Donnerstag, Oktober 13, 2005
Of Books, Biking, and Being a nerd
Today I had a moment of melancholy when I took Kathi to the Bibliothek. For one, I don't think that the librarians are my biggest fans. I don't think they...hmmm.... appreciate the fact that my talents lie in areas outside of speaking Deutsch. When I ask them questions (often in 'I-am-trying-really-hard-Deutsch') they just look annoyed. Siiiighhh... Sometimes I really really hate not being able to speak the language cause it makes people think I am stupid. I was walking around the library scanning the shelves when a chance glance at the bottom row in the young adult section excited me, 'Oh my gosh! They have like 20 Cynthia Voight books! More than even the Williamsburg library!!!' Then I realized that though they have the incredible collection of CV books and the Anne of Green Gables series (although noticable absence of Laura Ingalls Wilder) I cannot freaking read these books. Wah. 3MinutePityParty. Oh well, goal to read them before I leave... (Which is looking more and more like 2 years. I am 99% sure I will be in Europe for 2 years, but not sure where I will spend my second year. I am blissfully happy here, but don't want to wear the happiness out, ya know? Suggestions/Advice are welcome!) [**For those who don't know, my roommate and I used to read Young Adult books to destress from our hectic WM-lives. Plus, I am really interested in the relationship between girls & books--it will probably be something I research when I get my PhD!]
I have been biking like crazy. My class is about 4-5 miles away--a gorgeous ride. Tomorrow I biked to the Potbe (this main street that runs into the city) but biking on that street makes me nervous because it is under major construction. You have to swerve around barricades and ride really close to traffic cones and stuff--and on the Potbe you have to ride in the road. This also makes me nervous (not because I think I am going to get hit, cause Germans slow down to bike pace until bikers have the space to move over) but because I am alwaaaays nervous that I am breaking some kind of rule. Am I allowed to be here? Do I cross now? Am I in the way? Today, I biked over the canal, followed Potbe briefly, and then jaunted into the forrest. Ooohh... what a gorgeous ride. Hannover is one of the (or the) Greenest Cities in Europe--I got to ride under the foliage along parks and playgrounds. So beautiful. The Bildungsverein (where I take class) is just a quick jump off the forest path--but the road was so tiny on the forrest end that I missed it! I ended up going too far and had to stop in at a Kiosk to ask directions. 'Enshuldigung, wo ist Wedekindstraße bitte?' I must have pulled it off reallly well cause the guy gave me this detailed explanation auf deutsche--of which all I understood was 'go 4 or 5 streets and make a right' but that ended up being enough!
I also chose to bike home along the forest, which I wasn't too thrilled with. I will probably take the Potbe home from now on--construction pretty much stops at night and there aren't many ppl or cars. The forest was a bit scary-having to rely on my headlight and my instincts. Hmmm.... I am getting to be a muuch better biker. It is amazing. I guess it is comparable to driving though--think about how much better a driver you are now than when you got your learner's permit or license? I am learning how to position my body to go up or down curves, hills, how to stop quickly, how to go quickly. It is really cool. Ina told me later that biking through the forest can be dangerous--there have been muggings and rapes, though not for years. I am far less scared of those things than of veering off the path, crashing into a tree, and not being found until morning. I may be a good biker, but I am no German!
Being a nerd... some things never change. got a 100% on our chapter 1 test in class--but, I am a good test-taker so it's not really anything I was superpsyched about. (And I felt so high school taking the test--and then raising my hand for getting a perfect score. arg.) I want to be a better speaker, stop being sooo freaking tongue-tied. Arg.
After class I met another potential member for the Au Pairs Club--she is a definitely a 'MaryAnne.' I felt like I talked at her the whole night. Do you ever feel like you have friends that help balance out your other friendships? Sometimes I feel like Tara really talks at me, which is OK cause she is in a much less ideal au pair situation than I am--and she had just vented to me for about 40 minutes. Then I meet up with Jolene, who is by nature quieter, and just talktalktalk--when I would let it get silent (hoping she would say something!) she would just ask me a question. Not a big deal, just something to think about.
I have been biking like crazy. My class is about 4-5 miles away--a gorgeous ride. Tomorrow I biked to the Potbe (this main street that runs into the city) but biking on that street makes me nervous because it is under major construction. You have to swerve around barricades and ride really close to traffic cones and stuff--and on the Potbe you have to ride in the road. This also makes me nervous (not because I think I am going to get hit, cause Germans slow down to bike pace until bikers have the space to move over) but because I am alwaaaays nervous that I am breaking some kind of rule. Am I allowed to be here? Do I cross now? Am I in the way? Today, I biked over the canal, followed Potbe briefly, and then jaunted into the forrest. Ooohh... what a gorgeous ride. Hannover is one of the (or the) Greenest Cities in Europe--I got to ride under the foliage along parks and playgrounds. So beautiful. The Bildungsverein (where I take class) is just a quick jump off the forest path--but the road was so tiny on the forrest end that I missed it! I ended up going too far and had to stop in at a Kiosk to ask directions. 'Enshuldigung, wo ist Wedekindstraße bitte?' I must have pulled it off reallly well cause the guy gave me this detailed explanation auf deutsche--of which all I understood was 'go 4 or 5 streets and make a right' but that ended up being enough!
I also chose to bike home along the forest, which I wasn't too thrilled with. I will probably take the Potbe home from now on--construction pretty much stops at night and there aren't many ppl or cars. The forest was a bit scary-having to rely on my headlight and my instincts. Hmmm.... I am getting to be a muuch better biker. It is amazing. I guess it is comparable to driving though--think about how much better a driver you are now than when you got your learner's permit or license? I am learning how to position my body to go up or down curves, hills, how to stop quickly, how to go quickly. It is really cool. Ina told me later that biking through the forest can be dangerous--there have been muggings and rapes, though not for years. I am far less scared of those things than of veering off the path, crashing into a tree, and not being found until morning. I may be a good biker, but I am no German!
Being a nerd... some things never change. got a 100% on our chapter 1 test in class--but, I am a good test-taker so it's not really anything I was superpsyched about. (And I felt so high school taking the test--and then raising my hand for getting a perfect score. arg.) I want to be a better speaker, stop being sooo freaking tongue-tied. Arg.
After class I met another potential member for the Au Pairs Club--she is a definitely a 'MaryAnne.' I felt like I talked at her the whole night. Do you ever feel like you have friends that help balance out your other friendships? Sometimes I feel like Tara really talks at me, which is OK cause she is in a much less ideal au pair situation than I am--and she had just vented to me for about 40 minutes. Then I meet up with Jolene, who is by nature quieter, and just talktalktalk--when I would let it get silent (hoping she would say something!) she would just ask me a question. Not a big deal, just something to think about.
# posted by Heather @ 10:28 PM 
