When I was 20, I lived in the UK for a year. We were a group of friends
from all around the globe and we had the vision of a world of
friendship, Of a world, where people from different cultural backgrounds
and religions live together and learn from each other. We cooked the
food of our countries and we shared our music and our songs. This idea
has been in my head and my heart since then. And I am not giving it up,
because "worried citzens" follow right-wing pied pipers and call
people like me names.
This was one of the songs I learned
Fayrouz: Chadi
A sad and moving song about love and war and senseless violence sung by Lebanon's greatest singer.
Friday, 23 September 2016
Sunday, 20 April 2014
Easter Miracles
Before I tell my stories, I want to explain that in Germany we have an "Easter Bunny" that goes around and hides coloured eggs and sweets for the kids to find them. Well, in my days we looked for eggs and chocolate, these days the kids get iPhones ...but I did not want to complain. I wanted to tell you two Easter Sunday stories.
Number one goes back to when I was a child. We did not live in a house with a garden, so the Easter treasures were hidden somewhere in the flat - which made my mother find some very old chocolate egg in the settee half a year later, but that is another story.
Anyway, one Easter custom was the walk with my parents. My sister and I were delighted: in the grass to the right and left of the path there were coloured sugar eggs. And chocolate eggs. We collected them, brought them back to our parents and ran off to find more ...
And even years later, when I knew that my father had dropped the treasures while we were walking along - also dropped those, that we already had found, a second or third time - it did not change the Easter Miracle.
Searching and finding was more important than owning. And I think the most important treasure was the experience that you can find all sorts of good things next to your way - and they are even more precious when someone who loves you dropped them there.
The second story takes places decades later - my son was about four or five and he was a very rational little fellow. Santa Claus ... no, never, that was Daddy . And, of course, he was highly sceptical about the Easter Bunny, too.
That year we had come back from a short holiday by car. We had driven through the night and when we arrived early Easter Sunday morning, my son was peacefully snoring on the back seat. So my husband jumped out of the car and quickly hid all the sweets in the garden.
Then we woke up our son who was firmly convinced that he had not slept and had had total control over his parents' actions.
He spotted the big chocolate Easter Bunny sitting under a tree immediately ... and who describes the wonder when he found more eggs and chocolate things under flowers and strawberry plants .
"Now I do get some doubts..." - he said.
Even years later, when he realized how it had worked, he insisted on having been awake all night thus having been the witness of a true Easter Miracle.
Maybe we humans need "miracles" from time to time. The belief in someone holding and guarding us. Someone loving us.
I wish you all a hopeful Easter - remember, we celebrate the victory of life over death on this day.
Number one goes back to when I was a child. We did not live in a house with a garden, so the Easter treasures were hidden somewhere in the flat - which made my mother find some very old chocolate egg in the settee half a year later, but that is another story.
Anyway, one Easter custom was the walk with my parents. My sister and I were delighted: in the grass to the right and left of the path there were coloured sugar eggs. And chocolate eggs. We collected them, brought them back to our parents and ran off to find more ...
And even years later, when I knew that my father had dropped the treasures while we were walking along - also dropped those, that we already had found, a second or third time - it did not change the Easter Miracle.
Searching and finding was more important than owning. And I think the most important treasure was the experience that you can find all sorts of good things next to your way - and they are even more precious when someone who loves you dropped them there.
The second story takes places decades later - my son was about four or five and he was a very rational little fellow. Santa Claus ... no, never, that was Daddy . And, of course, he was highly sceptical about the Easter Bunny, too.
That year we had come back from a short holiday by car. We had driven through the night and when we arrived early Easter Sunday morning, my son was peacefully snoring on the back seat. So my husband jumped out of the car and quickly hid all the sweets in the garden.
Then we woke up our son who was firmly convinced that he had not slept and had had total control over his parents' actions.
He spotted the big chocolate Easter Bunny sitting under a tree immediately ... and who describes the wonder when he found more eggs and chocolate things under flowers and strawberry plants .
"Now I do get some doubts..." - he said.
Even years later, when he realized how it had worked, he insisted on having been awake all night thus having been the witness of a true Easter Miracle.
Maybe we humans need "miracles" from time to time. The belief in someone holding and guarding us. Someone loving us.
I wish you all a hopeful Easter - remember, we celebrate the victory of life over death on this day.
Friday, 2 August 2013
The Joe Pickett novels - a personal review
A few months ago I started reading a new detective story. You kow how it is with detective novels: you must read carefully from the start or you might miss something that could be important later on. So I memorised the names of the two characters, I learned by heart who was young, who was old, who was married, who was single --- and just, when I felt well prepared for the rest of the novel, I reached the end of chapter one and they were both shot.
I sighed and started chapter two, which luckily introduced some characters who survived.
That was the beginning of "Breaking Point", number 13 in the series of the detective novels around Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, written by C.J. Box. I couldn't stop reading and after a few days I reached a point that was so breathtakingly exciting that I thought for a moment of calling in sick and not going to work, so that I could find out how it ended. Well, I didn't, Joe Pickett would not have approved.
But I got the other 12 books of the series, because I noticed that despite the fact that all stories could stand on their own, there was the development of the hero and his family and some connecting storylines. So for weeks I have read one book after the other and am still as fascinated as I was by my first introduction to Joe Pickett and his adventures.
One thing I like is the setting: never before have I read a book about rural Wyoming, about the Rocky Mountains and the people living there. The main characters love it - the wilderness, the force of nature and the freedom they have. It makes me want to go there and have a look myself.
I particularly like the fact that I am confronted with new ideas that make me think. For instance the story of the "Miller's weasel" (a fictitious extinct animal) and the impact of too much public interest and "protecting" an endangered species that can be more lethal to the poor things than a change in their environment. On the whole, a lot of the stories shed new light on "environmentalists", who seem to be more interested in their own fame than in the animal they want to "protect".
And of course, the characters. Joe Pickett, who gains experience and does things he would never have thought possible. He is a very human hero, not without faults, but always true to himself. His family, particularly the kids growing up and sometimes being part of the story. His wonderful wife - and I like to think that the auther models her on his own wife; after all, all his books are dedicated to her, too. Bureaucrats that make me boil with anger because of their stupidity and arrogance. Warm-hearted and wonderful people who help Joe. And the mysterious Nate who seems to have come directly from the old West, taking the law into his own hands, if necessary, thereby personifying his own archaic form of justice.
