I can hardly believe I’ve been in Germany for a month as of tomorrow. Yikes! 1 down, 7 more to go I s’pose.
Also, thanks to everybody for the nice messages. I really enjoy hearing from all of you. In response to people’s questions, and just telling about my day … read on …
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Culture Shocks – English Language
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So one of the cutest things is how anything “American” or “English” is so cool and hip. [Aw, Germans]. They love listening to English music (any type, whatever is on the radio which really is a mix of so many genres and time periods). As in I hear Lady Gaga and then the next song is backstreet boys…and then some oldies … and then cher … so far, no rap. Guess that’s too fast, even for me.
So they take/use a lot of words that apparently they think American use but as you all know, not really, e.g.
Handy = cell phone or mobile phone
Beamer = projector
Also, I love how they say certain things that aren’t really incorrect, but just sounds weird in context. I don’t like correcting it because it makes me smile (aw, Germans) but apparently they want to be know what Americans say, e.g.
Water with gas or bubbles = mineral water, carbonated
Take holiday = take time off work, vacation [“Karen, you take holiday Friday?]
And last but not least, when something is in German and I don’t want to bother people, I just copy/paste the whole thing into Google Translate, I get the following translations:
Overnight translates to as night approaches [aghahha…This was for overnight experiments. But instead Google wrote it as, the experiment will run as the night approaches]
Beware of chemical cabinet translates to beware of poison cabinet (err… o.O)
Tie back long hair translates to avoid long hair (hehe, my boss was like, hah, do they want you to go to the hairdresser or something?)
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Friends
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So when I came to Germany I didn’t know anybody. Well, my boss counts I guess. But I’ve actually made a fair bit of friends. Living in the boardinghaus has helped (although I can only stay for 6 months). From there, I met Stefanie, Thomas, holger, and Christoffer. Those I talk to the most.
And then at work I sit with the international gang. So it’s a pretty diverse group. Marek comes from Poland. Hillary and I come from the US (she’s from utah). Lucia and guilo are from italy. Kristina is from hungary. Danielle and anton are from slovakia. Etc… there’s probably a good bit of us, maybe 10+ or so. Oh yeah, nina and christoffer are from Sweden. Ok now etc…
And then there is my friend simonette from german class. If I haven’t mentioned this before, we don’t share a common language. She can speak French and a bit of german. So I’ve actually learned the most german from her although we don’t talk that much. We usually say the same things over and over again, or we can point at things and laugh. It’s kind of nice actually, how you can still be friends even if you can’t talk about say, work. :P
Hehee…
So we were riding her bike to german class. (I don’t have a bike), and since she’s smaller than me, I pedal and then she just sits on the back. So we have little jokes.
For example, I was going up the hill, I stopped, looked at her, made this big pregnant/fatter sign/noise, and pointed to her, to ask if she grew fatter this weekend because it was harder than normal. (I pretended to wipe sweat from her forehead.)
Hehe, or like, sometimes I’ll ask her if it’s comfortable riding, or if it’s okay (Gut?) and then she’ll reassure me by saying “super or sehr gut (very good).” So one day she was saying, “super…super…” and then I mock-complained, “simonette super super…. Karen mude.” (Karen tired) because she was just bumming a ride off of me while I had to pedal. Hehe, we had a good laugh over that one.
(I can’t form sentences yet so I can only say nouns.)
Or like whenever we pass by a shop window and we see our reflection, we say “tschuss Karen! Ciao!” hehe, we’re just very silly around each other.
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Their English
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So I love it.
I mentioned before, some of the things they say, but it’s just so … hrm, amusing. Their diction (choice of words).
So for example, marek (guy from hungary) was describing his weekend where he was outdoors watching birds and he forgot to put on sunscreen so he got sunburned, except he described it as, …
“ so I was busy watching the birds and then I realize I forgot to bring sunscreen and then … disaster.”
Ahahahhhaa… idk why I found it so funny, that he would describe it as disaster. Maybe it just sounded so much more dramatic. Like they don’t describe things properly, they either exaggerate or underemphasize things I guess because it’s whatever word comes to mind first.
Oh, and today, krisztina (from hungary) was describing something and I just found it hilarious (tears out of my eyes). I’ll try.
