Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
What's America's favorite German word?
I read a study yesterday to decide worldwide, which German words were "das schoenste deutsche Wort (the most beautiful German word.)". In August 2004, 111 countries were asked, and I found the list of words to be enjoyable. Thought I'd share.
To begin with, Germany decided which words they found the "most beautiful." Among them, Liebe (love), Frieheit (freedom), Sonnenschein (sunshine) and Schmetterling (butterfly). I can't decided if they just found the meaning of these words to be beautiful or the actually sound of the word. Hmm, that's thought provoking.
America's number 1 "most beautiful German word" was Gemuetlichkeit. Funny enough, the word means someone's good social behavior or charming demeanor. Most countries consider Liebe to be the most beautiful word. Perhaps, the most well-known German word. I'm sure there's no connection there at all. =)
One German was asked for his most beautiful German word. The joker replied "Rhabarbamarmelade." That's a fruit marmalade jam. Apparently, his wife's name is Barbara. He says, it brings him great joy to say, "Barbara, bitte bring mir die Rhabarbermarmelade." Now, there's a tongue twister. ^__^
I guess I'll have to think about my choice for such a contest. I'm sure I'll get back to you.
To begin with, Germany decided which words they found the "most beautiful." Among them, Liebe (love), Frieheit (freedom), Sonnenschein (sunshine) and Schmetterling (butterfly). I can't decided if they just found the meaning of these words to be beautiful or the actually sound of the word. Hmm, that's thought provoking.
America's number 1 "most beautiful German word" was Gemuetlichkeit. Funny enough, the word means someone's good social behavior or charming demeanor. Most countries consider Liebe to be the most beautiful word. Perhaps, the most well-known German word. I'm sure there's no connection there at all. =)
One German was asked for his most beautiful German word. The joker replied "Rhabarbamarmelade." That's a fruit marmalade jam. Apparently, his wife's name is Barbara. He says, it brings him great joy to say, "Barbara, bitte bring mir die Rhabarbermarmelade." Now, there's a tongue twister. ^__^
I guess I'll have to think about my choice for such a contest. I'm sure I'll get back to you.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Why I Enjoy My Sore Muscles
Last night I fell asleep pretty quickly. Sure, I had a lot to think about but I'd say for the most part, all my thoughts were silver-lined. The next time I woke up it was 8:30am and the sun was dripping slowly through my window. I have a new habit of waking at around 8:30am. I don't have blinds to keep out the sun, so I am often awoken by the sun's rays hitting my cheek. All I remember so early was that I had a good dream. I turned to my side, preparing to drift into another good dream about him, when it hit me. My left knee hit the bed and pain from it's injury jostled me awake again. I noticed suddenly that not only my knee hurt, but my thighs, arms, shoulders, neck and back.
How does one procure such a cornucopia of sore muscles in one day? If you're Rachel, through theater, of course. It was at 8:30am in the morning, after wincing from the pain, that I had to chuckle quietly to myself. Why do I voluntarily devote so much time and energy in theater? I couldn't even go a year in Germany without seeking out theater. And not just one play, but two, could suffice...as if I had to make up for lost time. And not only that, but I've already see two professional musicals (one in London and one in Germany) and one amateur play in Tubingen.
I don't consider myself exceptionally devoted to theater (I've realized it's something I want to do as a hobby, not as a career) and yet, I still receive such satisfaction from it. I'll spend 8 hours every weekend rehearsing and 3 hours/4 days a week at the theater running lines. I'll lose sleep, procure bruises, skip dinner and juggle classes/homework/tests and work just to be in a show. And why?
Simple. I love it. Every bit of the show. I love the first day we read through lines. I love meeting new people. I love being stressed about the choreography, and spending my weekends painting the set. I love the first run-through. I love the costumes, and the first dress-rehearsal. And, on opening night, I love showing my friends how hard I've worked. I don't think I'd enjoy it as much if my friends never saw it. I do it to make them laugh and smile. It's not the applause I like, but the pure and simple fact that I've helped my friends have a really unique and enjoyable night. =)
How does one procure such a cornucopia of sore muscles in one day? If you're Rachel, through theater, of course. It was at 8:30am in the morning, after wincing from the pain, that I had to chuckle quietly to myself. Why do I voluntarily devote so much time and energy in theater? I couldn't even go a year in Germany without seeking out theater. And not just one play, but two, could suffice...as if I had to make up for lost time. And not only that, but I've already see two professional musicals (one in London and one in Germany) and one amateur play in Tubingen.
