can anyone recommend any good podcasts to which i should subscribe?
(already got fotc)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
this ain't a scene, it's an arms race
last week, i started a new class at the goethe institute - it's the second level and we're actually starting to do tougher things. the only problem is that this is hardly just the beginning in german language.
my new classmates are greatly different from the first class. the whole dynamic is different, including our interaction with the teacher - sandra. she wants us to use first names, but the 'Sie' or polite form with each other. we don't have a jovial, 'group' feeling - everyone is afraid of each other and we don't feel like a happy family trying to learn german. here are from where my classmates come:
china 3
japan 1
mongolia 1
brazil 1
iraq 1
columbia 1 (sexy smoker)
australia 1
argentina 1
norway 1
russia 1
israel 1
cyprus 1
that was the original makeup. one chinese and the japanese guy have left. we have added one more russian, one more israeli, and a new italian guy. there are waaay more students in this class than i would prefer. and i have a few issues with the new teacher: i don't know why, but it seems that she is trying to force us to get to know each other. each day, she mixes us up and has us move around the room to do these different exercises with new people. the issues i have with this are the fact that it takes at least 5 minutes for us to get in these new groups, and another 5 to get back to our original seats (taking up good 'learning' time) and we have naturally sit near people we are like and with similar abilities. those at my table are the strongest and the best speakers. and we all speak english, so if we don't understand something we are able to explain it to each other. the other day, she asked me to sit at another table so my back was not to her and i couldn't communicate with anyone. i understand that this may be a way to 'force' us to communicate better, but our german is not at that level where we can do anything but flail our arms and squwak.
there was this really annoying chinese guy who would consistently talk at a normal talking level, in chinese, to his chinese friend to explain things to her while our professor is talking. it was SO ANNOYING - sometimes i couldnt hear sandra. she asked him to stay after one day and now he is not in our class. i think he moved to a lower class.
also, the iraqi girl. i am pretty sure she is shooting death rays at me. she sits almost exactly on the opposite side of the room (we sit at tables, not in desks) and every time i look up, she is staring at me. i dont know why. i fear it's because i'm american and she therefore hates me. i want to tell her - i'm sorry! it wasn't me! i didn't want to invade your country! i did want to talk to her to get her thoughts on the US, except now she is annoying me, too. the day i had to sit with the other table, i sat at hers and she has this habit of 1) answering sandra when sandra has asked a hypothetical question and 2) when someone else is answering, and they pause, she answers for them. i dont know if she is trying to help, show off her ability, or just likes to hear herself talk, but this really bothers me. and half the time she's not even right! she'll try to tell you how to pronounce something and then sandra will correct her. AGH!
i have made some friends, and i'll write about them later.
my new classmates are greatly different from the first class. the whole dynamic is different, including our interaction with the teacher - sandra. she wants us to use first names, but the 'Sie' or polite form with each other. we don't have a jovial, 'group' feeling - everyone is afraid of each other and we don't feel like a happy family trying to learn german. here are from where my classmates come:
china 3
japan 1
mongolia 1
brazil 1
iraq 1
columbia 1 (sexy smoker)
australia 1
argentina 1
norway 1
russia 1
israel 1
cyprus 1
that was the original makeup. one chinese and the japanese guy have left. we have added one more russian, one more israeli, and a new italian guy. there are waaay more students in this class than i would prefer. and i have a few issues with the new teacher: i don't know why, but it seems that she is trying to force us to get to know each other. each day, she mixes us up and has us move around the room to do these different exercises with new people. the issues i have with this are the fact that it takes at least 5 minutes for us to get in these new groups, and another 5 to get back to our original seats (taking up good 'learning' time) and we have naturally sit near people we are like and with similar abilities. those at my table are the strongest and the best speakers. and we all speak english, so if we don't understand something we are able to explain it to each other. the other day, she asked me to sit at another table so my back was not to her and i couldn't communicate with anyone. i understand that this may be a way to 'force' us to communicate better, but our german is not at that level where we can do anything but flail our arms and squwak.
there was this really annoying chinese guy who would consistently talk at a normal talking level, in chinese, to his chinese friend to explain things to her while our professor is talking. it was SO ANNOYING - sometimes i couldnt hear sandra. she asked him to stay after one day and now he is not in our class. i think he moved to a lower class.
