After several hilarious incidents and a life that is, in general, full of laughter, I've decided it is most certainly time to whip out another random post :-) So here are the five funniest stories and most laughable moments from my last few months!
1. My host family is so sweet and knows I'd rather not receive a ten year stash of chocolate for Easter so they put a creative spin on my Easter baskets. As everyone tallied up the day's "winnings" a huge grin spread across my face as I looked at my pile: In addition to the inevitable supply of chocolate, my basket contained five kiwis, three jars of peanut butter, and a box of Chamomile tea!
2. Apparently there is some unspoken law that forbids me, as an exchange student, to cook or bake anything American without a catastrophe of one level or another. What were intended to be black bean quesadillas, were served as "kidney bean warmed tortillas". Discovering that black beans are hard to come by in Germany was no biggy--after mincing wurst to create "breakfast sausage" no form of improvisation intimidates me! However, as quesadilla number one was in the frying pan, the burner suddenly turned off--along with every other form of electricity on our street. We made the best of the hot pan we had, but once again, my cooking attempt turned into quite the adventure!
3. Back in the fall, I broke a glass. No big deal. After breaking glass number two, weeks later, Mama teased that I'd have to break six glasses before I would get in trouble. Last week, while unloading the dishwasher, I broke glass number five. I, personally, find this more irritating that anything else and perhaps a bit embarrassing, but others assure me it is humorous and thankfully my host mom also views my klutzy behavior as laughable. All I know is that I've discovered a new appreciation for plastic...
4. Neuschwanstein Castle--the international tourist attraction draws Americans, Russians, Italians, and approximately half of Japan to Southern Germany on any given day--or so I've heard :) As we were taking pictures, I froze as a man walked by me wearing--AN OSU JACKET! I childishly and excitedly pointed him out to my friends...and then stalked him :-D I walked up to a random part of the castle wall to "take a picture of a plaque" but my ears were peeled and I'll admit to being thoroughly disappointed when I realized he wasn't speaking English and he wasn't speaking German. Too scared to start a conversation, I snapped a shot of the jacket while he was facing the other direction to prove to you all that beaver believers aren't just in Oregon!
5. Hopefully the humor of this will survive translation, but it is sure worth a try! Back in the heat of homesickness and culture shock season (November), I received a packet from my organization. Among stories from past students, advice on how to adapt, and encouragement, there was a poster with a bouncing penguin baby in a kangaroo pouch and a shivering kangaroo baby between the feet of a mommy penguin. The title read "Stupid exchange" and the kangaroo baby was saying "I'm cold!" while the penguin baby whined, "I'm sick!" Somehow, I missed the memo and wasn't experiencing any culture shock--so we just laughed at the poster. Well, it became a family joke and now NO ONE can say they are cold without the instant reply--from somewhere in the house--"I'm sick!" :)
There are so many moments that could easily be added to this post, but for now I'll leave you with my top five and hope you were able to get a laugh out of them :)
1. My host family is so sweet and knows I'd rather not receive a ten year stash of chocolate for Easter so they put a creative spin on my Easter baskets. As everyone tallied up the day's "winnings" a huge grin spread across my face as I looked at my pile: In addition to the inevitable supply of chocolate, my basket contained five kiwis, three jars of peanut butter, and a box of Chamomile tea!
2. Apparently there is some unspoken law that forbids me, as an exchange student, to cook or bake anything American without a catastrophe of one level or another. What were intended to be black bean quesadillas, were served as "kidney bean warmed tortillas". Discovering that black beans are hard to come by in Germany was no biggy--after mincing wurst to create "breakfast sausage" no form of improvisation intimidates me! However, as quesadilla number one was in the frying pan, the burner suddenly turned off--along with every other form of electricity on our street. We made the best of the hot pan we had, but once again, my cooking attempt turned into quite the adventure!
3. Back in the fall, I broke a glass. No big deal. After breaking glass number two, weeks later, Mama teased that I'd have to break six glasses before I would get in trouble. Last week, while unloading the dishwasher, I broke glass number five. I, personally, find this more irritating that anything else and perhaps a bit embarrassing, but others assure me it is humorous and thankfully my host mom also views my klutzy behavior as laughable. All I know is that I've discovered a new appreciation for plastic...
4. Neuschwanstein Castle--the international tourist attraction draws Americans, Russians, Italians, and approximately half of Japan to Southern Germany on any given day--or so I've heard :) As we were taking pictures, I froze as a man walked by me wearing--AN OSU JACKET! I childishly and excitedly pointed him out to my friends...and then stalked him :-D I walked up to a random part of the castle wall to "take a picture of a plaque" but my ears were peeled and I'll admit to being thoroughly disappointed when I realized he wasn't speaking English and he wasn't speaking German. Too scared to start a conversation, I snapped a shot of the jacket while he was facing the other direction to prove to you all that beaver believers aren't just in Oregon!
5. Hopefully the humor of this will survive translation, but it is sure worth a try! Back in the heat of homesickness and culture shock season (November), I received a packet from my organization. Among stories from past students, advice on how to adapt, and encouragement, there was a poster with a bouncing penguin baby in a kangaroo pouch and a shivering kangaroo baby between the feet of a mommy penguin. The title read "Stupid exchange" and the kangaroo baby was saying "I'm cold!" while the penguin baby whined, "I'm sick!" Somehow, I missed the memo and wasn't experiencing any culture shock--so we just laughed at the poster. Well, it became a family joke and now NO ONE can say they are cold without the instant reply--from somewhere in the house--"I'm sick!" :)
There are so many moments that could easily be added to this post, but for now I'll leave you with my top five and hope you were able to get a laugh out of them :)
Good morning Julianne. Again, a great write-up on your adventure. I loved the story of our wonderful beavers. I'm thinking, I would have tried talking to him.
ReplyDeleteWe continue to pray for you. Love you very much.
Grammy
awww... it's great to hear about your time in Germany, Julianne! Sounds like it's been a great experience!
ReplyDeleteStephanie