My week: April 24 ed.

I'm getting behind here on writing; work is really ramping up as our worldwide project is barreling down on us. Also, sometimes I just want to write about other things.

I met with tandem partner #1 and I realized that I don't know a lot of Umgangssprache (slang/everyday German). She filled me on some expressions. Now I need to decide which route to take with this. I do eventually want to be fluent in German, and part of that is to use slang. However, I also am an educated person and prefer to speak proper German. Is there a way to marry the two goals? We'll see.

My friend showed me some Youtube videos of an American teacher working with various Asian students on learning English. I found the videos interesting because the teacher was demonstrating linking words to sound more like a native speaker. For example, when a native speaker says "I went for a walk yesterday," it's more like "Iwentforawalkyeseterday." Or, "I'm going to go there" turns into something like "I'mgonta go there."

When watching these videos, I felt conflicted about what the teacher was doing. The students had heavy accents and were somewhat hard to understand even before they tried to use linking (nothing against them; they were learning, after all). I wondered if it might have been a better idea to get the students to speak more clearly first and then work on word linking later. The students were already a bit mumbly and didn't enunciate well. Linking the words at this point, to my ears, made things sound worse.

My philosophy, based on nothing other than my opinion and speaking with tandem partners who want to practice English, is that it's more important to speak clearly and properly first. After a learner can be clearly understood, then she can progress to learning how to sound like a native. What good is it, after all, if a language learner links words and uses colloquialisms, but is difficult to understand? I'd find it easier to understand someone who speaks more clearly, even if it's a bit formal-sounding and stiff. Someday, when I have more time, I'd love to read what EFL pedagogy says about this. Am I wrong, too formal, or too old-fashioned in this approach? What are there different schools of thought on this?

-Sometimes I think that our office building is really the Island of Misfit Toys, or, Employees.Other parts of our organization are very buttoned-up. Our building is home to people who work hard but also have moments of silliness and I love that.

For example, I'd been teasing the IT department and made the Iowan reenact American Gothic with me with a potato masher as the pitchfork. He had been mocking the misshapen potatoes on my desk so he deserved that.

The other guys brought me a lovely bouquet of...grass and dandelions in homage to foraging. Actually, they were taking the piss because I am interested in foraging wild foods and were horrified when I ate a dandelion leaf (they're totally edible, btw) to tease them right back. I also learned about Russian folk remedies.

-It was my birthday. My coworker made me a lovely lemon-blueberry coffee cake for my birthday. She even made candied limes and homemade lime whipped cream to go with it. Isn't that sweet, both literally and figuratively?

I stopped by Monte Mare for the free birthday pass to their pool and sauna facilities. Even though I've gone there several times before, I hadn't realized that there was a fitness pool. I put in a few embarrassing, I-can-swim-but-am-really-awkward-about-it laps.

I didn't want to have a party since I threw myself a more involved party last year (complete with pinata that I made, and super exciting cake that my coworker made) but I also didn't want to be alone, either. So, we planned a dinner through one of our social groups.  I didn't want the night to be about my birthday since it was a general event. My lovely friends are stubborn and thoughtful people though. Several stopped by before dinner to drop off some gifts and walk me to the restaurant. Oh, yeah, and to see Moo, of course!

My other friend made me a bottle of beer liqueur (I didn't know such a thing existed!) and made a custom label, calling it Sidehug Liqueur. I loved it, especially since he helped develop our group's weird but not creepy-like-the-Duggars version of the sidehug. To add to the joy, my friends W and M drove an hour to attend and showered me with gifts and sidehugs too. The new members of the group were thoroughly confused by the strange displays of affection (which involves just gently bumping your elbows together in greeting) but got a kick out of it, too. I swear, I think someday that someone will think we're a weird cult or something, and that would potentially be hilarious.

Can I just say how thankful I am for kind and thoughtful friends? It really meant a lot to me that they did all of this, and it helps to make being away from one's homeland not feel lonely on one's birthday.

When registering for classes is more like a reunion

The new semester at the Volkshochschule starts next week and the school offered an open house tonight. It just happened to be the day I actually remembered to register so I lucked out. I had a few questions on what class I should take so I was directed upstairs. Pleasantly surprised, I saw that the teacher from my last German class at the uni was there to talk to prospective students! As we talked, her friend and colleague stopped by. The other woman had filled in with some of our teacher's classes so she recognized me too since there are so few Americans in the uni classes.

