Israel

Dear friends visiting and/or living in Israel,

I miss you. Come back State-side.

Love,

Jill

reverse culture something

Why am I here?

Yeah, I don't write often in my blog even though I tell myself too. Whatever no one reads it anyway. This "attempt of motivation" is certainly not proving to be a very good one, but I don't care anymore. Really, I'm just caring less and less about things.

Is that the reverse culture shock or whatever they want to call it? Maybe. The "welcome home" has been nothing than just being thrown into a pile of crap. I arrive a few days before the holiday, the most stressful time of year to find that I'm still stressed out, I'm still confused and I'm just plain tired. I'm frustrated, I'm confused, I'm anxious and I don't want to be here. I wasn't ready to leave Berlin. That's a strange thought. I never thought I would ever consider Germany a home. My home, for that matter. And it's not just now that I'm feeling this blow. Nope, I've been feeling it for awhile. The airport frustration was enough to worry about in Berlin and in Frankfurt, but when I got to Philly and was actually slightly more well rested and hydrated, I still knew it then. Philly was America and that's not what I wanted or was ready for. I had barely been back in the States - I hadn't even stepped outside the airport area - and internally I was already screaming.

All right, enough of that, right? No, sorry. Apparently the four months that pass mean little to most people including my family and arguments and aggravation start soon after. Flush away my ability to make a decent Christmas and with that goes my ability to enjoy a birthday. My 21st, by the way. It matters little to me, to be honest. Birthdays rarely do. I gave up attempting to celebrate them. I plan, a little, but even the simplest of things seem to go awry. I can usually only depend on a few people. But what is there to do anyway? 

Congrats, Jill, you can drink...just like you have for the past 4 months in Europe, but it doesn't matter anyway because you really don't drink. AWESOME.

I don't know what it is with me. The anxiety attacks lately are more than I can handle and I don't think I can blame it on culture shock anymore. I'm just frustrated with them now. I hate the anxiety and panic attacks when I have absolutely no idea where they are coming from and they are so paralyzing that I feel like vomiting and I start sweating. Really, they are incredibly pleasant as you can imagine. I almost passed out in a Gap changing room the other day from one.

Lack of nicotine? Maybe. I always prided myself for not being a "real" smoker and I couldn't help but be a bit disgusted with myself for being one. I usually quit easily, but with the onslaught of severe anxiety, a cigarette sounds like the medicine of Gods. But I can't. Maybe that's part of it. I drove myself into another anxiety attack today with a craving for one and then held back. Thankfully my cheap personality keeps me away from actually buying cigarettes so that keeps addiction far enough away.

So if anyone actually reads this...Hi, I'm back in the States. I'm far behind on anything I ever promised to write. I've been to myself and bad to people. I'm upset without the ability to pinpoint reason. And I'm a mess. A complete, complete mess. Sorry. 

Jill forces theatrical intelligence

So what is the collective history of Germany? What kind of building can represent that? In this episode, Jill writes a paper and goes geek. Rough draft:

            Though Theater des Westens may not be the top priority of most Berlin tourists, the history behind the theatre is still somewhat relevant to the development of entertainment in Berlin and the German-speaking musical world.

Built between 1895 and 1897 by Bernhard Sehring, the theater was originally intended for use as a private concert hall with the ability to house the public in the future. Sehring’s idea was also to make the hall into a “Richard Wagner theatre” with the ability to house a decently sized orchestra with a proscenium to accommodate the staging. The architecture of the theatre itself derives from many different historical styles ranging from the Roman Empire, the Middles Ages, and the Renaissance. Sehring had also incorporated the popular Art Nouveau styles with the peek of the movement began around the same time as construction.. The German movement of this is called Jugendstil (derived from the name of a Munich-based magazine, Jugend: Münchner illustrierte Wochenschrift für Kunst und Leben), though this Germanic form of Art Nouvea was not introduced until 1896, just after the construction of the theatre. The combination of the architectural elements was seen as controversial at the time of the theatre’s construction.  Despite controversy, Sehring was certainly no stranger to architecture. Sehring’s architectural influence is evident throughout northern Germany and Berlin primarily in theatre, though many of his pieces were destroyed during World War II. Shortly after his acceptance into Architektenverein zu Berlin, he received first prize for a design competition for Berliner Museuminsel.

