I feel this overwhelming urge to write, but the problem is... nothing comes to mind. So... I guess this post is just going to be a jumble of the thoughts that are currently rolling around in my head.
- This past week, two people from my graduating class have died. One was murdered (he was in the wrong place at the wrong time - sad story, really) and one was killed in an ATV accident. I wasn't particularly close with either of them, but it still hit close to home. These guys were 25 - far too young, in my opinion. One had just gotten married last August. It's such a sad story, and what's even worse is that these are not the only people from my class who have died.
- I'm really, really thirsty.
- I don't want to go back to school in the fall and I don't think I'm going to. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching more than anything. HOWEVER, the program I'm currently in is a dual major master's program, with master's degrees in German and Education. I am not a fan of taking a bunch of German lit classes and writing 60 pages for said classes (auf deutsch, natürlich). I'd much rather stay home with Elsie and focus on photography, which has become a real passion. I'd still like to get my teaching certificate, but I've decided that (right now) the master's programs just aren't for me. I thought I belonged in the world of academia, but it turns out... I don't. Not at this point in my life, anyway.
- On that note, it is so much more refreshing to do things because I want to, not because someone else is telling me to. Life is way too short to be living to please other people.
- I feel like this post needs a picture, but I don't have one and I'm too lazy to look for one.
a lifestyle blog
Showing posts with label German. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German. Show all posts
To the Germans. Again.
Yo.
Christmas in July bloggy gift exchange signup is here. If you are a blogger in Africa (or know someone who is), you should send them my way. We have one person from Africa signed up and want to keep shipping costs low for both her and her partner.
If you're waiting on an email from me, I promise I'll get to it ASAP.
To the Germans:
Generally, when I meet you, it is with a firm handshake. But excuse my french as I ask you what in the (okay, I can't bring myself to say "hell" because I pride myself on being family friendly, except I just said "hell" anyway, so it doesn't really matter, does it?) am I suppose to do when I'm leaving you?
Example: Husband and I are in a choir (yes, it is packed full of old people, and yes, we sing old German folk songs, and yes, we love every second of it). Last night was our last night with said choir, so naturally we said goodbye. I listened to them sing this song to us (and wiped a tear or two from my eye - don't judge).
As the song ended, though, I realized that I was going to have to say goodbye to each and every one of them. HOLY BALLS! What do I do? Do I hug them? Do I simply shake hands? Do I do both of the above? Do I do none of the above? Oh - too late - they're coming towards me. This thought process ended in awkward hugging all around. Oh, you're German and I don't know you very well? Let's hug it out. Oh, you just reached out for a handshake? Screw that - let's hug it out.
Needless to say, all's well that ends well. I still don't know if I should have just stuck with a nice, cordial handshake, but I'm not too concerned about it.
I love the Germans - really, I do. I may poke fun at their always-go-by-the-book-never-break-the-rules-five-minutes-early-is-really-five-minutes-late-I-think-you're-wrong-and-I'll-be-blunt-about-it-and-tell-you-to-your-face-while-I'm-eating-Schnitzel-and-bratwurst-and-drinking-beer ways, but I love them in spite of it all.
I'm going to go home with silly little habits like...
-tacking "oder...?" onto the end of sentences to make them into questions
-dipping my french fries in mayo
-opening windows to air out the room every couple of hours (even in the dead of winter)
-separating my trash into 50 different bags
-having the word "doch" be my argument for everything
-eating my pizza with a fork (<-- that's a total lie and I will never do that)
I'm going to miss it here.
In other news: We got our landlord issues worked out - we're coming home with only about 350 EUR less than we originally expected, which is nice. Thank you for all of your positive thoughts and prayers! Everything really does work out.
Have you ever lived or traveled abroad? How the heck are you supposed to say goodbye to people?
Christmas in July bloggy gift exchange signup is here. If you are a blogger in Africa (or know someone who is), you should send them my way. We have one person from Africa signed up and want to keep shipping costs low for both her and her partner.
If you're waiting on an email from me, I promise I'll get to it ASAP.
To the Germans:
Generally, when I meet you, it is with a firm handshake. But excuse my french as I ask you what in the (okay, I can't bring myself to say "hell" because I pride myself on being family friendly, except I just said "hell" anyway, so it doesn't really matter, does it?) am I suppose to do when I'm leaving you?
Example: Husband and I are in a choir (yes, it is packed full of old people, and yes, we sing old German folk songs, and yes, we love every second of it). Last night was our last night with said choir, so naturally we said goodbye. I listened to them sing this song to us (and wiped a tear or two from my eye - don't judge).
As the song ended, though, I realized that I was going to have to say goodbye to each and every one of them. HOLY BALLS! What do I do? Do I hug them? Do I simply shake hands? Do I do both of the above? Do I do none of the above? Oh - too late - they're coming towards me. This thought process ended in awkward hugging all around. Oh, you're German and I don't know you very well? Let's hug it out. Oh, you just reached out for a handshake? Screw that - let's hug it out.
Needless to say, all's well that ends well. I still don't know if I should have just stuck with a nice, cordial handshake, but I'm not too concerned about it.
I'm going to go home with silly little habits like...
-tacking "oder...?" onto the end of sentences to make them into questions
-dipping my french fries in mayo
-opening windows to air out the room every couple of hours (even in the dead of winter)
-separating my trash into 50 different bags
-having the word "doch" be my argument for everything
-eating my pizza with a fork (<-- that's a total lie and I will never do that)
I'm going to miss it here.
In other news: We got our landlord issues worked out - we're coming home with only about 350 EUR less than we originally expected, which is nice. Thank you for all of your positive thoughts and prayers! Everything really does work out.
Have you ever lived or traveled abroad? How the heck are you supposed to say goodbye to people?
Little Randoms. Toilets. Elephants.
Hiiii!!!
So lately my life has been spent on the computer. I have a ridiculous amount of English homework because I'm trying to finish two Independent Study classes in less than 8 weeks, and that's one of the reasons I haven't exactly been the best blogger, either. Sorry if I'm not commenting as much on your posts or if I'm leaving super generic comments. I promise that I love you all and that I will be better once this is over! Oh, and PLEASE for my sake, turn off your comment word verification!!! I mean, REALLY. This affects my homework productivity levels, people!!!
Anyway, because of this whole English is taking over my life thing, I don't have any super creative, crazy "Germans are interesting because..." stories. Just a bunch of random thoughts that run through my mind when I should be doing homework.
1. I have always wanted to ride an elephant. For some reason, this has been on my mind a lot lately. Don't ask, because I have no answers for you.
2. If you want to find out about that one time I scored a goal for the other team, you have to go here. This is also the blog of the girl with the most amazing eyebrows.
3. I really need to clean and rearrange our apartment. It's been the same for too long, and it's driving me crazy. Plus, since my life has been taken over by homework, the apartment has suffered in the cleanliness department. I'm not even going to put a picture here, because I'm embarrassed by what it looks like. Let's just say that if one of you decided to make a spontaneous visit, it would take me more than 10 minutes to make the place presentable.
4. I have time to do ONE more blog design before I go out of town for 2 weeks. If you're interested, prices and portfolio are here. I get them done within a couple of days as long as you email me back. I just recently finished this one for Bri. Check it out on her site.
5. I had another weird/vivid dream last night. It involved walking into my in-laws' bathroom and discovering that it had 2 toilets instead of one, and flowery toilet paper. One toilet was German, and the other was American. I sat there for what seemed like hours trying to decide which one to use.
So lately my life has been spent on the computer. I have a ridiculous amount of English homework because I'm trying to finish two Independent Study classes in less than 8 weeks, and that's one of the reasons I haven't exactly been the best blogger, either. Sorry if I'm not commenting as much on your posts or if I'm leaving super generic comments. I promise that I love you all and that I will be better once this is over! Oh, and PLEASE for my sake, turn off your comment word verification!!! I mean, REALLY. This affects my homework productivity levels, people!!!
Anyway, because of this whole English is taking over my life thing, I don't have any super creative, crazy "Germans are interesting because..." stories. Just a bunch of random thoughts that run through my mind when I should be doing homework.
1. I have always wanted to ride an elephant. For some reason, this has been on my mind a lot lately. Don't ask, because I have no answers for you.
4. I have time to do ONE more blog design before I go out of town for 2 weeks. If you're interested, prices and portfolio are here. I get them done within a couple of days as long as you email me back. I just recently finished this one for Bri. Check it out on her site.
5. I had another weird/vivid dream last night. It involved walking into my in-laws' bathroom and discovering that it had 2 toilets instead of one, and flowery toilet paper. One toilet was German, and the other was American. I sat there for what seemed like hours trying to decide which one to use.
So anyway. That's how exciting my life is - toilet dreams and thinking about riding an elephant.
Sunday confessions Link-up.
Holy Moly, Guacamole! I can't believe it's already Sunday!
Is it just me, or did last week just fly by?
Anyway, it's time for my confessions. I'm a little later this week than last week. Sorry about that! Hopefully you guys still find time to grab a button and link up!
1. I have pulled 2 all-nighters this week! I'm not in school, and I only had to work 2 days out of the week, so I really have no excuse for this. I guess I'm just a total night owl!
2. I suck at UNO. We had a last night with some people in our ward, and we played UNO. Let's just say that I lost every round.
3. I'm in the process of applying to a Master's degree program at USC. It's all online (easier for Husband to go to school wherever he wants that way), so I'm a little nervous about that, but if all goes well, I'll be starting in June! Cross your fingers/toes/other appendages that I finish the ridiculously long application and meet all the requirements!
4. I have not been a very good blogger the past few days. Sorry, guys! I've actually been kind of busy! As hard as that may be to believe, it's true. I promise I will try to be a better commenter. I've responded to all emails, but I'm not going to lie, they've been really short, generic responses. I will get better! I swear it on my ugly grandma curtains.
5. I'm forgetting how to speak German. I haven't read any German novels since The Hunger Games, and I've only worked 3 days in the past 2 weeks because of the flu and kids taking tests, so my German skill level has gone way down. [I'm not sure why I'm putting this picture here... all I know is that when I googled "speaking German," this came up. Gotta love all the stereotypes portrayed here.
Is it just me, or did last week just fly by?
Anyway, it's time for my confessions. I'm a little later this week than last week. Sorry about that! Hopefully you guys still find time to grab a button and link up!
1. I have pulled 2 all-nighters this week! I'm not in school, and I only had to work 2 days out of the week, so I really have no excuse for this. I guess I'm just a total night owl!
Germans Wash Their Trash [& Other Things]
Hey party people!
You think I'm kidding? I swear to you - I'm not. Just a couple of weeks ago, our landlord came down and "lectured" us on having too much "Restmüll" (the trash that goes to a dump site as opposed to some sort of recycling plant). I smiled and told him that we were silly Americans and would try to be better. Well, apparently we have gotten better at cutting down our "Restmüll," but that wasn't good enough!
Just last night, my incredibly uptight but oh, so lovable German landlord knocked on our door. I opened, wondering what we did wrong. He informed me that today was "Gelbe Sack" day, so if I had any trash I should bring it up. Then he turned around and said, "Oh, and you should start rinsing your trash before you throw it away." Say wha?! It's trash... I throw it away because... it's trash! Who cares if your trash is dirty?! Isn't that kind of the point of trash?
First: I know this Kony 2012 thing is going viral, but I think it's a really good message, and this is a man (among many others) who needs to be stopped. Let's raise awareness, okay? Watch this video if you need to know who Joseph Kony is. You will be disgusted, and probably want to hunt him down to punch him in the face (or worse).
Second: Ever wanted to learn a really long, slightly ridiculous, completely made-up German word? You have? Okay, here it is:
I will let you guys stew over its possible meanings and make the big reveal tomorrow.
Berufsmutternachzuchttransportkastenwagen.
Third: I have a story to tell you about Germans. Now, something you all should know about Germans in general is this: they are incredibly detail-oriented, and really anal about keeping things picture perfect. They also like to "lecture" if they see you doing something that they don't approve of. I don't have a problem with this - it's simply a part of the culture.
You should also know that they have a very intense (at least to a wasteful American like myself) trash system, the details of which I will spare you. Just know that there is no such thing as a garbage disposal here, and that everyone has like, 5 different waste disposal containers on their driveway. The main point of the story is this: Germans "wash" their trash.
You think I'm kidding? I swear to you - I'm not. Just a couple of weeks ago, our landlord came down and "lectured" us on having too much "Restmüll" (the trash that goes to a dump site as opposed to some sort of recycling plant). I smiled and told him that we were silly Americans and would try to be better. Well, apparently we have gotten better at cutting down our "Restmüll," but that wasn't good enough!
Just last night, my incredibly uptight but oh, so lovable German landlord knocked on our door. I opened, wondering what we did wrong. He informed me that today was "Gelbe Sack" day, so if I had any trash I should bring it up. Then he turned around and said, "Oh, and you should start rinsing your trash before you throw it away." Say wha?! It's trash... I throw it away because... it's trash! Who cares if your trash is dirty?! Isn't that kind of the point of trash?
Moral of the story is this: In a society where a tiny scratch on a car is the end of the world, it is appropriate to wash your trash before throwing it away. The End.
What It's Like: The Awkward and Awesome of Being Bilingual.
Hallo! Hello!
So... if you follow me on twitter, you would know that inspiration has not reared its pretty little head in a while, so I decided to do awkward and awesome with a little bit of a twist.
You all know that I live in Germany. I also speak German. I like to consider myself fluent, but then I always wonder what fluent is. Obviously I don't speak German as well as I speak English. Duh. It's not my native language. I figure, though, that if I can read 600 page novels and watch movies and carry on conversations without any difficulty, then I must be fluent.
Anyway.
Awkward:
1. Reading books like The Hunger Games in German, and then discussing them in English. I don't know how to translate those made-up words.
2. Writing blog posts half in English, half in German. This happens quite a bit, people. I then have to go through and replace all the random German words that are dispersed throughout the post.
3. Sleep-talking in German. Apparently this happens.
4. Speaking Germenglish. This also happens. Quite a bit.
5. Going to other countries where they don't speak German or English, and automatically speaking German and expecting people to understand me. I guess since they're speaking a foreign language, my brain just automatically goes to the only foreign language I know. This happened in Italy - I'd ask, "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" People would say, "English, yes. German, no."
Awesome:
1. Reading books and understanding them. Ummm, how cool is this? I can look at a book in a totally different language, and understand it all!
2. Watching movies and understanding them. Again... how freaking cool, right!?
3. Thinking in 2 languages. My brain is kind of confused, apparently, but it's so cool to see how my brain thinks.
4. Dreaming in 2 languages. Sometimes I dream in German, sometimes in English. It's weird, but cool at the same time.
5. Being able to translate for people. I like that I can help other people to understand what's going on around them.
Happy Thursday, and if anyone finds Inspiration, send that sneaky little dude my way - I'm having "blogger's block!"
PS: You can still enter the giveaway here.
Happy Thursday, and if anyone finds Inspiration, send that sneaky little dude my way - I'm having "blogger's block!"
PS: You can still enter the giveaway here.
Bloody Eggs, Avon, & German Nosey-Pants. Oh, and Our Distorted Perception of Beauty.
AHOY!!!
Let me tell you something about German eggs. They come in packages of ten (never 12), they sometimes come with feathers or dirt on them, and apparently they are sometimes disgusting and bloody. I am not okay with this. I don't think I'll be eating eggs for a few days.
I ordered some new stuff for my Gesicht ("face" in German). The wonderful and totally awesome Ali sells Avon, and I thought I'd give it a go. Maybe you remember my 99 cent German moisturizer mishap, maybe you don't. Basically, it made my forehead look like a pepperoni pizza for about a month. So... I ordered some new mild face wash to remove makeup and some moisturizer (that hopefully doesn't make your dog mistake me for his dinner).
German mail people are nosey-pants. I got my package with the Avon stuff in the mail today. It had been torn open and repackaged... in a plastic bag. At least it was all still there. No, German mail man, I am not smuggling drugs, thank you very much.
I have had the laziest week ever. I never work on Mondays, we had Tuesday off, I worked today, I have tomorrow off, and I work Friday. That's two days and approximately 5 hours of work, people. Go me.
Yesterday I was messing around with Photoshop, and thought I should enlighten you all. I am by no means an expert photo-shopper. I can, however, see that our society's visions of what is beautiful have been greatly influenced by the media - a media which relies VERY heavily on Photoshop. Let me show you a picture of Kiera Knightley (I think she has the most gorgeous face in the entire world, whether or not it's been photoshopped):
Okay, do you think she ACTUALLY looks like that? Heck nah. Don't believe that half of her beauty comes from Photoshop? Let me show you a real life example:
Yes, that is me. Photoshopped. This is what magazines do, people. I didn't even change my facial structure or make myself lose weight (which they also do). THIS IS RIDICULOUS. And we wonder why 10-year-olds are suffering from eating disorders and have major self-esteem issues.
PS: Don't forget to enter the giveaway here.
Favorite Things Friday
Phew. Made it through another week. I almost thought I wouldn't survive for a while. Anyway, it's time for a few of my favorite things.
1. The German-American Mind Meld that is currently going on in my brain. I actually have a love-hate relationship with this, because oftentimes it leaves me looking like a speechless weirdo no matter which language I'm speaking. When I'm wanting to speak English, it seems like I can only think in German and vice versa. Either way, I love that this is happening, because it's a part of being fluent, and that means I'm almost there.
2. Teaching. Yes, this is a favorite. Even when I have a crappy day and students are a royal pain in the butt, I love it. I love that they listen when I talk, I love that I'm getting to share my knowledge with them, and provide them with valuable language skills. I love that I get to be at the front of a classroom tellin' it like it is.
3. Savage Garden. Old school, right?! But who doesn't love this song?
4. Friends. Yes. My friends are my favorite. Especially all of the new friends that I'm making on this here bloggy-blog! You guys are all awesome, and I love finding all of the new exciting blogs. Anyway, I've been kind of homesick over the past month, and this girl (mah bestest fran) has always been just a Skype call away, and she's so supportive, and the best friend a girl could have.
1. The German-American Mind Meld that is currently going on in my brain. I actually have a love-hate relationship with this, because oftentimes it leaves me looking like a speechless weirdo no matter which language I'm speaking. When I'm wanting to speak English, it seems like I can only think in German and vice versa. Either way, I love that this is happening, because it's a part of being fluent, and that means I'm almost there.
4. Friends. Yes. My friends are my favorite. Especially all of the new friends that I'm making on this here bloggy-blog! You guys are all awesome, and I love finding all of the new exciting blogs. Anyway, I've been kind of homesick over the past month, and this girl (mah bestest fran) has always been just a Skype call away, and she's so supportive, and the best friend a girl could have.
5. Ronan Keating. Seriously, why have I never heard of this guy. I actually came across him just a second ago and thought he was blog worthy. You're welcome. Ha.
What are your favorite things?
Happy FRIDAY, people!!!!
I'm a Proud Wifey
Seriously. I am so proud of Hubby! We had quite a few errands to run today, and since I'm sick, I couldn't do any of it. Unfortunately, this was stuff that couldn't really wait (seriously... we had to set up rent payments and buy food), so Hubby had to venture out into the big, bad, German world all by his lonesome. I seriously felt awful sending him to a bank and grocery store where no one speaks English, but I couldn't even stand up without feeling light-headed, and I couldn't move my eyeballs from side to side without wanting to rip them out of my head because of the pressure. Anyway, he was fine. Sure, he stumbled a little bit, and may have spoken broken German, but you know what? It's all part of the learning process. He got the forms we needed, set up rent, found coconut milk, and got home to tell the tale.
Can I just brag about him for a minute? Thanks. He is learning so fast. He picks up on things really quickly and remembers them (usually). His accent is pretty good, too.
Watch out, world. Hubby is coming at you, and he's speaking German.
That's right, the language of Heidi Klum. And the Nazis. And the second language of our future babies. Mmmhmmm. I'm a lucky lady.
Can I just brag about him for a minute? Thanks. He is learning so fast. He picks up on things really quickly and remembers them (usually). His accent is pretty good, too.
Watch out, world. Hubby is coming at you, and he's speaking German.
That's right, the language of Heidi Klum. And the Nazis. And the second language of our future babies. Mmmhmmm. I'm a lucky lady.
 |
| This is me gazing up at my incredibly talented husband, in awe of the intelligence he possesses. And that was before I heard him tackle German... |
No School for the Next 2.5 Weeks...
What the heck am I going to do with myself until the 24 of October?
Even worse, what the heck will I have to talk about? We live in a tiny town of about 6,000 people, and have corn fields in our backyard. There's 2 banks, 2 restaurants, 2 supermarkets, a cocktail lounge, a pub, an Eiscafe, a post office/kiosk, and a couple of churches. We don't have bikes, so the most exciting thing to do around here is go for a short walk in the woods behind our house.
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE having this opportunity and being here, I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive to get out of this town. I mean, it costs 14 EUR roundtrip (that's WITH a Bahncard) for ONE of us to get to Frankfurt, then for a train ticket to get around Frankfurt for the day, it's about 8 EUR. Friedberg is a little cheaper, but not much. Basically, until we go to Croatia on the 15th, there's going to be a whole lot of sitting around here on Horloffstraße.
Oh, yeah... we're going to Croatia! We will be in Pula from October 15 to the 22, and we are SO excited! Wondering what the heck Pula has to offer? You're in luck! I've googled images and posted them below for your viewing pleasure.
Even worse, what the heck will I have to talk about? We live in a tiny town of about 6,000 people, and have corn fields in our backyard. There's 2 banks, 2 restaurants, 2 supermarkets, a cocktail lounge, a pub, an Eiscafe, a post office/kiosk, and a couple of churches. We don't have bikes, so the most exciting thing to do around here is go for a short walk in the woods behind our house.
Don't get me wrong - I LOVE having this opportunity and being here, I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive to get out of this town. I mean, it costs 14 EUR roundtrip (that's WITH a Bahncard) for ONE of us to get to Frankfurt, then for a train ticket to get around Frankfurt for the day, it's about 8 EUR. Friedberg is a little cheaper, but not much. Basically, until we go to Croatia on the 15th, there's going to be a whole lot of sitting around here on Horloffstraße.
Oh, yeah... we're going to Croatia! We will be in Pula from October 15 to the 22, and we are SO excited! Wondering what the heck Pula has to offer? You're in luck! I've googled images and posted them below for your viewing pleasure.
This is an arch... (yeah, yeah, I know... You can call me Captain Obvious)
This is the Arena Istria in Pula
This is the Temple of Rome and Augustus in Pula
So there you have it! Those three things plus lots of really cool churches, old buildings, and beaches. Heck yes. I will get to put on a swimsuit for the first time in FOREVER. I cannot wait.
Added bonus: Most people in Croatia can speak German (actually, more people speak German than English), so I will be able to keep up with the whole speaking German thing.
Can't wait! I'm sure, too, that this blog will be the victim of my boredom over the next week or so, so I apologize in advance.
--M&A
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