The travels between space and time
Topic overview
"Van Wattlüü un Indioners" (from Wadden people and Indians) is a phrase born of an ancient language. Low German is still spoken in East Frisia today. Unfortunately, I belong to a generation that has been alienated from their native language. Thus, I have a strange relationship with the language of my ancestors and am only now beginning to appreciate it with the appreciation it deserves.
As a child, I always hung on my father's every word when he told stories of his sea voyages. I loved listening to him most when he slipped into Low German. Thus, I became a part of his world, far away from the mainland. Our life was closely connected to the sea and thus shaped my life and childhood. Much of what I know today and who I am today lies in the roots of my homeland. But what does home actually mean? Is it the land, the people, the customs, the language, or everyday life that connects me to it? But my journey doesn't just take me through my homeland; I also look across the pond. While browsing through old photo albums, I saw two children with feathered headdresses. Memories returned of us romping around the house with our hobby horses. A mouse click away lies America, the land of unlimited possibilities and the home of the people we call "Indians." But what do we really know about the Native Americans, who seem so foreign and yet so familiar to us? As freely as a seagull flies out onto the open sea, I want to let my thoughts wander, just as freely, to find answers to my questions, which crystallize through the writing of my stories. Thus, I set off on a very special journey through the world of thoughts and words with my research vessel.
