Return with the Boon

This will likely be my last post. I'm sad and excited to return to the states next week on August 25. Sad because leaving Germany means this great adventure for me is over. I will look back on this season and remember the best stories and the ways this experience has forever shaped me. And I do believe leaving the comfortable and taking risks are the times that change us most. There are also a number of relationships that I hate to leave behind including, most prominently, my host family. The Gade family members have become close friends and I fully expect and hope my relationship with them will continue. But their friendship as well as other friendships here in Germany will always be different. So there is some real sorrow as I leave this place.

On the other hand, I CAN'T WAIT to get home! There's an anticipation like nothing I've ever felt about putting all my belongings on a plane and flying back to my country. It's hard to explain. It must be a combination between American food, the English language, my closest friends, and my mom's cooking. In any case, I'm definitely celebrating the return as I mourn the departure.

Plus the return home is a necessary component of the hero's journey. As some of you know, I became very intrigued about the heroic quest--one of the oldest and most common themes in literature--shortly before I came to Germany. And I quickly tried to use the hero journey language to describe my experience. Far fetched I know, but it was fun for me to view this season as a kind of quest. Without boring you with many details about the journey (which I could easily do), I'll just say the last part of a hero's journey is the return to his homeland with the boon. The boon represents some heightened conscience or special knowledge that the hero then delivers to his society in order to enlighten or improve their culture in some way. All that to say, I have to come home if I want to be a hero!

The door is still open about coming back next year. The Diamonds have been gracious and dependable my whole time here and I would feel very comfortable coming back to work with their organization. Berlitz has also offered me a teaching position if I choose to return. But this decision will wait for a few months. I need to go home a get some removed perspective.

The football season is almost over and I think we'll finish the season above .500. We're 7-6 with one game left against a team we've already beat. It should put us in position to finish 3rd in the division--not a bad way to finish considering our difficult start.

Many thanks to those who have followed my journey through this blog. My apologies (again) for the inexcusable delay between posts. There's really no excuse--I was in the states for a week on family vacation and had my brother here for another week but mostly it's just been a lapse in discipline.

I hope you are well. God bless!
Ryan

Family Makes Everything Better

I write this a week after my parents visited for six days. It was so wonderful to have them here--to show them a bit of my world. It's moments like these that make me homesick though--not because I'm having a rotten time here. I'm still having a fabulous time. I'm beginning to realize though that I enjoy this beautiful place and interesting experience most when I share it with the people closest to me. So my parents' visit as well as my friends' visit earlier in the Spring are among my favorite moments in Germany. Here's a picture of my host family and with the parents.

We finished their week with a football win on Sunday and a trip to

Heidelberg on Monday. And then on Tuesday morning, I drove them to the airport and said goodbye. I've posted several pictures from various places The photo above is a castle from our trip down the Rhine River.

Another significant part of my life the last month or so has been my work at Berlitz Language School. It's been a wonderful job so far. Teaching here is rewarding for a few reasons. First, I love seeing the development of students--their comprehension of the English language and their growing confidence to speak. Also, you get to develop good relationships with these people. I teach almost exclusively adults and get to hear their life stories about family, career, etc. Last Friday I went to a Mongolian grill with ten students and a few teachers just to hang out.

Berlitz in Darmstadt is really booming right now with business. On my first day teaching (the day after my Visa arrived), I was scheduled for only an afternoon class. I received a call, however, that morning at 8 am asking if I could hustle into town to teach at 9:45. I was planning on spending the morning preparing for my afternoon lesson, but I hopped into the classroom barely knowing the material and pretending to be prepared. I don't think Berlitz was cruel enough to plan it this way, but I actually learned most quickly and probably most efficiently like this--out of necessity with no time for anxiety.

The other pictures come from the football game (Dad got a free sideline's pass), Heidelberg and the Martin Luther memorial in Worms. What a good looking couple, huh?

Miss all of you. God bless!

Ryan

Quick Post

My parents are currently visiting and I'll tell a fuller story of their visit after they leave and I have some longer moments to write. But in short, it's so refreshing to see them and very funny to see them asking the same questions I asked when first arriving. "Why is all the water carbonated?" "Where can you find ice?" "Do people always drive this crazy?" And to my surprise, I can answer most of their questions--having them around has made me realize how much I've actually learned about the language and culture.