I don't consider myself exceptionally devoted to theater (I've realized it's something I want to do as a hobby, not as a career) and yet, I still receive such satisfaction from it. I'll spend 8 hours every weekend rehearsing and 3 hours/4 days a week at the theater running lines. I'll lose sleep, procure bruises, skip dinner and juggle classes/homework/tests and work just to be in a show. And why?
Simple. I love it. Every bit of the show. I love the first day we read through lines. I love meeting new people. I love being stressed about the choreography, and spending my weekends painting the set. I love the first run-through. I love the costumes, and the first dress-rehearsal. And, on opening night, I love showing my friends how hard I've worked. I don't think I'd enjoy it as much if my friends never saw it. I do it to make them laugh and smile. It's not the applause I like, but the pure and simple fact that I've helped my friends have a really unique and enjoyable night. =)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Unexpected
How can I ever explain how I felt when I picked up that package from the international office? On the outside, it looked as any other package a student would receive. Green and red international post stamps covered it's front. I didn't expect it. I looked closer, and surprise reached my eyes as I noticed who it was from. Carefully unwrapping the package, I soon realized what was inside. I took the letter out first, and slipped my finger under the sealed flap of the envelope. I don't know much about the card, it looked hand-made (perhaps from his mom?) but the words inside brought a smile to my face as my eyes started to burn. It was the most kind gesture anyone had done for me in a long time.
I can't explain how good it made me feel to know I crossed your mind. You not only thought about me, but cared enough to let me know everything would be ok.
Thank you
I can't explain how good it made me feel to know I crossed your mind. You not only thought about me, but cared enough to let me know everything would be ok.
Thank you
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Starting All Over Again
Just signed up for a Shakespeare Culture and Literature class...taught in English. Ok, ok, I know I should be taking university classes in GERMAN but I have three other International Learn-German classes, so I figured having one class that actually interests me won't be a big deal. Thus, I have created the perfect week, leaving my Mondays and Fridays free from classes. Thursdays and Tuesdays I'll be busy with play rehearsal, which has further stressed me out. How will I ever memorize all my lines in German and deliver them with the skill I have as an actor? Hmm, I hope I manage to pull it off. =)
Today was beautiful. I sat with my fellow Californians on the grass in the park and licked at a delicious ice cream while dividing my attention between reading Timeline and listening to my friend, Delene, explain her trip back home to America during our month long break. As the sun hit my back while I lied on by stomach in the grass, I wished never to leave the spot. I vowed that the majority of my free time between classes would be spent by the river, or at the park, because someday soon I will not have such a splendid opportunity. Someday I hope to enjoy a lazy afternoon like that with someone special, but for now, I'm simply happy enough to be in the sun again. After a long, harsh winter, I am newly energized to explore my Altstadt and take a jog along the river.
Today was beautiful. I sat with my fellow Californians on the grass in the park and licked at a delicious ice cream while dividing my attention between reading Timeline and listening to my friend, Delene, explain her trip back home to America during our month long break. As the sun hit my back while I lied on by stomach in the grass, I wished never to leave the spot. I vowed that the majority of my free time between classes would be spent by the river, or at the park, because someday soon I will not have such a splendid opportunity. Someday I hope to enjoy a lazy afternoon like that with someone special, but for now, I'm simply happy enough to be in the sun again. After a long, harsh winter, I am newly energized to explore my Altstadt and take a jog along the river.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Munich, city with a lot of history
Munich is home to thousands of historical events that I had barely even uncovered from the two times I had been there previous to Dani's visit. This time, we had a bit of time to stroll around the city, and decided to take a tour from our favorite company; a student-run tour group set up in almost every major European city. They are technically free, but it's more of a tip-them-what-you-think-is-best kind of deal. To them, knowledge shouldn't come at a price. Not being much of a tour fan, I'd say this was the only tour I'd actually ever take.
Suppose I won't bore one with details of Munich. Because of that, I won't mention that Oktoberfest actually began as a wedding anniversary party for Mad King Ludwig and we still celebrate it 200 years later, nor will I bore you that almost every historical event was effected in some humorous way by beer. =)
That day we met up with David and his family who had come to visit him. We ended the day at the famous Munich Hofbrau Haus. After prosting my 1/2 of dark beer with Dani's dark Radler, we ate traditional Bavarian food, listened to brass music from musicians who played in Lederhosen and exchanged stories of our recent adventures.
