Tagged

I was tagged by my friend Amanda to do this so here it goes...

H- I would maybe say H is for history. I really love reading about and studying history. My favorite time periods are Renaissance, Reformation, and the social aspects of World War II. Actually, as long as it's not Ancient Greece or Rome (boring!), I'm interested.

O-Other countries. I have lived in two other countries and I really like it a lot. I think you get a much deeper understanding and appreciation for a culture when you stay for more than a few weeks. I also love to travel and have now been to about 14 different countries. That's not really all that much so I want to travel more.

L-Languages. While I don't really like learning another language, I do enjoy the process of understanding and speaking a new language. I knew my Spanish was getting much better when I could understand sermons at church. This week at school, I understood most of the German during a parent meeting. I'm not at the production stage in German yet, but I hope that will come soon.

L-The other L is difficult. Maybe learning as I'm a teacher? Or libraries because I love reading? Or Lost, my favorite TV show?

Y- Yummy because I love to eat. My new favorite food is Brie-so, so yummy.

All my friends with blogs have already been tagged so I guess I won't tag anybody else.

Pray for me!

So my refrigerator broke last Monday. I kept calm and cleaned it out, taking some stuff to school and cooking and eating far more salmon that I usually do to keep it from going bad. I was pretty sure the fridge was owned by the landlords so I called and asked for a repair guy to come by. He did last Thursday, and I totally understood in German that the refrigerator is "kaput." It would cost 400 euros to repair. He said the landlords may want to buy another one and that they would contact me. So I went the whole weekend without a fridge. Not fun.

Monday, I asked a secretary to call again to check about it, and they told me that they would be in contact about either repairing or replacing it. So I waited... Then I asked her to call again today thinking that I would just give them a little encouragement to have it fixed by the weekend. Turns out that the apartment manager could probably have it fixed by NOT next week, but the NEXT. They have to get approval from the actual owner, then get bids, then buy one or wait for a a repair guy to come.

But hey, the manager said at least the weather was cool so I really didn't need a refrigerator. It's in the 50s and 60s!!!! I can't put food outside!!! What an idiot!

What really burns me up is that I pay extra on my rent for a furnished kitchen. (Most apartments in Germany do not come with a kitchen just an empty room). When asked for a discount on the rent, the manager said, "Well, sure if it takes 6-8 weeks."

I thought about putting a whole bunch of stuff on my window sill with a sign that says, "My refrigerator is broken. The landlord won't fix it, but he said it was cool enough to keep the food outside. Enjoy the sight of my milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, meat, and eggs, as you enter the building!!"

Leipzig

So last night Zoe and I were at a Biergarten with friends enjoying possibly one of the last outdoor, Biergarten opportunities. I so love eating outside and the roast chicken with pommes(fries) at Schillergarten. Some of them were talking about going to Leipzig today, and I decided to join them. Our main point in going was to tour the Stasi (East German secret police) museum that is in the former Stasi headquarters. It blows my mind just how much they spied on the East German citizens. They opened letters, examined scents (what does that tell you?), taped phone conversations, and even took pictures of people who attended church.

We also went to St. Thomaskirche where Bach was the cantor. We had a treat because a choral ensemble was practicing for a concert tonight. They sung beautifully, and I got to hear them for free. The acoustics in the church made it seem as if the music was filling up your body. Then we went to the Nicolaikirche, which is a really cool church that has columns built to resemble palm trees. Someone was getting married there today. It was a really nice day overall.

Thoughts on fall and something funny at school

There are some seasons that make me wish I were at home. Fall is my favorite season in Alabama. From football to the first cool days and the leaves changing colors, I love it. I even like fall because all the TV shows have their season premieres.

Fall is here in a big way. We're in a cooler pattern of weather with highs in the 50s. The sky-when it's not raining- is the deep blue fall color. It's still pretty dark when I get up in the mornings, so I know the really dark days are coming. I've been taking Zoe on long walks when the weather is nice and dry. I want to make sure to go to a Biergarten a few more times. I think fall here in Dresden is just something to get through until winter arrives. I'm really looking forward to the Christmas season here, but fall just seems to be so-so.

Something funny happened at school today. Right outside the back door (which is the main entry/exit for students) a dog had left a very big deposit. (At least, I assume it was a dog!) I saw it as I went out for lunch. When leaving school, I saw three boys outside wanting to come in, but not wanting to touch the door knob. I opened it from the inside. As he entered, a German sixth grader proceeded to tell me in a very serious way, "There's dog shit on the door."

That cracked me up. I then went to the reception area to tell the secretary. I said," Do you know that at the back door, there is..."

"Dog shit? Yes, I know."

That made me laugh even more. It was said withought any shame or lowering her voice. I guess that's not such a bad word here? I'm just trying to imagine the reaction at Oak Mtn if the secretary said that in the front office.

It's a good thing that my German is bad.

I really do like living in Germany a lot. I love my job, and I really like Dresden. One thing that I do not like is the tendency for some Germans to scold complete strangers. This has happened to me twice in the past few days.

Two nights ago, I was taking Zoe for her last walk of the night. She only ever does #1 then, so I didn't have a bag to pick up after her. As we were walking back, a man from a nearby building came home. Even though I have never talked to him before, he proceeded to say in a very ugly way that I should pick up after my dog. Today, my next door neighbor yelled at me about Lord knows what. She's about 70 and a little crazy. One teacher at school said that a complete stranger tried to put socks on her baby because the stranger thought he was cold.

Sometimes it is just so frustrating to not speak German!! I did ask another teacher how to reply to the guy who yelled at me about Zoe. So I now know how to say, "Kiss my a**." in German. I really hope that I will not have to use that phrase.

School's barely started,

and I'm already thinking about my first vacation. I just booked a flight to Paris during my fall break for 100 Euros.

Should I mention?

That tomorrow's high is supposed to be 62 here?

That's like 40 degrees cooler than back home. Sorry to rub it in. You can return the favor when it is 60 there and -25 here.

I went to my last German class today. I do understand more, but it is still a challenge to speak. School starts for the teachers Monday. I'm so glad to NOT be the new teacher.