Yikes! I'm embarrassed that it's been over a month since I've last posted, but here it goes....
I started writing this on Sunday evening (Nov 15) - here I am Sunday evening TWO WEEKS LATER, finally finishing it!
After paying an exorbitant amount of money for a Swiss taxi, I'm back from a visit this weekend with my relatives in Kelmis, Belgium. For the first time since being in Germany, I actually spoke German all weekend (with a few exceptions): this included a 3 hour trip in the car with 95% of the conversation auf deutsch. It might sound self-explanatory that I would speak the language of the country I’m in on a regular basis, but since I work at a school as an English teaching assistant, I find myself speaking more English than German…. not to mention that at the slightest hint of an American accent during a conversation, everyone and their brother will try to speak English with you. It’s frustrating to say the least!
I haven’t updated in ages (oops) so I’ll try to keep it short. This post will only be about my weekend visit, although I know I’ve missed a lot in the past month. I’ll add a post about my trip to Leipzig this weekend soon. Since I only work M-Th I have a decent amount of time on the weekends to travel, which I’m trying to take advantage of. So far I’ve made trips to Freiburg (day trip), Munich, Hamburg, England/Ireland, Belgium, Leipzig for Thanksgiving, and next weekend I’ll be heading back to Munich for a Fulbright meeting.
I had to do some internet searching to figure out my exact relation to some of the relatives I spent time with this weekend. I stayed at my Great Aunt & Great Uncle’s house (the brother of my grandma - my mom’s mom - and his wife). I simply call them Onkel Fritz and Tante Renate. I've been fortunate enough to get to know them over the years during my trips to Germany, the first visit being when I was only 12! Their two sons were also there, as well as the two kids of one their sons. If I’m reading this chart correctly, then I believe the sons of my great uncle are my first cousins once removed, and their kids are my second cousins.
I started writing this on Sunday evening (Nov 15) - here I am Sunday evening TWO WEEKS LATER, finally finishing it!
After paying an exorbitant amount of money for a Swiss taxi, I'm back from a visit this weekend with my relatives in Kelmis, Belgium. For the first time since being in Germany, I actually spoke German all weekend (with a few exceptions): this included a 3 hour trip in the car with 95% of the conversation auf deutsch. It might sound self-explanatory that I would speak the language of the country I’m in on a regular basis, but since I work at a school as an English teaching assistant, I find myself speaking more English than German…. not to mention that at the slightest hint of an American accent during a conversation, everyone and their brother will try to speak English with you. It’s frustrating to say the least!
I haven’t updated in ages (oops) so I’ll try to keep it short. This post will only be about my weekend visit, although I know I’ve missed a lot in the past month. I’ll add a post about my trip to Leipzig this weekend soon. Since I only work M-Th I have a decent amount of time on the weekends to travel, which I’m trying to take advantage of. So far I’ve made trips to Freiburg (day trip), Munich, Hamburg, England/Ireland, Belgium, Leipzig for Thanksgiving, and next weekend I’ll be heading back to Munich for a Fulbright meeting.
I had to do some internet searching to figure out my exact relation to some of the relatives I spent time with this weekend. I stayed at my Great Aunt & Great Uncle’s house (the brother of my grandma - my mom’s mom - and his wife). I simply call them Onkel Fritz and Tante Renate. I've been fortunate enough to get to know them over the years during my trips to Germany, the first visit being when I was only 12! Their two sons were also there, as well as the two kids of one their sons. If I’m reading this chart correctly, then I believe the sons of my great uncle are my first cousins once removed, and their kids are my second cousins.
I always enjoy visiting them and it is really reassuring to have family on the same continent (especially when I am missing my family back home)! My visits there are always filled with trips down memory lane and hearing stories about my family during WWII. My uncle has an extensive collection of photo albums that he has created and preserved over the years, dating all the way back to parts of WWII when he was only 7 years old. It was surreal looking through decades of black and white photos and hearing his stories. Every time I visit there is a new photo album to see / old albums to discover. He even has pictures of my mom when she was young and samples of the wallpaper my parents put up in our house in Columbus! Although he lives in Belgium, he is German, hence the meticulous and comprehensive record keeping.
I got to help kick of the carnival season in Aachen the Friday evening I arrived - Fritz (the son of my great Uncle) is part of the Oecher Börjerwehr (video & website link). I also got to experience the autobahn again for the first time in a while (our top speed was about 111mph!) and enjoyed eating lots of home cooked food & cakes.
I got to help kick of the carnival season in Aachen the Friday evening I arrived - Fritz (the son of my great Uncle) is part of the Oecher Börjerwehr (video & website link). I also got to experience the autobahn again for the first time in a while (our top speed was about 111mph!) and enjoyed eating lots of home cooked food & cakes.