Back from the Abschiedsseminar in Weimar. It was a long weekend of hanging out, traveling a lot and getting little sleep, so instead of updating about how it all went, I'm going to steal something I saw on Matt's blog (which Ronda also stole) and fill it out for fun. Then I'm going to eat and relax for a while:
9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (The countdown)
9 lasts.
-last place you were: Jeff's to say hi after being gone all weekend
-last cigarette: don't smoke cigs, they're gross
-last beverage: a whole 0.7 liter bottle of carbonated water
-last kiss: Jeff, of course
-last movie seen: Funny Games
-last person talked to on the phone: Jeff
-last cd played: the whole CD? Pinkerton by Weezer
-last bubble bath: not recently enough. dorm life doesn't allow for such luxuries
-last time you cried?: haha, Friday. I was stressed after the trip to Weimar and I got there and got all teary for some reason. I'm weird.
8 have you evers.
-have you ever dated someone twice: yah. bad idea...
-have you ever been cheated on: ...and that's why dating twice is a bad idea
-have you ever kissed somebody and regretted it: probably, but not in the last year
-have you ever fallen in love: love is a tricky thing... I don't know if I know what it is yet.
-have you ever made out in the woods: haha, of course. I love nature
-have you ever been depressed: very mildly, mostly weather-related
-have you ever been drunk and threw up? can we say Oktoberfest?
-have you ever gone to the bathroom with the door open: haha of course! it's a fun risk to take
7 states you've been to:
-Washington
-California
-Missouri
-Oregon
-Florida
-Kansas
-Hawaii
6 things you've done today.
-woke up at 11, when we were supposed to check out of the hostel
-stole someones computer to check emails
-ate breakfast
-said goodbye to the people I met through the Federation this year
-spent 6 hours in a car from Weimar to Stuttgart, then another 80 minutes getting from the Stuttgart airport to Tuebingen, all in the name of saving as much money as possible
-took a break for some gelato and McDonald's. We're healthy people
5 favorite things.
-guacamole
-awesome theme parties
-good late-night discussions in either English or German
-ultimate frisbee
-grill parties (aka BBQs)
4 people you miss.
yeah I miss more than 4 people. but i'm not abandoning the list form so I'll kinda cheat:
-my entire family. (told you I'd cheat)
-Andrea
-Ashley
-Sara
3 favorite colors.
-blue
-jungle green
-polka dots
2 things you want to do before you die.
-live in former East Berlin
-work in or run a hostel
1 thing you regret.
-not finding a job or a volunteer position in Germany
2.7.06
26.6.06
We read the following poem in my German Literature and Conversation class last week. It was so touching that I almost started crying in class, and it's become one of my favorite poems ever:
Ich fürchte mich so vor der Menschen Wort
von Rainer Maria Rilke (1898)
Ich fürchte mich so vor der Menschen Wort.
Sie sprechen alles so deutlich aus:
Und dieses heißt Hund und jenes heißt Haus,
und hier ist Beginn, und das Ende ist dort.
Mich bangt auch ihr Sinn, ihr Spiel mit dem Spott,
sie wissen alles, was wird und war;
kein Berg ist ihnen mehr wunderbar;
ihr Garten und Gut grenzt grade an Gott.
Ich will immer warnen und wehren: Bleibt fern.
Die Dinge singen hör ich so gern.
Ihr rührt sie an: sie sind starr und stumm.
Ihr bringt mir alle die Dinge um.
I was so enthused by this poem that I sat in class and tried to come up with a good translation of the last stanza, which happens to be my favorite. So here it is, for those of you who don't speak German:
I always want to warn you: Stay away.
I like to hear the things sing and play.
You touch them all: they are stiff and dumb.
You're taking the things and killing them.
Ich fürchte mich so vor der Menschen Wort
von Rainer Maria Rilke (1898)
Ich fürchte mich so vor der Menschen Wort.
