 4 of us in the car, including Brakash from Nepal. We talked a lot about Nepali culture and it sounds quite interesting. I think Nepal and Canada are somewhat alike in that we both live close to a huge country and it can be easy for us to be ignored. Anyway, we got to Munich and I took the U Bahn (subway) to my host’s station. Unfortunately, I paid too much for a ticket. The Munich subway system is divided into zones and I had the impression that I would be going through 3 zones, which costs 7.50. I later found out that I should have paid 2.50. Well, I did my part for the city of Munich. Anyway, I arrived at Goetheplatz station and met my couchsurfing host, Torsten. He’s a really nice guy and his room was pretty cool. He’s done a lot of mountain hikes in France, Nepal, etc and the pictures he put up were pretty amazing. We hung out for a bit and then he had to go to work. I went with him to the hostel where he works and got a map of Munich. I walked around for a bit and went to St. Paul’s church and then I discovered a very large, open, empty space. I would later discover that this space was for Oktoberfest. It lays empty for much of the year, except for a couple of spring and summer festivals. At one end of the space, there’s a big statue and a structure with columns. Inside the structure, there are lots of sculptures of heads. It was pretty nice. Unfortunately, at that point, the clouds started coming in overhead and I started walking back to Torsten’s hostel. I saw him there and he lent me a really good rain jacket. In the area near the hostel, there are lots of Turkish shops and I bought some food to make dinner. I came back to his place and ate. Later on, Torsten’s friend Johanna came over and the 2 of us went to a Viennese style cafe. That day was Torsten’s friend Sandra’s birthday and a bunch of her friends showed up. We stayed there for awhile and it was fun. Johanna is really nice and she lives close to Berlin. She said that I could stay with her when I come.

The next day, I made pancakes for Torsten, Johanna, and I. I decided to throw a bunch of random stuff including peanuts, shredded coconut and muesli into the batter. It actually turned out pretty good, albeit a bit heavy because Torsten didn’t have any baking powder and I used wholeweat flour. We hung out for a bit and then went to the Hirschgarten, which is the largest beer garden in Munich. It was a beautiful afternoon and there were tons of people. Hirsch means male deer and apparently, there are some deer in the park, but I didn’t see them. We came there to celebrate Johanna’s brother’s friend’s birthday. Again, lots of people in our party and lots of food and beer, of course. We were there for many hours and had some really good food. I ate Obatsta, which is a kind of Bavarian style cream cheese - it’s quite good. The beers they serve there are huge - 1 litre. I shared one with Johanna and that was quite enough beer for me. Johanna and I took a walk and had an interesting conversation about WWII. She said that her family was a bit affected by the war because they had to move, but they’re not Jewish. Johanna said that the Holocaust is discussed quite a bit in Germany and it’s hard not to be confronted by it as a German citizen. It’s very strange for me because now in Germany, there are lots of towns where you would never see a Jewish person. A lot of people don‘t know that I’m Jewish whereas in Canada, some people have told me that I look Jewish. Actually, near Munich, Dachau concentration camp was established. There used to be a Jewish population in Munich, but not anymore. It’s pretty sad.

After we came back to the table, Johanna’s brother and his girlfriend were talking about being social workers in Munich. They both come from smaller towns and their parents sometimes don’t approve of their job. Much of their job includes helping the foreign population integrate. Munich has quite a few Turks and people from other countries as well.

Later on, Torsten, Johanna, and I went to another party for people living in their trucks. Torsten’s friend Frank has been living in his truck for awhile and he was able to negotiate with the city to get a large area for people living in their trucks. There are now 16 people living in this area. The atmosphere was pretty interesting. There were some alternative people with interesting clothes and hair. We stayed there pretty late and then cycled back home. In the morning, we went for the traditional Bavarian brunch, which is normally white beer and white sausage. I could not really stomach beer at 11am and of course, I wouldn’t eat the sausage. I had some orange juice and kase spatzle, another Bavarian specialty. It’s kind of like macaroni and cheese with fried onions on top. Not the best food I’ve had, but not the worst. We also had some blueberry cake with ice cream and later on, I ordered fresh strawberries with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. The strawberries were quite good. Apparently, Bavarian waiters are supposed to be a little bit rude according to Bavarian customs and our waiter forgot some people’s orders. Anyway, we stayed there for several hours and then walked back to Torsten’s house. At that point, it was time for me to go back to Konstanz. We took the same route back through Switzerland and Austria. The Alps were gorgeous.

