Unlike most of the entry titles in German, Google won't even begin to help you translate this one! It's a quote from a Fashing/Karneval song in the Bad Kreuznach dialect. Roughly translated it means, "Hey Kreuznach, you city on the Nahe (River) you raised me as a 'Gäßje'". The term Gäßje is used only in Kreuznach to describe people born and raised in the city, and is also the name of the dialect spoken in the medieval "downtown" area. It comes from the word "Gaße" meaning small street or alleyway, of which there are many here in Kreuznach.
It's interesting being back here after so long. OK, 2 years isn't really that long I guess, but it feels like much longer. Yannik told me that nothing changes in Kreuznach,, which is one of the many reasons he doesn't like it there, but when you don't see the place for 2 years, it does have a new and different vibe. For one thing, most of the people I know are no longer here. It used to be impossible for me to walk from my house to the bridge without seeing someone I knew, but in the past few days I've walked from one end of the city to the other and not seen anyone I even recognized, much less ever had contact with. Even though the people are no longer here, the memories remain. Everywhere I go in this town has some memory attached to it, just a mental image, an emotion, a sound-byte, a litle scene that gets played out in the back of my head as soon as I lay eyes on a familar building, park, or street corner. Just as I haunted Kreuznach when I lived here, spending countless hours wandering her streets and walkways, either avoiding my host family, or just pondering the mysteries of life, memories of Kreuznach have haunted me over the years. I spent sleepless nights at William and Mary wondering why things turned out the way they did with my host family, what I could have done to improve the situation, how much was really my fault. I wish I could tell you that I have found the answers to any of these questions, but that would be a lie. The questions never go away, they are always there in the back of your mind, just waiting for an idle moement to spring up in which they once again can plague your mind. The trick then is not to answer them, but to come to terms with the fact that what's done is done, and time spent worrying about it is time ill spent. Reflection is one thing, without looking back on the past we cannot learn from it, but harping on it, worrying about it is just a refusal to come to terms with the fact that it cannot be changed.
Anyway, I think I have waxed poetic (or perhaps philosophic) long enough here, and besides, my bag of "Erdnußflips" is empty! I think I can honestly say Erdnußflips are one of the reasons I love Germany so much. The ultimate snack food, they are essentially peanut flavored cheese curls!! (I know you are thinking "Ewwww, gross me out" right now, Mom, but you have to admit the idea is pretty awesome!) Anyway, with that I am going to sign off for now!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment