My last day in Mainz

Well, it is my last day in Germany. After nearly 4 months away, I'm finally returning home.  Oh, how I can't wait to see my dog, Cindy! While it hasn't been a time I will remember for its equilibrium between work and social life, it was an experience that has matured my character.

Working at the Erbacher Hof was a challenge but very rewarding.  I am beginning to realize a lot of the things that I have learnt actively and passively during these months. How to think practically as opposed to theoretically, having a good work ethic, how to behave with people around work (and with people in general). Not to mention, my improvement in German and maybe a new found connection with my German roots.

Despite my excitement to return, I do sense the melancholy of departing.  It will be odd not to wake up to find my grandparents downstairs, or having Schnitzel for the 4th time in a week. It will seem strange not to have family members in close proximity which seemed a fact of life when I was still living in Stockholm.  In addition, I won't be seeing my colleagues from work who I have spent more time with than anyone in these past few months here.  

The next time I visit Mainz is hard to predict.  It should have been in January when my grandmother celebrates her 80th birthday at the Erbacher Hof.  Unfortunately, my program in Malaga, Spain begins on the same day as her birthday, the 13th of January.  Perhaps in September between the time I come back from Ethiopia and when I begin university.  Perhaps during the fall, or maybe only in 2015.  These are the consequences of living the traveler's life. This is not to say that I am tired of it, why, it only encourages more travel!

The Caretaker's Commute to the Early Shift

When the Caretaker wakes at 5:35 in the morning, he enters the day into a silent darkness. The roads are empty and illuminated by streetlights and the gleam of stars. With much effort and determination held up by the mission not to oversleep ever again, the caretaker stumbles out of bed. By the time his body has come to its senses, he is downstairs preparing his ham and salami sandwiches which he will eat at work. Should he wake up to a hungry stomach, he might find time to have a crispy toast with strawberry jam before embarking on the commute.

As the Caretaker waits at the tram station, the last (or rather the first) of the line, he mutters in frustration about the fact that the tram driver waits about 20m away from the actual station to read her newspaper. This leaves the Caretaker and the others waiting for the 6:11 tram, to accept winter's piercing chill the remaining minutes until the driver punctually drives to the station and lets the people inside.

It is half an hour's journey from his station, Finthen/Poststrasse to the hub of the old town, Schillerplatz.  If his eyes allow it, he reads. Yet this can become difficult if the man with the frantic eyes, pulling along his suitcase also enters the tram and begins to speak and laugh to himself.  This is followed by a 13 minute walk along a memorized path, keeping the Mainz Cathedral as a guide.  He walks at a fast pace, not because of time constraint, but to escape the shivering wet cold!

It is the early shift and work begins at 7:00.  Nonetheless, the Caretaker has taken up the practice of his colleagues and comes at a quarter to seven to enjoy the first coffee of the day, which he has been thinking about since 5:35.

Theory down! Practical to go

Yesterday, on Monday the 9th of December 2013, I passed my theoretical exam for my driver's license! My grandmother was overjoyed as she saw me coming back from the examination center with a marked smile on my face.  Together with my grandfather we opened a bottle of champagne and called family. My colleagues at work and even the director of the Erbacher Hof all congratulated me.  I passed with one question wrong largely due to my poor understanding of the words used. The question asked for what possible explanations there are for when a steering wheel starts to shake uncontrollably using very subject specific vocabulary.  In any case, my practical exam will be on Wednesday the 18th.  Until then I will have 4 more hours of driving lessons, adding up to a grand total of 33 - 27 more than one of my colleagues had to do in 1974. In total, it will also be 7-8 times more expensive!

This weekend I will be welcoming Christoffer and Anton to Mainz in what is a quite a spontaneously decided vacation. Christoffer will arrive on Friday and Anton on Saturday, but only for both of them to be leaving again on Sunday. Seeing familiar faces will certainly be good and I hope to make up for all the weekends I spent at home.

Familiar faces are something that I have learned to cherish much more in my absence from them. Especially in relation to my family.  Living with grandparents can be a wonderful thing if one is patient, listens and returns the love they give. It is an experience that can make one see the world in much simpler eyes. Yet it can also be quite frustrating at times when my grandmother can't hear everything I say, or tells the same story for the tenth time, or when neither of them can empathize with modern life with respect to technology and communication with people. For these reasons, I must admit that I am becoming home sick and wish to see my parents, my sister and my dog, Cindy again, surrounded by my things that make my home a home.

