Category Archives: Anticipation

Company

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You are the company you keep. Here was the company I kept late last Saturday night: one couple who returned from Brazil several years ago, another couple departing for Israel in two weeks, a third couple heading to Italy in September, newlyweds planning the start of their life together in Africa next year, and Joe and I just months from Germany. Five couples, five countries, ten lives changed by uncountable international experiences.

This company came together through the Olmsted Foundation Orientation & Reunion weekend, an opportunity for the new class of scholars to meet each other and previous scholars. The dinner gala was at Anderson House in Washington DC, coupled with perfect weather! It was a great kick-off to the journey that will be Germany and the Olmsted Scholarship.

die Vermieterin

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Landlord. According to the World English Dictionary, a person or organization that owns property that is rented to tenants. I never met my landlord in college. She already had an interested renter, but took a deposit from my roommate regardless, in case “the other people [didn’t] work out”. I was weary that she was taking advantage of us as college kids, but the other people really didn’t work out and we had the house! I never saw her, talked to her, or even exchanged e-mails with her. She was an apparition….as long as we paid the rent on time. My next landlord was more involved and he loved to talk about the military. So much so that Joe would avoid conversation with him because it…would go….on….and….on. Overall, it was not a negative experience, just not one that I would gush about.

So Joe and I were now tasked with finding a place to live in Freiburg, during our Familiarization Trip, which was a total of six days long. Here begins the most interesting landlord experience I could ever imagine.

We had a leg-up on finding a place to live before even arriving. The reports of prior scholars are filled with critical contact information and advice, to allow current scholars to learn from others’ experiences. The previous scholar in Freiburg was leaving immediately prior to our scheduled arrival in September, making the inhabitation of their “flat” a strong possibility. We viewed several other apartments, to include a “bourgeoise” flat and another apartment that had rumors of suicide. Insensitive, I know, but leave it to the Germans to be forthcoming in what we were getting into. To make a long story short, moving into the previous scholar’s flat was the best decision for all parties involved.

Even though we had already been staying at the flat, the owner (herein known as fondly as Mrs. Landlord) came over to give us an official tour. She brought a thank you gift for the current tenants, as well as an “airplane snack” for Joe and I to enjoy on our trip home. She showed us around, and then we made an appointment to discuss the specifics and contract a few days later. The current Scholars invited her to a BBQ that they were holding the night before we left. Let me explain a bit about Mrs. Landlord before continuing. She was born in Spain and then married a Frenchman. Her husband’s job brought them to Germany and then to Japan. She happened to be in Freiburg for the summer due to the current challenges in Japan after the earthquake. If anyone was counting, that makes 5 languages: Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and English of course.

When we met to discuss the lease, she took us for tea at a department store in Freiburg, with a wonderful rooftop terrace. After more than an hour of chatting and getting to know each other, we finally got to business. When we were finished, she took us to the Farmer’s Market on the Münsterplatz, where she purchased dessert for the BBQ that night at the flat.

Later that evening she returned to the flat for the BBQ, staying late into the night talking and enjoying the company of strangers. At one point in time I was sitting at the end of the table with her. She was speaking German to another woman and then involved me in the conversation through a question in English. The three of use chatted for a bit in English, and after I got up they returned to their conversation in German, moving fluidly between languages.

In the kitchen doing dishes, I pondered the likelihood that this series of events would ever happen in the States between a landlord and tenant. First of all, would a landlord ever invest so many hours in meeting and talking with potential tenants, especially about non-lease topics? Would a landlord ever accept an invitation for dinner with strangers at the flat he/she owns but doesn’t inhabit? And not come empty-handed on top of that?

Why didn’t I act this way when choosing the tenant for my own home? I have definitely not been this type of landlord- spending 15 minutes chatting in the kitchen felt like an eternity! I’m positive I couldn’t make it through tea or dinner with my tenant. Ultimately, we could all learn some lessons in landlord-ship and humanity from Mrs. Landlord.

Finding Out ~ die Überraschung

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Those of you that know Joe, the content to follow will not sound new. He loves surprises….and is good at them.

The remainder of this post is intended to help me remember the details of yet another amazing feat of Joe Wall. If you are so intrigued to join me, than Willkommen!

A bit of context first. At this time in March, I was traveling to over 15 different schools throughout the city of Philadelphia, usually multiple in a day. We had been waiting on word from the Foundation, which was scheduled to come down on March 8th (Tuesday). I scheduled myself a free day to be with Joe…and support him through whatever decision was made. There was no news on Tuesday…or Wednesday….I couldn’t keep waiting….I had to work.

On Wednesday of that week Joe asked me to start telling him where I was going in Philly. I figured it was out of concern for safety, since I am “geographically challenged”, was driving a vehicle with 265,000+ miles on it, and frequenting the shadier sides of Philly. I said I would start writing my locations on the calendar, but ultimately forgot to. However, what I did do was complain about one of the teachers I was going to visit on Friday.

So, Friday (March 11th) comes and I am finishing up with my last teacher. I got into the car and found a note from Joe. Confused, I opened it and began reading. It was an invitation to hang out and join him at a specific address. I found out later that Joe had (of course) been listening intently to my complaining and snooped through my work papers to find the school names and addresses of the teachers I was seeing on Friday. What is really weird is that he had dropped the letter in the car just minutes before I found it. I had simultaneously been looking out the window at the parking lot with the teacher I was visiting, trying to determine the best back-door to use to get to my car, which I could see from the window. Yet, I never saw Joe.

As any good husband who truly knows the idiosyncrasies and skill deficiencies of his wife would do, Joe had included directions for parking in the note with the address. When I got to the parking lot I found out that it would cost $25, which I was not willing to pay. I pulled out and pulled over to another spot on the street, which did not have a meter. However, the three other spots in front of me did have one. I called Joe to let him know my status, and my concerns about leaving the car in this particular spot. He said, “Move it if you are concerned. Just turn left at the next street, left again, and then around the block. You will be on South Street. There is plenty of parking.”

Too concerned about the parking, it didn’t phase me that I had not told him the exact intersection where I was. Yet, he gave very specific directions for finding a better spot. I drove around to South Street and found a new spot. (Side Note: For those of you who I have deceived all these years, here is a hidden truth about me- I don’t like parking, I am not good at it, and I am paranoid about it.) So…I parked the car…got out…checked both bumpers…walked down the street to check the signage…paid…collected the receipt…and then got back in the car… and closed the door. Little did I know Joe was watching me from across the street the entire time…and getting frustrated. He had seen me pull into the other spot a block away, hence his ability to give such specific directions!

Having the parking situation figured out, I sat in the car and got out the MapQuest map he gave me with the specific location for meeting and got my bearings for where I had to go. (Another Side Note: I don’t like directions, I am not good at them, and getting lost gives me anxiety). I finally got out of the car and crossed the street. Joe was suddenly there, walking towards me. Standing on the street, he gave me a card that had all different words for “home” on it. Inside he wrote the word “Haus” and “That’s what they call it in….Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.”  I had to ask him for sure if that meant he had been accepted and assigned his 1st choice location. Indeed it did!

Walking down the street, I didn’t even notice the Brauhaus Schmitz. The only German restaurant in Philadelphia. Needless to say, we enjoyed some beers and Jägerschnitzel. Over dinner Joe also revealed that he had found out about the assignment “unofficially” on Wednesday, planning and masterfully maintaining composure for 48 hours.

Oh, Joe Wall. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do? Orlando.