Yesterday, I was extremely tired after talking to Nick and Yasuaki. I haven’t spoke to Yasuaki for awhile and we talked for nearly 2 hours. At that point, it was just after 2am! Anyway, it was nice to catch up. Yasuaki is thinking about coming to Canada for his PhD. He’s now doing his Master’s in England in sociology. Living in England hasn’t been that easy and I can sympathize. I think living in Canada is much easier.

Yesterday afternoon, we had a German vocabulary test and I think I did decently considering how tired I was. After class, I didn’t practice Japanese with Andreas because he had lots of work to do. I ended up eating a late lunch with Mitra from German class. She’s from Tehran and we were talking about the political situation in Iran. She’s doing her PhD in Konstanz and she said that she doesn’t intend to return. Some of her friends are in Canada and also don’t want to go back to Iran. It’s quite a difficult situation and lots of people are scared. Yesterday evening, I had dinner with Kelsa, from the US. She lives in the same residence as me. We were hoping to have Japanese food, but the restaurant was closed. We ended up going to the Irish pub and having a veggie burger (she’s also vegetarian). It was pretty good, but huge - there were 2 patties on the bun. Also, I had Spezi, which is a combination of Coke and Fanta. It was actually pretty good.

Coming up this week, I have lots of work to do and then on Friday, I’m going to Stuttgart and Freiburg to do interviews. It should be interesting...

May 31

I just came back from Stuttgart and Freiburg. On Friday, I went downtown after finding out that I had almost no credit left on my phone. It turns out that I had been making calls and sending messages on a Swiss network, thus paying more money than I should have. Also, Tchibo was supposed to put a 5 euro credit on my phone and they didn’t - sheesh! It’s been one thing after another with them. Anyway, after going to Tchibo, I met up with my ride. I used mitfahrgelegenheit again and went to Stuttgart. The drive was fine, but there was tons of traffic. We left Konstanz just after 3 and arrived around 5:30. I was dropped off in one of the suburbs of Stuttgart where the university is and then I took the subway to the main station (Hauptbahnhof). The main station has been the site of many protests because the government wanted to completely redo the station. It’s quite a disputed topic. I read that if the station is renovated, the number of platforms would be cut in half. I think the main reason why protests are taking place is because the government didn’t really consult anyone about the project. Anyway, now Baden-Wurttemberg has a new Green/SPD government and they may not go through with the project.

At the main station, my host Marcus picked me up and we went to his place. He’s able to live there for free because it’s going to be torn down at the end of the year. He’s doing his PhD in human-computer interaction. We were only able to stay at his place for a bit and then I had to go back to the suburbs to do interviews with Greenpeace volunteers. I was picked up by one of the volunteers and I attended the meeting. Then I interviewed 2 members, including the leader of the group. It was very interesting and I think the interviews went well. Jens, the leader, is finishing up his Master’s in environmental science and he’s been studying peak oil. Both he and Stephan, the other man I interviewed, had been to Japan, although it was just for business. After I interviewed them, I interviewed Jurgen at a pub. Jurgen had also been to Japan for business, but he also travelled around afterward and he visited Hiroshima. He’s quite fascinated with nuclear power and we had a good talk. I ended up staying at the pub until just past midnight. The interview we had was just over an hour. All of these volunteers are really nice and it was great to hear that they had been to Japan.

The next day, Marcus and I met up with another couchsurfer, Karina. Karina actually had dinner with my and Nick’s place in London in 2007. It was nice to see her again and she took us to a great Asian restaurant. I had some really nice deep fried sesame tofu skewers with an amazing sauce. Marcus ordered a great carrot and ginger soup. We walked around a bit after that and went to a flea market. Unfortunately, Marcus had to go to work and after being in the flea market for a bit, Karina left to spend time with her parents. I stayed in the flea market by myself and then I had to go meet another interviewee, Helena. Helena is actually a member of couchsurfing as well, so it was interesting to hear about her travels. Unfortunately, my MP3 player, which I’ve been using to record the interviews, stopped 45 minutes into the interview. I checked it and then I made some notes on paper about what she had said in the remaining 15 minutes or so. It turns out that I had only a small amount of space on the MP3 player, so I went to Media Mart and bought an SD card. After the interview was over, I went to Marcus’s place and made some dinner. He said that I could help myself to anything in his kitchen, which is quite generous I think. The system in Germany is different for PhDs - they work for a professor and get paid, but this means that it is often difficult for them to do their own work. They have to do with the professor says. Marcus is quite keen to finish the PhD and get out of Stuttgart. He doesn’t really enjoy living there and I can understand why. The city was destroyed during the war and when it was rebuilt, most of the buildings were built in the 1950s or 1960s style, which wasn’t a great time for architecture. There are a few old looking buildings, but most of the city isn’t that special. Anyway, I was supposed to meet Helena and her husband around 8pm for a concert, but they decided to stay at home. I walked around the city a bit and felt lonely - lots of couples out and I realized that it was my and Nick’s 7.5 year anniversary. Well, such is life. I met up with Marcus around 10 and we ended up at a flamenco bar, which was quite nice. I haven’t seen live flamenco since going to Spain and I really enjoy it. We stayed fairly late and then went home.

