Thank God for the Catholics

The Clown Encounter

Typical Karneval

Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. From the Thursday before this up until Tuesday is known (in my part of Germany) as Karneval. When American's think of Carevals they think of big rides, popcorn, cotton candy and clowns. This Carnevals isn't TOO far off. The biggest differences are the alcoholic content and the age group that Karneval caters to.  Karneval in Köln, Germany is six days that everyone dresses up (mostly as clowns), dance, drink and have a complete festival in the streets.  Each day has a theme...The one that sticks to me is Thursday "Woman's Day".  That day it is typical for women to walk around with scissors in their hands. Why? To cut off their "ties" to men, of course! It is typical for guys' ties to be cut right off by a female stranger this day. That's not a joke;)

I have the idea that most of this is centralized around Köln, which is the San Fransisco of Germany. I saw countless adults that weekend dressed up in every kind of self-sacrificing get up imaginable. I respect this six day wacko binge drinking festival mainly because of it's target audience. THE ADULTS. We have conventions such as Halloween and Marti Gras that attempt to Karneval's grandeur, but they already have the overshadowing turn off of being known for being reckless teenagers and young adults excuse to get drunk and silly looking. In Karneval, teenagers are embraced by their...usually straight edged, moderate parents who look like a pair of roller coaster junkies, I love it. Hooray for adults kissing life on the lips.

Burg Wewelsburg!

I didn't take that big o a part in the Köln Karneval scene because that weekend was also a camp with the Cuhls' church called Wewelsurbg. By now I'd made pretty good friends with these two twins, Janet and Vanessa, who both were going and practically begged me to join. So I did!

On the way over I had an interesting conversation with a new friend, Lucas, on the love of Obama that I did not have. A thing I LOVE about Germans is that they are so straight forward. I kid you not, in my first week here I was asked three times by three different people if I believed in God. None of them had known me for more than like a day either. As most Americans would shrug off these direct questions, I vividly embrace them-a chance to actually know what this person thinks? Why the hell would I turn that down? I love it.

"Worship"

 

I definitely put up quite the show at Wewelsburg. his camp included kick ass food and six hours per day of worship. Singing, dancing, to the band that's in front of you on a huge stage. I LOVED it. The music was great and definitely got something inside of me going. I cried the first service when the band was playing a really intense song, these kind with tunes that grasp your emotions by the throat, and every one's singing and swaying and I couldn't take it all. It was too much passion. Tears of joy are always a good reminder. So cry I did. Happily. 

I made a good few friends that weekend. I made quite the mistake as well. While talking to this nice boy he told me he came from 'Irashne' or something like that. So we were talking about politicians and how everyone, like my president, was mad at his president about the nuclear energy and we started talking about if I liked Obama, which I had a stiff 'no' in reply. I asked him if he liked his. He threw his hands in the air a little and had a vibrant "NO. I hate him! He's a horrible leader and man." Yeah, sometimes that happens with politicians, we agreed. What's his name, I wondered. When I got Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for an answer, I sat back trying not to face this boy who was laughing finally, because I realized my mistake. This boy from 'Irashen' was from IRAN, and I had just asked who his president was and IF HE LIKED HIM. Doesn't get much worse than that. Thank goodness this Iranian has a good sense of humor and we just laughed it off. Tipp! If someones tels you where their from and their accent clouds it up, ask again for God's sake.