We're off to see Wizard

Watching the Wizard of Oz with someone who has never seen it, nor heard too much about it before is a really awesome experience. This American classic is filled with famous quotes that almost any one who was born and raised in the United States has heard of. But it’s not the same in Central Europe. I don’t know why movies like the 3-D one with the blue people the name of which I can’t think of right now make it across seas, but the Wizard of Oz didn’t. I’d like to share some of the comments that came from the particular Czech person I was watching this great film with.

During the opening credits, he saw the word "Munchkins":

CM: What are munchkins? Is it like something you munch?

M: They're little people.

CM: But do you think the name has something to do with munch.

Me: They're people.

CM: Maybe they got the term from something related to munching. Makes eating noises/motions

Me: losing patience I don't know where the term 'Munchkin' comes from, just watch the movie.

(According to Wikianswers, it appears to be a made-up term made popular by the Wizard of Oz)

We had to stop to turn on the captions because they speak really quickly. Even to me it sounded like they were speaking faster than other movies. But then again it's probably because I had just heard relatively the same dialog done countless times at community theater speed.

When Dorothy started singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow”:

Czech Man: pssh, That’s not her real voice.

Me: Um, yes it is.

CM: No way, it’s like a woman’s voice

M: Yeah, I know. And she’s only like 15 or 17 or something like that. (I just looked it up, she was 16 when it was made)

The greatest reaction was definitely when the Munchkins first came out:

CM: Whoa! Are those people?!?!

Me: See, those are the Munchkins.

CM: How did they find so many?

Me: America's a big country.

In the middle of the Lolly Pop Guild's performance:

CM: uncontrollable laughter, stop then pause This is kind of creepy.

Then we eventually just settled in to watching the movie, only to be interrupted by me constantly saying:

Me: This is a famous quote! (I really can't count the number of times I said that).

and

Me: Ooo, that's my part! (referring to the underscoring) (I played in the pit this summer.)

My friend enjoyed the movie so much, we went back and played all of the songs again. It was interesting for me to watch with the captions because there's a lot of song lyrics especially that I would otherwise miss. He's also really interested in the original story by L. Frank Baum. Luckily for us, we just found the story amongst in his Grandmother's books. It was a Russian version that was translated back into 6th grade level English, but the story should be intact.

die Verkehrsschilder

I don't understand some of the traffic signs in Germany, and apparently neither do the Germans. Or perhaps 4-way intersections are uncommon in Berlin. Stop signs are very scarce in Germany. I remember noticing that the first time I was here in Leinfelder-Echterdingen when I was 16. There are yeild signs everywhere down there, but in Berlin I don't see too many of those either(granted I'm not in a car as much). There are lots of stop lights.

But anyway, I was almost to work the other day, when I came upon a 4-way intersection. I pass this intersection every day, but normally there's no one there, and I just bike through it. However this time there were three cars. I was the last one to arrive at the intersection (plus I was on a bike), and I completed the square, so to speak, so now there was a car (or bike) in every spot. The car directly across from me kept waving for them to go, but one of them wanted to turn left, and the other go straight, so it was pretty impossible for them to go at the same time. But that's what kept happening. They would both start to go, then they would both stop, and then the car across the way would angrily wave some more, and even beeped the horn at one point (like that is going to solve anything). I was going to volunteer to cross the intersection first, but I had failed to do the down shift thing, so I was in the highest gear, which doesn't exactly allow for the smoothlest of transitions from stopped to moving. So I figured my wobbley zig-zagging through the intersection at a speed that a pedestrian could probably beat, would not be the best thing to satisfy Mr. Impatient.

Finally they worked it out, and we were all on our way. I thought maybe the signs that were on the corner did say something about how to deal with 4 people at the intersection, but I didn't know what they meant. It's just a bunch of blue circles with either a red slash or a red X in them. I looked them up when I got to work, and apparently, they have to do with parking. Interesting.

Vánoce

It's been quite the Holiday season. I did a lot and for the sake of your time and mine will post the highlights in list form. So here goes...

