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.

Third Journal Entry

Much has happened in the last 4 days. On Wednesday night, I went swimming with Janina and her friend Tanja. It was a bit too cold to go to the lake, so we went to a pool. It was nice to get some exercise and do some swimming in the water. We bumped into Tatiana, who’s in Janina’s program. Tatiana’s from Moscow and she told me that Japanese food is quite popular there. Apparently, there isn’t a lot of Chinese food. I actually discovered a Japanese restaurant here yesterday at Lago, the big mall. God I miss that food. Unfortunately, before we went swimming, I got locked out of my room. A guy from my German class was supposed to come over and practice a dialogue because we have class on Thursday. He lives in the same residence complex as me. He was supposed to arrive at 5, but by 5:30, he still wasn’t here. I decided to go out and go to his room. Unfortunately, I forgot my keys inside. I bumped into someone downstairs who called Seezeit for me. Because it was after office hours, they had to send someone here to open my door and I had to pay 30 euros! This is ridiculous. No one here likes Seezeit, the company that manages the dorms and they also do a lot of the food service. Seezeit is getting lots of subsidies from the government, yet they still charge quite a bit of money for the rooms. Plus the service is terrible, as you can see. I don’t know why people don’t complain about it. Janina told me that next year’s university class will be much larger because the government is getting rid of the last year of high school. Konstanz is accepting 1000 students for the new fall semester! The university now has 10,000 students, so this is quite a significant increase. There’s already a housing shortage in Konstanz and I don’t know what’s going to happen next year with all the new students. Someone will have to build new housing.

On Thursday, I had my German class. Of course, my partner did not show up, though a lot of other people were absent as well. The class went well, though I felt a little bit lost. I really need to learn more vocabulary. There’s a program here for language exchange and I think I’m going to sign up for it. A lot of Germans speak English very well, but of course, they would rather speak German with each other and I feel excluded. Anyway, speaking of language exchange, my German teacher told me after class that he has Japanese friends coming here in June. He knows that I lived in Japan and he wants to practice Japanese. I’m very excited about this. I haven’t had a chance to speak Japanese for awhile. It should be interesting.

After the German class, I went to Student Services and I registered. On Friday, I picked up my student card. I also went to check out the library. It’s pretty nice. Konstanz has several libraries, but the main one is closed because they discovered asbestos in it. Konstanz has, apparently, the largest university library in Germany with 2 MILLION books! I was able to order some English books and they need to be cleaned. I’ll have to wait about 2 weeks to get the books. I was told that it’s going to take about 5 YEARS to clean the entire library! This won’t be great with all the new students coming in next year. Anyway, on Thursday night, I was supposed to go to ultimate frisbee practice, but instead I went to see a room. If there’s anything I’ve learned in Konstanz, one should see a room as fast as possible. The room was okay. I wasn’t able to meet most of the flatmates. It’s also managed by Seezeit, so I don’t think I’m going to take it. I’m going to see another room today and I’m hopeful about it.

On Friday, I went to school and did some work in the library. I also went to the little Chinese restaurant. They have quite a good lunch special. I got a big box for 5 euros and you can put in lots of stuff. I sat out on the front lawn and ate it. The weather was so beautiful. For the last few days, the weather’s been great. It’s not great for getting work done. On Thursday, I came home to eat lunch and I really didn’t feel like doing anything. I went downtown, ate some ice cream, sat by the lake and then I had to go to Tchibo to get my phone fixed. It’s now Sunday and it still doesn’t work. The customer service has been pretty bad there. When I first got the phone, I was told that I could choose my own PIN, but it turned out that there was a PIN allocated to me. The PIN was a bit hidden inside the welcome package they gave me and the woman didn’t tell me about it. Of course, the stores here are closed on Sunday, so I can’t go today. I’m going to go tomorrow and if it still doesn’t work, I’m going to return it (or at least threaten to return it). I’m excited for tomorrow because there will be an anti-nuclear protest in the pedestrian shopping area and I’m going to check it out. I hope I can meet some people there and maybe record their stories...

