tff Rudolstadt 2010

I am lucky enough to live 30 minutes away from Europe's largest roots, folk, and world music festival and that's where I was last weekend when Germany beat Argentina 4:0. The festival was amazing and I was delighted to spend a few days wandering around the park and the city, listening to music and chllin' with the generally good vibes all around:) The big act was Arlo Guthrie backed up by the Thuringian Symphany. I had tears in my eyes listening to thousands of Germans singing "Good morning, America, how are you?" and "This land is your land" Here is a little taste of that show.

It was pretty surreal to see a classic American folk singer in the middle of a castle courtyard in Germany. I tried to pan the camera around so you can see what the venue was like. And yes, that is me you hear singing along :)

There was also a creole band from Louisiana that I wanted to see. They were a lot of fun and it was nice to have a little taste of home. Check out Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole.



Finally, Blue King Brown out of Australia were amazing. Their music is so powerful and moving. They had me dancing like a mad woman!

Der weltgrößte Thüringer Kloß in Jena aka The World's Largest Kloß!

This weekend the Guinness record for the world's largest kloss was broken right here in Jena! What is a kloss? ... you ask. It is a potato dumpling typically produced here in Thuringia (the German state that I live in). This one weighed in at 381 kg (840 lbs). Emily and I saw it being boiled in the market square and then got to eat some of it after it was finished. It was very tasty, but I think they gave us about a pound of it! Way too much to eat. If you are interested in more information about kloese (plural of kloss) and to see more pictures of this record breaking event check out the following links!

Thüringer Kloßmuseum (yes this is a museum about kloese)

Der weltgrößte Thüringer Kloß in Jena

Sun makes everything better :)

Spring may have finally arrived in Jena! Although I am doubtful that this beautiful weather will last long... Germany has made me a weather pessimist ( or maybe just a realist). Anyway, the sun shone all weekend and I soaked it up. On Saturday I spent my morning wandering around the the flea market in the city and then lounged in the park next to the Saale.
Today I hiked up to the Fuchsturm.
Ah, sunshine, how I love thee!

Radio Lab

So as you may or may not know, I am a huge public radio fan. I listen to NPR most of the day. One of my favorite public radio programs is a show that Emily turned me on to called Radio Lab from WNYC. I was listening to the latest short put out by Radio Lab on my I-pod while walking home from work tonight. It turned out to be a story about an old folks home in Germany. I am putting a link here so that you can listen to the show. What I want you to pay special attention to is the exchange between the radio host and the German interviewee on how to say a certain name.

The Bus Stop

By Lulu Miller

I have had nearly the exact conversation at least 20 times since I've been here. For example, the German name for Cologne is Koeln. I cannot for the life of me correctly pronounce this name. The conversations usually goes like this:

German: koouln

Me: koouln

German: (laugh) no, koouln

Me: koouln

German: no! koouln

Me: OK, koouln

German: listen! koouln!

Me: kooouuln

German: no....

.... well you get the picture.

Anyway, I felt a camaraderie with Lulu Miller when I listened to her go rounds with Regine :) I feel your pain Lulu!

All about Me!

Emily posted this on her blog so I thought I would respond. I know all my faithful readers are dying to know more about me :)

