Gebrunching

There are so many funny things happening in my life right now. The thing is, they're not really funny things like roll-on-the-floor-and-die-laughing funny but more like "what the WHAT is going on right now" funny. My program here has a saying: "It's not good, it's not bad, it's just different." Yeah. Hit the nail on the head with that one. I like to sit and think of it's-not-good-it's-not-bad's. Like, it's not good, it's not bad, it's just that the lack of time given to a shopper to pack up their food at the grocery store after a purchase before the next person's food starts getting shmooshed into yours... is just different. For me, it gives me a heart attack. I have not yet aquired German efficiency with things like paying for and packing up my groceries.

One of my funnies is some new vocab from my language class. I hope particularly that this appeals to my DC people because that city is particularly fond of having brunch. In German, you have "der Brunch". This is a noun. Ok. However, this is also a verb. "ich brunche" is the act of presently brunching. "I'm brunching", bascially. You can also have already brunched, past tense. "ich habe gebruncht". Gebruncht? Did you gebrunch today? I didn't gebrunch today. I might brunch tomorrow. I don't know why this entertains me so, but it really, really does.

I'm finding that I learn best when laughing or singing. I think this is not a widely accepted way to learn in Germany. When I'm being really serious and trying really hard all day long to improve, it seems like I learn 2 words and then immediately lose one I had already known. COME ON ALREADY. Can't I just skip straight to the fluency part? I'm going to start throwing up articles, prepositions, and pronouns here soon, probably.

The bees here are really aggressive. Like, REALLY aggressive. It's disconcerting at best. I think they could be like Hitchcock's "The Birds" if they really wanted to. Don't tell them though because with their level of aggression and their German bee efficiency, I think we'd be conquered quickly over here.

That is all. Have a wunderschoen weekend!

Lieblings

 

I went to Zurich on Saturday. Let me just tell you here and now that there is nothing as wonderful as a snooze in the grass along Lake Zurich after eating Swiss cheese and drinking free Swiss spring water from a public fountain. O mein Gott.

The Mayflower and it's relevance in my German life

Ok, my lovely readership... I'm currently chatting with meine Fruende Gretchen, and the whole conversation warrants a posting here (OK, the Rotwein might be influencing my decisions right now, too). I have, in particular, 3 subjects about my experience so far in Germany that I'd like to comment on, all of which Gretchen and I have also just addressed "heute Abend".

ONE) There are so many Bäckerei. These are bakeries. Get used to this word because I am Elisabeth and I love a good roll with butter, croissant, small piece of plum cake, elephant ears dipped in chocolate... Oh mein Gott...

And I am in my "honeymoon phase" here, which means that I have my vacation brain on and I look at those goodies and think, "Yeah of course I'll try that!". That is a recipe for fatness and being broke, my friends. Two things I'd like to try hard to avoid. So, I just bought a bunch of lettuce and tomatoes and stuff for healthy living. It was a successful trip to the grocery (Kaufland, ja!) even though I messed up, forgot to weigh a cucumber, and could not remember for the life of me the name of "cucumber", I was able to follow the directions of the cashier "auf Deutsch" for fixing my error, so you know, small victories, right? Gretchen mentioned that she loved the cheese, rolls, and various wursts that they serve for breakfast here. We chatted about how this will make us have big butts, but all the walking and biking is sure to tone the legs, soooooo when I return, I will be "shapes". Please love me anyhow.

TWO) As awesome as this is, all 4 of my days here so far are honestly mostly me being overwhelmed and sad and things moving a hundred miles (kilometers?) per hour when I'm working really hard at moving 10kph. But I will get there, and as I told Miss Gretchen, the little moments where I stop and look around and don't care how hard this is... they are pure gold.

I'm not about to pretend like I'm doing a good job of being consistently happy though, because I'm not.

 

THREE) German beds are ridiculous. RI-DI-CU-LOUS. They are comfortable and not in anyway 3rd world or anything, but you know what, they don't have topsheets! Nope! It's a mattress, a fitted sheet (or I assume it is, but I haven't inspected this closely), and a, hmmm, how do I put this? It's not a comforter because it's not big enough. The blanket on top is like a duvet that is exactly (I mean EXACTLY) the size of the top of the bed. The cherry on top is a big, square, flat as all get out pillow. If you fold it in half, it makes something similar to the size of a US pillow. I don't mind sleeping with my feet out of the cover, but a pillow is an intimate part of my being. I take pillows very personally. I explained to Gretchen that in elementary, whenever we had to do the "if you were on the mayflower and could only bring 3 things, what would you bring" things, I'd ALWAYS list my pillow. My packing list for this move to Germany should have been no exception. Gah! Wie sachts man "pillow" auf Deutsch? Das (Kopf)kissen. (Head) cushion. Cute. I just looked that up in my German-English, Deutsch- Englisch... you know what, let's just call it my "lifeline".

 

But really, I'm good here. Life could only be sweeter if I were a German language master, and that's precisely why I am where I am. Soon enough, soon enough. 

Love always.

 

Castles Schmastles

I made it to Germany in one piece, and I think that's important for you to know. I also made it here with good spirits and have already eaten more pretzels in the last 24 hours than I have in the last year. Yesterday the group ventured down a big hill into the town of Eppstein and over to their "Burg"... a ruinous castle! First castle down, a kajillion more to go! Take a looksie, meinen Fruenden!

 

Alles gut!