Enjoying the Little Things

For the past two weeks I have stayed near Bad Mergentheim in an effort to save money and slow the pace of my life. I suppose that needless to say, this post is fairly ordinary.

Listening to and Speaking German


This week I watched a few movies in German with some of my friends here:

• Pursuit of Happyness (Das Streben nach Glueck)


• Priates of the Caribbean (Fluch der Karabik)


• The DaVinci Code


• Angels and Demons (Illuminati)

Of the four, Illuminati was most difficult to understand, not only were there many more words than I have knowledge of (auf Deutsch) but there were also many accents throughout the film (Swiss-German, Italian-German, Niederlander-German, French-German. . .yikes). Luckily, my confidence wasn't totally shut down as I understood most of the movie-previews before the film.

On my way to buy vegetables I got caught in a thunderstorm. The Turkish women who owned the small store told me to wait out the downpour. After we spoke a few minutes of German together they asked if I was Italian. I don't know if that's a good indication of my German proficiency, however, I think it's more interesting than being mistaken for American.


Daily Life
This Sunday felt like Oregon in July. The sun was out and the air was clear and because only cafes and restaurants were open, the streets were full of families and the patios of the houses were occupied by friends enjoying late lunch and coffee together.

I successfully made "American Brownies" without using any measuring cups or conversion charts (except for the Celsius/Fahrenheit conversion). They were not as rich as I usually make them, but the pan was empty by the end of the day so I think I did alright (most German desserts/sweets aren't quite as sweet as in the States. I think if I had added any more chocolate a few people would have passed out).

I think thunderstorms are fun to watch, but last week was the first time I laughed and cheered when lightening came overhead. From the window of my friend Vanessa's room, Vanessa, Nina and myself clapped and yelled and asked for more (yes, we spoke to the sky). . .I think we were a good example of what happens when you study too much on a weekend.

I quit walking on the nordic trails at dusk because:

A: Wild pigs

B: Wild Men (I felt like more lumberjack-looking, "Ned of the North" types walked at dusk)

C: I get jumpy when I look deep into the shadowy woods on either side of me (I think tales of witches in candy houses and little men with long names who spin straw into gold and take your babies).

It's no wonder to me that many fairy tales came out of Germany--the forests are very unique in an eerie, "someone-was-just-here" kind of way. If accounting doesn't go so well I may study food management and then move to Germany to write childrens books (no connection between the two plans).

School


Last week my class had lectures at Wuerth GmbH, a large company that supplies nuts and bolts and other products to large companies. We had two days to work in a team of ten to develop a plan for implementing a company relocation and then we presented the case to the CEO of Comgroup (a division of Wuerth) and another financial officer. The best part of these two days was the access to the $6,000 coffee machine :-)





I toured the Residenz Palace in Wuerzberg. On each side of the large ceiling fresco in the main entrance were depictions of America, Africa, Asia and Europe. The least civilized continent (America) was the first one depicted and eventually palace guests would finish their last steps and see the most civilized continuent (Europe). Within the American portion was a young European gazing through the bushes at a group of "Natives" roasting human heads over a fire in a palm-enclosed forest clearing. The inaccuracy of this depiction really frustrated me. Normally my family roasts the whole human over the fire. The fresco made us look so wasteful ;) (ok, that was gross but I couldn't help it).



Below is a picture from the internet of the palace staircase. I wasn't allowed to take pictures.
Tomorrow I travel to Traunstein, near the Austrian/German border. I have successfully packed all my necessities in one small backpack :) Light travelling is much easier.





Random Joke:

A) The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.


(B) On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.


(C) The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.


(D) The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans


(E) Conclusion: Eat & drink what you like. It's speaking English that kills you.








"We do not know what we are to do, but our eyes our on you" - 2 Chronicles 20:12 (not part of the joke, just something floating in my head)