Das ist alles

Whelp, that's it folks. It's the 11th of September, I'm back in Canada, finished a week of school, and miss Germany terribly. Unfortunately that means my crazy adventures have to come to an end. Thanks for reading, and check out my two other blogs for further me. They're listed to the right of this post, and in this post itself (seeing as I'm gonna write their names anyways).

Musik Non-Stop
The Wargamer

Tschüß

Zwölftes Video

Tschüß!

Elftes Video

Tschüss

Zehntes Video

Tschüss!

Neuntes Video

Tschüss.

Achtes Video

Tschüss

Tschüss Freiburg

Well, here I am, sitting at the Freiburg Hauptbahnhof waiting for my train. It's 9:31 right now and my train leaves at 10:57. I didn't have any choice to be here, the Hausmeister kicked me out of my room once he "checked" it for damages (I hope he never gets employed as security at an airport. He just stood in the room, stared around, then asked for my keys).

I'm basking in a bright, beautiful, German, summer's day and letting the German language swirl around me. It'll probably be the last time I hear it for a very long time. I love train stations, and love Freiburg's in particular. Here's hoping the train has Internet. If that's the case, I can upload some of the videos I've made.

Tschüss!

Köln

So I've decided to not apologize for anymore lack of blog posts... It's kinda lame. However, I have been absent for about 2 and a half weeks. Here's why:

When I got back from Italy, I had to start writing three essays (Hausarbeiten) before I left on the 19th. Well, it soon became apparent that I'd have to lock myself in my room and write, and that the third Hausarbiet would have to be dropped, due to lack of time, after a couple days procrastination.

Then, on the 15th, I left for Games Day in Köln (Cologne). Now I find myself with only one of the two remaining Hausarbeiten finished, and I leave in 2 days... *sigh*.

To top that off, I had to cancel my Internet already, because I was told that I could only hand in the modem to their office in my dorm (which is open from 14-15 Wednesdays, and 9-10 Thursdays). So I did it on Thursday. Well, now I've found out that I could've handed it into their main office (two blocks from my place), and that I wont be able to get my deposit back 'cause they don't give deposits to foreign accounts, and I have to close my bank account tomorrow!

Ach du lieber...

Anyways, I have made two videos so far (and will make a couple more) before I leave and I'll find a way to upload them (even if I have to wait 'till I'm in Frankfurt or New York), and then close this blog on the 20th. I'll still keep it up, but it wont get added to.

I'll also link to my Games Day photos later.

Tschüß!

Eine Reise nach Italien

I'm going to Italy from Sunday the 26th of July to Monday August 3rd. As such I'll be mostly away from the Internet. This shouldn't be that big of a change to this blog as I hardly update this thing anyways. I'll be visiting some family while I'm there, and my aunt and cousin from Vancouver are coming over to escort me through the wilds of Italy! I've never been, so this should be nice!

Ciao!

Einunddreißig Tage verbleibend

31 days left. One full month. Four weeks and four days.

There's gonna be alot of these countdown posts on here the next - well - few days as I come to terms with the leaving of this program.

Laurel is one of the Canadians that is in the same program as I am, and today was her last day in Freiburg before she heads to Estonia for a week or two before heading home. She's the first one to leave, up next is Leslie on Wednesday.

It's sad, because for the last year we've been each others friends and family, and now people are going their separate ways. The worst part is that there's 21 of us from five different universities, making on average five or six students per university, and thus Province (one university has only one student from it). Seven of us are from UBC, two from Victoria, four from Manitoba, one from Acadia in Nova Scotia, and seven are from Trent University in Ontario.

Actually to be accurate, April was the first one who left the CYF but that was in late March, due to financial reasons. Laurel and Leslie will be the first of the group to leave due to our time here expiring.

I sit here and listen to the Smashing Pumpkins, who always make me feel nostalgic as it is. I think of how much I'm going to miss it here, but also how badly I'm itching to get back to North America, see New York, go back to Seattle, and finally to Vancouver.

Tschüß!

Siebtes Video

Five and a half weeks left. I don't believe it. Packing's been going okay- Well, I'll just let the video explain:



Tschüss.

Denkereien

So things are grinding along.

