You may wonder why the longest break in posting came after getting high speed internet at home, but once I no longer had to make a special trip somewhere to take care of business emails I stopped making the focused time to do all my computer work and have just been using the computer long enough to get business taken care of and then rush off to the next thing. I’m just doing so much and of course that means there is so much to write about and less time to write. I think I’ll write about life outside of class in the past two weeks then take time to write about classes a little later since that’s unlikely to change much or be easily forgotten (I surely hope).
I left you at the end of the first week. On my first Saturday (Oct. 20) I figured out the washing machine and hung my laundry in the garden. It’s still the little things in life that keep me cheerful. That evening I went to the Coopers for dinner along with two other Musik-Akademie students. Everything was done with such a lovely touch it was better than any fancy restaurant I’ve been to. It was also great company and a refreshing time.
After church Sunday (21st) a number of folks went to Valda’s for lunch and a music jam. It was mostly singing, but I plunked along on my borrowed harp and there was sometimes flute, recorder, or whistle. It was so nice to just sing and sing with believers through all manner of hymns and praise songs. I met a girl who is new here studying at the university and she saw my article in the Spoke (the church newsletter) and she thought to herself “She seems neat. I bet I’d like her.” and decided to visit. It was actually very good timing because my ego was in no condition to be inflated, rather I was (foolishly) feeling like my quirky self doesn’t bring any particular pleasure to people they’re just good at tolerating me. It seems that some people are plagued by that kind of doubt and others don’t even know how to imagine someone feeling that way. I’m so much better than I used to be, but I’m not sure you can really change personality, but you can sure change enough of how you deal with it to make it seem like you’ve left your old self behind. But I was writing about the music party. . . Sadly I had to leave before it was over because I’d agreed to go to an evening service with Veronika. We arrived a little late and as we sat I realized with a bit of a shock that the pastor/priest was the Musik Akademie German teacher! The service was a special Kirche Kreativ service with music and a guest speaker. (That site is in German but this one has more pictures) I had a hard time following the guest speaker because of his muddy pronunciation but I could follow most of the other stuff. It was fun to sing songs in German because I haven’t much up to this point. I took communion from my German teacher and in Swiss German no less. There’s another advantage to liturgy for you – I could pretty much follow it.
After the service I introduced myself to Mr. Beat (German class hadn’t officially started, we’d just had the general meeting) and he introduced me to a gal who told me about more Christian opportunities for Musik Akademie students. I can’t make the prayer meeting, but I did manage to get the Bible study, but more on that later. It all has something to do with Crescendo, an organization with chapters all over the world of Christian musicians, but I haven’t quite figured out exactly what it is and how it’s connected with Kirche Kreative and so on.
So, on to the second week of school. I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this week revealed that a few classes that were scheduled as one hour actually involved another hour of practical work or some such. I haven’t totaled the hours yet and I’m a bit afraid to.
I’ve been getting to Yoga class a few times a week, which is helping quite a bit because I haven’t been finding the time for Egoscue. Monday I took the time to make Siamese Chicken Curry with Broccoli and Peanuts because I’d bought the chicken and we don’t have a freezer. I couldn’t find any measuring devices, so I just guessed and it came out better than any time before. The only problem is, I don’t know what I did . . .
That was the last meal I ate with Veronika for a while because she worked the night shift that week. Even this week we hardly saw each other and she was on a normal schedule! I’m doing surprisingly well for not having much home time. I suppose it is a good thing for me to learn, though I would be surprised if I ever lost my deep preference for a quite day at home.
I went to Woman’s Bible study Monday evening, which was nice, but a bit too close to Sunday to be a much needed mid-week break.
Tuesday (23rd) is my extra crazy day for classes but Mary came for lunch at the school so that was a nice way to break up the long day. I wanted to visit her, but the schedule would not allow it at all. Hopefully soon we’ll find a way.
That evening was an apero (do we say that in English?) for the medieval department so old and new alike could meet, drink, and be merry. When I arrived home a father and son from Hungary had arrived for a short stay and I ate and chatted with them until bed. The father is here for medical treatment and the son came along to help. English is once again the international language and we managed to communicate enough to get by. It was fun, but having guests around did eat into precious time for working, but life isn’t all about one’s own work that always seems so important at the time.
Wednesday (24th) I used the morning time to bike to MParc and pick up my router (or roooter, if your Brittish) and I’ve already told the tale of setting it up in the evening. Wednesday is also a busy day of classes so if I’m writing of class later there’s not much to say here.
Thursday (25th) I got home from school at 5 and I stayed home! Of course I can’t remember what I did now, but I’m sure it was fundamental stuff like eat, pick up all manner of papers off of the floor, try to catch up on the plethora of emails and other neglected life work.
Friday (26th) I congratulated myself on getting through the week by taking a barefoot run, which I hadn’t done in a while. Of course it felt great and I need to do it again because my right calf and foot are bothering me. In the evening I met Stephan and we took a walk around the fields in Binningen. The crazy boy has been traveling so much he’s hardly in Basel, so it was nice to enjoy some conversation together.
