Today I cooked my lunch by myself. It shouldn't be, but it is a milestone for me!
To be honest, I did attempt to cook some vegetables last night. But it was so horrible I had to trash it, so I choose to not let that be my milestone attempt! And let me just clarify something, I have cooked before, just never by myself. Ok, I've cooked noodles and omelets by myself, but that doesn't really count does it?
Anyway, I was talking to my friend about how living costs ate into the money I could use for traveling. But comparing costs, he seemed to be saving so much more by choosing not to eat at the Mensa (the university cafeteria). Moreover he pointed out how it had also helped his cooking skills.
So I decided I needed to try that out. I'm an expert on instant noodles but sadly this skill has become so common it's a non-skill. In the US I have helped cook chicken numerous times so I'm pretty confident about that, but that wasn't something I wanted to tackle on my first time by myself. We also had a friend who cooked delicious pasta and we always left the task to him. But I remember most of how he did it and I've seen pasta being cooked other times too and it doesn't seem all that difficult. So I chose pasta.
I had already bought the spices yesterday to cook the vegetables. They were supposed to be sauté-and-add-spices sort of vegetables. But apparently, I didn't have the skill necessary. The mushrooms tasted so bad, and incredibly saulty! I don't rule out the possibility of the mushrooms being ruined beforehand. I had cereal for dinner because the Mensa was already closed by then.
In any case, back to today. I decided to try my cooking at lunch. I got the spiral pasta, fusilli and some fresh mushrooms. Also got a can of tomato purée because I didn't find any pasta specific sauces. Or perhaps I didn't understand the german translation of it! In any case, I had enough ingredients for a simple pasta. The first one need not be too fancy.
So at about half past 2 I set out cooking and was impressively done in less than half an hour! I'm prone to adding too much salt but was careful this time and what do you know, the pasta was delicious! I loved it! This is exam review time for me so I have ample time for some cooking. I should get more adventurous with the pasta and cook two meals at a time. Though I'm sure when exams are near, I'll probably just switch back to Mensa and good old german food!
I'm off then. Will be a boring friday night for me. No plans, exams suck out all the fun. Especially exams that are extended for over a month for no reason but to torture you!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
handy
i lost my simcard. i bought an English simcard for my week in England, so i put my german one in my pocket. once i got back here and checked, it had disappeared. must have fallen out during the many times i pulled stuff out of my pocket. i knew i should have put the tiny simcard somewhere safer.
it's not the cost of the simcard that annoys me, but rather the inconvenience losing one entails. all the forms and documents that required my phone number had that number on it, like for my insurance, city registration, bank etc. now i'll have to get a new simcard and have my new details sent to them. i think i'll only bother with the insurance company and the bank, really. plus, there's telling your contacts about your new number. but thankfully i don't have as many contacts here in Germany... although i'm not sure if that's something to be thankful about!
so yesterday i went to the phone store to get myself a prepaid card. i found one with very cheap call charges but expensive initial cost. i still have quite a few months to go so i got that. but what i really began this topic for was to discuss what happened in the store. now that i think about it, it isn't all that interesting, but i've written too much to go back now.
anyway, this old man walks into the store. he brings out this really fancy cellphone from his pocket and says that it stopped working. he asks the store guy if he can fix it. the guy behind the desk takes it and opens it. it's dead. he tries to power it on. nothing. then he asks the old man if he had charged it. and the old man looks confused.. the phone hadn't been charged! so the store guy had to explain to the old man that the phone needs to be charged so it can work!
and i just found out that i'm a bad story teller! haha.. it was a pretty amusing incident. moreover it was in german and so made it doubly amusing for me for some reason! :D oh and the germans call the cellphone, "handy"! kinda weird!
also, i sincerely hope there has been some glitch in the blogger thingy, otherwise i seem to have scared off all my followers!!
it's not the cost of the simcard that annoys me, but rather the inconvenience losing one entails. all the forms and documents that required my phone number had that number on it, like for my insurance, city registration, bank etc. now i'll have to get a new simcard and have my new details sent to them. i think i'll only bother with the insurance company and the bank, really. plus, there's telling your contacts about your new number. but thankfully i don't have as many contacts here in Germany... although i'm not sure if that's something to be thankful about!
so yesterday i went to the phone store to get myself a prepaid card. i found one with very cheap call charges but expensive initial cost. i still have quite a few months to go so i got that. but what i really began this topic for was to discuss what happened in the store. now that i think about it, it isn't all that interesting, but i've written too much to go back now.
anyway, this old man walks into the store. he brings out this really fancy cellphone from his pocket and says that it stopped working. he asks the store guy if he can fix it. the guy behind the desk takes it and opens it. it's dead. he tries to power it on. nothing. then he asks the old man if he had charged it. and the old man looks confused.. the phone hadn't been charged! so the store guy had to explain to the old man that the phone needs to be charged so it can work!
and i just found out that i'm a bad story teller! haha.. it was a pretty amusing incident. moreover it was in german and so made it doubly amusing for me for some reason! :D oh and the germans call the cellphone, "handy"! kinda weird!
also, i sincerely hope there has been some glitch in the blogger thingy, otherwise i seem to have scared off all my followers!!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
carnival!
i came back last night to a food-starved room and had to order delivery for dinner. so this afternoon i thought i would go get some groceries. but as i rode my bike, i saw people dressed in ridiculous outfit and/or with face paint. something was going on somewhere for sure. then i saw a whole side-street lined parade-like with people and floats and loud music. everyone seemed to be partying. i watched for about a minute with some other people from the overpass, then continued on my way.
