Last Minute Decisions

Late in the week I hadn't made any plans yet for the weekend, so I decided to see what Tim and Heidi were doing. They, along with Daniel and Nicole (new Americans in the Hausgemeinshaft), were going to Karlsruhe on Saturday for "Bierborse." It was swell, I think Tim said there were over 300 different beers there. You could buy a small, .1 liter glass and fill it for a euro at most of the stands.



This weekend, the family loaded up and went to a wedding Nurnburg, so I was left in Wintersheim to myself. That meant to go anywhere, I needed to get myself to the train station in Alsheim. I biked the 5 km to Alsheim with great ease because it's mainly downhill leading towards the Rhein. The ride back was hard, particularly because it was dark (9:30) and uphill. I was glad for the workout.

We had figured out the trains beforehand and, if everything had gone as scheduled, I would have been on the train when they got on in Heidelberg. As you could probably guess, thing's didn't go as scheduled as we were kicked off the train a few stops before Mannheim because apparently there were children playing on the tracks. This was a particularly confusing moment for me because, of course, everything's in German. I was left to look for a younger person, because they generally know at least some English. Luckily the folks I talked to also let me use their cell phone so I could call Tim and tell him they wouldn't be finding me on the train as we had so meticulously planned.

Eventually I arrived in Karlsruhe and found my way on a tram to the Marktplatz and Schloss, where the festival was.

I experienced something I have never experienced before on this trip, aside from never having been to Karlsruhe. I felt a nuisance bothering my left temple/sideburn area on my face, so naturally I brushed it away. However, this wasn't some little fly and when I brushed it away it decided to sting my middle finger on my left hand! Because I had never before been stung by anything, I didn't know whether my face would puff up and I wouldn't be able to breathe or if no allergic reaction would happen at all. Apparently I am not allergic to stings because I did not get lightheaded nor did my face get puffy. The only reaction was my finger swelling up a bit and hurting for awhile, also adding to the difficulty of the bike ride home. Here's my finger after the fact:



I can't end this entry with a disgusting picture of my finger, so here are some Gus pictures.





Until next time,
Jon

Recent happenings

Hello friends.

Right now, Heiko and I are watching Atletico Madrid (Spain) face Schalke 04 (Germany) in a qualification match for the Champions League. Although Heiko cheers for the team from Mainz, who is in the 2. Bundesliga, he cheers for any German team (except for Bayern) who are playing in an international competition. The Champions League takes the top two to four teams from each nation’s premiere league across Europe and pits them against each other. The competition lasts from the beginning of the season (two games ago) until the end of the season in May.

Earlier tonight, I played soccer for the second time with Heiko and people around his age, which is anywhere from 30 to 50. We play like we played indoor soccer at Hesston, where we don’t keep score and play until everyone was tired enough to agree that ‘next goal wins’. Last week I didn’t do so well, partly because I hadn’t played since our indoor times at Hesston, which is more than a year ago. Tonight though, I finally found some sort of a rhythm and was able to keep the game going, although I am definitely not in shape. Next week they have a game and you must be older than 30 to play, so I will join the guys my age tomorrow and next week on Tuesday and Friday.

Yesterday I had my first European driving experience. I was to follow Heiko from Wintersheim to Alzey (15 km) so he could return a van he had rented to drive to the Weinfest in Leer. The vehicle I drove was none other than the old Mercedes Sprinter. A stick-shift, top-heavy van. With a trailer. Things went relatively fine…I mean, I didn’t crash the Sprinter and no other vehicles crashed because of me. Although when we hit the first of a few traffic circles and had to stop, I stalled the van a handful of times. And another time when I thought it was right to downshift from third to second, I think I accidentally shifted from third to reverse and the whole van started to shake. Then I shifted from reverse to first and killed it again. Then we finally get to Alzey and Heiko needed to fill up the rented van with fuel before he returned it to the Mercedes dealership. Now, hills and stick-shifts don’t get along well with me quite yet, and to get to the filling station we had to make a left turn but wait for traffic, so I couldn’t quite coast into the filling station, but rather start uphill from a stand still. I killed it again a few times, pissing off some drivers behind me. Oh well, like I said before, nobody crashed and I didn’t wreck the van, so it was successful. Finally we pulled into the Mercedes dealership and Heiko took back the helm.

Today was a full day of work, which is good. I realized that after the first week I was working here that my back was sore and didn’t know why. Finally I figured that I was sore because of my inactive summer and not used to all the manual labor. Luckily after a few weeks I am getting used to the lifting of wine boxes and other random heavy things. This morning my job was to mow the backyard with an electric mower. Yes, I said electric. That meant that wherever I went, I had to always be aware of the electric cable. It also meant that it was very underpowered and very small, so I had to always reach in with my hand and clear the clippings whenever it got clogged. Mowing the backyard took me all the way until lunch, which was 4.5 hours. (Heiko is yelling at the TV in German because Schalke is wasting opportunities to score.) In the afternoon, I broke down boxes that we brought back from Leer and drove the forklift through town with a load of bottles that were unsortable to the recycling center. I always have fun breaking glass. Always.

Two years ago on the 25th of August, my girlfriend Jessica and I went to go see Ben Harper in Kansas City. It was after that first date that I could call her my girlfriend and also that the 25th of August will forever be a special day. Her birthday is three days later (tomorrow), so go ahead and wish her a happy birthday. I already did.

(Schalke is losing 0:4 and the game is in stoppage time.)