So somehow we got to talking about how there weren’t any bears in germany and then krisztina started talking about how there were bears in hungary (as with bees, and uhh… deer…something else), but no trees. And then she does this little dialogue:
A: what is that? :quizzical expression:
B: I think I have seen it before…on tv. I think it is a tree!
A: Oh!
A: OHHH… :AH, disgusted look: CUT IT Down!
B: :chop chop:
Hehee, she was just so dramatic. She was saying how there weren’t trees, and how if somebody saw a tree it immediately got chopped down. Or like vaporized into paper or something. Hehe.
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CULTURE SHOCKS – My Stupidity
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So I just need to clarify on the door thing because some people thought I was a dummkopf (heh, thanks Berger) or depp (idiot) and just stood at the door. NO I have more pride than that. :rolls eyes:
So I mean, at first I would just try to push when clearly I had to pull, and vice versa. But then later when I tried to read the signs (and sometimes messed up), I mean it’s just a very SLIGHT pause, honest, barely discernible. (NOT MINUTES jonathan…) seconds. nanoseconds. And I mean I was very smooth about it, I’d pretend to think about something I had to do for the day when in reality I was thinking about what to do. Ninja Karen!
Hehe, so I made up a phrase to help me remember. “don’t drucken me!” which means don’t push me (not really, but drucken mean push.)
Actually, drucken with two dots over the u means push. Drucken just like that means print.
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So that being said, I admit I do pause (these are seconds now…5 tops) at the trash cans. So there’s diff. trash cans depending on the material (plastic (which is like kundufinsik or something, idk…), and bioabfall (for like apple stems and tea bags, that’s what the picture shows), something else, and then restmull (for rest, everything else)). And usually I can’t remember so I have to peek inside the trash cans (which makes the Germans laugh), or something like that.
… And then sometimes I still throw it in the wrong one so then I have to fish things out. Whatever.
They also laugh when I shoot baskets and then miss. I think a lot of things I do are funny to them. I guess I’m just like a kid to them (they’re all older than me, the youngest are probably like past mid-20s, and those are the ones that are there for their masters (English equivalent) or doctorate.)
Actually, the international group I sit with are all postdocs (very humbling), but then their English isn’t good so they’re very humble around me. It’s an interesting twist, and reminds you to keep your head.
OH, so another thing they thought I asked was funny was when I asked if I could throw toilet paper in the toilet. DUDE so I read in a book somewhere that their toilets weren’t strong (ever since Taiwan I have a fear of flushing tp down the toilet in case it clogs it and I have to unclog it especially after I’ve pooped.) so I was always afraid too. Then I had to explain how things were diff. in Taiwan.
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Hm, maybe it’s just doors in general.
So I also have trouble opening my apt. door sometimes. (sOMETIMES..if my hands are dry.) So the system is neat in that you don’t have a key but a button that you push which will beep to unlock if you’re within range. (you have to be fairly close to the door) Kind of like more modern cars, def. not the van I drive(drove).
So the thing is that the door is just so smooth that I struggle with it a lot and sometimes I have to put all my bags down, try it again…. Or put my hand inside my jacket for some grip (usually doesn’t work, but I have to try everything). Hrm… or ask somebody (I only did that once, but that was after a 3 min. struggle). Literally. I timed it.
(okay fineee….4 minutes, but I bet you it was probably only 4 because it was 00:58 and probably 04:03 or something).
:D
Hmmm what else have I done. I’m sure I’ve done a lot more. Somehow there’s always a lot of laughing so it must be something.
Oh hehee… I remember.
So today in lab I was making a buffer. Anyway we have these magnetic stir bars and sticks to stir them with. So you use the stick to pick up the stirbar.
Well, I was in a very wizarding mood (idk, I pretended I was harry potter) so I was waving my stick around (I pretended it was a wand, just the right length!) and the little stirbar was on my stick, and then when I put it inside my graduated cylinder I would kind of tap it, hehe.. I had a lot of fun.
Anyway, I dropped it on the floor, so then I stooped down and gave it a tap and apparently I looked really funny because Michael (one of the guys in my lab) started laughing and then he explained that because I didn’t bend down but kind of … bent over, I looked like a grandma.