The next day, Sunday, I had made a BIG mistake. I was fiddling around with my MP3 player and I ended up erasing EVERYTHING, including the interviews and all of my music. I may be able to recover the data, but I think the chances may be slim. Marcus looked at it and found out that I can’t record onto the SD card, but it seems like I have enough room to do the rest of the interviews. If not, I guess I’ll have to buy a recorder, though the MP3 player works quite well. We’ll see what happens. In the afternoon, I ended up meeting some fellow Canadians who are studying in Stuttgart. One of them, Sara, took me up to the top of the train station to have a view of the city. Stuttgart has a TV tower you can go up, but you have to pay. Sara also took me to a park where some protesters are camping out. It was pretty interesting - some of the trees have teddy bears wrapped around them. There was also some music. We went back to the downtown area and sat in another park. Later on, Hussein and Colin, the other Canadians, showed up. We got some falafel and sat outside the restaurant. It was a really warm day and it was really nice to eat falafel again. After that, I had to go back to Marcus’s, get my things, and go to Freiburg. On the mitfahrgelegenheit website, some people travel by train and you can share a group ticket with them. There’s a special ticket for Baden-Wurttemberg that allows 5 people to travel for 30 euros, which we used. The woman who organized it, Melanie, had lived in Tanzania and it was really interesting to hear her story. We arrived in Freiburg and I met my friend Eva’s friend Hannah. Hannah and Eva’s friend Sara came to Konstanz a few weeks ago and I met them. They’re both very lovely girls. Hannah had told me that I could stay with her if I ever went to Freiburg. When I arrived in Freiburg, I realized that I had lost my grey shoulder bag, but thankfully, only my change purse was inside, so I didn’t lose my wallet. I reported it to Deutsche Bahn and hopefully I’ll be able to get it back. Anyway, Hannah, her roommate Miriam (!) and I took the tram to their house. They have a really nice place on the grounds of a church. We made some dinner and went to bed early because Hannah had class on Monday at 8. I woke up at 8:30 and then met Hannah at the university. She is a very good tour guide - she took me to the Munster, which is the main cathedral and we also visited the synagogue. The synagogue used to be next to the university, but it is now elsewhere. It’s strange because near where the old synagogue used to be, there’s a sign pointing to where the Jews were deported. The Jews in Freiburg were actually deported to a concentration camp in Gurs in the south of France. It was quite sad to see. We walked around for a bit and then went to the university. Hannah had a meeting with some of her classmates and then we had lunch at the Mensa (cafeteria). We had a pretty good specialty from the region and at the moment, I forget the name. It was a kind of pasta that was a bit mushy, but I liked it. After that, Hannah went to class and I went to an area of Freiburg called Vauban, which is actually pronounced vobon, as if it were a French word. This area is pretty alternative - lots of people share flats there and most of the area is renewably powered. Everything’s on a very small scale and I really liked it. I could imagine myself living there. After walking around there, I went back to the university and met Hannah for ice cream. It was a hot day - about 30 degrees! At 5, I had to meet Andreas from Greenpeace. We had a very good interview. He went to New Zealand a few years ago and when he came back, he completely changed his behaviour and joined Greenpeace. He had always been interested in the environment and I was so happy to see that travelling really influenced him. He had thought that New Zealand would be a really green country, but he saw what the cattle, sheep, and forestry industries are doing to the landscape and he changed his mind. Since he came back, he’s been buying organic food, fair trade clothing, and he gave up his car. I interviewed another volunteer Wolfgang who also changed his behaviour after travelling. He was in Africa for about 6 months to teach physics and he was also in South America. He said that he realized how structured life is in Germany and after being there, he really wanted to shake things up. He started going to his friends’ homes unannounced and he’s thought about moving to Africa and starting his own school. It’s hard to say if the experiences changed his environmental beliefs, but it definitely affected his life. I also interviewed Nicole and Albrecht, a married couple with a baby who joined Greenpeace together, and Eckhardt, an older man. It was very hard for Eckhardt to go into lots of detail and our interview was only 12 minutes long. Wolfgang said that my first question is too general and perhaps I should make it more specific. When I start the interview, I say, tell me a story about how you got interested in the environment and how you joined Greenpeace. Wolfgang said I should start with easy questions, but I think that these kinds of interviews are supposed to be general with lots of detail. Anyway, I’ll think about it before I go to Frankfurt next weekend for more interviews. So far, it’s really fascinating to hear people’s stories and I think this research is definitely needed.