In 1895 Sehring began construction on the theatre despite not having a severe lack of funds and the required building permit necessary to take on the project. Needless to say Sehring accumulated enormous debts, but was still able to finish the theatre in just over a year’s time. It was the necessity to build up much more publicized and successful company in order to bring more attention to the theatre. For this, Paul Blumenreich was one of the theatre’s founders alongside Sehring however he had often credited himself as the theatre’s sole founder, saying “[…] und damit habe ich der Kunst der Zukunft ein herrliches Heim errichtet, da, wo ehedem ein schwarzer, schmutziger Bretterzaun stand.” The Theater des Westens GmbH alongside Sehring brought criminal charges against Blumenreich for his dishonorable intentions. He was convicted, but the charges were mild. Despite his disorderly conduct, the theatre had benefited financially. Though he is considered one of the theatre’s founders, Blumenreich was unable to help but leave a bitter reputation behind.

With Sehring considered to be the theatre’s masterful founder and artist, an inscription inside of the theatre reads, “Hanc domum artis colendae causa condidit. Anno MDCCCLXXXXVI Bernhard Sehring” (This house created by Bernhard Sehring in 1896 for the care/appreciation of the arts). Sehring remained the theater’s owner until his death in 1941.

The theatre had opened with mostly dramatic pieces, but since then it was used primarily as an opera and operetta house. In 1935, the theatre was used as part of the Kraft durch Freude Nazi program with a production of Beethoven’s Fidelio. The program aimed to proved organized leisurely activities to those in the German work force. The mentality behind Kraft durch Freude was “relaxation for the collection of strength for more work.” The government provided events directed towards the working class that were affordable and enjoyable, paying particular attention to both vacation times and the arts.

One of Theater des Westens’ most important functions was what it had provided to the Deutsche Oper. In 1944 during World War II, the building was partially damaged by a bomb, but the damage feigned in comparison to the Deutsches Opernhaus. Theater des Westens’ most heavily damaged areas were the roof, foyer, and the administrative offices. The roof was temporarily restored and soon housed the Deutsche Oper, which remained there from 1945-1961.

            Looking at the history of Theater des Westens up until 1961, the house seems like nothing more than merely a place for pre-existing operas and operettas. There seems to be little influence on what we see in Berlin or in Germany today. But for the theater and musical theatre community, Theater des Westen’s most pivotal performance may have been that of the German translation of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s musical My Fair Lady, which opened at the theatre on October 1, 1961.

            My Fair Lady’s libretto and story is based strongly upon the English language that the ability for the piece to be translated into a German representation spoke strongly to the theatre community, particularly to Berlin, which had been divided by the wall only months before the opening of the production. The piece, which relies heavily upon English/British speech dialects including cockney and Queen’s English, was translated to reflect upper-class German dialects and a heavy Berlin dialect or “Berlinische”. Despite the shocks sent through Berlin with the construction of the wall, the production was a success.

            So successful was the production and its translation that it was able to transcend the divided Berlin. Five years after the production premiered at Theater des Westens, it was performed at the Metropoltheater in East Berlin. There were, of course differing interpretations of the meaning of the production. In West Berlin, it depicted a traditional rags-to-riches story while in East Berlin, it was a critique to the failures of capitalism.

            Theater des Westens became the prime musical theater in Germany with many German-language musical premieres. This included original German-language musicals as well as the German-language translations of English productions such as Cabaret and A Chorus Line. The theatre may very well have shaped the creation of German musical theatre. The once exclusively English/American-based theatrical art started to spread to German composers and writers thanks to the success of the productions that began at Theater des Westens.

            Musical success continued for years into the 90s when an original German production of Blue Jeans ran sold-out for months on end. But the theater hit financial woes after the production finally closed and in 2002 the Berlin Senate privatized the house over to Stage Holding, one of Europe’s most successful musical theatre production companies, headed up by Dutch producer Joop van den Ende. Stage Holding/Stage Entertainment has also been the production company behind nearly every major main-stream theatrical musical in mainland Europe. The productions are usually translated from English and have continued to be incredibly successful throughout Europe. Productions include West Side Story, Les Misérables, and Beauty and the Beast among others. After a renovation done by Stage Holding/Stage Entertainment, the gala opening of the German production of Les Misérables opened at Theater des Westens on September 26, 2003.

            With the success of musicals at Theater des Westens, the shape of the German musical has been changing as well. Most notably are composer and lyricist duo Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze who have created the most successful musicals to come out of the European mainland (the most successful musicals still belong to American and British writers). Unique to them is that Levay/Kunze are nearly as successful as their American/British counterparts, but their pieces are in German. With the continued funding from the Stage Holding production company, their many successes include Mozart!, Elisabeth, and Rebecca. In fact, Elisabeth is the most successful musical to come from the European mainland. With the growing popularity of the Germanic musical, Theater des Westens continues to revive and embrace the productions. Of the original German pieces out there, Theater des Westens is still considered to be the cultural and musical pinnacle for performances.