I had quite a nice day yesterday, until the evening. In the morning, I went to check out one of the outdoor markets. It was definitely one of the best markets I’ve been to. It’s so much better than going to the supermarket. They sell pasta, cheese, eggs, juice, fruits and vegetables of course, bread, desserts, flowers, etc. I wish we had a market like that in Toronto. I bought some delicious shitake mushrooms, potatoes, apples, and some really good cheese. The cheese is coated on the outside with some herbs. I made some spaghetti for dinner and put some in it. Delicious! Speaking of food, on Friday night, Janina and I made some apple rhubarb crumble. The rhubarb is now coming into season. It’s not at its best yet, but Janina bought some just for me, so I can’t complain. The crumble turned out pretty well and we also made some rhubarb compote. I played Janina some Canadian music, so it was a very Canadian evening. Before that, we had had some ice cream with a few German girls who are going to Canada. Surprisingly, they didn’t have a lot of questions for me. They were mostly talking in German, but I could tell that they were talking about booking flights and finding accomodation, so they haven’t really thought about Canadian customs or anything like that yet.

Last night, I was supposed to go to an 80s and 90s dance party, but I didn’t know anyone else going. I was feeling pretty lonely in this room and thinking that I should go out, but I decided not to. I also wanted to get an early night and get some work done today. It’s really hard to make friends in this kind of residence complex. I feel bad even knocking on people’s doors because I don’t want to disturb anyone. Yesterday, I did meet one of the Resident Assistants and I told her about what happened with my keys. Hopefully she’ll talk to someone about it. It was nice to meet her, but she’s so busy studying because she’s a law student. She welcomed me back anytime, but I somehow think I might never see her again.

So, what have I learned over the past 11 days? German bureaucracy is pretty bad. People here are nice, but there isn’t a great sense of customer service. I got my student card in the university and there was information along with it, but the woman couldn’t explain to me how I connect to the wireless network and the people in the library didn’t know how to either. I have to go and talk to IT services for that and hopefully, they are actually open until 5...

2nd Germany journal entry

I have now been in Germany for exactly 1 week. It’s been interesting so far, though I admit it is quite annoying to deal with the German bureaucracy. I guess it’s the same in most countries, though. Here, the opening hours for various offices are quite limited. At the bürgerburo, where I had to register here as a resident and get my residence permit, they are only open from 8-12 or 9-12 on most days. On Mondays, they are also open from 2-4. I went there on Monday to get my residence permit, but I was missing a document. I had to go to the university on Tuesday to get the document and since I was at the university all morning, I couldn’t go to the office. I went back there today and got my permit. It’s actually quite nice and I’m happy with the picture. Unfortunately, I don’t have the USB cable for my camera, so I can’t upload pictures yet. I have now also moved into residence. It was quite a shock moving here after living with Janina. I have a very small apartment, albeit to myself. The kitchen here is even smaller than what I saw in apartments in Tokyo. Personally, I would rather share a house and have a bigger kitchen. I should mention that I’m on the top floor of the building and I have a pretty nice view of trees, houses, and hills in the distance. I face west, so I can see the sunset. I’m going to have huge legs after climbing all those stairs! I spoke to the woman who deals with residence here and she told me that I have to give 1 months’ notice if I want to move out. I found out about a place available in June and July, which would be perfect. I hope to go and visit it this week and then give my notice here. I think it is a bit unfair for international students to have such a small apartment and no roommates, considering that we’re so far from home and want to meet people. Unfortunately for me, I handed in my residence application late, only because I was accepted to the program later than a lot of other international students. A lot of international students come here in March to do an intensive language course. This is a bit unrealistic for North American students, who have school until April or May. Maybe it’s different for European, Asian, and South American students. Anyway, after I moved into residence, I went grocery shopping. I can’t say I’m a fan of German supermarkets. When I lived in London, my boyfriend and I lived up the street from Lidl, a German supermarket. The food is fairly cheap, but the store itself is pretty ugly. The fluorescent lights are harsh and most of the food is kept in cardboard boxes. It’s like being in a warehouse. I’m planning to go the market on Saturday - I hope that’ll be nicer. I’ve also discovered some Asian shops here and one of them sold Heinz baked beans! I bought them, mainly for nostalgic reasons and also as a good source of protein. I also bought Japanese mochi (sweet rice cake mmm), tofu, canned Thai green curry, and Indian and Laksa curries.