6th journal entry

May 20

The last week has also been very busy. On Monday evening, I went to the weekly anti-nuclear protest and I actually gave a speech. I was really nervous, which wasn’t aided by the fact that there was some construction going on in the Marktstädtte (town square). It was pretty appropriate that we were shouting abschalten, which means to close or shut something down. Anyway, I just spoke for a few minutes and told them how much I love Japan and how the Japanese government is finally putting money into renewable energy. I did write a speech, but I mostly didn’t read from it. I guess I did an ok job - maybe by the end of my stay here, I’ll be able to make a speech in German. I think my German is starting to improve. I’m staring to understand a little bit more and I can string simple sentences together. I think this is a pretty good accomplishment since it took me a year in Japan to do that. After the protest, I went to a movie with Michaela, one of my supervisor’s researchers, and her friends. The odd thing in Germany is that the rows and seats in the movie theatre are numbered, so you have to sit in the seat given to you. I didn’t know this until I had to move. We watched the German version of the movie Never Let Me Go, which is based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was hard to understand, but I could get the general jist. It’s about 3 friends who go to boarding school together, 2 girls and a boy. The main character really wants the guy, but the guy ends up with the other girl Ruth. Later on, Ruth and Tommy are both in the hospital and the main character visits them. Anyway, it was a pretty good movie. I’d like to see it in English.

On Tuesday, I went to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) with the German students who are going to Canada in the fall. Verena asked me if I would be an information student and I decided to come along. I took my first train in Germany with 2 Canadians, Caitlin and Gabi, who have been here all year. Their German is quite good. They, especially Caitlin, asked me tons of questions about Japan. I know this sounds petty, but I felt pretty old being with them. Gabi is not even 20 and Caitlin’s 21. The exchange students going to Canada are also quite young - around the same age, I suppose. I was surprised to see that some are graduate students. There’s a good size group going to York and UofT. I hope I didn’t overwhelm them with too much information... There was also a German student who went to Ryerson last year and she spoke about Toronto. Caitlin, Gabi, and I arrived at the Evangelical Academy (of all places to hold a seminar) around 3:30 and after that, we had some coffee and cake. Later on we had dinner and some drinks. I was quite tired and went to bed around 11:30 - most people were still awake.

I woke up on Wednesday at 7:45 to the sound of trucks right next to my room and had breakfast with Verena, David (the exchange program academic director), Janina, Caitlin, and Gabi. After that, Caitlin, Gabi, and I went for a walk around the town. The German students had another seminar about Canadian bureaucracy. We were in a town called Bad Herrenalb, which was quite pretty. Gabi and Caitlin had a bit of homework to do, so they sat in a park and I walked around. Actually, I was thinking about next year and what I’ll do after I finish this program. On Sunday, I chatted on facebook with Hareem, who works for the Pakistani journal I have written for. She’s getting married next year, most likely in November, and she said I could probably come to the wedding. Would I really want to go to Pakistan? It would definitely be an interesting trip. I was thinking I could combine it with another trip to Japan, but if I had a normal job, I might not be able to take that much time off. Maybe I can start working in January? It’s hard to know. I also got an email recently about fellowships at the City of Toronto. That program runs for a year and you get to see the ins and outs of city governance, which I think would be really interesting. If I ever did run for city council, that experience would be so valuable. We’ll see... I might also find another interesting job.

Verena, Caitlin, Gabi and I left Bad Herrenalb around 2 and got back to Konstanz around 5. Verena dropped me off on campus and I went to FINALLY get my library books, yey! The libraries here are really good, but the main one has asbestos in it, so all the books have to be cleaned and no one can go in. The books inside have to be requested and it took about 2 weeks for them to be cleaned. The books I got are quite useful for learning about narratives, so they came just in time. My first real narrative interviews will take place next week in Stuttgart and Freiburg. I’m really curious to see how it’ll go. Anyway, on Wednesday night, I went to the apartment I’ll move into next month and did language exchange with Susann, who’ll go to Canada. She’s really nice and her English is good. She just hasn’t had the opportunity to practice for awhile. She helped me quite a bit with my German and we spoke English as well. She also made some bretzel for me. Bretzel are basically big pretzels, kind of like the ones you can get in New York. They were tasty.

