Luck of the Irish

On my father's side of the family, we can trace our Irish roots back several hundred years. Apparently one of my ancestors was knighted. There's even a castle named after us. Fancy smancy right? So, I feel this Irish heritage gives me the right to get stoked about St. Patrick's Day and pinch anyone not wearing green.

This was my first St. Patrick's Day that I could legally drink (considering the legal drinking age in the states is 21 and I'm only 20). Which, I'm not going to lie, got me pretty darn excited. So I made sure that my friends and I had plans to go out and frolic about Karlsruhe (wearing green of course).

As usual, I ended up having to buy something green last minute. I never seem to own anything green even though it's a fabulous color on me. I tend to stick to my neutrals. Point being, I went and bought green jeans. Which I love, and plan to wear quite often. So, see, they weren't just a superfluous St. Patty's purchase. (The fact that I'm trying to justify buying green pants to you shouldn't worry you in the least bit...). And in a very Ashley fashion, the buying of pants late made me late to meeting at Nacha's. When will I ever learn? Queen of procrastination and being unable to be on time ever? Why, yes that's me. (It's so bad that this will probably end up on my gravestone: "Sorry I'm late!").

Nacha, Bernie, Ivanka, and I had a very green themed dinner (see the picture and you know I'm not lying). I had brought along a couple St. Patty's accessories that a friend (thanks Ger!) had sent me from the States. So we decked ourselves out, us girls with green hair extensions, and Bernie wearing a floppy green and white top hat. Then I drew shamrocks on Nacha and Ivanka's faces. And my face as well because both declared my shamrock drawing skills far superior to theirs haha. After our self decorating, we headed out to meet up with friends in front of the Karlsruher Schloss.

Our yummy green dinner!

Nacha, me, and Ivanka with green hair and shamrocks.

We met up with a pretty big group of friends (and friends of friends) near the front of the castle. Our original plan was to meet and then immediately go to one of the Irish pubs in town, but as we should have predicted, they were all jam packed. So we decided to just hang out a bit and try our luck later in the evening. Which turned out to be quite fun. We just stood around talking and drinking beer under the stars. Simple, yet so perfect.

After an hour or two, our group split up to pursue different adventures. The group that I was with (my closer friends), decided to go to Sean O'Casey's Irish Pub. Which is in Marktplatz and only like a five minute walk from the castle. So we gathered our things and set out into the night.

Apparently our waiting didn't help in the slightest. We got to the pub and found it to be full of people packed in like sardines. For a time we loitered out front debating if it was worth it to go in. But several of our bladders made it a necessary thing, so we stirred up our courage and dove into the crowd.

Nacha, Bernie, Gabriel, Ivanka, and I hanging out in front of O'Casey's.

Me, Albert, Maria, and Gabriel wearing green!

Gabriel, Nacha, me, and Albert in front of the pub. See! Here is evidence of my green jeans.

After our bladders were happily relieved, we began to scout for seats. Well, it was more us staring desperately at the full to the brim tables and telepathically willing the people to get up and leave. It seems that our telepathic skills are better than we knew; a whole table stood up and left about twenty minutes into our wait and we all jumped into action and claimed a seat before the other pub goers could.

The rest of our time at O'Casey's was spent drinking ourselves silly and singing along with the live music. We also had a little contest to see who could down their beer the quickest, which I won (of course). But probably the most memorable part of the night was when Ivanka and I bought a rose for Nacha (yes, a guy was randomly selling roses in an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day). Her reaction was hilarious, I don't think anyone has ever been that excited or grateful for receiving a rose (not even The Bachelor contestants could compete with her enthusiasm).

Maria, me, and Gabriel.

Carmina, me, and Gabriel.

Me showing off my beer and Gabriel being a total goon in the background.

Me, Gabriel, Albert, Bernie, Nacha and Ivanka wearing the hats that the pub gave out to some of the crowd.

Me and Ivanka with Nacha's rose.

Nacha getting emotional over the rose Ivanka and I gave her.

