"But there was no doubt that within the coach something very great was seated; greatness that was passing, hidden, within reach of the common hands that for the first and last time found themselves so close to the majesty of England, the enduring symbol of the state that inquisitive archeaologists would identify in their excavations at the ruins of time, when London was no more than a street covered with grass, and when the people who were strolling ist streets that Wednesday morning were scarcely a heap of bones with a few wedding rings, turned over in their own dust and the fillings of innumerable decayed teeth."
- Mrs. Dalloway
"I realized that a single sentence could contain a cycle of civilization from fullness to decay."
July 14, 2011
July 11, 2011
Languages and Peanut Butter Crunch
I used to joke about mixing up languages but I'm having a pretty strong and pretty real attack of it right now. Last night I had dinner with In and Justyna, speaking German the whole time. I came home and had to write a few emails in Spanish. I'm pretty sure they all ended up in the target language, I don't even think I actually /typed/ any words in German, but as I was writing, thinking ahead a few words (because that's what it takes, more actively and more noticeably, with a second language) I realized that my mind kept jumping ahead, thinking of the German words, and then crossing them out and finding the Spanish equivalents. It wasn't a big deal as my German and Spanish are about on the same level (Spanish probably better), so I didn't get stuck in the trap of 'oh dear, I don't know how to say _____ after planning this paragraph around it'. Still, it was weird. Spanish and German usually have a very firm wall between them in my mind. I'm not used to mixing them up like with German-Norwegian, for example. But I had some pretty legit Deutschspañol going on in the Hintergrund of my mind. And huh, you know, I really did not mean to write Hintergrund, just then. It just suddenly seems so natural in English. Yes, I can think of Background in .001 seconds flat, but Hintergrund suddenly doesn't seem to stick out very much anymore. I'm not convinced we don't use it at least in certain, obscure applications in English, as a loan word. Maybe Freudian psychology or something.
Had my Norwegian exam and I feel pretty good about it. I know I did terrible on several sections of grammar, particularly writing dates out (which I might have gotten a decent score on if he's big on partial credit, if he strikes out the whole line for a small mistake, I bombed it for sure) and comparatives/superlatives (ironic because this was one of the first things I learned in Norwegian, at least in the most basic sense). I must not have been there when they talked about these, maybe that was last semester? But still the trouble only amounted to 1/4-1/3 of the grammar section, which was only 1/4 of the whole exam. I owned listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and the free-writing section.
Then I headed to the organic bio supermarket that I finally discovered at the bus station. Yes, it's overpriced, but sometimes its worth it. Like when I suddenly have a craving for milk, and going there over the normal store saves me 20 minutes of transport time, only costs about 30 cents more, and as a bonus I get my milk non-ultra-high-temperature-pasteurized, but all American like, and beautifully refrigerated. I might even care a little more about organic milk than organic other products, what with all the funky feminine hormones floating around. Worth 30 cents, anyway. This one time. I came home and I ate half the liter of milk over peanut butter crunch, brought from home back in February, that's still tolerably fresh. Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say that the overdose of preservatives in that puppy have fully negated any feel-good live-good benefits I got from my organic milk. But I needed the grounding, the little taste of home, to gather the strength for the last push through finals...
Had my Norwegian exam and I feel pretty good about it. I know I did terrible on several sections of grammar, particularly writing dates out (which I might have gotten a decent score on if he's big on partial credit, if he strikes out the whole line for a small mistake, I bombed it for sure) and comparatives/superlatives (ironic because this was one of the first things I learned in Norwegian, at least in the most basic sense). I must not have been there when they talked about these, maybe that was last semester? But still the trouble only amounted to 1/4-1/3 of the grammar section, which was only 1/4 of the whole exam. I owned listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and the free-writing section.
Then I headed to the organic bio supermarket that I finally discovered at the bus station. Yes, it's overpriced, but sometimes its worth it. Like when I suddenly have a craving for milk, and going there over the normal store saves me 20 minutes of transport time, only costs about 30 cents more, and as a bonus I get my milk non-ultra-high-temperature-pasteurized, but all American like, and beautifully refrigerated. I might even care a little more about organic milk than organic other products, what with all the funky feminine hormones floating around. Worth 30 cents, anyway. This one time. I came home and I ate half the liter of milk over peanut butter crunch, brought from home back in February, that's still tolerably fresh. Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say that the overdose of preservatives in that puppy have fully negated any feel-good live-good benefits I got from my organic milk. But I needed the grounding, the little taste of home, to gather the strength for the last push through finals...