"Des gibt e gaudi!"

One of the most fascinating things about living in Mainz is the dialect. It is very entertaining to listen to and in in day to day communication it is difficult not to burst out laughing. For example, one time I was alone in the caretakers' office when suddenly a rather roughly clothed and dirty looking man comes through the door without knocking and asks, "Hasst du de Schlüssel für de Pfoste so dass isch i'ren komme kann?" (en as in Provence), "Wie bitte?". After asking for the third time I found out that the man was asking if I had the keys to lift out the post so they could drive into the pedestrian area. 

Another time, Petra from housekeeping burst into the office door yelling angrily, "Könnt ihr jetzt endlisch de Kannsche zu schraube?! Uff de Domstras schreck isch de Tode zum lebe!" ("Will you screw the wagon together?! On the Dome Street I scare the dead to life!").  To make matters worse, I was with Herr Krizowski who is Polish and had no clue what she meant either.  We ended up writing a note that the Kännchen has to be fixed but we found out we were wrong when Herr Krause saw it and laughed.

In one of the first few weeks at the job, we wanted to report a leak from a drainage pipe above a door in the basement of the Erbacher Hof annex, Haus am Dom. We brought the caretaker responsible for buildings owned by the 'Bischöfliches Ordinariat' or 'Episcopal Ordinariate' in English. He then reported the leak to the the man he knows from the plumbing company through this description, "unne im Flur läuft obbe de Brüh ras" ("Beneath in the hall, above the door, the brew is coming out")

And these are just a fraction of my daily experiences.  At home my grandparents speak the same way! They have introduced me to expressions such as, "Goggelores" which means joy, or "Gaudi" which means fun. I was also corrected to saying 'Kreppel' instead of 'Berliner' to a dougnut-like pastry filled with jam. On a Sunday, the day after I went out in town, my grandmother asked me, "und, habt ihr pa Biersche gemacht?" ("so did you have some beers?"). I responded, "Wie meinst du Papier??" ("How do you mean paper?"). This has become just as famously funny as the "Eatse Taya" - the German pronounciation of 'Ice Tea'.  

What I've discoverd about German dialects is that all of them seem to be avoiding the sound "ch". The best example is the word, "ich", or I in English. In Mainz they say "isch" (ish), in Berlin they say "ick" and in Bayern they skip it all together and just say "i" (Ee). Most people don't say "nicht(s)" for nothing, preferring to say "nitt" or "nix". 

The great thing is that the people know how funny the dialect can be and make fun of themselves for it. For example my boss once said, "my German is as good as my English" - he doesn't speak English. There are also many jokes about misunderstandings between people because of the dialect. Yet the dialect creates an astounding sense of identification among people. Although the dialect that my grandparents speak is generalized as "Menzerisch", and to the untrained ear can even be understood as being from Frankfurt, they speak differently from the next village, not even 5km away. For example, Petra said, "Domstras" but my grandparents would have said, "Domstros". Likewise, they call the Straßenbahn, "die Strosbahn" and call their street, "die Poststros". 

Budapest: Round 2

Tamas, Will and I

Didn't I say that I had a feeling I would return to Budapest? Well, I certainly didn't expect to return within the same year, let alone 6 months after my first visit. However, the nature of the trips were so different that I have been able to grasp a much better understanding of the city and its people.  My first trip in May was a very touristic trip. We checked all of the important things to see off the list and took pictures next to them.  Budapest was a veritable zoo, should it be put very bluntly.  Nonetheless, it was important to have seen the places and museums I went to last time with my class because I certainly would not have had the chance to  visit them with Tamas and William.  