also, the iraqi girl. i am pretty sure she is shooting death rays at me. she sits almost exactly on the opposite side of the room (we sit at tables, not in desks) and every time i look up, she is staring at me. i dont know why. i fear it's because i'm american and she therefore hates me. i want to tell her - i'm sorry! it wasn't me! i didn't want to invade your country! i did want to talk to her to get her thoughts on the US, except now she is annoying me, too. the day i had to sit with the other table, i sat at hers and she has this habit of 1) answering sandra when sandra has asked a hypothetical question and 2) when someone else is answering, and they pause, she answers for them. i dont know if she is trying to help, show off her ability, or just likes to hear herself talk, but this really bothers me. and half the time she's not even right! she'll try to tell you how to pronounce something and then sandra will correct her. AGH!
i have made some friends, and i'll write about them later.
wake me up when september ends
one of my fancy new podcasts is M6 - a french newstation. i thought it was interesting that the story was "one month remains for barak obama to fight john mccain." not, the two candidates have one month to debate each other or show americans who will do a better job. no, their news is that obama must win, and he only has one month to go to beat mccain. this is how europe thinks.
mr. brightside. mrs. brightside?
so today i booked my ticket from paris to london on the eurostar for nov 20th. and they got smart - to sign up for (and therefore start earning miles / points on) their mileage program, one must buy a ticket for a certain amount of money - impressive! i bet a lot of airlines would have many less people in their programs if that were the case. [my ticket was not enough money so i will not earn miles or points - this does not make me happy; although, i do think it may be business savvy.]
anyway, i had to chose a prefix. but these were the only choices: mr. mrs. miss. dr.
one time, i was on the phone with some customer service rep and she said, "well, you have 'miss' marked here, would you like me to change it to 'ms.'?" and i said, "well, i don't think i'm that old for ms." but she explained that miss was for a 15-year old. so apparently i have graduated to ms. however, it appears that in england i am not given the choice - i'm either married or a young girl. so i think this is telling me that i have missed the boat to the glorious land of growing up.
anyway, i had to chose a prefix. but these were the only choices: mr. mrs. miss. dr.
one time, i was on the phone with some customer service rep and she said, "well, you have 'miss' marked here, would you like me to change it to 'ms.'?" and i said, "well, i don't think i'm that old for ms." but she explained that miss was for a 15-year old. so apparently i have graduated to ms. however, it appears that in england i am not given the choice - i'm either married or a young girl. so i think this is telling me that i have missed the boat to the glorious land of growing up.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
nothing will happen to me if i accidentally eat moth eggs, right?
so remember the day i killed dozens of spiders that i also killed a bunch of bugs and threw out their shells? well, while in london, i discovered what they were.
it wasn't until days after i left london that i realized the impact of what elaine had told me. she was telling me how great her cleaning lady is and as an example she told me about their moth problem. for a few months, they would discover dozens of moths in their kitchen. the landlord didn't believe it - said they had a problem with moths in their closets, but her and her roommate did not have any holes in any of their clothes. they called an exterminator (well, a few - and eventually they found one who knew what the problem was) who explained that many grocery stores keep food in warehouses before they hit the grocery store shelves. in these warehouses, dry-food eating moths may lay eggs on packages of dry food. any unsuspecting person could buy this food, take it home, not notice the moths coming out of the eggs, then lay eggs in the kitchen for more moths to arrive.
elaine and her roommate have this problem no more and now they check all their food for moth eggs.
when i got back to berlin, i realized that that must be the same problem i had - and it makes sense. i threw out many packages of rice and grain from stefan's cupboard that had dead moths in them.
there are fewer moths now, except i did kill two this morning. the only dry food that i have brought in is a bag of pretzels every now and then. i looked for moth eggs on the outside but didn't see any. now i am worried that a moth got inside the bag and laid an egg, then flew out of the bag before i could see it.
and this brings one question: how could stefan live with so many moths and moths in his rice bag??
it wasn't until days after i left london that i realized the impact of what elaine had told me. she was telling me how great her cleaning lady is and as an example she told me about their moth problem. for a few months, they would discover dozens of moths in their kitchen. the landlord didn't believe it - said they had a problem with moths in their closets, but her and her roommate did not have any holes in any of their clothes. they called an exterminator (well, a few - and eventually they found one who knew what the problem was) who explained that many grocery stores keep food in warehouses before they hit the grocery store shelves. in these warehouses, dry-food eating moths may lay eggs on packages of dry food. any unsuspecting person could buy this food, take it home, not notice the moths coming out of the eggs, then lay eggs in the kitchen for more moths to arrive.