The first teacher suggested that we take a quick break in the temporary cafe the VHS had set up. She treated us each to a piece of cake and we caught up a bit before she had to return to advising students. Upon leaving, she gave me a big hug and wished me luck for the classes. How sweet she is! I'm glad to have run into her.

The happy reunions continued when I stopped by the bookstore to pick up the course materials. I ran into a former classmate from the VHS class I took in the spring. She gave me a huge hug too. I had way beyond my RDA of hugging by that point ;) We chatted for a bit and exchanged numbers because I think I'll get some former classmates from various courses together for a language cafe.
 
I really like living close to where I work and attend classes. I welcome the change from when I lived in Michigan, where I had lived an hour from where I worked at one point and found the commute soul and sense of community-destroying. Even though my next job in that area was closer to my home, I still didn't have the proximity to everything like I do here. A simple trip out here is the opportunity to connect with people I know and it suits very well.

Cold rocks, getting sick, and a friendly Frau

I visited the Terres des Hommes Fahrradmarkt in downtown Kaiserslautern yesterday. I wasn't really looking for a bike since I now own three of them, but I am nosy as all get out and wanted to write about it for you, faithful readers (it's cool if you cheat on my blog and read others too).

After I had looked around, I stopped by the Kuchen table and selected a lovely piece of rhubarb cake, so fresh that it was still warm from the oven. There was a table but people were hovering around it and I didn't want to do the awkward dance of seeing if I could sit there or not. Next to the table was a lovely, flat boulder, just the right height for sitting.

Perfect! I thought, and sat down to enjoy my cake. The crowd at the table departed and an older lady sat down. Seeing me, she became very concerned. I broke into the deer in the headlights look. You know, what those who don't speak German might think: oh no! She's telling me not to do something but it's in German so it's scary!

I then realized that, 1) duh, I can understand a decent amount of German so I needed to stop freaking out and listen to what she was saying; 2) she wasn't schimpfing (scolding) me; 3) instead, she was concerned for my health and welfare.

What was I doing that was potentially dangerous? I was sitting on a cold rock. She invited me to sit at the table to save me from the horrible fate that befalls those who sit on cold rocks. I didn't feel like moving so I said in German, "oh, thank you, but I will stay here." She was concerned, saying that I would get sick. I've been a bit saucy lately (aka assertive*, but not in a mean way) so I grinned and told her that it was nice of her to offer but I'm American and we don't seem to get sick from sitting on cold rocks;  I do it all the time.

I swear that I've written about this before, but I can't find it in my blog. There is this belief that I've heard echoed from many German women who are otherwise very scientific (literally, some of them are scientists): sitting on cold rocks is unhealthy and can result in illness. When I press for what can happen, I've been told that women will get bladder infections.

As someone who's sat on cold rocks and gone outside in the winter with wet hair (to the point that it gets ice crystals when it's cold enough) for decades and has suffered no ill effects, I have to call shenanigans on this one. Bacteria and viruses cause sickness, not cold rocks, and sitting clothed** on a cold rock would have no ill outcomes.

Following that, we had a nice conversation, mostly in German. She was there to find a new bike but she wasn't accustomed to bikes with hand breaks. She had been injured badly on a bike in the last year because she braked too hard. I wished her luck in finding a bike and told her about the Saarbrücken sale too.

Later it struck me as a little bit out of the ordinary that she'd speak with a stranger. Usually Germans aren't that into small talk with random people. This isn't to say that I haven't had it happen before. I guess what helps is that I (can) speak German (ish). The other way to get a German to talk to you? Be a woman and sit on a cold rock.***



*Okay, a bit of a feminist diversion here: why do women have to feel guilty about being assertive? Or, why is it, when we politely state how we feel about things and that we will be making our own decisions, it even gets labeled "assertive" but it's just the normal M.O. for men? This really isn't about the nice lady who was talking to me; she was being friendly and was concerned for my health, but my response started my thoughts about assertiveness and femininity.

**Not to be totally uncouth, but I guess there's a small chance that an unclothed person could pick up something from the rock, but it would have nothing to do with the rock being cold.

***For the record, the rock wasn't cold; I would say that it was slightly cool but that wouldn't have even registered had she not said something.

My Week: May 3 ed.

Phew! It was a busy (as always) week, full of adventures and German learning.