            Perhaps what’s so truly interesting about the effect of Theater des Westens on Berlin identity and culture has been its ability to house an artistic style that was once foreign to Germany. With the success of productions such as My Fair Lady and Theater des Westens’ continued commitment to musicals, the ability for the art form to grow has certainly helped the arts scene in Germany. The continued success of the German musical makes it one of the top in the world, rivaling the British-based productions (from mostly Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Macintosh).

            Theater des Westens shows a continued wave of musical development in Germany. Its memory seems almost forgotten at times considering it has housed mostly revivals and translated productions as opposed to new and original productions. But as far as a collective memory for Berlin and Germany, it’s important to remember the houses’ ability to constantly bring people together through the arts. This goes for anything from the house’s original productions, the Kraft durch Freude, or Stage Holding/Stage Entertainment’s commitment to bring international musicals to Germany. Theater des Westens is probably one of the few houses that can boast a repertoire of theatre that has shown a chronological progression of music theatre from opera to modern musical theatre.

Work Cited

Publicity Information from Katja Borch, PR Manager of Theater des Westens.

Janberg, Nicolas. Theater des Westens. Nicolas Janberg’s Structurae: International Database and Gallery of Structures. December 14, 2008. .

Jansen, Wolfgang. My Fair Lady: Die deutsche Erstaufführung 1961 Im Berliner “Theater des Westens” Berlin. Weidler Buchverlag Berlin. 1992.

Nandi-Pietschmann, Jacinta. Musical Theatre: My Fair Lady. Expaticas. December 15, 2008. August 14, 2008.

Pipes, Jason. Kraft durch Freude. Feldgrau. December 16, 2008. .

http://architekturmuseum.ub.tu-berlin.de/index.php?set=1&p=79&Daten=99904

http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/period_artnouveau.shtml

http://www.berlin.de/stadt/en/krz_4.html

http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm

http;//www.morgenpost.de/kultur/article746515/My_Fair_Lady_ist_zurueck_in_ Berlin_mit_Laengen.html

http://new.heimat.de/deutscheoperberlin/start/?id_language=2

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/bauen/wanderungen/en/s2_theaterdeswestens.shtml.

http://www.stageholding.nl/html/272_391.html

And you all thought Germany was fucked up

USA Today

EASTON, Penn. (AP) — The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance.

Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah, are upset not only with the decision made by the nearby ShopRite, but also with an outpouring of angry Internet postings in response to a local newspaper article about the cake.

Heath Campbell, who is 35, said in an interview Tuesday that people should look forward, not back, and accept change.

"They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what (Hitler) did," he said.

After ShopRite refused the request for the cake as inappropriate, the Campbells got a cake decorated at a Wal-Mart in Pennsylvania, Deborah Campbell said.

About 12 people attended the birthday party on Sunday, according to Heath Campbell.

The Campbells' other two children also have unusual names: JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell turns 2 in a few months and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell will be 1 in April.

Heath Campbell said he named his son after Adolf Hitler because he liked the name and because "no one else in the world would have that name."

Campbell said his ancestors are German and that he has lived all his life in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, which is across the Delaware River from Easton.

Skype

Sarcasm?

Sarcasm finds medical use in dementia detection

SYDNEY (AFP) – Sarcasm may be the lowest form of wit, but Australian scientists are using it to diagnose dementia, according to research published on Friday.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales found that patients under the age of 65 suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the second most common form of dementia, cannot detect when someone is being sarcastic.

The study, described by its authors as groundbreaking, helps explain why patients with the condition behave the way they do and why, for example, they are unable to pick up their caregivers' moods, the research showed.

"This is significant because if care-givers are angry, sad or depressed, the patient won't pick this up. It is often very upsetting for family members," said John Hodges, the senior author of the paper published in "Brain".

"(FTD) patients present changes in personality and behaviour. They find it difficult to interact with people, they don't pick up on social cues, they lack empathy, they make bad judgements," he told AFP.

"People with FTD become very gullible and they often part with large amounts of money," he said, adding that one in 4,000 people around the world are afflicted with the condition.

Researchers began studying the role of sarcasm in detecting FTD because it requires a patient to spot discrepancies between a person's words and the tone of their voice, Hodges said.

"One of the things about FTD patients is that they don't detect humour -- they are very bad at double meaning and a lot of humour (other than sarcasm) is based on double meaning," he said.

The research, conducted in 2006-07, put 26 sufferers of FTD and 19 Alzheimer's patients through a test in which actors acted out different scenarios using exactly the same words.