Still ... weeks and weeks of reading about murder and bloodshet is not without bad side effects: I see murderers everywhere and catch myself looking for my gun before I take off on a lonely journey to the supermarket ( after all, a 5-minute-drive). I think, when I am finished I will have a period of romantic love stories... until I can get hold of the next Joe Pickett novel.
PS: You can find C.J. Box on Facebook and here is his website http://www.cjbox.net
I sighed and started chapter two, which luckily introduced some characters who survived.
That was the beginning of "Breaking Point", number 13 in the series of the detective novels around Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, written by C.J. Box. I couldn't stop reading and after a few days I reached a point that was so breathtakingly exciting that I thought for a moment of calling in sick and not going to work, so that I could find out how it ended. Well, I didn't, Joe Pickett would not have approved.
But I got the other 12 books of the series, because I noticed that despite the fact that all stories could stand on their own, there was the development of the hero and his family and some connecting storylines. So for weeks I have read one book after the other and am still as fascinated as I was by my first introduction to Joe Pickett and his adventures.
One thing I like is the setting: never before have I read a book about rural Wyoming, about the Rocky Mountains and the people living there. The main characters love it - the wilderness, the force of nature and the freedom they have. It makes me want to go there and have a look myself.
I particularly like the fact that I am confronted with new ideas that make me think. For instance the story of the "Miller's weasel" (a fictitious extinct animal) and the impact of too much public interest and "protecting" an endangered species that can be more lethal to the poor things than a change in their environment. On the whole, a lot of the stories shed new light on "environmentalists", who seem to be more interested in their own fame than in the animal they want to "protect".
And of course, the characters. Joe Pickett, who gains experience and does things he would never have thought possible. He is a very human hero, not without faults, but always true to himself. His family, particularly the kids growing up and sometimes being part of the story. His wonderful wife - and I like to think that the auther models her on his own wife; after all, all his books are dedicated to her, too. Bureaucrats that make me boil with anger because of their stupidity and arrogance. Warm-hearted and wonderful people who help Joe. And the mysterious Nate who seems to have come directly from the old West, taking the law into his own hands, if necessary, thereby personifying his own archaic form of justice.
Still ... weeks and weeks of reading about murder and bloodshet is not without bad side effects: I see murderers everywhere and catch myself looking for my gun before I take off on a lonely journey to the supermarket ( after all, a 5-minute-drive). I think, when I am finished I will have a period of romantic love stories... until I can get hold of the next Joe Pickett novel.
PS: You can find C.J. Box on Facebook and here is his website http://www.cjbox.net
Monday, 11 February 2013
The Flight of the Dragon
For 22 years we were connected.
I remember vividly the moment of his birth - and even before he was born, I got to know him, heard his heart beat, felt his kicks. I could not sleep at night or had to go to the toilet every half an hour, but I knew that things would not get easier after the great day.
Since then I have sat by his bedside countless nights, have comforted him, have watched his sleep when he was sick. I sang for him, read stories to him, taught him to speak, taught him what is right or wrong.
I spent days in the ER of the local hospital, was worried sick when he had to have an operation, looked after his wounds. I also had to care about his eye sight and his teeth - even against his will.
When he came to school, it was me who practised reading with him, fought for treatment of his dyslexia, practised reading and English vocabulary.
I nourished him ... first with my own body, then by carrying the food into the house.
Even a few weeks before he moved out, we hat do sit in the ER after a car accident. And a few days before he left I had to shut down his computer, as there was a DVD making a lot of noise while he was softly snoring.
For 22 years I was responsible - can you imagine that now I need a few days to get used to the fact that from one day to the other I only have to look after myself ?
When he was small, I gave him roots - when he grew up, I gave him wings.
Now he has spread his wings and is flying. I know this is how it must be - it is good this way.
And I am slowly getting used to it ... I am learning to fly into this new part of my life, too .
I remember vividly the moment of his birth - and even before he was born, I got to know him, heard his heart beat, felt his kicks. I could not sleep at night or had to go to the toilet every half an hour, but I knew that things would not get easier after the great day.
Since then I have sat by his bedside countless nights, have comforted him, have watched his sleep when he was sick. I sang for him, read stories to him, taught him to speak, taught him what is right or wrong.
I spent days in the ER of the local hospital, was worried sick when he had to have an operation, looked after his wounds. I also had to care about his eye sight and his teeth - even against his will.
When he came to school, it was me who practised reading with him, fought for treatment of his dyslexia, practised reading and English vocabulary.
I nourished him ... first with my own body, then by carrying the food into the house.
Even a few weeks before he moved out, we hat do sit in the ER after a car accident. And a few days before he left I had to shut down his computer, as there was a DVD making a lot of noise while he was softly snoring.
For 22 years I was responsible - can you imagine that now I need a few days to get used to the fact that from one day to the other I only have to look after myself ?
When he was small, I gave him roots - when he grew up, I gave him wings.
Now he has spread his wings and is flying. I know this is how it must be - it is good this way.
And I am slowly getting used to it ... I am learning to fly into this new part of my life, too .
Friday, 21 December 2012
Apocalypse ... when ?
Today is the day ... the one that media and party goers all over the world have been waiting for: the end of the world. According to some Maya calendar ... supposedly ... we don't believe, of course .... but it is so wonderfully spooky.
I have heard people making jokes - and I have seen wonderful satires about it on the Internet. On the other hand I read about those who have been preparing themselves, their homes and their families for months. And there are those, who know that only God knows the time, so why worry now?
Actually, the end of the world happens every day, is happening right now. Every day somebody's world can collapse from one minute to the other. A phone rings to tell you that your father is in hospital and dying. The routine check-up with your doctor ends up in a serious talk about your fatal illness. A car accident finishes your dream of becoming a dancer. A child dies.
Today I am thinking particularly about the families and students of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, for whom the world and life will never be the same again. Twenty children and six adult staff members died. Twenty-five families for whom the world has already ended.