I like getting mail. So far I’ve gotten one letter (you know who you are). If you send me a letter I promise I’ll write you back. You can also leave your address as a comment, or, if you don’t feel comfortable letting the world see your address, you can send it to me via email to: handsareme@gmail.com. For those willing to send me mail first, just be sure to put your return address on it so I have your address. Don’t forget to put an airmail sticker or just write it on the envelope, then I get it quicker. Here’s my address:

Jon Huber
c/o Familie Dettweiler
Haupt. 11
D-67587 Wintersheim
GERMANY

(Schalke just got embarrassed, 0:4. Heiko is also asleep on the couch.)

Until next time,
Jon

Bammental Kerwe/Weinfest in Leer

Well, I'm sitting in a farmhouse in Ostfriesland, in the northern tip of Germany. I'll get to the Weinfest happenings later. Last weekend, I made the trip to Bammental to see my brother, Tim, and his family. My nephew, Gus, is growing every day and loves to roll around (no crawling yet!) and bite people.






Cute kid.

It was a good visit with them. I'm glad that they're close. We are within the same train service area, and it only costs me 5.80 one way to see them. I think that's relatively cheap.

This week, Heiko was preparing to go to a Weinfest in Leer. I had worked through the week thinking I was going to be staying in Wintersheim for the weekend, but on Wednesday evening Heiko asked if I wanted to come. I figured it would be a good (cheap) way to see the country. I had no idea what to expect. Heiko and I loaded up the Mercedes Sprinter with loads of wine and a trailer with a fair-like stall. When we got there, two of Heiko's cousins came and helped to construct the stall and get things ready for the festival, which was Friday and Saturday. The crowd was not of the younger type and I was surprised at how busy things were.
The stall:


The festival:




The weather here in Leer is much like Seattle. In fact today was the first day that it hasn't rained (yet). I was comfortable in a hoodie and jeans, although some were comfortable in work overalls, a t-shirt, and Birkenstock's:


Until next time,
Jon

Just a short update

Just thought I'd update you on my condition. The pills have started to work and I have been able to sleep through the night for a few nights in a row. I have been taking yeast pills to promote growth of bacteria in my intestines and silicon oxide pills, which taste like chalk.

Also, here some pictures. I've also added pictures to the previous entry, so scroll down to see more!

The dog's name is Riesling:


This is the courtyard. I live in the building on the right, third floor.


The views of the courtyard are from the entrance. The boxing/labeling room is on the left.


This is a big, old tower, where there is a bed and breakfast. It's not old inside.


I try to be artsy sometimes.

'Free Flowing' Possibilities

It all began in the Toronto Airport, at the Martinair check-in. I believe I was the second trainee in line and behind me were about five more. The son of one of the Dutch committee members had met us there and so our journey began. The flight was uneventful for the most part; I was sitting in my least favorite seat, which is the center seat. Upon landing at Amsterdam-Schipol Airport, clearing customs and getting our luggage, we were met by the leader of Intermenno, Johannes van der Meer:


We were then taken by bus to Mennorode, an absolutely gigantic place that none of us were expecting, especially in the middle of a huge forest in the Netherlands.



For those of you who don’t know, since June I have had an ongoing battle with what can best be described in as little detail as possible as Traveler’s Stomach. It’s not fun. Somehow I made it through all the flights unscathed. My roommate, Bryce from Bethel, somehow slept through all the times I awoke in the night. Nice guy.

Anyway, while at Mennorode, we had sessions as an entire group as well as split up as Dutch and German/Swiss trainees. We did most everything together and I can say that even though we had been together there for only three days, I have already made life-long friends from both the US and Canada. For the three days, we had language, culture, and traveling sessions. For some (not me) the traveling sessions were too much and many questions were asked while a lot of people sighed in disbelief. Much bonding was had though.



The first full day, I brought my condition to the attention of some of the committee members. I, however, was not the first casualty of the weekend as a certain individual felt a high amount of exhaustion. For a while, they believed that he had appendicitis, but after some sleep he was all right. Then it was my turn. This summer I had a knack for visiting doctors in such odd places as South Dakota. The Netherlands can be added to that list, and as of a few hours ago, so can Germany. The doctor in Holland listened to what I had to say and prescribed to me the very same thing I had already been taking, which wasn’t helping. Strike one. During this time, the committee members were always asking if I was improving, which I thought was good to hear even though my condition wasn’t improving.

On the night before we left for our placements, they had a coffeehouse where trainees shared their talents. I participated twice, both with my ukulele. First, Audra and I sang Beautiful Dawn by The Wailin’ Jennys. I think it went really well. Then Bryce and I played a song from A Mighty Wind. It didn’t go very well but it was fun nonetheless.

On Saturday, the time had come for us to board a train and head to our placements, mine being on the vineyard in Wintersheim. Aside from the many, many questions from the young first time travelers, this train ride was uneventful for me, much like the flight over. I was met in Alsheim by Heike and Daniel, age three.




Though I have no idea what Daniel is saying, he is the cutest and brightest little guy to be living with for six months. When we got to the house, I met the rest of the family, father Heiko, oldest son Lukas, and middle daughter Pauline. In my next post, I’ll show pictures of the house and surrounding area.

Today was my first day on the job. First, I watered the many potted plants spread throughout the courtyard. That took about an hour. Then Heiko showed me how to box the wine and I did that before lunch. After lunch, he showed me how to wash the wine bottles to get the dust off so labels will stick better. There will be a video of that process sometime.

I was told by Johannes that I need to see a doctor on Monday when I get to my placement. So I did today. I got a rather, umm… “thorough” examination by the doctor. Apparently that meant he could easily determine what medicine he needed to prescribe. Who knew? I now have two containers of medicine that I am taking. I haven’t been taking them long enough to see any results, but I hope I can finally have a restful night.

I feel like I’ve written enough. Guten nacht.
Jon