Sie sprechen alles so deutlich aus:
Und dieses heißt Hund und jenes heißt Haus,
und hier ist Beginn, und das Ende ist dort.
Mich bangt auch ihr Sinn, ihr Spiel mit dem Spott,
sie wissen alles, was wird und war;
kein Berg ist ihnen mehr wunderbar;
ihr Garten und Gut grenzt grade an Gott.
Ich will immer warnen und wehren: Bleibt fern.
Die Dinge singen hör ich so gern.
Ihr rührt sie an: sie sind starr und stumm.
Ihr bringt mir alle die Dinge um.
I was so enthused by this poem that I sat in class and tried to come up with a good translation of the last stanza, which happens to be my favorite. So here it is, for those of you who don't speak German:
I always want to warn you: Stay away.
I like to hear the things sing and play.
You touch them all: they are stiff and dumb.
You're taking the things and killing them.
20.6.06
In a game that didn't matter as far as advancement out of the round robin went, Germany gave Ecuador a nice solid whupping today. Three minutes into the game, and Klose had already made the first goal. He did it again right before halftime, and Podolski kicked one in in the 56th minute to solidify the victory. Every successful goal meant a round of wild cheering and applause, people hugging and kissing and high-fiving, and a flurry of flags, being waved furiously above the crowd, back and forth. Black, red, gold. Big flags, little flags, people wearing flags as capes, people holding up flags that spanned three or four people. Tons of flags everywhere.
Around the 85th minute of the game, I was on a bus, heading to class. The bus, which I take every Tuesday to get to Spanish class, had about 10 people in it. Normally, this bus runs late and once it finally gets there, I have to cram myself in, nestle myself in among the sweaty bodies and baby buggies, and wait impatiently as the bus lumbers along its route. Today, without the usual mass of rush-hour humanity, the bus jetted through the near-empty streets on its way to the French Quarter.
Getting out of the bus, I saw people pouring out of the many bars of the French Quarter. Many were talking excitedly, their hands wiping their faces and accidently removing sections of facepaint along with beads of sweat, smearing black and red and yellow over their cheeks and chins. I could tell my own facepaint was beginning to fade from almost two hours of perspiration, brought on by sitting for two hours in the hot sun wearing two tank tops, a Germany jersey, a flag as a cape, and a red scarf.
Walking down the street away from the crowds and towards my classroom, I hear a child's voice call out "Deutschland! Wir fahren nach Berlin!" I turn and see above me two young German children clothed in white jerseys, helping each other wave their country's flag atop their balcony. I smile and wave at the two, who in turn squeal in delight and wave back.
Spanish lasted an hour and a half. I was the only one on time. Half the class didn't show up, and half of those who did were mildly to full-on drunk. Our opening exercise was answering the question, "Where did you watch the game?" The lesson was continuously interrupted by passing cars who had no problem with serving up the neighborhood a peppering of car horn blasts.
Getting back up to the student village proved difficult, as the amount of people celebrating Germany's victory was enough to block up the main street to the point where the busses could not run anymore. Even then, two hours after the final whistle, we still had to take a long detour.
On the bus ride back up, my dormmate Clara and I were talking to pass the time. Clara is taking Spanish with me to round off her 5-language repertoire, which, amazingly, does not include English. I mentioned that I had never seen so much German pride in my life.
Clara nodded, and said, "Of course not. This is the only time we're really allowed to show any pride in our nation, when it's for soccer."
And it's true. Germans could of course fly a flag outside their house if they wanted to, or celebrate their national day, the 3rd of October, with giant city festivals and fireworks. They have, after all, much of which to be proud. A functioning socialistic slash capitalistic society and a major player in the EU, Germany takes good care of its people, and the people in turn take good care of the land and of the environment. They are world leaders in technology, science, and industry.
But show one ounce of nationalistic pride, and immediately it is construed not as nationalistic, but as national socialistic. No way would any self-respecting citizen speak too highly of the merits of the German people or, God forbid, start flying a German flag outside of their home. To do so would be to open oneself up to the criticism of being a potential Neo-Nazi.