Saturday (27th) I met other Schola students in the park to play soccer. I enjoyed watching the game the previous week and saw the advert and decided to try it. I was one girl among six or seven guys, who all seemed relatively skilled to me but they were all very kind about that fact that I’d never kicked a soccer ball (only slight hyperbole) and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I think this whole attraction to things totally new is getting addictive. It’s not enough that I skip over the ocean to start a new career in old music with new instruments. I have to add a competitive sport just because I’ve never done it before. Well, worry about my mental state behind, I had a blast running up and down after the ball and trying to be of at least non-negative use. I was more or less successful, sometimes making a decent pass, often not, and once, after having switched teams a few times due to newly arrived players, I kicked the ball right to my opponent because he said “Over here!” Bless his heart, he was apologetic about his trick and bless all their hearts they only laughed at my mistake. It’s fun to play with those who are just playing for fun, but that didn’t stop us from doing our best quite seriously. I thought my running would put me in good shape for soccer, but it must be different enough because by the end I could barely lift my leg to kick the ball. At one point I wondered why my pants were sticking to my legs and realized that I was bleeding. I came home with a rather impressive welt on my shin but can’t for the life of me remember when I got it. Sure, we had a few collisions and I fell a few times, but nothing struck me as particularly painful in the moment. Ah, the benefits of having your mind on a goal. Poor guys, because they were so kind I’m going back for more. If they had only teased or got upset or babied me they wouldn’t have to deal with me again. I suppose the great thing is, they all seemed sincere about it. They played (and swore) with intensity, but as soon as the play was over, that was that and it’s on to the next thing as if the passed didn’t matter at all. I wonder if that’s a lesson for how to play life – minus the swearing. It is slightly sweeter to hear American swear words from foreign mouths, though.
Anyway, I managed to pedal my broken self back up the hill and worked at home (as far as I can remember) until the White Raven concert. Kathleen Dineen is my secondary voice teacher, but I have to wait to tell you about lessons for when I write about school. She is Irish and has this trio that sings Irish and other folks songs along with medieval and renaissance (and some pop) songs. It was a lovely concert and it was great that Veronika was able to come along with me.
Sunday (28th) was the Harvest Lunch at BCF. After sleeping a wonderful extra hour I made a salad and enjoyed the lovely bike ride to church. I must say it is easier to stay in shape in Europe because of the way things are set up. Biking is simply the best way to get around (though I haven’t figured out what to do when it’s raining and I need to bring instruments) so I’m getting a pretty decent workout everyday. I bike at least half an hour (15min there and back) each day and sometimes I do that twice. 15 minutes of physical activity is a good break for the mind and body and living on a hill means I’m building up muscle as well. I can’t get the low gears to work on the bike now but I can still bike up the hill (with effort). The first few days I had to walk it.
Anyway, with the lovely freedom of a bike I went to church and afterwards we went to a hotel for the lunch. This time it was a real pot luck and it was fun to see the mixture of international dishes. Of course I ate too much and loved it. After that lovely time a few of us went to Diana’s and talked and played games with tea in hand. If it had only been big boggle I would have been transported altogether. It’s funny how the grating sounds of rattling wooden cubes is music to my ears. I can theoretically understand why people think it loud and obnoxious, but to me it is the sound of family, vacation, being carefree, 220 Walnut Ave., a warm bed under the bunny rabbit water stain while my dear aunts and uncles and Mom and Dad and Grandpa played into the night. More recently it speaks of Thanksgiving, and cousins (who more often than not kick my butt at the game), a break from school, and the peace of being around those who love you no matter what.
Someone said “I’m in Basel and there’s no going back.” I could never say that! The only answer I have for why is “family.” I can leave them, I can plan to not visit for a year, I can plan to live abroad for three years, but to plan to never come back save for a few visits – that I cannot imagine! If that’s God’s plan for me he is wise to keep it hidden from my eyes until I live my last days and say “Ah, I did live away and had a very good life.”
Okay, okay, waxing poetic when it’s time for bedtime will only scare my Mom and confuse the world so I better wrap it up and save the current week for another post. That’s a pity, because it was a great week!
Ever so much love,
Janet
After church Sunday (21st) a number of folks went to Valda’s for lunch and a music jam. It was mostly singing, but I plunked along on my borrowed harp and there was sometimes flute, recorder, or whistle. It was so nice to just sing and sing with believers through all manner of hymns and praise songs. I met a girl who is new here studying at the university and she saw my article in the Spoke (the church newsletter) and she thought to herself “She seems neat. I bet I’d like her.” and decided to v
"Others don’t even know how to imagine someone feeling that way" - How true, and it feels good to be understood...
I'll leave it to US residents to comment on "no freezer."
Congratulations on making it up the hill!