elaine and her roommate have this problem no more and now they check all their food for moth eggs.
when i got back to berlin, i realized that that must be the same problem i had - and it makes sense. i threw out many packages of rice and grain from stefan's cupboard that had dead moths in them.
there are fewer moths now, except i did kill two this morning. the only dry food that i have brought in is a bag of pretzels every now and then. i looked for moth eggs on the outside but didn't see any. now i am worried that a moth got inside the bag and laid an egg, then flew out of the bag before i could see it.
and this brings one question: how could stefan live with so many moths and moths in his rice bag??
oh, marky mark, how you speak the truth
so i have just discovered itunes podcasts - so fun! well, wait. it's fun, yes, but i have just realized how many HOURS of the past few days i have wasted browsing the itunes podcasts directory. and yes, i did download many music videos, but i'm done with that. we're in a recession! i need to be SAVING money not downloading music videos for sentimental value!
BUT the podcasts are free. and i have german and french and english ones. so exciting!
one of my favorite movies is The Departed and so when I saw a podcast of the making of the departed i thought, "well, i have to have that." so i downloaded it. if you don't know, the departed takes place in boston, my old stomping ground for many years. i have a love/hate relationship with boston, leaning towards the latter. so when they interviewed marky mark (now going by mark whalberg, although to me he will always send good vibrations through the funky bunch) and he explained why he was so excited to work on the departed, i had to laugh. 1) martin scorcese and 2) being back in boston, his hometown. he then notes that his character is a cop and that "you either become a crook or a cop in boston. or a construction worker. there's not too much in between."
so true.
BUT the podcasts are free. and i have german and french and english ones. so exciting!
one of my favorite movies is The Departed and so when I saw a podcast of the making of the departed i thought, "well, i have to have that." so i downloaded it. if you don't know, the departed takes place in boston, my old stomping ground for many years. i have a love/hate relationship with boston, leaning towards the latter. so when they interviewed marky mark (now going by mark whalberg, although to me he will always send good vibrations through the funky bunch) and he explained why he was so excited to work on the departed, i had to laugh. 1) martin scorcese and 2) being back in boston, his hometown. he then notes that his character is a cop and that "you either become a crook or a cop in boston. or a construction worker. there's not too much in between."
so true.
Monday, October 6, 2008
why i'm still afraid of ryanair (london - final)
my last day in london was very relaxed (well, up until i got to the airport). i woke up and hung out with elaine's friend while elaine slept. we watched bridget jones's diary which is always refreshing to watch. after we woke elaine at 1pm, the three of us joined elaine's sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law and went for lunch. we found a pub a few minutes away from elaine's and had typical english fare. i thought we left there at 4:15 and that it took us a little more than 5 min to get back to elaine's. i gathered my things and elaine and i left for the tube station. the goal was to get to the tube station at 4:30, but when i looked at my watch it said 4:50. i wasn't entirely worried - i figured i must have switched the time incorrectly or something. i definitely did not think that was the real time.
i got to liverpool station in less than a half hour. i jumped on the first train to stanstead airport to discover that i had just missed one and this one was running late. oh, and it was not a 30 min ride, but a 45 min one. oh, and my ipod clock was correct - my flight was leaving in about an hour. all of these little losses of time added up to one final fact: i got to the airport, to the ryanair counter, at exactly 30 min before the flight was meant to leave. an english girl was there with me. we spoke with the woman, who did not seem to be rushed, and explained that we each had carryon luggage and would like to check in. at the time, the board which displays where to check-in still said that the flight was open for check-in. she radios on her walkie-talkie (is that what they're called when anyone other than 7-year olds are using them?) to the gate agent explaining our situation. he calls back, "ummm, nooo... the flight is on time. i don't think they'll make it through security on time." that's it. he didn't even sound convinced. kind of like he didn't care. so the two of us are standing there looking at this woman and she looks back at us. after about 15 seconds she says, "well, you heard him. the flight is closed." ????