I went into Deutsche Post today and inquired into sending stuff back. Not as expensive as I thought, but still a fair chunk of change. I think I could've done without half the stuff I have to send back. "Na ja," as the Germans say. I need to go to Deutsche Post again tomorrow and pick up boxes for all the stuff, then start sending 'er back. I tell ya, the last five weeks in this place is gonna seem like a gulag!

In addition to that I'm not making much headway on my 'leaving Germany checklist', though this week I get some questions answered and next week I can start chopping away at it.

I've been to at least two events that the Carl-Schurz-Haus has put on, and I wonder why I never really gave that place a chance. The Carl-Schurz-Haus is the American cultural center here in Freiburg, and they put on some really neat stuff. I went to their 4th of July party at the Ganter brewery, and I went to see a play they put on (all in English, though some of the German actors needed to work on their accents... I guess I can't talk, what with mein starker kanadischer Akzent). I think I'll pop-by tomorrow or Wednesday and see more what they're about. They're right next to Deutsche Post, so it wont be that far out of my way.

Speaking of Akzente, I want this message to go out to all Germans reading this: Just because I don't hear you, doesn't mean I don't understand you.

It's no secret that a pet-peeve of mine that has developed since being here is when Germans hear my Akzent and continue the rest of the conversation in English, when I'm trying to have a decent talk auf Deutsch. Lately, my German's gotten much better so that doesn't happen alot, however sometimes I'll not hear a German, and ask them to repeat themselves. They then speak to me in English like I'm a fool. If they just repeated themselves a little louder in German, I'd be able to keep my dignity, and they can just go on doing their natural German thing.

As the weeks go by, I begin to dread going back to Canada. Well, not really. I begin to dread leaving Germany, but at the same time extremely excited to go to the States before coming home. I've gotten used to Germany, and while I'd miss my friends and family, I'm at a point where I can call this place my home, and in five weeks I'll be yanked out of it, and thrown into the air for nine hours before landing down on hard terra firma. I'm going to miss going to the Volksbank instead of Vancity, and going shopping at Edeka or Rewe, or Schlecker. I'm going to miss running across the street before showering or brushing my teeth just to get some brötchen (buns) fresh out of the baker's oven for breakfast. I'm going to miss drinking beer on the streets, or on the streetcar as I roll into downtown where school, food, and friends are usually found.

I think most of all I'll miss two things: the friends I've made here, and the language. I'll miss hearing German spoken everywhere I go, and trying to decipher it. I'm worried that once I get back to the English speaking world, I'm going to take communication for granted, as I have before I came here. I'm also worried I'll lose my German, but I have enough books to last me awhile, I guess.

I'll miss the friends I've made here. For the last year the Canadians have been each others friends and family, and as soon as next week, two of them are leaving, and that's just the beginning. Not only that, but I've started to really befriend some of the Americans and now they too are starting to leave. I have some German friends, but not as many as Canadian or American. They'll stay here, so it's not as if they're going away, instead I am. I'll see them 'till the bitter end, when I step on that train to go to Frankfurt.

Not only friends, but the Germans I interact with on a daily basis. I don't know where the service industry went in North America, but despite the things like bagging your own groceries, and the cashiers sitting down instead of standing at your beck and call, the service industry here is above and beyond. I've always dreaded going into the post office in Canada and America, because they're rude buffoons, while here, they're friendly, personable without being intrusive, and downright pleasant to deal with.

Well, I'm rambling. I should save some stuff for tomorrow.

Tschüss!

Britisches Bilder

Here's the photos from my two weeks in Ireland, Scotland, and England. At the time it had stressful moments, and was seen as maybe a bit too long, but afterwards I wouldn't have changed a bit.

Trip to the UK

Tschüß.

Gardelegener Artikel und deutscher Abgangkatalog

So here's the article of me in Gardelegen:
http://www.volksstimme.de/vsm/nachrichten/lokalausgaben/gardelegen/?sid=8svfcam82gt46cmc6qm91bi190&em_cnt=1437193

It's in German... I'm working on a translation for my mom, so I'll post that here too, once it's finished. I'm hoping by the end of Monday at the latest. I'm also gonna do a new video as well.

This weekend will be more work regarding my leaving Freiburg. Besides the 'test-pack' I want to do in order to figure out what stuff I'm bringing back and what stuff will have to be sent, I'll be figuring out how much stuff I can bring back on airlines, through customs, etc. I also have a 'Leaving Germany Checklist.'

