Freitag, August 26, 2005
'we don't deserve you...'~Ina
Today Ina said that to me! She said, 'You are so good with kids and so smart... I feel like you should be somewhere else.' I feel like I am sooo blessed to be with this family and I hope that I am this happy for the entire year! They are such lovely people... so kind to me, always making me coffee or inviting me to do things. Last night, Lars came down to my room to ask if I wanted to go shopping... he took me to this big American-like grocery store and bought different wines that he thought I would like to try... sooo nice :)
Today, I got up, had muesli and some coffee and then biked to the VMarkt to buy groceries for lunch. My new fave thing about Germany is the basket on my bike. It clicks on and off! When I get to the market, I click the basket off and bring it inside. I filled it with my broccoli, paprika, und soup and came home to make Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole. For fun, I made a little smiley face on the kids' (and Ina's and my) plates... Two gurken (cucumber) slices for eyes and rodt paprika (red pepper... although it could be paprika rodt, I can't remember) for nose, mouth, and spiky hair. After lunch we went to the shoe store and then came home and hung out... Ina and I drank coffee, chatted, played with Kathi... Henrik took me by bike to show me a nearby playground. It was nice.
Oh... if you want to see how the Europeans bike, check this out:
http://www.awfulgood.com/doa-archives/000185.php
(it's about the Netherlands, but I assure you that Germany is similar).
Oooohh... this morning before lunch, I was doing some pilates when the phone rang... Ina got it, but it was 'for me.' It was Lars, inviting me to come running and go to the movies tonight! We were supposed to go see SIN CITY in English, but they got the times mixed up and it was actually in Deutsch tonight... Ah well. We still went running around the Maschsee.
The Maschsee has been called (by this travel guide I was reading... maybe 'Let's GO'!?) the 'only good thing the Nazis ever did.' It is this manmade lake that was used to help the Old City of Hannover drain when the river overflowed. The Nazi party used it to gain popularity following WWI when unemployment rates were high. They hired ppl to make this lake. (Hmmm.... very similar to FDR's policies during the Great Depression, which helps to convey why Hitler could command the love of his people, no?) It was about 3.8 miles and Lars and I ran with his friend Christian. As I am still in 'SummerSlothShape' I did need one break... but in 2 weeks I won't need ANY breaks! Right!?!
The best thing about this (and if you know me... hey Gamma Phi's & WRCers...) is that Lars is so considerate. He asked me if I wanted to shower at his friend's house after we ran because I might be uncomfortable sitting in the car in my running clothes.
HAHAHAHAHA....
:) Me? Uncomfortable sitting around in gross sweaty clothes? Uncomfortable sitting in the WRC working on my thesis for HOURS after I taught kickboxing?
Which brings up another point... You can tell I am American by:
1)the way I dress. I biked to the store today in a t-shirt and workout pants... No respectable German would *ever* do that.
2) the fact that I sing along to the music in the grocery store. They play AMERICAN MUSIC!! Today I heard Paula Abdul's 'Straight Up' and my personal theme song, 'Just My Imagination'--I couldn't help it :-)
3) I am a leeeetle too friendly. Yes, at the moment my German is limited to items found in a kitchen and things like 'Hello' and 'Good morning.' When I bike or walk around I say 'Guten Tag' und 'Guten Morgen' to people. The other day this old man looked like he was going to sh** himself when I said, 'Guten Morgen.' He smiled, and kind of shaking his head in a puzzled way said, 'Morgen' back... hehe
One last thing:
When I was little, my dad used to take me to the grocery store and teach me the names of fruit & veg. 'What is this Heather?' 'Tomato' Now in the store I walk around and repeat words to myself, 'Tomaten, tomaten, tomaten' etc. Today, I wound up in the International section and repeated the word 'sake' to myself no less than 4 times before I realized:
1--I know what Sake is, and have know for a long time.
2--That word isn't even German.....