On Thursday, I had German class in the morning and then I did some work. It seems that me working in the offices with Wilhelm’s researchers is a bit of a problem. We have to work out a schedule for when I can come in. I really hate to impose upon them, but it’s so nice to actually work with people. I had lunch with Michaela and we talked about being foreign exchange students. She studied in Argentina and she said that the Argentinians mainly go to university near their hometown and they go with all of their friends. In Germany, this isn’t the case. It was hard for her to make friends, just as it was hard for me in England. I really enjoyed Michael’s company. It’s nice to have meals with someone.

On Thursday afternoon, I had my 2nd language exchange with Anna. We could only meet for half an hour because she had a meeting to go to. During that time, we spoke mostly in German, which was great. I can’t understand everything she says, but it’s still helpful. I’m going to Munich this weekend and she’s from there, so she gave me lots of suggestions for places to go. After seeing her, I came home and relaxed for awhile. I’ve been so tired the last few days due to lack of sleep and my period. After relaxing, I went down to the drug store and got some iced tea and a dustpan. In the apartment, I have a broom, but no dustpan - another example of how useful Seezeit is. I will move out of this apartment on June 15th and I can’t wait. I exchanged a couple of unpleasant emails with Sohana, who’s in charge of students in this residence. I told her I would move into a new place on June 18th and she said that I could either move out of here on June 15th or 30th. Of course, I have to pay a half month’s rent if I stay until June 15th, but the figure she quoted is 40 euros more than half a month’s rent. I sent her another email saying, I should pay 180 euros instead of 220, right? And she wrote back, I’m sorry, No! How can people use language like this in an email? It’s pretty rude. Maybe she was having a bad day, but it’s still inappropriate to take it out on me. Maybe I can complain to someone... Anyway, last night, I was supposed to go to ultimate frisbee, but it started raining. I dropped in at my friend Bler’s house and talked to her for a bit. Then I got a text message saying that my ride to Munich was cancelled - I hate it when people do this at the last minute. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to frisbee - I came back to my room and found someone else to go with. It’s actually better because he’s picking me up just down the road from my place. I’m excited for Munich!

5th journal entry

May 20

The last week has also been very busy. On Monday evening, I went to the weekly anti-nuclear protest and I actually gave a speech. I was really nervous, which wasn’t aided by the fact that there was some construction going on in the Marktstädtte (town square). It was pretty appropriate that we were shouting abschalten, which means to close or shut something down. Anyway, I just spoke for a few minutes and told them how much I love Japan and how the Japanese government is finally putting money into renewable energy. I did write a speech, but I mostly didn’t read from it. I guess I did an ok job - maybe by the end of my stay here, I’ll be able to make a speech in German. I think my German is starting to improve. I’m staring to understand a little bit more and I can string simple sentences together. I think this is a pretty good accomplishment since it took me a year in Japan to do that. After the protest, I went to a movie with Michaela, one of my supervisor’s researchers, and her friends. The odd thing in Germany is that the rows and seats in the movie theatre are numbered, so you have to sit in the seat given to you. I didn’t know this until I had to move. We watched the German version of the movie Never Let Me Go, which is based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. It was hard to understand, but I could get the general jist. It’s about 3 friends who go to boarding school together, 2 girls and a boy. The main character really wants the guy, but the guy ends up with the other girl Ruth. Later on, Ruth and Tommy are both in the hospital and the main character visits them. Anyway, it was a pretty good movie. I’d like to see it in English.

On Tuesday, I went to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) with the German students who are going to Canada in the fall. Verena asked me if I would be an information student and I decided to come along. I took my first train in Germany with 2 Canadians, Caitlin and Gabi, who have been here all year. Their German is quite good. They, especially Caitlin, asked me tons of questions about Japan. I know this sounds petty, but I felt pretty old being with them. Gabi is not even 20 and Caitlin’s 21. The exchange students going to Canada are also quite young - around the same age, I suppose. I was surprised to see that some are graduate students. There’s a good size group going to York and UofT. I hope I didn’t overwhelm them with too much information... There was also a German student who went to Ryerson last year and she spoke about Toronto. Caitlin, Gabi, and I arrived at the Evangelical Academy (of all places to hold a seminar) around 3:30 and after that, we had some coffee and cake. Later on we had dinner and some drinks. I was quite tired and went to bed around 11:30 - most people were still awake.