The view from a hill in Buda overlooking Pest.
The building to the right of the green bridge is Tamas' university

I met the guys in Freiburg, where we became very good friends and so Tamas invited us to Budapest to have a reunion - which was a brilliant idea.  When arriving on Saturday morning, I immediately realized the importance of having a "local" with you. Tamas could navigate the nigh on lawless roads of downtown Budapest and arrange an apartment that we could rent out at a very cheap price for the weekend.  But most importantly, Tamas showed us parts of town where only Hungarians go.  For example the shopping mall where we went go-karting on Friday and Saturday because it was so much fun. Or to the residential area on the hills of Buda where we had an excellent Hungarian dinner prepared by his mother.  Moreover, he introduced us to his friends with whom we went out with Friday and Saturday night. 

Our apartment was very colorful

 Although we didn't dedicate all of our time to see the important sights, I enjoyed the city much more because I could experience what it has to offer. Naturally, it would have been better to have more time so we could have seen more of the city and spent more time together.  However, there is no cause for worry, the next reunion is planned for London, England next year.  At that time I will have completed my gap year and will soon start university :)

Hanseatic Holidays

Standing in the Reeperbahn at 1:00 in the morning going into Saturday is an experience unlike any other.  The bright lights illuminate the streets, packed with people. The area is enormous and seemingly never ending. Around every corner lie more bars and clubs with every possible theme; Irish, English, Japanese, 99cents, etc.  One must be weary of the stubborn prostitutes who legally stand on the streets and beckon wandering men to spend 30-45 minutes with them for a bargain price of 30 euros.  What is most astounding of all, is the acceptance of all of it as ordinary.

9 hours earlier, on Friday the 1st of November, I was getting off the train at Hamburg-Altona station where I was met by Anton. It was really great meeting him again. It had been 1 and a half months since I left Stockholm for Mainz so I was looking forward to some social contact.  In addition, I had a very inconvenient train trip.  Granted, the first hour was great. The train drove along the Rhine past beautiful scenery such as the Loreley and the many fortresses built into the hills along the river.  However, it soon got worse.  As we were entering the Ruhr, the scenery became duller and the train became fuller.  Since it was a holiday, the Deutsche Bahn decided to cut 5 wagons off the train thereby rendering all reservations meaningless and allowing many people to stand. As a result they asked everyone heading towards Hamburg to change trains in Dortmund and then to switch again in Hannover to get on a train towards Hamburg.

After dropping off all of my things at Anton's house we headed out to the city for some late afternoon sightseeing.  We went to the Miniatur Wunderland, the largest model railway in the world with 13km of tracks laid down.  The area is divided into different themes covering Switzerland, Austria, different parts of Germany, an airport, Scandiavia and the USA.  The attention to detail was extraordinary. At every street corner there was some sort of activity associated with daily life.  The trains, cars and airplanes moved according to some highly complex program that made it seem just as in the real world.  I found one of the most interesting exhibits to be a timeline of Germany history where small 1x1m show casings were made to show a certain time period, starting with hunter gatherer times all the way through the 20th Century.

As an unforeseen but very foreseeable consequence of going out the previous night, we woke up in the afternoon that Saturday.  As a result, it was not going to be much of a sightseeing trip but rather one for hanging out and chilling which was perfectly fine.  That evening we had a fantastic dinner prepared by Anton's grandmother. It was a lamb chop with a side of beans and tasted very good. And all together it lasted two and a half hours! The time just passed by without anyone seeming to have any objections or becoming restless of the other's company, which I found very nice.

The next day there wasn't a lot of time to procrastinate.  My train was leaving at 11:24 from Hamburg's central station.  All in all, I was effectively travelling from 10:30 to 17:30 until I finally reached home. However there was no doubt that the trip was worth it and that it was simply far too short.

Life in Mainz

I've been in Mainz close to a month now and I am beginning to get accustomed to the rhythms of this bustling metropolis. Ha!  But I am starting to feel much more comfortable in my work place and feel more confident towards the other departments of the conference center.  The caretaker team is very nice and I can share a good laugh with them.  They are a very interesting mix and when there are only two of us on shift, they like to tell stories of their lives which can be quite fascinating.  One of my colleagues was an engineer aboard large container ships. He told of nearly being attacked by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, almost marrying an Australian woman and tax-free alcohol without the premium paid in airport stores (this would make a bottle of vodka cost about 1 euro). As for my performance, my boss Herr Krause is very impressed with how quickly I have been able to learn the various room positions for conferences and the general aspects of the job.  He even asked me to stay longer than December! It's a good feeling to become trusted enough to be sent to position rooms or deliver something to a customer on my own.