since this is ryanair, if you miss your flight, you are forced to buy a ticket for the next flight rather than being put on the next flight. i have a feeling that the guy on the other end of the walkie-talkie was just looking out for his job and figured it was an easy way for ryanair to make 100 pounds (50 pounds for each of our tickets). so i go to the ryanair ticket counter (separate from the check-in counter) and say, "apparently i have missed my flight." the guy responds, "well, why are you not sure?" and i said, "well, i think i can still get through security in time, but they won't let me check in." no response. he then explains that the ticket is 50 pounds for a monday morning 6am flight. he suggested i go to air berlin to see if they have a flight flying out that night (sunday). since i had friends in berlin waiting to see me, i wanted to get back as soon as possible. the flight at air berlin for that night was 230 pounds. !! i ask the woman at air berlin if there were hotels at the airport and where could i get information on them. she points me in the direction of the hotel information desk.
my thinking was that, if i had to take a 6am flight, i would have to leave london around 3am, at the LATEST, to get to the airport on time (and i certainly did not want to miss the flight again) and it cost 30 pounds just to get back in to london. staying at the airport would be the easiest and cheapest option, in a day full of tiring, expensive choices.
i approach the desk called "hotel information" and ask about hotels, particularly the hilton (where i have pas mal amount of points). he explains to me that [despite being the HOTEL information desk], he only has information on the holiday inn and the sheraton. he points me in the direction of airport information for hilton information. she gives me a piece of paper with numbers for the three hotels. i then call the hilton - keep in mind, using my german mobile phone calling a london number - tres cher! i secure a room at the hilton (about 97 pounds), even though the woman on the phone could not tell me how to actually get to the hilton at the airport (it wasn't within walking distance) and go back to the ryanair counter.
i walk up to a woman at ryanair and say "i'd like a ticket for berlin tomorrow morning." she stares at me, gape-mouthed, "they're cheaper if you book online." right. "ok, but i don't have access to the internet." (what did she think - i drove all the way out to the airport to book a ticket???) "i was told that its 50 pounds." "oh, so you missed your flight?" "yes." she gives me a ticket and many grimacing faces while she realizes i dont, just to annoy her, have my confirmation number on me. finally: ticket sorted out. she kind of points me in the direction of the hotel transportation. i have to ask 3 people along the way where i can catch the shuttle for the hilton hotel. once again, i have just missed the last one and have to wait 30 min.
the rest of the night was uneventful except that i got to watch american tv in the hotel. yippee! i got room service and woke up at 4am to catch my flight.
a few hours later, i was back in berlin.
2-3 days after i got back to berlin, i receive an email from ryanair:
i got to liverpool station in less than a half hour. i jumped on the first train to stanstead airport to discover that i had just missed one and this one was running late. oh, and it was not a 30 min ride, but a 45 min one. oh, and my ipod clock was correct - my flight was leaving in about an hour. all of these little losses of time added up to one final fact: i got to the airport, to the ryanair counter, at exactly 30 min before the flight was meant to leave. an english girl was there with me. we spoke with the woman, who did not seem to be rushed, and explained that we each had carryon luggage and would like to check in. at the time, the board which displays where to check-in still said that the flight was open for check-in. she radios on her walkie-talkie (is that what they're called when anyone other than 7-year olds are using them?) to the gate agent explaining our situation. he calls back, "ummm, nooo... the flight is on time. i don't think they'll make it through security on time." that's it. he didn't even sound convinced. kind of like he didn't care. so the two of us are standing there looking at this woman and she looks back at us. after about 15 seconds she says, "well, you heard him. the flight is closed." ????
since this is ryanair, if you miss your flight, you are forced to buy a ticket for the next flight rather than being put on the next flight. i have a feeling that the guy on the other end of the walkie-talkie was just looking out for his job and figured it was an easy way for ryanair to make 100 pounds (50 pounds for each of our tickets). so i go to the ryanair ticket counter (separate from the check-in counter) and say, "apparently i have missed my flight." the guy responds, "well, why are you not sure?" and i said, "well, i think i can still get through security in time, but they won't let me check in." no response. he then explains that the ticket is 50 pounds for a monday morning 6am flight. he suggested i go to air berlin to see if they have a flight flying out that night (sunday). since i had friends in berlin waiting to see me, i wanted to get back as soon as possible. the flight at air berlin for that night was 230 pounds. !! i ask the woman at air berlin if there were hotels at the airport and where could i get information on them. she points me in the direction of the hotel information desk.
my thinking was that, if i had to take a 6am flight, i would have to leave london around 3am, at the LATEST, to get to the airport on time (and i certainly did not want to miss the flight again) and it cost 30 pounds just to get back in to london. staying at the airport would be the easiest and cheapest option, in a day full of tiring, expensive choices.
