Das Krötchen

As I was walking home from my German class a couple weeks ago, I saw something moving across the sidewalk. It was kind of dark, so it was hard to see what it was. I was completely positive when I picked it up, but it sured moved like a frog. :) Sure enough, it was...or maybe a toad. So, I brought it home to show Stewart. He was pretty lethargic (probably from the cold), so he didn't put up much of a fight. Since I had him here, I thought I'd take a few pictures of him. Don't worry, I let him go in the garden after I had my fun. So, for your viewing pleasure: Das Krötchen! (Ignore my improper pronunciation of the German word for toad in the movie. I often make a fool of myself these days as I try to learn German).

Sanssouci (Potsdam, near Berlin)

This is what a Saturday afternoon in Oktober should be like:

A Calling Already?

Well, our bishop gave me a calling today. I wasn't totally surprised, being somewhat warned in advance. So...drum roll please...I am the assistant ward choir director. I'm excited, but I'm also frustrated after the first day. I can't really understand German and I can't speak it well either (yet). So, it makes it very difficult to give the choir director advice (because she wants it), and will certainly make it more difficult when I have to lead myself. Little does Stewart know that this will have to be a calling for both of us. He'll have to translate for me galore.

Deutschkurs

Well, German classes began on Monday. I went there with a little trepidation, but I have to say that I love it! I walked into the class when only 3 people were there and I sat down next to one of them. What are the chances that I would happen to sit by the only other person from the U.S.? There are 15 students in the class: 2 from the U.S., 1 from Italy, 2 from Japan, 3 from Spain, 3 from Poland, 1 from Venezuela, 1 from Tanzania, 1 from Tonga, and 1 from Bosnia. Most of us are between the ages of 23 and 38. However, there is a 15-year-old girl from Poland. Almost everybody speaks English, but the class is, of course, conducted entirely in German.

We have only learned basic questions and answers thus far, but it's been fun. The first day I felt like I was right on line with most of the people in the class. However, there are a few people who are a bit more advanced. Yesterday I felt like the class was moving a bit too slow for me. There are a couple of students in the class who really struggle with pronunciation and remembering what we've learned. Stewart told me I need to be patient (which has always been a virtue with which I've struggled) because I have learned another language and I've taught both ESL and Spanish, so I have a better idea of what kinds of strategies to use in learning a language. That may be true, and I don't want to begrudge these people the opportunity to learn German, but I also want to get my money's worth.

So, for those of you who may speak or understand German, here I am to dazzle you with the pitiful (yet exciting) things I've learned:
Ich heiße Michelle. -or- Ich bin Michelle. -or- Mein Name ist Michelle.
Ich komme aus den USA, aus Utah oder New York (take your pick).
Ich wohne in Berlin (for now).
Ich bin dreißig Jahre alt.
Ich lerne Deutsch.
Ich spreche Englisch und Spanisch.
Mauro spricht Italienisch. Rebecca und Lola sprechen Englisch. Yuko und Nana sprechen Japanisch. Dominika, Marzena und Karolina sprechen Polnisch. Vanessa, Pablo, David y Carlota sprechen Spanisch. Jasmina spricht Bosnisch. Reziky spricht Kisuaheli.
Wie heißen Sie? -or- Wie ist Ihr Name?
Woher kommen Sie?
Wo wohnen Sie?
Wie alt sind Sie?
Was machen Sie hier?
Was sprechen Sie?

I also know other random bits of vocabulary and verbs, but I won't bore you any further. Unfortunately, I don't yet know the possessive for "du", so I can't write the questions informally. However, please do feel free to answer my questions above. :)

What I Love About Europe...

I've made a list of the some of the things I love about Europe. This is, by no means, a complete list, nor is it in any particular order. So, in case you needed some reasons to come to Europe, here are just a few.

1. Walking. People walk everywhere! I love going outside and walking. Not only do we have a nice forested area nearby in which to walk, but we walk pretty much everywhere. It is not uncommon to see people of all ages walking places. Yes, there are plenty of cars as well, but when gas is between $8 and $10 a gallon, you probably don't feel as inclined to drive. Also, the cars are generally small. If people aren't walking, they're riding a bike. I've never seen so many people riding bikes as I have here in Germany. (It wasn't like that in Spain). Our landlady thought it was strange that we're not avid bike-riders.

2. Public Transportation. I wish we had this in the States. Yes, we have public transportation, but it's not nearly as good as it is in Europe. If we're not walking, we're taking the bus or the "underground" as they like to call it here. I keep calling it the metro, because that's what it is in Spain. However, it's technically the bahn--either the U-bahn or the S-bahn--and yes, you have to be specific.

3. Bakeries. I could eat breakfast at the bakery every day! Mmmm! Just the smell wafting from the bakery makes my mouth water. It doesn't matter whether you're in Germany, Spain, or France, the pastries and other things you buy at the bakery are so much better than anything we have in the States. So, one has to walk to work off all the extra weight one gains from the bakeries.

4. Candy. Again, the candy in Europe is so much better than the States. I used to be a big candy fiend growing up, but it's worn off quite a bit over the years. Fortunately, I'm living in Germany and I like the "chuches" in Spain better than what they have here, so I won't eat quite as much.

5. Chocolate. Need I say more? Stewart will argue that German chocolate is the best in the world. He loves the Milkas, which you can buy in the States, but the selection here is much better. I, personally, like the Ritter Sports. Yes, you can buy those in the States also, but again, the selection is better here. Unfortunately for me, I am unable to find my favorite Ritter Sport (Butter Biscuit) in any of the stores here. I have looked and looked. I found it in the mini bars that come in packs, but that's it. Oddly, that's one you can find in the States. Also, they are not cheaper here than in the States. They cost just as much.

