Alles Gut!

So I haven’t posted a life update on this blog in a while, and there’s a really good reason – I’ve been busy actually living life. Things got pretty hectic really quick, and along with the 50 hours weeks (I remember what it’s like to be a grown up), there have been happy hours, dinners, picnics, beer festivals and one pretty wild weekend in Prague. Here are some highlights:

The infamous bike auction – and ensuing hilarity:

My efforts to land a cheap bike led me to a German bike auction at 10 am on a Saturday. I wasn’t prepared for what I witnessed – it was a legitimate auction, with tons of screaming people and an auctioneer speaking very quick German. One of the main problems in this situation is that I don’t know (much) German, so I listened to the numbers until I figured them out and made my German friend Anju yell numbers for me when I saw any somewhat reasonable bikes. When I saw the neon pink monstrosity that looked like it came straight out of “White Men Can’t Jump”, I had to have it. I don’t know whether all the German people laughed at me because of my pronounciation of “funf und funfte euro” or the fact that I bought a bike that early Fresh Prince Will Smith would have rocked, but 55 euros later, Cotton Candy was mine. And I got to outbid Anna and Anette in the process, so I got some bragging rights, for the day at least.

Efforts to ride to and from work weren’t quite as successful. It was a great idea in theory, as it’s a really pretty ride through the countryside and 25 km a day would put me in really good shape pretty quick, but Cotton Candy wasn’t really up to the task. On 8 rides, she’s broken down three times (only two of which were my fault), and has led to a lot of coldness, lateness, and overall frustration, but pretty good stories. I’m gonna keep trying though, cause it’s kind of fun, and I’ll keep getting reasons to visit my friends at the bike shop in Buchenbach.

The weekend in Prague:

A broken down car couldn’t stop us – Sean, Lucy, Vicki, Anju, Edouard, Maurice, and myself all made it to Prague last weekend. Even though we only had one car, the rest of us relied on this carpooling website, where we get tag along with random strangers in exchange for gas money. It worked out really well – I’m not sure why we don’t have a similar system in the US (outside of the fear of getting hacked up by a disgruntled hitchhiker).

Once we made it, the awesome weekend commenced. Prague is a really cool city, so there was a lot to see in just a couple days. We tried to walk across the Charles Bridge, but it was way too crowded and some drunk British girl fainted so we had to turn around. There was a lot of wandering around and looking around, which I’m convinced is the best and only way to really get a feel for a city and attempt to put your finger on each city’s unique vibe. The only negative thing about this approach is that one bad experience can tarnish your view of the city as a whole. For example, our first dinner featured unimpressive Czech food and a fight with an angry waitress who was trying to charge me 500 krone for losing my receipt (“VAS PROBLEM!!!”). Let’s just say it was time for a couple of beers afterward.

The first night we did the most touristy thing we could think of – went on a travelers’ pub crawl. It was pretty awesome, and we got to meet some fun people. My theory about being better at languages proved true – I was able to keep up a rather elementary conversation with a German chick after a few drinks (or she humored me and was just glad I was trying). We ended the night at this 5 story club, where every floor had different music but looked exactly the same. It was the kind of thing that I was glad I had been to 4 bars in preparation (see my earlier post regarding my disdain towards clubs).

The second night was kind of similar, but unstructured, which can lead to more spontaneity, but is difficult to make 7 people happy with every bar we go to. We ended up at 2 of the same places we were at the night before, which to me, is kind of a missed opportunity to see new and different things, but was fun nonetheless. I will say that it’s a little disconcerting to leave a club and walk into the straight in broad daylight. It wasn’t even that the sun was rising, the sun had fully risen, and we couldn’t even find the McDonald’s to get breakfast.