i approach the desk called "hotel information" and ask about hotels, particularly the hilton (where i have pas mal amount of points). he explains to me that [despite being the HOTEL information desk], he only has information on the holiday inn and the sheraton. he points me in the direction of airport information for hilton information. she gives me a piece of paper with numbers for the three hotels. i then call the hilton - keep in mind, using my german mobile phone calling a london number - tres cher! i secure a room at the hilton (about 97 pounds), even though the woman on the phone could not tell me how to actually get to the hilton at the airport (it wasn't within walking distance) and go back to the ryanair counter.
i walk up to a woman at ryanair and say "i'd like a ticket for berlin tomorrow morning." she stares at me, gape-mouthed, "they're cheaper if you book online." right. "ok, but i don't have access to the internet." (what did she think - i drove all the way out to the airport to book a ticket???) "i was told that its 50 pounds." "oh, so you missed your flight?" "yes." she gives me a ticket and many grimacing faces while she realizes i dont, just to annoy her, have my confirmation number on me. finally: ticket sorted out. she kind of points me in the direction of the hotel transportation. i have to ask 3 people along the way where i can catch the shuttle for the hilton hotel. once again, i have just missed the last one and have to wait 30 min.
the rest of the night was uneventful except that i got to watch american tv in the hotel. yippee! i got room service and woke up at 4am to catch my flight.
a few hours later, i was back in berlin.
2-3 days after i got back to berlin, i receive an email from ryanair:
You are shortly booked to travel with Ryanair (your flight information is detailed below).again: 2-3 days AFTER i got back to berlin. either their systems are incompetant or they are victims of hackers. either way, i am finding a really good paying job so that i never have to fly them again.
Ryanair Flight Details
Confirmation No: K213ML
FR 8547 SXF STN
november planning - help!
so i need help. i need to start planning my trips in november and i am not sure where to go. here are the logistics:
classes end oct 27.
i have my apt in berlin until oct 31.
i need to be in paris by nov 14 so i can fly to barcelona. i return back to paris on nov 17.
i need to be in london on nov 27 to fly back to the US.
so... this means there are a few weeks with nothing planned.
here are some options:
i have friends who have offered to let me stay in oslo (never been to norway), rome (been to venice, not rome), dublin (been to), and brussels (been to). not that i have to go somewhere i have never been, of course. or i could go see an old high school friend in basel or a friend from college in israel (never been to).
i was kind of thinking that i might spend a week or so in paris so that i could take a french refresher class, see friends, and ... well, its paris. i would also like to get to london on the 20th or 21st so that i could spend some time with elaine and maybe travel around england while she works during the week.
any other ideas of where i should go?
i am kind of afraid of flying cheap airlines and may just be interested in flying air france or KLM (since they are partners with northwest where i have beaucoup miles).
take the poll or leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. i'm hoping to start booking my travel plans in the next few days...
classes end oct 27.
i have my apt in berlin until oct 31.
i need to be in paris by nov 14 so i can fly to barcelona. i return back to paris on nov 17.
i need to be in london on nov 27 to fly back to the US.
so... this means there are a few weeks with nothing planned.
here are some options:
i have friends who have offered to let me stay in oslo (never been to norway), rome (been to venice, not rome), dublin (been to), and brussels (been to). not that i have to go somewhere i have never been, of course. or i could go see an old high school friend in basel or a friend from college in israel (never been to).
i was kind of thinking that i might spend a week or so in paris so that i could take a french refresher class, see friends, and ... well, its paris. i would also like to get to london on the 20th or 21st so that i could spend some time with elaine and maybe travel around england while she works during the week.
any other ideas of where i should go?
i am kind of afraid of flying cheap airlines and may just be interested in flying air france or KLM (since they are partners with northwest where i have beaucoup miles).
take the poll or leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. i'm hoping to start booking my travel plans in the next few days...
where should i go in november? poll archive
where should i go in november?
dublin 5 (35%)
oslo 5 (35%)
munich 3 (21%)
helsinki 3 (21%)
roma 6 (42%)
basel 0 (0%)
israel 4 (28%)
other (leave comment) 0 (0%)
dublin 5 (35%)
oslo 5 (35%)
munich 3 (21%)
helsinki 3 (21%)
roma 6 (42%)
basel 0 (0%)
israel 4 (28%)
other (leave comment) 0 (0%)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