I woke up on Wednesday at 7:45 to the sound of trucks right next to my room and had breakfast with Verena, David (the exchange program academic director), Janina, Caitlin, and Gabi. After that, Caitlin, Gabi, and I went for a walk around the town. The German students had another seminar about Canadian bureaucracy. We were in a town called Bad Herrenalb, which was quite pretty. Gabi and Caitlin had a bit of homework to do, so they sat in a park and I walked around. Actually, I was thinking about next year and what I’ll do after I finish this program. On Sunday, I chatted on facebook with Hareem, who works for the Pakistani journal I have written for. She’s getting married next year, most likely in November, and she said I could probably come to the wedding. Would I really want to go to Pakistan? It would definitely be an interesting trip. I was thinking I could combine it with another trip to Japan, but if I had a normal job, I might not be able to take that much time off. Maybe I can start working in January? It’s hard to know. I also got an email recently about fellowships at the City of Toronto. That program runs for a year and you get to see the ins and outs of city governance, which I think would be really interesting. If I ever did run for city council, that experience would be so valuable. We’ll see... I might also find another interesting job.

Verena, Caitlin, Gabi and I left Bad Herrenalb around 2 and got back to Konstanz around 5. Verena dropped me off on campus and I went to FINALLY get my library books, yey! The libraries here are really good, but the main one has asbestos in it, so all the books have to be cleaned and no one can go in. The books inside have to be requested and it took about 2 weeks for them to be cleaned. The books I got are quite useful for learning about narratives, so they came just in time. My first real narrative interviews will take place next week in Stuttgart and Freiburg. I’m really curious to see how it’ll go. Anyway, on Wednesday night, I went to the apartment I’ll move into next month and did language exchange with Susann, who’ll go to Canada. She’s really nice and her English is good. She just hasn’t had the opportunity to practice for awhile. She helped me quite a bit with my German and we spoke English as well. She also made some bretzel for me. Bretzel are basically big pretzels, kind of like the ones you can get in New York. They were tasty.

On Thursday, I had German class in the morning and then I did some work. It seems that me working in the offices with Wilhelm’s researchers is a bit of a problem. We have to work out a schedule for when I can come in. I really hate to impose upon them, but it’s so nice to actually work with people. I had lunch with Michaela and we talked about being foreign exchange students. She studied in Argentina and she said that the Argentinians mainly go to university near their hometown and they go with all of their friends. In Germany, this isn’t the case. It was hard for her to make friends, just as it was hard for me in England. I really enjoyed Michael’s company. It’s nice to have meals with someone.

On Thursday afternoon, I had my 2nd language exchange with Anna. We could only meet for half an hour because she had a meeting to go to. During that time, we spoke mostly in German, which was great. I can’t understand everything she says, but it’s still helpful. I’m going to Munich this weekend and she’s from there, so she gave me lots of suggestions for places to go. After seeing her, I came home and relaxed for awhile. I’ve been so tired the last few days due to lack of sleep and my period. After relaxing, I went down to the drug store and got some iced tea and a dustpan. In the apartment, I have a broom, but no dustpan - another example of how useful Seezeit is. I will move out of this apartment on June 15th and I can’t wait. I exchanged a couple of unpleasant emails with Sohana, who’s in charge of students in this residence. I told her I would move into a new place on June 18th and she said that I could either move out of here on June 15th or 30th. Of course, I have to pay a half month’s rent if I stay until June 15th, but the figure she quoted is 40 euros more than half a month’s rent. I sent her another email saying, I should pay 180 euros instead of 220, right? And she wrote back, I’m sorry, No! How can people use language like this in an email? It’s pretty rude. Maybe she was having a bad day, but it’s still inappropriate to take it out on me. Maybe I can complain to someone... Anyway, last night, I was supposed to go to ultimate frisbee, but it started raining. I dropped in at my friend Bler’s house and talked to her for a bit. Then I got a text message saying that my ride to Munich was cancelled - I hate it when people do this at the last minute. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to frisbee - I came back to my room and found someone else to go with. It’s actually better because he’s picking me up just down the road from my place. I’m excited for Munich!

5th journal entry

May 16

The last several days have been busy. I’ve been trying to stay out of the apartment as much as possible. On Wednesday, I went bowling with the North American, Aussie, and Kiwi exchange students. One of the girls, Chrystina from New Jersey, is doing an internship at a solar energy company. It was nice to talk with her about these issues. After we finished bowling, I went with one of the Canadian girls to the Strand Bar by the river. It’s supposed to look like a beach and it was quite nice and relaxing. I met another American, Kelsa. She has a German boyfriend and she’s been back and forth quite a bit. She’s going to school in Vermont and now she’s on exchange here. We ended up walking home together and discovered that we both like sushi. There’s a sushi place near the apartment I’m going to move into and I think we’re going there next week. Kelsa is also vegetarian, so that’s nice. On Thursday, I went to German class and then I did some work. I also went to the international office with Janina to complain about my residence. Of course, Verena at the international office can’t do anything about Seezeit, the horrible company that manages the residences. I didn’t want to burden her with our complaints, but it was at least nice to tell someone. Today (Monday), I’m going to Seezeit to give my 1 months’ notice. I may say something to them, but I hope it doesn’t come out too bluntly.