Generic thoughts about life in Germany

I like it here, for the most part. It’s tough living in a foreign country, but it’s the classic battle between new and exciting and old and comfortable. Outside of a little homesickness, it’s pretty cool to jump into a completely different culture with tons of different people. The highlight so far has been the Berg, which is the massive beer festival that has rolled through Erlangen for the past 250 years, and is the second biggest behind Oktoberfest. So far the highlights have been the drunken pseudo-teacup type ride with Sarah, the game of “Who can spin the most fat chicks” game with two semi-random German dudes, and the attempts to belt out German drinking songs that we don’t quite know the words to. The lowlights have been the massive crowds, the pricey steins, and the nearly disastrous projectile vomit (dude missed me by about 6 inches). And that’s only the first three days – there are nine more (My friends are there as we speak, but I needed to give my body the day off). My favorite part, though, is that a table full of strangers who sometimes don’t even speak the same language can all cheers, sing together, and generally be merry.

Beyond that, though, life has been relatively ordinary. I do the same things I would be doing back home – going to work, going to the gym, grocery shopping, checking out new bars and restaurants with friends, paying bills, and the like. Some of the things are weird and different, like the fact that we don’t have a dryer so I have to hang my clothes, and the cast of characters at the gym is much more entertaining than usual, but it’s hard to complain when more often than not, you wake up with a smile on your face.

Song of the Day: “Simple Man” – Lynyrd Skynyrd

Book of the Day: The Alchemist – Paolo Coehlo

Proud to be an American?

So I realized that whether people like them or not, EVERYONE at least has an opinion about Americans.

Being one of the few here, I get a lot of attention, and it’s always, “Oh you Americans always (fill in the blank). I’ve quickly learned that ALL Americans:

· Wear flip flops all the time

· Carry a Nalgene

· Eat too many Doners

· Are too loud

· Are not loud enough

· Eat too much

· Think they are awesome

· Don’t know anything about any other country or culture, and don’t care

I’m not sure where some of these stereotypes come from, and I’m not sure why people think that a cattle farmer from Texas and a hipster in Portland would act exactly the same because they happen to live in the same country, or whether I should fit all the stereotypes just cause I live there as well. Or if people think that because I do something, all Americans do it, or I do it because all Americans do. I like to think that I do the things I do because I’m me, not because I fit into some bigger picture where everyone looks and acts the same.

I was somewhat amazed to learn that the events that happen in the US get the kind of global exposure that they do. For example, you know how we all remember where we were when we found out about 9/11? Turns out that all my friends here do too, and they have no real ties to the US. I got a taste of this when I was in India a couple of years ago during the election, and everyone had their thoughts (Obama loves Indians/Obama hates Indians/Sarah Palin spends all the US money on her pretty dresses (actual comment)), but I thought I was being egotistical by thinking that everyone in the world pays attention to everything we do. Turns out they do though.

That being said, I’m actually kind of proud of the fact that I’m American – I talk real loud, wear my Michigan hoodie, and will forever claim that baseball is better than football (soccer). Side note – in the champion’s league semifinals, teams play a tournament of best of 2, where goals for the away team count for two. Seriously? Best of TWO? Who comes up with this shit? And no one seems to think that there’s anything weird about that, or that there’s any way to improve this system (oh, I don’t know, an odd number of games? Just spitballin’ here.). I’m also super bummed that I’m going to miss the 4^th of July – this is really the first time I’ve lived outside the country (as a grown up), so I think that it’s actually kind of great to take a day to think about where you’re from, and why you love it. That, and it’s really fun to drink at the beach with your friends, BBQ on the patio, then stay out at Carol’s till 6 am and get McDonalds breakfast. But I still hate fireworks, and anyone who tries to convince me to watch them.

Song of the Day: "American Girls" - Counting Crows

Book of the Day: Blink – Malcolm Gladwell

I Still Hate Clubs.

"Man, as much as I try to like clubs, I just never can.”

- Ravi, in a cab to our hostel from Pacha in Buenos Aires, circa 7am.

I’ll give it a shot. Different countries, different cities, it’s always the same. You go show up, pay a cover, wait forever to get a drink and then pay enough to sponsor a small child in Africa for it. It’s loud, it’s crowded, and there are sweaty dudes everywhere you look.