I also bought a German cellphone yesterday. I’m still waiting for them to connect it. It’ll be nice to be able to call people here! Although, I sometimes miss the days when I didn’t have a cellphone. I really hate answering it when I’m out with a friend or in the middle of something important. Most people here do text messaging, it seems. I hope I won’t spend too much money on the phone. Yesterday, I also went to my first Irish and Scottish dance class. It was quite a lot of fun. I met a girl, Eva, who lived in Canada for a year. She was very nice. I was talking to her after the class finished and then it seemed that it was time for a second more advanced class, which includes a few people from the first class and an additional woman. I tried doing the dances, but it was quite hard. I had to leave in the middle to go to the bathroom and I heard bagpipes playing. Have I stumbled into Scotland? Strange... When the class was over, I talked to one of the teachers and he told me that there’s a Scottish country dancing ball at the end of June in Karlsruhe, which isn’t too far from here. The dances there will be quite advanced, though. I’m not sure if I could go, but I’ll give it my best shot.

I don’t have much else to report other than starting my German class and meeting my supervisor. My supervisor Wilhelm is in the psychology department and he’s doing some really interesting work on the Israeli conflict, how it’s reported in the German press, and acts of Anti-Semitism. He seems like quite a nice guy and he’s spent a lot of time in Canada. He’s hoping to go to the Prairies this summer. My German class was fun - there are people from Pakistan, France, Ireland, India, etc. My next class will be tomorrow and I have to memorize a dialogue for it. I also have to write questions to ask our teacher’s mother. I really hope my German improves over the summer.

First German Journal Entry

May 1, 2011

First Journal Entry

It is now Sunday May 1 and I arrived here on Wednesday April 27. I’m still a little bit in shock that I’m actually in Germany. I’ve spent the last 8 months studying the German anti-nuclear movement and now it’s actually staring me in the face (though I have not been to any protests yet). So far, I’ve mainly done bureaucratic things - I registered as a resident here and tomorrow, I will get my residence permit. I also had to buy new cleets because mine broke on Thursday at ultimate frisbee practice. I nearly bought a phone, but I was told that I should come back on Tuesday. I also went to the university and I was able to sign up for a German course, which starts tomorrow. I also got a bank account. Tomorrow I will also register at the university and get my student card. I will also move into residence. I’ve been living with Janina, who was allocated to me by the university as a ‘pass pal.’ I first received an email from her at the beginning of March and we’ve exchanged many emails since then. She’s been extremely helpful - she met me at the train station here when I arrived and she’s letting me stay in her room while she stays with her boyfriend. She’s introduced me to the people in her master’s of economics program - we went bowling on Friday night and last night, we went to see a live band. Her program is taught in English, thus there are many international students. I met people from Egypt, Albania, Serbia and the Ukraine. They all seem very nice. I’ve also met Janina’s boyfriend Johannes a couple of times. He’s a little bit shy, but we’ve spoken a bit and he seems very nice. They’ve been together for 2 years. Janina told me that I might be able to come with her to visit Johannes’ family, who live near Konstanz. This is so generous! Janina is coming to Queen’s University in the fall and I hope I can return the favour to her.

