Oh, a cleverly devised title!

Yes, this is Nick, and I have returned with a post, thus ending Aza’s reign of blog dominance (though I will need pictures of my own).

There is much which cannot be accomplished without a decent knowledge of the language of the people you plan to interact with. There are, however, instances where language (or lack of it) don’t play major roles. Buying groceries is a pretty straight forward process: put your items on the belt, wait for the amount to show up on the register display, hand cashier the tender, and receive the change in return.

Groceries
Slight variations do exist, such as in Hamburg you don’t get your grocery bags for free. About half the people bring their own bags (or rollable luggage) and the other half pay the few extra cents it costs for a bag.

I remember Aza and I watched the grocery lines for a couple of minutes to make sure we understood the process and then we accomplished our shopping without a problem. This type of check-out purchasing works fine, and generally does not have anything really to do with the language (or barrier) as much as the concept of check-out lines.

Furniture
Furniture purchases are a bit more difficult because unless the grocery store, we do not frequent it two or three times a week. We live next to a small furniture store, from which we’ve purchased our bedframe, table and chairs. That’s two purchases (table and chairs were together), in almost two months. The process here is different because you have to flag down a salesperson, check the store inventory for that piece and if it’s missing, place an order. Not quite as easy as putting your items on the conveyor belt.

So now we come to what I wanted to discuss. There are repetitive types of interactions which one can accomplish once you learn the basic steps. They are more complicated than the conveyor-belt check-out, but less frustrating than furniture shopping.

Display Counters (Baker, Butcher)|
I don’t know too many people who enjoy fresh bread. It’s sort of luxurious to have a loaf that was baked that morning, that wasn’t put in a plastic bag at any time, or shipped anywhere. Bread is a decent staple, and with my new sandwich press, even more delicious than before. To ensure good bread, we buy it fresh, which means a half- or whole loaf every 3 or so days.

There are two ways to get meat and cheese in the grocery store. You can get it pre-sliced, and packaged, or you can get it pre-sliced and on display in a viewing case. At first we were doing the packaged kind (with much regret) simply because we didn’t know all the types, or even how to order from the counter (you have to learn the steps…).

Today I ordered both hackfleisch (ground beef, for Swedish meatballs) and salami (for sandwiches) from the butcher. It was quite an accomplishment because unlike a check-out stand, display counters require a few more things:

1. You have to know the name of what you want. You have to ask for that loaf, meat or cheese. This can range from simple to difficult. You have to know how to pronounce the name of the item, which means you have to understand the basics of the target alphabet. Difficult is also increased based on the proximity of the label to the product.

For example: At the bakery, each label has a card in front of it, but at the butcher, all the labels are together, not next to each item.

2. You have to have know numbers and fractions. For bread loaves this usually isn’t an issue unless you want half a loaf. For meat, or anything which comes in kilograms you need first realize how much a kilogram is, and then know how to order 200 kilograms of salami or 500 kilograms (1/2 kilo is another way of saying it) of ground beef.

3. The typically asked questions. In a check-out line this is “Do you want a receipt?” At a counter, it is “Is that all?”, “Do you want it sliced?”, and “Do you want a whole or half?”

Luckily, there is one easy thing to do at a counter which makes it bearable without too much frustration for anyone who knows absolutely nothing of the target language. You can point. I do it even when I know how to say the item. If I’m slow at figuring out what to say, the baker is a step ahead of me, loaf in hand.

Obviously a better handle on the language makes all interactions easier, but for those who don’t know much, or are learning, or are/plan to be tourists, you can rely on some very familiar routines with just a little patience for figuring out the slight culture differences.

The Swedish meatballs this evening were fantastic.

Oye. Sigh…

I’m finally starting to write about the war, more than a year later. I needed the distance from all those events, but it’s still so exhausting to think about, much less re-immerse myself in it. I’ve been reading some blogs, and if you’ve not heard of it yet, you should definitely check out Baghdad Burning which has since been published in book form. It includes really breathtaking views of daily life as well as politico-social interpretations.

So to take a break from all that: I’ve been working, and it’s turning out to be very fun. My employers have a kindergarten they need me to teach at one day per week, and its pretty far from the city with buses that take forever to arrive, so they’ve decided to buy a company moped for me and other teachers to ride. So next Monday I’ll be zipping around. I’ll be sure to post pictures!

Yes, pictures. Finally, we’ve got a camera, just in time for awful weather. But I did take these happy photos yesterday:

Grazing sheep with a cyclist and a cute chapel in the background.

This is a field I pass on the way to a secluded kindergarten, and while it’s a bit ugly with wintery deadness, it’s just too cute. The older gentleman on the bicycle waved to me after I had taken the picture.

The pretty fir trees from our window.

A foggy view of rooftops from our apartment.

I’m a Hamburger!

What a giggle. Today I received my work permit allowing me one and half years as a freelance English teacher in Germany. So now I’m officially and legitimately a Hamburger! I’m so thrilled.

It worked out very well, because I was asked to take over some classes today, and had my first real experience teaching. I’m learning a lot, but not knowing German is very difficult when the children have questions. Of course, as all my fellow teachers say, the children learn quickly as well. After a few more classes, I think it’ll go more smoothly, but for now, it feels remarkably chaotic. Imagine dealing with the more difficult children with only about 100 words at your disposal! Thankfully, the classes are pretty short. So now I’ll be teaching three days per week.

To celebrate our legitimacy, we’re finally breaking our fast of super-cheap living (we had to abstain to keep a bit of money in the bank to prove to the government we could support ourselves if we had no work).  So tonight we’re drinking dark brown wheat beer and snacking on Dickmans (it’s a very normal candy–can you believe it? Dickmans!). And tomorrow, we’ll get a table! How exciting.

It was such a lovely day to be out and about today. We awoke to a light dusting of snow and a bright sun, rounded out with a brisk chill. Today is the first day back after the winter holidays, giving the streets a cheery feeling of people recovering from cabin fever. Children going to and from school, everyone making the regular purchases of toilet paper and shampoo that they had forgotten while away, greeting and discussing with the friends missed in the last weeks. The bright, new winter sun completed the sensation that we have finally entered the time of lengthening days.

Of course, without a photo of the happy scene, all you can do is imagine. But the camera is on its way, we promise!

Hands down, Germany wins the fireworks competition.

It’s a quarter-hour into 2009, and for the past 20 minutes, a non-stop firework display has been happening in every direction. Hamburg doesn’t have hills, so we can see the rockets and flares from miles away. Everyone in the city, at the same time, are celebrating with fireworks. Coordination like this you just don’t have in the United States.

On Fourth of July, everyone just does their own little fireworks, or maybe you go to see a larger public display. Those big displays are fantastic, but they don’t hold a (roman) candle to an entire city bringing in the New Year together.

The other great part of this is that, unlike in the Pacific Northwest, there are decent fireworks here. Instead of lighting fireworks in the middle of summer, they (like Alaskans) save their fireworks for the beginning of January. I doubt any bushes will consider igniting when the temperature is -5C and everything has frost on it. These fireworks mean business, the height they achieve and the size of the explosion is unmatched in any sort of domestic display I’ve witnessed.

The size of these fireworks allows them to soar into the sky, and allow us to see them. Everywhere we look from our flat we see colorful explosions, from right out in the street below us, to the outskirts of Hamburg itself. Simply amazing.

Happy New Year, everyone.