AK-47 and a truck

Does God want us to have guns? WWJD? Would he carry a gun "they didn't have guns back then but I believe he would carry a sword if he needed it but he wouldn't need it, he's so powerful." Seriously, watch the clip yourself, I think this anchor woman did a good job of keeping her cool. So glad I'm from New England.

USA

I am proud to be an American (most of the time) and I really do love my country. July 4th is one of my favorite days of the year. I begin with this because what I am about to say is pretty critical of the US. Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to experience the world outside of the US for an extended period of time and it has really opened up my eyes when it comes to US stereotypes and anti-American sentiment. At the moment, I'm watching the live coverage of Hilary Clinton's speech.
CNN is getting all in a twitter about Hil's mention of Twitter, pun intended, but I don't really think that was a main point. Mrs. Clinton stated several times that there are current global challenges that no country can take on alone, which sounded very cooperative. However, she followed with a statement about how no challenges can be solved without the US. This is where I can understand anti-US feelings. It just comes off as cocky at a time when the US literally can't afford to be perceived as such. Hello, we are in debt and in the middle of a world economic crisis which started in the US. Clinton, in no uncertain terms, referred to the US military as the strongest in the world. She also mentioned the US commitment to reduce nukes and ensure they are not used. I am all too aware, after visiting Hiroshima, that several countries possess enough nukes to annihilate the population of the world. I guess it does not matter how strong your army is if you piss off the wrong person.
I know this sounds like a rant, but I am truly worried for my country. We have an elitist attitude based on an elitist past. As Hil mentioned, we can not live in the past and we must deal with challenges in the present. She also referred to a diminished image of the US as of recent. A professor speaking to Doctoral students about publishing our work recently said, don't tell us how important your results are, show it. This is immediately what I thought as I listened to Hil. I think we need to seriously improve our world image and maybe the road to change needs to begin with a bit of realism. I believe the US has the ability to regain that top position in the world and Obama is certainly positioning himself to be an international leader but the steps taken along the way will soon show how well US actions are received in the world and I am done listening to what the Secretary of State tells me the US is capable of and ready to see the results.
On a related note, legislation is in the works for mandatory health care in the US. This has the potential to be life changing for many people and I am waiting to see what comes out before the legislature goes on August break.

Japan

As you know, we were in Japan for the past 2 weeks. I don't even know where to begin. I want to share so many impressions and stories from Tokyo to Fuji to Kyoto and especially Hiroshima, I took so much away from this trip. It was anything but relaxing but I would consider it a perfect vacation (even though we never made it to the beach). There was meeting of new old friends, engulfing in a completely foreign culture and still some of familiar things from the US made unexpected appearances, it is a baseball country after all. I ate less sushi than expected and enjoyed more naan bread than anticipated. The days were hotter an wetter than I believed possible and Fuji was colder than I would have liked. Tokyo was not as crowed as I had imagined but much larger then I knew. Hiroshima was filled with history and hope but lacked beaches, Miojima made u for the coast but the jungle was off limits. Patrick fell in love with Kyoto but quickly came to the realization that we would never see all of its historic sights (with 1 World Heritage sites along, i never imagined we would gt close). We bought yukatas (think summer kimono) and Japanese tea cups. We frequented 7-11 for the ATM and Vitamin Water and we walked a lot. The weather prevented us from summiting Mt. Fuji but it was for the best, we had a good climb and now understand the Japanese saying which implies you are a fool to climb twice. I have literally thousands of photos on 3 SD cards and a couple of videos which I have just begun uploading. I want to share so many but it will take me some time to get over this jet lag and sort through them. I can imagine I will get about one Japan story in blog form per week. Here are a few teasers:

Ranting

I just got off the phone with the IRS, why I was on the phone was irrelevant but the conversation I had made me say WTF! I spoke with a very nice woman and of course needed to provide my current address for confirmation. When she confirmed my address she commented on what a great phone connection we had -hello it is not 1980 I could call you over the internet and have a good connection. She answered my question and after providing the mailing address I needed asked if I like living abroad. I was a bit taken aback because call center operators don't usually make small talk. I paused briefly and then answered with a simple yes in order to avoid divulging details of my life to a woman who has my personal file open on her computer complete with social security number and all I know about her is her last name. Without hesitation, she countered my yes by saying she would never live outside of her United States. Of course, I love my country (USA) but I firmly believe no one from any country should have an attitude of superiority and ignorance toward the rest of the world. I simply stated "there's so much more out there" I intended to leave it here and end the call. I guess I underestimated the American ability to have a conversation with a stranger. She began gushing about how the US is the best because it is a new country. I don't think 200+ years is all that new anymore but that was not up for discussion. I told her we need to be more open to other cultures and be aware of what we can learn from other countries. She said something about the infrastructure and I explained to her how, in Germany, short work weeks have been instated in many companies in order to minimize layoffs and gave her an example of the benefits for the person, firm and government. At that point, she told me how the economic downturn needed to happen because people were spending above their means. I agreed with her (I do think consumer spending was unsustainable but I also feel for the people who are now unemployed and would not go as far as to say I was glad this recession happened). That was a long story to illustrate the real views of SOME Americans. I don't get why people think they are better than everyone else simply because of their country of origin and also question why others hate them based on their nationality. This was a very fitting time for me to have this conversation since I spoke with a student this morning who is about to study in the US. To be fair he has already done a year of high school and a semester of his MBA but he is going back to finish. Moral of the story is that we both agreed Europeans see the advantages of studying and working outside of their home country but Americans are much more hesitant to leave. Maybe we could blame the Atlantic ocean but I am kind if in love with the Atlantic so it can do no wrong in my mind. ;) Seriously, I really and truly believe it is so important for Americans to prove the stereotypes wrong and open our minds to other cultures. The melting pot may have boiled over but the world is only getting smaller and America is no longer the super power it once was from an economic, cultural or military standpoint. We need to face facts and make improvements if we ever hope to regain status in the world otherwise we will be consumed by China, and the EU. Look at the dollar, at one point ALL countries were on fixed exchange rates against the US dollar which was backed by gold now it is worth less than the EURO, GBP (sometimes Swiss Franc) and reached an all time low against the Yen. The world is changing American needs to adapt and we as Americans need to become aware of our surroundings and teach our children a second language from grade school! That's my rant, feel free to share yours in the comments, promise I'll read.

Bachies Finale

This is the University where I work - it is a castle, literally.

Yesterday was the last lecture of the semester for all the Bachelor students at the University of Mannheim and it was glorious. In case you haven't guessed, this was also the last lecture of the first course I co-organized. It was also the first bachelor class to graduate from the University which sounds crazy but you must remember that Germany did not have a bachelor/master degree structure previously so you could only get a diplom. Anyway, I think I was as excited as some of the students to see the course come to a close and anticipate having free time on Wednesdays again so I can focus on my own research. Of course, there are still grades to distribute and exams to administer and correct but the lectures are over.
During this last lecture I was quickly reminded that there is no such thing as a dry campus in Germany and it was odd. First of all, we noticed a few students with sunglases on inside and a couple who brought along a beer. About 10 minutes into the lecture the class got loud and we heard yelling from the hallway then three students entered. These students were dressed rather unusually, kind of Germany's version of white trash - a wife beater, sweat pants and socks with adidas type slides. They were appropriately accessorized with cliche tattoos, a grocery store bag of "stuff" and large cans of beer (5,0 brewed in Braunscherig), one even wore a mullette wig. They stopped in the front of the class and yelled something in a crazy accent then popped their beers and "prosted" the class in unison. At this point we realized there were more drinkers in the class than I thought becasue suddenly they wanted to be part of the toast. The class erupted in laughter and applause, I didn't know how to react. They just intereupted the professor's lecture and loudly drank beer in front of the classroom but it was funny, but I'm her support staff - can I laugh? I was not confused for long, when I looked away from our visitors, I noticed my professor laughing uncontrollably so much so that she stopped lecturing and asked the students if they had an extra beer for her. It was all in good fun and she recognized that. The students climbed over some empty chairs and "ordered" others to move so they could sit in the center of the lecture hall and maintained character throughout. At one point, they showed their appriciation of the professor by yelling (in the crazy accent) at the rest of the students to be quiet or go home so they could listen and when I needed a volunteer Mr. Mullett quickly volunteered one of his wingmen who executed without a problem. The lecture went off without any (other) major distractions and I learned that drinking on cmpus is not terrible. I really have no idea how this would go oveer at URI, I guess it would depend mostly on the professor and his or her sense of humor and respect for the rules. Who knows, maybe URI's days as a dry campus will soon come to an end with the end of Bobby C.'s reign.
Yesterday was also monumental for our department as one of my colleagues became a Doctor, the first one from our department of which she was a founding assistant in 2005. Congratulations Dr. S if you find this!! It was super exciting/emotional for all of us and motivating to me in a way that i can't explain. Every time I am in the atrium of the building in which the theses defense takes place, I see the candidates surronded by family and friends who have come to show their support (and grad students who have come to say congratulations, maybe fantasize and enjoy the refreshments). These occasions make me think of my family coming over to support me on my day. I don't even know if they will be able to but, I hope my parents and my brothers and my aunts and uncles and cousin will be there to see me become a doctore one day (I have a few years). It means so much to me that I've alread put the bug in their ears and mentioned a trip to Rome as a celebration/bribe. One da it will be my turn but there is a lot of hard work and luck standing between me and that day.
In case you were wondering FoKuHiLa (pronounced as foecoheela) is the Geramn word for mullett which I happened to learn ast weekend. The first letter should be the only capital letter but I capitalized the others to point out that it is actually a word play of sorts comprised of (Forna Kurtz, Hinter Lange) which translates to Front short, back long. Proving once again that Germany truely deserves it place as the most low context culture and a common textbook example.