My thoughts and prayers are with them.
It is no use to expect the Apocalypse - we are never prepared. We can only live our lives as well as we can NOW. Live, love, forgive. Give kindness. Enjoy what we can enjoy. Hold the hand of someone who needs it. Be grateful for what we have. But also cry, mourn, feel pain and pray. Accept when something is given to us.
Live - and do our little bit that others can live, too.
Maybe this way we can save the world.
I have heard people making jokes - and I have seen wonderful satires about it on the Internet. On the other hand I read about those who have been preparing themselves, their homes and their families for months. And there are those, who know that only God knows the time, so why worry now?
Actually, the end of the world happens every day, is happening right now. Every day somebody's world can collapse from one minute to the other. A phone rings to tell you that your father is in hospital and dying. The routine check-up with your doctor ends up in a serious talk about your fatal illness. A car accident finishes your dream of becoming a dancer. A child dies.
Today I am thinking particularly about the families and students of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, for whom the world and life will never be the same again. Twenty children and six adult staff members died. Twenty-five families for whom the world has already ended.
My thoughts and prayers are with them.
It is no use to expect the Apocalypse - we are never prepared. We can only live our lives as well as we can NOW. Live, love, forgive. Give kindness. Enjoy what we can enjoy. Hold the hand of someone who needs it. Be grateful for what we have. But also cry, mourn, feel pain and pray. Accept when something is given to us.
Live - and do our little bit that others can live, too.
Maybe this way we can save the world.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Money Stories
Well, these past weeks and months I very often had to do with money. Bills had to be paid, subscriptions and insurances had to be cancelled, forms to be filled in to claim money we are entitled to ... and finally my parents' bank accounts will be closed down and the money divided among us heirs. Not that I am filthy rich now - but when I travel to China one day I will think of my parents who made it possible by saving money and passing it on to us.
I miss them. Now I am no longer anybody's child - I have finally grown up. But I grew up with their love and care and I am grateful for it.
When I went through my parents' empty house with the landlord, he found a German Deutsch Mark Pfenning. The Deutsche Mark was the currency before the Euro was introduced and one Pfennig was the smallest coin. People used to keep one for good luck - so I keep my Good Luck Pfennig, which is like a greeting from my parents.
And the other day , when I tidied up my son's bedroom, I found a lot of small change that he said I could keep. I put it into the box with other stray coins I have collected during the past year and took it all to the bank . The total amount was about 50 USD which I donated to Jackie Chan's Build a School charity.
Money can make you desperate, particularly when you need some to feed your family or pay for your children's education. It can poison people's hearts, make them greedy, thrifty and hard. People kill for it, commit crimes, exploit , deceive and lie for it.
But money can also be connected with love. Like my parents' love for us. Like the small coins that get together to help.
If you have enough or more than enough money, don't let it rule you. Let your heart rule over your money.
I miss them. Now I am no longer anybody's child - I have finally grown up. But I grew up with their love and care and I am grateful for it.
When I went through my parents' empty house with the landlord, he found a German Deutsch Mark Pfenning. The Deutsche Mark was the currency before the Euro was introduced and one Pfennig was the smallest coin. People used to keep one for good luck - so I keep my Good Luck Pfennig, which is like a greeting from my parents.
And the other day , when I tidied up my son's bedroom, I found a lot of small change that he said I could keep. I put it into the box with other stray coins I have collected during the past year and took it all to the bank . The total amount was about 50 USD which I donated to Jackie Chan's Build a School charity.
Money can make you desperate, particularly when you need some to feed your family or pay for your children's education. It can poison people's hearts, make them greedy, thrifty and hard. People kill for it, commit crimes, exploit , deceive and lie for it.
But money can also be connected with love. Like my parents' love for us. Like the small coins that get together to help.
If you have enough or more than enough money, don't let it rule you. Let your heart rule over your money.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
... and the bridge is love ...
Thorton Wilder's novel The Bridge of San Lui Rey ends with these words:
"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."
Two weeks ago my father died - aged 90 he died a quick and easy death. He could live at home, looked after by wonderful people, until the end. It is sad - but it is good the way it is.
I spent all last week in my parents' house, which I will have to empty and give back to the landlord by the summer. It is not the house where I grew up up in, but my family has lived there for more than 30 years and it is full of memories. And the fact that both of my parents are now dead, means that a part of my life has come to an end: I am no longer a daughter. In a way, it marks the final end of childhood.
However - if I look at things properly, I see that I ceased to be the child years ago. Gradually, I had to take over tasks for my parents, had to look after them - and even make decisions for them. I have already grown up.
And the house, which during the first weekend after my father's death was so filled with his "spirit" that I thought I could feel his presence, is becoming a stranger. It is a place where I sleep and work when I am there. Of course, in the end all the things that made up my parents' lives, will be thrown away.
But they are only THINGS. I have the memories in me, everything they taught me, all the laughter we shared, all the worries and the care they gave me. I carry their love in me and my love for them.
I am ready to let go - and it does not leave me sad or desperate.
"... and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."
Happy Easter to those, who celebrate it. The Christian holiday that celebrates the victory of life over death. The victory of (God's) love over death.
"There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."
Two weeks ago my father died - aged 90 he died a quick and easy death. He could live at home, looked after by wonderful people, until the end. It is sad - but it is good the way it is.
I spent all last week in my parents' house, which I will have to empty and give back to the landlord by the summer. It is not the house where I grew up up in, but my family has lived there for more than 30 years and it is full of memories. And the fact that both of my parents are now dead, means that a part of my life has come to an end: I am no longer a daughter. In a way, it marks the final end of childhood.
However - if I look at things properly, I see that I ceased to be the child years ago. Gradually, I had to take over tasks for my parents, had to look after them - and even make decisions for them. I have already grown up.
And the house, which during the first weekend after my father's death was so filled with his "spirit" that I thought I could feel his presence, is becoming a stranger. It is a place where I sleep and work when I am there. Of course, in the end all the things that made up my parents' lives, will be thrown away.
But they are only THINGS. I have the memories in me, everything they taught me, all the laughter we shared, all the worries and the care they gave me. I carry their love in me and my love for them.
I am ready to let go - and it does not leave me sad or desperate.
