I had a great weekend

Friday was a day of normal work, but filled with great anticipation. The first celebratory event observed for my birthday was a lunch of raclette. This was done on Friday, because I was leaving later in the afternoon to go to Basel and then on to an Intermenno committee meeting in Germany for the weekend. Throughout the week I'd been getting envelopes in the mail from relatives and friends from church. The eating of raclette sometimes involves long pauses, so I was able to open my cards as we were eating. I got some recipes along with many well-wishes. Thanks to everyone who sent cards!

Here are some pictures of the meal with the family gathered around the table. From left, Jara, Maya, Salome and Dirk:



Me with my cards. (I got more when I got back from the weekend today.)



Maya asked me earlier in the week what kind of cake I wanted. My traditional birthday cake is a Buttermilk Chocolate Cake, first made by Grandma Friesen. I emailed my mom and she obliged with the recipe. Here's Maya's quite tasty result, with Tim:



I was off Friday after work to Basel, where Debbie (Swiss Committee Member and officially one of the coolest people ever) had promised a meal of chicken fajitas. She and Alyssa (other Swiss trainee) picked me up at the train station and the food was ready. They were very good! For dessert, she asked me what kind of cake I'd like and my response to her was something chocolaty with cherries. She produced Chocolate Cherry Kirch (cherry liquor) Cupcakes. Splendid! After the meal they gave me a package. Inside was a cookbook full of Swiss delicacies that I will attempt to reproduce and an apron. The apron is a 'professional' model that many waitresses and cooks wear in Europe. It's black. The evening, like all the evenings over the weekend, was fulled with wonderful conversation. We didn't go to bed until 2 am.

Debbie and I were up the next day for our 5:27 train toward Krefeld, site of the meeting. The train ride was uneventful and we were in Krefeld before lunch. The meeting began soon after lunch. This was a joint meeting between the Dutch and German/Swiss committees with the main focus being the selecting of trainees for next year.

As my last post stated, I turned 22 on Saturday. This did not go unnoticed by the committee. At lunch there were two presents at my place at the table. Awhile ago Debbie asked me what my shoe size was and led me to believe that she had found some awesome shoes. It ended up that she was doing reconnaissance work for some Dutch people. I now have a pair of authentic Dutch clogs. The German committee gave me a German soccer scarf with "DEUTSCHLAND" in large letters. Both are super swell!

Sadly, the number of applications have steadily gone down, from 100 many years ago, to 40 a couple years ago, 30 last year, and 20 this year. This fact made for a depressing meeting. We were only able to accept about 15 of the applicants. With such a small number, it is not feasible to split up the trainees. Next year, all of the trainees will come to either Germany or Switzerland, with none going to the Netherlands. Hopefully with some advertising and more vigorous word of mouth, the number of applicants will rise and things will be fine. However, if numbers keep dwindling, the program will end after the next year. So: current and former trainees who read this, do your share and help advertise! It is too late for this year, but keep talking about it and save Intermenno!

The meeting lasted well into the evening and for an hour or two after supper. In need of a happy pick-me-up, we played games like Pictionary all night. I went to bed about 3 am. After breakfast at 8:45 on Sunday, we all headed to the train station and unknowingly embarked on what would be a most excellent adventure.

We had two ICE (super fast train, 300 km/h or 186 mph) connections. One leg was between Duisburg and Mannheim. This includes a stretch between Cologne and Frankfurt where the train is able to reach 300 km/h. There were four of us on the train, but only two of us had reservations, which were at the very back of the train. Our seats looked backward into what would be the 'cockpit'. The glass was fogged up and were thinking how cool it would be if we could see out the back of the train. That thought then evolved to us wishing that we were at the front of the train. When the ticket checker came by, this remark was restated. She replied that in Cologne, the train would change directions and we'd be at the front.

Debbie, being the cool person that she is, asked the driver when he got on in Cologne if I could have my picture taken in the seat. He said sure, but only after he'd gotten his 'preflight' finished. While this was happening he pushed a button and the fogged glass separating us from him suddenly turned clear. I thought something like that could only happen in Star Trek. Then he waved us in and I got to sit at the controls. I don't have the pictures quite yet, but they'll get posted. Then he left the door open and we were able to ride in the cockpit from Cologne til we got off in Mannheim. He was explaining all the controls and screens while we were taking pictures. It was great to be able to see where the train was going and not just out the sides.

Eventually Debbie and I made it back to Basel. I decided to take today off and observe the Fasnacht celebrations. This meant I didn't have to rush back to Hemberg and spend most of my waking hours on Sunday on a train. Alyssa was back for supper and Crystal, the trainee who is in Wintersheim, came down to see what all the Fasnacht hubbub was about. The Dettweiler's hadn't forgotten about my birthday and sent a bottle of my favorite wine with Crystal, who made me guess what they sent, which I did on the first try.

We were attending the Morgastraich, or the beginning of Fasnacht. Precisely at 4 am, the lights to the street are cut. There are different groups that participate. Each group is made up of piccolo players, drummers, and people who pull giant lanterns (sadly no fire). Painted on the lanterns are normally things of political importance. In 2003, Bush was a popular face. This year it was Obama. At 4 am they all take to the streets and march, playing different melodies on the piccolos and from what I could tell they just walked. And walked. Everybody in the group is in a costume and wearing a hat with a lantern on it. I actually wasn't too enthralled by it. Perhaps it was the fact of staying up all night and getting to bed by 6. I wasn't too impressed. Here are some unimpressive pictures:





4 am, the lights are cut:


This morning, as in 1 pm, Debbie made the four of us an awesome breakfast of rösti, eggs and pancakes. Then we chatted for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to take our trains back home.

In retrospect, this was one of my more memorable birthday weekends. Perhaps because it was the first one spent without any family. There were people who made sure that my birthday did not go unnoticed and that made my spirits even higher than they already are.

Until next time,
Jon