6. Ham. Whether it's jamón serrano, jamón ibérico, jambon cru, Schwarzwälder Schinken, or some other name, this kind of ham is the best! It is definitely my favorite lunch meat! The only think I can compare it to is prosciutto. That's about as close as you can get to it in the States (unless I'm mistaken).

Well, those are the 6 that first came to mind. Although, the federdecke (is that spelled correctly?) is quickly making its way to the list. As the weather gets colder, those feather blankets are nice and cozy...even if it is ridiculously small.

Incidentally, starting Monday, I will have the opportunity to see how my ESL students felt. I begin my German classes and I suspect they will be taught in German. Let the frustration begin...bring it on!

Tierpark

So, we went to the Tierpark yesterday and the weather cooperated beautifully! I really enjoyed it! Stewart, on the other hand, was probably not as excited as I was to walk through a gigantic zoo all day long. He did say he enjoyed it, but you'll have to ask him if that's true or not. At any rate, I have decided to take you on a visual tour of our day at the Tierpark. Enjoy!


(t) - The Tierpark entrance. (b) - This European Red Deer was definitely the alpha male. He chased all the other deer out of the building and made as much noise as possible. Here he was raising his head and making whatever noise they make. It wasn't until too late that I thought of filming.


This stork was hissing at us. It was very strange. Since the animals decided that it was a great day to be vocal, I tried to get some of them on film.

(t) - This little mouse, so young that its eyes weren't even open yet, had no idea that he was lunch. Fortunately, the snake did not seem very hungry at the time...or is it unfortunate to prolong his fate? (b) - This Yemen chameleon was possibly the coolest thing we saw at the Tierpark. His colors were so vibrant. Look at his funky feet!

(l) - I think this was some sort of pheasant, but I can't remember anymore. His colors were very beautiful and he even turned his head to pose for the picture. (r) - This is a wolverine! I've never seen a wolverine before. He just sat there with his large claws looking out at everyone. There was another hiding near the back. This zoo likes to keep pairs of animals. I think they are encouraging reproduction. It seems to work, because they had a ton of baby animals.

(l) - Sloths are some of my favorite animals. They are just so cute! The sloth at the Hogle Zoo in Utah is always sleeping (which stands to reason because they are nocturnal), so I've never seen him moving. However, this sloth was climbing from one side of the cage to the other (on the ceiling of course). It was feeding time, so I guess that took presidence over sleeping. (r) - This sloth did not feel the same as the other. He took the food from the zookeeper and went back to sleep. I did think it was pretty cool that his claws were hanging out of the cage though. Oh...and as you can see, these are two-toed sloths.

They had three baby elephants that were just adorable! I'm not sure I've ever seen a baby elephant in real life. So, we filmed them playing. Please ignore my stupid comment at the end. I thought Stewart said "tusks" not "trunks".

There was an adorable baby hyena at the Tierpark. The video is not that exceptional, but I accidentally filmed instead of taking a picture.

(t) - They had an area filled with different kinds of vultures, buzzards, some other birds, and even one kind of eagle. This guy was spreading his wings out...I don't know why. Maybe he just wanted his picture taken. (b) - Although there were several lions outside, there was also one male lion inside. At one point he was roaring like crazy! Unfortunately, I arrived too late to film it. I was hoping he would start up again while we were there, but he decided it was nap time.

Bats are another of my favorite animals, so I was very excited to find out that you could actually go into the area with the bats. The Hogle Zoo used to have flying foxes, but we learned this summer that they are no longer there. The flying foxes at the Tierpark were flying from one tree to another, so I tried to film them flying. Unfortunately, this was my first time filming with our camera, so it is really bad footage. However, I thought I would include it because the whole idea of bats flying over you in the daylight is pretty cool. Fortunately, the bats did not pee on us like they did on some of the other people.

(t) - The polar bears (or ice bears as they are called in German) were probably thinking it was way too hot for them. This guy looked up once, but quickly resumed his sprawling. (b) - I just threw this one in because anybody who knows me knows I love frogs! In the kinderzoo (children's zoo), they had a garbage can shaped like a frog. :)

(t) - I love this picture! Near the llamas there were these fluffy weed/reed things. The sun hit them perfectly (if you weren't looking at the sun). (b) - There were a ton of pelicans at the Tierpark. Some of them had black feathers on their backs, and some were pinkish. These guys had funky hairdos.

So, that was our adventure at the Tierpark. Many of the animals were very close. My brother Philip would have loved this place! (Especially the cheetah, Phil. He came right up to the edge of the fence, and you could see everywhere in the enclosure.) If any of you come to Berlin, you should definitely think about visiting the Tierpark.

The sun DOES shine on Berlin!

I was beginning to have my doubts. However, yesterday was so nice, I almost didn't need a jacket! Today promises to be even nicer. I hope that's true, because we're going to the Tierpark (literally, animal park). It is not quite the zoo...there is a Berlin Zoo also. The difference is that the Berlin Zoo is in west Berlin and the Tierpark is in east Berlin. Edel told us that the Tierpark is better because you have more interaction with the animals. I'm ridiculously excited! Don't worry though...we will be going to the Berlin Zoo next month, and the aquarium probably the month after. Then, when we get to Frankfurt, we can go to the Frankfurt Zoo!