"... and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."
Happy Easter to those, who celebrate it. The Christian holiday that celebrates the victory of life over death. The victory of (God's) love over death.
 |
| (photo: Guillermo Macias, Mexico) |
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Where is the sound of silence ?
On Friday we had a memorial church service for a deceased colleague. There was a moment of complete silence - no cough, no rustling of clothes, no whispering, nothing. It made me think about all the noise that tortures my ears all day.
My job forces me to work with people. A lot of people. A lot of people who talk to me at the same time. There is constant noise - in the office, in the hall, in the room for the the breaks. Five conversations at the same time, everybody shouting loudly trying to make themselves heard.
There is music... well "music" ... everywhere. In the supermarket, for example. The nice relaxing music that is supposed to make me buy just makes me angry . I want to escape as fast as possible and forget half of the things on my list. Children crying, mothers shouting, men talking at the top of their voices.
And all the machines: cars, buses, trams, planes, helicopters, the washing machine, the dryer, the computer. People talking on their mobile phones. When I come home, I turn on the TV, the radio or a CD. Most of the things I hear there are not important, but they pollute my brain and keep me from thinking.
Well - there is a point to start. I may not be able to get away from the noise at work or in the city. But I can keep my house quiet. Or go to a quiet place, like a church. And when then, after a while, the organ lets some Bach music float through the air... then I know, that silence makes us hear the important things. Like the voices of our hearts.
My job forces me to work with people. A lot of people. A lot of people who talk to me at the same time. There is constant noise - in the office, in the hall, in the room for the the breaks. Five conversations at the same time, everybody shouting loudly trying to make themselves heard.
There is music... well "music" ... everywhere. In the supermarket, for example. The nice relaxing music that is supposed to make me buy just makes me angry . I want to escape as fast as possible and forget half of the things on my list. Children crying, mothers shouting, men talking at the top of their voices.
And all the machines: cars, buses, trams, planes, helicopters, the washing machine, the dryer, the computer. People talking on their mobile phones. When I come home, I turn on the TV, the radio or a CD. Most of the things I hear there are not important, but they pollute my brain and keep me from thinking.
Well - there is a point to start. I may not be able to get away from the noise at work or in the city. But I can keep my house quiet. Or go to a quiet place, like a church. And when then, after a while, the organ lets some Bach music float through the air... then I know, that silence makes us hear the important things. Like the voices of our hearts.
 |
| Church in the small town of Tequila, México |
Monday, 23 January 2012
Happy Chinese New Year
xin nian kuai le ..... gung hay fat choy
I wish everybody who celebrates a happy new Year of the Dragon - ah, you don't know what this is all about?
Well - the traditional Chinese calendar is a lunar calendar, so the celebrations of the new year take place at some time between the end of January and the beginning of February. The Chinese call it the "Spring Festival" and it is the celebration of nature coming back to life. Like all big festivals you celebrate with your family, which means that each year around this time millions of Chinese are on the road (or train or plane..) to visit their families. And of course, there are fireworks. After all, the Chinese invented fireworks ! What most Western kids like most about Chinese New Year are the red envelopes with money children and unmarried relatives get . More details about the celebrations here.
And where does the dragon come from ? The Chinese calendar has a 12 year cycle and each year is named after an animal. Last year was the Year of the Rabbit, the new year is going to be the Year of the Dragon. People born in the year of a certain animal are said to have certain characteristics... well, if you want to know more, you can e.g. find more information here .
By the way, I was born in the Year of the Rooster...
A colouring page with a dragon can be found on Jackie Chan's website in the "Kids Corner."
I wish everybody who celebrates a happy new Year of the Dragon - ah, you don't know what this is all about?
Well - the traditional Chinese calendar is a lunar calendar, so the celebrations of the new year take place at some time between the end of January and the beginning of February. The Chinese call it the "Spring Festival" and it is the celebration of nature coming back to life. Like all big festivals you celebrate with your family, which means that each year around this time millions of Chinese are on the road (or train or plane..) to visit their families. And of course, there are fireworks. After all, the Chinese invented fireworks ! What most Western kids like most about Chinese New Year are the red envelopes with money children and unmarried relatives get . More details about the celebrations here.
And where does the dragon come from ? The Chinese calendar has a 12 year cycle and each year is named after an animal. Last year was the Year of the Rabbit, the new year is going to be the Year of the Dragon. People born in the year of a certain animal are said to have certain characteristics... well, if you want to know more, you can e.g. find more information here .
By the way, I was born in the Year of the Rooster...
A colouring page with a dragon can be found on Jackie Chan's website in the "Kids Corner."
Monday, 16 January 2012
Good bye, Princess !
I lost a friend - well, you might say, it was "only a cat", but she was more than just "a cat". She was a member of our family and a good companion for more than 12 years. And on Friday I had to go to the vet and have her put down.
I got her when she was 11 weeks old and we had a close relationship. She had an incredible air of arrogance about her and seemed to be well aware of the fact that in ancient Egypt she might have been worshipped as a goddess. She was a real princess - but also a real cat who could live a real cat's life roaming the gardens of the neighbourhood, hunting and supplying the household with food.
I miss having to fight for access to my bed, my desk and my computer keyboard. I miss nearly stepping on her when I walk into the kitchen. I miss spending winter evenings opening and closing the balcony door, because a cat is always on the wrong side of a door. She was seldom satisfied with the service she got from me - and she never failed to tell me off. And I miss it.
And she was there when I needed someone to cuddle because I was sad. She listened patiently to everything I told her - and living together with her taught me that love and freedom can go together.
Bye bye, my dear friend - I am listening to our favourite music and thinking of you. And I am grateful that you shared my life.
I got her when she was 11 weeks old and we had a close relationship. She had an incredible air of arrogance about her and seemed to be well aware of the fact that in ancient Egypt she might have been worshipped as a goddess. She was a real princess - but also a real cat who could live a real cat's life roaming the gardens of the neighbourhood, hunting and supplying the household with food.
I miss having to fight for access to my bed, my desk and my computer keyboard. I miss nearly stepping on her when I walk into the kitchen. I miss spending winter evenings opening and closing the balcony door, because a cat is always on the wrong side of a door. She was seldom satisfied with the service she got from me - and she never failed to tell me off. And I miss it.