everywhere i looked the stores were closed. the chances of the grocery shop was diminishing the closer i got. and sure enough, the shop was closed. but i could hear and see all the people gathering on the main street twenty-five meters away. i locked my bike and decided to take a look. they were indeed waiting for a parade! there was a
carnival atmosphere and hundreds of people lined both sides of the double tram track. the main street has very wide pavements, and two tram tracks run down its length along the middle, no road for vehicles. it was perfect for the parade in that it provided enough space for the spectators and since the pavements are slightly elevated compared to the tracks, it provided just enough width for the parade without the need for barriers. moreover it's a very long and straight street. moments later it started.
it was amazing to watch almost the entire town come down to watch the parade. people were drinking beer, the children with costumes and jumping around, others dancing. the parade began with two police cars leading the parade, and even they were covered in Silly Strings and confetti and what not. i had come unprepared so i couldn't take photos. then after a few minutes of stupidity, it occurred to me that i had my phone camera. so got that out and took a lot of photos, some of which i have included in this post. there were quite a few floats that belonged to carnival clubs. i didn't even know such clubs existed!
there were trucks, tractors, convertibles, trains, pull-carts, push-carts, you name it! a lot of people wore wooden masks and scary looking clothing. there perhaps was a theme to it i'm unaware of. but there were also people just partying, and few groups of drummers and musicians, a whole group dancing salsa, a group of what looked like red-indians, people dressed as hexes and... you get the idea! there was even one wit middle eastern people in turbans dancing in a stage made to look like a desert complete with palm trees. but the great 
thing was the way the parade greeted the spectators and vice versa. they'd sweep one of their arms in a wide circular motion, and say "hellooooooo" in an exaggerated voice. and while the parade did this motion, they'd throw candies at us. the kids would also do the same to get their attention and have candies thrown at them! and the street was literally littered with candies of all sorts.
and at the end of the parade, the cleaning trucks followed closely! it was amazing how by the time i had walked to an ATM, retrieved some money and gotten out, the tram tracks had been cleared of all the confetti, pamphlets, sweets, wrappers, bottles, and the trams were beginning to run, although a bit slow. the cleaning of the pavements was going on vigorously... the germans sure don't like to take their time on these things!
anyway, it was much more fun day than i thought it would be. it's impossible not to be dragged into the carnival mood when everyone around you is in one. but that still leaves me with no groceries. there were food stalls along the way, but as much as i love bratwurst, i wanted a meal. so i got a Turkish take-out for dinner, even though i had to wait patiently for a group of kids to get their orders first. i almost left halfway through the waiting after i found out the three kids were ordering 15 Yufkas, but after some point it was like i would have wasted the time i spent waiting if i left early. so i stuck it out and got my warm meal!
that's it for today. i'll be posting about my trip later this week so don't leave! i noticed a 40% decline in the number of my followers! :( but oh well... thanks to the ones believing that i would post again! ciao!
everywhere i looked the stores were closed. the chances of the grocery shop was diminishing the closer i got. and sure enough, the shop was closed. but i could hear and see all the people gathering on the main street twenty-five meters away. i locked my bike and decided to take a look. they were indeed waiting for a parade! there was a
carnival atmosphere and hundreds of people lined both sides of the double tram track. the main street has very wide pavements, and two tram tracks run down its length along the middle, no road for vehicles. it was perfect for the parade in that it provided enough space for the spectators and since the pavements are slightly elevated compared to the tracks, it provided just enough width for the parade without the need for barriers. moreover it's a very long and straight street. moments later it started. 
it was amazing to watch almost the entire town come down to watch the parade. people were drinking beer, the children with costumes and jumping around, others dancing. the parade began with two police cars leading the parade, and even they were covered in Silly Strings and confetti and what not. i had come unprepared so i couldn't take photos. then after a few minutes of stupidity, it occurred to me that i had my phone camera. so got that out and took a lot of photos, some of which i have included in this post. there were quite a few floats that belonged to carnival clubs. i didn't even know such clubs existed!
there were trucks, tractors, convertibles, trains, pull-carts, push-carts, you name it! a lot of people wore wooden masks and scary looking clothing. there perhaps was a theme to it i'm unaware of. but there were also people just partying, and few groups of drummers and musicians, a whole group dancing salsa, a group of what looked like red-indians, people dressed as hexes and... you get the idea! there was even one wit middle eastern people in turbans dancing in a stage made to look like a desert complete with palm trees. but the great 
thing was the way the parade greeted the spectators and vice versa. they'd sweep one of their arms in a wide circular motion, and say "hellooooooo" in an exaggerated voice. and while the parade did this motion, they'd throw candies at us. the kids would also do the same to get their attention and have candies thrown at them! and the street was literally littered with candies of all sorts. and at the end of the parade, the cleaning trucks followed closely! it was amazing how by the time i had walked to an ATM, retrieved some money and gotten out, the tram tracks had been cleared of all the confetti, pamphlets, sweets, wrappers, bottles, and the trams were beginning to run, although a bit slow. the cleaning of the pavements was going on vigorously... the germans sure don't like to take their time on these things!
anyway, it was much more fun day than i thought it would be. it's impossible not to be dragged into the carnival mood when everyone around you is in one. but that still leaves me with no groceries. there were food stalls along the way, but as much as i love bratwurst, i wanted a meal. so i got a Turkish take-out for dinner, even though i had to wait patiently for a group of kids to get their orders first. i almost left halfway through the waiting after i found out the three kids were ordering 15 Yufkas, but after some point it was like i would have wasted the time i spent waiting if i left early. so i stuck it out and got my warm meal!
that's it for today. i'll be posting about my trip later this week so don't leave! i noticed a 40% decline in the number of my followers! :( but oh well... thanks to the ones believing that i would post again! ciao!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
haiku
It's been a couple of days since I last posted and I feel compelled to write another one despite not having much to say. I am flying to London tonight for the week so my next post will probably be a week later, another reason for this post.