-My new German learning class at the uni Verein started. I had hoped to take B2.1 there since I am already taking B1.2 at the Volkshochschule right now but the Verein stuck me in the same level. I wrote to the leader of the program that I was placed in the wrong class and that I should be in the next class. Well, here's looking back to the February blog entry I wrote about finishing the last Verein class when I didn't take the test at the end of it and was wondering why everyone thought it such a shame I wasn't taking it:

"It also makes me think that I should have researched more fully the benefits of taking the exam! With my luck, it's probably required before taking the next class or something."


Yep, my comment was prophetic: I had to take the test to get into the B2 class and Herr R wouldn't have it that I thought I should move on to the next class since I was already taking B1.2 at the VHS. So, here I am in B1.2 again. However, it's not all bad. My understanding is that the Verein's test is the same one would use to prove language proficiency in order to obtain citizenship in Germany. This will give me an additional opportunity to study and I don't have a deadline to finish all the classes to reach C1 or C2 level. The other bonus is that two of the girls from my previous class are in the new one and we sit together.


Taking both German classes does make for two very long post-work nights a week: I'm either in class or driving between classes for four hours, two nights a week.


-I went on a tour of the new K in Lautern Mall. I'm such an inhabitant of Nerdsville that of course I seized the opportunity to ask all of my burning questions about the mall. I even had my little notebook to record the answers and a blog post about it will follow. I'm sure you just can't take the suspense.


-I spent the weekend in the Stuttgart area with my friends C and K. I was invited to their Garten Party and stayed the weekend at C's parents' house. What a lovely time it was! I was thrilled to experience some very local German life.


C has been hosting this party for several decades now, since he was a teen, at his family's garden plot just outside the city. He invited the same friends who attended when they were all teenagers as well as some newer friends; I was the newest friend (we met in January). It was a lively night with a campfire, grilling, and good company.


I didn't want to crash the party too much so I decided that I would speak mostly German that night. I spoke German, but didn't understand as much as I had hoped that I would because of the heavy Schwäbisch dialects. One guy's accent was so heavy that I only understood about every 5th word! I did enjoy myself and spent a lot of time practicing listening. Their friends welcomed me and were friendly.

The garden. Everything is so beautiful and green now after the spring rain.

I spoke with H, who is African and is also learning German at about the same level where I am. She asked me why I wasn't drinking any beer. Well, the gardens have no official restroom facilities once the restaurant closed, so I didn't want to tempt fate. We were giggling about not wanting to be "Garten Pinkelerinnen.*"


We escaped the party unscathed and returned to C's parents' house. The next morning involved clean-up and then some time spent with R and G, his parents. They are absolutely lovely and welcomed me warmly the whole weekend. We had some nice conversations in German and English. They proudly showed me pictures of an American family who had previously been their tenants and they had befriended. It sounds as if they had become like family for R and G. I can see where they would have grown close, just based on how warmly R and G welcomed me into their home. When I was leaving for home, R hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, asking me to come back again so they could show me around the area more. G shook my hand and said that I was welcome back any time. It was a wonderful experience and I do hope to see them again.

*basically, it means garden (lady) pee-ers. I have no idea if it's really a German word; it probably isn't.

My week: March 8 ed.

Whew, was this week busy! I had German lessons, a meeting with my tandem partner, and a jam-packed weekend.

-Three of us attended a night wine hike in Bad Dürkheim, the Weinbergnacht (literally, the "wine mountain night"). We hiked up the hills above the town and sampled wine and local cuisine. A light show illuminated the vineyards. Tickets sell out every year (the coveted Saturday tickets sold out at least two weeks before the event, if not earlier) and even on Friday, we were swarmed by the crowd. Despite that, it was a lovely evening. I was envious of the people wearing special purses (for lack of better word) to hold their wine cups. Little did I know...

The three of us sat on some stone benches to eat dinner. An older woman sitting behind us was quite curious about us speaking English with various accents, turning around and asking where we were all from; we answered the US, France, and Germany. She thought that was very nice and seemed pleased to practice her English. When she was leaving, she shared how great she thought it was that international young people (har - I'm definitely not so young) were friends and gave me a handmade wine purse that she had made. How cool is that? I told her, in German, "thank you" and that she was very nice.