One thing that irritates me is my own lack of control over German.  There are often times where I would have liked to say something, or give my opinion but because I couldn't formulate the words I held back. The worst is when I have to explain something technical, because first of all I am barely familiar with the vocabulary in English and then I am suddenly asked to describe a problem in German.  For example, when I went to switch a light bulb, the light only lit half way and started blinking.  I think I said something like, "der Strom geht aus (The electricity goes out)" and was answered with, "wo geht der Strom hin? (Where is the electricity going?)".  In German one would have to say, "Der Strom fällt (falls) aus", but of course in English the verb 'going' is correct.

My driving license is going well.  I have 4 Theory lessons out of 14, and I have 6 driving hours, with the next 4 booked for next week. My teacher is confident that I will complete the course before the end of December, as long as I maintain a disciplined schedule.  The schedule is possible but it is also very exhausting.  For example this past week on Tuesday and Thursday I worked from 10:00-17:00, came home at 17:50 and had to be at the driving school at 18:30.  Next week should be easier because I have early shift.  I have also been rewarded for over 42 hours of work this week with a three day weekend; Saturday-Monday.

However, I am far from assimilated and no manner of time will change that.  My background comes at such contrast to everything present in the Erbacher Hof that it is difficult not to run into cultural walls all the time.The majority of people working there have lived in the area all their lives whether they are German or immigrated to Germany as children and thus only speak German and possibly their mother tongue.

In any event, my largest problem is simply social contact with other people my age.  I miss the ability to regularly meet friends to go to the gym, something I have taken for granted for 3 years.  At the moment, I only might meet Anastasia or my cousin Stefan on the weekend to go out. Which is more than I can ask for but at the same time, I failed to realize the difficulty I might have in meeting people. But the totality of this remains to be seen, I still have 2 months ahead.

Arbeit und Führerschein!

I am employed! On the 17th of September, now over 2 weeks ago, I began to work as a caretaker in the Erbacher Hof in Mainz.  Erbacher Hof is a Catholic conference center which holds both religious and non-religious events. I work 6 days a week and the time is divided into early or late shifts.  Early shifts are from 7:00 to 14:00 and late shifts from 14:00 to 21:00. I have reached the conclusion that although the early shift requires me to wake up at 5:40 in the morning, it is better than the late shift.  With the early shift, the entire afternoon opens for possibilities - which I am not short of at the moment.  The other day I bought myself a pair of black working pants to match my colleagues. In addition, I also bought a pair of working shoes with a steel plate in the front to protect my toes  as well as a winter jacket so that I look more professional and so that my leisure winter coat doesn't get too dirty when it gets cold. Working in a Catholic conference center, and especially as a caretaker in a Catholic conference center can have its benefits.  For example, yesterday I had the opportunity to shake hands with Cardinal Lehman of the bishopric of Mainz!



I have only heard good things about him; that he is a tolerant, humble and liberal man. I have read interviews with him where he speaks of greater dialogue between Protestantism and Catholicism, as well as Christianity and Islam.  This impressed me and it has made it all the greater pleasure to work for such a man.

I have also started doing my driving license.  So far I have had one theory lesson and one driving session with two more booked this coming week.  Luckily, living in Sweden gave me the opportunity to reap the benefits of Övningskör. This allowed me to begin practice driving with my parents when I was 17. I am quite thankful for that opportunity now because it has rewarded me by allowing me to focus only on learning how to shift gears which takes up all of my concentration as it is.  However, towards the end I could sense that I was beginning to get the feel for it. My first lesson went well and he said that I will likely complete the license in 28 driving hours, which is below the average.

The Exeter Odyssey

Getting into the University of Exeter has proven to be quite a drama.  Let me explain the story from the beginning.  

After applying to the university I received an offer from them for 36 points with a 5 in English.   In mid July, I received my results.  36 points with a 6 in English.  Two weeks went by and I didn't get any confirmation from them so I decided to write them an E-mail.  On the 24th of July I received an answer saying that they had not gotten my results and that I should send them my results personally.  However, the next day, I got another E-mail confirming that they had now received my results.  Oddly enough, the confirmation E-mail stated that I had not met the offer and that I must wait until after the 15th of August when A-level results are released. So after that I decided to wait patiently until they figure out their fault - bad mistake. 