And she was there when I needed someone to cuddle because I was sad. She listened patiently to everything I told her - and living together with her taught me that love and freedom can go together.
Bye bye, my dear friend - I am listening to our favourite music and thinking of you. And I am grateful that you shared my life.
 |
| Whose bed ? |
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Memories
A long time has passed since my last post, but I was extremely busy at work and privately. But then I could take a break - a holiday in Carinthia/ Austria. The interesting thing about this holiday place is the fact that it has been part of nearly my whole life.
It is a farm whose owners started to rent out rooms to holiday makes in the 1960s and when I was nine years old, my family and I went there for the first time. It was an adventure: strange smells, strange language, no wash basin in our rooms, the only tap was in the kitchen. They have come a long way from there, today there are apartments with cable TV.
I came here as a child and teenager with my parents, alone as a student, with my boy-friend and then with husband and child. I met a lot of other people who had been here as a child and came back with their own children. The friendship to the farmer's family grew - the older generation died and we "youngsters " are now in our 50s.
I had not been at this place for 10 years, but when I entered the kitchen, it was like coming home. And I spent a week remembering things my late mother had done or said - and thinking of the happy times of my marriage and the time when my son was little. It was like re-living my life, but at the end of the week I had arrived in the present and could look ahead to new adventures.
However, like a real home, the farm in Carinthia will remain with me wherever I go.
It is a farm whose owners started to rent out rooms to holiday makes in the 1960s and when I was nine years old, my family and I went there for the first time. It was an adventure: strange smells, strange language, no wash basin in our rooms, the only tap was in the kitchen. They have come a long way from there, today there are apartments with cable TV.
I came here as a child and teenager with my parents, alone as a student, with my boy-friend and then with husband and child. I met a lot of other people who had been here as a child and came back with their own children. The friendship to the farmer's family grew - the older generation died and we "youngsters " are now in our 50s.
I had not been at this place for 10 years, but when I entered the kitchen, it was like coming home. And I spent a week remembering things my late mother had done or said - and thinking of the happy times of my marriage and the time when my son was little. It was like re-living my life, but at the end of the week I had arrived in the present and could look ahead to new adventures.
However, like a real home, the farm in Carinthia will remain with me wherever I go.
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| Some things never change: a new-born calf |
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Internet Connections
Today I realized again how useful Internet is and how much it has changed our lives. On TV I saw a report about the revolution in Egypt and the role that mobile phones, Facebook and Twitter played in it. Information can be passed on at the wink of an eye and people cannot be kept from getting it, no matter how hard a government may try to prevent this.
After that I had my very own personal "Internet " moments.I know a lot of students all around the world - and I am a passionate teacher. So when my friend asked me to have a look at her essay and correct the language, I agreed to do so. She sent me her essay by email, I sent it back the same way an hour later. She is in California at the moment, I am in Germany - in real life we would not even have met. Something similar happened a bit later with a student friend in China who is studying German. I explained German grammar to him via Instant Messenger and then remembered some helpful documents, so I put them into an email and he got them a few seconds after I had hit the "send" button.
Do you remember how difficult it was in the old days to get authentic material in a foreign language? Nowadays you can access online TV stations, radio or newspapers; there are websites with tons of material to practise and to study . And you can make friends around the world with whom you can practise your language skills.
Maybe these new media are a chance for understanding and peace, too. They have made the world a smaller place - hopefully no "Klingon" attack from outer space is needed (yes, I admit, I watched Star Trek last night) to make us humans work together instead of against each other. And we need to work together to save our little planet ...
After that I had my very own personal "Internet " moments.I know a lot of students all around the world - and I am a passionate teacher. So when my friend asked me to have a look at her essay and correct the language, I agreed to do so. She sent me her essay by email, I sent it back the same way an hour later. She is in California at the moment, I am in Germany - in real life we would not even have met. Something similar happened a bit later with a student friend in China who is studying German. I explained German grammar to him via Instant Messenger and then remembered some helpful documents, so I put them into an email and he got them a few seconds after I had hit the "send" button.
Do you remember how difficult it was in the old days to get authentic material in a foreign language? Nowadays you can access online TV stations, radio or newspapers; there are websites with tons of material to practise and to study . And you can make friends around the world with whom you can practise your language skills.
Maybe these new media are a chance for understanding and peace, too. They have made the world a smaller place - hopefully no "Klingon" attack from outer space is needed (yes, I admit, I watched Star Trek last night) to make us humans work together instead of against each other. And we need to work together to save our little planet ...
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| Parque Nacional in Uruapan/Mexico |
Sunday, 3 April 2011
All's right with the world ??!!
There is a war in Libya. The Japanese are still fighting with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami and it will take the country years to repair all the damage.I know people who are somehow affected by it all - or by some other form of hardship.
And what does the sun do today? It shines. The sky is blue, the birds are singing, it is a lovely and warm spring day. The smell of flowers and trees is incredible. The cold and dark winter is over. I could sit in the sun and relax. But how can I, when I think of all the sad things happening ?
I can allow myself to do that. Maybe even more, I must do it. We all need it - the precious moments when there is peace around us. We need them to gather new energy to face the hard times. We must take them and cherish them. I think the secret of life lies in living these moments in the full knowledge of the cruel other side of life. The secret lies in hoping they will come back, when we are in the middle of a disaster.
Hope is a powerful source of energy. Believing can give you hope - religious people know what I am talking about.
I wish those who have a peaceful day that you can enjoy the precious moment thankfully. To those, who are troubled: I wish you hope.
And what does the sun do today? It shines. The sky is blue, the birds are singing, it is a lovely and warm spring day. The smell of flowers and trees is incredible. The cold and dark winter is over. I could sit in the sun and relax. But how can I, when I think of all the sad things happening ?
I can allow myself to do that. Maybe even more, I must do it. We all need it - the precious moments when there is peace around us. We need them to gather new energy to face the hard times. We must take them and cherish them. I think the secret of life lies in living these moments in the full knowledge of the cruel other side of life. The secret lies in hoping they will come back, when we are in the middle of a disaster.