- Make appointment with the Hausmeister regarding abgenommen (checking out of dorm room)
- Cancel Internet
- Get Scheins (report cards handed out after each class is done) to Christian (our resident director) before the 4th of August
- Meet with AOK (the health-care provider) to cancel
- Exmatriculate (de-register) from Uni-Freiburg
- Abmeld (de-register) from Freiburg im Breisgau (the city... I have to sign out of the city...)

So as you can see, alot of stuff to do. You can follow all of it here!

Tschüss!

Deutliches Deutsch

One thing that's always plagued me here in Germany, is the ability to understand the Germans. Everywhere has its own accents, and its own dialects. Here in Bade-Würrtemberg, it's not as bad as it could be, but there are still some dialects that utterly confuse me: Badisch, Schwäbisch, Allemannish (sp?), Bayerisch. Over in Hamburg, they have their own accents and dialects (I hear, I've never been), including a version of Plattdeutsch (lower German).

While I was in the Sachsen-Anhalt province visiting Gardelegen (more on that tomorrow, or Thursday) I noticed something... The only things I couldn't understand were the words that had not yet entered my vocabulary. There was no deciphering if what that person asked me was "how long have you been studying?" Or "do you want to become a professor with that degree?" Like I normally encounter here, but instead I could hear everything they said, clearly and understandably.

I've only been to six of the sixteen Bundesländer (provinces) of Germany, but so far Sachsen-Anhalt has impressed me the most with their language. The next on that list would have to be Berlin, and dead last? Bayern (Bavaria).

Tschüß

Sechstes Video

Here's the vid:



And here's the pics:

Gardelegen

Sorry for the quick post. I'll update everyone on Gardelegen tomorrow...

Tschüss

Stuttgarte Bilder

Here's some photos from when I went to Stuttgart a month ago. Of course, they'll also be in the links thing to the right. ----------->

Stuttgart

Tschüss!

Hansestadt Gardelegen

In 1945 as the Nazis were retreating, they brought with them the inhabitants of concentration camps on death marches. One such death march ended up in Gardelegen, a small town in between Hamburg and Berlin.

As the concentration camp prisoners were slowing down the Nazi's retreat, they decided to eliminate them, before moving on. They stuck them in a barn on the outskirts of Gardelegen on the Isenschnibbe manor. They burned the barn and shot anyone trying to escape. Afterward they hastily buried the bodies and retreated.

My grandfather was a US soldier during World War Two, and came across this scene. This was the first instance of the allies finding out what was really going on in Europe, and what the Nazis were doing other than just harassing Europeans. I say first instance, but I mean it for the soldiers, not the governments, who I'm sure knew about the atrocities going on. The event was traumatic for my grandfather, as it would be for any sane man, and it was the last place he was stationed until the war ended.

The US soldiers gathered the inhabitants of Gardelegen and ordered them to dig up the bodies and give them proper funerals.

Tomorrow (or rather, in 9 hours) I'll be leaving for Gardelegen (a six and a half hour train ride), to visit this site. My grandfather was a pretty big deal to me, and I'm glad to be able to visit the same place he did 64 years ago.

Tschüss

P.S. You can read more about it here.

Zurück

Alrighty, my wrist feels better (still taking it easy, though), and I'm ready to do my post a day program, and make the most out of this blog while I have it.

I'm going to miss Germany, terribly. I wish I had the money to go to Berlin one more time. But I've still got some pretty cool travel plans lined up.

I'm going to Gardelegen this week. What's in Gardelegen, you say? Not much, but there's a historical site where a Nazi massacre took place, that my grandpa came across with his regiment during World War Two. I think it was the last place he was stationed, and I have some pictures of him there. I'm going to go, just to visit the place and see what it's like. The town doesn't have much, so I don't imagine it'll be too interesting otherwise. I'll stroll in on Friday evening, relax after a 6 hour train ride, and then head out to the site in the morning. I'm hoping it takes awhile to get to, as I don't know what else I'll do with my day. Probably drink beer and read.

Then, in late July/early August, I'm going to Italy with my aunt to visit some family I have in Avellino. I'm training it there too. That should be fun. Then, of course we have Games Day in Köln, and finally my flight back to North America, where the blog will, sadly, end.