While in one scenario, the actors would deliver the lines sincerely, in others they would introduce a thick layer of sarcasm. Patients were then asked if they got the joke, Hodges said.

For example, said Hodges, if a couple were discussing a weekend away and the wife suggested bringing her mother, the husband might say: "Well, that's great, you know how much I like your mother, that will really make it a great weekend."

When the same words were delivered sarcastically and then in a neutral tone, the joke was lost on FTD patients, while the Alzheimer's patients got it.

"The patients with FTD are very literal and they take what is being said as genuine and sincere," said Hodges.

FTD, often referred to as Pick's disease, is similar to Alzheimer's in that it involves a progressive decline in mental powers over a number of years, but FTD affects different regions of the brain.

"It can be very difficult to diagnose in early stages and to separate from depression or, later on,schizophrenia or personality disorders," Hodges said.

The sarcasm test could replace some more expensive and less widely available tests for dementia, he said.

When questioned about the applicability of the test to people from countries not renowned for their appreciation of sarcasm or irony, Hodges said the test could be modified.

Lily spells

Thanksgiving in Berlin

Well I'm on my recent bount of insomnia, but hopefully that will remedy itself out soon. For about three days I wasn't going to bed before 5 and the past two or three have been nothing before 3. It's already 2:15 now and I'm wide awake and have to get up for class at 8. We'll see what happens.

But more importantly is that it is Thanksgiving and it's the first time I'll be away from home for the holiday. I'll miss mom's cooking, of course, but we're all attempting to make the most of it now. A nice chunk of our program is planning Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, sides, and hot cider. Yeah, basically we're awesome.

For some reason I suppose I like the idea of sadmasochism, knowing that I have to get sleep, I'm exhausted and yet I'm awake writing. I don't know what it is. Ok, well I will write more, I want to write more and yet I won't. Nothing coherent is coming out. Nothing makes sense.

Pictures of Thanksgiving to come if I don't put the procrastination off too much...considering there's still something I want to say about Vienna.

Amy RSVPs to Thanksgiving Potluck

COUNT ME IN! but dont expect me to bring anything... at all... I'm purely just going to show up and shove the food into my mouth and then leave without even saying thank you.. basically the usual amy-mode-of-operation.  

but really, what should i bring? just tell me and i can do whatever!!

Facebook guessing game

This is what we do on a cold night in Berlin.

Open up the laptop, pull up Facebook play the "Guess Who"

What happened tonight:

Pessimistic Description is read

Lily: Ew, I don't like this person, it must be ******

Some Pre-Thanksgiving Treats

Well, I know that I should be writing more and I've promised more particularly from break, but aside from my own procrastination, the internet I'm using here just plain sucks. I'll just say that plain and simple. It sucks.

So instead I'll give you this. Avoid the videos and find the PETA propaganda your entertainment source.

PETA Cooking Mama

Backpacking: Vienna Part 2

This is really Day 3 of Vienna. I know, I'm missing an entire day of stuff that I did in Vienna, but that's something that requires me to write a little more extensively. Perhaps my most eventful day in Vienna came the day after Halloween and the day I was to leave Vienna. I told myself that I would hit as many things as possible before my bus that evening. 

So the agenda the following:

Hit the Danube

Get to Schönbrunn Palace

Eat Original Sacher Torte at the Sacher Café

I did it all in the day. The enormous backpack was left behind at the hostel and I forced my laptop in my crappy little backpack so that I was assured it wouldn't get stolen in the luggage room. Maybe not the best idea for my shoulder, but done nonetheless.

So not a lot to say. The Danube was not as grand as I thought it would be. The Spree in Berlin, the Seine in Paris, and the Rhein in Cologne are all significantly more impressive. I suppose that's the test of time right there or maybe I just didn't see a nice area of the Danube. I'm pretty sure I just saw a little crappy area of it. Oops. I don't know. So here's to you, Strauss.

I had ventured (a few times) near Hofburg Palace just because it was in walking distance to a few other historical things and it was quite touristy so it was easy to walk around. Unfortunately, I didn't check out more of Hofburg as I told myself I would get to Schönbrunn. Hofburg was not too far from the Herrengasse stop on the U3 and walking distance to Stephansdom, which was under construction. I, of course, didn't go inside, but oh well. If I had more time in Vienna and was less exhausted, I'm sure I would have actually looked at things more intimately.

So the big thing of the day was going to Schönbrunn, which I didn't really think too much about until I actually got there. I couldn't help but feel as if I was getting back to my family roots. Granted, I'm not some kind of royal descendent, but my family does come from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and this was the palace that housed the royal family during the time my family had been living in the area. That alone was a pretty interesting thing to see. And again, I didn't go inside, but spent plenty of time exploring the grounds of the Palace, which I think was actually prettier and more appealing than the Palace itself. I would guess that I walked along most of the grounds seeing the pieces that were added including the Gloriette structure and the Roman Ruin.