The nest day, we met up once more with David and his family. Before Dani had come to visit, she had only one main request; she wanted to see a concentration camp. Since I had not yet seen one, we decided the very first permanent concentration camp outside of Munich was the very one to see. Full of a sad history, I learned more about what humanity is capable in that one day than in any history book you could read.
The morning of April 1st, after saying farewell and thank you to Lisa's aunt and uncle who housed us for the last few days, we drove up to the most photographed place in Germany, Neuschwanstein, the castle of Mad King Ludwig. I had previously seen in covered in snow in January, so this was my chance to see it in spring time. Hmm, I guess I wasn't told that in Bavaria, snow is still pretty common in April. Awesome. We drove into the parking lot and were greeted with a downpour of snow. It was snowing more than in January. I wrapped my thin wind breaker around me and put on one more pair of socks as we wished Lisa and Dani a fun time taking the tour of the castle. I had been once before and didn't need to spend money on it again.
Finally, by 5 pm that night, we had driven back to Tubingen, dropped off our belongings and grabbed some food and hot chocolate in my favorite (and most frequented) bakery, Padefke. Since that was the last night Dani would be in Germany, we invited David and his family out with us to our only Mexican restaurant for a farewell dinner. We sipped Capirinias and Mojitos and reminisced about our time in Munich and Paris. But as soon as we arrived back home, I collapsed on my bed in such a state of exhaustion that I almost forgot to take off my shoes.
There's nothing like a warm and familiar bed after a month of traveling. =)
Suppose I won't bore one with details of Munich. Because of that, I won't mention that Oktoberfest actually began as a wedding anniversary party for Mad King Ludwig and we still celebrate it 200 years later, nor will I bore you that almost every historical event was effected in some humorous way by beer. =)
That day we met up with David and his family who had come to visit him. We ended the day at the famous Munich Hofbrau Haus. After prosting my 1/2 of dark beer with Dani's dark Radler, we ate traditional Bavarian food, listened to brass music from musicians who played in Lederhosen and exchanged stories of our recent adventures.
The nest day, we met up once more with David and his family. Before Dani had come to visit, she had only one main request; she wanted to see a concentration camp. Since I had not yet seen one, we decided the very first permanent concentration camp outside of Munich was the very one to see. Full of a sad history, I learned more about what humanity is capable in that one day than in any history book you could read.
The morning of April 1st, after saying farewell and thank you to Lisa's aunt and uncle who housed us for the last few days, we drove up to the most photographed place in Germany, Neuschwanstein, the castle of Mad King Ludwig. I had previously seen in covered in snow in January, so this was my chance to see it in spring time. Hmm, I guess I wasn't told that in Bavaria, snow is still pretty common in April. Awesome. We drove into the parking lot and were greeted with a downpour of snow. It was snowing more than in January. I wrapped my thin wind breaker around me and put on one more pair of socks as we wished Lisa and Dani a fun time taking the tour of the castle. I had been once before and didn't need to spend money on it again.
Finally, by 5 pm that night, we had driven back to Tubingen, dropped off our belongings and grabbed some food and hot chocolate in my favorite (and most frequented) bakery, Padefke. Since that was the last night Dani would be in Germany, we invited David and his family out with us to our only Mexican restaurant for a farewell dinner. We sipped Capirinias and Mojitos and reminisced about our time in Munich and Paris. But as soon as we arrived back home, I collapsed on my bed in such a state of exhaustion that I almost forgot to take off my shoes.
There's nothing like a warm and familiar bed after a month of traveling. =)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Paris
Ahhh, the City of....Love? Well, maybe for those few people who find busy streets and the smell of cigarette smoke charming, but for me, it was just a new adventure to be had. Dani, Chelsea, Mike and I were lucky enough to rent a car at a reasonable choice and stayed at a hotel (cheap accommodations as always, plus they sneaked me in) in a jenky part of Paris. However, the first night we were there we parked along the water's edge and walked over the oldest bridge to view Notre Dame at night. With the full moon shining in the background, I was in awe over it's shear enormous...ness. =) After a jaunt down the river, we made it to the famous Eiffel Tower, which literally sparkled and shined as we approached. I never actually thought the Eiffel Tower sparkled at night, and for that moment, I was completely impressed by Paris.