I did the following:
- Arrived in Prague a day late because I forgot my passport but as it turned out never really needed a passport.
- Successfully ate the Christmas carp without choking on any bones.
- Ate more soup than probably ever before in my life.
- Tried yeast (it's disgusting)(thanks, Olga)
- Played Kuhhandel until 5am Christmas morning.
- Went to a Czech church service.
- Played scrabble in Czech. (I was on someone's team and actually contributed one word: Depo)
- Learned how to say the following words in Czech: cat, mouse, dog, hello, cheers, yes (that's all I can remember)Oh, and Christmas (that's the title of this post)
- Attempted to sing along with the traditional Czech Christmas songs and other folk songs that were accompanied by the guitar and accordion.
- Sang the following with the accordion: The Star Spangled Banner, My Country Tis of Thee (listed in the book as God Save the Queen) and America from West Side Story (I had to teach Miki the rhythm.)
- Played ice hockey on a frozen pond.
- Rode on a Tandem bike.
- Went jogging in the dark.
- Ate my weight in Christmas cookies (I'm not sure that's accurate but it certainly seemed like it).
- Missed a train.
- Missed a plane.
- Successfully didn't cry when the two aforementioned things happened.
- Ate Danish birthday cake and balls (it's what they call buns).
- And most importantly, it appears I didn't forget any German!

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a wish you the much happiness in 2009.

As American as Apple Pie

We had a Christmas office party on Wednesday to which everyone brought something they either bought or made. I figured I'd make something that was typically american. And apple pie was the frist thing I could think of. Although apple pies came from the English (and the Dutch had a version as well) it's as close as I could get without just bringing in corn. But the beautiful thing about America is that everything is easy. If you wish to make a pie you can simply go to your grocers (that is typically opened later than 8pm) freezer and get the frozen crust that come in a handy aluminum pie pan. (I originally wrote 'tin', but an aluminum pie tin doesn't make sense.) Thanks to Toytown the English speakers in Germany forum, I was aware of the difficulties I was about to face. There were a few forum discussions about pie crusts and other differences between baking ingredients here and the states. It's hard to ask Germans about these differences because at work yesterday we were talking about cooking and I said "There's no brown sugar in Germany" and I got the 'sure there is' response. I suppose they're right too, it may be brown sugar, but it's certainly not the same as the american stuff. But that's beside the point; there's no brown sugar in apple pie (however, there is in apple crisp). From Toytown I knew I would not find frozen pie crusts anywhere. I also knew that it would very difficult to find (or expensive to buy at KaDeWe) both a pie pan and crisco. I had found an recipie online that looked doable enough. I'd link it for you, but I don't remember which website I got it from. I needed one that didn't take ice water because we have no freezer so I had no way of getting ice. The one I found called for cool but not cold water, so I was good to go. I also needed Crisco, but I knew what to look for as a German equivalent (Biskin) and all-purpose flour (which I read is Mehl 405 in Germany).

I had stayed at work a little late and had to go pick up my bike from the shop. (My tire is fixed!) I stopped by Kaisers at first because it's pretty big and should have had Biskin according to Toytown. They didn't, of course but I still needed a pie pan, so I thought I was inevitably going to have to stop at KaDeWe, which according to the website closed at 8. It was 7. I didn't want to have to buy everything there because things would be cheaper elsewhere and I thought there was a possibilty that Woolworths would have pie pans. They have all sorts of different bunt cake and tart pans, but no pie pans. So I was hurrying to Gesundbrunnen because I was trying to get on the S-bahn before my two hours expired from coming home from work and the KaDeWe was closing soon, when I saw a sign from Kaufland. I had read about this place too. This is basically like a Giant or a Wegmanns or any other super food store. I knew I would be pushing it time-wise, and if I were smart I would have gone to KaDeWe and came back to this place since I think it was open later, but I didn't care, and I went investigating. After a long period of stupidly staring and wandering through the butter/margarine aisle, I finally found a small block of Biskin, and they also had pans that were generally pie shaped, so I figured they would do since I knew via Toytown that American pie pans were €22 at KaDeWe and that just wasn't worth it.