umm... haikus anyone?
here's one i did for my interdisciplinary science seminar where we had to quickly come up with one that used a scientific term (i can't remember the first line verbatim though):
a walking stick slips
center' gravity disturbed
crippled lady down
it's fun, lemme try some more...
a post do i post
or an entry i submit
what is the difference
knock knock who is there?
a haiku. a haiku who?
haiku to you too!
curiosity
a feline execution
inevitable
ok, the third one made no sense whatsover. but the fourth one, lemme see if someone can figure that out! and give the Haiku (5-7-5 syllabic) a try, it's more fun than it appears, or perhaps as fun as it appears... depending on how it appears to you!
have a great week!
umm... haikus anyone?
here's one i did for my interdisciplinary science seminar where we had to quickly come up with one that used a scientific term (i can't remember the first line verbatim though):
a walking stick slips
center' gravity disturbed
crippled lady down
it's fun, lemme try some more...
a post do i post
or an entry i submit
what is the difference
knock knock who is there?
a haiku. a haiku who?
haiku to you too!
curiosity
a feline execution
inevitable
ok, the third one made no sense whatsover. but the fourth one, lemme see if someone can figure that out! and give the Haiku (5-7-5 syllabic) a try, it's more fun than it appears, or perhaps as fun as it appears... depending on how it appears to you!
have a great week!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
My Language Class and my Identity
My language class is very international in its student composition. During classes we also discuss German culture, and that inevitably turns into discussions on how it is different in our respective countries.
I love learning about the culture in other countries, but when it is my turn, sometimes I find myself questioning my knowledge! There was this one time when we were discussing children's tales. The teacher asked me to talk about a famous character from children's tales in my country that every Nepali child would know about. I thought, and thought some more but only characters from English fairy tales would pop into mind. It was sort of embarrassing not being able to come up with anything, so I made something up that I don't even remember now! My parents never read Nepali tales to me, and when I read, it was always English fairy tales. I wonder if it had anything to do with the glossy paper they were printed on and all the colorful pictures they carried.
But, we did read a lot of Nepali stories in our textbooks. The one where a thirsty crow drops pebbles into a pot with very little water in order to elevate the water level to an accessible height, for instance. (I just did the whole story in a sentence! haha) But these characters never had names! Or maybe there were characters with names but I was just too dumb to remember.
Then there are times when where I come from makes me the odd one out. We were talking about what color certain things are in different countries. It was going fine until I was asked what color the telephone booths are in Nepal. I told the teacher that telephone booths aren't very common in Nepal. Then she said, "Ok then, what color are the public telephones at the airport for instance?" I had no clue, but said white. Ultimately it was about learning the language through discussions rather than about facts, I reasoned. I have never looked for public telephones at the airport and so have no idea if they exist, and if they exist, what color they are!
Another time there was this exercise where the instructions told us to translate the fifty or so German words into our own languages. I was the only one who did not follow the instructions to the word. The teacher seemed rather surprised that I was using English instead of Nepali. The Japanese used Japanese, the Spaniards Spanish, the Italians Italian and so on. I even tried trying to translate some of the words into Nepali but drew a blank, especially when it comes to translating words that have to do with modern technology. "Staubsauger" means a vacuum cleaner, what is it in Nepali?
The language classes definitely put me on the spot multiple times, and made me question where I stand with how much I know about my country and language. More so, the language. In the US, it was always taken for granted that I spoke English. In my language classes here, however, German is the medium used. All my classmates have dictionaries translating from their languages to German. An Australian and I are the only ones with English-German dictionaries, and are the only ones who take notes in English!
Nepali texts hardly ever find a way into my daily reading, and I think this has begun to catch up to me in the form of a stagnant knowledge of the Nepali language. In fact, it might be eroding away, and perhaps taking with it a bit of my identity itself.
[edit: rereading it, the post does not appear very well thought out, as was indeed the case. but the topic is too boring for me to make me want to redo it! :)]
I love learning about the culture in other countries, but when it is my turn, sometimes I find myself questioning my knowledge! There was this one time when we were discussing children's tales. The teacher asked me to talk about a famous character from children's tales in my country that every Nepali child would know about. I thought, and thought some more but only characters from English fairy tales would pop into mind. It was sort of embarrassing not being able to come up with anything, so I made something up that I don't even remember now! My parents never read Nepali tales to me, and when I read, it was always English fairy tales. I wonder if it had anything to do with the glossy paper they were printed on and all the colorful pictures they carried.
But, we did read a lot of Nepali stories in our textbooks. The one where a thirsty crow drops pebbles into a pot with very little water in order to elevate the water level to an accessible height, for instance. (I just did the whole story in a sentence! haha) But these characters never had names! Or maybe there were characters with names but I was just too dumb to remember.
Then there are times when where I come from makes me the odd one out. We were talking about what color certain things are in different countries. It was going fine until I was asked what color the telephone booths are in Nepal. I told the teacher that telephone booths aren't very common in Nepal. Then she said, "Ok then, what color are the public telephones at the airport for instance?" I had no clue, but said white. Ultimately it was about learning the language through discussions rather than about facts, I reasoned. I have never looked for public telephones at the airport and so have no idea if they exist, and if they exist, what color they are!
Another time there was this exercise where the instructions told us to translate the fifty or so German words into our own languages. I was the only one who did not follow the instructions to the word. The teacher seemed rather surprised that I was using English instead of Nepali. The Japanese used Japanese, the Spaniards Spanish, the Italians Italian and so on. I even tried trying to translate some of the words into Nepali but drew a blank, especially when it comes to translating words that have to do with modern technology. "Staubsauger" means a vacuum cleaner, what is it in Nepali?