The next day we fulfilled Mike's life-long wish of Disneyland Paris. At first, I set my standards low for my favorite amusement park, but as soon as I entered it almost felt like being back in California. Except everyone spoke French and smoked in the park. Aside from that, I continued to be pleasantly surprised by the rides and friendliness of the French cast members. By the end of the day, I had decided that Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad, Indiana Jones (in Paris, a roller coaster) and Space Mtn. were my favorites. Can you imagine I actually ended up loving loops on roller coasters? That surprised me. =] The only complaint I had was the fact that my lower back (a part of my body that has caused me considerable discomfort in the last few years) suddenly decided it wanted to remind me of how easy back pain can come back. Thus, I winced and choked down my complaints as we were all having too much fun to be slowed down.
Sunday we hung out in the Walt Disney Studios, which was basically a smaller version of California Adventures. After seeing a few shows and shops, we decided Disneyland Paris was much more exciting and ended up riding Indiana Jones as well as Space Mtn. again (twice). As Mike drove us back to the hotel that night, I fell fast asleep in the car with no trouble.
Today, however, we had a packed morning. WE woke up bright and early (6am) and shuffled out the door, bags in hand. Arriving to Paris at 7:30am, we parked and walked to the Louve down the street. Walking into it's glass pyramid was more thrilling than I thought it was going to be. Basically, I've never been a fan of huge, eleborate museums, but hey, this was suppose to be the best of the best, so I gave it a try. We ended up seeing Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, The Code of Hammerabi and tons of Roman statues. Besides having back pain still, and being exhausted from lack of food, the trip was fun. We ended up leaving just as the crowds started to swarm, and grabbed take-away pizza and crepe's (a must) and parking in front of the Eiffel Tower. We figured seeing it in daylight was a very wise choice. And so it was. We set out our food and ate lunch on a wooden park bench in front of the Eiffel Tower. For about an hour and a half we simply hung around on the grass, taking silly photos, catching up, and relaxing. It was probably the best part of the day for me.
The rest of our day consisted of the 6 hours journey back to Germany. Nothing exciting to report except that I fell asleep again (tends to happen in the car) and we drove by some French town called Bitche. =)
Tonight I get to sleep in my own bed and tomorrow we pick up Lisa and all head to Munich for the rest of the week. Maybe by the weekend I'll have a chance to finally relax haha
The next day we fulfilled Mike's life-long wish of Disneyland Paris. At first, I set my standards low for my favorite amusement park, but as soon as I entered it almost felt like being back in California. Except everyone spoke French and smoked in the park. Aside from that, I continued to be pleasantly surprised by the rides and friendliness of the French cast members. By the end of the day, I had decided that Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad, Indiana Jones (in Paris, a roller coaster) and Space Mtn. were my favorites. Can you imagine I actually ended up loving loops on roller coasters? That surprised me. =] The only complaint I had was the fact that my lower back (a part of my body that has caused me considerable discomfort in the last few years) suddenly decided it wanted to remind me of how easy back pain can come back. Thus, I winced and choked down my complaints as we were all having too much fun to be slowed down.
Sunday we hung out in the Walt Disney Studios, which was basically a smaller version of California Adventures. After seeing a few shows and shops, we decided Disneyland Paris was much more exciting and ended up riding Indiana Jones as well as Space Mtn. again (twice). As Mike drove us back to the hotel that night, I fell fast asleep in the car with no trouble.
Today, however, we had a packed morning. WE woke up bright and early (6am) and shuffled out the door, bags in hand. Arriving to Paris at 7:30am, we parked and walked to the Louve down the street. Walking into it's glass pyramid was more thrilling than I thought it was going to be. Basically, I've never been a fan of huge, eleborate museums, but hey, this was suppose to be the best of the best, so I gave it a try. We ended up seeing Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, The Code of Hammerabi and tons of Roman statues. Besides having back pain still, and being exhausted from lack of food, the trip was fun. We ended up leaving just as the crowds started to swarm, and grabbed take-away pizza and crepe's (a must) and parking in front of the Eiffel Tower. We figured seeing it in daylight was a very wise choice. And so it was. We set out our food and ate lunch on a wooden park bench in front of the Eiffel Tower. For about an hour and a half we simply hung around on the grass, taking silly photos, catching up, and relaxing. It was probably the best part of the day for me.
The rest of our day consisted of the 6 hours journey back to Germany. Nothing exciting to report except that I fell asleep again (tends to happen in the car) and we drove by some French town called Bitche. =)
Tonight I get to sleep in my own bed and tomorrow we pick up Lisa and all head to Munich for the rest of the week. Maybe by the weekend I'll have a chance to finally relax haha
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