Lunch at the Hochschule (09.06.2008)

Lunch with some friends, courtesy of Mathias!

[Andreas, Benjamin, Mathias, Tino]

[Benjamin]

[Mathias]

[Me & Sebastian]

[Andreas & Thomas]

Sommerfest, 31 May 2008

The annual Lutherische Theologische Hochschule "Sommerfest" was held this past Saturday... there was beautiful weather, volleyball in the afternoon, an outdoor worship service in the evening, followed by a "Schwarz und Weiß" themed party, with lots of food, music and skits!

60. Jubiläum (19.05.2008)

Today is the 60th anniversary (60. Jubiläum) of the beginning of theological instruction at the Lutherische Theologische Hochschule in Oberursel! The official celebration is in three weeks, but after chapel this morning, a photo shoot for the new Hochschule brochure provided the perfect opportunity to sit in the sun with friends and enjoy some "Kaffee und Kuchen" - two of my favorite things! (The "props" for the photo shoot were, in fact, delicious! Andrea has been busy taking photos this spring for the new brochure.) So, on this special occasion, I wish you God's peace. Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone the glory)!

[L-R: Andreas Otto, Ryan Loeslie, Roland Johannes, Andreas Berg]

[Foreground: Tino Bahl, Helmut Paul; Background: Andrea Otto, Thomas Beneke, Anna Bartelt]

[Sebastian Anwand, me]

[Little Sophie asked Adreas if she could try on his "Brille"]

Der Hausmeister

You can hear him before you see him. The caretaker for the Hochschule is a gentleman in his 50s. He's always got a smile on his face when you greet him - but communication proves difficult (even for the Germans); he's got a heavy Hessian accent. (Hesse is the state I live in. When I flew to Germany last fall, I was sitting next to a couple for almost 20 minutes thinking "what language is that" before I found out they were German and from Hesse.) The students and residents here laugh that we never need an alarm on Saturday morning. Every Saturday he's out with his leaf blower - a large gas-powered apparatus - at about 9:30 - to the bane of any student who reveled into the wee hours on Friday night. (Last fall I saw him blowing the leaves out of the trees in a preemptive strike.) So, here is how I will always remember Herr Reichel, "der Hausmeister" (this picture is worth the "click" to see a larger version):

der Igel (29.04.2008)

Did you know that hedgehogs live in the wild in Germany? Me either. They do. I saw one tonight on my way to pick up my laundry. I noticed a small shadow ambling across the driveway just as I was walking by. So when he stopped in front of the Mensa (cafeteria) I went over to get a closer look. From about two feet away, I thought he looked a lot like a hedgehog. (Not that I can tell the sex of a hedgehog at night; I'll continue to use the third person masculine singular pronoun just to be consistent.) But I had not idea they were German. As I bent over to get a good look he just stood there. I went to pick up my laundry and sure enough, he was still there when I came back two minutes later. I saw my neighbor's light on - Tino - and thought he might get a kick out of it. When I described what it was, he guessed that it might be an Igel (hedgehog). Of course he was gone when we got there, but Tino used the opportunity to take a smoke break. He said you usually see them in the Fall, but usually on the street... run over (übergefahren).

Geburtstag

My birthday - yesterday, 32 - continued this year's theme of "better than I deserve." I was treated to a great day. It began with Frühstück (breakfast) with The South Africans. Then Roland and I booked a flight and accommodations for a trip to Dublin next week. Then, my birthday being April Fool's Day, I was treated to an impressive practical joke in the form of a very official-looking letter from the administration notifying me of a 400 Euro ($600) utility bill. That evening was a joint birthday party with Frau da Silva, wife of one of our professors, who happens to share the same birthday. She hosted and took care of the food. I just had to help cook for a few hours the day before (by "cook" I mean fry some meat and try not to burn anything) and buy some beer. It was a great party with around 25 friends and neighbors from the Hochschule!

(From left to right: Martin, Thomas, Naemi, Benjamin, me, and Mathias.)

(Party at the da Silva's!)

(Roland and me.)

(Dr. and Frau da Silva)

Greetings from Deutschland!

After much delay, I wish all readers a warm greeting from Oberursel! Friday I finished my four-week German language course at the Goethe-Institut in Frankfurt, Germany. (I would recommend the G-I to anyone working or studying in Germany. If you'd like, I can tell you more about their teaching methods, cost - it's rather expensive, I'm afraid - etc.) (I can't believe I've been here a month!) I have two weeks before classes start here at the seminary. My friend, Martin, arrived Friday from South Africa; tomorrow, we may drive to Tubingen, where he'll study for three semesters. (Martin was an exchange student in St. Louis last year.) My focus has been on learning the language the past four weeks, so I haven't traveled at all. We did, however, visit the International Auto Show in Frankfurt last weekend, which was quite a spectacle! (I may get to visit a friend in Italy next week.) I am happy to confirm that the bier is as good as I remembered (why can't American domestic beer taste like this?) The German women won the World Cup this afternoon. Several of my friends here are students from a sister church body in South Africa. Therefore, as rugby is the most beloved sport in South Africa, we've watched several matches. Tonight, the American squad faces the Sprinboks . . . we're going to get crushed, I'm afraid. If you've never watched the New Zealand team, the All Blacks, do their "Hakka" routine before a match, you must check it out on youtube!

I've truly enjoyed worshipping in German. My theological vocabulary is coming along nicely, so I can understand the liturgy fairly well. It can be extremely difficult to follow sermons in German. (I do listen to the Concordia Seminary chapel sermons on iTunes. Check the link at right.) The hymns are beautiful - my friend, Roland, is the church's incredibly talented organist. Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels, so we worshipped here last night. So, today, we visited the 17th century Catholic church in the historic part of downtown Oberursel.

I pray this post finds you well. God bless!