Hope is a powerful source of energy. Believing can give you hope - religious people know what I am talking about.
I wish those who have a peaceful day that you can enjoy the precious moment thankfully. To those, who are troubled: I wish you hope.
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| Photo: Sam C. Chan |
Sunday, 27 March 2011
What we should really care about ...
So many things I want to do become irrelevant, when I watch the news about Japan and Libya on TV. I worry about friends I have in dangerous parts of the world , but there is not much I can do. So, as a means of distraction, I switch to another channel and hit "Germany's Next Top Model", a "casting show" (as they are called in German) hosted by Heidi Klum.
I must admit, I stayed glued to the screen until the end. What am I worrying about, I ask myself, when there are REAL PROBLEMS ... such as if you are wearing the right dress or shoes while walking along the catwalk ? Ahh, walking .... I don't know how I have survived more than 50 years with my unsexy and uninspirational walk. It is a wonder anybody talks to me ! And the bitch fights: a girl is not chosen at once as a flat mate - tears, long discussions. One girl is praised by presenter and photographer... jealousy.
Yes, I know. These shows are not about finding talents, they are about entertainment. The candidates are used by the production company and put into certain situations, so that in the end something interesting, shocking and entertaining can be shown. How many girls enter a competition like this with high hopes and dreams and in the end are simply exploited?
Commercial TV is about selling advertising time. The adverts that interrupt the programme are, of course, about beauty products. Again I am fascinated by what I need and have not got . When I realized that my armpits will never be "beautiful", because I am using the wrong deodorant, I lost all hope that I will ever be able to catch up...
Demostrations against nuclear power ? Peace walks ? Protecting the environment, saving the earth ? Equal pay for men and women ? Human rights ? People dying ? Who is interested in that ?
Who wants us not to be interested ?
I must admit, I stayed glued to the screen until the end. What am I worrying about, I ask myself, when there are REAL PROBLEMS ... such as if you are wearing the right dress or shoes while walking along the catwalk ? Ahh, walking .... I don't know how I have survived more than 50 years with my unsexy and uninspirational walk. It is a wonder anybody talks to me ! And the bitch fights: a girl is not chosen at once as a flat mate - tears, long discussions. One girl is praised by presenter and photographer... jealousy.
Yes, I know. These shows are not about finding talents, they are about entertainment. The candidates are used by the production company and put into certain situations, so that in the end something interesting, shocking and entertaining can be shown. How many girls enter a competition like this with high hopes and dreams and in the end are simply exploited?
Commercial TV is about selling advertising time. The adverts that interrupt the programme are, of course, about beauty products. Again I am fascinated by what I need and have not got . When I realized that my armpits will never be "beautiful", because I am using the wrong deodorant, I lost all hope that I will ever be able to catch up...
Demostrations against nuclear power ? Peace walks ? Protecting the environment, saving the earth ? Equal pay for men and women ? Human rights ? People dying ? Who is interested in that ?
Who wants us not to be interested ?
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| Tagesschau online (German news programme) |
Saturday, 19 March 2011
Help Japan
If I ignore those for whom the terrible plight of the Japanese people is only a way of making money, I see pictures that touch my heart.
I see the dignity and calmness with which the people in Japan go through these difficult times. My heart bleeds when I see children ... it bleeds for them and their parents. I see the true heroes of our days: the technicians and firefighters in the power plant risking their lives to avoid the final catastrophe.
All I personally can do is pray - and support relief agencies with a donation. Money that says "We are thinking of you.. you are not forgotten."
Please ... help in the way you can.
I see the dignity and calmness with which the people in Japan go through these difficult times. My heart bleeds when I see children ... it bleeds for them and their parents. I see the true heroes of our days: the technicians and firefighters in the power plant risking their lives to avoid the final catastrophe.
All I personally can do is pray - and support relief agencies with a donation. Money that says "We are thinking of you.. you are not forgotten."
Please ... help in the way you can.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
A Prayer from Japan
For those who pray I want to include the text of the prayer that the German Protestant community in Tokyo published at the weekend:
FÜRBITTENGEBET
Gott, du hast die Welt geschaffen. Dafür waren wir immer dankbar. Darauf haben wir immer vertraut, dass wir ein Teil deiner Schöpfung sind, von dir gewollt und zu Gutem bestimmt.
Jetzt haben wir erlebt, dass deine Schöpfung auch ein anderes Gesicht hat. Wir haben erlebt, wie klein wir Menschen sind.
Manche von uns haben Stunden der Angst erlebt, Stunden der Unsicherheit und Sorge. Die Menschen in der Erdbebenregion haben ihr Leben verloren, ihre Angehörigen, ihre Existenz.
Und der Schrecken ist noch nicht vorbei. Das Kernkraftwerk in Fukushima ist noch nicht sicher.
Dennoch hoffen wir auf dich, Gott, halten an dir fest und bitten dich um deine Gegenwart in all diesen schlimmen Erfahrungen.
Wir bitten für die Familien, die nicht wissen, ob ihre Angehörigen noch leben.
Wir bitten für die Verstorbenen.
Wir bitten für die Menschen in den Notunterkünften.
Wir bitten für die Menschen, die vor dem Nichts stehen.
Wir bitten für die vielen Helfer, die ihr Leben für andere aufs Spiel setzen.
An dir halten wir uns fest, Gott, gerade, wenn uns der Boden unter den Füßen wegrutscht.
Auf dich hoffen wir, in allem, was wir erleben, ertragen, durchmachen müssen.
Begleite du uns, dass wir nicht verzweifeln.
Hilf uns, aufeinander zu achten, richtige Entscheidungen zu treffen und zu helfen, wo wir können. Amen.
Gott, du hast die Welt geschaffen. Dafür waren wir immer dankbar. Darauf haben wir immer vertraut, dass wir ein Teil deiner Schöpfung sind, von dir gewollt und zu Gutem bestimmt.
Jetzt haben wir erlebt, dass deine Schöpfung auch ein anderes Gesicht hat. Wir haben erlebt, wie klein wir Menschen sind.
Manche von uns haben Stunden der Angst erlebt, Stunden der Unsicherheit und Sorge. Die Menschen in der Erdbebenregion haben ihr Leben verloren, ihre Angehörigen, ihre Existenz.
