Roadside Candy Machines: the Fox Box in Vienna

We saw this interesting combo of candy machines in Vienna. I was particularly interested in the Fox Box, which appears to dispense little boxes of gum. The other machine contained an odd assortment of bubble gum and loose rings. I think it's the first time I've seen rings that weren't in some sort of plastic bubble.

I was tempted to buy one of each to see what would happen but as is customary with my participation with roadside candy machines, I took a quick picture on the fly. Usually I'm with a friend (and that was the case with this visit) so I usually don't fully stop.

A Mannequin Amputee in Paris

During the September visit to Paris, I hauled my family to the Marché St Ouen/Porte de Clingancourt flea market in the north side of the city. I always enjoy visiting there, except for perhaps having to dodge pick pockets and the guys trying to sell cell phones (that might have just been pick pocketed).

I found a mannequin of interest. He's an amputee so I was wondering how to combine mannequin + amputee. I came up with "manatee" but that one was used already. Back to the drawing board.

Seen in Paris: Flavor Flav's inspiration

Remember Flavor Flav, an 80s rapper who wore a huge watch around his neck? Well, I think that his idea wasn't original. I saw this old clock in the museum in Paris and think maybe the Flav just took the idea in a different direction.

My week: November 23 ed.

-Tired again. One of my German classes was canceled so I had a friend over and hung out instead that night.

-Went to my favorite restaurant in town, Safari, with some friends. Dang was it ever fine. Love that place.

-My friend is staying with me for a couple weeks as she is in transition with some traveling. Moo is thrilled because he wants to be her best friend.We are joking that we are work wives because we are hanging out all the time now. Hanging out may or may not involve drinking some wine too.

-Took a trip to Berlin. This is my third time there. I really like the city; it reminds me of Detroit in the sense of all the art and interesting projects that are on offer.

Du...du confuse me so

As a non-native speaker* of German and as a foreigner, I always find myself confused with a major issue in the language: when I should use "du" verses "Sie." The first is the informal version of "you" and the second is the formal. It's not even so much of a linguistic quandry as it's a sociolinguistic issue.

Usually one would use "Sie" with strangers. I've heard that in some work places, people can have worked together for quite some time and they still use "Sie" and address one another by their last names. Younger people use "Sie" with older people as a sign of respect.

You can imagine my confusion when I joined a woman's club that includes some senior German women who introduced themselves by their first names. I don't even know what their last names are so I don't use "Frau" with them. So, should I use "du?"

My German classes are a mix, too. In my uni class, we use du. For the Volkshochschule class, we use Sie. I'm not sure why there is a difference, other than maybe the uni class is with younger people and it's less formal? Or, maybe the VHS class uses Sie because it's then easier to conjugate the verb since it's in the infinitive form.

So far, I've used "du" if the person introduces herself by first name and Sie if I get a last name (which is extremely rare). If I'm at a store or on the street and have to talk to someone, I use Sie. Good enough.


*I guess it's debatable how much I "speak" German.

Published in GermanyJa! again

My article about enjoying Germany like the Germans do was published in GermanyJa!, a website geared for expats, especially of interest to military-affiliated American expats (though it's certainly helpful for everyone).

That's not how you wear the hat!

We walked by Tschibo, a chain coffe bar/store with an odd assortment of goods and saw this display window:

I found it extremely disconcerting. Was it supposed to be some sort of mask? How the heck is the kid supposed to breathe or see with no eye/mouth holes? I was imagining someone putting the hat on their kid like it was on the mannequin and sending him into traffic in a horror-movie.

Then I realized that: a) I'm dumb; and b) whomever had set up the display probably messed up the placement as the thing is meant to be a hat and not a mask. In the advert, Mama in the top right is wearing it as a hat. That's significantly less creepy.