And with that, we'll end this post.

Tschüss!

Mein Handgelenk

You may have noticed I haven't been making any posts lately, as I promised I would. This is because my wrist hurts so much, that it hurts to type. For those of you that don't know, I broke my wrist Snowboarding while in 12th grade (17 years old), and it hasn't been the same ever since. Every so often it hurts alot. I haven't been able to do push-ups ever since. Anyways, I'm getting off, 'cause I'm in pain. Lates!

Tschüss!

Bilder!

This also doesn't count for my one post for today (but it should!).

Here's all the pictures I've taken while here. I don't take much, as is evident, but there they are. There's also some that haven't been seen before on Facebook. Ooooo!

General Freiburg pictures.
Paris, France
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Straßburg, France
England, Warhammer World, Frankfurt
Colmar, France

There's also a trip I did from Dublin, up to Scotland, and down to London that needs to be uploaded; as well as some Stuttgart stuff. That stuff is currently being uploaded.

I'll post these as links on the sidebar so that people can see them forever, and ever. Unless Google has some Picasa/Blogger functions somewhere.

Tschüß

P.S. I didn't caption any of the pictures, so it might be a bit confusing, for some. I'll try and caption them one day, but for now just getting them up was pretty cool.

Fotos hochladen

I'm currently uploading all my photos with the magic of Google's Picasa program. I like how Google synchronizes all of it's services together, which makes something like this easy, and means I might be able to say goodbye to things like Photobucket, or Flickr.

I'll post the links to the albums when they're done. This way people who aren't on Facebook can see what the hell I've been doing for nine months.

Tschüss!

P.S. I've also decided that from now until August 20th (when I leave Germany) I'm going to blog once a day. This doesn't count for today. I'll get another one soon. After August 20th, I'll be in New York for a week, then Seattle, then home. Therefore this blog will remain up, but won't be updated. Effectively, it'll be 'Out of Print' (OOP. Not to be confused with OPP, which is something way, way, different (see: Naughty by Nature)). My New York/Seattle adventures will be detailed in my regular blog: Realm of Chaos, which will begin at this time, and continue to be my blog for all eternity.

Eine Reise nach Frankreich

Tomorrow I leave for Paris for four days! During which, Lori and I will be celebrating our birthdays. How nice, oder?

If I can hit an Internet café, or a plain 'ole computer, I'll record something, otherwise you'll just have to wait 'till I get back on Monday. It just occured to me that I haven't posted any pictures on my blog. I'll have to find a photo host in which to dump them, and link them here.

Tschüss!

Fünftes Video

YouTube won't let you upload a 14 minute video so I had to cut it in half. Watch in the following order!





Tschüß!

Bier des Patriotismus

I've found it! The cheapest beer I've ever seen! How can it get much cheaper than 35 cents for 500mL? I defy you to find a cheaper! It's still good too! It's called 5,0 Original and it doesn't suck (you'll be able to tell from the name that it's 5,0%). Unfortunately it's in a can, but I pour it into glasses.

This one celebrates 60 Jahre Bundesrepublik Deutschland (60 Years of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949-2009 and still going!)). Notice the German flag on the can.



Here's what the text says:
Nur eine schwarz-rot-geble Dose ! Keine goldene mit aufwendiger Prägung ! Nur eine simple Gestaltung ! Keine teure TV-Werbung ! Diese Ersparnis geht an Sie ! Wir haben so gut wie an allem gespart ! Außer an der Qualität des Bieres ! 5,0 Original ist ein Pilsbier, gebraut nach dem deutschen Reinheitsgebot ! Zutaten: Wasser, Gerstenmalz und Hopfen ! Setzen Sie Ihr Geld besser ein ! Bezahlen Sie jetzt weniger für ein gutes PILS ohne Schnörkel !

Translation:
Only a black-red-yellow can ! No golden one with elaborate imprinting ! Only a simple design ! No expensive TV-ads ! These savings go on to you ! We have saved well on everything ! Other than the quality of the beer ! 5,0 Original is a pilsner beer, brewed according to German purity law ! Contents: water, barley malt and hops ! Use your money better ! Pay less for a good PILS without flourish !