The language classes definitely put me on the spot multiple times, and made me question where I stand with how much I know about my country and language. More so, the language. In the US, it was always taken for granted that I spoke English. In my language classes here, however, German is the medium used. All my classmates have dictionaries translating from their languages to German. An Australian and I are the only ones with English-German dictionaries, and are the only ones who take notes in English!
Nepali texts hardly ever find a way into my daily reading, and I think this has begun to catch up to me in the form of a stagnant knowledge of the Nepali language. In fact, it might be eroding away, and perhaps taking with it a bit of my identity itself.
[edit: rereading it, the post does not appear very well thought out, as was indeed the case. but the topic is too boring for me to make me want to redo it! :)]
Friday, February 13, 2009
Official Admonishment!
take a look at this letter I found in my inbox today!
========
Dear Mr. Braindead,
It has come to our attention that you have failed to comply with the third Amendment of the 2004 Blogging Etiquette Act and as a result, we have flagged your blog pending final assessment in three weeks. With this letter we wish to outline why our committee flagged your blog so you can take the necessary steps in time to avoid permanent termination during final assessment.
First and foremost, your posts display a severe lack of any grasp of the usage of capitalization. English might be a complicated language in many ways, but we fail to comprehend how capitalization of the first letter of the first word of every sentence could be so problematic.
The committee also noticed that the posts on your blog very often lack any discernible theme that ties each one together. A random excerpt of your thoughts, we are sorry to say, does not and will not pass for a post. Blogging is a much-respected tradition, and as the upholders of this holy institution, we resent such impudent transgressions as an attempt against the very soul of Bloghood.
Our field researchers have reported feeling very lost at the end of your posts. They reported trepidation at the end of every paragraph, never quite knowing where the post would lead them to next. One of our researchers never recovered after finishing one of your posts, and he is currently undergoing serious mental therapy to bring his mind back on track. Another brave soldier lost in the fight for blog etiquette.
Another one of our researchers undertook the arduous task of mastering the German language to investigate if the better-formatted looking German posts held any substance. The time he spent away from his family that resulted in a divorce was all in vain, for the German posts held even less merit. They were riddled with so many errors, he still has nightmares about them.
It was after much deliberation that the committee decided to allow you to continue blogging for the time being. Possibility of technical problems hindering your ability to blog with correct capitalization compelled us to give you the benefit of the doubt. We encourage you to organize your thoughts before you write; your misguided sense of what you believe the world wants to hear has us astounded.
Despite the committee expressing limited or no hope at all for any improvement, we present you with a three-week time period within which to clean your act. We sincerely hope you fail.
With insincere regards,
Chairman,
Blog Etiquette Enforcement Committee
===========
i don't know about you but i have a sneaking suspicion the letter might be fabricated!
========
Dear Mr. Braindead,
It has come to our attention that you have failed to comply with the third Amendment of the 2004 Blogging Etiquette Act and as a result, we have flagged your blog pending final assessment in three weeks. With this letter we wish to outline why our committee flagged your blog so you can take the necessary steps in time to avoid permanent termination during final assessment.
First and foremost, your posts display a severe lack of any grasp of the usage of capitalization. English might be a complicated language in many ways, but we fail to comprehend how capitalization of the first letter of the first word of every sentence could be so problematic.
The committee also noticed that the posts on your blog very often lack any discernible theme that ties each one together. A random excerpt of your thoughts, we are sorry to say, does not and will not pass for a post. Blogging is a much-respected tradition, and as the upholders of this holy institution, we resent such impudent transgressions as an attempt against the very soul of Bloghood.
Our field researchers have reported feeling very lost at the end of your posts. They reported trepidation at the end of every paragraph, never quite knowing where the post would lead them to next. One of our researchers never recovered after finishing one of your posts, and he is currently undergoing serious mental therapy to bring his mind back on track. Another brave soldier lost in the fight for blog etiquette.
Another one of our researchers undertook the arduous task of mastering the German language to investigate if the better-formatted looking German posts held any substance. The time he spent away from his family that resulted in a divorce was all in vain, for the German posts held even less merit. They were riddled with so many errors, he still has nightmares about them.
It was after much deliberation that the committee decided to allow you to continue blogging for the time being. Possibility of technical problems hindering your ability to blog with correct capitalization compelled us to give you the benefit of the doubt. We encourage you to organize your thoughts before you write; your misguided sense of what you believe the world wants to hear has us astounded.
Despite the committee expressing limited or no hope at all for any improvement, we present you with a three-week time period within which to clean your act. We sincerely hope you fail.
With insincere regards,
Chairman,
Blog Etiquette Enforcement Committee
===========
i don't know about you but i have a sneaking suspicion the letter might be fabricated!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
german final on a snowy day
ich bin sehr Froh, weil ich meine Prüfung sehr gut gemacht habe. es war unbedingt nicht hundert Prozent fehlerfrei, aber besser als was ich hatte gedacht ich schreiben konnte. weil meine Deutsche Prüfung fertig ist, kann ich wieder auf Englisch schreiben!
to sum up what I wrote above, I'm done with the German final and it turned out better than I expected. yay! i was a bit worried because i procrastinated by watching a whole lot of Scrubs online, but all's well that end's well. or in german, "Ende gut, alles gut"!
and it was lovely outside today. it was snowing very lightly, the flakes falling calmly like feathers. i loved it because it gave the main square a great evening atmosphere. the square is devoid of vehicles and is a trams and people only zone. The combination of the evening snow, the lights, the ill-lit wide open cobblestone square, the bustling of people to catch their trams and the imposing old buildings surrounding the square gave it a very european feel.
anyway, i don't feel like writing anymore. oh but i still have to give this post a title! i struggle with that almost every post because I hardly ever have a theme I stick to. i guess i'll just go with another random one that the post does no justice to.
ciao!
to sum up what I wrote above, I'm done with the German final and it turned out better than I expected. yay! i was a bit worried because i procrastinated by watching a whole lot of Scrubs online, but all's well that end's well. or in german, "Ende gut, alles gut"!
and it was lovely outside today. it was snowing very lightly, the flakes falling calmly like feathers. i loved it because it gave the main square a great evening atmosphere. the square is devoid of vehicles and is a trams and people only zone. The combination of the evening snow, the lights, the ill-lit wide open cobblestone square, the bustling of people to catch their trams and the imposing old buildings surrounding the square gave it a very european feel.
anyway, i don't feel like writing anymore. oh but i still have to give this post a title! i struggle with that almost every post because I hardly ever have a theme I stick to. i guess i'll just go with another random one that the post does no justice to.
ciao!