This is the kind of abashed self-loathing that the German people have lived under for 60 years. I don't think anybody, including themselves, believes that they deserve it. Not now. Not today. They don't deserve to see documentaries about the Third Reich daily on TV, they shouldn't have to keep paying reparations to Israel, and they certainly shouldn't feel the deep shame for their nation that is still prevalent in the country today.
A recent set of advertisements popped up last year across Germany. The tagline was "Du bist Deutschland" - "You are Germany". The advertisements, designed to raise German self-esteem and with it the rate of employment, were so cheesy that they were met with instantenous and unending ridicule. Germans still don't believe they can show any pride in their country, the only exception being during the World Cup.
"Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden" is the slogan of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. "The world as a guest here with friends." If only Germany started believing that the world is its friend, and not its enemy as it was 60-plus years ago. Then perhaps more German houses would, like the two children in the French Quarter, wave the flag from their balconies, full of pride for what their post-war nation has accomplished, and what is yet to come.
Black, red, and gold.
Around the 85th minute of the game, I was on a bus, heading to class. The bus, which I take every Tuesday to get to Spanish class, had about 10 people in it. Normally, this bus runs late and once it finally gets there, I have to cram myself in, nestle myself in among the sweaty bodies and baby buggies, and wait impatiently as the bus lumbers along its route. Today, without the usual mass of rush-hour humanity, the bus jetted through the near-empty streets on its way to the French Quarter.
Getting out of the bus, I saw people pouring out of the many bars of the French Quarter. Many were talking excitedly, their hands wiping their faces and accidently removing sections of facepaint along with beads of sweat, smearing black and red and yellow over their cheeks and chins. I could tell my own facepaint was beginning to fade from almost two hours of perspiration, brought on by sitting for two hours in the hot sun wearing two tank tops, a Germany jersey, a flag as a cape, and a red scarf.
Walking down the street away from the crowds and towards my classroom, I hear a child's voice call out "Deutschland! Wir fahren nach Berlin!" I turn and see above me two young German children clothed in white jerseys, helping each other wave their country's flag atop their balcony. I smile and wave at the two, who in turn squeal in delight and wave back.
Spanish lasted an hour and a half. I was the only one on time. Half the class didn't show up, and half of those who did were mildly to full-on drunk. Our opening exercise was answering the question, "Where did you watch the game?" The lesson was continuously interrupted by passing cars who had no problem with serving up the neighborhood a peppering of car horn blasts.
Getting back up to the student village proved difficult, as the amount of people celebrating Germany's victory was enough to block up the main street to the point where the busses could not run anymore. Even then, two hours after the final whistle, we still had to take a long detour.
On the bus ride back up, my dormmate Clara and I were talking to pass the time. Clara is taking Spanish with me to round off her 5-language repertoire, which, amazingly, does not include English. I mentioned that I had never seen so much German pride in my life.
Clara nodded, and said, "Of course not. This is the only time we're really allowed to show any pride in our nation, when it's for soccer."
And it's true. Germans could of course fly a flag outside their house if they wanted to, or celebrate their national day, the 3rd of October, with giant city festivals and fireworks. They have, after all, much of which to be proud. A functioning socialistic slash capitalistic society and a major player in the EU, Germany takes good care of its people, and the people in turn take good care of the land and of the environment. They are world leaders in technology, science, and industry.
But show one ounce of nationalistic pride, and immediately it is construed not as nationalistic, but as national socialistic. No way would any self-respecting citizen speak too highly of the merits of the German people or, God forbid, start flying a German flag outside of their home. To do so would be to open oneself up to the criticism of being a potential Neo-Nazi.
This is the kind of abashed self-loathing that the German people have lived under for 60 years. I don't think anybody, including themselves, believes that they deserve it. Not now. Not today. They don't deserve to see documentaries about the Third Reich daily on TV, they shouldn't have to keep paying reparations to Israel, and they certainly shouldn't feel the deep shame for their nation that is still prevalent in the country today.