And I only had to look up a few words...

Tschüss!

"Brauchst du etwas zu rauchen?"

When I get bored, I tend to prioritize the useless things I "have to do" over the important things I have to do. For example: Facebook moves high up the list on things I "have to do," even overtaking my essay research. I don't know why, but it appears that free time creates this useless mind-set within me.

I've been back from England for a week and a day, and I'll be damned if I've done anything but jog alot, and buy a book. Oh, I went out to brunch today at this famous Freiburg brunch house.

That's a story in and of itself. After eating brunch happily and leaving, I became light-headed about halfway home. This strange malady led me to take refuge on a park bench for awhile to steady myself. This caused this clean-cut Turkish guy to come a suspiciously long distance from me for a conversation where he asked me in German if I needed anything to smoke. Now, even in my fugue state I knew this was a drug-deal; hell, I am from Vancouver's East Side. This was around 13:00 in broad daylight in a relatively busy park, so I wasn't in any immediate danger, but the cloudiness in my head stopped me from being a smart-ass and I just told him I didn't smoke. Though I was tempted to tell him that I only smoke the finest Afghan heroin laced with Windex.

After a while I felt better, got up, and left to home, where I now feel normal. I guess it was just too much jogging/walking followed by a heavy breakfast, and not enough water.

Thankfully this coming week there's a lot to do (compared to last week) so I wont be as mind-numbingly bored, and might even get this essay done. Well, I should hope so, it's due on Friday.

Tschüss

Grossbritannien

Ah, England. The country I love. Especially London, which I always manage to have a good time in. However my feelings towards London have saddly changed, though not enough that I cease to get excited when I pull into it's chaotic streets.

First of all I am much more aware of them being a police state than I ever was before. Police litter the streets and tube stations, while announcements drone over the PA systems reminding anyone to report suspicious activity, or that they're captured on CCTV. Did you know that Londoners are captured on CCTV an average of 300 times per day? Did you also know you can face jail time for photographing police officers? Did you also know, that being arrested gives the British police the right to take samples of your DNA? For a country that published 1984, they're sure not paying attention. I mean it was a good book, but for other reasons.

However I had a great time hanging out with my friend from Vancouver, Stuart. He was here on business at the same time that I'd be passing through, so it was great to spend two days with him. He's the first friend from Vancouver I've seen in 6 months.

It's now 2:57am and I'm sitting on a "free" computer that only allows "free" access to select sites which don't include anything I visit. Instead they charge £1 a minute, only if you don't have any physical cash like I do, 'cause I'm broke from spending 2 weeks in the UK, you have to spend £3 for 30 minutes, which is pretty hard to use when you only needed to send an e-mail. Then they fill the screen with ads! I don't get it!

Damn! I'm bitching again. I'm just tired, really it was a good trip, though I'm glad to be going back to Freiburg. Normally this is strange after I come from England, I don't want to go back to anywhere but England, however I'm tired and need a recharge. I have 11 minutes and I should be getting back to my friends after leaving to go to the washroom 19 minutes ago...

I should go, I just figured out some stuff I can do on the Internet, that can kill the 9:40 I have left.

Tschuess!

Noch leben

So I'm still alive. I survived Dublin, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and am currently in London. I've slept on a nine-hour bus ride, and overnight at a ferry-terminal. I've been even more lax about posting because of the high-costs of Internet cafes, and the fact that I've been so busy from travelling that I just haven't been updating this blog.

The trip is good. I'm still in love with London, and hope to one day end up here. At the best of times this trip has been amazing, and at the worst of times the trip has been mildly irritating. Not bad, considering it's been 2 weeks on the road. I leave back to Freiburg on the 28th, and, frankly, can't wait. I love it here, but I really need to go home. If home was London, that would work, but home's Freiburg, so even my love for London needs to take a back seat to warm showers without sandals, and a peaceful rest.

Tschuess!

Eine lange Reise

I just wanted to pop by in the 10 minutes I have before I have to leave for the Hauptbahnhof to say that I'm going on a trip! I'm going to Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, and everywhere between. Hopefully seeing Nottingham and Oxford again. This will be a two week trip, which is sorta nerve-wracking as I've never gone on such a long trip before where I wont have a permanent (or semi-permanent) residence.