Ok I think I was just embarrassed that he caught me pretending to wave the magnetic wand around (and probably muttering things) when I thought he was at his desk…
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How I am viewed
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So I find it interesting that … hrm, whenever somebody asks me where I’m from when I’m in the US, I assume they mean because I’m asian so I say Taiwan.
However, when I’m there, they want to know because I’m an American so they want to hear Atlanta, Ga, USA or something.
It’s just an interesting change of perspective. All of a sudden I am an expert on the English language (haha) and customs (tell me about the school systems, what is the diff btwn a college and university, please correct my English, is it lay or lie?, …)
At first people thought I couldn’t speak german and only knew Chinese or something, but then they found out that I can speak English. Neat.
OH, so it actually is true that the germans are really eager to speak to me because they want to practice their English. There are actually two germans that are trying to learn mandarin (one is because he’s marrying a Chinese girl, I think the other one is just curious) so I’ve only talked to them once but everyone says I should trade german/Chinese lessons with them. Pft, if they want a Taiwanese/American accent kind of Chinese!
It’s more of a group thing though. If they are in a group they don’t really talk to me (I totally understand), but if it is 1-1, then they are very eager. I mean, I would be very self-conscious if I had to speak in a foreign language in front of a group, especially if I know some of the people can speak better than me.
Hehe, one of my coworkers, birgit, actually emailed me once and asked me to help her with her English hw. Hehe, I promptly asked her for help on my german hw the next day. It was so sweet though, her hw was, “describe her first day at work.” AW.
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Side Trips
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So I’m proud to say that I have at least started to travel, heh. We had a 4 day weekend last weekend (SO many holidays in May and June) so I went to Berlin with some of my international (hehe! I’m an international student!) friends. Pics on Picassa (some not all).
We have another upcoming 3 day weekend (we get Monday, June 1st off) for next week. I was looking at flights but I think it was too late because they’re all 100+. Meh. So I’m going to go to my friend Stephanie’s hometown. She also lives in the boardinghaus.
Hehe, so her hometown is called Biberach (pronounced Bee-bur-ah). So I definitely didn’t remember it the first (…. Twenty…) time(s) but I wanted to show that I was listening and trying very hard to remember, so I would attempt to say it. Which meant calling it “boo-boo’ town.” Ah, stupid German.
So I’ve decided that sometimes it is better to feign innocence and just ask what the town is called since saying boo-boo town doesn’t really get me anywhere and I do feel stupid for saying it. Really stupid.
(Okay so they talk fast and slur their words, I really wonder what English sounds as a foreign lanuage now, like when they watch Friends or something. So it did sound like bah---boo---… )
We have another 4 day weekend coming up next next week (well, we get Thursday off
Told you there were a lot of holidays. I think the smart thing would just be to find all the holidays for the rest of the year and start booking like crazy.
I have a let’s go Europe bk (thanks Sonya) and they have suggested cities for beginners, pros, and then also particular regions. There are also websites that give you blind trips (20 euros flat) and then they just take you somewhere based on “culture, shopping, etc.” not sure about those.
Anyway, I have a munich guidebook as well, so even if I don’t have a long weekend I can always take plenty of daytrips to the munich area because the train tickets are so cheap. Lots of castles (schloss) and mountains (berg…or burg…can never remember) around.
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Typical Day
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So I guess I’m finally settling in more now so I do have a typical schedule.
I need to work “8” hours a day (I guess this includes coffee time and lunch time), which is usually 9 to 5.
And then on Mondays and Wednesdays I have German lesson for “beginners” (psh whatever) from 6-7:30 but it takes a while to walk here so I usually get back around 8:30 or a bit earlier. On those days I’m pretty tired.
Hrm, also Wednesday nights there are things called “Stammtisch-Praktikkum” dinners from 7-11. So Stammtisch means “reserved for regulars.” And Praktikkum is just “interns.” For some strange reason, all the Germans refer to this as, “intern meeting” or even “internal meeting.” Weirdos. We just have dinner at a pizzeria or a beer. I really want to blend in but I will feel stupid* for saying “intern meeting” so I usually say, are you coming this Wednesday?
*There are many stupid things I do. The key is to minimize stupid actions whenever I can.