A recent set of advertisements popped up last year across Germany. The tagline was "Du bist Deutschland" - "You are Germany". The advertisements, designed to raise German self-esteem and with it the rate of employment, were so cheesy that they were met with instantenous and unending ridicule. Germans still don't believe they can show any pride in their country, the only exception being during the World Cup.
"Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden" is the slogan of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. "The world as a guest here with friends." If only Germany started believing that the world is its friend, and not its enemy as it was 60-plus years ago. Then perhaps more German houses would, like the two children in the French Quarter, wave the flag from their balconies, full of pride for what their post-war nation has accomplished, and what is yet to come.
Black, red, and gold.
17.6.06
15.6.06
You've got to be kidding me.
Good thing that guy moved away from Germany, because doing what he's doing in America would be considered a punishible offense on German soil.
What have I been doing lately, you ask? After finishing all my schoolwork, going to all but one of my classes, and a fun but short surprise visit from Rick, I've been chilling today and watching soccer. There was the added bonus of the annual Tuebingen Punting Races, which had a huge turnout and ended up being really fun to watch, even if they didn't last very long. And as for soccer - the World Cup madness continues to hold all of Europe in its iron grip, and Germany, being the host country for the event, is hit especially hard. The fall of Poland to Germany triggered a night-long celebration that pulsed through the streets of Tuebingen (and most every other German city, I must imagine), with lots of broken class and people cheering at each other. A popular chant was "Ihr koennt nach Hause geh'n", meaning "Might as well go home!", directed at the Polish team right after Germany scored the only goal of the game in overtime. Despite all of this (or perhaps because of it, because of all the drunk people in the streets), there were no night busses, so Ronda, Jeff and I walked from the French Quarter up the hill to WHO, which took about 80 minutes. No harm done, though - it was a good night.
Today is a holiday, so theoretically I'd have time to fill you on our Penecost Break trip to Prague. But, I think I'll turn on the England vs. Trinidad/Tobago game and maybe take a nap.
Good thing that guy moved away from Germany, because doing what he's doing in America would be considered a punishible offense on German soil.
What have I been doing lately, you ask? After finishing all my schoolwork, going to all but one of my classes, and a fun but short surprise visit from Rick, I've been chilling today and watching soccer. There was the added bonus of the annual Tuebingen Punting Races, which had a huge turnout and ended up being really fun to watch, even if they didn't last very long. And as for soccer - the World Cup madness continues to hold all of Europe in its iron grip, and Germany, being the host country for the event, is hit especially hard. The fall of Poland to Germany triggered a night-long celebration that pulsed through the streets of Tuebingen (and most every other German city, I must imagine), with lots of broken class and people cheering at each other. A popular chant was "Ihr koennt nach Hause geh'n", meaning "Might as well go home!", directed at the Polish team right after Germany scored the only goal of the game in overtime. Despite all of this (or perhaps because of it, because of all the drunk people in the streets), there were no night busses, so Ronda, Jeff and I walked from the French Quarter up the hill to WHO, which took about 80 minutes. No harm done, though - it was a good night.
Today is a holiday, so theoretically I'd have time to fill you on our Penecost Break trip to Prague. But, I think I'll turn on the England vs. Trinidad/Tobago game and maybe take a nap.
12.6.06
Egads!
A week off in Prague and Berlin made for a great, fun trip, but OH MY GOODNESS the stress! I have a 3-page paper to write and two presentations to give in the next two days, all the while trying to cram in a choir rehearsal, the US vs. the Czech Republic World Cup soccer game, Spanish class, and two other classes! This is probably the most work I've had to do all semester, and thanks to my big week-long break, I'm cramming it into 48 hours. Wonderful.
So if you don't hear from me until Thursday, you'll know why. It'll be non-stop until Wednesday night, when the German team plays Poland and hopefully kicks their butt. Hopefully after that, I'll have time to sit down and tell you all about my weeklong trip over Pentecost Break.
