Lerner aus der Ferne

5 November 2009
Dear Diary,
It's a pause-time in my paperwork process for the impending move. There's not a whole lot I can do right now- licensure paperwork won't be available to me until January, the cat can't get her final checkup until February, and I won't be able to job-hunt until closer to March- so I've decided that it's high time to start learning about this fabulous new place I'll be moving to.
Kaiserslautern, Germany is unique for many reasons. According to Wikipedia (and we all know how accurate they can be), human settlement of the area dates back to 800 BC. It's within relatively easy access of Paris, Frankfurt, and Luxembourg, which is convenient today but has also meant that much of its history has been fraught with violence. It played home base to several key members of the Protestant Reformation, was practically obliterated during the 30 years' war, spent much of the 1th and 19th centuries under siege and occupation from the French, and was partially destroyed in Allied bombings during World War II.

Kaisterslautern, as seen from one of its five Rathauses. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Since then, the city has rebuilt itself and is now considered to be the Silicon Valley of Europe. It claims the largest swimming pool in Europe, an enormous botanical gardens, and the University of Kaiserslautern. It also has an art museum, several libraries (including one that specializes in Palatinate history), and a variety of sports complexes throughout the city. It is also in easy reach of the Rhineland's castles, wineries, and, of course, Munich's Oktoberfest. All of the websites targeting foreign nationals living in the area repeatedly stress that you will never run out of places to go, things to see, and culture to experience.
That's the other interesting thing about Kaiserslautern: its relationship with foreign nationals.
After World War II, the Allies set up permanent military bases in Germany and Japan, whose responsibilities include "deter[ing] aggression by maintaining combat ready, forward deployed ground combat forces" according to the US military website. The US bases in the Kaiserslautern region are, as a result, the home of some 50,000 US citizens, making it the largest population of Americans outside of the US. Ramstein Air Force Base and Landstuhl Medical Centre are both in this area- the former being the entry point for most of the US soldiers in Europe, the latter being the primary treatment centre for soldiers injured in the Middle East. In slang, because Americans have historically had difficulty pronouncing "Kaiserslautern" (hint: leave out the Rs), the city is also known as "K-Town." The large numbers of Americans in the area also means a direct economic relationship: Americans contribute approximately $1 billion annually to the local economy.
In the process of doing the paperwork for his work visa, Nick spent a lot of time in the Rathaus (town hall). He, like me, speaks English and French but no German, and discovered that the employees of the Rathaus, while helpful, either didn't know languages aside from German or would refuse to speak it to him. He managed to win them over after he used Google to translate a series of notecards with phrases such as "I'm sorry, my German is terrible" and "I need to find the person who can sign this form" written on them- apparently, holding up one card after another and looking apologetic made the entire administrative staff laugh and got him the help he needed.

Nanzdietschweiler, where Nick is currently living. Photo courtesy of panoramio.com

I've always believed in learning as much as possible about local language and customs before spending time in a new place, if for no other reason than the fact that I think it's respectful. But in this situation- with the military occupation, the history of destruction and combat, the economic role that the US plays in the area- it almost seems imperative. And that raises new questions about where my research should go next and what it's possible to learn without actually being in Kaiserslautern.
Nick has been helping me by passing along the words of wisdom he hears from his friends in the area, as well as his own observations. Some of what I've been able to pick up on includes such gems as his current apartment being adjacent to what he refers to as "the Scary Road of Death," which features narrow lanes, hairpin turns, and Germans going at rubber-burning speeds. Culture lesson the first: 160 km/hour- or, in American parlance, about 99 miles/hour- is a common driving speed. Culture lesson the second? Be prepared for second-hand smoke. Kaiserslautern residents apparently love their tobacco, and many restaurants feature the sort of smoking vs. non-smoking separation of the US in the late 80s (read: opposite sides of the room). Culture lesson the third: while Germans do have a word for vegetarian (vegetarische, if Google is correct), the concept hasn't translated very well to their restaurants. I, a vegetarian for thirteen years, need to get ready to drop the "dinner" part of "dinner and a movie" date nights while we're in Kaiserslautern.
So at least I've got a little warning. Limited food, lung cancer, and life-threatening road trips will be some of the cultural adjustments I'll be making in the near future, and I really should lay off the Google translate- or at least exchange it for something like Rosetta Stone products. Above all, I should be ready to spend my first few months in Germany adjusting to the fact that, no matter my intentions and desires, I'll technically be part of an occupying force and will feel the need to compensate for that. Negotiating what aspects of local culture to participate in, and which to leave out, will be determined in part by that power dynamic.
At the very least, I should invest in some notecards and practice my pathetic face.
-Erica