Finished Product

Today, I completed my chair. I didn't actually build the chair but I gave it a new life.Yay for recycling! This chair was old and wooden with a terrible cork looking (but actually not) seat. I guess I should have taken a before picture for reference but I have another chair just like it so I will try to remember the before picture next time. I rescued these two chairs on my way home from work one day last fall. From the start, I planned to sand, paint and upholster them but they sat in the garage all winter awaiting a nice spring day and a trip to the local hardware mega store for the proper tools. In case you are interested, you would need sand paper, paint, foam and a staple gun. I got the fabric from a textile shop. Total cost of materials for the two chairs was just under 25 EUR but one third of the cost was the staple gun which I can use again.
I know I said I had two chairs but there is only one here and that is where this story gets a bit more interesting. Unbeknown to me someone had completely reinforced the other chair with screws and glue around the seams which means I was unable to remove the cork looking seat. At this point, I do not have the set of two I was hoping for, however, I have two options. the first and plan would be to go through with the sanding and painting of the other chair as is and upholster the entire bottom, not just the seat bit and maybe the top so it matches. This is more difficult because all of the seams would be visible and thus I would need to cover the staples and make sure all of the lines of the fabric line up on two sides. Option number two at first seemed unnecessary but may actually be the easiest. Apparently this was a popular chair style in its day because when we were at Patrick's parents' house last Christmas, I noticed they had one just like it sitting in the kitchen. When I mentioned that I recently picked up two identical chairs his mom offered me hers. Since we were there by plane, I didn't have a way to bring it with me and I didn't really need 3 chairs anyway so it stayed behind. Next week, Patrick will travel to his parents house by car so there is a possibility for him to bring it back this time. I like this plan because then I could have two identical chairs and get a different, black and white fabric to do the third one as a coordination.
I wish everyone could see the Eurovision song contest, mostly for the incredibly ridiculous teal 80s dresses the current group (representing Iceland) is wearing! The lead singer actually looks like she is going to the prom wearing a dress inspired by one of those toiletpaper cover dolls - insane!

Dieter Thomas Kuhn

Last Tuesday we celebrated my friend's Bachelorette days by going to a concert of one of her favorite performers, Dieter Thomas Kuhn. Basically he covers a bunch of 70s' songs and people dress in retro garb. I was told to dress like a hippie so I did. However, I expected pot-smoking, mellow, dirty hippies to be in attendance. It was actually super upbeat music sans drugs, dreadlocks and dirt. Here' what some of my friends wore: Because it was a Tuesday we got dressed in the office and because we are classy ladies, we walked across the city in our outfits, sunglasses down making one stop to buy two bottles of sparkling wine from a discount grocery store. We met up with the MOH and surprised our friend at her house, kidnapping her and making her dress in the van we were on our way. Once we arrived at the concert, I began to notice that EVERYONE was dressed and we were actually a bit under dressed. In keeping with German tradition for a bachelorette party, our friend had a list of things she needed to do in order to be allowed to marry (of course this is not serious but it makes it fun). One of her first tasks was to get men to sign her T-shirt. Check. Next, she needed to get 5 photos of her posing with shirtless men. This proved a bit more difficult and even though these men had nothing to hide, they refused to take their shirts off. I guess they didn't want to remove their green track suits. Apparently the band/lead singer often wears this same track suit to perform but during our show he wore something a little different. In the middle of this task the lights began to flicker so we headed into the concert hall to stake out a good place on the floor. unfortunately, several hundred people beat us to the best spots so we did our best to get close to the front of stage left. This later paid off big time when Dieter entered the audience and our bachelorette was able to talk her and 5 friends onto stage to dance with dieter. I was actually one of those friends, however, I got kicked out before I could get to the dancing part. It was probably for the best because I don't think I could have handled a solo dance with Dieter. Which reminds me, you must be wondering what Dieter wore, wonder no more you can revel in his three piece suit covered in silver sequins. Don't overlook that horrid moustache which was NOT on his face for the promo poster.

Throughout the performance, I thought he was serious and that his fans were insane. Last Friday, I wondered aloud if he wears his hair like that on a regular basis and my friend informed me that the whole show is a joke. Aparently he and his band started in the late 90s as a parody and soon found themselves playing to sold out audiences. After a couple of years, they retired on top convinced this insanity could not sustain its success and determined to quit while they were ahead. After several unsucessful attempts at their own music they disapeared. Recently they put out a new CD and began touring again to solidify their comeback. It is kind of visable that they are not in concert shape and Dieter didn't actually sing any of the songs. If you notice in that second to last photo, I was standing right next to him and could not hear his voice.
After the concert, we went to the impossibly packed afterparty, ditched for some frozen margaritas and capped the night off with a late night Italian dinner. By 4pm I was home in my bed and by 8:30 I was awake and headed to my longest day of work ever. Thanks to a large coffee, an ice cream bar and Coke light I made it through until 11:00pm the next day. I consider that a huge success.