(Pentecost Break? for a whole week? What kind of school do I go to???)
A week off in Prague and Berlin made for a great, fun trip, but OH MY GOODNESS the stress! I have a 3-page paper to write and two presentations to give in the next two days, all the while trying to cram in a choir rehearsal, the US vs. the Czech Republic World Cup soccer game, Spanish class, and two other classes! This is probably the most work I've had to do all semester, and thanks to my big week-long break, I'm cramming it into 48 hours. Wonderful.
So if you don't hear from me until Thursday, you'll know why. It'll be non-stop until Wednesday night, when the German team plays Poland and hopefully kicks their butt. Hopefully after that, I'll have time to sit down and tell you all about my weeklong trip over Pentecost Break.
(Pentecost Break? for a whole week? What kind of school do I go to???)
2.6.06
I find this article very amusing, because two of the three determining words in the spelling bee are German words. If I had never taken German, I would be right there along with the other 98% of America who have no idea what the words Ursprache and Weltschmerz mean, much less know how to spell them. A closer inspection of a clip of the spelling bee shows that the moderator did, in fact, pronounce Weltschmerz correctly.
Since we're leaving for Prague tomorrow, Jeff, Ronda and I went down to the train station early today and bought our tickets. I'm so excited! Now Jeff and I just have to figure out if we want to go to Berlin afterwards, or come straight back to Tuebingen, or what. By the time we were done with this small task, it was 10:30, meaning it was time for Ronda to go to Stuttgart, time for Jeff to go back to bed, and time for me to work on writing a presentation I have to give the week after Prague. So that's what I've been doing for a solid 4 hours now (which feels like a heck of a lot of work to me, sadly), and as a result, on the bus going back up to my dorm, I came up with an extremely deep thought, which is as follows:
If you have two M&Ms in your hand, and one is red and one is brown, which do you eat first? Because the one you leave behind will inevitably melt a little in your hand (if you eat M&Ms as slow as I do), so which color stain would look worse? Red, which could be construed as blood, or brown, which could be construed as dirt or silver nitrate or poop?
So that's something for you to ponder while I'm away in Prague. You can leave a comment and share your own Deep Thought!
Have a great week.
Since we're leaving for Prague tomorrow, Jeff, Ronda and I went down to the train station early today and bought our tickets. I'm so excited! Now Jeff and I just have to figure out if we want to go to Berlin afterwards, or come straight back to Tuebingen, or what. By the time we were done with this small task, it was 10:30, meaning it was time for Ronda to go to Stuttgart, time for Jeff to go back to bed, and time for me to work on writing a presentation I have to give the week after Prague. So that's what I've been doing for a solid 4 hours now (which feels like a heck of a lot of work to me, sadly), and as a result, on the bus going back up to my dorm, I came up with an extremely deep thought, which is as follows:
If you have two M&Ms in your hand, and one is red and one is brown, which do you eat first? Because the one you leave behind will inevitably melt a little in your hand (if you eat M&Ms as slow as I do), so which color stain would look worse? Red, which could be construed as blood, or brown, which could be construed as dirt or silver nitrate or poop?
So that's something for you to ponder while I'm away in Prague. You can leave a comment and share your own Deep Thought!
Have a great week.
1.6.06
There's only one statement that has any truth to it in this video. Can you find it?
And in regards to the very last line of the video: If it's true that none of you really matter to us (a false statement, I feel), things would be way different if we weren't the most powerful country in the world. I have a feeling you guys wouldn't give a crap about us, if you could help it.
I think the British guys who made this video are harboring a bit of resentment stemming back from 1776...
And in regards to the very last line of the video: If it's true that none of you really matter to us (a false statement, I feel), things would be way different if we weren't the most powerful country in the world. I have a feeling you guys wouldn't give a crap about us, if you could help it.
I think the British guys who made this video are harboring a bit of resentment stemming back from 1776...