On the the 8th of September I checked UCAS and saw that on the 2nd of September my offer from Exeter was deemed unsuccessful. Now I became desperate and told them exactly the way I have been understanding my communication with them. Then I received an E-mail that seemed to misunderstand the problem. So I wrote them again, this time I copy and pasted the confirmation E-mail into the message and made them understand that they did indeed get my IB results and that they made a mistake with my application. This spawned an entirely different reaction. They apologized and I was told that my UCAS status would be changed over night. It did. So with no further surprises, I should officially be an fully enrolled student for the year 2014. Persistence pays off!

Back from Freiburg

Wow, what an amazing time I had in the past three weeks in Freiburg! I improved my German, certified my German knowledge with a C1 language test and met so many great people.  To be honest, towards the end, the course became less about learning German than having a great time with friends.

The course was very relaxed, we had class from 9:00 to 12:00 every morning from Monday to Saturday and sometimes in the afternoon as well.  My teacher was Hartmut.  Born in 1945, he is a bit of a hippie but an alright teacher. Our classes were structured around group discussions about all kinds of topics ranging from the relation between young and old people to Germany's elections.  We would also write a lot about our experiences in the many activities that we took part in outside of "Unterricht". These articles would end up in the trip magazine where everyone made a contribution.

However, the best times we had were during the daily activities and in the evenings.  We would go on excursions to see the Titi See, Bodensee, Strasbourg and Neuf Brisach.  Otherwise we would also play mini golf, have basketball and football tournaments, visit museums, explore Freiburg and much more.  When there were no planned activities, we would often hang around the KL (the hostel where we were staying). There we could play table tennis, pool, basketball, football and a lot of chess on the terrace. In the evenings we would often go to a beer garden.  Our favorite was "Hausbrauerei Feierling". They made exceptional beer and had a great outdoor sitting area that was open until 23:00.  On Saturdays we would go to a disco because we had no lessons on Sunday morning.  We tried different ones but our most frequented club was Agar.  Agar is cheap to get in and probably one of the worst clubs in Freiburg but because we were in such a big group it didn't really matter much.

At the moment, I am missing many of the people I met but I am sure to see them again.  Already we are making plans to see each other once more!

Last night before Freiburg

Tomorrow morning I will be on my way to the Goethe Institut in Freiburg.  I like to regard this as the official beginning to my gap year as this will be the first program that I will do that I planned for the time I would otherwise be spending preparing for university. I am looking very forward to be part of a routine once again.  A summer of being lazy has insulted my work ethic.  I would never have expected myself to say this, but I can't wait to wake up early again! I just finished packing my new light weight four-wheeled Samsonite full with all my clothes.

Otherwise, since arriving in Germany on the 15th, I have been getting myself settled in. I have bought myself a toaster. A Bosch toaster. It was the last one they had, and so she gave me a 10% discount because it was the show Bosch toaster. I have also received notification from the state concerning the voting center where I will cast my ballot for the next chancellor of Germany.  Well, everyone knows it will be Merkel again. Nonetheless, I think it will be fascinating to make my first contribution to democracy. And what better time to learn about a country than during elections? All the key issues will be addressed and you learn what kind of people are running the country.  In addition, I can now officially donate organs with my official German organ donation passport that certifies my organs' validity and my intentions with them.  Perhaps it should go on record that at the moment my kidneys feel quite well settled with their current neighbors; Daniel's lungs, Daniel's liver and Daniel's pancreas (I have the utmost respect for those who truly go so far as to donate their organs in the service of others).