So on Saturday night, we decided to go to E-Werk for 90’s night. I had been to the chill, bar side of it for a few beers earlier in the week, so I didn’t know what I was in for, but when we got there, look at that! A bunch of sweaty dudes! Oh, I'm sorry, you probably couldn't hear me. "LOOK, A BUNCH OF SWEATY DUDES!"

That being said, it was actually a pretty solid night; far from some of the shittier nights that involved night clubs. I did get hit on by a dude in the bathroom (maybe he interpreted my “Sorry Dude, I don’t know German” smile and nod as a “HEY GIRL” smile and nod), but the rest of the night was pretty awesome. I think 90s night made it okay – I mean, who can hate on the techno version of “Quit Playin’ Games” or some throwback Spice Girls. I could go without ever hearing the Macarena or Mambo No. 5 for the rest of my life, and be thrilled about it, but there was good company and drinks were pretty cheap, so no complaints. At a certain point, I just kinda took off because finding a doner kebab became priority number one. Turns out most restaurants/food stands aren’t open at 3:30 in the morning – one of the few German failures (along with their unwillingness to jaywalk, the fact that most everything is closed on Sunday, and there are no English movie theaters).

This got me thinking about various attempts to enjoy clubs, and the bad experiences that came along. In no particular order:

- Any club in Vegas where we get bottle service – Oh, hey girl that pretends to be interested in us in order to get a couple free drinks out of us, goodbye $500, sorry douchey guy that “accidentally” bumped into me while walking by and gets all militant about it, and hey bouncer that’s telling me to leave because I’m not allowed to swing from a branch over the pool at Tryst.

- Club La Vela – Panama City Beach – any time any of us tried to tried to talk to a girl, there was a huge black dude in a throwback jersey to swoop in.

- Pacha – Buenos Aires – If you’re not on some sort of hardcore drug, don’t even try going there. And if you do, expect every single person in there to be on some sort of hard drug. And try not to beat up that dude with all the glow sticks. And I’m not man enough to stay out till 9:30 in the morning. Sorry.

- Ministry of Sound – London – 7 pounds for a Rolling Rock bottle?!? I’m sorry, is this shitty lager infused with truffle oil?

- Dante’s – Windsor – Yeah, there were some good times here, but most of the time I was too concerned with convincing people to go to the Honest Lawyer or the Casino instead. Or babysitting drunk girlfriend. Good times!

That being said, it’s always about who you’re with, not where you’re at. So all the above stories are extremely memorable, because in spite of the loudness, pricey drinks, and douchey people, you can always say, “Hey, remember that time the bouncer tried to kill Dom cause he was dancing on the stripper pole?” or “Hey, remember that time that we went to that shitty club, and then had to sleep in the car and go to Waffle House at 5 am because Nate went home with that girl in the National Guard and wouldn’t let us into the hotel room?”

And those are always the BEST stories.

Song of the Day (In the spirit of the 90s) : "Informer" - Snow

Book of the Day: You Shall Know Our Velocity! - Dave Eggers

Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

Now that my feet are fully wet, I thought I’d give you all an update about life in Germany. I’ve got a few friends, got a place to live, have had my first set of drunken adventures, and (sort of) have my first day under my belt. Life is mostly good, although homesickness started to kick in when I went grocery shopping, and couldn’t find peanut butter, granola bars, or non-weird cereal.

When I was getting ready to leave, Judy’s sister put me in touch with Lucy, another adidas intern, so once I got here, I was eager to meet and make friends with someone who didn’t only speak German. Friday night, I met up with her, along with Sean, Vera, and Jin, all adidas interns from England, Ireland, Bulgaria, and China (respectively), and we downed some beers at The Irish Bar (yup, that’s what it was called). Not only was it awesome to meet some other people who were in my shoes when they arrived in Germany, it blew my mind that I was sitting at a table with five people from different countries, whose common interests brought them all together. As an added bonus (sort of), Tim Brown, a shitty one-man American cover band, promised a free round to the winners of three rounds of name that tune. We won (Soft Cell – Tainted Love), and Tim didn’t deliver on his promise, but he did pull me on stage with him to sing CCR. Turns out I thought I knew more of the words of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” than I actually did.

The next day, I had lunch with Sean and Lucy, and then Lucy and I wandered around town for a couple hours. She’s a pretty cool chick, and I love wandering around new cities and figuring out my way around; I’m not quite there yet, but it was the first time I felt fully comfortable in the new surroundings. My new friends here even make fun of me for wearing flip flops when it’s too cold – somewhat familiar.

In the first few days, the cloud hanging over my head was finding a place to live. Before I got here, I sent out dozens of emails to people looking for roommates on what seems like the German version of craigslist. I only got a couple of responses, and one of them seemed like it could be a go. It was an Indian dude named Amit, who had an extra room in an apartment really close to the train station (exactly where was looking for), so once I got here, I set up a meeting to check it out. First impressions were NOT good… Amit was a really weird, fobby dude who didn’t seem to know anything about Germany, even though he’d been here for two years. Then the apartment was basically a dorm room, which was worse than my freshman dorm in Markley, and smelled like stale Indian food and feet. I quickly bailed.

After a couple more stops on the shitty, unfurnished apartment train, I got a phone call from Sven. I went to check out his place, which was a super nice, two bedroom, fully furnished place a little further than I was looking for, but after all I had just seen, I jumped all over it. My bedroom is his kid’s old room, fully loaded with the twin bed and bookshelf full of toys (second little boy’s room I’ve taken over in the last 8 months, and they both had legos. Score.). Sven is a 40ish, possibly gay (single, very neat, tucks in his t-shirts, and wears a gold chain), German dude. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy I’d go get beers with after work, but he seems like a good enough dude, and that’s all I can really ask for. I wish the bed was a little bigger; I had a dream last night that I fell off a building and hit the concrete – turns out it was my face slamming into the wall in my sleep.

Today was my first day at adidas. I showed up and met Rob, who I’m working directly with, on the brand communication team, and everyone seemed really awesome. Everyone I’ve talked to at adidas really likes their job – this idea is completely foreign to me. I have no doubt I’m going to love it here. Only problem is that my work permit is STILL not finalized, so I can’t “officially” work at adidas yet, which means I don’t have an ID, an email address, a login, or any of that good stuff. Once the HR liaison got wind of this, she was all over Rob about it, and he sent me home, which sucks. I hope it gets straightened out really soon (like, yesterday), but until then it seems like all of our hands are tied. The worst part is having to wait to get the 44% discount at the adidas outlet (seriously). That also means I get at least one more day of plowing through book number 4 (I only brought 7 and there don’t seem to any English bookstores), watching shitty German TV, and not being able to get on the internet.

Two days without the internet is probably the longest I’ve gone without it in several years, which is terrifying. One of the weirdest things that I’ve had to get used to is not having internet on my phone – so no google maps when I’m lost, finding hidden bars or restaurants that I’m supposed to meet people, or ironically, or looking up where to find an elusive internet café (side note – Microsoft Word doesn’t know “google.” A little territorial, huh?). Pretty sad. So it looks like I’m an internet connection, a bicycle, a few more friends, a gym membership, and a German Work permit away from being totally settled. Not bad for 4 days.

Song of the day: “Darlin’ do not Fear – Brett Dennen”

Book of the day: Downtown Owl – Chuck Klosterman

British vernacular of the day: “Fan-bloody-tabulous”

Fun With Lists

Those of you who know me pretty well know that I unconsciously rate things and come up with ridiculous lists. So, in embracing that, here’s the list of things that I’ll be thinking about while I’m gone:

1. Baseball games – I’ll be gone for the entire summer, and won’t be able to get to one single game, not to mention any new stadiums to cross off the list

2. The 4^th of July – No North Avenue Beach, bags games, BBQs or bitching about going downtown to fight the masses to watch fireworks

3. The Cartwright summer lake trip – Hopefully everyone can find a new brown guy to sit on the pontoon with until sunrise, sit in the back of the pickup while Carol drives us to the bar, or to trade shirts with the dude in a tank top.