Victoriously, I returned home to make my pie. The directions in making a pie crust that I found had two places where they said something along the lines of 'DO NOT touch touch the shortening with your hands, make sure you touch it only with the flour because otherwise the heat from your hands will melt the shortening' and 'DO NOT exsessively knead the dough like you would bread'. I'm pretty sure I did both of these things. Not intentionally, I just wasn't sure how not to. I say this because it was supposed to 'look like peas' at one point and it never really did and it was supposed to actually hold together in a nice ball and it never really did that either. But, gosh darn it, it somehow worked. In the end, it rolled out rather successfully and turned into a delicious pie. I only wish I had a slice of American cheese to put ontop of it.

Weihnachtskonzert in Mittenwalde

This weekend the Blasorchester had it's last concert of the year, followed by a party. However, as usual, I didn't exactly know what was going on most of the time. I mean I understand the stuff they tell me, like when to get there, what to wear, and what and when we're playing, but along the lines of what is going on where we are playing is what I never fully understand. I knew we were joining another group. But what I didn't realize is that this group was some sort of marching band consisting of drums, marching glockenspiels and piccolos. More piccolos than should ever be allowed to play together in one place. All of the piccolo players also had a bugel hanging on their belts that they would also play depending on the song. But mostly it was the piccolo. Let me tell you, you have not lived until you have heard the piccolo/glockenspiel/drum versions of selections from ABBA or Andrew Lloyd Webber. I should probably get out my flute and practice since it's been awhile, and I tried to play someone's piccolo later in the night and wasn't very successful. I mean I could produce a sound, but reading the music and forming any semblance of melody was very much lacking. In fact, I bet the majority of people around me wish I has been unsuccessful at creating a sound. This melodic failure could very much be the result of the celebratory Champagne and crates of beer that the Blasorchester provided its members in celebration of the last concert of the year and Christmas. That's right, I said crates of beer. Beer that I've seen bought it bulk in Germany comes in plastic crates instead of cardboard cases. I'm guessing this is to make it easier to collect and return the empty bottles, since Germans are much better at recycling than Americans. Plus they have the incentive of getting money back for returning most empty glass and plastic bottles. Aside from my atrocious piccolo playing, the after party was a very good time. It can best be described as like the dance portion of a wedding reception. The host band offered us a classroom in which to spend the night since we weren't in Berlin. About a dozen or so people did so, and then they provided breakfast the next morning (free food being one of the main reasons I stayed). It was an all around good time.

One thing I don't understand is that while I'm pretty sure the whole occasion for the concert was christmas, I didn't hear much christmas music. The set we did in the beginning was apparently standard German christmas songs. I recognized a couple as tunes to hymns at church (one of which was Thine is the Glory, so evidently the text is very different from the German version since, for us, that's a song about the resurrection and not the birth of Christ) but that was about all I knew. Our second set had no Christmas songs at all and from what I heard of the other groups, they didn't play much Christmas music either (though one group did don santa hats). The DJ did blast Christmas songs over the loud speakers during any down time. This includes when they introduced the Blasorchester at the very beginning, when the large white room divider (we were in a gym) that was constituting a curtain slowly rose during which a dramatic version of the little drummer boy was crescendoing in the background. It was intense.

From Sea to Shining Sea

So a lot has happened since November 14th (like Ashley's birthday - Happy Birthday) and my surprise trip to America. It felt good to be back, even if it was only for a week. I ate so much junk that my digestive trac is still in the process of forgiving me. But it was good, American junk. The most important part of the trip (not relating to seeing people) was that Lehigh finally beat Lafayette. My excitement was slighty masked by the fact that I couldn't feel my feet due to the cold. But, such is life.

