Great Expectations
In the middle of the 15th century, Johann Gutenberg perfected the printing press. In Mainz, the sister city of Wiesbaden, located just across the Rhein, and accessable by the linea 6 bus, there is a museum devoted to his work, as well as to the history of writing. I traveled there yesterday with great enthusiasm, which I often have for some things, but not all things. Writing, the written word, the way words look on the page, these are intrinsically magical to me, (iconified most beautifully in a book by the name of Codex Seriphinianus (http://www.almaleh.com/serafini-e.htm)). Needless to say, I had high expectations for the very museum devoted to the origin of a few of my favorite things. Expectations. When will I ever learn? The creation of high expectation only sets one up for disappointment.
To make a long story short, my critique of the museum is this: The captions on the exhibits were very inconsistent. All were in German, but only some had English translations, and some had Chinese translations instead, and some had only German. This was incredibly frustrating! I tried to read the German, but the language was very specialized, and therefore very difficult for a Kindergarten-level German speaker like myself to understand. I asked for an English guide booklet to the museum, but they had none, and instead sold me a booklet with general information about Gutenberg and writing and printing and such. Interesting to read, but not helpful in the museum.
The old books were, understandably, encased in glass. They were to be touched only with the eyes. But, I realized, it is neither entertaining or interesting to me to only be able to see the books from the outside of an orb. It created a real sense of inferiority, which I am finding is a trait of all things German anyway. Always there is a heirarchy, someone or something who is the best, and someone who is lesser. I do believe it is a cheap high. But I like to hold books, to touch them, and to READ them.
There was 4-part diarama detailing Korean book printing in the 14th century, which was thankfully in English, and very much of interest to me. They used wax to make casts for the letters. There was also a little exhibit where kids could type on typewriters and draw on newspaper to make Zeitungs, so I sat and drew for a while, which is ever fun.
I guess it is that I simply felt helpless at this museum. It must be how children feel when they must go to such an establishment, intended for adults. Learning a language, whether it's first or second, is so frustrating, because there is much on the inside that cannot get out, as well as much on the outside that cannot get in. To know what it is that you don't know is equally a powerful motivator, pacifier and infuriator. I'm thirsty to learn this language, but I yearn to speak in English, and I find myself thinking of people in cafes and on the streets, why don't they just speak English? It's so much easier. blublubluelueglbuelube. That's what it sounds like. A radio station in the Arctic Circle.
But, Mainz is a very beautiful city, though I like the Bavarian towns better. This is a very wealthy part of the country, and everybody wears fur coats and shoes with pointy toes. Frivolous, it seems to me, and pround of it. I went to the Kaiser Friedrich thermal bath the otherday, 4 hours for 17.50 Euros, a really good deal considering that Daniel and I pay 20$ a piece to spend 30 minutes in the hot tub at Urban Oasis in Somerville. At the Therme, there is a cold pool, a series of hot pools that range from 37 degrees celcius to 42, which is quite hot. There are also a few different saunas, steam rooms, foot baths, showers, a cafe, and so on. I felt very relaxed afterwards, and found entertainment in seeing so many wealthy naked bodies. hehe!
I head south on either Monday or Wednesday, into the Hegau Mountains, near the Bodensee and just north of Switzerland. The farm I'll be staying at is indeed a horse farm, and they told me I'd be learning to ride as well as driving the carriage...Sounds thrilling! There are sheep in the pasture, but they are not for cheesemaking.
Ah, I've lost my train of thought, so I'll end here before I write to many non sequitorial sentences. Au revoir!
To make a long story short, my critique of the museum is this: The captions on the exhibits were very inconsistent. All were in German, but only some had English translations, and some had Chinese translations instead, and some had only German. This was incredibly frustrating! I tried to read the German, but the language was very specialized, and therefore very difficult for a Kindergarten-level German speaker like myself to understand. I asked for an English guide booklet to the museum, but they had none, and instead sold me a booklet with general information about Gutenberg and writing and printing and such. Interesting to read, but not helpful in the museum.
The old books were, understandably, encased in glass. They were to be touched only with the eyes. But, I realized, it is neither entertaining or interesting to me to only be able to see the books from the outside of an orb. It created a real sense of inferiority, which I am finding is a trait of all things German anyway. Always there is a heirarchy, someone or something who is the best, and someone who is lesser. I do believe it is a cheap high. But I like to hold books, to touch them, and to READ them.
There was 4-part diarama detailing Korean book printing in the 14th century, which was thankfully in English, and very much of interest to me. They used wax to make casts for the letters. There was also a little exhibit where kids could type on typewriters and draw on newspaper to make Zeitungs, so I sat and drew for a while, which is ever fun.
I guess it is that I simply felt helpless at this museum. It must be how children feel when they must go to such an establishment, intended for adults. Learning a language, whether it's first or second, is so frustrating, because there is much on the inside that cannot get out, as well as much on the outside that cannot get in. To know what it is that you don't know is equally a powerful motivator, pacifier and infuriator. I'm thirsty to learn this language, but I yearn to speak in English, and I find myself thinking of people in cafes and on the streets, why don't they just speak English? It's so much easier. blublubluelueglbuelube. That's what it sounds like. A radio station in the Arctic Circle.
But, Mainz is a very beautiful city, though I like the Bavarian towns better. This is a very wealthy part of the country, and everybody wears fur coats and shoes with pointy toes. Frivolous, it seems to me, and pround of it. I went to the Kaiser Friedrich thermal bath the otherday, 4 hours for 17.50 Euros, a really good deal considering that Daniel and I pay 20$ a piece to spend 30 minutes in the hot tub at Urban Oasis in Somerville. At the Therme, there is a cold pool, a series of hot pools that range from 37 degrees celcius to 42, which is quite hot. There are also a few different saunas, steam rooms, foot baths, showers, a cafe, and so on. I felt very relaxed afterwards, and found entertainment in seeing so many wealthy naked bodies. hehe!
I head south on either Monday or Wednesday, into the Hegau Mountains, near the Bodensee and just north of Switzerland. The farm I'll be staying at is indeed a horse farm, and they told me I'd be learning to ride as well as driving the carriage...Sounds thrilling! There are sheep in the pasture, but they are not for cheesemaking.
Ah, I've lost my train of thought, so I'll end here before I write to many non sequitorial sentences. Au revoir!
posted by SK at 1:04 AM
1 Comments:
I'd been expecting to hear from you, and my expectations were met and exceeded... I'm so happy that you're seeing the world, and experiencing so many things first hand... We'll be thinking of you, and conjuring up images of you driving the carriage and riding the horses!
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