Freunde
"Kirstin, you know more people in Bremerhaven than someone who has lived here for 10 years."
- Christiane Johanssen, translation mine
"Freunde" is German for "Friends." I've met up with several friends this week in various combinations, and I'd like to tell you about each of them. This is actually my favorite part of being a traveling scientist: I get to meet interesting people all over the world.
On Monday night, I had dinner with Natalia and Alexandra. They're both studying at the Hochschule Bremerhaven, and we met because the Hochschule paired me and Natalia together through a mentorship program for international students. I was her "SchΓΌtzling" (literal translation: "Thing to be protected"). Natalia and Alexandra are both Russians of German heritage who were born in Kazhakstan. Cool, right? Their families returned to their ancestral land (Germany) when both girls were quite young, so they grew up here and speak fluent German.
My favorite thing about these two is that whenever we get together to talk, we end up covering very deep topics. I remember one night specifically in Alexandra's apartment in 2012 when we made perogies and ended up discussing the role of religion in society. Somehow, the three of us can dive into traditionally touchy topics without anyone getting offended, and that's a rare thing. When we met Monday, the conversation started out with chatter about our lives, our studies, and our stupid professors, then took a left turn into European-Russian relations and ended with Nicholas Sparks novels. I love spending time with these girls, and it was really neat to catch up with them again.
- Christiane Johanssen, translation mine
"Freunde" is German for "Friends." I've met up with several friends this week in various combinations, and I'd like to tell you about each of them. This is actually my favorite part of being a traveling scientist: I get to meet interesting people all over the world.
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| Natalia, Alexandra, and me |
My favorite thing about these two is that whenever we get together to talk, we end up covering very deep topics. I remember one night specifically in Alexandra's apartment in 2012 when we made perogies and ended up discussing the role of religion in society. Somehow, the three of us can dive into traditionally touchy topics without anyone getting offended, and that's a rare thing. When we met Monday, the conversation started out with chatter about our lives, our studies, and our stupid professors, then took a left turn into European-Russian relations and ended with Nicholas Sparks novels. I love spending time with these girls, and it was really neat to catch up with them again.
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