Und der Schrecken ist noch nicht vorbei. Das Kernkraftwerk in Fukushima ist noch nicht sicher.
Dennoch hoffen wir auf dich, Gott, halten an dir fest und bitten dich um deine Gegenwart in all diesen schlimmen Erfahrungen.
Wir bitten für die Familien, die nicht wissen, ob ihre Angehörigen noch leben.
Wir bitten für die Verstorbenen.
Wir bitten für die Menschen in den Notunterkünften.
Wir bitten für die Menschen, die vor dem Nichts stehen.
Wir bitten für die vielen Helfer, die ihr Leben für andere aufs Spiel setzen.
An dir halten wir uns fest, Gott, gerade, wenn uns der Boden unter den Füßen wegrutscht.
Auf dich hoffen wir, in allem, was wir erleben, ertragen, durchmachen müssen.
Begleite du uns, dass wir nicht verzweifeln.
Hilf uns, aufeinander zu achten, richtige Entscheidungen zu treffen und zu helfen, wo wir können. Amen.
My English translation:
God, you have created the world. We have always been thankful for it. We have always trusted that we are part of your creation, wanted by you, meant to do good.
Now we have experienced that your creation can also have a different face. We have experienced how small we humans are.
Some of us have experienced hours of fear, of insecurity and of worries. People in the earthquake region have lost their lives, their relatives, their livelihood.
And the horror is not over. The nuclear power plant in Fukushima is not secure yet.
And yet, oh Lord, we have our hopes in you and ask for your presence in all these terrible moments.
We pray for the families, who do not know, if their members are still alive.
We pray for the dead.
We pray for the people in emergency shelters.
We pray for people who have lost everything.
We pray for the many helpers who risk their lives for others.
In you we trust, God, particularly when the ground has been taken from under our feet.
Facing everything we must experience, suffer and go through, we put our hopes in you.
Accompany us that we do not despair.
Help us to take care of each other, to make the right decisions and to help where we can.
Amen.
(Translation SK/15th March, 2011)
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http://www.ekd.de/bilder/rubrik_glauben_2009.jpg |
Sunday, 13 March 2011
When Disaster Strikes: Japan and the Media
Do you remember Tchernobyl 1986? When you lived in Europe at that time, you know about the accident in the Ukranian nuclear power plant - the worst one in history. It had far reaching effects, not only for the region,but the nuclear fallout affected also northern and central Europe - up to the present day. In those days we wanted and needed information, which we got from TV and radio. Reliable, factual information, so I felt. I remember that I was worried, but not in panic (and that this nourished my suspicion against nuclear power plants, but that is a different topic).
In those days we had mainly the public broadcasting services for information and they did a good job.
When the earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan, we had already lived in the age of commercial TV for more than 20 years. Due to Internet and advanced technologies we were flooded with pictures of the disaster immediately. Media were competing for the most terrible disaster scenario .
And then nuclear power plants in Japan were affected, there was an explosion - and, naturally, we worry. All TV channels brim with activity. Special news programmes. Everybody who knows how to spell "nuclear power" is called in as a specialist and interviewed. They cannot say much, of course, facts are hard to come by. So they say what they think. In between some "human interest stories" - and one journalist remarked that the Japanese were taking all this with amazingly little panic. Yeah, what a pity, would have made great pictures for the evening news, wouldn't it?
In fact, I am fed up with the "news coverage" of this. It does not help anybody, least of all the people in Japan and neighbouring countries . I want to know if my friends in that part of the world are ok, but I don't learn that on TV. I want facts and information. But what I don't want is sensationalist reports, pictures of crying children (I can imagine myself that the Japanese are not exactly having a party there) and a disaster simply used for selling advertising time.
And least of all do I need worried discussions about the question what the nuclear fallout could do to Germany. I feel it is necessary we dicuss our own nuclear power plants.
As to Japan, I feel deeply with the people there.All I can do is donate to relief agencies and pray for them - and ignore those who want to make money out of a terrible catastrophe.
In those days we had mainly the public broadcasting services for information and they did a good job.
When the earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan, we had already lived in the age of commercial TV for more than 20 years. Due to Internet and advanced technologies we were flooded with pictures of the disaster immediately. Media were competing for the most terrible disaster scenario .
And then nuclear power plants in Japan were affected, there was an explosion - and, naturally, we worry. All TV channels brim with activity. Special news programmes. Everybody who knows how to spell "nuclear power" is called in as a specialist and interviewed. They cannot say much, of course, facts are hard to come by. So they say what they think. In between some "human interest stories" - and one journalist remarked that the Japanese were taking all this with amazingly little panic. Yeah, what a pity, would have made great pictures for the evening news, wouldn't it?
In fact, I am fed up with the "news coverage" of this. It does not help anybody, least of all the people in Japan and neighbouring countries . I want to know if my friends in that part of the world are ok, but I don't learn that on TV. I want facts and information. But what I don't want is sensationalist reports, pictures of crying children (I can imagine myself that the Japanese are not exactly having a party there) and a disaster simply used for selling advertising time.
And least of all do I need worried discussions about the question what the nuclear fallout could do to Germany. I feel it is necessary we dicuss our own nuclear power plants.
As to Japan, I feel deeply with the people there.All I can do is donate to relief agencies and pray for them - and ignore those who want to make money out of a terrible catastrophe.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Stuff as TV shows are made on ?
This morning I remembered one of my favourite Shakespeare quotations, taken from his last play "The Tempest":
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.
(The Tempest, Act IV,1)
"The Tempest" takes place on a magic island and with these words the "master" and magician Prospero ends the show. Both, the play and this quote, leave a lot of room for interpretation I don't want to discuss here. And the idea that "all the world's a stage" (As You Like It , Act II,7) shines through his plays also at other places.
In his time, Shakespeare was a star writing plays that people from all social spheres watched and loved. Today we have TV - and we have things like "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" (= DSDS, the German version of "American Idol"). Of course, this show is not about finding and supporting talented young artists - it is about selling advertising time. After 10 years, people singing wrong notes is not enough to attract the audience's attention, so more exciting stuff has to be staged. In the last season one of the contestants had to go to prison half -way through the show. And just now I saw a magazine informing the bored viewer about the "biggest fight in the history of DSDS." !! It is a childish argument between two of the girls - so obviously written into the show by those who make it. Boring, shallow, blown up out of proportion . I prefer Shakespeare any time...