Without further ado, I go!

Tschüss!

Schöner Tag

Today was an extraordinarily beautiful day in Der Vaterland. At least in Freiburg. I walked the half hour or so to downtown today wearing only jeans, a t-shirt, and my blazer. I even partook in my favorite activities: record purchasing (not too expensive, mom/dad/Red Cat Records), coffee drinking, and book reading in park. At times I combined the last two.

Everyone and their dog was out today eating ice cream and just hanging around, unsure of what to really do other than eat ice cream and hang around.

I've also come to a decision about my essay... I'm gonna change the goddamned topic! Enough of that 'ship of fools' nonsense, I need a topic I already know something about. This essay is no time to be doing some exploring through the annals of German Literature. This essay's about gettin' 'er done, whatever 'er is. Also, I might try and link my topic up to something else I know about and make comparisons (which is the easiest type of essay). Maybe I can look at various German literary movements as if they were rock 'n roll movements. Hmm...

Regardless, I thought I'd just pop on this blog and let y'all know how pleased I am with this day. Crummy to read about if you're not happy with your day; but that's just too bad.

Tschüss!

Hausarbeit Nervt!

I have an essay to do... Well, two; but one of them is due sooner than the other.

The one I'm stressing on is one I have to write using only German words... 3500 of those words to be exact. It's on the variations on the theme of the fool in German humanism. The fool was used as a satirical device to criticize the church during the 15th-16th centuries, because the fool would often be allowed to speak his mind, and so he makes the perfect character with which to critique something.

P.S. the 'Q' on my computer is stuck.

I'm having the hardest time just trying to break through the ice. Writing in German will be difficult but not impossible. In fact, it'll just take more time than normal. However, I don't even know where to begin. This topic's so goddamn broad. For example, the most famous example of the fool as a satire is 'Das Narrenschiff' or 'Ship of Fools' by Sebastian Brant. This book is written in Middle German and is 112 or 114 (no one seems to agree... They should just count) seperate stories about fools travelling to Narregonia (fool's paradise) in an Odyssey-style adventure. However it's written in MIDDLE GERMAN! Go ahead and try reading something in middle English, and lemme know how that works out for you.

Another form of the Narrenthema (theme of the fool) is used by Erasmus (a famous Dutch scholar and all-round Humanist, that's so popular they named a pan-European university program after him), and Martin Luther when he was about to translate the bible into German.

So throughout all that I have to choose something to talk about for 10 pages (or so). It's strange; it's like I've forgotten how to write a damned essay. The research portion isn't helping out much, though. I have to pour through academic texts, which are stuffy and boring enough in English without having to be in a language I'm just starting to get the hang of.

Alright. I'm gonna go talk to myself out loud a bunch and hope to figure things out.

Tschüss!

P.S. I'm tired, it's late, and spellcheck isn't working on Blogger right now. Why is it that things have stopped working on Firefox?

Fastnacht

This last little while in Freiburg ('bout a month) there's been a celebration called Fastnacht. I don't exactly know the origins of this thing; but I'd say it originated around the 1600s. What it involves is parades, alcohol, and costumes. "Costumes?" You ask. Yes, costumes. "What kind of costumes?" Settle down, I'll tell you.

All sorts! You walk through Freiburg and mostly you'll see people in colorful scaled costumes with those things that make clicking noises when you twirl them. They have masks and colorful maces, and everything. They just walk around like that with none of the self-consciousness that you see sometimes in North America with Hallowe'en. Sure, Hallowe'en is a day you dress up in costumes; but unless you're at a party, there's still some awkwardness about walking around with a costume. That's why we do it at night.

However here, it's as natural as anything, and no one bats an eye. Anyways, like I was saying, colorful scaled costumes reminiscent of court jesters or fools. You'll also see many people with tricorne hats who look like they're straight out of the American Revolution, as well as (get ready for this one) Indians. Not the kind that answer Dell customer service, but American Indians. I saw a parade of them. It was fairly questionable. Needless to say that that shit wont fly in North America.

However, here it's okay and people have a good time with it. They even darken their faces a little.

All in all, I think it's cool. I had a good time just walking around during it. Today was Rosa Montag, which may be the biggest part of the festival. Again, I'm not sure as to the specifics of this tradition. The more I learn about these people called Germans the more I like 'em! It'll definitely be bittersweet going home in September.

