My host Family is pretty good. They are nice people and they help me out a lot. But they are serious about their sleep and sleeping times. And I break those rules by accident sometimes.
I definitely have an obsession with sleep. I can fall asleep ridiculously easily and sleep deeply no problem. Except when I am planning a trip somewhere- then I turn into a raging insomniac b/c traveling prep stresses me out so bad.
So last night- I was up til about 3 am puttering around in my room, cleaning. No, I am not dumb enough to use the vacuum that time of night. I was being as quiet as I could while I got my stuff done. I thought I had done a pretty good job of keeping it quiet.
Hmmmm. apparently not so much. When I got the milk this morning, my host mom asked me if I had had trouble sleeping b/c they heard me all night.
This also lead to a question about my alarm clock and how loud and when it rings. My host mom even asked if I had it sitting on the floor in my room. WTF? Do these people have bat ears? Or are the floors really that thin??? They can probably hear me typing right now and are planning to tell me later that typing is only acceptable between the hours of 10 am- 2 pm. urgh.
Is there ever a point when you can just live in a house and not worry about making too much noise? Seriously. I may just have to buy a little place out in the middle of nowhere, where I will live in harmony with the Chowzer and can clean whenever I want without waking up the neighbours. I hope the Nora Chow doesn't mind isolation.
* *Side note- I friggen miss my dog :( 64 days Chowzer, 64 days**
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Shoulda Planned that Better
In preparation for my family coming next week and then the four of us traveling for a week, I haven't bought anything that would go bad if left in my fridge alone.
Unfortunately this means that I ran out of milk yesterday :( So I ambled downstairs to borrow a cup from the Family. All good :)
Then as I was wandering up the stairs, I realized that the Family drinks H-Vollmilch and I always drink the Fettarme Frischemilch. The difference? Huge. I was glad to have milk for my muesli, but it was like drinking cream :(
Really, this required better planning.
Unfortunately this means that I ran out of milk yesterday :( So I ambled downstairs to borrow a cup from the Family. All good :)
Then as I was wandering up the stairs, I realized that the Family drinks H-Vollmilch and I always drink the Fettarme Frischemilch. The difference? Huge. I was glad to have milk for my muesli, but it was like drinking cream :(
Really, this required better planning.
German Joke of the Day
My last post reminded me of this and might actually make it make a bit more sense for non-German speakers:
A student runs into his uni class 10 minutes late. The prof has already started the lecture, so the student turns to the guy next to him and asks, "what are we talking about?"
The other student waves him off and doesn't answer.
5 minutes later, the guy still has no idea what's going on and he turns to ask again, "no really- what did I miss?
Again the student waves him off and doesn't answer.
Another 5 minutes goes by; the student still has no idea what's going on. He asks once more, "what are we talking about?"
The second student gives him an annoyed look and answers, "I dunno, I'm still waiting for the verb!"
HAHAHAHAHAHA. So true my friends. so true :)
A student runs into his uni class 10 minutes late. The prof has already started the lecture, so the student turns to the guy next to him and asks, "what are we talking about?"
The other student waves him off and doesn't answer.
5 minutes later, the guy still has no idea what's going on and he turns to ask again, "no really- what did I miss?
Again the student waves him off and doesn't answer.
Another 5 minutes goes by; the student still has no idea what's going on. He asks once more, "what are we talking about?"
The second student gives him an annoyed look and answers, "I dunno, I'm still waiting for the verb!"
HAHAHAHAHAHA. So true my friends. so true :)
Accumulation
Last week we were talking about rhetorical devices and trying to pick them out of The Gettysburg Address with some of my 11s.
They were doing well with everything but the idea of accumulation. Nigel was explaining it to them as snippets of the same idea, put together on and on, with the verb at the end. They were still looking pretty blank and all that was running through my head was the idea of millions of different ideas put together, with the verb always at the end.
You know what I came up with? Damn, that sounds mighty like German to me :)
They were doing well with everything but the idea of accumulation. Nigel was explaining it to them as snippets of the same idea, put together on and on, with the verb at the end. They were still looking pretty blank and all that was running through my head was the idea of millions of different ideas put together, with the verb always at the end.
You know what I came up with? Damn, that sounds mighty like German to me :)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Rabies?
Yeah. That's what I thought too. It was a word I never really thought would come up in German. I am not sure which surprised me more though. The fact that I now know the German word for Rabies or the context where I saw it used.
I was looking up the driving rules for Germany in preperation for my Family's visit next week. I came to the section that had some of the vocab from the signage here. The result?