Then our group of eight slip once more. Ivanka and I headed to another Irish pub, Scruffy's, that was less than a ten minute walk from Marktplatz. She and I arrived to find that it was so packed inside that people were drinking out front. We stood for a minute, figuring out a plan, when all of the sudden a very large (tall and wide) man in a kilt approached us. He talked to us a bit (figured out we were foreigners immediately), and then randomly he picked up Ivanka and spun her around in a circle. I laughed, but immediately took a step back not wanting to be next. But I was next, even though I tried to reason with the guy. Once he set me down on the ground he said "It's nothing to pick up someone as small and pretty as you." I blushed, thanked him, and then grabbed Ivanka and we headed into the pub. That guy totally made my week.

Scruffy's is smaller than O'Casey's, so we had quite the adventure getting from the front door to the bar. But Ivanka and I prevailed, getting our beers and making a dash (more like a slow crawl) to the front of the pub to drink out front. We ended up chatting it up for over an hour, enjoying ourselves quite thoroughly, before we decided it was time to call it a night.

It was a lovely St. Patrick's Day. I am one lucky girl to have such awesome friends, great experiences, beer, and green pants all in one evening. And I don't even own a four leaf clover.

Raccoons & Parades

When I think of the word "carnival", several things pop into my head. One thought being of a carnival that is similar to a traveling circus with Ferris Wheels and freak shows. Then I think of my church's Halloween carnival that we throw each year. Lastly I think of Carnival, where people celebrate the time before Lent and the coming of Spring. Then I laugh and think of Mardi Gras (drunk people and beads).

America, unlike the rest of the world (how very typical of us), calls Carnival, Mardi Gras. And it isn't a very huge holiday in the States except for in New Orleans (that I know of... I mean someone random in the Midwest could celebrate it and I would never know haha). However, a large portion of rest of the world celebrates Carnival.

Basically, Carnival and Mardi Gras are the same. It's one big party to shake off Winter and bring in the Spring. A long time ago pagans celebrated it as a way to get rid of the witches and evil spirits associated with Winter (similar to what they did for Halloween). But like a lot of pagan holidays, the Catholic church stepped in an created their own holiday to counter act the pagan one. Carnival became a time to give one last big hoorah before entering into the forty days of Lent. Basically a week to party like there is no tomorrow. And Fat Tuesday is the grand finale. Then you gotta be all holy and give up something on Ash Wednesday. I, for instance, said bye bye to Coke (the SODA... get your mind out of the gutter!), my all time favorite addiction besides chocolate.

Spring cleaning time! Gotta get rid of those witches in your closet!

So Fat Tuesday rolled around and I was pretty excited that I would get to celebrate actual factual Carnival. Since Tuesday is a work day for me, I worked. Imagine that. But, I did get off early to go to Karlsruhe's Carnival parade! Originally Martha was going to go with me, but she decided last minute that she didn't want to go. I was bummed, but it was better in the long run... it was absolute chaos at the parade.

Before I left for the parade, I got all dressed up. Which is what a lot of people do for Carnival in varying degrees. It's kind of like the rest of the world's Halloween (I still think Halloween is better). I, being the ever so creative soul that I am, created a costume out of what I had at home. So I transformed myself into a raccoon. Sans tail (couldn't figure out how to make that in the time that I had). Dressed in a mix of grey and black with a face painted face, I headed out into the city.

My raccoon face painting (acrylic paint).

My whole raccoon costume!

I was running a little late due to my costume, and thus my plans for the parade failed quite epically. You see, I was supposed to meet up with Nacha and her family (who were visiting from Chile) in Marktplatz. But by the time I got there, I realized I couldn't cross the street like I had planned to do, and the parade was just about to begin. And my phone battery was about to die so I didn't have much time to work out a plan with Nacha. So I decided to find a good place to watch the parade and then meet up with Nacha and her family after.

Of course finding a spot to watch was easier said than done. Just to get where I was standing (across the street from Europaplatz) I had to wade my way through hordes of people, most of whom were drunk. I wasn't keen on doing that again, so I looked for a spot nearby where I was standing. I was starting to get desperate when I finally spotted an okay spot where I would only have to peer above a couple heads to see. The parade had already begun, and I was glad just to be able to watch it. Little did I know what I would be dealing with the whole parade.