July 10, 2011
Photo Fun in Landschaftspark Duisburg
Today was my last fun for a WHOLE WEEK. Can you imagine? I'm actually being expected to do something not fun. A few exams, a handful of projects, and a LOT of goodbyes.
But today was fun. :) I went to Duisburg, the world's largest inland port and one of the big cities of the industrial Ruhrgebiet. There's an enormous former factory there that's been converted into a sort of park. I love the concept and I knew I had to see it during my time here, and I finally made it this afternoon.
But today was fun. :) I went to Duisburg, the world's largest inland port and one of the big cities of the industrial Ruhrgebiet. There's an enormous former factory there that's been converted into a sort of park. I love the concept and I knew I had to see it during my time here, and I finally made it this afternoon.
 | |||
| I found these funny looking holes in one section of the factory. They were begging for some fun photos. |
July 05, 2011
Productive Day!
Feeling good.
Today was super productive - got up at a reasonable hour, wrote a blog post for MU Study Abroad, showered, cleaned (threw away a huge garbage bag of papers and stuff), ate lunch, recycled, went to class, talked to the professor about the credits, went to the dentist, called my mom, searched for a couchsurfing host in Poland, accepted a couchsurfer for tomorrow, figured out how to borrow a DVD-playing laptop for my Referat and a one-language dictionary for the DSH, went and bought a new suitcase, studied German vocabulary in the Hofgarten for awhile, and now I'm back home fully intending to get a tiny bit more cleaning done, and finish my Protocol for Latin American Literature.
I'm feeling good because I pretty much have everything planned between now and going home - two weeks of exams and saying goodbye to friends/Bonn, moving out, two weeks in East Europe with In, quick visits to Cynthia and Damaris, and a week in Scotland with Allan and Lucia, here I come! I finally know what I'm going to do for all of my classes, and it's not too bad. I'm actually only taking two exams through the main University that actually scare me - the Norwegian ones don't really matter for my grade, and I'll pass the DSH class even if I fail the exam. Even in the classes that scare me I've got certain safeguards in place - it's much better for me if I pass, but it shouldn't show up as an F at Mizzou if I don't. So things are pretty good there.
I decided to go for Option #2 in my Bag Delimma. Tina helped steer me away from buying my shiny backpack now (it deserves a bigger budget and more time than I can give it now), and my quick trip to Heidelberg and Frankfurt confirmed for the thousandth time that I do not want to take another real trip with just my overloaded backpack. So, a roller it was. I ended up paying 40 euros for it, not quite the 20 euro pipe dream, but although there was a bag that was 30, it felt a lot cheaper and, while smaller overall, it was actually too big to be 'cabin luggage' because it was thick in one area. Even this one is 22 cm thick, whereas the official limit is 20 cm, but I practiced cramming it in the size-checker and it will go as long as I don't overpack it/put anything really in the front pockets. It's well under the dimensions in the other directions, though. It feels so small, light, and new! :D I love it!
(Major Geek P.S. - It's this lovely dark blue colour. My BIG suitcase here is a lovely burgundy. If only I had a nice forest green backpack, my bags would be colour-coded to Link's Tunics in Ocarina of Time!! :D :D And yes, seriously, that's what I thought when I saw my two suitcases together.)
It's funny how I feel so good when I have a productive day, I feel so much less stressed out once I actually start tackling the to-do list. Why do I let so many days go by where I just hide from the problems, instead? This is something I really need to work on, and remembering how good and fresh I feel on days like this should help with that.
Today was super productive - got up at a reasonable hour, wrote a blog post for MU Study Abroad, showered, cleaned (threw away a huge garbage bag of papers and stuff), ate lunch, recycled, went to class, talked to the professor about the credits, went to the dentist, called my mom, searched for a couchsurfing host in Poland, accepted a couchsurfer for tomorrow, figured out how to borrow a DVD-playing laptop for my Referat and a one-language dictionary for the DSH, went and bought a new suitcase, studied German vocabulary in the Hofgarten for awhile, and now I'm back home fully intending to get a tiny bit more cleaning done, and finish my Protocol for Latin American Literature.
