Essen und Fressen
Before I get to what I would like to talk about, that being food here, I have to explain the title. My grandma didn’t speak German, but before every meal, she would always say, “It’s time to eat! Essen und Fressen!” Both words mean, “to eat” in German, but “essen” is the word used to describe people eating, and “fressen” is to describe animals eating. In other words, when my grandma said this, it was always sort of a joke making fun of us, like some in my family ate like people and others like animals. It also highlights the differences in languages in a humorous manner.
Ah yes, food in Germany. I have really enjoyed it. One of the things I wish America had was Döner. It is a sort of sandwich, and the meat can be either beef or chicken, cooked on a vertical spit (similar to shawarma), shaved off the spit with a knife, and it all goes in a bread pocket with salad and savory sauces. I could definitely eat this for the rest of my life. This is a very unique part of German culture, since Döner came with the influx of Turkish immigrant workers after the World War II. It was popularized by the Germans, but comes from the Turks. A decent comparison to this food phenom would be pizza in America and Italy in the sense that America really took pizza and made it its own. There is pizza in Italy and Döner in Turkey but (I’m told) that there isn’t a whole lot of Döner places in Turkey, and the pizza in Italy (I’m also told) is not quite like American pizza.
Another aspect of German food is their sweets and baked goods. I was always more of a savory guy, not much of a sweet tooth, but in Germany, their sweets always hit the spot and I never feel bad eating baked goods. Part of this change is due to the fact that much of the bread here is very light and probably healthier than the U.S. Another reason why you can see me eating a lot of candy in Germany is because they use cane sugar in most of their sweets, as opposed to high fructose corn syrup in many American candies. It makes a huge difference! Cane sugar just taste better and more real than the other stuff. Even the sodas (pop) use cane sugar, and they are all way more delicious than what I am used to in the U.S.
One drawback is that meat is very expensive in Germany, and sometimes people will just skip that part at restaurants or at homes. It took me some time to get used to this, but I realize that not much meat is needed in a healthy diet, and I think that Americans, in many areas of life, go overboard with it since we have been incredibly blessed with a fruitful land. I would say that the food of Germany (and a few other things) has taught me how wasteful Americans can be sometimes, and I never really thought about it before.
All of the Lights (In Here Baby)
Happy Christmas! Or if you are reading this in America, Merry Christmas! Without the Thanksgiving buffer, I’ve been hearing Mariah Carey echoing through pedicabs across London since the minute Halloween was over. They do have Black Friday here, though. How could you turn down a marketing opportunity like that? Still, the minute those first Christmas lights turn on overhead the streets of central London on November 2nd, Christmas season is officially a go, and there is no longer a place for Ebenezers to hide. I had the privilege of experiencing both Thanksgiving and Christmas in one weekend. Last Saturday, I spent Thanksgiving with the families of Ben and Abby Hillmer. There was a welcome mix of British and American folk, which led to my second take after hearing “what kind of pie is this?” being uttered about pumpkin pie. Regardless, the pumpkin pie received raving reviews from the first-timers, such as, “it’s like baby food, but good baby food.” I honestly couldn’t describe pumpkin pie better myself.
The next day, Abby, Ben, and I hit the streets of central London on a mission to conquer as many Christmas markets as humanly possible. To distill this trip into a digestible format, I have ranked these markets from least great to most great (this will come in handy to anyone visiting The Big Smoke this holiday season).
6. Southbank- Despite being the nearest market to Big Ben and the London Eye, this is pretty standard market fare. However, here you will find the best ever spot for a Christmas picture in all of London, according to my extensive research. Abby and Ben pictured above make a wonderful example of this.
5. Jubilee (Best Art and Prints)- Don’t stand around waiting for the street performers to do something cool after they talk about doing something cool for 20 minutes straight. Do stand around wondering if you should give into your bizarre urge to buy that David Bowie collage made of comic book scraps.