The parade was almost two hours long, and I instantly regretted not wearing a thicker jacket. My fleece is warm, but not warm enough for the cold wind that was blowing as the sun began to get lower in the sky (being so high above the equator is so annoying sometimes). I spent most of the parade bouncing on the balls of my feet to stay warm. It was also not so fun to stand in one place for that long, but I was distracted enough by the floats and parade goers that it didn't really matter.

The parade was really interesting. It was filled with a lot of traditional German Carnival costumes and clubs. Many of both have been around for several hundred years. Some are newer. But it's clear the clubs take Carnival, their floats, and their costumes seriously. I think my favorite were the witch costumes, they had these scary and intricate masks. They also were hilarious... they walked around with confetti and threw it on people. Or tried to hit you with a pigs bladder (no, I'm not kidding). Other clubs dressed up as lots of other things like clowns, Native Americans, and animals.

One of the floats. The girls in the braids, hats, and dresses are one of the tradition outfits I mentioned.

Pretty sure these guys were jesters.

See all that confetti? The witches were having a field day.

Like most parades, this one involved candy throwing. Which of course is awesome (nothing quite like having hard candy chucked at your head, right?). I like candy, most people do, so I of course wanted some. Now, I really only wanted like a handful or two, which isn't much considering how much candy was thrown. But I was thwarted in my attempts almost every single time I reached for the candy. Why? Problem #1: I'm a butter fingers and can't catch things to save my life. This is always a problem at parades. But usually I'm able to just pick up what I've dropped. But here entered problem #2: The people around me were drunk, greedy little bastards. Anytime candy would come, it was like we were getting brand new iPads thrown at us, the excitement and greed was ridiculous. I would reach for a dropped candy, and either be beaten to it (fair game I guess) or have it snatched out of my hands (not fair at all). Mind you, these are adults I am talking about here. There was only one kid near me, and he was at the front of the crowd, so he was getting candy handed to him by the people in the parade. He didn't have to fight over it like everyone else was. Since I was unwilling to take part in this bloodbath, I just gave up on candy unless it landed directly at my feet. Even then it was a challenge to claim it as mine. Ri-freaking-diculous. I've seen seven-year-old's with more manners.

Blue wig and blondie were the worst of my drunk "friends"...

So aside from ever so delightfully dealing with the company of a drunken crowd, I really enjoyed myself. It was such a cool parade. Candy, costumes, music, and excitement abound. The people watching opportunities were immense. And the looks people gave me for my costume were priceless. My one regret of the afternoon? I wish I had been closer to the front.

Once the last float had floated on by, I entered the sea of people to make my way out of the city center to meet up at Nacha's apartment. Once I got there I was one happy camper to be away from so many people. Crowds really aren't my thing. (Which is hilarious, considering how much I love Disneyland and how I deal with crowds there all the time. Moving on... ) Hanging out with Nacha and her family was a blast. We had tea and cakes and just relaxed. I chatted with her parents (who are super sweet), played Cars with her little brother (lots of car crashes were involved), and watched Simon's Cat videos on Youtube with her two sisters (so hilarious). I was sad to say goodbye when the night was done.

Nacha, Azu, me, and Jo. (Azu was still in her cat costume and I in my raccoon costume).

Carnival. One big party. Fun, and not so fun. I'm not a big party girl... I like my nerdy activities such as book reading more than getting drunk. I am really glad I got to experience it though. My rule is to always try something once, and if I don't like it I don't have to do it again. And I must say that I would definitely go to Carnival next year if I had the chance. I mean come on, who would miss out on an excuse to dress up like a woodland creature?! Not this girl.

Die drei Hexen

As an American, if you take a step back from our culture you will find that Halloween is a pretty strange holiday. I mean, come on, think about it. We dress up and go door to door asking strangers for candy, we create creepy houses that are meant to scare us on purpose, and we aren't really celebrating anything in particular. Weird? Most definitely. But fun? You bet.