4. Spring and Summer in Oregon – Nate and I failed in our goal of trying one new thing a week, but it’d be way easier when it’s not raining and gloomy. I put up with the winter; it’s not fair that I don’t get to enjoy the sun for a while.

5. The development of pregnant Seema – I could not be more stoked about the arrival of Baby Awesome, so I’m bummed I don’t get to see and hear about the progression.

6. Spring term at UO – As lame as it sounds, and as nice as it was watching my friends get up to go to class at 8:30 while I got to sleep in, I’m kind of sad I’m missing out on it. The classes, especially the Sponsorship and Conflict in Sport classes, sound awesome. I’m also afraid that some of the momentum we built up on the Movember campaign will die down.

7. Driving – Something about the windows down, sunglasses on, and good music blaring…

8. Wiffle Ball – I don’t think they have it in Germany, but maybe there’ll be some sort of European version, like “wiffle cricket”, or something.

9. Beer league softball and kickball – “Bats What She Said” pretty much died when half the team left St. Louis, and no matter how shitty we were, we always won at having more fun than the other team.

10. The comfort of being completely confident in my surroundings

I’m sure there are German equivalents for a lot of these, and the negative emotions that coming with missing out on doing things you love to do will be replaced by the excitement of new people, exciting surroundings, and general European adventures.

Things that I’m particularly stoked about:

- Being in Europe during the World Cup

- Birgkirchweih – the two week beer festival that has been described as “Oktoberfest without all the annoying tourists”

- Travelling in Europe

- Working for adidas

- New friends

- Completely immersing myself in another culture

- (Maybe) learning a little German

Song of the Day: Lake Michigan – Rogue Wave

Book of the Day: Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell

AI 126

I’m on an Air India flight, somewhere over the Atlantic, trying to comprehend the fact that I’m moving to Germany. I’ve been saying it all day, and over the last couple weeks – “I’m moving to Germany” – but somehow I don’t think it’ll feel real until I’m wandering through Erlangen, bags in hand, wondering where the hell I’m going to live, how to get to work, and who I’m going to party with. I’ve been pretty nervous about the trip, but sitting here on my way is completely exhilarating – I don’t know if I’ve ever been this excited.

It was harder than I thought to leave the US, even knowing full well that I’ll be back in 6 months, mainly because of the people. In the last week, in my efforts to see as many people I care about as possible, I had what amounted to three separate going away parties in three cities – I swapped stories, came up with inane cheers’, and took shots with dozens and dozens of the people who’ve made my life awesome over the last 10 years or so. Trying to pack as many stories as possible into three nights can take its toll on your body, but it was totally worth it. I’m not the type of person who does a lot of stuff alone, so I’m gonna miss my friends a ton.

That being said, I couldn’t be more stoked for this opportunity. I love the idea of dropping everything and moving to Europe, so the fact that I actually get to make it happen is unreal. The opportunity to work for adidas is amazing; this is the sole reason I wanted to come to Oregon and focus on sports marketing. This is the best thing that could happen for me professionally, and somehow, this opportunity comes with the chance to live and travel in Europe for a while. I can’t wait to get started, get settled, make some friends, and learn about life outside the US bubble.

I’ve never kept a journal (I don’t want to call it a “blog,” mainly because that sounds really lame), but I’m going to give it a shot during my stint in Germany, because I think it’s ridiculous that I haven’t chronicled my adventures over the last few years. Hopefully what’s in store will be just as interesting as some of the stories I’ve gathered. I don’t know if anything will top nearly getting stabbed in Argentina by a white hippie trying to get to the Bob Marley tribute show, a 22 hour trip to Aruba where some Dutch girls tried to teach us to salsa dance, or various impromptu cross country road trips, but I’ll do my best to keep it fresh for you.

Song of the Day – Pencil Full of Lead – Paolo Nutini

Book of the Day - The Dirt: Motley Crue - Motley Crue w/Neil Strauss