-I volunteered at the Pfennigbasar.  Whew, it was fun, busy, and a lot of German speaking for me! I spoke German about 60% of the time overall, and about 90% of the time with customers. I did experience a slightly awkward situation: I asked a shopper if I could help her with anything and she started telling me some involved story about...um, I think her family living in the US and them trying to buy her an expensive purse. There was something about her granddaughter and maybe not setting the dinner table. At least that's what I think she was telling me.

Since I couldn't understand the whole thing (and I didn't really want to know such personal information from someone I had only met 30 seconds before!), I just kept nodding and desperately hoping that she wouldn't ask me any questions. About eight panicked minutes later, she said she had to go and patted me amicably on the arm. I wished her a good day and thought, "my, wasn't that interesting!" She was quite nice though, but it's slightly unusual behavior for a German as it is not always customary to make small talk nor talk about very personal matters with strangers.

One of the funny things I heard this weekend: Me: "I eventually want to get a piece of cake." M, a German member of the club, eying the cake booth: "You better go now." Me: "I can wait." M, "No, you must really go and make...what do they call it. A reservation? You need to make a reservation for cake. Germans like cake, you know, and there will be none left." We looked over at the cake table, which was surrounded by Germans munching on cake, and laughed. I went and bought a piece.

Some of my friends from Mannheim visited the sale. They brought me some Turkish pastries from Pasa, which I will enjoy later.We had a laugh because Ma. of course had to buy a box for himself and as he was making his selections, he even ate a pastry while doing so, perhaps to allow himself to think better.

-I had a house guest who was a delight. She invited me to visit in the Eifel region of Germany, where she and her spouse live near a LAKE (!!!! squee!!!). I am really looking forward to a visit this summer for swimming and kayaking because this Great Lakes gal really misses lakes and rivers.

It was a great weekend. I was able to visit with friends who made special trips from out town, meet some interesting new people, and volunteer.

My Week: February 1 ed.

-I gave a training at work earlier in the week, which made me happy (though a little bit stressed because I was having both a coughing, hiccuping, and asthma flare just before I had to give it! What the heck?). I enjoy helping others learn and it was meant to be a major component of my job. We had been short staffed for a year and a half so I didn't do much training at all during that time as I was taking on the job duties of the person who had left. That was fine, too; I added quite a bit to my job skills and knowledge with the new duties. Now that the other position is filled, I'm able to focus on my original job's duties.

-I made some delicious crock pot vegetable soup and kicked up it a notch by adding some red wine vinegar and a small amount of red chili pepper flakes. I didn't use an exact recipe; I was scrolling through some vegan soup recipes and just couldn't find anything that suited my fancy at the time. However, one recipe mentioned adding red wine vinegar and I was intrigued so I added it. That worked out great! The soup tastes a little bit like hot and sour soup from Chinese restaurants, but with a thinner consistency and not so slimy. I wrote up a description of how I made the soup here.

-In German class, we discussed what products we missed from our home countries. It was very interesting to hear what people missed and why. I'll have to write more about that later.

-My friends are so awesome, and so helpful, too. I'm truly thankful for that. One friend came over and helped me replace a part on my car. Well, he actually did the work; I just handed him the tools. We had watched a video online on how to do it and I thought I'd be the one replacing the part while he passed the tools. I was quite happy that he took over because I don't enjoy doing mechanical things. It was cute because he brought tools over and even wore a headlamp since we were working outside; he looked ready for an expedition and was so proud of himself!

-I attended a party/game night at a friend's place and played the game called Werewolf for the first time. It was definitely interesting, but I'm such a weirdo: I feel awkward during bluffing games because one has to lie and I felt a bit guilty about lying (even though it was a game). Yes, I'm weird.

-Some friends and I attended the Staubsauger (vacuum cleaner) museum near Miseau. It was charmingly eclectic and the museum's owner/guide was so enthusiastic about vacuums that it was adorable.

-I had a wonderful house guest for the weekend. We had some great conversations and it was a very pleasant visit. Moo was thrilled with all the extra attention and I was thrilled to be invited to Hannover to visit, where I will be taken on a personalized tour by bicycle and shown all of the local favorites. I'm excited; I think it will be quite lovely.

-I made a sweet potato/lentil/chickpea chili crock pot soup that is loosely based on this recipe. My house guest loved it and I have lunch for the upcoming week.

-A friend invited us over for dinner and to watch the German detective drama, Tatort. That totally fit with my goal of spending at least 10 minutes a day on learning German. Watching the show made me realize that I need to spend much more time on practicing German daily, and I definitely need to do some more listening activities. 