And yet, it makes me wonder ... I hope we are not such stuff as TV shows are made on ...
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| (http://www.dsds-superstar.com) |
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Romance Scammers - A Serious Comment
I have already written about the positive sides of Internet, but on 14th February you can find a slightly ironic post making fun of some of the more amateurish romance scammers I came across. But there is a serious background to it and I want to comment on it here.
Like already mentioned in the Valentine's post, romance scamming is no fun for the victim. I read heart-breaking stories of women or men for whom the material loss was not the most terrible thing, but who suffered for a long time from what can only be described as a traumatic experience. They had opened their hearts to someone, they had trusted him/her, had fallen in love, had thought they had found happiness - and then suddenly they found out that the "someone" did not even exist.
And that brings us to the negative sides of Internet. It is easy to pretend to be someone you are not - everybody can pose as someone else. The only solution is to be careful, never give away too much information too soon and ask questions. An honest person does not mind if you are suspicious, but beware of those who talk of "trust" and "confidence" as an immediate must when meeting a stranger.
By the way, you are not on the safe side when you avoid dating websites. Scammers can be found everywhere: Facebook, for example, is full of them, and I was contacted by several scammers on a site where I practise languages. So be careful who you add as a friend and who you talk to.
There are sites on the Internet that help when you have become a victim of a romance scam or if you want to get further information.
All in all, I have found more friends than scammers online - and I wish you all the same good experiences !!!
Scammer Cat ... I don't know who owns the copyright for this, but I found it on this blog.
Like already mentioned in the Valentine's post, romance scamming is no fun for the victim. I read heart-breaking stories of women or men for whom the material loss was not the most terrible thing, but who suffered for a long time from what can only be described as a traumatic experience. They had opened their hearts to someone, they had trusted him/her, had fallen in love, had thought they had found happiness - and then suddenly they found out that the "someone" did not even exist.
And that brings us to the negative sides of Internet. It is easy to pretend to be someone you are not - everybody can pose as someone else. The only solution is to be careful, never give away too much information too soon and ask questions. An honest person does not mind if you are suspicious, but beware of those who talk of "trust" and "confidence" as an immediate must when meeting a stranger.
By the way, you are not on the safe side when you avoid dating websites. Scammers can be found everywhere: Facebook, for example, is full of them, and I was contacted by several scammers on a site where I practise languages. So be careful who you add as a friend and who you talk to.
There are sites on the Internet that help when you have become a victim of a romance scam or if you want to get further information.
All in all, I have found more friends than scammers online - and I wish you all the same good experiences !!!
Monday, 14 February 2011
Romance Scammers
It is Valentine's Day today - the day of lovers and loved ones. The Internet message boards I am member of are full of romantic Valentine wishes for those who are in a relationship and even more wishes for those, who are not. So I am writing about something romantic, too : romance scammers. They pretend to love you, but are only after your money.
After I personally have been bored by so many amateurs, I thought it is high time someone writes a guide for young men who want to try this as a living. So here are some points a professional should consider:
- Check your English. Chances are you come across a teacher of English who gets very suspicious if you claim to be an academic and native speaker, but can't write a single complete sentence without mistakes.
- Check your victim's age. If she is older than 50, she might have children of her own and thus might not be interested in becoming the step-mother of a motherless 11-year-old girl, who will be a bitchy teenager faster than you can say "puberty".
- Particularly don't say you are widowed with a pre-teenage kid when she is a teacher ! She deals with them in her job, she doesn't want to have any at home as well.
- Don't move too fast: it is very suspicious if you say you cannot stop thinking of her and she is the woman of your life after half an hour of chat and a blurry photo.
- Don't be too insistant on getting her mobile phone number, a better photo, her real name, address, job information, income and things like that too soon, and particularly don't ask for this at your first "date".
- Don't ask for money after all together a few hours of contact. And the argument : "Yes, you are clever to be careful, but if you give me the money, you will see that I pay back..." is not very convincing. In fact, a professional scammer doesn't ask, but waits until money is offered.
In other words: LEAVE ME ALONE and don't bore me with your stupid stories !!
PS:
Sarcasm alert ... yes, the obove is meant ironically. There are warning websites on the Internet and if you never heard this term and are single, you should go and study them. Romance scamming is no joke for the victim, but maybe the above helps to raise awareness.
And: I still wish you all a lovely and enjoyable Valentine's Day !!!
After I personally have been bored by so many amateurs, I thought it is high time someone writes a guide for young men who want to try this as a living. So here are some points a professional should consider:
- Check your English. Chances are you come across a teacher of English who gets very suspicious if you claim to be an academic and native speaker, but can't write a single complete sentence without mistakes.
- Check your victim's age. If she is older than 50, she might have children of her own and thus might not be interested in becoming the step-mother of a motherless 11-year-old girl, who will be a bitchy teenager faster than you can say "puberty".
- Particularly don't say you are widowed with a pre-teenage kid when she is a teacher ! She deals with them in her job, she doesn't want to have any at home as well.
- Don't move too fast: it is very suspicious if you say you cannot stop thinking of her and she is the woman of your life after half an hour of chat and a blurry photo.
- Don't be too insistant on getting her mobile phone number, a better photo, her real name, address, job information, income and things like that too soon, and particularly don't ask for this at your first "date".
- Don't ask for money after all together a few hours of contact. And the argument : "Yes, you are clever to be careful, but if you give me the money, you will see that I pay back..." is not very convincing. In fact, a professional scammer doesn't ask, but waits until money is offered.
In other words: LEAVE ME ALONE and don't bore me with your stupid stories !!
PS:
Sarcasm alert ... yes, the obove is meant ironically. There are warning websites on the Internet and if you never heard this term and are single, you should go and study them. Romance scamming is no joke for the victim, but maybe the above helps to raise awareness.
And: I still wish you all a lovely and enjoyable Valentine's Day !!!
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