Monday, February 09, 2009
i got nothing new
since i can't think of what to write about, i think i'll make a few additions to my list in the other post "Random Observations about Germany".
16. at the supermarket you bag your own items. and if you didn't bring your own bag along, you'll have to purchase one at the cashier. they aren't free. in shops and stores, however, you are spared the trouble.
17. everything is closed on Sundays, except for bakeries in the morning and a few restaurants. so restock by Saturday if you don't like the idea of a sunday with nothing to do and no food. sunday shopping is out of the question. window shopping however seems to be a popular sunday activity with a lot of people taking to strolling on the streets.
18. at the end of every lecture, students knock on their desks. if you are confused as to why, think of it as the equivalent of clapping.
19. on train rides in southern germany, you notice many picturesque little villages that look like they came straight out of a fairy tale. and each village has a church that stands out and gives it that magical touch. even the cities have beautiful churches scattered everywhere.
20. bicycles are a popular means of transport. some of my professors bike to work, as do a lot of students. old people are also a good percentage of the bikers. all this has a lot to do with the cities not only being bicycle-friendly, but also concentrated. for travel within the city, especially in the summer months, i would take my bike over the buses and trams. the commute is not very long, its safe (bike paths guide you along major city roads), convenient and you get some exercise!
disclaimer: these are my personal observations from my time in southern germany and in no way indicative of what someone else's experience might be like.
ciao!
16. at the supermarket you bag your own items. and if you didn't bring your own bag along, you'll have to purchase one at the cashier. they aren't free. in shops and stores, however, you are spared the trouble.
17. everything is closed on Sundays, except for bakeries in the morning and a few restaurants. so restock by Saturday if you don't like the idea of a sunday with nothing to do and no food. sunday shopping is out of the question. window shopping however seems to be a popular sunday activity with a lot of people taking to strolling on the streets.
18. at the end of every lecture, students knock on their desks. if you are confused as to why, think of it as the equivalent of clapping.
19. on train rides in southern germany, you notice many picturesque little villages that look like they came straight out of a fairy tale. and each village has a church that stands out and gives it that magical touch. even the cities have beautiful churches scattered everywhere.
20. bicycles are a popular means of transport. some of my professors bike to work, as do a lot of students. old people are also a good percentage of the bikers. all this has a lot to do with the cities not only being bicycle-friendly, but also concentrated. for travel within the city, especially in the summer months, i would take my bike over the buses and trams. the commute is not very long, its safe (bike paths guide you along major city roads), convenient and you get some exercise!
disclaimer: these are my personal observations from my time in southern germany and in no way indicative of what someone else's experience might be like.
ciao!
Sunday, February 08, 2009
etwas über nichts
sonntag abend! die Wochenende ist Fertig und jetzt gibt es nur ein mehr Woche in dieses Semester. nach die letze Woche das Semester, fliege ich nach London! ich freue mich auf die Reise.
heute ich schreibe über, ich weiß nicht, vielleicht was ich habe auf meinem Tisch. zuerst, es ist offensichtlich das es gibt ein Computer. ich benutze ein Apple Macbook. es ist fast zwei und half Jahren alt, aber ich liebe es. in Nepal war es nicht so beliebte, nie hatte ich ein Mac benutzt vor ich nach den USA geflogen bin. ich habe gedacht das es war nicht so gut wie ein PC und hatte nicht so viele Software wie für Windows. aber wann ich probierte ein Mac in meine Universitätsbibliothek aus, ich habe sich sofort verliebt. deshalb habe ich ein Macbook gekauft. das war eine gute Entscheidung und habe ich kein Bedauern.
jetzt habe ich auch auf meinem Tisch einige Schreibhefts, Bücher und Ordners. eines der Bücher ist ein Wörterbuch. es ist ein Langenscheidt-Collins Großes Schulwörterbuch (Deutsch-Englisch). Es gibt kein Englisch-Deutsch Übersetzungen aber es ist ok, weil es gibt gute Übersetzungen und Erklärungen für Deutsche Wörter. ich benutze dict.leo.org für Englisch-Deutsch Übersetzungen. Google Translator ist gut aber nicht wenn du fehlerfrei Übersetzung brauchst. es funktioniert nur wenn eine allgemeine Bedeutung für ein Text ist genug.
es gibt ein 0,7 liter Flasche Orangenlimonade auch auf meinem Tisch. ich habe das gebracht vom Raum auf meinen Stock, wo gibt es viele Getränke (Bier, Limonade, Säfte usw.). man kann von dort jederzeit einige Getränke wählen, es erwähnen auf einem Papier und später bezahlen. es ist eine zweckdienliche Anordnung.
ich habe auch ein Lautsprecher-System mit iPod-dock. es ist auch ein Radiowecker. alle Funkstellen hier sind auf Deutsch, trotzdem die Liede vom den Funkstellen sind meistens auf Englisch! mein iPod-dock erinnere mich an meinem iPod Touch. ich weiß nicht wie habe ich das verloren. und jetzt habe ich nur meines altes iPod nano, welchem habe ich mit meinem Macbook kostenlose bekommen.