Moving into the city

So the day after getting back from two weeks in Portugal, visiting old friends and enjoying the weather, half of our furniture is packed and ready to move into our new apartment in central Stockholm.  I figured that this is the effectively the 7th time that I will be changing homes.  Apparently the average American moves about 12 times during his/her life and I believe most of that takes place after graduating from high school.  In fact, I will already be making my 8th move when I travel to Germany to live with my grandparents from the 15th of August.  Although I will still be around family, I will be "moving out".  These last weeks in Stockholm, before my Gap Year really begins, will be spent with family and friends. In Mainz, I will not know anyone besides family.  I admit to being a bit nervous about it all.  I was not able to get a job at McDonald's and I am currently waiting for a reply from Vapiano, as well as the hotel where my aunt works.  However, before beginning work, I will be attending a three week German course in the southern city of Freiburg.  Besides becoming more confident in German, this course will allow me more time to accustom myself to living in Germany while meeting people my age.

Doing Doughnuts with an old friend in Portugal

Roskilde - Afterwards

So I got back from Roskilde two days ago, dead tired, but welcomed by my family congratulating me to my 18th birthday. Party decoration adorned the walls and presents laid waiting on the kitchen table.  I couldn't have imagined a more welcome reception to the real world from the veritable anarchy that was Roskilde.  

In fact, Roskilde is where I actually celebrated my birthday which is on the 7th of July.  I went over to the 7th during a Metallica concert at the Orange Stage which was incredible.  Heavy Metal isn't my usual choice of music, however they could put on a fantastic show, incorporating spurting flames and fireworks. It was no doubt better than Rihanna the night before.  Her performance seemed unauthentic and she had virtually no stage presence, whereas Metallica seemed more genuine and ironically, younger than the 25 year old Barbadian.  Otherwise, I saw (among others) Baauer, Kendrick Lamar, Slipknot and Kraftwerk. Of these, I found Baauer to be one of my favorite because of the enthusiastic crowd and the addictive resonating bass that embodies trap. We we're also able to get hands on tickets to a Green Day concert on Copenhagen on the 2nd of July. They played on a huge stage set up next to what seemed to be an abandoned factory during a beautiful sunset that shone on the crowd. Being part of the jumping crowd singing along to 'Holiday' was simply amazing.

The festival itself was something out of this world.  Simply arriving at the queue to our entrance was a sight to behold in its own right.  Hundreds of eager festival goers were collected in front of the gates waiting with not only with their belongings and camping equipment, but the stacks and stacks of cases of beer as well as the enormous home made loudspeakers on wheels they brought with them.  Most had already been waiting since the morning, if not the day before and were already drunk. Once the gates opened at 18:00 people stormed into the campsite in a hurried frenzy to secure a spot to set up camp for the next week.  Because there were only four of us, were we able to find a spot inside a designated tent area in a relatively good, centrally located spot - our precise location was called L91.

The days would consist of drinking with others or walking around the enormous area and discover the incredible things people would be doing.  For example, in the area known as Dream City, we walked passed the Waldo camp to find a talent show taking place.  However, the talents that people were performing were in fact stripping naked, unfortunately, this was only being done by the men.  One of the most impressive of these strips was done by a man who, as he was taking his clothes off and giving a lap dance to a girl, chugged a bottle of the Danish, "Fiske"; a sort of liquorice vodka popular in Denmark. The fantastic thing is that after all this alcohol, people don't become molesting or too rowdy as this would be a breach of the 'Festival Contract', embodied in the 'orange feeling'.

During the day, drinking is characterized by a game called beer bowling and just sitting together under a pavilion in camping chairs.  In the night however, the fields of Roskilde turn into one enormous outdoor club.  Powerful homemade speakers boom the latest dance music and function as magnets for people to come and party.  The loudest speakers have the largest parties, some probably have over 100 people at a time. One of the biggest of these parties is located in the "Dome" in the center of Dream City.  One camp will roll their speakers inside and entertain the probably up to 200 people with their music in combination with the lights built into the structure. Its a club inside the festival where there is  no lack of alcohol or beautiful Danish girls. While we were there, we began to notice that all of the main party camps were in "West", the western zone of the camp. One night, we went there and headed to the skate park. There was an enormous concert taking place! We had no idea who was playing until later in the concert when we discovered that it was some of Denmark's leading dancehall artists. Due to the large crowd, I actually didn't get to see very much of them.  That is, until Raske Penge jumped onto a loudspeaker and started rapping while making the crowd go wild!

Roskilde was amazing.  It was my first festival and I can say that it won't be my last.  I love the vibe, the people and the freedom it provides to just do anything without any concerns.  Most people don't even have to worry about their tent because the vast majority actually leave theirs standing.