30.5.06
Sometimes I like giving myself random, pointless challenges. For example, I'll swear off chocolate for months at a time. It's not that I'm eating any healthier - I still eat candy and the like - it's just that suddenly, there's no chocolate anymore.
So the newest challenge starts today: to survive the rest of the week only on pocket change. And I'm going grocery shopping right now... This is sure to be lots of fun. But you haven't been a college student until you've tried something like this.
So the newest challenge starts today: to survive the rest of the week only on pocket change. And I'm going grocery shopping right now... This is sure to be lots of fun. But you haven't been a college student until you've tried something like this.
28.5.06
Life has been adventure-rich lately. At least Ronda and I choose to call what we do "adventures", because in reality it's nothing more than picking out a small neighboring town within the area covered by our semester bus pass, and going to explore it. Still, it's a lot of fun. And if we hadn't done it on Thursday together, we would not have run into a Father's Day Bierfest, as well as signs for a Weinfest this weekend.
So you can guess what we did today. Yes, that's right, we went back to that small village and invaded their Weinfest. I'd post pictures of our adventures, but Ronda took them all, so you'll have to become friends with her on Facebook and then look at the pictures.
Spending the entire weekend with Ronda inevitably ended in me contracting her illness. So now I feel like crap, I napped 4 hours today, my head is throbbing, and I desperately need to go make some soup. But at least tonight I'll be able to do some homework, and maybe recover enough to go out tomorrow for Armin's going-away party. If you know anyone who is in Germany and can bring me homemade chicken noodle soup, I'd be much obliged.
So you can guess what we did today. Yes, that's right, we went back to that small village and invaded their Weinfest. I'd post pictures of our adventures, but Ronda took them all, so you'll have to become friends with her on Facebook and then look at the pictures.
Spending the entire weekend with Ronda inevitably ended in me contracting her illness. So now I feel like crap, I napped 4 hours today, my head is throbbing, and I desperately need to go make some soup. But at least tonight I'll be able to do some homework, and maybe recover enough to go out tomorrow for Armin's going-away party. If you know anyone who is in Germany and can bring me homemade chicken noodle soup, I'd be much obliged.
24.5.06
In case you were wondering, here's the link to that article.
I find it fitting that the dude's name is Wasser, and he does marine research. Just one of life's little coincidences, I guess.
I find it fitting that the dude's name is Wasser, and he does marine research. Just one of life's little coincidences, I guess.
I was reading an article in the Seattle PI pertaining to the UW biology department, when I realized that after being in Germany, I don't know how to pronounce certain names.
Namely, I'm talking about those last names that are of German heritage, but have been Anglocized. Example: Wasser becomes "waaa-sir", but to my eyes, it looks like "Vah-ser" pronounced with a British-like accent (aka, the R doesn't come out very strong).
Oh man. What am I going to do when I'm back in the states? Just go around mispronouncing everybody's name?
Namely, I'm talking about those last names that are of German heritage, but have been Anglocized. Example: Wasser becomes "waaa-sir", but to my eyes, it looks like "Vah-ser" pronounced with a British-like accent (aka, the R doesn't come out very strong).
Oh man. What am I going to do when I'm back in the states? Just go around mispronouncing everybody's name?
21.5.06
This weekend's seminar finally came to a close today at noon. Of course, they always fly past quickly, but since I got a total of 7 hours sleep the whole weekend, I of course was ready for it to be over.
I have a lot of thoughts about the seminar, ranging from the very positive for the somewhat negative. Right now, though, it's time to relax in the park down in the city. Play some cards. Knit. Nap. Chat. Nosh a bit.
So I'll come to all of those thoughts later. Bye...
I have a lot of thoughts about the seminar, ranging from the very positive for the somewhat negative. Right now, though, it's time to relax in the park down in the city. Play some cards. Knit. Nap. Chat. Nosh a bit.
So I'll come to all of those thoughts later. Bye...
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