bewusste abkopplung: conscious uncoupling (and other pre-departure preparations)

Is that really how you say "conscious uncoupling" in German?

I don't know.

Do I know what "conscious uncoupling" really even means?

I don't know.

Does anyone except maybe Gwyneth Paltrow and her therapist "transformational teacher" know?

I don't know.

So why apply it to me decreasing my dependency on my phone?

Why NOT, friends. Why not?

Thanks, blogs.post-gazette.com 

And so...The "conscious uncoupling" of my cell phone and me, otherwise known as "stripping a millennial from their lifeline/chief source of entertainment/information".

Duh duh duh duuuuuuun.

My phone wakes me up in the morning. My phone tells me what the weather is like outside. My phone tells me what time it is when I decide "5 more minutes" seems like a good idea. My phone gives me the day's headlines, and warns me of potential "discussions" about politics and governments that may commence over dinner that night. My phone then gives me a glimpse into the lives of my friends as they a) study abroad b) serve as counselors at Jesus camp or c) chill at home taking an overabundance of BuzzFeed quizzes (you know who you are), and then it reminds me to get my butt out of bed to go seize the day and all that.

Basically, my phone is my significant other.

A very well informed, fact filled, slightly creepy stalker-ish significant other.

And so, with two weeks to go until I render my phone almost useless by denying it WiFi, I've been following Paltrow's lead and have been "leaving" my phone behind. (Although home girl is crazy to be leaving Chris Martin, am I right? Have you heard him sing*?)

In public, it's easy. I'm "looking up", I'm people watching, I'm reading signs and menus and talking to people.

At home....not so much.

I do a practice round for the LSAT.
Look at my phone.
Sit on the couch.
Check Facebook (on my phone).
Change the channel.
Check Instagram (on my phone).
Grab a snack.
Check Facebook again (on my phone).

How much changed in that 7 seconds or so that I wasn't on Facebook?
NOTHING.
Absolutely nothing.
And I know nothing will change, but it's like looking in your fridge.

You walk over.
Open the fridge.
See nothing you want.
Walk to the pantry.
Look inside.
Walk back to the fridge.
Look inside, and hope food has mysteriously materialized from behind the broccoli.

You look absurd. 

You know nothing's gonna change, but, dang it, there's something to be said for wishful thinking, right?!

Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

And so...I've started to get creative about how I disconnect myself from my phone. Like...
1) Charging my phone in another room instead of holding/using it while charging (gasp)
2) Turning the phone off (egad!)
3) Hiding the phone in the couch cushions
4) Keeping my phone downstairs while I am up (I'm not walking down there to get it...)
5) Putting my phone out of my reach while studying
6) Putting the phone in various cabinets and subsequently forgetting which cabinet (thankfully the ringer was on)

And so on. It's working. Kinda.
But then I downloaded the Buzzfeed app, and that's been a challenge to resist....

In other news....
I'm getting close to departure.
I've done very little to prepare.
Great.

As for what I have done....

I bought a camera. A nice camera. With my own money. Like a big girl.

I bought an official Team USA World Cup scarf to show support for our boys while they battle for their lives in the "Group of Death". Our chances are slightly dismal. We play Germany on June 26. Wahoo.

Here's hoping.

I've practiced shooting Boyd with the camera.

Ain't he cute?

And I've pretended to work on my German. I really need to get on that.

^^Me. All throughout Germany. Just with better hair.

Wish me luck! (wünscht mir glück)
kendall

*I don't know why Charlie Brown is in the mix, ignore that and throw in "A Sky Full of Stars", "Us Against the World", and "Talk", much better selections. 

unsicherheit: uncertainty

In Which Kendall is Three Weeks from Departure 

So far, here's what I know (and the fact that I can sum it up in nine bullet points should be a warning):

1) On June 8th, I'm getting on a plane to Germany to study abroad for two months.

Me traveling, but not to Germany...yet. Photo cred: Maggie White

2) I will be in Erfurt, Germany.

It's a little red dot but it's gonna be my little red dot! 

3) There is a place that sells bratwurst for 1 euro in Erfurt. Since I am responsible for my own meals while abroad, I am speculating that this will become my favorite place. Because I'm cheap. And broke. And I wanna spend my money on adventures, not "details" like food.

Here's hoping these bad boys are universal.

4) The World Cup will be happening while I'm in Germany. The US plays Germany first round. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL.

The above is the extent of my soccer (football) knowledge. 

5) I have mastered the German equivalents for "water", "milk", and "apple" through Duolingo. I hope I'm able to say more than "The girl drank the milk" by the time I get to Germany, however, should the occasion arise... I got it on lock.

I see you, Heidi Klum. 

However, Mark Twain did say: "I never knew before what eternity was made for. It is to give some of us a chance to learn German." So I'm going to take that as I will not be mastering the language in these next three weeks...

6) Boyd is coming with me. If you haven't met Boyd, he's a bunny. With a mustache. If you followed his adventures in Italy....the bunny's back.

What's up, Arzt? (German word for doctor)

7) If you haven't seen this video...you're welcome.

A unicorn could majestically appear AND YOU WOULD MISS IT. YOU SUCK STOP. 

I believe in the message, and so I'm taking this trip as an opportunity to "look up". As much as I want to share moments with friends from home, I want and need to be fully present for this experience. I won't have WiFi in my apartment or at the university, so if I suck at getting back to you (download Viber, send me snippets of your pretty voice!), I apologize in advance. I won't fall off the face of the earth (my mother would never let that happen), but if you don't hear from me in a couple of days, know that I'm off observing. Or living. Or lost somewhere in Europe (totally possible, can I get a GPS embedded in my tooth or something?).

8) I don't know what I'm doing, but, when do I ever?

I like to call this look "perpetual state of confusion" 

9) I'm bringing my hammock. "Eno" I will find room for it in my suitcase (ba dum dum chhhh).

Join me as I adventure, struggle, succeed, make friends and potentially offend (through my poor German skills and my inability to adequately describe what is happening outside of occurrences with milk) the peoples of Europe.

Peace, love, and sauerkraut
kendall 

erklärung: explanation

In which Kendall explains

There's nothing I love more than a good, genuine conversation shared with friends over coffee. There's something special about coffee, some sort of mystical quality that allows wisdom to be sought and given; that allows relationships to be forged, or forfeited; that allows the most private of people to open up and share a story or two in exchange for a tale.

I like coffee. I like coffee a lot. Like this Buzzfeed knows my life.

And so....

Kaffeeklatsch. 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a kaffeeklatsch is:
an informal social gathering for coffee and conversation 


In a perfect world, a "kaffeeklatsch" is exactly what I would have with anyone interested to describe my time abroad. But I know how this goes. Time interferes, life gets in the way...and more quickly than should be possible, two months in a foreign country- all of the experiences, friends, and adventures had- can be summed up in a single phrase.

"How was Germany?"

"It was good."

Wow. Let me process through that massive amount of description, excuse me....
That's lame.
But that's reality.

So, this is my attempt to capture some of the adventures, explorations, and excursions for those interested before my time in Germany becomes "good". I'll try to keep it funny, and I will for sure post at least once a week, but I'll be gunning for at least twice or three times a week. For those of you that stick with me, thanks. For those that read a few posts, I promise I'm not as crazed/lost/confused as I probably sound. For those that don't read....hey, Germany was good, right? I kid, I kid.

gehen wir (Let's Go)
kendall