Martha is one of my closest friends from “back home” – i.e. Michigan. I have known her for about 7 years. We met in German 111 at the University of Michigan-Flint and I thought she was the coolest person ever because she had lived in Germany for a few years. Turns out Martha is also the nicest person ever.
Two years later, Martha & I were in the same class again, but this time it was the Writing Center tutor training class. We worked together for almost 4 years in the Writing Center until I moved to France. Martha stayed in Flint to do her Master’s degree, but decided to come back to Europe this past June when I agreed to present with her at the European Writing Center Association’s conference.
So off to Freiburg I went to meet up with Martha. I had seen her 6 months before when I went home for Christmas in 2007, but it’s different when friends come to your side of the world. Our presentation was a success and we had plenty of time to explore Freiburg and the Black Forest on our own. We drove back to Annecy because I had a mandatory interview with ANPE (see last post…) and then went back to Germany a few days later to see Lake Constance, Triberg (the cuckoo clock town), and Reutlingen, where Martha & her family had lived 8 years ago.
Martha joins the statue on Mainau Island
I’ve always loved the thought of Germany. I used to live 15 minutes from the Bavarian town of Frankenmuth where the world’s largest Christmas store is located. So when I thought of Germany, I thought of Christmas. Now when I think of Germany, I think of Martha. I have other connections to Germany & Austria because of my ancestors, but I really don’t know much about them. So Christmas and Martha are to thank for my love of all things German.
Martha was recently hired at Bigli University in Istanbul, Turkey. She leaves Michigan today and starts work next week. I am so excited for her and hope to visit sometime next year. I hope she can come back to Germany too so we can explore more of Baden-Württemburg and Bayern together.
Viel Glück in der Türkei, Martha!