I was looking up the driving rules for Germany in preperation for my Family's visit next week. I came to the section that had some of the vocab from the signage here. The result?
Wildtollwut - rabies (used on signs to warn of a rabies outbreak area)
Let's just take a quick look at the word itself:
wild-feral
toll- screaming
wut- rage*
It basically translates into insane animal rage. Fantastic. It's just so logical it almost hurts. wow.
Also- has anyone ever actually seen this on a sign???? Anywhere? It must be on one somewhere to have made the list. Are there such huge outbreaks of rabies that it actually requires a sign?? Gawd. I may never actually get out of the car :s
* I have to say these are maybe not the most common meanings of all the words, but I swear they all came up when I used the language dictionary*
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Pettng Zoo
I met Nick for a coffee this afternoon in the local cafe. Afterwards we decided to go for a walk to get the caffeine out and we ended up near the local outdoor petting zoo.
This zoo always strikes me as super random. It is right in the middle of nowhere and totally free. They just have signs up asking that you don't feed the critters. So Nick and I checked out the swans, the chickens, and the more exotic birds just chilling in their cages.
I gotta say though, the goatlings were definitely my favourites. They have this huge paddock and there were like 30 of these sorta mini goaties. There were Billy goats, super pregnant lady goats, and some way cute kidlets in all sorts of ages and sizes. There were some seriously tiny kids and another pair of slightly larger ones that were head butting each other. It was so cute and some of them came up to the fence for pets.
There was this dad and his kid feeding the other kids some of the fresh green grass from our side of the fence. So Nick and I picked some too and then we were almost swamped by suddenly uber friendly, real hungry goats. It was pretty fun. I felt like a little kid again, which was kinda nice, b/c it was a great pick me up- on the way to the zoo we had walked by a really pretty, but very sad, war cemetary.
I wish I had taken my camera. Both the cemetary and petting zoo are photo-worthy, so I will try to visit again soon and take some pics for you all.
This zoo always strikes me as super random. It is right in the middle of nowhere and totally free. They just have signs up asking that you don't feed the critters. So Nick and I checked out the swans, the chickens, and the more exotic birds just chilling in their cages.
I gotta say though, the goatlings were definitely my favourites. They have this huge paddock and there were like 30 of these sorta mini goaties. There were Billy goats, super pregnant lady goats, and some way cute kidlets in all sorts of ages and sizes. There were some seriously tiny kids and another pair of slightly larger ones that were head butting each other. It was so cute and some of them came up to the fence for pets.
There was this dad and his kid feeding the other kids some of the fresh green grass from our side of the fence. So Nick and I picked some too and then we were almost swamped by suddenly uber friendly, real hungry goats. It was pretty fun. I felt like a little kid again, which was kinda nice, b/c it was a great pick me up- on the way to the zoo we had walked by a really pretty, but very sad, war cemetary.
I wish I had taken my camera. Both the cemetary and petting zoo are photo-worthy, so I will try to visit again soon and take some pics for you all.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Just Another Assignment
In order to get my grade 10s to speak and write a bit of English, I stole (with permission :D) the totally brilliant idea of another teacher. He brought in a bunch of pictures of random and completely different people and had each student pick one and create that person. They gave the person a name, hobbies, a family, etc.
Then I had all the students present their new self to the class. There were quite a few gems. Like the one who was a ghetto drug dealer by day and a jazz musician by night. Or the divorced Tibetan who had come to New York to escape his ex-wife. However, my favorite was the one who, when describing his character's way of life, said: "you might say I am living the hobo lifestyle".
It took me by surprise and I laughed so hard I almost fell off the desk I was sitting on. Unfortunately I was the only one laughing, the rest of the students were looking around real confused like. The student then went on to explain that the Hobo Lifestyle consisted of "riding the rails" and "playing the Harmonica a lot".
Now all I can think of is The Littlest Hobo- but it seems to me that he ran everywhere or did he actually ride around in empty boxcars?
Maybe tomorrow I'll wanna settle down... until tomorrow I'll just keep movin' on...
Then I had all the students present their new self to the class. There were quite a few gems. Like the one who was a ghetto drug dealer by day and a jazz musician by night. Or the divorced Tibetan who had come to New York to escape his ex-wife. However, my favorite was the one who, when describing his character's way of life, said: "you might say I am living the hobo lifestyle".
It took me by surprise and I laughed so hard I almost fell off the desk I was sitting on. Unfortunately I was the only one laughing, the rest of the students were looking around real confused like. The student then went on to explain that the Hobo Lifestyle consisted of "riding the rails" and "playing the Harmonica a lot".
