Today, David and I were discussing movies and the subject of "A Christmas Carol" came up. We were trying to decide on a movie to go see. My German isn't good enough yet to follow a film, so our options are a bit limited. We were trying to decide between "Inglourious Basterds," the new Twilight movie, and the latest Woody Allen movie. I should mention here that three movies in English is a VERY good selection. Throughout all of October and November, the only English movie in town was the Michael Jackson movie - and we were NOT going to see that.
In a bit of a bold move, I suggested that we go see the latest movie version of a Christmas Carol, because any American could follow that movie in any language. As a child I must have seen the play live at least 5 times. Every Christmas, my brother and I watch the Muppet version as a bit of a fun tradition.
Upon mentioning "A Christmas Carol," David suggested the we should go see it. - I thought he was kidding.
Apparently, in one of the nearby towns, there is a one man show of "A Christmas Carol." In English. David has even seen it 3-4 time there. The guy who puts on the show is a British guy. David said that the show would be in English, which surprised me.
Here is a bit of our conversation (with some embellishment).
David: The show is in English.
Me: Really? They don't translate it.
David: Nah, the guy is British. Why would they?
Me: Well it's not like it's hard to translate. It's just Charles Dickens.
David: Who?
Me: The author of the play! ....(awkward pause)....Nevermind....
David: It sells out every year.
Me: Wow.
So now, David an I are planning to go see the one man version of "A Christmas Carol" in one of the best preserved medieval town in Germany. This should be interesting....
To be continued....
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
How is this possible?!?!?
My husband has NO idea who Audrey Hepburn is.
Not even a clue. How is that even possible!?!?!?????
This makes me sad. A bit depressed even.
The other day i was wearing a t-shirt with an Andy Warhol style picture of the lovely Audrey Hepburn on it. David then asked me why I am wearing a shirt with Marylin Monroe on the it.
Sigh....
Audrey Hepburn and Marylin Monroe are not the same person. One is classy and the other is a bit trashy (sorry for the rhyming).
Not sure why i wrote about this....
Not even a clue. How is that even possible!?!?!?????
This makes me sad. A bit depressed even.
The other day i was wearing a t-shirt with an Andy Warhol style picture of the lovely Audrey Hepburn on it. David then asked me why I am wearing a shirt with Marylin Monroe on the it.
Sigh....
Audrey Hepburn and Marylin Monroe are not the same person. One is classy and the other is a bit trashy (sorry for the rhyming).
Not sure why i wrote about this....
Monday, December 7, 2009
RAUS EMMA, RAUS
German Word of the Day: Raus (Out)
On Saturday, David and I took our took dogs to their first dog training class in Germany. We have been trying to coordinate getting our dogs into training classes for the last year, but due to many unforeseen conflicts, we have not been able to. Needless to say, our two dogs are sweet, but lack the good manners necessary to be taken out in public on a thrice daily basis.
Our dogs are already well versed in a few standard commands: SIT, DOWN, LEAVE-IT,..
Somehow the German commands seem to be a bit more effective. We are teaching the dogs German commands and they actually respond better.
To give a good example of this I will use the word sit. In German, SIT is SITZ. That extra z really seems to drive the command into the dogs head. Both David and I agree that they respond better to the commands when we give them in German.
One possible argument is that our dogs have simply stopped listening to us. Emma
The more likely reason, the German command has a much harsher and more stern sound. When you say a word like SITZ or PLATZ (DOWN), you can't help but sound like you mean business. Dogs need authority. Most dogs actually like authority. The exception here would be our Emma. Emma is as stubborn as a dog comes, but that's another story.... Back to German dogs commands.
My favorite command to give the dogs: RAUS. This means GET OUT. It's just fun to say. Not that I don't want my dogs around, they just tend to have a bad habit of getting into things they shouldn't.
On Saturday, David and I took our took dogs to their first dog training class in Germany. We have been trying to coordinate getting our dogs into training classes for the last year, but due to many unforeseen conflicts, we have not been able to. Needless to say, our two dogs are sweet, but lack the good manners necessary to be taken out in public on a thrice daily basis.
Our dogs are already well versed in a few standard commands: SIT, DOWN, LEAVE-IT,..
Somehow the German commands seem to be a bit more effective. We are teaching the dogs German commands and they actually respond better.
To give a good example of this I will use the word sit. In German, SIT is SITZ. That extra z really seems to drive the command into the dogs head. Both David and I agree that they respond better to the commands when we give them in German.
One possible argument is that our dogs have simply stopped listening to us. Emma
The more likely reason, the German command has a much harsher and more stern sound. When you say a word like SITZ or PLATZ (DOWN), you can't help but sound like you mean business. Dogs need authority. Most dogs actually like authority. The exception here would be our Emma. Emma is as stubborn as a dog comes, but that's another story.... Back to German dogs commands.