Immediately after my return to the Fatherland, I left to go to Bad Saarow (which is somewhere not in Berlin) for the practice weekend retreat thing with the Blasorchester. Think band camp without all of the wierd tradition stuff and more ping pong, but an equal amount of beverage consumption. It was a lot of fun. I talked to a lot of new people and may have even come out of it with a swimming partner. On the way back on Sunday, those that wanted to participate went to this indoor/outdoor heated pool of salt water. When we were outside in the cold air, but warm water, it reminded me of the hot spring Ashley took me to when I visited her in Alaska. It was very relaxing.

Then the next day (last Monday) I had to move after work. So there I was moving to a new apartment with practically no clean clothes. But the move went well. Monika and Dieter drove me and my stuff, and they brought a box and a couple of bags to help me fit everything into some sort of transport device. Living with more people is so much nicer. And the apartment isn't as old and crappy. My room is no longer big enough to do a cartwheel in, but it's bigger than the one I had in college on Polk Street (I think, I've never been good with spacial relations). And, I have a bed now. No more plain mattress on the floor for this girl. Mila, the kitten is adorable and everyone is really nice and asks a lot of 'how is it in America?' type questions. Fun Fact: Apparently Germans (or at least the ones I live with) don't just stick potatoes in the oven and then eat them skins and all (a la baked potatoes). Because I did that this weekend and they all commented on how they had never seen that before. The more you know. This is rushed and not as entertaining as usual because I'm hungry, and I get to go home now. One bad thing about the new place is we haven't gotten the internet figured out yet. So this weekend I watched an embarassing amount of Dawson's Creek on DVD.

Erdnuss

So I was eating peanuts with Tanja, this lady I work with, in the break room when she decided to tell me about this idea she had.

Tanja (paraphrased and translated into English): I try this sometimes, watch. After you get the peanuts out of the shell, you add a little salt while they're in your hand, and then the peanuts taste salty.

I proceeded to tell her all about how, in America, you can buy peanuts with salted shells.

She was amazed.

America once again, has trimuphed.

Halloween, German style

I'll be honest, I almost forgot about Halloween. There are very few stores that bombarb you with displays of jack-o-lanterns and black cats and those chunks of stretched out cotton balls that are supposed to be cobwebs. In fact, Germany may have America beat on the jump-the-gun Christmas decorations. Seeing as Germany doesn't really have Halloween and definitely doesn't have Thanksgiving, Christmas is really all the department stores have right now. But I had enough poeple asking me questions about Halloween the day before at work, that I did remember to acknowledge its exsistance. It was actully really cute on Friday. I was invited to dinner at my host parents' house and on the way, I had to stop by the post office to mail my ballot (I had already faxed it in so it would count, I just had to back it up with the real thing). I saw a couple of groups of kids dressed as ghosts and witches and goblins and other scary things. In Germany they like the scary costumes, not the recognizable characters costumes that populate US college campuses. So as I was leaving die Post (the post office), a troop of costumed youngsters entered die Post and said 'Süß and something I didn't quite catch because they said it really sing-songy and in unison'. Süß means sweet. So they were giving their targeted trick-or-treatee the option of sweets or I'm assuming, a trick of some sort. I saw the same thing in one of the U-Bahn Station shops. I think that's an adorable idea. And great for these businesses. Maybe this is how trick or treating is always done in big cities but it was the first time I heard of kids going store to store in addition to door to door.

The Truth About Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

I watched the movie Borat with Taras (a Tandempartner) and his friend Artur from Kyrgyzstan. They're actually both from Kyrgyzstan but Taras moved to Germany (obviously) and Artur to Russia. Although Russian is the official language of both Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, both countries also have there own languages Kyrgyz and Kazakh, respectively. Artur can understand both of these language (or at least enough to recognize the language).

The three of us haning out was an interesting linguistic situation. Artur spoke very good English, much better than Taras. We could lose him by speaking quickly. However, he didn't speak much German, so Taras and I (theoretically) could speak German quickly and Artur wouldn't understand. And finally, Artur and Taras could speak any amount of Russian at any speed and I wouldn't have a clue what they were saying. I did learn, several times, how to say "My name is Maggie" and "I am 22 years old" in Russian, but of course, I don't remember.