4. Trafalgar Square- When we passed the stand of “chocolate kisses,” we all mentally agreed that we had to explore these intriguing balls of chocolate. What could be inside? These bad boys put Hershey’s to shame with a face-full of marshmallow fluff stuffed inside their hard chocolate shell. Depending who you are, these will be either the least or most appealing things ever.
3. Covent Garden (Best Decorations, Most Crowded)- Look at those bells! So big! Look at those ornaments! Also big! Weigh out the risk of snapping some pics of those massive ceiling decorations (pictured), if it means stopping the entire flow of foot traffic behind you. Get that Instagram content fast or face the mob!
2. Christmas By the River (Best Food)- The fact that this market is almost entirely food is both a blessing and a curse. From rainbow-colored burgers to fried bananas, the amount of options can be a bit overwhelming. My advice is to divide and conquer. Everybody gets something different, everybody shares (the caveat: this does not work with greedy people).
1. Leicester Square (Coziest, Most Christmas-y, Most German)- If Leicester Square’s dubious West End ticket resale stands or probably-a-money-laundering-scheme American candy shops didn’t tickle your fancy, Leicester’s Christmas market is sure to! Whether you are craving an authentic German bratwurst or just a whiff of that impossible-to-describe, but universally known “Christmas smell,” this gated-in market is the place for you!
I wish you all blessings this Advent season!
Cheers, Joe
Long Walk with Benjamin
This past weekend I visited Dresden, and boy was it a wonderful experience!
The biggest reason I wanted to go to Dresden was because I wanted to visit the Drechsler family. I was due to go to Germany on Project Timothy in high school, however, the country was closed at the time to visitors. And because I didn’t go on Project Timothy to Germany, I jumped at the opportunity given me through MLC to finally go to Germany. This was also one of my personal goals: to meet Pastor Drechsler and his family, since my German teacher in high school was a very good friend of his.
However, the family was hosting another pastoral student, like me. He approached me right before the church service, and we struck up a conversation. His name was Benjamin, and he was in his third year of study, and Pastor is his mentor. After the service, Mrs. Drechsler needed time to prepare a meal, and so Benjamin and I went on a very long walk. Side note: This is a very common German pastime, and I will say that many German cities are perfect for long walks. Usually, these walks have no end goal in mind, just a way to clear the mind and get some fresh air.
As we walked and talked, we discussed things that not everyone our age is able to relate to, such as the serious nature of our future work, yet also the beauty of it. I asked the big question: Why made you decide to become a pastor? He began with his experience of the issue many have had: what to do with their life. He grew up going to church, and after he met another pastor at a Bible Camp who told him to try the public ministry, he decided to give the ministry a try. I think that with Pastor Drechsler as a mentor, Benjamin will make a fine worker one day, and I hope to meet him again someday because he was a very insightful man and really smart, too. Of course, we connected over the difficulty of the languages but also, maybe not consciously, reminded each other of the nature of our work. This is done at SPaM meetings at MLC, and since I am missing the meetings this semester, it was awesome to have a small one of my own.
I am super happy to have meet the Drechslers finally, they are truly a wonderful family.
Here are some picture fromLondon and Dresden
Kind of a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but if you look closely here you’ll see Ted Lasso
You know it, you love it, it’s the Frauenkirche
The Old City of Dresden
An Interview With Ehsan
One of the many blessings of being in London is getting to experience its diversity. There are people from all walks of life here, each person with a unique background. One of the closest friends that I have made in London is Ehsan, who grew up in Shiraz, Iran. We have been talking since the first day we arrived and throughout our conversations and in the interview I conducted with him today, I have learned a great deal about what life was like for him in Iran and how during his experience in London, he has been undergoing a culture shock of his own.
The greatest difference between Iran and the U.K. that Ehsan pointed to was that the people of the U.K. are allowed much more freedom in all aspects of life. For one, the Iranian government strictly prohibits the practice of religions outside of Islam. Converts from Islam can be punished by execution without the right to appear before a court, despite there being an established court system in Iran. In keeping with Muslim tradition, there are many restrictions in the clothing that one can wear in Iran. Ehsan pointed out that while some of these restrictions are on men– they are not allowed to have tattoos or to show their arms or legs in a work setting– the majority of the laws are specific to women. They must cover their arms, legs, and hair at all times with a hijab, so as to not be a distraction to the men. Free speech is also limited in Iran, as its people are prohibited to criticize the government.