Oh, and on Thursday nights people in the boardinghaus like to go downstairs to watch Germany’s next top model with heidi klum (again, didn’t know she was german and they were all shocked at me – really – I’ve discovered they are proud of the germans that have made it big time.) Except the season ended last week so idk if we will meet up or not. I know tomorrow Stefanie are going to watch a dancing movie downstairs. Shrug, hopefully another tv show will start or something.
Hmmm. That sounds kind of bland. And yet, every single day I have at least seen people.
So sometimes, as in the 3 times in the past…2 weeks, if the weather is nice out, people will go swimming in the lake after work (again, see pics). That’s kind of neat, and not something I would expect in Atlanta.
So let’s see, on the days that I haven’t had german class, I guess I rush to the supermarket (since it closes at 8, at the latest, some are 6).
I guess settling in I was pretty busy, I had to go to nearby towns with coworkers to get a phone (Weilheim), or have a drink with some of their friends (Bad Tolz) and I guess it was always nice to drive places.
Two weekends ago on Sunday there was a festival on the main street. (I felt very lucky for catching it, because apparently there are only 4 or 5 the whole year!) went to that for a couple of hours.
I don’t know, I feel busy. Tired actually. There was one of the dinners with interns tonight but I didn’t go because I felt so exhausted. Maybe I’m still recuperating from berlin (being a tourist is hard work.)
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For those traveling in Europe:
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Cell (Germany): 0162 592 8816
Also, I live in Penzberg, the closest big city to which is Munich. There’s a great deal for the train ticket for this area, which allows a 1 day pass for 20 euros or a group day pass (up to 5 adults and 1 dog, 2 kids count as 1 adult) for 28 euros. Really nice. The line includes a lot of places, but most notably, Munich, Salzburg (Austria), and I believe Fussen (Schloss Neuschwanstein). So save those trips for when you come to visit me and we can go see those places. So this pass only works in the southern part of Germany, and then the very border for Austria. Hrm, not sure if it goes into Switzerland.
And….book early.
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Weather
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So the days have been kind of rainy lately. They’re either sunny and warm/hot (enough to go to the lake) or kind of cold/dreary/rainy in which case I just hurry home. But on the days where it is sunny, it’s so beautiful walking home because I can see the mountains, and the puffy white clouds in the blue sky (really, just like the windows xp desktop). And then ic an walk in the forest too since on this gravel path with these Christmas fir trees surrounding me either way. Gorgeous.
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Food
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So gotta love the cafeteria food. Cheap and good. I get to eat a lot of the traditional german foods there (so they have diff sections, traditional, live cooking, specials, etc.) like spetzle (probably umlaut somewhere in their…I think the ‘a’ except I didn’t spell it with one. Maye like spatzle. Yea that looks right.) and knodel (BLEGH it had mushrooms in there, did not see that coming.)
When I went to berlin I had falfels (mmmm) and we went to some real italian restaurant (gotta love traveling with international students, they really know where to go) and had great pasta and desserts (some wobbly white jello thing with berries, panacotta or something… p---).
Mmmm, and for breakfast I loved getting the cheese breakfasts there. Which was basically an assortment of fresh bread (croissants, white rolls, called brotchen, …) and cheeses (mozzarella, bree, …) and then either jams/marmelades/nutella (YES)/ butter/etc.
In germany though I’ve been living off the wursts (sausage) and brezel (pretzel). This region is known for their weiswurst (white sausage).
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auf Wiedersehen
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Hehe so I find it so cute that they try to sway me to be a Bavarian girl because I’m in the Bavarian region (germany is broken down into different regions). There are certain phrases that they teach me (and if I say a typical anywhere-german phrase, they say no and replace it with a Bavarian phrase.)
For example, in bavaria they like to say “servus” or “gruss gott” for hello. Not “guten tag” hehe…
They also like to say something like … “sho-ma-ma..” (I’m so serious that’s what it sounds like. So as you can probably guess, I’m really afraid to say this one out loud because honestly, who can keep a straight face.) It means “we will see.” Indeed, we will..
Okay enough of me.
Hope all is well with everybody.
I miss you all,
Keep me updated with what you’re up to,
Karen
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