mein Tisch hat doch einige mehr Sachen aber habe ich kein Lust über alles zu sprechen. morgen werde ich hoffentlich mehr schreiben über etwas anderes.
bis dann, meine liebe leute! bitte vergib jede Fehler in diesen Eintrag!
heute ich schreibe über, ich weiß nicht, vielleicht was ich habe auf meinem Tisch. zuerst, es ist offensichtlich das es gibt ein Computer. ich benutze ein Apple Macbook. es ist fast zwei und half Jahren alt, aber ich liebe es. in Nepal war es nicht so beliebte, nie hatte ich ein Mac benutzt vor ich nach den USA geflogen bin. ich habe gedacht das es war nicht so gut wie ein PC und hatte nicht so viele Software wie für Windows. aber wann ich probierte ein Mac in meine Universitätsbibliothek aus, ich habe sich sofort verliebt. deshalb habe ich ein Macbook gekauft. das war eine gute Entscheidung und habe ich kein Bedauern.
jetzt habe ich auch auf meinem Tisch einige Schreibhefts, Bücher und Ordners. eines der Bücher ist ein Wörterbuch. es ist ein Langenscheidt-Collins Großes Schulwörterbuch (Deutsch-Englisch). Es gibt kein Englisch-Deutsch Übersetzungen aber es ist ok, weil es gibt gute Übersetzungen und Erklärungen für Deutsche Wörter. ich benutze dict.leo.org für Englisch-Deutsch Übersetzungen. Google Translator ist gut aber nicht wenn du fehlerfrei Übersetzung brauchst. es funktioniert nur wenn eine allgemeine Bedeutung für ein Text ist genug.
es gibt ein 0,7 liter Flasche Orangenlimonade auch auf meinem Tisch. ich habe das gebracht vom Raum auf meinen Stock, wo gibt es viele Getränke (Bier, Limonade, Säfte usw.). man kann von dort jederzeit einige Getränke wählen, es erwähnen auf einem Papier und später bezahlen. es ist eine zweckdienliche Anordnung.
ich habe auch ein Lautsprecher-System mit iPod-dock. es ist auch ein Radiowecker. alle Funkstellen hier sind auf Deutsch, trotzdem die Liede vom den Funkstellen sind meistens auf Englisch! mein iPod-dock erinnere mich an meinem iPod Touch. ich weiß nicht wie habe ich das verloren. und jetzt habe ich nur meines altes iPod nano, welchem habe ich mit meinem Macbook kostenlose bekommen.
mein Tisch hat doch einige mehr Sachen aber habe ich kein Lust über alles zu sprechen. morgen werde ich hoffentlich mehr schreiben über etwas anderes.
bis dann, meine liebe leute! bitte vergib jede Fehler in diesen Eintrag!
Friday, February 06, 2009
Random observations about Germany
I didn't feel like writing in German today so I thought I'd write about Germany instead.Here are 15 random observations about Germany, although some of them might apply elsewhere in Europe.
1. When I'm riding my bike, sometimes the pigeons on pavements just don't fly away. I have to slow down and go around them for fear of running them over!
2. For numbers, the comma and the period are switched. So 25.000 is really 25,000 and vice versa.
3. I need to put in a 1-euro or 2-euro coin, to get a cart at most supermarkets. You get it back when you return the cart to its location but it's annoying. I sometimes find myself not having the change and cursing the system! Is hiring a cart-gatherer so expensive?
4. Germany isn't big on credit cards. Even some big shops and stores like Aldi's won't take a credit card. It's always a good thing to know beforehand. It is either EC-card (European debit card) or cash.
5. Points 3 and 4 lead to 5, you always find yourself carrying a lot of change here. One, because you have to carry some cash in case cards are not accepted. Two, because you always get a lot of coins for change in stores since they have coins with denominations upto 2-euros and no paper-bills upto 5.
6. The honor system on public transportation is amazing. You can get right on and off buses, trams and subways without having to show your ticket, although you are required to have one. Sometimes there are random checks to catch the occasional "schwarzfahrer" or free-rider, and that can be very humiliating in front of law-abiding germans looking at you with disgust. (No, it hasn't happened to me yet because I always travel with a ticket.) It's only on long distance trains that you can be certain that a train inspector will be inspecting your ticket.
7. Recycling. People are serious about their recycling. I have numerous bins outside my building for paper, plastic, ceramics, biodegradable waste, metal and glass. The glass one is divided into brown glass, green glass and white glass.
8. A lot of people buy their drinks in glass bottles, which can then be returned later for some cash. And no, it's not like the 5 cents for recycling in the US. When you buy these, it says "Pfand" on the label. That means you are paying extra (the Pfand) for it and you get it back when you return the bottle. No money to be made.
9. The Pfand also applies to a lot of other places. For example, at a fest, if you buy a "glühwein" (hot alcoholic beverage), they give it to you in a ceramic cup and you pay a few euros extra as Pfand. It can even apply to some bars and other places.
10. Carbonated water. This is what you are likely to get if you order water in a restaurant. And no, they don't just assume you need water and bring it to you. If you say you don't want any drinks, they will literally bring you nothing to drink the entire meal. The carbonated water or fizzy water, whatever you want to call it tastes horrible. I learned early on that you have to be very careful when buying water. Some small stores may not even have any still-water.
11. Tipping is not very common here, especially among the students. And most tipping is just rounding off the bill!
12. Old people seem to be out and about a lot! Many are seen cruising along on their bikes with groceries.
13. Small/mid-size cars dominate the streets, SUV's are not as rampant as in the US.
14. I don't know if this is common, but one of my professors wipes the chalkboard with a sponge and water. He likes it really clean and has developed an efficient technique of wiping it clean. My previous language teacher did it too. A sponge is used to wipe the chalkboard anyway and classes generally have a sink in the corner, so I wonder if it's more common that I think.