But anyway, back to the movie. Borat is a movie about a Kazakhstani 'news anchor' who goes to America to report on the 'greatest country in the world'. It's not recommended for the easily offended or the politically correct. Some parts are down-right disgusting, but in general, I think it's very funny. And watching it with people from the region was even better. First I should say that it was basically just Artur and I who watched it, because Taras had to get stuff ready for school. But Artur was the most knowledgable of the two anyway, so it worked out nicely. Now, onto the truth about Borat.

Things that are not accuarte:

1. They are neither speaking Russian nor Kazakh. We have no idea what language (if any) it is.
2. None of the ridiculous things involving toilets are (or would be) true. The have running water toilets and toilet paper in Kazakhstan (and Kyrgyzstan).
3. Pubic hair is not valuable or used as currency.
4. While some people greet each other by kissing both cheeks, it is not as common and used in as many situations as Borat uses it. (it's used a lot in Germany as well)
5. Borat has a lot of hatred for and fear of Jews. This isn't really accurate, but most likely stems from the fact that A) Sacha Boran Cohen (the actor who plays Borat) is Jewish and it's popular with comedians to make fun of your own.
and B) most of Kazakhstan is Musilm so I guess there is some sort of natural differing of opinion.
6. Borat doesn't really look like he's from the region. Artur could tell he wasn't and was just making a poor attempt at it.

Things that are kind of accurate:

1. When Borat ia at the Hotel desk and asks for a room for one night, the desk attendant responds with the price ($115 or something). Borat responds "I'll give you 85," spits on his hand and extends it for a handshake. - This elicited laughter from Artur along with something along the lines of "They do really like to bargain and try to do it a lot". Although the spit on the hand thing isn't super common.
2. When Borat is at the Rodeo talking to some of America's finest about homosexuals, he explains that in his country they put them in prison and kill them. (to which America's finest responds "we're trying to get that done here, too") Unfortunately, this is fairly accurate. Gays are treated very poorly in Kyrgyzstan at least.
3. Borat's distain for gypsies is accurate.
4. Borat often speaks of prostitutes in Kazakhstan. There are a lot of prostitutes in that region. This is another unfortunate truth. A lot of poor women have no other choice.
5. When Borat learns that the woman he is in love with (Pamela Anderson) is no longer a virgin, he is heartbroken. It is illegal for women to have sex before marriage (but only women). In some villages the parents listen in on the wedding night (either in the same room or next door) and then check the sheets for blood in the morning to make sure she really was a virgin. (we didn't go into what happens if she was lying)
6. At the end Borat attempts to capture Pamela in a sack. This is legitimate. If a man wants a woman, he can capture her (even with help from his friends). If he succeeds, she must marry him.

There were parts of the movie to which we didn't pay attention. We never stopped the movie to discuss, we discuss during the movie, so there are things we may have missed (or I may have forgotten). But overall it was a very interesting and entertaining learning experience.

Impulse Buy

Imagine this, you're standing in line at the grocery store, getting ready to check out. The person in front of you has a cart overflowing with various goods, so, like most people, you scan the headlines of the magazines, wondering if there could be any truth to the claim that some lady in Tennessee birthed a half man half monkey. When suddenly, you realize 'Oh man, I almost forgot. I need a new toothbrush' or 'My flashlight could use new batteries.' It's a good thing we have crafty business men and women in our country that know the importance of product placement. The checkout line self is teeming with things the average american might realize they need upon a simple reminder. Yesterday I was in the grocery store buying mushrooms on my way home from work. The line was rather long, so I looked at the impulse buy shelf. It's a good thing I did, because it reminded me that I had forgotten to buy ... an individual serving of Jägermeister, or a small bottle of some sort of whiskey. Welcome to Germany, where Jägermeister is like tic tacs.