Now all I can think of is The Littlest Hobo- but it seems to me that he ran everywhere or did he actually ride around in empty boxcars?
Maybe tomorrow I'll wanna settle down... until tomorrow I'll just keep movin' on...
Clamato Drinkers Unite!
I miss it. I miss Caesars. The salt, the tomato, the little garnish of veggies, and yes, even the clam.
I came across Drinking Responsibly, which I think basically sums up the Clamato Drinker's Addiction.
I can't wait to be home- where not only have they heard of Caesars, but drinking them is socially acceptable :)
I came across Drinking Responsibly, which I think basically sums up the Clamato Drinker's Addiction.
I can't wait to be home- where not only have they heard of Caesars, but drinking them is socially acceptable :)
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Non-Wasted Weather
I'm glad I didn't waste the weather yesterday. It was the third consecutive day of warm temperatures and bright, clear sky. So I made the most of it and enjoyed the hell out of it. Then when I woke up this morning I was glad I had because, yet again, it was drizzly, cool, and grey here :(
Hits and Misses: A Grocery Shopping Adventure
The weather yesterday was FABULOUS! So I pulled on a pair of shorts and grabbed my bike to go the grocery store and pick up some food.
Along the way I passed many, many people who were still bundled up on scarves and thick jackets. Needless to say, I stared at their overdressing just as much as they stared at my underdressing. However, in my defense, I have to say that it was a lovely sunny day with an afternoon temperature of 14 degrees :) LOVELY.
So, I get to the grocery store and I am so busy wandering around looking for ingredients for the chili I was making and the soup I am going to make in a couple of days that I forgot to keep a running total of what I had in my basket. Which would have made sense since I only had about 25 Euro in cash on me and my bank card NEVER works at that store :( I go through the til and it comes to about 27. Ugh. Even with the small change in my wallet I was still about a euro short. So it definitely went on the credit card, where now, because of my forgetfulness I am going to be SLAMMED with conversion fees :(
(However, I did come up with a secret ingredient to add to my already amazing chili. Eat your heart out KFC and your "special recipe"!)
Seeing as I still had some cash, I wandered over to the Aldi to pick up some canned tomatoes. I laughed a bit to myself when I got in the checkout line and saw that the guy in front of me was buying a shirt and a mango. So random.
Then I had the pleasure of stuffing my foodstuffs into my backpack and cloth bag, trying not only to make sure that everything fit, but that it was well balanced as well. Then, I biked home. My bag was bloody heavy, but i figured the 40 minutes it would take me to bike home would take less time than waiting for the next train (which was coming in about 50 minutes) and then biking home from the station. Plus- I dunno if I mentioned this or not- but the weather was bloody fantastic and I didn't want to waste it!
Also- the chili was ridiculously fantastic as well :D
Along the way I passed many, many people who were still bundled up on scarves and thick jackets. Needless to say, I stared at their overdressing just as much as they stared at my underdressing. However, in my defense, I have to say that it was a lovely sunny day with an afternoon temperature of 14 degrees :) LOVELY.
So, I get to the grocery store and I am so busy wandering around looking for ingredients for the chili I was making and the soup I am going to make in a couple of days that I forgot to keep a running total of what I had in my basket. Which would have made sense since I only had about 25 Euro in cash on me and my bank card NEVER works at that store :( I go through the til and it comes to about 27. Ugh. Even with the small change in my wallet I was still about a euro short. So it definitely went on the credit card, where now, because of my forgetfulness I am going to be SLAMMED with conversion fees :(
(However, I did come up with a secret ingredient to add to my already amazing chili. Eat your heart out KFC and your "special recipe"!)
Seeing as I still had some cash, I wandered over to the Aldi to pick up some canned tomatoes. I laughed a bit to myself when I got in the checkout line and saw that the guy in front of me was buying a shirt and a mango. So random.
Then I had the pleasure of stuffing my foodstuffs into my backpack and cloth bag, trying not only to make sure that everything fit, but that it was well balanced as well. Then, I biked home. My bag was bloody heavy, but i figured the 40 minutes it would take me to bike home would take less time than waiting for the next train (which was coming in about 50 minutes) and then biking home from the station. Plus- I dunno if I mentioned this or not- but the weather was bloody fantastic and I didn't want to waste it!
Also- the chili was ridiculously fantastic as well :D
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Free Swag :)
I mailed some postcards today and as I was buying stamps, the lady asked me where I was sending them. When I told her Canada, she got all excited and started asking me about how I like things here and what I was doing and stuff.