Thanks for keeping me up with your adventures. I'm glad I wasn't the one that you took down in a shin battle (and didn't even remember taking down). Anyhow I haven't taken up swearing yet, whether playing soccer or doing other activities. I won't email you since your inbox is sufficiently full. Tell everyone I know that I send my greetings.
Oh no, no! My inbox is full of stuff I don't want to deal with. I don't care how full my inbox is, I'll always enjoy getting one from you, Jimmy, and anyone else who loves me and is not asking me to do some task or other. I know I haven't caught up with comments on the blog either. I hope to soon.
Stephan, I can imagine someone like that, but it still makes me insanely jealous that there are people so stable and confidant that the thought that some people don't like them or that they should care never crosses their minds!
Jimmy: greetings to you too!
Janet: it's not quite that simple, but the way I think the world ought to work is that most people like most people, because most people are likeable. Perhaps it's just stubborn ideology or naïveté on my part to not think otherwise.
I'm curious where you get that ideology. I seem to see from the Bible that most people are not lovely (i.e. likable). George MacDonald emphasizes this point (and there's a counter to all those who say he just says nice stuff we want to hear). On the practical side, I agree with you, but with most of the people we are around we are only exposed to the outer crust which is usually meant to be likable. Is there someone you're close to whom you've never had to love despite something ugly? When people get to know us they get to know the unlovely, and that can be scary, though I suppose it is a bit egotistical to think that my particular ugliness will drive people away more than another's. One very good thing about being predisposed to such doubt is that it drives me to the Lord and has taught me that I am nothing without him and that all my strength and all my worth and all my beauty come from Him.
If I may jump in on the likeable theology, there are two points to human nature that make it hard to like others. The first is that once we understand right and wrong, it's incredibly hard to NOT become judgemental about others' flaws. We do not want to discover imperfections. Which is a large part of why unconditional love is so amazing to us. And grace? Wow. But the second point is that most people prefer to be friends with people like them. Different isn't always normal, which makes flaws highly unacceptable. Since most people don't want to be seen as different, hiding the parts of their personality or life that might be unacceptable seems logical to the worldly mindset.
But, of course, God doesn't think this way. He spent untold centuries in a place outside time to fashion every aspect of every person. Faces. Minds. Characters. Families. History. Nothing escaped his careful consideration. Every last one of us, regardless of whether or not we become part of his family or ever acknowledge him, was created to serve a need in the world. And this on top of each of us being made to commune with God's spirit. No matter whether we love the Lord in the same manner, I think an understanding of this vast love of God affects our willingness to love/like/forgive others. *My view* of the world might accept one set of values and limitations, *your view* another, but God's view is both bigger and wiser.
Likewise when our sense of self-worth stems out of that phenomenal love of God's, we discover both his great joy in our uniqueness and his marvelous grace towards our flaws. John summed it up beautifully: "How great is the love the father has lavished on us? That we should be called the children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."
This is where I can jump in with my example (which Janet has heard many times) of what I was told before having children. Basically people fell into two camps: (1) Children are born inclined to good, and it's our mistreatment of them that makes them do bad things; and (2) Children are born inclined to evil, and any good is unnatural and must be trained into them.
With all due respect for the doctrine of Original Sin, I found both attitudes to be as wrong as could be. I found my children quite capable of selfishness and even meanness, but also -- and far more often -- of spontaneous, unselfish acts and genuine goodness.
And despite all I hear (and believe) about terrible people in this world, in my own experience most people are genuinely likable once you get to know them. However, I agree there's another level, which we reach with family members and close friends, in which we do have to love and be loved despite terrible ugliness and horrid behavior.
I suppose all these comments should lead me to love my family more, even though they are terribly abrasive with each other (and with me). They are not Christians so they are behaving as I should expect them to behave. Even their "good-natured joking" with each other feels ugly to me. I don't know how to interact with them anymore but I try to be very kind and very forgiving.
Ah, "good-natured joking." As I've said elsewhere (I can't even remember where at the moment -- maybe that means I'm spending too much time writing in too many places), I don't deny that such a thing is possible, but more often it masks something of an ill nature, such as anger, vengeance, pain, or festering feelings of inferiority. I was surprised and pleased just yesterday to hear Heather telling Jonathan, gently but firmly, not to call other people names, even in fun, and even if the other person seems to be enjoying it because it's a bad habit to get into.
You've said it here, SursumCorda, and it's a true statement we seldom consider. To tease or to joke, an element of altitude must be used. Someone must be either put down or uplifted. Depending on the "joking", this can be the speaker, the listener, or the object of the joke. Worldly teasing is almost entirely comprised of putting someone down. If everyone is lower than me, then surely I must feel better about myself, I believe is how the thought goes. There's a difference between mocking and mirth, and Heather is wise to be teaching it to her sons at young age.
Ah, well. There's an advantage to getting old -- people expect you to tell the same stories over and over again. :)
