18.7.06

It is so hot out right now. So hot. Like Hansel.

Seriously, I want to stick my head in a bucket of ice water and leave it there for half an hour. It didn't help that I decided to go staple-food shopping today. While that means that most of the stuff I got was light (pasta, rice, dumplings, etc), I went to the cheapest store in town for it, which is in South Tuebingen. And of course on the way back I missed the bus, so I just walked back to the bridge to catch a different one back to my dorm. (It's not very far, but there's a slight upgrade to most of the walk, and I DID have lots of groceries.) Result: I sweated buckets.

I think I made a good choice, though, because shortly before going to the grocery store, I was in H&M trying on clothes that were 50 to 70 percent off. I almost got two different items, and then aborted my purchase at the last moment. I'm trying to go funkier with my wardrobe, so I was thinking about getting this cute front-lace-up shirt with a bit of lace on it (I'd describe it as "hippy flare") and a super-short blue and black ballet poof skirt that would have looked great over jeans or even leggings. I was especially happy with the skirt because it fit my hips more perfectly than any skirt ever has, and I'm not being sarcastic here. But I dropped the top before getting to the register because it was way too low cut for me to ever wear in public, and the skirt (which had a "50% off" tag on it but not the original price), which I thought would be about 5-8 Euro, was going to be 12 Euro. And I just don't have money right now to spend on clothes unless they're going to be functional, i.e. shorts I can wear on a month-long trip through Europe, or flip-flops I can wear in dirty communal showers.

So I think the money was better spent on food, which is usually the decision I come to when the choice is between clothes and food. (Okay, okay, between ANYTHING and food.) However, the clothing would have been easier to carry...

Today was my last bio seminar, which meant a lot of summary and a lot of feedback. It was one of the harder sessions for me, since everyone was throwing out ideas all at once. Trying to catch all of this in a foreign language, even if you're fluent, is like watching a World Cup soccer game through a kaleidiscope. It's easy to focus on one player at a time, but you're not going to see what the goalie is doing, or who's coming up the side of the field, or who's rolling on the ground faking an injury. Besides, in the seminar, even if you're doing a good job of keeping up with the discussion, what happens when you want to say something that you're thinking? It might have been said already, and you missed it. Or you might not know the word for something. What if you oversimplify, and it comes out sounding dumb? Or what if you don't articulate it correctly and everyone looks at you like you just headbutted somebody? (Not to slip back into the soccer analogy... but I couldn't help it. hehe.)

Bottom line, it's hard. After getting out of there with a whirlwind of German swirling in my head, it was time to take a break, and that's when I got the idea to go shopping. And it's weird, because I don't usually like shopping for clothes. Go figure.

I think it's about time to start studying for my exam, which is tomorrow. Or eat dinner. Hmm, dinner...

2 comments:

Ronda said...

I want to see this skirt. Tomorrow, my friend.

And I'm not sure about the kaleidoscope... perhaps telescope, monoculars, or binoculars would have been more appropriate. :)

And by the way, that Hansel's so hot right now.

Anonymous said...

I'm sad you didn't get the skirt. I think it would've been the perfect thing to wear around europe for a month.

Speaking of which, we are going shopping for outrageous clothes as soon as you get home, and then we are going to wear them to school and costume parties and the beach and to eat dinner in.

I am going hiking today for the first time all summer. What have I been doing with myself?

MUAH.