Donnerstag, August 25, 2005
goodbye summer sloth.
I think I am the *only* person who gains weight in the summer. I am always my thinnest in January... prolly cause I was so hardcore at school and am soooo lazy at home... and that I have a penchant for PB & fluff eaten straight from their respective jars and a tendency to eat cereal by the box.
Anyway, the great thing about being here is that it seems every meal is an event. We all sit down together and enjoy :) [Well, today they had an early supper which I missed because of my run... so after this update I am going to go chow.] Also, German is such a bread-heavy country, which I adore... I am no Atkins-girl! oh heeellll no ;-)
Also, I don't really work out at home as much as I do (did) at school. WM had so many places to go... the woods, CW, around campus, even the roads... sure I got harrassed by sketchballs, but in NJ people try to mow you down. I am not kidding. But Germany is greaaaat! They have RULES about not killing pedestrians and bikers... Lars told me that if you hit a biker you have to pay a huge fine... not entirely comforting, but much better than the good ol' USA, where if you hit a biker you have helped everyone in the vicinity improve their commute time by 30 seconds. Speaking of... Lars commutes to work by riding his bike to the canal and then RUNNING to the office where he showers... it's like 10 total running miles per day, which is IMPRESSIVE.
So today I finally strapped on my special mileage watch and went for a run... first mile was OK speed (under 8:30) but the others got progressively slower... eh, in 2 weeks I will be banging 'em out. This was my Hannover equivalent to my WM 'Welcome Back' run, which was 4 miles. I just ran 2 miles 1 way, then retraced my steps... good times :) I don't know if I will repeat this route as it was pretty haphazard... but soooo nice to be running again :-)
As I was running, I read the names of different streets out loud to myself... undoubtedly pronouncing everything wrong. can't wait for German schule to start! My vocab is sooo lame:
the cucumber: die gurke
the bread: das brot
But Ina is sooo sweet... She put labels all over the kitchen with the words in German! So, as I am cleaning or cooking I can learn! Awww... she also hung up a picture of WM in my room for me. She had been there years ago when she worked at a German camp in VA Beach! It's this old brochure that says: 'WM: A Place of Possibilities.' It's fun to look at the older stuff... and see their similar strategies, 'Hmmm... let's put a picture of the happy-looking black girl on the Getting In page and talk about how WM strives for diversity.' uhhh... ok.
Hmmm.... something 'German' that happened today... during the day I have sooo many moments where I'm like, 'Ohh... i have to write about this.' and now... nothing.
Oh, so yesterday I wrote about how Germans dispose of their waste: paper, 'packaging materials' (plastic/metal), organic, and 'residual waste' (everthing else). As I was cleaning up from lunch, I thought, 'Ohh... rice, that's organic, and so is meat.' I am putting other things away when I notice the brochure Ina left for me... 'Do not put anything that has been cooked in the organic waste.' So, yes, I got to shove my hand into authentic German organic waste and transfer the lunch leftovers. yum. :-P
I guess that is it for now. lotsa love.
I think I am the *only* person who gains weight in the summer. I am always my thinnest in January... prolly cause I was so hardcore at school and am soooo lazy at home... and that I have a penchant for PB & fluff eaten straight from their respective jars and a tendency to eat cereal by the box.
Anyway, the great thing about being here is that it seems every meal is an event. We all sit down together and enjoy :) [Well, today they had an early supper which I missed because of my run... so after this update I am going to go chow.] Also, German is such a bread-heavy country, which I adore... I am no Atkins-girl! oh heeellll no ;-)
Also, I don't really work out at home as much as I do (did) at school. WM had so many places to go... the woods, CW, around campus, even the roads... sure I got harrassed by sketchballs, but in NJ people try to mow you down. I am not kidding. But Germany is greaaaat! They have RULES about not killing pedestrians and bikers... Lars told me that if you hit a biker you have to pay a huge fine... not entirely comforting, but much better than the good ol' USA, where if you hit a biker you have helped everyone in the vicinity improve their commute time by 30 seconds. Speaking of... Lars commutes to work by riding his bike to the canal and then RUNNING to the office where he showers... it's like 10 total running miles per day, which is IMPRESSIVE.
So today I finally strapped on my special mileage watch and went for a run... first mile was OK speed (under 8:30) but the others got progressively slower... eh, in 2 weeks I will be banging 'em out. This was my Hannover equivalent to my WM 'Welcome Back' run, which was 4 miles. I just ran 2 miles 1 way, then retraced my steps... good times :) I don't know if I will repeat this route as it was pretty haphazard... but soooo nice to be running again :-)
As I was running, I read the names of different streets out loud to myself... undoubtedly pronouncing everything wrong. can't wait for German schule to start! My vocab is sooo lame:
the cucumber: die gurke
the bread: das brot
But Ina is sooo sweet... She put labels all over the kitchen with the words in German! So, as I am cleaning or cooking I can learn! Awww... she also hung up a picture of WM in my room for me. She had been there years ago when she worked at a German camp in VA Beach! It's this old brochure that says: 'WM: A Place of Possibilities.' It's fun to look at the older stuff... and see their similar strategies, 'Hmmm... let's put a picture of the happy-looking black girl on the Getting In page and talk about how WM strives for diversity.' uhhh... ok.
Hmmm.... something 'German' that happened today... during the day I have sooo many moments where I'm like, 'Ohh... i have to write about this.' and now... nothing.
Oh, so yesterday I wrote about how Germans dispose of their waste: paper, 'packaging materials' (plastic/metal), organic, and 'residual waste' (everthing else). As I was cleaning up from lunch, I thought, 'Ohh... rice, that's organic, and so is meat.' I am putting other things away when I notice the brochure Ina left for me... 'Do not put anything that has been cooked in the organic waste.' So, yes, I got to shove my hand into authentic German organic waste and transfer the lunch leftovers. yum. :-P
I guess that is it for now. lotsa love.
# posted by Heather @ 9:44 PM 