So far we've been to the Gutenberg Museum and the absolutely stunning cathedral in Mainz, a few public parks and historic pedestrian area in Wiesbaden, the castles and vineyards along the Rhine River during our cruise, St. Peter's cathedral and the Martin Luther memorial in Worms, a preserved medeival area in Ladenburg, the Frankenstein castle, and some sights in downtown Darmstadt of course. It seems like a lot as I write it, but our time hasn't felt rushed at all--a relaxed and enjoyable pace. I'll attach some pictures soon.

In football, we dropped our game last weekend against Wiesbaden 20-24. We simply ran out of time. The offense scored everytime we had the ball in the second half, but we only had the ball three times. This also means we only started playing in the second half--down 14-0 at halftime. Hoping to put together a more complete game tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks for love, prayers and support. God bless!
Ryan

Pictures from Berlin

Instead of a long post, I thought I would comment on a number of pictures--the most interesting or moving or eye-grabbing of my visit to Berlin. I traveled there to visit Zach, a teammate from Davidson.

Below is the first building that I saw when I stepped out of the train station. As you can see, the top still bears the effect of WWII bombing and one side also has noticeable damage. It was never repaired--to remind the city of the war's devastation. About 90% of the buildings in the city were destroyed!

Here is the main German capital building. It's an impressive structure, famous for its glass dome protruding from the center section. Tourists can walk to the top, but I was a bit to impatient to wait in line. There was more of the city I had to see!

Fortunately, not every building was destroyed during WWII. This beautiful cathedral suffered only minor damage. The affected areas were restored and the cathedral looks as it did before the war--magnificent.

This is one side of the Russian political headquarters used while they occupied East Berlin after the war. The Russians painted this pro-Communist mural when they took over the building. Notice the worker and the authority (politician or boss) are exactly the same height. Universal equality is definitely a Communist ideal. What makes this terribly ironic is that the style closely resembles American realism. So basically the Russians use an American art form to promote communism (I didn't think of all that myself--the tour guide filled us in).

This is the famous Checkpoint Charlie. It was a major American checkpoint on the border of East and West Berlin. I took this picture from right about where the Berlin wall once stood. It's an absolutely fascinating city history and hard to believe that the wall came down only 20 years ago!

Zach and I visited a rebuilt concentration camp and museum in Sachsenhausen, just north of Berlin. It really is a sobering moment to walk through the camp and see pictures of what happened there. It's horribly uncomfortable but necessary to remember this history. I think knowing it is one of the best defenses against Fascism in the future. Let's tell this story so it never happens again!

Here's what remains of the crematory ovens--used to burn thousands of bodies. This was the most moving thing to see for me.

Zach and I also went to the Jewish Museum at Berlin. It was not just about the Holocaust but about the full history of the Jewish people. I took many pictures but found this quote particularly moving. It comes from a leading doctor of Hitler's effort in eugenics--killing off or sterilyzing whoever doctors deemed unfit for reproduction.

This weekend we play Weisbaden, the only undefeated team left in our division. With a week's rest, we should be up for the challenge.

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God bless!

Ryan

Gaining some momentum

Since my last post, we've played two games--against probably the best and worst team in our division. Last weekend against the Franken Knights, we started the 4th quarter down 21-0 before our offense finally came alive. We scored two quick touchdowns and got the ball back with two minutes left down 13-21. A high snap and interception on the last play of the game made the final outcome 35-13 but it was much closer game than the score indicates.

And the offensive momentum from the fourth quarter of last week carried over into the game on Saturday. We won 63-0. Let me repeat that in case you missed it. 63-0!! I've never been involved in such a lopsided match. Simply put, everything worked--on offense and defense. And in the rare case when something broke down of offense, we improvised--almost always successfully. It must have been one of the hottest days of the year on Saturday. The burn marks on my arms start right where my jersey ends. It reminds me of my pre-season days in Davidson, baking in the Carolina sun.

One of the unexpected surprises of the season for me is running the football more often. I haven't since my high school days carried the ball myself like I am this year. It's been great. The picture I attached is me crossing the goaline for the first score of the game. Our record is now 3-3 and I continue to be optimistic about the direction of our team. We're healthy with a great defense, a powerful running attack, and an ever improving group of receivers. And we seem to having more fun--playing relaxed and growing more comfortable in our roles.

