25. Open to anything in Hanover
Through Mr Wasserman again, Dad had arranged for me to work as a machine minder at Westinghouse Bremsen und Apparatebau GmbH (Westinghouse Brakes and Apparatus Manufacturing Ltd.). Peter and Elke Licht were the leading pastoral couple at the Evangelishes Jugend Sentrum in Badenstretterstrasse and they kindly welcomed me and gave me a room in the centre and directed me to the factory where I was to work. It was within walking distance and I soon settled into a routine.
Each day I would walk to the large complex and was given my work station on the automated lathe. My job was to basically insert pre-cast metal car parts into a lathe which fine-tuned the mechanical adjustments needed for precision fitting. Each part took around 3 minutes to be completed and I would then put the next part in the system, and check and pass on the completed item to the next stage. It took some concentration and perseverance in repetitive tasks for my whole shift. As far as the factory was concerned, each piece was money and the product needed to be exact at every stage of the process so they were not looking for creativity only consistency. I had to report any anomalies to the foreman and he would make minute adjustments with his precision hammer (tausendstel hammer). Strangely, I managed fine as it was only for a few months.
During breaks I met other workers, some were from Turkey and other countries, but most were German and I found to my delight that this was the German I had studied. The ‘purest’ German was spoken in Hanover where it is referred to as reines deutsch. I found myself able to converse increasingly freely as time went on. During lunch we walked to the opposite end of the factory and we were given a good German meal. I learned to love eisbein and sauerkraut and of course all kinds of sausages and German breads.
My pay check included not just my wages, but deductions such as a ‘church tax’ and an amount of money that was set aside for any medical needs I might have. Each person would select which church they wanted the tax deduction sent to so I selected the Evangelical Free Church even though I mostly attended the large Lutheran Church in town. We did not then give any offerings at church as it was automatically done.
Having a fairly routine job, I was keen for some exploration once I knocked off work and walked around the centre of the town and on into the big railway station that was there. A second-floor restaurant at the Bahnhof was a favourite of mine. Now and then the Licht’s would have me for a meal and I also attended their youth fellowship groups now and then. I was surprised to see everyone smoking cigarettes at their Bible Studies.
I returned to Beirut at the end of September 1969 and entered into my senior year at AUB. (Pictured above with my pipe and my parents. I don't seem to have any pictures of my time Hanover.)
My second ‘stint’ in Hanover was after my graduation and my time in the UK, from August 1970 and I stayed in Germany for 7 months this time. I got a job in the same factory, with the same supervisor who was pleased to see me and I initially stayed at the Youth Centre as before.
It was around this time that I received the letter from Jeannie calling off our engagement. I remember two basic reactions. On one hand I was somewhat relieved as I too wasn’t sure of where we were going, but also I was hurt and confused, not knowing how to respond. I wrote Jeannie a short letter back, accepting her decision and expressing some confusion. It wasn’t something I wanted to write about in letters, nor did I have anyone else to talk with about this. As time went on, I began responding negatively without really understanding what was happening. I found myself reacting against what other people had arranged for me and yet not actually knowing what I wanted myself. Instead of reflecting deeply, I began to do whatever made me feel good in the moment.
My moral compass was spinning - some might have wondered if I even had one. I developed a great fondness for beer, wine and easy company that gave me no cause for reflection, which in retrospect was disturbing.
After a couple of months, John Krikorian and John Sagherian came to visit me. They were visiting other countries in Europe, but travelled long distances by car as they were somewhat concerned for me - I think Jeannie asked them to check up on how I was doing. I was upstairs at the Youth Centre and the house father said I had some friends who came to see me. I heard John’s characteristic whistle and was extremely touched that they had come specially to see me. They did not stay long, but for a brief moment, it was as if I hadn’t left Lebanon. We talked about Jeannie, but I wasn’t able to be vulnerable with them at that time and they probably felt I was doing OK
However, it wasn’t long before the Licht’s said my room was needed for someone else at the Youth Centre. Who knows what they saw of my life? I went to stay with Herr und Frau Rolke who lived on the ground floor of a flat in Frobel Strasse. It was also very close to the factory.They had a spare room which they rented out to me and their son Rolf and I played rugby together at the Klub Viktoria-Linden. Our team toured and played rugby in Hamburg and also some of the British forces teams that were stationed nearby. I took up my usual role in the centre of the scrum as hooker.
Once we were playing at a field in Herrenhausen, on the outskirts of the city and I became concussed while playing. At the same time there was a need for someone to play center. I was moved from my position to do the job of the center. I must have done alright but did not really know what I was doing.
The game came to an end and I did not know where to go, so I followed others to the changing room and followed them to the shower. I kept showering until there was no one left in the change room.
With the room empty, I went to the only clothes left hanging, as by the process of elimination, I reasoned they must be mine although I did not recognize them, even when I found some personal items like my keys, belt and hankies. I did not know who I was, my name, where I stayed, nothing. It was very disconcerting to say the least.
All my clothes fit so I put them on, gathering my kit from where I had left them and putting them in the kit bag. Walking out of the change room door, I now had another problem. In which direction should I go in order to go home?
Gradually, as I walked, it came to me that I lived in Frobel Strasse, but I could not make the connection between where I was and where I was heading. I kept walking in a particular direction, which, fortunately for me, turned out to be the right one, and as I went I was slowly, sluggishly, able to connect things together and also realize who I was. I arrived at my little room, very relieved!
During those months, Graham visited me twice, sharing my room for a few nights and even buying me some warm boots. On one memorable trip, we hitch-hiked to Hamburg. Our driver gave us a sausage on the way up, which we carefully saved and ate on the return journey. We ended up sleeping at the railway station, only to be chased off a station trolley by the station master who needed it.
On another visit, Graham came to watch me play rugby against a British forces team. I was incredibly excited, as my family had rarely watched me play during my school years. Unfortunately, it was a massive disappointment—I broke my collarbone just after kickoff and had to be stretchered off the field, much to Graham's amusement rather than the sympathy I was hoping for. Luckily, my mandatory German Health Insurance fully covered the treatment I needed.
Overall, this chapter in Germany was a learning experience. My German improved significantly, I managed to work much longer than the six months my father predicted, and I earned enough money to live comfortably in Hanover while saving up for some post-trip travel. I learned what it was like to work on the assembly line and gained some sympathy for those doing repetitive assembly-line activities. I also discovered my own inclination towards hedonism without meaningful commitments.
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