Strange little note about food in Europe is that street food is a lot different than what we're used to in New York. Perhaps it's just me, but I can't help but feel more like I'm absorbing a culture when I experience the street food. There isn't a grimy sense like one gets from the street food in New York and to see locals eating it too is a sense of relief. As I've seen in a lot of European cities there are people often roasting chestnuts and in Austria they have huge roasters that look like big tin barrels. They're usually roasting chestnuts, potato puffers, and wedges. So for about 2 or 3 Euro I got some potato wedges with garlic sauce...and as horrible as it is to say this was probably one of the best things I ate on break. And of course, as disgustingly full as I was I still said that I'd get Sacher Torte. Hey, those were the only things I ate that day except for some coffee.

So the Sacher Café is not too far from where I had originally started near Hofburg. It's a little bit more of a walk from there, but the Café is located next to the Stadtsoper. So I took the U-bahn to the Stadtsoper, but of course why not stop at the bathroom...the opera toilet.

And the wonderful Original Sacher Torte at the Sacher Café. Not too far from the Stadtsoper. I blush to say that I couldn't finish this. Pathetic, I know. I was still full from those cheap potatoes. Damn it, carbs!! Warum?!? But delicious nonetheless and worth the rather touristy visit to it.

And then came the 10 hour bus journey back to Berlin. Drove through the Czech Republic, stopped by German border control and arrived back to Berlin close to 5:30 in the morning. AWESOME.

Backpacking: Vienna Part 1

So here goes the continued belated posts of what my two-week break was like. Anyway, after heading from the gray and rain of Stuttgart, I got on a train to Vienna. Two transfers to go along with that: Munich and Salzburg. Funny that I've been to both of them. The thing you have to remember about taking Deutsche Bahn or any other European train (maybe with the exception of the French) is that the transfers happen quickly. You might think that transfer are like airports especially considering how big the trains are and how they really are used on such long distance journeys like planes. But of course, this is not the case. You get off of your train and you have to more or less sprint to the train in hopes that it won't leave without you. The seven and a half hour journey to Vienna was great. In fact, I feel as if anytime I head to Austria, there's something very nice and relaxed about it and I just feel incredibly comfortable.

So Stuttgart to Munich:

It was snowing a bit when I left Stuttgart and about 45 minutes or so into the trip, there was snow covering wherever we were passing through in Germany. Beautiful.

I sat near a grandmother, her daughter, and two grandchildren (one boy and one girl) as well as another woman with her two kids as well. Strangely enough the behaviour of children that usually drives me nuts, didn't bother me much at all. Maybe it was the fact that I was sitting in first class (fuck yeah, I said it) or that the train was empty enough that there was no a claustrophobic feeling at all. I slipped on headphones and found myself slipping in and out of sleep pretty easily. But even when I did wake up, they were simply just nice people surrounding me. I ended up making conversation with the older woman particularly because of my shoulder was killing me and I asked if she had aspirin. She didn't, but offered me some muscle cream, which I thankfully took. It helped and I smelled like a very strong Bengay for the rest of the trip.

And of course, conversation about politics was made. Obama, I said, simply. She and her daughter were happy enough to hear that and we talked a little more about American and world politics. They told me that they had relatives in the States (in Texas) and I gave them my card, saying that if they ever come to NYC, they should let me know. Before leaving I made two rings out of US dollar bills for the kids. The mother enjoyed the kitschiness more so than her kids, so that was fine.

I think the best part of my travels was definately the conversations that I was able to make along the way. btw the conversations were in German. Surprising, I know.

I have to say that I am a bit surprised by the fact that I seemed to be able to speak for the most part. Once in Austria I transfered to the Austrian train line, paid an extra 15 Euro to sit in business and more or less passed out asleep. Some converstion was made with the two occupants and we joked around for a little bit.

Arrival to my hostel was basically me in a heap of exhaustion and it was already sundown for the most part. The map I got of Vienna basically sucked and left me even more confused particularly when I went out in search of a restaurant. The place I searched for was a bit sketch that I ended up settling for a diner-like place and took in some of the mediocre food. I believe it was called Raimund Café and was located across from the Volktheater. The best thing that night was basically for me just to retire.

Procrastinated photos

I said I'd put them up so here they are:

Paris:

(having trouble uploading more Paris pictures so deal with this crazy opera house)

Paris Opera House

Stuttgart:

Schlossplatz