My thoughts on the presidential election

The recent presidential election may be one of the most exciting and important that we in our lives will ever experience. It's got to be one of the longest--the campaign has apparently been going on for 21 months (and god knows it really has felt like years---I mean i can even remember right when Obama was just this random longshot, everyone was like his name is WHAT?)

Witnessing the whole thing from abroad has been a very unique experience. Because you're affected by it (seeing as it's been the world's obsession) but also so distanced.

I was constantly reminded of it, because one of the stock questions I get after non-Americans find out I am American is "...so, you voting for Obama, right?".

But at the same time, you're not there. Which is I have to admit a little sad--because i'd like to have really gotten into the spirit of the election. Europe was definitely following the election, but it's just not the same.

I did manage to find a free election party going on down in Munich which promised full election coverage (true, although it was totally streaming off the internet-- given the fuzzy quality---and onto a huge screen) and hotdogs and popcorn all night (FALSE. The hotdogs were more like wurst in disguise with wierd sauce and pickles and onions sprinkled on top, not so bad but definitely not a hot dog--AND they totally ran out of hotdogs and popcorn a few hours in! They did have plenty of overpriced beer though. laaame.)

But it was still nice to have a big location to watch the election with some fellow americans (as well as some brits and germans). Lamely enough it emptied out pretty early, even though the definitive results didnt' come in till 5 am german time. Which i guess is understandable since I don't think I'd want to spend eons watching some geezers at CNN talk out of their asses about random and irrelevant statistics unless i was really personally invested in the matter.

Which is of course why I stayed until the bitter end. And it was absolutely, without a doubt, worth it.

Just to see Obama's acceptance speech live, was worth every overpriced beer, funky hot dog, CNN moron, and crazed gay man terrorizing the audience.

It's one of those moments when you can truly feel inspired. His public speaking is very eloquent and very moving, and it really made me feel like I was truly experiencing a piece of history. And I was I think.

I mean the U.S. has not been in worse shape, at least in my life time. It's actually a very strange experience, because it wasn't quite so bad when I left but since I've been in Deutschland I keep hearing about all these job layoffs and school cuts and whatnot and it's so surreal to be honest.

But to be honest I think it's good. I mean of course the situation is bad, but maybe it's the kick in the pants we've been needing. George Bush brought us to a new low in public opinion and the far right has been leading us into bad decisions about abortion, education, and pretty much everything less.

Maybe this recession has been the wakeup call we've all been needing. Would Obama havven been able to touch so many people if we hadn't had this crisis?

To be honest, I've always been a bit skeptical of Obama. Maybe it's just my general skepticism for politicians---he just seems to be a little too good to be true.

But I sincerely hope I am wrong. It will be nice to have a fresh face in the White House and I am praying that maybe he can really inspire us all to create real and lasting change for the better in the way we run our country.

For the moment, I'm just happy that people are now greeting me with "Obama, wooo!" and that I can hold my head a bit higher when I tell people I'm American.

Germany may be bad for my health...

So I know that supposedly you get sick more when you go to other countries, but this is starting to get ridiculous.

In the past couple months I've had two awful colds, a one day freak stomach virus, and now I got a gastrointestinal virus (big words for painful stomach cramps, vomiting, dizzyness). This is the third day of work I've missed and it's starting to get annoying. Hopefully i will be better tommorrow though.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been hectic, but I have been working at a job in Munich for about a month and finally found a place to live about a week and a half ago (after spending waaaay too much time in a hostel). I also just got my bed delivered from ikea a few days ago, so life is good other than all these diseases.

I'm seriously starting to wonder if Germany is out to get me...