Ok its a month late but Im finally getting around to it! I mean really when is a better time to write than 11pm, 5 hours into a 7 hours train ride?
About a month ago I made a second trip down to the lovely city of Mainz which happened to conveniently coincide with the week of Fasnacht festivities. For the many of you who don't know about German Carnival please check out this link http://german.about.com/od/culture/tp/Fasching-In-Germany.htm for a better explanation than I can provide cause Im not sure I fully understand it myself! Basically it is a very old Pre-Lent custom, now its a week of partying, costumes, and parades!
There really isn't any way I can get the idea across to you Canadian folk because there is really nothing in our culture like this. Basically imagine halloween costumes on steroids, lasting for 5 days, in a country where the drinking age starts at 16 AND where drinking in the streets is legal, now exchange trick or treating for a parade and you MIGHT be able to START to imagine. Costumes, music, parties, for 5 days straight! I needed a vacation from my vacation after!
Part of why Ive been procrastinating this post is because I don't know strong enough words to adequately explain it, I'd consider it a "Must do" life experience.
Between Thursday and Monday the earliest we were home was 2am. It really was a fantastic time, music and clubs and parties and the whole town out to have a good time! Ive never seen anything like it before. EVERYONE dresses up, its pretty much mandatory. The streets are absolutely covered in broken glass and tiny single shot bottles.
I'll sum it up like this
I had a LOT of fun, met a ton of really great people, laughed until my sides hurt and only had to punch one overly handsy gentleman in the face. (That particular incident became somewhat of a novelty and I spent the rest of the weekend explaining "I'm Canadian, and was raised by a football coach, if you do something I don't like I am more than capable of handling myself" every time the story was told). Some friends also managed to find a solution for my name, which happens to be very difficult to say if English isn't your first language. My Name here ends up being pronounced a lot like (see-da) and so a group of friends ended up calling me "Du-da" throughout the weekend, which happens to german for "you there".
Really the best way for you to understand fastnach is to see it so let me plug some pictures in here. Please note that those fantastic zebra costumes were handmade by my lovely friend Feli.
So before I bring this to a close I'd like to make an announcement, though many of you know by now. I am officially cutting my year down to half a year and returning home May 12th. The decision to come here was easy, the decision to leave was not. I have had a fantastic experience and love the people I have met and the beautiful country around me. Life is however filled with change, surprises and new opportunities and though I leave with a heavy heart I couldn't be more thankful for this experience or more excited for the opportunities that await me back home!
Thank you all for your love and support over the past five months
Cedar
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