15. Bums are few and far between. I have seen a few beggars on the streets (and even these are temporary beggars who just vanish the next day), but in general I find that everyone seems to have a more or less similar standard of living.
That's it folks. Have a great weekend!!
1. When I'm riding my bike, sometimes the pigeons on pavements just don't fly away. I have to slow down and go around them for fear of running them over!
2. For numbers, the comma and the period are switched. So 25.000 is really 25,000 and vice versa.
3. I need to put in a 1-euro or 2-euro coin, to get a cart at most supermarkets. You get it back when you return the cart to its location but it's annoying. I sometimes find myself not having the change and cursing the system! Is hiring a cart-gatherer so expensive?
4. Germany isn't big on credit cards. Even some big shops and stores like Aldi's won't take a credit card. It's always a good thing to know beforehand. It is either EC-card (European debit card) or cash.
5. Points 3 and 4 lead to 5, you always find yourself carrying a lot of change here. One, because you have to carry some cash in case cards are not accepted. Two, because you always get a lot of coins for change in stores since they have coins with denominations upto 2-euros and no paper-bills upto 5.
6. The honor system on public transportation is amazing. You can get right on and off buses, trams and subways without having to show your ticket, although you are required to have one. Sometimes there are random checks to catch the occasional "schwarzfahrer" or free-rider, and that can be very humiliating in front of law-abiding germans looking at you with disgust. (No, it hasn't happened to me yet because I always travel with a ticket.) It's only on long distance trains that you can be certain that a train inspector will be inspecting your ticket.
7. Recycling. People are serious about their recycling. I have numerous bins outside my building for paper, plastic, ceramics, biodegradable waste, metal and glass. The glass one is divided into brown glass, green glass and white glass.
8. A lot of people buy their drinks in glass bottles, which can then be returned later for some cash. And no, it's not like the 5 cents for recycling in the US. When you buy these, it says "Pfand" on the label. That means you are paying extra (the Pfand) for it and you get it back when you return the bottle. No money to be made.
9. The Pfand also applies to a lot of other places. For example, at a fest, if you buy a "glühwein" (hot alcoholic beverage), they give it to you in a ceramic cup and you pay a few euros extra as Pfand. It can even apply to some bars and other places.
10. Carbonated water. This is what you are likely to get if you order water in a restaurant. And no, they don't just assume you need water and bring it to you. If you say you don't want any drinks, they will literally bring you nothing to drink the entire meal. The carbonated water or fizzy water, whatever you want to call it tastes horrible. I learned early on that you have to be very careful when buying water. Some small stores may not even have any still-water.
11. Tipping is not very common here, especially among the students. And most tipping is just rounding off the bill!
12. Old people seem to be out and about a lot! Many are seen cruising along on their bikes with groceries.
13. Small/mid-size cars dominate the streets, SUV's are not as rampant as in the US.
14. I don't know if this is common, but one of my professors wipes the chalkboard with a sponge and water. He likes it really clean and has developed an efficient technique of wiping it clean. My previous language teacher did it too. A sponge is used to wipe the chalkboard anyway and classes generally have a sink in the corner, so I wonder if it's more common that I think.
15. Bums are few and far between. I have seen a few beggars on the streets (and even these are temporary beggars who just vanish the next day), but in general I find that everyone seems to have a more or less similar standard of living.
That's it folks. Have a great weekend!!
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
anmeldung komplikationen
(english readers, bear with me for a week while i practice my german for my final exam!)
heute meine hauptaufgabe war Prüfungsanmeldungen zu bekommen, und dann ein Konto mit Deutsche Bank zu öffnen. aber habe ich nur ein Aufgabe fertig sein.
Prüfungsanmeldung war mehr kompliziert als ich gedacht habe. ich bin ins Studienbüro gegangen und mit einer Frau gesprochen. sie hat mir gesagt dass zuerst muss ich eine anmeldung aus der Maschinenbau Fakultät bekommen. also, nach meine Vorlesung bin ich zum "altbau" gebäude von Maschinenbau Fakultät gegangen. mein Kollege hat mir geholfen die Sekretariat zu finden, weil gestern hat er die anmeldung schon gemacht. die Sekretärin hat mir gesagt dass ich muss zuerst online anmelden in der seite von Maschinenbau Fakultät, dann muss ich ein email schicken mit welche Prüfungen möchte ich machen. dann ich muss die online-anmeldung drucken und wieder züruck gehen. es war schon 16 uhr und so habe ich entscheidet dass ich werde diese Aufgabe morgen machen.
danach bin ich mit meinem Fahrrad zur Deutsche Bank gefahren. meine ausweis und alles habe ich mitgenommen. ich hatte Glück... ich habe ein Termin für heute bekommen und musste nur einige minuten warten. der Prozess war schnell und habe ich meine Konto geöffnet. meine EC karte und kreditkarte werde ich bekommen mit der Post in ein Woche. ich habe auch ein Konto mit Sparkasse, aber ich werde das schliessen so bald wie möglich.
das ist alles für heute. ich kenne das es gibt mehrere Fehler in diesem Eintrag, aber es geht. nur mit Übungen kann ich besser werden. tschüß!
heute meine hauptaufgabe war Prüfungsanmeldungen zu bekommen, und dann ein Konto mit Deutsche Bank zu öffnen. aber habe ich nur ein Aufgabe fertig sein.
