94 Years Young

I've always loved the month of March. Spring Break; Saint Patrick's Day; Women's History Month; March Madness (if you're into that sort of thing). It's the harbinger of springtime-- the weather changes, flowers bloom, people seem to be happier and more joyful.  Though specifically I tend to eagerly anticipate March because of birthdays - not only my own (albeit worthy of bacchanalia) but also my Grandmother's.  She was exactly 70 years older than me, so it was easy for me as a child to remember her age.  When I turned 8 she was 78; when I turned 16 she was 86; and now I've just turned 24, which means she would've been 94 years young on March 26.

Geraldine Lulu McCaleb Shultz

(here she is about my age!)

Recently I was musing on the fact that being 24 means I probably can't count myself in the early-twenties category anymore, but rather the mid-twenties, which is ever-so-close to late-twenties and teetering on 30 and that can only mean my inevitable demise into wrinkledom and orthopedic shoes.  But then I had a conversation with my mom about how fortunate I am to have already seen and experienced so many things and how Grandma lived to be almost 4x my age - imagine that.  Really.  Imagine just for a moment that you could live to be 93 - all the places you could see (over 30 places in 30 years!), all the stories you could tell, all the lives you could touch. I can't begin to think of all the technological changes Grandma saw in her lifetime: cars, television, computers, cell phones; all the history: the Great Depression, WWII, the Cold War, September 11; and most importantly the fruition of her family tree: children, grandchildren, even a great-grandchild!

The Grandkids: Brandon, Brian, Lael, Kendall, Me and Cody

I remember spending the most precious days of my youth at her house sitting at the kitchen counter watching her cook, sipping mint tea and wanting to be nowhere else in the world.  I remember laying across her lap reading stories, working puzzles with her and my cousins and feeling an incredible sense of comfort and security.  I remember learning to play cards, listening to her stories and absorbing her words as if I'd never heard them before because I knew one day I might not have the chance to hear them again. Grandma spent almost an entire century blessing this earth with her humble spirit and generous nature, and I continue to pray I can one day leave such a legacy for the subsequent branches of our family tree.  

Lael, Grandma and Me

Let us celebrate March, the coming of a new season, and the passing of an era.  Let us honor an irreplaceable and unforgettable woman, mother, grandmother, twin sister, friend who would've been 94 years young this weekend. I wanted to create this post as a platform for family members and people who knew Gerry Shultz (aka Grandma) to be able to wish another "Happy Birthday" to a woman who never stopped smiling or caring for those around her.  Feel free to leave memories, thoughts or prayers for Grandma -- because I feel like somehow she'll be able to receive all our lauding, and also because I personally believe heaven's got wifi.

  

Ich Liebe Berlin

alternative post title: The Time I Went to Germany and Hung Out with a Filipino Transexual
subsequent disclaimer: for the more conservative of my readers, you've been warned

me in front of the Reichstag.

Last night I slept a solid 13 hours.  How, you ask?  4 nights in Berlin can do that to a person.  This week was Spring Break and instead of heading to Ibiza or Greece for a serious American-style student vacation, I chose to visit one of the most bustling art scenes in Europe: Berlin.  I originally planned to go with a friend now living in England, but her schedule didn't allow it and my friends from school were planning an all-too-expensive jaunt across 3 countries.  So I decided to do a solo trip, my first actually.  Not that I haven't explored places by myself, but I've never gone on vacation alone.

part of the East Side Gallery on the remains of the Berlin wall.

I utilized my CouchSurfing (CS) membership online and found a free place to stay.  For those of you who aren't familiar with the website, it's an online network of people traveling and/or hosting people who need a couch to crash on for a night or two.  You're able to view a person's profile, read about their experiences hosting as well as reviews by people they've hosted - they can even have their identity and location verified, so it's generally a secure network.  I went out on a limb (and decided to initially omit this fact from communication with the parental units) and decided to trust the system, and honestly I couldn't be happier that I did.

michael (germany), diane (philippines), phil (england), me and tomas (germany)

I arrived in Berlin late Monday night, managed public transportation and found my host's apartment in the center of the city.  I was greeted by Leonardo, a Brazilian bodybuilder/advertising specialist living in Germany and another fellow surfer Diane, an openly transsexual Filipino touring Europe for 4 months.  They were both incredibly friendly, and Leo gave me everything I would need: sheets, blankets, pillows, towels and the freedom to help myself to whatever I found in the kitchen.  We talked about our native countries and experiences in Europe - Leo has hosted over 50 people in his apartment from all over the world without asking anything in return, just to meet new people and understand other cultures.  I didn't get to hang out with him that much because he was working during the week, but Diane and I spent time touring Berlin together.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

She told me about a free tour the next day and we were able to see quite a few things on my list: the Brandenburg Gate (built as a sign of peace by the king of Prussia and initially one of the only gates to enter the city), the Holocaust Memorial (2,711 "non-symbolic" concrete slabs of varying heights to honor the 6 million murdered in the Holocaust), the Berliner Dom (incredible cathedral), Humboldt University (Einstein taught here and Marx studied here), Checkpoint Charlie (touristy recreation of the checkpoint between East/West Berlin), and even a few things I didn't expect to see including an dirty parking lot which, as it turns out, is 15 meters above Hitler's barracks during WWII - where he hid for the last 2 weeks of his life, where he married, where he killed himself; the former home of the Luftwaffe where 200 workers were gunned down in the 1950s because they were protesting their low wages; and I even learned about the history surrounding the Berlin Wall and what would happen if anyone attempted to traverse it.  I saw the monument beneath the square near Humboldt University with shelves and shelves of empty books in memory of those written against Germany/by Jews/concerning sexual research which were burned by the Nazis.

