-I decided that our conversations in the German class needed some spicing up so I started introducing weird sentences and talking about cats. When I was working on my degree at the American university, I talked about cats for three classes in a row so it became my tongue in cheek "thing."
I decided to continue the tradition at the German university. I suggested that the imaginary holiday party we discussed should take place at the Tierheim and that cat food (Kibbles and Bits), chicken, hot cocoa, and Hawaiian Punch should be on the menu. I had to explain Kibbles and Bits and Hawaiian Punch as they're super American. At the party, humans and animals could choose either type of food. To elaborate, I told the story of my high school job in a retirement home where one of the more senile residents showed up at the door, eating cat food.
The main point of this rambling is that I'm now to the point where I can make stupid jokes in German and tell weird stories that are not entirely grammatical but people can understand (as well as they could be understood as they're strange and don't even make much sense in English).
-We may or may not have gone out to dinner at the Thai restaurant that has, as my German friend puts it, "high octane drinks." We then may or may not have drank several of what I call "flaming volcano troughs." I can say with certainty that we parted with side-hugs (we had been talking about the Duggars) and eating snow that fell from the sky (my idea). On the way home we found a chair in a pile of furniture that someone was throwing out. We may or may not have considered taking the chair since I need extras for a party, later becoming disinterested because the chair was not in a usable condition. I can say with certainty that we ran into a drunk bunch of young guys who were thrilled with their friend's discovery of a purse in a trash heap. He was carrying it around, quite proud of himself, reminding me of the purple Teletubby. It was a fantastic night out.
-I had two more German classes. In one, we were using the subjunctive to express wistful thoughts and things that were not actually true. We were supposed to write things like, "the workplace would be a better place if..." I was feeling saucy again so I wrote "if coworkers would not be 'jerks.'" I wrote all of it in German but the "jerks" part in English with quotes. I see things written like this (or sometimes without the quotes) in German signs. This German teacher is a bit strict and doesn't want English used in class so she told me in a conspiratorial voice that she would tell me the German word for jerks and wrote it on my paper. I tried explaining to her that the German word is MUCH stronger than what we'd use in English as one wouldn't say it in a polite conversation but one could use "jerks" instead.
To add to the ridiculousness, in my other German class, we had to jot down some sentences. I thought that it was just for our own use so I grabbed a piece of used paper from my notebook. Then we were told that we had to hand them in and of course I had used the "jerks" paper. Sigh.
-With my busy schedule and not getting enough alone time (which is very important for even introverts who are still social, such as myself), I've been feeling very tired and somewhat frazzled. Of course it would then make *total* sense that I decided to throw a holiday party next week, because why not add to the stress? I'm thrilled, though, that my friend has taken care of the planning, including decorations and the menu. I am incredibly NOT crafty or creative and she has already decorated my house in a totally cute way. Yippie!
-I went to Heidelberg with my friend who's visiting me right now but actually lives there. A friend, with whom I spent New Year's day hiking, met up with us. As we were waiting for him, we ran into yet another friend who was doing a field trip for work in Heidelberg. I love it when things like that happen! We walked around Heidelberg, stopping at the various Christmas markets and doing some shopping. Everything was soooo busy and crowded, including the train, where everyone had to squeeze in and at some stops, there were announcements to squeeze in even more so that the doors would close. I think it was a combination of football game day and shopping.
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