Check Yourself

What ever happened to the ideological separation of church and state?

Last time I was living in Germany was the first time that I ever had the opportunity to truly look at the United States from an outside perspective.  Not only did I have a different perspective that I wanted to explore, but every time politics came up I was the go to American to answer for all U.S. laws and policy.  If you don't understand the daunting nature of that charge, you are entirely unaware of how our domestic policy and international policy plays into power structures, intellectual arguments, and governmental strategy across the globe.  There are some countries that revere the U.S., some that find the U.S. to be a joke, and others that could give a f$@k, because they are focusing on domestic and regional issues of their own.  How could I possibly come up with an articulate answer that addresses all of these concerns, while illustrating that not every US resident holds the same view point of every political issue, especially not the same religion.

I only feel I need to mention this, because I think it should never have to be a main point in an intellectual, or even a basic conversation, about US politics in which I have to address that not everyone in the US is a Christian.  Because, yes my friends, a lot of the average news media coverage in other countries that even chose to put 1 story about the US in their paper, is usually about right-wing Christians and the movement they are pushing for at any given time.  This is then the vision that is given to most everyday working people in these countries. And why?  Because the US government still has not have had enough sense to clearly draw the line between government and religion.  By allowing right-wing politicians cover the media and the Congress floor in the US, the country is allowing the average woman/man/child/activist/human being in other countries to perceive the US as a flaming Christian enforcer. Thus, misdirected attacks on US officials in foreign countries, and illegal protests against the U.S. Embassy.

As a fellow American, please separate your religious views from your political views, so that I do not have to mention mine when discussing US politics with other international people.

Within the last three days...

The family that I am living with had the car broken into.
I joined the Berlin Historical Society.
Meet up with a surprisingly cool group of people from Toytown Germany ( a great website to check out if you are an expat)
Celebrated Chad's Birthday
Opened up a gym membership entirely in German
Started planning my first adventure for the second week of October.

BAM.

And I was doing so well...

Blogging is always a challenge for me, so I knew that there would be gaps like this that amount to a week at a time. When you first move to a country, the first week is full of excitement.  The next week was full of the realization that I would be here for a year. I would be blatantly lying if I said that the past week didn't leave me feeling a little homesick.  Being without a bank account and suffering from pretty persistent allergies didn't make life much easier.

Alas, I was able to make a bank account today and was able to get out a little bit this weekend which helped soothe my "Did you really make this decision to go abroad at 3am in the morning and then followed through with it? Are you sure that was your best move?" thoughts.

On Friday, the children had a student holiday and we went on a family field trip. We went to the Panoramapunkt, which gives you a great view of the entire city without the lines and the frustrations that await you if you wish to visit the Berliner Fernsehturm.  However, I think I will go on a trip to the Fernsehturm in the winter, because I think the desolate view would be breathtaking.  The Panoramapunkt also has a great exhibition of the history of Potsdamer Platz.   Berlin has such a rich and interesting history with a great combination of characters.

That night I spent my first night out until 5am.  This is of course, something that I tell myself I will never do but end up doing anyway, because that is the nature of nightlife in Berlin.  The next day I went to one of the boys' choir concert and their SommerFest, followed by a long nap, and a night of babysitting.

Sunday, I spent the day checking in with myself.  The past year has had so much movement and I was feeling a little whiplash from having had surgery, graduating from college, taking an internship were I was traveling and on the go, a week to get ready to go abroad, and then landing in Berlin. Most of the day I spent at Viktoria Park , which has this man-made waterfall that has the ability to soothe my nerves when I feel unable to do that on my own.

Yes, this entry was entirely personal and I hope to add depth to my entries soon, but at the moment, I am a bit overwhelmed with the fast track of my life.

The First Day of Fall, Pumpkin Welcomes you

I think I may, in addition to many other things, become an official cook this year.
My first ever pumpkin soup:

The Search

Wholeness.  Something so close to personal perfection in the midst of worldly chaos that it seems intangible. But I know it is tangible.  I have felt it, lived in it, and searched to expand my personal conception of it.

Just have been thinking about the concept of a "wholeness process'. In which, one finds objects, people, places, feelings that can make him/her feel whole. This may last for a minute, a week, or years. But somehow, it is fleeting. When something changes, which is inevitable because the world consists of change, the quest for wholeness changes. Perhaps you move, or a very good friend leaves your life, maybe the swing-set that you go to at 10pm to watch the cars pass is taken down, or the cement pipes where you wrote all your journey entries, while scrunched inside, are removed. These things that made us feel like we belonged are altered in some way. The next step of life, and the learning part, lay in what we find to replace/enhance/enliven those things again if the spark of wholeness is ever lost.

Fertig

For a lack of original English titles of entries, I must inject some German. Last night, I finished John Steinbeck's book The Winter of Our Discontent. 'Twas a great book, but the state of mind that it put me in compounded with some of the recent events in my life left me feeling quite lethargic in spirit.

The main character exploited his reputation and stretched his own belief in honesty for his own personal gain after everyone else's blatant disregard for honesty left them without a foundation to stand on. Still contemplating on how I wish to interpret the ending.

Last week, I had my first cup of coffee, and I dare say that now I am hooked. Went to flomarkts galore and spent some marvelous time with friends. This weekend has also shown me that H&M in Europe far outweighs the options given in the H&Ms in the USA.

This was supposed to be a profound post on feelings being finished and the cyclical nature of what being 'finished' with a concept or value means, but that will have to wait.

Snapshots of My Weekend

It is very difficult to write when in a deep contemplative state, so I will just post photos from my weekend.  Take from them what you will, and I will update you on the morrow.