Kunsthaus (art house)

Berlin is truly a place of rebirth, as the city (or rather the country) has such a dark past but there is a sincere attempt at memorializing and acknowledging those tragedies.  In addition, the very recent fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 means the city is rife with political activism, diversity and therefore creativity.  It's nearly impossible to walk anywhere in the city without seeing murals or street art and I decided to use my second day to take advantage of an "alternative Berlin" tour and learn about life post-wall.  We walked around the city tracking artists and styles, then explored the Kunsthaus Tacheles which is an occupied artist squat where Berlin's creatives live, exhibit and practice art.  The entire place reminded me of something you could find in South Austin, but on a larger, more rebellious scale.

another work from the East Side Gallery

As for the nightlife (and reason I caught up on so much sleep last night) I must say it's the most active I've ever seen.  Europe in general is crazy about starting the parties at midnight or later, and even though I'm still in my early-20s (convincing myself 24 is still early- and not mid-) I am a wimp when it comes to partying for days until the witching hour.  What's great is that Berlin's CS scene is thriving and each of the nights I was there I was able to meet fellow surfers and hosts from around the world!  I met a guy from England who plays online poker professionally, a Russian who studies power engineering and once successfully hitchhiked to Amsterdam, a German who's leaving April 1st on a 3 year trip to ride his bike solo across the world, I conversed with an Irishman in Italian, told a French girl about Texas (she'd never heard of it), and even met a guy from San Francisco who was wearing a t-shirt with "Austin, Texas" on it.  I can't even express to you how great this experience was - talking to people from all over the world with entirely different backgrounds and somehow we all had a mutual understanding and ability to relate to one another.

me in front of the Berliner Dom

This post is already getting lengthy, but suffice to say my trip to Berlin was unforgettable - I visited the Island of Museums, tasted the best currywurst in the city (and ordered in German!), stayed out dancing until 6AM when the birds started chirping, made instant friends with the most diverse group of people you could imagine, and essentially had the time of my life.  I think there's something unique, even primal about going somewhere alone without knowing what to expect and managing to survive in the given circumstances.  You learn so much about yourself, what you're capable of and most importantly what exists beyond your understanding.

For believe me: the secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and greatest enjoyment is - to live dangerously. 
--Friedrich Nietzsche

I've Been a Busy "B"

This may be the longest I've gone without posting - nearly a month!  I'm not sure where time went, folks, but I can tell you it's been crazy for me these last few weeks:

Carnevale in Venezia!

• Went to Verona and saw Juliet's balcony
• Went to Venice with some schoolmates for Carnevale
• Had 4 tests (written and oral) and somehow made it out alive
• Turned the big 2-4 and celebrated Italian style
• Tried to plan my Spring Break trip very last minute

grabbing Juliet's chest. it's for good luck in love, not just for tasteless photo-ops.

So that's what's been happening with me, as you can imagine it's been a bit hectic.  The trip to Verona/Venice was so much fun, 4 of us from school joined a big group of people from Torino and spent the weekend touring romantic cities, having masked adventures and enjoying the traditional costumes of Venetian Carnevale.  We met 2 couples from Torino that took us Americans under their wing to make sure we knew what was going on - they invited us to get a pizza with them in Verona and since I was the only one of us able to speak Italian I played translator all night between the groups.  We had lots of fun getting to know our new friends and trying to understand each other via gestures and lots of laughs.  We've been invited to one of the couples' houses for dinner in the coming week!

me and the girls under the porticos in piazza San Marco - it started to rain!

Last weekend we celebrated my birthday and it was such a blast!  I had class and was working at my internship all day Friday when my roommate Georgina texted me and asked if I wanted to meet for a gelato in the center.  I couldn't say no to such a request and when I met her at our usual place I was incredibly surprised to see Ricarda, my German roommate from last semester!  She'd flown into Torino for my birthday weekend to surprise me and I couldn't have felt more special.  The next morning (my birthday) I awoke to a most wonderful surprise brunch of everything you could imagine: pancakes, eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruit salad, and someone got their hands on peanut butter which was exciting.  There were fresh flowers arranged on the table and Georgina had even bought a shirt for me that said "Kiss me it's my birthday!" in italian -- I was so touched!

birthday bruuuuuunch!!!

I'd organized a dinner on Saturday night at Las Rosas, one of the few Mexican restaurants in Torino, and at the end we had 16 people all celebrating lil' ol' ME!  A few of my professors showed up and I was surprised at all the gifts I received (a few art books, bracelets, a scarf, some nutella and nailpolish as well!)  We enjoyed the "Mexican" food (I held back my Texas judgment on quality) and spent the rest of the night dancing.  For the days leading up to my birthday I thought I'd be sad and miss home since this is the first time I've been away from family and friends (and the United States) for my birthday, but all the effort my friends here put into making the day special was much appreciated and I couldn't have asked for more.

our group at dinner - they sang happy birthday in 3 languages!

me in my birthday outfit.

In other news, I was waiting for a friend to confirm a trip to Berlin with me over Spring Break, but she went MIA for a few days and I decided I would plan my own trip - so Monday I'm off to Germany for the first time (can't count all the times I've been to Frankfurt airport) and I'm super excited!  I went to the local library a few days ago to check out some travel books and there will be plenty for me to see in 4 nights, 3 days - after all there is an island of museums!  Expect updates upon my return, and do forgive me for the recent lack in posts.

Un bacione! xoxo