Then, as I was getting ready to go- she told me to wait and ran into the back. She came back holding a couple of post it pads, a mouse pad, and a little history book stamped with the Postbank logo for me. She told me they were little mementos from Postbank from my time in Germany. It was really sweet and totally made my day* :D How many other people can say that they got free swag from the post office that is also a bank?
*The fact that it was 14 degrees outside this afternoon also helped make my day :D but that's beside the point
Then, as I was getting ready to go- she told me to wait and ran into the back. She came back holding a couple of post it pads, a mouse pad, and a little history book stamped with the Postbank logo for me. She told me they were little mementos from Postbank from my time in Germany. It was really sweet and totally made my day* :D How many other people can say that they got free swag from the post office that is also a bank?
*The fact that it was 14 degrees outside this afternoon also helped make my day :D but that's beside the point
Oh Wikipedia Authors
I heart Wikipedia. This is a well known fact. However, what I find rather amusing is some of the stuff that people write articles about. For instance- there is a wikipedia article on cheese and even one on shoelaces.
Who writes these articles? Are they doing it for the love of these simple and well known things, or are they writing it because this is their area of expertise?
Sidenote- I got distracted by the links on shoelaces from the citations on the page and it brought me to Ian's shoeace site and 33 Different Ways to Lace Shoes.
Ok. so I was completely sidetracked here and this post has no real point. ooops. my bad.
Who writes these articles? Are they doing it for the love of these simple and well known things, or are they writing it because this is their area of expertise?
Sidenote- I got distracted by the links on shoelaces from the citations on the page and it brought me to Ian's shoeace site and 33 Different Ways to Lace Shoes.
Ok. so I was completely sidetracked here and this post has no real point. ooops. my bad.
Check It Out
I found this little gem on my BFF Wikipedia today. I just thought it was a sweet pic and worthy of sharing:
Welcome my friends, to the world of False Morel. It looks like a brain, eh? And it's sorta poisonous, but apparently people eat it anyway.
Sweet.
Welcome my friends, to the world of False Morel. It looks like a brain, eh? And it's sorta poisonous, but apparently people eat it anyway.
Sweet.
Assorted Awesome Possum in Kassel
Germany/Kassel is full of things that kinda made me shake my head and wonder. Like these:
Designed to make the Karlsaue Park more handicapped accessible, the city added a wheelchair ramp. Unfortunately, it's at like a 45 degree angle, so anyone in a wheelchair would probably not be able to make it up the ramp on their own, even if they were an Olympian.
The trendy way for students to eat. Studentenfutter literally translates to Student Fodder, like we're bloody horses or something. Also, this stuff, while tasty, is expensive enough that NO student could ever afford to live off it. Unless of course said student was a millionaire. So really, no student could afford to live off it.
The Man's Cookbook. Although, I think that if a guy was to offer to make me dinner, but then leave such a huge ass mess in my kitchen afterward, I would rather just cook the meal myself.
And last, but definitely not least: From the company that brought you favorites like Menopause Barbie and the unforgettable Bitchhole Barbie:
Maternity Barbie:
Maternity Barbie comes with all you see here, including assorted bits and bobs for baby. Also included is a removable stomach casing so your little one can make Maternity Barbie deliver by C-Section at any point during the day's play :)
It was only 5 Euro, but still- what the hell does anyone need a creepy ass barbie for???
Designed to make the Karlsaue Park more handicapped accessible, the city added a wheelchair ramp. Unfortunately, it's at like a 45 degree angle, so anyone in a wheelchair would probably not be able to make it up the ramp on their own, even if they were an Olympian.
The trendy way for students to eat. Studentenfutter literally translates to Student Fodder, like we're bloody horses or something. Also, this stuff, while tasty, is expensive enough that NO student could ever afford to live off it. Unless of course said student was a millionaire. So really, no student could afford to live off it.
The Man's Cookbook. Although, I think that if a guy was to offer to make me dinner, but then leave such a huge ass mess in my kitchen afterward, I would rather just cook the meal myself.
And last, but definitely not least: From the company that brought you favorites like Menopause Barbie and the unforgettable Bitchhole Barbie:
Maternity Barbie:
Maternity Barbie comes with all you see here, including assorted bits and bobs for baby. Also included is a removable stomach casing so your little one can make Maternity Barbie deliver by C-Section at any point during the day's play :)
It was only 5 Euro, but still- what the hell does anyone need a creepy ass barbie for???