1. What time did you get up this morning?	9:00
2. Diamonds or pearls?	diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?	"Men Who Stare at Goats" or, as it was advertised "Männer die auf Ziegen starren (OmU)" (This is Emily's answer, but we went together)
4. What is your favorite TV show?	The Good Wife (currently)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast	cereal
6. What is your middle name?	Manning
7. What food do you dislike?	stinky cheese
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?	I actually haven't listened to music in a while, just talk radio (NPR)
9. What kind of car do you drive?	My feet (also Emily's answer, but mine is the same)
11. What characteristic do you despise?	Greed
12. Favorite item of clothing?	my gray yoga pants
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?	New Zealand
14. Favorite brand of clothing?	don't really look at brands
15. Where would you retire?	Hmmm.... probably FL
16. What was your most memorable birthday?	the year I went to the beach for the drum circle
17. Favorite sport to watch?	Hockey
18. Furthest place you are sending this?	Not actually sending it anywhere, but I guess people will see it in the US
19. Person you expect to send it back first?	?
20. When is your birthday?	January 15
21. Are you a morning person or a night person?	Night
22. What is your shoe size?	8
23. Pets?	Ebony and Mattie came to Germany with me (2 cats), Lucy had to stay home with a friend (another cat)
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?	I won an award for best presentation at a conference I went to recently
25. What did you want to be when u grew up?	Ballerina, actress, singer....
26. How are you today?	Pretty good, but it is time to go home! Working late.
27. What is your favorite candy?	M&Ms
28. What is your favorite flower?	Hibiscus and poppies
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?	Weather is supposed to be nice on Saturday...
30. What are you listening to right now?	the rattle of the stirrer in my DGGE
31. What was the last thing you ate?	Some of the chocolate cherry cake that Katha made (also Emily's answer, but the last thing I ate as well)
32. Do you wish on stars?	absolutely :)
33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?	is there one that is a mixture of a lot of different colors? Wait... I think that's brown...
34. How is the weather right now?	warmish (60s) and overcast (ok, again... I'm in the same place as Emily)
35. The first person you spoke to on the phone today	Emily When she called to ask if I'd bring her wallet home from the lab
36. Favorite soft drink?	Dr. Pepper
37. Favorite restaurant?	Mellow Mushroom
38. Real hair color?	dark blond
39. What was your favorite toy as a child?	my imaginary friends?
40. Summer or winter?	summer
41. Hugs or kisses	can I have both?
42. Chocolate or Vanilla?	swirl
43. Coffee or tea?	coffee
44. Do you want your friends to email you back	sure
45. When was the last time you cried?	Listening to a radio lab show about a chimpanzee (Lucy)
46. What is under your bed?	cat poop
47. What did you do last night?	watched TV
48. What are you afraid of?	Not being good enough
49. Salty or sweet?	Sweet
50. How many keys on your key ring?	7
51. How many years at your current job?	2.5
52. Favorite day of the week?	Sunday
53. How many towns have you lived in?	Oh my.... 8?
54. Do you make friends easily?	yes
55. How many people will you send this to?	Again, not actually sending it
56. How many will respond?	not really applicable, but feel free to leave comments :)

Does anyone know what this is?

I tried to post this video to facebook in the hopes that one of my ichthyologist friends might know what it is. I found this fish on the bottom just off shore from Summerland Key, FL. Any ideas?

der Schweiz

Here are my pictures from my recent trip to Switzerland. We had a lovely time and the Alps were beautiful. A few snags here and there, but overall a great trip!

French (prelude to a post on der Schweiz)

Coming soon: a post about my recent trip to Switzerland. Full of adventure and castles. However, until I get the photos uploaded I will entertain you with my newly acquired French speaking skills.

(Disclaimer: all French words given here will be spelled as I would pronounce them as I learned all my French orally. Sorry Charles!)

1. Je mirret en cafe sivouplais (I would like a coffee please)
2. Je mirret leau non gaseous sivouplais (I would like water without gas please)
3. Je mirret en carte sivouplais (I would like a menu please)
4. Je mirret .... (you get the idea)
5. Eu son le toilet? (where are the toilets?)
6. Serva? (How are you?)
7. Serva bien (I'm good)
8. Banan (banana)
9. Tomat (tomato)
10. Dorian (your welcome)
11. Merci (thank you, but that's easy, everyone knows that)

And now we come to the completion of my French knowledge (except for French words that are commonly used in English like "armoir", but I'll save that for another post) I hope this has been educational for all my readers and I am sincerely sorry to anyone reading this who actually knows French :)

The advice of Jane Austen

For Christmas my mom got me a book of advice about various subjects collecedt from quotes in Jane Austen novels. It's called Jane Austen's Little Advice Book. It is broken into several sections like "Men and Women" or "Family". In each section are quotes taken from Jane Austen novels that pertain to that subject. So, I like to open the book to a random page and get my advice for the day. Here's today's:

On the Joys of Aunthood as Opposed to Motherhood

I shall be very well off with all the children of a sister I love so much, to care about. There will be enough of them, in all probability, to supply every sort of sensation that declining life can need. Thre will be enough for every hope and every fear; and though my attachment to none can equal that of a parent, it suits my ideas of comfort better than what is warmer and blinder. My nephews and nieces! I shall often have a niece with me.

