A giggle about Dialekt

This video cracked me up. The poor Pfälzisch guy just wanted to order some flowers for his Mutti but the store clerk couldn't understand him because of his dialect. He mournfully exclaimed that he can't speak Hochdeutsch. With the help of a CD to change his dialect to Hochdeutsch, he was able go back and order the flowers.

I visited Thalia, a book store in town. It's part of a chain but it does have a lot of books and gifts of local interest, including a lot about the Pfalz region (where Kaiserslautern is located). I can somewhat understand what many of the things written in dialect say, but I'll be honest: I understand it only slightly more than what I can understand in written Dutch. I don't know Dutch at all; I can only read bits of it because of learning German, if that gives any indication.

But what do you *do* there?

This summer will yield an exciting event: some family members will be visiting me! I'm thrilled, especially since I haven't seen them for two and a half years. We only get to spend a few days together but I've already started planning what we'll do.

When I talked to them about what we might do, it was rather obvious that my outlook has changed in the time that I've lived here. I recommended that we attend a wine festival since it's a great way to experience the Pfalz region and see what this area is really like with a minimum of tourists.

My guests wanted to know what one does at a wine fest. I happily explained that one can sample the local wines and cuisines, followed by a walk through the vineyards and/or the town, depending on where the event is held. Sometimes there is music or other programs. Basically, one can soak up the Gemütlichkeit and some wine too while enjoying the company of her friends.

I thought it sounded like a great idea until one family member exclaimed, "but we'll be flying the next day! I don't want to have a hangover!"

What? Um, I've never drank enough at a wine festival that I had a hangover. It's even rare for me to get tipsy. That's not really the point of these festivals so it hadn't even dawned on me that one would get a hangover from one. I haven't seen anyone slamming wine at them, but if anyone did that...I could imagine the possibility of an American doing so.

Then they wanted to know what one does at the wine festival. Hmm. I thought that I had explained it but I repeated myself, in case I had forgotten something.

No, what do people do there? What are the events, I was asked. I realized that our understanding of the event was different. I'm accustomed to attending with friends, more like a local would. My goal is to enjoy the company of my friends and to do some relaxed wandering with a bit of wine drinking thrown in; we usually attend on Sundays since everything else is closed then. Sometimes there is entertainment but other times the entertainment is just the company one keeps. I find myself identifying with the German idea of relaxing and really experiencing the activity.

I realized that I need to step back from my experience and reconsider the event through the eyes of my family members. They are here as tourists and have very little time during their visit. It makes sense that they would like to see some more famous sights since this is their first trip to Germany. We will probably end up doing some touristy sh**; we're definitely making a trip to Heidelberg, which I know reasonably well since my good friend lives there. Maybe while they visit the castle I'll have lunch with a friend. I might even make them go for a hike on the Schlangenweg and point out the house on the river where I partied for New Year's eve once. I'll point out Gernot Rumpf's signature little mice next to his monkey sculpture on the old bridge.  That way I'll slip a little bit of the "real world" of German living into the tourist trip.

The Maimarkt starts on Saturday!

One of my favorite spring events (besides spring itself) starts on Saturday: the Maimarkt!

This is what I wrote about it last year:

Do you know where you can shop 'til you drop; try food and wines from all over the world; and see so much more? All of this is possible at the Maimarkt Mannheim, which runs until 5 May. Located near the SAP arena on the outskirts of Mannheim, it opens at 9 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to see as much as is possible; the Markt is huge!

The Maimarkt is almost 400 years old. Today, it's quite a sight to behold, with about 1,400 exhibitors. It is basically a trade show but is also so much more. Of course one can go shopping, visiting vendors who sell everything from kitchen gadgets to car insurance. If one is hungry, there is a huge international food court with wonderful things to eat and drink. Love horses? There is a show jumping and Dressage competition! There is even a neighborhood of houses at the edge of the fairgrounds. Does anyone live here? Nope; they're builders' model homes that are open for tours.

Adult tickets are 8 euros when bought at the Markt. Even better yet is to buy the ticket from a VRN ticket machine available at most train stations in the area; for only 1,20 euros more, one can also receive a round trip travel card in the VRN's service area (including Kaiserslautern) to use the train to get to the Maimarkt.

More information is available at: www.maimarkt.de

Awkward German: the retirement version

I volunteered to pick up some flowers and a card for a colleague who is retiring. I bopped down to K in Lautern mall to buy both, squeezing in the errand in between doing some last-minute clean-up at home and continuing on to class.

I intended to speak German during all the transactions. However, I forgot to look up some key words: retiring and retirement. D'oh. I didn't have much time so I decided to wing it by saying what I did know:

"Gibt es eine Karte, für wann man ein Rentner wird?"

I imagine that it was a rather awkward way to ask but it did the trick and I left the store with a retirement card and some flowers. The clerk didn't switch to English either. Was it a small victory?

Moo weighs in

Almost everyone who meets Moo inadvertently becomes a fan. He's an awesome cat; he loves meeting people, partying, and socializing. He even has been able to win over people who aren't sure about house cats (I run with a very international group, so some visitors haven't been around house cats before).

However, I have one friend who doesn't care for animals. I thought she was slowly warming to him because she asked if she could pick him up. I said sure; hold him like you'd hold a baby and he'll feel more secure.

Instead, she held him by his stomach, hovering him a few inches above the floor.

Moo is not super smart so he purred while she held him awkwardly and he played hover cat.

She set him down, pleased with herself.

"I was having a hard time estimating how much he weighed, so I wanted to pick him up," she said.

Did I mention that she's a scientist?

Dear Soft Eis Place:

No. Just no.

Mannheim Hauptbahnhof

My Week: April 19 ed.

-I had German lessons and my weekly tandem meet-up. I still need to speak German more. Wash, rinse, repeat, right?

-I was super busy with preparations for my birthday party. I had 15 people over and it was excellent. Everyone admired the pinata that I made even though it does have a strange shape. It was a mash-up between Tony the Tiger, a rabbit, and then mummified, I guess. Hey, I'm not artistic, so what can I say? We had a ton of fun whacking the pinata outside.

Moo and Tony the Rab-ata

Moo was excited to host what was, to him, essentially a meeting of the Moo Fan Club. He was lavished with attention, used as a pillow when he was sitting on the back of the couch, and used the same friend as a pillow right back. It's awesome to have a cat who loves parties!

We also enjoyed the Most Exciting Cake Ever from co-worker S and delicious cheesecake from co-worker C. The celebrations lasted until 2 a.m. I'm still smiling from the kindness and warmth of my friends. It is truly a wonderful gift to be around people who can make a foreign country feel like home.