The Orangerie
Meg and I went for a wander on saturday down to the Orangerie, which is situated right along the Fulda river in Karlsaue Park. Again, here are some of the highlights:
Meg and Aslan
The Orangerie
Now these next ones, Meg and I got all deep and artistic for. In the Orangerie there are plaques with the planets on them, showing relative distances. So we went hardcore on them. Please enjoy.
This is us stepping on the earth figuratively AND literally.
Everyone loves Venus :)
This last one I included just for kicks. I have NEVER EVER seen quite so much booty on any statue in my life. Observe:
GHETTO BOOTY ----->
Meg and Aslan
The Orangerie
Now these next ones, Meg and I got all deep and artistic for. In the Orangerie there are plaques with the planets on them, showing relative distances. So we went hardcore on them. Please enjoy.
This is us stepping on the earth figuratively AND literally.
Everyone loves Venus :)
This last one I included just for kicks. I have NEVER EVER seen quite so much booty on any statue in my life. Observe:
GHETTO BOOTY ----->
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Things in Kassel
So last weekend I hung out with Meg in Kassel. It was good fun. Here are some of the highlights:
Meg with the random fashion show in the background. It was a lame show, with ugly clothes. Also, one of the guy models (who had done some weird/random dance moves on stage- hopefully as part of his contract) made weird eye contact with me. So I frowned at him and let him know I was not impressed by the terrible dancing and then Meg frowned at me for frowning at the overly friendly model.
Part of the Orangerie park.
Meg enjoying the sun on her balcony
Part of the Orangerie Park
Meg trying to pick up Hercules' hammer (the hammer is a result of Dokumenta, the story being that Hercules threw it from his place on the Oktagon above Wilhelmshoehe Palace- long story short- you can check out Kassel here )
Meg with the random fashion show in the background. It was a lame show, with ugly clothes. Also, one of the guy models (who had done some weird/random dance moves on stage- hopefully as part of his contract) made weird eye contact with me. So I frowned at him and let him know I was not impressed by the terrible dancing and then Meg frowned at me for frowning at the overly friendly model.
Part of the Orangerie park.
Meg enjoying the sun on her balcony
Part of the Orangerie Park
Meg trying to pick up Hercules' hammer (the hammer is a result of Dokumenta, the story being that Hercules threw it from his place on the Oktagon above Wilhelmshoehe Palace- long story short- you can check out Kassel here )
Gerry Rigging
Slatted beds suck. They break easy and are tough to fix when you are just looking for a quick/ cheap fix.
Here's mine and Meg's attempt to fix hers:
Yeah- I know- SUPER ghetto.
On a random side note, when I tried to explain to Daniel what Meg and I had done and why I hated slatted beds so much, he interrupted me to ask how I spelled that. I was really confused, but after spelling it out for him, Daniel looked way less offended- turns out he had thought that I was calling them "slutty" beds.
Here's mine and Meg's attempt to fix hers:
Yeah- I know- SUPER ghetto.
On a random side note, when I tried to explain to Daniel what Meg and I had done and why I hated slatted beds so much, he interrupted me to ask how I spelled that. I was really confused, but after spelling it out for him, Daniel looked way less offended- turns out he had thought that I was calling them "slutty" beds.
Wednesday Night Out
Last thursday was a professional development day at my school and I was conveniently not invited, so I went out with some friends.
Me and Nick took the university kids doing their practicums at the school (Stefan, Manuel, and Dom) bowling. It was pretty good fun and 3 games and shoe rental ended up only costing me 11 E. It was pretty decent :)
Dom, Stefan, Manuel
Afterward we all went to the Irish Pub a few blocks down and chilled. After a bit, one of my 11th grade classes wandered in with their teacher for their pub date and we all sat together and chatted and drank. It was weird to drink with people that aren't 18 yet and are my students, but it was yet another example of how different Germany is.
More of my Grade 11s with Nick
Me and Daniel (the 11s' teacher)
It was a great time :)
Me and Nick took the university kids doing their practicums at the school (Stefan, Manuel, and Dom) bowling. It was pretty good fun and 3 games and shoe rental ended up only costing me 11 E. It was pretty decent :)
Dom, Manuel, Nick
Dom, Stefan, Manuel
Afterward we all went to the Irish Pub a few blocks down and chilled. After a bit, one of my 11th grade classes wandered in with their teacher for their pub date and we all sat together and chatted and drank. It was weird to drink with people that aren't 18 yet and are my students, but it was yet another example of how different Germany is.
Some of my Grade 11s
More of my Grade 11s with Nick
Me and Daniel (the 11s' teacher)
It was a great time :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Not Dead.
Hi. I'm not dead, but I have been away for a few days and am desperately tired. I will try to blog about it all tomorrow.
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