Emma

Oh, Jane, you are so wise!

A few of my favorite things....

Continuing on the theme of positivity in Germany, here is a list of some of my favorite things in Jena.

1. The Kunstwerk (art studio/workshop)

I have taken painting and ceramics classes here and they have open studio time when you can come in and use the space and supplies to make whatever you want! I am learning how to paint. Here is my first painting. I think it is pretty good considering it is the first since middle school art class.

2. Ducks and swans

I have to cross the Saale river on the way to work. There is a small pedestrian bridge and there are always tons of ducks there waiting to be fed. Recently some swans have shown up as well. I always associate swans with fairy tales, so it is really exciting to see them there.

3. The Seven Wonders of Jena

OK, I don't actually like the seven wonders, I like that there ARE seven wonders of Jena. I have a hard time remembering all of them... here's my best effort

1. Jenzig (the mountain behind my house)
2. Fuchsturm (fox tower) - really nice place to have a coffee and look out over the valley
3. Camsdorferbrucke - this is the bridge that crosses the Saale from the city center into Jena Ost (where I live) Interestingly, it is not actually the present day bridge that is the wonder, but the previous one.
4. The people who chase each other in the tower of the Rathaus (City Hall) - I don't remember what they're called. Supposedly if they catch each other the world will end.
5. Some statue in the Stadtmuseum (City Museum)
6. Some house that doesn't exist any more.
7. Stadtkirch (City Church)? Maybe this is one?

If anyone has more information on this, please share. I found this partial video on YouTube

Positivity about living in Germany #2: Germanisms

So to continue the theme of things I like about Germany, I am including this blog on German sayings that I like.

1. In Germany they "get" babies instead of "having" them like we do. e.g "Kristina got a baby last week" (she didn't really, I'm just making an example). It's like she went to the corner baby store and picked one up :) Very cute!

2. Sticking with the baby theme... German's call birth control pills "Anti-baby pills". Aptly named.

3. If a German wants to know if doing something is fun the ask if it "makes fun" e.g. "Does a post-doc make fun?" Make fun of what? (and yes they probably do).

4. A German guy I dated was a forester and he spent all day running "hill up and hill down" .

Hmmm, that is all I can think of for now, but I will keep this a running post and add to it as I think of new things.

***New Additions***

5. Carsten said "You are going on my nerves!"

6. Somewhere, somehow, "somewhen"?

7. Germans sit "on" their computers instead of "at" their computer. I actually caught myself saying this one today.

Fireworks!

So, it is a new year and I am back in Deutschland. I was feeling vaguely sorry for myself having just flown away from friends and family, a country that is my home with all of it's faults, and let's face it.... warmth! To make matters worse, all of my friends here were out of town for the holiday. So I took a bath, ate a bowl of Uncle Ben's 10 minute whole grain rice, plain (the only food in the house) and put myself to bed at 7:30. My attitude about returning to Germany has ranged from total despair to mild indifference at best. Then I woke up to the deep, resonant booming and high pitched shrieks emanating from the sky all around me. FIREWORKS! Germans LOVE fireworks and I love them for it. I have friends who are disgusted by the copious sums of money spent for just one fireworks display. 100,000 euro for just a few minutes of "oooh" and "aahh". I can see their point. Wouldn't that money be better used to feed the hungry or fight the AIDS epidemic? Of course! I will not attempt to make some lame argument on the side of fireworks.... "aesthetics and beauty are essential to culture... blah, blah, blah." No, I simply, guiltily love fireworks! And tonight on this first day of the new year, 2010, I stood with my head out the roof-top window of my attic apartment watching the sparkling beauty erupt all round and was glad to be right where I was :)

*** UPDATE***

Here is some info on New Years in Germany... it's called Silvester here.

New Year - New Attitude

I've decided that I need to have a more positive attitude about my life in Germany. So, I am going to write once a week about something I like about Germany, Germans, or generally life in a foreign country. To kick off my new positive attitude I will enlighten my fair readers about the glorious fondness that Germans have for fireworks.