Oh man are we behind on where we've been / what we've done. So sorry for those of you who don't get the constant Facebook updates... and instead of catching you up, I'm going to share some thoughts.
I love Europe because of the depth of the history here. In order to just START understanding a country, their culture and their people you have to look at their history. Germany has really stuck in my head, so I'll be using that as an example. Until the late 1800's, there was no such country as Germany. It was a collection of 16 different kingdoms, all with their own identity. When all the monarchs abdicated their thrones and Germany was formed, each area still held on to their identity - to the point that Bavaria still hasn't signed the German Constitution and what people generally think of as "German" (Durndels, leiderhosen, beer, Oktoberfest, etc) is actually Bavarian. You won't see people in Berlin wearing leiderhosen, just FYI. Also Germany fascinates me because the reunification of Germany is fairly recent. I met a couple who grew up in the former GDR... I think in the US we don't really comprehend the passage of time here in Europe.
We also have no real idea of what Europeans had to go through after World War 2. Today in Rotterdam, I was enjoying the fact that the streets are wider than in Paris and it feels less claustrophobic to me. The reason for that is that Rotterdam was almost totally decimated during WW2 because the Germans were trying to put down the Dutch Resistance. Rotterdam is an interesting collection of all kinds of different architecture because they had to rebuild the entire city (more or less) after the war. The hills in Berlin are not natural - they are formed from the rubble of the city - they piled it up and built on top of it. Paris escaped the war (4 years of occupation) with only a few bullet holes on the facade of one building. The same guy who bombed the shit out of Rotterdam decided not to bomb the shit out of Paris. And we'll never know why. Taking the train through the countryside, it's hard to imagine people trying to live their lives during the war. Again, that's something that Americans really don't know about. I mean, yeah, during the war we had to do without some things, and during the cold war we were really good at paranoia but we didn't have the fighting on our turf. We didn't have to deal with soldiers tromping through our fields taking our food and bombing our homes. And really, it's Germany that makes me the most sad because they are either forgotten in the post-WW2 portion of history classes, or there's an attitude of "they got what they deserved." But how terrible it would be to not be able to be proud of your country, to know what horrible things happened and have foreigners asking if Hitler is still in power. History is written by the winners - it's interesting to hear a German say that there were some things that the GDR did really well and should have been kept (childcare, if you are wondering, because both parents had to work). And this is just the recent history of Europe. It's so interesting to see the ruins of Pompeii, come out of the excavations and see the modern city around it. Really, the volcano blew and buried an entire city... and there are cities built all around the base of the same volcano today. Did we learn anything?! Probably not. (BTW - Vesuvius was camera-shy that day and hid the summit behind clouds, so the pix aren't as good as I had hoped. *pouty face*) And the extent of the Roman ruins... you see the Roman Empire on a map and go "yeah, that's pretty big" but to be here and see the scope in terms of how long it takes - today - to get from one end to the other... makes you kinda go "Damn, those Romans were industrious to say the least!" (BTW - you can still see where Julius Caesar was buried in the Forum... apparently it's unlikely that his bones are still there, but that's where he was buried after being assassinated in the Senate. And people still leave flowers there.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can learn all about European history in history class and by reading history books but unless you actually experience Europe, it'll always be just words on paper. I feel like my history teachers were probably better than most (thank you, Mrs. Franks and Mr. Quayle) but I'm really glad that I came here to actually see and experience the effects that history have had throughout Europe. I mean, entire countries remember grudges from hundreds of years back... I usually forget why I'm mad at someone within about 15 mins. And who knew about San Marino?? I''m sure that Mr. Quayle had it on his maps, but I totally forgot about the little independent state in the middle of Italy. (No, we didn't go there... talked about it, but went with Milan instead.) We did go to the tip of the boot and the deflated soccer ball - ended up in Catania for their patron saint's celebration. Which is another funny thing about this trip - we ended up in Copenhagen for their "Culture Nacht", Catania for their St. Agnes celebration, Paris at the beginning of Fashion Week, see the Pope and then he announces that he's resigning (not related, I swear... at least, I think they're not related...), and I think there are some others that I'm forgetting... but it's funny that we end up in places at times of local celebrations. No, we didn't go to Munich during Oktoberfest, but per Ozzy, it's better to skip that anyway since there are so many tourists.
As for me, I can not get over how amazing it was to be able to reconnect with my friend Maria after 12 years. You all probably know the story by now, but I'd just like to reiterate how awesome it is to be able to meet up with someone that you knew when you were 16 and still be able to talk, laugh and connect like no time had passed, continents and time hadn't separated you so far that the friendship had faded to nothing. What a blessing that we became friends in that tiny high school in Wyoming. I do find it interesting that of all the people I went to high school with, I ended up having the most in common with a German exchange student. The Lord works in mysterious ways (according to Rocco).
So I guess I just wanted to share with all of you the awesomeness of Europe and to really encourage you to come here if you get the chance - even if you aren't into history, the people are great. And don't believe what you hear about the French - every French person that we met in Marseilles and Paris were very nice. Now, we did not shop or eat out in Paris, and from what I understand, that is usually where you encounter the rudeness. We did have to ask random people on the street for directions, and they were very helpful. If you do come over here, just come with an open mind to experience the culture - don't come with a chip on your shoulder and every other phrase being "well, the way we do it back home... "
We have only a month left, and the time has gone too fast, but we are missing family and friends (and Ana misses her baby, her dog). As for me, I'd like to come back for a longer period, if possible. May be looking into grad schools over here... we'll have to see how things go when we get back.
Much love from Rotterdam, Mandi