In other news: The Polizei!

In North America the Police are pretty serious motherfuckers. They hit you with sticks, tase you to death, and shoot you. Now, I'm sure there's some shooting, and hitting going on here with these green-clad coppers (that's right... Green. They also have a very military-style dress going on as opposed to the nice suit and tie thing our coppers have), what I'm about to describe is more of an attitude thing as opposed to a duty thing.

That last paragraph may have made me look like a cop-hater. I'm not, by any means. I just hate people who abuse power. I realize, fully, that not all police officers (or even a majority of them) do abuse power. It's just that they wield alot of power, and so when one or a few do abuse their power, it's a pretty big deal. It's not like a Tim Horton's employee stealing a penny from everyone's change, or spitting on donuts (pretty gross, though).

Regardless, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, German polizei! The cops here are much more laid back than the cops in North America. For one, I see the police here smile. And not just to their own cop buddies, but to actual civilians. They also have funky hair. I've seen more than one cop with a haircut that wouldn't be allowed in North America at all, such as a bleached fauxhawk. I also see them smoking while on duty. Smoking is a pretty big part of German culture (as evidenced by the smoking ban of 2006 that isn't followed anywhere except on trains), but to have cops smoke in this day and age? It's like seeing a postman with a hip flask.

Speaking of which I bought a hip flask for 9.95€.

Alright, that's enough out of me here. It's good to finally update this thing. Mayhaps I'll do it more often. For now, I'm gonna finish my beer and head on back home to work on this essay due on Sunday.



Tschüß.

P.S. That picture does not want to be formatted properly, for some dumb reason. All apologies.

Viertes Video

Tschüss!

Ein bisschen Gold und SIlber, ein bisschen Glitzer Glitzer

"Habt ihr nichts zu fressen hier?
Ich will Pizza!
Deine Mutter hat gesagt
'trag nicht so viel dreck rein!'
Auf dem Foto in der Kuche sieht sie aus wie Katja Ebstein."

My favorite chorus from the most popular Deichkind song (Remmi Demmi (Yippie Yippie Yeah)). I blogged about them before, and posted the song that these lyrics are from. Well, I'm pleased to announce that I trekked 251km to Würtzberg and spent a night in a youth hostel (not the scary Eastern European kind; a really nice one!) to see them perform. And what a performance.

I think I can safely say that it was the best musical performance I've been to. There was so much energy coming out of these guys it was incredible. A rap/techno band that doesn't, I imagine, isn't much to see. However, resplendent in LED pyramid hats, and crowd-surfing rafts these guys took this warehouse by storm (and it was in this warehouse called the Posthalle (which is a post office warehouse-turned-music hall).

They even did a remix of their song Voodoo using the words from the song, but the beat from Justin Timberlake's Sexyback. Both songs came out in 2006 so it's anyone's guess if either inspired the other. Though Timberlake is much more popular throughout the world; and unless he's a fan of German techno/rap... I'm just sayin'.

Regardless, it was good. We even met this group of German people (who weren't shady!) that we partied with afterwords.

Now, I'm sitting in my room at 23:11 on a Saturday night because this shitty curry contraption I cooked made me sick! I'm supposed to go out to this Russian disco club called KGB (I've been there before, and loved it); but I had to cut out of that. It's been so hard to get a group together to go, that I'm gonna give myself until 23:30 to get better, and see if I want to go then; but I'm not betting money on it.



Tschüss!

Zuruck zu die Schule

Tomorrow I'm back off to school, and I can't wait. The winter break was fun at the beginning; but soon became boring mainly because most everyone was gone. However, I managed to finish alot of reading; but not so much homework otherwise. Whatever...

I also have a trip through Scandinavia planned in February or March. Goin' to see the family's old stompin' grounds all those generations ago.

If you like The Office, and you speak German, you'll love this: Stromberg

Well... I like the Office and speak German, I also like it, but I hate the main actor who plays Stromberg. I don't think he's subtle enough for the type of comedy it is. He can learn alot from Ricky Gervais, and Steve Carell. They also speak really fast.

Whelp! I'm off to bed. Gute Nacht!

Tschüss!

Drittes Video

Tschüss!