I was really sad that I couldn't celebrate Halloween here in Germany. People have tried to start it up here, but it hasn't really caught on. Christiane told me that it is such a unique American tradition that it would have a hard time really catching on in other cultures. Which totally makes sense. But even though I couldn't really celebrate like usual, I was determined to celebrate in my own way.

I woke up on Halloween morning really excited. As I styled my hair and makeup crazily, I formulated a plan for the day. It was to be a day full of crafts, dress up, and pumpkin carving.

Martha was on Fall holidays (Yeah. They get a week off just because it's Fall. Why didn't they have this when I was in school?!). And because of the holidays she had her best friend Carlotta (from Freiburg) over for a couple days. The house was full of a lot of energy and happiness, perfect atmosphere for a holiday!

When I walked in the apartment the girls pronounced that I looked like a witch (we talk of nothing in this house but Harry Potter these days). I personally was going for the 80's vibe, but I was totally stoked to be a witch if that's what the girls wanted. They liked my hair and makeup so much that they begged me to do the same for them. I obliged of course. I got the biggest giggle out of the finished product. Big, ratted, poofy hair. Dark brown eyeshadow and some mascara (Johannes thought they looked like vampires haha). Martha got the idea to dress themselves up in "witch costumes." They ended up looking much more wild than I did. But utterly adorable of course.

My 1980's/witch "costume"

The morning and early afternoon consisted of lots of playing pretend. The house was not just anyplace, it was Hogwarts. Martha was Professor McGongall and Carlotta was Hermione. I was not allowed to join in, but I got the biggest kick out of watching them. While they played, I set up different crafts. When they needed a break from playing they would come and do a craft with me. We made ghost windchimes, mason jar lanterns, halloween themed pictures, and paper plate monster masks. Both Martha and Carlotta did an amazing job! I love how all the crafts turned out.

Our ghost wind chimes.

My ghost lantern.

Martha's pumpkin lantern.

Carlotta's lantern.

Martha's drawing of her and Carlotta as witches.

Our paper plate monster masks.

In mid afternoon Frieda came home from Kindergarten with Johannes in tow. She, unlike Martha, didn't have Fall holidays. All five of us spent the rest of the afternoon outside soaking up the nice crisp Fall weather. Frieda scooted up and down the street on her "bike" (it doesn't have pedals), while Martha whizzed around on her unicycle, and Carlotta tailed behind on roller blades. Johannes and I were pretty much just there for moral support (and to make sure they didn't get run over). For awhile I held Carlotta's hand to help her with her balance, but soon she was zooming around without my assistance. And gosh, I must say I am so impressed with Martha. She has balance I will never have. My disastrous self will not be riding a unicycle anytime soon. But she on the other hand, can fly down the street and turn around and come back without falling. Martha did take a couple spills, but she knows how to fall properly. She definitely did get frustrated towards the end of the afternoon when her falls became more frequent, but with some encouragement from Johannes and I she kept at it. Totally proud of her!

After our romps outside, my little witches and I decided to go buy ourselves a pumpkin. We tromped down to the local supermarket with the girls chattering away the whole walk there. We searched the store but came up empty handed. All the big pumpkins were gone! So the next best thing was to pick out three mini pumpkins and hope that we would be able to carve them. While we were in the check out line, I realized we were garnering quite a bit of attention. I mean, it must be a rare thing two have three witches walk into a supermarket (haha). The checkout guy looked up when he took my money and his mouth just hung open. It was all I could do to not bust up laughing right then and there.

Once we got home we went straight to work. Carving pumpkins is of course serious business. I covered three areas of the kitchen table with newspaper and got out the knives. Yes, I let seven-year-olds handle knives. I (along with Christiane and Johannes) helped them of course! We don't need missing fingers thank you very much! Frieda then decided that she wanted to join in on the fun. Thankfully we just happened to have a extra mini pumpkin lying around the house.

Bernard the pumpkin (my creation).