My favorite command to give the dogs: RAUS. This means GET OUT. It's just fun to say. Not that I don't want my dogs around, they just tend to have a bad habit of getting into things they shouldn't.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Rules for Riding on Public Transportation
When riding any form of mass transportation there are unwritten rules:
1) Keep your eyes to yourself. ( I find a book helpful here)
2) Don't sit on a seat that is facing backwards. (Just weird)
3) Keep a straight face. (This applies specifically to situations when someone sits near you who hasn't showered but has tried to hid the stench with cheap perfume)
4) Don't sit next to anyone unless you can't find another empty seat. (This rules is an important one)
5) Ignore people acting strangely, crying children, and stupid schoolchildren without parental supervision. (It just feeds the insanity).
6) Be conscious of the elderly and offer them you seat. (this is just good manners even though most people don't do this.)
1) Keep your eyes to yourself. ( I find a book helpful here)
2) Don't sit on a seat that is facing backwards. (Just weird)
3) Keep a straight face. (This applies specifically to situations when someone sits near you who hasn't showered but has tried to hid the stench with cheap perfume)
4) Don't sit next to anyone unless you can't find another empty seat. (This rules is an important one)
5) Ignore people acting strangely, crying children, and stupid schoolchildren without parental supervision. (It just feeds the insanity).
6) Be conscious of the elderly and offer them you seat. (this is just good manners even though most people don't do this.)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Blame it on the fairy tales
German word of the day: Wort (word)
There is one thing about the German language that really annoys me. All of the nouns are capitalized.
For the last week of class I kept thinking that it must just look like my teacher is capitalizing random words.
My mistake....
Like a good student, I was doing my homework last night. As David looked over my work, he told me to capitalize the nouns.
Me: Why? The staaten (state) isn't a proper noun.
David: All nouns are capitalized.
Me: What? Weird. Why?
David: I don't know. I know more about English grammar than German grammar. Ask your teacher. He'll know.
So today I asked my teacher about why all nouns are capitalized and I got a story worth sharing.
Apparently, the first German dictionary was compiled by the Grimm Brothers. Grimm like the fairy tale guys. When they took the dictionary to the editor, they were told that there were too many worts (words). ( Uh duh, it's a language. The breadth of any language isn't short. Sorry for the aside, I just need to add in my two cents here.) The editor told them they needed some way to distinguish between different types of words. So they capitalized the nouns...and it stuck.
Danish (and one of the other Scandinavian languages) also used to be like this. Then, after WWI, they wanted to deGermanize their languages and took out the capitalization of all nouns. During the communist era, many leftists in Germany tried to rid the German language of the old, bad ways. It didn't work. So here we are today...capitalized nouns.
There is one thing about the German language that really annoys me. All of the nouns are capitalized.
For the last week of class I kept thinking that it must just look like my teacher is capitalizing random words.
My mistake....
Like a good student, I was doing my homework last night. As David looked over my work, he told me to capitalize the nouns.
Me: Why? The staaten (state) isn't a proper noun.
David: All nouns are capitalized.
Me: What? Weird. Why?
David: I don't know. I know more about English grammar than German grammar. Ask your teacher. He'll know.
So today I asked my teacher about why all nouns are capitalized and I got a story worth sharing.
Apparently, the first German dictionary was compiled by the Grimm Brothers. Grimm like the fairy tale guys. When they took the dictionary to the editor, they were told that there were too many worts (words). ( Uh duh, it's a language. The breadth of any language isn't short. Sorry for the aside, I just need to add in my two cents here.) The editor told them they needed some way to distinguish between different types of words. So they capitalized the nouns...and it stuck.
Danish (and one of the other Scandinavian languages) also used to be like this. Then, after WWI, they wanted to deGermanize their languages and took out the capitalization of all nouns. During the communist era, many leftists in Germany tried to rid the German language of the old, bad ways. It didn't work. So here we are today...capitalized nouns.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
My hands are purple!?!
I've finally moved into my new apartment and have so time for a brief blog.
My husband LOVES red cabbage. He loves it so much that he decided to buy two of them for us and 3 for his parents. (Yes, my mother-in-law thought it was a bit much too.) Don't get me wrong here, I like red cabbage. However, two red cabbages is the equivalent of 4 pots of cooked red cabbage. This means lots of work for me. I love to cook so normally this wouldn't be a problem, but there was a tiny flaw this time....I just moved to a new country and don't quite have the equipment to cook red cabbage. So here is how it all went down:
I stare a the cabbage and like any good engineer, I assess the problem.
I attempt to cut the cabbage in half. However, I have a 2 in knife that is pretty dull as my only sharp kitchen tool.
I fail miserably.
I take a deep breathe, regroup and I decide instead to use the grater. I soon find the 3 kg cabbage a bit too heavy and too large to manage with a grater.