Some other great news to report: my Visa finally arrived!! So I start teaching English this week. While I've been waiting, I've been reading many books, writing, lifting weights, and trying to learn a bit of German. But I'm very exted to set down my books and start working.

I travel to Berlin next weekend to meet Zach, a teammate from Davidson. He'll show me around a bit of the city. It's been a few weeks without traveling so I'm excited to get out of Darmstadt for the weekend.

My German is picking up too. I probably understand 20-25% of what's said around me. In some contexts (like the football field) it's much higher. I still respond in English though so I speak much less than I understand. It's exciting to see this progress though.

Hope all is well! Please keep in touch--I'd love to hear from you too. God bless!

Ryan

Back to .500

Last weekend, our team got back to its winning ways with a 25-14 victory over Stutgart. Although we left some points on the field, the offense still put up over 20 points for the first time all season!! Yes, we must get better, but I'm still celebrating this improvement. Our record is now 2-2 heading into Saturday's matchup with the Franken Knights, one of the better teams in the division.

My time has slowed down lately. I'm getting more and more used to life here--the people, lifestyle, my own existence. I still feel very much like a foreigner but everything is not so unfamiliar and exciting like it was for the first month or so. My body has found a rhythm in the day to day which is a good thing.

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Last weekend was Darmstadt's annual Scholssgrabenfest. About five different stages were arranged around the downtown area. Live music blasted all night and about a million food tents served food from every nation you could imagine.

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Here are a few pictures from a motorcycle trip I took with Nico and Phillip. I sat behind Phillip on my first ride ever on a bike. We headed to a few places along the Rhine River. The river is only several miles from us but the closest bridge across it is probably around 25 miles away. Countless bridges including many along the Rhine were destroyed in WWII. Some that were close to us haven't been rebuilt and ferries have taken their place.

God Bless,

Ryan

Bavaria

Another bye week for the Diamonds so I travelled with Naso, a teammate, to his hometown of Burghausen in Bavaria. Naso is one of the most interesting guys on the team--a carpenter by trade and a member of the Diamonds for several years now. He lives fully in the present more than anyone I've ever met--the definition of spontaneity. I really like that he positions himself to enjoy life's moments as they come without worrying too much about an agenda. I mention this because it gives some insight into what my days in Bavaria looked like.

We originally intended to see Munich and a famous salt mine in Salzburg among other things, but we abandoned a plan altogether and visited whatever jumped in front of us. We didn't realize it until we arrived, but it turns out that Burghausen had their annual Folks Fest this weekend so we spent Thursday and Friday night with the locals. This was my first experience with these Fests that, from what I hear, make summers in Germany so much fun. Burghausen's Folks Fest was like a carnival and a theme-party rolled into one accompanied by live music and a huge beer tent. Almost everyone was wearing traditional German outfits--lederhosen for the men and dirndl for the women. I tried to sneak a few photos of these outfits. It was impossible for me to take these guys seriously.

On Friday, Naso and I visited the castle in Burghausen which is the largest castle complex in all of Europe. It overlooks the Salzach River which marks the border between Germany and Austria. The interesting thing about this castle is its usefulness today. Many of the castles I've visited in Germany serve no purpose beyond their historical significance and aesthetic qualities. But the castle in Burghausen has shops, restaurants, and even apartments for locals all built into the original structure. I can't think of a cooler place to live. Here is a picture of one end of the castle. It stretches over a kilometer long in the other direction.

Later on Friday, we saw the Chiemsee also known as the Bavarian Sea. The Alps standing at one end make it a beautiful sight but also cause unpredictable and often violent weather. We missed the worst part of it, but a huge hailstorm leveled the area minutes before we arrived. Here's a sample of the hail I'm talking about. It smashed a few car windows around us. But after such a storm, the skies left us with this picture.

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The weather eventually allowed for a great day at the lake. Naso's mother joined us and we took a ferry to a small island in the sea. We walked the island and had dinner before returning to Burghausen and the Folks Fest that night. Here's a shot from the island with the Alps in the background. There's still a bit of snow on the peaks.

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We play again this Saturday and should get a much needed win. I'm still waiting for my Visa to arrive so I can begin teaching. In the meantime, I'm reading, exercising, and still trying to explore different parts of the country.

God bless!