The very last night was actually quite weird. I would say that only 10% of festival goers actually remain Sunday to Monday.  This means that for those 10%, it is time to loot.  Many went around rummaging through abandoned camps looking for alcohol or anything else that they could possibly use. To my amazement, this was actually incredibly easy to do.  People came back with large amounts of beer seemingly forgotten next to destroyed tents, wet from piss. While this does result in a final night of fun, the air of the festival is quite depressing.  Most of the food stalls are closed because their supply is finished, there is very little music playing, and of course, hardly anyone is there! So this last night was ironically quite sobering and seemed to say, "You have had enough."

Nonetheless, lessons for my next festival:

1. Bring a large group of friends and know people in other camps. This way you will never become bored of anyone.  In addition, it will become much easier to find good parties to go to at night, or where the fun is during the day.
2. Don't go out to eat.  Yes, Gringo Nachos were amazing, but damn they were expensive! I would say that one prepared meal a day is worth it, but the money really adds up.  To be economical in a festival, one has to eat a lot of Makrel eller leverpostej me rugbrød (Mackerel or liver pate with rye bread).
3. Bring more beer beforehand or purchase it outside the campsite.  A case of beer at the camp costed 190 Danish Crowns.  Outside of the festival, beer can be bought for almost half the price.

Can't wait till next time!

Roskilde

Tomorrow I am going to be leaving for Denmark to attend the infamous Roskilde Festival with my friends Anton Michalski, Julie Hauge and Christoffer Eriksson to be joined later by Marcus Pernow.  The plan is to first stay in a hostel for two nights to see Copenhagen and only on Sunday join the fellow festival goers in Roskilde.  It will be quite the experience as I have never been to a festival, let alone one that lasts 8 days! There will be a lot of beer and bad food but that's all part of the experience.  In fact, I will be celebrating my 18th birthday amidst the 60,000 people collected at the Orange stage listening to the likes of Queen of the Stone Age and Kraftwerk. It will be amazing and I am really excited.

The Idea of Community and Belonging

I am currently in Mainz-Finthen Germany to visit family, but even more importantly, to celebrate my mother's 50th birthday.  Finthen is a village of approximately 14,000 people, a few km away from the provincial capital, Mainz.  On a bike excursion  with my grandfather today, I would realize just how provincial my ancestral homeland truly is. As we went along our usual route, my grandfather decided to  take a different path home and turned into a gated trailer park. Previously I had only biked passed the place and understood it as a vacation destination because of the lakes that the trailers are settled around.  However, I was astonished to find that these were in fact permanent homes that gave the impression of such overt distance to the outside world that I came to realize just how absurdly contrasted lives even in the western world can be.

For the first time I saw flagpoles waving the German flag shamelessly. Flags are virtually nonexistent in the area where my granparents live.  German society is still largely unprepared to demonstrate their nationality openly.  Nevertheless, a sense of belonging in such a community seems to be the guiding purpose of its existence that fills a spiritual gap that their economic position may not fill. Nonetheless, perhaps even more vital to such a community than nationality, was the unquestionable allegiance to football clubs. Waving underneath, and on rare occasion even above the German flag, the banner of the household's team flew proudly.

I am evaluating an entire community simply from the brief encounter upon a bicycle and therefore all I say are mere presumptions. Yet despite my observations and the apparent economic condition, the atmosphere of the community felt content. It was clean, there was no evidence of graffiti or other vandalism, and on first glance the people seemed happy.  Perhaps this is because, above any other belonging, lies that for the community.  The community supports itself. I feel that people who live in such a secluded cove can find a much greater sense of contentment than anyone living in a city. The pace of life is slow and the people are friendly.  It is in fact reminiscent of a tribal society. They are of a greater clan (Germany), but their loyalty is always to their family and community. I feel that in such a society, cases of depression are far lower because the elements that create depression do not exist.  Some of the people living there might not even do so because of economic reasons but perhaps even spiritual reasons because they simply cannot follow with the world outside the trailer park gates. 