On Thursday afternoon, we were invited to Stephanie’s office to celebrate the publishing of a book she helped edit. She made lots of food, all of which was vegetarian! We had some nice bulghur with tomatoes and olives, stirfried lentils with onions and some nice spices, Greek salad, and champagne. Stephanie said that she often travels to the old East Germany for research and they have some nice champagne. I had a little bit and everyone was asking me to have some more, but I really can’t drink too much at lunchtime. Apparently, this is common in Germany. After lunch, I did some more work and then I went to meet Anna, who is friends with my German teacher. She wants to improve her English and she’s going to help me with my German. She seems nice and we’re going to meet again this week. I’m going to try reading a German newspaper article and we’ll see how it goes.

On Friday, I worked in Irina’s office. Irina and I were talking about Jews and she told me that she never met any Jews in Kyrgystan. It was never really an issue. I think certain towns in Germany are like that too. Irina told me that she’s going to church and there’s a woman at the church who had to leave her husband because he beat her. She has 3 kids, who are all with her. The woman stayed at a women’s shelter and the shelter was supposed to find her a permanent place, but they didn’t. They did find her a hotel room, but she’s had to pay for the hotel. I was really impressed with Irina because she has really stood up for this woman; she called the mayor’s office to complain. Most people would probably stand idly by and not do anything. On Friday, the mayor called back and said that they had found the woman an apartment. The woman is going to see it today. This is at least a step forward. On Friday night, I went to see some live jazz with Bler and her friends. The music was pretty good and we stayed out a bit late.

On Saturday, I hung out here in the morning and made a nice spinach and cheese omelette and some fried potatoes. I’m trying to eat all my food because I’ll be away for much of this week. Tomorrow and Wednesday, I’ll be in a town a couple of hours from here. The international office is holding an orientation for German students going to Canada and Verena said that I could come and talk about York. It’s a nice opportunity to meet some more people, I think, and travel. On Friday, I’m going to Munich for the weekend. Anyway, on Saturday afternoon, I went downtown with Eva and her friends Sarah and Hannah. Funnily enough, Sarah also has a sister named Miriam (my sister’s name is Sarah). They were both really nice. We went to have ice cream and we were sitting outside. Unfortunately, it started raining and we went to another cafe. Hannah and Sarah were both tired and wanted coffee. We stayed there for a bit and then went to the English bookstore. It was quite nice, but a bit expensive. Hannah is actually living in Freiburg and I’ll be there in 2 weeks, most likely. She said that I could stay with her, which is very generous. She gave me her phone number and email. It’ll be nice to see her again.

On Saturday evening, I went to the home of Berthold, who is the couchsurfing moderator in Konstanz. His friend Antony from London is visiting. Antony is quite a character; he’s worked as a therapist and he taught meditation in prisons. He was, in turn, sarcastic, blunt, friendly, and interesting. He said that I was quite mature for my age and well read; I’m not sure if the latter is true. Anyway, Berthold and I went to the jazz festival afterward. The opening was at the Munster, which is the largest church here. It’s quite beautiful inside and Berthold said it was about 800 years old. The opening had a high school choir and orchestra and I really enjoyed it. They seemed very professional. The jazz festival took place in many bars, restaurants, and hotels in Konstanz. We went to the Bürgersaal (citizen’s hall) to see a jazz choir; a hotel to see a jazz group, and a wine bar to see a swing/dixie group. The swing group was definitely my favourite. They were called the Jailhouse Jazzmen. There was a banjo player, a drummer, a saxophonist, a trumpet player, and the banjo player also played guitar. I really enjoyed it. After seeing them, I was ready to go home. I was going to take the busy because it was raining and I only had a light sweater, but we arrived at the bus stop and the last bus had already gone. Berthold immediately offered to drive me home, which was very kind.