Prüfungsanmeldung war mehr kompliziert als ich gedacht habe. ich bin ins Studienbüro gegangen und mit einer Frau gesprochen. sie hat mir gesagt dass zuerst muss ich eine anmeldung aus der Maschinenbau Fakultät bekommen. also, nach meine Vorlesung bin ich zum "altbau" gebäude von Maschinenbau Fakultät gegangen. mein Kollege hat mir geholfen die Sekretariat zu finden, weil gestern hat er die anmeldung schon gemacht. die Sekretärin hat mir gesagt dass ich muss zuerst online anmelden in der seite von Maschinenbau Fakultät, dann muss ich ein email schicken mit welche Prüfungen möchte ich machen. dann ich muss die online-anmeldung drucken und wieder züruck gehen. es war schon 16 uhr und so habe ich entscheidet dass ich werde diese Aufgabe morgen machen.
danach bin ich mit meinem Fahrrad zur Deutsche Bank gefahren. meine ausweis und alles habe ich mitgenommen. ich hatte Glück... ich habe ein Termin für heute bekommen und musste nur einige minuten warten. der Prozess war schnell und habe ich meine Konto geöffnet. meine EC karte und kreditkarte werde ich bekommen mit der Post in ein Woche. ich habe auch ein Konto mit Sparkasse, aber ich werde das schliessen so bald wie möglich.
das ist alles für heute. ich kenne das es gibt mehrere Fehler in diesem Eintrag, aber es geht. nur mit Übungen kann ich besser werden. tschüß!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
mein ersten deutschen Eintrag
heute werde ich erstemal probieren ein Eintrag auf Deutsch zu schreiben. ich habe ein Prüfung in ein wenig mehr als ein Woche. also, diese kann eine gute Übung für mich sein.
aber was soll ich denn schreiben? leider kann ich nicht über mehrere Themen diskutieren, weil mein Deutsch schlecht ist. egal, ich schreibe was ich will, solange es in Deutsch ich schreiben kann.
ok. was habe ich heute gemacht? ich habe spät aufgestanden und damit meiner ersten Klasse verpasst. ich habe meine zweite Vorlesung pünktlich sein, aber gab es kein Profesor! nur zwei Leute regelmäßig besuchen das Vorlesung. ich weiß es nicht was hat passiert heute. vielleicht die kurs hat beendet, weil nächste woche ist die lezte woche für Vorlesungen. ich muss das morgen ermitteln. manchmal können diese situationen sehr kompliziert sein, weil ich bin nicht bekannt mit dem system hier und kann nur ein bisschen Deutsch.
und... ja, mein Fahrrad-Kette hatte einige Probleme mit Rost. also, ich habe ein flasche Kettenpflegemittel gekauft und benutzt. mein Fahrrad fahrt viel besser jetzt!
ich muss jetzt gehen. die austauschstudenten treffen uns in einer Bar in die Stadtmitte. Bis später. ich glaube ich muss diese Eintrag später nochmal korrigieren!
aber was soll ich denn schreiben? leider kann ich nicht über mehrere Themen diskutieren, weil mein Deutsch schlecht ist. egal, ich schreibe was ich will, solange es in Deutsch ich schreiben kann.
ok. was habe ich heute gemacht? ich habe spät aufgestanden und damit meiner ersten Klasse verpasst. ich habe meine zweite Vorlesung pünktlich sein, aber gab es kein Profesor! nur zwei Leute regelmäßig besuchen das Vorlesung. ich weiß es nicht was hat passiert heute. vielleicht die kurs hat beendet, weil nächste woche ist die lezte woche für Vorlesungen. ich muss das morgen ermitteln. manchmal können diese situationen sehr kompliziert sein, weil ich bin nicht bekannt mit dem system hier und kann nur ein bisschen Deutsch.
und... ja, mein Fahrrad-Kette hatte einige Probleme mit Rost. also, ich habe ein flasche Kettenpflegemittel gekauft und benutzt. mein Fahrrad fahrt viel besser jetzt!
ich muss jetzt gehen. die austauschstudenten treffen uns in einer Bar in die Stadtmitte. Bis später. ich glaube ich muss diese Eintrag später nochmal korrigieren!
Monday, February 02, 2009
flat brains and lazy brains
turns out there are still people out there that believe the earth is flat! theflatearthsociety.org seems to be the where they congregate to propound their insane ideas on this huge "conspiracy". they think satellite images are fake, moon landing was a hoax and that you could potentially fall off the edge of the earth where there's an ice wall. you can try convincing them with as many proofs as you can gather, but it is like a religion to them. they won't falter, and it is therefore almost pointless trying. any definite proof to them is a hoax to cover the actual truth. yep, the powers that be has been collaborating to perform an elaborate hoax lasting centuries on the unsuspecting citizens of the world to make them believe that the earth is round!
the cynicism of the insane aside, the weekend was pretty normal. my exams are finally approaching and the feeling that i am completely unprepared is beginning to creep up on me. so last night i decided that i would begin early preparations for the exams starting this week. i would clear my table of all the junk and get out the necessary books, organize the dozens of scattered handouts and prepare a study timetable. but nothing of the sort transpired. by the end of this week, though, i have to get my mind into examination mode. with barely any studying at home during the semester, i have a whole to catch up on if i want to do well on my exams.
so adieu. hopefully i'll get started soon!
the cynicism of the insane aside, the weekend was pretty normal. my exams are finally approaching and the feeling that i am completely unprepared is beginning to creep up on me. so last night i decided that i would begin early preparations for the exams starting this week. i would clear my table of all the junk and get out the necessary books, organize the dozens of scattered handouts and prepare a study timetable. but nothing of the sort transpired. by the end of this week, though, i have to get my mind into examination mode. with barely any studying at home during the semester, i have a whole to catch up on if i want to do well on my exams.
so adieu. hopefully i'll get started soon!
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