I'm feeling good because I pretty much have everything planned between now and going home - two weeks of exams and saying goodbye to friends/Bonn, moving out, two weeks in East Europe with In, quick visits to Cynthia and Damaris, and a week in Scotland with Allan and Lucia, here I come! I finally know what I'm going to do for all of my classes, and it's not too bad. I'm actually only taking two exams through the main University that actually scare me - the Norwegian ones don't really matter for my grade, and I'll pass the DSH class even if I fail the exam. Even in the classes that scare me I've got certain safeguards in place - it's much better for me if I pass, but it shouldn't show up as an F at Mizzou if I don't. So things are pretty good there.
I decided to go for Option #2 in my Bag Delimma. Tina helped steer me away from buying my shiny backpack now (it deserves a bigger budget and more time than I can give it now), and my quick trip to Heidelberg and Frankfurt confirmed for the thousandth time that I do not want to take another real trip with just my overloaded backpack. So, a roller it was. I ended up paying 40 euros for it, not quite the 20 euro pipe dream, but although there was a bag that was 30, it felt a lot cheaper and, while smaller overall, it was actually too big to be 'cabin luggage' because it was thick in one area. Even this one is 22 cm thick, whereas the official limit is 20 cm, but I practiced cramming it in the size-checker and it will go as long as I don't overpack it/put anything really in the front pockets. It's well under the dimensions in the other directions, though. It feels so small, light, and new! :D I love it!
(Major Geek P.S. - It's this lovely dark blue colour. My BIG suitcase here is a lovely burgundy. If only I had a nice forest green backpack, my bags would be colour-coded to Link's Tunics in Ocarina of Time!! :D :D And yes, seriously, that's what I thought when I saw my two suitcases together.)
It's funny how I feel so good when I have a productive day, I feel so much less stressed out once I actually start tackling the to-do list. Why do I let so many days go by where I just hide from the problems, instead? This is something I really need to work on, and remembering how good and fresh I feel on days like this should help with that.
July 01, 2011
I Need a New Bag
The backpack I have now, yeah, I bought it for 30$ practically on the way to Japan. I had been thinking about getting a 'real' backpack, but in the end the low price tag convinced me. And the backpacks been good in that it has a lot of space in it, and as long as I pack it lightly (in Japan no problem, I put all the heavy things in the roller) it's pretty fine. But I never intended it to become a permanent part of my travel gear - it sticks straight out, is terrible for my back and shoulders when heavy (Scotland and Belgium are great examples of suffering), and it's unwieldy on public transportation. The best I can say for it is that it makes a handy seat, and its exactly the right size to be a carry-on for Ryan-air etc.
But I'm thinking about the upcoming Eastern Europe trip, and about a possible change. Here are the options:
1.) Do Nothing
I've struggled through vacations with this backpack before, what's another one? And In will have her roller, meaning that we'll be working our days around leaving stuff in the hostel anyway.
Pros: Don't have to find or pay for a new bag right now
Cons: I'll have to pack really light, and pray that the backpack has another trip in it (it's developing a few little holes, but it'll be okay... I think
2.) Get a Cheap Roller
I've seen some cheap rollers for as little as 20 euros that should serve.
Pros: I'd match In, which is always good, my shoulders would feel free and happy, and I could bring a lot more stuff, maybe even eliminating the need to do laundry at some point.
Cons: I have a roller back home, so this would basically be a one-use thing.
3.) Get the real Backpack, at last
Pros: I'd look cool, I'm going to get one sometime in the next year anyway
Cons: I can probably get one cheaper in the U.S., I'm not sure I have the time to do it right, if In has her roller there's not that much of a point to me being extra-mobile.
But I'm thinking about the upcoming Eastern Europe trip, and about a possible change. Here are the options:
1.) Do Nothing
I've struggled through vacations with this backpack before, what's another one? And In will have her roller, meaning that we'll be working our days around leaving stuff in the hostel anyway.
Pros: Don't have to find or pay for a new bag right now
Cons: I'll have to pack really light, and pray that the backpack has another trip in it (it's developing a few little holes, but it'll be okay... I think
2.) Get a Cheap Roller
I've seen some cheap rollers for as little as 20 euros that should serve.
Pros: I'd match In, which is always good, my shoulders would feel free and happy, and I could bring a lot more stuff, maybe even eliminating the need to do laundry at some point.
Cons: I have a roller back home, so this would basically be a one-use thing.
3.) Get the real Backpack, at last
Pros: I'd look cool, I'm going to get one sometime in the next year anyway
Cons: I can probably get one cheaper in the U.S., I'm not sure I have the time to do it right, if In has her roller there's not that much of a point to me being extra-mobile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)