Freedom

"Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility"

-Sigmund Freud

With these words in mind I would like to discuss a few things about freedom and the potential conflicts I might have with my own long awaited liberation during my Gap Year.  In the grand scheme of things I will inevitably have to move away from my parents and become responsible over myself if I wish to live normally.   In my gap year and the ensuing years in university, I will largely live independent from my parents, and yet, I will still remain largely dependent on them financially until I find secure income.   In terms of financial freedom, 18 is hardly an age to look forward to.  But is that not a good thing, if we actually don't want to have responsibility as Freud states?  

I find any freedom from outside sources to be a profound check of self determination and liberty. Yet with each freedom I gain it seems another link is attached to my chain, but it is a chain that is attached to my own post and not that of my parents or anybody else.  Freedom means buying my own food, cooking for myself, washing my clothes, cleaning the house and getting to places on my own. When one puts freedom into context it become decreasingly appetizing.

However, what I find my largest challenge will be in freedom, will be to prevent myself from wasting away in a state of procrastinating stasis.  My gap year cannot be an extended holiday.  If it does, I will lose all interest  and passion for activity I might have had to begin with.  Sleeping into the late morning and doing virtually nothing can only be satisfying for a short period of time until it becomes a trap for the apathetic.  

In my gap year, I hope to always keep busy with something so that I never really have nothing on my mind - because in that case I know I have lost. I can keep busy through writing blog posts, reading, biking, joining sport teams and many other things but certainly not putting countless hours into mindless internet dawdling.

Budapest

Yesterday I returned to Sweden from a three night class trip to Budapest. It was certainly a lot of fun and I have a feeling that I may return to Budapest sooner or later...

Anyways, we arrived on the 26th and would promptly visit the Fisherman's Bastion to have an incredible view over the city (see picture on the right).  To the left of my right shoulder is the famous Budapest parliament.  The detail is stunning.

Afterwards, we continued on our bus to the Atlas Hotel.  Already on the way from the airport, we became aware of the large disparities of wealth between Hungary and Sweden.  The road our hotel was situated on was rather poor. When looking from the window in my room we could witness one alcoholic after the other stumbling by as the communist era trams made a racket as they rolled past.

Among the sights we visited over the days there were the Gellert Baths, the City Center, The Jewish Quarter, the Dohant Street Synagogue and the Holocaust Museum. Below are some photos from the trip.

The Royal Palace

One of the greatest things about the trip was that the teachers were very relaxed and we had a lot of independence.  All they really did was (poorly) lead the way to the sights and show us the area where we could choose where to have dinner.  Otherwise there were plenty of opportunities to discover Budapest for ourselves which made it a much better experience.

Inside the Dohant Street Synagogue

The list of names at the Holocaust Museum

The First Day of my Gap Year!

My last IB exam has come and gone and I am free! Free of worry and free of routine! Today is the first day of my gap year and I intend to spend it with the utmost lack of productivity.  Here is me relaxing on my balcony on one of the counted days I remain in Sweden, and the first of 495 days until I begin at the University of Exeter.

Adventure lies ahead and I am excited. I have much planning to take care of, job applications to send but most importantly, fun to have. Nonetheless, posts during the summer will be limited as the majority of my activity will be during what would otherwise be the school year. In any case, gap year, here I come!

1st Post

Hello, my name is Daniel Kibsgaard.  I am finishing school this year but rather than going straight to university, I have decided to take a gap year.  As it stands, the plan is to live and work in Germany for a few months until the new year.  Afterwards, I will travel to Costa Rica to work in a microfinance NGO for up to three months while learning Spanish.  Ultimately, I will go to Addis Ababa to work as a journalist for approximately three months as well.  The latter two will be organized through a company called Projects Abroad.  Following my time in Ethiopia, I would like to journey down to Mt. Kilimanjaro via overland route to really experience adventure to the fullest. That said, these plans, in particular Costa Rica and Ethiopia are still subject to change to whatever circumstance or interest may lead them.

Update 23/06/2014:

As the posts of my gap year have shown, I never went to Costa Rica. Instead I decided to go to Malaga, Spain to focus only on learning Spanish through a language school called Cervantes. In hindsight I feel I made the right choice because of all the great friends I made, the experiences I had and the fact that I became nearly fluent in Spanish!