Yesterday, it was raining on and off all day. I stayed home mostly and did work. In the morning, I ordered my Bahncard, which gets you a 25% discount on trains. I booked my ticket to Frankfurt and I’ll be going there in a few weeks. I’ve confirmed that I’ll meet some Greenpeace volunteers there. I’m going to their meeting as well. I’ve heard back from volunteers in Stuttgart, Freiburg, Berlin, Darmstadt (near Frankfurt), and Cologne. Cologne is supposed to have a big gay scene - I’m curious to see it. I was hoping to interview someone in Munich next weekend, but it’ll also be nice to just go and hang out. I’ve confirmed a couchsurfing host and I’ve arranged a rideshare there. It’s supposed to be a nice city.

4th journal entry

May 11

Things are finally starting to turn around here in Deutschland. On Sunday, I went to see the room and it was amazing! The room itself was about 3 times the size of the entire apartment I’m living in now and it costs less. It turns out the woman subletting it, Susann, is actually going to Canada. Her brother lives in Saskatoon. I went to see the room at 2pm and by 5pm, I found out that I was successful! (Someone else wanted to live there). I’m really excited to live in that house. I met one of the roommates and he’s very interested in energy generation and environmental issues - I’m sure he and I will have lots of good conversations. Also, Susann wants to meet with me next week to do language exchange. I’m also going to meet someone tomorrow who knows my German teacher and she wants to improve her English. I hope my German will improve quickly...

On Monday, I went to German class and after that, I practiced Japanese with my German teacher. He spent about 2 months in Japan, but his Japanese is at about the same level as mine. He’s studied quite a bit of the grammar, it seems. We had a nice conversation and it was great to speak Japanese again, though I realize I’ve forgotten lots of words. I like the sound much better than German - it’s much softer. Later on, I went to the weekly anti-nuclear protest here. I think the protests started after Fukushima. Before we started marching, a few people spoke and it was quite sombre. I didn’t understand most of it, but it was still interesting. There were also some minutes of silence to think about the victims. I really wanted to say something, but I’m not sure what I would say. Yesterday, I actually bumped into one of the women from the protest. Her name is Ines and she works at the university. I told her I lived in Japan and she said I should definitely say something. I’ll have to think about it... At the protest, I was lucky enough to meet another Greenpeace volunteer and he said I could interview him. I’ve also heard back from volunteers in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Freiburg, and Cologne, so it looks like there’ll be lots of travelling. I’m excited! Not this coming weekend, but next weekend, I’m going to Munich. I was hoping to interview someone there, but I haven’t heard from him. However, I’ve already organized a couchsurfing host and a rideshare, so I’m definitely going. It’ll be nice to get away... On Monday night, I had dinner with a couchsurfer named Jonathan. He’s really nice and he has quite a bit in common with Nick. He’s one of 4 and he’s becoming a high school teacher. We had a nice dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The food wasn’t bad, though I do prefer Chinese food in Toronto.

I had a pretty good day yesterday. My phone finally works! I had to go back to the store on Monday night and they promised me it would work within 2 hours and it seems that it did. Yesterday morning I met with my supervisor again and I also met some people on his team. I talked with them for a bit - there’s Johannes, who’s doing research on collective identity, Michaela, who’s analyzing Holocaust films, Irina, whom I don’t know much about, except for the fact that she’s from Kyrgystan, and Stephanie, who studies white collar crime. They’re all pretty nice people and they told me there is indeed space for me to work. I stayed there in the morning and then we all had lunch together. That was quite nice. I’ve spent too much time eating meals alone, so this is a breath of fresh air. I stayed there for a few hours and then I came back and did laundry. I had thought that I could get a drying rack here, but the staff didn’t even understand what a drying rack was. I put my clothes in the dryer and then I made the mistake of putting my card in after the clothes were done and more money was deducted. I had also selected the wrong setting and my clothes were still damp. I had thought that there wasn’t enough space in the apartment to dry the clothes, but it turns out there is. Especially now that I’m wearing sandals, I won’t be washing too many pairs of socks. Last night I had Irish and Scottish dancing and that was fun. I danced with one of the teachers and he was cracking me up - it reminded me of Nick. I talked to Eva, who lived in Canada, and she and I will do something this weekend. Finally, I’m starting to make friends here... I realize that I can be impatient sometimes and I know that I’ve only been here for 2 weeks, but the last week in residence has been pretty lonely.

Last night after dance class, Janina’s friend Bler came over. We finished off the apple and rhubarb crumble that Janina and I made. Bler and I talked about how annoying some people can be here - it can be quite hard to make friends and lots of people like to spend time alone. Bler is from Albania and I get the impression that people are quite friendly over there. I think Bler and I are 2 peas in the same pod. We’re both pretty friendly, love dancing, and get tired of shallow girls. She lives in the same residence complex as me - it’s nice to have a friend here.