I put the cabbage on the cutting board and take the dull knife and start to manually shred the cabbage.
I find this method to be slow, but it gets the job done so I continue.
About a tenth of the way into shredding the cabbage, my father-in-law comes in and observes the madness.
Ralf: I'm no expert in the kitchen, but usually doesn't one use a long knife to cut such a vegetable.
Me: Usually I do, but this is all I have.
Ralf: Oh dear!
30 minutes later....
The cabbage is shredded and in cooking in the pot.
I survey my work space, and to my horror everything is a lovely shade of bluish-purple--- INCLUDING MY HANDS!!!
Sigh...the things we do for those we love.
My husband LOVES red cabbage. He loves it so much that he decided to buy two of them for us and 3 for his parents. (Yes, my mother-in-law thought it was a bit much too.) Don't get me wrong here, I like red cabbage. However, two red cabbages is the equivalent of 4 pots of cooked red cabbage. This means lots of work for me. I love to cook so normally this wouldn't be a problem, but there was a tiny flaw this time....I just moved to a new country and don't quite have the equipment to cook red cabbage. So here is how it all went down:
I stare a the cabbage and like any good engineer, I assess the problem.
I attempt to cut the cabbage in half. However, I have a 2 in knife that is pretty dull as my only sharp kitchen tool.
I fail miserably.
I take a deep breathe, regroup and I decide instead to use the grater. I soon find the 3 kg cabbage a bit too heavy and too large to manage with a grater.
I put the cabbage on the cutting board and take the dull knife and start to manually shred the cabbage.
I find this method to be slow, but it gets the job done so I continue.
About a tenth of the way into shredding the cabbage, my father-in-law comes in and observes the madness.
Ralf: I'm no expert in the kitchen, but usually doesn't one use a long knife to cut such a vegetable.
Me: Usually I do, but this is all I have.
Ralf: Oh dear!
30 minutes later....
The cabbage is shredded and in cooking in the pot.
I survey my work space, and to my horror everything is a lovely shade of bluish-purple--- INCLUDING MY HANDS!!!
Sigh...the things we do for those we love.
Monday, November 2, 2009
die Orgel
I have a new favorite German word...Orgel (organ). It's just a fun word to say. When I first saw it printed I had to giggle...just a little.
Last night I went to a concert for the Baden-Württemberg state youth choir. The concert was held in the church of David's parents. While this church is by no means and architectural wonder like the well-known churches in Europe, it does have some beautiful stained glass windows and a very impressive organ. This organ is so impressive that it takes up the entire back part of the church.
We got to the concert with a few minutes to spare, unfortunately there were no good empty seats on the bottom level. We ventured up to the upper floor in search of seats. As luck would have it, three seats with a prime view of the choir and organ had just been emptied. These made for an excellent show. One thing about going to watch a choir is that it is purely entertainment for the ears. Since I need to have multiple levels of sensory entertainment, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the organist play, which is a show in and of itself.
In the middle of the concert, the choir took a break and the audience was treated to a wonderful piece fur die orgel (btw the u in fur should have two dots above it but I'm not using a German keyboard at the moment). During the piece, David and I started talking about the organ. Commenting on things like 'where does an organist practice? In a church?' From there, I commented about how it would be impossible to own your own organ because even the small ones cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. David told me that the church actually renovated the organ about 15 years ago for about 1.3 million euros. David even rode his bike to help raise money for the renovations. I think it is pretty great that there are still places in the world where a church wants to spend that kind of money to renovate an organ and that there are still people who want to work to raise the money.
Last night I went to a concert for the Baden-Württemberg state youth choir. The concert was held in the church of David's parents. While this church is by no means and architectural wonder like the well-known churches in Europe, it does have some beautiful stained glass windows and a very impressive organ. This organ is so impressive that it takes up the entire back part of the church.
We got to the concert with a few minutes to spare, unfortunately there were no good empty seats on the bottom level. We ventured up to the upper floor in search of seats. As luck would have it, three seats with a prime view of the choir and organ had just been emptied. These made for an excellent show. One thing about going to watch a choir is that it is purely entertainment for the ears. Since I need to have multiple levels of sensory entertainment, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the organist play, which is a show in and of itself.
In the middle of the concert, the choir took a break and the audience was treated to a wonderful piece fur die orgel (btw the u in fur should have two dots above it but I'm not using a German keyboard at the moment). During the piece, David and I started talking about the organ. Commenting on things like 'where does an organist practice? In a church?' From there, I commented about how it would be impossible to own your own organ because even the small ones cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. David told me that the church actually renovated the organ about 15 years ago for about 1.3 million euros. David even rode his bike to help raise money for the renovations. I think it is pretty great that there are still places in the world where a church wants to spend that kind of money to renovate an organ and that there are still people who want to work to raise the money.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)