I've had a lot of conversations in the past week about the results of the election, both with people in the states and with Germans here. The reactions are much the same, primarily relieved giddiness - I expected that from the Americans, but it's both embarassing and gratifying that the world is as pleased with our electorate as I am.
I went to bed at 11:30 (5:30 EST) on election night due to a headache. (I blame Wolf Blitzer and the stupid CNN holograms, good lord that was annoying.) I woke up at 3:30 am, got online, turned on the TV with the sound really low and started emailing Zoli updates of the state-by-state results. It was looking good, but I was holding my breath until it was pretty darn sure. I stayed up until 5am when they called California for Obama, and oh man was it worth it. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but it was a surprisingly emotional moment. This is both the first time that the presidential candidate I voted for won (the electoral vote anyway) and that I voted for someone I supported wholeheartedly. On CNN they were showing the huge crowd in Grant Park, with people waving American flags - and sitting in my PJs on my living room floor, an ocean and half a continent away I felt really, really proud.
I was surprised at how many German networks were covering the election live. I guess they didn't have anything more interesting to show at 4am, but most of the networks had correspondents in the US, either in Chicago or in Washington D.C., and they were all so excited. The next evening several networks had biographical programs on Obama, as well as programs chronicling the campaign. My favorite response from a German so far was that of my soon-to-be boss - he congratulated me when I saw him on Wednesday, and I said that I was very happy with the outcome. He responded by saying "We're all very happy!" (He also asked me some questions about the electoral college and (thanks to AP American History) I was actually able to answer them!) So - it was quite the eventful week. Now I feel that I can actually take a breath and not flinch quite as much when I show my passport at the bank or immigration.
My week was quite relaxing after that, with time to make cookies to fuel a scrabble game
and the concentration to get some good work done on my fellowship application. I went to the market as usual on Saturday and bought a few spices I was missing.
I don't know if it was spillover excitement from the election or what, but I went a bit overboard in the fruit-purchasing department.
Some of this is slated for applesauce, the Hokkaido pumpkin will become soup and a practice pumpkin pie, but the rest - I may have to get creative.
2 comments:
kathleen, i found my way to your blog from orangette, hoping that you would have a recipe for cabbage pie--only to find we share some similarities! i'm an american expat living in switzerland (will have been here two years in march). not only am i american, but we also moved from seattle. the internet makes the world seem so crazy small. at any rate, i was wondering if you would mind posting or emailing me your recipe for cabbage pie? it sounds like something that would be right up my alley!
Hi Emily,
I will definitely post the cabbage pie recipe soon, it's on my list. It's dead easy and so good. That's amazing that you also moved to Europe from Seattle - small world indeed. Thanks for reading!
Post a Comment