Thoughtfulness of friends, warm fuzzies, and Moo

I love love love my expat life here in Germany. However, that doesn't mean that I don't miss my US-based friends and family, either. Thanks to things like Facebook and Skype, I can still connect with them, which bridges the gap a little bit, at least.

In addition to keeping up online, sometimes there is a wonderful physical reminder of home: a package! Friends and family have brightened the day by sending thoughtful packages. Often they are related to a fun event, memory, or joke we've shared.

Here are some things that people have sent, and seeing the photos makes me smile all over again. Moo is always helpful (well, as helpful as a cat ever will be) as a model so that I can send photos to the generous gifters to show us enjoying what they sent.

My friend H. sent me what I thought was a heart-shaped tooth fairy pillow and some vegan recipes as support during the vegan challenge. I took strength through this kind gesture and was all smiles when I saw the picture of her dog, whom I consider my special little dog friend. I spend as much time as I can cuddling him when I visit. H also included a lovely card, reminiscing about some crazy and hilarious adventures we shared, including accidentally being present during a riot (we had nothing to do with it, promise).

This photo shows Moo at a low point in his little cat life. Unfortunately, he has a little problem with catnip and is known to abuse the substance. My cousins enabled him in his addiction and gifted him with his "drug" of choice. He was a pleased kitty and I enjoyed the ornament from a German-style Michigan tourist town that I enjoyed visiting, some gingerbread in various forms, and even Peeps on a stick (I hate to say it, but...Peepcentipede). I was putting everything together to take a picture when I had to leave the room. Moo just couldn't help himself and set up the scene for himself.

I feel lucky to say that I have multiple families: my biological family; my second family (good friends of my parents, and parents of my best friend); my original German teacher's family who "adopted" me, and my family of friends, too. Imagine the delight in receiving some homemade pillow cases that my second family made from super cute bacon print fabric. Moo thought it was great too and has been sneaking onto the pillow every chance he gets.

These are just a few of the thoughtful packages I've received. It is so awesome of my friends and family to share such kindness. So, what reminds you of home? Do your friends and family send it?

A sweet book buying experience

I went to the university bookstore buy the book for my new German classes. The bookstore clerk was adorable. Seeing that my book was one to learn German, she spoke Hochdeutsch slowly and clearly to me, smiling often. I thought it was sweet that she seemed to take care with the non-native speaker.

Really jumping into local life: joining a German club

When I had the opportunity to move to Germany, I knew that I wanted to have as authentic of an experience as possible. The first step to that journey was to learn German; then I wanted to make some German friends. Finally, I wanted to do things that the locals do. I got the bright idea to join a local club.

I have, to some degree, made progress on the first two steps. To work on my other goal, I needed to join a club. Another member of an expat/German organization in which I am a member told me about a club that might work for me. She is German and very kindly offered to accompany me to make introductions and to help translate if necessary. I was struck by her kindness and gratefully accepted her invitation.

I tried not to think too much about the first meeting ahead of time, because I'll fully admit that I obsess a bit and would have worried if I wouldn't be welcome with my weak German speaking skills. Would I be viewed as an outsider, barging in where I wasn't welcome?

I'm so glad that I didn't spend a lot of time worrying because I was welcomed with open arms! It was a fantastic experience. My German Bekanntin introduced me to the group leader, who in turn was very kind and welcoming, smiling warmly at me. The group leader offered to help me with posting to the group's website and if I didn't understand parts of the meeting, I could ask questions or she could translate afterward. I thanked her and told her that I did know some German but would probably have some questions since I'm not yet fluent.

We moved on to the meeting and everyone introduced themselves and gave an update on club events. I'm so glad that I didn't think about this part too much because it felt like an exam where I wasn't ready! Even though I have no problems with public speaking, it's daunting to give a presentation to native speakers, especially because I didn't have all of the needed vocabulary and am very rusty with conversation. I had to pop in some English but everyone was very kind, with the leader and my Bekanntin filling in the gaps. I didn't do too horribly; I understood about 85% of the words and followed about 60-75% of the conversation so I had a basic grasp of what was going on.

Even better yet? The other members were incredibly welcoming too and several ladies stopped me after the meeting because they were interested in practicing English with me. I know that some people have a stereotype of Germans being "cold" and "distant." I can't say that I have had that experience; I have met so many friendly locals in different situations who have been so kind, helpful, and interested in getting to know others better.