Yesterday, I actually conducted 2 interviews with Greenpeace volunteers. This is my main purpose for coming to Germany. I’m trying to get life and travel stories from activists to see how different experiences influence activism. Originally, I really wanted to meet people who have been to Japan because of what’s happening right now. Germany has had such a big reaction to the Fukushima meltdown - the government announced recently that all nuclear plants will be shut down by 2020. Unfortunately, it seems that only one Greenpeace Germany staff member has been to Japan and hopefully, I will interview him in June in Hamburg. Anyway, it’s still interesting to find out how people became involved in Greenpeace. Yesterday, I met with 2 volunteers who live near Konstanz, Michael and Wolfram. Perhaps this is ageist on my part, but I did not think that they would be older. Michael is 68 and Wolfram is 67. We decided to have the interview at the Greenpeace office in Konstanz and it was very quiet there, which is good. I’m recording the interviews using my MP3 player and it picks up a lot of background noise. Michael started giving money to Greenpeace in the 70s and he’s been volunteering with Greenpeace for 7 years. Wolfram and his wife actually started with Greenpeace back in 1988 after Chernobyl. Their children were also involved with the Green Team, which is the children’s group for Greenpeace for kids aged 8-14. Michael is a little bit shy and it was hard to get some stories out of him, but his English was excellent. He used to work in the space industry and he made many business trips to the US and other countries. He gave some presentations there. He has travelled quite a bit to the US, Canada, Israel, and many other countries, but it didn’t seem as if those travels really affected him as an environmentalist. Our interview lasted about 30 minutes. After that, I interviewed Wolfram and he was very interesting. He was born the day after there was an attempted assassination of Hitler. Wolfram and I talked for about 40 minutes and then we had to take Michael to the ferry terminal, as he lives on the other side of Lake Konstanz and the last ferry left at 7pm. Wolfram said that we could speak further if I wanted and I agreed. I was a bit reticent because Wolfram needed a lot of help from Michael to translate, but after we arrived at the cafe, things went pretty well. We stayed at the cafe for over an hour and he told me quite a bit of his life story. I feel like I know him quite well. He told me about how he met his wife, his decision to become vegetarian, etc. He also told me that he’s registered as a disabled person. I’m not sure if I should be privy to such information, but he gave it voluntarily. He showed me a card that states he’s 60% disabled (he said that if you’re 100% disabled, you’re basically dead). He retired early because of this. He used to teach geography and French at high school. When we were still at the Greenpeace office, he told me about all the actions he’s been involved in since he joined the group. He’s gone to Stockholm and collected thousands of signatures from Swedes and tourists. He’s also been to Brussels and Amsterdam. Wolfram has not travelled much outside of Europe. He’s been to the Canary Islands once on vacation, but he has made an effort not to fly in recent years.

Now I need to think about some lessons I learned from the interviews:

1. For Michael - I wish I could have drawn more details from him. Partly it was difficult because he couldn’t remember certain things from the 70s when he first started supporting Greenpeace. He seemed to suggest that going to Israel had some kind of impact on him and I think I should have asked more questions about that. I’m trying to strike a balance between asking questions and letting the stories flow naturally, since I’m using the method of narrative. I need to read more about how to use narrative as a method.
2. For Wolfram- I did gather lots of information from him, but I’m not sure how much of it will be relevant. His stories from after the war were very interesting and I’m wondering if that had anything to do with him becoming an activist. He said that he used to be conservative and very deferential to authority; for example, he didn’t support the 1968 student movement. He did say that after that, he began to change his mind and he became more progressive. It sounds like his wife is progressive, as she was also involved in Greenpeace, and maybe she had an affect on him? They’ve been married for 30 years and she is his 2nd wife. I wonder about his first wife... Maybe I’m just nosy. Anyway, there was a language barrier, but it wasn’t a huge deal. I wish my German were better, but I don’t think I’ll be able to interview in German by the time I leave. We’ll see.

In short, I need to learn more about narrative and I’ll try to put people more at ease and perhaps that will lead to them telling more stories. I will hopefully meet with 2 members of the couchsurfing website soon and I’ll try some interview techniques with them. At the end of June, I will hopefully be going to Hamburg to interview the Greenpeace staff member who is in Japan right now. Before that (or after that), I will also meet with Greenpeace volunteers in Stuttgart and Freiburg. So far, I have only been in contact with the Greenpeace head office in Hamburg and with the Baden-Wurttemberg offices, so I’m going to contact people in other states.