Besides these more obvious changes, Ehsan has noticed some differences in his social life. While in the U.K. it is normal to decline someone’s offer of food, Ehsan was taken aback that people would decline his offers, as in Iran, it is not considered polite. He also noticed that people in the U.K. are more likely to talk to strangers in Iran, which was a very interesting perspective to me because when compared to the U.S., the U.K. seemed more reserved in that sense. Ehsan said that when you do talk to people in Iran, it’s not common to express your emotions. Most people put up a front when they are in public. Still, Ehsan has incredibly close relationships with his friends back home, which is something that he misses.
When I asked Ehsan about what else he misses from Iran, he was fixated on food. His absolute favorite dish, which his mom would often make, is tahchin. It appears almost like a cake, baked with rice and eggs, filled with chicken, and topped with tart barberries. The dish that he left me craving the most was faloodeh, a dessert that looks like noodles, which are actually made of a sorbet-like frozen syrup. It is also very common, he told me, to eat koobideh, a lamb or beef kebab served with rice and grilled tomatoes.
One of Ehsan’s family traditions is to grill koobideh on seezdah be de. This day is the last of the 13 day-long holiday of Nowruz. Nowruz is celebrated from the first day of the spring equinox onward, as this is where the Persian calendar starts. It is similar to the U.S. New Years, and is the most popular holiday celebrated in Iran. On the final day of Nowruz, seezdah be de, it is custom to spend the day out in nature, to dispel any negativity out of your life. Ehsan’s family likes to hike, or to play football and volleyball during this time. Another fun tradition of this day is to tie a piece of grass and make a wish.
My interview with Ehsan has challenged me to approach every person with a grain of salt, without making assumptions that their expectations in social situations are the same as mine. I hope that my relationship with Ehsan continues to grow!
German Gymnasium
I will apologize for the title….this is another name for advanced schooling in Germany, similar to a Master’s program in the U.S. It is NOT a place where basketball is played; I just wanted a cool sounding title.
I do not get a good taste of German schooling, since I am in a study abroad program, but here is what my schedule is like. I am only in 12 credits’ worth of classes, per MLC’s wishes. I have two subject courses on Monday and Tuesday. Each class lasts two and a half hours and sometimes they are pretty brutal. BUT they are only once a week, so it is not that bad. I also take Intensive German four days a week, Monday to Thursday. These classes are three hour long language classes, but these go very quick since, at my German level, we mostly spend our time talking about personal experiences and current events. It is nice to finally practice speaking German for a long time, which is one of the main reasons I wanted to go. It is very different from classes at MLC.
One thing that was difficult for me was the tests. The German test was quite simple, but for the subject courses I found it hard, since we only had class once a week and the learning for each class was all in the readings that we must have completed prior to each class. I had to write two 2 page essays for each class, four altogether, from questions given to me before the test. I could prepare somewhat for these, but this kind of testing I had never done before, so I was insanely nervous. This also was pretty much the only grades for these subject courses, so a lot was riding on these tests. It was not as hard as I thought to write two pages’ worth of essay, but it was still difficult and took over an hour and a half each time.
From what I learned from my fellow students who go to bigger universities, this is pretty normal as far as expectations in academia go.
What was also difficult, and this is something I really haven’t experienced either, is the lack of interest in the course. This was only for one of my subject courses, but the lack of interest makes it hard to get any sort of work done. Since I haven’t experienced this at MLC, I take this as a good sign in our college’s education. I know what MLC teaches will be important later on.
Also, here are some pics from my time in Warsaw!
Kielbasa (Polish Sausage), Me at the top of the Palace of Culture and Science, (The purple building below), and the skyline of Warsaw, or at least what it looked like most of my visit.