After some serious carving time, the pumpkins were complete. I got the votive candles and all three girls set the pumpkins out on the balcony and lit them. They took out our lanterns too. As it grew darker and darker the lights became more and more distinct. It was so pretty and eery all at once.

Our creations!

After dinner Martha and Carlotta came to my room to tell me they were going trick-or-treating. I laughed. I figured that was going to be something I missed out on this year. Well, I figured wrong. Christiane, myself, and the two girls headed out into the night to go to Christiane's office. Two of her co-workers were still there so that's were we were we would get our treats.

It was a chilly night and I was thankful I had thrown on a scarf and sweater. We walked for a good fifteen minutes and actually ran across a few other trick-or-treaters. When we arrived at the office, the excitement was running high. The girls rang the doorbell and announced "treat-or-treat!" to Christiane's co-workers. Lots of smiles and laughter followed. We stayed and talked for a few minutes and then we were off again. The girls of course got candy and were utterly happy. Christiane surprised me with a Twix bar. So even I got candy. Which made me really happy too!

Me, ridiculously excited that I got to go trick-or-treating.

Over all it was a great, very eventful day. It may not have been the usual Halloween for me, but I enjoyed myself all the same. Halloween with a German twist... what a treat!

Harry and Me

When I was eight years old I found a book in my mom's hope chest. One of her students (she is an elementary school teacher) had lent it to her so she could read it. But my mom doesn't really enjoy "fantasy" books (and movies) so she set the book aside and forgot about it. In fact, she thought she lost it, and had to buy her student a new book. Well, I found it a couple months later and my mom said I could keep it. That very day I began to read it, and gobbled it up within a matter of days. And suddenly, Harry Potter became apart of my life.

I grew up during the time when the Harry Potter books were being published. Being eight (1999) when I started reading, I was able to read the first three and then I only had to wait for the other four. Of course this waiting took most of my childhood since the last Harry Potter book came out when I was in the tail end of high school. I also had the pleasure of getting to see all the movies in theaters. I guess you could say I grew up with Harry Potter.

I have read and re-read all the books over and over again. Each time I discover something I didn't see before. There is just something about these books that never gets old. I re-read other books, but not as frequently as the Harry Potter series. I usually end up pulling out the series if I need some comfort or escape from every day life. Books are a means of escape for me, which can be good and bad like most things. But usually I read to remind myself that it is all going to be okay. No matter what goes on in a book, life always moves on; things change and grow. Harry goes through so much shit. But he isn't sitting in a corner crying the whole entire series. Sure he has his moments, like everyone does, but he always picks himself up and keeps going. And in the end, through all the pain and sadness, there is a happy ending for him. Harry always reminds me to keep going. He gives me hope.

Right now I am re-reading the series again (Christiane has all the books in English, yay!). I grabbed them all off of Martha's bookshelves and put them in my room. Over the past week I made my way through The Chamber of Secrets. I just started on Prisoner of Azkaban last night. Why am I reading them right now? Well, if I am completely honest with myself, I am feeling a little home sick. I miss my life. Halloween being tomorrow is totally not helping in the slightest. I feel so very far away from everything I know, love, and feel comfortable around. Not that this makes me regret my decision to come here in the slightest. I know this is where I need to be. And really do love it here. But not having a firm grasp on German has really made it hard for me. So once again I find myself turning to my Harry Potter books. It's really amazing how much better I feel after reading a chapter or two. The sense of panic in my stomach leaves and I am able to truly enjoy being right where I am. Of course it doesn't take away the home sickness, but it lessens it.

Me and three of the seven books (these are the UK editions)

Sometimes I wish I was eleven again, and that I was hopping onto the Hogwarts Express. But then I remind myself that living in a world of witches and wizards wouldn't solve all my problems. As much as my life isn't a cake walk, I have been blessed with so many wonderful people and opportunties. I would be a fool not to see that my life is magical in it's own right. I may not have a wand, invisibility cloak, or a lightening shaped scar; but I do have determination, imagination, and a life full of possibilities ahead me. I don't doubt that many other adventures await me after this one. I just have to be brave and strong enough to welcome them with open arms.