Oh boy! Leave some love :)
Today Ina said that to me! She said, 'You are so good with kids and so smart... I feel like you should be somewhere else.' I feel like I am sooo blessed to be with this family and I hope that I am this happy for the entire year! They are such lovely people... so kind to me, always making me coffee or inviting me to do things. Last night, Lars came down to my room to ask if I wanted to go shopping... he took me to this big American-like grocery store and bought different wines that he thought I would like to try... sooo nice :)
Today, I got up, had muesli and some coffee and then biked to the VMarkt to buy groceries for lunch. My new fave thing about Germany is the basket on my bike. It clicks on and off! When I get to the market, I click the basket off and bring it inside. I filled it with my broccoli, paprika, und soup and came home to make Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole. For fun, I made a little smiley face on the kids' (and Ina's and my) plates... Two gurken (cucumber) slices for eyes and rodt paprika (red pepper... although it could be paprika rodt, I can't remember) for nose, mouth, and spiky hair. After lunch we went to the shoe store and then came home and hung out... Ina and I drank coffee, chatted, played with Kathi... Henrik took me by bike to show me a nearby playground. It was nice.
Oh... if you want to see how the Europeans bike, check this out:
http://www.awfulgood.com/doa-archives/000185.php
(it's about the Netherlands, but I assure you that Germany is similar).
Oooohh... this morning before lunch, I was doing some pilates when the phone rang... Ina got it, but it was 'for me.' It was Lars, inviting me to come running and go to the movies tonight! We were supposed to go see SIN CITY in English, but they got the times mixed up and it was actually in Deutsch tonight... Ah well. We still went running around the Maschsee.
The Maschsee has been called (by this travel guide I was reading... maybe 'Let's GO'!?) the 'only good thing the Nazis ever did.' It is this manmade lake that was used to help the Old City of Hannover drain when the river overflowed. The Nazi party used it to gain popularity following WWI when unemployment rates were high. They hired ppl to make this lake. (Hmmm.... very similar to FDR's policies during the Great Depression, which helps to convey why Hitler could command the love of his people, no?) It was about 3.8 miles and Lars and I ran with his friend Christian. As I am still in 'SummerSlothShape' I did need one break... but in 2 weeks I won't need ANY breaks! Right!?!
The best thing about this (and if you know me... hey Gamma Phi's & WRCers...) is that Lars is so considerate. He asked me if I wanted to shower at his friend's house after we ran because I might be uncomfortable sitting in the car in my running clothes.
HAHAHAHAHA....
:) Me? Uncomfortable sitting around in gross sweaty clothes? Uncomfortable sitting in the WRC working on my thesis for HOURS after I taught kickboxing?
Which brings up another point... You can tell I am American by:
1)the way I dress. I biked to the store today in a t-shirt and workout pants... No respectable German would *ever* do that.
2) the fact that I sing along to the music in the grocery store. They play AMERICAN MUSIC!! Today I heard Paula Abdul's 'Straight Up' and my personal theme song, 'Just My Imagination'--I couldn't help it :-)
3) I am a leeeetle too friendly. Yes, at the moment my German is limited to items found in a kitchen and things like 'Hello' and 'Good morning.' When I bike or walk around I say 'Guten Tag' und 'Guten Morgen' to people. The other day this old man looked like he was going to sh** himself when I said, 'Guten Morgen.' He smiled, and kind of shaking his head in a puzzled way said, 'Morgen' back... hehe
One last thing:
When I was little, my dad used to take me to the grocery store and teach me the names of fruit & veg. 'What is this Heather?' 'Tomato' Now in the store I walk around and repeat words to myself, 'Tomaten, tomaten, tomaten' etc. Today, I wound up in the International section and repeated the word 'sake' to myself no less than 4 times before I realized:
1--I know what Sake is, and have know for a long time.
2--That word isn't even German.....
Oh boy! Leave some love :)
# posted by Heather @ 9:23 PM 
